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To prepare the Big Blue Nation for the start of the 2020-21 Kentucky Wildcats basketball, UK and the SEC Network will partner to provide fans with a virtual Big Blue Madness and Pro Day in the upcoming weeks.
Pro Day, a men’s basketball event, will be televised Nov. 12 at 7 pm EST on the SEC Network. The following week on Nov. 20, the SEC Network will televise Big Blue Madness at 9 pm EST, officially tipping off the 2020-21 seasons for the UK men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Both events will take place in Memorial Coliseum. It will be the first Big Blue Madness in Memorial Coliseum since 2004 and the first Pro Day exclusively inside Memorial Coliseum.
The following week will see UK open its 2020-21 season. The opener is reportedly against Morehead State.
Big Blue Madness and Pro Day will be television-only events. Fans will be not be permitted into either event due to safety concerns due to COVID-19.
Big Blue Madness will feature introductions of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, practice drills, scrimmages, player spotlights, a performance by the 24-time national championship cheerleading team and more. It will be a 90-minute telecast with Tom Hart, Jimmy Dykes and Carolyn Peck calling the action for the SEC Network.
Madness is also typically a big recruiting event for UK, though the coronavirus will prevent recruits from being in attendance this year.
The men’s basketball team’s annual Pro Day, which provides NBA teams a look at the current Wildcats, will move forward despite safety protocols that will restrict professional scouts and general managers from attending in person.
SEC Network will televise the 90-minute Pro Day and all 30 NBA teams will be provided an exclusive feed of the combine-like practice conducted by UK coaches and staff. Coaches and staff will direct players through various agility and shooting drills in addition to 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 scrimmaging. All 30 NBA teams were represented in-person in the previous six seasons. Hart and Dykes will call the action for the SEC Network.