All-Time Kentucky Wildcats vs. All-Time Louisville Cardinals

Starting tomorrow and everyday after, Straitpinkie will be unveiling its G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All-Time) squads for both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. Leading up to the January 2nd showdown in Rupp, we’ll be announcing the 10-man teams, one position at a time so keep checkin back daily.

Here’s what the unveiling schedule will look like:

December 20th – Concept Intro / Coaches – Adolph Rupp, Denny Crum, Rick Pitino
December 21st – Backup Cs
December 22nd – Backup PFs
December 23rd – Backup SFs
December 24th – Backup SGs
December 25th – Backup PGs
December 26th – Starting Cs
December 27th – Starting PFs
December 28th – Starting SFs
December 29th – Starting SGs
December 30th – Starting PGs

The coaches for both teams are pretty obvious and I don’t think anyone will have any objections.

Kentucky
Head Coach: Adolph Rupp
Asst. Coach: Pre Boston Celtics Rick Pitino

Adolph set the standard of excellence that Kentucky fans have come to expect year-in and year-out. Rupp won 876 games (third most all-time after being passed by Dean Smith and Bobby Knight) in 41 years of coaching, and is second all-time (Claire Bee) with an .822 career winning percentage (876-190).

Rupp roamed the sidelines in his trademark brown suit from 1930-1972. He won four national championships (1948, 1949, 1951, 1958) and perhaps his most famous team, 1966′s ‘Rupp’s Runts’, lost the title game to Texas Western.

Rupp was forced into retirement in March 1972 after reaching the age of 70, which at the time was the mandatory retirement age for all University of Kentucky employees. Now there’s a dumb rule.

Rick Pitino left the New York Knicks and took on the task of rebuilding and restoring the reputation of Kentucky, a school reeling from a major recruiting scandal brought on by former coach Eddie Sutton that left it on NCAA probation. Slick Rick wasted no time in doing this, coaching his first team that wasn’t on probation to the Elite Eight, losing in what many dub “The Greatest Game Ever Played” 104-103 in OT. He took the Cats to the Final Four the following year, losing to Michigan. Three years later Kentucky was back on top as the most dominant team ever assembled won it all in 1996, Kentucky’s first NCAA championship in 18 years.

Pitino and the Cats went back to the national title game the next year, losing to Arizona in overtime. Slick Rick then returned to the NBA to coach the Boston Celtics. Pitino coached Kentucky for eight years, amassing a 219-50 career record at the school.

Louisville
Head Coach: Denny Crum
Asst. Coach: Post Boston Celtics Rick Pitino

Denny Crum coached the Cardinals with his rolled up program in hand for 30 years from 1971-2001, compiling a 675-295 record and winning two National Championships (1980 and 1986).

A John Wooden disciple, Crum took his first Louisville team to the Final Four in 1972 and would go on to lead them back five more times (1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1986).

After he failed in Boston, Pitino returned to the state he grew to love, this time as head coach of his former school’s in-state rival, the University of Louisville Cardinals. In the 2004-2005 season, Pitino’s first team with all his players, Slick Rick led the Cards to the Final Four, losing to Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Illinois.

The next year Pitino took the Cardinals to the Big East conference, where Louisville has a 48-20 all-time conference record. Pitino has led UofL to two strait Elite Eights and last year won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Last year’s Louisville team was also the first Cardinal team to ever finish the regular season ranked #1 in the country.