In his debut with the Wildcats, his players crushed Georgetown (Ky.) College, 67-19. And from from there he went on to perfect a tenacious man-to-man defense and something that was called the "fast-break" scoring system.
He had answered those questions he asked as a young boy, you see. And the ultimate proof came in 1948 when Kentucky won the national championship. It was the first of four for this great coach.
He told his players after that tournament: "You've done everything you've been asked to do. You won your own SEC tournament; you won the NCAA Championship. You've kept training and made many sacrifices to do these things and for all of it I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
His career ended not by choice in 1972, when at the age of 71 he was forced to retire according to the rules for state employees. Six years later -- on Dec. 10, 1977 -- he died. It was just after the Wildcats had beaten Kansas in Lawrence.
Today's he's buried in Lexington, Ky., the place he made his home and where an arena now stands that bears his name.
Yes, he is Adolph Frederick Rupp, the man who had been the winningest coach of all time until another Kansas native and player -- Dean Smith -- came along and broke his record of 876 victories on March 16, 1997.