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UK Hoops Preview: Questions and Answers about Bill Keightley

October 10, 2008|LARRY VAUGHT

As Kentucky prepares to open another basketball season tonight with its Big Blue Madness, one key element will be missing - Bill Keightley.

The long-time UK equipment manager died in the spring and the Wildcats will be without his familiar face tonight at Rupp Arena.

Returning players say not having Keightley around them daily will make this season different and leave no doubt that they are going to miss the man that came to be known as Mr. Wildcat.

Here's what some players say they will miss most about Keightley.

Patrick Patterson: "Just seeing him every day. He always had a stool beside the court. You could always glance and see him and him bringing his energy to us. I just had so much respect for him and how long he has been here and what he does. It was a great feeling, something we all took for granted until he was gone. The No. 1 thing I will miss is when practice would be going and since Mr. Keightley had been here since 4 or 5 in the morning, he would get tired and sometimes fall asleep little bit. We would glance at him and he would have that head down. We would all laugh because we know how hard he worked. Little things he did like that will be really missed."

Perry Stevenson: "Just having him there. Just seeing him was the best part of my day. I would see him every day. He was always there. He always stopped to talk to me. It didn't matter how big a rush he was in, he said hello and stopped to talk to you."

A.J. Stewart: "Everything about him. There is not one thing. There is nothing he did you won't miss. He always had a smile and something encouraging to say, even when times were hard. He was just always good to everybody. You can't say nothing bad about the man. You do not meet people every day that are genuinely nice. He was nice to everybody. That is something you don't see a lot. When we went through tough times, he was always there. Sometimes I felt like he was my only friend."

Jared Carter: "I will just miss seeing him. I probably spent the longest with him of any player here. I remember going to his office all the time to talk. He always had something funny to say or something to make me laugh. He always watched practice and not seeing him there is going to be sad. It will just be different."

Ramon Harris: "I remember I came on my official visit and Mr. K made me feel like family on the visit. I will never forget that. My parents felt the same way. He was just a guy who could get along with anybody. He was a rare person."

Jodie Meeks: "I think his overall personality. He was a great man. He did all the little things like laundry and made sure we were all taken care of on the road. He would always tell you the truth no matter what the situation was. If you were having a bad day, you could always go talk to him. I always wanted to see if he was all right. He looked after so many people that I wanted to make sure somebody always checked on him. He took people under his wings and taught us all about basketball at Kentucky. You can't replace that."

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