WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.680 Hi, everybody. Dick Gabrielle my last day of vacation today 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:08.480 before football really starts and then morphs into basketball and baseball. 3 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:11.320 So one more edition of the Best of the Big 4 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:14.199 Blue Insider, and I'm going to take you back to March, 5 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:17.359 first day of March, and forgive me right away for 6 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:19.960 the fact that in this particular show very weak voice, 7 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.440 I was coming off a bad cold, but John Caliperi 8 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:28.000 was still Kentucky's head coach when we spoke and reed 9 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.519 Sheppard was still a Wildcat. Here it is the best 10 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.759 of the Big Blue Insider from the first day of March. 11 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:39.520 The Wildcats tomorrow take on Arkansas. It is not the 12 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:42.560 Arkansas team we thought we would see this year. It's 13 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:47.640 not clearly the Arkansas team that razorback fans thought they 14 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:50.280 would see. Some pick this team to win the SEC. 15 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:53.320 They're not even a factor right now except for being 16 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.960 a spoiler, and of course the Wildcats hoping to avoid 17 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:00.520 that fate tomorrow. But based on obviously the way playing 18 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:03.640 you gotta think Kentucky now, I would think I would 19 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:07.159 hope is like a kid with a new toy, and 20 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.640 by that I mean, hey, you're learning how to play defense, 21 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:11.879 make it work for you. Let's see what you can 22 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:14.359 do with it. So we'll find out. We're gonna talk 23 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:16.760 about that a lot tonight with Tom Leech, voice of 24 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:20.079 the Wildcats. Sewn Wood's the unforgettable guard. We talked to 25 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.920 Sean each week. Sewan of course played for the Wildcats 26 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:27.239 and also a longtime college basketball coach. And then our 27 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:29.400 West End burea G. Gary Moore. We were bumped on 28 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:32.879 Wednesday by the State Wide Show. So we will talk 29 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:37.280 with Gary coming up in our number two. But yeah, 30 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:42.239 Kentucky's still spinning and beaming and twirling talking about the team, 31 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:46.120 the Big Blue Nation after that win over Mississippi State. 32 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.319 And it wasn't that they went down there and won, 33 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:53.159 it's how they won in my opinion, because remember now 34 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:58.760 they were playing essentially without Rob Dillingham for much of 35 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.920 the game. He played a total of sixteen minutes. He 36 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:08.039 was in foul trouble. As you know, Justin Edwards wasn't 37 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:11.080 quite himself, got in the early foul trouble and just 38 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.840 wasn't playing back to the form he had shown. So 39 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:18.080 I felt like they were kind of, you know, hamstrung 40 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:24.479 a little bit. Fortunately, big performance from Big z even 41 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.280 though he didn't rack a lot of numbers, but his 42 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:31.159 plus minus was best for the team seventeen, which I 43 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:36.479 find amazing. But the Cats hit three pointers ten out 44 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:40.120 of thirty doesn't sound like it's great. And in fact, 45 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:45.520 between Thiero and Dillingham they were two for eight and 46 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:49.360 Reeves was two for seven himself. But Shepard had a 47 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:53.599 good day shooting. DJ Wagner hit two for four. So 48 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:59.080 enough went right so that when Kentucky down the stretch, 49 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:06.120 put together a good defensive run and lord Mississippi State 50 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.680 into a running gun game. And that's when State was 51 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:15.240 missing shots and shooting quickly and didn't know how to 52 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.280 do it. Kentucky, of course does and that's how the 53 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:24.319 Cats came back sixty one percent shooting in the second half, 54 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:30.039 fifteen of fifteen from the line. Now, State shot seventeen 55 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:33.039 to thirty four in the second half, got inside way 56 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:38.319 too much, and thanks to Hubbard, six to sixteen from 57 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:42.400 the arc. But Kentucky took care of the ball a 58 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:47.039 little bit better until the last seconds and got it done, 59 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:50.840 thanks of course, to a lot of different things. But Reed, 60 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:55.520 Shepherd was huge and Cali Perry. John Caliberry talked about 61 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.879 him on his show with Tom Leach the other night. 62 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:05.400 He has the ability to stay calm and not worry 63 00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:09.680 about losing. You only worry about winning. How do we 64 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:14.000 win not? You can't play not to lose it. It's 65 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.800 like a defensive team playing prevent defense. What does that 66 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:19.800 prevent you from doing? 67 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.720 Yes, So he goes. 68 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:27.759 Down and you know, again, in a normal situation, you 69 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:31.079 don't call it time out. In those situations, you let 70 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.360 it play out because you take the other coach out 71 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:37.399 of it. Their team is saying, don't foul, so you'll 72 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:39.480 get a shot off because they're not going to fool you. 73 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.000 And Reid had the sense to go and shoot that 74 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:44.160 shot and he was guarded. 75 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:47.439 Now I want to talk to Sean Woods more about that. 76 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:50.439 We've talked in the past about why you call it 77 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:54.399 time out, why you don't call time out. But yeah, 78 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:59.079 getting back to read Shepherd, it was amazing to me, 79 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.199 first of all what he did in the last minute 80 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.879 and fifteen seconds. But secondly, and I don't mean this 81 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:12.839 with any disrespect, how bad that pass was that he 82 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:16.519 threw away. I mean that's something you see in middle school, 83 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.800 maybe in high school. And I can't say he panicked 84 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:26.759 because as Caliperi pointed out, he doesn't panic. But I 85 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:31.639 think he has so much confidence in his own ability 86 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:36.399 to advance the basketball and he saw his teammate, but 87 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:39.079 it was just like a football pass that hangs up 88 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.759 and gives the safety a chance to come over and 89 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.160 pick it off, and it almost costs him the game. 90 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.160 But all's well. That ended well, and it certainly ended 91 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:52.480 well for the Wildcat Well, like I said, we'll talk 92 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:56.560 more about it with Tom Leach and with Sean Woods. 93 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:59.720 Coming up in a little bit was Gary Moore the 94 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:03.680 come mine underway. And you might have read a little 95 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:08.800 something here and there about Trevin Wallace, Wildcat linebacker, gave 96 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.360 up his last year to try his hand to the NFL. 97 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:17.600 We'll get this, and we knew he's a great athlete, 98 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:23.000 But yesterday was the day linebackers and defensive tackles and 99 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:31.560 ends were tested, and Trevin Wallace tied for third in 100 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:37.160 the forty yard dash time among linebackers four point five 101 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:42.560 to one seconds, tied him with the Edgerrin Cooper of 102 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:46.319 Texas A and M, so that'll get your attention. And 103 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.160 in the vertical jump thirty seven and a half inches 104 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:55.920 second to a kid from University of Washington, and then 105 00:06:55.959 --> 00:06:58.560 he shows up in the broad jump second by an 106 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:04.120 inch to the kid from you dub Ulu Full show 107 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.560 is that kid's name? Now, you know you could scoff 108 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:14.879 at all his testing, But what it does is measure 109 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:19.040 out their fast twitch capabilities. Kind of athlete are they 110 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:23.759 doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be a great player, 111 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:26.759 And if you don't test well, it doesn't mean you won't. 112 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:32.120 But it puts him front and center, doesn't it. And yeah, 113 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:34.040 you gotta go back and look at how he played 114 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:38.040 at Kentucky. And if you don't, you're a fool. If 115 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:42.720 you go just on combine, you know you're asking for trouble. 116 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:50.079 But if you ignore this, you're a fool as well. 117 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.160 And by the way, that the real headline came in 118 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:58.720 the d Lineman when a kid from Penn State named 119 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:07.199 Chop Robinson d Lineman six three two fifty four did 120 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:14.040 a forty and four point four eight seconds. That's incredible. 121 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:18.839 Will he be a great player, I don't know, but 122 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:22.000 he probably moved up a little bit. It was a 123 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:25.560 full tenth of a second faster than the next kid. 124 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.839 Pretty amazing. I'm not a big combine guy. I know 125 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:33.879 a lot of people tune in. I follow it a 126 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:37.320 little bit. I like to see how the Kentucky kids 127 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:40.000 will do. Obviously, I want to see how Andrew Phillips does. 128 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:42.559 Like I've said before, I met that kid and me 129 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.679 he was like one. His father interned for me at 130 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:50.039 Channel twenty seven and then later in life bumped into 131 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:54.120 him at a UK practice. Here's my son, Andrew. One 132 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:57.279 other note before we go to break. Tubby Smith is 133 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:02.559 going to be honored at the SEC Tournament as an 134 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:06.600 SEC Legend. They'll be part of the Legends class past 135 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:11.720 greats from all fourteen SEC institutions. And you know what 136 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:17.000 he did here from ninety eight to oh seven, nca 137 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:24.159 Tournament champion, ten conference titles, five League, five Tournament, and 138 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:27.480 more than anything, carried himself like one of the great 139 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:31.600 gentlemen in all the college basketball. Tip of the BBI, 140 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:34.480 Captain w Smith. You're listening to the best of the 141 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.080 Big Blue Insider more to come here on six thirty 142 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:41.279 WLAP welcome back Dick Gabriel with you the best of 143 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:44.080 the Big Blue Insiders that wrap up vacation. On this 144 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.080 particular clip, we're going to take you back to that 145 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:48.679 day in March, where we talk about the fact that 146 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:52.600 Mitch Barnhardt and John Caliperi got together and decided that 147 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:55.960 Caliperi would remain, at least for the time being, the 148 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.600 head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Here it is the 149 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.679 best of the Big Blue and s you might be 150 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.759 able to say, it's well, we'll have to look back 151 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:06.519 and see if this was hump day for the John 152 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:10.080 Caliperry era, because, as we all know, last night, Mitch 153 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:15.120 Barnhardt announced via Twitter that John Calipery will be back 154 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.879 to coach again next year for the Wildcats, to the 155 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:21.440 chagrin of some to to relief for the coach, I'm certain, 156 00:10:22.279 --> 00:10:26.279 but it's got some people scratching their heads what happens next. 157 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:31.159 But we had to wait until Barnhart released the statement saying, 158 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:33.279 as we normally do at the end of every season, 159 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.720 Coach Caliperry and I have had conversations about the direction 160 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:41.120 of our men's basketball program. I can confirm you will 161 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:45.120 return for a sixteenth season as our head coach. Quick 162 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:49.320 note on the final part of that sixteenth season, and 163 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.720 I will never forget when I was talking to Tubby 164 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:55.120 Smith and I actually got to have conversations with Tubby. 165 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.159 He was head coach. I could just walk up, say 166 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:02.440 hello and have conversations with him. Imagine that. Tubby told 167 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:10.279 me that Lou Holtz told him that Kentucky basketball was 168 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:14.399 like Notre Dame football, said, basically, it's a coach killer. 169 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:20.000 It'll grind you up and spit you out. And Holts 170 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:21.679 was urging Tubby to get out of there. And this 171 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:27.080 was well before Tubby left. But I don't know. Caliperry's 172 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:30.679 built differently, I think than Holts. And and by the way, 173 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.759 Holts didn't leave Notre Dame because of the stress. He 174 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:37.639 left because they raised the academic standards back to what 175 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:40.440 they had been before he got there, and he took 176 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:43.320 advantage after they dropped the academic standards, brought in a 177 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:45.159 lot of I'm not saying they were bad kids, but 178 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.120 kids who ord nearly might not have gotten into Notre 179 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:50.320 Dame and won a national title and almost one another one. 180 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:53.399 Then they raised him back up over his strenuous objections 181 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.480 and he left. But he wasn't wrong when he was 182 00:11:56.519 --> 00:12:00.360 talking to Tubby. And you look at the before and 183 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.039 after pictures of Tubby from when he first got here, 184 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:04.840 and when he left Man, you could tell the stress 185 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:10.080 had taken a toll. It's hard to see how much 186 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:14.200 stress has taken a toll of Caliperi because I think 187 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.279 of that disconnect, we don't know him that well, at 188 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:20.720 least media fans. He has definitely changed, there's no question 189 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:26.080 about that. And I do think that the fans and 190 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:30.000 a lot of this, of course, comes from the stress 191 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:34.600 of losing, of premature exits. You know, you're gonna like 192 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:37.679 a guy when your team wins. You're not gonna like 193 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:41.759 a guy so much when your team loses, obviously, but 194 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:46.200 when he refuses to do a postgame radio show after 195 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:50.320 a loss, he refuses to talk to the media, meaning 196 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:54.840 to the fans indirectly. Prior to just about every game, 197 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:59.639 he didn't do much of a speech at Madness this year. 198 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:03.039 It was almost like, let's get this over with and 199 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:05.960 get on with it, you know. And that was one 200 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.039 instance where and I don't know if it's because Eric 201 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.639 Lindsay is gone. I think Eric wrote those speeches when 202 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:15.080 he was a sports information and They'm not pointing fingers 203 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:19.440 at anybody who's there, because if Calberry wanted a speech 204 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.440 like that, they could have done it for him. But 205 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:26.000 there just isn't the feeling right now toward the head coach, 206 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:28.840 as we all know. And yeah, so many people wanted 207 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.240 him gone, but as I've always said, a lot of 208 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:34.039 that is I'm angry and someone needs to be punished. 209 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:36.919 Why do you punish the coach? You fire him? The 210 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:40.080 question is what brings us to the top part of 211 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:47.240 Barnhardt's statement conversations about the direction of our men's basketball program. 212 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:52.600 And this could be a standard line in every release 213 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:57.320 about any coach at the university, successful or otherwise, but 214 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:01.519 it's particularly important now, of course, because the direction of 215 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:06.039 this basketball program is wrong. It's going in the wrong direction. 216 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:12.159 It is becoming irrelevant to the NCAA tournament. And as 217 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.879 somebody pointed out, and then this was tweeted and retweeted, 218 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:19.279 it's becoming Indiana basketball now. At least Kentucky's making the tournament. 219 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:23.320 But that's a terrible thing to say for Kentucky because, 220 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:26.360 as Cali Perry's pointed out, they don't raise banners for 221 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:31.360 getting to the tournament. And yes, Kentucky's won only eight 222 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.120 NCAA titles only and how many you havever many years 223 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:40.320 they've had this tournament. But Kentucky's been a contender so 224 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.159 many times, and in fact was a contender under Caliperi 225 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:46.320 each of his first five years. And you can make 226 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.080 the arguments should have won one, could have won another. 227 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.399 And I will still say the team that was knocked 228 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:57.679 out of the tournament by COVID, I don't say they 229 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:00.039 win it all caliberry. We would have won it. A 230 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:03.759 lot of good teams obviously, but that team was his 231 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:06.519 best team in my opinion, even better than this year's 232 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:11.480 team in the post I guess in the last five years, 233 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:17.879 I do believe that why Experience, Nick Richards, Emmanuel Quickly, 234 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.320 Neck and Neck for Player of the Year, Remember that 235 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:26.960 Neck and quick Who do you like Experience? Those were 236 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:31.120 good teams and they guarded. I had a passionate discussion 237 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:34.559 with Billy Rudgles and Aaron Gersha on Monday night. We 238 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.279 got to argue about who should start. You know, they 239 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:42.960 believed that Dillingham and Shepherd should have been starters from 240 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:47.639 early on. My contention is they were not good on 241 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:53.919 ball defenders and that Wagner and Justin Edwards gave them 242 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.080 more in that department as well as rebounding and part 243 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:01.320 of that too was Caliperry needed to keep them in 244 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:07.120 the lineup for their own good mental health. Let's say, 245 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:08.919 And you know one thing I didn't get into either 246 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.639 is I know Edwards is part of that clutch group 247 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:18.240 and Cali Perry needs that group when it comes to recruiting. 248 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:22.919 So it's all intertwined. But bottom line is I still 249 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:25.559 like the notion, as I said, of bringing those two 250 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:29.399 guys off the bench early, an injection of enthusiasm. They 251 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:32.000 change the game. You know, the other team is settled 252 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.720 into whatever it thinks it's doing. Next thing, you know, 253 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.840 these guys come in and change everything. Of course, it's 254 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:39.600 a mood point now because you know Dillingham's leaving. You 255 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.080 don't know so much about Reed Shepherd. We'll find out soon, 256 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:46.600 but also find out on the fifteenth of April when 257 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:50.879 that portal door swings open again, what happens and it 258 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:56.679 stays open for two weeks? Who comes, who goes? And 259 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.440 will Kentucky get older? As Cali Perry said on a 260 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:04.240 show money, we need to get older? How much older? 261 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:08.000 How many players can he bring in? He's got what 262 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:11.799 six freshmen coming in? What if Bradshaw comes back? What 263 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.759 if Shepherd comes back, which they should. They all should, really, 264 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.920 but it's who's ready to pay them. Because remember, you've 265 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:22.920 got that G League hanging there, so if you're not 266 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:25.440 ready for the NBA, you can go to the G 267 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:30.279 League and learn your craft. Oscar she Way's killing it 268 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:32.559 in the G League right now. Of course, he was 269 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:38.200 older and more mature, but that's what Kentucky needs, maturity 270 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.160 on their team. And I played a little bit of 271 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.160 this the other night. I was going to share with 272 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.680 you if you didn't hear it the first time. After 273 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:51.599 Kentucky's loss, the talking heads got together on both CBS 274 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.160 and ESPN and chopped it up. And Jay Wright, who 275 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.960 everybody seems to think would come back with the right price, 276 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.079 he ain't coming back. And by the way, two national 277 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.559 titles of Villanova a lot of dry spells, the same 278 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:07.640 kind of dry spell Kentucky has in Villanova. While it's 279 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:11.720 not Kentucky, it's close. When it comes to success in 280 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:17.400 the postseason, it doesn't have eight, but of late it's 281 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.960 been pretty damn good. But anyhow, everybody thinks that Jay 282 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:23.759 Rod not everybody, but a lot of people think Jay 283 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.759 Wright would take over Kentucky. He's not gonna do that. 284 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:30.039 But I think he's doing a great job on CBS. 285 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:34.000 And this is what he had to say about where 286 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:38.880 not just Kentucky, but teams that might be dependent too 287 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:43.559 much on young players. Where are they right now, especially 288 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:47.519 given the fact that it's now the portal and NIL 289 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:49.680 kind of ruling college sports. 290 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.400 An era of taking these young freshmen and trying to 291 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:56.160 play against older players is over. 292 00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:57.920 He did it. 293 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:00.440 I think he did a phenomenal job with the guys 294 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.680 all year, getting them to be as successful as they were. 295 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.960 You can see they're playing against grown men. The guys 296 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:09.839 on Kentucky will be far better pros than any of 297 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.079 these guys on Oakland or any of these guys in 298 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:16.119 the tournament, but they're not as good college basketball players. 299 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:19.079 It's at this point in their career. They're not as 300 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.920 disciplined yet as the guys from Oakland. And it's not 301 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.400 Coyle's fault. It's they're eighteen years old and they're in 302 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:27.400 this era where everyone's telling them how great they are. 303 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:29.599 Just show up in college and you're gonna win. It 304 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.200 doesn't happen that way. And the more the guys stay 305 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.400 in college because of NIL is going to be tougher. 306 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:36.839 For young teams like this to be successful. 307 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.960 And he was talking specifically about Kentucky there, and he's 308 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:45.799 absolutely right, absolutely right. You're listening to the best of 309 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:48.119 the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six 310 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.480 thirty wlap. Hey, it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening to 311 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.720 the best of the Big Blue Insider. Joining us now 312 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:59.400 is a friend and a blogger and an author and 313 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.440 a Kentucky man, John Wong Wong's whinings when you read 314 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:06.119 his bloggie also is a writer a reporter for Nolan 315 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.319 at Media Group. And that's right, isn't it Nolan Media Group. 316 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:10.759 Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dick. 317 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:13.319 It's always an honor to be on here with you. 318 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.039 And I'm not just saying that because you asked me. 319 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:19.640 I'm periodically, but I was. I was actually out of 320 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:22.359 town for about five weeks doing a little research and 321 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:25.200 writing on the West Coast and it was great to 322 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:27.599 be able to tune in to Dick Gabriel and dus 323 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:31.359 Lynn on the SEC Plus and you made me feel 324 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:34.119 like I was writing Kentucky brout Park even though I 325 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:37.160 was three thousand miles away. You guys do a great job. 326 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.119 Thank you. 327 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:39.759 You shot me at text when you were out there. 328 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:41.720 I didn't realize you were going back after the coach 329 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:44.119 of your daughter's out there? Are you did I hear 330 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.160 you say your researching? Are you writing another book? 331 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:47.599 Yeah? 332 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.000 I'm actually working on a little fiction novel, my debut 333 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:54.799 fiction novel. So part of the setting took place out there. 334 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:56.559 I wanted to do a little bit of research and 335 00:20:56.599 --> 00:20:57.960 make it a little bit more realistic. 336 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.519 Plus southern California pond trees. 337 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:04.480 When sky see sand, you can't beat it. 338 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.359 Is it a sports backdrop kind of book? Are you 339 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:11.200 completely straining away from your comfort zone? No? 340 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.039 No, We're all product of our experiences. And one of 341 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:17.640 the main characters in here is a sports. 342 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:18.359 Writer, believe it or not. 343 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:22.440 And the premise of the book is a hall of 344 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:25.839 fame basketball coach gets brutally murdered. 345 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.400 During the quarter of a championship season. 346 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:32.400 Yeah, and it's called get this Name, Image and Murder. 347 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:34.839 I got to strike while the iron is hot. I 348 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:35.319 love it. 349 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:38.559 I love it now. Is one of the ancillary characters 350 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:40.079 a dashing on orthodontist. 351 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.640 Perhaps, Well, you'll just have to wait and see. But 352 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:45.960 like I, like I said, we. 353 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.279 All write about things that we're familiar with. 354 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:49.240 So a lot of. 355 00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:52.519 These characters are composites. There's a lot of Big Gabriel 356 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:53.799 and this sports. 357 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:57.680 Writer got it well. And you've written books you also 358 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.359 kind of processed and what the better word is for 359 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:06.079 your father's books, your father's book that came out recently. 360 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:10.920 But what is it like now, John, to try to 361 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:14.160 fashion this story at a cent air when in the 362 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:17.240 past you've been able to listen to other people, talk 363 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:22.000 to other people, draw upon their experiences, and put fact 364 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:24.039 onto the page. 365 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:27.000 Yeah, it's completely different writing. 366 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:30.440 Fiction, boding nonfiction, completely different areas. And that's one of 367 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.359 the reasons why I wanted to kind of explore that 368 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:35.759 life is short. You want to take advantage of all 369 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:40.480 these opportunities, explore different options. But it was very, very different. 370 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.920 For example, in some of my other books, I had 371 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:45.839 to really focus in on making sure that I got 372 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:49.559 the scores correct and the facts and the figures and 373 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:52.960 the historical aspect of it. I include a lot of 374 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:55.920 history in this fiction book, But on the other hand, 375 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:58.799 I'm able to craft a lot more with it than 376 00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:02.279 I usually would with some can already happen that's already 377 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:06.839 written in stone. Plus if I miss getting a particular score. 378 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:08.519 Who cares, I'll just make it up. 379 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:12.319 It's fiction, right when in your many endeavors, when you're 380 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:15.480 wearing your journalist cap, you have to be accurate. You 381 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.039 have to strive to be as accurate as possible. And 382 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:19.480 in this case, who cares? 383 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:25.559 Right, Well, there are probably some people who will still care. 384 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:29.960 You don't want to purposely go mawaligning anybody. You want 385 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.640 to say bad things that are completely untrued. 386 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:36.279 But you can leave a lot of things to the imagination. 387 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:37.279 And I had a. 388 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.880 Lot of fun with this. I've always wanted to do a. 389 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:43.519 Fiction book, and I may still crash and burn. 390 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:45.640 But hopefully I built up enough of an audience that 391 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:50.519 people be interested. It's first and foremost it's a who 392 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:54.039 done it? It's a murder mystery. But on the other hand, 393 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:58.440 it's given me kind of a platform and I can 394 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:01.559 write an exposition on everything that I think. 395 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.759 Is wrong in the world of. 396 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:09.799 College sports right now, all this nil transfer portal onset 397 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:14.319 of sports gambling. I certainly give my personal take into 398 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:16.720 all of that, and it'll be interesting to see what 399 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:19.680 the responses are. I can speak through a lot of 400 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:20.720 the main characters. 401 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:24.200