Aaron Bradshaw is the light of Kentucky basketball. ‘Everyone is better when he’s around.’

At the beginning of a basketball camp for kids back in the summer, Aaron Bradshaw — a protective boot on his left foot — was walking rather quickly to his station when he noticed a photographer trying to get a shot of him.

Bradshaw smiled that smile that Kentucky basketball fans now know so well. He stopped and turned around. With a straight face now, Bradshaw walked the same path — more deliberately this time — to give the photographer a second opportunity to get his picture.

When he got to his destination, the 19-year-old started giggling with delight.

Last month, when Kentucky hosted star recruit Khaman Maluach — like Bradshaw, a 7-footer — for a visit, the Wildcats freshman spent a few minutes before a game in Rupp Arena sitting and chatting with the 17-year-old from Africa on the UK bench.

After a particularly effective shift in the game that followed, Bradshaw was subbed out and returned to that same bench, where Kentucky coaches and teammates high-fived him on his spirited effort. He finally sat down in a seat directly in front of Maluach and stuck his arm out behind him, palm up. Without missing a beat, Maluach slapped him five from the front row.

Two weeks later, with Bradshaw’s Wildcats in a real battle in Starkville and teammate Ugonna Onyenso struggling on the court, the two 7-footers found themselves sitting next to each other on the bench in the final minute. A few games earlier, Onyenso had taken Bradshaw’s spot in the starting lineup. In this moment, Bradshaw put his arm around Onyenso in a firm embrace, leaned in close, and said some words of encouragement.

At the end of that game — the one that Reed Sheppard won with a buzzer-beater — it was Onyenso, not Bradshaw, on the court for the final sequence. Yet when Sheppard’s shot went down, Bradshaw started jumping up and down like a little kid.

Those who have observed him over the past few months have plenty of anecdotes like this that show Bradshaw to be a genuinely supportive and enthusiastic young man who’s happy to be here. Those who have been closest to him during that time have plenty of kind words to confirm it’s true.

“He’s got a joy to him that a lot of people don’t have,” UK assistant coach Chuck Martin said. “Whether he plays 10 minutes or plays 20 minutes — obviously he’s a competitor, he wants to play, he wants to compete — but he just has a joy to him. So he lights the room up when he walks in. Lights the gym up. Everyone is better when he’s around, and I think he knows that. I think he understands that.

“I think he understands how he affects Z and Ugo, and the rest of our team.”

This unorthodox arrangement of three talented 7-footers — Bradshaw, Onyenso and Zvonimir Ivisic — on one roster has gone through a few different stages over the course of the season. None of them were healthy enough to play at the beginning — with Ivisic’s debut delayed until January due to an NCAA inquiry into his amateur status — and since they’ve all been on the court, each of the three has looked, at times, like the most effective of the trio.

Here lately, however, Bradshaw has most often been the odd man out, with John Calipari leaning on Onyenso when he needs defense and Ivisic when he’s looking for more scoring punch.

Heading into the SEC Tournament opener Friday night, Bradshaw has played double-digit minutes just once in UK’s last seven games.

The situation hasn’t done much to suppress that infectious smile.

“If he’s playing better than me, I have to realize that,” Bradshaw said of Ivisic this month. “If he’s playing better, it’s not his fault. It’s my fault. So him playing better than me or Ugo playing better than me, it’s not a (reason to be upset). That’s selfish. If they’ve got it going, they got it going.”

Bradshaw said Ivisic and Onyenso share that mindset.

“It’s really unique, actually,” he said. “A lot of other schools, or players — they hate on each other. Us? We don’t do that. We all love each other.”

‘The happy guy’

The dynamic of support among the three bigs has allowed Calipari to shift his lineups without having to worry about egos. All three are potential NBA draft picks after this season, though Bradshaw has seen his own stock slip in the past few months, with inconsistent play leading to sporadic playing time following a couple of breakout performances in the early going.

Before he made his debut, Bradshaw, who suffered a foot injury prior to arriving in Lexington and missed the entire summer practice period and preseason as he recuperated, was the focus of rumors that he might never play for the Wildcats at all in an attempt to protect his draft status.

In his first interview on campus, he forcefully denied that would be the case. There were still skeptics at the time, but those around Bradshaw backed him up. Calipari said he was the “star” of the early camp circuit, with kids and parents gravitating toward his positive presence. His teammates made similar comments.

The more people on the outside got to see him, the more they believed.

Not long after Bradshaw’s early December debut, Sheppard spoke of what he’d seen.

“The way he plays — AB plays with so much energy, and he’s always bringing positive vibes everywhere he goes,” Sheppard said. “Even when he wasn’t playing, he was always the most happy guy in the gym. He’s always smiling. Always just yelling.

“He’s just the happy guy.”

A few days before those comments, Kentucky’s players and coaches took part in a Christmas event in which they passed out presents to local families in need, spending time with kids, singing carols as a team and sharing a holiday meal with their guests.

For this function, the Cats needed a Santa Claus.

According to those in the room, it was announced that someone would need to don the big red suit and play the role of jolly ol’ Saint Nick. For a brief moment, there were no volunteers, and attention turned to a UK coach who might fit the part.

When the time came for spreading cheer, Bradshaw was the one in costume. He nailed it.

Photos and videos that came out of that private event showed a gleeful Bradshaw in his Santa suit, hugging kids, passing out gifts and spreading smiles.

Onyenso wasn’t there for the celebration due to an illness that almost kept him out of the game against North Carolina the night before. But he saw the photos as soon as they were posted. And when he saw Bradshaw in that Santa suit? Onyenso smiled.

“Of course, I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “Aaron being Aaron? Of course he’s going to be fun.

“He’s the kind of guy that — if you’re feeling down — go talk to him, and you’ll be all right. I love how he is as a person. That’s all that matters to me. … We’re like brothers.”

Bradshaw in March

Ranked as the No. 5 overall recruit in his class, there were major expectations for Bradshaw when he signed with the Wildcats, but his overall output hasn’t matched the early hype. That’s understandable, given the New Jersey native’s label as more of a long-term prospect even before he suffered the injury that robbed him of months of developmental time.

Those expectations dwindled before he even stepped on the court. And then — after a brief college debut in UK’s loss to UNC Wilmington on Dec. 2 — Bradshaw took a star turn in game two, going for 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks over 29 eyebrow-raising minutes in a win against Penn in Philadelphia, not far from his hometown.

He made some big plays in the victory over UNC one week later, but — with a couple of exceptions — those two games remain season highlights, and the aforementioned numbers from the matchup with Penn are all still career highs.

Bradshaw broke into the starting lineup and then was relegated back to a reserve role.

In Kentucky’s final game of the regular season — last weekend’s 85-81 win at Tennessee — Bradshaw played just two minutes and 30 seconds, a season low. Yet there he was again, celebrating big plays from the UK bench.

A week before that game, he was asked what the “most exciting thing” about this team has been. These Cats boast one of the country’s most electric offenses, a roster filled with guys who could go off at any moment. That wasn’t Bradshaw’s answer.

“How we cheer each other on,” he said. “That’s the most exciting thing to me. Because I’ve been on some teams where people will score a bucket, and they’re just sittin’ there. You know that little clap they do? ‘Yeah. Good job.’ Nah. Somebody makes a shot on this team, we doin’ celebrations. We doin’ backflips. We doin’ all this other stuff.

“So, that’s the main thing I really cherish and love about this team.”

Bradshaw, who has faced plenty of adversity in life but hasn’t talked much about it during his time in Lexington, said he’s always tried to keep a positive mindset. Sometimes it’s hard, of course. He didn’t like the rumors that he’d never play for the Cats, saying in the preseason that he had conversations with his mother, who told him to turn the other cheek and not lash out on social media. He’s been frustrated with his own play at times, but he quickly turns the page to show support for those who have taken his spot on the court.

“I just like being positive,” he said. “If you bring nothing but negativity to something, it’s gonna get negative. So why don’t you just be positive? There’s nothing wrong with being positive.

“I mean, I’m a positive person. I just like giving love and showing love. That’s really it.”

Mention his name around anyone within the program, and you’re almost certain to get a smile.

“Unbelievable,” assistant coach John Welch said of the freshman. “He’s the same person every day. And every day is a good day for him. He always has a smile on his face. It’s incredible. It really is. I mean, I guess obviously you guys see it, as well.

“Every day, he’s just upbeat and happy.”

Kentucky’s coaches have talked about Bradshaw needing to play more physical at the rim to get more playing time in the postseason. The upside is obvious. He just hasn’t put it all together yet.

Calipari has said he doesn’t plan to limit his rotation during tournament time. He wants to have all three of his bigs ready to go, depending on matchups, knowing any of them are capable of pushing the Cats to a victory on any given night.

So, perhaps Bradshaw will have another breakthrough in March. If he doesn’t, you’ll probably be able to spot him smiling and cheering in the background.

Before he made his Kentucky debut, Bradshaw could often be seen on that UK bench sitting next to Ivisic, the two sidelined 7-footers sharing smiles, jokes and in-game celebrations. Bradshaw later spoke of their tight bond off the court.

Ivisic, a 20-year-old from Croatia who didn’t arrive in the United States until mid-October, talked more recently of not knowing what to expect when he signed on to be a Wildcat. Living in a new country. Meeting new people. Trying to integrate himself into a team that had already been together for months. It was an uncertain situation. But he quickly found a friend in Bradshaw. And that made it all easier.

“Aaron’s my guy,” he said. “We spend every day together, on and off the court. We hang out. He helps me a lot. School stuff, practices. You know, everything that I needed him for, he was there for me. So, yeah, he’s my guy.”

Someone asked another, unrelated question, but Z wasn’t finished. He wanted to add two more words.

“My brother.”

Next game

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M or Mississippi

What: SEC Tournament quarterfinals

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

SEC Tournament

At Nashville, Tenn.

All times EDT

WEDNESDAY

7 p.m.: No. 12 seed Arkansas (15-16) vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt (9-22), (SEC Network)

About 9:30 p.m.: No. 11 Georgia (16-15) vs. No. 14 Missouri (8-23), (SEC Network)

THURSDAY

1 p.m.: No. 8 LSU (17-14) vs. No. 9 Mississippi State (19-12), (SEC Network)

About 3:30 p.m.: No. 5 South Carolina (25-6) vs. Arkansas-Vanderbilt winner, (SEC Network)

7 p.m.: No. 7 Texas A&M (18-13) vs. No. 10 Mississippi (20-11), (SEC Network)

About 9:30 p.m.: No. 6 Florida (21-10) vs. Georgia-Missouri winner, (SEC Network)

FRIDAY

1 p.m.: No. 1 Tennessee (24-7) vs. LSU-Mississippi State winner, (ESPN)

About 3:30 p.m.: No. 4 Auburn (24-7) vs. South Carolina/Arkansas/Vanderbilt winner (ESPN)

7 p.m.: No. 2 Kentucky (23-8) vs. Texas A&M-Mississippi winner, (SEC Network)

About 9:30 p.m.: No. 3 Alabama (21-10) vs. Florida/Georgia/Missouri winner, (SEC Network)

SATURDAY

1 p.m.: Semifinal 1 (ESPN)

About 3:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2 (ESPN)

SUNDAY

1 p.m.: Championship game (ESPN)

Kentucky pulled off its biggest win of the season. And the Cats celebrated like ‘family.’

Reed Sheppard named SEC Freshman of the Year. Reeves, Dillingham and Wagner honored, too.

Kentucky soars in new college basketball rankings. NCAA Tournament outlook getting clear.

Leftover notes and bracket projections from Kentucky basketball’s win at Tennessee

Hooked on a feeling: Why Kentucky will win the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament

History says Kentucky needs to play well in SEC tourney to make a deep NCAA Tournament run

Here’s the 2024 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule