From left, Sean Woods, Deron Feldhaus and Richie Farmer return to Rupp Arena to support teammate John Pelphrey. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It was a bit like going back in time when Sean Woods, Deron Feldhaus and Richie Farmer were escorted to midcourt at Rupp Arena last week and University of Kentucky fans gave them the same type of ovation they got when they played for the Wildcats.
They were all back at Rupp Arena because UK teammate John Pelphrey, the other member of The Unforgettables that lost to Duke in the 1992 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, was also back in Rupp Arena coaching Tennessee Tech.
The four were part of one of the most beloved teams ever at Kentucky when coach Rick Pitino took a team not overloaded with physical talent and made it one of the nation’s best programs the first year UK came off probation.
“I can tell you that as a kid, laying in the bed and dreaming of playing here … I think you dream about a lot of things,” said Farmer, a Clay County native. “You dream about having great games and you dream about maybe scoring a lot of points in the game and hit a game-winner.
“You never dare dream that your jersey might be hanging in the rafters, especially at a place like UK. I can tell you for me when they told us that night to look up to the rafters as they retired our jerseys, I had no idea it was happening and it’s he greatest accomplishment that a basketball player can have that plays here
“Growing up and dreaming of all the dreams that you dream about, you never dream that your jersey would be retired. That’s just very, very special, especially for a Kentucky kid.”
Pelphrey (Paintsville) and Feldhaus (Mason County) were also Kentucky kids while Woods was from Indianapolis but had family in Lexington.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope came to Kentucky after The Unforgettables captured the nation’s fancy. Pope said they “reset the trajectory of Kentucky basketball” with what they did playing for Pitino.
It was the first time all four players had been together in Rupp Arena since their final home game at Kentucky in 1992.
Feldhaus has always been the least talkative of the four players but was all smiles talking about the experience.
“I was telling John’s kids (players), ‘Man, you get to play in Rupp Arena. That’s a big deal.’ Not too many people can say they played in this arena. That’s a big deal. That’s the best five years of my life (playing at Kentucky),” Feldhaus said.
Woods actually was the head coach of Mississippi Valley (twice), Morehead State and Southern when those teams played in Rupp Arena.
“I know the feelings and the emotions that go through coming into this building and seeing familiar faces. You don’t understand the passion that we have and the love that we have for this place, and including him (Pope). We are all refreshed that one of ours is at the helm now,” Woods said.
“You don’t know how that means to us because he’s going through the trenches just like us. He’s one of us and knows as the coach here what it means to put that uniform on. God works in mysterious ways and there’s a reason why Mark Pope is here right now because the University of Kentucky needed somebody that is part of us to get this thing back to being realistic about what being a Kentucky basketball player and this program is all about.”
Woods, Farmer and Feldhaus were at the postgame press conference podium with Pope. They were joined by Pelphrey at Pope’s postgame radio show.
“Every time I walk in this building, I have to take that glance to see if it’s up there and it’s something that is just special,” Feldhaus said about his jersey in the rafters. “I’ve said this before, the four of us as players, I felt like it should just be one jersey, The Unforgettables.
“I got in trouble for saying that, all four of us. But it was a group. We talked about a lot of the people, but coach Pitino is the one that made this happen. He’s the one that pushed us to the limits.”
Pelphrey’s teammates knew he was nervous about coaching in Rupp Arena. He told his former teammates if he brought Tennessee Tech to Rupp Arena that they better show up of the game.
“I said, ‘Shut up, I did this four times. Take the money and fricking do the best you can and go on and come hang out with us guys.’ That’s how that conversation went. We still treat and talk to each other the same we did when we were 18-19 years old,” Woods said.
Farmer always knew Pelphrey would be a coach and knew he was nervous about playing in Rupp Arena.
“John is a great guy and we loved having an opportunity to come back and everybody be together for the first time in 30 years. It was good,” Farmer said.
Pope hopes his team paid attention to what The Unforgettables said and how they were revered by UK fans for what they did.
“If we could capture these guys’ heart and spirit and their commitment, we would be unbeatable,” Pope said. “We’d like to ensure that as quickly as we can. There are just certain people that capture, that just put everything on the table to get it done and they are iconic in what Kentucky basketball is supposed to be.
“That’s something we are striving for every single day is to learn and understand and grasp and make that commitment. Before the game we talked about this relentless, unyielding effort for continual growth and these guys embodied that in a really miraculous way.”
One Response
The UNFORGETTABLES……the memories of that team, that group of players, and that era invoke the memories of when college bball still really was COLLEGE BBALL–when college bball players were still unpaid, non-professional AMATEURS, and they were at KY because they WANTED TO BE AT KY. When guys were playing for the name on the FRONT of the jersey rather than the back. But they understood that playing as a team would bring about not only the winning tradition of KY, but also that the individual success would come naturally by going through that process. Besides, I truly believe that most players back in that day genuinely ENJOYED playing AS A TEAM. That that was part of the FUN of their experience. It was before NIL, before multi-million dollar deals, before fake injuries, before "legal" sports gambling, before the "I GOTTA GET MINES" mentality…….all this BS going on currently in college sports truly could end up being the ruin of KY BBALL, maybe even college bball as a whole. And it also puts at risk keeping fans interested and supportive. IDK that this model can work long-term for alot of KY fans, in seeing what so many of us believe in in terms of what it takes to win here and be successful here. I don't think alot of us are necessarily against players being able to receive their share of compensation–but not at the expense of playing hard, and playing the game the right way, and at least getting some kind of "thrill" or "high" off of playing for KY. Wishful thinking on my part. The REAL old-timers who are and were before MY GENERATION would tell u that the SCHOLARSHIP TO PLAY BBALL AT UK WAS THE COMPENSATION that we today so believe that the players should receive to make our society socially "FAIR"? We should ask ourselves why is it we say we are ok with players being paid–probably because we don't want to see the death or destruction of KY BBALL, and we would take players getting paid over seeing that happen, but is that really a good reason? I think it's more than ok to say we are NOT OK with players being paid multi-millions of dollars to just sit on the bench and do nothing. That's not the KY BBALL that we all grew up with and came of age with. And if u try to talk yourself into that it can be the same going forward as it used to be, u are either lying to yourself or setting yourself up for major heartache. I would honestly prepare for a death spiral of this bball program. Last year, I believed that having a former player as coach here would help to overcome or negate some of these modern-day obstacles, but maybe I was wrong–or maybe we picked the wrong former UK player. After listening to John Pelphrey's interview after the TN TECH game, there is no other former player of ours, other than the other 3 Unforgettables, who has the relationship, the feeling, and the passion for this bball program that John Pelphrey does. I know Mark Pope deeply cares, but it's different with Pelphrey because of being a KY native, and you just cannot replace that aspect of it, no matter how hard u try. I think Pelphrey is much better at things like being a motivator and instilling discipline and accountability than Pope can ever be. John has a level of intensity that Pope does not have, and I think that lack of intensity hurts Pope being a coach at this level. More and more, it feels as though Pope is just in over his head here. That has never shown more than in this 0-4 run against the ranked teams on our schedule this year. And that also showed up in certain individual games last year, like against Alabama and DEFINITELY against CAL and ARK. And it will show up again this year against Pitino and IU and Alabama again, and probably TN, Vandy, AUB, and FLA. IDK if he is going to survive this shit or not. But we also need a new AD on top of everything else. This new era of college athletics, though, may just kill the real tradition and history of KY BBALL, like I said, no matter who is coaching, not who is AD.
Comments are closed.