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WATCH: Bam Adebayo Visits Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Receives Autographed Basketball from Cancer Patients

Former Wildcat and current Miami Heat player Bam Adebayo visited Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for a special reunion with a cancer warrior.

On August 9, 2022, former Wildcat and current forward/center visited Nicklaus Children's Hospital for a special reunion with a cancer warrior. Michael, age 21 from Miami, has a very rare and aggressive form of leukemia that affects his liver and spleen and has been in treatment for a couple of years at Nicklaus Children's Hospital.

Several months ago, Michael received a special FaceTime from Bam that started their friendship. This time, they met in person when the Miami Heat superstar paid a surprise visit to Michael and other children receiving care at Nicklaus Children's.

Separately, Miami Heat head coach, Erik Spoelstra, and his wife Nikki Sapp Spoelstra, also turned to Nicklaus Children's when their 4-year-old son Santiago was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma. Last month, the Spoelstra's announced that Santiago was in remission, now cancer free.

During his visit, Bam also delivered food to the nursing staff in the Emergency Department with Pedro Pollo from Pollo Tropical, and spent some time with patients in the hematology / oncology unit. Bam took photos, handed out coloring / activity books with his friend and Miami artist Vic Garcia, and enjoyed a meet and greet with more patients and their families.

Before leaving, Michael surprised Bam with an autographed basketball signed by many of the other cancer warriors he met during his day at the hospital.

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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