Deron Feldhaus and Sean Woods, stayed with the program despite the sanctions, and entered UK lore during their senior season in 1991–92. That year, a relatively unheralded Kentucky team coached by Rick Pitino, in its first year after coming off NCAA probation, advanced all the way to the Elite Eight, losing to Duke in the East Regional title game. This game is often considered one of the greatest in college basketball history, ending with the Blue Devils' Christian Laettner's buzzer-beating jumper in overtime, which is among the most famous finishes in a college basketball game. John was the player who was supposed to be guarding him when he made the buzzer beater. Pelphrey and the other three seniors, as undisputed team leaders who showed their loyalty to UK during some of the program's darkest hours, would forever be known by Wildcats fans as "The Unforgettables" (A name given to them by Coach Pitino). Pelphrey is one of only 36 former Kentucky players to have his jersey retired (#34). Coaching career Oklahoma State After leaving Kentucky, Pelphrey failed to get drafted in the NBA and spent a short time playing professional basketball in France and Spain before joining his former coach Eddie Sutton's staff at Oklahoma State for the 1993–94 season. Marshall Pelphrey joined Billy Donovan's staff at Marshall for two years and was instrumental in the resurgence of the Thundering Herd program. Florida In 1996, he followed Donovan from Marshall to Florida and coached as an assistant for 6 years. He helped the Gators garner a school record four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1999 to 2002. During the 1999–2000 season, the Gators made their first-ever appearance in the national championship game against Michigan State. South Alabama Pelphrey spent five seasons as head coach at the University of South Alabama, starting in 2002. In his first season there in 2002–03, Pelphrey led the Jaguars to a 14–14 record but had subsequently bad seasons the next two years, going 12–16 in 2003-04 and then 10–18 in 2004–05. In 2005-06 the Jaguars defeated Western Kentucky University in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game, earning USA's first NCAA tournament bid since 1998. The Jaguars lost to eventual tournament champions, Florida in the round of 64. In 2007, Pelphrey led the Jags to a regular season title but they fell short in the Sun Belt Conference tournament quarterfinals after losing the final four