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Good story on Rupp recruiting him
Posted on: June 2, 2020 at 12:34:05 CT
FIJItiger MU
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https://pressprosmagazine.com/hoard-the-great-wes-unseld-owning-his-own-ground/
Years later, when I was working for the Cincinnati Post, Dromo told me about recruiting Unseld. He had talked to Unseld on many occasions and had come to know his family quite well. Meanwhile, Adolph Rupp, at the University of Kentucky, was under some pressure to recruit black ballplayers, this after losing to Texas Western in 1966 in the National Championship game, a historical encounter in which Texas Western started five black players. Rupp had resisted recruiting blacks, but progress was pushing his hand.
“So,” Dromo said, “he came to the party late, and he wasn’t—in my estimation—very sincere. I told Wes and his family, ‘You got to do what you got to do.’
“Well,” Dromo continued, “I’m tucked back in the kitchen and out of sight when Adolph rolls up and comes through the front door. He says, “Wes, I want you to be the first black basketball player at the University of Kentucky.
“Wes is sitting one the couch. His family is all around him. He doesn’t say anything for a moment and Adolph is waiting, thinking, ‘How can he turn this down?’ At least, that was my interpretation.
“Wes says, ‘Coach Rupp, I don’t want to be your first black player. I just want to be a basketball player.’
Years later, when I was working for the Cincinnati Post, Dromo told me about recruiting Unseld. He had talked to Unseld on many occasions and had come to know his family quite well. Meanwhile, Adolph Rupp, at the University of Kentucky, was under some pressure to recruit black ballplayers, this after losing to Texas Western in 1966 in the National Championship game, a historical encounter in which Texas Western started five black players. Rupp had resisted recruiting blacks, but progress was pushing his hand.
“So,” Dromo said, “he came to the party late, and he wasn’t—in my estimation—very sincere. I told Wes and his family, ‘You got to do what you got to do.’
“Well,” Dromo continued, “I’m tucked back in the kitchen and out of sight when Adolph rolls up and comes through the front door. He says, “Wes, I want you to be the first black basketball player at the University of Kentucky.
“Wes is sitting one the couch. His family is all around him. He doesn’t say anything for a moment and Adolph is waiting, thinking, ‘How can he turn this down?’ At least, that was my interpretation.
“Wes says, ‘Coach Rupp, I don’t want to be your first black player. I just want to be a basketball player.’
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Good story on Rupp recruiting him - FIJItiger MU - 6/2 12:34:05