Kentucky basketball is full of historic success, and it stretches beyond just a few eras. Adolph Rupp built the program into a national contender and won several national titles while John Calipari continues their success years later. We can’t forget the greatness that came between these two Hall of Famers.
After Rick Pitino departed Kentucky to coach the Boston Celtics in 1997, the Wildcats hired Tubby Smith as their next head coach. He became the first African American head basketball coach at Kentucky and inherited a program that had won the national championship just twelve months earlier.