KSR - 2024-04-29- KSR - Hour 2

Episode Date: April 29, 2024

Matt, Ryan, Drew, and Shannon are joined by UK Basketball Head Coach Mark Pope. Also, NFL Draft talk and the latest news from the weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I've even used Stockton Mortgage myself on my own home loan. For your home loan needs, Stockton.com and click Get Started. Stockton Mortgage, NMLS 8259 Equal Housing Lender, NMLS Consumer Access.org. Welcome to Hour 2 of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones. Welcome, everyone, Kentucky Sports Radio here live at KS Bar and Grill. We are now happy to be joined on the phone by the new coach. Only two weeks into the job may seem like longer.

Mark Pope, Mark, congrats. and thank you for your first appearance here on KSR. Matt, I'm happy to be on, man. Tons of love for you and Ryan and Drew and the whole crew. Super great for what you guys do. Well, thank you very much. First of all, you know, I've heard you do some of your intro interviews, so I won't repeat those questions.

You mind if we talk some of the details that fans I know are interested in? Are you good with that? Let's get in the wheeves, man. That's what makes Kentucky basketball great. I love it. All right. Well, let's start with your staff. You added, I think four of the five members have been announced.

Looks like a couple, really, I know are focused for you on recruiting. We've got Mark Fox, who I know, and then the Cody that you brought from BYU. Tell people what they're getting in your staff. I love the staff so far. It's probably the most eclectic staff I've had for sure. and I think guys they're not just bringing unique strengths and unique dimensions to the staff, but also bringing them from wildly different categories. I think the breadth of what we have on the staff has got me super excited.

We've actually, the four of us have only been together now for, I don't know, 72 hours, maybe all together in the same room. And so it's, and what's nice is we've been recruiting so hard that we're actually spending a lot of time together in situations where it's just is just flowing conversation and um i dig it man i'm telling you uh i was in the room with um with coach figure uh long time long time uh coaching partner with me and then uh jason hart who uh you know we played together with Milwaukee bucks i've known it forever and love him and watching those two personalities just like bounce off each other the room was electric and I'm just like this and I was sitting back and I'm like yep this is exactly

what this is supposed to be those just that's one example of just those guys making each other better and I love it so I dig the vibe man right now it's it's got to be great like our job is to be great and and in the early early early stages I'm like there's some synergy here with these guys that's going to be really really special it's interesting to say you got to be great one of the things I've really liked is it feels like you've embraced the call to this is Kentucky it's another level and I got to reach that am I right about that yes 100 percent I mean this is this is this is this is the job this is the this is the best job of college basketball it's the most demanding job in college basketball it's it's the mecca of

college basketball there's nowhere like it and and with that comes this deal is like hey you either got to get the job done or you're not you know there's no there's no you know there's no second place, guys. It's just the reality of this job. I know full well what this is. I think I've shared this a couple times, but you know, 28 years ago, when I was walking the whole

length of the court to go shoot free throws, and the only thing that entered my mind is if I don't make these free throws, I will never be allowed to cross the state line into Kentucky again. Literally with fear from physical harm, that was the only fact going through my mind. I get it. Like, we say this all the time, but

we understand the assignment, and we're embracing it and it's terrifying and that makes it beautiful. That's why this place is special. That's why we're just so elated to be here. Let's talk roster. I know you, there are some things you can and can't talk about, so I'll just do big picture. You have by my count six guys now on your roster for next year. How do you feel about what you have? How do you feel about what you're trying to get? You feel good about these next couple weeks. And do you expect to fill up all 13 slots. Yes, so you're smarter than me. I'm after I'm going to take those questions one

at a time. So I'm really excited about where we are today. I think that it's a little bit the way I feel about the staff. You know, this is really artistic. I think putting together a staff and putting together a roster have a similar in this. Very artistic. It is puzzle pieces and with every new piece, it kind of changes the picture where you have to readjust the next, you know, what you're looking for in the next piece. And you don't have, there's so many factors you don't have control of. You don't have control over timing sometimes about when a player is going to commit. You don't always have control over, you know, if he's going to commit. And so, you know, on our big board right now, we're actually working with 29 guys that we've really, really zeroed in on.

and every time somebody breaks a little bit in our direction or maybe fades a little bit out of our direction as we do more research and more reconnaissance and hear more information about guys and how they're built, it doesn't just change the picture for that player. It changes the picture for all 20, you know, almost 30 guys. And so I'm elated with where we are right now.

We got a ton of work to do. We feel like we're really close in a lot of areas. I feel like we're spending an inordinate amount of time as a staff. Late nights, early mornings, kind of like we just keep talking it through, talking through, talking through, just make sure that we get the right collection, and we're happy with where we are right now and excited about the coming weeks. Do you think you'll fill up the entire, will you use all 13 scholarships? You know, we're going to see.

So I'll give you an example of the way that we work. So I knew that we had to put this staff together really, really fast, okay? And I kind of zeroed in on a short list of guys and ended up with actually the four guys that I was desperate to get. And then we're taking a little pause. I have some more people to add to this staff, but I need to take a little pause right now and just kind of see how our pieces are fitting together. And then we'll go light speed again. But it's like a surge of a pause where you just get a chance. to breathe it in and see exactly where you are and what you need.

And so I imagine that as we get to that place, there will be a lot of things that would come into play. For example, I don't know how fast we can get to 10 or 11 or 12, but if we get there before this draft deadline, we definitely will take a pause just because we're going to leave some room open in case we're talking to a bunch of guys that are in that category. And so we're going to have to leave. a little bit of space, but we're not going to leave too much space because there's really

talented players that actually sit us and fit together now. And so that's going to probably our evaluation that is going to change every day like our evaluation. Everything, because as you put pieces together, it changes the picture. You, you've been. Matt, how about, how about that for like a two-minute answer? They didn't really say anything, but that's actually, that's actually really the truth. No, no, I believe that. I mean, you guys, I was fascinated to hear you have 29. When you say you have a big board, is it like I say.

see we had the NFL draft this weekend. I mean, do you kind of have, okay, tier A, tier B, tier C? I mean, you don't have to, does that kind of how you look at it, or is it just sort of hodgepodge? Well, so we got two things. One, we have a, right now in my office, I have a giant whiteboard that we rolled in here. Unfortunately, one of the wheels on the right, on the whiteboard is broken. That's driving me crazy.

Like my new EA, Megan Summers, like she's elite level. But if she can't get this wheel fixed, we're going to have a car. I'm like, we can't, we can't roll the thing around, man. I understand, yes. Like, we got, I'm trying to, so, but we have it on the big board, and we're making, I have a huge push to go digital as digital as we can, and so we also have several series of Google Docs. Please, please, please, BBN, don't try and break the code on our, on our, you know, privately shared Google Docs.

We need to keep some of this in-house. I probably shouldn't even mention that. There's going to be some, like, Yeah, no, no, no, no, no, you shouldn't do that. It's just like Coach Brooks screwed up and put your plane tail the other day. You got to be careful about that stuff. So we got to, we'll figure all that out. But so, but it is.

And it's actually, you know, we have, you know, five different colors and several different markings, you know, and it looks more like a cloud than it does a roster chart in terms of what we're doing on board. But it's just because this is a very artistic, organic process. That's the way we operate. Like I think teams are a beautiful thing man, because they're living and they're dynamic. And they kind of, it's like a living organism.

And so if you walked in and you sat with us and heard us talk, you would feel like, wow, this seems really messy. But as you get through the mess, man, something really beautiful comes out of it. All right, let me go through some kind of quicker questions I get asked a lot. you're scheduling.

You mentioned you'd like to play St. John's. Rick Petino then said yes. Are we playing St. John's next year? Yeah, so we're actually having a scheduling meeting tomorrow. In fact, if you guys want to, you know, we can bring you in live. We'll just do the whole. Okay. I think people would enjoy that.

No, so Coach Fox's, Coach Fox is, we're, right now, we're in triage mode, which is just so, guys, you know, I love the idea of startup companies. I actually love it. I love the rush of being in the infant stage of building because you never get to sleep. There's nine billion things on the list and you only get to like three of them. And so we're in triage right now about like our priorities of this staff and this roster. And so a lot of super important things have been pushed to like three and four.

And those two things are so critical and crucial right now that the other stuff is. just going to have to wait, even though it deserves attention right now. It's just we've got to keep focusing on the most important things being the most important thing. So we're going to have our first real scheduling meeting tomorrow. I don't know if we'll make fun decisions. I've actually talked to Coach P. And he, trust me, he knows his business better.

Anybody, he has a good idea of, like, what we're going through right now. And so I think that would be super fun for Big Blue Nation. I think it'd be really fun for St. John. it would be really incredibly special to me. And so that's something we're going to work on. But we'll make progress. You know, this roster is staff first. We'll get the scheduling here in the coming weeks.

Let me ask you about in terms of in the future. You know, we, Kentucky, over the last few years, gotten a ton of highly-touted freshmen starting. I know this year that's tougher because where you're coming in. But is your plan on the next few years, are you going after the top-tier freshman? I mean, I know you want guys that fit your system, but do you still plan on going after those elite top 10 to 15 kind of guys?

100%. This is the University of Kentucky, right? That is a massively important component of building, I mean, come on. Kentucky is Kentucky, of being, not building it, but being what Kentucky is. It's having the most talented players in the world, the most talented high school players in the world come be a part of this. So that will always be a very important staple.

It was important for Joby Hall. It was important for Rick Bettino. It was important for, you know, every coach to come through. It was really important for Cal. Cal actually, you know, Cal redefined the process of being to do that in his incredible contribution to the University of Kentucky. So that's a huge part of what we'll do. And the portal is also, you know, we're also in a brand-do era, guys.

Like the portal and NIL rules are different this year than they were last year. It's a brand new era. And so, you know, we're really fortunate to be at the University of Kentucky. I'll never get tired of saying that, gentlemen. At the University of Kentucky, as this new era comes also, and that adds a whole new dimension to this incredible stew that you can talk of, putting together a great roster. And so that's going to be a huge piece also.

Do you, let's talk NIL. Obviously, that's a huge thing now. Maybe one of the biggest things in getting players. Do you feel like Kentucky, as of today, is in a place to be able to compete with every program in the country from an NIL perspective? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is we are great. growing and we need to grow desperately fast.

NIL is a massively important part of the landscape of college athletics and certainly at Kentucky basketball, it is massively important. It's going to be one of the factors. It's going to be one of the foundational factors in whether we can hang banners or not. There's no two ways about it, guys. There's no way to get around that. And so it's wildly important. we are in a solid spot right now.

We know that we need to grow and grow really fast. The beautiful thing about Kentucky is that we have some really, really, really significant capable donors that are making a big difference in what we do. But what we have that no one else in the country has is we have a big blue nation, man. And if we can find the right ways to harness the ownership that this, state and big blue nation around the world has of this team, then we're going to be just fighting. And that's my job.

That's my job is I have to, you know, I have to galvanize this entire fan base to jump behind us. And it's not just ownership in word or idea, but it's actually ownership in terms of participation also. And that's how we're going to roll, man. That's why this place is special. That's why it makes this different than everyone else. Well, let me help you with that.

There's the, you think are doing an event, if I'm correct, where people who are part of Club Blue, the Club Blue NIL can meet you. Am I right about that? Yeah, so listen, this is a, you know, it's like a, sorry, guys. If you need to get that, if that's somebody important, I understand. If there's a player on that other line. I'm actually, I'm actually at my assistant grab this right here. When you tell them I'm calling him, okay? No, no, listen, if that's important, Mark, we'll. wait. I don't want you to miss out.

No, no, we're going to be, we'll be absolutely fine. We can't have this right now. This is actually what we're talking about right now, hey, what we're talking about right now is probably the most important thing. Okay. Listen, club blue is real. Like this club blue is, this is the focal point of our whole NIL life right now. We have some amazing people that are, that are helping to run this. It is a, there is no overhead with this program. It is 100% of the money goes exactly where we wanted to go. And so we're holding our first kind of meet the team event.

It's going to be June 15th. There will be details. We're hoping that we're going to almost have a completed roster by then. We should be done if not completed. And it'll be our first kind of opportunity to spend time with the team. And so we're making a push right now. For as many people on Blue Nation that can join Club Blue, you will make a very tangible direct impact on this program.

And so the event's going to be June 15th. Anyone who subscribes to Club Blue before May 15th is going to be invited. I'm hoping that Rupp is too small, actually, to hold this group of people. I'm hoping we have to move into the football stadium. That would be my goal. Or maybe Keenman, maybe we do it on the fairground. You know, I'm hoping it has to be that big a venue, but if you go to Let me explain to people how to do it, Mark.

Yeah, Club Blue NIL. ClubBlueNIL.com. If you have to subscribe by May 15th, there'll be a meet and greet with Mark, the players, giveaways, etc. If you subscribe by May 15th, the event is June 15th, Mark, and they will meet Club Blue NIL. Is that correct? Matt, you said that way better than I was there, but that's exactly right.

Club Blue NIL. Just go on, click join Club Blue. There's a hundred different options, but be a part of this. This is our team. Like, that's what makes it special. I hope everybody jumps on and let's do this together.

Yeah, I don't remember ever them doing an event like. No. There was one event where they had the practice, but I don't think I've ever seen a meet and greet with the basketball program. So that will be June 15th. Do you remember, Mark, in 1997, you worked with WLAX. You obviously mentioned Cutler at the press conference. Do you remember,

Ryan Lemon who's sitting here next to me. Come on, Ryan is a legend. Are you kidding? Like, guys, what are we talking about? So I'm just hoping that Ryan has forgot some of the totally stupid stuff we did on that truth. Oh, no, I haven't. You have not forgotten. No, no, no, no, not at all.

Ryan has a question. That's really unfortunate for me. Like every good reporter, I have a follow-up question. Go for it. Okay, my first question, Mark, it's kind of the serious question. I just got to know one thing. Can you tell me who's in the house tonight? U.K.

Let's go, Ben. My second question, I've said for 28 years, my most favorite moment covering the cats, has nothing to do with that on the court. It's when that bus rolled into Rup Arena in 96. And a lot of memories and a lot of talk, since you've got the job, been pointing back to that era. Can you just talk about that special moment? And what has your 96 group chat been like since you got the job?

yep so it's uh yeah guys i mean listen there's no words and the fact that we got to run it back uh with i think even a bigger you know i think there were more people actually seated on the court than there were when he came back in in in 96 um there's just no words it just is you know i've said this a lot um since then about the the press conference about driving back in into the building 28 years later. That deal at Rupp had really nothing to do with me. That had to do with Big Blue Nation coming in that building and looking each other and putting in arms around each other

and sharing love with each other and saying, we're still here, man, and this is real. And that again is like that is, you know, people are going to try and recreate that. People are going to try and mimic that. But that just is unique to Kentucky. And so I feel all the, you know, I feel all of the beauty of that and the fact that I got to be a part of that and share that with everybody in BBN was super cool.

That was a special day, by the way, just a couple weeks ago. I mean, I hope you realize, I know you do, Mark, but I hope you felt that. That day and Rup, I mean, along with like the national championship in 2012, that's as special a day as I can remember. I hope you felt that. Yeah, I definitely did, and you also feel the burden of the responsibility, right? And you also feel that you also, it's interesting because you feel the burden of responsibility, but you also feel like we are not in this alone. I mean, I don't know if anybody gets to walk into the job and feel like,

I think you usually walk in the job and feel like the whole world's out of your shoulders, which we feel here. But I also feel like I'm looking around the room and I'm like, there's 22,000 people, and there's all my guys from 96 and all the guys from 98 and all the guys from 2012 and all the guys in between and before and after. And all these fans, like all of us, all of us together are living and dying by every moment. That is so, guys, I'm telling you, it's a beautiful thing.

We want to have you in here so that we can talk to you for a longer session. We knew you were busy. Thank you for making the time. I'm sure we'll get to talk to you again very soon. Club Blue NIL to get to help with the roster and to meet Mark and the team on June 15th. Mark, thank you very much and go get us some more players. Guys, super happy to be on. Listen, I'm telling you, I love, I'm so incredibly grateful for the storytellers of these guys' journey.

And, like, I know that you guys are speaking to every person, every BBN faithful in every barbershop and every bar around the state of Kentucky and around the world that I'm grateful for you guys telling their story. It's super powerful, man. It brings us all together. So great for what you guys do. Thank you, Mark. Good luck to you and appreciate you coming on. Mark Pope, the new coach here at the University of Kentucky. We will take a break and be right back.

This is KSR. Welcome back. Good stuff there. We just have a second because I went very long so we could have him all. We'll be of a second before we have another break. He remembered you. Well, I appreciate the UK staffer that alerted him, but they're going to ask you about some dufus on the show.

Just act like you remember him. I thought he did great. He was awesome. And I love the sort of behind the scenes. I love that he said there's 29 names. That means there are 29 names. Like you don't just come up with the number 29, right? I love that he said he would let us do a broadcast from the room.

He won't, but I like that he noted that. And I just, he seems like such a genuine dude. He does, having lots of fun. I like what interviews don't feel like scripted answers. I mean, he's off the cuff answering questions, and we got to fix that damn wheel on the whiteboard. Yeah, fix the wheel. Come on, we got to fix the wheel.

All right, we'll take another break, and then we'll be back for the regular show. Kazahn. T.J. Smith, personal injury attorney. Call T.J. He'll make them pay. Now, more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Here's Matt Jones. Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio. A couple things here real quick. The KSR Golf Scramble, the Lexington one will go on sale Wednesday. So those of you that like to play in that, and those of you that have never played, that'll go on sale Wednesday. So keep that in mind. The Lexington one, the Louisville one will go in sale a couple weeks later. This year,

All of them are in August. Normally the Lexington ones early, but I'm leaving, so they will all be in August. The Lexington one will tell you more about, but it'll go on sale on Wednesday. Back to the Pope thing for a minute. I do love how eager, excited he is. I think you're going to see, you know, it was interesting. He said their head is down and they're kind of focused on staff and players, and I think, you know, that's what they need to do, having a scheduling meeting tomorrow.

I mean, there's a lot that they've had to get done so far. Yeah, he's been going 130 miles an hour since he got the job. But yet you could still hear the excitement in his voice. You know, he is excited about what this program not just means to him, but what he's building. And I think that's what's cool about it. Of the basketball things beyond just the personality excitement, I love hearing about the names on the board and then the part about leaving room for guys testing the waters. He said, we're still talking to a lot of them.

So, I mean, there's names that I probably haven't even been speculated around BBN that he's saying are still out there in the NBA process that might come back. And those people have to be in the portal by May 1st. So by May 1st, you'll know everyone that can potentially transfer. That's something different this year. It used to be that some of those guys could wait and wait and wait. Yeah. Now May 1st.

Wednesday. Wednesday. If you're not in, you're not. So you're going to see some names, I think, go in there of guys who maybe you even assumed we're going to the draft who were just leaving that option open for that. So May 1st, a huge day. And if anyone out there is still panicking because so-and-so committed here and someone-so went there and the options are getting small, 29 people, he said.

We don't have to know everybody. And we clearly don't know everybody. If there's 29 people, there's probably been, of the guys that are left, there's probably seven or eight that have been connected to Kentucky. So just so you know, that means about 20 people are on their board that you haven't even heard connected to UK. Yeah, so. I love the phone call.

They're in the middle. And you're like, hey, if you need to answer that, dude. Well, no, I mean, if that was, that was, you know when he said to his assistant, get that and tell him I'll call him right back. Yes. That does mean that was an important call through. And I just wanted him to know he could take it if he needed to. Yeah, I mean, we like that he's on the show, but we like that he's getting players more. So the show can wait if that needed to be a commitment.

Yeah, Shannon, I would, we want to put him on hold. Yeah, we don't want to lose a recruit because of us. That's exactly right. What was your take on the whole thing, Shannon? You're a harsh critic. No, I thought he was great. I think he answered everything perfectly. You can tell the excitement that he has in his voice.

I also love that he said he had that digital layout of the players that they're targeting and asked Big Blue Nation not to try to hack into that. Probably shouldn't have said that because, you know, our fans now will. So I didn't know what he meant by that. When he said there was a Google, what was he talking about with the players? It's a Google Doc. A doc is short for Doc. Shut up.

I assume. He said a word different than dog. Kids call them docs these days on the internet. But, you know, a spreadsheet that's being passed around. Okay, well, I can. Shut up. What a jerk. Who's up next?

It's going to keep you all hip. Thomas. Thomas. Thomas. Hey there, Matt. I'm super excited about Mark Pope. And hearing him talk, that was awesome. But I do have, and I'm not even worried about the roster.

But I do have one, I don't know, hiccup, hold up. I'm kind of worried about the soul of our. state just because of all like the Mormon talk. And I say Mormon because LBS is like a concentrated PR campaign rebrand for them to attract Christians. Stop, stop, stop. I appreciate it. Matt, I appreciate the call.

Let's, who's up next? Ed. Ed. Ed. Ed. Hello, Ed. All right. No, Ed.

Who's next? Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Rick. Hey, guys. There are you all.

Doing good. Hey, I just wanted to make a quick comment, and I got one question for you, Matt. I love the way the team looks so far. I'm excited it for next year. My question is, me and my wife came down to the bar, and we entered in on the Masters tournament. I was wanting to know if there's an update about the winners. We have our new coach on, and these are the first two comments we get. The winners will be sent out there.

There were 38 of you, so it's taking a little bit longer because Scotty Schepler won, but you will get it. I promise Monique's actually working on that this week, but thank you. All right, there you go. This is good, two really good. I mean, we just have our new coach on, and those are going to be the first two calls. 859-280-2287. We have a couple of open lines.

Let's talk real quickly, UK football. UK football got a massive commitment this week. Yeah, they did. DJ Waller, a cornerback from Michigan, former four-star, was from Youngstown, Ohio, played at Michigan, had a chance to start at Michigan this year, decided to come here. He is transferring. He will be, I think you can plug him in as a starter.

Moment one, Ryan. This was a huge get at a position of need. Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, dude played in every game last year for the team that I believe won the national championship. So this is a player that's coming in and a starter for sure. Huge get. I might have even had eyeballs on him Saturday night, having a nice dinner and celebrating, having fun.

UK football locking one down. I know Vince was thrilled to get him just, A, because he's such a good player, and it's another Youngstown connection, too. I know they like keeping those, but that's a huge get, especially after losing Anglin in the portal that upset a few people.

Yeah, I think it's, that is, they needed that position, especially after losing the kid, the Anglin kid ended up going to pit, just like Devonshire did a year ago. But now they have him. The running back, Penny Boone that we talked about, is yet another kid who it sounds like

maybe the whole transcript issue is coming into play. He was a transfer from Toledo. He went, he's been to three different schools. He was at Louisville only this semester, but the transferring of all that is making it to where his credits, I think, are having trouble matching up with the UK admission standards. And this continues to be an issue that people don't think about. It's not that they don't have grades.

I want to be clear. when this is not people having grades or not. It's that like the admission standards are different. So for instance, if you are majoring in accounting, at some schools you can take 15 electives. At some schools you only can take six. And the school admissions differences, I think it's hurt us with the point guard from Utah

and is now hurting us with the running back from Toledo. By the way, we're not the only school dealing with this. Other schools are dealing with this too. And it's not that U.K. admission standards are quote-unquote harder. It's just that they're different. And because they're different, it's not matching up. And it's going to be unfortunate. It might cost us two very quality players.

And that's something I think a lot of people, me included, didn't see coming, that when the transfer portal, the credits and things that have to transfer you to be able to be eligible. Apparently this is happening, though, all over the country. Yeah. There's people posting about it in football. and basketball. This is happening all over the country. Colleges just have different. The big one apparently is how many courses you have to have for your majors. You know, at some schools, like grading is different. It's just a completely different

situation. And this is hitting the guys that are just bouncing around a lot. I mean, Penny Boone's looking for a fourth school in four years. He went Maryland, Toledo, a spring semester at Louisville. Now he's trying to get into the fourth school. And some of these guys are learning. It's, you can't just bounce around like that. Eventually, it catches. up to you. I mean, I can speak from first-hand experience. Madisonville Community College to UK. I had a few I thought we'd transfer and didn't. Had to retake him up here. Exact same situation as him. So I understand what he's going to do. You're exactly right. It's almost exactly the same. I mean, I'll call him and walk him through it

if he wants. It really is almost exactly the same. All right. Who's next year? John. John, go ahead, John. Hey, guys. Good to talk here. What's a breath of fresh air to hear Mark Polk talking like he's running a business. And when you ask him the question, he answers the question and elaborates on it and talks basketball. It's just a breath of fresh air.

I've got a renewed excitement. I'm so excited about what he's got going. If he picks up two of these three guys, he's really looking at right now, we're going to be set. On that point, to me, this is the. this is the path to a really good team next year. Great awesome. First of all, Jackson Robinson to me is the most important. You got to have a dude.

I think he's a dude. They got to find a point guard. It could be the Mahaney kid that was here this weekend. I'm not sure that's going to happen. We'll see or someone else. And then a wild card good player might be great Osabor. A lot of people think it will be. Maybe it's somebody else.

And then I think you can fill him with a couple of dudes. who can shoot. I actually think there's a lot of dudes out there that can shoot. Kobe Brea would be the best, but there's a lot of people that can shoot. Go get those, and then I think you have a team, sir, that can be really, really good. What about, what about, have you heard any scuttlebut on the kid that transferred to South Carolina or committed to South Carolina, but Caliperia wasn't recruiting you. Trent Noah. Yeah, I have not heard anything about him. I appreciate the call.

First of all, he signed a letter of intent, so that's another thing. I have not heard him connected to UK. I know everybody in Harlan tells me he would come if UK was interesting, but I have not heard, Drew, whether they are or not. I've been earlier, I was staying up on top of that one quite a bit, once Pope got here because I wanted it to happen. I think maybe even Noah would have been interested if Pope made that call. I just don't know that it ever got to that point.

I'm not sure it did either. Tell me about Stockton Mortgage. Stockton Mortgage. You know, we just talked about a house that may be up for sale fairly soon over here on all. Barely. Barely soon, fairly soon. On Main Street, if you're interested in that house, Stockton Mortgage can help you. It's easy to apply.

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That's what you do. You just hit that, click that button on your good. Google Doc. I'll take you right to it. You don't even know what that is. We'll take a break and be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Welcome back, Tucky Sports Radio. 859-2-80-2287. Court physical therapy, if you, it's baseball season. That means spring is sprung, so get yourself and your body healthy with court physical therapy, K-O-R-T.com, whether you like to attend ballgames or just be healthy, court physical therapist can help you do

your thing and help you get back to what you love. Shake off the winter weather. Weather Blues at court.com. That's k-O-R-T.com. A couple of quick things. First of all, I do want to address the phone call where the guy was saying the thing about Mormons. We now have not only a coach that's a Mormon, we're going to have players that are Mormons. I know 98% of our fans will do this, but for the other 2% show some respect, right? Part of religious freedom and part of being in America is that everyone gets to have their religious beliefs, but also have some decency and just respect people who disagree with you. Mark Pope did not come on here and, you know, proselytize and neither is anybody else,

but we also owe it to him. And honestly, all the people who live in the state of Kentucky in religions that are not of the majority to show them respect, how somebody else shows their faith should have no bearing on how you show yours. And just like you would hope that people will show Christians respect, you should do the same to other folks. And, you know, I'm not familiar with all the specifics of Mormonism, but that stuff is unnecessary and wouldn't be tolerated about anybody else, and we shouldn't tolerate it about the Mormon faith either.

So I just wanted to say that. I didn't want to just ignore when the guy called and said that. Secondly, on a different note, the UK football team had four guys get drafted, three of them very early. So you had Drew Phillips going the third round to the Giants. He and Juan Dell, who used to be buddies that trained together, get reunited in New York. So that's very cool. Did you like that? I did.

And I love Drew Phillips, the emotion when he got picked. I don't know if you all saw that. Big old tears, happy tears coming down his face. And they asked him how excited he was and who he wanted. wanted to guard this and that. And he actually said, I'm most excited to go against Wondell. So I love that connection. The Giants made a big deal about them being college teammates, et cetera.

Trevin Wallace goes to the Panthers, where most of the reports I read said they think he'll play right away a lot. He impressed people, I think, with his offseason workouts and the NFL combines and things. So, yeah, I think he's got a chance to play. He's got to play for that owner, though. I mean, go in and tell him to chill a little bit. I hope he walks in. He should walk in and take the owner's hat off as soon as he walks in. Ray Davis going to the Bills.

I thought the emotion of when he was picked. They showed him at his house and he was crying. His story is amazing. And he gets to immediately be on a team that's a contender. I mean, we'll be seeing Ray Davis on TV a lot. He'll probably be the backup running back for a Bills team that will be going, trying to go and win a Super Bowl. So happy where he landed.

I just wish we had more than one year with that guy. He was a lot of fun. Great personality and an outstanding football player. We'll remember that Florida game forever. and now we'll be seeing them on Sundays. And then Devin Leary, picked by the Baltimore Ravens. I was reading some of the Baltimore stuff. They expect him to make the team and be the third-string quarterback in his first year.

I think a lot of Kentucky fans are probably surprised, but in the workouts, he was kind of ranked as the 10th best quarterback the whole time. Who would have, first time in the history of the NFL that in the Louisville and Kentucky quarterback are on the same team. Is it really? Yes. That is kind of cool. It gets learned from Lamar now and work, you know, workout.

different. They are different. I mean, like, if Leary has to come in and angle me the same offense that Lamar runs, I don't think, Ryan. No, I was happy for Devin Leary. I think we got cheated a little bit the last season. I don't know if he was completely healthy most of the season, but I think he's better quarterback than what we saw.

I hate the Baltimore Ravens, but it was a cool connection there. T. Martin is the quarterback's coach. And when they picked him, it was T. He called him, and I guess the owner, whoever spoke first, said, T had you circled as one of his sleepers in the drafts. We're glad you got you. Nice. even though T. Martin's of all, we had him for a little bit here too.

I hope it works out for him. I think a combination of him being a little banged up, and then I just don't know that he and Liam ever completely got on the same page on the system. Hopefully that he'll find his rhythm at the next level. Who's up next, Shannon? Blake. Blake, what's up, Blake? Hey, guys, I'm super excited to hear Coach Pope talk.

He is a, you know, he's rejuvenating the soul of Big Blue Nation. I like that. That's a good way to put it. Right. He's energized. He's got a lot of hope. He's got a lot of faith. He's got a lot of energy and hunger for doing the job.

So it's fun to see. And, you know, we can all get together as Big Blue Nation and be part of Mark Pope's Catter-day Saints, you know, not the Latter-day Saints. But I've got one question about possible staff. So is there any scuttlebutt or anything about Rajan Rondo? since he's at the school, could he be a student manager? Well, that could happen. I mean, that could happen.

I haven't heard that. I have not heard that. But I do know when they were hired that their goal was to try to have somebody that was involved in the Cal era as part of the team. I do not think, I mean, Rondo was not part of the Cal era, but he kind of like Cal almost adopted him as part of the Cal era. So maybe that's maybe that who is who it ends. up being. I appreciate the call. One piece of news we didn't make is he basically said the fifth

member of the staff, it may take a while before he does him because he wants to see how things fit. That's interesting. That spot may not, may stay open for a while. I thought that was interesting about the last coach and even the roster. He said, now that we have so many bodies, we're going to take a pause and figure out kind of what we need and what fits the system instead of 10. He wanted to take a pause. But it's not just we're going to pile up whatever we can get. We're going to make sure all the pieces fit together. That is interesting. He did say when they got to like 10 or 11, he would take a pause. So that's probably where we're targeting here in the next few weeks.

Who's next? Alex. Alex. Alex. Hey, Matt. Just a couple of questions. So with the recruits that we currently have, 24-7 sports has our transfer class rank is eight overall with a 32 overall class rank.

Where do you think we will land with the remaining targets that we have? If you get Osabor and you get Jacksonville. and you get Jackson Robinson will either be, we'll be in the top three in the transfer rankings. And I think if that's your team, you'll be top 25 preseason. And then do you have any predictions of what you think our starting lineup will be this fall? Yeah, I need to wait and see who we get.

I mean, I appreciate the call. I mean, Jackson Robinson will start. Lassabor will start. Beyond that, let's see who we get. I think Carr had some huge numbers last year. I think that's a guy that's probably in his brain he's starting. Yeah, we'll see. I mean, I don't know, though, because I don't know what will matter to Mark.

But this will be a year where like 10 guys will play, wouldn't you say? Yeah, those two guards we just got, they're kind of similar in style. So I think you'd, yeah, I mean, 10 guys will play. Yeah. Yeah. So, corbreddhymp.com. If you go to cornbreadhimp.com, promo code is KSR. Full Spectrum flour-only hemp CBD gummies.

Come aboard cornbread hemp helps you rest, helps you relax. I slept great this weekend. Thanks to cornbread hemp. Use a promo code KSR for 30% off at cornbread hemp. Give me your staff. I was just going to say Carr played against four SEC teams last year. Average like 22 and 9 shooting 50% from the field. That's a guy that's coming in expecting to play.

That's pretty good. That is good. Now it was against Georgia, LSU, Florida. Still. We play those teams. Yeah, they're on the schedule. Yeah, we play all those teams. Thank you all very much.

Thanks to Mark Pope. We are here all week here at KS Bar. This has been Kentucky Sports Radio. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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