KSR's takeaways from Kentucky WBB at Big Blue Madness

Just as quickly as it came, Big Blue Madness went. The night was full of surprises, including a guest appearance from Kentucky legend Rick Pitino. However, Kenny Brooks and Kentucky Women’s Basketball made quite the impression. So, here’s some thoughts from Phoenix Stevens and myself about the team’s performance.

The ‘Cats take the court in just a few weeks for their season opener against USC Upstate on Nov. 4 at Memorial Coliseum. Fans got a quick taste of what it’ll be like to witness a new era of women’s basketball in Lexington. However, they’ll have to come to a game if they want to see anything more than a skills competition and a three-point contest. Oh, and a really cool entrance from Coach Brooks.

THE SWAG?????pic.twitter.com/cHZ8C2Zmal

— Katie Hutchison (@KHutchisonKSR) October 11, 2024

Kenny Brooks has Lexington wrapped around his finger

As soon as a video of Kenny Brooks ‘backstage’ in Rupp Arena popped up on the jumbotron, the crowd went wild. Of course, Brooks didn’t want to do anything too flashy for his Big Blue Madness debut, so he just walked. Correction, he sauntered. He slowly made his way out to the court with a Kentucky blue OVO letterman jacket, surrounded by his coaching staff. In my opinion, he made the best possible decision he could’ve. Though it took over two minutes for Brooks to make it on the court, Rupp Arena kept the same energy. We knew that Brooks was liked the day he was hired, but we didn’t realize how much. Brooks’ attitude is infectious, and his recruiting will likely be a reason that Kentucky Women’s Basketball sees crowds like never before.

— Katie Hutchison

How about the ovation for Kenny Brooks, huh?

Man. The BBN was already excited for Big Blue Madness, and that much was clear after the event sold out in just 24 minutes, but that excitement shot to the moon when the party got started. As Brooks started to make his way to the court, he received a rousing ovation from a near full capacity Rupp Arena. Then, we he actually made it to the court, the place got even louder. It sounded like an NCAA Tournament game inside of Rupp Arena. The excitement for Brooks and Kentucky women’s basketball is real, folks.

— Phoenix Stevens

Kentucky has real height that can shoot from the perimeter

In true Big Blue Madness tradition, both teams participated in a three-point contest. Of course, you have the obvious participants: Georgia Amoore, Cassidy Rowe, Amelia Hassett, and Dazia Lawrence. Lawrence won the contest, with a score of 18 facing Hassett in the finals. Obviously neither of the bigs participated in the contest, but we still got a taste of their versatility. Thanks to the ASB GlassFloor, Rupp Arena was able to do some pretty cool things, including a HotSpot Competition.

Essentially, three teams of two players faced off one-by-one: Hassett and Teonni Key, Clara Silva and Rowe, and Clara Strack and Lexi Blue. Each team’s goal was to find the blue ‘hotspots’ on the court and shoot and score from those zones. Though Key and Hassett came away with the win, Strack and Silva surprised everyone with their ability to shoot the three ball. The versatility of this team is something to be amazed at. We talked about Brooks playing Hassett (a forward) at the two, but imagine if for some reason he decides to put 6-foot-6 Clara Strack in as a guard. He would probably never do that, by the way, but just imagine it. However, it’s still comforting to know our bigs can shoot from the perimeter if need be.

— Katie Hutchison

Got a glimpse of some nice on-the-court things too

Obviously, Big Blue Madness is more of a pep rally than it is an intrasquad scrimmage. The main point is to get the Big Blue Nation excited for what’s to come, but even then, there were some glimpses of some great on-the-court moments too. Amelia Hassett and Teonni Key each won the hot spot contest, while Dazia Lawrence came out on top in the three-point contest. It was nice seeing some of the ‘Cats shine in the spotlight. Hopefully, that carries over to November 4th as well.

Yes, I’m basically just echoing what Katie just said, but man, the product is exciting. November can’t get here soon enough. Go Cats.

— Phoenix Stevens