The 2012 University of Kentucky men's championship basketball team: Where are they now?
The confetti fell.
"One Shining Moment" played.
One-by-one, members of the 2012 University of Kentucky Men's Basketball team celebrated winning the national championship by cutting down the nets.
Then a decade passed.
Where is the squad now that brought Kentucky its eighth national championship? We went in search of them.
Where are they now:The 2013 U of L men's championship basketball team
No. 23, Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is the only player from the championship team you will still find shooting hoops in the NBA. Davis was drafted as a No. 1 pick in 2012 by the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans). He was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, just in time to win an NBA championship with them in 2020. Davis has been named an NBA All-Star eight times. Davis also has his own charity that provides "opportunities for children, rewarding kids to stay active and excel in school." The charity is headquartered in Florence, Ky. Davis, a native of Chicago, also donated $350,000 to relief efforts for Eastern Kentucky flooding victims in August.
No. 20, Doron Lamb
Doron Lamb has played for at least a dozen teams since the national championship Wildcats. This season, he's playing basketball for Scafati Basket, in the Lega Basket Serie A, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball League. Lamb was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft as the 42nd pick by the Milwaukee Bucks. He played 23 games with the Bucks before going to the Orlando Magic for a season and a half, then spent a season in the NBA's G League before heading overseas to play ball.
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No. 3, Terrence Jones
Terrence Jones is also still playing basketball. He has played for nearly a dozen teams since winning the national title. Jones currently plays for Cariduros de Fajardo in Puerto Rico's BSN league. Jones was the 18th pick in the 2012 draft. He played five seasons with the Houston Rockets and six total seasons in the NBA. He also spent time playing in the NBA's G League.
No. 14, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
After being selected as the second pick in the 2012 draft, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist spent eight years in the NBA. Although there were no official retirement headlines, Kidd-Gilchrist gets cheers from a different crowd now, advocating for those who stutter. In 2021, Kidd-Gilchrist founded Change & Impact Inc., an initiative that works to improve access to health care and expand services and resources for those who stutter.
Gilchrist told the Philadelphia Inquirer: "I am personally on this mission to get speech therapy covered by the insurance firms."
In 2022, Gilchrist came back to Lexington to talk to UK's College of Health Sciences students and reunite with his speech therapist.
“I am hellbent on making a real impact in real time,” he said.
No. 20, Marquis Teague
No. 20, Marquis Teague
In late September, Marquis Teague signed with a team in Rhodes, Greece: Kolossos Rodu B.C. Teague was the 29th pick of the 2012 draft and spent two seasons in the league, bounced around the G League and overseas and then made a three-game appearance with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2017-2018 season. Teague has also played for about a dozen teams in the last decade.
No. 1, Darius Miller
Darius Miller was selected in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft as the 46th pick by the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans). Miller spent some time in the G League and then played for Brose Bamberg, a German professional basketball team, for two and a half seasons before returning back to the NBA with the Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder for his final season.
No. 33, Kyle Wiltjer
Following the 2012 season, Kyle Wiltjer transferred to Gonzaga, where he led the Bulldogs to the program's second Elite Eight appearance. Wiltjer went undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft. He appeared for the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors. He also made appearances in the NBA's D and G leagues. In 2017, he signed with the Greek Basket League. Since then, he's been with the Spanish League, a Turkish Basketball Superleague and is playing in the Chinese Basketball Association. Or, as a recent Instagram caption of his put it: Another year, another culture.
No. 30, Eloy Vargas
Eloy Vargas went undrafted after the 2012 season but has spent every season since playing on an international or G League team. He has played in Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Iran, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela and his home country, the Dominican Republic. He also represents the Dominican national team.
No. 4, Jon Hood
During his five years in Lexington, Jon Hood played with more than 30 players that went on to play professional ball. He earned two degrees from UK one in Community Leadership Development in 2013 and a second in communications in 2014. He spent time working in orthopedics and also as an assistant coach at Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington. In 2020, Hood became an assistant coach at Kentucky Wesleyan, where the Panthers went 10-6. In May 2021, he was hired as an assistant coach at Missouri Western.
No. 13, Sam Malone
Sam Malone graduated in 2015 with a degree in marketing. He co-founded two busineses. The first is Guru Club, a technology company that uses word-of-mouth marketing to grow more than 300 brands across the hospitality, sports and entertainment industries. The marketing platform rewards customers for mentioning a brand's product on social media −like Instagram − with incentives, like instant coupons and rewards. He is the CEO of Guru Club .
Malone is launching his newest company 3V in the spring. The platform will help esports gamers earn from online play.
No. 32, Brian Long
Brian Long graduated in 2015 with a degree in communications. He now works as a recruiter for Amazon, per his LinkedIn.
No. 5, Jarrod Polson
Jarrod Polson graduated from UK in 2014 with a degree in business administration. He became a financial planner and now sells engagement and wedding rings in Lexington, per his LinkedIn.
No. 10, Twany Beckham
Twany Beckham graduated the following year with a degree in communication. He went on to self-publish a leadership and children's book, per his personal website. He later became the assistant director of player development at Kentucky State University, per his LinkedIn. His LinkedIn now lists him as a motivational speaker and NBA agent.
No. 12, Ryan Harrow (redshirt)
Although Ryan Harrow redshirted during the season, he did end up playing for the Cats in the 2012-2013 season. He then transferred to play for Georgia State. He went undrafted but has played with teams overseas, including in Poland, Greece, Italy and Spain. He currently plays in France's Pro B League.
John Calipari, head coach
Yep. Ten years later, John Calipari is still coaching the Cats.
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Orlando Antigua, assistant coach
Yep. Orlando Antigua is also still an assistant coach for the Cats. Although he was a head coach at South Florida and an assistant coach at Illinois from 2014 until his return to Lexington in 2021.
John Robic, assistant coach
Known as Calipari's long-time right-hand man, John Robic moved to an administrative role with the program in August 2021. By December, Robic was no longer with Kentucky basketball. His wife announced it on social media, per Kentucky Sports Radio.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 2012 University of Kentucky basketball team: Where are they now?