After a season of small crowds, Kentucky MBB eager to play at Rupp Arena

ZGeogheganKSR

Having Kentucky fans in the stands is an undeniable factor in how basketball is played at Rupp Arena. COVID-19 forcing the majority of fans to watch from home the last year-plus has proven that more than ever before. The energy, the excitement that us “crazy people” bring to an environment–home or away–is something that’s been desperately missed.

As the country adapts to living with the coronavirus and vaccination numbers continue to increase, full crowds are expected back for the 2021-22 basketball season across the country.

“While continuing to monitor the latest health and safety guidelines from local and national authorities, UK Athletics plans to operate Rupp Arena at full capacity this season,” UK Athletics said in early August.

During the 2020-21 season, Rupp Arena was limited to just 15 percent capacity. The arena currently holds 20,545 people.

For die-hard fans and season-ticket holders, walking into a renovated Rupp Arena is going to be a cathartic experience. Being able to plop down in your seat, eat some soft serve with nachos, and watch the greatest tradition in college basketball will be the most normal thing a lot of people have done since March 2020.

For Kentucky Men’s Basketball players, particularly the ones who were robbed of experiencing the Rupp Arena crowd in full effect, it’s all they can think of.

“I’m super excited,” Kentucky graduate student and shooting guard for the Wildcats, Davion Mintz, told KSR last week. “Before I came to Kentucky, I was that guy who went to college and would watch the Kentucky documentaries. I remember watching the training camp, I think it was called Cal’s training camp, before I came here and I was like man that’s crazy, these people are really out here salivating to touch us and touch them. It was mind-blowing at the time because the opportunity that events like this present. And then the amount of support that is out here, it was crazy to me. Now to be a part of it, I can’t describe it. I’m really looking forward to it.“

Mintz was one of Kentucky’s most dependable players during the debilitating 9-16 campaign of 2020-21, the program’s worse in nearly 100 years. His return to Kentucky was met with massive approval and he’s quickly turned into a fan-favorite.

And yet, he’s never experienced a packed Rupp Arena in a Kentucky jersey. In fact, only four players of the current 15 on the roster have played in front of a full crowd at Rupp before: Keion Brooks Jr., Dontaie Allen, Brennan Canada, and Zan Payne. That’s it.

For the other 11 hoopers, even though several of them have two, three, and even four years of college experience, the first game at Rupp Arena is going to be unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.

“Only ones that have been through it are me, Brennan (Canada), Dontaie (Allen), and Zan (Payne),” Keion Brooks Jr. told KSR last week about playing in front of full Rupp Arena crowd. “So us going through that, navigating that was very fun. And then last year…you know what happened last year. But coming into this year we got a lot of new guys and they want to know what it’s really like to play in front of a packed crowd in Rupp or on the road. It’s a great experience and I can’t wait for them to experience that too because it’s something that will stick with you for the rest of your life.”

Kentucky has an unusual amount of experience on the roster this season. John Calipari boasts two graduate students, two redshirt juniors, and five juniors. For someone such as Kellan Grady–who transferred to Kentucky after four impressive seasons at Davidson and has seen more than most college basketball players throughout history can claim–Rupp Arena is going to be a completely different beast.

“Dayton was 14, 15,000 (people), they’ve been selling out games for years,” Grady said back in June. “The Atlantic 10 has some really good arenas but the capacity kinda ranges from 5,000 to 10 or 11,000 with the expectation of Dayton. I think a lot of the demeanor of the crowd and some of the energy will remain consistent but you double the crowd, or in some cases triple it, I think it’ll be a whole new experience and it’ll be surreal. I’m excited for it.”

Brooks Jr., now a junior forward at Kentucky, played slightly over 15 minutes per game as a freshman in 2019-20. UK posted a 16-2 record in front of a consistently hyped Rupp Arena until COVID-19 canceled the remainder of the season, including the entire postseason. Brooks Jr. hit double-digits in scoring on three occasions that year, so he knows just exactly how important it can be to have the fans behind you from the opening tip.

“I’m just ready to get back in Rupp in front of a full crowd, packed house. We have one of the best–I’m biased but I think we have the best home court in the country. They help us get stops, they spark runs, they do a lot of things that really help during the game. And last year not having that, the homecourt advantage, in a way, is kinda taken away because we don’t have as many crazed fans in there going crazy. So that’s what I’m really looking forward to is getting back in front of fans and making some noise.”

Mintz is equally as excited to play in front of an actual crowd at Rupp Arena, but he’s also looking forward to showcasing his growing shoe collection, especially Kobe Bryant’s signature shoe. After all, he does have a little bit of extra money in his pocket now. Whenever he played in the Nike Zoom Kobe 6 “Grinch” last season, Kentucky performed at its highest on the court.

“You know it. The Grinch’s are coming back,” Mintz said with a laugh. “Hopefully I can get a new pair and try to save up a little money for this camp to buy those–they’re super expensive. But other than those I got a lot of Kobe’s coming. A lot of Kobe’s coming. It’s gonna be a lot of flavors out there for sure.”

The Big Blue Nation will hopefully get to see those new kicks in person when the season opens up against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Friday, Oct. 29. But before then, the crowds at Big Blue Madness and the Blue-White Game should be lively welcome-back parties for the players and fans alike.

Read more from KSR’s exclusive interview with Mintz and Brooks Jr.