{"id":97632,"date":"2022-10-15T04:58:41","date_gmt":"2022-10-15T04:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/takeaways-from-kentucky-basketballs-big-blue-madness-2022\/"},"modified":"2022-10-15T04:58:41","modified_gmt":"2022-10-15T04:58:41","slug":"takeaways-from-kentucky-basketballs-big-blue-madness-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/takeaways-from-kentucky-basketballs-big-blue-madness-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Takeaways from Kentucky Basketball’s Big Blue Madness 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
Kentucky Men’s and Women’s Basketball welcomed Big Blue Nation into Rupp Arena Friday night for another year of Big Blue Madness, the biggest spectacle in all of college basketball practice. This year, the festivities got off to a great start with a surprise commitment from Aaron Bradshaw<\/strong>the five-star center who happened to be in attendance Friday night with many other special guests of the past, present, and future of Kentucky Basketball.<\/p>\n Once Bradshaw got the night rolling with big news, the Madness followed with the player introductions, contests, scrimmages, and all the little things in between that make this night special every year. For a rundown of all the festivities, KSR’s staff in attendance\u2013Drew Franklin, Jack Pilgrim, Zack Geoghegan, and Grant Grubbs\u2013has their takeaways and best moments of the night.<\/p>\n JACK: <\/strong>Surprise! Kentucky’s monster recruiting weekend got rolling with a monster commitment, as five-star center Aaron Bradshaw joined the program’s 2023 class just 30 minutes before Big Blue Madness got rolling. Originally scheduled to commit in November, the 7-foot shot-blocker out of New Jersey decided there was no reason to wait any longer, jumping on the opportunity to begin his visit to Lexington. He did so without making any other visits \u2014 he originally planned to see Texas, UCLA and potentially even USC before making a decision \u2014 choosing the Wildcats over Louisville and the G-League Ignite on Friday.<\/p>\n Bradshaw joins five-star guards Justin Edwards and Rob Dillingham, along with four-star guard Reed Sheppard in Kentucky’s 2023 class. That leaves DJ Wagner as UK’s prime target among senior prospects. <\/p>\n ZACK: <\/strong>Arguably the most exciting part of the night was before the event even started. The Big Blue Carpet runway that took place pregame featured all of the smiles, plenty of laughs, and some serious style. Head coach Kyra Elzy and the women’s basketball team got it started by flexing off their 2022 SEC Tournament championship rings before a slew of Kentucky alums walked down center stage. Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo, and Nick Richards all made an appearance and later were celebrity guests for the dunk contest. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist even stopped by for some Blue Carpet pictures. <\/p>\n Then the men’s team made its way down the Blue Carpet dressed to the nines. There was plenty of flashy jewelry (shoutout to NIL!) and lots of sunglasses (assuming to protect their eyes from the camera flash? That fashion trend is ahead of my time). There was even a \u201c360 selfie booth\u201d that you might remember from that cringe-worthy Brian Kelly video. But it’s much cooler looking when a bunch of 18- and 19-year-olds do it as opposed to a crotchety old man. <\/p>\n\n ZACK: <\/strong>Hours before Big Blue Madness even began, a special, less-promoted event was taking place not far from the Rupp Arena floor. Over in the convention center, half of the Kentucky MBB team spent roughly an hour signing autographs, taking pictures with fans, and interacting with the Big Blue Nation. <\/p>\n Jacob Toppin and Sahvir Wheeler were racing little kids through a giant inflatable obstacle course, Kareem Watkins was experiencing a virtual reality setup, and Brennan Canada was competing against fans in an inflatable version of \u201cpop-a-shot\u201d. Adou Thiero, Lance Ware, Grant Darybshire, and Walker Horn were also there walking and talking around while soaking in the good vibes. <\/p>\n There was even the return of a petting zoo, which was featured during last year’s Before the Madness, as well. A donkey was wearing a unicorn horn, so that was interesting too. There was alcohol, alpacas, and inflatables \u2014 what more do you need?<\/p>\n
\nAaron Bradshaw is a Kentucky Wildcat<\/h2>\n
The Blue Carpet atmosphere was lively<\/h2>\n
Before the Madness provided plenty of entertainment<\/h2>\n