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Karl Towns is Kentucky’s ultimate role model and ambassador

Off the court, Kentucky—and, for that matter, college basketball—couldn’t ask for a better ambassador than Karl Towns.

Karl Towns - photo by Walter Cornett

Karl Towns – photo by Walter Cornett

Karl Towns, the top NBA prospect on the nation’s No. 1 team, sits in a dimly lit film room at Kentucky’s practice facility, staring toward the floor as someone recounts a tale he’s too humble to tell.

Last August, during an exhibition tour of the Bahamas, the Wildcats took a break from basketball to participate in a community service activity with Samaritan’s Feet, a global outreach program that helps impoverished youth.

Armed with buckets of soap and water, at a church just outside of Nassau, Kentucky’s players bent over and scrubbed the feet and washed the toes of hundreds of Bahamian children before providing them with new pairs of socks and shoes.

With supplies running low toward the end of the event, a volunteer scurried about the room, trying unsuccessfully to locate larger socks for a boy in his early teens.

“Are we really out of size 10-13?” the volunteer shouted.

Read full article here.

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 12, 1970, Dan Issel scored 44 points against Notre Dame.

 

On March 12, 1994, No. 10 Kentucky took down No. 1 Arkansas 78, in the 1994 SEC Tournament semifinals.  Kentucky made 16 three-pointers and placed five players in double figures led by Tony Delk (16 points) to stun the No. 1 team in the nation before 20,431 fans in The Pyramid in Memphis.  This is one of six all-time Kentucky wins over teams ranked No. 1 in the AP college basketball poll.

 

On March 12, 1995, Kentucky repeatedly clawed it's way back in the SEC Tournament final against Arkansas - finding itself trailing by 19 in the first half, 12 points with nine minutes left in the second half, and nine points with 1:33 remaining in overtime to win its 19th SEC Tournament championship by beating Arkansas 95-93.  Freshman Antoine Walker had 23 points as the Cats defeated the defending NCAA champions before 30,067 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

 

On March 12, 2020, out of safety precautions and concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 SEC Tournament is canceled. Hours later, all NCAA winter championships are canceled, including the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats' season, at 25-6 and regular season SEC champions, abruptly comes to an end.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

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