The Adolph Rupp coaching tree features several notable names including Gale Catlett/Joe B. Hall/Pat Riley. 1 of the tree branches you might not be aware of is Paul McBrayer, who was an All-American player at Kentucky before spending almost a decade at his alma mater as an assistant to Rupp. He later became head coach at Eastern Kentucky, where he set a school record with 214 victories and won 3 OVC regular season titles from 1953-1961. He was later inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the OVC Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with 1 of Coach McBrayer’s former trainers (Paul Motley) and 1 of his former players (Jack Adams) about their old boss. Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Coach McBrayer’s passing on January 1, 1999, so we take this time to remember his life/legacy.
Coach McBrayer played at Kentucky from 1927-1930: what made him choose the Wildcats? Paul Motley: He was a young man growing up in Kentucky and at that time a lot of such boys dreamed of playing for the Wildcats. Jack Adams: I suppose it was because of Coach John Mauer, who later coached at Tennessee.
In 1930 he was named All-American: what did it mean to him to win such an outstanding honor? PM: He was very proud of that. He told me that he played on 1 of the 1st teams that used the back-screen to allow someone to roll to the basket, which remains a great play even today. JA: He was a pretty good player back in the day.
In 1934 he became an assistant coach at Kentucky under Coach Adolph Rupp: how did he like working for Rupp? PM: I think that he enjoyed working for him initially. JA: I think that he liked it okay to start but not as much after the war started.
In 1943 he entered the Army: why did he leave Kentucky, and what impact did WWII have on him either on or off the court? PM: He had a very strong discipline but I am unsure if that was a result of the Army. We called him “the old man”. When we would go over to visit him he would hug us…then push us back a couple of feet and say, “Where the hell have you been?!” JA: I think that he was drafted into the Army, which made him appreciate this country even more.
He became head coach at Eastern Kentucky in 1946 after Rupp decided not to rehire him once he was discharged from the service: how unhappy was he with Rupp’s decision, and what made him choose the Colonels? PM: Rupp replaced McBrayer with Harry Lancaster and from that point on McBrayer did not think that highly of Coach Rupp: he refused to even refer to him by name. We had a reunion for Coach McBrayer a while ago and he gave a very eloquent speech where he stated that he had no ill will toward Coach Rupp because nothing in the future would have been possible. He ended up owning a hotel in Lexington after his 1st wife died: he would drive back and forth from his home there to Eastern Kentucky. There was a job opening and it was in close proximity. JA: He had been promised a job after he got out of the Army but was later told that the job was unavailable.
What are your memories of the 1959 NCAA tourney (Don Goldstein had 25 PTS/13 REB in win by Louisville)? PM: I was a freshman at the time. We beat Louisville handily a couple of years later: they did not want to play us anymore after that! They were always 1 of our biggest rivals: we had a few tough losses to the Cardinals due to some tough calls by the refs.
He remains the winningest basketball coach in Eastern Kentucky history: what made him such a good coach, and do you think that anyone will ever break his record? PM: I think it is just a matter of time before someone catches him. Back then we only played 22-24 games/year: now they play 30+ games/year. Coach McBrayer did not always recruit the best players but was great at stressing the fundamentals like man-to-man defense and fast-break basketball. His teaching skills made him more successful than the talent he had. JA: I suppose that someone will catch him sometime soon but it is a very different era now. He had a style similar to Coach Mauer: they used a semi-fast break with a focus on fundamental basketball.
In the late 1980s Eastern Kentucky named its arena after him: what did it mean to him to receive such a great honor? PM: It meant a great deal to him. His eyesight was failing him back then so he did not make it to a lot of games, but he and his wife Katie came to the game where they named the gym for him and everyone was very gracious. JA: I think that it meant a lot to him. He appreciated the people responsible for making that happen. Several of us signed a petition to get him inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame but they refused to retire his jersey due to the makeup of that committee. If anyone should have their jersey retired it should be him due to all of his contributions. All of the credit for the Wildcats’ success back then was given to Coach Rupp.
He died on January 1, 1999: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? PM: I think that he needs to be remembered as more than just a coach. He had a great interest in his players: he would sit down with their academic transcript and help them figure out what classes to take and what subject to major in. He was a strong academic person even before teams had study halls: when his players had midterms they would come over to the “basketball house” to have study hall with him. 1 of his proudest records was that he had almost every single 1 of his players graduate. When he passed away he left $600,000 to Eastern Kentucky…but not to the athletic department: he was adamant that it would be used for the honors academic program. He kept a file on every player that he ever had so that he would know what they were doing: he had strong ties to his past players. What sticks out in my mind is that he had excellent players who became lawyers and dentists, and 1 who even joined NASA. JA: I will remember him as an honest and fair person whose principles helped form our society.