Kellan Grady soaking in second Senior Night: "I'm grateful to be here."

Kentucky fifth-year guard Kellan Grady will burst through a paper hoop with his face, name and number prominently featured prior to the team’s game vs. Ole Miss at Rupp Arena on Tuesday, the sharpshooter’s final home game as a Wildcat.

Unlike most seniors, though, it will be Grady’s second Senior Day as a college basketball player. His first came after four successful seasons at Davidson where he racked up 2,002 total points and 240 made 3-pointers to go with 469 rebounds, 248 assists and 110 steals. Averaging at least 17.0 points per game in four consecutive years, Grady helped the Wildcats win 74 games in four years, including two 20-win seasons in 2017-18 (21) and 2018-19 (24). It was a run that also saw lows, including a 16-14 season in 2019-20, followed by a 13-9 year during COVID-19.

After experiencing so much across four seasons, his final goodbye with Davidson was a bittersweet one.

“You go through four years at a college with different rosters,” Grady said Friday. “You go through multiple Senior Nights, have different senior leaders for three out of your four years at a school you’re at for four years like I did at Davidson. We had a couple of 20-win seasons, we had one just over .500 and we had a season plagued by a pandemic. We went through a lot as a group at Davidson.”

This time around, Grady is in a different situation playing for a different kind of Wildcat — the blue blood version. He’s averaging a career-low 12.0 points per game, but shooting a career-high 43.7 percent from three on a team capable of winning a national championship. He’s playing a smaller role, but doing so on the best team he’s ever been on.

“My second Senior Night, how about that? There’s obviously a huge difference,” Grady said.

On one end, four years is four years. The relationships you build from the time you set foot on a college campus for the first time through graduation are unique in their own right. Make no mistake about it, though, playing for a title contender under a Hall of Fame coach at Kentucky is pretty darn special, too.

“There’s a different level of appreciation just because you have four years of experience and you’re playing with multiple teammates, some new assistants, etc.,” Grady said. “But ultimately, it’s going to be just as meaningful this Tuesday. This has been an exceptional year for us. We’ve cracked the top five, had a lot of success, some statement wins. You’re playing on the biggest stage of college basketball at a blue blood.”

At one school, he was coached by legendary coach Bob McKillop, who has racked up 631 wins, 14 conference regular-season championships and eight conference tournament titles. At the other, he’s receiving guidance from Hall of Fame coach John Calipari, who has won 807 games and a national championship while being named National Coach of the Year three times.

Different coaching styles, but both legends in their own right over 30-plus years in basketball. It’s been a five-year masterclass on the sport for Grady.

“They definitely have different coaching styles,” Grady said. “Coach McKillop ran a system-oriented offense with principles for 33 years and he’s had a lot of success with it. … And Coach Cal, he’s got his style. It’s more dribble-drive-oriented, players making plays. The exceptional thing about both of them is they have a standard, and there’s no shortcutting that standard. You’re always gonna be held to account no matter if you’re number one on the depth chart or you’re the 13th guy.

“I think that’s what’s allowed them to both be successful and coach three decades in the sport at the college level.”

He’s grateful to have learned from both.

“I’ve learned a lot of lessons from both of them just in my time at Davidson, in my time here,” Grady added. “… Playing for both of these coaches has been a wonderful experience for me and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned how to be held accountable, how to fulfill discipline-oriented coaches’ wishes and tasks. I’ve been very grateful.”

Grady came in averaging 17-plus points per game in all four years at Davidson, about as consistent as you can get from a season-by-season perspective. The standout guard credits his time in Lexington, though, for finding his groove on a day-by-day, game-by-game basis. He’s grown so much in this department that Calipari is now calling him “Steady Eddie” to close out the regular season.

“I’d say the nickname I earned about a couple weeks ago, ‘Steady Eddie,’ has been my biggest improvement,” Grady said. “I think, for the most part, you know what you’re gonna get from me. I’ve been relatively consistent, where I think in non-conference in November, December, that was a little up in the air. I think that that’s allowed us to be a better team and it’s given me the confidence to go out and play my role every day, just do what I can to help us win.”

Calipari is grateful Grady gave him the opportunity to coach him, even if it was for just one season. It’s been a relationship that has benefitted both sides. The sharpshooting guard has been able to perform at the highest level on college basketball’s biggest stage, raising both the floor and ceiling of Calipari’s 2021-22 Kentucky squad. As Grady has improved and grown more comfortable in his role, the team’s growth has been evident.

“Here’s a young man that gave everything he could for this program,” Calipari said of Grady. “We were fortunate that he decided he wanted to come here for that last year. Hopefully, he looks at it as he’s fortunate, too. Because that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

Fortunate, indeed.

“I’m grateful to be here,” Grady added. “Definitely excited about having a Senior Night at Rupp and experiencing that with my parents, doing it at a place like Kentucky.”

Grady hasn’t been the focal point of the offense the way he was with Davidson. He hasn’t had to carry the scoring load on his shoulders or needed to have the ball in his hands the majority of the game. He’s had four years to do that.

Instead, Grady has embraced his role and contributed to winning from the time he arrived at Kentucky. As a leader, as a shooter, as a scorer and as a make-shift point guard, “Grandad” has brought immense value to this program in a short period of time.