(01-21-2017 03:21 AM)_C2_ Wrote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949%E2%80...tball_team
"Kentucky was a racially segregated school from the Southeastern Conference, and several Wildcats refused to shake hands with the black and Jewish CCNY players before the game. This incensed the CCNY players, who then proceeded to dismantle the Kentucky team in every aspect of the game. The final score was CCNY 89, Kentucky 50, which was the worst ever defeat for an Adolph Rupp coached team. This win was sweet revenge for the CCNY players, because Rupp was once quoted was as saying that he'd never coach a team with "kikes" and "blacks." After the game, the Kentucky state legislature called for the flag over the capitol to be flown at half-staff."
Thier wiki page reads like a team media guide but it was interesting none the less.
http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/rupp.html
Poor Journalism: Example IV
Another point made by critics of Rupp was that for most of his career, he played against all-white teams from the Southeastern conference. They claim that because of this and because most of his teams were all-white, that this somehow gave him an unfair advantage over other coaches legacies. To an extent, this is true and certainly helped lead to Rupp's gaudy won-lost record. But little mention is made by these writers that Rupp then had to take his team to compete against the other national powers, many of them integrated, where his team performed admirably [Afterall, winning the national championship (as Rupp did four times), should remove any qualifications about the strength of the regular season conference the team plays in.] Some writers incorrectly assume that Rupp did not play against these national and integrated teams which only shows how ill-informed these writers actually are. Also, nowhere have I seen it mentioned that Rupp was actually at a disadvantage in these early contests because he didn't have black players on his team to help compete against his opponents with talented black players.
[Winston Salem State coach Clarence "Big House"] Gaines has said that Rupp's record ought to have an asterisk next to it, like Roger Maris' 61 home runs, because Rupp built it against Southeastern Conference schools that took fanatic interest in football and relegated basketball games to arenas built for rodeos. "I guess I shouldn't have said that about the asterisk," Gaines said. "It wasn't his fault if the other guys were too stupid or lazy to get off their butts and go pick up some basketball players." - by Jere Longman, Philadelphia Inquirer, "How 'Big House' Built His Success; Coach Smashed Barriers on Way to 800 Wins," February 11, 1990.
"Perhaps their (CCNY) most impressive victory was an 89-50 demolition of Adolph Rupp's Kentucky squad in the NCAA semifinals. Not only were the Wildcats two-time defending NCAA champs, but Rupp had always gone out of his way to avoid playing teams with African-Americans." - by Nelson George, Elevating the Game, Harper Collins (1992) pg. 80.
JPS Note - Again, the statement is wrong. Rupp did not go out of his way to avoid playing integrated teams. Quite the opposite in fact, as Rupp was noted for often taking his teams to New York (beginning in 1935 and up until the scandal in the early 50's) and to Chicago (among other big cities) where he played against the best teams. It should not be underestimated how much of a forward step this was in the days of poor travel conditions and the fact that most every university still played a largely regional schedule. (Not to mention the prospect of obtaining the necessary funds during the depression era.) Also overlooked is the fact that at that time, the style of play and the way games were called by the officials was very different in different regions of the country. Kentucky often had to adjust their style of play in these games depending on the area of the country. Rupp actually was an important catalyst in making basketball a truly national game by introducing many parts of the country to his brand of basketball which included such innovations as the fast break and the interior screen.
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