LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Jerry Tipton said writing a game story after a big Kentucky win (or loss) could induce some anxiety, so he wasn’t sure about taking on the task of writing a book.
“I had never done a book before,” he said. “I didn’t want it to be about me, but it is 41 years, and it’s a memoir, so there was going to be some of that,” Tipton added.
The journalist, who has been enshrined into several halls of fame, dropped by LEX 18 to discuss the unofficial launch of his book, "Deja Blue" (Acclaim Press). A ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday night from 5-7 p.m. at The Carnegie Center in Lexington, where former coach Tubby Smith and former All-American Kenny Walker are expected to participate.
Tipton spent 41 years as the beat writer for Kentucky basketball and needed about one year to gather his thoughts and put them in writing for this book.
“I talked to over 40 people, former players, coaches, to get their thoughts and their memories, and to give it a quasi-historical feel,” he explained of his first book. “There was a lot of thinking involved, and my wife says I tend to overthink things,” he joked.
Tipton feels that Kentucky fans will be interested in reading his memoir about being courtside and in the locker room for four decades. From Eddie Sutton to John Calipari, he’s seen and covered it all, including three National Championships and nine Final Fours.
Jerry ranks the 1991 regional final vs. Duke as the best game he’s ever witnessed (he, too, calls it “The Christian Laettner game”).
He said he thought Rick Pitino’s 1996 team was the most dominant he’s covered, but for the most fun he’s had covering a UK basketball team, you’d have to go back to a different Pitino-coached group.
“It was the 1989-90 team, Pitino’s first team,” he said of a team that finished 14-14. “The fans really had a lot of fun. It was about fun and the style of play Rick Pitino brought. The fans were drawn in and it was a lot of fun,” he added.
That team entered the season serving an NCAA probation, and there was nothing expected of it. That’s probably why the team became a joy to watch. Jerry didn’t cover many, if any, other UK Men’s Basketball teams when no one was worried about wins and losses.
“I think the fans had more fun that year than any other year of my time,” he said of that 1989-90 bunch.
