Joe B. Hall, who succeeded Kentucky great coach Adolph Rupp and led the Wildcats to the NCAA men's basketball championship, has died at the age of 93.
Hall is one of only three men to play and coach an NCAA championship team (1949, 1978) and the only person to do so for the same school.
"It is with great sadness that we share the passing of the great Joe B. Hall," tweeted the Kentucky men's basketball team. "Our hearts are with the Hall family. We love you, Joe B."
Current Wildcats coach John Calipari tweeted that Hall was "my friend, my mentor and an icon in our state and our profession." He said he met Hall on Thursday.
"He understood everything that was said, and as I prayed for him, he squeezed my hand tightly," wrote Calipari.
During his 13 years as Kentucky coach, from 1972 to 1985, Hall led the team to 297 wins. The most memorable was the 1978 NCAA title in which Hall led the Wildcats to their fifth championship. Hall followed in Roop's footsteps, winning 876 games in 41 seasons at Kentucky.
The Wildcats went 30-2 in 1977–78 and won their first NCAA title in 20 years, beating Duke 94–88 in St. Louis, 41 points behind Jack "Goose" Givens. It was Kentucky's fifth championship and the first in 20 years. The team returning to Blue Grass Airport was greeted by over 10,000 fans.
Hall coached at Central Missouri State and Regis, before Roop offered him a move to Kentucky. Roop first offered Hall a job as his recruiter, but Hall turned it down, opting instead to become a floor coach.
Later, when they were in the same clinic. Roop invites Hall to his room and offers her the job of assistant coaching on the floor. This time Hall accepted.
"It was a dream to be back here as an assistant," Hall had said.
Only once more Hall nearly left Kentucky. Roop's retirement was drawing to a close, and Hall was not getting the support he wanted to be the next head coach. He took a head-coaching job in St. Louis, but Roop begged him to stay, Hall once told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Hall played under Roop and served as his assistant for seven years before reaching the top role - although Roop continued to work extensively by maintaining an office in the building and his TV shows in the state. kept.
Nearly missed fans in the years following the 1978 title troubled the fan base—making a big lead for Georgetown in the 1984 national semifinals was a big one—as did the growing regional and national spotlight achieved by Denny Crum in Louisville. had a share. Bob Knight in Indiana.
Hall, then 56, resigned as Kentucky coach in March 1985, saying, "I didn't want to be an old coach."
Hall was named National Coach of the Year in 1978 and SEC Coach of the Year four times. Hall's record in Kentucky was 297–100, and he was 373–156 in his career. Seven of his players earned All-American honors 11 times, and he coached 24 players who were drafted into the NBA, including five first-round selections.
Hall remained a beloved figure in the state after he retired from coaching. As recently as 2018, he participated in about three Kentucky drills per week and was a courtside fixture during home games at Roop Arena. In front of the Wildcat Lodge sits a statue of Hall, where men's basketball players live.