WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:00.600 Uh. 2 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:04.919 Oh, guess what day it is. Guess what day it is? 3 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:09.439 Huh anybody, it's humpy. 4 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.880 Yes, it is hump Day Wednesday. Welcome to the Big 5 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:17.000 Blue Insider. Dick Gabriell with you, and you know what, 6 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:20.839 this is our final full show of the week. Whether permitting, 7 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.120 the next two nights, we're gonna have Kentucky baseball, as 8 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.199 the Wildcats played down in Nashville against Vanderbilt. This is 9 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:31.000 the time of year when every team plays a Thursday 10 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:35.399 through Saturday series. Everybody, I think plays one during the 11 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:40.039 regular season prior to this week just for TV purposes, 12 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:44.759 but at this time of year, every SEC team plays 13 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:49.640 Thursday through Saturday. In advance of the SEC tournament. Someone 14 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:53.320 has to give teams, just about every team a day 15 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:55.960 off the rest prepare, get your pitching ready. But also 16 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:00.479 if there's rain involved, you don't want to bump into 17 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:02.759 the following week because you got the tournament coming up. 18 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:08.079 And this year begins on Tuesday. Down in Hoover, Wildcats 19 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:12.000 would play South Carolina. If they played today, Kentucky would 20 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:15.719 be the ten seeds, South Carolina the fifteen, but Wildcats 21 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.439 can move up. They could possibly get a first round 22 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:21.319 by it would take some doing. They'd have to win 23 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:25.079 at least two games from Vanderbilt and get some help 24 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:28.280 other teams losing. That is so right now it looks 25 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:32.400 like Kentucky will play South Carolina. Wildcats beat the game 26 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:34.959 Cocks two out of three earlier this year. That would 27 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:38.480 happen next Tuesday, but first a three game series with 28 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:42.760 Vanderbilt that begins tomorrow night. The games on Thursday and 29 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:45.959 Friday are at seven o'clock. You'll hear the pregame right 30 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:49.599 here with Darren at six forty five on six point 31 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:54.000 thirty WLAP. Wildcats win. Last night they beat Northern Kentucky. 32 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:58.359 They were up three to nothing going into the eighth inning. 33 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.200 Northern scored a run an interesting three to one. Kentucky 34 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:06.280 immediately answered with three runs of its own to sock 35 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.520 the game away and win their final home game of 36 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:13.360 the year, knocking off the Norse. Sorry, Mark Berger, they 37 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:17.039 noursed up, they played well, but it was Kentucky winning it, 38 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:19.479 and the Wildcats now with more momentum. 39 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:20.400 They won four. 40 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:25.360 Straight following that weekend series sweep of Oklahoma. Rank thirteenth 41 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:28.439 or fourteenth, depending on the pole you favor. This past 42 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.199 weekend so Kentucky apparently has got some things figured out. 43 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:38.319 Wildcats still trying to make things work after some injuries 44 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.960 rob them of important players and pitchers. But right now 45 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.479 they're playing their best baseball when they need to the most. 46 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:49.199 So it looks like even though they have been listed 47 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:52.280 as one of the last four teams in, they should 48 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:54.360 be in pretty good shape. I gotta think win one 49 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:58.039 and you're fine down in Nashville. Try to avoid that 50 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:02.199 sweep to take everything away from or not everything, but 51 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:07.840 solidify things, let's say, in the eyes of the selections committee. 52 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.000 But it looks like they're okay right now. Biggest news 53 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:15.159 of the day yesterday, of course, nationally. This hit late 54 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:18.479 in the afternoon as we were arriving at the ballpark. 55 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:21.759 So yeah, Doug and Darren and I spent a lot 56 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:26.280 of time chatting about this as Major League Baseball Commissioner 57 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:32.479 Rob Manfred hands down a ruling stating that any former 58 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:39.120 player who has deceased now is off the list that 59 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:42.759 kept them out of consideration for the Hall of Fame. 60 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.960 In other words, Pete Rose, Shueless, Joe Jackson, all these 61 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.560 players who might have been ineligible for the Hall of 62 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:54.879 Fame now eligible. The way that works is the writers 63 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:59.520 who vote them in. They're not the ones who declared 64 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:05.439 Pete Rose ineligible. He was ineligible because he was on 65 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.599 the Baseball the MLB list that said he was not 66 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:10.000 in good standing. 67 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:12.719 With Major League Baseball and. 68 00:04:12.680 --> 00:04:15.759 That meant he was ineligible for voting into the Hall 69 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:21.240 of Fame. Well now he is. And I talked about 70 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:25.959 this a while back. Right after Pete died, somebody shared 71 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:28.040 with me I had not seen this, and it didn't 72 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:32.120 get a lot of media play that Rose wrote a letter. 73 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:34.160 And you know, I got to think he. 74 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:37.680 Knew he was in poor health, he was ailing. He 75 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:41.279 sent a letter to the commissioner about eight months before 76 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:48.839 he died, admitting to and apologizing for everything. And according 77 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:52.360 to my buddy Doug Flynn, who was buddies with Doug, 78 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:57.879 Doug introduced, or rather Pete introduced Doug to his wife. 79 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:00.600 That's how close they were. Pete broke the news to 80 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:05.079 Doug that Doug was traded to the Mets, but Doug 81 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.399 and Johnny Bench and others held out for years saying 82 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.920 Pete does not deserve to go in the Hall of 83 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:15.879 Fame because he never apologized for lying to his teammates 84 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:22.120 much less the fans, much less MLB. Once he did that, 85 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:26.360 I felt like he had paid enough penance time to 86 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.040 vote him into the Hall of Fame. Doug has been 87 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.759 public now saying he didn't about face because baseball now 88 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:40.279 is involved with the legalized gambling. I maintain that that 89 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:44.120 should have nothing to do with it, because still, even 90 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:46.560 though they're in bed with fan duels, DraftKings, all that, 91 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:50.600 players are still not to bet. That's rule number one, 92 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:55.839 and they know it. They cannot be involved. And if 93 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:58.120 you think it's hypocritical, that's fine, but I do not. 94 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:02.480 You don't want the athletes involved in the games to 95 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:06.720 be involved with gambling. It's the same reason jockeys and 96 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:11.040 trainers are not supposed to bet on horse races. 97 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:12.199 Do they do it? 98 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:16.199 Sure, they do through other people, but if they're caught, 99 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.720 they pay a steep price. Literally, Pete Rose got caught 100 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:26.160 and he paid the price. Thumbed his nose at Baseball's 101 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:30.000 number one rule. And if you think it's silly, we'll 102 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:33.639 think about it whatever game you're watching. If you're watching 103 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:37.279 a basketball game and the best player on your team 104 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:41.319 is sticking it up, and you have every right to 105 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:46.839 say to yourself, well, he's probably throwing this game because 106 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:50.800 he has a few thousand dollars on it and nothing's 107 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:54.399 gonna happen to him. Coach can't really bench him, at 108 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:58.040 least maybe down the stretch he can. But that's why 109 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:03.120 those rules are in place. So once Rose apologized to 110 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:06.720 everybody and admitted to what he did, I felt like 111 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:09.079 he deserved to be voted in. And by the way, 112 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.360 I think they need to take another look at how 113 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.680 they vote these guys in because some of these writers 114 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:19.000 who refused to take the greatest players in the game, 115 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:22.920 guys who didn't vote Hank Aaron on the first ballot, 116 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.360 you know, Babe Ruth on the first ballot. They need 117 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:29.120 to turn in their ballots just to dig in and say, well, 118 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.040 guys don't deserve it in the first ballot. Yes they do, 119 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:37.160 some do, Clemente. Some do, not everybody, but some do. 120 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:40.720 And now with Rose eligible and shoeless Joe Jackson in 121 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:42.600 it never should have been banned in the first place. 122 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:46.639 He was duped into a confession putting his mark on 123 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:48.920 a piece of paper he couldn't even read. They need 124 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:51.399 to take a look at all of this, redo it 125 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:55.560 and clean things up up. Next more comments from Mark Pope. 126 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.360 Little later Aaron Gershano the catch pause on six point 127 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:00.319 thirty wlap. 128 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:02.199 Welcome back to the. 129 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:04.399 Big Bloonsider coming up in just a couple of minutes 130 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.920 herein Gershawna the Cat's Pause, and then Sean Woods, our 131 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.959 Unforgettable Guard, joins us every Wednesday, as does our West 132 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.519 End Bureau chief Gary Moore. That's all coming up in 133 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:18.079 our number two. As I mentioned earlier, Mark Pope talking 134 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:23.000 to us on Tuesday yesterday, and as I said yesterday, 135 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:26.920 you're gonna hear practically everything Mark Pope had to say 136 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:30.959 throughout the next several days. I'm sure it's all online somewhere, 137 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.360 but those of us in the media, we like to 138 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:37.879 feed off of this like it's a Thanksgiving or Christmas 139 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.240 turkey that you carve up the day you get it 140 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:44.039 on the holiday, and then you feed off of it 141 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:44.360 for the. 142 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:47.519 Next few days. So we'll be doing that as well. 143 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:50.679 And you know, we played some of the comments yesterday, 144 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:52.679 but one of the comments that got a lot of 145 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:57.159 traction that I mentioned we would use today was about 146 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:00.840 Travis Perry. Somebody asked him, of course, about the young 147 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.720 man from Lyon County transferring and it caught a lot 148 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.720 of us off guard, including Mark Pope. I don't know 149 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:09.080 if that surprised you or not. It did surprise me. 150 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.159 And a friend of mine said, well, you know, yeah, 151 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:17.519 he signs him and then he recruits over him. Well, basically, Perry, 152 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.679 as you know it committed to play under Caliperi. And 153 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:24.759 as I pointed out to my friend, I said, everybody 154 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:26.080 recruits over everybody. 155 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.759 Mark Stoops talked about this in a press conference one day. 156 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:32.440 He said, and he was not speaking about anybody specifically, 157 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:36.080 but he said, when he signs a young man, he said, 158 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:38.879 you know, we need you, We were glad to have you. 159 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.600 Now I'm going to go try to recruit somebody better 160 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:44.559 than you. That's how you improve your program. You recruit 161 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.679 over people. And if the guy you just signed or 162 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:51.360 the woman you just signed is good enough and you 163 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:54.000 keep trying to recruit over them, they're not going to 164 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.120 let you bench them or recruit somebody better. 165 00:09:57.240 --> 00:09:59.960 They're gonna work hard to hold on to their spot. 166 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.159 That's how you build depth, that's how you build quality programs. 167 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:05.279 And keep this in mind now, and I'm not trying 168 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:08.799 to defend Mark Pope or criticize Travis Perry or whatever. 169 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:14.559 But when Perry signed with Kentucky, it is someone who's 170 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:16.879 close to the family told me it was made clear 171 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:19.919 to him. You know, if you really don't want to come, 172 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.480 that's fine with us. This is when Calipari was here. 173 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:28.519 Think about the guys, including Boogie Flann, who had agreed 174 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:30.559 to come to Kentucky, all those kids who ended up 175 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.399 at Arkansas, some of them did, and the kids who 176 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.639 already here. Travis Perry knew this. He just wanted to 177 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:40.759 be here. He wanted to be a wildcat. And I 178 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.840 submit to you he had a better chance of playing 179 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:48.559 more minutes at Kentucky under Mark Pope than he did 180 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:52.240 under John Caliperi for two reasons. Number one, I think 181 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:56.799 cali Peri had more of the upscale, flashy NBA ready talent, 182 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:00.519 you know, potential one and done's or two and duns 183 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:02.960 at Kentucky than Mark Pope. 184 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.200 Had in the roster he was building. 185 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:10.320 And I do believe that the Pope method, the Pope's system, 186 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.159 is better for a guy like Perry, simply because Pope 187 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.879 goes deeper into his bench and it drove a lot 188 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.320 of unuts this last year. 189 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:19.799 You know, why is he subbing. 190 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:22.360 Now they're playing well, you know, and Pope explained it 191 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:26.039 more than once they sub a little earlier. They don't 192 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.799 leave player combinations out there as long as some of 193 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:33.720 their coaches might because they want the first rotation guys 194 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:38.480 fresher at the end of the game. So he's not 195 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:43.120 going to pare his rotations down to eight maybe nine. 196 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.799 He's gonna keep playing. They ask him, you know, who's 197 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:48.919 gonna play how much? He said, I want to play everybody, 198 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.159 And for the most part he does, maybe not throughout 199 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:56.080 the entire game. Now, yeah, Perry's time dropped off as 200 00:11:56.120 --> 00:12:01.440 Colin Chandler's time picked up. But that's all part of it, 201 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:04.960 and I'm really curious to see what kind of minutes 202 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.519 Travis Perry earns at Old Miss. But again, Mark Pope 203 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.480 with some pointed comments about Travis Perry when somebody asked 204 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:15.120 him about the young man leaving. 205 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:17.799 I was devastated when Travis left. I think he's a 206 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.120 you know, mostly because I think he's such a terrific 207 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.600 young man. I think he's a really really special person. 208 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:28.600 I think he's I think he's he's got an old 209 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.320 soul and he's he's full of wisdom, and he is 210 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:34.000 he's just is everything that you want in a in, 211 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.320 a in a young man and a player. And then 212 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:38.840 he's a big time basketball player. He's a great talent 213 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:42.879 and and and you know, I think it was it 214 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:47.240 was certainly devastating to me personally because I enjoy coaching 215 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:48.799 him so much, and I think, you think he's got 216 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:50.960 a brilliant upside. I think he was on his way 217 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:56.600 to becoming a legend here at Kentucky. So so you 218 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:58.399 know that that made me sad. But you know, he's 219 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.519 he's he's he's to find a path that works for 220 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.159 him and it's gonna it's gonna be positive. But you know, 221 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:05.519 that was a tough one for us. 222 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:11.240 Yesterday I played the comment when I asked Pope about 223 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:14.200 what it means to play at Kentucky. Where is that 224 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.279 on the punch list when you're recruiting a guy through 225 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:20.840 the portal or through conventional means out of high school. 226 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:24.759 And he talked about the fact that it's got to 227 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:26.559 be at the top of the list and at the 228 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:28.399 bottom of the list, in other words, you start and 229 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:32.159 finished with that, and toward the tail end of those comments, 230 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:36.559 he added something about understanding what it's like to play 231 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.440 at Kentucky and really how important it is to appreciate 232 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:43.039 that and what it could mean to you later in life. 233 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:47.840 Understanding having some concept of what Kentucky basketball means is 234 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:51.159 a vital part from the very first phone call to 235 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:56.879 the very last pre commitment conversation. And and there are 236 00:13:56.919 --> 00:13:59.159 a lot of guys that that don't really get that, 237 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:01.519 and they're they're going to go be great basketball players, 238 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:03.519 they just won't be great basketball players here because this 239 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.519 place is different. And you need to understand that if 240 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:08.000 you want to come play here, not if you want 241 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:11.080 to come player, if you're going to accept the incredible 242 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:13.799 opportunity to come player, you have to understand that. If 243 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:15.679 you don't understand, you're just not going to be successful. 244 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.200 If you do understand it, you're going to be crazy successful. 245 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:23.320 And our guys last season set a beautiful, brilliant standard 246 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:27.080 of of what it means to be a Kentucky basketball player. 247 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:30.559 And we actually are leaning on them a lot as 248 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:34.320 we try and describe this. Their video, their outtakes, their clips, 249 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:38.080 their comments, just to help guys understand it's really important. 250 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:41.080 I asked about the guys from last year. 251 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.840 That's how I prefaced a question because when we started 252 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:47.000 talking to those guys in August, they allowed us to 253 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:49.799 talk to all the newbies. There are so many requests, 254 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:55.840 and they were genuinely so appreciative of being in election. 255 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:59.240 And they talked in August about what was like already 256 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:03.279 to be recognized on the street at restaurants and the 257 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:06.639 mall things like that, to be a part of UK basketball. 258 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:10.879 It's an appreciation they had having been at other schools, 259 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:14.559 some of them multiple schools, but wherever they had been 260 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.240 it did not compare. You know, they had been kind 261 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:22.000 of celebrities on campus or whatever, but nothing like it 262 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:24.840 is here. And you know what I'm talking about being 263 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:29.080 a Kentucky basketball player, being a basketball player in Lexington, 264 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.080 in central Kentucky. It's just different. I don't want to 265 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:34.559 say it just means more, but it does, you know, 266 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:38.240 like being a football player at some of the football schools, 267 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:42.080 but even more intense because there are what you know, 268 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:46.000 eighty five to one hundred football players. There's only thirteen 269 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:51.559 to fifteen UK basketball players. And these guys having been elsewhere, 270 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:56.159 it's all relative. Now, what was it like to be 271 00:15:56.200 --> 00:16:00.919 a basketball player at West Virginia or Arizona or Wake Forest, whatever. Now, 272 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:04.919 what's it like to be in Kentucky. You got kids 273 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.519 coming in, one guy from Alabama, a Final four program. 274 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:11.919 You've got a guy coming in from Florida, national champion. 275 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:16.000 But he wanted to experience what it's like to be here, 276 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:19.720 and he will do that, So that's going to be interesting. 277 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:24.360 There was another question about nil, and there are so 278 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:28.799 many figures thrown around, and you know this program spending 279 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:33.039 this much that much. Mark Pope hung firmly in cheek, 280 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:37.200 said Kentucky's NIL figure will be two hundred million dollars, 281 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:39.519 and we all laughed at that, but he didn't shy 282 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:44.080 away from wanting it to be the fattest number that's 283 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:44.519 out there. 284 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:47.039 We would like to win it everything, guys, like we 285 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:49.919 really would with this the flagship program in the country, 286 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.639 and so I'm fully on board with all of it. 287 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:55.879 We want to play the hardest schedule, we want to 288 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:57.960 play the best teams. We want to win the most games. 289 00:16:58.120 --> 00:16:59.519 We want to have the best players. We want to 290 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.879 have the highest and I all went out the coolest uniforms. 291 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.799 We want to have the most media attention, like this 292 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:11.319 is Kentucky, and and and We're gonna do this the 293 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:14.920 very best we can. And we were blessed. We're really 294 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:20.200 blessed UH to have President Capluto and Mitch Barnhardt and 295 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:24.839 and some of the most committed generous UH fans and 296 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:30.759 donors and and supporters UH in all of college basketball. 297 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:32.880 We we we have the best donors in college basketball. 298 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:34.960 We have the best fans in college basketball. This is 299 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.880 the University of Kentucky, Like I never forget that. So 300 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:39.839 we should be the best at everything. And and and 301 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.359 I put anil put the transfer portal on the list. 302 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:44.200 Our job is to go be the best at everything. 303 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.359 So we're not shying away from that, like it's it's 304 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:49.519 important to us there. 305 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.200 That is if you've ever wondered, is Kentucky fully committed 306 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:56.240 when it comes to giving this guy what he needs. 307 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:59.480 He's not gonna sit still, right So, I don't know 308 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:01.480 what the exact figure will be, but I don't think 309 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:04.359 they're gonna lack for anything. Coming up next, Aaron Gershan 310 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:07.000 of the Cats balls later on Sean Woods, the Unforgettable 311 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:10.039 Guard and Western Bureau Chief Gary Moore. That's coming up 312 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:14.039 on six point thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big 313 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:18.839 binsider Joining us now is Aaron Gershawan from the Cats 314 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:22.480 Bops covers football, cats, baseball, football, basketball, you name it, 315 00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:26.279 he covers it. And he is working long distance visiting 316 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.200 mom down in Florida. But one can do that these days, Aeron, 317 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.119 thanks to the innerweb. And you were dialed into Mark 318 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:35.240 Pope's comments yesterday. And as I said, and you were on, 319 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:38.119 we're talking off the air. We'll feed off these comments 320 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.319 for a week or so or more. All of US 321 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:44.680 media types and Big Boe Nation anything in particular, jump 322 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:48.319 off the podium at you. 323 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:53.359 No, nothing crazy, I mean nothing. I wasn't expecting. I thought, 324 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.319 I'll tell you. I guess two things. I guess that 325 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:01.200 probably are different than most coaches. One, I never heard 326 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:04.119 a coach speak as candidly about a kid transferring out 327 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:06.720 unless it was something really bad, as he did with 328 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.279 Travis Perry, so I definitely wasn't expecting him to go 329 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:12.279 into that much detail there. But and the other one, 330 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:15.359 I think I think the quote of the day at 331 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.240 least that got the fan base fired up was well. 332 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:20.480 First of all, Admide the joke when he was asked 333 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:23.559 how much he thinks his roster value is he's a 334 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:27.319 two hundred billions. That's pretty pretty darn funny. But you 335 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.920 know the quote saying, you know, we want to be 336 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.279 the best at everything. We want to have the highest anil, 337 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.519 we want to have the best transfers, We're going to 338 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:36.359 have the best players, best play, the best teams, all 339 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:40.079 that good stuff. So you know that competitiveness that firing us. 340 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:43.920 I mean, Hope obviously is pretty goofy in these press 341 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.559 conferences he comes up. You know, he's very charming, he's 342 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:50.720 very you know, witty and all those things, but you 343 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:52.720 know there's that competitive You see it. 344 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:53.400 After they lose. 345 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:57.000 I mean that he just he's a whole different person 346 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.079 after they lose games. But he is a hell of 347 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:04.279 a competitor. I think sometimes that gets I wouldn't say unnoticed, 348 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:06.799 but I think gets overlooked maybe from more of the 349 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.400 national perspective or more within the SEC just because of 350 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:14.319 kind of with the personality he is and how outgoing, 351 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:17.359 you know, charismatic and all that good stuff about him is. 352 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.880 But man, is that guy competitive. And you could kind 353 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:22.359 of see the fire in his eyes as he was 354 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:24.920 saying that. So those are kind of the too close 355 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:28.079 to stuck out nothing else that was all that earth chattering. 356 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:29.559 Just good to hear him talk about some of the 357 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:32.559 guys that he obviously hasn't been able to talk about 358 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.480 yet now that they're signpen to paper. 359 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:35.200 Yeah. 360 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:38.720 I thought the comments about Perry were really interesting as well, 361 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.720 and he followed that up with comments about Trentonoah. You 362 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:45.839 could tell how much he really appreciates him. And again 363 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:47.559 I think I was talking about this earlier in the show. 364 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:51.400 People need to remember that Travis Perry committed and signed 365 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:55.000 under Cali Perry. And my theory is, let me see 366 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:57.960 what you have to say about this. I said that 367 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:04.319 he stood to benefit more in the Mark Pope's system 368 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:08.960 then Cali Perry, given the type the style of players 369 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.559 that Cali Perry had, you know, the future lottery picks. 370 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:16.160 All that stuff, whereas Pope goes deeper into his bench. 371 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:18.319 And I really believe it. 372 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:21.160 Once Perry got bigger and stronger, Yeah, he was going 373 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.720 to knock his ads with Colin Chandler some other guys 374 00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:25.799 in the back coourd. But I felt like he would 375 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.519 have been better off now. He might even be better 376 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:30.119 off at Ole Miss, But in terms of what he 377 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.960 might have done at Kentucky under Calipari versus what he 378 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:35.799 did under Pope. I thought he was in pretty. 379 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:37.480 Good shape, no question. 380 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:41.519 Yeah I don't think. Look, Caliperry didn't recruit him all 381 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:44.079 that hard. It was kind of a situation where this 382 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:47.119 is where he dreamed of playing, and cal accepted the commitment, 383 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:50.839 and that was kind of that process there this. You know, 384 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.000 obviously Pope didn't recruit Travis Berry at high school and 385 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:57.039 only you know, kind of recruited him quickly on the 386 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:00.200 fly there as he took the job, probably watched a 387 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:03.039 little bit of tape early, but you know, didn't obviously 388 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:06.440 didn't know his game as well throughout the recruitment process 389 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:09.559 until you know, he got to Kentucky. And of course 390 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:11.759 you look at what Travis Perry brings to the court 391 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:14.799 as a shooter, and you know his ability on the offensive, 392 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.440 then he absolutely is a better fit in Pope's system 393 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:20.519 than he ever would have been in Cals. And that's 394 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:22.640 why he saw Arkansas never really got involved in the 395 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:28.359 transfer portal process, but it just look, it's a tough 396 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.519 situation right where the SEC is better than it's ever been. 397 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:34.559 Travis Perry at this point in his career six one 398 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.359 one hundred and seventy five pounds. He's not his body's 399 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:40.599 not quite sec ready yet. It wasn't going to probably 400 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:43.200 be ready yet for this coming year, and you know, 401 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:46.200