[Old School Hound]

This is a very tough question and I don't think that I can pick a single all-time favorite. I have great memories of listening as a young boy with my father to the UK teams play that featured Issel, Pratt, and Tom Parker. Listening to Cawood Ledford call UK basketball games on WHAS and to Jack Buck call St. Louis Cardinals on KMOX when I lived near Columbus, Ohio, also sparked my lifetime interest in radio.

Other favorites, in no particular order:

Kenny Walker
Sam Bowie
Mel Turpin, who could have been a great NBA player if he had not eaten his way out of the league. He improved more at UK than any big man ever to play there, IMO.
James Lee
Dwight Anderson, who may have been the quickest player ever to play for UK. Watch the "Blur" hit what may be the most amazing shot ever made by a UK basketball player:

https://www.si.com/college/usc/recruitin...t-anderson 

Eric Manuel, who got royally screwed in the Sutton/Casey scandal. The Suttons and Chris Mills went on with their lives largely unpunished. Manuel was banned from the NCAA for life and almost banned from the NAIA as well. IMO, UK's abandonment of Manuel probably cost him a careen in the NBA.

Roderick Rhodes, who is another player that I felt was unfairly abandoned by UK. Rhodes missed some big shots during his stay at UK but IMO, no player ever played with more effort for Kentucky. Pitino basically encouraged Rhodes to announce for the draft, which Rhodes was obviously not ready for, and when Rhodes decided to return to play for the Wildcats, Pitino told him that there was no room on the roster. Pitino was probably the second best coach in UK history but his treatment of Rhodes was classless, IMO.

Tony Delk
John Wall
Tyler Ulis
Anthony Davis, one of the most unselfish players ever at UK, and consequently one of the most under-utilized players ever. Davis should have been the focal point of UK's offense, IMO. He was a great asset to the team but as an individual, he would have been better off playing elsewhere. He was ready for the NBA before he stepped on the court in a UK uniform and Calipari wasted his talent on the offensive end of the court.

Lastly, Pitino's first UK team. It is hard to pick favorites off of that team. No UK team ever achieved more with so little individual talent.

Really good post, Hoot, and good list. Rhodes and Anderson both showed flashes of just how good they could be, but neither quite maxed their potential. "The Blur" was a freakishly good athlete who could do things that few others could. And you are right about Davis. He could have dominated offensively the way he did defensively had he been more of a focal point. Probably one of the best talents to ever be at UK(as short-lived as it was). Davis was/is a winner. He sacrificed offensive stardom at UK because he was all about winning.

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This is a very tough question and I don't think that I can pick a single all-time favorite. I have great memories of listening as a young boy with my father to the UK teams play that featured Issel, Pratt, and Tom Parker. Listening to Cawood Ledford call UK basketball games on WHAS and to Jack Buck call St. Louis Cardinals on KMOX when I lived near Columbus, Ohio, also sparked my lifetime interest in radio.

Other favorites, in no particular order:

Kenny Walker
Sam Bowie
Mel Turpin, who could have been a great NBA player if he had not eaten his way out of the league. He improved more at UK than any big man ever to play there, IMO.
James Lee
Dwight Anderson, who may have been the quickest player ever to play for UK. Watch the "Blur" hit what may be the most amazing shot ever made by a UK basketball player:

https://www.si.com/college/usc/recruitin...t-anderson 

Eric Manuel, who got royally screwed in the Sutton/Casey scandal. The Suttons and Chris Mills went on with their lives largely unpunished. Manuel was banned from the NCAA for life and almost banned from the NAIA as well. IMO, UK's abandonment of Manuel probably cost him a careen in the NBA.

Roderick Rhodes, who is another player that I felt was unfairly abandoned by UK. Rhodes missed some big shots during his stay at UK but IMO, no player ever played with more effort for Kentucky. Pitino basically encouraged Rhodes to announce for the draft, which Rhodes was obviously not ready for, and when Rhodes decided to return to play for the Wildcats, Pitino told him that there was no room on the roster. Pitino was probably the second best coach in UK history but his treatment of Rhodes was classless, IMO.

Tony Delk
John Wall
Tyler Ulis
Anthony Davis, one of the most unselfish players ever at UK, and consequently one of the most under-utilized players ever. Davis should have been the focal point of UK's offense, IMO. He was a great asset to the team but as an individual, he would have been better off playing elsewhere. He was ready for the NBA before he stepped on the court in a UK uniform and Calipari wasted his talent on the offensive end of the court.

Lastly, Pitino's first UK team. It is hard to pick favorites off of that team. No UK team ever achieved more with so little individual talent.

Correction. The reason that I did not remember the behind the backboard shot that Dwight Anderson made is that he made it after transferring to USC, where he played as a Junior and Senior. I had forgotten why he transferred but from what I read, he became addicted to cocaine and never made it in the NBA. He had unlimited potential and blew it but for a short time he was one of UK's most popular players ever.

I remember UK trailing in a game and watching Anderson score the last 7 points of the game in the final 30 seconds, leading UK to a come from behind win. That was before the 3-point shot and a player scoring that many clutch points so quickly was an amazing feat.

Here you go, Hooter. I remember it well. I went berserk!!!