By LARRY VAUGHT
Nate Sestina is glad he’ll get a chance to play again in Rupp Arena with La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team that will play The Basketball Tournament (TBT) in hopes of taking the $1 million prize that goes to the winning team.
Sestina was on Kentucky’s 2019-20 that lost its final home game to Tennessee in Rupp Arena but still won the Southeastern Conference championship. The Cats were seemingly poised to make a deep NCAA Tournament run when COVID cancelled the tournament.
Sestina said he still thinks about what might have been and talks about that with former teammates Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley and others.
“That’s always one of our topics of conversations. We were this close to something, I think, really, really special, and obviously something that the fans really wanted to see. To this day, I still think that we would have won a national championship,” Sestina said.
After playing four years at Bucknell, Sestina transferred to Kentucky for his graduate season. He played in 28 games, including seven starts, and averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and shot 40.7 percent from 3.
He’s played professional basketball overseas the last four years and says UK fans who watch his TBT play will see major differences in his game. He’s transitioned to the high tempo, fast paced pro game that relies on more 3’s.
“I’ve kind of gotten away from being big and clunky. I’ve tried to slim down a little bit, be quick and be able to shoot 3’s on the move. That’s kind of where the game is transitioning to,” Sestina said. “I promise I’m better on defense. I know everybody’s worried about that. I promise I am. I’ve kind of transitioned into playing smaller and playing in a more confined space in Europe in general.”
He said overseas play has been “super physical” and that forced him to adjust his play he hopes to showcase with La Familia.
“Hopefully I can come in and show off a little bit of athleticism, maybe get a fast break dunk. We got some guys that can facilitate the ball, so I’m excited,” Sestina, who recently signed a new two-year contract to play for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB, said.
Sestina’s teammates in TBT play will be former UK players Eric Bledsoe (2009-10), Daniel Orton (2009-10), Doron Lamb (2010-12), Marquis Teague (2011-12), Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15), James Young (2013-14), Andrew Harrison (2013-15), Reid Travis (2018-19), Nate Sestina (2019-20), and Kellan Grady (2021-22).
He said he’s looking most forward to playing with Bledsoe and Cauley-Stein. He knows Travis, has worked out with Grady and played against Harrison.
“I am happy he (Harrison) is on my team. He put me in iso (isolation) and I think I fouled him. I was like, ‘Alright dude, I can’t let you get by me. This is kind of embarrassing,’” Sestina said.
Tyler Ulis, a former SEC Player/Defensive Player of the Year at UK, is La Familla’s coach.
“I think being coached by Tyler is one of the coolest things. Like that image of him just with the blood coming down his eye (against Louisville). I’m really excited about that,” Sestina said. “You couldn’t ask for a better guy (to coach). He’s a junkyard dog. That’s how he was as a player. I’m hoping he’s the same way as a coach.”
Sestina said the image of Ulis with that cut and bleeding against Louisville “encompasses what it means to play basketball at the University of Kentucky” and always will.
Sestina, 27, was an easy sell for team general manager Twany Beckham because his fiancé, Madison Lilley, is in Lexington. She was the nation’s most outstanding player when Kentucky won the national volleyball championship in 2021. Lilley played professionally overseas before returning to Kentucky as an assistant coach last season.
“I’m going to make sure that everybody knows Madison will be there (when La Familia plays July 19 in Rupp Arena),” he said. “If anything, I’m kind of living in Madison’s shadow. She’s really a rock star there.”
Sestina said they often go out to eat in Lexington but normally most people recognize her, not him.
“The little girls would kind of be whispering, ‘That’s Madison Lily.’ And I’m like, you’re really a rock star here,” he said. “But any opportunity I get to meet up with people … it’s always love from the fans. “I really, really appreciate that. That’s a big reason why we ended up staying there.”
Veteran ESPN/SEC Network college football analyst Cole Cubelic didn’t need long to become a fan of Ohio State transfer running back Chip Trayanum after he got to Kentucky.
“He’s a downhill thumper of a running back,” Cubelic said on his podcast. “He’s not afraid to put his head down and get the extra yards and be physical. His hands are a little bit of an issue but I have been told he is out working every day trying to get better.
“He’s good in pass pro (protection). I think his overall vision is a little bit of a concern and him finding a feel for this run scheme can take some time.”
Another senior, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, played some as slot receiver as well as running back last season.
“He can handle the load if needed,” Cubelic said. “He’s got juice. He has a dog mentality. He is not afraid of anything. He fears no one and adds an extra gear to the backfield that I like.”
Cubelic really likes UK’s top tight ends — Josh Kattus, Khamari Anderson and Jordan Dingle.
“I think they are underrated. They have multiple tight ends who can do a lot of dirty work but also make big plays when needed,” Cubelic said. “Khamari Anderson has the most ability. He is your mismatch guy. He can run past a linebacker and out physical a safety. They can move him around.
“Josh Kattus is your grinder. He is an old school tight end. You put him next to a tackle and he will push people off the football. He is not afraid to block. Jordan Dingle is in between. He’s more athletic than Kattus but also can really block.
“All three can play and could be starters on multiple teams in the SEC. It is a quality room and one area where Kentucky has great depth and strength.”
Often a top 10 draft pick will be on a rebuilding team that could be years away from contending for a championship. Former Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham went eighth in the recent NBA draft but he went to Minnesota — the team that lost to Dallas in the Western Conference Finals this season.
Minnesota traded No. 1 picks in 2030 and 2031 to San Antonio to acquire Dillingham and put him on the same team as NBA all-stars Karl-Anthony Towns, the No. 1 overall pick out of UK in 2015, and Anthony Edwards.
Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly made it clear he expects Dillingham to help the Timberwolves immediately.
“I don’t think you move as aggressive as this and sit on him,” Connelly said after the draft. “He’s a guy that, from Day 1, is going to have a role and responsibility, certainly it’s going to be hard for him, but I don’t think you’re that aggressive in the top 10 with a guy you don’t think can play right away.”
Dillingham called it a “blessing” that Minnesota was willing to make this move to get him.
“It shows that they trust me and they obviously are trusting in me to develop. If they trust in me, that’s all I needed. I feel that’s all I needed from any team,” Dillingham said. “Them showing me is even more of a blessing. I get to play with way better players and learn from them.”
Dillingham said he had been working his entire life hoping to have a chance like he now has with Minnesota.
“Playing with Anthony Edwards and the whole Timberwolves … they were in the Western Conference Finals. So it’s really just a blessing because I get to learn from a lot of players and veterans and players that are real good. Them helping me is just a plus for me,” he said. “I didn’t really get to work out with them, but I used to see Ant at (Overtime Elite) a lot, for sure.”
Kentucky will host Arkansas and new coach John Calipari next season and it should be one of the nation’s most highly anticipated games after the messy breakup between UK and Calipari.
“We’re in the same league and we get to go head-to-head here at Rupp this year. And it’s going to be fiery,” Pope said in an interview with Fox Sports’ John Fanta. “There will be fireworks because that’s how Cal is, that’s why he’s so good and that’s certainly how we’re going to represent the University of Kentucky.”
At his recent press conference, Pope called Calipari “one of the great coaches who ever coached” in college basketball.
“I mean, he went to four Final Fours in five years and coached a billion draft picks and represented Kentucky really, really well and gave his heart and soul to this place,” Pope said. “I’m just as much a member of BBN as anybody. All of us would be grateful to him forever. And he’s a Hall of Fame coach.
“But one of the things that you learn really early on, if you have great mentors in this game, is that you just have to coach like you. I have to be me, right? I can’t be coach (Rick) Pitino. I can’t be Tubby (Smith). I can’t be Cal. It would be disingenuous. And my guys wouldn’t actually believe it if I tried to take on that persona or personality or even approach to the game.
“And the truth is, I love getting to coach and I’m a big believer in what we do, and I love our staff. Right now we’re just trying to do everything we can to build on this incredible legacy that is Kentucky basketball and do it the way that we know how to do it that we really believe is going to work.”
Pope said Calipari had been “super generous” with him when they have talked since he got the UK job and has been that way since he became a head coach nine years ago. However, Pope knows he has a “one of a kind” job now.
“I’ve been a huge fan of these coaches (at UK) and the coach who coached me. And so I steal stuff from every single one of those coaches,” Pope said.
Earlier Pope told Fanta that he “loved” Calipari and that both he and his wife “could not be more grateful” to Calipari.
“Every single day that goes by my gratitude for him increases because he’s been so helpful. We’ve gotten a chance to sit down a couple times on the road recruiting. He’s so generous, and gracious and wise. He’s a Hall of Famer,” Pope said.
Quote of the Week: “The Timberwolves made the most aggressive move of Round 1 by trading up as president Tim Connelly tries to find Mike Conley’s eventual successor. Minnesota now has their own version of Kyrie Irving to pair with Anthony Edwards,” ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony on the trade for Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham.
Quote of the Week 2: “I love this staff. I can’t wait until you guys get on campus and meet the guys on my staff. I think it’s a really special group, and I like these players a lot. You’re gonna love these guys, man, because when they put on this jersey, every single one of them, it means something to them,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope on the John Wall Point Game podcast.
Quote of the Week 3: “His decision to recruit elite players from the Commonwealth like Jasper Johnson and center Malachi Moreno to Kentucky could pay dividends if they sign. Instate kids are much more inclined to remain loyal to the brand in long term roster building,” Hall of Fame sportswriter Dick “Hoops” Weiss of the New York Daily News on Kentucky coach Mark Pope.