UK basketball is used to change. But Brennan Canada and Kareem Watkins have been mainstays.

It’s clear who was getting the lion’s share of the attention ahead of Kentucky basketball’s Senior Night showdown with Vanderbilt.

It was also evident who would be getting the loudest eruption from the Rupp Arena faithful when the Senior Night ceremonies commenced before the Wildcats and Commodores played late Wednesday night in Lexington.

But the deserved praise that has, and will, come the way of fifth-years Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves shouldn’t take away from the two other elder statesmen on an otherwise youthful Kentucky basketball team.

Brennan Canada and Kareem Watkins have been every bit the “big brother” figures that Mitchell and Reeves have been, albeit with much less playing time.

And both Canada and Watkins were also able to say their Rupp Arena farewells on Wednesday night.

Kareem Watkins enjoys final Kentucky basketball season with family

Watkins, a 5-foot-8 guard from New Jersey, joined the UK program as a walk-on ahead of the 2020-21 season.

What’s most widely known about Watkins — who has appeared in 19 career games across four seasons with the Wildcats — is the family connection he holds to another member of this Kentucky team.

Watkins is a stepson of Dajuan Wagner, John Calipari’s former star player at Memphis. And Watkins is an older stepbrother to UK freshman guard D.J. Wagner. As such, Watkins has enjoyed his final college basketball season in the presence of family.

“That’s like the best experience anybody could ever have, (getting to) play with your brother,” Watkins said. “... The fact that we’re doing it at the college level, and it’s at Kentucky, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

What’s impressed Watkins the most about Wagner from his freshman season?

“Just how he takes in information and knowledge and applies it to his game and doesn’t get frustrated with himself and just keeps playing,” Watkins said.

This family approach has also served Watkins well when helping the eight freshmen on this Kentucky team learn the ropes of playing for the Wildcats, and perhaps more importantly, playing for Calipari.

“I think I just fell into (a veteran role) naturally. Just being older than people, each and every year,” Watkins said. “... You form brotherhood and bonds and stuff like that. So I think just naturally, I want to show the guys the ropes, the new guys. And help them develop as long as the season goes.”

Watkins has never scored in a college basketball game: He’s 0-for-4 from the field. But his demeanor has still probably caught the eye of Kentucky fans, from his sizable hair to his penchant for always zipping up his warm-up hoodie all the way.

While Watkins’ college career may lack meaningful in-game minutes, he still has provided a valuable role for the Wildcats as a practice, stand-in guard.

Watkins said he couldn’t pinpoint a favorite memory from his four seasons at Kentucky, but stressed that each team brings different characteristics to the table. His UK career has also run the full spectrum of emotions: A disastrous 9-16 season, a high NCAA Tournament seed in a season with a shock ending and whatever will become of the 2023-24 squad.

What sticks out to Watkins about this season’s group of Wildcats?

“Obviously the young guys, but the skill level: These guys have a lot of skill,” Watkins said, noting the strong chemistry this UK team displayed last summer. “If we just stay disciplined, we can go far.”

Brennan Canada caps five-year UK career

You could be forgiven for thinking that we’ve done this before with Canada, a 6-foot-5, fifth-year forward from Mount Sterling who was a high school star at Montgomery County and Clark County, despite breaking his leg as a sophomore.

Canada went through all of Kentucky’s Senior Night ceremonies last season — he even started what became an embarrassing home loss to Vanderbilt — before announcing last March that he would use his COVID year to spend one more season with the Wildcats.

“The ride’s been super fun,” Canada said. “Since Toronto up until this point, every day’s been super fun and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

For a player with only 25 career games and nine points spread across five seasons, Canada has provided real value with his Kentucky basketball contributions.

Last season, he was even put on scholarship by Calipari midway through the season.

A multi-positional practice squad player, few walk-ons in high-major college basketball can claim to have scored more than 1,300 points and gathered more than 750 rebounds at the high school level.

“Here’s a young man that’s played every position,” Calipari said of Canada last season during one of his weekly radio shows. “He is an unbelievable teammate. He is a good player. He’s just behind some other really good players. But he is good. Can shoot it, is tough, is smart.”

On Wednesday, Canada was announced as UK’s representative on the SEC’s community service team.

Over the years, Canada has been universally praised by his teammates at Kentucky for what he’s brought to the team, both in terms of ability and camaraderie: Everyone from Immanuel Quickley to Oscar Tshiebwe has acknowledged his contributions.

Like Watkins, Canada has grown into a trusted veteran presence in a Kentucky program known for its youth.

“Just being able to offer that support and help for those people, whenever they get here, regardless of who they are, what they need help with,” Canada said. “Just being able to (be) somebody they can rely on when they need some help or through whatever.”

And there’s still something this year’s group of Wildcats is looking to elicit from Canada: Participation in UK’s growing array of bench celebrations.

During his own session with reporters Tuesday morning ahead of Senior Night, Mitchell specifically said Canada’s time to shine in Kentucky’s bench celebrations is coming soon.

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