In the annals of Kentucky basketball lore, Sunday's Elite Eight showdown with Michigan will surely rank high on the list of finest games. But the mother of one of the game's key figures didn't get to see how it turned out … because she had to get back to work.
Carolyn Kyles, mother of Kentucky beast Julius Randle, had to leave near halftime with the ‘Cats down 4. According to observers at the scene, she was in tears at the thought of missing the rest of the game.
Randle, a Dallas native, kept Kentucky in the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Region. He's a freshman, he may not be long for Lexington, but he's made an outsized impact in his days at Kentucky so far. And he's happy to give most of the credit to his mother.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.