Top 50 Kentucky Wildcats Prior to John Calipari Era

Oct 17, 2014; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats banners are displayed during Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

21. Jack Givens

Jack “Goose” Givens is by far the name I heard most growing up. He was my father’s absolute favorite player from the University of Kentucky. To this day, you can see Givens at many University of Kentucky sporting events, especially football and basketball, just walking around like a normal fan.

Givens grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. Out of Bryan Station High School, Givens was 1974 Mr. Kentucky Basketball and was considered an All-American.

Givens led the University of Kentucky to the 1978 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four due to his 41-point performance in Kentucky’s 94-88 victory over Duke University in the championship game, which I truly believe is why he’s a fan favorite these days.

Givens lettered four times in varsity basketball from 1974-75 to 1977-78. Givens scored 2,038 points in 123 games in his four seasons with the Wildcats, ranking third on the school’s all-time scoring list. He was named first team all-Southeastern Conference three times from 1976 to 1978 and was a consensus second team All-American in 1978. Givens, like many others, retired jersey hangs high in Rupp Arena’s rafters.

Given’s was 16th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft to Atlanta Hawks. In his two seasons with the Hawks, Givens scored a grand total of 1040 points in 156 games.

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