The University of Kentucky Men’s and Women’s basketball team along with the UK Cheerleaders and Dance Team showcased their abilities in front of the BBN at Big Blue Madness
LEXINGTON – October 11, 2019 – Bradley Charles – Bluegrass Sports Nation
As expected, it was an electrifying night inside Rupp Arena for the 38th edition of Big Blue Madness.
Full photo gallery from Madness!! https://bluegrasssportsnation.com/big-blue-madness-image-gallery-10-11-19/
The night began with Matthew Mitchell and the Women’s basketball team. Coach Mitchell, dressed in a blue and white cowboy costume topped off with a white cowboy hat, continued his annual tradition of doing a dance routine at Madness by dancing to the song “Old Town Road.”
The team proceeded to have a three-point contest which was won by Chasity Patterson. When the inter-squad scrimmage started, Patterson made the first two baskets of the night; both were three pointers. The scrimmage was fast paced and action packed, featuring several three pointers and an acrobatic shot from Rhyne Howard.
This was followed by a routine from the Kentucky Wildcats Cheerleaders. Their performance was awesome, getting a tremendous and rowdy response from the crowd.
Then came the introductions to the 2019-2020 University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team. The introductions were done by Bruce Buffer, an MMA ring announcer. As expected, BBN was loud and raucous throughout the player introductions. One of the loudest moments of the night came when John Calipari was introduced.
After his introduction, Coach Calipari went on to give a tremendous speech which covered a little bit of everything. The majority of his speech seemed to be directed to the recruits in attendance. Calipari walked them through Kentucky’s history, making sure to work in all of his favorite go-to sayings. Calipari’s main message focused on the program’s great success over the last decade and his excitement for the next 10 years of success.
After Coach Calipari’s speech, the men’s three-point contest took place. The participants were Tyrese Maxey, Dontaie Allen, Nate Sestina, Johnny Juzang, E.J. Montgomery, and last year’s champion Immanuel Quickley. Immanuel Quickley defended his crown, putting up an impressive 24 points in the final round.
Following the three-point contest was the dunk contest which featured Tyrese Maxey, Keion Brooks, Kahlil Whitney, and Ashton Hagans. In the end, it was Tyrese Maxey that took home the gold.
The UK dance team took the floor at this point, putting on a tremendous and highly difficult, choreographed routine.
Then came the men’s inter-squad scrimmage. The best way to describe the scrimmage would be to imagine an All-Star game without the defense. The scrimmage was basically a feel-good moment for BBN, packed with dunks and deep three pointers. Even Nick Richards and Nate Sestina got in on the action as they each made multiple three pointers.
One of the coolest moments of Big Blue Madness came early in the night when stuffed mini Chick-fil-A cow toys were parachuted from the rafters down into the crowd.
The women’s team’s next game is an exhibition game at home against Southern Indiana on October 30th at 7:00 p.m. Coach Calipari and the men’s team will be back in Rupp Arena for the annual Blue-White Game next Friday night, October 18th. It will air on the SEC Network at 7:00 p.m.