The Frank Ramsey Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Tuesday, August 13th, 2002
You
played for the legendary Adolph Rupp at the University
of Kentucky. What was the recruiting process like
for you?
[Laughs]. I recruited myself. I
didn’t have anyone recruiting me to play basketball.
When I was a senior in high school a friend of mine
invited me to Lexington. He was a freshman that
year, and on the football team. I visited the
campus and got a taste of UK basketball. I met
Cliff Barker and Ralph Beard, who were All-Americans,
and this was just after UK had won the championship with
its Fabulous Five in 1948. The Fabulous Five were
Barker, Beard, Kenny Rollins, Wallace Jones and Alex
Groza. UK won the title again in 1949.
Going to UK, I thought I would sit on the bench for
three years and then start the last one, but luckily it
didn’t work out that way and I didn’t have to wait.
I received a great education at the University of
Kentucky, both in basketball and in academics.
Tell me about Adolph
Rupp.
I was a senior when I met Adolph Rupp. Coach Rupp
was bigger than life. He won the NIT once and the
NCAA tournament four times. He coached the 1948
Olympic team to a gold medal. He had all of those
victories (879), all of those SEC titles (27) and NCAA
tournament appearances (20). He was the National
Coach-of-the-Year numerous times (4).
You meet someone like that and your mouth just falls
open. Coach Rupp was a dictator, and I think all
of the great coaches have that quality. Red
(Auerbach) had it, and so did Vince Lombardi. They
demand so much out of you.
Coach Rupp’s office was no bigger than an average
bathroom. There was room for two desks and that
was about it.
He was such a special person. He took players from
all over Kentucky and won with them, mostly small town
kids who would do anything for him. When I played,
Bobby Watson and Cliff Hagan were the only kids on the
roster from what I would call large cities. They
came from towns of about fifteen thousand at the time.
You won a national
championship in 1951, as Kentucky held Kansas State
scoreless for eight minutes in the second half (68-58).
What stands out most in your mind about that game?
To be honest with you, I don’t remember much about
that game at all. I remember that we played the
game in Minneapolis, and that the weather was very cold
at the time. I just don’t remember much about
the game itself.
What was it like
returning to Madisonville after winning the national
championship?
It was no big deal, really, not a lot of fanfare.
I went back home after school let out and ran the
sawmill for my daddy.
You were
a very versatile player for Coach Rupp. How tall
are you, and what position did you play the most?
I was 6’-3” and played guard. Back then
that was considered a big guard. I didn’t play
the point, I played what they now call the two spot.
