Issel without a doubt. A lot of others are worthy candidates. Frank Ramsey, great at Kentucky, ab won 7 NBA championships in 9 seasons with the Boston Celtics is hard to keep off the list.
Kentucky Mount Rushmore?
- Thread starter MidseasonTweak
- Start date
I'll admit my memory could be off but wasn't Orton a stud? I get he was behind Boogie on the bench who was a NBA superstar but if he went to any other school he was a starter right? I just always put him in with that class that got me super excited when I was younger.
I remember being like man we got John wall Eric Bledsoe boogie and Orton on the way and that was the first time I had seen that caliber of player here.
If Orton came here with any other class his Kentucky days probably look a lot different right? Besides the towns class hes probably the starting center for most of cals teams in his 15 years here right?
Dan Issel - by far the greatest ‘Cat
Ralph Beard - 2 time national champion, 3 time first team All American
Alex Groza - 2 time national champion, 2 time FF MOP.
Adolph Rupp - 4 time national championship coach, 27 SEC championships, 876 wins.
Ralph Beard - 2 time national champion, 3 time first team All American
Alex Groza - 2 time national champion, 2 time FF MOP.
Adolph Rupp - 4 time national championship coach, 27 SEC championships, 876 wins.
Since he was before my time can y'all say what made Dan Issel great. I'm not questioning his greatness at all. I just want to know about him other than Google.
He won titles? Lead the nation in a bunch of stats? I obviously know Dan Issel as a UK legend but I honestly don't know much about his time as a player.
If anyone feels like giving a good description lol. I don't mean to break any rules set by anons
I believe he was a low 5 star. Pretty raw offensively, but had really good athleticism for his size. I think he has some knee issues in high school that were a concern for him and his family. The best thing for him was probably being behind Cousins in the rotation to hide his lack of basketball skill, allowing him to get drafted on his athleticism. I don't think he goes first round and gets guaranteed money if he is show cased more.
As for how impactful he would have been if he'd stayed, assuming he stayed healthy for four years and doesn't impact recruiting, I think he probably starts on the 2011 team, but Jorts was the better offensive option. AD of course starts 2012. 2013 is hard to say, but as both were primarily known for defense, and Noel was the better defender, I think Noel starts, but we at least have a good backup when Noel goes down.
Last edited:
He played in the era when freshmen were ineligible. So he played only 83 games while at UK. But he has more career points than any other player with 2,138 (25+ points per game). He also has most career rebounds with 1,078 (13 rebounds per game). He was a dominant player for the 3 years he played. Imagine having a player in today’s game with those averages for 3 years. He’s the GOAT.