A young fan's guide to Tony Delk

@MrsTylerKSR

On Saturday, Tony Delk will have his jersey retired, becoming the 43rd person to receive Kentucky basketball's highest honor. Those of us over the age of...oh, 28 have been waiting for this moment for awhile; Delk has long been considered the next in line to have his jersey retired, and for good reason. Following in the footsteps of Mashburn, Delk helped move Kentucky basketball into its golden era of the mid to late 90's. For Kentucky fans growing up at the time, he was our folk hero, all long arms and threes, as iconic as the famous denim jerseys. If you're under the age of 28, you know of Delk, but you may not really know him. I hear that. For years, I listened to UK fans older than me wax poetic about Rex Chapman, Kyle Macy, Dan Issel, and all of the great players who have gone through the program during its long and storied history, but I didn't really have the same appreciation for them as players I grew up watching. That's life. So, in hopes of giving our younger readers a better understanding of why Saturday's jersey retirement is so huge, I put together a little guide to why we love Tony.

A celebrated player in a celebrated era

During Delk's four years (1993-1996), Kentucky had a 119-18 record and went to the NCAA Final Four twice, winning one national championship, two SEC championships, three SEC Eastern Division championships and three SEC Tournament titles. Delk was named first-team All-American (1996), SEC Player of the Year (1996), first-team All-SEC his last two seasons, third-team All-America as a junior and second-team All-SEC as a sophomore. He was also given the honor of Most Outstanding Player of the 1996 Final Four, one of only six Kentucky basketball players to ever receive the award.

His arms are the stuff of legend

Delk is only 6'1", but has a 7'2" wingspan. That is freakish. Legend has it Delk's arms are so long that when he's sitting in a chair, he can put his palms on the floor. When standing up straight with his arms at his side, he can touch his knees. No big thing, you say? Try it right now. Delk's arms seem even longer when compared to his neck. He doesn't really have one. It's like the basketball gods got bored and created a caricature, smushing Tony's head down to stretch his forearms out even more. It's not like he's Skinny Arms Rob Lowe either--at his peak, Tony's arms looked like most people's legs if most people were 7' body builders.

He's made more three-pointers than any player in Kentucky basketball history

You know what they say about long arms: long stroke. Delk still holds the UK basketball record for most three-pointers made with 283. He's also second in career steals (201) and fifth in scoring (1,890 points). On a team of superstars, Delk led UK in scoring for three-straight years. Delk made nine threes against TCU on January 20, 1996, a single-game school record that wasn't broken until Jodie Meeks made ten vs. Tennessee in 2009.

He had an epic 4-point play in the NCAA Championship game

With eleven minutes left, Kentucky led Syracuse 55-46 when Todd Burgan crashed into Delk as he was shooting a three. Delk fell to the ground but the three went in and Delk made his free throw, pushing the lead from nine to thirteen and outside of Syracuse's reach. This was one of many plays that earned Delk the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor. Delk scored 24 points in the Championship game, including seven three-pointers, tying a championship game record.

He was drafted 16th by the Charlotte Hornets

With the 16th pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, Tony Delk went to Charlotte, which meant kids across the Bluegrass finally got an excuse to ask for that Hornets Starter jacket--you know the one:

I just wish I'd saved mine. Some hipster in Brooklyn would pay way too much for it now.

He played on eight different NBA teams

Delk's time in Charlotte didn't last long. In November 1997, the Hornets traded Delk and Muggsy Bogues to the Golden State Warriors for BJ Armstrong. Over ten years in the league, Delk played for eight teams: the Hornets, the Warriors, the Kings, the Suns, the Celtics, the Mavericks, the Hawks, and the Pistons.

He once scored 53-points in one game

http://youtu.be/BoLVF94FX1U The highlight of Tony's pro career has to be his 53-point performance for the Phoenix Suns against the Sacramento Kings in 2001. What flipped Delk into Boomshakalaka mode? The Kings traded him in 2000. Payback, baby.

He reunited with Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty in Boston in 2002

The three helped the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference semifinals. In 2003, Delk and Walker headed to Dallas together:

In 2004, they went to Atlanta:

Delk stayed with the Hawks until 2006, while Walker was traded back to the Celtics in 2005.

He was an assistant coach on Calipari's staff from 2009-2011

Most of you younger fans should know this. After playing overseas for a few years, Delk returned to Kentucky in 2009 to serve on Calipari's staff as assistant director of basketball operations, a position he held until 2011, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at New Mexico State.

While an assistant, he got to reunite with Darius Miller

Like any kid growing up in Bluegrass in the 90's, Miller was a huge Tony Delk fan, and during Miller's time at Kentucky, this picture of a young Darius and Tony became famous. Darius Miller: he's just like us!