Kentucky MBB also upgrades practice court at Joe Craft Center

Earlier today, Kentucky Women’s Basketball tweeted out a photo of the team’s upgraded practice court at the Joe Craft Center. Turns out, they weren’t alone in the new hardwood.

Later in the day, Kentucky Men’s Basketball also tweeted out a photo of their own upgraded practice court. The two programs practice in the basement of the Joe Craft Center on opposite ends of the floor. Both courts are named “The Bell Family Court”.

It’s not much of a big change from the old courts aesthetically wise, although the blue does look brighter and glossier.

Check it out.

The facility upgrades come shortly after Kentucky men’s head coach John Calipari was outspoken about the need for improvements at the Joe Craft Center. During an interview with Dan Issel and Mike Pratt on May 2, Calipari said he would be meeting with athletic director Mitch Barnhart to discuss potential updates.

“I’ve got to sit down with Mitch this week because we’ve got issues that — nothing crazy. Let’s deal with this stuff. Let’s be ahead of the curve,” he said at the time.

The Joe Craft Center opened in January 2007 and houses Kentucky’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with administrative and UK Athletics offices. It includes practice courts for both teams, locker rooms, a video room, lounges, and a shared weight room and training room. At the time, it was a state-of-the-art facility worth $30 million. In 2017, the men’s locker room and lounge received a $4 million upgrade.

Four years later, John Calipari thinks the entire facility needs a refresh.

“The Philadelphia Phillies came on campus because they want to look at a facility for training,” Calipari added. “And they came to our baseball stadium and they looked at that stuff. You know what they said? ‘Wow. Wow.’ Then they went to football, walked through it, and said, ‘Wow.’ They saw the soccer stuff, ‘Woo.’ And then they said, ‘Wow. We want to see basketball.’ Because figuring, it that’s what this is like, show us basketball. And they went and said, ‘Wow. it’s kind of — we didn’t, what?’ I said, ‘We got short-term stuff we got to do. And then there’s the long-term.’”

The practice court upgrades will be just the beginning.