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New Wildcat E.J. Floreal paving his own path in family full of achievers

E.J. Floreal understands he isn’t going to play much in his first season, but he is willing to sacrifice playing time for an opportunity to improve.

E.J. Floreal

E.J. Floreal

Generally speaking, most children aspire to do as well as their parents. It's ingrained in most people to want to live up to their parents' legacy, and in many cases, achieve just a little bit more.

For E.J. Floreal, a walk-on on the 2013-14 basketball team, that notion could seem daunting if he lets it.

His father, Edrick Floreal Sr., who is in his second year as the head coach of 's track and field program, was a two-time Olympian for Canada, won five NCAA individual titles as a college athlete and is in pursuit of a team championship as the head coach at Kentucky. His mother, LaVonna Martin-Floreal, a two-time U.S. Olympian, won the silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. Even his sister, “Mimi,” who is a few years younger than him, was one of the fastest sprinters in the state last year as a freshman in high school.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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