The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The winningest programme in men’s college basketball history recently completed its second foreign tour in the Bahamas hoping that the early tests will set the tone for the team to fulfill the lofty expectations of the preseason rankings.

The University of Kentucky Wildcats completed the Big Blue Bahamas Tour with a 4-0 record on the court while also engaging in community outreach initiatives and providing a boost to the country’s sports tourism product.

Kentucky began with an 85-61 over the Bahamas select team followed by a 91-68 victory over San Lorenzo, an Argentinian professional squad. In game three, they defeated Mega Bemax, a professional team from Serbia, 100-64 and closed out the tour Sunday with a 93-60 win over Team Toronto, a squad full of Canadian talent.

Skilled

“I told the guys I’m not intoxicated by this,” Wildcats head coach John Calipari said. “I just told them, I’m not. At the end of the day, we should be a monster defensive team, we should be a great rebounding team, we should be a team that can fly up and down the court and put pressure on you both sides of the ball, and we should be a team that shares. Because we got a lot of guys that are skilled enough to play that way.”

The Wildcats are projected to figure prominently into the NCAA Tournament and have been ranked as the No.1 overall team by several media outlets, including CBS Sports.

“It’s August,” Calipari said. “I’ve been doing this too long . . . Let me say this: I’m happy, and I’m happy with the guys. I really like this team. They like each other.”

A total of 5,238 fans attended Kentucky’s four games in the Bahamas, an average of 1,310.

Big Blue Bahamas tour was a joint venture between Complete Sports Management and the Bahamas Basketball Federation. According to Lea Miller-Tooley of Complete Sports Management, the travelling fanbase of the team provided over 4,000 room nights.

In addition, the Atlantis Resort and the Imperial Arena received further exposure as all four games were broadcast live on ESPN’s SEC Network.

Prior to the games, the Wildcats launched trip with a community outreach initiative in conjunction with Samaritan’s Feet International. They conducted a free shoe distribution to children in the Fox Hill area at the Faith Assembly of God, Johnson Road, and Scott Alley.

Team members washed the feet of over 150 children and supplied them with new pairs of socks and sneakers.

The Wildcats have now travelled to the Bahamas three times under Calipari.

Prior to the 2014-15 season, Kentucky competed at their first Big Blue Bahamas Tour with games against the Dominican Republic national team, Puerto Rican national team reserves and Champagne Chalons-Reims Basket (France) at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Kentucky went on to 38-1 that season which included an undefeated regular season, SEC regular-season and tournament titles, and a trip to the Final Four.

The ‘Cats returned in 2016 when they defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 115-69 at the Imperial Arena in the Atlantis Showcase.

Kentucky finished last season 26-11 and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky opens its season with Big Blue Madness on October 12.