"It felt like 59," Calipari told game-high scorer JoMel Boyd

As John Calipari sat down at the podium to begin his postgame press conference, Kentucky Wesleyan’s JoMel Boyd caught his eye in the back of the room.

“Did you have 29 on us today?!” Calipari asked Boyd. “It felt like 59.”

Boyd did in fact have 29 points on Kentucky in Friday night’s exhibition game in Rupp Arena. Even more impressive, he was efficient, hitting 12 of 17 shots from the field for his game-high 29. He made both of his 3-point tries.

Not bad for his debut game for the Panthers.

A junior transfer, Boyd arrived at Kentucky Wesleyan College from Montana State University Northern by way of Glen Oaks Community College. It was a long path to get to Owensboro, Kentucky, from his high school days in Anderson, Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis.

Because of his journey, Boyd took a mature approach to playing in Rupp Arena against the preseason No. 10 team in America.

“When I first heard we were playing the University of Kentucky, my first thought was, and I told the team, they’re just like us,” Boyd said of his mindset entering the game. “We gotta come out here and compete.”

“It wasn’t just 29 points,” he continued. “It was a team effort and I credit my teammates for finding me, and thank the coach for seeing that. And we just kept it rolling with that.”

At 6-foot-6, Boyd also had a team-high eight rebounds, only outdone by Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe in the game (10). Boyd was a bright spot in defeat for the visiting Panthers, and now he is a name to watch in Division II’s Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

“You did great,” Calipari told him. “Congrats.”