Speaker 1: Hell, everybody to the facilities of the iHeartMedia Megaplexis is
Speaker 1: Dick Gabriel. This is the state wide edition of the
Speaker 1: Big Blue Insidet. You've heard comments from Vince Merrow as
Speaker 1: well as Nick menngeone. Now's your chance to settle in
Speaker 1: and listen to more football chatter and some basketball as well.
Speaker 1: Aaron Gershan of the Cat's Palls, Billy Rutledge from right
Speaker 1: here in the studio, and Jeff Picoro the UK Network
Speaker 1: will join us right here on the state wide BBI
Speaker 1: border to order. It is the Big Blue Insider. Dick Gabriel,
Speaker 1: Billy Rutleds, Aaron ger sean Kentucky Tennessee coming up. It
Speaker 1: used to be the last game of the year, and
Speaker 1: that changed a long time ago. And it used to
Speaker 1: be that Tennessee would just run a pro style offense
Speaker 1: or a grind it that running style and for the
Speaker 1: longest time beat Kentucky every year. Well that changed a
Speaker 1: while back. That's changed when Joker Phillips was here. But
Speaker 1: of late Aaron gershwan Tennessee sat Kentucky's number. There have
Speaker 1: been some interesting games. We had a couple of Kentucky
Speaker 1: wins twenty twenty, and I want to say seventy eleven.
Speaker 1: That's right, should have been twenty eighteen as well. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: they went down the.
Speaker 2: Last game I've ever been to, second to last I
Speaker 2: think college football game i've been to just as a fan, Yeah,
Speaker 2: as media, sitting in the upper deck at Neeland Stadium,
Speaker 2: fully expecting.
Speaker 1: Really cold night, for freezing night, and yeah, Tennessee kids
Speaker 1: came out bare chested to warm up right and like,
Speaker 1: look at us.
Speaker 2: And that was a five and seven Tennessee team. I
Speaker 2: think that was five wins, got vacated later on and
Speaker 2: they dominated can win Kentucky team, and they had I
Speaker 2: think the tailor kid who's I think he's still in
Speaker 2: the NFL, had three sacks and Kentucky's offense couldn't do
Speaker 2: a darn thing, and the defense give up a hail
Speaker 2: Mary at the end of the first half.
Speaker 1: To me, the most interesting though, was I think it
Speaker 1: was the COVID year where it was back and forth
Speaker 1: a little bit, and then Kentucky just kicked their buttet the.
Speaker 2: Two pick sixes back to back in the second quarter
Speaker 2: and then they.
Speaker 1: Well know then I'm thinking of seventeen, Yes, seventeen seventeen
Speaker 1: was was back and well that was the game that Yeah,
Speaker 1: Stephen Johnson had to leap into the end zone to
Speaker 1: win it. Well, then I'm there's a what was a
Speaker 1: game down in Knoxville where they just destroyed him.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty they did, but it was it was
Speaker 2: they already had the pick six. Yeah, they had the
Speaker 2: pick six. It was the second quarter, it was I
Speaker 2: think it was. I think they fell behind seven to
Speaker 2: nothing or something, and then they outscored the thirty four
Speaker 2: to seven urst away. But yeah, those are the only
Speaker 2: three wins over Tennessee in my lifetime. And I think
Speaker 2: Billies as well. Yeah, not a lot.
Speaker 3: I do remember the twenty twenty year because I was
Speaker 3: I wasn't on the broadcast yet, and I was listening
Speaker 3: on a golf course and we could not well, of course,
Speaker 3: what was happening.
Speaker 2: I was in a hotel room in indeed, doing a
Speaker 2: little staycation.
Speaker 1: Trip up there. Okay, Well, I just am so befuddled
Speaker 1: by this Kentucky team, and I went to the little
Speaker 1: gathering the nineteen eighty four team had on Friday night
Speaker 1: at the stadium, and that was the topic of conversation
Speaker 1: about this current Kentucky team because of course you know,
Speaker 1: they all have ownership and rightly so. And they're like
Speaker 1: talking amongst each other, talking to me, talking to jeppecorl
Speaker 1: what in the bleep is going on? And I wish
Speaker 1: I had an answer. Yeah, because the team that held
Speaker 1: its own against Georgia and played almost it's not perfect,
Speaker 1: but played about as well as you can play at
Speaker 1: Ole Miss and then what happens. Yeah, and not only that,
Speaker 1: you could draw a couple of parallels between Florida and Vandy.
Speaker 1: I think the way they lost those games, this one
Speaker 1: was this one was gashing the defense for huge chunk running.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they couldn't stop the run. And look, I'm not
Speaker 2: going to make excuses, but it is important to note
Speaker 2: the second half when dark quest Hunter just ate, what
Speaker 2: do you have? Two hundred seventy eight yards? I think
Speaker 2: he broke an opponent record at Crokerfield. No d RK
Speaker 2: Jackson and no there's another guy who's out the weaver
Speaker 2: can have Weaver, thank you, But we're that said to
Speaker 2: allow got to run for two seventy eight it's embarrassing
Speaker 2: and it's I mean, this Kentucky defense two weeks ago
Speaker 2: is ranked number ten in the country in run defense.
Speaker 2: They're up to fifty second in a matter of two weeks.
Speaker 2: And this is Look, I know they didn't give up
Speaker 2: huge numbers on the ground, but a guy ran for
Speaker 2: five touchdowns in the first start against them at Florida too,
Speaker 2: So the run defense has taken a huge step back,
Speaker 2: which is probably more shocking to me than anything else
Speaker 2: because that you look at the defensive front there, I
Speaker 2: mean NFL guys, two or three NFL guys in one
Speaker 2: first round pick on that line, and then the two
Speaker 2: inside linebackers are NFL guys. So it's just it's been
Speaker 2: stunning how much they've regressed in that aspect. But to me,
Speaker 2: it still starts and fends with this offense. Oh yeah,
Speaker 2: if I haven't scored more than twenty points an SEC play,
Speaker 2: you're not gonna It's amazing they have an SEC win with.
Speaker 1: That stat and that starts with the old line one hundred,
Speaker 1: you know. But there's also quarterback drama.
Speaker 2: Now, which we can get into that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I will.
Speaker 3: Say, you hold your hat on, you know, the things
Speaker 3: that you can rely on during tough time times, and
Speaker 3: usually that's been run defense in the past, not lately,
Speaker 3: and it's just you look back and you.
Speaker 4: Beat Old Miss on the road.
Speaker 3: Then you have a bye week, Dick, and you look
Speaker 3: at the schedule ahead and it's like three winnable games.
Speaker 3: You could set up a huge matchup against Tennessee, and
Speaker 3: now it feels like the season's over. I mean, they
Speaker 3: can still be bull eligible, but you've got to pull
Speaker 3: off a huge upset in one of these next three weeks.
Speaker 1: You have to do some things that you have already
Speaker 1: shown you may be incapable of doing.
Speaker 3: That's right, and then you still got Louisville at the
Speaker 3: end of it. You know, Aaron's chomping at the bit
Speaker 3: to talk quarterbacks, but you know it's that was a
Speaker 3: head scratching thing and all this and it's just it's
Speaker 3: been the whole year, and I feel like at times
Speaker 3: we've all scratched our head together and said, why is
Speaker 3: this happening? Because, like you just started, Dick, one point
Speaker 3: game versus Georgia beating Old Miss on the road, you
Speaker 3: can't call those flukes. Those are great teams that they beat,
Speaker 3: so like for them to turn around and play like this,
Speaker 3: it's hard not to think that maybe some guys have
Speaker 3: given up as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you wonder to use an overused term, but
Speaker 1: it's but Vince Merrill brought it up because he said,
Speaker 1: we've got some really good leaders on this team. Well,
Speaker 1: this week is the stiffest test they've had in years
Speaker 1: at Kentucky. But my question is how well we'll get
Speaker 1: to your topic in a moment erin But this is
Speaker 1: part of it. The quarterback's got to be a leader.
Speaker 1: That's got to be a leadership position, and Brock Vanderft
Speaker 1: hasn't shied away from that. You're inside linebackers. Those are
Speaker 1: your quarterbacks on the field. You need I think something
Speaker 1: in the back four. And the best guy they've got,
Speaker 1: Maxwell Harriston, may not play again this week. You know
Speaker 1: where is it? Eli Cox, I think is doing the
Speaker 1: best he can up front trying to hold that line together.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: So the guys who need to dig down and drag
Speaker 1: their teammates with them, you know, can they get it done?
Speaker 1: Especially when you're talking about a quarterback who came through
Speaker 1: the portal, a linebacker who came through the portal, who
Speaker 1: don't have as much sweat in equity involved in the team.
Speaker 1: That's what I wonder that.
Speaker 2: Those are the two issues right, your leaders yet One, yes,
Speaker 2: they're new to this program. They haven't been around like
Speaker 2: the Dane Keys or the Eli Cox's, the Dereck Jackson's
Speaker 2: And that's one thing. But two guys, you have to
Speaker 2: lead by example too, and that means playing really good football.
Speaker 2: And a lot of their leaders. I think Eli's playing
Speaker 2: as well as you can, but you look at that
Speaker 2: offensive line, it's hard to, you know, give too much
Speaker 2: stock into his play. Rock Vandergriff has been up and down.
Speaker 2: Jam and dukemus Johnson's played really well, but how much
Speaker 2: of a leader is he? I don't know. Derick Jackson
Speaker 2: is just such a quiet, soft spoken guy, and then
Speaker 2: Max Harrison's not on the field, Chip Trainum's not on
Speaker 2: the field like you have to have your leaders not
Speaker 2: only show up in the locker room and know the culture,
Speaker 2: but go out there and play well. Those are the
Speaker 2: best type of leaders. You saw it Auburn. I heard
Speaker 2: all week that their leader was fifteen on defense two sacks. Yeah,
Speaker 2: pretty good, Dark West a captain, that's pretty good.
Speaker 5: Yea.
Speaker 2: I know they're having a tough season, so maybe not
Speaker 2: the best example, but you're going to go up against
Speaker 2: Tennessee next week. Their leaders are those veterans on the
Speaker 2: defensive line, and boy if they played well this year.
Speaker 2: So it's tough. It's a balance between knowing the culture
Speaker 2: and playing and being effective, and you're not really getting
Speaker 2: either of that, which is tough.
Speaker 3: Yeah, But the discouraging thing is is the same issues
Speaker 3: keep popping up, like there are. There are some games
Speaker 3: where one thing can lead to another, and you can
Speaker 3: accept that. But if I go through another game and
Speaker 3: Kentucky loses the middle eight, then I'm just gonna freak out.
Speaker 3: I mean, if we go through another game and we
Speaker 3: can't score, I'm inside the five yard line, I'm gonna freak.
Speaker 2: Out like this.
Speaker 4: These are things that should.
Speaker 3: Have been corrected and then you can move on and
Speaker 3: work on something else. But when you don't correct them
Speaker 3: at all, then you're just what's stuck in neutral? I
Speaker 3: feel like that's a term that's been used a couple
Speaker 3: of times.
Speaker 1: But how do you correct from game to game different opponents.
Speaker 1: I do think obviously you can correct some things on
Speaker 1: the O line in terms of blocking technique and things
Speaker 1: like that, but if they're just not good enough to
Speaker 1: move Auburn's D line, if they're not good enough to
Speaker 1: move Tennessee's D line. You know, I'm not because you
Speaker 1: know the other kids, they get scholarships too, you know,
Speaker 1: so if they're how do you fix that? That's the
Speaker 1: to me, the most frustrating thing, and I can't just
Speaker 1: you'll play better.
Speaker 3: Well, I think was it somebody that mentioned it today?
Speaker 3: Maybe they passed the ball more a little bit when
Speaker 3: they're down on the goal line. You switch up the
Speaker 3: play calling in the same past.
Speaker 1: To Barrion Brown early in the game, was it first
Speaker 1: or second drive, came around and would look like a
Speaker 1: jet sweep, didn't get the ball and he kind of
Speaker 1: looks deep and then he I don't know if he
Speaker 1: was a safety valve or what, but he swings it
Speaker 1: to Brown, got him in full stride. Good pass by
Speaker 1: Brock and he takes it for like eight yards. And
Speaker 1: I think I was talking with Darren about this. Suddenly
Speaker 1: it's second and two, not second and nine or whatever,
Speaker 1: and I thought, well, that's you know, maybe that's something
Speaker 1: we're going to see tonight.
Speaker 3: Nope, Nope, you know, and that's a good play call
Speaker 3: on first down and not fourth and five, right, like
Speaker 3: we've seen bubble screens on fourth be huge.
Speaker 4: Fourth down play calls.
Speaker 3: So it's just it's kind of been across the board
Speaker 3: and not really one position group that you can blame.
Speaker 2: And I thought, like the running back situation was really difficult.
Speaker 2: You're down Demi, who's been great all year, Ship who
Speaker 2: you know, spend whatever, but you got them back for
Speaker 2: a week, lose them. So you have two freshmen in there,
Speaker 2: but I thought both of them deserve chances to keep
Speaker 2: it going and see if they can keep their momentum going.
Speaker 2: I mean, Jamarion Wilcox take all the off the field
Speaker 2: stuff out for a second first play of the game.
Speaker 2: He gets basically stopped at the line of scrimmage, but
Speaker 2: he's able to just keep his feet going and gives
Speaker 2: you seven yards and then he subbed out right away.
Speaker 2: It's like, let him build some momentum. And then Jason
Speaker 2: Patterson had a I think fifteen or twenty yard run
Speaker 2: that set him up for that touchdown that Wilcox scored.
Speaker 2: He had one more carry the rest of.
Speaker 1: The game, first seven carries, Like why.
Speaker 2: Like these kids are like, again, I get it, the
Speaker 2: offensive line's not great. You want to be balanced and
Speaker 2: show that you can throw the ball to recruits whatever,
Speaker 2: But like it's working. Why are you going away from
Speaker 2: one of the few things you do well. I'll never understand.
Speaker 1: I think they had thirty three plays in the first
Speaker 1: half and only seven went to them. Again, you know,
Speaker 1: it could be that there was the opportunity to run
Speaker 1: more if there were a run pass option situation. That's
Speaker 1: got to keep reminding myself is you know, did they
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to run more and the quarterback, whether
Speaker 1: it's Whimsit or Brock, decides no, I got to pull
Speaker 1: it and go. That's always an issue when we talk
Speaker 1: about the passing game. I don't know how to read defenses.
Speaker 1: Jeff does upstairs, and he's always talking about he has
Speaker 1: so and so wide open, but if he's running for
Speaker 1: his life, you know. But other people have said to
Speaker 1: Jeff Man, your quarterback locks onto his receivers, which is
Speaker 1: I think a problem.
Speaker 2: It is a problem.
Speaker 1: We asked Bush Hampden about that today.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he didn't.
Speaker 1: He kind of danced through, right, he said, he said,
Speaker 1: you know, that's an experienced thing. And again the first
Speaker 1: year starter, but if you've only got one and a
Speaker 1: half seconds to look downfield, you know, what are your
Speaker 1: progressions If you can get one, maybe two, and now
Speaker 1: you're in trouble. So how do you how do you
Speaker 1: make a decision?
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then there's been a lot of issues this year,
Speaker 3: there's no doubt. But I did not think in a
Speaker 3: tie game it was time to switch the quarterback position.
Speaker 1: That was weird.
Speaker 2: Okay. My big thing is this Gavin went I'm not
Speaker 2: trying to crap on Gavin Wimbsett at all. He's a guy.
Speaker 2: We know who he is. Like he played. He was
Speaker 2: a two year starter at Rutgers with a forty nine
Speaker 2: percent completion percentage. He can run the football. But you
Speaker 2: go to the first half when he came in for
Speaker 2: his run place he ran for one yard total, three carries.
Speaker 2: So Auburn had number two circle, they knew what he
Speaker 2: was going to do. He took one deep shot, didn't
Speaker 2: even get close to anything. Okay, so you know what
Speaker 2: you're getting in Gavin Wimbstt. It's not and I'm not
Speaker 2: advocating like, oh, if you're gonna ben h play Cutter
Speaker 2: Bowly because with this offensive line, you cannot put Cutter
Speaker 2: Bowley out there and ruin his confidence forever. But if
Speaker 2: you had a backup, that was I don't know. I'm
Speaker 2: not saying bow Allen, but a guy like bo Allen
Speaker 2: where he has played multiple years, maybe he's like like
Speaker 2: a Brock Vandergriff resume where he's just been a career
Speaker 2: backup waiting for his moment. But he's a veteran then
Speaker 2: that I'd understand. But a guy where you know what
Speaker 2: he is and you know he's not going to help
Speaker 2: you become a more accurate passing offense. And the moment.
Speaker 2: When Kentucky has had success in offense, it's because Rock
Speaker 2: Vandergriffs played really good football Ole Miss. They won because
Speaker 2: Brock Vandergriff played from offensively. Brock Vandergriff made the big
Speaker 2: plays when they needed him to, made the big play
Speaker 2: to Dame Key in the end zone, made the great
Speaker 2: play on the forty three yard bomb that ended up
Speaker 2: going sixty three, whatever it was. I mean, just he
Speaker 2: was the reason they won that game. Why are you
Speaker 2: doing that to him when he's been the only like
Speaker 2: whenever there's any success for this offense, he's in the
Speaker 2: middle of it. I get you want.
Speaker 1: To He's not bad in the quarterback run game.
Speaker 2: No, he's better than Whimsett in my opinion, it just.
Speaker 1: Because they don't expect it from him.
Speaker 2: Right to me, it's just it's it was just a poor,
Speaker 2: poor decision. They don't they don't have that guy. Wemsatch
Speaker 2: is not the guy you go to in that situation.
Speaker 2: We were talking it was a one like Philly' said,
Speaker 2: a one score game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but we were talking in the previous show with
Speaker 1: Darren about when you have seen Vandergriff given time to
Speaker 1: throw the ball, he does fine. I mean, look look
Speaker 1: at the play you just referenced, the deep bought of
Speaker 1: Barian Brown. I've watched that maybe three or four times.
Speaker 1: He drops back, sets to his feet and throws deep.
Speaker 1: It's a perfect throw because the pocket was clean.
Speaker 2: He had some good throws in this Fandy at Auburn
Speaker 2: game early, I mean the one that Dan Dank. He
Speaker 2: made some great catches, but they were put They were
Speaker 2: putting spots where only he could get it. Yeah, there
Speaker 2: was a play even the second quarter where the second
Speaker 2: quarter might have been what got him banks because he
Speaker 2: threw that awful interception, right and excusable, but that throw
Speaker 2: a hardly Gilmour on the sideline was a beautiful Yeah, Like,
Speaker 2: why are you taking this kid out? And again, like
Speaker 2: you said, Billy, it was seventeen to ten, like you're
Speaker 2: a score away?
Speaker 3: Is it you're trying to get a spark? Is that
Speaker 3: the Devil's advocate of this?
Speaker 2: Yes, but it's to me it's and that I get.
Speaker 2: But again, why Gavin Wimst's because not we know what
Speaker 2: Gavin Wimster is. It's not like we don't know. It's
Speaker 2: not like he is Brock Vandergriff where were going into
Speaker 2: the year we didn't really know. It's not like he
Speaker 2: was what Will Levice was in twenty twenty one where
Speaker 2: we didn't really know, or even Joey Gatewood when they
Speaker 2: tried him in twenty twenty. Like I'm just saying we
Speaker 2: didn't know what he was, right, We know what Gavin.
Speaker 1: You knew what the rep was, but you didn't really
Speaker 1: know what you.
Speaker 2: Had right where Gavin Wimst has nineteen games of starting
Speaker 2: experience and he's played against elite defenses like you saw
Speaker 2: on Saturday.
Speaker 4: Joey Gatewood, that's a name.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but I'm sad touchdown.
Speaker 2: Those are the type of backups and I would have
Speaker 2: been okay with And that spot is my point.
Speaker 1: Well, step back, come back and talk more football and
Speaker 1: some basketball. Jefpikoro joins us at the bottom of the
Speaker 1: hour here on the state wide BBI from Pikeville to
Speaker 1: Paduca game. Really are gerseean Billy rud Ledge, Welcome back
Speaker 1: to the state wide Big Blue Inside are going to
Speaker 1: shift over to basketballs that you came in play tomorrow night.
Speaker 1: No exhibition games for the women this year, so they
Speaker 1: will remain a mystery for a while. But as Darren
Speaker 1: and I were talking earlier, you hang a seventy one
Speaker 1: point win on somebody, I don't care if it's States
Speaker 1: Creek Junior High. You've played well. And I thought that
Speaker 1: A lot of people said this on on social media.
Speaker 1: Kentucky did what a good team should I'm not ready
Speaker 1: to anoint them, but did what a good team should
Speaker 1: do in a situation like that. It's just good to
Speaker 1: go out there if you're Mark Pope and now you
Speaker 1: get video to study.
Speaker 5: Right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, they played great and they took care of business.
Speaker 2: But yeah, seventy one. I think it is the fourth
Speaker 2: largest margin of victory and exhibition in UK history, So.
Speaker 1: It's amazing they have such a stat But why not?
Speaker 2: Why not?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 2: Big bluehistory dot Com has everything. Oh yeah, shout out
Speaker 2: to them.
Speaker 1: But even if they didn't, Corey Price would dig it.
Speaker 2: Corey Price would too. Yeah, those those are the two
Speaker 2: outlets for it. But yeah, I mean I thought I
Speaker 2: was just so it was such a fun watch, right
Speaker 2: where the offense, they're moving so quickly, they're just chucking
Speaker 2: up threes. They're they're not a lot of them aren't
Speaker 2: like stupid shots either, Like they created space with their
Speaker 2: ball movement and got some open looks, had some you know,
Speaker 2: slightly contested looks like there weren't that many threes where
Speaker 2: it's like no, no, no, no, what are you doing
Speaker 2: like they were, and they passed them up that were open.
Speaker 2: That bothered Pope after the game. So that was a
Speaker 2: very very fun style of basketball. And I think the
Speaker 2: I think I take more out of the you know,
Speaker 2: I think you can get something out of that. The defense,
Speaker 2: it's a little hard to tell because they are playing
Speaker 2: such lesser teams. And there were some open looks that
Speaker 2: Wesleyan oops missed. He's that's our daddy right now. Angry, but.
Speaker 1: Angry. There's some Chinese food.
Speaker 2: Now I'm sick to my stomach. But as I'm saying, no, Defensively, Freddy.
Speaker 1: Freeman so rudely interrupted.
Speaker 2: You just trying to ruin my life this week, but
Speaker 2: such a nice guy too, not this week. But yeah
Speaker 2: again defensively, I want to still see what this team's
Speaker 2: all about. I mean, it was obviously the mont Butler
Speaker 2: having six deals really impressive. Mark Williams did some good things.
Speaker 2: But I think actually tomorrow you might get something because
Speaker 2: this Minnesota state team won the D two national championships.
Speaker 2: So they're not They're like, you're playing like a game
Speaker 2: you would play in the regular season.
Speaker 1: Early they'll they'll get out there, Billy, and they'll play
Speaker 1: like a team that knows other Wesleyan was intimidated. But
Speaker 1: this team's gonna get out there even though it's D
Speaker 1: two and play like they know how to play basketball.
Speaker 4: Oh blah blah blah.
Speaker 3: Kentucky's gonna shoot fifty threes, They're gonna make over half
Speaker 3: of them.
Speaker 4: They'll score one thirty.
Speaker 3: But seriously, I do think we see a game where
Speaker 3: they shoot that many threes in like an SEC game?
Speaker 4: What was it like twenty one game?
Speaker 3: Maybe not just like seventy ones a lot actually for
Speaker 3: a championship team.
Speaker 1: And you know what, I guarantee in Minnesota's taking it.
Speaker 1: They're not going to do that to us.
Speaker 3: But how many turnovers is this Kentucky team going to have?
Speaker 3: Because I thought they have last week like five?
Speaker 1: Yeah it was thirty two assists?
Speaker 2: Yeah, thirty two insane?
Speaker 5: It is.
Speaker 3: That is an insane number. I don't care who you're playing,
Speaker 3: it'll be double for Tates Creek High School.
Speaker 4: You've thrown them under the bus.
Speaker 3: But it's exciting brand of basketball. Maybe kerk Krisa plays
Speaker 3: in this game, and then how does he fit into
Speaker 3: this rotation? But if you've got ten to eleven guys
Speaker 3: all fighting for playing time, that's just gonna breed a competitiveness.
Speaker 4: And the what is this saying, Dick, what is it?
Speaker 4: The cream will rise to the top?
Speaker 1: I've heard that? Is that the saying that's yeah, I
Speaker 1: didn't make it up, but I've heard it. By the way,
Speaker 1: I always throw in Tates Creek Junior High You know
Speaker 1: why why they don't exist anymore? There used to be
Speaker 1: well last Jeff about.
Speaker 3: It, that's safe. They're saying that's in bounds though.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, but there used to be a Tatesgreen Junior
Speaker 1: and now it's a different middle school or something like that.
Speaker 1: So anyway, uh, that's why people actually a little sisters
Speaker 1: of the poor. I didn't even notice a little if
Speaker 1: that they're still an organization. But I think Kentucky would
Speaker 1: beat them too. I'm like you, I want to see
Speaker 1: kerk Crisa because he plays with a little a little
Speaker 1: bit of an edge, little attitude. But our friend John Clay,
Speaker 1: one of Aaron's colleagues and in print another inkstain wretch,
Speaker 1: I thought, wrote a real nice piece about Lamont Butler
Speaker 1: and would it took the gadium here, and it reminded
Speaker 1: me a little bit. It was different, but similar to
Speaker 1: when uh Jamal Mashburn came to play for Rick Patino
Speaker 1: because one, he was a well known recruit, but was
Speaker 1: a guy some some recruiters shied away from because they
Speaker 1: thought he was lazy or a problem kid or whatever.
Speaker 1: But but Patino, you know, made the effort to learn
Speaker 1: who he was and turned out to be one of
Speaker 1: the most important signees in the history of Kentucky basketball
Speaker 1: because other kids started to come after Mashburn came and
Speaker 1: and they also wanted to play for the Knicks coach,
Speaker 1: you know. So I think Lamar Butler just might turn
Speaker 1: out to be that guy, that kind of guy where
Speaker 1: kids have transferred in or they've seen no mot Butler
Speaker 1: ended up in Kentucky.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 1: Plus, man, if I went to Kentucky, guess what what
Speaker 1: do you think I could get at Kentucky? So I
Speaker 1: think they'll be they'll be highly relevant this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, lamon, lamon. Obviously if the herod Shody hit in
Speaker 2: the final four, the defensive presidence what I'm was impressed with? Uh,
Speaker 2: And I asked him about today. Uh, when they were
Speaker 2: in medias, you know that isping.
Speaker 1: No hey, and a nerve to do it.
Speaker 2: He was sinking, but that's okay.
Speaker 1: Still would you have done that? Heck, no, there you go.
Speaker 2: But uh, you know at San Diego State they played
Speaker 2: in one of the slowest off I think they were like, yeah,
Speaker 2: seventy six and against the tempo, you're gonna play round
Speaker 2: people down right, Like I asked Andrew Carl like, how
Speaker 2: hard is it to go from like that today? He's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: I can't imagine going from walking the ball up the
Speaker 2: court to doing what we're doing. So and I was
Speaker 2: really impressive with the way he ran the point in
Speaker 2: that first preseason game and uh, you know they're gonna
Speaker 2: what's so good about this schedule is they're gonna get
Speaker 2: tested in the third game and we're gonna get a
Speaker 2: really good feel right away because did you see what Duke?
Speaker 2: Did I know it's Arizona State? They have the one
Speaker 2: kid in Kentucky? Did you see what they did to them?
Speaker 2: So they're gonna be tested real quick here in about
Speaker 2: two weeks.
Speaker 1: And who's the head coach at Arizona State?
Speaker 2: Bobby Hurley?
Speaker 1: Bobby Hurley, that's right. But speaking of Bobby Hurley, he
Speaker 1: is exhibit A when it comes to point guards who
Speaker 1: like to try to get out and run. You about
Speaker 1: this after the break, you know are used to playing
Speaker 1: walk it up and then try to run and they're
Speaker 1: not able to So all right, coming up, Jeff Pcorrel joins,
Speaker 1: we'll get back to football. Talk a little basketball with
Speaker 1: Jeff as well here on the state wide BBI. Boy, Well,
Speaker 1: once again we are efforting, mister Ricorro afforting meeting. Is
Speaker 1: line's busy, so we'll give you an update. Aaron's having
Speaker 1: an evening. His Yankees trail the Dodgers to nothing in
Speaker 1: the bottom of the first inning. Your guys are just
Speaker 1: now getting up Walker Bueller on a bump, Henry Clay's
Speaker 1: Walker Bueller. Your Giants are playing the Steelers.
Speaker 2: Three tie in the first twenty.
Speaker 1: One straight wins on Monday Night Football.
Speaker 2: They'll probably make it twenty two. But it's three to
Speaker 2: three right now, is it?
Speaker 1: Really?
Speaker 2: It's three three in the first.
Speaker 1: Okay, Well, you know, life could be worse. You got
Speaker 1: a team in a World Series, and your team in
Speaker 1: New York Series is not the Jets.
Speaker 2: That's true.
Speaker 1: I was watching some of the Jet was it last week?
Speaker 1: But Brandon Echols was getting lit up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Jets. We were just talking on air like
Speaker 2: they legitimately have a top five roster in the NFL
Speaker 2: talent wise, especially defense, especially defense, I mean and even
Speaker 2: on offense. Breese Hall, thete Adams, Garrett Wilson and Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers and two and six and just lost to the Patriots.
Speaker 4: And Adams is like, it's okay to cheer on the sideline.
Speaker 2: Guys, the Patriots. The Patriots head coach called his own
Speaker 2: team soft this week again again, do.
Speaker 1: You know what? That's almost like a slap at Belichick
Speaker 1: because Belichick second guessed him for calling his team so
Speaker 1: did it again. Yeah, And weren't they one of the
Speaker 1: best teams in the league in the NFL last year
Speaker 1: against the run? Yes, they were virtually the same team. Yes,
Speaker 1: they have almost And you know, I'm not a big
Speaker 1: blame the coach guy, but if your team goes from
Speaker 1: leading the league in run defense to suddenly playing soft,
Speaker 1: that tells me your culture is a little bit off,
Speaker 1: you know, and that message you're sending is a little
Speaker 1: bit off. Is that fair? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I definitely think so. You know, Bill is doing a
Speaker 3: lot of talking. He's on the media circuits. He's going
Speaker 3: on Peyton and Eli's Monday night.
Speaker 1: Show, showing a little personality.
Speaker 4: I've enjoyed it.
Speaker 3: I don't know about you, but he breaks it down
Speaker 3: and I think he's got a little bit more personality
Speaker 3: than I thought he.
Speaker 1: Did, speaking of a team that's got talent and is
Speaker 1: woefully underachieving. Is Jacksonville, which game, my packer, is a
Speaker 1: good game. And then although it was a bit of
Speaker 1: a trap game for us because you know we're pulling
Speaker 1: out against the Texans, Detroit is next Jacksonville, but it's
Speaker 1: in Florida, a little bit warmer, a little more humid.
Speaker 1: But they've got talent too. Would Belichick not be a
Speaker 1: good fit there? But you know who didn't even get
Speaker 1: a look? Was Rabel the guy to look at the
Speaker 1: Titans line in Jacksonville anywhere.
Speaker 3: I think they thought Doug Peterson had unlocked Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 4: They gave him that big pay and.
Speaker 1: He's got a statue up in the Philly thanks to
Speaker 1: winning the Super Bowl. Yeah, but it ain't happening, is it?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 3: I think Vrabels you mentioned Vrabel's name that that that
Speaker 3: guy should be back, and.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it poses a great question, like what's what
Speaker 1: is the danger of hiring it is? Is? Is it
Speaker 1: because if you're a GM or an owner, those guys
Speaker 1: know what they're doing and you can't really push them around.
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 1: Does Belichick come in and clean house as best he can? Yeah?
Speaker 1: And then you get along with a GM?
Speaker 5: Is there?
Speaker 1: You didn't have a GM, right, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he would want those powers a lot of times.
Speaker 3: And do you want to give that up? And that
Speaker 3: has Belichick.
Speaker 1: Parcels who said, if I'm going to make the cake,
Speaker 1: I want to be the one shopping for the ingredients.
Speaker 3: I hadn't heard that, but that sounds like a parcels
Speaker 3: and it's.
Speaker 1: Not a bad argument. But there have been places like
Speaker 1: Green Bay where the coach works hand in hand with
Speaker 1: the general manager.
Speaker 3: How about the Jets where your quarterback is the one
Speaker 3: making the deals for your franchise.
Speaker 1: I never have understood France where the coach and the
Speaker 1: GM don't see and you know where that happened in
Speaker 1: New York with his New York Knicks back in the
Speaker 1: late eighties when aw b Yankee was the GM. I
Speaker 1: don't remember what. Hang on a second, Okay, we're on
Speaker 1: the air, Jeff, So Billy's gonna call you back bye.
Speaker 1: He called my phone anyway. Yeah, b Yankee didn't like
Speaker 1: the style of ball that Rick Patino was playing, and
Speaker 1: they clashed and ultimately that's why he left New York
Speaker 1: and took the Kentucky job and the rest is history.
Speaker 1: Should we take a break and called Jeff all right,
Speaker 1: we're gonna take a break a little inside baseball here
Speaker 1: and called Jeff percaorrel so he'll join us after the
Speaker 1: break here on the State Wide BBI. All right, we
Speaker 1: have located Jeff Pecorol. Technically he's late for the meeting,
Speaker 1: so he's gonna have to run. When we're done tonight,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask you a little about basketball, because now
Speaker 1: that you're back in the local TV business, you have
Speaker 1: to keep things. But yeah, you are in speaking of basketball,
Speaker 1: you are in lockstep with our buddy Jack Gimmons when
Speaker 1: it comes to how you feel about Tennessee. This is
Speaker 1: a tough week for you.
Speaker 5: Isn't it. Yeah, it really is. This was our rival
Speaker 5: when Jack and I were in school. He's just a
Speaker 5: little bit older than I am, and uh, you know
Speaker 5: that was our rival back then. But you know they
Speaker 5: did they played, He played Louisville.
Speaker 1: He didn't no, no, no, no, of course on a year.
Speaker 5: Yeah, nor did we. So you know, Tennessee was our
Speaker 5: big rival. This is a tough week for me.
Speaker 1: And yet you beat him a couple of times.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we beat him both our freshman year and senior year.
Speaker 5: So that was that was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we have been speculating about how what Kentucky's going
Speaker 1: to run into down there. I gotta think Tennessee will
Speaker 1: try the jail break offense. But they got a good
Speaker 1: running back and after in Kentucky Auburn film, as your
Speaker 1: kids like to call it, you gotta think Tennessee will
Speaker 1: just try to run it up a gut. But also Tennessee, probably, Jeff,
Speaker 1: for the best defense we will see any Orange in
Speaker 1: quite some time.
Speaker 5: Yeah, they have a really good front. Their front four
Speaker 5: is as good as far as anybody in the SEC.
Speaker 5: I mean, they have pressure from both sides. They're they're
Speaker 5: just a really good football team. They always are, but
Speaker 5: this year they're a little special on defense. And you
Speaker 5: know that what what the offense is like, and they
Speaker 5: break neck speed and you know it's tough to tough
Speaker 5: to defend that.
Speaker 3: Jeff, it's week ten of the college football season. Are
Speaker 3: there things that you can change in overhaul or are
Speaker 3: you kind of you are what you.
Speaker 4: Are at this point?
Speaker 5: I think at this point, really you're you're you are
Speaker 5: what you are. Now. You can change some personnel groupings. Uh,
Speaker 5: you know, you might get a little bigger at times
Speaker 5: and things like that, but now, man, you you know
Speaker 5: this late the season, you pretty much are what you are.
Speaker 1: Jeff.
Speaker 2: What did you make of the quarterback change on Saturday?
Speaker 2: And how do you think they're gonna go in Knoxville?
Speaker 5: Interesting to say the least I knew Gavin was gonna
Speaker 5: get some clock or some wrong whatever you want to
Speaker 5: call it. I just didn't think they would give him,
Speaker 5: you know, basically two quarters. That that was very interesting.
Speaker 5: You know, the question now becomes have they lost any
Speaker 5: of their optimism and and that they feel Brock is
Speaker 5: still number one? Or were they just try and Gavin?
Speaker 5: And how much does this hurt the kid's confidence by
Speaker 5: basically being benched in the second half. You know, those
Speaker 5: are those are real questions. And uh, you know I
Speaker 5: had to play through that with Randy Jenkins and Terry
Speaker 5: Henry my first two years. Larry mccrimmin had left the team,
Speaker 5: and you know we had Randy who was more of
Speaker 5: a thrower and Terry was more of a runner, and
Speaker 5: then you had Tommy Boyle and Doug Martin and you
Speaker 5: know a couple other guys in there, and you know,
Speaker 5: you never settled on one. And the players would like
Speaker 5: to have a definitive knowledge of who the quarterback is
Speaker 5: going to be. I think that's real important because you
Speaker 5: can rally behind that one guy. And I think that's
Speaker 5: important to have one guy that is the man who's
Speaker 5: going to lead your offense, and you know, you can
Speaker 5: use the other guy if he gets banged up or
Speaker 5: to give him a blow. But to me, you have
Speaker 5: to have you have to have one guy that's the quarterback.
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting you bring up Larry McCrimmon because
Speaker 1: obviously I saw him play, and there's a parallel here.
Speaker 1: And these guys have no idea who we're talking about.
Speaker 1: But what he what he was, Fellaws was a young, strong,
Speaker 1: really athletic with a super arm. And they were kind
Speaker 1: of grooming him, weren't they, Jeff to be the QB
Speaker 1: of the future, And yet just personal discipline failed him
Speaker 1: and he was gone. And now you're juggling quarterbacks and
Speaker 1: we've seen a little bit of that here. Injuries really
Speaker 1: cost in Kentucky a chance to develop Drew Barger and
Speaker 1: then a revolving door begins. And it's hard right now
Speaker 1: to end that chain, isn't it?
Speaker 5: It is? And you hope that for the future that
Speaker 5: you know, the immediate future, it looks like Brock would
Speaker 5: probably be that guy. But you hope that cutter Bowley
Speaker 5: can get bigger and stronger and can assume that role.
Speaker 5: But look, and Coach Wolford said this about the offensive line,
Speaker 5: and I believe it's true. With the quarterback too. It
Speaker 5: takes at least a year and may and a lot
Speaker 5: of times two years before a quarterback can get assimilated,
Speaker 5: get confident, get comfortable in an offense, and learn all
Speaker 5: the defenses that are thrown at him. And you know,
Speaker 5: and I always go back to Andre Woodson. I think
Speaker 5: that's a great example of his first two years at UK.
Speaker 5: He was absolutely lost and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 5: you know that the key turned and the light came
Speaker 5: on and he became a fantastic quarterback.
Speaker 3: Who's playing quarterback. They'll be throwing to Dane Key downfield
Speaker 3: and he's been fantastic. Jeff, you know what makes him
Speaker 3: a better receiver than Barryon Brown at this point of
Speaker 3: the season. And do you see him playing on Sundays
Speaker 3: one day?
Speaker 5: I think he can. I think he has the opportunity to.
Speaker 5: I think the biggest difference between those two is that
Speaker 5: Dane is a little bit bigger, little bit stronger, and
Speaker 5: doesn't mind going over the middle. When you go over
Speaker 5: the middle, you get whacked. I mean there's a lot
Speaker 5: of times that you just get annihilated. Barryon is more speed.
Speaker 5: I think that he's a guy that could take the
Speaker 5: top off, you see him as maybe an inside receiver,
Speaker 5: whereas I think Dane could be the outside guy because
Speaker 5: of his size, his heights. I mean, when you look
Speaker 5: at it, you're asking me about playing on Sunday. You
Speaker 5: look at the outside receivers in the NFL, and they're
Speaker 5: all six three six four sixty five and Dane's got
Speaker 5: that build. So to me, Barryon is the inside guy.
Speaker 5: And the one thing that they do is a lot
Speaker 5: of slants, a lot of curls, a lot of quick outs,
Speaker 5: things like that like Wandale Robinson's doing tonight to the
Speaker 5: New York Giants. That's what That's how I see barying.
Speaker 5: But I also see him as a really good returning
Speaker 5: a return guy too in the NFL.
Speaker 2: Jeff, what do you think has led to the slip
Speaker 2: page with the run defense last two weeks? Obviously they
Speaker 2: were they were a number ten in the country this
Speaker 2: time two weeks ago. Right now they're sitting fifty second.
Speaker 5: The thing that's scary aired is that look at the
Speaker 5: first quarter, Auburn could do nothing nothing, you know, their
Speaker 5: their running back had zero yards on one carry. And
Speaker 5: Dick and I talked about this. I don't remember Dick
Speaker 5: if it was after the game when we were doing
Speaker 5: the rap or whatever. But it looked as though Auburn
Speaker 5: came into the game and said, we're gonna throw the
Speaker 5: ball and we're gonna have to quit throwing game. But
Speaker 5: South Carolina utilized quick, get the ball out quit to
Speaker 5: neutralize that big defensive front. It didn't work, and after
Speaker 5: a quarter you said, heck with this, throw it out
Speaker 5: the window. We're running the football. And they totally changed
Speaker 5: what they tried to do on offense and it just
Speaker 5: it worked. I mean that what great in game moves
Speaker 5: by by the coaching staff there at Auburn.
Speaker 1: Jeff, could you tell did they change their blocking patterns
Speaker 1: or did they go to zone blocking?
Speaker 5: You know, you know the difference is you know, past blocking,
Speaker 5: it's quick. You say, no, no, no, I know what backward.
Speaker 1: I just mean the way they were blocking with the
Speaker 1: run game.
Speaker 5: Well, I just think that they said we're going to
Speaker 5: run the football because they didn't run that much. I mean,
Speaker 5: the running back had one carry in the first quarter.
Speaker 5: One carry's zero yards. You he only carried it once.
Speaker 5: Remember they didn't have a lot of snaps.
Speaker 1: That's true because Kentucky controlled the football yes, and then
Speaker 1: then that went to sleep. What happened there in your eyes.
Speaker 5: That is what is discouraging but also encourages because the
Speaker 5: first quarter they went right down the field right and
Speaker 5: they got the field goal, defense held, gives them the
Speaker 5: ball back. They go again right down the field and
Speaker 5: get a touchdown, and you're thinking, okay, kind of like
Speaker 5: South Carolina was a year ago, and then all of
Speaker 5: a sudden they flipped the switch and it was just that.
Speaker 5: That is what is so frustrating as a coach, is
Speaker 5: what happened between that first quarter and the rest of
Speaker 5: the game. And I think it was you saw they
Speaker 5: get the interception and Kentucky gets it at the plus forty. Yes, okay,
Speaker 5: they don't score, they have to hunt it back. But
Speaker 5: then I thought a key and Brad talks about this today.
Speaker 5: Kentucky stops them for the most part, but they get
Speaker 5: a huge first down run. Okay, that extends the play,
Speaker 5: and then they flip the field and now Kentucky, instead
Speaker 5: of getting the ball out around a thirty or forty
Speaker 5: yard line, figured it back to their own territory and
Speaker 5: the rest of the game. It just I you know,
Speaker 5: that's the sixty four thousand dollars question what happened after
Speaker 5: they didn't score on the punt.
Speaker 3: I want to look ahead to a second. For a second, Jeff,
Speaker 3: they take on Tennessee this week. Would you like to
Speaker 3: see the return of the beer barrel at all?
Speaker 5: That was a key, you know. I The thing was,
Speaker 5: you didn't look at it as a beer barrel.
Speaker 1: It was the trophy.
Speaker 5: That's the trophy we won. It was painted, it was
Speaker 5: we just called it the barrel. You know. You could
Speaker 5: almost even call it a bourbon barrel for that matter.
Speaker 1: But they're selling beer at the stadium now for crime.
Speaker 1: I understand why they did away with it at the time,
Speaker 1: and that was a proper move to make after the
Speaker 1: terrible accident. But they're selling beer at the ballpark now,
Speaker 1: so yeah, bring it back. Why not let me shift
Speaker 1: over to basketball since you have to or you get
Speaker 1: to cover more than one sport now, and we we've
Speaker 1: all agreed that it doesn't matter who you're playing it.
Speaker 1: I said, what do you be Tates Creek Junior High
Speaker 1: which doesn't exist anymore. Billy thought I had thrown him, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: but you beat anybody by seventy one, you've done what
Speaker 1: you're supposed to do. But now this is going to
Speaker 1: be a stiffer test, isn't it with a team that's
Speaker 1: coming off a national championship run.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and this was the way you're supposed to ease
Speaker 5: into a season. You take another step, you know, So
Speaker 5: now they take a step up in competition level. Now
Speaker 5: can they get forty two threes off? Can they get
Speaker 5: up and down the court like they did in Game one?
Speaker 5: Can they play defensively the way they did? Can they
Speaker 5: get thirty two assists on what or what was it?
Speaker 5: Thirty two assists on forty eight made baskets? Can they
Speaker 5: do that? If they can, then you got something cooking?
Speaker 1: You see? Good? Go ahead?
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I was going to say, what is there
Speaker 2: anything you want to see from them that you didn't?
Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to ask this question when they
Speaker 2: win by seventy one? Is there anything you want to
Speaker 2: see tomorrow that maybe we didn't see last week? Before
Speaker 2: they play for real next week?
Speaker 5: I want to see the continuation of the confidence continue
Speaker 5: to grow. They're growing in this offense. Last week, you know,
Speaker 5: I think they were just you know, they're just athletically
Speaker 5: better and they were able to get up. Now it
Speaker 5: was almost like playing over at the you know, the
Speaker 5: Douglas Park at the dirt Bowl, because you could just
Speaker 5: beat the team up and down the floor. As the
Speaker 5: competition gets tougher, as the teams get longer and more
Speaker 5: agile and more athletic, I think it's going to be harder.
Speaker 5: But that's what I mean. You've got to can they grow?
Speaker 5: Can they continue to grow through this? If they can,
Speaker 5: like I said, then you got something because look, you
Speaker 5: got better athletes than he had at BYU. I mean
Speaker 5: that's just the you know, that's just a point. And
Speaker 5: you know, and he's going to continue to get better
Speaker 5: athletes as the years go and if they can keep
Speaker 5: this up, and it'll be more NBA style or more
Speaker 5: European professional style of play. And I think that's that's
Speaker 5: really what's overtaking the NBA a little bit. Now.
Speaker 1: You mens left with Jeff Pikor or the UK Sports Network.
Speaker 1: Jeff actually was born in Seattle, grew up in New Orleans,
Speaker 1: but spent most of his life in lectioningon. Although you
Speaker 1: covered the Cincinnati Reds for so long, you were away
Speaker 1: for quite a while from the UK scene. But your
Speaker 1: senior year it was let's see that was the year
Speaker 1: eighty four, or the senior in the fall wins the
Speaker 1: bowl game earlier that calendar year, the Wildcats go to
Speaker 1: the Final four. The year prior to you guys go
Speaker 1: to a bowl game. Kentucky's a missed dunk from going
Speaker 1: to the final four. My point is, at that stage
Speaker 1: it flew directly in the face of people who said, well,
Speaker 1: you can't really do both successfully football and basketball. I've
Speaker 1: never believed that, and you guys proved it back when
Speaker 1: you were in school that it's possible, right, Yeah.
Speaker 5: I think so. And look remember Florida when Billy was there,
Speaker 5: they had a nice football team, They had a really
Speaker 5: good basketball a couple of national championships. Bio State made
Speaker 5: some runs on the basketball court, you know, So it
Speaker 5: can be done. I mean, especially now with the money
Speaker 5: that's being thrown around and being able to transfer around
Speaker 5: to play in different systems, I think it's very, very doable.
Speaker 3: Let me ask you about Mark Pope in Kentucky for
Speaker 3: a second, because my favorite part of the first exhibition
Speaker 3: game was him taking questions from the crowd during the
Speaker 3: postgame interview. He really does embody what it means to
Speaker 3: play and be a member of the University of Kentucky.
Speaker 3: Does that bleed through from a coach to its players?
Speaker 4: Did you ever get that from any.
Speaker 5: Of your coaches? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, you
Speaker 5: are an extension of the coach. And you always hear
Speaker 5: guys talk about, you know, when they're gone, and they're
Speaker 5: the fond memories they had of the coaches and stuff.
Speaker 5: And yes, the thing is he played here. He knows
Speaker 5: that what the Commonwealth is and what Big Blue Nation
Speaker 5: means the fans to that team, and he is expounding
Speaker 5: that every day on the players. And I used to
Speaker 5: bite tonight from Lamont Butler where he said the fans
Speaker 5: were unbelievable the first time I've ever stepped on the
Speaker 5: court for a real game, and he goes, it was
Speaker 5: loud the entire game. The people were crazy and it
Speaker 5: was a wild atmosphere. And I you know, I think
Speaker 5: that hopefully that continues for Mark Pope and the team.
Speaker 1: And that was an exhibition game.
Speaker 5: Yeah, exhibition game, right. Yeah.
Speaker 1: In San Diego State is a bit more laid back,
Speaker 1: you know, and they're they're not exactly known for basketball. Fact,
Speaker 1: they may be no known more for their baseball. When
Speaker 1: Tony Gwinn was a coach out there a couple of
Speaker 1: minutes left with jeff ricorro.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 1: This is going to be especially if kerk Krees it
Speaker 1: comes back a team. I think Jeffon shows us a
Speaker 1: little more of his personality. We know style of play,
Speaker 1: but it's gonna be interesting to see how that personality develops.
Speaker 1: Especially as Aaron pointed out, they had a pretty stiff
Speaker 1: matchup with Duke coming up real quickly.
Speaker 5: Yeah. No, it's interesting you say that because I think
Speaker 5: that he brings a lot of fun to the basketball
Speaker 5: court with him the guys. The one thing I always
Speaker 5: talk about in college sports beat football, basketball, baseball, soccer, whatever,
Speaker 5: is the one thing I thought was Cali Perry. The
Speaker 5: last couple years, it was a job. It wasn't fun
Speaker 5: for the kids. I you know, when they're got to
Speaker 5: smile on their face, the run up and down the court,
Speaker 5: they're shooting threes, or you're you're throwing the ball around
Speaker 5: on the football field, you're scoring touchdowns, you're scoring thirty
Speaker 5: points a game. It's fun. That's what it's supposed to be.
Speaker 5: Look at how the baseball team this year. They had fun, right,
Speaker 5: It was a fun atmosphere, the crowd got into the games.
Speaker 5: That's what it's supposed to be in college sports. And
Speaker 5: I think Pope brings that, and I think that that's
Speaker 5: infused into the team because you've got some guys that have,
Speaker 5: you know, some some some real what am I looking for?
Speaker 5: Enthusiasm they've got. I think they're going to see that.
Speaker 5: It's gonna rub off on people, and they're gonna have
Speaker 5: their favorites.
Speaker 1: You know, yep, you know. So I told these guys
Speaker 1: that I watched the Kentucky Auburn basketball game where the
Speaker 1: Wildcats won at Auburn last year. That was probably as
Speaker 1: good a game as they played all year, and they
Speaker 1: had fun. And I don't know where that went, but
Speaker 1: you make a great point. That's right, all right, brother,
Speaker 1: Thank you. We will see you in Knoxville. Watch for
Speaker 1: you on the television. It could be spilling into your
Speaker 1: living room if you're not careful, but just you know,
Speaker 1: tune him in. And we appreciate you letting us into
Speaker 1: your living room or your car or whatever. Thanks for
Speaker 1: joining us. Aaron's got a World Series game to win.
Speaker 1: Good luck Aeron, and for Billy, we need That's it.
Speaker 1: Good night from lexion