What This Project Is
Through the Rafters is an independent narrative journalism project. Each profile is a deeply researched biographical essay that synthesizes dozens of sources into a coherent story — following a player from their childhood through their Kentucky career, their professional life, and where they are today. The goal is to tell human stories, not to produce encyclopedia entries.
The writing style is narrative and literary, in the tradition of longform sports journalism. Think Wright Thompson, Marc Spears at Andscape, or the best profiles in Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. The profiles use specific detail, direct quotes, and emotional texture to bring these stories to life.
Our Sources
Every profile is built from multiple published sources. We do not conduct original interviews (yet), but we draw on an extensive range of published material, including:
Primary Sources
Official UK Athletics player bios and stats (UKAthletics.com), Basketball Reference and Sports Reference for career statistics, NBA.com draft profiles and official team pages, USA Basketball athlete profiles, university press releases and official statements
Feature Reporting
ESPN features and E60 documentaries, The Athletic and Andscape profiles, local newspaper coverage (Philadelphia Inquirer, Charlotte Observer, Chicago Tribune, Bangor Daily News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), The Ringer, Grantland, Sports Illustrated longform
Broadcast & Video
Player interviews on ESPN, CBS, FOX Sports, TNT, press conference transcripts, YouTube documentaries and docuseries, podcast appearances and player-produced content
Historical & Archival
Kentucky Kernel archives, obituaries and memorial tributes, Hall of Fame induction materials, recruiting service evaluations (247Sports, ESPN, Rivals), Wikimedia Commons for historical imagery
How Quotes Are Handled
Every direct quote in a profile comes from a published source — a newspaper article, a broadcast interview, a press conference, a social media post, or an official statement. We do not fabricate or reconstruct quotes. When a profile says a player or coach said something, that quote appeared in a published source that we identified during research.
Quotes are sometimes lightly edited for clarity (removing verbal tics like “you know” or “um”) but never altered in meaning. When we paraphrase rather than quote directly, we indicate this through narrative framing rather than quotation marks.
How Statistics Are Verified
Career and season statistics come from official sources: Basketball Reference for professional careers, Sports Reference for college careers, and UKAthletics.com for Kentucky-specific records. When sources conflict on minor statistical points, we default to the official university or league source.
Source Lists Per Profile
Each completed profile includes a curated list of key sources at the bottom of the page. These are not exhaustive bibliographies — they represent the most significant sources that informed the narrative. We prioritize original reporting (newspaper features, longform profiles, documentaries) over aggregator sites, and we link to source material where available so readers can go deeper.
Corrections & Contact
We take accuracy seriously. If you find an error in a profile — a wrong date, a misattributed quote, a factual inaccuracy — we want to hear about it. We will correct it promptly and note the correction. These stories matter to the players and families involved, and getting them right is our responsibility.
A Note on Completeness
This is a living project. As of March 2026, we have completed 0 of 51 profiles across eight eras of Kentucky basketball. New profiles are added regularly, and existing profiles are updated as players’ careers and lives evolve. The “Where Is He Now” section of each profile reflects the most recent information available at the time of writing.
Through the Rafters is an independent project and is not affiliated with the University of Kentucky University, UK Athletics, or the NCAA. All content is original research and commentary. Player statistics are sourced from public records.