KSR - 2024-07-02- KSR - Hour 1

Episode Date: July 2, 2024

Drew, Jack Pilgrim, and Maggie Davis talk hoops with Aaron Harrison and also discuss their KSR history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Comedy of Broadway and Lexington welcomes Greg Morton, July 11 through the 13th. Then catch Josh Sneed, July 19th and 20th. And don't miss Jeff Allen, July 25th through the 27th. Comedy Up Broadway opened in downtown Lexington in 1987, and they're still bringing the best and stand-up comedy to the area 37 years later. Call 859-271 joke or visit ComedyoffBroadway.com. Talking about, I thought he misdialed or something. So ever since then, that's been our inside joke.

But it's always a pleasure to come out of the bullpen. You have kind of made yourself into a little lane where it's like, I will just call Jack. You know, someone couldn't do the show today. Jack will be on standby. It meets you do such a good job and you always answer the bill. So glad to have you here again today. But we're most excited about the person sitting next to Jack, Miss Maggie Davis from BBN tonight. formerly of the KSR sphere, but you've been with BBN tonight for what, four years now?

You feel like you're on my TV every weeknight talking about sports. Glad to have you here on KSR today. I'm so excited. People ask me all the time if I get nervous still, and I'm like, well, no. I mean, not really. Like you said, I'm on TV every weeknight at 730. I get nervous in some situations. I'm kind of nervous.

Nervous right now? KSR, big deal alert. Like you said, I wrote for KSR for all four years of college, did it a little bit after college as well. never came on this show first time on the big show. I'm excited. Yeah, you've been with Billy on the pre-show a few times. I'm like, Billy, you've been excited to talk to her. Shannon just takes so much vacation that I've got a fine guest.

And Maggie has become almost an unofficial co-host of the KSR pre-show. She's been on several times. So she does a great job and excited to hear from her today. I've recently discovered I really like radio. And so I appreciate you guys letting me come on, do a little radio. Absolutely. Just be, you know, that might change when Corey Price posts an old photo of you later today. Corey Price, he gets us right. It's okay. Billy, you mentioned Shannon on vacation.

Yes. How have things been going so far as you've left a little short-handed? Remember the rule? No one don't take vacation at the same time. Remember that rule? And then we ended up getting Ryan and Shannon going out at the same time. That's all right, though. But you're holding up well on the pre-show?

Yeah, we had Darren Hedrick on today, and he talked a lot about the baseball team, a little bit about Kenny Brooks in that final segment. I haven't heard from Shannon yet. He actually sent me one message. sent me one message on Facebook the entire time I've known him. It was this week. And it was the picture of a wrestling mat and what's under the wrestling mat, which was just like boards, I guess. And I always tease him and say, go jump on that trampoline a little later today when you go train. So I think he wants to get me in that ring one of these days, Drew.

Oh, yeah, we need that. Maybe he's just license back from all that hard work this week. We got Ryan's in Hilton Head enjoying his time show there. And Matt's in Portugal somewhere. But since we have Jack and Maggie together, I want to start with a little story time with Drew here. You're ready for a little story, Billy? Yes, please. If I'm not mistaken, the year was 2016. Kentucky SportsRadio.com was doing pretty well. Tyler, full time at that point, we got Rouse.

I've been there seven years at that point. We're doing fine. But we needed a little help, a few more people. So we did some, I guess, I don't just, I don't know how wide we cast to the search, but there were some applicants sending some stuff in. we read some samples, but then we had some actual in-person interviews. Okay. This was before Zoom.

We actually, we got out and met people and we interviewed them, but we were also broke. So I had a friend, I won't say his name, to get him from getting trouble, but he worked at a new dorm on campus. And the new dorm had a conference room. So he said, hey, you can just do your interviews here. So me, Maria, our CEO of the KSR website, who's awesome. The goat. We love Maria.

Me and Maria and Nick Roush, who was still. fairly new to KSR at that time. He had gone through the process himself. We did interviews at this dorm room, probably 20 to 30 people, just a rotating door. Bring them in, bring them in. Lots of people. In hindsight, it's crazy we did it in a dorm.

Like, why were we doing interviews in a dorm? Because we were broke. If someone had said, hey, we have a warehouse. I never thought about how funny that was till right now. We went where the cheap was. If someone had said we have the, you can come under this bridge and do interviews, we would have done it there.

We just went where we could. But it was there where I met a young, Maggie Davis. I'm not even, were you out of high school? No, I was still in high school. Don't tell anyone that. I think we did. I think it was the summer I had maybe just graduated high school, but I had not started at UK yet, no. I will, I remember this plain as day. Maggie starts listing the stuff she did at Dunbar, right? Yep, bold on. She was, I think the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. That's true. What was the Sue newspaper called? The lamplighter. She was shout out to the PLD

lamplighter. She ran the lamplighter, which is already impressive enough by itself, but then just in interview, she's like, yeah, I keep stats for the basketball, run the score. You basically listed every... Yeah, that was random. I did a lot of random stuff, but, you know, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. And then I was probably like, yeah, I'm not really going to do journalism, though. I'm a biology major at UK. You guys were like, okay, why are you here? Like, what's going on? But it worked out. Well, you were, you were the youngest there, and you had already done more than anyone we interviewed, including the people interviewing. No, that's not true. I remember at one point I asked you, Dude, you do the jump ball too because you had done so much.

And then I don't remember who was first, but maybe before, right after you, a young Jack Pilbrum comes in. You weren't much farther out of high school. And you start talking about how you were writing for a blog. You were like 11. You had to use a fake name. Right? Am I, am I, am I, am I remembering this correctly? Recruits Kentucky.

I were, yeah, I would be in. Were you the recruit? No, well, I would interview these kids. I would just DM them and text them and I would never like be able to be like, hey, I'm, I'm, currently sitting in biology class in fourth period, texting you and setting up this interview. So yeah, it was a, I had to, you know, nobody was going to respect what a 12-year-old had to say or asking questions or answering from them. So yeah, I had to keep it on the DL for a minute. And before I could, you know, spread my wings and fly.

So here we are trying to find bright young talent. And we have Maggie doing everything Dunbar could possibly have done. And we have Jack, who has been writing since he was an infant about sports. And I remember Nick and I are tapping each other. they're under the table, I guess these are, write them in Sharpie. Clearly, we're hiring these two. And I cannot, well, I can believe actually, eight years later, you're here chatting with us, but I just, I wanted to mention that because it's really crazy. After all that, it just shows what an eye for talent, Nick and Maria and I have. I mean, we were just so good at shouting that day.

Jack, didn't your Twitter account get suspended from your little? Yeah, so that was part of, that was part of the issue when I finally put in my real idea, I had to use my dads before because I was too young. So when I finally like tried a guy with a fake idea i try yes unfortunately sorry sue me uh but i tried to become official and when i finally put my actual id and they were like oh wait you're not a 60 year old man you're actually you know in your 20s so yeah that led to a very long weekend i think that was the the Arkansas game i believe that that you know a lot of fun i don't know i think it was that weekend, but I was at a wedding. I was totally disconnected from the BBN world, and it was very frustrating. But Elon finally forgave me. I love these origin stories, though, right? Because you have to have a

passion to be in this business, right? And Jack doing it at 12 years old and Maggie doing every single thing at Dunbar High School. That's what it takes to be able to succeed and at least have the chance to succeed in this business. I was being silly in their age and all the things they did. And that is why they're doing what they are now. They were working hard at that age. As we said earlier. Jack's got sources say, Jack does everything for KSR, except get us to the final four. Since you've started becoming the beat writer, it's just been all downhill. People can blame Cal. People can blame recruiting. They can blame the change in college basketball. But internally, we're looking straight at Jack Pilgrim because the long

marches ended the moment we gave you the keys to the basketball beat. It did change in 2016. It was the hiring of Jack and I. So you talk a big game, but unfortunately, we were the worst things that have ever happened to KSR. So I'm sorry. Yeah, we're sorry. No, don't apologize. So we're glad to have you here today. We got a big show planned.

We have Mario in Frankfurt. We hope. He's on his way to Frankfurt. Coming up later, it was 1130, I believe. There's a recruit from Western Hills High School. JV.V.N. Campbell's making a big decision. Football recruit. Four-star defensive end.

We wanted to be there, but, you know, a little shorthand, a little chaotic. We thought, you know what? Let's just send Mario to be our correspondent on the scene. So Mario will be there. We'll check in with him randomly. He's never covered recruiting. I guess we'll just see what hats are on the table. See what the scenes like there.

We're excited checking with him. Billy, aren't we supposed to give away TBT tickets? We are. Yes, at some point today, you know, the bracket was revealed just a couple days ago, and we are going to have a lot of the players join us at KS Bar and Grill in a couple weeks or so, but we do have some tickets, two sets of two,

to give away to the first TBT game for Kentucky. Sounds like we need to come up with a game to give those away. A game or, you know, be the third and fourth caller or something like that. We'll do a little brainstorming during the break. Yeah, maybe we'll use the text machine on that one. Also, it is Union County Day, so we want to hear from anyone from Union County who up Sturgis, who up Morgan Field. We'll do that a little later in the show, but hit us up on the text machine or call in if you're from Union County. We have a few notes, but we're going to need a little help on that.

We also have a special guest coming up at 1030. We're not going to say the name. We want to leave people hanging on. But I'll just say, Jack, it was very clutch of him to step in today and check in with us. It was, you know, just this is the point where he does always hit it. I'm very excited. All-time favorite human being, and I'm excited to hear from him. Someone in the BBN, I think, will be very excited to hear from.

He hit a couple three, maybe even more big shots once upon a time for Kentucky basketball. We have a lot of fun playing across the show. Billy, do you think Mario is going to perform his task that he doesn't even know what he's doing very well at Western Hills? I'm excited for young Mario. I think this will be a good test for him. I think he's done a very good job filling in while you were gone, Drew, and he's exceeded my expectation. So why not do a little live reporting today?

And it could be a huge gift for Kentucky. I mean, is this the number one player in the state? It is the number one player in the state. Number one. As I said, his name's Jvion Campbell. He's 6'5, 260 pounds defensive end at Western Hills. Wondell's old school. He's number one in Kentucky, 135th nationally, which that's pretty high, Billy.

We don't get me any top 200 guys, so if they can add him, that'd be good. Number 12, defensive linemen, and he's picking between Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, and Miami. He's already visited all of them officially in June. Kentucky and Alabama have some picks already on his, you know, online crystal ball, the on three predictions, all those. But he's kind of an interesting player because he didn't start playing football until a year ago. He's Western Hills all-time leading score and basketball. And right for his junior year of school, he's like, yeah, I'll try this football thing out,

quickly blows up, has 14 and a half sacks in seven games. He's going the Army Bowl, I named Alabama, Auburn, and Miami as his finalist with Kentucky, but he also heard from Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State, LSU, Florida. Everyone is on this kid. So it could be big news coming at 1130 with JV on Campbell. Like I said, Mario, we'll be there for that. But we'll go ahead and take a break here, get to it. We have a lot of Kentucky basketball to talk with Jack and Maggie.

I've been doing a lot of yapping in this first segment. We're excited to hear from them. Also, give us a call on that Clark's Puppet Shop phone line. The phone number is 859-280-2287. We'll be right back. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now.

Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that.

Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything.

I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio. Drew Franklin, filling in for Matt Jones, Ryan Lemon,

everyone else that's been hosting the show this summer. Got Maggie Davis from BBN tonight, Jack Pilgrim and Billy Rutledge here with us. Jack, right as we were coming back, you told me there was breaking news on the internet, so I will just throw it to you with a little Wani Nana. This is the point where he always hits it, guys. Aaron Harrison has committed to La Familia and TBT,

and we'll be joining us here in nine minutes. Nine minutes. He will be talking about some of the biggest shots in the history of Kentucky basketball, one of the most memorable runs in the history of Kentucky basketball and what it's like to be playing with his twin brother once again. I am absolutely thrilled. All-time Wildcat. I'm excited to get his thoughts on just,

like how weird these last couple months have been for all of us. See if he kind of shares it. What's it like being back in Lexington without John Calipari? You know, what his thoughts are on Mark Pope. Yeah, it's going to be a really, really good time with an Alzheimer. They've done a great job building that team, Maggie. I mean, who we got, Eric Bledsoe, Willie, Nate Sustina's on the team. We got the Harris, Reed Travis, Kell and Grady.

Where are we with my boy, Durant? Is he on there confirmed? I need Durant. But Maggie, any of those in particular stand out that you're most excited to see, A lot of greats there. I think Willie was probably near the top of my list because, I mean, you have to love Willie Colley Stine. I saw yesterday that he's also doing a golf scramble while he's in town.

And like how much fun is that? Willie Collie Stein will play golf with you before he gets back on the court at Rupp Arena for the first time in a decade plus. So I was pumped for him already. And then obviously Andrew Harrison was great, but there's something about having both twins together. That's the way they belong. I'm excited to see Aaron and Andrew.

A little double trouble back in wrap. Yeah, they did a great job building that, getting into. interest, we'll have to get some more tickets. I saw Louisville's out sold Kentucky and tickets on the TBT website. That's all right. We'll play catch up. We'll talk to Aaron about that. You mentioned the golf. I saw, as many of our fans know, the new basketball team seems to be a big golfers. A lot of them moved in with their clubs. But Travis Perry shared that over the weekend, he went golfing with Kerr Kreeza. Do we know was anyone else with him? I just saw the picture of Kerr. I think Walker, I don't know if it was

this event, but Walker Horn recently didn't. He got a hole in one. A hole in one? What? And then it looked like Kerr, his driver. He shared a picture of that. His legacy begins quickly, already snapping his clubs on the golf course. And then Kerr with the video yesterday, the player is asking about the, you know, could you beat Mark Pope in a game of 21? And like, all of them are like, oh, yeah, I'd probably kick Mark Pope's bud. I'd beat him 21, 16, 21, 2. Whatever. Kerr comes into the very end of the video and goes, I thought he played soccer. Like, we're going to love that guy. I love him, man. He's just, oh, he's the villain that we always hated on other teams that we now get to embrace and love. around. He had started playing golf already with

himself, Kerr, and then also Andrew Carr. They had formed sort of a duo pretty early on. We got to talk with them on BB in tonight a couple weeks ago, and that's where we found out the Walker Horn, hole in one story, because we were just trying to talk about their golf game and getting to play together, how that's building chemistry. And Kerr just kept interrupting

us, like, no, I don't, like, stop talking about my golf game. Walker Horn hit a hole in one. We got to give some love to Walker. So here's another shout out to Walker Horn, I guess. Hole in one. He was like, he doesn't even know how to play golf and somehow that happened. So there you go. You get to see a lot of the players closer than anyone else through BB and tonight. You all have access no one can get. And you even do like an off

days. Is that what it was called? That series you did. Yes. That was a couple years ago. That was probably one of my favorite things I've ever done. I did off days two years ago. And then last season I ended up doing a senior spotlight and talked with a bunch of their families, moms, grandmas, aunts, uncles, siblings, all that fun stuff. So that was something totally different too. So haven't cooked up exactly what we're going to do this year with so many new guys. to feature. But we've been doing sort of like an introductory type series right now. Just something basic, just to get people used to the names and the faces. Because I think there's a lot of Kentucky fans who probably know the names, probably know some faces,

but maybe haven't put it all together yet when there are 15 new names and faces plus all the assistants to learn. And then you throw in the Kenny Brooks roster too. And it's like, man, it's hard to recognize people around the Joe Craft Center right now. So we're doing our best. We're doing our best. Oh, yeah. I pass Jackson Robinson on the sidewalk right in front of the student center. And there's a crowd of people around. I'm kind of thinking, does anyone know that this guy's about to be scoring a lot of points for Kentucky and how important it was just to get him on this sidewalk? But it was like he just blending in with everyone else. It'll probably be different when students are back on campus too, I would think. Right now, it's kind of a ghost town on

campus, right? I mean, students aren't there. So it's just so many athletes and they don't care. But I think once the general population gets back on campus, that'll probably change. He was easy to spot because he was wearing an NBA Draft Combonne t-shirt. So naturally, I was like, oh, okay. That'll help. Yeah, that would help. You did the off days, but wasn't that like the Oscar teams? Yes. So we have golf now and I guess Lamont Butler and Brandon Garrison went bowling. We saw that.

We're learning the fun stories from other teams, stuff they would do off the court for team building. Last year's team was a huge fishing team. They love to go fishing together. I think the season before that, like C.J. Frederick had really sort of led that charge and then it sort of bled over into the next year. Like I know Adieu, Thierro, love to fish, stuff like that. So I think that was a big way they kind of hung out off the court. this year, like you said, I think it might be golf. We'll see how it goes.

Antonio Reeves was the big bowler before this year. Like you said, maybe Braden Garrison this time around. But Antonio Reeves was the best bowler I've ever seen. If he didn't get drafted, I thought he could go be a pro bowler. It was crazy. Like the best bowler I've ever seen. We played golf. I played golf. We went bowling with him once.

And I think he had like 95% spares and strikes. Nothing else. Since you've known him a little bit through, you know, recreational stuff like that beyond the basketball, just how happy were you for him? I've seen him get drafted the other night and going to New Orleans. Ecstatic. I can't. I mean, obviously Rob and Reed, that was the huge story, two top ten picks.

Those guys are Kentucky legends and are absolutely beloved by this fan base. But Antonio Reeves has been underrated his entire time here. He was such an underrated part of that team last season. And him off the court as well, just personally, probably the nicest guy I've gotten to know in the last couple of years doing this through BB. And tonight, like I said, I did a senior story last year. So I did a whole sit-down interview with his dad. and his dad told some awesome stories about Reeves growing up and how he was so locked into playing basketball

that they could never get him out of the driveway. He would just be so skinny like a little stick. And they'd be like, Tone, man, you've got to come in, just at least have a milkshake, eat something. You're going to be too skinny to play basketball. And he has had that work ethic his entire life. He put up more shots than anybody on the roster last season. And that showed in games.

And hopefully it's going to show on the next level too. And Jack, when you hosted KSR, you were previewing the draft. The draft is since, since happened. What did you think that all went down? I know you know the Justin Edwards camp a little bit from covering him. I'm sure you were as disappointed as everyone else in that result. And they weren't very happy with how that all unfolded. And that was kind of tough about the whole dynamic because you want to talk about the reality of the situation of, you know, you had two top eight draft picks

that were coming off the bench for the majority of the year and the minute distribution. And, you know, talking to people around Justin, you know, Justin's side saying like, we knew that they were playing better and Cal kind of favored them in the bigger moments. So why even waste the time starting, Justin, if you're not going to actually play through them? So it's just a really weird dynamic that I felt really bad for Justin. I'm proud of him for overcoming what he was able to mentally and then to go back home. I know it wasn't the way he wanted to, but he gets a two-way deal to go back to Philly. But all eyes are on Antonio and his story to be able to basically come from not even on the draft radar to becoming a draft.

pick talking to his family throughout the process and other NBA teams. It felt pretty strongly that he was going to be in that early second round, that there was, you know, some mock drafts had him late second, maybe even undrafted. I don't think that was ever a possibility. I think that there was always a very real chance of him getting drafted, but, you know, obviously very excited for Rob, very excited for Reid. It's very cool to see kind of them anchoring to up-and-coming franchise in the NBA. We got about 30 seconds here, but since you're wearing a Celtics championship shirt. I got to ask about Rob going to Minnesota. You know, that's a championship

contender now. Can you be happy for the Timberwolves and root for that Rob, Cat, and Edwards group there? I will root for him every step of the way up until the NBA finals and then I hope we put him in a broom closet. Well, they certainly picked up a lot of Kentucky fans, me included, and when we come

back, a guy Kentucky fans love maybe more than anyone in the NCAA tournament. Aaron Harrison will join us to talk about the TBT team and lots more. This is Drew, Jack, Maggie, and Bill. on KSR and we'll be right back. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source,

the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you call it? conquer them. On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the WNBA standout Kate Martin and

rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals.

At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports.

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. This is not Matt Jones. This is Drew Franklin with Jack Pilgrim, Maggie Davis, and Billy Rutledge. And we're going to go straight to the phone line because we have a very special guest. He is the most clutch player in the history of the NCAA.

tournament, and this is the point where he always hits it. Aaron Harrison, newly committed to the basketball tournament team Lafamilia. We're excited to have you here on KSR today. How you doing, Aaron? I'm pretty good. I'm excited to be on. Thank you for having me. Yeah, it's good to hear from me.

You're a legend around these parts. Good to have you back in the bluegrass. Before we talk a little basketball, just catch us up on where you've been. You've been overseas recently. Where are you playing your basketball these days and what you've been doing since we've last heard from you. Yeah, I've been overseas the past few years. This past year I was playing in Portugal.

It's doing pretty well, just enjoying life, traveling, seeing different parts of the world. So, yeah, doing pretty well. Well, we're excited that up next you're going to be back in Lexington seeing this part of the world. Obviously, Big Blue Nation pumped to have yourself and Andrew Harrison on this roster for the upcoming tournament in Rupp Arena. But this is a stacked roster really top to bottom.

Nate Sistina, James Young, Daniel Orton, Kellynne Grady, Marcus Teague, Willie Colley Stein, Eric Bledsoe, and Reed Travis. That's a lot of names I just threw out you, Aaron. Anybody in particular that you haven't played with before that you're looking forward to joining up with in this tournament? We're looking forward to playing with everybody, honestly, just being back and rough and the guys that I never got a chance to play, I'm excited to play with all of them. So it's just something, you know, it's an exciting thing.

I'm definitely looking forward to it. When's the last time you played with Andrew? Played with him? I mean, it's been a while. Probably since we were in school. Yeah, it's been a long time. Yeah, last time we saw you, Lexington, you all walked off the court at Rupp Arena. You were undefeated, and at that moment you probably thought you wouldn't take another shot in Rupp Arena again.

So now that you're coming back, are you excited to see the old building and get some shots up back where you scored a lot of points for a couple years? Oh, yeah, I'm definitely excited to get back. and just play in front of the crowd and just be back in that type of basketball atmosphere. It's, you know, I'm just excited about that. There's nothing like it, so I'm definitely excited to experience that again, for sure. Aaron, you're coming back in a time where it's kind of weird around here, where Cal is now out, where, you know, Mark Pope is now in.

Just what is that dynamic like for you knowing that Cal is down at Arkansas, still a lot of mutual love with him, but also kind of, you know, here in a new era for Kentucky basketball. No, I mean, obviously, Coach Cal is my guy, obviously, and he obviously changed my life, helped me a lot. So, you know, I obviously see and think about Kentucky and I put Coach Cal with that, obviously, because that's how I'm so connected with it.

But I think it's pretty cool to have a new coach and a new, you know, new thing going on. New things moving on, and I'm happy for a coach moving to Arkansas. So I think it's all pretty cool. I want to revisit a couple things from your Cal days, including your freshman year as the regular season was wrapping up. A lot of our listeners know what I'm saying. If I just say, it's going to be a great story.

Because that was your line after you all had lost a few games in SEC play, didn't exactly have the tournament seating you wanted, and then we all know what happens from there. In that moment, when you said it's going to be a great story, did you envision what actually happened from that point forward? Definitely. I mean, I was just confident in our team. I just felt like that we had the team to beat anybody.

We just, you know, we were young and we were just a little inconsistent. But I definitely just believed it when I said it. And, you know, we made a run and historic run. So it made for a good story. On that note, you have become, I mean, a decade later, just an all-time legend here, have you felt that from the fans that even as each year goes on, that you are still in all-timer here in Lexington, one of the biggest storyline creators in the history of Kentucky basketball,

but also in March Madness, do you still feel that kind of daily love from BB in that regard? Sure, you know, you get that on social media, you to school, hitting me up, supporting me, asking me how I'm doing, you know, telling me they're still a fan. So that's great to just get that type of support from even doing something more than almost 10 years ago. You were one of the part of the best parts of the Caliperi era, including just when you and Andrew announced you're coming back. I don't remember Big Blue Nation going that crazy for really anything as far as a commitment. We had the twins are coming back signs.

We did extra radio shows just for your announcement. how special was that moment we all announced you're coming back in the course we know how that next season went but just the insanity around that off season where you all a lot of people thought you might step way after a year but you decide to give it a little more run what are some of those memories from that experience you know i try to explain how much energy it was around like the school and at that time but you you know you really can't put that type of stuff in the word you have to you really have to be there but it was just you know it was a different type of energy that i don't think any school could ever match ever with especially with basketball. So, I mean, it's unexplainable.

It's just, you know, it's a basketball school for, the best basketball school for a reason for sure. And on that note, the next year, you being a part of history, what a lot of people consider the best college basketball team in the history of the game, what was that experience like? And the pain of Wisconsin,

we still feel it every single day. It's in our bones. It's in our blood. I hate them. I can't believe you just said that. How much do you hate Wisconsin and B? What, you know, how much does it hurt you to this day that you were a part of that unfortunate finish? Oh, yeah, for sure.

It definitely hurts. It definitely, you know, I mean, I don't think about it every single day anymore, but I definitely still think about it a lot. And, you know, you always think about what you could have done and, you know, what you could change. But, you know, being a part of that team, I wouldn't trade that for anything and how it ended. I guess it is what it is, but I definitely, you know, still think about it. Oh, my gosh. We're going to fight Jack after this for using the W word on this show.

Aaron Harrison, come on. Aaron, before we let you go, I also have to ask, we talk about these teams, so many beloved members on all of those two, those both rosters, but to reunite not only with your brother and some of these other guys, but to have Tyler Ullis as a coach for the basketball tournament, what's that going to be like? What's Coach Tyler going to be like? are going to be like for you.

That'll be pretty cool. You guys obviously know Tyler is a great game manager on the court, of course. So one of the best. So, I mean, I'm excited to, you know, play for him. It'll be fun. Well, Aaron, we know you've got to get to training with your team. You got that coming up. You're playing your first game on July 19th.

But before we sign off, I've waited a decade to settle this debate. Kentucky fans have been having this debate since you played here. you're the one that's going to settle it right now rank your shots in the tournament we have Wisconsin Louisville and Michigan which was your favorite of the three maybe you tell us which one felt the best when it went the air but just give us a little bit about all three of those was there one that stood out above the others I think Michigan was probably my favorite just because I mean it was on front of Sports Illustrated it was you know it was I don't know it was I I felt like it was a tougher game for us,

and I didn't really, I don't know, I didn't expect it at all, really. I think that was my favorite one, and the one against Wisconsin. That was number two, I would say, that was pretty crazy. Obviously, hitting a game winner in a Final Four game. It's just ridiculous, like, so crazy.

And I would say against Louisville, I would put that number three just because it's probably the most time on the clock when I shot it. of the street. The Wisconsin, when you'd already hit two, your brother passes it to you. At that point, you have to shoot. I mean, what's between the ears right there? You're like, well, here I go again.

I guess I got to hit another one. Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure. No, I was just saying, like, I just, if I, you know, if I get a good look at the room, I'm going to shoot it. I wasn't going to pass it. I wasn't going to, you know, I was going to get a shot up. So that was just, you know, just get a good shot up.

Yeah, I mean, it is what it is, you know. Well, it's a shot we all love and we'll remember forever, so we appreciate you getting it up. So, Aaron, when you hit some of the biggest shots in NCAA tournament history, do you have, like, just a constant loop of it playing in your house? Like, how does that work? Do you just have it on replay

on your TV constantly? No, no, nothing like that, man. I just, you know, you, I mean, I probably still don't appreciate it like I should, really, but I think I might think about the loss more than making the shots. I definitely

would say that. It's on replay at my house. I don't know if that makes me weird. I have nothing to do with it, but I watch it all the time. And we're very glad you joined us today. It was so great to hear from a legend and relive those memories of some of the best years that Kentucky basketball has ever had. And we'll see you coming up soon with the Team Lafamillion, TBT. Looking forward to that getting started on July 19th, seeing you with your brother and a lot of former cat.

So thanks again, Aaron. We love to having you on. For sure. Thank you so much. I'm going to cry. That was the part where he always hits him. Oh my goodness. Him talking about the shots.

That took me back to a place, Jack. And can I, like, just behind the scenes of how, like, this interview got started, like, how we got this set up. We know that Aaron Harrison was going to be announced on the team, but he confirmed it for us this morning. So, like, he came up clutch for us with this interview today. Like, he just, every single time he has the opportunity to show that he's the, the clutchiest clutch man that's ever clutched, he did it again.

It's in his DNA. We were working on some guests, but they were in the second hour where we're going to be checking in with Mario. So we thought, you know what, we don't need a guess. We'll be fine. But we had this big window on the 1030 right here. And then he just steps up. I was downstairs getting my Starbucks when the news comes through. Well, how about the human element of it that he hits all these game winners and what he thinks about the most are the losses?

Like, that just goes to show you could get all these compliments, but a negative thing. And you could think about that for the rest of your life. He's probably thinking about it because Jack said the W word. My bad. What are you doing? What are you doing? We're having a great Tuesday together. Look, if I have to feel the pain, I need to make sure other people are feeling it too,

because I still have not gotten over the Wisconsin loss. I'll never get over the Wisconsin loss. So, you know, I want to make sure that it's a unanimous feeling, and I'm not the weird one. Jack wanted to make sure we were all as miserable as he is. If I'm going to be miserable, you guys are going to be two. Well, you should consider going to watching airing and everyone else. The tickets, you can go to the tournament.com. I'm not going to read off the whole long one, but you can click the Lexington Regional.

might have a shorter link there too, but their first game is Friday, July 19th. We're playing the 305 ballers in Rupp Arena. They're the seven seed. What do you know about the 305 ballers, Jack? I'm sure you've been breaking down the 305. So I actually looked up the roster. I didn't know a single guy on it. Not one, which, again, I kind of smarted off like this ahead of the St. Peter's game,

saying, oh, these guys look like a bunch of scrubs. So I will never say that. I think this is a worthy competitor. or I think they are excellent fighters, and I think they're going to put up an enormous challenge against La Familu, but I have faith in my guys to push them over the edge. 305 ballers will not be balling. You do have to watch out for teams like this in the basketball tournament, though,

because you can bring in some star power like Kentucky's doing, but they hadn't played together, and then you'll run into a team that's running two a days, practicing in a barn somewhere, and they're ready to play. But I'm looking at the 305 ballers roster, not even recognizing anywhere they're from. A lot of an initial. There's a Bryant University.

I think there might be an NC State. We got that. No, no trouble at all. Their all-time record in TBT is 0 and 2. About to be 0 and 3. Guys, I don't like this.

You got, that's true. The weird St. Peter's vibes of being overconfident. They need to come in, level-headed, ready to hit some big shots. Aaron, if there is one person that I trust

to come up in the clutch and to ignore the noise, it's definitely air. I just want to see Willie dunk on somebody. Yes. Just dunk on somebody. How insane would it be if Aaron Harrison hit a game winner in TBT? Oh, come on.

Hopefully it's not that close, but if he gets another one, build the statue now. I hope it is that close so that he does that. But he'll get it in Rupp. That would be the coolest part of this is we got to experience it in March Madness, but like, he gets to do it home. He gets to do it back with all of us with, you know, in front of BBN the way it should be. Yeah, well, we'll be back after a short break. We still have to give away these tickets, Billy.

We've got to come up with the game so some of our listeners can go watch Aaron Harrison. But we'll take a short break. Come back. We're going to talk a lot of Union County soon, and we'll check in with Mario in the second hour. But this is Drew for KSR. We'll be back after the break. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs,

the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my. new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fantine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen. Now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going from the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't.

Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you. don't ever feel like you don't feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeki. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me.

And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Welcome back to Kentucky Sports Radio, Drew Franklin with Jack Pilgrim, Maggie Davis, and Billy R. Sports. The segment's brought to us by Nocha Linda Farms. With Independence Day coming, you can eat, you can enjoy time eating dry age beef with your family and friends outdoors. You definitely don't want to eat your family and friends outdoors. I said that wrong. You want to eat dry beef from Nochalinda. Farms. There's no better place to get it locally grown beef from a Kentucky proud source than Nochalinda. You can check them out at Nochalindafarms.com or call 859-707-7-7-0-004. I have some in my

freezer. It's straight from Bourbon County. Probably going to make some Nochalinda steaks this weekend. And you should do it too with standard cuts like Ribai and New York strips to custom cuts. You can't find your local grocery. Make Nochalinda Farms your go-to source for beef. Billy, I understand we have some calls. But first, I'm just so obsessed. with this text machine. I kind of forgot it was here for 45 minutes. We were so busy. So I just checked in having lots of fun. First, lots of people complimenting these

two, not just what they're doing today, but in their sources say and doing BB in tonight. They're killing it. Actually, multiple people, this must be an inside joke because several people have asked if Jack can bench press Billy. The fact that multiple people have asked tells me this has come up before.

Yeah, it was rough. The night that we waited for Jackson Robinson's decision until 2 o'clock in the morning, the withdrawal deadline. We had to fill air. And it got to the topic of can we bench press Louisville head coach, Pat Kelsey. So I guess that's, I don't even want to answer that question. If I can bench press you, Billy, I think that's a little inappropriate. Well, can you throw up 170?

Yeah. Yeah, I got you. Okay, well, then you can. You win 170? I do. So why are we talking about it if we could just do it? Yeah. Wait to say.

Oh, here we go. People, when they heard I was hosting, people like, Drew, this is your time to get in trouble. I think just breaking out right now and bench press and Billy, it would be a great way to get this show off the reels. Yeah. But Mario's not here to just record us. It's okay.

I have a phone. I have a phone. I have two phones. I have a text machine phone and a phone phone phone. I do appreciate you naming your child after me. I did give you the blessing before, you know, everything happened. So I'm glad little Billy's doing good. Absolutely.

He looks up to his godfather so nicely. So thank you for that. That's something else I meant to bring up when I was talking about you all applying for jobs as children back in the day. You're now, you're married and a dad. You're about to be married. Where did time go? What is going on? It really got to me earlier when you said eight years ago. I was like, I swear we were just interviewing in that UK dorm room. I was like, no, my dad's been eight years. It has, yes. Jack has a little baby Billy. I'm getting married really soon, scarily soon. So everything's good. Can we talk about what you just did for your wedding preparation? Sure, go ahead.

Any trips? Was it anything fun recently? I did. I went on my little bachelorette party. That's why I was hesitant to ask. I didn't know if that was top secret information. I posted it on Instagram. Listen, I'm not very good at keeping secrets.

But, you know, it was a lot of fun. We went down to the beach. I have nine bridesmaids. So it was a 10-person trip, which was a lot of fun. Hard to find a weekend that 10 women in our early 20s have available because we're all in like 12 weddings this year. But it worked out. We could all go at the same time, which was great. We got great weather.

nobody got eaten by sharks and that's really all you can ask for yeah any snake sightings for anything for? We did have a snake siding which was a little scary because I just was keeping an eye out for the sharks in the ocean right and then we moved to the pool because that was supposed to be a safe place

and then there was a snake like I didn't even know snakes lived on the beach I know that's stupid I just think of them more as like a wood a witsy creature and yet they were enjoying the pool like we were and there was one that really enjoyed this like little kid splash pad area. And I don't think the kids were as afraid as I was because I'm an adult.

They were not that nervous about this snake. And yet there was a bird that swooped in to try to get it. It was a whole thing. So we all survived the snakes. We didn't see any sharks. All is good. We saw several dolphins though. And that was great.

Good omen. And Jack, with the dad life, you get any sleep these days? He's going through this weird like 4 a.m. sleep progression thing where he'll just like start screaming in the middle of the night. were like, oh, there's somebody's, there's an intruder in the house. He's thinking about Wisconsin. I'm getting cooked online for asking him about that. Vinny already said, y'all be sure to tune in next week when Jack asked Jamal Mashburn all about the latiner shot.

So, man, I'm sorry, guys. I just, I had to. Someone on the text machine asked why I didn't ask them about their contact lenses, but maybe next time. Next time we'll be after this break. We'll take a break now. When we come back, we're going to check in with Mario, hopefully, in Frankfurt for the JVion Campbell announcement. Keep listening. This is KSR. We'll be right back. 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. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app.

Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.