Doug Brunk - Forty Minutes to Glory: Inside the Kentucky Wildcats 1978 Championship Season

Whenever you sit down to write a book about a championship team several words emerge that can universally apply to all of themdetermination, sacrifice, commitment, focus, shared goals, and hard work are but a few. Doug Brunk has captured these words and even more in this book about one of Kentuckys greatest teams, the 19771978 National Champion Wildcats. If you are a part of the Big Blue Nation or just a basketball fan, you will enjoy the anecdotes and stories of a team that had tremendous pressure on them to win the national title. Their journey through the season culminating with a win over Duke in the championship game gives you a good historical perspective and is great reading.

Larry Conley, member of Kentuckys 1966 national runner-up team known as Rupps Runts, and former college basketball broadcaster

Kentuckys 1978 national championship season has been described as a season without celebration. But Doug Brunks book Forty Minutes to Glory paints a different picture of a group of talented players who dedicated themselves to achieving a special goal before the season ever started. There is a reason Kentucky teams are so beloved by their passionate fan base and why their fans can quote you chapter and verse on the great moments in the programs story. The names of Kyle Macy, Rick Robey, Goose Givens, Mike Phillips, James Lee, and Jay Shidler will always be beloved by the Big Blue Nation for their talent and work ethic. Brunk does a great job bringing out their personalities and their resolve to reach Olympian heights under Joe B. Hall, who coached the Cats first national title since 1958 and put the Cats back in their rightful place as the No. 1 program in college basketball. After reading this book, its hard not to fall in love with them.

Dick Hoops Weiss, former college basketball writer for the Philadelphia Daily News and New York Daily News and member of the US Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame

What a great read for all Kentucky and basketball fans, young and old, everywhere. I was in St. Louis for the semifinals and there the day of the finals, and the atmosphere was electric. The dramatic accounts from the players are riveting, and the pressures they all felt only served to heighten the drama of the game so aptly described in this book. Expectations of Kentucky winning the championship were huge, but expectations are not results. You have to play the game, and play the game they did. Now, Jack Givens, James Lee, Rick Robey, Mike Phillips, Truman Claytor, and Dwane Casey are legends. There were some great additions to that team, but none so valuable as Kyle Macyone of the best floor generals in UK history. Kentucky had everything. Coaching, size, speed, the best bench in the country, toughness, shooting, defense, and more shooting. They had an abundance of everything, including a killer instinct. They looked like choirboys and played like wildcats!

Reggie Warford, point guard for the University of Kentucky mens basketball team, 19721976

I really enjoyed this book on the 1978 NCAA champsa team that seemed to be misunderstood in many ways. Forty Minutes to Glory shines a different light on their march to the championship. They were a terrific team coached by the only man who could have gotten them to the finish line!

Mike Pratt, forward for the University of Kentucky mens basketball team, 19671970, and broadcast analyst for the UK Radio Network

What a great book! The author puts you in the team huddle with the 1978 National Champs. The UK basketball nostalgia and insights are entertaining. Who knew this team would be so close but have multiple altercations during their practices!

Roger Harden, point guard for the University of Kentucky mens basketball team, 19821986

What a great book for all Wildcat fans. A fun and fast read for all ages, it contains detailed insights and takes you behind the scenes of a historic season!

Jim Master, shooting guard for the University of Kentucky mens basketball team, 19801984

Forty Minutes to Glory

Inside the Kentucky Wildcats
1978 Championship Season

Doug Brunk

Forewords by
Larry Vaught and Tom Leach

Featuring accounts by
Jack Givens, Joe B. Hall, and Others

Due to variations in the technical specifications of different electronic reading devices, some elements of this ebook may not appear as they do in the print edition. Readers are encouraged to experiment with user settings for optimum results.

Copyright 2018 by The University Press of Kentucky

Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,

serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.

All rights reserved.

Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky

663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008

www.kentuckypress.com

Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-0-8131-7520-1 (paperback : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-8131-7522-5 (epub)

ISBN 978-0-8131-7521-8 (pdf)

This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

This book is dedicated to the 19771978
University of Kentucky Wildcats
mens basketball team.

If youre number one, boy, youve got to work harder than anyone else because its harder to stay there than it is to get there.

Bill Keightley, longtime equipment manager
for the University of Kentucky
mens basketball program

Larry Vaught

Tom Leach

Joe B. Hall

Rob Bolton

Mike Murphy

Jack Givens

Rev. David N. Blondell

Ask Rick Robey about his fondest memory of Kentuckys 1978 national championship season and he doesnt hesitate to give an answer.

The fondest memory was when we finally won it, said Robey, who came to the University of Kentucky (UK) from Louisiana and now lives in Louisville. We set our goals other years and got close. Going into that season ranked as the top team in the countryand the pressure that put on us because everybody expected us to do itwas pretty intense. When the buzzer went off [in the championship game against Duke], it was a big relief. It was such a close-knit group of guys and even to this day still is. We all stay in touch. It was just fun and something you never forget.

Kentuckys 9488 victory over Duke in the title game climaxed a miraculous season for the Wildcats. The UK seniors had lost in the 1975 title game, won the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1976, and lost in the regional finals to North Carolina in 1977. But the addition of Purdue-transfer Kyle Macy at point guard to go with seniors Robey, Mike Phillips, Jack Givens, and James Lee made the Cats the darlings of the Bluegrass.