Toronto Raptors' new head coach Dwane Casey wears his University of Kentucky championship ring while clutching a Raptors hat as he scrums with media following a press conference in Toronto on June 21, 2011. "There is no environment like it," Casey said. "People talk about pressure playing in the NBA. It's nothing like the pressure of playing and coaching at Kentucky." Casey played for Kentucky from 1975 to '79, choosing it over programs like Louisville and Vanderbilt. He later returned to Kentucky as an assistant coach for four years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

LEXINGTON, Ky. - "Welcome to Rupp Arena," boomed the public address announcer. "Home of the greatest tradition in college basketball."

The Kentucky Wildcats, led by Canadian guard Jamal Murray, were about to tip off against visiting Mississippi State on Tuesday night, and the buzz in the building was intoxicating.

Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey knows all about it — and the heat that comes with playing in one of college sport's greatest pressure-cookers.

"There is no environment like it," Casey said in a recent interview. "People talk about pressure playing in the NBA. It's nothing like the pressure of playing and coaching at Kentucky."

A sea of blue-clad fans filled the 23,500-seat Rupp Arena to the rafters. They cheered the Cats off the court with a standing ovation at halftime, and when the game got tight down the stretch — the Bulldogs would pull to within three points with 35 seconds left— the sound was deafening.

And the flurry of activity never stopped. There was a pep band, a dance team, and burly male sweater-clad cheerleaders who tossed their female counterparts in the air. They took turns doing spectacular tumbling runs the length of the court during timeouts.

When the final whistle blew, the cheerleading squad led the crowd in singing "My Old Kentucky Home."

Some three dozen cameras squeezed in along the baselines to capture it all.

Casey, 58, grew up in Morganfield, Ky., and played for the Wildcats from 1975 to '79, choosing Kentucky over programs like Louisville and Vanderbilt. He later returned to Kentucky as an assistant coach for four years.

With no major pro sports teams in the state known for its bluegrass and bourbon, the best college athletes live in a star's spotlight.

Casey, who maintains strong ties to the school — coach John Calipari sat courtside at a Raptors playoff game last year — remembers a nervousness that would creep in before he even arrived at the arena on game days.

"You'd feel the pressure on campus, you'd feel it when you go to class, everybody was talking about basketball," Casey said.

The scrutiny was intense. Expectations were sky high. Things haven't changed. It's the perfect preparation for the rigorous demands of the NBA, Casey said.

"You're under the microscope, you're a so-called celebrity," Casey said. "But you also have to get the job done, so there's the pressure of playing and producing. . . and there they think in terms of championships more so than making the playoffs.

"That prepares you for how important every game is, every possession, and how you're scrutinized as a player, you're under the microscope."

Rowan Barrett, the assistant general manager of Canada's men's team, said it's the ideal place for a player like Murray.

"They treat them like professionals there," Barrett said. "And the fandom is there, the media, the interviews, they live in that fish bowl. . . it's almost like they're rehearsing. That can be really good for an athlete, it can also be crippling for an athlete, if they're not prepared for it.

"Jamal has clearly showed he's ready for that, I think it will be great for him. If there's a kid who can handle that its Jamal."

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