LEXINGTON – The 2024 edition of Big Blue Madness is in the books as two new eras of Kentucky Basketball made their Rupp Arena debuts.

New men’s coach Mark Pope and women’s coach Kenny Brooks brought their debut rosters on to the Rupp Arena floor for the first time in front of a sold-out crowd.

“There is no place like Kentucky, baby,” Pope said in his first Big Blue Madness speech as head coach. “There is no fan base like the great BBN. There’s nothing like it in the world. You guys are amazing … “What I’m excited about tonight is this is the first time we can all be together, as BBN, in this hallowed hall.”

When introducing his debut team, Pope said, “They may not be from Kentucky, but they’re built Kentucky strong.”

The festivities were played atop an ASB Glass Floor’s high-tech LED court.

On the men’s side, the night was crucial for recruiting.

Class of 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis and class of 2026 small forward Anthony Thompson both attended on Friday. Kentucky is seen as the favorite for Lewis, as three 247sports crystal ball projections have been placed in favor of the Wildcats. He is down to a final three of Kentucky, UConn, and Duke and is expected to decide before the start of the November signing period.

UK Football coach Mark Stoops was also in attendance with a handful of football recruits ahead of the Wildcats’ matchup with Vanderbilt at 7:45 p.m. EST at Kroger Field on Saturday. He briefly addressed the crowd to welcome Pope and Brooks.

“Now this is madness,” Stoops said. “I’ve been missing this for 12 years … we’re all in this together.”

Here are a few of the moments that stood out from the 2024 edition of Big Blue Madness in front of a sold-out Rupp crowd including the return of Rick Pitino.

Rick Pitino returns

To close Friday night’s festivities, the LED court flashed through the eras of Kentucky Men’s Basketball history as several former Wildcat players and coaches made their return to Lexington.

Many members of the 1996 national championship team, the ‘The Unforgettables’ and Willie Cauley-Stein were among the most notable players in attedence but the headliner was none other than Rick Pitino.

UK’s head coach from 1989-97, Pitino led the Wildcats to a national championship in 1996 with Pope as his team captain and center. 
Shortly after leaving Kentucky for a short stint as the head coach of the Boston Celtics, he took over as the head coach at rival Louisville from 2001-17 and never once received a warm ovation when he brought his Cardinals to Rupp Arena.
For the first time, that changed Friday as he was greeted with a thunderous ovation. 
“I am so happy to be back. Before I pack it in coaching, I want to go back to Camelot (University of Kentucky) one more time. There’s no way I can return better,” Pitino said, holding back tears while addressing the crowd.
“This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time because I’ve visited all my players. I visited the fans that made me happy for every single day for eight years.”

Pitino also took time to voice his support for Pope as the two shared a long embrace.

“Now we get to root for a gentleman that … there have been a lot of great coaches here, a lot of great one, but we get to root, someone that the name Kentucky, is what he’s all about,” Pitino said. “It’s not about Pope. You’ll never hear him say that. He’s the most selfless, humble young man I’ve ever coached in my lifetime. One of the great, great examples of what Kentucky basketball is all about.

“Mark Pope is going to lead you to greatness in every sense of the word.”

Pope’s debut team meets BBN

Pope has taken his 2024-25 roster into Rupp Arena to see where they will play its home games, but no one on the team outside of Travis Perry and Trent Noah, who grew up Kentucky fans in the Commonwealth and returning walk-ons Walker Horn and Grant Darbyshire had ever experienced the building at full capacity before Friday night.

That changed as we were introduced to a sold-out Rupp Arena crowd for the first time.

The 12-man scholarship roster includes nine transfers led by Jaxson Robinson, the Big 12 2023-24 Sixth-Man of the Year who followed Pope from BYU to UK; Lamont Butler, the defending Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year who hit a buzzer-beating jumper in the 2023 Final Four to send San Diego State to the National Championship Game; and three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year Amari Williams.

Each player was greeted with thunderous applause and unlike in previous years, was introduced from the stands and made their way back to the floor.

The Kentucky-born Noah and Perry taking home the loudest cheers aside from Pope, who is back to lead the Wildcats nearly three decades after helping lead the program to a National Championship as a center in 1996.