UK Hoops: Getting Into A New Tradition

Twenty years ago, I could tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, who the Wildcats starting five were. I could also tell you who the guys were coming off the bench as well. I could give you their record, where they were in the SEC and the National Polls. I was a walking encyclopedia of information about the current and former Cats. My mind and my loyalties stopped there however. I did not keep up with UK Baseball, Women’s ANYTHING, a lot of what the football team did, and I sure did not keep track of the Hockey team and the Cheerleaders. My, how things have changed. Fifteen years ago, my world developed a new chapter. My first of two daughters was born, and I turned her into a member of the BBN toot sweet. Wearing UK blue from the cradle on, I even went so far as to put blue in her nursery, just in case. She has yet to disappoint me, and has even made me a better Big Blue fan in the last fifteen years. Kaitlin became a basketball player in her own right, and started following UK Hoops about 10 years ago. She loved it when Mickie DeMoss came here from Tennessee, and was heartbroken when she left. She caused me to start following UK Hoops almost as fervently as I do the guys.

Since her emergence as a Hoops fan, we have started an ritual which is now annually done on her birthday weekend. We get Hoops tickets and we attend that game as a part of her birthday celebration. And this year I am in attendance with press credentials. And I have to admit to all who are reading this, I am officially hooked on UK Hoops. They play just as hard, work just as hard, and now with Matthew Mitchell at the helm, are winning just as much as the guys. They are competing every year for the SEC, and they are realizing the potential that Mitchell pointed out when he first came to UK.

For those of you wondering about why Mitch Barnhart warranted a raise this season, take a long hard look at Matthew Mitchell, because he is one of the biggest reasons. UK Hoops could have suffered through a long rebuilding process when DeMoss left abruptly not long after she got here, but Mitchell has seen to it that the Hoops squad has not only kept pace, they have exceeded expectations regularly. Then there is the wow factor. A lot of people have seen games in Rupp Arena. It is a big place. Try a game in Memorial Coliseum. Memorial makes you feel like you are right inside the game. I have been to a few High Schools that had bigger arenas, but the Hoops games have that kind of a feel of closeness to the action. As I sit here and write my article I have got to talk to Victoria Dunlap, who seems confident today. It is just a different world from Rupp, and it costs only a fraction. If you have not been here for one of these games, you owe it to yourself to come out.

Now that I have two girls, it has only gotten worse with the Hoops games at my house, so we regularly make the trek for two hours up and back to see some really great games, and I have to say that I have become more and more enthused with the ladies and their efforts the last few years. So I am here courtside watching players in pink uniforms and am loving every minute of it. These girls are in a war with LSU and it has gone on from the opening whistle. Matthew Mitchell is what people call a strategist. He watches every little nuance and reacts quickly.

The UK Hoops squad won their war today on a last second shot, after some really great D and some smart playcalling when the clock was winding down. They never quit, they never let off the gas and played defense like they were possessed. They played in front of a packed house at Memorial Coliseum, who were every bit as raucous as any Rupp Arena crowd I have ever seen. So if you are as I am, a basketball fan, please take the time to go spend a couple hours watching the UK Hoops squad. You just might start your own “new tradition”.

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