Denzel Aberdeen, a senior guard who transferred to UK this offseason after playing three seasons at Florida, didn’t play Thursday night for the Wildcats in their home exhibition loss to Georgetown University at Rupp Arena. Postgame, UK head coach Mark Pope said Aberdeen was dealing with a leg injury.

Both the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville men's basketball teams kick off their seasons Friday night with exhibition games.

So Lee K. Howard, WKYT’s sports director and anchor Kristen Kennedy’s husband, took their kids out of school to watch the team work at Rupp. Lee K said at the end of practice, Coach Pope picked two kids to come onto the floor to try to make a basket. If they did, the players wouldn’t have to run lines.

The basketball season hasn’t even started, but Kentucky already has a statement win. How the Wildcats did it was more important than the result.