List of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball honorees

A number of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players have been honored with various Southeastern Conference and national awards.

Banner honorees Forty-three former Kentucky men's basketball players, coaches, and contributors are honored in Rupp Arena with banners representing their numbers hung from the rafters. With the streamlining of jersey numbers by the NCAA, the jerseys are retired but the numbers remain active. To have a banner hung, the athlete must be elected to the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. No.NameYearsNote 22Cliff Barker1947–491948 NCAA Champion, 1949 NCAA Champion, One of the Fabulous Five 12Ralph Beard1946–491948 NCAA Champion, 1949 NCAA Champion, One of the Fabulous Five 22Jerry Bird1954–56 50Bob Burrow1955–561956 Second Team All-America 56Burgess Carey1925–26 24Johnny Cox1957–591958 NCAA Champion, 1959 First Team All-America 10Louie Dampier1965–671967 Second Team All-America 7John DeMoisey1932–34 00Tony Delk1993–961996 NCAA Champion, 1996 First Team All-America, 1996 SEC Player of the Year, 1996 NCAA Tournament M.O.P. 42Bill Evans1952–55 32Richie Farmer1989–92One of the Unforgettables 12Deron Feldhaus1989–92One of the Unforgettables 21Jack Givens1975–781978 NCAA Champion, 1978 Second Team All-America, 1978 SEC Player of the Year, 1978 NCAA Tournament M.O.P. 44Phil Grawemeyer1954–56 15Alex Groza1945–491948 NCAA Champion, 1949 NCAA Champion, One of the Fabulous Five 35Kevin Grevey1973–751975 First Team All-America, 1973 and 1975 SEC Player of the Year –Joe B. Hall1973–851978 National Championship Head Coach 6Cliff Hagan1951–541951 NCAA Champion, 1952 First Team All-America, 1954 First Team All-America 52Vernon Hatton1956–581958 NCAA Champion –Basil Hayden1920–22 44Dan Issel1968–70UK All-time leading scorer, 1970 First Team All-America 27Wallace Jones1946–491948 NCAA Champion, 1949 NCAA Champion, One of the Fabulous Five –Bill Keightley1962–2008Mr. Wildcat, Equipment Manager –Cawood Ledford1953–92Voice of the Wildcats 4Kyle Macy1978–801978 NCAA Champion, 1980 First Team All-America, 1980 SEC Player of the Year 44Cotton Nash1962–641964 First Team All-America 24Jamal Mashburn1991–931993 First Team All-America, 1993 SEC Player of the Year 34John Pelphrey1989–92One of the Unforgettables 22Mike Pratt1967–701970 Second Team All-America –Rick Pitino1990–971996 National Championship Head Coach 30Frank Ramsey1951–541951 NCAA Champion, 1954 Second Team All-America 26Kenny Rollins1943–481948 NCAA Champion 42Pat Riley1965–671966 First Team All-America, 1966 SEC Player of the Year 53Rick Robey1975–781978 NCAA Champion, 1978 Second Team All-America 4Layton Rouse1938–40 –Adolph Rupp1931–721948, 1949, 1951, 1958 National Championship Head Coach –Forest Sale1931–33Helms POY 1933, 2 time all American 1932 and 1933 –Carey Spicer1929–31 77Bill Spivey1950–511951 NCAA Champion, 1951 First Team All-America 20Gayle Rose1953–55 16Lou Tsioropoulos1951–541951 NCAA Champion 34Kenny Walker1983–861986 First Team All-America, 1985–86 SEC Player of the Year 11Sean Woods1990–92One of the Unforgettables

National Players of the Year The UK players listed here received at least one NCAA-recognized national player of the year award.

Year Player Award(s) 1933 Forest Sale Helms Athletic Foundation 1935 LeRoy Edwards Helms Athletic Foundation 2010 John Wall Adolph Rupp TrophyAdolph Rupp trophy winner: John Wall, Kentucky 2012 Anthony Davis Wooden AwardNaismith TrophyOscar Robertson TrophyAP Player of the Year 2022 Oscar Tshiebwe Wooden AwardNaismith TrophyAP Player of the YearNABC Player of the YearSporting News Player of the YearOscar Robertson Trophy

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award has been presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 2015 to the top Division I center.

Year Player 2022 Oscar Tshiebwe

All-Americans The following is a list of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players that were named First or Second Team All-Americans:

Year Player Position 1921 Basil Hayden Forward 1925 Burgess Carey Forward 1929 Carey Spicer Forward 1930 Paul McBrayer Forward 1931 Carey Spicer Forward 1932 Forest Sale Center 1933 Ellis Johnson Guard 1933 Forest Sale Center 1934 John DeMoisey Forward 1935 LeRoy Edwards Center 1939 Bernard Opper Guard 1941 Lee Huber Guard 1944 Bob Brannum Forward 1946 Jack Parkinson Guard 1947 Ralph Beard Guard 1947 Alex Groza Center 1948 Ralph Beard Guard 1948 Alex Groza Center 1949 Ralph Beard Guard 1949 Alex Groza Center 1949 Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones Center 1951 Bill Spivey Center 1952 Cliff Hagan Center 1952 Frank Ramsey Guard 1954 Cliff Hagan Center 1954 Frank Ramsey Guard 1956 Bob Burrow Forward 1958 Vernon Hatton Guard 1959 Johnny Cox Forward 1962 Cotton Nash Forward 1963 Cotton Nash Forward 1964 Cotton Nash Forward 1966 Louie Dampier Guard 1966 Pat Riley Forward 1967 Louie Dampier Guard 1969 Dan Issel Forward 1970 Dan Issel Forward 1975 Kevin Grevey Guard 1974 Kevin Grevey Guard 1975 Kevin Grevey Guard 1976 Jack "Goose" Givens Forward 1977 Jack "Goose" Givens Forward 1977 Rick Robey Center 1978 Jack "Goose" Givens Forward 1978 Rick Robey Center 1980 Kyle Macy Guard 1981 Sam Bowie Center 1984 Melvin Turpin Forward 1985 Kenny "Sky" Walker Forward 1986 Kenny "Sky" Walker Forward 1992 Jamal Mashburn Forward 1993 Jamal Mashburn Forward 1996 Tony Delk Guard 1997 Ron Mercer Forward 1998 Scott Padgett Forward 2001 Tayshaun Prince NABC.org Retrieved on March 30, 2009 Forward 2002 Tayshaun Prince Forward 2003 Keith Bogans Guard 2009 Jodie Meeks AP via ESPN.com Retrieved on March 30, 2009 Guard 2010 DeMarcus Cousins Sporting News Retrieved on March 9, 2010 Center 2010 John Wall Guard 2012 Anthony Davis Center 2012 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Forward 2015 Willie Cauley-Stein Forward/Center 2015 Karl-Anthony Towns Center 2016 Tyler Ulis Guard 2017 Malik Monk Guard 2022 Oscar Tshiebwe Forward/Center 2023 Oscar Tshiebwe Forward/Center

Wayman Tisdale Award The Wayman Tisdale Award, known before the 2010–11 season as the USBWA National Freshman of the Year Award, has been presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association since 1989 to the top freshman in Division I men's basketball.

Year Player 2010 John Wall 2012 Anthony Davis 2024 Reed Sheppard

NABC Freshman of the Year The National Association of Basketball Coaches, the trade organization for college men's basketball coaches, has presented its own Freshman of the Year award since the 2016–17 season.

Year Player 2024 Reed Sheppard

SEC Player of the Year (AP, UPI, Coaches)

The following is a list of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players who have been named SEC Player of the Year: Year Player Position 1966 Pat Riley Forward 1972 Tom Parker Forward 1973 Kevin Grevey Guard 1975 Kevin Grevey Guard 1980 Kyle Macy Guard 1985 Kenny "Sky" Walker Forward 1986 Kenny "Sky" Walker Forward 1993 Jamal Mashburn Forward 1996 Tony Delk Guard 1997 Ron Mercer Forward 2001 Tayshaun Prince Forward 2003 Keith Bogans Guard 2010 John Wall Guard 2012 Anthony Davis Center 2016 Tyler Ulis Guard 2017 Malik Monk Guard 2020 Immanuel Quickley Guard 2022 Oscar Tshiebwe Center

SEC Freshmen of the Year (AP, Coaches)

The following is a list of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players who have been named either SEC Freshman of the Year (awarded by the league's head coaches, and open only to freshmen) or SEC Newcomer of the Year (awarded by the AP and open to any player in his first year at an SEC school, including transfers).

All listed players won both awards except for the following: Patrick Patterson, a freshman who won the 2008 coaches' award while Nick Calathes of Florida, also a freshman, won the AP award. Nerlens Noel, a freshman who won the 2013 coaches' award while junior college transfer Marshall Henderson of Ole Miss won the AP award. Reed Sheppard, a freshman who won the 2024 coaches' award while graduate transfer Dalton Knecht of Tennessee won the AP award (as well as both the coaches' and AP versions of the Player of the Year award).

Year Player Position 2008 Patrick Patterson Forward 2010 DeMarcus Cousins Center 2011 Terrence Jones Forward 2012 Anthony Davis Center 2013 Nerlens Noel Center 2014 Julius Randle Forward 2015 Karl-Anthony Towns Center 2017 Malik Monk Guard 2024 Reed Sheppard Guard

Elite 90 Award

One of the NCAA's main student-athlete awards is the Elite 90 Award (previously the Elite 88 and Elite 89), presented at the site of each of the NCAA's 90 annual championship finals. In Division I men's basketball, eligible individuals are those on the playing squads of all Final Four participants who have played at least two seasons at their current school. The recipient is the eligible player with the highest grade point average, with completed credit hours as a tiebreaker if needed.

Year Player Class Position 2014 Sam Malone Junior Guard

NBA Draft Picks

McDonald's All-Americans The following is a list of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players who have been named McDonald's All-Americans during their prep careers: