Behind The Scenes Stories From The Bahamas

There has been a ton of talk about how well Kentucky played in the Bahamas, so much that it’s beginning to get repetitive. We all saw the same games and we all know the Cats looked awesome across the board. They good, folks. Real good.

But as we slowly close the book on the trip and switch gears to the upcoming football season, I have a few stories you may not have heard. Here’s the behind-the-scenes takeaways (at least the ones I can tell) from the action off the court during our stay.

 

Stefan Fundic did not understand why I wanted his jersey.

I made it my Saturday night mission to find Fundic (the big guy for Mega Bemax) and buy his jersey. I was so impressed by how he played and how pink the jersey was, that I had to have it for my basketball jersey collection.

There’s no scenario where I leave the Atlantis without Fundic’s Jersey.

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) August 12, 2018

When I finally found Fundic, he was confused as to why I wanted it. I offered him a significant dollar amount but he said he couldn’t do it because he only has one and it would be too hard to get another.

He also kept telling me his last name is pronounced Foon-ditch, but I insisted he’s wrong and I will only call him Fun-dick.

Nice guy, though.

Team Toronto was in the Bahamas to party, not play basketball.

They say snitches get stitches, but for the sake of being completely transparent as a hard-hitting journalist on the scene, I can tell you Team Toronto was having fun in the club. When I saw them it was the night before the night before they played Kentucky, and they were ordering bottle service and getting shout outs from the club DJ. Is that why they got killed by the Cats on the court? I have no idea. Maybe they’re able to rally. And who am I to judge? I just know they were enjoying their stay and the Atlantis nightlife as much as anyone.

I met some of the San Lorenzo de Almagro players and they had very nice things to say about UK.

When it gets late into the night and things are slowing down, you hang out with likeminded people. In my case Thursday night, it just so happened to be two of the starters from San Lorenzo de Almagro, the team Kentucky beat by 20+ points only hours earlier.

We chatted about non-basketball things, like the guy throwing up on the floor three feet away from us and how half the people in the casino at that hour are prostitutes, but we also talked a little bit about the game. The big guy with the beard (that played the most minutes) told me Kentucky is crazy good, especially “#3 and #14” (Johnson and Herro — he had never heard of them).

He also told me Reid Travis and Nick Richards are as physical as anyone he’s played against in his almost-decade of professional basketball. He compared it to being in a fight the entire game.

Immanuel Quickley likes to dance.

Mont Dawson from Bluegrass Sports Nation captured one of the many times Quickley danced around the resort.

I do not know why the team was singing YMCA.

John Calipari was absolutely coaching from the stands.

Coach Cal wants you to believe he was hands-off as he watched all four games from the top corner of the stands, but he was definitely in contact with his assistants and players on the bench. You didn’t really think he was sitting up there without coaching his new team in its first games, did you?

RJ Barrett’s cousin told me something RJ Barrett probably didn’t want out.

This is another “snitches get stitches” moment, but I don’t care. I’m spreading the word.

A player on one of the opposing teams, who claimed to be Duke star freshman RJ Barrett’s cousin, told me Barrett texted him after his game to say something along the lines of: “I watched the game. We’re going to kill Kentucky.”

I can’t confirm if this person is indeed Barrett’s cousin or if Barrett for sure sent that text, but that’s how the person told it (not knowing I’m UK media). The player also took credit in pushing Barrett to Duke, saying he doesn’t like how Calipari runs his program and Coach K does it the right way. Again, I have no idea if any of this is true. All I know is he was eager to tell me about it while we were in the casino.

 

There’s your inside scoop from the week.