KSR's Kentucky Basketball Uniform Madness: @75toRupp earns title

A champion has been named in KSR’s Kentucky Basketball Uniform Madness, with Brandon Owen (@75toRupp) earning the win over Jo Jo Stephens (@MrJoJoStephens) in the title matchup.

With the Kentucky basketball season now over and the offseason starting, draft, transfer and recruiting news is rolling out by the day. Also tucked into the busy news period? New uniforms, specifically uniforms that will not include checkerboards for the first time since 2016.

It’s a breath of fresh air for a program that desperately needs it after zero NCAA Tournament wins since 2019. In-game strategy and roster construction can and will be discussed until everyone is blue in the face, but a new look for the Wildcats isn’t a bad place to start. That’s coming next season.

What will the fancy new uniforms look like? That remains up in the air, as there is no timeline for an official announcement or roll out from the school. In case the design team is looking for a starting point (or to use outright, preferably), though, two of the best graphic designers in the Commonwealth put together some mock-ups for inspiration. Brandon Owen (@75toRupp) and Jo Jo Stephens (@MrJoJoStephens) cooked up some absolute masterpieces to celebrate the fresh start.

That’s where Big Blue Nation came in. With so many options to choose from, it was up to the fanbase to pick the favorites and declare a uniform champion. Just like March Madness, the uniforms were seeded and spread across a bracket. There were 16 uniforms to start with between the two graphic designers, eight apiece in their own regions. After four rounds, a champion has been named.

The winning uniform?  A classic white combination with blue letters and numbers and white stripes down the sides. The Jordan Brand uniform has a slightly curved nameplate to go with eight gold stars at the left hip to represent the program’s eight national championships. The final touch? A Joe B. Hall decal on the right shoulder.

@75toRupp‘s uniform defeated a blue jersey from @MrJoJoStephens, one that features a rounded look with curved letters and stars wrapped around the centered number to form a circle. It’s a clean blue and white look from Nike with the words “Fight, Fight, Fight, for the Blue & White” also included inside the jersey on the neck.

Final Uniform Madness Bracket

Missed the other competing uniforms? Check out all 16 jerseys, seeded 1-8 for each region.

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Following the win, Owen created two new uniform mock-ups as he took his victory lap, a blue version of the winning jersey and an alternate grey.

Thanks to everyone that voted for my white jersey during the KSR jersey bracket by @JackPilgrimKSR! Decided to see what the blue and an alternate grey script version would look like. pic.twitter.com/9e0exGHS7r

— Owen (@75toRupp) March 30, 2022

Who knows, maybe UK Athletics will take a note or two?