Jan. 19, 2000
Pat Riley Quotes:
“I think the four years of college, going to a university, leaving home,finding a whole different structure and responsibility are probably the mostimportant years of any person’s life. I do believe that the University ofKentucky, not only from the great Adolph Rupp and his coaching ability, butthepeople I ran into and was educated by, put me in a position that when I left,that besides professional basketball, I had other opportunities. I felt that Iwas ready. I do think that that is what the University of Kentucky did for me Coach Rupp and his philosophy, discipline and structure.”
“I think probably what I cherish most is the fact that I went to aninstitutionthat really cared about sports and cared about basketball. Kentucky basketballis probably one of the most important things in the state of Kentucky, and wetook great pride in that. Lexington took great pride in it. All the fansthroughout the state of Kentucky took great pride in it. I felt very specialbeing a part of that kind of program. There was a lot of pressure there, but Ithink the one thing that I took away from Kentucky was that we were insomething that was real, that was important, and also fun. We did the verybestwe could do at it.”
On Rupp’s Runts
“I think it’s like any other team. We had grown together. Most of us had comein together. We were in our third year together. We caught everyone bysurpriseand caught the attention of the basketball public. We had a great year,becausewe had great togetherness. We had great leaders in Larry Conley and Tom Kron.We had a young center in Thad Jaracz. We had two shooters in myself and LouieDampier and a great bench that was playing in a great system. So, we got on aroll, and we believed in ourselves. It all culminated being the No. 1 team inthe country in 1966.”
“The title game was a very, very big disappointment. It’s one of the blackholes in my life, basically. When you think about it, having theopportunity towin the NCAA title, and you get there and you don’t, you’ll never forgetit. Atthat particular time, it was a great game. Texas Western was a great team,coached by Don Haskins. And only today do I know the impact that game had onall of college basketball. In that respect, when it came to recruiting andplayers being able to come out of other areas, it was a big game for what itdid for college basketball.”
“I learned from my father, learned from my high school coach and from CoachRupp that there was only one way to play, and that’s as hard as you canplay. Iwas in a great system at the University of Kentucky, where I was featuredas anoffensive player, and a lot of the shots came to me. Other responsibilitieswere to rebound the ball, and jump the center and things of that nature. I wastaught to play hard and I wanted to win. Coach Rupp could bring out thecompetitiveness in players.”
On having what having his jersey retired means to him
“It’s a great honor that I was one of the players to have gone through thelong, long tradition at the University of Kentucky. It’s one of the thingsthatearmarks what the tradition of playing at the University of Kentucky is allabout. One day people will ask about the contribution of Pat Riley to theUniversity of Kentucky and remember back to those great years. I’m veryflattered by it and very appreciative of it.”
Audrey Spivey and Dr. Cash Spivey:
Ms. Spivey:
On the meaning of Bill’s jersey retirement
“Bill would be so pleased. I think there is a great amount of vindication. Hewas innocent. He stood trial in New York and was found not guilty. He talkedabout it often.”
On how they learned of the jersey retirement
“We found out through C.M. (Newton). He is the most wonderful person. As youmight have heard him say, they were roommates and teammates. He just thoughtBill was so deserving of this.”
Dr. Spivey:
“This is real special. We looked forward to this and are real happy itoccurred.”
Jamal Mashburn:
On what the jersey retirement means
“To me, this is something that I never thought I would attain. This isn’tsomething that I set out to do. It’s especially nice to come back and have allof the fans still cheering me on like I never left. This was definitely aspecial moment.”
On his reaction to the news that his jersey would be retired
“The letter actually came and I asked my business manager, who’s fromLexington, if the letter was real. I came to UK because I wanted to playbasketball. That’s it.”
“It makes me proud to have this honor. When I first came to UK, we were stillhad a year of probation. A lot of people asked me why I came here. I camebecause of Coach Pitino and the way the state of Kentucky rallied around theprogram. This is a special thing. A lot of people want to play here.”
On what he thinks of this year’s squad
“I’ve only had the chance to watch a couple of games. I think the guy wearingmy jersey now, Marvin Stone, is pretty good. Pat Riley keeps us pretty busy.They seem to be pretty good, though, especially with Coach Smith. He was withus my first year and he’s a great coach.”
