Most senior moments last a little longer than a handful of seconds during two free throws four games before the end of the season, but for Twany Beckham, that's exactly what his moment was reduced to.
“I didn't think I'd be able to go into the game,” Beckham said Friday before his Senior Day game against Florida. “I didn't know if I'd ever step on the court again with my injury.”
A nagging back injury that led to surgery in January has kept Beckham off the court the rest of the season, but it didn't make his bear hug with John Calipari in the final seconds of the Mississippi State game or his career any less memorable.
The standing ovation he received against his former school as he checked in and then checked back out in between free throws was a moment he said he will never forget.
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.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 54 games.
- On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.
- On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.