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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 06-05-2018, 05:38 PM:

He was the right man courageous enough to do the right thing at the right time.

Just as he was the right man at the right time for the University of Kentucky in 1989 when the school was mired in an NCAA basketball investigation, its national reputation encapsulated by the Sports Illustrated cover with the headline "Kentucky's Shame."

By convincing Newton to leave his coaching post at Vanderbilt and return to his alma mater as athletics director, then-president David Roselle sent a clear message UK was newly committed to running a program that conducted itself the right way.

Newton proved you could do that and win, as well. Underrated is the fact he didn't just convince Rick Pitino to become head basketball coach, he also mentored the young New Yorker on the ways the South and the SEC. And it was Newton who hired Pitino's successor, Tubby Smith, the school's first black basketball coach, during a span in which UK reached four Final Fours and won two national titles.

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[ 06-05-2018, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]