Kentucky Basketball: Blue-White game leaves us oozing with anticipation

Anticipation. Kentucky basketball fans have been clamoring for something to cheer for on the hardwood and after Friday night’s Blue-White Game that level has been raised from Defcon 5 to Defcon 1.

Last season we reached Defcon 1 as the threat of the worst season in 30 years kept raising our angst. Over the summer we settled back to Defcon 5 making peace with ourselves and the season we all wanted to forget.

As coach John Calipari began rebuilding, reloading, refocusing, and reinvigorating not only himself and the fan base the level has been steadily growing toward Defcon 1 again but this time it’s in anticipation of what the 2021-22 team can do to its opponents.

Kentucky basketball shows off its weapons in Blue-White Game

If you watched the Blue-White Game, while it’s your basic intrasquad scrimmage but before a crowd, we got a truer sense of the weapons this squad has in its arsenal.

After no game, last year and just 3,000 fans allowed per game last season nearly 11,678 paying fans settled into Rupp Arena and clearly have to be excited with what they witnessed. Even as some people pointed out was only half full.

Calipari addressed that question to the media afterward.

"“How about this? I want to know if anybody in the country could have a scrimmage that you have to buy tickets to, could have that many people. Tell me that school. These weren’t free. You had to pay for the tickets. That’s why I said, ‘These people are crazy.’ They come to this, they come to Madness. They’re excited about it. I was just in Louisville. Everywhere I’m walking, people are going crazy. They’re so ready for basketball. That’s what makes this what it is. I was so happy to walk out and see that many people at an intrasound scrimmage, what in the world?”"

Watching Cal on the sideline smiling and more relaxed than we have seen him in a very long time along with his jovialness afterward was very refreshing. Down in the dumps, Cal is gone and Swaggy Cal is back.

There is little doubt this team mixed with three freshmen, four transfers and five returning players is leaps and bounds better talent-wise than we have seen in some time. But what I like so far is anticipating just how much fun they are going to be to watch, grow and give us highlight after highlight.

Oh and hopefully putting more distance in wins back between us and Kansas.

So with that here are some things that only heightened the anticipation of things to come after the game.