One of the most iconic groups in the history of Kentucky basketball has returned to Lexington for its 60th anniversary celebration — 14 of 15 Wildcats in attendance ahead of UK’s home matchup vs. Mississippi State. The biggest names are Pat Riley and Louie Dampier, certainly, but it’s a juggernaut team overall that went 27-2 (15-1) on its way to an SEC title and the national championship game to finish ranked No. 1 overall.
Mark Pope welcomed back Rupp’s Runts on Friday, every player outside of Larry Conley (health) coming together for a team dinner celebrating that 1965-66 squad all these years later.
“How amazing it is to have all of you here. I’ll tell you this — you all laid the groundwork for what I got to enjoy here as a player and what we get to do here now,” Pope told the VIPs. “You guys started this tenure of this program being this incredible connection point. These people still want to touch Kentucky basketball because of what you did here. I know you felt it while you were here, I know you’ve felt it over the last — what’s it been, 100 years since you guys played here [laughs]? 60?
“I know you’ve felt it, but I want to echo it. It matters. It’s so much bigger than basketball and the gratitude I feel in my heart is real. Our former players are so important. We recognize what you built here and you are always welcome here — any practice, any game, any time. Bring family and friends. You should walk in this gym every time like you own it. Your family should get to enjoy that, too. That’s really important.”
Riley is the biggest name and headliner, winning SEC Player of the Year that season while leading Kentucky with 22.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game before going on to become a legend in the NBA as a player, coach and executive, winning eight championships in his various roles. The No. 7 overall draft pick in ’67 won as a player with the Lakers in ’72, then five more as a coach in Los Angeles (’82, ’85, ’87, ’88) and Miami (’06) and team president (’12, ’13). You can give him a ninth, too, if you’d like, as he was also an assistant on the Lakers when they won it all in ’80, too.
“I mean, Pat Riley is a name that, like, reverberates. Everybody knows what that means,” Pope told the media early Friday afternoon. “Everybody sees the Showtime Lakers. Everybody sees the gritty, New York Knicks teams and the flashy Miami teams, right? And what he’s done now is a GM and the president and an owner and whatever position he has there right now, so his impact on the basketball has been so incredible.”
Elsewhere, Dampier averaged 21.1 points and 5.0 rebounds, followed by Thad Jaracz with 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, Conley with 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds and Tom Kron with 10.2 points and 8.3 rebounds to round out double-figure scorers on that squad.
Whether it’s one of those guys outside of Conley or any of the other 10 bench players, Pope is trying to figure out if they have remaining eligibility to help this struggling group of Wildcats on the floor tonight.
60 years later, maybe they’ve still got it?
“We’re excited to have those guys back,” Pope said. “A couple of guys we might actually suit up and see if they can help us in the game with all these changing rules. And so, it’s gonna be a great night for the Cats.”
Take a look at some of the sights and sounds from Rupp’s Runts making their return to Lexington this weekend:
Photos via UK Athletics
Rupp’s Runts will be honored at halftime for the official 60-year reunion, right back where they belong. Welcome home, Cats!
Kentucky’s 1965-66 team, “Rupp’s Runts”
No. 42 Pat Riley
No. 10 Louie Dampier
No. 55 Thad Jaracz
No. 40 Larry Conley
No. 30 Tommy Kron
No. 45 Cliff Berger
No. 24 Bob Tallent
No. 32 Steve Clevenger
No. 44 Brad Bounds
No. 12 Jim LeMaster
No. 22 Gene Stewart
No. 25 Tommy Porter
No. 50 Gary Gamble
No. 54 Larry Lentz
Bob Windsor