Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

The man who built Kentucky basketball into national prominence, Adolph Rupp, will be one of four “Founding Fathers” who will be honored Sunday night at the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame induction celebration at Kansas City’s new Sprint Center.

Rupp, who finished his career as college basketball’s all-time winningest coach with 876 victories, still holds the best winning percentage (.822) among coaches with at least 500 career wins. He led Kentucky to four national championships (1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958) and 27 SEC titles between 1931-72.

The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame opened in 2006. Its founding class included all coaches, players and contributors who have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Rupp joined that Hall of Fame in 1969. Other UK members of the Hall of Fame include Cliff Hagan (inducted 1977), Frank Ramsey (inducted 1981), Dan Issel (inducted 1993), broadcaster Cawood Ledford (inducted 1994) and C.M. Newton (inducted 2000).

The other “Founding Fathers” to be honored along with Rupp are Phog Allen, Henry Iba and John McLendon. Those four will join Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Austin Carr, Dick Barnett, Dick Groat, Norm Stewart, Lefty Driesell, Guy Lewis and Vic Bubas in being honored Sunday night.