Shai Gilgeous-Alexander expected to attend Kentucky vs. Canada

After defeating Germany 81-73 in the GLOBL Jam opener, Kentucky turns its sights to the host country, Canada. The Cats vs. the Canucks face off Thursday night at 8 p.m. and John Calipari is expecting a familiar face in the stands at the Mattamy Athletic Centre: former Cat and Hamilton, Ontario native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“[It] will be a hard game,” Calipari told Sportsnet of tomorrow night’s game vs. Canada. “We’re on their court. We’ve got a great group of fans here too but it’s going to be an overwhelmingly Canadian [crowd]. I think Shai is coming home and I bet you he roots for Canada, which will make me mad.”

Calipari told reporters that Shai’s mother Charmaine was at today’s game and he’s been texting back and forth with Roger Murray, Jamal Murray’s dad. Fellow Canadian Jamaal Magloire, who played for the Cats from 1997-2000 and now serves as the Toronto Raptors Player Development Consultant & Community Ambassador, was also spotted at the GLOBL Jam.

“Char’s here, Shai’s mom. Saw her. Shai’s supposed to come in tomorrow or later tonight. Been texting back and forth with Roger, Jamal’s dad. I just don’t know if he’ll root for us or Canada, I don’t know. I saw Jamaal Magloire, to get to see him. I tried to think, did I ever coach against one of his teams when he was at Kentucky? I can’t remember if I did or not. I probably beat him.”

Shai is entering his sixth season in the league, fifth with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The former four-star recruit played for Kentucky from 2017-18, taking over starting point guard duties from Quade Green midway through the season. He averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in his lone season in Lexington and was selected by Charlotte with the No. 11 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft then traded to the LA Clippers.

In just a few years, Shai has become one of the brightest young stars in the league and was named an NBA All-Star this past season. He’s one of several players from Canada to come through the program in recent years, along with Murray (2015-16), Mychal Mulder (2015-17), and Trey Lyles (2014-15). Fellow Canadian Shaedon Sharpe was on Kentucky’s roster during the 2021-22 season, but never played in a single game.

"I think Shai is coming home and I bet you he roots for Canada, which will make me mad."@KentuckyMBB 😂 pic.twitter.com/K79xQo3Xje

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) July 12, 2023

How to Watch Kentucky vs. Canada

Unlike today’s game, tomorrow night’s game will not air live on CBS Sports Network; instead, it will be on tape delay starting at midnight. So, how can you watch it? If you have access to a VPN, you can purchase a streaming subscription to Sportsnet, which carries the games live in Canada. You can also listen live on UK Sports Network on 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, affiliates across the state, and iHeart Radio.

If you’re in Lexington, the easiest way to see the game is coming to KSBar, where we’ve borrowed a friend’s “Louisville Media Box” in order to show the games. We’ll also be bringing you play-by-play and live analysis on game threads on KSBoard (the live blog platform we used to use for games has been discontinued). I’m sure there if there’s an illegal stream to be found, someone will share it there.

Kentucky in the GLOBL Jam TV Schedule

• July 12: vs. Team Germany, 1:30 p.m. ET live on CBS Sports Network
• July 13: vs. Team Canada, 8:00 p.m. ET (tape delay July 14 at 12:00 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network)
• July 15: vs. Team Africa, 1:30 p.m. ET live on CBS Sports Network
• July 16: Gold Medal Game (if Team USA/Kentucky is playing), 8:00 p.m. ET live on CBS Sports Network

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