La Familia wasn't the only team that featured a former Kentucky player in TBT Final Four
The scene in Philadelphia on Friday at the Final Four semifinals of The Basketball Tournament showcased a plethora of Kentucky Wildcat celebrities. Tyrese Maxey, Justin Edwards, Enes Kanter, Isaiah Briscoe, and Enes Kanter were among the former ‘Cats with a front-row view of the action, and that doesn’t even count the hoard of former players and coaches who actually participated in the game.
However, lost in the nostalgia of greats from the past, wondering what they are doing now, and pondering how they got so out of shape (age comes for us all, my friends), another former Kentucky guard was in the building, albeit out of the Kentucky spotlight.
TBT vet, Archie Goodwin, is somehow only 29 years old
Archie Goodwin, the forgotten star from the 2013 NIT team and first-round pick of the Phoenix Suns, suited up in the early game on Friday for Eberlein Drive. You might wonder how Goodwin ended up there and not back in Lexington playing for Tyler Ulis, but it likely had nothing to do with disloyalty to his alma mater, and everything to do with loyalty to his TBT team. Goodwin has played for Eberlein Drive since 2021, and considering this was the first year the Kentucky alumni team came to be, it made sense why he would want to stick with his old squad.
The Eberlein Drive roster in 2021 also featured the likes of Marcus Lee and Marquis Teague, but Goodwin is the only former Kentucky player to keep coming back.
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The cameras didn’t catch any interactions, but you have to think some was dabbing up between Goodwin and the platoon of fellow Kentucky alum roaming the arena tunnels. He may have even said hello to Coach Cal.
Goodwin currently plays professionally in China and somehow is only 29 years old. It’s great to see him still competing at a high level, even if it is for another team. If only we could have gotten a Goodwin versus Kentucky finals matchup.
Goodwin’s game versus Cougs Forever
Unfortunately, Eberlein Drive suffered a similar fate as La Familia, falling to Cougs Forever (the Houston alumni team) 76-73 in overtime. Goodwin finished with 12 points, four assists, and a steal. If only we had gotten a finals matchup between Goodwin and Kentucky, how glorious that would have been.
Maybe next year.
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