Big Blue Insider with Dick Gabriel · NewsRadio 630 WLAP (WLAP-AM)

2026-02-19 - BBI

February 20, 2026·1 hr 20 min·6 clips

Dick Gabriel welcomes childhood hero Dan Issel to discuss the ABA documentary 'Soul Power' and why the league is now more popular.

1. Big Blue Insider host Dick Gabriel covers UK sports and features Dan Issel in an extended ABA retrospective tied to the Prime documentary Soul Power. 2. Dan Issel, UK's all-time leading men's scorer and rebounder and a Kentucky Basketball Hall of Famer, speaks from his home in Denver. 3. The central question Gabriel poses is why the ABA, which folded in 1976, feels more culturally prominent now than it did while it was operating. 4. Issel credits streaming and social media for exposing a new generation to ABA highlights, and lists Julius Erving, Moses Malone, George McGinnis, and George Gervin as Hall of Famers who began their careers in the league. 5. Issel explains a specific NBA eligibility rule that prevented teams from drafting players until their college class graduated, which the ABA ignored, allowing it to sign underclassmen and even high school players like Moses Malone. 6. Issel recounts choosing the Kentucky Colonels over Detroit Pistons interest, telling Cliff Hagan of the Dallas Chaparrals he would only consider Louisville, and then the Colonels acquiring his ABA draft rights within a week. 7. He describes how Louie Dampier signed for $10,000 guaranteed in year one after the Cincinnati Royals offered nothing, and how Artis Gilmore was acquired when Kentucky Colonels GM Mike Storm wrote the highest bid of $3 million, with no actual intention of paying it. 8. Gabriel raises the counterfactual of Lew Alcindor, who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, potentially signing with the ABA; Issel says ABA commissioner George Mikan failed to offer the decisive one million dollars. 9. Issel argues that Alcindor's presence in the ABA would have forced an earlier NBA-ABA merger and might have finally secured the league a television contract, which he identifies as the primary reason the ABA ultimately failed. 10. The conversation covers the ABA's fights culture, with Issel explaining that players were literally fighting for jobs because Europe could only roster two non-Italian players per team. 11. Issel describes Doug Moe being banned from the NBA after a gambler bought him a suit of clothes, and names Connie Hawkins and Roger Brown as other players unfairly banned who found careers in the ABA. 12. On the documentary's production, Issel says his own interview ran two to two and a half hours, and credits George Karl as a central force behind getting the series made and sold to Prime. 13. The episode's most sobering moment comes when Issel describes broken pension promises at the 1976 ABA-NBA merger, naming teammates Ron Thomas and Bert Averitt as players the Dropping Dimes Foundation later had to help with basic bills. 14. Issel previews a memoir he has co-written with Doug Brunk for UK Press, with a foreword by Hannah Storm, describing it as a 'pretty transparent look' at his life including rough patches. 15. Gabriel pivots to Kentucky Wildcats basketball: Pope's team gave up 1.26 points per possession to Georgia in what Pope called the worst defensive performance Georgia faced all season in the SEC. 16. Pope attributed the defensive breakdown partly to Otega Oweh being drained by covering the best perimeter player every game, but said Oweh holds himself to the highest standards of any player in the country. 17. Billy Rutledge joins to describe his Super Bowl radio row week in San Francisco, noting he interviewed Christian McCaffrey, Terrell Davis, Bryce Young, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, and Adam Vinatieri. 18. The tone throughout the Issel segment is warm and conversational, with Gabriel and Issel trading first-person Kentucky memories, while the Billy Rutledge segment is lighter and anecdotal. 19. The episode suits listeners who follow UK basketball and have nostalgic interest in ABA history or the 1970s basketball era. 20. Casual sports fans or listeners seeking news analysis rather than personal storytelling will find the format slow-paced.

As heard by us

Kentucky memories, ABA history, and a direct look at where the Wildcats need help.

Dick Gabriel gives the Thursday edition of Big Blue Insider a distinctly Kentucky sports feel, opening with Dan Issel and letting the memories carry much of the weight.

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Why you'd press play

You want Kentucky basketball talk that pairs Dan Issel memories with the current Wildcats mess.

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