Interview with Robert "Bob" Guyette, March 25, 2017

Partial Transcript: Uh, today is March 25, 2017.

Segment Synopsis: Robert Guyette talks about his childhood in the Midwest in Ottawa, Illinois. He talks about how influential his father was in his passion for sports. He talks about his father's sports and military background, as well as his parenting. He talks about his high school basketball coach who played in college and how this impacted his career. He talks about being named Illinois' Mr. Basketball and how popular basketball was in his small town. He talks about the college recruitment process and the decision to leave his state and move to Kentucky. He talks about T. L. Plane, Coach Hall, and Dr. Singletary flying out to see him play during his junior and senior year of high school. He talks about the other incoming Kentucky basketball freshmen and how that impacted his decision.

Keywords: Academics; Army; Birthplaces; Colleges; Early influences; Education; Fathers; Football; High school sports; Illinois; Indiana; Kentucky; Lexington (Ky.); Midwest; Military; Military service; Morals; Out-of-state; Parents; Passion; Recruitment; Small towns; Sports; Talent; University of Illinois; University of Notre Dame; Values

Subjects: Athletics.; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball.; Childhood; College athletes--Recruiting; College choice; College sports--Scouting; Influences; Ottawa (Ill.); Sports.; Universities and colleges.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Yeah. What was your first impression when you met Coach Rupp?

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about Coach Adolph Rupp's journey to watch him play. He talks about knowing that Coach Rupp would be retiring and getting to know Coach Joe B. Hall. He talks about different experiences bonding with his teammates and watching Coach Rupp retire. He talks about his first game playing for the varsity team and the label of "Super Kittens." He talks about reminiscing on old memories as he drives around the campus.

Keywords: Adolph Frederick Rupp; Attitude; Basketball; Bonding; Coach; Coach Adolph Rupp; Coach Joe B. Hall; Competition; Emotions; Feelings; History; Influence; Interest; Memorial Coliseum; Memories; Recruitment; Relationships; Retirement; Super Kittens; Teammates; Transition; Varsity team

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Basketball.; College athletes; College athletes--Recruiting; College choice; College sports--Coaching; College sports--Kentucky; College sports--Scouting; College sports.; Hall, Joe B. (Joe Beasman); Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); Rupp, Adolph, 1901-1977; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Uh, let's talk about your sophomore season in '72-'73.

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about his sophomore year playing basketball for the University of Kentucky. He talks about competition among teammates for the starter position. He talks about how the competition creates a great program and how it motivated him to do better. He talks about losing to Vanderbilt University and the different teammates on that team. He talks about the make-up of his team that year and the hope they had going into his junior year. He talks about the strength of the Southeastern Conference during his time at the university and the reputation of UK. He talk about Jim Andrews and his different skills, talents, and his influence on Guyette's career. He talks about an eye injury that prevented him from playing in one of the games that season. He talks about trying to play a well-rounded game and the task of the coach.

Keywords: Auburn University; Competition; Eye injury; Jim Andrews; Larry Stamper; Louisiana State University (LSU); Sophomore year; Southeastern Conference (SEC); Talent; Vanderbilt University

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Basketball.; College athletes; College sports--Coaching; College sports--Kentucky; College sports.; Hall, Joe B. (Joe Beasman); Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); Southeastern Conference.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: In the off-season did you stay around Lexington or did you go back home?

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about spending his summer in Lexington and the different summer jobs that he had. He talks about moving into the starting line up his junior year and how he got to that point. He talks about the different positions that he played and how the disjointed transitions between positions impacted the team. He talks about the injuries that he played through and the coaches who helped them. He talks about training and conditioning drills.

Keywords: College basketball; Complete game; Conditioning; Contact sports; Jimmy Dan Conner; Junior year; Mike Phillips; Pain; Playing through the pain; Positions; Practice; Strength training; Summer jobs; Tournaments

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Basketball.; College athletes; College athletics; College sports--Coaching; College sports--Kentucky; College sports.; Hall, Joe B. (Joe Beasman); Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Uh, as far as post-season honors though, you were named Academic All-American as well as SEC--uh, Academic All-SEC.

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about the how his father instilled the value of hard work and how that impacted his academic career. He talks about how his father's values have been passed down to his own children. He talks about different experiences where his academic and athletic responsibilities conflicted. He talks about his games in Haiti and Australia while he was in college and how that impacted the rest of his college career. He talks about the incoming freshman class and how they were treated.

Keywords: Academics; Australia; Basketball careers; Bonding; Children; College basketball; Conditioning; Dental schools; Education; Experiences; Freshmen; Haiti; Host families; Life; Mindset; Morals; Obstacles; Practice; Relationship building; Residency; Rule following; Stamina; Success; Training; Training drills; Traveling; Values

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball.; College athletes; College athletics; College sports--Kentucky; College sports.; Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Your, your record that year was 26 and 5 and, and your only pre-conference loss was to IU up in Bloomington and they pounded you pretty good.

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about a game they lost at Indiana University Bloomington and an altercation between the two head coaches, Bobby Knight and Joe B. Hall. He talks about going into the tournament and the prophetic pregame pep talk from Coach Hall. He talks about how well he remembers the regional championship game and beating Indiana University Bloomington. He talks about the Final Four tournament in San Diego, California and meeting University of California Los Angeles in the finals. He talks about hearing about UCLA's head coach John Wooden's retirement plan for the next year and how that impacted the game.

Keywords: Altercations; Bobby Knight; California; Coach Joe B. Hall; Final Four; Games; Indiana University Bloomington; Intimidation; John Wooden; Kentucky; Lexington (Ky.); National championships; Pep talks; Regional championships; San Diego (Calif.); Syracuse University; Tension; Tournaments; University of California Los Angeles; University of Louisville

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball.; College athletes; College athletics; College sports--Kentucky; College sports.; Hall, Joe B. (Joe Beasman); Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Well, you finished the season with, uh, 267 points, 34 assists, 209 rebounds, and again played in all 31 games.

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about the strengths of their team in comparison to other teams at the time. He talks about his favorite memories, such as beating Indiana University and the National Championship game. He talks about learning about himself and building friendships during his time at the university.

Keywords: Academic All-Americans; Academics; Accomplishments; Basketball careers; Favorite memory; Friendships; Highlights; Memory; Self-discovery

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball.; College athletes; College athletics; College sports--Kentucky; College sports.; Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Now off the court, did you meet your wife Gina--

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about meeting his wife in a psychology class. He talks about being drafted by American basketball teams and negotiating with a team in Spain. He talks about playing professional basketball in Spain for five years.

Keywords: "Dr. J"; Agents; Airplane crashes; American Basketball Association (ABA); Barcelona (Spain); Basketball career; Contracts; Football Club Barcelona; Julius Erving; Kansas City Kings; National Basketball Association (NBA); Negotiations; New Jersey; New Jersey Nets; Sacramento Kings; Spain; Translators; Travel

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball players; International travel

Partial Transcript: Um, so you finish your career playing over there.

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about attending dental school at the University of Kentucky before deciding to specialize in oral-maxillofacial surgery and attending medical school at the University of Alabama. He talks about playing basketball during his time in dental school at UK.

Keywords: Dental schools; Dr. Ellinger; Medical schools; Oral surgery; Oral-maxillofacial surgery; Phoenix (Ariz.); Reconstructive surgery; Scottsdale (Ariz.); Steve Green

Subjects: Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball.; Dentists.; Oral surgeons; University of Alabama; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky. College of Dentistry

Partial Transcript: How did you settle out in Phoenix once you came back?

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about how he came to live in Scottsdale, Arizona. He talks about his career, including developing inventions and patents, real estate development, chair of the finance department of a physicians' insurance company, and as a member of the board of a chain of community banks.

Keywords: Banking; Banks; Doctors' insurance; Human development; Improvements; Inventions; Nitrous oxide; Nuclear power plants; Oral surgery; Oral-maxillofacial surgery; Oxygen; Patents; Phoenix (Ariz.); Real estate development; Reconstructive surgery; Residency; Scottsdale (Ariz.); Sleep apnea

Subjects: Careers.; Dentists.; Occupations.; Oral surgeons; Physicians; Professions.; Vocation.; Work.

Partial Transcript: Would you say that, um, playing basketball here at Kentucky and the organization and skills from going through a practice...

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about how the lessons he learned during his basketball career at the University of Kentucky influenced his current career. He talks about the similarities between basketball and surgery.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Failing; Innovation; International travel; Life lessons; Losing; Parents; Pioneers; Surgery; Team efforts; Winning

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball players; Careers.; Dentists.; Occupations.; Oral surgeons; Physicians; Professions.; Vocation.; Work.

Partial Transcript: Well, we've talked a lot about you now.

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks more about meeting his wife Gina at the University of Kentucky, their relationship, and their life in Spain. He talks about returning to the University of Kentucky for dental school and the birth of their sons. He talks about his three sons, their educations, and their careers. Guyette talks about how he and his wife spend their free time.

Keywords: Annapolis; B-1 bombers; Back injury; Barcelona (Spain); Baseball players; Basketball careers; Boston Red Sox; Brian Guyette; Children; College World Series; F-18s; F-35s; Flying; Free time; Gina Guyette; Grandchildren; Jet pilots; Jobs; Kevin Guyette; Kids; Leisure time; Marriage; Phoenix (Ariz.); Recreation; Rob Guyette; Soccer players; Travel; United States Air Force Academy (USAFA); United States Naval Academy; Wife

Subjects: Careers.; Families.; Military service, Voluntary.; Occupations.; Professions.; Sons.; University of Kentucky; Vocation.; Work.

Partial Transcript: Um, this isn't for an epitaph or anything, but--in--but, but as you walk around now and somebody recognizes you...

Segment Synopsis: Guyette talks about how he would like to be remembered at the University of Kentucky.

Keywords: Fighters; Legacies; Playing hard; Remembered; Team players

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball players--Kentucky; Basketball.; College athletes; College athletics; College sports--Kentucky; College sports.; Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball team); University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball