Kentucky Big Blue Madness Party
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The Big Blue Madness Party Play by Play

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Last weekend was a huge weekend to kick-start the basketball season! Here’s our play-by-play of everything that went down – the expected and the unexpected! 

Aaron Bradshaw Commits to Kentucky

The Big Blue Madness party on Friday night got off to an early start when Five-Star Center Aaron Bradshaw made a surprise commitment to Kentucky. Bradshaw had initially planned to make his college decision in early November. However, something about being in Lexington and the excitement at the event must have made him see no point in waiting any longer. Bradshaw announced his commitment to the Cats for 2023 via his Instagram just 30 minutes prior to BBM22. 

A Few Former Legends Returned for Fun

Prior to this year’s players being announced, Kentucky introduced a star-studded lineup of former Wildcat Legends who had made the trip back to Lexington for the night. That included Brandon Knight, Tyler Ulis, Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Bam Adebayo, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

At the event, they also played a video compilation of former legends who could not make the trip but wanted to give their love to the Big Blue Nation and give their good luck wishes to this year’s squad. Those featured in the video included Tyrese Maxey, Malik Monk, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, and lastly John Wall.

The Scrimmage Was a Success  

After some hype player introductions, Coach Cal kept his speech short, dropped the mic, and got things started. Antonio Reeves walked away victorious from the three-point challenge, and Jacob Toppin was dubbed the dunk contest winner by the judges despite not actually scoring the highest number of points. We think this may have had something to do with that: 

Once play got underway, it was all fun. No reason to go hard and run the risk of injury. Go out, scrimmage, and put on a show for the fans. Oscar Tshiebwe was held out after having a minor, non-serious knee surgery. 

Overall the night was a huge success for everyone who attended, especially for the impressive guest list of recruits, including the #1 overall player for 2023, DJ Wagner, who is the last piece to Cal’s masterclass now that he received Bradshaw’s commitment. 

Let’s Get The Revenge Tour Started! 

Everyone in the BBN is ready to get the Revenge Tour started. With a new team, new coaches, a LOADED recruiting class in the back pocket – and to some fans – the most important aspect, new jerseys – it feels like Kentucky basketball is back on track! In the words of John Calipari (during his first ever BBN address in 2009), it feels like “a return of this legendary program back to its rightful place atop the mountain of college basketball”.

The new AP Poll is out, and Kentucky is #4 in the nation, ranking inside the pre-season Top 5 for the first time since 2018-19. The new Ken Pomeroy rankings also came out and had the Cats as the #1 team in the nation as well.

There is unlimited potential for this upcoming season, and everyone in the BBN knows it. It’s Time For Nine, and we’re coming for it!

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