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Alex Poythress – The roar is back

Alex Poythress says he can’t wait to get back out on the court again in a game at full strength. He’s not there yet, but the roar is certainly coming back.

Alex Poythress - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

– photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

When the news came out in mid-December that Alex Poythress had torn the ACL in his left knee, the outpouring of support was overwhelming. The soft-spoken forward received words of encouragement from current and former athletes, as well as local and national media, among others. His name was trending on Twitter nationally.

Many of the messages included “Courage doesn't always roar,” Poythress' favorite passage from author Mary Ann Radmacher. When Kentucky took the floor at Rupp Arena just days later to take on then-No. 18 North Carolina, his teammates wore T-shirts in the warm-up lines that read “Roar 22,” in reference to Poythress' passage.

Now approaching 10 months since that fateful practice at the Joe Craft Center, Poythress is getting closer and closer to 100 percent.

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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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