A year-by-year review of Kentucky basketball history: 1927-28 season

The 1926-27 Kentucky Wildcats basketball season was a disappointment by any definition. Former star player Basil Hayden led them to a 3-13 record and was replaced by John Mauer in what was his first college coaching job.

Mauer had previously been a coach at Batavia High School before being tabbed as the Wildcats new basketball coach. He took over a young squad fresh off a bad year, and expectations weren’t high.

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The 1927-28 season isn’t one that’s remembered as an all-time great, but it was an important one. It was the beginning of what would become a dynasty. Mauer would start something that Adolph Rupp would continue and take to even higher levels. They would start a streak of winning seasons that would last until the late 1980’s.

A coach from the high school ranks

Mauer played for the University of Illinois where he shined. Fresh out of college, Kentucky came calling, hiring him to take over after a 3-13 finish the year before.

With a nearly all-new team, Mauer had a lot of work to do, but surprised many by turning things around quickly. The Wildcats rebounded quickly, and put the program on a winning track for good.

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Two leading scorers

The new coach needed a new roster after most of the previous team left. Finding scoring was a major goal after the previous team struggled on offense. He would get it from two players, who each averaged in double figures. It was the first time that happened in school history, and would aid their successful run.

Irvine Jeffries would only play one season for the basketball season before pursuing baseball instead. Cecil Combs would be an All-SEC player for the Cats, and have three solid years with the team.

The roster and stats

Irvine Jeffries (Soph): 11.5 ppg

Cecil Combs (Soph): 10.3 ppg

Paul McBrayer (Soph): 5.2 ppg

Hays Owens (Soph): 4.4 ppg

Paul Jenkins (Sr): 3.3 ppg

Stanley Milford (Soph): 3.3 ppg

Lawrence McGinnis (Soph): 2.6 ppg

Claire Dees (Jr): 0.1 ppg

June Lyons (Soph): 0.0 ppg

Fred McLane (Soph): 0.0 ppg

Len Miller…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/review-kentucky-basketball-history-1927-195606507.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-24 19:56:00

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