The 1974–75 Kentucky Colonels season was the eighth and penultimate season in franchise history. After repeated failures with the team trying to win the ABA Finals championship throughout the last seven seasons, the Colonels under John Y. Brown Jr.'s ownership looked to replace last season's head coach, Babe McCarthy, with Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Hubie Brown believing he was ready to coach a professional basketball team like the Colonels in the ABA. Under Hubie Brown's leadership as a head coach combined with the homegrown team chemistry that was led by previous draft picks of theirs in Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, and Louie Dampier, the Colonels would finish the season winning 22 of their last 25 games of the regular season, including the final 10 games of the season, the last of which became a key match-up against the New York Nets, which saw them improbably tie the Eastern Division up with the Nets to end the regular season. They would later play in a one-game playoff to determine who would win the #1 seed despite Kentucky already winning more games against the Nets this season (beating them 6 games to 5), which Kentucky won easily due to Artis Gilmore's rebounding ability being so strong that night that he alone overpowered the entire Nets team that game with a double-double of 28 points and 33 rebounds (having three more rebounds than the entire Nets team that game) for a 108–99 win to secure the #1 seed. Once that was done with, the Colonels would make easy work with both the Memphis Sounds and Spirits of St. Louis (both teams being playoff contenders this season despite them having losing records due to the talent dispersity in the Eastern Division) before resting up real well for the 1975 ABA Championship series against their nearby stateside rivals, the Indiana Pacers. Once they began playing for the championship, the Colonels finally managed to get the upper hand over their longtime rivals, winning the championship series 4–1 to finally proclaim themselves as ABA champions after eight years of waiting. Notably, the Colonels attempted to get a "World Series" championship game of sorts to occur with the champions of the 1975 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors, with the winning team receiving $1,000,000 and the game being projected to have been aired on CBS after the season ended, but the Warriors and NBA declined them that opportunity.
Offseason ABA Draft
Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College 2 18 Al Eberhard SF United States Missouri 3 28 Sammy High F United States Tulsa 4 39 Lloyd Batts SG/SF United States Cincinnati 5 49 Seymour Reed F United States Bradley 6 59 Bill Ligon SG United States Vanderbilt 7 69 Bill Butler G United States Louisville 8 79 Leonard Coulter F United States Morehead State 9 89 Lionel Hollins PG United States Arizona State 10 99 Steve Walker G United States Kentucky Wesleyan This draft table does not include the "ABA Draft of NBA Players" that was done immediately afterward.
ABA Draft of NBA Players Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College NBA Team 1 9 Jim Price PG United States Louisville Los Angeles Lakers 2 19 Greg Smith SF/PF United States Western Kentucky Portland Trail Blazers 3 29 Rowland Garrett SF United States Florida State Chicago Bulls 4 39 Herm Gilliam PG/SG United States Purdue Atlanta Hawks 5 49 Larry Steele G United States Kentucky Portland Trail Blazers The "ABA Draft of NBA Players" that was done on April 17, 1974, happened immediately after the actual ABA Draft done for this season was concluded on that day. None of the five players drafted by the Colonels would report to the team this season, though Jim Price would later play for the Denver Nuggets following the ABA-NBA merger that would later occur in 1976. Interestingly, the Colonels would join the San Antonio Spurs as the only two ABA teams that year to not draft any NBA players that would later go on to become members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Preseason transactions Following the 1973–74 Kentucky Colonels season, the Colonels fired head coach Babe McCarthy despite his winning the 1974 ABA Coach of the Year award. Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Hubie Brown was hired as McCarthy's replacement in June 1974.
Preseason exhibition games Like most ABA teams, the Colonels played several preseason exhibition games against NBA opponents. By September 29, 1974, the ABA had won all five of that season's ABA vs. NBA exhibition games as the Colonels took the floor in Lincoln, Nebraska, against the Kansas City–Omaha Kings. Dan Issel scored 26 for the Colonels but the Kings won, 102–91. On October 1 the NBA's Washington Bullets visited the Colonels' home court at Freedom Hall. Artis Gilmore had 26 points and 16 rebounds as the Colonels won, 118–95. On October 5, 1974, the Colonels traveled to Pasadena, Texas, to face the Houston Rockets. The Rockets won 96–95 despite Gilmore's 22 points. On October 8, 1974, in Louisville the Colonels hosted the Detroit Pistons, defeating the NBA team 109–100 behind Gilmore's 18 points and 11 rebounds. On October 12 the Colonels defeated the Chicago Bulls in Louisville, 93–75. Gilmore scored 24 points and Dan Issel scored 15.Top News, Latest headlines, Latest News, World News & U.S News - UPI.com
The ABA went 16-7 vs. the NBA in that season's exhibition games; the Colonels posted a 3–2 record.
Roster
Regular season Season standings + 1974–75 ABA Final Standings Eastern Division W L PCT. GB Kentucky Colonels 58 26 .690 - New York Nets 58 26 .690 - Spirits of St. Louis 32 52 .381 26 Memphis Sounds 27 57 .321 31 Virginia Squires 15 69 .179 43 Western Division W L PCT. GB Denver Nuggets 65 19 .774 - San Antonio Spurs 51 33 .607 14 Indiana Pacers 45 39 .536 20 Utah Stars 38 46 .452 27 San Diego Conquistadors 31 53 .369 34 1974-75 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.comRemember the ABA: 1974-75 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results
Game log
Month by Month October 1974 The ABA opened its regular season on October 18, 1974, and on that night the host Colonels defeated the Denver Nuggets 117–99. Two nights later the Colonels won at home before 7,207 fans against the Indiana Pacers, 101–92. On October 23 the Colonels hosted the Virginia Squires and 5,978 fans watched ten different Colonels score ten or more points as Kentucky won 136–82. The next evening the Colonels hosted the San Antonio Spurs before 10,853 fans and won 113-103 despite George Gervin's 30 points. The next evening, October 25, saw the Colonels' first loss of the season, 91–86 against the Spirits of St. Louis as Marvin Barnes scored 25 points against the Colonels with 4,217 in attendance. The next evening in Indianapolis Dan Issel had 28 points as the Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers 107–95 in front of 10,948 fans. October 30 saw the Colonels win at home against the San Diego Conquistadors 97–84 as 9,622 fans saw Caldwell Jones score 22 for San Diego. The Colonels ended October with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss.1974-75 ABA Game by Game Log- Part 1
November 1974 On November 1 the Colonels defeated the Virginia Squires 125–93 in front of 8,203 fans as Louie Dampier led all scorers with 24. Two nights later in Louisville Kentucky defeated the Memphis Sounds 104–99; Rick Mount had a game-high 27 before 7,843 spectators. On November 6 the Colonels hosted the Utah Stars in Lexington; 9,400 turned out to see Kentucky prevail 97–85 despite Ron Boone's 29 points. November 9 saw the Colonels at home against the New York Nets; 16,029 packed Freedom Hall and Julius Erving had a game-high 28 points but Kentucky won 103–97.
On November 13 the Colonels returned to Lexington, again facing the New York Nets. Julius Erving had 44 points and the game went into two overtimes before 9,577 fans; Kentucky won 132–129. Kentucky's seven game win streak came to an end on November 14 in an overtime road game as Bird Averitt's 26 were not enough to stop the San Antonio Spurs, who won 102–100 before 8,354 fans. On November 17 the Colonels bounced back with a 116–103 win against the Indiana Pacers in Lexington; Artis Gilmore scored 32 points and 7,381 attended.
November 22 saw the Colonels on the road in San Diego, losing 121–103 to the Conquistadors as Travis Grant scored 34. The next evening the Colonels lost another road game, a one-point overtime loss to the Utah Stars. Despite Bird Averitt's 31 points the Stars pulled out the overtime win 111–110 before 8,476 fans. On November 26 the Colonels returned home and defeated the Memphis Sounds 128–106 before 7,805 fans; Stew Johnson had 24 points. November 28 saw the Colonels notch a road win against the Virginia Squires, prevailing 108–95 in Hampton Roads despite George Irvine's 27 points. The next night Kentucky lost a road game to the New York Nets; 10,562 saw Julius Erving put in 33 points in a 107–98 Nets victory. Kentucky ended the month with an unusual home game in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 7,611 turned out to see the Colonels defeat the San Diego Conquistadors 109–100. San Diego's Travis Grant and Bo Lamar led all scorers with 26 points each, and Kentucky only shot 9 free throws for the night (making 6 of them) but Artis Gilmore's 20 rebounds helped power Kentucky to the win.
The Colonels went 9–4 in November for a season record of 15–5 (.750) at the start of December.
December 1974 On December 4 the Colonels lost on the road to the Spirits of St. Louis, 126–122; Maurice Lucas scored 30 before 2,898 fans. December 7 saw the Colonels at home winning a rematch against the Spirits 119–107; 9,830 saw St. Louis' Marvin Barnes lead all scorers with 31. On December 11 the Colonels lost on the road to the Memphis Sounds 104–97. On December 13 Kentucky lost on the Indiana Pacers' home court 114–108; 8,743 saw George McGinnis score 40 for Indiana. On December 14 10,417 turned out in Louisville to see Julius Erving score 27 in leading the New York Nets to a 98–89 win over Kentucky. The Colonels finally broke their three-game losing streak on December 17 as an unusually small Freedom Hall crowd of 3,630 turned out to see Artis Gilmore's 35 points lead Kentucky to a 121–98 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The next night Kentucky ended its three-game road losing streak with a win against the Spirits of St. Louis; Artis Gilmore scored 36 as the Colonels prevailed 110–94. The next night Gilmore's 23 led homestanding Kentucky to a 125–107 win against the Denver Nuggets in front of 6,576 fans.
December 21 saw the Colonels win before 5,807 fans at home against the Memphis Sounds, 115–98; Caldwell Jones had 26 points. The next night Kentucky won another home game, this time against the Indiana Pacers 118–110 despite George McGinnis' 35 points in front of 7,606 fans. On December 26 the Colonels faced the Pacers again, and this time Kentucky lost on the road 122–111 as Billy Keller had 33 points before 10,064 fans. The Colonels returned to Louisville on December 29 and defeated the Memphis Sounds 125–114 before 8,711 fans despite Tom Owens' 37 points. The next night the Colonels closed out the month and the calendar year by winning on the road, defeating the Virginia Squires 104–85 behind Artis Gilmore's 26 points.1974-75 ABA Game by Game Log- Part 2
Kentucky went 8–5 in December to bring their record for the season to 23–10. They moved into 1975 without Red Robbins, who had been sold to the Virginia Squires.
January 1975