Pediatric patients, UK women’s basketball team up for colorful collaboration

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 28, 2026) — If you happened to catch the game last Saturday, in which the UK women’s basketball team took on the Georgia Bulldogs, you might have noticed the UK coaching staff sporting some particularly vibrant shoes.

Those shoes can’t be purchased in any store. Those colorful, custom couture kicks were hand painted by the world’s top artists — the patients at the DanceBlue Golisano Children's at UK Hematology/Oncology Clinic.

Basketball coaches nationwide will be similarly attired as part of Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Since 1993, this initiative has engaged coaches nationwide to leverage their leadership and influence to support the American Cancer’s Society’s vision to end cancer. Once a year, during Suits and Sneakers Week, pediatric cancer patients all over the county design custom shoes for coaches to wear to a game. Following the game, the shoes are either auctioned off to raise money for the American Cancer Society, or, as the case with Coach Kenny Brooks’ shoes, signed and returned to the patients.

For hospital staff like Elizabeth Henderson, program coordinator in the DanceBlue Clinic, this annual event is a great way for pint-sized sports fans who aren’t well enough to attend games to engage with their favorite athletes. It also brings some much-needed joy to those kids who may be having a hard time with their illness and treatment. Ten-year-old Jackson from Somerset is a big basketball fan. But since his white blood cell count is too low for him to safely leave the hospital, Henderson and UK Athletics brought the excitement to him. After painting one of Coach Brooks’ shoes, he was surprised with a visit by members of the women’s basketball team.

“We knew he would be super excited about it,” said Henderson. “He’s all sports all the time. We hadn’t seen a smile out of him in a long time, but we definitely saw a big smile today. As soon as I told him that the team was going to be here in the clinic, he got really excited to come down and meet them.”

For the 14 shoe artists, the only design limit was their imagination. Although UK blue was a common theme, one patient felt very strongly that his shoe should have purple laces. The patients got an assist from the DanceBlue Family Relations Committee members — UK students who come to the clinic a few hours a week to hang out with patients. They play games, watch movies, do crafts and occasionally paint a shoe for an NCAA Division 1 basketball coach to wear during a pivotal SEC game against an archrival. And on Saturday’s game, they cheered for the Cats alongside those patients and their families at Historic Memorial Coliseum as VIP guests of their friends at UK Athletics.

“My teammates and I so much enjoyed our time with the kiddos and their families at UK HealthCare,” said senior forward Teonni Key. “Their joy was contagious and their smiles could light up any room. It was our pleasure to meet them and learn their stories, while we bonded over our love for UK and our common desire to end cancer.”