Forty Minutes To Glory

Everywhere the Wildcats play they encounter Kentucky fans. At Gainesville are Mr. and Mrs. James Burchett and their daughter Vicky, formerly of Russellville, Ky., now of Bradenton, Fla. "Dad listens to UK's games on radio, though sometimes it's faint and Spanish music interferes with it," says Vicky.

The Burchetts paid $100 for their motel room and $20 apiece for three tickets from a scalper, but figure they have spent their money well. "They give me a hard time where I live," says James Burchett. "But I bet they won't now. Golly, 19 points! We beat Florida by 19 points!"

Joining in the Burchetts' jubilation are two other fans. One is Steve Rardin, a Lexington news distributor, who drives to all the Wildcat games. The other is a Kentucky state police sergeant named Ron Hunt. He explains that "for security reasons" two state troopers accompany the Wildcats on every road trip. The officers use their days off and vacation time for the trips and pay their own expenses. "We've got about 800 troopers who'd be glad to do it," says Hunt.

Monday, Jan. 9—Kentucky looks invincible against Auburn. By halftime the Wildcats lead by 16 points and Givens has scored 16 himself, but Hall knows there are 20 minutes still to play. "Well, Jack, are you through for the night?" he says derisively to Givens. "Is that all for you? Shoot, that's what you've done all year. When you have a good half, I ought to just sit you on the bench, because you're no good the rest of the night!" Givens comes back with 13 points in the second half, finishes with 29 in only 31 minutes played and adds 10 rebounds. At halftime Robey had shouted, "This is a time to have fun." And it was. Kentucky wins 101-77.

Wednesday, Jan. 18—I kissed Kyle Macy today. He made a mistake during practice—let his man go backdoor on him—and I jumped all over him. Macy is the sensitive sort and he went into a sulk, hanging his head, so I walked over, put my arm around him, kissed him on the cheek and said, "Kyle, you know we love you." It brought him out of it. Some players you can get on, others go into a shell. What you have to do is find one you can get on so much that the others just shudder at the thought of making a mistake. Larry Johnson, who was a senior last year, was like that. He could take it. This year I've stayed on Robey and Givens. They're seniors and All-Americas. If they can't take it, who can?

Monday, Jan. 23—After 14 victories, including half a dozen in the SEC, Kentucky loses at Alabama by the embarrassing score of 78-62. Bama Coach C. M. Newton uses a three-guard offense and gets 57% field-goal shooting to pull off the upset. Though he plays 38 minutes, Givens is held to six points. He makes only two of seven shots from the floor.

Nonetheless, Kentucky maintains its position atop the wire service polls. That does nothing to quell Hall's anxieties, which most Kentuckians dismiss as paranoia. The big blowup comes on Feb. 11 at LSU, where the Wildcats lose in overtime, 95-94, to a team they had beaten by 20 points several weeks before. Because Givens had what Hall thought was another lackluster game, Kentucky fans are starting to say that he cannot play well in the big ones. Of course, a lot of them had long ago begun saying that Hall cannot win the big ones.

Sunday, Feb. 12—Hall is fuming. On the trip to Oxford for Monday night's game against Mississippi, he tells why to Billy Reed, the sports editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal . Hall calls his team "The Folding Five" and "The Quitting Quintet" and says it could lose six more games. Givens, says the coach, is in a horrible slump and does not want the ball in pressure situations. Macy did not guard anybody at LSU, and Claytor, Shidler and Dwane Casey all took injudicious long shots. And Phillips had only one rebound and committed four traveling violations. "We had that look in our eyes, like zombies," sputters Hall. "Blank stares. We were just not mentally alert."

Monday, Feb. 13—The Wildcats are going to the Ole Miss arena for morning shooting practice, but Casey, Lavon Williams and Freddie Cowan are late. When the tardy trio is about 10 yards from the bus, Hall tells the driver, "Shut the damn door and let's go. If they can't get here when they're supposed to, the hail with 'em." The bus drives off.

That night Hall benches Phillips and Claytor and starts a lineup that includes Tim Stephens and Williams. But no one stays in the game long. After every mistake Hall points to a substitute. He makes 17 lineup changes in the first half, and Kentucky struggles to a 64-52 win. Back home, fans get out pen and paper to write letters of dismay. Newspapers and the university mailbox are full of them. This was supposed to be the championship season. Instead, the SEC title is slipping away, and Hall is making radical moves.