La Familia and The Basketball Tournament bring nostalgia and fun basketball to Lexington

During a summer of transition for Kentucky Basketball, La Familia and The Basketball Tournament have been the perfect blend of old and new, giving Big Blue Nation an incredible summer basketball experience in Lexington. The team of former Wildcat greats has played two TBT games in Rupp Arena, winning by 16 and 17 points in the Elam-ending format.

Beyond the play on the court, the nostalgia around La Familia is even better. Several Wildcats have returned to Lexington for the first time in a long time, reuniting with old teammates and other familiar faces around UK. I still haven’t come down from the high of last Wednesday’s KSR show in Lexington when the entire team sat down with us for interviews.

The trip down memory lane continued into the weekend for Friday night’s Game 1 and Sunday afternoon’s Game 2. They’ll be back in Rupp tomorrow night for the Round of 16. Get your tickets here so you don’t miss out.

While we wait, here are takeaways from the nostalgic weekend:

The current Cats are some of La Familia’s biggest fans

La Familia’s ultimate goal at the end of The Basketball Tournament is the $1 million prize. However, the former Wildcats have already won by bridging the gap between the Calipari era and the beginning of Mark Pope’s tenure.

First, they participated in closed-door practices with the new Kentucky team. In return, the new Kentucky team showed up to support La Familia’s Friday night debut. The entire team sat in the Rupp Arena end zone and cheered as loudly as the lifelong UK fans around them, if not louder. Kerr Kriisa, Brandon Garrison, and Andrew Carr were three of their biggest cheerleaders.

On Sunday, most of the team was back in their seats for La Familia’s second game, again providing support from the end zone. Mark Pope, who was at Peach Jam all weekend, is expected to join the crowd for Tuesday night’s game.

Kerem Kanter is officially one of us

Enes Kanter’s younger brother, Kerem, already considered himself a member of BBN before he joined La Familia for TBT. He told KSR he was locked into the 2011 Final Four run the year the NCAA ruled his big brother ineligible. Now, Kerem is a part of his own tournament run with Kentucky, leading La Familia in production through two games. On Sunday, he scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, following a 20 and 12 double-double in the opening game Friday night. Afterward, he crashed KSR’s Rapid Reaction from the Rupp Arena floor, further cementing his place as one of us. Enes Kanter is trying to get to the Bluegrass from Costa Rica to support Kerem and the Wildcat alums on Tuesday.

Nate Sestina is in the early MVP conversation

The Basketball Tournament may mean more to Nate Sestina than anyone else on the team, and it shows. Sestina’s one year in Lexington was the 2019-20 season when COVID canceled postseason play. Sestina told KSR that playing in the NCAA Tournament was one of the main factors in him transferring from Bucknell to UK in the first place, so his time as a Wildcat ended on a sour note. Even worse, he lost his last game in Rupp Arena to Tennessee on Senior Night.

La Familia gave him an opportunity to play in Rupp Arena again, and he’s been a big part of the team’s success through two games. The entire Sestina family has also fully embraced the tournament. They’re in from Pennsylvania with custom-made Sestina t-shirts. He hit four 3-pointers for them in Sunday night’s win.

After the game, Sestina and I crossed paths outside La Familia’s locker room. He was most proud of his defense and urged me to tell his critics to watch what he offers on that end of the floor, too. He has been one of the stars of La Familia and the leader in fun.

I still can’t believe someone tried to dunk on Willie Cauley-Stein in Rupp Arena

Last night, a man on the opposing team made a business decision… and it was a really bad one. Maybe he didn’t watch college basketball around 2013-15. Maybe he got caught up in the bright lights of Rupp Arena and playing against former NBA players. I don’t know what went through his head, to be honest, but it was a really dumb idea to not only try to cram on Willie Cauley-Stein but to cock the ball back like it was Slamball or like he was going to end up on SportsCenter.

He got what he asked for as both he and the ball landed on the ground with a thud. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Daniel Orton is the enforcer

Daniel Orton‘s playing career is behind him as he focuses on his new passion: youth basketball in Lexington. Still, he can check in for a few minutes and make a significant impact on the tone of the game. On Sunday, Orton sent an opposing player to the floor over a loose ball, then hit him with the too-small sign and pointed to the scoreboard.

Coincidentally, it was the same guy who tried to dunk on Willie earlier in the game. It wasn’t that guy’s day in Lexington.

Eric Bledsoe still has NBA talent

Eric Bledsoe is only two NBA seasons removed from playing major minutes for the Los Angeles Clippers, so he still has plenty of game left in his bag. On Sunday, he helped lead the second-half comeback, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. As Myron Medcalf said afterward, Bledsoe hit the “I’m a pro” button later in the game and took things up a notch.

The Harrison twins, together again

Andrew and Aaron Harrison haven’t played on the same team since their 2014-15 season at Kentucky, so the twins couldn’t pass up the opportunity to reunite in Lexington with La Familia. They were inseparable their entire lives until their pro careers took them in opposite directions. Now, the brotherly love is back together if only for The Basketball Tournament, and you can see the joy in their on-court reunion. The fans have also enjoyed having the Harrisons back together. They were a huge part of a golden era for Kentucky Basketball.

The fan experience has been better than anyone imagined

Security guards tried to control the fans seeking autographs after Sunday’s game, but Willie Cauley-Stein and several others, including Alex Poythress, who was in Lexington to show his support, were enjoying the postgame interactions with BBN. Willie signed every autograph he could before he was finally ushered into the locker room long after the game ended. Nate Sestina even signed a few things ion the crowd minutes before he was introduced as a starter prior to the game.

Those are just a couple of examples of what the Big Blue Nation experienced at the first two games of The Basketball Tournament, where the trip down memory lane has been even better than expected. If you’re able, you should consider catching Tuesday night’s game so you don’t miss out on this unique summer for Kentucky fans.

Plus, La Familia is competing with Louisville’s team of alums for tickets sold. We don’t lose to Louisville.

Get your tickets here. See you at Rupp.