Raising Money With Coach Cal And UK Basketball
Late Friday afternoon our family of three took the short trip down I-75 to watch the UK Legends game and the Alumni game featuring many current NBA players. It provided a great opportunity to see many of the NBA stars that our young son has begun to follow ( NBA2K), but more importantly helped raise money for charity. Coach Cal has used the UK alumni game , along with his fantasy camp, to raise money for charities since 2012. Before the current NBA Wildcats took the floor Coach Cal anounced to the Rupp Arena crowd that they would be donating $150,000 to the Red Cross to help with Hurricane Harvey.
Legends Take The Court Again
Like many of us Kentuckians, I grew up in a Wildcat household. Kevin Grevey, Jack "Goose" GIvens, and Kyle Macy were some of the legends that I grew up hearing Cawood describe on the radio. If we were lucky we would catch them on the NBC Game of the Week on Saturday afternoon. My more detailed memories of Kentucky Basketball start with the early 80's and players like Kenny "Sky" Walker. It was great to see these different eras take the court together. I enjoyed watching warmups and the way the old teammates interacted with each other and also players that were a generation or two apart.
The NBA Guys
The main event of the evening was a game full of current NBA players. As with the earlier game, I enjoyed watching the way guys from different UK teams bonded with each other. It truly is like a family reunion. There seemed to be a game of horse going on between Keith Bogans and Rajon Rondo and we wondered if there may have been some sort of wager on the outcome. We noticed that competition carry over into the game when they would take turns yelling at each other while one was on the court and the other on the bench. The game itself was a little like the typical all star contest, but one that was played amongst brothers. There were the occasional matchups (Boogie and Magloire come to mind) that were fun to watch. The other thing that stood out is the ability and creativity of Rajon Rondo in this type of setting. If you ever get the chance to catch the former NBA All Star in a game like this…do it.
Everyone Had Fun
You could clearly tell in both games the guys had fun "competing" against each other. That feeling of fun on the court carried over to the fans watching. I was a little concerned if our eight year old son would stay engaged in the action. He had only heard of a few of the guys in the Legends game. When the NBA guys took the court and began the game with a flurry of 3's, our boy was dialed in. It was an enjoyable evening for our family in Rupp that made me wish we had attended one of these charity events previously. We were fortunate enough to cross paths with Coach Joe B Hall during halftime and he was so gracious with everyone who wanted a moment of his time. Having our son take a picture with the legendary coach was an unexpected bonus on a fun night. A fun night that filled that UK Basketball void and left me looking forward to a season that now doesn't seem so far away. Thanks for reading and Go Big Blue!
Click below to see the awesome intro video.
Nice writing. Could feel your excitement
Thanks. I enjoyed sharing it.