When the Kentucky men’s basketball team returns to action in November, some familiar voices will be heard on the airways. Jack “Goose” Givens will join Tom Leach on the game broadcast, while Cameron Mills will appear on the pregame show as an analyst.
One of the greatest players in program history, Givens, who scored 41 points in the 1978 national championship game and is a UK Athletics Hall of Famer, will work with Leach on the game broadcast.
Givens, a Lexington native, takes over for Mike Pratt who died in June. Pratt and Leach have worked together for more than 20 years for the UK sports network and called the 2012 National Championship victory together.
“My basketball career started in Lexington, and it’s exciting that it’s come full circle,” Givens said. “I look forward to working with a professional like Tom Leach and I’m excited to share my passion for Kentucky basketball with the Big Blue Nation on the network of my hometown team.”
The duo will also host the Ruoff Mortgage Wildcat Wrap Up Postgame Show, where they will be joined each game by a UK player and head coach John Calipari. Andrew Kappes will serve as studio host.
Givens and Leach called Kentucky’s four-game foreign tour to the Bahamas this summer. The duo posted victories in all four contests as UK won by an average margin of 50.0 points per game.
Mills, a two-time National Champion, will be featured on the Don Franklin Auto Countdown to Tipoff Pregame Radio. Mills, also a Lexington native, hit one of the greatest shots in program history to help the Cats beat Duke during the 1998 title run. He sits alongside Dave Baker, who returns for his 36th season with the UK Sports Network.
Givens and Mills will also provide analysis on television for the UK Sports Network as a featured guest on BBN Gameday and BBN Tonight in Lexington on LEX18.
The Don Franklin Auto Countdown to Tipoff Pregame Show airs 90 minutes before every Kentucky men’s basketball game on UK Sports Network affiliates and is also available through the UK Athletics app. A stream of the show is also available on UKathletics.com and on the Kentucky Basketball Facebook page, where fans can ask questions and interact with Baker and Mills.
“After more than 20 years in radio, joining the UK Sports Network has always been a dream,” said Mills. “I want to thank Dick Gabriel, who has been a mentor since I started in media. I look forward to working with Dave Baker to continue learning the craft. Sitting in the same seat as legends like Sam Bowie, Rex Chapman , Jack Givens and Mike Pratt is an honor and I will do my best to entertain and inform Kentucky fans.
In addition to UK Sports Network’s game day radio coverage, fans are encouraged to subscribe to the Behind Kentucky Basketabll podcast presented by Thorntons, hosted by UK Sports Network’s Curtis Burch. The podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify and iHeart.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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