Senior Spotlights: Kentucky Basketball 2023-'24

Antonio Reeves: the Relentless Pursuit

"He's a three-level scorer. He's got the layup, he's got that floater mid-game and he's got the three. The biggest thing he's doing is he's defending and he's coming up with rebounds," John Calipari said following his team's win over Auburn. "He's a knock-down shooter and makes free throws? He's made himself a pro."

Key word: made himself a pro.

For Antonio Reeves, it didn't happen overnight - although, it did start early.

"I bought him a rim for the yard. I knew he was special," Antonio's father, Anthony, told BBN Tonight's Maggie Davis. "Every time I get off work and go in the back yard, he’s back there. 24 hours a day. We’d have to make him come in the house."

"You'd have to make him come inside?," Davis asked.

"Make him."

"To stop practicing?"

"Stop practicing! He wouldn’t even eat! He’d be this little," the elder Reeves remembers with a laugh, holding up a single index finger. "His ribs would be showing. We gotta have you eat some food and get bigger! 'Alright, Dad! Gimme one more shot! One more shot!'"

That work ethic is what helped Reeves achieve his dream of playing collegiate basketball. He got his start at Illinois State, where he put up better numbers in each of his three seasons with the Redbirds - seven points per game as a freshman, 12 as a sophomore and 20 as a junior.

"I was just focusing on getting better and improving each year," Antonio said.

When he entered the transfer portal ahead of his senior season, Kentucky came calling.

"Him going to UK is unbelievable," Anthony said. "We did not believe that. I knew he was a good basketball player, but every year Antonio got better and better."

"Man, it’s great. It’s a blessing for real."

Watch the full story above to hear more about Antonio's relationship with his dad (including what they talk about after a big win), Antonio daily practice routine and his path to his spot on Kentucky's all-time scorers list.

Tre Mitchell: Family Man

Tre Mitchell is the 2024 version of a "one-and-done" for Kentucky basketball. The graduate transfer only has a single season of eligibility to spend with the Wildcats, but he's making the most of it with help from his close-knit family.

Mitchell's played at UMass, Texas, West Virginia and now, for Kentucky. He's been there, done that within the sport of college basketball. Still, he's starting new traditions.

"Every home game we have breakfast together," Mitchell says of his family's home game routine. "It kind of gets me in the right mindset for the day leading up to the game."

He gets to pick the menu - his sisters are quick to point that out - but they rarely talk about the day's game or basketball, in general.

"There’s so much more to Tre than just basketball," his mom, Erin Bergeron tells BBN Tonight's Maggie Davis. "There's so much more to be proud of."

Maggie sat down with Tre and his family to learn more about how he's regaining his confidence, the example he's setting for the team's freshmen and his own sisters, and why the leadership he's shown this season is a "learned behavior." Watch the full story above.

Kareem Watkins: Bonds of Brotherhood

This year's Kentucky men's basketball team has been defined by its chemistry. Their unselfish play on the court, rivaled only by the dynamic support radiating from the bench, has made this squad a fan favorite.

That chemistry has been there since day one, thanks in part to Kareem Watkins.

“Knowing that I got my brother here with me, someone I’m very comfortable around, it helped me be more comfortable with everybody else," freshman guard DJ Wagner told BBN Tonight's Maggie Davis. "That’s what helped us all be comfortable.”

Watkins took pride in welcoming his younger brother to campus, showing him the ropes and, according to their mom, even going into "father mode."

"I always like to say, he thinks he’s DJ’s father," Syreeta Brittingham said in a sit-down interview with Davis. "He’s gonna let him have fun and he’s going to be a brother and be cool, but when he needs to set that ground foundation of getting him in check and in line, he does."

"As an older brother you always feel like that," Watkins agreed. "As an older brother, naturally that's what you do... Him coming to college, it’s a natural instinct to show him the ropes."

"The Kentucky coaching staff and everyone’s been great," Brittingham said. "This experience has been awesome, especially for my boys. They get to play together; they room together. The only thing that separates their room is a bathroom. I don’t know if anybody else knows how that could feel as a parent, having two kids, two brothers, being together."

Watch the full story above to hear more about how the brothers have always competed, from Uno to the basketball court, what it's been like for their family to share this season, and how they think they'll be feeling Wednesday, when Kareem is recognized during senior night.

Brennan Canada: Kentucky's Own

"Every kid that plays basketball would like to be at Kentucky," Lynn Canada said with a smile and a slight shrug. "You have the opportunity to do that, you can’t turn it down."

Canada, father to Kentucky basketball senior Brennan Canada, said what so many around the Bluegrass and beyond have felt throughout generations of fandom: wearing that jersey and representing that program is a pretty-common dream.

For Brennan Canada, it's reality.

“You’d watch all the games and then go out there and try to mimic whoever did what that game," Brennan said of a childhood spent growing up watching (and imitating!) the Wildcats. "Definitely that was part of the childhood in the driveway, doing those things.”

During his senior year of high school, Brennan hadn't decided what would be next for him. But once the Wildcats came calling, all other possibilities faded away.

"I was dead set on that being what I wanted to do."

"This is where he wanted to be," his mom, Melissa, said. "This is where his heart was; this is what his dream was."

The Canada family sat down with BBN Tonight anchor Maggie Davis and photographer Nick Lazaroff to reflect on Brennan's five years with the Wildcats, the insanely-quick transition he made from high school to college, and how his grandma has always been his biggest supporter.

Kentucky Basketball senior spotlights ('23-'24)

Senior Spotlight: Antonio Reeves

Senior Spotlight: Tre Mitchell (3-4-24)

Senior Spotlight: Kareem Watkins (3-5-24)

Senior Spotlight: Brennan Canada (3-5-24)