Over the last couple of weeks, La Familia (Kentucky\u2019s alumni team in The Basketball Tournament) has grown to know the 2024-25 edition of the Kentucky Wildcats quite well on the hardwood. Through 5 vs. 5 practices, one-on-one interviews, and simply being around one another, the past and the present eras have helped each other improve behind closed doors. <\/p>\n
Made up mostly of guys who came in and out of this program over the last 15 years, La Familia players know exactly what it takes to thrive at a Blue Blood like Kentucky. They see some of those necessary winning qualities in new head coach Mark Pope<\/a><\/strong>, and it\u2019s translating to his players. <\/p>\n \u201cThey definitely got some potential,\u201d La Familia\u2019s Andrew Harrison<\/a><\/strong> told reporters on Sunday<\/a> about Pope\u2019s first team in Lexington. \u201cHas good size, some toughness, can really shoot the ball. They got a lot of tools. Coach (Pope) is a great genuine guy, really knows the game<\/strong>. I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be fine, I\u2019m not worried about it all. Really rooting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrison and the rest of La Familia have spent the last two-plus weeks reliving the college glory days \u2014 practicing in the Joe Craft Center, signing autographs for the Big Blue Nation, and winning inside Rupp Arena like it\u2019s pre-2015 all over again. They\u2019re re-experiencing everything the current group of Wildcats is going through (or about to go through) right now. <\/p>\n What the new players have yet to experience, however, is the actual on-court pressure that comes with being a part of Kentucky men\u2019s basketball. But unlike the last 15 years, most of this year\u2019s roster is made up of college veterans thanks to the transfer portal \u2014 guys who have been in the pressure cooker before and know what it takes to win. <\/p>\n That won\u2019t make this coming season any less stressful, but playing in high-stakes games in the past certainly helps prepare someone for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n La Familia\u2019s Willie Cauley-Stein<\/a><\/strong>, who spent three seasons at Kentucky (2012-15), believes Pope understands what it means to play and coach at this program, and what comes with it. The only goal is to win basketball games. Obviously, Pope won the 1996 national championship as a player at UK \u2014 he knows better than most what lies ahead if the victories start to stack up. If everyone can thrive under the pressure of it all, there is gold at the end of the rainbow.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all good kids. They\u2019re not even kids, they\u2019re way older than what most guys coming in would be,\u201d Cauley-Stein said about the 2024-25 Wildcats. \u201cThey all got a goal and a common goal I feel like. I think Coach Pope will have them in a frame of mind to \u2014 winning matters, it\u2019s immediate here. It\u2019s a lot of pressure but with that pressure is a lot of fun that comes with it. If you can overcome all the odds, it\u2019s one of the best things.<\/strong>\u201c<\/p>\n It might seem mostly insignificant to some in the long run, but the old Wildcats spending time around the new Wildcats can only help. La Familia\u2019s Eric Bledsoe<\/a><\/strong> was someone the new batch of Wildcats played with on NBA 2K<\/em> while growing up. Lamont Butler<\/a><\/strong> said that Bledsoe is one of the players who got him playing basketball in the first place. Whatever Bledsoe or any other La Familia player has to say will not fall on deaf ears.<\/p>\n Even if Bledsoe feels like the old man now while doing it, he knows that being able to share some knowledge of what he went through in his career is going to aid the next generation of Wildcats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes me feel old, man,\u201d Bledsoe joked. \u201cAt the same time I\u2019m honored that they did watch me play and to give them some advice, it\u2019s always been a dream of mine to help people that came after me get to where they need to go. I\u2019m definitely honored that they kinda look up to me but I\u2019m also that person they can call and want to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n