When you tune in to the second episode of “All-Access Kentucky,” odds are you’ll notice an unfamiliar face. He’ll be wearing the same practice gear as the 12 Wildcats you already know, but he’s the new guy.His name is Tod Lanter and he is UK’s new practice player. He is the son of Bo Lanter, who walked on and scored 43 points as a Wildcat from 1980-82, and his story is an interesting one.He is a product of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington and played a season at Gulf Coast State College before taking a year off from school to refine his game. After lots of work, he managed to earn a shot on John Calipari’s team. Eric Lindsey from CoachCal.com has the story:
Assistant coach John Robic granted him a workout in mid-August, but Lanter didn’t hear anything until that Wednesday before Big Blue Madness. Robic told him to come by that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and watch a couple of the workouts just so he “wasn’t completely lost.”A few days later, he was meeting and competing with some of the nation’s top players.“It was interesting,” Lanter said of that first morning practice. “I’m sure everybody is going to want to hear, with me being a local kid and everything, that it was crazy to see this machine work from the inside, but as far as it being surreal, once I got out there it just became back to work. Everything else just went away. It was like, ‘Alright, I’m back out here, let’s do what needs to be done.’ It was basketball.”Sure, it was just basketball, but it was also one of his father’s proudest moments.“He’s always told me that if he could take his experiences and give them to me, he would do it in a heartbeat,” Lanter said. “Any father would do that for their son. It’s kind of surreal now thinking back about that, realizing how close I could be to experiencing some of the stuff he did.”He would have been proud no matter where I ended up. Obviously being here, not only because of where Coach Cal has this program, but just because it’s his alma mater makes it that much better for him.”
Lanter is not an official walk-on just yet. At this point, he has only the promise of an opportunity to play his way onto the roster, but nothing is guaranteed. Regardless, it’s quite an experience for the Lexington native and son of a former Cat.Make sure to check out Lindsey’s full story here.
