Kentucky reverting back to old Rupp Arena floor after dissatisfaction with Robbins, Inc. replacement

The Kentucky basketball teams were having some issues with the new court they recently ordered for Rupp Arena. So, they’re reverting back to the old one, the team announced on Thursday afternoon. Rupp Arena issued a statement on their Twitter page, along with Tony Neely, the Assistant AD for UK athletics.

Important update from UK Athletics & Rupp Arena: pic.twitter.com/mV4yskaIMj

— Rupp Arena (@Rupp_Arena) December 14, 2023

“Robbins, Inc. recently delivered a new portable basketball court to Rupp Arena for use by the University of Kentucky Men’s and Women’s basketball teams. Robbins produced a custom structural design unique to the Rupp Arena floor. Although the floor performed as intended when tested at the factory, both Robbins and UK officials were not satisfied with the performance of the floor under game conditions. For this reason, Robbins is expediting a floor replacement and looks forward to delivering a new floor to Rupp Arena as soon as possible,” John Puening, Robbins Product Manager wrote.

Until the floor is completed and reinstalled, the University of Kentucky Men’s and Women’s basketball teams will play on the previous court.

“We appreciate the commitment of Robbins Inc. and the Lexington Center Corporation to resolve the floor issue, we look forward to the final installation,” Tony Neely said. He’s the Assistant Athletic Director for Kentucky.

According to Matt Jones of KSR, the problem with the Rupp floor was that there were some dead spots in multiple places that caused uneven performance.

Reed Sheppard has made it look easy his first year in Rupp Arena

On the floor, Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard has been turning heads around the nation with his spectacular play.

On3’s Joe Tipton joined Andy Staples to peel back the curtain on how Sheppard stacked up on paper against the rest of his recruiting class, and why he’s the one that has captured the hearts of Big Blue Nation in such a short amount of time.

“No one saw this coming,” Tipton told Staples. “Coach Cal, in interviews, was not even mentioning Reed among his stud freshmen. I mean, if Coach Cal doesn’t see it coming then none of us see it coming. His overall feel for the game — I mean, you could tell that guy was you know, made to play basketball. He really understands his defense and shotmaking.

“I even interviewed him at an event last year I kind of said, you know, what can you expect your role to be as a freshman? And he said, kind of whatever Coach Cal wants me to do. If he wants me to get them water, I’ll give them water. You want to come in and make a shot — I’ll come in and make a shot. It’s been incredible to see kind of his rise and of course, his parents going there and having so much success as well.”

His father, Jeff Sheppard, was unforgettable during his time in Lexington, while his mother Stacey is one of the most prolific Kentucky WBB players of all time. If he continues on this trend — he’ll make a big enough name for himself that he won’t be known as Jeff and Stacey’s son. Instead, Jeff and Stacey will soon be known as Reed Sheppard’s parents. That’s the goal, at least.

For now, Sheppard is averaging 13.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists as one of Kentucky’s most productive players. He’s expected to play a large role in the Wildcats’ efforts against rival North Carolina this weekend — and rivalry of he’s watched up close for his entire life.

On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.