Rupp's Runts to Reunite

It should be noted that Pat Riley is not going to sign autographs tomorrow. The game is on JP Sports so hopefully they show the ceremony. The WHOLE team is scheduled to be there, not just the starters.

The 1965-1966 Starters:
G - Louie Dampier
G - Tommy Kron
C - Thad Jaracz
F - Pat Riley
F - Larry Conley

The Reserves:
G - Bob Tallent
G - Steve Clevenger
G - Jim LeMaster (Preston's father!)
C - Larry Lentz
C - Cliff Berger
C/F - Brad Bounds
F - Tommy Porter
F - Gene Stewart
F - Bob Windsor
F - Gary Gamble

The voicemail Larry Conley left for Pat Riley earlier this week went something like this: "This time everybody's got to be at the reunion. This is the first time -- and probably the last -- that we'll all be together."

Riley, coach of the Miami Heat, has a game tonight, but he has told friends that he'll be there tomorrow when Rupp's Runts and the rest of the 1965-66 University of Kentucky basketball team gather for a reunion before, during and after the current Wildcats' game against South Carolina.

Players from the '66 team will be available for autographs from 10:30 a.m. to noon tomorrow at the UK basketball museum. They'll also be honored at halftime of the 1 p.m. game.

"I wish I could anticipate some of the stories and lies that will be told," said Conley, who was a 6-foot-3 senior forward on that team. "It's going to be great to get everyone together so we can tell all of the families, all of the wives and children, just how good we were because they never got to see us play."

The Runts went 27-2 and advanced to the NCAA final before losing the now-storied game against Texas Western, 72-65.

From the time that game ended on March 19 nearly 40 years ago, those Wildcats never have been back together. UK held a 25-year anniversary, but some of the players couldn't make it. This time they're all expected to be there.

"I just can't wait to visit with all of my old teammates and catch up with so many people," Conley said. "That's what's really most important."