Forty Minutes To Glory

Saturday, March 11—Kentucky alumnus Bob Hardesty is distraught. He and three friends are on their feet in Hardesty's Covington, Ky. apartment watching the Wildcats play Florida State on television, watching Kentucky fall behind 39-32 at halftime, watching as the NCAA title is being washed down the drain by a defense that is leaking fast-break baskets. Then when Kentucky takes the floor for the second half, Hardesty and his friends let out a collective shriek of disbelief.

David Roos and Robert Howard are not happy, either. Roos, a science writer, is a Kentucky alumnus now living in Denver. He has called Louisville and is listening to the game on the telephone while his mother holds the receiver to the radio. Howard is a coal operator in Harlan County who has shut down his strip mine and is watching on a TV set he has installed atop a mountain to improve reception. Like the Hardesty party, Roos and Howard are stunned by Hall's starting lineup for the second half. It includes Cowan, a gangling, shy freshman who has scored in only seven games; Casey, a junior guard who has played only seven minutes in the previous six games; and Williams, a sophomore forward who, during one stretch, scored only two points in five games. At the height of Kentucky's February slump, it was this trio that was left standing dumbstruck when they were late getting to the team bus.

It is a daring move by Hall, perhaps the most daring of his career, but it pays off as the substitutes, scrambling wildly on defense, wear down Florida State. Kentucky goes on a 14-0 spurt and wins 85-76. In the locker room Hall says, "I want our All-Americans to thank the subs for keeping us in this tournament."

Sunday, March 12—We were doing nothing. Robey and Givens weren't helping us at all. They wouldn't guard a soul. The seniors were dying on the bench, but I wasn't about to let them go back in. It worked, but if it hadn't, I would have been drawn and quartered. I told the press, "I may not be smart but I'm not gutless."

Kentucky is moving on to the Mideast Regional at Dayton, where it will play Miami on Thursday night. As they prepare for the game, the Wildcats recapture their enthusiasm. At Tuesday's workout Casey has an upset stomach, gets sick and throws up. Ten minutes later he is back on the floor. "You don't win by looking pretty," Hall yells at one point. "You win by going to work. Show some enthusiasm. Act like you want to play."

Macy certainly wants to play. The next afternoon, during a practice session in Dayton, his knee buckles. "My whole life passed before my eyes," says Hall. Macy has his knee wrapped and declares himself ready for the next night.

Thursday, March 16—Kentucky is apprehensive. Early in the day a woman asks Cowan whom the Wildcats are playing that night. Cowan cannot remember. But once the game against Miami begins, Kentucky plays with poise and assurance. It rolls to a 16-point lead at halftime and wins 91-69.

The press asks Hall if his team is out of the doghouse. "Yeah," he says. "But they know they're just right by the door. They're still on the leash."

Saturday, March 18—Minutes before Kentucky takes the floor against Michigan State in the Mideast finals, Assistant Coach Dick Parsons decides he does not like the "feel" in the locker room. "Come on," he yells. "You all look tight. Come on, Jack. You don't look loose."

Then on the dressing room blackboard Hall writes "40-40-40—120," the number of minutes of game time left for the Wildcats if they proceed to win the NCAA final.