The 1920-21 Kentucky Wildcats basketball season was one of the first great ones. They went 13-1, and won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament in the process. Led by Freshman William King and All-American Basil Hayden, they were an early forerunner of the great Kentucky teams to follow over the years.

Heading into the 2021-22 season, there were reasons to be believe the Wildcats could repeat the previous season’s success. George Buchheit was back as the head coach, as was King and Hayden, along with Senior Paul Adkins.

Things wouldn’t go quite as expected, but it would still be a very successful year, and in a new conference, though not the Southeastern Conference quite yet. That would come later on.

In the next in our series of articles looking back at the history of the Kentucky basketball program, we’re taking a look at the 1921-22 year and how it played out.

Changing conferences

The Southern Conference was formed in 1921 by 14 schools who left the SIAA after the previous season. Several of those programs would eventually become members of the SEC, including Kentucky. The split was due to disagreements with rules that were passed by the SIAA. The Wildcats would participate in the SIAA Tournament in 1922, however.

A major injury

Basil Hayden figured to be a big part of Kentucky’s plans for the 1921-22 season. It was to be his third season in Lexington, and he was fresh off an All-American nomination. Unfortunately, prior to the start of the basketball season, he suffered a knee injury while performing in the high jump, and it would affect his play all season.

The roster and stats

Paul Adkins (Sen): 9.53 ppg

William King (Soph): 8.38 ppg

Basil Hayden (Sen): 4.92 ppg

Bob Lavin (Sen): 4.44 ppg

William Wilkenson (Fresh): 4 ppg

William Poyntz (Soph): 2.83 ppg

Kenneth King (Soph): 1.60 ppg

Fred Fest (Jun): 1.44 ppg

James Wilhem (Sen): 1.25 ppg

A.T. Rice (Soph): 0 ppg

Gilbert Smith (Jun): 0 ppg

Lawrence Burnham (Jun): 0 ppg

The results

Kentucky didn’t open the season in the way they would have preferred, losing to Georgetown College 26-17. They blew an early lead, and Hayden’s absence didn’t help.

The Cats rebounded against Louisville behind Paul Adkins’ 16 points. However, they followed that with a loss to Vanderbilt. Kentucky scored just 12 points, 10 of them by William King.

A rematch with the Cardinals was next, and the Wildcats came out on top again. Basil Hayden returned to the lineup, and William King scored 13 in the win.

King also led the team in scoring in a victory over Mississippi A&M, then Kentucky beat Marshall in a blowout.

Centre College was up next, and it was another win for the Cats, 28-21. A win over Georgetown College avenged their earlier loss to them, and they then made it six straight with a 21-20 victory over Washington & Lee.

A three game losing streak came next, starting with a five-point loss to Virginia Military. Georgetown University was next, and handed the Wildcats a loss in their first meeting. An overtime thriller against Virginia was the third loss.

Kentucky rebounded quickly, dominating the Clemson Tigers 38-14. They closed the regular season out with a 40-23 win over Cente. The Wildcats trio of Hayden, King, and Adkins each scored in double figures.

In the postseason SIAA Tournament, Kentucky opened by beating Georgetown College. They weren’t able to duplicate last season’s tournament win, though. They fell to Mercer 35-22 in the second round.

The Wildcats final record for the 1921-22 season: 10-6

Those who left Kentucky after the season

Paul Adkins led Kentucky in scoring in his final season. He went on to graduate from medical school, and was a physician until his death at age 61.

Former All-American Basil Hayden held several jobs after leaving Kentucky before returning to coach the Wildcats for one season. He would hold a number of jobs, including a state bank inspector for Kentucky. He lived to be 103 years old, and was a part of three different centuries. His jersey was retired by the school and hangs at Rupp Arena.

Bob Lavin played both basketball and football for the Wildcats, and wound up serving in the military. He’d pass away in 1972.

Kenneth King played just one season for the basketball team, but was a terrific football player who played with the New York Giants. He also became a social worker and eventually died at the age of 70.

James Wilhelm was another multi-sport star at Kentucky, and was a member of the track and football teams. He was 84 at the time of his passing.