KENTUCKY, USA — Mike Pratt, longtime University of Kentucky basketball analyst and former UK player, has passed away at 73 following a battle with cancer.
The news was confirmed Friday morning on Twitter by Pratt's ESPN Radio co-host Bob Valvano.
Pratt played for UK from 1966 - 1970, helping lead the Wildcats to three SEC championships and two Elite Eight appearances. He was also a two-time first-team All-SEC selection in 1969 and 1970. Pratt finished his Kentucky career with 1,359 points and 718 rebounds, according to the University of Kentucky. He was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Following his college career, he went on to play two seasons with the Kentucky Colonels in the American Basketball Association.
Pratt later served as an assistant coach for UNC-Charlotte's 1977 Final Four team, before becoming the team's head coach for four years.
In 2001, Pratt joined as a color analyst for the UK Network. He also hosted a daily radio show with his fellow UK basketball legend Dan Issel. On Fridays, Pratt would join Bob Valvano on ESPN Radio.
Pratt's cancer journey started in July of 2019, according to a fundraising page, with a removal of a tumor in his colon. Over the past several years, he also dealt with a tumor in his liver and underwent radiation to his jaw and back. More recently, the cancer returned and spread even further.
According to the fundraising page, Pratt was set to begin new treatment on June 16.
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