I know you’re thinking, “huh?” But, yes, you read that correctly: we’re talkin’ college basketball in August.

Regular / longtime readers of the blog will know that I occasionally write about Lexington goings-on and about our Univ. of Kentucky basketball team.

And, yes, I do realize that we’re still in August and, therefore, closer to the college football season (which you won’t read about here on the blog) than basketball season. But, we’ve just had a little exhibition game here in town, and I wanted to tell you about it.

Our own Coach Calipari is spending part of the summer coaching the Dominican Republic National team, as they attempt to qualify for the FIBA World Championship. They came to town several days ago to practice, and to play in an exhibition game in Rupp Arena.

And who were their opponents, you ask? Well, they were the “Pros” … a team made up exclusively of current-NBA, former-UK players. Our Univ. of KY all-star team, you might say. Except that, according to the NCAA, there could be no official references to the University of Kentucky Wildcats in promoting, or during, the game. Nevermind that the game was a complete sellout (24,000 people … in August), or that fans came from all over the state, wearing their favorite UK-blue shirts, or that every one of the “Pros” and the current UK player on the Dominican team all received applause and ovations worthy of rockstars …

It was a fun game, and players and fans alike all seemed to really enjoy the event and the atmosphere.

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before the game, the teams lined up on the court, and singers performed the national anthems of both the Dominican Republic and the United States

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the "Pros" huddled by their bench before the start of the game

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the players on the Pros team arrived in town the day before the game, at the end of their summer vacations (so no one was in prime basketball shape) and had one practice session together, the morning of the game ... they ended up losing to the Dominican team, but no one in the stands really seemed to care; it was just too much fun to see them all playing in Rupp Arena again

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even though we're closer in time to football season than to basketball season, Rupp Arena was completely sold out for this special exhibition game