Kentucky legend John Wall makes surprise appearance at Big Blue Madness

One of the greatest players in the heralded history of Kentucky Basketball made an appearance at Big Blue Madness Saturday night.
Consensus First Team All-American and 2010 SEC Player of the Year John Wall appeared in the rafters alongside Kentucky Basketball head coach Mark Pope to a raucous reaction at Rupp Arena.
“It’s always great,” Wall said on the broadcast. “It’s a great opportunity to come back. I only played one year but it felt like I played here forever. Even though Coach Pope is here, I still wanna have that tradition and come back and show them my support. They give me a lot of love, so why not show the love back.”
Wall, who went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA, was a pivotal part in changing the culture during his lone season at Kentucky (2009-10). Wall was John Calipari‘s first massive recruit when he took the Kentucky job in 2009 and helped bring the program back to national relevance.
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“Kentucky’s always home for me,” Wall said during a hit on ESPN Radio‘s ‘Sunday Mornings with Matt and Myron‘ back in June. “There’s always love. That’s the school I went to, the jersey I put on. They gave me the opportunity to reach one of my goals and dreams in life to play college basketball, and play on one of the biggest levels for one of the best schools in the country, and a good opportunity to go to the league. So yeah, I’m definitely coming back.”
Every season, Big Blue Madness kicks off the Kentucky Men’s/Women’s Basketball season. This is no different this season, as the hype for Year 2 of both the Mark Pope era and the Kenny Brooks era is palpable.
Mark Pope exceeded all expectations in his first season as Kentucky‘s head coach, as he led the ‘Cats to a 24-12 record and an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen. Eight of their 24 wins came against opponents ranked inside the top-15 of the AP Top 25 Poll.