LEXINGTON – The whistle has blown. The game is over. The pressure is off. The record is beyond revision.
Joe B. Hall died Saturday morning with no more marks to be made in his lifetime ledger, with no more legendary acts to follow or insatiable fans to appease, with no expectations except eternal rest.
The former Kentucky basketball coach was 93, and he lived long enough that his career could be seen in a broader, more benign context than it was at the time of his tenure.
Destined to be marginalized as Adolph Rupp’s successor, Hall eventually emerged far enough from the Baron’s shadow to be seen as his own man – as a champion on the basketball court, as a champion of inclusivity at a place not always known for racial tolerance and, ultimately, as the revered grandfather figure of Big Blue Nation.