Kyle Wiltjer's college basketball career included a national championship with Kentucky, an Elite Eight with Gonzaga, and another Sweet 16 appearance in his final season with the Zags.
Wiltjer played two seasons for each school. Kentucky and Gonzaga are two of the top programs in all of college basketball, and while Kentucky is the more traditional power, Wiltjer had some intriguing comments on which fan base was better.
During a recent appearance with Darnay Tripp on KREM 2, Wiltjer said he thought Gonzaga had better fans than Kentucky and the infamous Big Blue Nation.
"It really showed me that man, Gonzaga is in my opinion the best fan base in the country, and I'm not exaggerating at all," Wiltjer said. "The amount of love that they showed me, Domas (Sabonis) and seeing the support down there at the Final Four, it was pretty unbelievable. And to see that it really shows a lot to the city and the city should be proud of that because it was crazy."
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Wiltjer avergaed five points per game during his freshman season at Kentucky when the Wildcats won the national title. He doubled that total the following year before transferring to Gonzaga to finish his career.
With the Bulldogs, Wiltjer nearly 17 points per game as a junior and over 20 points per game in his final season.
Gonzaga isn't a traditional power like Kentucky, but the Bulldogs have been a consistent winner under Mark Few. They certainly have a passionate fan base, but Kentucky's fan base is known throughout the country for being some of the most passionate fans in any sport.
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It sounds like Wiltjer enjoyed playing for Gonzaga more than he did for Kentucky, but it's hard to imagine any fan base in college basketball being more passionate than Big Blue Nation.
(h/t The Spun)