TBT Photo
By GINA POTTER, Contributing Writer
What a special night!
La Familia general manager Twany Beckham’s tireless efforts paid off. He brought together a roster and chose a coaching staff that was truly special. Head coach Sean Woods understood the importance of creating a meaningful experience for the fans. He set the players up for success by playing toward their strengths, tapping into the team’s tenacity and togetherness, and focusing on defense.
This combination set this crowd on fire during a 103-52 win over Stroh’s Squad that put the UK alumni team in today’s second round against War Ready at 2:30 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum (the game will be shown on FOX Sports).
This team brought the nostalgia, the excitement, and the energy these fans were more than ready to receive. Fans packed the house and blew the roof off Historic Memorial Coliseum. It was exhilarating!
The player/fan relationship at Kentucky is a bond like no other. Kentucky fans are passionate, competitive, and invested. There is a generational love for Kentucky basketball. They learn it from their parents, they live it themselves, and they pass it on to their family. As soon as that player commits to Kentucky, they begin to feel the warm embrace of BBN.
We follow their every move and start to build a relationship with them. We attach ourselves to them and once that connection is made, it lasts forever. Once a Kentucky player, always a Kentucky player. It becomes home to them. No matter how long they’re gone, they are always welcome, and we’re waiting at the front door with a big smile! Both the fans and the players could feel that Friday night. Fans showed up early and stayed late, and the players and staff could feel the love.
There is so much unknown when a player begins his career at Kentucky. What will their experience be like? What mark will they leave? What memories will they make? How will it help them grow and develop as a person and player? Who will they meet that impacts their life forever? They don’t realize at the time it will be one of the best experiences in their entire lives.
With this La Familia team, now they know. They know the answers to all these questions. And now, they know how unique and rare that experience was in their lives. So, when they return to Kentucky, return home, they truly understand, and they are grateful. Now, they take time to take it all in and relish the moment.
On Friday night, both fans and players merged their memories from the past with their feelings right now, and it became a surreal moment for everyone. So let’s keep that ball rolling and win it all y’all!
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La Familia shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range. Recent graduate Ansley Almonor hit a 3-pointer in the Elam Ending to finalize the victory. Archie Goodwin had 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
War Ready, the Auburn alumni team, pulled away from X-Rayted in the fourth quarter to win 61-55. War Ready held X-Rayted to only 29.5 percent shooting from the floor. Wendell Green Jr. (18 points) and Malik Dunbar (14 points) accounted for over half of War Ready’s points.
