The full list of Kentucky alumni -- including 22 champions -- at Big Blue Madness
Rick Pitino was the headliner at Big Blue Madness, obviously, making his return to Rupp Arena for the first time since he was on the enemy bench at Louisville. It’s been nearly three decades since he wore blue and white with the UK logo on his chest — of course that’s going to be a big deal.
As Mark Pope made clear, though, the event wasn’t just about Pitino or any one person or player. It was a celebration of Kentucky, bringing together the past, present and future. That included over 60 alumni in attendance, including 22 players who won national championships as Wildcats. It’s a bunch that represents every title except the 1948 and 1949 teams as those players have all passed away, but members of the 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998 and 2012 squads all made their way to Rupp for the family reunion.
Rick Pitino back at Rupp 👀 @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/njDlYUzTK6
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 12, 2024
You’ve seen the clips — certainly the one of Pitino’s entrance — and plenty of pictures, but what about the names? UK Athletics gave us a hand putting together the complete list of former Wildcats who RSVP’d for the event, along with a few others we caught on camera.
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Take a look at the attendees in alphabetical order:
Name Championship Year Shagari Alleyne Jim Andrews JP Blevins Ramel Bradley Dale Brown Brennan Canada Willie Cauley-Stein Johnny Cox 1958 George Critz Johnathon Davis Marquis Estill Richie Farmer Deron Feldhaus Doug Flynn Jeff Ginnan Jack Givens 1978 Cliff Hagan 1951 Vernon Hatton 1958 Dominique Hawkins Matt Heissenbuttel Ryan Hogan 1998 Thad Jaracz Chris Jones Stan Key Doron Lamb 2012 Bo Lanter Tod Lanter Jim LeMaster Stephen Lochmueller Kyle Macy 1978 Sam Malone Jim Master Ron Mercer 1996 Larry Miller Cameron Mills 1996, 1998 Lukasz Obrzut Michael Parks Doug Pendygraft Jarrod Polson 2012 Mark Pope 1996 Tommy Porter Dwight Price 1951 Jared Prickett 1996 Al Robinson Cory Sears Jeff Sheppard 1996, 1998 Oliver Simmons 1996 Adrian Smith 1958 Larry Steele Tim Stephens 1978 Perry Stevenson AJ Stewart Todd Svoboda Marquis Teague 2012 Henry Thomas Wayne Turner 1996, 1998 Antoine Walker 1996 Lavon Williams 1978 Sean Woods Todd Ziegler Sean Alteri John Farris DJ Geddes Jeff Morrow Spencer Tatum Vinny Tatum Ernie Whitis
Mark Pope snuck his way onto the list as a permanent representative of the 1996 group, just as he will for every Kentucky game moving forward. Always gotta have some nostalgia sprinkled in for the Wildcats.
Check out KSR’s photos from the alumni celebration at Big Blue Madness, courtesy of Dr. Michael Huang:
Who was your favorite Kentucky basketball alum in attendance?
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