An All-Kentucky All-Star Weekend

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On3 image — Photo by Barry Gossage | NBAE via Getty Images

With the NBA’s All-Star Weekend set to take place this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, some of the NBA’s best will gather to celebrate the league’s 75th anniversary. Kentucky is one of the most elite college basketball programs in the country, one that continues to produce NBA talent. As usual, UK will have more than one representative taking part in the festivities this weekend.

🙌🔥 @KentuckyMBB players have made 10 more NBA All-Star appearances than the next team over the last 10 seasons pic.twitter.com/Nm28PQXiU5
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 18, 2022

With that in mind, what would an all-Kentucky All-Star Weekend look like? There are plenty of players to choose from, as well some big names from across the Big Blue Nation who could get in on the action. Let’s have some fun with it.

All-Star Celebrity Game

On Friday night, the All-Star Celebrity Game is played by local and national celebrities, from singers and actors to athletes and politicians. With a little help from KSR, a little bluegrass spin on this event would be well worth the watch.

Team Matt Jones vs. Team Drew Franklin

Assistants: Ryan Lemond, Shannon The Dude, Mrs. Tyler Thompson, Jack Pilgrim, Nick Roush, Zack Geoghegan, and Adam Luckett.

Potential Draft Candidates

Dr. Eli Capiluto: You can’t tell me UK’s 12th President playing wouldn’t be a major draw for both the student body and alumni.
Jack Harlow: Harlow is from Louisville, is playing in the NBA All Star Weekend’s Celebrity game on Friday night, and has a song titled “Tyler Herro”…Easy choice.
Tom Hart: Hart could come up with plenty of content to work into his ESPN broadcasts after playing in the event.
Andy Beshear: Beshear deserves a break from all the politics and press conferences for a friendly game of roundball.
Bob Baffert: Availability pending on steroid results…
DJ Warren Peace: A staple at UK basketball games, it’s time to see him out from behind the DJ booth and onto the court.
Chris Stapleton: His game and jumper are surely as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey.
JD Shelburne: A man whose first breath to his last name are straight from Kentucky.
Kevin Richardson: Tell me why he shouldn’t be included.
Bobby Bones: Both coaching staffs will have a hard time getting the famous radio personality to leave his Razorback gear at home…Still, a friend of Matt’s is a friend of ours.
Steve Zahn: He might not be welcome after his prank call on Coach Cal back in 2018, but the well-known actor could make amends with a solid performance.
Maria Montgomery: Although she’s no longer the in-arena host for UK Basketball, the former Miss Kentucky USA could make her return to the Rupp court by playing.
Ellen Calipari: UK fans would love to see “The Princess” joining the family business, but this spot is fluid as both Megan and Erin Calipari also warrant consideration.
Kash Daniel: If the referees let them play, the former UK linebacker could be a menace.
Benny Snell Jr.: Hey! It’s your boy Benny Snell Jr., number 26 for the Kentucky football team…
Sydney McLaughlin: As one of the fastest women alive, she would be one of the fastest point guards at UK since Wall or Fox.
Ashley Judd: After returning to UK in 2007 to graduate, the avid UK fan could make another return to campus in order to play.
Drake: He owes BBN for never keeping that promise of a free concert. Rent is due, Aubrey…
Mikayla Epps: As a top-10 scorer in the history of UK Women’s Basketball, Epps could make her return to the blue and white as the point guard of one of these rosters.
Maggie Davis: As a former member of the KSR family, Davis would be highly coveted on draft day by both rosters.
Vince Marrow: The Big Dog may want to play it safe now that he’s engaged, but I wouldn’t put it past UK Football’s associate head coach to flip this opportunity into some kind of recruiting pitch.
John Short: Short drops 20 bigguns to win MVP? Yes indeedy.

All-Star Saturday Night

Skills Challenge Participants

John Wall
Brandon Knight
Tyler Ulis
De’Aaron Fox
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander
Sahvir Wheeler

With quite the list of point guards to choose from since Calipari’s arrival, there are plenty of options for this event. With all of the contestants possessing extreme speed and passing, it may come down to the best shooter to determine the winner.

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3-Point Shootout Participants

Doron Lamb
Aaron Harrison
Devin Booker
Jamal Murray
Malik Monk
Tyler Herro
Immanuel Quickley
Kellan Grady

For a program that’s struggled with shooting at times under Calipari, the Wildcats have had some legit makers. Booker won the NBA’s 3-Point Contest in 2018 with a record high score for a single round, but I guarantee more than one of these contestants could give him a run for his money if they got hot.

Dunk Contest Participants

John Wall
Hamidou Diallo
De’Aaron Fox
Malik Monk
Bam Adebayo
Keldon Johnson
Jacob Toppin
Shaedon Sharpe

Kentucky’s 2017 roster dominates this field with three participants, but all are deserving as some of the most athletic players to come through Lexington recently. Wall, Johnson and Toppin have all had their fair share of high-flying highlights as well. Beyond that, we have both our early enrollees from the Calipari era in Diallo and Sharpe. Diallo can fly, but this would be the perfect way to get just a taste of Sharpe content while he’s still around for certain.

While all of these players had individual success in Lexington, only a select few have earned the title of All-Star in the NBA. Still, Kentucky has spit out plenty of players who were both impactful NBA role players as well as fan favorites in Lexington. The only non-NBA player on the list is Oscar Tshiebwe. With every other team represented with at least one player, this season’s team deserved at least one, and “Big O” more than deserves to make the cut.

As for the actual NBA All-Star events this weekend, Booker, Towns and Maxey are set to participate in a couple of them. All the coverage for All-Star Weekend will be available to watch on TNT throughout the weekend.

NBA All-Star Weekend is here 🤩

Friday: Rising Stars Challenge – @TyreseMaxey
Saturday: 3PT Contest – @KarlTowns
Sunday: All-Star Game – @DevinBook, @KarlTowns

📝 https://t.co/GOdH52fJNB pic.twitter.com/exuoTAo2JH
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 18, 2022