For Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, basketball may have been the easy part. Before his third birthday, his father was shot to death in Camden, N.J. in 1996. As a young child, Kidd-Gilchrist and his father, Michael, had watched the movie “The Lion King” almost every day. Now 18 years old – he will turn 19 on Sept. 26 – Kidd-Gilchrist still watches the movie once a week, its tale of young Simba growing into a lion after seeing his father die having become a part of his life. Kidd-Gilchrist's father had gone to Benedict College in South Carolina to play basketball in the 1980s, but left school and joined the Army instead. His son grew into a 6-foot, 7-inch small forward who became an integral part of Kentucky's national championship team in his only college season.
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.