Former UK basketball great to speak at virtual Rooster Booster

July 1, 2020 | 12:09 am

Updated June 30, 2020 | 11:40 pm

Photo from Rooster Booster event page

The next virtual Rooster Booster is 7:30 a.m. Thursday and features University of Kentucky basketball great Dan Issel.

There is no cost to attend, and individuals can join via Facebook Live or register to attend via Zoom. Zoom registrants will be emailed an access link and instructions.

Issel, the most prolific scorer in UK basketball history, is the featured speaker.

During his three varsity seasons at center, Issel scored 2,138 points — a record that stands today — and was twice named a First-Team All-American.

In 1970, Issel was drafted by the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels and signed with the Colonels. He was named the ABA Rookie of the year in 1971. The following season, Issel made the All-ABA First Team and was named MVP of the 1972 ABA All-Star Game.

In 1975, Issel’s Colonels won the 1975 ABA championship. He continued to play pro basketball with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets from 1977-1985. He played in the NBA All-Star game in 1977.

In 1985, he received the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his outstanding service to the community.

In 1992, Issel returned to the Nuggets as head coach and later led them to the playoffs in 1994. That year, the Nuggets pulled off the biggest upset at that time in NBA playoff history, knocking off the Seattle SuperSonics in five games (the first-ever No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the first round).

Issel returned in 1998 as president and general manager, naming himself head coach again in December 1999. His tenure ended in December 2001. 

Issel was part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1993.

Issel is currently president of the Louisville Basketball Investment and Support Group, also known as NBA2LOU, which was founded in 2016 to pursue an NBA franchise.

July 1, 2020 | 12:09 am

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