Kentucky's Michael Gilchrist changes his name to honor family

The University of Kentucky men's basketball team added a new name, if not a new player, on Friday.

Michael Gilchrist has changed his last name to Kidd-Gilchrist, the incoming freshman announced on his Twitter account.

Kidd-Gilchrist, part of UK's top-ranked 2011 recruiting class, said that is the name that will appear on the back of his Wildcats uniform.

The 6-foot-7 forward made the change to honor his father and his uncle. Kidd-Gilchrist's uncle, Darrin Kidd, died of a heart attack on the day the player signed with UK. Michael Gilchrist Sr. was shot and killed in 1996.

This story was originally published July 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kentucky's Michael Gilchrist changes his name to honor family."