Former Cats return to Lexington with La Familia: "It feels good to be home"

For some, Lexington is home, Nate Sestina sticking around with his fiancée, former Kentucky volleyball superstar Madison Lilley, when he’s not playing professionally overseas. Daniel Orton started a basketball academy in town while his son plays in an elementary school league in Fayette County, the former Wildcat coaching and officiating his kid’s games.

Others have been around, Kellan Grady working out with Sestina in Lexington last summer while head coach Tyler Ulis and Brennan Canada are just a few months removed from being on the Kentucky bench during games, the former working toward his degree at UK this summer.

For most, though, this is the first time they’ve been back since their playing days in blue and white, suiting up for La Familia in The Basketball Tournament. A decade-plus away, now returning to play at Rupp Arena in front of Big Blue Nation.

“It feels good to be home. I haven’t been here in a while — that’s my bad,” Eric Bledsoe told KSR. “But I’m here now [laughs]. … I can’t do nothing but feel blessed being back where it all started for me. I’m definitely excited to play at Rupp.”

“It feels like I never left,” Willie Cauley-Stein added. “It’s the exact same, that’s a great feeling.”

“This is like a second home for me, I can’t even explain it,” James Young said. “… I just feel all of the memories coming back, it’s crazy. I love being back, can’t wait to go to Rupp. It’s going to be an amazing feeling.”

The look is different, obviously. Bledsoe first noticed the Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge as he previously knew it is now the Wildcat Coal Lodge, opened in 2012. Then there is the new Gatton Student Center, which opened in 2018. Young said the new version of campus is “bigger and better” than what he saw during his one-and-done campaign in 2013-14.

“I wish we had it earlier when I was here, but they’re doing a lot of improvements and I like it so far,” he said. “I’ve got to explore everything and see what all is out there.”

For Andrew Harrison, being back in town is the only reason he was willing to play in the event to begin with. Typically, he’d use this time during the pro offseason to relax and focus on his non-basketball interests — real estate is his new passion — but when the call came, something told him to take GM Twany Beckham up on his offer.

“I probably wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t in Lexington directly,” Harrison said. “It’s a great opportunity seeing all of the fans, seeing the facilities, seeing the changes that have been made. I’m happy to be here.”

They had varying levels of success at Kentucky with memorable moments both individually and as part of elite teams. Bledsoe and Orton remember being on the squad that started it all under John Calipari, bringing the national spotlight back to Lexington as the ‘cool’ school now a decade and a half ago.

“I definitely do (feel the impact that first team made),” Bledsoe told KSR, adding that his favorite memory as a Wildcat was the Mississippi State game in the SEC Tournament championship. “I was a part of the first group — Cal’s first group. When we came, it kind of shifted Kentucky basketball back where it needed to be. We started it and the guys after us carried it on. Even before us, we wanted to pick back up that legacy and pass it on to the young guys to carry it on.”

“It’s incredible to see how much this has grown,” Orton added. “Seeing the family and organization that has been built together, seeing all of these players come back from different generations of Cal’s eras, it’s awesome to see. It’s a blast to be a part of (it).”

And then there are the Harrison Twins, Cauley-Stein and Young, who came together for one of the most magical postseason runs in Kentucky history, the former trio sticking around for the perfect regular season and 38-0 start a year later.

“We had an up-and-down season with like nine (McDonald’s) All-Americans, everybody wanted us to win every game,” Young said. “We were young and had to mature through the season. The older guys started helping the younger guys and we finally started clicking. The season was crazy, and we surprised a lot of people. That was the best part of that season, we surprised a lot of people.”

“I remember the wins — the wins and the pain, the practices, the meals we had together. Being at Kentucky, when you’re in Lexington, it’s a big deal,” Andrew Harrison added. “There are so many memories, so many things you can never forget. So many things you forget and then it comes to your head, like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty amazing.'”

Fast forward to Grady’s season at Kentucky in 2021-22, the Wildcats steamrolling through the home schedule with the consensus National Player of the Year. The Davidson transfer was the “granddad” of that team. Now, he’s the second-youngest player on the roster at 26, behind only 23-year-old Brennan Canada.

“We were 16-0 at home when I was here,” Grady said. “Rupp is a special place, Lexington is a special place. Being able to play in front of our fans again, it’s special.”

Whether they were first or last in that 15-year run, they’re all just grateful they made a mark on Kentucky’s history in some form or fashion. Wearing that name across their chests meant something to them then, but maybe even more so now as they look back on their careers.

“It means a lot, it’s history. So much history, all of these banners hanging up,” Bledsoe said. “Even though we didn’t make it to the championship, we’re still a part of each and every individual that was here before and will be here afterward. You can’t do anything but respect that tradition, it helps bring guys together.”

“It means everything,” Young added. “Without Kentucky, there is no James Young. That’s what I’d say about (what it means to me).”

“I’ll never forget this place,” Harrison said.

The nostalgia hit Cauley-Stein especially hard, this time back in Lexington making him reconsider his family’s future. His second home may soon be his permanent home.

“I was telling my wife, it feels like home here. I feel like we could move here and the kids would be great,” he said. “It’s a good community for kids to grow up in. It’s obviously a sports-driven city, so we obviously want that for our kids. There is a lot of opportunity to have fun and grow old here.”

Whether Cauley-Stein decides to move back and grow old here or not, the memories he made for himself and created for fans as a Wildcat are forever. That applies to everyone in the Joe Craft Center and Rupp Arena this week as La Familia takes the floor in The Basketball Tournament.