Embracing the rivalry helped Kentucky notch Mark Pope’s first win in the series as the Cats’ head coach.
Early on Saturday morning, while folks were still sipping on their first (or second) cup of coffee, the Kentucky men’s basketball Twitter account dropped a very powerful video — one that showcased the past of the program writing to the present-day team on what the Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals rivalry on the hardwood means.
“Our media and alumni team did something really cool that I thought was so special,” head coach Mark Pope said after the win. “They each wrote a letter to one our players about what this game means to them, and that probably says it better than I ever could.”
The media team, featuring Jacob Most, Billy Toombs, and Nathan Schwake, featured prominent former players such as Kenny Walker, Darius Miller, and Willie Cauley-Stein, just to name a few.
“This game is something you’ve never seen before,”
– Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to Otega Oweh
“The energy and the emotion that will be in Rupp will be like no other.”
– Deron Feldhaus to Andrew Carr
“Understand you are built for moments like this and that you are here for a reason,”
– Tayshaun Prince to Ansley Almonor
“To this day, not a week goes by that somebody doesn’t remind me where they were, who they were with and what they were wearing when I was making those free throws,”
– Patrick Sparks to Travis Perry
Those were just some of the powerful excerpts from the letters of former players on how much this game means to the state, especially to the boys in blue.
Ahead of today’s game, some legendary alumni wrote letters to Wildcats on this year’s team explaining what the rivalry means.
The Kentucky Legends Project: https://t.co/Ujkx1UEul2 pic.twitter.com/NyhyrNQNEC
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 14, 2024