Kentucky, Southern grateful for "eye-opening" and "uncomfortable" Unity Series

Kentucky’s new Unity Series is about more than the game of basketball. John Calipari and the Wildcats matched up against Sean Woods’ Southern Jaguars to open the inaugural event on Tuesday, a game in which the former won 76-64. At the end of the day, though, the score, stats and individual standouts were relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things — and that’s by design.

The Unity Series, a five-year deal consisting of annual matchups vs. historically black colleges and universities from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, was established to spread awareness of the missions of HBCUs and raise funds to provide opportunities for students at their institutions. It was also created to serve as a teaching tool for involved parties.

“It means a lot,” Southern head coach and UK Athletics Hall of Famer Sean Woods said after the game. “These last few days have been awesome, and not just because of the basketball game.”

The extended weekend included a joint trip to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Museum in Cincinnati, a Name, Image and Likeness seminar with UK director of player development TJ Beisner, a joint team dinner at Malone’s, a created position at the SWAC office in Birmingham, Alabama through the John McLendon Leadership Initiative, and the distribution of 150 tickets to three Lexington elementary schools for Tuesday’s game, among other highlights.

It was a time of togetherness and growth both on and off the court for both sides.

“I tell my guys all the time, ‘It’s bigger than basketball,'” Woods said. “This week, Ray “Rock” Oliver did a great job organizing this deal, especially the deal in Cincinnati, for both teams. It was very eye-opening for coaches and players.

“The way this world is right now, we need all to find a way to help one another. I think that’s what this whole deal was all about. I’m so thankful (Calipari) gave me the call first to do this. It was totally awesome.”

The teams’ trip to the Underground Railroad Museum was one that meant a lot to the coaches and players, an educational opportunity that extended well beyond what is taught in school. History books provide the basics, but the guided tour and educational orientation allowed for an “eye-opening” look at the “uncomfortable” details of that era.

“I was really uncomfortable,” John Calipari said after the game. “It makes you think, how would you be in the mid-1800s? If I lived in the South, would I have the same heart? Would I be the same person? It made me uncomfortable. I was with the guys, but I was more reading — I needed another three hours because it was educational.

“The people that were there were unbelievable, they were educators. It was good both teams got to do it.”

“We learned a whole lot of history, especially stuff that schools don’t teach in today’s world,” TyTy Washington added. “We learned a lot of background knowledge. Just being with the team, it was a good trip for all of us outside of basketball. We were able to learn about the world. It was an eye-opener to all of us.”

“I thought it was really good to see all of the history, learning stuff I didn’t know about,” Daimion Collins said. “We learned about the places they kept the slaves, all the people in it, stuff like that. All of that I didn’t know.”

“That was great. It was a good experience,” Oscar Tshiebwe added. “I didn’t know about it, but the story they told us was really good. We got to learn about a lot of stuff that happened back in time, the 1800s, what was happening. It was a great story to hear. I learned something new. … Some things in the past — we’re living in a good time right now.”

It wasn’t just about the history or teaching opportunities — there was plenty of both — it was also about stressing the importance of togetherness. Woods said there’s a clear connection with basketball and the lessons taught at the Underground Railroad Museum.

“I thought the Underground Railroad Museum was very educational and eye-opening,” Woods said. “… We all grew up thinking about — and don’t say you don’t or haven’t — when you mention the Underground Railroad, you mention Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was just a little piece of the movement. To learn exactly what happened and how it went down, it was very eye-opening. It wasn’t about Harriet Tubman and black people helping black people get to freedom. It was white folks helping black folks get to freedom. Whenever both races get together, great things happen. That’s what taught me and my players that.

“Whenever you separate people and try to downgrade people, nothing good ever happens. But when you come together and stick together, great things happen.”

Woods compared it to his time at Kentucky, a period when different people from different areas came together and fought through adversity for one common goal.

“This team and my team, back when I played, that’s what that was,” Woods said. “I’m from Gary, Indiana, Richie Farmer is from Clay County, Johnathon Davis is from Florida, John Pelphrey is from Paintsville. But we came together. If we didn’t come together, there’s no way we would’ve had the success we had. It wasn’t just Rick Pitino, it was everybody buying in and helping each other. That’s what I think this world needs to continue to get better at.”

In basketball, the only option is togetherness. You lose yourself in the moment and forget about the differences you have with your teammates. It’s all about the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.

“Well, you have no choice. You lose yourself, you forget who you are,” Woods said. “You can’t go back to your community because you’ve got to face someone who is different from you every single day. In order for you to be successful, you’ve got to help ‘him’ be successful. If you don’t help ‘him’ be successful, there’s no way you can. You can’t run from it in athletics.”

The person who has embraced that mindset completely? John Calipari.

“I’m telling you guys what, and I’m not blowing smoke up here and tooting Cal’s horn, but he’s one of the best at it — doing what he’s supposed to do,” Woods said. “I told my guys, ‘He’s getting these guys and they’re going to the NBA within six months, 14 months, 24 months, they’re going to be millionaires.’ He knows how to humble them.

“How many coaches in America who know a kid is going to be a millionaire wash a homeless person’s feet? Who thinks of this, what the situation was? He’s got it.“

Calipari’s players are embracing his message, too. Oscar Tshiebwe, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was admittedly unfamiliar with the Underground Railroad and the history behind it going into the weekend. He didn’t know the specific stories or figures involved with it — he’s only been in the states since 2015.

He is familiar, however, with the importance of loving your neighbor. It’s a message he’s taken to heart since embracing religion and reading the Bible.

“Scripture tells us we should love one another, we should treat each other as (we love) ourselves,” Tshiebwe said. “Maybe they didn’t have the word of God (back then)? They didn’t hear from God. Right now, we’ve got the Bible. They say, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ That’s how most people do it now. Back then, maybe they didn’t have that? They were just living, they thought, ‘We can just live like this.’

“Everybody is changing because we hear the word of God. We have to love our neighbor as ourselves. That’s what we need to do right now, that’s what God wants us to do.”