Coach Keathley Remembers
April 1, 2008 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
East Kentucky Miners News Release
PIKEVILLE, KY. - Bill Keightley, the legendary longtime equipment manager for University of Kentucky basketball teams, died Monday. He was 81. Keightley, who made numerous recruiting trips to Eastern Kentucky with various UK coaches, passed away after falling while on an annual trip to watch the Cincinnati Reds' opening game. Keightley first earned a spot on the UK bench in 1962. He worked under six UK head coaches - Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie.
Keightley witnessed 1,113 wins from the UK bench and was a part of three NCAA championship teams. In October 2007, East Kentucky Miners head coach Kevin Keathley shared the stage with Mr. Keightley during a Floyd County Chamber of Commerce speaking engagement held in Prestonsburg. The two basketball enthusiasts, however, first crossed paths several years ago.
"When I first met Mr. Keightley in 2001 I was coaching college basketball and went to watch a Coach Tubby Smith practice during which time after practice Mr. Keightley started sharing Memorial Coliseum memories, reminiscing about great things that had happened there," Keathley. "He was certainly there for all of the great moments in University of Kentucky basketball history."
A great ambassador to the state and the game of basketball, Keightley expressed his support for the East Kentucky Miners franchise during his stop in Prestonsburg less than two months prior to the start of the expansion team's debut season.
"It was an honor to have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Bill Keightley during the fall event in Prestonsburg," said Keathley. "He was definitely an ambassador - not only for the University of Kentucky and Wildcat basketball program, but the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mr. Keightley is a Kentucky treasure.
"Myself and the entire East Kentucky Miners organization sends our condolences out to the family of "Mr. Wildcat" Bill Keightley."
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Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from April 1, 2008
- Coach Keathley Remembers - East Kentucky Miners
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