The year was 1985 and the Kentucky basketball program had just entered into the Eddie Sutton era. The 1985-86 season saw the Kentucky Wildcats achieve a 32-4 record, entering the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed. The team was led by senior Kenny "Sky" Walker and co-captains Roger Harden and Leroy Byrd. The 1985-86 Wildcats were the SEC regular season and tournament champions. The team's season ended with a 59-57 loss in the Elite Eight against LSU.
One of the unique things about the 1985-86 UK basketball season came from the shoes that the team wore. On the heels of the popularity of the Air Jordan, Nike issued the "Dunk" shoe for several college teams, one of which was Kentucky. The Kentucky Dunk shoe featured the team's blue and white colors, with the blue dominating the design, much like the original Air Jordan. The shoes were a drastic departure from the simple Converse styles that the team had worn in previous seasons. The Kentucky Dunk shoes gave the Wildcats a very contemporary look for the times and went well with the success that the team experienced that season.The Kentucky Dunk shoe definitely goes down as one of the most unique items in the uniform history of the Kentucky Wildcats.
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