Speaker 1: Hell our ruddy through the facility of the iHeartMedia Megaplexus
Speaker 1: is Dick Gabriel. This is the statewide edition of the
Speaker 1: Big Blue Inside. You've heard comments from Mark Pope, Kenny Brooks,
Speaker 1: and Nick mengeone, and now we'll chop it up with
Speaker 1: Billy Rutledge and Aaron Gershan and we'll keep you posted
Speaker 1: on the National Championship College Football Game underway. It's all
Speaker 1: ahead on the state wide BBI from Pikeville to Paduca.
Speaker 1: It is a statewide edition of the Big Blue Insider.
Speaker 1: Dick Gabriel, Aaron Gershean Billy Rutledge. Glad to have you
Speaker 1: along on an evening when we've talked basketball and baseball.
Speaker 1: Now we're going to talk a little bit of football.
Speaker 1: And by the way, Notre Dames just drove the ball.
Speaker 1: The entire one out, the entire line took the kickoff,
Speaker 1: went ten minutes, an eighteen play scoring drive, longest scoring
Speaker 1: drive in bcs CFP Championship game history. Seven to nothing, irish.
Speaker 1: And so if you took the points, you got quite
Speaker 1: a cushion. Because Aaron and Billy and I were talking
Speaker 1: about really you know, this will be Ohio State's coronation. Uh,
Speaker 1: the question is can Ohio State or can Notre Dame cover? Well,
Speaker 1: it looks like it's going to be a game unless
Speaker 1: it's like the Broncos who beat the Broncos.
Speaker 2: The Broncos, Seahawks Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, no, no, just this year.
Speaker 2: Oh the Bills, Oh Broncos. The Broncos marched down the
Speaker 2: field and then I was a bomb touchdown bomb, yeah, hit.
Speaker 1: A bomb and then the Bills fans like, oh.
Speaker 2: Thirty one on answer.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: But anyhow, and TCU scored early against Georgia.
Speaker 1: I think, yeah, it was a game for about five minutes,
Speaker 1: wasn't it years ago?
Speaker 3: I know, yeah, ends up being sixty six.
Speaker 1: Yeah. By the time I got home, I think TCU
Speaker 1: had fallen behind, like thirty one to seven. Anyhow, I
Speaker 1: wanted to start with football right away because Aaron, you
Speaker 1: had the story on the Cats Pause website, and you
Speaker 1: talked about it each of the last well probably every week,
Speaker 1: but I remember specifically each of the last couple of
Speaker 1: weeks when we've talked about the portal and you've talked
Speaker 1: about players ABC and D. But you said, and they
Speaker 1: still don't have a left tackle. Well now they do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they really needed it. And don't quiz me on
Speaker 2: the first name yet. We'll get the pronunciation eventually. But
Speaker 2: the last name Pete six foot eighty three, Mister Pete
Speaker 2: will call him for now until we can get the
Speaker 2: proper pronunciation. But six ' eight three twenty that's definitely
Speaker 2: ideal size. The guy who this year started six games
Speaker 2: he was banged up with twenty twenty three, was an
Speaker 2: all conference performer in the in Conference USA. And if
Speaker 2: you remember New Mexico State that year, they went in
Speaker 2: and beat Auburn at Auburn yep so a guy who
Speaker 2: had success in that game. I think I had the
Speaker 2: numbers in front of me. I know Pete held up
Speaker 2: really well against Auburn that day. And that was a
Speaker 2: team that went to their conference championship game when they
Speaker 2: were finished to finished the place near the bottom of
Speaker 2: their conference. So and then you saw the success Jerry
Speaker 2: Kill and Diego Pavia helped bring to Vanderbilt. So they're
Speaker 2: bringing in from that pipeline and they needed again, You're right.
Speaker 2: I talked at nauseum about how badly they had to
Speaker 2: fill that gap at left tackle. It's the most important
Speaker 2: position on the offensive line. That's been the position that's
Speaker 2: held Kentucky back the most, in my opinion, in the
Speaker 2: last three years, and they got it at least solidified
Speaker 2: for twenty twenty four. And I think the biggest thing
Speaker 2: now that they added that piece where you can compliment
Speaker 2: is not only did they bring four starters, they brought
Speaker 2: in a guy in Wallason Bond, but from New Mexico,
Speaker 2: not New Mexico State, so not a teammate of his,
Speaker 2: but a guy who can be a swing tackle. And
Speaker 2: that's another thing that's been missing so so badly. I mean,
Speaker 2: Malchi would God bless him. He was not ready to
Speaker 2: play last year and had to step in there as
Speaker 2: a red shirt freshman. Had some moments like late in
Speaker 2: the Florida game he held up really well, but we
Speaker 2: saw him get exposed against Auburn against Tennessee and just
Speaker 2: wasn't quite ready yet. And now if he's not ready
Speaker 2: again this year, they have a guy who's an experienced
Speaker 2: right and left tackle that can be the swing tackle.
Speaker 2: And then obviously you filled every other spot on the
Speaker 2: offensive line. Jalen Farmer is probably gonna be the lone
Speaker 2: starter from last year to keep playing, at least keep
Speaker 2: starting I think Jager Burton kind of moves into a
Speaker 2: swing guard rule. So, you know, these last three years
Speaker 2: when Kentucky's really struggled up front, they've really been six
Speaker 2: deep max the on line of guys who can even play,
Speaker 2: let alone trust. I don't think the number of trust
Speaker 2: was even six. I don't think it was five this year.
Speaker 2: Now you have probably seven or eight that can play
Speaker 2: in five or six you can trust and that that's huge, huge, huge,
Speaker 2: And you know, they they've done everything I think they
Speaker 2: possibly could to improve this roster. But it's all gonna
Speaker 2: mat it's all gonna be result based. But you can't,
Speaker 2: you can't, you know, crush them for this offseason. They've
Speaker 2: done everything you could have asked them to do. Given
Speaker 2: the circumstances.
Speaker 1: They can play in theory, we shall see, you know,
Speaker 1: how how well can they play? Can they be top
Speaker 1: notch performers in the Southeastern Conference? You know? But the
Speaker 1: old line, as we all know, is different, and it's
Speaker 1: special in that and more challenging and that it's you know,
Speaker 1: five have to act and perform as one. But Billy
Speaker 1: I thought was interesting. Somebody posted this on one of
Speaker 1: the social media platforms and didn't put names, but just
Speaker 1: put sizes. Yeah, and the big yeah, the potential is
Speaker 1: five guys across the front and the lightest is three
Speaker 1: point fifteen. And you might remember this from the broadcast,
Speaker 1: but I remember that Tom and Jeff were talking in
Speaker 1: the latter stages of the Texas game and it looked
Speaker 1: like it was gonna go the Longhorns way. They just
Speaker 1: rattled off the sizes of the of the Texas. You
Speaker 1: know what it was. It was during that last drive
Speaker 1: when Texas just like this Notre Dame drive, Remember when
Speaker 1: they marched down the field and never threw the ball
Speaker 1: like a fifteen play all runs and Jeff and Tom
Speaker 1: just right off the sizes one of them did, probably Jeff.
Speaker 1: Of all the old linemen for Texas, they were just
Speaker 1: human landslides, you know. And now Kentucky, maybe you'll have
Speaker 1: a line at the least looks like that, hope.
Speaker 4: So, I mean, got to get back to the big
Speaker 4: blue wall, got to get back to running the ball
Speaker 4: a lot. I'm sure Mark Stoops was wants to emphasize
Speaker 4: that again. This Pete guy six' eight three twenty I
Speaker 4: believe is the intangibles.
Speaker 2: Correct. Yeah, I'll give this I'll give it to you
Speaker 2: real quick. It was from Adam lucktteve On three, so
Speaker 2: we'll give them credit there. Pete six eight three twenty
Speaker 2: uh the transfer from Markansas Joshua bron sixty six three
Speaker 2: thirty eighth, the new Center from w KU Evan Wibberley
Speaker 2: six ninety six Jalen Farmers sixty five three fourteen, and
Speaker 2: then the transfer from from Bowling Green at right tackle
Speaker 2: six to seven at three h five.
Speaker 1: So the center needs a couple of biscuits. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: what That's understandable though, sure center.
Speaker 2: It's different at West.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and no backup lineman at an SEC school coming
Speaker 4: to Kentucky, right, I mean, I feel like that's kind
Speaker 4: of the different market.
Speaker 2: He's sorry, started year starter, but both at Florida and Arkansas,
Speaker 2: and he was an all SCC guy at Arkansas in
Speaker 2: twenty three, so more of a proven track record.
Speaker 4: So different philosophy to take guys that are all conference
Speaker 4: linemen at a lower conference and then bring them up
Speaker 4: to the SEC.
Speaker 1: As opposed to a guy that couldn't crack the starting lineup.
Speaker 4: Right, and then trying to just rehash that and see
Speaker 4: if he would work at a new location, So maybe
Speaker 4: these guys are a little bit hung in their ord
Speaker 4: at some point.
Speaker 1: Yeah, somebody just needs an opportunity.
Speaker 4: That's right, different approach, and maybe you're able to get
Speaker 4: a different type of player than maybe you were looking
Speaker 4: for it last off season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think we talked about it last week,
Speaker 2: but they going off that they've valued production over potential
Speaker 2: with this class. Were to your point. Gerald Mincy. They
Speaker 2: liked his size, but he was a guy who was
Speaker 2: in now the starting lineup of Tennessee. Brock Mander Griff
Speaker 2: was a former top forty prospect, had never really touched
Speaker 2: the field at Georgia this year. You go look at
Speaker 2: all the transfers they got, and they might be from
Speaker 2: smaller schools. I mean, for example, the best player they
Speaker 2: got on defense from South Dakota, but he was the
Speaker 2: Missouri Valley defensive player of the year. That's the best
Speaker 2: conference in FCS. And he's six four, two fifty five.
Speaker 2: He has the size do you want at the end.
Speaker 2: True Edwards, their new ex receiver that they just signed
Speaker 2: I think a week ago, is from Louisiana Tech and
Speaker 2: he was an all conference guy. But he's going to
Speaker 2: be a seventh year senior who's been there and done that.
Speaker 2: Zach Calzato we know played in the SEC, had a
Speaker 2: couple of moments at A and M. It was a starter,
Speaker 2: so that's good. And then you know kind of flamed
Speaker 2: out for a little bit, was hurt and then goes
Speaker 2: to incarnate word and lights it up and you know
Speaker 2: who knows. So I like that they've valued these guys
Speaker 2: have been there and done that. And I also think
Speaker 2: leans into their culture issue they had last year where
Speaker 2: they didn't necessarily have leaders, because yes, you can, you
Speaker 2: can become a leader by being highly respected and good
Speaker 2: in the locker room, but you also need to be
Speaker 2: a really good football player.
Speaker 3: You need to lead by example.
Speaker 2: And you know, Kentucky didn't have enough guys who were
Speaker 2: a combination of that on last year's team. These guys
Speaker 2: who bring in the portal have records of being good
Speaker 2: football players, and you know, we'll see how they are
Speaker 2: as people. It seems everything I've read and done research
Speaker 2: on seems very positive. So I like the approach. It's
Speaker 2: been much much different it is. It is much bulkier.
Speaker 2: I mean, you're talking nineteen transfers, twenty one new freshman.
Speaker 2: That's forty new pieces the combined with the guys that
Speaker 2: are coming back, so you know you'll have to bring
Speaker 2: it all together. But I like this approach on paper
Speaker 2: a lot better than last year's.
Speaker 1: All Right, if you were going to draw a starting
Speaker 1: lineup today, let's say, well, I'm going to stipulate that
Speaker 1: there will be five new starters on the old line.
Speaker 2: Well, I have a not the plug, but I have
Speaker 2: a way too early depth chart projection up right now,
Speaker 2: good plug, But I have four new starts on the
Speaker 2: offense line. I think Jalen Farmer stays in the start.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you're right. I think you're right about that.
Speaker 1: All right, who do you have starting? And I saw it,
Speaker 1: but tell.
Speaker 2: The audience at Yeah, that's a whole different look. Except
Speaker 2: so you have Jamoori. Macklin is going to move back outside.
Speaker 2: That's what he was better at in North Texas. And
Speaker 2: they added two guys in the slot. So I think
Speaker 2: Troy Stiello the transfer from Clemson, kne Trick Law from Alabama,
Speaker 2: they're going to battle for that starting job in the slot.
Speaker 2: They might honestly just rotate because Kendrick Law is an
Speaker 2: elite run blocker. Steello is probably the better pass catcher,
Speaker 2: so you know that could play a difference in there.
Speaker 2: And then true Edward, who I just mentioned, I think
Speaker 2: as your starting x U. They also had a JJ
Speaker 2: Hester from Oklahoma, big body guy's just not been able
Speaker 2: to stay healthy. He did last year though, so I
Speaker 2: think he's probably your number two at x I think
Speaker 2: Fred Ferrier still has a role as a number two
Speaker 2: at why behind Jamoury and then again Stiello and Law
Speaker 2: and then you know there's trying to the rest.
Speaker 1: All right. But the other thing I'm looking at is,
Speaker 1: so you've got one starter from last year, one guy
Speaker 1: who played last year Macklin. Yes, you got an old lineman, okay, yes,
Speaker 1: a tight end will be a veteran, Yes, I think
Speaker 1: whoever it is, Yeah, Catison Rodriguez, Yeah, be one of
Speaker 1: those two guys. Now you got to wonder who's your
Speaker 1: starting quarterback.
Speaker 2: I would think it's gonna be Zach Calcotta. I'd be shocked.
Speaker 1: I would be surprised as well. And starting if you play,
Speaker 1: if you start with one running.
Speaker 2: I think it's gonna be Dante Dwell starting at least
Speaker 2: at the beginning of the year. So I think that'll
Speaker 2: be a pretty even platoon. But I think Dal's gonna
Speaker 2: be your number one going into camp for sure.
Speaker 1: What a new look offense.
Speaker 2: In terms of Yeah, I don't think he'll start right away.
Speaker 2: I think that will be a platoon. I think there
Speaker 2: could be a game where Dwell takes the first nap
Speaker 2: of the game. Well, you know, they're just gonna there's
Speaker 2: so much she's.
Speaker 1: Gonna have to show them that he is ready and
Speaker 1: has is taking in the process of taking a step
Speaker 1: forward in a maturity department. Okay, yeah, No, that's more
Speaker 1: than just keeping your shoes untied. It's you know, being
Speaker 1: on time, you know, doing what you're supposed to do
Speaker 1: on and off the field, all that stuff. He's another
Speaker 1: one of these kids apparently. I'm not saying he's a
Speaker 1: bad kid, he's just young. Yeah.
Speaker 4: I just hate for it to be week nine again
Speaker 4: and the coaching staff is asking, well, we waited eight
Speaker 4: weeks too long to force the ball to Willcox's hand
Speaker 4: because we wanted to start chip train him.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we wanted to start player. Actually they never did them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and there him and you know, I think they would.
Speaker 1: Have played Willcox more. I think that he was his
Speaker 1: own worst enemy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm saying they are so different to the two
Speaker 2: running backs Willcox and this uh Dante Dowell from Nebraska.
Speaker 2: I mean, you're talking six to two twenty five, the
Speaker 2: guy who was just a short yardage guy. Eight of
Speaker 2: his twelve touchdowns were from the one yard line. And
Speaker 2: then will Cox is a burner who you know, is
Speaker 2: he has physicals. He can break some tackles, but he's
Speaker 2: not a guy who's going to go up the middle
Speaker 2: much where this Dowel kid, that's where he lives and dies.
Speaker 2: So I think I think that's gonna be pretty even
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, especially because Dowell was
Speaker 2: the leading running back for a Nebraska team that won
Speaker 2: a Bowl. You see the talent they brought in. They
Speaker 2: didn't kick him out, so Kentucky clearly see it is
Speaker 2: a big role for him if they were able to
Speaker 2: poach him.
Speaker 1: Willcox is I'm trying to come up with a running
Speaker 1: back who's similar in style to the way he accelerates.
Speaker 1: I mean, he gets he gets to that second level
Speaker 1: so quickly.
Speaker 3: I kind of like the way Cavasse Smoke was playing
Speaker 3: at the beginning a little bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah that's fair, you know, not Rodriguez, nothing they were
Speaker 1: more power and once they broke through, they you know,
Speaker 1: but I mean a guy that is at top speed
Speaker 1: once he clears.
Speaker 2: A lot of fans like the Boom Williams comparison. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but Boom I think could do a little bit of both.
Speaker 2: But Boom was extremely explosive.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, So I don't know. It's gonna be interesting,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be fun. We haven't even started talking about
Speaker 1: defense yet, but that's okay. But now you got to
Speaker 1: wonder about where does Kentucky fit into the SEC once again?
Speaker 1: And how good this league's going to be because everybody's
Speaker 1: making moves and apparently Vandy's getting diego back.
Speaker 2: They are you know, Yeah, I mean, look, Kentucky was
Speaker 2: that benefit true? Edwards would not have been able to
Speaker 2: play if they didn't have Juco rule. Yeah, he's a
Speaker 2: guy that would be done. So Kentucky's benefiting it from
Speaker 2: it too. A lot of schools are benefiting from that.
Speaker 4: Do we feel like expectations have lowered a little bit
Speaker 4: with Kentucky football?
Speaker 1: Now?
Speaker 2: I think the fans are going to be very pessimistic
Speaker 2: and can't I can't blame them, but inside the way
Speaker 2: they're building this thing, so, and I put this in
Speaker 2: the story, eleven of the nineteen transfers they brought in
Speaker 2: have one year to play, So they're going all in
Speaker 2: on this year. Whether that's the right thing to do
Speaker 2: or not, they are going all in on this season.
Speaker 3: You can't afford to think about the next season anymore.
Speaker 2: Right, That's right. I think the expectations from the outside
Speaker 2: are probably like, come surprise me, I'm done, I'm pissed off,
Speaker 2: blah blah blah. But inside those walls, it's.
Speaker 3: Do or die.
Speaker 2: That's how they're operating. If they're signing eleven out of
Speaker 2: nineteen guys as one year fill ins.
Speaker 1: And you know, I firmly believe as we get to
Speaker 1: a break, most of the preseason talk will be about,
Speaker 1: of course, the quarterback, because that's where college football almost
Speaker 1: always is. When you're talking about a kid who was
Speaker 1: especially local, you know, absolutely sign But yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: to bring a guy in with that kind of experience.
Speaker 1: That means if Bowie, if Bowley ends up being the
Speaker 1: starter on opening day, that tells you a lot. That
Speaker 1: tells you that because it tells you I think more
Speaker 1: about Bully than it does the kid they brought in.
Speaker 2: It could be a little bit of both. I think
Speaker 2: guests I think definitely would mean bully really impressed exactly.
Speaker 2: But yeah, you're calls out of here. He's a seventh
Speaker 2: year senior. I mean he's not coming here to warm
Speaker 2: up cutter Bully, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: No, I'm sure you know, like when Stephen Johnson got here,
Speaker 1: I want the opportunity to compete for the start in
Speaker 1: the job, and he said he was given that and
Speaker 1: ended up the number two guy. But look what happened.
Speaker 2: You're one snap away from getting your number, as we
Speaker 2: saw at the quarterback position this year.
Speaker 1: Next thing, you know, Stephen Johnson's beating Tennessee. So all right,
Speaker 1: we'll come back and we'll talk some basketball. As Ohio
Speaker 1: State drives and early in the second quarter, tie is
Speaker 1: the game at seven. We're back in a minute here
Speaker 1: on the state wide BBI Border to border. It is
Speaker 1: a statewide edition at a big women's sider Dick Gabriel,
Speaker 1: Billy Rudlajaron Gershawan and let us shift over to basketball.
Speaker 1: Mark Pope still stinging from the loss to Alabama. Understandable,
Speaker 1: but as Tom Leach pointed out, this was a experienced
Speaker 1: Alabama team that was really good at extending its defense
Speaker 1: and then covering the back door there with some really
Speaker 1: talented bigs. Good learning process, good learning opportunity for Kentucky.
Speaker 2: I thought, yeah, that's a great Alabama team. I mean,
Speaker 2: they came into the year, I think that the second
Speaker 2: highest odds a win it all, coming off a Final four,
Speaker 2: bringing back their best two players from their Final four team, reloading.
Speaker 1: In the best player in the league.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Mark Sears, So you got to give him a
Speaker 2: lot of credit. And you know, they play such a
Speaker 2: similar style, and they've been together longer. They kind of
Speaker 2: probably helped them defensively, honestly, kind of Kentucky played such
Speaker 2: a similar way. But I thought Kentucky held their own especially.
Speaker 2: I still scored ninety seven points. With all that said,
Speaker 2: and they shot we'll take eleven for twenty seven from three.
Speaker 2: So when they got the shots up, they were hitting them.
Speaker 2: They did a lot of good things. They erased several deficits.
Speaker 2: But it's very similar to the Florida game in the
Speaker 2: other direction, right, Kentucky. And the Florida game had three
Speaker 2: ten oh runs. That's hard to overcome. Alabama in this
Speaker 2: game had three nine zero runs.
Speaker 1: It's just hard to win in Kentucky from getting on exactly,
Speaker 1: I think, yeah, I think Kentucky.
Speaker 2: I know, Alabama led by like nine or eleven early
Speaker 2: in the first half. Kentucky came back to go up
Speaker 2: by one.
Speaker 1: At one point it was thirteen to seven. Kentucky. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they well, and then alb you know, Obama went on
Speaker 1: a run. Yeah, so Kentucky made a run they kept.
Speaker 2: I mean, look, with five minutes left, this game was
Speaker 2: tied with a Brandon Garrison dunk and the moment I
Speaker 2: was like, uh oh, it was nine seconds after that dunk,
Speaker 2: Alabama was down the court inting a lot up and oh,
Speaker 2: they're they're not messing around today.
Speaker 1: Well, and there was another moment and I'm not knocking
Speaker 1: the kid, will I'm knocking what he did. But they're
Speaker 1: not where they are without Butler. Oh yeah, his his
Speaker 1: early in the shot clock step back.
Speaker 3: Not smart.
Speaker 1: No, Yeah, they for a guy with a basketball IQ
Speaker 1: that's off the charts. Yeah, and I know, you know,
Speaker 1: it was pretty clear what he was trying to do,
Speaker 1: Like if he had if he had hit that shot,
Speaker 1: that would have been massive.
Speaker 2: Yep, that's a no no, yes, if you hit.
Speaker 1: It exactly, But as it turned out it was just
Speaker 1: a no no, you know, yeah, no that like I
Speaker 1: really felt like things turned right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that nine zero run that put the game away
Speaker 2: was Kentucky. They got beat to fifty to fifty balls twice. Uh,
Speaker 2: they blocked two Alabama shots, couldn't get the fifty to
Speaker 2: fifty ball after the block, and they could both get
Speaker 2: kicked out for threes. They have the rush shot by Butler,
Speaker 2: they have a rushed layup by Williams that misses in
Speaker 2: a turnover by Butler, and that's what happens. And when
Speaker 2: you play a great team like that, the margin fair
Speaker 2: is very thin, even at home.
Speaker 3: And Kentucky was in the bonus five minutes into the second.
Speaker 4: That's a huge problem I forgot about. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 4: that's a huge problem. Entucky was in a lot of
Speaker 4: foul trouble. Alabama shot fourteen more free throws. They made
Speaker 4: thirteen more free throws in Kentucky.
Speaker 1: And that's not an accident.
Speaker 2: That's not you know, it was a well officiated There
Speaker 2: was a couple of calls here and there, but every
Speaker 2: game was a couple of calls here and there. I
Speaker 2: thought it was a very well officiated game.
Speaker 1: I think when you've got two teams that get up
Speaker 1: and on the floor like that, there are more positions,
Speaker 1: there's more opportunities for officials to make mistakes. And there
Speaker 1: were there were a couple, but you know, there wasn't
Speaker 1: anything like the phantom flop.
Speaker 2: No, that's all Mark as Billy would know. That's all
Speaker 2: Mark Popelanda talked about on radio tonight when it was
Speaker 2: basketball questions.
Speaker 4: Like, Yeah, they categorized every foul over the last five
Speaker 4: games to look at trends, if what the officials are calling,
Speaker 4: what Kentucky can't attack, what they can't do and and
Speaker 4: I think even said that in an old show, that's
Speaker 4: like they're just trying to figure out not what the
Speaker 4: rule that, not what the rule book says, but what
Speaker 4: the rules that are being.
Speaker 2: Called learned the whistle.
Speaker 3: That's a really interesting way of looking at it. Honestly.
Speaker 4: Now, can they defend without fouling? We'll see because in
Speaker 4: the games that they've been tested in the SEC, it's
Speaker 4: been very physical affairs and both times the other team
Speaker 4: has gotten more free throws and got to the line
Speaker 4: more than Kentucky. I think it goes back to something
Speaker 4: Goose Gibvens said, which was when you are the aggressor,
Speaker 4: when you are the one, you know, initiating the physicality,
Speaker 4: I think you get more calls. I think that lends
Speaker 4: yourself to be the being, the one that benefits from
Speaker 4: a fifty to fifty call, and then that leads to
Speaker 4: you know, differences like that.
Speaker 1: But we'll see. Well, you might remember this Billy from
Speaker 1: our trip to Cynthiana to talk to the pizza man.
Speaker 1: That's right, right, he is the timeout coordinator at Kentucky games.
Speaker 1: If you watch when the officials go over to look
Speaker 1: at the replays and all, he's the guy with the
Speaker 1: headset on right. Well, he is a former Division one referee,
Speaker 1: still the best high school ref I've ever seen. Now
Speaker 1: to cludes, my brother and his sons are both D
Speaker 1: one referee. So Billy and I, if some of you
Speaker 1: listen to the local show, might recall that a couple
Speaker 1: of summers back and I promise him we're going to
Speaker 1: make a return trip.
Speaker 3: We need to Dozza.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm gonna bring my man Cameron middles you
Speaker 1: hates referees, We're gonna we're gonna sit him down with Doug.
Speaker 1: But one of the first things Doug taught us or
Speaker 1: told us. I don't know if this was news to you.
Speaker 1: It was interesting to me. Was referees watch if you
Speaker 1: got an offensive defense, guy, they study I'm not sure
Speaker 1: what the right word is, but they keep an eye
Speaker 1: more on the defender than the guy with the ball
Speaker 1: because I guess because the defender is more prone to
Speaker 1: make a mistake in terms of a foul as opposed
Speaker 1: to an offensive foul or a turnover, right, which to
Speaker 1: me makes sense going back to what you just said
Speaker 1: about being the aggressor with Jack said, so if you're
Speaker 1: the offensive aggressor, you know the defender has to react.
Speaker 1: And who is the referee watching the defender? Right? I
Speaker 1: thought Nelson got away with a couple push ups, but
Speaker 1: you're you're gonna get away with those as much as
Speaker 1: your call for it. Right.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think of the the Georgia game, how physical they were,
Speaker 4: Sampto Ciro and their.
Speaker 3: NBA prospect that.
Speaker 4: You know, they they were just a presence and this
Speaker 4: you know this team has a lot of experience, but
Speaker 4: are they going to be able to match up against
Speaker 4: physicality of the sec you know, to be seen well
Speaker 4: and again.
Speaker 2: A sign and they can do it.
Speaker 1: I think it is news conference last week. It might
Speaker 1: have been you might have been there, Aaron Mark said.
Speaker 1: Mari Williams is learning what he can get away with
Speaker 1: and yeah, being more physical as an SEC's play.
Speaker 2: He's played pretty well. He didn't have a game against,
Speaker 2: but he's playing well before.
Speaker 1: As opposed to what he couldn't get away with a Drexel.
Speaker 1: You get away with a lot more. Now, all right,
Speaker 1: we'll come back and talk more hoops right here on
Speaker 1: the state wide bb I it is to say wide
Speaker 1: edition of the Big Woman's Side or Dick Gabrielle, Aren
Speaker 1: Gershwan Billy Rutledge talking about the Wildcats. They are lost
Speaker 1: to Alabama. Now they move on and uh not this week,
Speaker 1: but very shortly the Wildcats take on Arkansas next game.
Speaker 1: When the schedule came.
Speaker 2: Out, tickets, I don't need them, think too well, pony
Speaker 2: up who does?
Speaker 1: And you know what's unfortunate is that people who want
Speaker 1: tickets and are paying out the wazoo for them just
Speaker 1: they just want the opportunity now to rain down booze
Speaker 1: on Caliperi, which isn't fair. Uh, and keep their fingers
Speaker 1: crossed it they'll lose another game. I don't know about you,
Speaker 1: but I'm stunned. I didn't think they'd win the conference.
Speaker 2: You could have told me they'd missed the NSAY tournament,
Speaker 2: like as a bubble team. You could tell me they'd
Speaker 2: be like toward the bottom of the SEC, but still,
Speaker 2: like you know, tenth range.
Speaker 1: I thought they'd be in the top half. Yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought. I'm saying like you.
Speaker 2: You could have told me that, and I probably say, okay,
Speaker 2: but not this, notinzero to five getting crushed by Miszoo
Speaker 2: losing at a bad LSU team. Uh, you know the
Speaker 2: first three games. Yeah, they had a tough COP slate,
Speaker 2: but they just got destroyed by Tennessee, not even competitive,
Speaker 2: a place that Kentucky's played really well out the last
Speaker 2: two years with Cal. They won both times. So it's
Speaker 2: not like Cal can't go and compete with Rick Barnes.
Speaker 2: It's it's pretty mind boggling how bad it's gotten, and
Speaker 2: it might get worse because boogiey Fland, unfortunately, which you
Speaker 2: don't want to see, is hurt.
Speaker 4: And they'll be booze and I think they're I mean,
Speaker 4: it's he went to a rival and decided to leave
Speaker 4: this university.
Speaker 3: He wasn't forced out.
Speaker 1: But is that fair to boo a guy you wanted
Speaker 1: to go him to go anyway he wanted him gone, Yeah,
Speaker 1: and he does what you want and you're booing him
Speaker 1: because of that. Yeah.
Speaker 4: He went to a rival school in the same conference,
Speaker 4: and he brought the players that were committed to Kentucky
Speaker 4: to Arkansas with him. He went to the new school
Speaker 4: and said, we will keep the band rolling because I
Speaker 4: am the lead singer.
Speaker 2: Kept calling it yeah, and then kept calling it cal
Speaker 2: It's you know, we're just moving headquarters. It's calibery you
Speaker 2: all those type of things.
Speaker 4: Now, will there be a day he comes back and
Speaker 4: he's cheered and he will be raised to the rafters
Speaker 4: because he've won a title and he did a lot
Speaker 4: for this universe.
Speaker 2: That's exactly wary.
Speaker 3: First, he will be booed, and he will understand. He
Speaker 3: will be.
Speaker 2: Booed every time he walks in here with that red
Speaker 2: blazer on. Did you notice he was wearing a blue blazers.
Speaker 2: Fans were not Hog fans were not happy about that one.
Speaker 1: I will respectfully disagree with Billy. We'll get back to
Speaker 1: hog fans in a minute. I don't ever see him
Speaker 1: coming back here the way Patino did, I mean everything aligned.
Speaker 1: I mean Patino instantly won back. I'm betting ninety five
Speaker 1: percent of the Big Moon Nation it were still angry
Speaker 1: that he definitely took an arch rival job. I don't
Speaker 1: consider arkansa on arch rival anymore, but they're a conference rival.
Speaker 1: To your point, used to be an arch r But
Speaker 1: Patino takes the Louisville job, and oh, Benedict Arnold Trader
Speaker 1: all this stuff. Whereas my reaction to that was he
Speaker 1: realized he wanted to be a Kentuckian just like us, right,
Speaker 1: so you know, uh could have taken a Michigan job
Speaker 1: and did for two hours and then changed his mind. Right,
Speaker 1: So anyhow he won everybody back.
Speaker 3: How endorsing Mark Post endorsing Post exactly?
Speaker 1: Do you see, CALIPERI? I mean, what could possibly happen
Speaker 1: that someday five ten years from now happens that UK
Speaker 1: fans might say, Okay, we don't hate you as much anymore.
Speaker 1: And then of course when he came when Patino came back.
Speaker 2: I think if they were to have a twenty year
Speaker 2: union for the twenty twelve team and twenty thirty two,
Speaker 2: he would get all that. I really do, really I do.
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 1: Look, I wish he would.
Speaker 2: I think he will. I really do this fan base.
Speaker 2: At the end of the day, those banners mean something
Speaker 2: has years from now. Yeah, he's not lasting. I don't
Speaker 2: know if he's less than two more years ago. And
Speaker 2: you know what, I'll tell you this and you guys
Speaker 2: have both said in Caliperry press conference, there's plenty of
Speaker 2: them when he the last two and I watched just
Speaker 2: more so because I'm curious to see the questions being asked.
Speaker 1: What not.
Speaker 2: He's answering the questions. That to me is like, Oh,
Speaker 2: he's dejected, because usually when he's his swagg yim self,
Speaker 2: he's bouncing around, he's saying what he wants to say. No,
Speaker 2: he's answering the questions and he looks you can see
Speaker 2: it on his face. I've never like, even after saying yeah,
Speaker 2: even after Oakland, he was going on a whole tangent
Speaker 2: like oh, I love helping families. I don't see his
Speaker 2: change in blah blah blah blah blah. Same thing with
Speaker 2: the Saint. Peter's like this is like this is getting
Speaker 2: to him. He's taking it personally and it just seems
Speaker 2: different and it seems real this time where maybe the
Speaker 2: game and the way how you have to construct your
Speaker 2: roster and the NIL portal stuff, it's just going over
Speaker 2: his head. And that's okay. It's just it's almost it's
Speaker 2: getting to the point where it's there was a lot
Speaker 2: of a lot of feeling bad for him out there,
Speaker 2: and I never thought it was And you know.
Speaker 1: It's interesting Billy that towards the end here and I
Speaker 1: don't know if he thought the the end was near
Speaker 1: or whatever, but he knew it was. He knew he
Speaker 1: was in trouble. But then again, people forget that he
Speaker 1: had the the sit down with with Barnard and had
Speaker 1: that uncomfortable.
Speaker 3: The strangest TV destroy poor Farmer.
Speaker 1: There were so many there were so many great lines
Speaker 1: about that, but one of them was like they looked
Speaker 1: like somebody people who were in couples counseling and didn't
Speaker 1: want to be there, yes, or like there was a
Speaker 1: hostage situation or something like that. But I felt like
Speaker 1: over the last few months of his last year here,
Speaker 1: he didn't want to turn loose to what Aaron was
Speaker 1: just talking about helping families. Look, that's a noble cause,
Speaker 1: I get that, but it seemed like like starting with
Speaker 1: that night after five players were taken in the first round,
Speaker 1: when he made it sound like he was more interested
Speaker 1: and he wasn't putting kids in the NBA than winning championships.
Speaker 1: I don't believe he was more interested in one than
Speaker 1: the other, but it sounded like it, and I felt
Speaker 1: like down the stretch he was trying to make the
Speaker 1: point that no, no, I really do want to win.
Speaker 1: I know how important it is to win titles. But
Speaker 1: it was too late, man, because when you say, well,
Speaker 1: I don't really care about SEC titles, I can't tell
Speaker 1: you how many Kentucky fans.
Speaker 4: And what a little house on the prairie was on Dick.
Speaker 4: I mean that was one of the reasons that I
Speaker 4: think the get home. Yeah, the allure kind of went
Speaker 4: away with him. And I don't think it's controversial to
Speaker 4: say that he thought this was a player's first program
Speaker 4: when he was here. I mean, it was about helping
Speaker 4: the player maximize what they can do with their talent,
Speaker 4: which means going to the end.
Speaker 1: Shouldn't every coach do that?
Speaker 4: Yes, But also I think think coaches should say in
Speaker 4: public that their goal is to win, thank you exactly.
Speaker 4: That is what he needed to say, and he never did,
Speaker 4: and it was it was all about the players and
Speaker 4: helping their families, a lot of them coming from poverty,
Speaker 4: sure to get to that next level as quickly as possible.
Speaker 4: Not to keep them in school to help Kentucky win championships.
Speaker 1: Well, now I stopped short of saying keep a kid
Speaker 1: in school. I agree with him, and it shouldn't be
Speaker 1: about helping him. It should be a bet helping the players,
Speaker 1: helping themselves and their fans. If a kid, if they're
Speaker 1: hearing from the NBA that this kid can get first
Speaker 1: round money, then they need to go. You don't keep
Speaker 1: them in school just to help yourself win a championship.
Speaker 3: Oh that was count PLoP.
Speaker 2: Well yeah, I think I think that.
Speaker 1: I think that's proper. But I do agree with you
Speaker 1: in that he should, you know, he shouldn't make it
Speaker 1: sound like and if we win, we win, you know,
Speaker 1: And to say, like I said, he totally misread the
Speaker 1: room when he blew off the importance of winning the
Speaker 1: SEC tournament or league because that's Kentucky basketball. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's.
Speaker 2: There was a quote from Darren Fox four years ago
Speaker 2: that resurfaced this to go off Billy's point. This was
Speaker 2: literally from Darren Fox, so we can all think what
Speaker 2: we think this was Cal cauld Win. Cal couldn't give
Speaker 2: a damn about winning college basketball games. If he's getting
Speaker 2: guys who he knows he can end up developing into
Speaker 2: NBA players. You were automatically going to win thirty games
Speaker 2: a year from that alone. That's what I loved. Couldn't
Speaker 2: give it damn.
Speaker 1: I read that, but I couldn't remember who said it.
Speaker 2: One of his one and done.
Speaker 1: But ironically enough, that was one of cala Perry's best teams. Absolutely, Oh,
Speaker 1: that team was excellent, and all the people and they
Speaker 1: don't care about being a Kentucky and the players do
Speaker 1: sobbing in the locker room.
Speaker 2: There are into I'd say the vast majority of the
Speaker 2: players care, passionate agree. There are definitely some that I'm
Speaker 2: telling you I was in that locker room, Rob Bill,
Speaker 2: I'm telling you sitting in that locker room last year.
Speaker 2: If there was a guy who was totally unfazed about
Speaker 2: the embarrassment that was losing to Oakland, it was that
Speaker 2: guy because he knew exactly what was happening. Reed Sheppard,
Speaker 2: bawling his eyes out like you said with dearon Fox,
Speaker 2: with Bam and Monk balling their eyes out. I remember
Speaker 2: we were just talking about it off ten minutes ago.
Speaker 2: Oscar Shebay, who obviously he was a four year guy,
Speaker 2: but still a superstar. Here. He after they lost to
Speaker 2: not probadence they be profits to Kansas State in Greensboro.
Speaker 2: He was turned around in the locker room, faced away
Speaker 2: from us for fifteen minutes before he could turn over
Speaker 2: and show his face, and you could tell he was crying.
Speaker 2: So it did matter to the players he had. But
Speaker 2: it's fair. It's a fair criticism. Look, this Arkansas team
Speaker 2: that's zero to five in league play. Boogey Flann's probably
Speaker 2: a lottery pick. He might have other draft picks on it.
Speaker 2: Like the talent's there again, it's just the x'es and o's,
Speaker 2: the roster construction aren't there. And that's what the fans
Speaker 2: at the end of the day could not take anymore.
Speaker 3: And I get it.
Speaker 4: Complacency, I think is the part in this. After the
Speaker 4: COVID year, you've you've heard that even former players like
Speaker 4: Willie cony Stein have come out and said that he
Speaker 4: was soft to the players in the later years because
Speaker 4: you just have to talk to people differently. It's you know,
Speaker 4: you hear Old saying it's like he's you become the
Speaker 4: five people you spend the most time around. And I'm
Speaker 4: not saying cal has become Bruiser Flint or Sinn Coleman
Speaker 4: or Kenny Payne, but like look at like John Robick
Speaker 4: leaving and the former ad or assistant A d Living
Speaker 4: that he was so close to Dwayne Peevee. I mean,
Speaker 4: when you start to lose people that are valuable and
Speaker 4: you think that you can just pick up their slack
Speaker 4: by doing what you always did, I think that's it's
Speaker 4: a wrong way going about it.
Speaker 2: Look at last year when he brought in John Welsh,
Speaker 2: I know he had some really good players. Ried Sheppard
Speaker 2: and Propdelling him helped a lot, but they had a
Speaker 2: number three I think there were number three in offensive efficiency.
Speaker 2: And then what does he do. He lets him go
Speaker 2: to He doesn't take him to Arkansas whim. It goes
Speaker 2: to President State and Arkansas's offense efficiencies in the one hundreds.
Speaker 1: And you know, I realized he goes to Fresno State
Speaker 1: for a full time. I think he's a number two
Speaker 1: guy on the staff. Yeah, I think so he would
Speaker 1: have made more money here. He was want to go
Speaker 1: volunteer assistant or whatever he was.
Speaker 2: He was a well he was volunteer, but he was
Speaker 2: you know, they expanded the coaching staff. He was the
Speaker 2: extra and now right now they can all recruit.
Speaker 1: Are you trying to tell me they couldn't have made
Speaker 1: him that at Arkansas?
Speaker 2: And yes, and he would have made more money as
Speaker 2: that at Arkansas as he would be the number two.
Speaker 1: Yes, that was that was a puzzleman.
Speaker 4: And young and talented guys like Jay Lucas or TJ. Bisnerly,
Speaker 4: We're like, what do you take position for? At a difference?
Speaker 1: Lucas was going home Jay Lucas from Texas, family in Carolina. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that I get. But yeah, and uh, TJ. I thought
Speaker 1: was going to be named We all knew TJ and
Speaker 1: liked him. I thought, like a lot of programs, he
Speaker 1: might actually be named the GM. A program that needs
Speaker 1: Every program now needs a GM. And I don't know
Speaker 1: anything about the inner dynamics. There's no we all know
Speaker 1: DJ wasn't real happy here and now he's very happy
Speaker 1: at North Carolina.
Speaker 2: You want two more examples? Joel Justice went to a
Speaker 2: final four last year. Now he's the number two in
Speaker 2: Ohio State.
Speaker 1: And not I kept hearing on him was he was
Speaker 1: not an effective recruiter. Didn't you hear that?
Speaker 2: I heard, Yeah, he wasn't, but I heard he was
Speaker 2: a pretty good x's and o's coach and they weren't
Speaker 2: a final four last year. And he's the number two
Speaker 2: Ohio State who they x ade xod X. You know
Speaker 2: coached Mark Pope, that's for darn sure on that Saturday.
Speaker 2: And then you know, Tony Barbie was a guy that
Speaker 2: he kind of set up with a coaching job. There
Speaker 2: was a lot of talk that he was going to
Speaker 2: let him go and that Barbie kind of just he
Speaker 2: was the MAC Coach of.
Speaker 3: The Year last year.
Speaker 2: So like these coaches are going and outside of Kenny Payne,
Speaker 2: who was a disaster and now is back with cal
Speaker 2: where they're a.
Speaker 1: Disaster, but he was one of the most highly respected
Speaker 1: offense or assistants when he was here.
Speaker 4: Exactly, Kenny Payne may have actually been a plant that
Speaker 4: little more I think about how wow that was.
Speaker 1: That's that's a theory I have not yet heard. Billy.
Speaker 3: That's outs did you tear down from the inside? Are
Speaker 3: Louisville fans were anyone those games that yours?
Speaker 1: Did you come up with that?
Speaker 3: I mean, that's just general.
Speaker 2: Credits to pack Kelsey for already having two more wins
Speaker 2: than Kenny had.
Speaker 3: In two years all time wins.
Speaker 2: Amazing, No, all serious, it's doing great.
Speaker 1: But all right, we'll take a break, come back, and
Speaker 1: kareem back to Kentucky basketball. Ohio State just took a
Speaker 1: fourteen to seven lead. We're back in a minute on
Speaker 1: the state Wide BBI final segment of the state wide
Speaker 1: Big Blue Insider, did Gabrielle Arren Gershwan, Billy Rutledge is Kentucky.
Speaker 1: Let's let's get back to this Kentucky team's most people
Speaker 1: I'm saying BBN, I'm saying media, national, local kind of
Speaker 1: predicted Kentucky to finish middle of the pack and happily.
Speaker 1: So like if if they can, you know, break even
Speaker 1: in the SEC, if they're they're five hundred in the SEC,
Speaker 1: they can get in the NC Tournament, maybe win a
Speaker 1: game or two, which tells you how far Kentucky had
Speaker 1: sunk in at least any estimation of the people talking. Clearly,
Speaker 1: it looks like they'll be better than that. But I
Speaker 1: guess the question I'm posing is how much better than
Speaker 1: that do you think they'll be at the end of
Speaker 1: the year. You know, I want to ask you for
Speaker 1: how many games over five hundred? But did we underestimate them?
Speaker 1: I guess is the question, And we had every right
Speaker 1: to because who knew anything about hard right victim? Yeah?
Speaker 3: That and how good the SEC is this year as well.
Speaker 4: I think that played a factor into just not knowing
Speaker 4: what this unknown Kentucky group would do. I'm gonna put
Speaker 4: them close to the double by seed. I guess four
Speaker 4: or five in the SEC tournament. I think that's about
Speaker 4: fair with what we've seen.
Speaker 1: I mean that's big.
Speaker 4: What you were five and oher in your first five
Speaker 4: games versus top fifteen teams before the loss most recently,
Speaker 4: So I mean that's impressive. I mean, that's going to
Speaker 4: show up and help when it comes to your overall
Speaker 4: turney seed line. But when it comes to the SEC,
Speaker 4: I just I hope they can hold court at home,
Speaker 4: because if so, then maybe they will be right around
Speaker 4: that four or five seed.
Speaker 2: So when I did my game by game predictions earlier
Speaker 2: this year, I said twenty three and nine and then
Speaker 2: twelve and six, in the league, which is pretty good.
Speaker 2: Honestly for a first year. The games I've I've had
Speaker 2: some wrong. Like I had them losing the Duke. I
Speaker 2: had them beating Ohio State, for example.
Speaker 1: So that week there with Duke and Zaga, Yeah, I
Speaker 1: almost everybody had it.
Speaker 2: I heard them going, oh in two that week, did
Speaker 2: you really cleanse it in?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: But besides the point, yeah, I'm gonna stick with it.
Speaker 2: I think they could go finish twelve and six in
Speaker 2: the league. Okay, I think that honestly, Like this league
Speaker 2: is very hard. But they've gotten Florida out of the way,
Speaker 2: they got one of their Alabama games out of the way.
Speaker 2: A and M's out of the way, Georgia's out of
Speaker 2: the way, so Ode win. They got a road win
Speaker 2: at State, so you're looking at it. Ole Miss is
Speaker 2: still there. That's a really tough one. Another one with Bama.
Speaker 2: The two with Tennessee, though.
Speaker 3: I think they match up well with Tennessee.
Speaker 2: Believe it or not, even with the physicality when I
Speaker 2: saw Vandy light them up put forty two in the
Speaker 2: first half. I think they match up fine with Vandy.
Speaker 2: Missouri is a tough one, but you know, Oklahoma is
Speaker 2: not great. South Carolina is the worst team in the conference. Arkansas,
Speaker 2: I think I've just Arkansas. That's going to be Arkansas
Speaker 2: super Bowl. But I still think Kentucky's a much better
Speaker 2: team and wins that game. I could I see still
Speaker 2: see a path to that to where they finished twelve
Speaker 2: and six.
Speaker 3: In the league.
Speaker 2: That maybe that's not give or take. I could see
Speaker 2: them definitely finish, you know, maybe eleven and seven, ten
Speaker 2: and or I guess would be nine in eight possibly.
Speaker 2: But I just think I think they're in a good spot.
Speaker 2: I really do. And what I've been really impressed with
Speaker 2: is every time they've kind of had a situation like
Speaker 2: the defensive rebounding where Mark Pope is harped on it
Speaker 2: and really been tough on it, they've come out the
Speaker 2: next couple of games and really improved. And I really
Speaker 2: like that kind of now like the blueprint changes, it's
Speaker 2: not like the same issue every year. So I'm encouraged
Speaker 2: and I think that's very possible.
Speaker 1: And that's one of the great things. You've got to
Speaker 1: figure that Cali Perry with a lot of youngsters, but
Speaker 1: he's got veterans on that dark and that surprised me
Speaker 1: to move the two highest pay players in the portal.
Speaker 1: Not to harp on Cali Perry, but his best Kentucky
Speaker 1: teams were a mixture of veterans and the precocious freshman,
Speaker 1: which is what he has now. Billy. What I think
Speaker 1: is interesting to Aaron's point is that he's got veteran
Speaker 1: players who know how to be coached. You know what
Speaker 1: I mean when they said about to teach them something,
Speaker 1: They've played enough college basketball to be able to assimilate
Speaker 1: that into their respective games so they can put it
Speaker 1: to good use right away. I think that's huge, And
Speaker 1: you don't see that in college basketball now because everybody's
Speaker 1: so young.
Speaker 2: Right right.
Speaker 4: It's different when you've got a senior that beat Fau
Speaker 4: in the Final four with a game winning shot, or
Speaker 4: Andrew Carr who's been around the ACC for a while.
Speaker 4: The bye week kind of hits at the right time.
Speaker 4: We don't have a midweek game this week, and oh
Speaker 4: they need this his car and his old bad back
Speaker 4: lamon Butler shoulder, who is just getting hurt every single.
Speaker 1: See the memes somebody put out with somebody in a
Speaker 1: wheelchair completely covered head to toe complete Yeah.
Speaker 4: Well yeah, that and you know Kirk Risa doesn't look
Speaker 4: like his timetable is out there yet with what Mark
Speaker 4: Pope was saying yet, So maybe it's the thing that
Speaker 4: Mark Pope can't control that would be end up hurting
Speaker 4: them the most just being healthy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was about to say this is you know,
Speaker 1: we're we're the discussion we're having is presumed that they
Speaker 1: remain relatively healthy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this week is huge, And that's another sign with
Speaker 2: this team that I love is these guys got it
Speaker 2: out right. You don't want to see them obviously re
Speaker 2: injure themselves or make things worse, but there's no like,
Speaker 2: no doubt they're going to try to give it a go.
Speaker 2: We're with the freshman and you're kind of protecting these
Speaker 2: guys for the league. It felt like at times if
Speaker 2: there was a hesitancy, it felt like those guys were
Speaker 2: sitting and you're not seeing that. Here, you're seeing guys
Speaker 2: that want to go and play for Kentucky.
Speaker 1: We're fifty five minutes into the show and granted we
Speaker 1: talk a lot of football in the first half, we
Speaker 1: haven't talked about Jackson Robinson yet, and I think we've
Speaker 1: learned now that what he did on his big breakout
Speaker 1: night wasn't a fluke. No, you know, he's had I
Speaker 1: don't know if you want to call it a come
Speaker 1: to Jesus or you know, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 1: I think he is tapped into something that he knows
Speaker 1: now he can count on. I agree.
Speaker 2: I think he's kind of let that NBA pressure, all
Speaker 2: the pressure kind of roll off his shoulders a little bit.
Speaker 2: And he's playing much better. And I even thought, you know,
Speaker 2: he didn't have a great game against Alabama, but even
Speaker 2: when he was missing shots or he was in foul trouble,
Speaker 2: I thought, the body language is better, which is very encouraging.
Speaker 4: And be where your feet are is a mark Pope
Speaker 4: saying for which Jackson Robinson needs to think of.
Speaker 3: But his confidence is the number one thing.
Speaker 4: He needs to be one of those shooters that does
Speaker 4: not think about the last shot, because I feel like
Speaker 4: I've seen his behavior, his body language take over his games.
Speaker 4: And compared to a A and M Mississippi State game
Speaker 4: where he goes for twenty two and twenty eight back
Speaker 4: to back.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know who I heard first say that, be
Speaker 1: where your feet are? That's pretty good Eddie Grant when
Speaker 1: he was the OC here. But that's one of those
Speaker 1: sayings that Pope embraces fully. And he's got a lot
Speaker 1: of sayings.
Speaker 2: Like that, doesn't Someone needs to make a Pope dictionary
Speaker 2: with all the sayings.
Speaker 1: And yeah, there was What is a Bellerman cut? Do
Speaker 1: we know?
Speaker 2: I'm guessing it's got to be something with how Bellermant?
Speaker 2: I know Bellermint has a crazy unique offense.
Speaker 4: Is that like the Ivy League playbook where they do
Speaker 4: a lot of backdoor cut Princeton.
Speaker 2: That may depending on the flow of Thursday's press conference,
Speaker 2: that might have to be a.
Speaker 1: Question that would be interesting because we could reach out
Speaker 1: to Scotty Davenport coach.
Speaker 2: There you go.
Speaker 1: It's a good dude, man.
Speaker 3: Did you have any idea that Mark Pope's using the
Speaker 3: Pope is.
Speaker 1: Using assuming are there any other Bellerman's out there?
Speaker 2: I mean, you know it's got it's gotta be something.
Speaker 1: But the first college basketball game I ever saw College
Speaker 1: Scott he's a good dude, and you know the opposing
Speaker 1: team was this team from Lexingon. I did see some
Speaker 1: TRANSI like Transylvania. That's a real school. You know they
Speaker 1: wore striped socks. I remember that, all right? Thanks to
Speaker 1: Billy Thanks Daron, Thanks to you for joining us in
Speaker 1: the state wide BBI that said good night from lexingon