Kentucky’s holding an NBA 2K event, and some UK stars are already in the field
The University of Kentucky’s first school-wide NBA 2K tournament will include some of the school’s most famous current and past students.
Former UK standout Kevin Knox, now with the New York Knicks, will join current men’s basketball players Immanuel Quickley, Dontaie Allen and Zan Payne in the tournament, a collaboration between UK and esports organization Gen.G.
UK women’s basketball players Dre Edwards and Chasity Patterson also will be part of the competition. They and the current men’s basketball players are together in the “Current Students” bracket while Knox is part of the “Alumni” region. (The other regions: future students and Big Blue Nation).
Allen and Patterson were paired together in the first round. Payne and Quickley could meet in the second round.
“I think that it’s another chance to show that I’m not just a basketball player,” Quickley told the Herald-Leader. “(It) will be cool to show some video game skills and I also feel I’m pretty good. Lastly, I’m looking to get this championship since we didn’t get a chance to win it on the hardwood.”
Registration for the tournament, which begins Friday and will be broadcast on Twitch, opened April 1. Additional participants were selected randomly to be part of the 64-player bracket. A selection show for the event aired Tuesday on UK’s Twitch channel.
“We’ve been blown away by the amount of registrations we’ve received for the tournament since signups first began!” Jordan Sherman, head of revenue operations for Gen.G., said in an email. “Our goal was to be able to fill the 64-team bracket and we’ve exceeded that by 400 percent. We’re so pumped that Big Blue Nation will be out in full force and the community is coming together at time like this.”
A winner will be determined April 14, when the semifinals and championship are scheduled to be played.
UK President Eli Capilouto in a news release last week noted that among the tournament’s goals is to unify the school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re excited to see how the UK Twitch Tournament unfolds as a way to connect our students and create community along with all the fans who comprise the BBN,” Capilouto said.
In other esports news relevant to Kentucky, former UK and current Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is still alive in an ESPN 2K tournament featuring current NBA stars. The quarterfinals of that event are scheduled for Thursday. Booker is set to face off against Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 11:29 AM.
