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Speaker 2: It's our listeners, a great morning. Actually, Drew Franklin here,
Speaker 2: mchaus Bar and Grill. I'll be here from ten to noon.
Speaker 2: It's a busy, busy, busy busy morning. Today's show we're
Speaker 2: brought to you by TJ Smith, personal injury lawyer called TJ.
Speaker 2: He'll make a pay. We want to hear from you
Speaker 2: on the Clark's Pumping Show Pump. I can't talk Clark's
Speaker 2: Pumping Shop. Foon line eight five nine eight oh two
Speaker 2: two eight seven. We'll get the whiskey thief call of
Speaker 2: the day. We'll get the a vision autoglass text of
Speaker 2: the day if you send it to Amsterdam. I don't
Speaker 2: have that. But Matt's in Amsterdam with all the guys on.
Speaker 2: I'm here hosting the show. I have Jack Pilgrim, Steven
Speaker 2: Peak with me, and we're a little flustered because right
Speaker 2: as the show started we had some breaking news hit
Speaker 2: the button. Rick, Ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation.
Speaker 2: As of about five minutes ago, Jaden Quainton's, a projected
Speaker 2: top ten pick in the twenty twenty six NBA draft,
Speaker 2: has committed to your University of Kentucky Wildcats boys. How
Speaker 2: about that, Jack, You're smiling, just what everyone knows. Jack
Speaker 2: was working the phones as I was doing that intro.
Speaker 2: That's why I was a little flustered. Uh, making sure
Speaker 2: everything's good. Maybe even try to get him on the
Speaker 2: show later. But it is a this is a busy
Speaker 2: scene here at Ksbar right away, Jack Pilgrim, But we're
Speaker 2: starting off with huge news throw away the NCAA Championship.
Speaker 2: We'll get to that later. One shouting moment. We'll get
Speaker 2: to that later. Mark Pope added another player at the
Speaker 2: final second before we started the show, and he's a
Speaker 2: big one, a former commit under John Caliperry at Kentucky
Speaker 2: even considered sticking around after cal left, but he ended
Speaker 2: up at Arizona State last season for his freshman year.
Speaker 2: Suffered a torn a cl in February, but he's expected
Speaker 2: to still be back maybe on time, maybe a little
Speaker 2: bit late next season. Whatever happens with that, I think
Speaker 2: it is still an amazing get. I'm so flustered right now. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you were on the phone as I was doing my intro.
Speaker 2: That's why I was fumbling over my words.
Speaker 3: I had to hang up because I heard the intro
Speaker 3: music and was like, oh, craft were I don't want
Speaker 3: to get hot mic right now. But Mark Pope Lands's
Speaker 3: biggest fish yet, like we so much about, Like you know,
Speaker 3: he needs to can he land a high, high profile,
Speaker 3: blue chip, top five true recruit and you know some
Speaker 3: misses along the way, and you know some striking out
Speaker 3: on some high profile transfer targets, and you know that's
Speaker 3: always just kind of been lingering in the back of
Speaker 3: BBN's mind of you know, can he close on a true,
Speaker 3: legitimate talent. And Jayden Quaintans is that guy he wanted
Speaker 3: to be here the first cycle. In fact, it was
Speaker 3: funny now that I can kind of tell the story
Speaker 3: exactly one year ago today, I was the one that
Speaker 3: had to call Jayde's dad and at eleven forty five
Speaker 3: at night and say, hey, is John Cali Perry leaving
Speaker 3: for Arkansas? And he said, what are you talking about?
Speaker 3: I haven't heard anything to suggest that. So funny. Here
Speaker 3: we are exactly one year ago to the day. As
Speaker 3: we were waking up this time last year wondering what
Speaker 3: our future looked like and if Jayden was going to
Speaker 3: be a part of that. Now we know he's going
Speaker 3: to be a part of that, and it's pretty darn good.
Speaker 2: Incredible addition, let me set us back up. That was Jack.
Speaker 2: A lot of you know Jack from sources say he's
Speaker 2: hosted this show many times. It feels like a good
Speaker 2: time to have you on. I almost want to say,
Speaker 2: I knew this was gonna happen. That's what I picked
Speaker 2: you to do today. We'll get to that. Had another
Speaker 2: commitment yesterday. Of course, the college basketball season ended last night.
Speaker 2: But we also have Steven Peak here. Steven is ksr's videographer.
Speaker 2: He does some on camera stuff on ksr's YouTube channel,
Speaker 2: but a lot of time he's behind the camera when
Speaker 2: Jack and I are doing our rapid reactions. He does
Speaker 2: travel videos with Jack, goes to all the interviews, pretty
Speaker 2: much anything you've seen on ksr's YouTube channel. Steven's the
Speaker 2: one that made it happen. Steven, how's it feel to
Speaker 2: be on the radio show for the first time?
Speaker 4: Yeah, first time? Pretty special. I've been listening to this
Speaker 4: show since twenty eleven. So, I mean, this is a
Speaker 4: pretty big day for me. I'm not gonna lie. I'm
Speaker 4: really excited.
Speaker 2: Pretty unique circumstances, getting that commitment right away, right out
Speaker 2: of the gate. I mean, I think we need to
Speaker 2: have me on more often.
Speaker 4: Yeah, both, at least schedule it because yeah, certainly we're
Speaker 4: atty big days, pretty big day for Kentucky basketball.
Speaker 2: So Jack, what does this? What does this mean? All Right?
Speaker 2: So I mentioned that he had the ACL injury, suffered
Speaker 2: that in February. But you know, I'm not a doctor,
Speaker 2: but the Internet and WebMD tells me acls aren't what
Speaker 2: they were twenty years ago. You can bounce back from
Speaker 2: those a little quicker, recover a little better. I see
Speaker 2: some fans already trying to throw it aside, you know,
Speaker 2: complaining that this is a guy that coming off an injury.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is a top ten lottery pick. Come on, people,
Speaker 2: but what are we doing. We can't be happy, We
Speaker 2: just can't. Please, will you please give everyone some comfort
Speaker 2: at home that is worried about him coming off that
Speaker 2: injury and just what he can put essentially be when
Speaker 2: he gets back to full speed.
Speaker 3: Yeah, doctors are very optimistic that, you know. I don't
Speaker 3: think anyone is making a promise that he will be
Speaker 3: ready for day one of the college basketball season. That's
Speaker 3: the goal, that's the hope, that's the plan. But I
Speaker 3: think they just kind of acknowledge that, Hey, it's you know,
Speaker 3: ACL surgery mid March. Turnaround on that is pretty quick.
Speaker 3: But I think people are kind of losing sight of
Speaker 3: the fact that, you know, this is a big man
Speaker 3: coming off a torn ACL. Yes, he is a projected
Speaker 3: top five pick, but he also has to prove that
Speaker 3: he is a top five pick. And I think everybody
Speaker 3: around that this kid wants him to be able to
Speaker 3: prove that he is at because I think there will
Speaker 3: be NBA teams that have doubts about that. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I think there is a lot of optimism about him.
Speaker 3: Let's just let's just pen pencilhim in the early stages
Speaker 3: of the next of the next college basketball season that
Speaker 3: he will be playing for Kentucky.
Speaker 2: But the positives before he got hurt last year at
Speaker 2: Arizona State ten points a game, eight rebounds, two point
Speaker 2: six blocks. When he committed to Kentucky, you know, he
Speaker 2: seemed to really love Lexington. He was even introduced at
Speaker 2: Rupparina for a game. They brought him out at halftime,
Speaker 2: he gave us a big wave. Then, of course the
Speaker 2: coaching change happens, he reopens his recruitment and ends up
Speaker 2: at Arizona State. I think he did well for himself
Speaker 2: making that commitment there, heading out that direction. I think
Speaker 2: they paid him pretty well. But now heading back to
Speaker 2: be a cat in the word around him and you've
Speaker 2: been talking to the family. He seems to really like
Speaker 2: Pope's system and he might even gotten him at a
Speaker 2: discount just because he really likes the fit here and
Speaker 2: wants to be a part of Big Blue Nation again.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think that was a big part of it,
Speaker 3: is just watching what Amari Williams did this this past
Speaker 3: season and just knowing like, hey, if this kid from
Speaker 3: Drexel can come in and do what he did, and
Speaker 3: just elevate his you know, pro stock. Whether he's drafted
Speaker 3: or not, he has carved out a legitimate pro career
Speaker 3: because of how he played in Mark Pope's system. And
Speaker 3: they saw that and just like, man, imagine a legitimate
Speaker 3: pro playing in that system, in that same role, bringing
Speaker 3: the ball up the floor, making decisions, you know, having
Speaker 3: just the flexibility to kind of be the straw that
Speaker 3: stirs a drink in a you know, the biggest brand
Speaker 3: in college basketball that was really really a peeling. I
Speaker 3: think they understand that. They I think they realize what
Speaker 3: they were missing going to Arizona State, kind of being
Speaker 3: out of side, out of out of mind, where the
Speaker 3: highlights are unbelievable, the numbers were unbelievable, blocks, rebound, steals.
Speaker 3: I mean, he's kind of one of just those do
Speaker 3: it all threats, but he's kind of, you know, lost
Speaker 3: the national spotlight. I think they they loved what that
Speaker 3: was as a recruit, and I think they wanted to
Speaker 3: get that back. And what is absolutely his final season
Speaker 3: of college basketball.
Speaker 2: So city critics, you know, saying Pope can't get a
Speaker 2: big time talent. I mean, let's say this goes best
Speaker 2: case scenario. He has a good year ESPN dot Com
Speaker 2: right now hasn't projected fifth overall to the Rafters, Rafters, Raptors.
Speaker 2: Maybe we'll put him in the raptord. Let's do both
Speaker 2: Rafters and Raptors. But that's one thing another box. Pope
Speaker 2: needed to check that he can go out and get
Speaker 2: a lottery pick. You know, Caleb Wilson, you're in the conversation,
Speaker 2: missed that not looking good for Nate. Amen to the
Speaker 2: guys that are kind of projected in that in that
Speaker 2: uh that area, But I mean, what could this be
Speaker 2: for Pope if it really pans out that way. It's
Speaker 2: the it's the the proof of product.
Speaker 3: It's a it's a it's an ability to say, hey,
Speaker 3: we know he can do it with you know, good
Speaker 3: college basketball players. He can do it with portal talent,
Speaker 3: But what can he do with a legitimate superstar. What
Speaker 3: does it look like when Mark Pope can you know,
Speaker 3: get especially a superstar. It's kind of just a piece
Speaker 3: of clay that he can kind of mold and turn
Speaker 3: into this. I mean, he's a he's seventeen years old
Speaker 3: and already put up historic numbers, especially on the defensive end.
Speaker 3: As an all defensive team. Remember in his debut season,
Speaker 3: it airs on a state, so it's it's one of
Speaker 3: those deals where if this works out, this is a
Speaker 3: you know, high risk, high reward, but absolutely lucrative.
Speaker 2: Long term award from Art Pope on the recruiting drip.
Speaker 4: I think that's why it's like having the season they
Speaker 4: had this year was massive because it allows you to
Speaker 4: get a guy like jayde I mean, just to win
Speaker 4: the games that they're able to win.
Speaker 5: It.
Speaker 4: You saw Mariy Williams growth throughout the season, and I mean,
Speaker 4: I'm excited to see what Pope's gonna be able to
Speaker 4: do with Jane Quinn's because the raw talent is there.
Speaker 2: Heck yeah. And then Jack, you were kind of reporting,
Speaker 2: not kind of you were reporting this was ahead last
Speaker 2: night on kas board. Another reason to get on KS
Speaker 2: board KSR plus, but you were following it very closely.
Speaker 2: And is Auburn the official second place finisher? It sounded
Speaker 2: like he was down in Kentucky Auburn, which as someone
Speaker 2: who's petty, that just feels good to be too. Given
Speaker 2: Bruce Pearl and el Bruce is getting pretty desperate down
Speaker 2: there at Auburn. I worried he might overpay and we'd
Speaker 2: have to see quaintans in the conference. That would have
Speaker 2: been the worst him having a big, huge season and
Speaker 2: doing it for Auburn. But it sounds like, you know,
Speaker 2: Pope got one over on Bruce here and when in
Speaker 2: this recruitment, it.
Speaker 3: Really does feel like his first high school recruitment where
Speaker 3: Kentucky kind of solidified itself as the favorite, you know,
Speaker 3: the likely landing spot down the stretch. Then Missouri kind
Speaker 3: of came in last second, just kind of made them
Speaker 3: just think one extra second about it. And I think
Speaker 3: that was where Auburn was where I was told that
Speaker 3: he was actually ready to commit two nights ago. And
Speaker 3: like those early conversations went really really well with Mark Pope.
Speaker 3: They kind of had a not a great relationship after,
Speaker 3: you know, when Mark Pope first got the job. I
Speaker 3: think there was some you know, Mark Pope not wanting
Speaker 3: to get some of Col's leftovers and kind of wanting
Speaker 3: to just start fresh with his own players. And I
Speaker 3: think they kind of gave him grief for that to
Speaker 3: start the process and being like, hey, you didn't want
Speaker 3: us last time, but now, oh now you want us,
Speaker 3: And where the you know, we were one of your
Speaker 3: most important recruits. So I think that relationship kind of
Speaker 3: started off. They had some history together and they were
Speaker 3: able to very quickly fix that and they I think
Speaker 3: it was one of those deals where Bruce Pearl made
Speaker 3: the phone call and was just trying to see where
Speaker 3: things stood with Kentucky as the heavy favorite, kind of
Speaker 3: even things up, and then Mark Pope jumped back up
Speaker 3: and ended in a masterful job closing this one.
Speaker 2: So edit, Bruce put that in your barbecue Edit Kentucky
Speaker 2: naysayer's huge get for the Cats. How does this fit
Speaker 2: with the you know, Brandon Garrison Marino. You know, we
Speaker 2: thought they'd go shooter in this next commitment, not really
Speaker 2: a shooter, but a generational talent you're not turning down.
Speaker 2: But how would that kind of shake up with the
Speaker 2: pieces they already had there.
Speaker 3: It's now the ball is in Brandon's court to decide, Hey,
Speaker 3: do you want to still be a part of this.
Speaker 3: There's a fit they still want him. It's definitely not
Speaker 3: like a sign that you know we're gonna get some
Speaker 3: type of portal announcement from Garrison. I think it's one
Speaker 3: of those deals where you know he has to decide
Speaker 3: Mark Pope. It's in his best interest to build the
Speaker 3: most talented national title contending roster that he can. And
Speaker 3: I think, you know, if whatever the remaining Dominoes that
Speaker 3: fall after that, so be it.
Speaker 2: But it's my my.
Speaker 3: Read on it is that it is joining the joining
Speaker 3: forces with the guys they have the all five of
Speaker 3: the guys they plan on bringing back right now, that
Speaker 3: it's an addition, not a replacement.
Speaker 2: Well, you mentioned Domino's falling. I thought we'd be talking
Speaker 2: about a different Domino because he wasn't the only commitment
Speaker 2: we've added since last time I was here talking to
Speaker 2: you on KSR. Also took Mohammed du Bate from Alabama yesterday,
Speaker 2: another forward, similar in how he brings defense and some rebounding,
Speaker 2: but a little bit shorter than quaintance. How will he
Speaker 2: fit into this equation if.
Speaker 3: You can't beat him, take him. I think that was
Speaker 3: Mark Pope's a he was tired of. We saw this
Speaker 3: actually funny. We bring up Brandon Garrison, like Brandon Garrison
Speaker 3: torched BYU and in Mark Pope's first year in the
Speaker 3: Big twelve, and he said, I'm not having any of that.
Speaker 3: I'm going to have him be a part of what
Speaker 3: we're doing. A very similar situation where three times three
Speaker 3: laws us and he always always kind of the thorn
Speaker 3: in Kentucky side. And all three of those losses, the
Speaker 3: second one, even though he only scored four points, held
Speaker 3: Otega away to one for nine, shooting his first game
Speaker 3: in single figures as a Wildcat. So just to do
Speaker 3: it all defensive threat, a guy that you just kind
Speaker 3: of plug in and say, hey, we need a big stop,
Speaker 3: we need a you know, big finishing transition, We need
Speaker 3: somebody to come, you know, pull down a tough rebound.
Speaker 3: He's just kind of how how many times this past
Speaker 3: season did we say where's the physicality?
Speaker 2: Who?
Speaker 3: Why is nobody there for the offensive rebound? Like we're
Speaker 3: missing something, who's diving for the loose balls? That is modiabatte.
Speaker 3: That's exactly what this program needed. And yeah, he feels
Speaker 3: a very clear need for for Mark Pope that that
Speaker 3: was very clearly missing from last ye's roster.
Speaker 2: And we have a lot more to say about him.
Speaker 2: You know, he was gonna be the headliner. So acquaintance
Speaker 2: drops at the last second before we started the show.
Speaker 2: We'll take a break and talk more about that in
Speaker 2: the roster breakdown. Also, we're gonna be joined by Kentucky
Speaker 2: women's basketball's Tianni Key. She's gonna drop in before she
Speaker 2: heads to class. We've been talking a lot about the
Speaker 2: men's team, but we know ever really closed the book
Speaker 2: on the women's season. It's nice to her to stop by.
Speaker 2: She had a great breakout year with the Cats and
Speaker 2: she'll be back next year, so we'll talk to her
Speaker 2: about what's going on over there and her excitement for
Speaker 2: next season. Phoenix Stevens is here. He'll also jump in
Speaker 2: on the women's basketball discussion. But we got the dia Bonte,
Speaker 2: the Quainton's commitments, Kentucky's roster's shaking out, more portal targets.
Speaker 2: There was an NCAA champion last night. Kentucky was on
Speaker 2: one shining moment. It's a busy, busy morning here on KSR.
Speaker 2: Andrew Franklin filling in for Matt Jones, filling in for
Speaker 2: Ryan Lemon, filling in for Shannon the Dude, filling in
Speaker 2: for Mario Maitland. Everybody's gone, but I'm happy to have
Speaker 2: Jack Pilgrim and Steven Peak here. They made the trip
Speaker 2: to join me at KAOS Bar and We're gonna talk
Speaker 2: a lot of basketball today, a whole lot of basketball.
Speaker 2: We want to hear from you if you have any
Speaker 2: questions again on the Clark's Pumping Shop phone line. That's
Speaker 2: eight five nine two eight h two two eight seven.
Speaker 2: We'd love to hear from you. I left a lot
Speaker 2: of people on hold yesterday as Corey Price was dropping knowledge.
Speaker 2: But we'll run through the phone lines today. Is there's
Speaker 2: some there's some excitement as the roster is really shaking up,
Speaker 2: and there's even been some those way too early rankings
Speaker 2: that look good for Kentucky if you trust those opinions.
Speaker 2: But for right now, we'll take a quick break and
Speaker 2: we'll be right back. Welcome back to KSR. Drew Franklin
Speaker 2: here with Jack Pilgrim, Steven Peak. We are living the
Speaker 2: office meme where he's what is he? Oh my god,
Speaker 2: it's happening. We're just running around with our hands in
Speaker 2: the air as this place is on fire with news
Speaker 2: and excitement as Jaden and Quaintan's made the commitment. Uh,
Speaker 2: we're still efforting, getting Jayden on the phone later. We're hopeful,
Speaker 2: but it wasn't affirm Yes, Jack, you you you spoke
Speaker 2: to to his dad. I guess is it We're looking
Speaker 2: decent there top of the hour, on top of the hour, Well,
Speaker 2: just you know, pencil it in understandably. So he's a
Speaker 2: busy man this morning, even even even probably as good
Speaker 2: for you.
Speaker 3: He's going to be a rehab in an hour for
Speaker 3: fans that are fans that are wanting to know how
Speaker 3: how is he doing it?
Speaker 2: On schedule?
Speaker 3: Within a word, in an hour from now, he will
Speaker 3: be at the doctor getting get a check up.
Speaker 2: So and the last thing we want to do is
Speaker 2: in an interrupt rehab because the KSR haters will say
Speaker 2: we're trying to hurt Kentucky basketball by keeping him from
Speaker 2: fixing his knee.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 2: Still a great commit, but we got to keep giving.
Speaker 2: Do you bought to his Flowers six foot seven, two
Speaker 2: hundred and fifteen pounds forward from Alabama with two years left.
Speaker 2: Big defense guy, big rebounding guy, big toughness guy, a
Speaker 2: lot of what UK lacked. Unfortunately, we remember him well
Speaker 2: for shutting down otega Oway, which at the time we hated.
Speaker 2: That game in Tuscaloosa. He helped hold O Way to
Speaker 2: two points the first game of the season when Oway
Speaker 2: didn't have double digits. Wasn't a big fan of him then,
Speaker 2: but Jack now it's a piece, just another good piece
Speaker 2: that Pope needed and more excitement around the roster.
Speaker 3: Like I remember just this time last year talking about
Speaker 3: Lamont Butler when everybody's like, oh, well, look at his stats.
Speaker 3: He only averaged nine points a game and he shot
Speaker 3: sixty percent from the free throw line.
Speaker 2: Of how is that a guy? It's like, he just wins.
Speaker 3: Like we don't need to get into the you know,
Speaker 3: counting stats and looking at box scores and going, oh, well,
Speaker 3: he only had this. He wins games. He's He's a tough, gritty,
Speaker 3: hard nosed, physical guy that every team in college basketball needs.
Speaker 3: There's a reason why Alabama fans are heartbroken to see
Speaker 3: him leave like that. That was a fan favorite, a
Speaker 3: guy that they really kind of, you know, wanted to
Speaker 3: be a long term piece, a core piece under Natodes.
Speaker 3: He wanted an expanded role. He wanted to be a
Speaker 3: part of something bigger, and you'd be a greater part
Speaker 3: of that. So I think it's a great fit for Kentucky.
Speaker 3: And you know, I always gauge the opposing fan base
Speaker 3: if they're celebrating his departure, you go, I don't know
Speaker 3: if I love that their heartbroken that he's a Kentucky
Speaker 3: wild Cat, and for that I'm very happy.
Speaker 2: And he kind of split his time at the three
Speaker 2: and four there they were crowded there at forward. Grant
Speaker 2: Nelson was a big GIF for them. He had a
Speaker 2: big year. How do you see him fitting into the
Speaker 2: rotation at Kentucky now, especially d Quaintance who'll also be
Speaker 2: playing a little four and five.
Speaker 3: He's just kind of a plug and play, do it
Speaker 3: all kind of guy. If you need him at the three,
Speaker 3: you know, spot minutes of the three, if you need
Speaker 3: him at the four, you know, he's kind of a
Speaker 3: you know, plays bigger than his body, and I you know,
Speaker 3: could do some small ball five stuff and just throw
Speaker 3: him in and just see what happens. I did envision
Speaker 3: him playing, you know, twenty three twenty and I think
Speaker 3: that's the beauty of Mark Pope's system, where whether he's
Speaker 3: starting or coming off the bench, he's gonna play twenty
Speaker 3: to twenty five minutes a game and in a pretty
Speaker 3: expanded role. So I don't know if we want to
Speaker 3: pencil him in for any specific starting role, but you know,
Speaker 3: probably starting at the four. But I don't think that's
Speaker 3: necessarily locked him, but more so, the role that he's
Speaker 3: gonna plays is pretty.
Speaker 2: It's the toughness they needed. There are many times last
Speaker 2: season where there'd be a loose ball and we're yelling
Speaker 2: someone jump on that or a rebound, go get that.
Speaker 2: He's that type of guy. And Steven he's another lefty.
Speaker 2: Here we go. I mean, we're up to four lefties.
Speaker 2: We are loaded with lefties on this team. You know.
Speaker 4: I love talking with with our Brandon Ramsey, another KSR guy,
Speaker 4: who says that that that's worth like a couple of
Speaker 4: points because the defender will typically just jump the right
Speaker 4: hand because that's how they're used to. Everybody else is
Speaker 4: right handed, so that sounds like we're getting a lot
Speaker 4: of points.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 4: I mean, it has to be the most left handed
Speaker 4: team in Kentucky basketball history.
Speaker 3: We talked about it in on our Rapid Reaction. I
Speaker 3: think the only team that compares is the one with
Speaker 3: James Young, Julius Randall, that Jared Poulsen, Jared Beard Polson,
Speaker 3: and who was the one with Sam alone? I think
Speaker 3: Sam left throwing him in the max yet. But that's
Speaker 3: the only team that has been comparable to this lefty business.
Speaker 4: You know, you look at the roster right now, it
Speaker 4: looks really good. I think there's there's like one maybe
Speaker 4: one piece, like a good or like a coach, because
Speaker 4: somebody to replace Kobe Brea Jack. How do you feel
Speaker 4: about Yates and where things stand with that?
Speaker 3: I have I have heard the Washington noise. I know
Speaker 3: that that's kind of looming in the back of BBN's mind.
Speaker 3: But like I, for the last twenty four hours or so,
Speaker 3: there's a lot of private Kentucky buzz that has me
Speaker 3: feeling really good.
Speaker 2: I it's it's all about relationships.
Speaker 3: It's all about you know, years back, you know, talk
Speaker 3: conversations and being able to as Hey, remember when I
Speaker 3: first recruited you out of high school. That's where Alvin
Speaker 3: Brooks comes in. That's where Michael MacLean comes into, local
Speaker 3: Texas guys that are doing a lot of the heavy
Speaker 3: lifting in that one that. Yes, I know that there's
Speaker 3: some you know, public intrigue with the whole Quincy pondexter
Speaker 3: assistant coach. You know, is he going to go back
Speaker 3: to Washington and would Wesley Yates follow through all of
Speaker 3: that very public noise. There's a lot of private momentum
Speaker 3: for the Kentucky Wildcats, and that would wrap up, in
Speaker 3: my opinion, a national championship contending roster.
Speaker 2: Wow. That man. We'll spend a lot of the show
Speaker 2: breaking down the roster further and Jack's national championship pick.
Speaker 2: But our special guest Tianni Key just walked in. She
Speaker 2: has to get to class in a little bit, So
Speaker 2: I'm gonna bring on Phoenix Stevens, who covers Kentucky women's
Speaker 2: basketball for the rest of this covers Kentucky basketball, and
Speaker 2: I'm bringing on for the rest of the segment before
Speaker 2: we interview Tianni and let her get to class. I
Speaker 2: know it's weird to just move from this big excitement
Speaker 2: of the roster over to the women's sport, but they
Speaker 2: had a big year too, Steven, and you're right in
Speaker 2: the middle of it as our beat reporter. How did
Speaker 2: it fill to cover a team that you know, took
Speaker 2: over a twelve and twenty program and goes and wins
Speaker 2: twenty three games and has the year that they did well.
Speaker 6: I gotta say, Steven here of viw Oogford does a
Speaker 6: great job. But my name is Phoenix Fear. I think
Speaker 6: that every time Phoenix Steven Stevens R.
Speaker 2: Think if y'all can't tell him a little flustered by
Speaker 2: all the chaos that's been going on, Phoenix Stevens, Where'd
Speaker 2: I say, Stephen? Phoenix just said Steve.
Speaker 6: But you never know when the dominoes are gonna fall,
Speaker 6: so off call I was ready to tell of the Phoenix,
Speaker 6: but uh, yeah, it's been. It was a great year
Speaker 6: for Kentucky women's basketball, and you know, obviously a lot
Speaker 6: of things happened, you know, throughout the season. Yeah, you
Speaker 6: had some injuries before the season. You know, you never
Speaker 6: know really how things are gonna go for the team,
Speaker 6: especially with two great players like that being hurt. You know,
Speaker 6: how are they gonna make the make the mold fit.
Speaker 6: But they had a great year and so far, Transford
Speaker 6: Portal's doing really good. Got a really good commitment from
Speaker 6: Joseph Gilvin, a nice player there. But things are looking good,
Speaker 6: looking positive, should be on the upper trend.
Speaker 2: It might be awkward because she's sitting right in front
Speaker 2: of us, but I noticed yesterday you wrote a story
Speaker 2: about her, Tianni Key, not even knowing that she was
Speaker 2: gonna be on the guest on the show. Today, So
Speaker 2: it just kind of summarized that and then we'll of
Speaker 2: course get to talk to her in just a minute minute, Yeah,
Speaker 2: of course.
Speaker 6: Uh yeah, Like you said, I had no idea this
Speaker 6: was all happening today. But yeah, Tianni, Uh you know
Speaker 6: I wrote that yesterday. I wrote yesterday she had a
Speaker 6: really good junior year and to me, you know, maybe
Speaker 6: she'll maybe she'll say otherwise. I thought it was kind
Speaker 6: of refreshing to watch because her first two years North Carolina,
Speaker 6: you know, there's injury, just things going on. And finally,
Speaker 6: you know, in a fresh start at Kentucky was able
Speaker 6: to really get going, had this really great junior year.
Speaker 6: But I think next year, her senior year, Drew it
Speaker 6: could be a really big jump for her, you know,
Speaker 6: time for her to take the next step, maybe be
Speaker 6: an all SEC type player.
Speaker 2: Hey, Kentucky can take a big next step too. I mean,
Speaker 2: you lose George A. Moore and Dja Lawrence, two special
Speaker 2: players at guard, but still some returning pieces and that
Speaker 2: you witness at all, you were in all the games.
Speaker 2: That excitement was higher around Memorial Historic Memorial this season, right,
Speaker 2: historic Memorial call it seems what they want to call
Speaker 2: it now. But yeah, the excitement is great, and of
Speaker 2: course you have to you have to replace Georgia or
Speaker 2: it's hard to even say replace Georgia. I mean, two
Speaker 2: time All American did the you know, absolutely incredible here
Speaker 2: in your lone season at Kentucky. But yeah, you try
Speaker 2: to replace Georgia Amore and Dejah Lawrence and some of
Speaker 2: the players that hit the portal. But you know, you know,
Speaker 2: Josie Gilvin's a good start.
Speaker 6: You have a lot of more more commitments, you know,
Speaker 6: potentially lining up some really good players that they've contacted.
Speaker 6: You know, it's kind of like the men's side, you
Speaker 6: don't know to like they contact how strong are they
Speaker 6: actually in the mix there, But a lot of positive
Speaker 6: steam for the women's program and things should be moving forward.
Speaker 2: Awesome, Phoenix, I'm gonna stop calling you. Steven Sitting next
Speaker 2: to Steven is gonna mess with me all day. But
Speaker 2: I like your McLean County hat, right, Yeah, Western can
Speaker 2: shout out to mc clane County. Well, we're gonna take
Speaker 2: a break here, bring Tianni in so we can talk
Speaker 2: to her for a few minutes before she heads to class.
Speaker 2: You know, they're student athletes. They got to get to
Speaker 2: class and then we're gonna get right back to the
Speaker 2: excitement of the men's basketball roster. Still more portal movement,
Speaker 2: still shopping around. Jack still thinks we're gonna win the
Speaker 2: national championships. So uh, Drew here with Jack, Steven, Phoenix,
Speaker 2: and soon to be tianni Key as we fill in
Speaker 2: for the KSR guys. They're all on vacation. Matt's gone,
Speaker 2: Ryan's gone, Shannon's gone, Mario's gone, but we're still having
Speaker 2: a lot of fun here on KSR. We'll get to
Speaker 2: the phone lines as well, the Clark's pomp Chop phone
Speaker 2: line two eight to oh two two eight seven. Right now,
Speaker 2: we'll take a quick break and we'll be right back
Speaker 2: with tianni Key. I am not Matt Jones. I am
Speaker 2: Drew Franklin filling in for Matt Jones with my good
Speaker 2: friend Jack Pilgrim, Steven Peak, and Phoenix Stevens and we
Speaker 2: are now happy to be joined by our special guests.
Speaker 2: She is one of the breakout stars of Kentucky women's
Speaker 2: basketball's breakout season. She averaged eleven point four points, eight
Speaker 2: point three rebounds, and one point seven blocks per game.
Speaker 2: She is tianni Key and she is joining us now. Tiani,
Speaker 2: welcome to KSR.
Speaker 7: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: You know, I know the goal was still to be
Speaker 2: playing basketball last season, but you still had a great
Speaker 2: first year at Kentucky and Kenny Brooks first season. How
Speaker 2: did it feel to be a part of that big
Speaker 2: turnaround in Lexington that brought so much excitement to Historic Memorial?
Speaker 5: It was surreal, like it was huge just because what
Speaker 5: we were able to accomplish was such a quick turnaround.
Speaker 5: Knowing each other for less than a year. It was
Speaker 5: a super special year for us. I think it was
Speaker 5: a great foundation for what's going to keep building here
Speaker 5: in Kentucky.
Speaker 2: Your career got off to a little bit slower start.
Speaker 2: You had the ACL injury before your freshman year at
Speaker 2: North Carolina, had a couple of years coming back, but
Speaker 2: from a distance, it felt like a big breakout year
Speaker 2: for you with twelve double doubles. Did you feel like
Speaker 2: you really found your confidence at Kentucky and really turned
Speaker 2: things on this last season? Oh?
Speaker 5: Yeah, for sure. It was obviously the best year yet.
Speaker 5: I think especially off the court too, Everything was just great.
Speaker 5: Just being able to be given the opportunity to get
Speaker 5: out there and just showcase my abilities and be with
Speaker 5: the coaching staff and help everyone on the team, and
Speaker 5: then also with the coaching staff, like with the developmental piece.
Speaker 7: That was it was huge this summer. This past summer
Speaker 7: as well.
Speaker 2: Kentucky lacked some height for many years till brook Scott here.
Speaker 2: But then you know you. Clara strac Amelia called you
Speaker 2: the triplets, said you are like interchangeable inside on where
Speaker 2: you rebound block shots, even said you all had a
Speaker 2: special bond. Was there a special bond between you all
Speaker 2: that kind of added to some competitiveness and practice. What
Speaker 2: was it like playing that role?
Speaker 7: Oh yeah, it was, No, it was huge, It was huge.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 5: It made everything a lot more fun, especially like in practice,
Speaker 5: like you said, going at each other just you know,
Speaker 5: iron sharp as iron, so just learning from each other
Speaker 5: and and then going at each other was it was huge.
Speaker 5: Even off the court, it was really special too. We
Speaker 5: all got along pretty.
Speaker 6: Well to any I thought it was fitting you came
Speaker 6: on today because, like Drew said about that article busy yesterday,
Speaker 6: and I was just curious because you know, after, you know,
Speaker 6: after the season. I know, coaches a lot of times
Speaker 6: like the half converse sessons of players. You know, you
Speaker 6: know what I want to see from you next year.
Speaker 6: Has there been that conversation with coach Books yet? And
Speaker 6: if so, you know, what are the kind of things
Speaker 6: he wants to save from me in your senior season.
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, We've had that conversation the day after the
Speaker 5: game our last game. Basically it was just you know,
Speaker 5: just focusing on sharpening everything that. Yeah, there was a
Speaker 5: growth this year.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 5: It was a good season, but there's so much more
Speaker 5: that we need to work on, so much more they
Speaker 5: need to get better. So I think just focusing on
Speaker 5: like sharpening them all around skill set on the court,
Speaker 5: and then just strength purposes, getting a little put it
Speaker 5: in a little pounds.
Speaker 2: So yeah, one of my favorite status is as a team,
Speaker 2: you all led the country in blocks, but you and
Speaker 2: Clara Strack average four point one blocks just between the
Speaker 2: two of you per game, and that was more than
Speaker 2: three hundred Division one basketball teams. Do you get into rhythm,
Speaker 2: blocking shots and win? Our opponents gonna stop bringing this
Speaker 2: week stuff inside Listen.
Speaker 7: I don't think they'll stop.
Speaker 5: They obviously haven't learned, but I think it was huge
Speaker 5: just because, like you said earlier, we're all interchangeable, so
Speaker 5: like if one of us is out on the perimeter
Speaker 5: or something like that, you know, when somebody's got your back,
Speaker 5: you know, it just allows us to play more connected,
Speaker 5: more together, and be more aggressive defensively.
Speaker 7: So I think it was it was huge. It was
Speaker 7: a big part of us and.
Speaker 2: You were ranked seventh in the SEC eight point one
Speaker 2: rebounds per game with rebound? Is that more effort technique?
Speaker 2: You know, walk us through the strategy of how you're
Speaker 2: able to rebound so well with that prows.
Speaker 5: It's a little bit of both. I'm telling you, they
Speaker 5: you gotta you gotta work for them for sure. That
Speaker 5: nothing comes easy. Obviously there's a lot of good rebounders
Speaker 5: in the secs. So I think it's just it's a
Speaker 5: lot of positioning and then mostly effort, really like just
Speaker 5: going to get it and put it, get in your
Speaker 5: hands on it and being strong with it because there's
Speaker 5: a lot of big battling down there for sure.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, what feels better blocking a shot or getting
Speaker 2: an offensive rebound to keep the possession alive?
Speaker 7: Oh that's a good question. That's a tough one. I'd say.
Speaker 5: There's there's nothing like a block and a shot, though,
Speaker 5: you know, it really gets everybody going, the whole team really.
Speaker 6: Now, Towny Drew and I we're both big Tennessee haters,
Speaker 6: you know big. Oh yes, we're massive, massive Tennessee haters. Now,
Speaker 6: I want to preface this by saying, your sister to
Speaker 6: Mari played at Tennessee. I just want to ask when
Speaker 6: you all beat them by a million earlier this season?
Speaker 6: You know, was there was there any friendly banter between
Speaker 6: the two of you or you know what, you know,
Speaker 6: what's her sulking and the sadness good enough for you?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 7: I was pretty humble about it. I was. I was
Speaker 7: pretty nice, but no, it was. It was.
Speaker 5: It was fun seeing seeing her reaction though, just I
Speaker 5: mean that game was fun too.
Speaker 7: Just it was.
Speaker 5: It was funny because we were the week before trying
Speaker 5: to decide, Like we were kept talking to her like
Speaker 5: what are you wearing? Where are you sitting? And she
Speaker 5: didn't know, and I was like, girl, just put on blue,
Speaker 5: like come on it. She had a hat that was
Speaker 5: blue and orange. So a little bit but still the
Speaker 5: wind was the wind was good enough for me for sure.
Speaker 2: Tianni.
Speaker 3: We're talking about rivals, just the Louisville rivalry means so
Speaker 3: much to this area being a part of that, and
Speaker 3: you know just how exciting that one was. What was
Speaker 3: that experience like for you?
Speaker 7: Oh, it was huge. It was really fun.
Speaker 5: I think that was like our first big, big matchup really,
Speaker 5: so just seeing all of us come together in like
Speaker 5: a hard fog game like that, it was. It was
Speaker 5: a huge push her momentum for our season.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 7: It was amazing. The rivalry is pretty good.
Speaker 2: It was one of your best games of the season.
Speaker 2: Seventeen points, non rebounds. When you have a big game
Speaker 2: like that, how much better does it feel knowing it's
Speaker 2: against a rival team.
Speaker 7: No, it was huge.
Speaker 5: It was definitely a good start to the rival me
Speaker 5: and I'm excited for the next one.
Speaker 6: Now Drew's actually you know, Drew met. They've had Georgia
Speaker 6: Aymore on this show multiple times. Just curious what's it
Speaker 6: like playing with her, you know, in her one season, Lexington,
Speaker 6: I'm in great talent, obviously great on the show. What
Speaker 6: was it like being around Georgia Aymore?
Speaker 5: She's unreal, like one of a kind, truly, like a
Speaker 5: generational talent person.
Speaker 7: She's amazing.
Speaker 5: So it was honestly so grateful, such a blessing, to
Speaker 5: be around her, just even off the court, learning from
Speaker 5: her on the court, her work ethic, like, she's a
Speaker 5: phenomenal person.
Speaker 7: So it was it was super.
Speaker 2: The two times we had here, sitting up here with us,
Speaker 2: she was really funny, Like I think she was gonna
Speaker 2: take all of our jobs. I know she's obviously very
Speaker 2: serious and competitive to get to where she is, But
Speaker 2: what is she like behind the scenes? Is she is
Speaker 2: she cutting up a little bit?
Speaker 5: Oh? Absolutely, George is always cracking jokes. She's the funniest
Speaker 5: people I've ever met. She's it's got like a like
Speaker 5: a slick little banter tour. So it's it's fun. She's hilarious.
Speaker 2: What's one of your favorite off the court memories with
Speaker 2: your teammates this this season, whether just be out having
Speaker 2: fun or Yeah.
Speaker 5: So when we when we first got here, like in
Speaker 5: the summer, there wasn't much to do, so we all
Speaker 5: decided to go to karaoke. This was like the one,
Speaker 5: the one big thing we'd done together.
Speaker 7: It was it was hilarious. We everybody was laughing.
Speaker 5: It was a great time, and we are horrible singers,
Speaker 5: so it was it made it even better to a
Speaker 5: karaoke song. Oh, I think I did. Me and a
Speaker 5: Milia we did one together. We it was a sexy
Speaker 5: red song.
Speaker 2: So you didn't do solo performances. You got up there
Speaker 2: with your with your teammates.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, and it made it so much better because
Speaker 5: we were like going off each other.
Speaker 2: Was great. Phoenix mentioned your sister Tennessee Ball, which we'll
Speaker 2: live with that. But what kind of impact did she
Speaker 2: have on your career and getting you to this point
Speaker 2: being a little bit older than you.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, she was huge, Like you know, she really
Speaker 5: paved the way, just like just showing me like what
Speaker 5: it takes to get there and like you know, be
Speaker 5: successful at such a high level.
Speaker 7: It was. She was a huge piece.
Speaker 6: Now, Tiana, we spend a lot of time talking about
Speaker 6: coach Brooks, and you know, rightfully, so he's done a
Speaker 6: great job here, But I think the assistants deserve a
Speaker 6: little bit of love to coach Josh Peterson. I know
Speaker 6: he works with you directly. What's it been like working
Speaker 6: with him kind of day in and day out?
Speaker 7: Amazing?
Speaker 5: He brings such a like a refreshing energy and just
Speaker 5: always reminding reminding me that like you know, be like
Speaker 5: have gratitude and stuff.
Speaker 2: Like that.
Speaker 7: So he's he's a great, great person.
Speaker 5: It's been such a great year working with him and
Speaker 5: learning from him, and just every day has been really
Speaker 5: really good.
Speaker 2: We mentioned Georgia her and Djel Lawrence. You're losing two
Speaker 2: great leaders there and you were a big role, had
Speaker 2: a big role last year, but you see yourself stepping
Speaker 2: into more of a leadership role to kind of help
Speaker 2: fill those shoes.
Speaker 5: Oh, absolutely, just being like now, like you said in
Speaker 5: my senior year, I think it'll be a huge piece
Speaker 5: just being able to lead and you know, gott having
Speaker 5: a year under my belt under the coaching staff, I
Speaker 5: think it'll be huge for all the people that we
Speaker 5: bring in freshmen included.
Speaker 2: What's something you want to check off your your bucket
Speaker 2: list before your college career? In still got some time left,
Speaker 2: but what's what's the main goal?
Speaker 7: I want to get a ring?
Speaker 5: For sure, it would be SEC national title both. I
Speaker 5: think that that'll be a huge piece. That's definitely a goal.
Speaker 2: What do you think you and maybe the team will
Speaker 2: need to do to kind of take that next step.
Speaker 2: You already took a huge step for the program in
Speaker 2: your first year here with Kenny Brooks first year, but
Speaker 2: what do you think needs to happen to go next,
Speaker 2: Maybe something you're working on in particularly, or any pieces
Speaker 2: you need to add.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think definitely just firing on all cylinders. Just
Speaker 5: being more consistent, I think is something that I'm definitely
Speaker 5: focusing on, just you know, all the little things. I
Speaker 5: think some of those games we lost, the little things
Speaker 5: are what separated them and us. So I think that'll
Speaker 5: be a huge focus this year, especially as we bring
Speaker 5: in a lot of new faces.
Speaker 2: What class are we keeping you from right now? I
Speaker 2: noticed you said we could take our time.
Speaker 5: It's a sponsorships class. A sales and sponsorhip class. Yeah,
Speaker 5: it's fine.
Speaker 2: Maybe we've learned a few and I al things.
Speaker 7: Is there right?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Well, we appreciate you joining us today. It's been great
Speaker 2: to talk to you. It's fun watching you last season.
Speaker 2: Love having you as a cat, got you out of
Speaker 2: North Carolina where you need to be here, kept you
Speaker 2: away from Tennessee, where your sister went. It's been a
Speaker 2: pleasure watching you through one year at Kentucky and can't
Speaker 2: wait to see what you have next. And we appreciate
Speaker 2: you being on with us today. Thanks a lot. All right, guys,
Speaker 2: we'll take a quick break here or no, we got
Speaker 2: do we need a break? We got a call Rick,
Speaker 2: what's going on? We've got all we can take a break.
Speaker 2: Let's go and take a quick break. We got to reset.
Speaker 2: I think Jack has locked in maybe more acquaintance news,
Speaker 2: so he's working the phone here. We'll keep Phoenix on
Speaker 2: for a few more minutes. But thanks again. It's to
Speaker 2: Yanni Key. We'll be right back after this quick break.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to a chaotic edition of Kentucky Sports Radio.
Speaker 2: Drew Franklin here filling in for the whole crew. Just
Speaker 2: had Tianni Key on the show. We're gonna get back
Speaker 2: to the men's team's roster, updates, portal shopping. We still
Speaker 2: haven't even mentioned the National Championship game last night. I
Speaker 2: thought i'd lead with that, but we've had a lot
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Speaker 2: Before we get Phoenix out of here, what'd you think
Speaker 2: of that Tiani Key interview? Like I said, you wrote
Speaker 2: a story about her yesterday and then who you are
Speaker 2: talking to her on the show?
Speaker 6: Yeah, Tiani's always She's always been great on the mic
Speaker 6: in front of the camera. I remember we didn't like
Speaker 6: kind of I think it was when trying to thank
Speaker 6: heading into the Liberty Game, the NCAA tournament.
Speaker 2: We did like locker room interviews with them. She was great.
Speaker 6: She was awesome, So no surprise having te on on
Speaker 6: the radio. She does a great job with the interview there.
Speaker 6: Really like how she you know, was like tomorrow you're
Speaker 6: wearing blue gushdarn it. You know, I don't care if
Speaker 6: he went to Tennessee, were in blue.
Speaker 2: I like that. It's got to be a fun rivalry
Speaker 2: for those two. I'm glad she she uh picked the
Speaker 2: right side in that Leah. Of course, our hills we
Speaker 2: don't really like them either. But you no North Carolina native.
Speaker 2: She was all American in high school. I was a
Speaker 2: big get. Kentucky got her and then she followed through
Speaker 2: last season, had a great year and I think there's
Speaker 2: still a lot more ahead. It was fun to hear
Speaker 2: from her. Jack, where are we were still efforting the
Speaker 2: phone lines on our on our boy Jayden Uh eleven am?
Speaker 2: Is it confirmed? Jadan Quaints will be on at the
Speaker 2: top of the hour. Look at look at us just
Speaker 2: getting it done. You know, Matt Ryan Shannon. They're gonna
Speaker 2: come back and not have a job. I'm worried about it.
Speaker 2: That's a goal. I mean the moment we took over
Speaker 2: the mics, the portal, we started getting some movement with
Speaker 2: the roster. Last week it was all speculation and the
Speaker 2: sky's falling. Now it's all coming together. We'll way up
Speaker 2: to twelve eleven today. Twelve pieces, like I mean all pieces.
Speaker 2: Think of where we were last week and the panic
Speaker 2: and just the oh my sky is falling. Mark Pope
Speaker 2: can't close.
Speaker 3: Like the roster's done, like you add one more piece
Speaker 3: and it's like, okay, let's roll the balls out. Now
Speaker 3: we have months to kill with talking points. Now we're
Speaker 3: like okay, well now now what.
Speaker 4: So expectations now have have risen dramatically. I mean, I
Speaker 4: feel like this year there was a lot of he
Speaker 4: had only a few weeks to put together a team.
Speaker 4: There's a lot of uh, there's injuries or stuff like that.
Speaker 4: And this year, for like, expectations are going right back
Speaker 4: to where Kentucky's got to get a one seed.
Speaker 2: Again.
Speaker 4: We haven't had a one seatsin is twenty fifteen. We
Speaker 4: have to get one of those top four seeds.
Speaker 2: It has to happen.
Speaker 4: If it doesn't happen next year, like, it's got to
Speaker 4: happen soon because that's that's the longest drought in school
Speaker 4: history by like four years.
Speaker 2: I gotta bring the mood down.
Speaker 4: I'm just saying, like this, this team has to we
Speaker 4: have to get back to that. You look at who
Speaker 4: wins national championships. It's since like twenty ten, it's been
Speaker 4: all one seeds or Yukon or Villanova won the buzzer.
Speaker 4: So you if you're gonna the goal at Kentucky is
Speaker 4: to win the national title. That is the goal, right,
Speaker 4: I mean it's not like the expectation every year, but
Speaker 4: it is the goal.
Speaker 2: This is a good year to prove that one seeds
Speaker 2: can make it far with all of them in the
Speaker 2: final four.
Speaker 4: Right, right, And that's happened with one another well twice
Speaker 4: two thousand and eight, I think. But yeah, but if
Speaker 4: you are a one seed, you are there's a like
Speaker 4: forty percent chance of getting to the final four, the
Speaker 4: highest and of all the other seeds obviously, but this
Speaker 4: is the kind of roster jack when you say that
Speaker 4: that could absolutely do that.
Speaker 3: They they a lot of the flaws that last year's
Speaker 3: team did, like a lot they were masked, masked with
Speaker 3: good coaching and you know, shot making and kind of
Speaker 3: just raw skill allowed for the you know, the floor
Speaker 3: to be a lot higher than maybe it probably should
Speaker 3: have been. But with the pieces they have added, you
Speaker 3: can say truly that the ceiling has been elevated as well.
Speaker 3: Where Like you, obviously we're Kentucky fans, we wanted a
Speaker 3: dream big and say this is you know, Kentucky goes
Speaker 3: to the Final four every single year and all that.
Speaker 3: But when Pope built last year's roster, you went into
Speaker 3: it saying, hey, a Sweet sixteen would be a really
Speaker 3: awesome year for this just to get the monkey off
Speaker 3: our back with the first weekend and all that stuff.
Speaker 3: There's a lot that just kind of went into just
Speaker 3: getting some of the old demons out more than anything.
Speaker 3: But if you look at this roster, assuming you can
Speaker 3: added somebody like Wesley Yates to fill that you know,
Speaker 3: sharpshooting role, replacing Kobe Brea, like, you can look at
Speaker 3: this roster saying there's no reason why this team can't
Speaker 3: go to a Final four, And I think that's what
Speaker 3: Kentucky fans need.
Speaker 2: Rick, we better get to some phone calls. I've left
Speaker 2: them on hold for a while, which I promised I
Speaker 2: wouldn't do, but it's been very noosy and we had
Speaker 2: Tianni key. So let's go to the Clark's Pumping Shop
Speaker 2: phone line. Who's up first? Okay, got Rusty up first? Rusty,
Speaker 2: thanks for waiting.
Speaker 8: What's up, hey, Drew, Jack Stephen? Hey got a question?
Speaker 8: So last year, you know, we kind of had the
Speaker 8: same situation without Jaden obviously where we're all very positive,
Speaker 8: but what ended up being is the hard games were
Speaker 8: won by defense. Gonzaga do things like that. So Jack,
Speaker 8: I guess this is for you. What is our main
Speaker 8: focus with the current roster? If nobody changes, we don't
Speaker 8: get anybody else, like who is our defensive guy? Who's
Speaker 8: our Lamont Butler on this team? So I'll hang up
Speaker 8: and listen.
Speaker 2: Thanks, we appreciate the call. It's a great question.
Speaker 3: Jaden Quaint's had one of the best block rates, a
Speaker 3: historic block rate for his age. It's seventeen years old,
Speaker 3: playing rookie college basketball, younger than you know, who's the
Speaker 3: youngest player in college basketball this past season and put
Speaker 3: up historic block rates. So, you know, we talked a
Speaker 3: lot about, you know, Amari Williams being the three time
Speaker 3: CAA Defensive Player of the Year, but still kind of
Speaker 3: wondered why he wasn't the shot blocking presence he necessarily
Speaker 3: could have been with the tools, what his tools suggested
Speaker 3: he could have been. That's what Jadan Quaints is, so
Speaker 3: you look for him to anchor that obviously modi bat
Speaker 3: that's exactly what he brings to the table. I mean,
Speaker 3: if you you're wondering where the defense comes from. Let's
Speaker 3: go to the guy that stopped you know, one of
Speaker 3: the all time streaks for Kentucky basketball with double digit
Speaker 3: scoring in Otega oh Way, he was the guy that
Speaker 3: ended that.
Speaker 2: So those two just the.
Speaker 3: Last forty eight hours for Kentucky basketball, I'd say that
Speaker 3: those uh, that's where that's where you look for defense.
Speaker 2: And obviously some of the other guys have tools.
Speaker 3: Otaga is a good defender and if you can get
Speaker 3: him back, So yeah, there's definitely a lot of defensive
Speaker 3: upside with the.
Speaker 2: Right Mormon mamba. Oh Mormon Williams too, I mean Mormon mamba.
Speaker 2: Colin Chandler showed some defense even before he really broke
Speaker 2: out offensively earlier in the season. He had he was
Speaker 2: pretty hands. He had a lot of steals. Uh, played
Speaker 2: a big role in the hate Stanate out loud. The
Speaker 2: Arkansas game didn't go well, but in that second half
Speaker 2: he should helped shut down John L. Davis.
Speaker 4: That's the one player I'm really looking forward to. I
Speaker 4: think we are kind of sleeping on what he's going
Speaker 4: to be able to bring next year. You saw him
Speaker 4: kind of get a little more comfortable with his game
Speaker 4: there late in the season and started to have some
Speaker 4: confidence that. I mean, you know, we don't have a
Speaker 4: whole lot of high it's from that Tennessee game, but
Speaker 4: that was a big three hit at the at the
Speaker 4: end of the half, and he hit some big shots
Speaker 4: against Missouri also. I mean, like he's somebody that I
Speaker 4: really think is going to contribute a lot next year.
Speaker 4: He's gonna be a twenty two year old sophomore, twenty
Speaker 4: one year old sophomore, whatever, whatever.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be. I mean, he'll be married, he'll be married.
Speaker 3: I mean he's settling down, you know, twenty one years old.
Speaker 2: Rick. Let's get one more in before the break. Okay,
Speaker 2: we have Adrian up next. Adrian, thanks for calling in.
Speaker 2: What's up, Hey, good morning.
Speaker 9: How are you all doing.
Speaker 2: We are excellent. Thanks for asking.
Speaker 9: I guess the question is you can all chip in,
Speaker 9: But I guess this question is more for Jack. Are
Speaker 9: we still in the running for Native Mint? And what
Speaker 9: about the kid from Robert Morris that's from Spain that
Speaker 9: we were kind of looking at.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, great questions. I would I would probably put,
Speaker 3: you know, put that on hold. I do not think that,
Speaker 3: you know, I think Nata ment. I think that ship
Speaker 3: has sailed and I think this is this Jaden Quainton's
Speaker 3: edition is kind of the writing on the wall there.
Speaker 2: But you know, we'll see.
Speaker 3: With Olivarro, obviously, I think him kind of putting his
Speaker 3: recruitment on hold. And you know, if if you were
Speaker 3: to get a surprise decommitment or enter the transfer portal
Speaker 3: with a Brandon Garrison or something, I think that's something
Speaker 3: they would reevaluate. But until then, I think the guys
Speaker 3: they have right now in the front court of the guys,
Speaker 3: they're very comfortable with going into next season.
Speaker 2: I was pretty excited about the Big Spaniards. He still
Speaker 2: in Spain.
Speaker 3: Did he come back if we heard? If he's not,
Speaker 3: I have not, I have not heard. I think they
Speaker 3: thought he was coming back and did not come back yesterday.
Speaker 3: But you know, I we're pretty excited.
Speaker 2: Board. We got to introduce him at reparating again. I
Speaker 2: love that moment when he when he popped in and
Speaker 2: gave everybody a big wave. Let's run him back next season,
Speaker 2: but we'll be running it back in the second hour.
Speaker 2: Drew Franklin, Jack Pilgrim, Steven Peak, Thanks to Phoenix Stevens
Speaker 2: and tianni Key for joining us talk a little women's
Speaker 2: basketball in the middle of all this. We also want
Speaker 2: to hear from you on the Clark's Pumping Shop phone
Speaker 2: line eight five nine two eight zero two two eight seven.
Speaker 2: We're having lots of fun on a Newsy Day. We'll
Speaker 2: talk about the championship when we get back. This is
Speaker 2: ks R.