Interview with Deron Feldhaus, January 29, 2019

Partial Transcript: Uh, first off Deron if you would just, uh, take a look into the camera, state your name and the years you were at UK.

Segment Synopsis: Deron Feldhaus talks about growing up in Maysville, Kentucky. He talks about playing sports with his brothers and says that their father was their coach for several sports. His father also played basketball for the University of Kentucky.

Keywords: 1962; Adolph Rupp; Allen Feldhaus, Jr.; Allen Feldhaus, Sr.; Attitudes; Brothers; Fathers; Golf; Influences; Mason County (Ky.); T-ball; Toughness; Willy Feldhaus

Subjects: Baseball coaches; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Childhood; Families.; Maysville (Ky.); University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Uh, let's talk then about basketball as far as--start playing I'm assuming grade school, middle school.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his basketball career, beginning in elementary school. He talks about his brothers' success on the high school basketball team. He talks about his own success, eventually being named Gatorade's State Player of the Year.

Keywords: 1981; All-Star games; Atmosphere; Brothers; Elementary schools; Gatorade State High School Players of the Year; Gymnasiums; Gyms; Height; High schools; Indiana; Injuries; John Pelphrey; Juniors; Losses; Mason County (Ky.); Mr. Basketball; Seniors; Size; Sophomores; State tournaments; Varsity; Waterboys; Wins

Subjects: Basketball players--Kentucky; Childhood; Families.; Maysville (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Um, you talked about you played for your father in high school, as I did.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks more about what it was like to be coached by his father. He talks about their relationship on and off the court.

Keywords: Allen Feldhaus, Jr.; Allen Feldhaus, Sr.; Brothers; Commitments; Disagreements; Fathers; Hard times; High schools; Practice; Relationships; Willy Feldhaus

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Childhood; Families.; Maysville (Ky.); University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: When, uh, when then did schools start contacting you?

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about some of the colleges that recruited him during high school. He talks about committing to the University of Kentucky during his junior year of high school, and how playing for UK was his dream. He talks more about his family's success in sports and his father playing at UK.

Keywords: Baseball; Brothers; Coach Eddie Sutton; Commitments; Distractions; Dreams; Dwane Casey; Family; Fathers; Junior All-Stars; Juniors; Las Vegas (Nev.); Offers; Pride; Recruitment; Scholarships; Sean Sutton; Signing; Sons; University of Tennessee; Vanderbilt University

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes--Recruiting; College choice; Families.; Sutton, Eddie; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, so '87-'88 is your first year at UK.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about coming to UK in 1987 as a redshirt player. He talks about how this made his transition to college easier. He compares Coach Sutton to his father as a coach.

Keywords: 1987-1988; Coach Eddie Sutton; Defense; Fathers; John Pelphrey; Johnathon Davis; Practice; Redshirt players; Rex Chapman; Richard Madison; Rob Lock; Sitting out; Transitions; Winston Bennett

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Families.; Sutton, Eddie; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: So your second year, uh, '88-'89, which basically is your redshirt freshman year--

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his first season playing for UK. He describes the practices, his amount of playing time and his statistics, Coach Sutton's coaching style, and mentions the turmoil occurring at the time surrounding a scandal involving Chris Mills.

Keywords: 1988-1989; Atmosphere; Attitudes; Chris Mills; Coach Eddie Sutton; Coaching styles; Distractions; Duke University; Eric Manuel; Fathers; Injuries; John Pelphrey; LeRon Ellis; Mindsets; Minutes; Pickup games; Playtime; Practice; Redshirt freshmen; Redshirt players; Reggie Hanson; Richie Farmer; SEC Tournament; Scandals; Sean Woods; Shawn Kemp; Starting; Statistics; Turmoil; Win-loss records

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Families.; Sutton, Eddie; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: How'd you hear about originally the, the Chris Mill--Chris Mills package and all that pros--stuff that happened?

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks more about the scandal involving Chris Mills. He talks about the transition between Coach Sutton and Coach Pitino. He describes the first meeting that Pitino held as the coach of UK and the hope it gave him for the future.

Keywords: Atmosphere; Attitudes; Awareness; Chris Mills; Coach Eddie Sutton; Coach Rick Pitino; Coaching styles; Conversations; Dreams; Fired; Hard work; Hiring; Kentucky; Leaving; Meetings; Packages; Playing styles; Scandals; Scared; Scholarships; Transitions; Turmoil; Winning

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; College sports--Corrupt practices; Pitino, Rick; Sutton, Eddie; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: So, so how much were--did you have summer workouts?

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about the difficulty of Coach Pitino's conditioning program. He talks about how this conditioning would impact their style of play.

Keywords: Conditioning programs; Fun; John Pelphrey; Midnight Madness; One-on-one; Playing styles; Practice; Richie Farmer; Rock Oliver; Running; Summers; Three-pointers; Tracks; Weight; Workouts

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, so that team was under probation and also to years no post-season play.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about how UK's basketball team being on probation affected the players' attitudes. He talks about the turning point of seeing the effects of Coach Pitino's new playing style. He talks about the experience of playing against Shaquille O'Neal. He talks about his statistics for the season.

Keywords: 1989-1990; Coach Rick Pitino; Confidence; Fans; Film sessions; Louisiana State University (LSU); Minutes; Motivation; Playing styles; Playtime; Pressing; Probation; Punishments; Roy Williams; Scandals; Shaquille O'Neal; Southeastern Conference (SEC); Statistics; Turmoil; Turn around; Turning points; University of Kansas; Win-loss records

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Uh, so '90-'91 now goes into your junior year.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his impressions of incoming player Jamal Mashburn. He talks more about how UK's basketball team being on probation affected the players' attitudes. He talks about their workouts in the off season and the team's talent and chemistry.

Keywords: 1990-1991; Abilities; Adjustments; Attitudes; Changes; Chemistry; Coach Rick Pitino; Conditioning; Former players; Jamal Mashburn; Jobs; Juniors; Minutes; Off season; Pickup games; Playtime; Practice; Probation; Records; Scandals; Skills; Southeastern Conference (SEC); Summers; Talent; Turmoil; Win-loss records; Workouts

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; College sports--Corrupt practices; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, so then the '91-'92 season, you'd be your senior year.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his final season at UK. He talks about the loss at Pittsburgh being a turning point for the team and how the loss led to intense conditioning and practices. He talks more about the success of their new play style. He talks about the SEC Tournament. He talks about his relationship with C.M. Newton.

Keywords: 1991-1992; 20 hour rule; Athletics directors; Bench; C.M. Newton; Coach John Calipari; Conditioning; Games; Losses; Louisiana State University (LSU); Meetings; New York (N.Y.); Parades; Playing styles; Practice; Pressing; Roles; SEC Tournament; Scores; Seniors; Shaquille O'Neal; Starters; Thanksgiving break; Transitions; Turning points; University of Alabama; University of Arkansas; University of Massachusetts; University of Pittsburgh

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, so okay, so you win the SEC Tournament and that sets up now the NCAA Tournament.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about the NCAA Tournament through the game against Duke University. He talks about the team's attitude prior to the game against Duke. He describes that game, going into detail from the final timeout through "the shot" made by Christian Laettner resulting in Duke winning the game. He talks about how he feels about that game.

Keywords: "The shot"; Attitudes; Christian Laettner; Coach Rick Pitino; Duke University; Fans; Final Four; Fouls; Grant Hill; Halftime speeches; Intense; Iowa State University; Last games; Locker rooms; Losses; NCAA Tournament; Playing styles; Plays; Sean Woods; Shots; Timeouts; Underdogs; University of Kansas; University of Massachusetts

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, career stats.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his career statistics. He talks about how it feels to be part of the group nicknamed "The Unforgettables" and to have his jersey hanging in Rupp Arena.

Keywords: "The Unforgettables"; Career statistics; Effort; Fans; High schools; Jerseys; Legacies; Nicknames; Remembered; Retired jerseys; Rupp Arena; Seniors; Three-pointers

Subjects: Basketball players--Kentucky; College athletes; College environment; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, any Rick Pitino stories that--favorites you, you like to tell when you speak to people, or?

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his opinions of Rick Pitino as a coach and as a person. He talks about some of his fellow teammates, including Richie Farmer, John Pelphrey, and Jamal Mashburn. He talks about his relationship with announcer Cawood Ledford.

Keywords: Announcers; Attitudes; Cawood Ledford; Coach Rick Pitino; Coaching styles; Commentators; Jamal Mashburn; John Pelphrey; Knowledge; Motivation; Motivators; Personalities; Personality; Richie Farmer; Roommates; Sean Woods

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; College environment; College sports--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, after school then you all barnstormed, didn't you?

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about the team's barnstorming tour across Kentucky after returning from the NCAA Tournament. He talks about the uniqueness of UK fans. He talks about his basketball career in Japan after graduating from UK and the difficulty of the language barrier.

Keywords: "Big Blue Nation"; Americans; Autographs; Barnstorming tours; Basketball leagues; Fans; Fundamentals; Games; Graduation; Japan; Kentucky; Language barriers; Practice; Senior year; Seniors; Travel

Subjects: Basketball coaches; Basketball players; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; College athletes; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, let's talk about your family life now.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus talks about his family's business, a golf course in Maysville, Kentucky. He talks about his son's interest in sports.

Keywords: Clinics; Family businesses; Fathers; Golf courses; Golfing; Jake Feldhaus; Lessons; Records; Sons; Sports; Tournaments

Subjects: Basketball; Families.; Football.; Golf; Maysville (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Well, Deron, I, I don't have anything else.

Segment Synopsis: Feldhaus and the interviewer Kyle Macy conclude the interview. Macy tells a story about Coach Joe B. Hall overhearing players through a vent in the locker room.

Keywords: Cawood Ledford; Coach Joe B. Hall; Impressions; Kevin Grevey; Locker rooms; Remodeling; Rupp Arena; Steve Lochmueller; Vents

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; College athletes; College environment; Hall, Joe B. (Joe Beasman); University of Kentucky--Basketball