The college basketball season has officially begun with tonight’s Big Blue Madness.
Friday night at Rupp Arena gave us our first look at the Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball teams, both of whom will enter the season as top-25 teams looking to make deep March Madness runs.
With that in mind, here’s what we learned from a fun night of hoops and celebration in Lexington.
KAT’s appearance was the highlight of the night
Karl-Anthony Towns making a special appearance was easily the highlight of the night.
After Mark Pope was introduced, Pope unveiled
a #12 jersey and introduced Towns. A beloved fan favorite during his time in Lexington, Towns is coming off winning an NBA Championship with the New York Knicks and easily drew the biggest pop from the audience.
We knew a former Cat who is now in the NBA would make an appearance, but seeing KAT back in Rupp Arena was special.
Alex Wilkins, the shooter?
I’m not sure how many people would’ve guessed Alex Wilkins as the winner of the 3-point shooting contest, but Wilkins lit it up during the competition, defeating Ousmane N’Diaye, Mason Williams, Kim Williams, Milan Momcilovic and Trent Noah.
Wilkins flashed his shooting ability last year at Furman, but wasn’t viewed as a high-level shooter when he transferred to Kentucky. Of course, the Big Blue Madness 3-point contest isn’t the same as an actual in-game competition, but seeing Wilkins light it up from 3 was a welcome sight.
Nearly everyone participated
There were some questions about how many players would actually participate in Big Blue Madness, but nearly everyone participated on the court. Despite dealing with injuries in the offseason, we saw Kam Williams, Trent Noah, and Milan Momcilovic in the 3-point contest and even saw Franck Kepnang get involved in the dunk contest.
Of course, Jerone Morton is a notable exception as he deals with a knee injury, but overall, a positive sign on the health front. It’s been a rough couple of months with injuries, so it was nice seeing most of the guys out on the court in some capacity.
Hopefully, the team is getting close to being fully healthy as the regular season draws near.
Mark Pope and Co. left the visitor list small
There were not a ton of recruits visiting for Big Blue Madness this year, as we’ve seen in years past.
It’s been reported Kentucky only had three recruits visit for Big Blue Madness. One of those is already committed, 6-6 wing Ryan Hampton. He was on an unofficial visit along with DJ Okoth, a 6-6 wing from Tennessee who is viewed as a top-20 prospect in the class of 2028.
The big visitor for the evening, of course, was CJ Rosser, the 6-10 forward who is ranked as the top overall player in the class of 2027. Rosser is the big fish that Mark Pope and Co. are chasing in the 2027 class.
The Cats are contending with UNC (Rosser is from North Carolina) and Arkansas in this recruitment, so hopefully Rosser will leave Big Blue Madness with a positive impression.
Kenny Brooks gets it
You have to say, Kenny Brooks gets what it takes to be a coach at the University of Kentucky.
Brooks’ entrance was cool, as he was rocking the Power K hoodie, emphasized beating Louisville last year, gave a shoutout to the other teams at UK, and talked about building off a special team from last season.
Brooks has built what looks to be a really solid team, and hinted that he believes this year’s team will make more 3-pointers than last year’s team, which broke a program record for 3-pointers last season.
We saw that shooting ability during the 3-point competition, with Asia Boone, Me’Arah O’Neal, and Emily McDonald lighting up the nets during the competition.
The UK WBB team is in good hands with Kenny Brooks.
The Clara Strack hype train is rolling
Clara Strack had an incredible season last year, averaging about 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, finishing with 16 double-doubles.
This year, the hype train for the 6’5 senior is already rolling. UK Athletics unveiledan awards campaignfor Strack.
If Strack has the season many expect, she certainly could be in contention for not only SEC Player of the Year, but the National Player of the Year award as well.
The UK WBB freshmen could be difference-makers
The trio of freshmen for the UK WBB team could be real difference-makers this season.
Savvy Swords, who has one of the coolest names I can remember in UK Basketball history, looks like a major contributor. Emily McDonald is going to be a threat from the outside all season and is going to have a couple of games where her shooting ability will be a difference-maker. There is also a lot to like about what Maddyn Greenway brings to the table as well.
This trio of UK freshmen could play some key roles for Kentucky this season.
The men’s team will open exhibition play in two weeks, hosting Little Rock and head coach Travis Ford. The women will open their season on November 2 at Historic Memorial Coliseum against Morehead State.
Overall, this wasn’t the most exciting Big Blue Madness we’ve ever seen, and with a new AD, UK Athletics has a year to look at how the event can be revamped and made better.
What were your takeaways from this year’s Big Blue Madness?
