The University of Kentucky men's basketball team released its prospectus for next week's exhibition games in Canada, a preview that included little new information other than revealing what uniform numbers players will wear this season.
Most notably, freshman forward Enes Kanter will apparently become the first player in UK history to don the number zero. The 6-foot-11 native of Turkey will go with a singular zero as opposed to the "00" made famous by former Cat Tony Delk.
UK's other newcomers and their uniform numbers are: Stacey Poole Jr. (2), Terrence Jones (3), Jarrod Polson (5), Brandon Knight (12), Doron Lamb (20) and Eloy Vargas (30).
UK's returning players all retained their previous numbers: Darius Miller (1), Jon Hood (4), DeAndre Liggins (34) and Josh Harrellson (55).
Bradley to Israel
Former UK player Ramel Bradley has signed to play the 2010-11 season for a team in Israel.
In announcing his plans, Bradley said he still hopes to play in the NBA someday.
Bradley, 25, said he will play for the Maccabi Ashdod team for the Israeli National League. The port city of Ashdod is located about 30 minutes south of Israel's capital, Tel Aviv.
"I'm very excited about playing in Israel," Bradley said in a news release. "I'm looking forward to a new life experience, and I'm confident that this will be a breakout season for me, as well as my new team."
In the past two years, Bradley played for teams in Croatia and France. He called this year the defining season for realizing his dream.
Helping the needy
Through a partnership with Samaritan's Feet and a Detroit YMCA, Coach John Calipari, his staff and basketball team will wash the feet of students from the Detroit Leadership Academy during the Cats' trip to nearby Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Samaritan's Feet is a humanitarian relief organization based in Charlotte, N.C., that puts shoes on the feet of children all around the world.
After washing their feet and providing the children with new shoes, Calipari and the UK players will engage the students in basketball drills.
The event will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Boll Family YMCA, 1401 Broadway Street in Detroit.
The UK program became involved with Samaritan's Feet after Calipari participated in a shoe distribution for orphans in Haiti in June.
"It's really neat the way Samaritan's Feet does it," said Coach Calipari. "You can't imagine the smiles and appreciation. It's an amazing feeling to give those kids even a few minutes of that excitement that comes with getting new shoes."
