Records of UK basketball coaches after 33 games:
| Coach | W-L |
| Eddie Sutton | 30-3 |
| Adolph Rupp | 29-4 |
| Tubby Smith | 29-4 |
| Joe Hall | 22-11 |
| Rick Pitino | 18-15 |
| Billy Gillispie | 18-15 |
Sutton had a terrific first season, inheriting Kenny Walker, Ed Davender, James Blackmon, etc. Team reached the 1986 Elite Eight before losing to LSU before the NCAA changed the bracketing guidelines. Now, thankfully, you usually don’t end up playing someone from your own league until the Final Four, with some exceptions. The LSU loss was a total fluke.
Adolph Rupp was Adolph Rupp.
Tubby Smith won a title his first season — yes, with Rick Pitino’s players.
Joe Hall had a good first season, reaching the regional final, but dipped to 13-13 the next year.
Rick Pitino inherited a total and complete mess, and turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse.
Billy Gillispie went 18-13 his first year, and is off to an 0-2 start his second.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
John,
Interesting analysis. I never thought of looking at records like that. I think we’ll be fine this year. BCG seems to be a “tear them down, then build them up his way” type of coach. I think we’ll be fine this year, and the years to come. I had my doubts early last year, but BCG turned me around with the team’s performance in the SEC schedule, and the way they didn’t quit, even with all the injuries.