Pelphrey in SEC Tournament

Though it’s John Pelphrey’s first trip to the SEC Tournament as Arkansas’ head basketball coach, it’s certainly not his first experience in the tournament.

Pelphrey, of course, lettered for Kentucky from 1989-1992, but he and the Wildcats only made two appearances in the SEC Tournament during that period due to NCAA sanctions for violations that occurred during Eddie Sutton’s tenure as Kentucky’s head coach.

Pelphrey’s Wildcats exited early in 1989, absorbing a first-round 77-63 loss to Vanderbilt and did not appear in the tourney again because of the sanctions until his senior season in 1992. That season the Wildcats defeated Vanderbilt, 75-57; LSU, 80-74; and Alabama, 80-54,making Pelphrey 3-1 as a player in the SEC Tournament.

As an assistant coach at Florida under Billy Donovan, Pelphrey worked in the SEC Tournament from 1997-2002. Over that period the Gators were 5-6 in SEC Tournament play.

That makes him 8-7 overall as a player and coach in SEC Tourney play. The Hogs need to win at least one game to keep him above .500.

Filed under: SEC Basketball, Arkansas Basketball by Terry Wood. Posted on: March 13, 2008 at 2:20 pm