What gets the Kentucky Wildcats ready for a game? Naps

The Kentucky basketball team huddles at Rupp Arena, via Dr. Michael Huang, KSR

The lights dim. A hype video plays as the LED lights pulse. Fireworks fill the air. The Rupp Arena crowd roars. There’s no better way for the Kentucky Wildcats to get ready for a basketball game. Well, except for one thing: A good nap.

It’s officially spooky season. Kentucky has one more exhibition before Halloween. Before the haunted holiday gets underway, the Kentucky Wildcats were asked to share their pregame superstitions. There was one common theme. You can’t perform well with a quality nap first.

Freshman center Malachi Moreno needs a one-hour nap before he takes the court. The other center, Brandon Garrison, is also on the nap-train. Collin Chandler takes his pregame nap in a place you probably would not expect, on the training room table. They are three of the six players who catch some zzzs before every game they play.

It may seem counterintuitive. There’s plenty more where that came from. A couple of Wildcats got to have a cup of Joe. Okay, coffee makes more sense. But two players, Jasper Johnson and Andrija Jelavic, bathe before they sweat all over Rupp Arena floor. Jelavic prefers to take a bath to get right for a basketball game.

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Not every player requires a pregame ritual to be at their best in a Kentucky uniform. As long as they’re ready to roll when the ball is tipped, that’s all that matters.

Had to find out some pregame superstitions before the season gets underway. pic.twitter.com/TSg1yv9zV2
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 28, 2025

Over the last 15 years, there have been Kentucky basketball Breakfast Clubs and Doron Lamb led #TeamNoSleep. After this video, it’s clear that Mark Pope’s second squad is #TeamSleep.

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