Scott grad helped Kentucky win NCAA title 30 years ago

Toledoan Truman Claytor, who started at guard for Kentucky, shows off his NCAA championship ring from 1978.

The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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Toledoan Truman Claytor, who started at guard for Kentucky, shows off his NCAA championship ring from 1978.

In recent weeks former Scott High School and University of Kentucky basketball star Truman Claytor has an extra hop in his step.

"This is my time of year," Claytor said. "March Madness brings back some great memories."

It is NCAA championship time and, as Claytor knows, winning one can pay dividends to the spirit even 30 years later.

The guard with the smooth-as-silk jump shot was a junior starter for the Wildcats, who on March 27, 1978 defeated Duke 94-88 to win college basketball's top prize.

Claytor remains the only Toledo product to win an NCAA Division I mens basketball championship in the tournament's 79 years, and he proudly wears the ring to prove it.

The only other City Leaguer to capture an NCAA D-I crown is Central Catholic's Ericka Haney, who started on Notre Dame's 2001 national championship women's team.

After helping Scott to back-to-back City titles in 1974 and '75, and a Class AAA state semifinal trip as a junior, the All-Ohio first-team guard, accepted a scholarship from Kentucky.

The Wildcats ended the 1977-78 regular season 25-2 and ranked No. 1 in the nation. With Claytor and guard Kyle Macy joining Jack

Kentucky's Truman Claytor drives againts UNLV's Tony Smith in a 1978 game. Claytor averaged 6.9 points that season

"Goose" Givens, and 6-10 frontcourt bookends Rick Robey and Mike Phillips in coach Joe B. Hall's starting five, Kentucky justified that top ranking.

The Wildcats defeated five top-20-ranked conference champions en route to winning the school's first NCAA title in 20 years and fifth overall.

They beat Florida State 85-76, Miami (Ohio) 91-69, and then the Magic Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans 52-49 to reach the Final Four in St. Louis. Kentucky topped Arkansas and star guard Sidney Moncrief 64-59 to reach the title-game showdown against Duke, which was led by Mike Gminski, Gene Banks, Jim Spanarkel and Kenny Dennard.

Givens dominated, scoring 41 points. Robey had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Claytor added eight points and three assists.

The difference between winning a championship and being runner-up is often an all-or-none proposition.

"That has been a huge part of my life," Claytor said, "because when you're a champion, nobody ever forgets you. Your legacy is etched in stone.

"My junior year at Scott, we lost to Canton McKinley in the state semifinals. I relive that game in my head over and over. What I could have done differently, and what we could have done better. But, when I was at Kentucky, we got the ultimate goal."

Every five years Claytor and his Wildcat teammates gather in Lexington for a reunion to celebrate their title. They are treated like royalty at Kentucky's shrine of a basketball venue, Rupp Arena. The players and coaches line up for a team picture in the exact same spots they held for the original 1978 photo. They are introduced at halftime of a Kentucky game. This year it was in February.

What else can most people do in their lives that will earn a heartfelt standing ovation from 24,000 spectators that still evokes goose pimples and tears 30 years later?

During his three-year varsity career at Scott, Claytor battled against City League rivals like Macomber's Kelvin Ransey, later a college All-American at Ohio State, and Terry Crosby, a top college football-basketball recruit who excelled in the latter sport at Tennessee. Claytor's Bulldog teammate, Donald Collins, became a Pac-10 player of the year at Washington State.

A popular argument of the day was who was the best player from this elite group? A case can be made for Claytor.

"Truman is the type of person who has earned respect and that's the only kind of respect that counts," said former coach Ben Williams, whose Scott teams won over 400 games, 11 City titles and made five trips to state.

"In my first year as head coach Truman was the only senior we had back from that [state] team the year before. He was like a coach in practice, and on the floor in games. He gave me a chance to get some confidence as a coach, and he gave the younger players a chance to develop. We won the City championship."

For Williams there's no argument. Claytor was the best.

"He was a very smart player and he had one of the best shooting touches in City League history," Williams said. "He knew how to involve the other players and make them better. He was also an outstanding student and he carried himself in a high-quality manner. You couldn't ask for anything more than that."

"We finally got everything together, got over some injuries and put it all together that year," Hall said of 1977-78. "The great thing about that team was that they never had a bad practice. That was the best practice team I ever coached. They were competitive and they were focused.

"We had three great guards who were leaders - Truman, Kyle Macy and Jay Shidler. We had two guys from Lexington who were nicknamed Silk and Steel. Jack Givens was more the finesse player and James Lee was a physically strong player. Then we had our two 6-10 inside guys, Robey and Phillips. They were called King and Kong."

Versatility was the key.

"That team could win in any style of play," Hall said. "Some teams slowed it down, some pressed, some played zones and some liked to run. Our team could adapt to any of those styles."

"Truman and Kyle were basically interchangeable. They could both run the offense and could both play the shooting spot. Truman was an excellent defensive player. He had great lateral movement, he was a good jumper and he was very quick. He was a good all-around player.

"It took Truman a little while to make the transition from high school to college. But I was so proud of him the way he developed and matured. I think he has turned out to be an exceptional person. He had a great run here at Kentucky and he is highly respected, not only as a player but as a gentleman."

"After we lost to North Carolina [79-72] in the East Regional final in 1977, I remember riding back to Lexington on the plane and we made a commitment," Claytor said. "We were so close to getting there [Final Four], so we decided that we were all going to stay in Lexington the whole summer and work out. Lift weights and play ball all week.

"The seniors - Jack Givens, Rick Robey, Mike Phillips and James Lee - had all played in the championship game when they were freshmen and lost to UCLA. They said 'we're going to win it all next year.' We set the goal right there."

"When we were practicing getting ready to play our first tournament game against Florida State, Joe Hall got us together," Claytor said. "He said 'Fellas, I'm going to tell you a secret. If we don't win the whole thing, I'm going to be finished. I'm out of here.' Can you imagine being 21, 22 years old and your coach tells you that?

"The fans down there love their basketball. It's like a religion in Kentucky. As a player, you're focused on playing and having fun. From the outside is where the pressure comes in.

"Coach Hall didn't bring it up again. He didn't need to. We already had established our goal, and we were all business. We didn't ever celebrate after we won games that year because we didn't want anything but that national championship.

"There wasn't anything else left for us but to win it all and, now, 30 years later, we're still celebrating."

Hall has an alternate recollection.

"I don't remember saying that, but I could have," Hall said. "But I do remember what I said at halftime after we were down by seven to Florida State.

"I benched three starters to start the half and I told my assistant coach, Dick Parsons, 'If this don't work we're not going back to Lexington because we're gonna be outta here.'•"

Kentucky was back within three points after halftime when Hall put Claytor back in. He then re-entered Robey and Givens. The Wildcats surged to win.

"Duke took a 2-0 lead and that was the only time we trailed the whole game," Claytor said. "They were playing their 2-3 zone and they kept their guards out high and spread out. They were trying to keep Kyle Macy and me from shooting.

"Coach Hall told us they weren't going to come out to pick up Jack, so we were going to keep running one play. Jack kept flashing to the middle and the corners of the zone, and we kept dumping it to him."

Givens torched Duke on 18-of-27 shooting from the field, and hit 5-of-8 from the line for 41 points. He was voted the tournaments' most outstanding player.

"They never adjusted to stop Jack, and he ended up having one of the greatest games in NCAA [finals] history," Claytor said of his friend and roommate.

"I can kind of see the game in slow motion in my head now, but I've probably watched it a thousand times," Claytor said. "First I had it on VHS. Now I have it on DVD. The last time I watched it was right before the reunion."

"When we finally won it was a big relief, like a load off your shoulders," Claytor said. "That's when all the joy and jubilation came out. We got back to Lexington and they treated us like rock stars."

"We got back about two in the morning and there were 10,000 people waiting for us at the airport," Claytor said. "That night there were about 15,000 people at Memorial Coliseum to celebrate.

"All my childhood I dreamed about winning a national championship. As a kid I watched all those great UCLA teams on TV. When it happened for us it was fun. But, as the years go by, you appreciate it even more because you realize how difficult it was to win a national championship."

Contact Steve Junga at:

sjunga@theblade.com

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