words // Zack Schlemmer
When you think of college basketball, one of the first teams to come to mind will probably be the Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats have long been a dominant force in college basketball, whether it's the Tony Delk and Antoine Walker led squad that won the 1996 tournament, or Coach Calipari's notorious one-and-done superstar teams of recent years. Even this year, the apparently underrated team (ranked #8 in the Midwest division of the bracket this year) has made it all the way to the Final Four, looking poised for a shot at the championship for the second time in three years.
Of course, sneaker brands usually have no problem lacing up winning teams with great sneakers, so the Wildcats have seen their fair share of some of the best kicks in NCAA basketball throughout the years. The first really notable footwear for Kentucky came with their blue and white colorway of the original group of Nike Dunks, when they were one of the select teams to get their own version of the iconic Be True To Your School set. The school switched to Converse sponsorship in the early to mid 90's and wore some of that brand's coolest basketball models like the Run N' Slam, Acropolis, Voltage and the infamous Blues. By the late 1990's Kentucky was back to wearing Nike, who they've been with ever since.
Check out all of the best kicks worn by the Kentucky Wildcats throughout the years below, as we continue our March Madness retrospective of the best sneaker schools of college basketball.
Same Bowie - Converse Pro Leather - 1980-83
Kenny Walker - Nike Dunk - 1985-86
Kentucky Bench - Converse Run N' Slam - 1994
Antoine Walker - Converse R.A.W. Energy - 1995
Tony Delk - Converse Voltage - 1995
Walter McCarty - Converse Acropolis - 1995
1996 Championship Team - Converse Blue
Saul Smith - Nike Air Team Max - 1998
Wayne Turner - Nike Air Max Uptempo 3.0 - 1998
Jamal Magloire - Nike Air Flightposite - 1999
Tayshaun Prince - Nike Air Garnett III - 1999
Saul Smith - Nike Air Garnett III - 2000
Gerald Fitch - Nike Air Flightposite II - 2000
Gerald Fitch - Nike Air Flightposite III - 2000
Keith Bogans - Nike Air Signature Player - 2001
Rashaad Carruth - Nike Air Force 1 High - 2001
Tayshaun Prince - Nike Shox BB4 - 2001
Nike Shox Limitless - 2003
Rajon Rondo - Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4 - 2004
Rajon Rondo - Nike Zoom LeBron III - 2006
Joe Crawford & Ramel Bradley - Zoom BB II - 2007
Darius Miller - Nike Hyperdunk - 2008
John Wall - Nike Hyperize - 2009
Ramon Harris - Nike Hyperdunk - 2009
Brandon Knight - Nike Zoom Kobe V - 2010
Nike Hyperdunk - 2010
Eric Bledsoe - Air Jordan 12 Retro - 2010
Doron Lamb - Nike Zoom Hyperfuse - 2010
Darius Miller - Nike Air Penny III - 2011
DeAndre Liggins - Air Jordan Six Rings, Stacey Poole - Nike Air Max Fly By - 2011
Anthony Davis - Nike Zoom KD IV - 2012
Darius Miller - Air Jordan 11 Retro - 2012
Julius Mays - Nike Air Flight One - 2012
Terrence Jones - Air Jordan 10 Retro - 2012
Nerlens Noel - Nike LeBron X - 2013
James Young - Air Jordan 10 Retro - 2014
Dominique Hawkins - LeBron XI iD - 2014
Aaron Harrison - Air Jordan 11 Retro, Julius Randle - Nike Kobe 9
(Images via Yahoo!)