... in 1921, your "dark horse" University of Kentucky Wildcats upset the Georgia Bulldogs to become the first ever Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) champions. The Champion Basketeers played "basket ball" like a machine and became one of the most heralded teams in all the South. It is believed to have been the first major basketball tournament in collegiate basketball history. The captain of the 1921 team, Basil Hayden, was the key cog during Kentucky's first ever tournament run. Later that spring, he would become the University's first ever All-American (Helm's). Hundreds of fans were gathered around getting play-by-play updates via telegraph. I think that's what people used before Al Gore and the Internet. Anyway, Hayden & Company would drive their horses back from Atlanta and were greeted by a raucous Big Blue Nation at Saddle Ridge, which was then located at the corner of Euclid and Woodland. Kentucky ended the season 13-1. Basil Hayden came back to coach Kentucky for one year (1927) and also has a jersey retired into Rupp's Rafters.
Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach
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