John Calipari, Big Blue Nation will dearly miss Mike Pratt

On3 imageby:Adam Luckett06/18/22

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Friday was a sad day for the Big Blue Nation. Kentucky basketball legend Mike Pratt passed away at the age of 73 after two decades spent with Tom Leach on the radio calling college basketball games for the greatest program in the sport.

To mourn the lost of his friend, Leach had Kentucky head coach John Calipari on to remember one of the great ones on the Leach Report.

“We lost a family member,” Calipari said. “Part of the Kentucky family and a friend. A true fan supporter, former player to the program and the university. People forget he was a hell of a coach himself. Just a sad day. We knew it was coming in the last week. Prior to that, it was still let’s fight, let’s go. But the last week it became apparent that it had come back and come back strong.

After a multi-year battle with cancer, Pratt’s fight ended on Monday. However, tributes flew in from all over the Commonwealth. However, the former player, coach, and NBA scout kept his battle quiet for a very long time.

“Well, for a long time he didn’t want anybody to know,” Calipari told Leach. “He didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for him. He went about his business and when it was apparent and he had to let us know he did but he didn’t want anybody feeling sorry for him. He was the ultimate gamer.”

Following an embarrassing end to the Billy Gillispie era, Mike Pratt was one of the few truly involved in the next search process. The former Charlotte head coach made a big push for Calipari to be the program’s next head coach so the Wildcats could return to national prominence.

“He was part of the group that came to Chicago,” said Calipari. “He came with Mitch [Barnhart] and Dr. [Lee] Todd. They met me in Chicago. They wanted Dr. Todd to meet me with them. I think Mike was one of the big proponents behind me being hired so they wanted him there. But that was when I knew this guy cares about the program. It’s about the program. It was a struggle back then and it drove him crazy. He wanted us to be thought of like when he played. It was one of the best, the most thought of programs in the country. And that’s what he wanted.

Mike Pratt had a special love for the University of Kentucky and its basketball program. A beloved figure, Pratt made an impact on fans across multiple generations through time spent as a player and announcer. Games without him on the radio call with Leach just won’t be the same moving forward.

“Another one of ours that left us that knew that the university and the Big Blue Nation love him,” said Calipari. “And never forgot what he did as a player and then later as his connection with the program.”

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