During last weekend’s celebration of Kentucky’s Final Four team of 1993, Rick Pitino was not the only person conspicuous by his absence.
Jamal Mashburn was no where to be seen. Not present at the reunion. Not included in video greetings by players who could not attend, such as Travis Ford and Tony Delk. What?! Mashburn was the team’s best player, the main reason for its success and arguably one of the most transformational figures in program history.
Brooks Downing, a student intern in UK’s sports information office at the time, credited Pitino, Mashburn and then Director of Athletics C.M. Newton as the three people responsible for Kentucky’s rapid recovery and return to prominence in the wake of a rule-breaking scandal in the late 1980s. “That’s what brought the program back,” Downing said.
UK wanted Mashburn at the celebration. UK consulted with Mashburn to find a date that fit his schedule. Apparently a problem arose deep in the planning.
Mashburn could not be reached. But it’s widely known that he has receded from his basketball persona. He is a businessman.
“He doesn’t want to do any basketball-related interviews right now,” Mashburn’s business partner, Jonathan Sackett, wrote in an email. But Mashburn was open to talking about his business ventures, Sackett said.
