April 1, 200818 yr 47 seasons with U.K. Basketball, Keightly's tenure started with Adoph Rupp and lasted to the present. Good Bye to a true U.K. Legend that will never be replaced :cry:. Here is just some idea of Keightly's years on the U.K. bench......... Mr. Wildcat by the numbers 2: One of only two non-players or coaches to have his name hoisted into Rupp Arena rafters. The other was longtime broadcaster Cawood Ledford. 3: UK NCAA titles at which Keightley sat courtside. 6: Head coaches Keightley served under (Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, Billy Gillispie). 8: UK trips to Final Four at which Keightley sat courtside. 12: Southeastern Conference Tournament titles during his tenure. 19: All-Americans who have gone through UK in Keightley’s tenure. 24: Won or shared UK Southeastern Conference regular-season championships 48: Seasons as equipment manager on UK bench. 57: Percentage of games in the 105-year history of UK basketball in which Keightley worked. 1,113: Wins he witnessed from UK bench. I have been going on for much too long now so I will apologize for my constant post on this, I just kept thinking of things to say about Mr. Keightly.
April 1, 200818 yr I was fortunate enough to work around Mr. Keightly and he truly was a kind man. I asked him two years ago if he could donate some UK stuff to be given away as door prizes at a Christmas dinner, and of course he came through with an armload of t-shirts sweatshirts and hats I will miss him greatly.
April 1, 200818 yr What a shocking blow to wake up to this morning. Mr. Wildcat was UK basketball. It's just like when Nuxie died. A very sad day. My prayers go out to his family.
April 1, 200818 yr Very sad day indeed. Its one of those things that takes a while to sink in. Hard to hear news like that and just accept it. Here is a very nice news report from WKYT/WYMT on this story. It is about 11 minutes long and includes interviews with Coach Gillispie, Richie Farmer, Sean Woods, Deron Feldhouse, Joe Hall, Cameron Mills and others, as well as old news footage and a tribute to Mr Keightley. Definitely worth a look this morning. http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews On the right side of the page, there is a video player. In the list of videos, pick the 2nd one over (the one with Keightley's picture) If anyone knows how to imbed that video feed on BGP, please do so.
April 1, 200818 yr I am just stunned. Heaven got a little brighter, but it got a lot dimmer down here. RIP Mr. Wildcat.
April 1, 200818 yr What an impact he has had on UK basketball! I never met him, but like others, feel like I knew him. He will be missed and never replaced. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
April 1, 200818 yr I had met Keightley multiple times and we would often times just talk about the Reds, considering when I would see him was during the summer. He usually made the Kicks for Kids Banquet, where he would talk to anyone. Just a sad hearing of his passing. He loved his Wildcats and he loved his Reds. He was really good friends with Marty Brennaman. I would imagine Marty will have a thing or two to say about him on Wednesday's broadcast. Rick Pitino even invited Keightley to attend the Sweet 16 in Charlotte. There are some funny stories Pitino tells about Keightley, and I can't recall the book it was in. It may have been Lonnie Wheeler's Wild Blue Yonder...anyways...Pitino tells the story of when he first came to Lexington he had to take a flight out to the airport. Keightley says he would be more than willing to drive him. Pitino accepts. Keightley goes over to pick him up and Pitino hears this loud sounding vehicle coming down the road...and it is Keightley in his old beatup pickup truck. Pitino has to throw his luggage in the bed of the truck...they have a conversation and so forth...upon his return from wherever Pitino went, one of the first things he does is buy Keightley and brand new truck. Going to be a great number of stories told the next few days, for arguably the most popular Wildcat of all. I think that story was in Pitino's book Full Court Pressure. It's a good UK read and he has some good Keightly moments around there.
April 1, 200818 yr I actually met with him 1 time for a few minutes in his office. Tubby came in while we were there to get a gatorade. He told Tubby (jokingly) he needed to stay out of his gatorade. He was a super nice person and was not only a beloved figure, but a great example of hard work and determination. He said I get here during season every morning around 5:30 or 6 and get to work. I was so impressed by him everytime we spoke.
April 1, 200818 yr UK plans 'state funeral' for Keightley The University of Kentucky plans to hold a public service in honor of longtime equipment manager Bill Keightley, who died on Monday at age 81. UK spokesman Scott Stricklin said the public service would have “the look of a state funeral.” Keightley’s family was open to a public service, he said. UK is tentatively planning to hold the service on Thursday in Rupp Arena. Stricklin expected the details to be finalized later Tuesday. http://www.kentucky.com/601/story/363100.html
April 1, 200818 yr If there was a Mount Rushmore of Kentucky Basketball, his face would definitely be a part of it, along with Rupp and Cawood.
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