July 16th: On this date...

.... in 1993, your University of Kentucky Wildcats point guard Travis Ford helped Team USA beat the communism out of China at the World University Games 129-91 to advance to the gold medal game. Ford, who was coming back from a minor knee injury, bucketed 16 points. Team USA would later win gold, prompting wind guy T. Boone Pickens to offer Travis the Oklahoma State job. These were the first World University Games held in the U.S. since 1972. Chicken guy Kenny Rogers was featured during the opening ceremonies.

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July 15th: On this date...

.... in 1940, Allen Feldhaus, a former player under Adolph Rupp and father of Unforgettable Deron Feldhaus, was born in Burlington, Kentucky. He played for Coach Rupp from 1959-62, and though he wasn't a big scorer, his physical presence in the post made teams account for him. One example of this is versus Tennessee January 15, 1962: After Cotton Nash had exchanged blows with UT's Sid Eliot, Feldhaus entered the scrum, chasing Eliot around the court with his fist cocked, all but ending the cheap shots on Nash. Feldhaus later became a coach at Mason County, leading the Royals to four regional titles and a runner-up finish in the 1981 Sweet Sixteen.

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Liftoff

July 14th: On this date...

.... in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team member Darius Miller arrived back home from down under (New Zealand) with a gold medal around his neck. For the first time since 1991, Team USA has won a gold at a Junior World Championship, this time it was at the FIBA Under-19 World Championships. It took our nation 18 years to realize that all it needed was a current UK player on the team to win a gold. There was actually another association on the team from Lexington, as Bryan Station's Shelvin Mack was a point guard on the team. Other members of the team included Gordon Hayward and Seth Curry.
They handled Greece in the Gold Medal round, 88-80, to complete a perfect 9-0 record in FIBA U-19 World Championships in New Zealand.

Darius' complete tournament line:

9 Games, 17-27 FG (63%), 0-4 3PM, 11-14 FT (78.6%), 130 minutes played

Averaging:

5.0 PPG - 3.1 rebs - 1.3 assts - 1.3 blks - 1.6 stls - 1.6 TOs

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July 13th: On this date...

.... in 1993, your University of Kentucky Wildcats offered the one and only Scott Padgett a scholarship to play basketball with Rick Pitino. Will Padgett, father of the St. X forward Padgett, said his son was "overjoyed, like a little kid waking up on Christmas morning and seeing his presents." Padgett was a lifelong Kentucky fan (protocol for any young male) growing up in the filthy city of Louisville, just hoping to make it out. He played in only 14 games as a freshman on the 1994-95 team. Apparently, a nasty dog from Louisville ate his homework for a semester, because he flunked out. He turned everything around, though, and was a vital part of the runner-up 1997 team, the Champion 1998 team, and the Elite Eight 1999 squad. His 3-pointer vs. Duke in the 1998 Regional Final goes down as one of the most important shots in Kentucky basketball history.

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Pro Freak Show: Summer League Highlights Vol. 1

July 12th: On this date...

.... in 2003, nearly 20,000 seats were sold in advance to a game that would become a World Record for attendance at a basketball game. The Kentucky-Michigan State tilt would be called "Basketbowl - Hoops on the 50", only because everything nowadays needs a label or catchy jingle. The game would take place at Ford Field, the newly designed home of the Detroit Lions. Officials were hoping to get 75,000 for the game. They got 78,129. The previous World Record for any basketball game was set at Olympic Stadium in Berlin for a Harlem Globetrotters game. The Superdome in New Orleans had held the top 9 spots for most attended college basketball games in history. Oh....Gerald Fitch would score 25 to lead #8 Kentucky to a 79-74 victory over Izzo's Spartans.

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July 11th: On this date...

.... in 1990, as only your University of Kentucky could, we found a victory over Louisville from 1914 that wasn't counted as a part of our overall win total and petitioned the NCAA to add it. They did, and with that victory, Kentucky and North Carolina were tied in all-time wins. It was this moment when Kentucky basketball took off again and put some distance between themselves and the Tar Heels. In conclusion, the joke was on the NCAA. They successfully put the Wildcats on probation, but we got the last laugh. Sources tell The Big Booyah that the win was actually found in the back room of an Italian restaurant named Porcini's. I don't know what this means.

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July 10th: On this date...

.... in 1999, the mini-dynasty game at Rupp Arena between 1996 and 1998 ended in a 132-132 tie, because in today's society, there are no losers! Derek Anderson corralled everyone he could to come play the game for his foundation and the UK Basketball Museum. Nazr Mohammed led the 1998 squad dropping 51 points on the '96ers. Allen Edwards added 28, Heshimu Evans 21, and Scott Padgett 13. The '96ers were led by Waltah McCahtee with 31, Derek Anderson's 25, Ron Mercer's 24, and Tony Delk's 23. It was a showcase game for Big Blue Nation with a slew of Kentucky greats being honored at halftime. Ralph Beard, Joe B, Wah Wah Jones, Vernon Hatton, Adrian Smith, Derek Hord and more. The official attendance for the game was 18,437.......in the middle of freaking July.

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July 9th: On this date...

...... in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats new head coach Jonathan Calipari let Big Blue Nation know that his regime was way different than the recent tenures. How did he accomplish this? Coach Cal tweeted a picture of he and LeBron "The King" James sitting in the stands at "The King" LeBron's basketball camp. The new coach was out in front of it mugging for every single media outlet giving him the time of day. And with Twitter, he was in charge of promoting himself, which was even better. Coach Cal took the Twitter world by storm and raced passed every other coach in sports on number of followers (possibly combined), promoting anything and everything UK. Cal used all his connections to let the college basketball world know there was a train a comin'. Our Highness, "The King" LeBron James later came to Rupp during the season and was the "Y" in the Kentucky cheer. This James fella was never heard from again. Wonder if he's doing OK?

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Kentucky State's Paving the Way!

Thought for Food - Kentucky Tuna & Grilled Cheese Burger Melt<a>

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July 8th: On this date...

.... in 1999, fans were getting anxious to see a matchup of recent NCAA Champions as most of the players of the '96 and '98 team held a charity exhibition in Rupp Arena. The proceeds from the event would be benefiting the Derek Anderson Foundation and the UK basketball museum. Tubby Smith would coach the '98 Champs and Delray Brooks would be given the luxury of "coaching" the '96 Champs. 18,000 tickets were sold for the charity exhibition as Cat fans got a chance to see the mini-dynasty in action. The Derek Anderson Foundation provides assistance to disadvantaged youth in a variety of ways.

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Source: We're #1.

So says Doron Lamb, our backup point guard/starting shooting guard extraordinaire.

We're just over three months to Big Blue Madness!

Operation Hurry Up and Get Here

July 7th: On this date...

.... in 1993, the University expected the NCAA to declare Kentucky recruit Anthony Epps ineligible. Epps, a point guard from Marion County, Kentucky, played in a three-on-three tournament in which he dominated and won first place. Nothing wrong with that, right? That is until he accepted a cash prize for winning. By accepting this prize, he jeopardized his amateur status............until the shady Rick Pitino forced the NCAAs hand and made them make Epps eligible. Boy, that Rick Pitino.....he sure lives in the gray area with the NCAA.

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July 6th: On this date...

.... in 1991, hotshot recruits Rodrick Rhodes and Jason Kidd were roommates at the Nike Basketball Camp, and according to Bob Gibbons, both had Kentucky on their wish lists. Jason Kidd was the more celebrated of the two, fielding offers from Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina. He would eventually get a truck load of money from Todd Bozeman and choose California as his destination. Rhodes chose Kentucky and had a wonderful freshman campaign. Many will remember Dickie V calling Rhodes the prince of Kentucky basketball (to Jamal Mashburn's king) during an ESPN telecast. Rodrick would later transfer to USC after his junior season after he and Pitino had a falling out. I.E. He missed two free throws in the SEC Championship.

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July 5th: On this date...

…… in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats had a representative in the form of Darius Miller at the FIBA Under 19 World Championships in New Zealand. Coach Jaime Dixon utilized Miller’s size and strength to become America’s shut down defender during the Tournament. But on this day, Darius offensive game was up to par, as he and Lexington-native Shelvin Mack helped lead the charge as Team USA destroyed the Egypt Pyramids, 112-55. This was Darius' present to America for her birthday. What was yours?

Darius' line: 3-6 FG, 3-3 FT - 9 pts - 9 rebs - 1 asst - 1 blk - 4 TOs

Shelvin added 14 pts - 4 assts - 2 rebs

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July 4th: On this date...

I think my Independence was just Declared.

...... since 1776, we have celebrated the birthday of our country. Hope you do the same and have a safe holiday weekend. Happy Birthday America.

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July 3rd: On this date...

This is an original shirt from the Cats 1986 Asian tour. He was there to commemorate the 23rd Anniversary last summer.

..... in 1986, your University of Kentucky Wildcats were on their way home from a seven game exhibition world tour to the far east. Six of the seven games were played in Japan, while the other was played in South China. In the last game versus South China, the attendance was said to have been 100 people. Shortly after this game, Kentucky boarded a plane for a 27-hour ride back to the Commonwealth. The Cats finished the road trip 6-1, the only loss coming against Czechoslovakia. The third ranked Cats, from 1986, beat South China, Finland, and Japan for their wins. So whenever someone brings up how David Stern or the Dream Team globalized basketball, you give them this little nugget and watch them squirm.

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July 2nd: On this date...

..... in 2008, your University of Kentucky basketball museum closed its doors after it was no longer able to support itself financially. The museum opened its doors February 13, 1999, before a game with South Carolina. Fans were able to walk among the hallowed timeline of Kentucky basketball history, giving many youngsters a sense of what their fathers got to experience a generation earlier. Among the highlights were an interactive area where fans could make a radio call of great Kentucky basketball moments, as well as play "virtual one-on-one" against a favorite Wildcat. Van Florence was hired on late to try and help save the museum, but it had been too far in debt to recover. Contractors had estimated the museum would bring 130,000 fans annually, and average 110,000 visitors yearly thereafter. The opening year brought 27,000 people, averaging only 19,000 visitors each year. The University assumed the debt and pieces from the museum are featured in the Craft Center as a sort of Walk of Fame.

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July 1st: On this date...

..... in 1999, your University of Kentucky legend above was selected 28th overall in the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. Coming from academic troubles forcing him to sit out the Championship 1995-96 season, Scott Padgett returned in December '96 to become one of UK's most clutch performers in recent memory. He was a member of both the 1997 Runner-Up and 1998 National Championship team. Kentucky fans from across the world will remember him for one game in particular, The Revenge Game. A 1998 regional final vs. Duke in which Padgett drained a go-ahead "3" putting the Cats up 84-81 with under a minute left. He celebrated the shot like every Cat fan in his/her living room, giving him instant legend status. Padgett also led UK to an Elite Eight berth in 1999, despite losing four seniors the previous spring.

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