Moments after wrapping up an all expense paid trip to Houston for the 2011 Final Four, the Kentucky Wildcats were greeted to celebratory congratulations from none other than rap superstar Jay-Z himself. Unbeknown to Kentucky officials if the partial owner of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets was there to witness the game, Jay-Z did take time to step into the locker room of the Eastern region winners to express how proud he was of the young Wildcats.
Here are a few quotes from the players.
Darius Miller never pictured meeting Jay-Z. And the University of Kentucky forward certainly didn’t suspect an encounter with the rap legend would be the second-biggest thing to happen that day.
But on Sunday, Miller and his UK teammates met the platinum-selling artist in the locker room minutes after advancing to the Final Four with a 76-69 win against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament East Regional final.
“That in itself was a pretty nice experience to add on to (the Final Four),” Miller said. “Going to the Final Four (is bigger) by far. But still, Jay-Z. It’s crazy. This whole day has been crazy. I’m still taking it all in.”
“I said, ‘Oh that’s Jay-Z!’” forward Terrence Jones said. “We all gave him a handshake and he came in the locker room, and we just kept screaming ‘Jay-Z in the locker room!’ He congratulated us, just said he was proud of us.”
It’s safe to say that Jay probably noticed the abundance of collegians playing that could provide help to his lowly franchise in the future. The Jigga man’s appearance immediately brings three questions to mind:
1) When did Jay-Z become a Wildcat fan?
2) Is this a violation of some sort in the NBA?
3) How is Ashley Judd holding up now that she’s no longer the most famous Kentucky fan?
