More than 150 years before University of Kentucky basketball star Valerie Still and her brother, Art Still, an All-American football standout, were on campus, their ancestors lived and worked in the vicinity as slaves.

The information came as a surprise to Valerie Still, the New Jersey native who is the UK women’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. And it enticed her to explore more about her family, which has a rich history in America dating back to the 1700s.