By MIKE McCURRY
While the current version of the Kentucky Wildcats lacks star power, Big Blue Nation will be well-represented at the NBA’s All-Star weekend.
DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, and John Wall all were selected as All-Stars, though neither Cousins nor Wall will appear in Sunday’s game (8:00 PM ET, TNT) due to injury.
Davis, the reigning NBA All-Star Game MVP, will start for Team LeBron, whereas Towns, a first-time All-Star, will come off the bench for Team Stephen.
Kentucky joins UCLA as the only school to ever have four players picked for the All-Star Game, with the Bruins’ alumni contingent in 1983 consisting of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Marques Johnson, Kiki Vandeweghe and Jamaal Wilkes.
Jamal Murray and De’Aaron Fox get things started on Friday with the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Challenge (9:00 PM ET, TNT).
On Saturday, Murray is also involved in the Skills Challenge, while Devin Booker will participate in the 3-Point Shooting Contest.
Sunday’s G League International Challenge (4:30 PM ET, NBATV) features Terrence Jones and Aaron Harrison representing the G-League All-Stars.
Last but not least, Raptors’ head coach Dwane Casey, a member of Kentucky’s 1977-78 national champion squad, is set to coach Team LeBron.
In total, that’s ten former Wildcats partaking in this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in one capacity or another.
As for John Calipari’s present unit, Kentucky will look to extinguish a four-game losing streak on Saturday versus Alabama (2:00 PM ET, CBS).
Photo: Kentucky Men’s Basketball
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