February 11th: On this date....

..... in 1963, one of the all-time greats in Kentucky basketball history was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His name? LeRoy Byrd. The one they called “Baby Magic” lived in Lexington and attended Bryan Station High School before choosing to play basketball at UNLV, under coach Jerry Tarkanian. After one year with The Shark and playing behind Tark’s son, Byrd decided it was time to come back home. He was also the Wildcats’ second player to ever wear the #00 jersey (John DeMoisey). Statistically, Byrd did not have the career as most Kentucky basketball legends, but I dare you to find someone over 30 who wouldn’t immediately recognize him. He was a basketball rockstar during his time in Blue. Part of this was due to his diminutive size, standing at 5'5 and weighing in at 145 lbs. “Baby Magic” played a total of 149 minutes in his 38 career games of floor action. This netted Leroy a total of 41 career points (2 pts. as a sophomore, 2 pts. as a junior, 37 pts. as a senior). Other career totals include: 14-24 FG (58%), 13-20 FT (65%), 15 rebounds, 29 assists, 15 steals, 1 block (not in my house), 19 fouls, 17 turnovers. Today is Baby Magic’s day, join me in wishing him a very happy birthday.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach