We're officially getting closer and closer to basketball season that statement was backed up on Friday when Kentucky basketball held their annual Big Blue Madness event. It is always a big party inside Rupp Arena on this night as fans get their first look at the new basketball team, along with creative introductions from the players and coaches and most of the time, some sort of surprise guest.
Big Blue Nation was very eager to see what the basketball program had up their sleeve this year in terms of entertainment and surprise guests, and they got a big one in welcoming back NBA Champion and former Wildcat Karl-Anthony Towns. In terms of the action, we got to see three-point and dunk contests, along with a light 5-on-5 scrimmage. There wasn't as much on-court action as there was entertainment, but we still were able to come away with a few observations about this Kentucky basketball team. Here is what we learned on Friday, but first, you've gotta see what it was like when KAT was introduced.
Once a KAT, always a Cat pic.twitter.com/vfJGVMQQ4d
– Kentucky Men's Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 3, 2026
Alex Wilkins impressed with his shooting ability
As a shot-creating playmaker, some have had questions about his shooting, at least at a consistent level as he steps into a two-guard role in Lexington. He really impressed with his shooting during the three-point contest. Wilkins hit nearly seven-straight shots on his way to winning the contest, putting up a very impressive 34 points in the first round. The second-closest in that round was Milan Momcilovic, who put up 22 points. Wilkins followed that with 21 points to win the contest. He really made a statement that he, too, can really contribute from beyond the arc at a high level in addition to guys like Milan Momcilovic and Kam Williams. No one came close to him on Friday in the three-point contest.
.@AlexWilkins_1 putting on a clinic pic.twitter.com/PGGQ2g3H6a
– Kentucky Men's Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 3, 2026
Ousmane N'Diaye is a legit three-level threat
To reiterate, we didn't see much on-court action, but from what we did see (and from previous practices), N'Diaye really showed off his ability to stretch the floor, as well as move with ease. It's not normal you see a 6-10 guy that is very mobile, but N'Diaye is that. In the dunk contest, he jumped from right inside the free throw line for the slam. Then, in the three-point contest, he put up the third-highest score. He proved that he is not just great at attacking the rim. There is real potential of N'Diaye growing into a real threat from outside that can knock down threes consistently, and there is a reason he has previously been compared to Kevin Durant. We'll start to see a lot more of what all N'Diaye can do over the next few weeks. Maybe Malachi Moreno saying N'Diaye could be an All-American really was the truth and not just teammate speak.
Up next, we'll get to learn even more about this team at UK's annual Pro Day event on Tuesday before the Wildcats take the floor for their first exhibition game in two weeks against Little Rock.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kentucky as What we learned from Kentucky basketball's Big Blue Madness on Friday.