Calipari offers condolences to storm victims after UK’s win. ‘Maybe it picked them up …’

In the immediate aftermath of one of the most consequential and impressive victories of the Kentucky men’s basketball season, UK head coach John Calipari repeatedly referenced the recent deadly severe weather that occurred in the commonwealth.

On several occasions during his postgame press conference Saturday afternoon after Kentucky won at Arkansas, Calipari said the severe weather situation in Kentucky, as well as its deadly aftermath, weighed on the minds of the Wildcats leading up to their game in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

“With all the stuff that went through our state, again, you know, our thoughts and prayers are with everybody back in (Lexington and Western Kentucky), where that stuff went through,” Calipari said. “I want to tell you, don’t think we weren’t thinking about that as a team. Because we know what this team means to the state of Kentucky. We know what it means to the state of Kentucky, can’t tell me any different.”

Five people have been confirmed dead as the result of a significant windstorm that blew through Kentucky on Friday.

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 355,000 Kentucky power customers remain without power after winds in excess of 70 miles per hour affected the state’s power grid.

Gov. Andy Beshear said in a Saturday morning news conference the power restoration process would take multiple days.

This includes Calipari.

“People watching it, maybe it picked them up a little bit,” Calipari said of people affected by the storm watching Kentucky win its regular-season finale. “I don’t know where they watched it because there’s still electricity off. They may have had to go somewhere. My guess is wherever they had to go to watch the game they did. So I’m hoping they enjoyed it.”

Last summer, the Kentucky men’s basketball program held an open practice and telethon at Rupp Arena to benefit flood victims in Eastern Kentucky, the most recent, prominent example of the UK program assisting those in need in the commonwealth.

Earlier this week, Kentucky senior CJ Fredrick was named to the SEC’s Men’s Basketball Community Service team. Fredrick was recognized on this team thanks to his efforts in organizing that open practice and telethon, as well as in a 2021 telethon that raised money for tornado victims in Western Kentucky.

“We did this and these kids knew about it because we talked,” Calipari said after Saturday’s game. “It’s another uplifting thing that these guys have done.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 6:34 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription