Remembering a UK legend with University Press of Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2023) — “Till I used to be 9 or 10, everybody known as me Joe or Joe Corridor. Then someday my grandmother, for causes recognized solely to her, pulled me apart and informed me my title was ‘too quick and too plain’.” She mentioned, “Let’s add your center preliminary to make it extra fascinating. Any longer, you say your title is Joe B., not simply Joe. It is Joe B. Corridor.”

And the legend was born. A real Kentuckian via and thru, Joe B. Corridor’s reminiscence and influence on the College of Kentucky group is unforgettable. One yr after Coach Corridor’s dying, there’s nonetheless a lot to be taught concerning the man who, in his first season as head coach of the Wildcats, completed 20-8, gained the Southeastern Convention (SEC) and superior to the NCAA Regional Finals.

“Coach Corridor: My Life On and Off the Courtroom,” a 2019 memoir revealed by the College Press of Kentucky, is Coach Corridor’s story — from the person who lived all of it.

“The conversational tone of this e book evokes the sense that Coach Corridor is sitting proper throughout the desk from you, telling his life story for the very first time,” defined Doug Brunk, creator of “Forty Minutes to Glory: Contained in the Kentucky Wildcats’ 1978 Championship Season” in his critique.

Corridor coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He gained two-thirds of his video games (297-100), acquired 4 SEC Coach of the Yr honors and gained a Nationwide Championship in 1978. He additionally steered this system to 2 different Ultimate Fours, gained eight SEC common season championships and one SEC match championship in 1984.

“Coach Corridor not solely continued the custom of profitable and excellence, however he did it with grace and humility,” mentioned present UK Males’s Basketball Coach John Calipari in his evaluation. “I’m completely happy that there’s now a e book that appears again on all that Coach Corridor did for this state and this college and examines how he did it. He’s been a mentor to me, and I’m thrilled our followers will be capable to examine him.”

And for Coach Calipari, these aren’t simply phrases. He nonetheless carries a rolled-up program into each sport with him in honor of mentor, Coach Corridor. That program was taken all through the state this previous summer time and followers signed this system for Coach. One of many stops was in Coach Corridor’s hometown of Cynthiana, Kentucky.

On this riveting memoir, Corridor presents intimate particulars about his exceptional life on and off the courtroom. He reveals never-before-heard tales about memorable gamers, coaches and mates and expresses the fun and fulfillments of his rewarding life and profession.

Coach Corridor’s nationwide affect continues to dwell on via the  Joe B. Corridor Award. Offered yearly, the popularity honors the highest first-year coach in Division One faculty basketball.

Joe B. Corridor handed away on Jan. 15, 2022, on the age of 93.

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Along with Corridor’s memoir, UPK has a number of different publications for UK basketball followers, together with:

Concerning the College Press of Kentucky (UPK)

The College Press of Kentucky is the scholarly writer for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine College, Berea School, Centre School, Japanese Kentucky College, The Filson Historic Society, Georgetown School, Kentucky Historic Society, Kentucky State College, Morehead State College, Murray State College, Northern Kentucky College, Spalding College, Transylvania College, College of Kentucky, College of Louisville, College of Pikeville and Western Kentucky College.

From its places of work on the UK campus, the press’s full-time workers publishes 50-55 titles per yr in print and digital codecs. The press has 1,865 titles in print. UPK books can be found via all main retail and wholesale channels, libraries and on-line platforms, each home and worldwide.