LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Two legendary UK basketball players are joining forces to serve their community.

This Friday, 60 kids will learn basketball skills from two members of Big Blue Nation, but that’s not all they’re learning.

“I was a starting point guard for the University of Kentucky Wildcats from 2004 to 2008,” said Ramel “Smooth” Bradley. “When we came in, we were the number one recruiting class.”

“I played at UK, 91 through 93,” said Dale Brown. “I was the first junior college transfer in the history of the school. I played with Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk, Richard Farmer, John Pelphrey, those guys. The unforgettables.”

Ramel “Smooth” Bradley and Dale Brown both have impressive resumes.

In addition to playing for UK, both played professionally overseas and Dale played in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings.

While there was a decade between their playing days at UK, it’s the love for their community that has brought them together.

“There’s nothing like the Big Blue Nation and basketball, they go together like a perfect marriage,” said Bradley. “So we know that kids love the game and we just want them to have fun. We want them to learn.”

This Friday, the two will be hosting a free basketball camp at the Dunbar Community Center.

“The kids are our future,” said Brown. “This basketball camp helps take them away from doing things that they don’t need to be doing on the streets, all the negative stuff. It’s a lot of violence around here in Lexington, and we just try to clean it up as much as we can through basketball.”

In addition to teaching basketball skills, they also plan on teaching the kids life lessons.

“Some words of encouragement, you know, let them know our career path,” said Brown. “You know what it took for us to get to where we wanted to be. All the hard work in the classroom first, you know, and then basketball is secondary.”

“There’s nothing that makes us more proud and invested than the next generation of student-athletes,” said Bradley. “We ourselves were student-athletes; we know how much determination and dedication it takes to succeed at the sport. We’re just looking forward to sharing that knowledge, and hopefully, we can inspire those next boys and girls to grow up and achieve their dreams.”

The camp on Friday is already full.

But in the future, they hope to expand the camp to become a 3-day camp.

For more information, click here.

Copyright 2024 WKYT. All rights reserved.