[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3413-S3414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY'S MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM ON ITS 
                      SIXTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 244, a 
resolution to commend and congratulate the University of Kentucky on 
its men's basketball team winning its sixth National Collegiate 
Athletic Association championship, submitted earlier today by Senators 
Ford and McConnell.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, there is a scene in the movie ``Butch 
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' where the heroes, successful and 
unchallenged for years, suddenly find themselves chased by an 
unshakeable posse.
  Each time the posse reappears, the pressure builds on the heroes and 
they feel a little less invincible, their pursuers' skills a little 
more impressive. ``Who are those guys?'' they keep asking.
  Over the 3 weeks leading up to the weekend of the National Collegiate 
Athletic Association Championships' final four, fans found themselves 
watching upset after upset, crossing off one favored pick after 
another, scratching their heads and saying, ``Who are those guys?''
  Those upsets are testament to the incredible talent we saw on display 
during the NCAA championships this year. And the incredible pressure. 
That's why after going through nickname after nickname for his team, 
the University of Kentucky's Coach Rick Pitino finally settled on the 
``untouchables,'' because they never let any of that pressure touch 
them.
  Game after game during the tournament, those players came out 
professional, poised, and untouched by the pressure that had the most 
devoted of Wildcat fans cautious in their predictions for Monday 
night's final outcome.
  But as Sports Illustrated pointed out, not even the magnificently 
courageous Syracuse team they would suit up against on April 1, 1996, 
would be able to shake the Cat's unapologetic defense.
  In the end, even the upset magic that was in the tournament's air 
from the first jump ball, was simply no match for their depth and their 
talent.
  The fans were right to ask ``Who are those guys?'' But, the Wildcats 
have a coach that knew how to take raw talent, combine it with an 
unmatched professionalism, sportsmanship, and some downright dangerous 
weapons--from Derrick Anderson's three-pointers to Walter McCarthy's 
thunderous dunks to Ron Mercer's slashing drives to Anthony Epps' ball 
handling--to turn back the challengers, one by one.
  And of course there was Tony Delk. He had 7 three-pointers and 10 
rebounds in the final game against Syracuse's scrappy Orangemen. But, 
as he bent down to help up a fallen Syracuse player, he came to 
epitomize not just the outstanding playing that marked this tournament, 
but the outstanding sportsmanship as well.
  But, this was one player's victory.
  Those five starters weren't the whole team by any means. With no 
player averaging much over 20 minutes per game the whole season, the 
Wildcats succeeded because of their ability to rely on one another's 
strengths, no matter what a player's position in the lineup.
  That's because this was a team in every sense of the word, with a 
depth and wealth of talent that was the envy of the entire NCAA. Rick 
Pitino said more than once that his players checked their egos at the 
door. And because of that, when they went back out that door, they went 
as winners.
  They rib us a bit about taking our basketball too seriously in 
Kentucky. And apocryphal stories about fans being buried in their 
Wildcat sweat suits or calling on Coach Pitino to help settle their 
marital spats, sometimes make it seem so.
  But, when you see a team of such gifted athletes work together in a 
way that seems almost effortless--and combine it with a professionalism 
on and off the court that makes them true role models to their peers 
and their young admirers--then Kentucky's devotion to her basketball 
doesn't seem misplaced one bit.
  The University of Kentucky's year was marked by one amazing statistic 
after another. They not only had a 34 and 2 record--the best record 
since the 1953-54 Cats went 25 and 0, but at one point had strung 
together 27 consecutive wins, the longest in the country. And they 
finished a very, very tough SEC regular season undefeated, the first 
time that's been done in four decades. The Wildcat's average margin of 
victory in the NCAA tournament was 21.5 points per game--the fourth 
best margin of victory in the history of the game.
  And, while the players' incredible talent and the unmatched coaching

[[Page S3414]]

skills of Rick Pitino are enough to assure that no one will be asking 
``who are those guys?'' about the Kentucky Wildcats anytime soon, I 
believe it is only right that the U.S. Senate should be on record 
saluting their accomplishments.
  And so I urge my colleagues in joining me in the adoption of a 
resolution commending the University of Kentucky basketball team.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, and motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that the 
preamble be agreed to, and that any statements relating thereto be 
placed in the Record at the appropriate place as if read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  So the resolution (S. Res. 244) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                              S. Res. 244

       Whereas the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's 
     basketball team defeated Syracuse University's team on April 
     1, 1996, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to win its sixth 
     National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship;
       Whereas the senior members of this team, during their four-
     year varsity careers, were also NCAA semi-finalists and 
     three-time champions of the Southeastern Conference;
       Whereas Coach Rick Pitino, his staff, and his players 
     displayed outstanding dedication, teamwork unselfishness, and 
     sportsmanship throughout the course of the season in 
     achieving collegiate basketball's highest honor, earning for 
     themselves the nickname ``The Untouchables''; and
       Whereas Coach Pitino and the Wildcats have brought pride 
     and honor to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which is rightly 
     known as the basketball capital of the world: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate commends and congratulates the 
     University of Kentucky on its outstanding accomplishment.
       Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy 
     of this resolution to the president of the University of 
     Kentucky.

                          ____________________