Kentucky basketball team will hold open practice Tuesday as part of flood relief efforts

The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team will hold an open practice in Rupp Arena on Tuesday as part of the program’s efforts to raise money for eastern Kentucky flood victims.

“I am so proud of our team and who they are,” UK Coach John Calipari tweeted Sunday afternoon. “They came to me immediately after the floods in eastern Kentucky and had an idea to help, so we got to work together. We have a player-driven initiative being announced later today that will support flood victims. Stay tuned #BBN!”

A couple of hours later, the official UK basketball Twitter account posted a video with several players announcing that initiative. It will include an open practice Tuesday in Rupp Arena, with doors scheduled to open at 5 p.m.

The open practice will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and there is a request that those attending make a donation to the American Red Cross that will provide immediate relief to victims of the eastern Kentucky flooding. Donations will be accepted at the entry doors to Rupp Arena, and free parking will be available in the High Street lot across from the arena.

The practice will be televised live on WLEX-18 as part of the Kentucky Flood Relief Telethon, which is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Tuesday and will provide additional ways to donate during the broadcast. UK basketball players will take calls from 5-6 p.m. before starting preparations for the open practice. Fans can also donate to the flood relief efforts at RedCross.org.

“We recognize that our state is hurting, and our team wanted to do anything we could do to step up and help,” UK freshman Cason Wallace says in the team video.

The eastern Kentucky region has been ravaged by flooding since last week following record rainfall.

Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed Sunday morning that 26 Kentuckians had died in the area as a result of the flooding, with rescue and recovery efforts still underway across the region. There have been confirmed deaths in Knott, Breathitt, Perry, Letcher and Clay counties. By Sunday evening, the death toll had grown to 33 people.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced in a news release Saturday that President Joe Biden had approved individual disaster assistance for people in those five counties.

“This is the most devastating and deadly flooding event in my lifetime. …” Beshear said. “Those are 26 children of God that will be missed by their community and are loved. We are going to be there with those families as they grieve.”

The Team Kentucky relief fund was launched Thursday afternoon to aid flood victims, and several other organizations have set up ways to help.

A few weeks ago, Calipari and UK’s basketball players made appearances at five Kroger stores across the state in the program’s continued efforts to raise funds for those affected by the tornadoes in western Kentucky last year.

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