It’s been the best decision of my life’: Davion Mintz reflects on returning to Kentucky during senior night celebration

“I was just overjoyed about this whole journey that we’ve been on with him,” Sean Mintz said. “It’s been long, it’s been challenging, it’s been fun, it’s been exciting. I just wanted to take a minute and thank God for seeing us through. And then it was just enjoying that feeling of what it’s like to stand on that court and look up there in the stands and see all those fans and hear them cheering for your son.”

The first time Mintz might’ve had a senior night, at Creighton in 2020, he was in a walking boot, having missed the season with nagging injuries. His second crack at senior night, at Kentucky in 2021, came at the end of the Wildcats’ worst season in almost a century — and the stands were nearly empty, his parents banished to the bleachers due to COVID-19 protocols. Finally, wrapping up his sixth and final season of college basketball, Mintz got a proper send-off Tuesday night.

A full house howled in appreciation for all he’s done these past two years, first as the leader of a lost season and then as the super sub on this revamped national championship contender. As the ovation washed over them, before the traditional singing of “My Old Kentucky Home,” Sean wrapped Davion in a bear hug. Father and son held on to each other for a few extra beats to savor the moment. They exchanged I-love-yous and acknowledged a dream being realized: This is why he came back, to get the real Kentucky basketball experience.

“I’ve certainly gotten it this year,” Mintz said. “Just looking back from last year to this year, we’ve come a long way and I’ve just seen what the heart of this place is, really. Seeing this place filled up, it’s been great. It’s been the best decision of my life.”

Mintz could’ve gotten on with his pursuit of a professional career after last season, when he led a losing team in minutes, points, assists and made 3-pointers. But he wanted to win in a Kentucky uniform. He wanted to do it in front of a crowd. He wanted to hear the roar that was conspicuously absent when he hit what few clutch shots there were for the Wildcats a season ago. He heard it Tuesday night, when he knocked down a transition 3 from the left wing and held his follow-through for effect. It was his eighth point on just four shots in the first half and put UK ahead of Ole Miss by 13 with 3:22 to go before intermission.

This is the kind of performance that has John Calipari campaigning for him to win the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year. When that shot dropped, Sean Mintz stood up from his second-row seat and saluted his son as the crowd made a thunderous noise.

“Oh my God, I don’t really have words for it,” the father said. “It’s unparalleled. Tonight felt like we were really a part of this place. Tonight felt like a real senior night. This felt right. I can’t imagine what he must’ve been feeling out there. But you know, the most amazing thing is that they’ve loved him here not only through the good times. They’ve loved him here through the hard times. I think Davion has that gift that people like him, but it’s also because this is a fan base that is committed to this program. Look around you. And they respect players who commit to it just as deeply. They’re the best fans in the country, and I think it says something about my son that they love him.”

That’s what Tuesday night was really about, celebrating that ethos, more than the ho-hum, 83-72 victory over the Rebels, who trailed for 38 ½ minutes and by double digits for most of that. Kentucky is now 24-6 overall, 13-4 in SEC play, ranked seventh nationally heading into the final weekend of the regular season. It has enjoyed a complete reversal of fortune from last season, and no one appreciates that more than Mintz. No one appreciates Mintz more than 16-year-old Makenna Lunsford.

A lifelong Kentucky fan who lives in Topeka, Kan., she attended the Cats’ blowout victory over the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse in January. Mintz did not score a point in that game, but Lunsford didn’t care. He’s her favorite player because of all he’s endured, including the humbling shift from starter on a bad team to reserve on a good one. She’s had two high school soccer seasons derailed by injuries — and major surgeries — to both her hips. Mintz’s resilience has helped her reach down and discover her own. So when she found herself in the hallway outside Kentucky’s locker room at Kansas, Lunsford jumped at the chance to tell Mintz how much he means to her. Sort of. At first, she mostly sobbed uncontrollably.

“I thought she was going to pass out,” her mother, Wendy, said. “Davion was like, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ Davion’s dad was like, ‘Is she … crying?’ He said, ‘I’ve never seen anyone cry over my son.’ But they just had this instant connection as she just let it all out. He put his arm around her and she told him how much his fight has helped her fight. The way he’s opened up about the mental health part of COVID, she really related to that because of all she’s missed out on in the last two years. I think she just felt drawn to him. To watch him handle all his struggles with such grace and just be so relatable, it really touched her heart.”

“I thought she was going to pass out,” Wendy Lunsford said about her daughter’s reaction to meeting Davion Mintz. (Courtesy of the Lunsford family)

Mintz, by the way, decided not to bring his emotional support dog, Ghost, to senior night, because he feared it would be a distraction. But his French Bulldog did have a bow tie picked out for the occasion. Style runs in the family, as Sean Mintz was dapper in a suit and pink bow tie Tuesday night. Davion will need something similar at the end of April, when he is planning to attend the high school prom with Lunsford. They’ve stayed in touch through social media since meeting in Kansas, and she decided to “shoot her shot” and ask him to the big dance after the Big Dance. She has picked out a Kentucky blue sequined dress.

Makenna and her mom attended the Florida game at Rupp Arena as Mintz’s guests. They sat with his parents.

“I’m blown away by it,” Sean Mintz said. “She just put it all out there that night, like she’d been waiting to meet him and there was something inside her that she needed to release. And after that game, of course, there was something Davion needed to release. He had zero points. He wasn’t feeling great about himself. He was so honored by the fact that someone showed up in that moment to tell him how much she adored him and looked up to him. I think they both blessed each other in that moment.”