While Kentucky fans enjoy exhibition games against professional basketball teams in the Bahamas, let’s hop into the way-back machine to remember a time the Wildcats nearly stumbled in an exhibition against professionals.
Athletes in Action was once a staple on the Kentucky basketball schedule. Before the NCAA permitted Division-I teams from hosting exhibitions against lower-tiered teams (i.e Transylvania, Lindsey Wilson), teams like Athletes in Action regularly made the trip to Rupp Arena. According to Jon Scott of Big Blue History, Athletes in Action played Kentucky nine times between 1991-2002. Comprised of former college stars that didn’t make the NBA cut, those games got a little too close for comfort under Tubby Smith’s tutelage.