Kentucky Basketball: 10 Greatest Rebounders in Kentucky History

With a history nearly unmatched in all of college basketball, it's always fun to look back on the history of Kentucky basketball and try to come up with list about who is the best at anything in the program's history.  There is never a shortage of choices, and as with every sports argument sometimes the numbers just don't tell the whole story.

Was Dan Issel the best scorer in Kentucky history or was Jamal Mashburn?  By the numbers you would have to say it was Issel.  But if you wanted a guy that could score from everywhere on the floor it was Mashburn.

Part of what makes the discussion so difficult is how much the game has changed over eras.  Sometimes this change is easy to explain and sometimes it is not.  But when you look at stats of the past compared to those of today you just see fundamental differences in the way the game was played in some aspects of the game.

With rebounding, there is a stark difference between the numbers from back some 40 years ago as opposed to today, so it's really unfair to compare players just by the numbers to decide who was the best.  The truth is, we can never know who the best rebounder in Kentucky's history is.

However, we can make an attempt at picking the best.  And the most fair way to do it, in my mind, is to pick the all-time greats via the numbers as well as what you can just see watching the game.

So here are the 10 greatest rebounders in Kentucky's history broken down into two categories.  First are the best rebounders prior to the last 20 years, done strictly by the numbers.  Second will be the best rebounders of the last 20 years based upon the numbers and my observations as well.

5. Old Timers Division: Johnny Cox

Cox, the Hazard, Kentucky native, was a consensus All-SEC and All-American in his three seasons for the Wildcats.  And while Cox was not much of a shooter (knocking down under 40 percent of his shots for his career), he was a tremendous rebounder.

Standing only 6'4", Cox had an astonishing 1004 rebounds over his career.  Over the course of his 84 game career, that comes out to an amazing 12 rebounds per game.

4. Old Timers Division: Cotton Nash

Nash (whose first name was Charles) is one of Kentucky's most memorable players, both likely due to his incredible talent and his unique name. 

Standing in at 6'5" Nash was an incredibly athletic forward that excelled in all facets of the game, but perhaps in nothing better than his ability to rebound.

Over the course of his three year, 78 game career, Nash was able to snare 962 rebounds.  That is an amazing 12.3 rebounds per game for his career.  In perhaps his best season, as a senior Nash averaged nearly 13 rebounds a game and 24 points per contest.

3. Old Timers Division: Dan Issel

Issel is probably the greatest Wildcat of all-time.  Not only does Issel hold the scoring record for the Wildcat program, but he is also the all-time leader in total rebounds.

Over the course of his illustrious three year career, Issel worked his way to 1078 rebounds in just 83 games for an astounding 13 rebound per game average. 

Issel is responsible for three of the top ten rebounding games in Kentucky history, with his career high of 29 in one game coming against LSU in the 1969 season.

2. Old Timers Division: Cliff Hagan

Hagan, who hailed from Owensboro, Kentucky, was the second-most prolific rebounder according to per game stats in the school's history. 

And what is truly amazing about Hagan is the fact that he averaged "only" eight rebounds per game in his first of three season.

But by his junior and senior seasons Hagan had become a rebounding machine averaging 16.5 and 13.5 rebounds per game respectively.  Hagan finished his career with 1035 rebounds in 77 games for an average of 13.4 rebounds per game.

1. Old Timers Division: Bob Burrow

The Big Texan, Bob Burrow, is only the tenth greatest rebounder in Kentucky history according to the all-time rebounding numbers. 

But what makes Burrow the top rebounder of his, and maybe any, era of Kentucky history is that he only played two seasons for the Wildcats.

In only 51 career games, Burrow was able to amass an amazing 823 rebounds for an average of 16.1 rebounds per game.  Burrow is often one of the forgotten greats of Kentucky's past, but his career was truly remarkable. 

He was an All-American and all-SEC performer and played two seasons in the NBA.  And his rebounds per game mark will likely never be beaten.

5. Last 20 Years: Gerald Fitch

He wasn't the most gifted player to put on a Kentucky uniform, but Gerald Fitch was without a doubt one of the toughest Wildcats ever. 

And though he averaged only 4.1 rebounds per game, anyone who spent any time watching Kentucky during the early 2000s knows that Fitch had an incredible knack for getting big rebounds in big moments.

Fitch was that one guy on the floor that was always around the ball.  Always diving on the floor, getting steals, deflecting passes and getting clutch boards. 

There were numerous times where Fitch would find himself in the lane among much bigger players and somehow come out with the rebound time and time again.  For a shooting guard, Fitch was an incredible rebounder.

4. Last 20 Years: Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo had a stormy two years in Lexington.  He never really meshed with Tubby Smith and his system for whatever reason, and Kentucky fans never really got to see the real Rondo that we have all seen in the NBA.

But he did show flashes of his game at Kentucky, including his penchant for being a terrific rebounder.

One of the most athletic players in Kentucky history, Rondo averaged 4.5 rebound per game at Kentucky...a great number for a point guard.  But in his last year Rondo averaged over six rebounds per game and led the team in rebounds. 

Rondo was the best rebounding point guard I have ever seen, and has to be on any list of best rebounders in Kentucky history when factoring in size.

3. Last 20 Years: Chuck Hayes

Hayes was one of the most beloved players in Kentucky history.  Around Lexington it was common to hear the popular refrain that all Chuck did was win, but that wasn't really true.  The man could also rebound.

Generously listed as being six feet and six inches tall, the smallish power forward averaged nearly seven rebounds a game for his career.  With a solid, thick base, Hayes was one of the best positional rebounders I can recall watching at Kentucky.  And that has carried over to the NBA, where Chuck's great rebounding and stellar defense have helped him to become a starting center in the league.

2. Last 20 Years: Patrick Patterson

Averaging 8.1 rebounds per game for his career, Patterson has one of the best rebounding averages in recent Kentucky history.  And considering his immense talent and size, that's probably not too shocking.

But Patterson wasn't just a big guy that got rebounds only because he was bigger than everyone else, because he wasn't.  While he had good size and was athletic, he was often the hardest working player on the court and usually one of the smartest as well. 

Watching Patterson work the paint for position as a shot was in the air was too watch an instructional video on rebounding.

Similar to Hayes in his ability to get prime positioning, Patterson was what Hayes could have been had Hayes been bigger and more athletic.  But you can't penalize Patterson too much for being a bit more blessed than the Chuck-Wagon...so Patterson gets the nod.

1. Last 20 Years: Jamal Mashburn

Mashburn doesn't have the best numbers of the last 20 years, but he was the best scorer and rebounder that Kentucky has had in that time.  And that is is part of the reason his numbers are slightly depressed compared to what they could have been...Mashburn was doing everything for his teams.

That being said, his numbers were pretty darn good.  Over his three year career Mashburn averaged just under eight rebounds per game while also taking on the role of scoring leader and getting harassed nightly by opposing teams.

And one advantage I give Mashburn over everyone else from the past 20 years is that he combines the athletic rebounding ability of a Rondo with the size and positioning of a Patterson.  Mashburn could rebound with anyone in any fashion necessary.  He could out leap you or out muscle you in the paint.

Simply put he was the most versatile player of the last 20 years.  And his ranking ought to reflect that.

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