Billy Buford, a member of Memphis basketball's 1972-73 Final Four team, dies at 74
· Yahoo Sports
Billy Buford, a key member of the 1972-73 Memphis basketball team that reached the national championship game and was pivotal in uniting a city during turbulent times, died May 27.
He was 74.
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The Glasgow, Kentucky, native played two seasons for the Tigers, carving out a sparkplug role as their sixth man en route to the title game, where they fell to John Wooden’s Bill Walton-led UCLA Bruins on March 26, 1973. He quickly became a hit with fans and favored by his teammates for his ebullient, charismatic nature and penchant for pitching in at critical times.
“Billy didn’t walk, he be-bopped,” Ted Turnipseed, a student manager on the 1972-73 team, told The Commercial Appeal in 2003. “He was like Will Smith before there was a Will Smith.”
One of Buford’s first spotlight moments came in a 97-92 double overtime win over Drake on Jan. 4, 1973, in Des Moines, Iowa. The bouncy 6-foot-7 forward scored 10 points in the second overtime period to help the team secure its sixth straight win amid what would become a 14-game streak.
“Tell ‘em the big men starred and Memphis State came back, but tell ‘em Billy Buford pulled it out,” Buford’s teammate, Larry Finch, told The Memphis Press-Scimitar after the game.
“Billy Bipp, he’s our fire man,” Finch told Sports Illustrated later that season.
Buford transferred to then-Memphis State from Paducah Junior College, where he became a highly recruited second-team junior college All-American. But he had difficulty cracking a starting lineup right away under coach Gene Bartow – a lineup that featured program legends like Finch, Larry Kenon and Robbie Robinson.
Buford, who averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in his first season at Memphis, admitted he was frustrated at first.
“For me, the breakthrough came with the removal of me trying to prove something,” he told The Commercial Appeal in 2003. “I personally made the commitment that this ain’t about me, this is about my team’s success. I just needed to play the time I was getting.”
Tigers fans’ appreciation for Buford was a two-way street. Upon falling to UCLA in the title game, Buford espoused the support he and his teammates received during their run.
“Our fans are amazing. When I came to Memphis State this year, I didn’t expect anything like them,” Buford told the Press-Scimitar in 1973. “I think I’m sorrier for our fans that we lost than I am for us. I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the whole wide world.”
The next season, Buford’s role expanded and his impact was felt. He averaged 11.6 points and seven rebounds a game for a 19-11 team that reached the National Invitation Tournament.
One of the defining moments of Buford’s career came on Valentine’s Day in 1974. He scored 22 points in a 78-71 win over Louisville, Memphis’ longtime bitter rival. It was only the program’s seventh win over the Cardinals in 24 tries to that point.
Louisville’s Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum was asked after the game which Cardinal was assigned to guard Buford.
“Apparently nobody,” a frustrated Crum replied.
Press-Scimitar executive sports editor George Lapides put Buford’s performance in perspective.
“Elvis (Presley) had better watch out. He’s going to be hard pressed to top the show Buford put on,” Lapides wrote on Feb. 15, 1974, referring to a series of upcoming concerts Presley would stage the following month at the Mid-South Coliseum.
Following Buford's playing career, he spent 10 years counseling at-risk youth as an area director for Memphis Athletic Ministries. He also served as a community involvement director for the city of Memphis.
In 2018, he was named an advocate coordinator for the Court Appointed Special Advocates of South Central Kentucky — a government body that "provides citizen volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children in the family court system," according to a Park City (Kentucky) Daily News report.
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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Billy Buford, part of Memphis basketball's 1972-73 Final Four team, dies at 74