Judging by Marquis Estill’s emphatic celebration from the bench after Kyle Wiltjer’s impressive dunk at Ole Miss this season, you would think his name was still on the roster. Although he finished his collegiate career in 2003, the former UK forward still remains as passionate as ever about Kentucky basketball; only now, he is seeing the game from a different perspective as a first-year undergraduate student assistant coach.
Estill came to the University of Kentucky in 1999 under head coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith, who, similarly to John Calipari, created a “family” environment for his players to develop into well-rounded student-athletes.
“Coach Smith was like a father figure,” Estill said. “Just being able to come out and compete for the University of Kentucky was a great experience. I was playing for one of the greatest college basketball schools in history.”
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.