The hiring of George Buchheit was a turning point for the Kentucky Wildcats basketball program. For years, it was team helmed by a series of one-off coaches and inconsistent results. Buchheit’s hiring put the Wildcats on a path to future success.
It didn’t take long for Kentucky to win a conference tournament under their new coach, and they followed up with another good season, although the didn’t win the tournament this time.
Heading into the 1922-23 season, the Kentucky program was gaining momentum. They were coming off of back to back winning seasons, and hoped to make it a third, but things wouldn’t quite go the way they planned.
In the next in a series of articles going through the history of Kentucky basketball, we’ll take a look at the 1922-23 season. It was a difficult one, but one of the last losing seasons the Wildcats would have for quite some time
A season without stars
In the previous two seasons, the Wildcats were led by the likes of Basil Hayden, William King, and Paul Adkins. However, none of those three were present on the 22-23 squad. Instead, Kentucky had to rely on players who hadn’t been major contributors before, and while some would step up, it wouldn’t be enough. Their final record would reflect that.
A new leader
While Kentucky didn’t have any stars, they did find a new leader for the season in Junior Carl Riefkin. In his first season with the Wildcats, he would lead the team in scoring. Though he wouldn’t be a long-term star for the team, he was key to the 1922-23 team.
The roster and stats
Carl Riefkin (Jun): 10.2 ppg
Fred Fest (Sen): 7.2 ppg
William Poyntz (Jun): 3.3 ppg
Gilbert Smith (Sen): 1.5 ppg
Karl Rohs (Soph): 1.3 ppg
William Wilkenson (Soph): 1.2 ppg
Marshall Barnes (Jun): 0.8 ppg
A.T. Rice (Jun): 0.8 ppg
William Blanton (Soph): 0.7 ppg
Wayne Foust (Soph): 0.2 ppg
Lawrence Burnham (Sen): 0.2 ppg
Ralph Boren (Soph): 0 ppg
Charles Spilman (Jun): 0 ppg
The results
The season started off strong, with Kentucky beating Georgetown College 24-13. Game two was a loss to Tennessee, but the Cats played well, and it was tied at 26 late in the game before the Volunteers won it by four points.
A victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga was next, with Riefkin once again leading the way. Once again, however, they followed a win with a loss, this time in their first ever meeting with Alabama. Riefkin scored 21 points, but the defense couldn’t get enough stops.
Against Centre College, the Kentucky offense disappeared, and they fell 21-14. Only two Wildcats, Riefkin and Fest, scored any points. The Georgia Bulldogs kept the losses coming, winning 23-19.
Kentucky’s offense continued to struggle in a loss to Cincinnati, 33-24. Then, Centenary made it four straight losses, beating the Cats 28-21. The Lexington Herald said that Centenary “they haven’t any business defeating an institution of the size of the University of Kentucky as long as the latter puts out an average quintet.”
Fred Fest scored 17 points against Tennessee in the rematch, but the Vols came out on top again, 28-23. The rematch with Centre College didn’t go any better in the following game, with Centre winning 17-10. Fest scored nine of Kentucky’s ten points.
Clemson dominated the Wildcats 30-13, then Georgetown College avenged their loss to Kentucky with a 45-21 beatdown. It was the ninth straight loss the the Wildcats.
Kentucky would end their season with a win over Sewanee 30-14. The losing streak was broken, but it was a season to forget for the Wildcats and their fans.
The Wildcats final record for the 1922-23 season: 3-10
Those who left Kentucky after the season
Fred Fest had a solid Senior season, then spent time playing professional football before working for nearly forty years with Equitable Gas. He died in 1974 at the age of 77.
Gilbert Smith spent four years with the Wildcats, and would eventually become an executive with Standard Engineering in St. Louis. Cancer took him at the age of 70.
Marshall Barnes only played for one season at Kentucky, then graduated and entered the banking business. He would eventually become President of the Beaver Dam Deposit Bank and hold the position for 41 years. He lived to be 88 years old.
William Blanton also spent just one season with the Wildcats. He would go on to become a prominent lawyer and politician in the state. He died at the age of 61 in 1966.
Wayne Foust didn’t play a lot for Kentucky, but played baseball as well. He became a teacher, then was the principal at Daviess County High School for several years before going into business for himself and was very successful. He passed away in 1989.
Lawrence Burnham left Kentucky and became a manager in the Woolworth’s organization. He lived to the age of 85.
Charles Spilman also played tennis at Kentucky, and would serve in the military before joining General Electric. Then he would also serve in World War II. He was 72 when he passed away
