Former Wildcat, and member of the 1975 Final Four team, Dan Hall has passed away of an apparent suicide.
Hall, unfortunately, joins a list of former Cats who have taken their own lives in recent years.(The names include Jim Dinwiddie, who was 63 at the time of his death in 2012, and one of the most beloved Cats ever, Melvin Turpin, who took his life at the age of 49 in 2010.)
Hall was a highly touted recruit out of Betsy Layne, in Eastern Kentucky. His senior season at the school, he led the Bobcats to a 32-4 record.
Hall would not finish his collegiate career as a Wildcat, however, as he would transfer to Marshall amid circumstances that were not quite known, until years later when Hall himself set the record straight.
Hall, as he told the Floyd County Times back in 2011, said the reasoning for his leaving Kentucky was because of some locals from Floyd County basically saying things that were just not true about him and just causing trouble for him and his standing with his team and the program. Hall felt it was better if he just left Lexington and came closer to home and transferred to Marshall after his sophomore season in blue.
He also maintained that he has no ill-will towards anyone associated with the program during that period and remained in contact with coach Joe B. Hall and several teammates from those years as a Cat, and stated that he felt that he still had a good relationship with those individuals.
In a time when John Calipari is putting together top-ranked recruiting class after another, Dan Hall was part of a phenomenal 1974 class that also featured Rick Robey, James Lee, Jack Givens, and Mike Phillips. That was also the year that the NCAA first allowed freshman to compete on varsity teams in Division 1, and that group made an immediate impact on a program who just the season before had comprised a 13-13 record.
It would seem that Coach Hall was ahead of his time. That class made the Final Four in '75 (losing to UCLA, the only major program it is said that did not recruit Hall), won the NIT in '76, was an Elite Eight team in '77, and as we all know, saw the 'Goose' be golden in winning the National Title in '78.
Quite a run for that '74 class indeed. Kinda' parallels what we are seeing these days in Lexington, minus of course the same core group year in and year out.
Hall would also do well at Marshall during his days in Huntington, forging a relationship with future coach Greg White while there.(White was a WAY better point guard than head coach for the Herd.)
Hall also lamented back in 2011, that his biggest regret was not going overseas to take his opportunity to play professionally in Europe. That, and you just get the feeling that he really wished he'd had remained in Lexington. He said he never considered himself anything, other than a Kentucky Wildcat.
Although it was just words on a page, you could feel his regret, his remorse. This was a man who, perhaps, was struggling with a life full of 'what ifs'. There was a void in the life of Dan Hall, and he had no way to fill it.
Hall worked for the Transportation Department after his playing days, with his office and base of operations being located in Pikeville. He stated he liked to keep up with both the Cats and Thundering Herd programs, and made it to Rupp whenever he could to see the Big Blue. In maybe a sad twist of irony, Hall was working on Kentucky's roads to everywhere, yet he couldn't find his road to letting go and acceptance, and seemed to constantly be looking for a road that led to some sort of redemption, that he never needed to find.
It is not known as this is being written how Dan Hall took his life. One thing that Dan Hall apparently spent years trying to convey was regret for leaving and that he loved Kentucky basketball more than anything, and that he had no hard feelings towards anyone associated with the program.
Maybe someone should have conveyed to Dan Hall, that nobody had any hard feelings towards him, either.
Dan Hall, albeit for only two seasons, lived the dream of every Kentucky boy.
In a sort of fitting manner, if such a thing could exist in this situation, Hall, a proud Eastern Kentuckian, may have been proud of Eastern Kentucky University tonight, as they upset a team who has been a Mid-Major power, Murray State tonight in Murray, Kentucky, 77-65.
2 comments:
Dan was not only a great player, but a great man. his heart was bigger than his massive frame. he was and will forever be a legend to us eastern Kentucky's who knew and loved him not for his impressive ball skills, but for his amazing kindness to those of us fortunate to have called him a friend. rest in peace big Dan. a true icon in every sense of the word.
Dan Hall began playing basketball at Betsy Layne, while in the 4th grade. I coached Dan in the 4th grade when his mom would bring him to the gym at BLHS. He was as tall as myn 8th grade players, and very uncoordinated. He had a great desire, however, and played hard. I am saddened to hear of his passing.
John H. DeRossett 02-21-2013
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