UK community mourns death of Reggie Warford
Warford was the first Black basketball player to graduate from UK
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – University of Kentucky basketball fans are mourning the death of Reggie Warford.
Coach John Calipari shared condolences on social media Thursday, tweeting, “Reggie Warford passed away this morning at home surrounded by his loving family. I know how much Reggie meant to Kentucky & how he inspired others. Reggie and I worked together at Pitt in the 80s and have remained friends. I’m going to miss my brother, may God bless you Reggie.”
Source: Coach Cal/Twitter
According to the KHSAA, Warford was a basketball star at Drakesboro High in the early 1970s who became the first recruit Joe B. Hall signed after Hall succeeded Adolph Rupp as Kentucky’s head coach. Warford helped the Cats win the National Invitational Tournament in 1976, and was the first African-American basketball player to graduate from UK.
UK Athletics sharing Thursday that Warford (1973-76) appeared in 50 games for the Wildcats and scored 206 career points. He was a member of the 1976 NIT Championship team and part of the 1975 team that finished as the NCAA Tournament runner-up.
According to UK Athletics, Warford was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2019.
Warford originally committed to Austin Peay but became Joe B. Hall’s first recruit as head coach for Kentucky. According to UK Athletics, Warford was the second Black athlete to suit up for the Wildcats in men’s basketball, but the first to play all four seasons and graduate from the University. He earned a degree in arts and sciences and would go on to earn a master’s degree from Murray State in education.
“Reggie Warford played an important role in the history of UK Athletics,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics. “His career as a player and student, and his presence as a native Kentuckian, helped set the stage for the continued growth of integration of Kentucky basketball and our entire athletics program. We are deeply saddened by his passing and our condolences are with his family, friends and teammates.”
According to UK Athletics, during UK’s 1976 NIT title season, Warford played in 28 games and shot 47% from the floor and 73% from the free-throw line. He became a starter late in the season and had 14 points to help UK rally past UNC-Charlotte in the title game.
Following his collegiate career, Warford went on to become an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, Iowa State and Long Beach State. He served as the head coach of the Harlem Globetrotters in 2003. Warford won the United States Basketball Writer’s Association’s Most Courageous Award in 1984.
According to UK Athletics, he also returned to coach Muhlenburg County and coached his sons Grant and Tyler.
He is survived by his wife Marisa, and sons Grant and Tyler.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Warford was 67.
