BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PIKEVILLE — “On, On, U of K” echoed throughout Appalachian Wireless Arena when John Calipari brought the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team to the mountains for the annual Blue-White scrimmage Oct. 22, which White won 70-67.
The team presented Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear a $162,405 check to the Team EKY Flood Relief Fund in support of victims of the July flooding and the families of 40-plus that lost their lives.
In days following the scrimmage, Coach Calipari shared a Twitter photo that has since gone viral. His caption read, “My family’s American dream started in a Clarksburg, WV coal mine, so this picture hits home. Don’t know who this is, but I have tickets for him & his family at Rupp to be treated as VIPS!!”
Coal miner Micheal McGuire of Floyd County was pictured in his mining uniform, covered in coal dust and sitting with his son at the game. The miner had finished a shift at Excel Mining and raced to the arena with no time to spare. It was his son’s first college game experience, and McGuire wouldn’t miss it.
The miner chose Kentucky vs. Kansas home game Jan. 23 as the VIP experience for his family after speaking to Coach Cal on the phone.
On the AWA court, the Wildcats put on a show even without Oscar Tshiebwe, Lance Ware and Sahvir Wheeler not playing due to injuries.
Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 27 points, 5-12 from behind the arc. Adou Thiero impressed with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals. A late addition to this year’s roster, Ugonna Oyenso had 14 points and five rebounds.
Coming off a red-shirt season, CJ Fredrick led the White squad with 18 points and was 4-5 from 3-point land. Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston fired in 15 points each. Returnee Jacob Toppin was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points, four assists and one steal.
Kentucky opens the regular season vs. Howard Nov. 7 at Rupp Arena.
The Cats are ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP top 25.