At Big Blue Madness, Kentucky Breaks Out Former Stars in Hopes of Landing New Ones | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Tuesday / November 5.
  • At Big Blue Madness, Kentucky Breaks Out Former Stars in Hopes of Landing New Ones

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    John Calipari was made for Midnight Madness, and Midnight Madness is the perfect opportunity for Calipari to showcase his showmanship.

    The latest edition of Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness” on Friday night was just the latest example.

    Kentucky brought back a slew of former players to the event — highlighted by current NBA players Boogie Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein — to address the crowd, which as always included a group of elite recruits and potential future NBA players.

    A long list of former Wildcats also addressed the crowd via a video stressing the program’s family environment: Aaron Harrison, Ron Mercer, Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress, Tayshaun Prince, Kyle Wiltjer, Devin Booker, Rajon Rondo, Rex Chapman, Brandon Knight, Chuck Hayes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Eric Bledsoe, Archie Goodwin, John Wall and Nerlens Noel.

    Kentucky hosted a group of recruits that would make for a pretty strong college team — and maybe even a solid but young NBA team.

    As Kyle Tucker pointed out, Kentucky’s Madness visitor list included six players ranked among the Top 25 in the class by Scout.com: No. 2 Mohamed Bamba (6-11 center), No. 7 Kevin Knox (6-8 forward), No. 14 P.J. Washington (6-7 forward), No. 17 Nick Richards (6-10 center), No. 22 Trae Young (6-2 guard) and No. 25 Quade Green (6-0 guard).

    Kentucky also hosted 2018 stars Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish and Romeo Langford plus 2019 guys Christian Brown and Austin Hagans.

    “If you come here, you’re probably going to be a pro,” Cauley-Stein told the players.

    And that’s exactly the message Calipari wants them to hear.

    (Photo: Herald-Leader)

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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