April 3, 2024 • 42 mins
Billy talks UK and college hoops with Corey Price and Tom Crean.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everyone to another edition of the KSR pre Show.
Today is Wednesday, April third. I am Billy Rutledge. We
continue our week of guest without Shannon the Dude. You
can gives call on the Clark's Pump and Shot phone
line that's eight five nine two eight oh two two
eight seven, or you can always text us at five
oh two four one four one seven two four. We've
(00:21):
got a loaded show today. Big thank you to everybody
that's joined us so far. And UH, a little later
on the show today at nine thirty, Tom Crean, the
former Indiana coach and former guest of the KSR pre Show,
is going to join us via the phone. But up
until then, I've got my good friend Corey Price with me,
the UK Sports Network statitician.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
If you have a Twitter account and you are a
part of the Big Blue Nation, you know about Corey Price.
It is unbelievable some of the statistics that he's been
able to bring up. And uh, we have him on
the show this morning. We are live here at chaospar
and Girl. Good morning, Corey, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Good morning Billy. I guess say, first off, longtime listener,
first time guest.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I'd ring the bell for you. If it wasn't in
my car, I always leave it in there. For some reason,
you said you never thought you'd be on the show
right before the show started. Why did you say that? Man,
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's I don't know. I feel like I'm an average Joe.
I guess you'd say, oh, I don't think I'm that special,
but hey, it's it's a no I know, like a
lot of people out there listen to you and SHANEA
Sinces day one. So this is awesome beyond here obviously,
chance not here today world thing of him and his
family today.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
For sure, we absolutely are. I am dressed in all black,
not just a for a point of style, but I
am going to the funeral later today. And uh, but
I do want to say before we get started, you
do a great job. Man. I don't know how you
got the position that you got, but I think it
had a lot to do with hard work and you know, grinding.
I mean, and some of the stats that you bring
(01:50):
up is amazing. How do you do it so quickly?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
I don't know. It's uh, it's starting in middle school.
I just I don't know. I started to really dig
deep on like box scores and stats and records and
history and stuff. So for that a long time, it
just I guess practice, I guess you say, And I'm
obviously it's on UK stuff, which I know a lot
about already, so I kind of know going in, like
what to look for and what not what not to
look for.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So you grew up a Kentucky fan and it's just
you kind of live, breathe and eat all of this, right, yep.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
When when Tim Couch came kim uk and uh ninety six, Uh,
that's when my fan like really really really grew and
it's been just growing since since then.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well you do, uh, Like I said, I do a
great job of not only finding stats but being a
statian on the football broadcast. We've enjoyed you as a
part of that team, even though you do a little
bit of cheering in the press box when that you know,
the booth cam is something that we love to see,
and when Tom and Jeff are getting into it, and
you were getting into it about as much as anybody
(02:52):
during that Louisville game, I guess it was you couldn't
kind of just control that.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Right, Yeah, I mean it's different in the press box,
you can't do anything, but in the boots you can
do some stuff. And I mean, born and raised in Louisville,
you know there's cards fans in my family. I went
to school with cards fans, I work with cards fans.
So I mean it's that the game means a lot.
So if if you saw the booth camp, I was
pretty pretty excited.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Now, one aspect that I love that you've brought to
the KISR pre show is that when we have a
guest on or we start talking about a topic, you're
able to find these old photos of people, not the
ones that you can just find on Google. It's like
you've got like an index of old newspapers or something
like that that you're able to use. And you sent
me one of yourself last night in an old Tampa
(03:34):
Bay buccaneer shirt. Right, I absolutely love it. Did you
were you a fan as a kid or well?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Uh no, uh uh Way back in the day, in
the summers, my family used to go to uh A, Tampa.
Actually I don't okay, I can't remember why honestly, but
it's several summers in a row we would go. So
I'm sure that that summer I'm sure, that's where I
got cut the shirt.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
So yeah, well, you know, glad to have you a
part of you know, a little buccaneer Nation. And now
that they're actually playing some good football instead of the
windless buco Bruce is back in the day, we can
talk about it like that. You can give us a
tax five two four one four one seven two four.
Corey Price is going to join us for the first
two segments today before he makes way for Tom Crean
(04:20):
in a phone interview, Were he able to stay on
your feet yesterday during the storms here in Lexington and Louisville,
because the video of that Kentucky student getting blown over
was national news man, I mean it was on all
of the networks as tornadoes, you know, kind of ravaged
our area, our state and many other border states as well.
Luckily the damage wasn't too bad, but there's some down
(04:42):
power lines. Chevy Chase and Lexington got hit pretty hard.
But when any time you see trees ripped out of
the ground, it is always serious. How'd you make out yesterday?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Luckily I was safe. I think there was a tornado
that confirmed touchdown in the northeastern part of Louisville, so thanky,
I don't live it. I mean, it's awful for them,
but I thank that I don't live in that part
of Louisill so I was safe. I walked many many
times I walked that same path that that student was
walking by last night or yesterday on campus.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So oh, so you know exactly where they were.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
The statue of Parison's right out outside of a Parison
Aupice tower. So I mean, I I can't say how
how many times I walked that path.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Well, you know, glad that she is okay. We got
an update later that she actually made it to class
after getting knocked down like that. She had a pretty
good strawberry on her arm. But uh, you know, you
know what, Corey, I think I'm skipping class if the
weather's like that, you know what I mean. I mean,
I'm a pretty good student, or I was, but I
think I take that day off.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I mean, there's some classes where tennis isn't even required,
so right, I definitely take that day off for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, you know, I think they did cancel classes on
the campus of Kentucky after that video kind of went viral,
So maybe she should have seen that one coming. But Corey,
while we got you here and you know Kentucky, so well,
let's talk a little Kentucky. We talked a lot of
Kentucky football yesterday with Cash Daniel and Adam Luckett, So
I want to shift gears a little bit to the
basketball team. The McDonald's All American Game was last night,
(06:15):
and I don't think either of us watched it.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
No, I didn't did watch this single second.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I'm still I'm not ready. I'm not ready, not over
the last season. I don't think too soon for sure.
Boogie Flann I think had the go ahead put back bucket,
which is encouraging to hear. Carter Knox play had some
playing time. Jaden Quaint and Pleat Yeah, also was there.
And he's sixteen. He's gonna have two years at Kentucky.
I love that development. But am I are we beating
(06:41):
our head against a wall? It looks like that we're
gonna be doing the same thing again at Kentucky this
next season. We've got six of them incoming fresh and
coming in. Matt Jones reporting yesterday they are unlikely to
make any staff changes on this Kentucky men's basketball team.
They say the definition is of insaneanity is doing the
same thing and expecting a different result. Does it feel
(07:03):
like we're just trying to reload and do the same
thing that they've done.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yeah, it feels like a Brooklyn record this point. It's
it's uh, honestly, it's frustrating. You know, the last four
years had been uh less than stellar, to say the least,
and you you would hope these these results would inspire
some some kind of change, and it looks like we're
running it back the same way. It's uh, it's it's
(07:29):
tough for a fans for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, it definitely worked at times, right, I mean, you
had a you destroyed Alabama, who's now in the final four,
which is which hurts to see. It could have been
a lot worse. Tennessee and Duke could have also been
there as well. Uh, but they killed Alabama earlier this year.
I mean, they beat Tennessee pretty handily at the last
game of the year. There are times that they looked
like the the potential that they possessed. But then the
(07:53):
postseason comes around and there isn't an emphasis on the
SEC tournament and all the pressure are on these kids
to perform in March, and who performed well in their
one NCAA Tournament game. It was the fifth year seniorship, right,
it was Antonio Reeves, it was Trey Mitchell. You know,
basketball has gotten so old, and I'm going to talk
about this a little bit with Tom Crane. I'd like
his thoughts on it. He's now an ESPN college basketball
(08:15):
analyst and very passionate about the NIIT. I don't know
if you saw his rant about that the other day,
but you know what, it seems like the cal is
doing the same thing again with these six freshmen, and
it's severely going to limit what they can bring in
with the roster and also with this coaching staff. You know,
continuity is a great thing. I talked a lot about
(08:36):
that yesterday and how the continuity of Mark Stoops has
been able to bring this program to new heights. But
it feels like sometimes a shakeup is needed, and it's
I don't know, already to me a little disappointing that
we aren't seeing more of that.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, Matt said previously that he thought there might be
one or two changes with the staff, and now he's
saying that there's probably not be any changes. So I
think we all want changes on defense. That was pretty
embarrass this past season, so you think maybe possibly Chin
might might might leave, but sounds like he's possibly staying.
(09:08):
So it's definitely frustrating.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Let me ask you something. Is it easier to sift
through those stats after a win, like after a great moment,
after a Reed Shepherd game winner, than it is after
a demoralizing loss and you're you're typing out stats like
this is the fifth time this year they've given up
one hundred points, And it's definitely not because it is
like that for me, Like, you know, if Kentucky were
(09:32):
to lose the game and we go through an hour
and a half post game show of people bitching the
entire time. I don't normally go and watch highlights of
the games the rest of the rest of the day,
but if they do win, you know, I'll put on
SEC now and watch the rest of the game. So
I'm kind of curious as somebody that does it. You know,
I guess for a living that you know what that's
like for you.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
I mean, I'm a fan first and foremost, so losses stink,
so stats after losses also stink. But I'm sure the
postium show great when kids call it, right.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Really, let's not talk about the kids, Cory. I mean,
they just they read the lines that their parents feed
them right before they go on the air.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Are our future?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
You know what I'm okay with kids, it's when the
callers lie to me, and you know the dad is
the one that answers the phone and then puts the
kid on. You know, it's just you're already you're misleading
and that's not what we're doing supposed to do on
a postgame show. You should let me put the kids
on when they should be on what you What happens
is it goes kid to kid to kid because I
(10:33):
don't know that the kids are on the line, and
then you've got fifteen minutes of the postgame show with
Matt going, hey there, what did you think of the game?
And I don't know. I've taken a little heat for that.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Well, maybe this coming season you'll change your year A
two done that.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
I will.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I will not they I love kids, they just don't
make for good radio. Some other news Rajon Rondo announcing
his retirement on a podcast. Sixteen seasons in the NBA.
This is a guy that's a two time world champion,
a guy that I think led the league and assists
in steals at times. I think some have called him
the smartest basketball player that they've ever played with. He's
(11:12):
done it at the Celtics, He's done that the Lakers.
A great career for Rondo. Did you what do you?
What are your memories of him at Kentucky and also
just in general.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
His Actually his first two years of the UK were
my first first two years of the UK, so I
follow him closely. He's from Louisville, so I watched him
play in high school at Eastern High School, So from Louisville. Yeah,
so I watched him play there. Red had a chance
to break Rono's steelsburger this year, but I also didn't
play too far into March. So Ronald has the record
(11:44):
for most steels at UK long career in the pros.
Like I said one twice, I mean, it's pretty It's
hard to do better than that, in my opinion, someone
from Louisville playing for UK and playing so long and
then the pros, it's it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, and Kentucky could have definitely used a veteran point
guard at times this year, like a rage on Rondo.
But you mentioned read Shepherd. He just won another Freshman
of the Year award lately recently. There's no way he
comes back, right, I mean this, what do we think
percentage wise? We do percentage chances here on KSR court.
(12:20):
Give me a percentage chance read Shepherd comes back.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
I would go.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That is a lot higher then. You know, I think
maybe most people have it at.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I mean, with the money he can make. I mean,
it's not you know, it's tempting. I'm sure he's got
a bad taste in his mouth from how how the
season ended and how he played, especially the last game.
His parents had a lot of success at UK, so
I mean he might try and come back and do better.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Really, it is a special situation, right, It is him
that his parents both played there. He kind of understands
what it means to wear the blue and white more
so than the other kids that do. Let's be honest,
these kids aren't going to Kentucky because of the history, right,
They're going into because of the coach and the possibility
to go to the NBA. And I think to some
in the Big Blue Nation, that's where kind of maybe
(13:14):
the problems start with cal is that he's too focused
about players and not winning, Right, do you think that's
that's fair, Cory, because ultimately, if you're a coach, I
think you want to develop your players. You want that
set them up for life. This is much more than
just winning games. But to a point, you've got to
win games at some point, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I think the diehard fans are a tough spy because
I mean most of them, I mean they care about wins,
playing simple. I mean seventeen final four ars, eight tittles,
I mean something to people. But I mean also, like
I said, at the same time, you know, we would
like to care about the players and see him you
will at both levels college and pro. So we're not
(13:56):
getting the college success of late So I don't Okay's
got you something.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
He's got to do something, Corey, but he's not changing
up the staff. Let's hopefully let's you know, he's got
to find somebody in the transfer portal. But will he
be able to sell them on playing time, because that
is what is important to these kids looking for new schools.
Will they be able to offer them enough money from
some of the things that we've heard some of that
isn't getting communicated properly within the program. So these are
(14:23):
all issues that you know, we will all be talking
about endlessly until the next season starts. But uh, you
know what that's I'd have it no other way, you
know what I mean? In this state, that's no professional
sports teams. That is what the focus is. Five two
four one four seven two four is on text line
if you'd like to ask Corey any questions. Uh. On
his next final segment before we make way for Tom Creen,
(14:46):
I want to talk a little baseball because we've got
uku of l tonight after it got postponed yesterday. And
also Western Kentucky's got a new coach, Steve Lutz moving
on to Oklahoma State. We'll tell you who the new
man is for the Toppers when we come back. It's
Cory Price and Billy Rutledge here on this Wednesday edition
of the KSR pre Show. We will be right back.
Welcome back. It is the KSR pre Show. Billy Rutledge
(15:08):
and Corey Price joining me for one more segment. Uh
eight five nine two eight oh two two eight seven
or Texas at five oh two four one four one
seven two four. You coming to Matt Jones Trivia tonight, Corey.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I am I am a nerd at heart. I'm always
trying to make make the finals. I think last time,
I think we came pretty close. So hopefully we get
over that.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
That to hump tonight, you were telling me that there's
a large power ball out there. I think one point
nine billion, I think is the Smate jackpot. What would
you do with one point nine billion dollars? What would
I do for one point oh nine billion? Well, first
of all, I'd probably take two weeks off. I'm using
all my iHeart vacation right now, and then I'm probably
coming back to work. I don't know if I can.
(15:49):
Just I've got to have a purpose in my life, Corey,
you know what I mean, And waking up and doing
this show, I think to a degree gives me a purpose.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
That's that's that's awesome. You know. Uh me personally, I
wouldn't bet on myself to win one point oh nine
billion dollars, But Billy, if I did well, I bet
where would I go?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay, Cory, you now you're picking it up. Now, you're
a little savvy radio veteran over that you go to
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(16:29):
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(16:51):
Terms at sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com. Slash Ky look
at you, Cory are looking leading me into DraftKings. We've
got some questions for you. The first one comes via Twitter.
One person says, can you have Corey Price talk about
his process of data analytics and where he pulls from archives?
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Don't have a process, but I mean, I mean UK
has a fact book. I have access uh to old
papers through news newspapers dot coms I go through old
box scores that way. We had just uh old papers
in the in the in the UK that but John
Scott has an amazing website, Big Blue History dot net.
(17:31):
I mean that's I mean, by far, the best website
on planet Earth.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So the old newspaper thing, there's just like a database
that you go through and so you're like, oh, Adam
Luckett's on the show today. Let me look up Adam
Luckett and any reference of Adam Luckett and any newspaper
will come up correct.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Yeah, that's true. And uh, if you mentioned I did
try to look up some on Adam and I couldn't
really find a lot. I guess he was. I don't know,
not sure, but yeah. And also have a uh says
to a high school yearbook archive, which is where I
found all the opening.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
The old year But yeah, well you haven't found or
you haven't posted at least the one of me I
think I was. I was voted most likely to host
a reality TV show.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Well this is this is real, right, I mean it's
not TV, but it's real, so it's close enough.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I guess. Yeah. I mean working with Shan the dude
every day is a little bit like a reality rock star.
He's a rock star and he's got mice in his garage,
and we've got to figure out solutions for that. One
person says, Billy, can you ask Corey to give some
stats on what Kentucky's percentage was on layups? You know,
I don't know if Corey just has that off the
top of his head, but it did feel like it's
(18:41):
not good. Were there any surprising things that stuck out
to you, like stats wise this year?
Speaker 3 (18:49):
It's how about on defense? I think we gave up like, oh,
eighty points that can't count? How many we can't at
least eighty.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
And I mean averaging eighty the game, right.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Yeah, and I guess read Rob and Reuse combined to
shoot forty seven percent from three, which is I mean,
that's part even fathom.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Which is amazing, and also coaching malpractice of why they
didn't get more time on the court. At the same time, Yeah,
it was.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
It was frustrating to say the least. For sure.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Uh, if I've two two two eight seven, we do
want to take one call with Corey on the show
with us, and that is Casey. Casey is on the
phone and I think she wanted to surprise you. Good morning, Casey,
Good morning.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Sorry, I'm in a hotale in a pool.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Well I'm not in Casey, we could barely hear you.
You kind of got an echo on us right now?
Are we on speaker phone?
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Sorry? I got just can you hear me now?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Thank you? Casey? What do you got for us?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
I'm sorry, so good morning. I just wanted to just
give Corey some flowers. He I've known Corey for a
long time. I've bet into this show and he is
honestly the best human being on this planet. Sorry, am
I gonna emotional? He's one of my best friends. Beyond
this show and beyond stats, he is the best human
And I just wanted to know what is it like
(20:10):
being a busy senator and the statistician magician? What's your
favorite part of looking at stats?
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Forth?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
Corey Pryce, and thank you guys.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
You all have a great day.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Thank you, Kazy You're the best. Uh. I mean the
best thing for me is sitting next to Tom Leach.
I mean that's I mean, it's still hard to fathom.
I've done it for two seasons and I still can't
believe it. What Tom started calling games for football in
ninety seven. I was just twelve and if you told
me at twelve years old that one day I would
be sitting next to Tom Leach, I would sell you,
(20:39):
tell you you were nuts. So it's crazy. That's awesome,
and I don't take it for granted. And Jeff's awesome too.
Jeff's a funny guy. It's it's it's crazy to work
with those guys.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
They say don't meet your heroes, but that does not
apply when it comes to the UK Sports Network broadcast
team and Tom Leach and Jeff Precory. Those guys are
down to earth and nicer than in some of the
any of the people I've met in this business.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Tom is a true pros pro and he's always been
kind to me. So I have nothing but awesome work
to say that.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
All right, just a minute left or so. The Hilltoppers
have moved on from Steve Lottz. He's gone to the
Oklahoma State after one year, returning them to glory. They
have promoted assistant Hank Polona to head coach. Hank had
over an eight hundred percent winning percentage at Indian Hills
Community College for eight seasons.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Yes, you can't win.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Well, well, you see, this is why I've got you for
stat scorre.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
What is what is it?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Point eight hundred point eight? Yeah, how would I pronounce it?
That's a great question. But he was two hundred and
twenty five and thirty five and eight seasons at Indian
Hills Community College and now he'll take over the tops.
You know, it's worked in the past when assistants have
promoted to head coach on the Hill. I think of
Jeff Brohm after Bobby Petrino left, and hopefully that translates
(21:58):
on the basketball side. But fun watching the Hilltoppers, right,
I mean they looked good against Marquette for a hag.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
They played Marquetell for about twenty five minutes. Yeah, sure,
sure did they did.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Hey well Corey, Uh, just like Casey said, want to
give you your flowers. Man, you do a great job and
appreciate you joining me this morning.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Thank you, Billy. It was an honor and a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
All right, Corey Price. Follow him on Twitter at what's
your Twitter handle name?
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Corey P zero eight.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
He does a great job. Thank you to Corey. Tom Crean,
the former Indiana coach, is next here on the ksrpre Show.
All right, Welcome back. It is the KSR pre Show.
We roll along on a Wednesday. Big thank you to
Corey Price for joining us in the first half of
the show. He does a great job with the UK
Sports Network and all the stats that he puts out
now joining us is a familiar face. He is a
(22:43):
former coach, he is a broadcaster, he is a father,
he is a friend of the show. Former guests of
the Ksrpre Show. Tom Crean is now on the phone.
Good morning, Tom, how are you.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I'm doing great, Billy. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, absolutely, I really appreciate your time during this busy month.
I'm sure for you and before we get into the
final four this weekend and everything that's been going on.
What's been going on with you, Tom, How is life
looking right now? Are you doing a lot of broadcasting.
Are you spending some time with the family. What's been
going on the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Well, the broadcasting has slowed down, it's been busy. It's
been great with ESPN, with Westwood one Radio. I was
just in Evansville this past weekend for the Division two championship,
which was great to be a part of watching Minnesota
State played Nova Southeastern in a game that came down
to shot with one second to go from Minnesota State
(23:35):
to win it. I did the Memphis Regional for radio,
and then before that had TV games then or games
for television. I should say that a lot of studio
at ESPN. So it's definitely been busy, but it's been
good and I'm around this week now though, so now
as much broadcasting now.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Well, now you get to sit back a little bit
and watch some of this great basketball. It is the
best month of the year, Tom, at least in my opinion,
with all the basketball game going on, and we've got
the Final Four this weekend. I kind of wanted to
go through some of the teams with you and some
of your overall thoughts because I feel like we have
storylines everywhere throughout this Final Four, and none bigger than
Danny Hurley and this Yukon team. I'm looking to go
(24:15):
back to back and they're doing it in unprecedented fashion.
How are they good? So good? Tom? What is Danny?
What is he cut into with this team? How has
he found so much success because they're doing it with
almost a completely a different roster than they did last year.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Well, they get incredible connectedness and movement offensively, and they're
as good a passing team, if not the best passing
team in my opinion, in the country. And they move
it quickly and they run a lot of great actions.
But most importantly, the actions are great because the players
can make plays not only for themselves but for one another.
(24:52):
And then obviously they have a future lottery big man
and Donovan Klingen and a backup in Sampson Johnson that
really really compliment one another. But there are just so
many guys on their team that make plays for each other.
Then defensively, they really don't get out of whack. They
don't get they don't get into a lot of long
(25:12):
closeouts or where they've got to be an extended rotations
because somebody was in the wrong place. They're really really connected.
So obviously they're extremely well coached. They've got a deep team.
They improved throughout the year. I mean to watch what
Stefan Castle has done from going from being primarily a
point guard and a great one in high school in
(25:33):
an aau to see how well he moves without the ball,
how much he impacts the game without the ball for Yukon,
how much he can cut now and make plays. It's
just it's fun to watch them, and they just play
with so much speed. But it's one thing to play
with speed and be reckless. They're not reckless, you know,
They're They're really really on point with one another. And
(25:56):
I don't know how they get beat. They're going to
have to have a really real lead bad night offensively,
and to have a lot of breakdowns defensively, and somebody
would have to come in and just shoot the ball
incredibly well for them to get beat, because they're that good.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah, and as long as coach has his Lucky Dragon
underwear on, Tom, I think Yukon has got a really
good shot at repeating did you have any superstitions like
that when you were in when you were taching?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
No, And maybe that worked for him, but I think
his recruiting and his development of his team's got a
little more to do with it. Probably have those type
of things. I didn't have those type of things. I
drove the same way to the arenas and tried to
leave at the same time for home games. Little stupid
things like that, but nothing with the clothes.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Speaking of a team that has the possibility of shooting
really well, against Yukon Alabama and Natoates has made the
Final four, I believe the first final four to four Alabama.
You know, Natoates has been looked at as an innovator
in college basketball, really shooting a lot of threes as
of late. I guess they've done it in many different way.
But you know, Tom, they looked dead in the water
(27:02):
at the end of the SEC Tournament in the regular season,
and they have pulled off a miraculous run. You know,
what are your thoughts on NATO's and kind of the
coaching job he's done, you know, of taking Alabama to
some new heights.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Well, I think he's done a great job and he's
got a really good staff. They played extremely fast, and
everybody sees the threes and rightful listo like they had
sixteen of them against Clemson. But it's the layups. It's
the layups that they get that separate them. They do
a great job of playing two man action on one
side of the floor, having three people spaced and when
(27:38):
they kick the ball, they drive it again right like immediately,
and so when they get that's when they're at their best.
And then they make another pass for three or they
get something going all the way to the rim. So
they have really good spacing, really good unselfishness, and they
really haven't been challenged. Clemson had good big men, they
challenge them. Carolina had good big men challenge them, but
(28:01):
not where they went to them all the time. And
I think that's where there, that's where their weaknesses. They
struggle in the post with the defense. They're easy to
post up and the sense that you have size and
strength and you really duck in and and are committed
to ceilium. You can do that, and they don't get
a ton of pressure at the rim defensively, so like
(28:23):
you have to go inside on them if you're going
to beat them, and I think when they got beat
inside of the sec things like that happened. But they
are really really good on that perimeter and they're big.
Like Grant Nelson who's coming up maybe his best game.
He can obviously shoot the ball. I think the thing
that's going to be the problem for Yukon is defending
(28:43):
the paint, especially Donovan Klingon. But I think they're going
to struggle getting the layups that they get normally because
of the rim pressure that that Yukon can put on
their help is pretty good. And then Donovan Klingon and
Samson Johnson can create problems defensively at the rim like that.
Not only do they block the shots, it's the shots
(29:05):
that you don't think you can get because they're there,
and you know, there's different ways to challenge. You can
block the shot, you can draw a charge, you can
change the shot, all right. Well, you also have the
presence when you're in the paint that somebody doesn't think
that they can get there. And I think Yukon has
all four of those things going for them in that
game against Alabama.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
You know a note about Nato, it's we talked about
the evolution of what he's brought to Alabama, the three pointers,
in the layups, taking the most efficient shot. He talked
about having a third party company come in and give
him some statistics at halftime that helped him make adjustments
throughout the game. Were you an analytics guy, Tom, Did
you have somebody on the staff giving you those stats
(29:47):
or was it more of a we had different things?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah, we have different things. And I think that company
that he's utilizing, I think they work with some other
teams in the SEC. They work with other teams around
the country. If it's the same group, I'm thinking I
didn't read the story, and I saw the headline, but
I didn't read the story. I knew that that group
had been with them. But yeah, I think you're looking
for any piece of information that fits what you're doing.
I'm not sure it's innovative as much as it's just
(30:13):
being you know, taking advantage of the resources that you
have and and being able to listen to it. You know,
there's not a lot of new creations in basketball. Somebody
might come up with a new company, somebody might come
up with a new offense, but a lot of times
it's all derived from something else. And that's really what
analytics are. And when you're looking for matchups, when you're
(30:33):
looking for places that you're shooting the ball, there's so
many ways to get real time information during the game
that a lot of times at halftime, yeah, you may
adjust something, but if you wait till halftime to adjust
things and not make adjustments during the game during you know,
live action or during timeouts, you're going to be behind.
So I would I would think, you know, that's all
(30:55):
cool what they get at halftime, But I would think
that staff's pretty on top of things during the game.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
As well, you mentioned new creations. I'll mention two unicorns
in DJ Burns and Zach Edy. How fun is it
that we get to have that matchup in the final
four of those between those two big men. NC State
has an eleven seed making this magical run and then
purduing Zach Edy as the National Player of the Year.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Go ahead, Tom, Well, I think it's great. I mean,
I really do. I mean, I think it's going to
be fascinating how they get defended, because if you leave
both of them to defend each other, they're both going
to score because they both know how to score. They
both know how to spin, they both know how to
get positioned, they both know how to get into a rhythm,
(31:38):
you know when they want to get into their move,
especially DJ Burns with this far out as he is
comfortable catching the ball and going into his move. Zach
Edy's a little bit more seal at the lane type
of guy where DJ Burns will back you down into
the lane. But both of them do an incredible job
of reading how they're being played. Reading when you stand up,
(32:02):
taken advantage of the moment that you let down defensively,
so to me, it's going to come down to with
that matchup, who does the best job bringing help and
not bringing help necessarily early where they can just throw
the ball back out to somebody for three and get
the game in rotation. But who brings help on the dribble,
Who brings help before they get into their rhythm, before
(32:24):
they get into their move, Because both guys are phenomenal
at catching the ball and not only locating the defense
of the way they're being played. They can feel that
and a lot of times, you know special skills, you
can feel where the trap is coming from, so they
get that that it's locating where the help isn't all
right or is, so that they can make the pass out.
(32:46):
So you've got to be on them once they're into
their move because it's very, very hard to be into
your move and looking to pass the ball at the
same time. So who goes down, tries the time up,
tries to get them to pick the dribble up, and
who can do the best job stay in position because
Zach Edy, especially when he gives up the ball, he
(33:08):
is unbelievable being on to the next thing, whether it's receiling,
whether it's stepping across you, whether it's getting you on
his back so that he can get an offensive rebound position,
he's phenomenal at that. And then Dj Burns, it's incredibly
hard to block a shot because of his touch and
because of his wide shoulders and where he releases the
(33:28):
ball from. So he kind of got he's got an
advantage because he's got a great touch. So there's a
lot of there's a lot of storylines to that game,
but how those two are defended is going to be
the biggest one to me as a coach.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Tom is the one and done era dead. I mean,
we've seen college basketball trend older and older with the
COVID year, with the transfer portal. I think I saw
a stat that only three starters in the sweet sixteen
were freshmen. We're based out of Louisville and Lexington, and
Cali Perry likes to do it with freshman. He's got
another six incoming. He had his freshman in the year
(34:02):
and Reed Shepherd and Rob Dillingham, and that not to
mention guys like DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, But it
seems like the sports evolving and changing maybe past John Caliperry,
do you feel like the days are over of seventeen
and eighteen year olds dominating this.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
No, not at all, Not at all. I think the
days are over of it being that type of team.
And I don't think that's gonna I don't think that
plays well in a college basketball world where there's so
many older guys, you know, where it's much more common
for a team right now to average the age of
twenty one or twenty two, okay, or you know, twenty
(34:40):
and a half to twenty one. I should say there's
not a ton of teams that average twenty two twenty
two and a half. There's a couple, but it's really
hard to average eighteen to nineteen or nineteen to twenty.
I think it's just all about balance, I think, Billy,
I think that's what it is. I think it's really
really about balance. I don't think John's way is going away.
(35:00):
I think it's just I don't think it should. I
think it's a matter of having people like you. Look
at the Kentucky team. To me, they had a lot
of five men right now. Trey Mitchell may not have
been considered one, but that's what he was because that's
who he could guard. And they had the bigger, younger,
big guys on that team. They had young guards. Well,
they also had Antonio Reeves, right, they had guys that
(35:21):
were older. And I think the one thing John didn't
have that he's used to having this year that's so
good is he didn't have that foreman that changes the
game for him where he can post him. He's a
three point threat, he's a driver. If if John adds
to what he has with that team now and keeps
(35:42):
and keeps some of that team intact with the freshman
that he has, adds some people that can move without
the ball, add some people that can shoot, but truly
adds a foreman. I mean, you look at what Dalton
Connect did at Tennessee, right that they still had younger players. Yeah,
they had older players, they had young players. They had
a good mix. But he changed the game. Now, John
(36:03):
doesn't necessarily need a dult and Connect. Then he needs
a foreman that can have that type of impact. Not
maybe average twenty five points a game, all right, it's
not necessarily about that, but it's more about Kenny impact
the team and make everybody better. Because from where I
sat watching all these games, that was the one thing
(36:24):
they didn't have, and then if they just make some
tweaks and adjustments, especially to pick and roll defense and
to how they defend that John's team was at their
best this year when they weren't real depth oriented, right
when they weren't as deep, when they could play Yugana
maybe more minutes, and he got so much better during
(36:44):
the year. And obviously what you don't want to do
is you don't want to take away the shooting that
he had this year. I think they led the country
in three point shooting, or they were right near at
the top. Last time I looked, I think they did
lead the country in three point shooting. So you want that.
You don't want to lose. And even if you lose
some guys off that team, which invariably they will to
the draft, you don't want to lose the ability to
(37:06):
have that space that can have that shooting, because I
think he's really onto something with what he's doing offensively.
But you need that for man, you need some veterans
that you can put around those freshmen. And I think
he can find a way to have a really good
balance because he's got some of the best freshmen in
the country coming and he's also at a place where
he can add some of the best people from the
portal in the country, so it's really a good place
(37:28):
to be I think.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Yeah, we've seen guys like Oscar Siebwey come in as
a transfer and make a huge impact Stray Mitchell, like
you said, and to your point of a productive foreman,
Justin Edwards when he was playing confident and well at
the four, Kentucky really unlocked their potential. Tom Before I
let you go, The Kentucky Indiana Series has been revived,
starting in twenty twenty five and running through twenty twenty nine,
(37:49):
Kentucky and Indiana will meet again. As a former coach
of Ayu, I'm sure you love to hear that news,
am I right?
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Well, yeah, I should have never gone away. You shouldn't,
but it did. And as I've said numerous times in
the past, John actually tried to bring it back with
helping us get into that tournament that they do, or
that tournament, but with that classic that they do with
North Carolina, UCLA and Ohio State, and we were offered
(38:18):
that position, and our administration at the time didn't want
to do it because they didn't want to mess with
the Crossroads Classic. That was being played in Indianapolis along
with Purdue, Butler and Notre Dame, and instead of looking
for a date to change the Classic, they just decided
let's not play that game, which I was never in
(38:38):
agreement with because I thought it would have been a
perfect time to get that theories going again and it
would have maybe brought back more life and that was
all from from coach Calipari and CBS with that. So
the fact that it's there, I think it's great. It
went away. It shouldn't have it did. There was a
lot of needless drama inside of that and it just
(38:59):
it just is what it is. But it's back, and
I think that's great for college basketball. I think it's
great for television. I think it's great for the fan bases.
And I give coach Keller Perry a lot of credit
for agreeing to do it.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Well.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Tom, I really appreciate your time this morning and joining
us here on the ksrpre Show. It's your second time
on the show, and as a former Hilltopper, I love
having you on. Steve lotz Man, it was fun watching
the Tops. They looked good against Marquette for a half
and now they've hired their new assistant, Hank Plona as
the new head coach. So you know, I'm hoping things
can stay positive on the hill, and I'm hoping you're
doing well. Tom. I really appreciate you joining us, and
(39:34):
we'll have to talk some basketball again soon.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Absolutely absolutely. I wish I could be around there more often,
but I really appreciate you having me on Billy, So
thank you.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
All Right, there you go. Tom Creane, the former head
coach of IU and many other places Georgia, most recently
now a broadcaster on ESPN. A great guy and another
great interview here on the KSR. Appreciow we need to
take a break. We'll wrap things up here in the
final segment the ksrpre Show will be right back. Welcome back,
(40:04):
the final segment of the KSR pre Show. Just a
couple of minutes left here before we hand it off
to KSR, which I'm going to be joining them today
Drew Franklin and Matt Jones. It's to be an extended
episode to fade this. Hopefully I'm not going to have
to call anybody in a random town in the United
States of America. If you haven't checked out that podcast,
I highly recommend it. We do have some breaking news
(40:25):
a schedule update. The Kentucky Louisville baseball game has been
postponed again. There is currently no makeup date and further
details will be communicated, but as of now, the UK
and U OFL baseball game has been postponed again. Not
sure about the softball game. We have a softball game
as well for Kentucky and apparently that is postponed as
(40:49):
Matt walks in and tells me the news. So no softball,
no baseball. We get a little bit more inclement weather
on the way, so that will cause a delay in
any UK athletics action. Big thank you to Corey Price
and Tom Crean for joining us here on this edition
of the KSR pre Show. And before we let you go,
let me remind you about the best place to do
(41:10):
your sports gambling, and that's DraftKings. And with the college
basketball tournament time here and March Mania is here, i
just hit a huge parlay over the weekend for the
final four, so I'm back into it. It's a America's
top rated sportsbook. It's DraftKings and if you use the
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(41:32):
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(41:56):
slash b ball. All right, that's gonna do it for us.
KSR is next. I'm Bill the Reutlags. This has been
the KSR preacher.
Welcome everyone to another edition of the KSR pre Show.
Today is Wednesday, April third. I am Billy Rutledge. We
continue our week of guest without Shannon the Dude. You
can gives call on the Clark's Pump and Shot phone
line that's eight five nine two eight oh two two
eight seven, or you can always text us at five
oh two four one four one seven two four. We've
(00:21):
got a loaded show today. Big thank you to everybody
that's joined us so far. And UH, a little later
on the show today at nine thirty, Tom Crean, the
former Indiana coach and former guest of the KSR pre Show,
is going to join us via the phone. But up
until then, I've got my good friend Corey Price with me,
the UK Sports Network statitician.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
If you have a Twitter account and you are a
part of the Big Blue Nation, you know about Corey Price.
It is unbelievable some of the statistics that he's been
able to bring up. And uh, we have him on
the show this morning. We are live here at chaospar
and Girl. Good morning, Corey, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Good morning Billy. I guess say, first off, longtime listener,
first time guest.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I'd ring the bell for you. If it wasn't in
my car, I always leave it in there. For some reason,
you said you never thought you'd be on the show
right before the show started. Why did you say that? Man,
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's I don't know. I feel like I'm an average Joe.
I guess you'd say, oh, I don't think I'm that special,
but hey, it's it's a no I know, like a
lot of people out there listen to you and SHANEA
Sinces day one. So this is awesome beyond here obviously,
chance not here today world thing of him and his
family today.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
For sure, we absolutely are. I am dressed in all black,
not just a for a point of style, but I
am going to the funeral later today. And uh, but
I do want to say before we get started, you
do a great job. Man. I don't know how you
got the position that you got, but I think it
had a lot to do with hard work and you know, grinding.
I mean, and some of the stats that you bring
(01:50):
up is amazing. How do you do it so quickly?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
I don't know. It's uh, it's starting in middle school.
I just I don't know. I started to really dig
deep on like box scores and stats and records and
history and stuff. So for that a long time, it
just I guess practice, I guess you say, And I'm
obviously it's on UK stuff, which I know a lot
about already, so I kind of know going in, like
what to look for and what not what not to
look for.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So you grew up a Kentucky fan and it's just
you kind of live, breathe and eat all of this, right, yep.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
When when Tim Couch came kim uk and uh ninety six, Uh,
that's when my fan like really really really grew and
it's been just growing since since then.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well you do, uh, Like I said, I do a
great job of not only finding stats but being a
statian on the football broadcast. We've enjoyed you as a
part of that team, even though you do a little
bit of cheering in the press box when that you know,
the booth cam is something that we love to see,
and when Tom and Jeff are getting into it, and
you were getting into it about as much as anybody
(02:52):
during that Louisville game, I guess it was you couldn't
kind of just control that.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Right, Yeah, I mean it's different in the press box,
you can't do anything, but in the boots you can
do some stuff. And I mean, born and raised in Louisville,
you know there's cards fans in my family. I went
to school with cards fans, I work with cards fans.
So I mean it's that the game means a lot.
So if if you saw the booth camp, I was
pretty pretty excited.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Now, one aspect that I love that you've brought to
the KISR pre show is that when we have a
guest on or we start talking about a topic, you're
able to find these old photos of people, not the
ones that you can just find on Google. It's like
you've got like an index of old newspapers or something
like that that you're able to use. And you sent
me one of yourself last night in an old Tampa
(03:34):
Bay buccaneer shirt. Right, I absolutely love it. Did you
were you a fan as a kid or well?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Uh no, uh uh Way back in the day, in
the summers, my family used to go to uh A, Tampa.
Actually I don't okay, I can't remember why honestly, but
it's several summers in a row we would go. So
I'm sure that that summer I'm sure, that's where I
got cut the shirt.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
So yeah, well, you know, glad to have you a
part of you know, a little buccaneer Nation. And now
that they're actually playing some good football instead of the
windless buco Bruce is back in the day, we can
talk about it like that. You can give us a
tax five two four one four one seven two four.
Corey Price is going to join us for the first
two segments today before he makes way for Tom Crean
(04:20):
in a phone interview, Were he able to stay on
your feet yesterday during the storms here in Lexington and Louisville,
because the video of that Kentucky student getting blown over
was national news man, I mean it was on all
of the networks as tornadoes, you know, kind of ravaged
our area, our state and many other border states as well.
Luckily the damage wasn't too bad, but there's some down
(04:42):
power lines. Chevy Chase and Lexington got hit pretty hard.
But when any time you see trees ripped out of
the ground, it is always serious. How'd you make out yesterday?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Luckily I was safe. I think there was a tornado
that confirmed touchdown in the northeastern part of Louisville, so thanky,
I don't live it. I mean, it's awful for them,
but I thank that I don't live in that part
of Louisill so I was safe. I walked many many
times I walked that same path that that student was
walking by last night or yesterday on campus.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So oh, so you know exactly where they were.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
The statue of Parison's right out outside of a Parison
Aupice tower. So I mean, I I can't say how
how many times I walked that path.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Well, you know, glad that she is okay. We got
an update later that she actually made it to class
after getting knocked down like that. She had a pretty
good strawberry on her arm. But uh, you know, you
know what, Corey, I think I'm skipping class if the
weather's like that, you know what I mean. I mean,
I'm a pretty good student, or I was, but I
think I take that day off.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I mean, there's some classes where tennis isn't even required,
so right, I definitely take that day off for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, you know, I think they did cancel classes on
the campus of Kentucky after that video kind of went viral,
So maybe she should have seen that one coming. But Corey,
while we got you here and you know Kentucky, so well,
let's talk a little Kentucky. We talked a lot of
Kentucky football yesterday with Cash Daniel and Adam Luckett, So
I want to shift gears a little bit to the
basketball team. The McDonald's All American Game was last night,
(06:15):
and I don't think either of us watched it.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
No, I didn't did watch this single second.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I'm still I'm not ready. I'm not ready, not over
the last season. I don't think too soon for sure.
Boogie Flann I think had the go ahead put back bucket,
which is encouraging to hear. Carter Knox play had some
playing time. Jaden Quaint and Pleat Yeah, also was there.
And he's sixteen. He's gonna have two years at Kentucky.
I love that development. But am I are we beating
(06:41):
our head against a wall? It looks like that we're
gonna be doing the same thing again at Kentucky this
next season. We've got six of them incoming fresh and
coming in. Matt Jones reporting yesterday they are unlikely to
make any staff changes on this Kentucky men's basketball team.
They say the definition is of insaneanity is doing the
same thing and expecting a different result. Does it feel
(07:03):
like we're just trying to reload and do the same
thing that they've done.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yeah, it feels like a Brooklyn record this point. It's
it's uh, honestly, it's frustrating. You know, the last four
years had been uh less than stellar, to say the least,
and you you would hope these these results would inspire
some some kind of change, and it looks like we're
running it back the same way. It's uh, it's it's
(07:29):
tough for a fans for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, it definitely worked at times, right, I mean, you
had a you destroyed Alabama, who's now in the final four,
which is which hurts to see. It could have been
a lot worse. Tennessee and Duke could have also been
there as well. Uh, but they killed Alabama earlier this year.
I mean, they beat Tennessee pretty handily at the last
game of the year. There are times that they looked
like the the potential that they possessed. But then the
(07:53):
postseason comes around and there isn't an emphasis on the
SEC tournament and all the pressure are on these kids
to perform in March, and who performed well in their
one NCAA Tournament game. It was the fifth year seniorship, right,
it was Antonio Reeves, it was Trey Mitchell. You know,
basketball has gotten so old, and I'm going to talk
about this a little bit with Tom Crane. I'd like
his thoughts on it. He's now an ESPN college basketball
(08:15):
analyst and very passionate about the NIIT. I don't know
if you saw his rant about that the other day,
but you know what, it seems like the cal is
doing the same thing again with these six freshmen, and
it's severely going to limit what they can bring in
with the roster and also with this coaching staff. You know,
continuity is a great thing. I talked a lot about
(08:36):
that yesterday and how the continuity of Mark Stoops has
been able to bring this program to new heights. But
it feels like sometimes a shakeup is needed, and it's
I don't know, already to me a little disappointing that
we aren't seeing more of that.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, Matt said previously that he thought there might be
one or two changes with the staff, and now he's
saying that there's probably not be any changes. So I
think we all want changes on defense. That was pretty
embarrass this past season, so you think maybe possibly Chin
might might might leave, but sounds like he's possibly staying.
(09:08):
So it's definitely frustrating.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Let me ask you something. Is it easier to sift
through those stats after a win, like after a great moment,
after a Reed Shepherd game winner, than it is after
a demoralizing loss and you're you're typing out stats like
this is the fifth time this year they've given up
one hundred points, And it's definitely not because it is
like that for me, Like, you know, if Kentucky were
(09:32):
to lose the game and we go through an hour
and a half post game show of people bitching the
entire time. I don't normally go and watch highlights of
the games the rest of the rest of the day,
but if they do win, you know, I'll put on
SEC now and watch the rest of the game. So
I'm kind of curious as somebody that does it. You know,
I guess for a living that you know what that's
like for you.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
I mean, I'm a fan first and foremost, so losses stink,
so stats after losses also stink. But I'm sure the
postium show great when kids call it, right.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Really, let's not talk about the kids, Cory. I mean,
they just they read the lines that their parents feed
them right before they go on the air.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Are our future?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
You know what I'm okay with kids, it's when the
callers lie to me, and you know the dad is
the one that answers the phone and then puts the
kid on. You know, it's just you're already you're misleading
and that's not what we're doing supposed to do on
a postgame show. You should let me put the kids
on when they should be on what you What happens
is it goes kid to kid to kid because I
(10:33):
don't know that the kids are on the line, and
then you've got fifteen minutes of the postgame show with
Matt going, hey there, what did you think of the game?
And I don't know. I've taken a little heat for that.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Well, maybe this coming season you'll change your year A
two done that.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
I will.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I will not they I love kids, they just don't
make for good radio. Some other news Rajon Rondo announcing
his retirement on a podcast. Sixteen seasons in the NBA.
This is a guy that's a two time world champion,
a guy that I think led the league and assists
in steals at times. I think some have called him
the smartest basketball player that they've ever played with. He's
(11:12):
done it at the Celtics, He's done that the Lakers.
A great career for Rondo. Did you what do you?
What are your memories of him at Kentucky and also
just in general.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
His Actually his first two years of the UK were
my first first two years of the UK, so I
follow him closely. He's from Louisville, so I watched him
play in high school at Eastern High School, So from Louisville. Yeah,
so I watched him play there. Red had a chance
to break Rono's steelsburger this year, but I also didn't
play too far into March. So Ronald has the record
(11:44):
for most steels at UK long career in the pros.
Like I said one twice, I mean, it's pretty It's
hard to do better than that, in my opinion, someone
from Louisville playing for UK and playing so long and
then the pros, it's it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, and Kentucky could have definitely used a veteran point
guard at times this year, like a rage on Rondo.
But you mentioned read Shepherd. He just won another Freshman
of the Year award lately recently. There's no way he
comes back, right, I mean this, what do we think
percentage wise? We do percentage chances here on KSR court.
(12:20):
Give me a percentage chance read Shepherd comes back.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
I would go.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That is a lot higher then. You know, I think
maybe most people have it at.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I mean, with the money he can make. I mean,
it's not you know, it's tempting. I'm sure he's got
a bad taste in his mouth from how how the
season ended and how he played, especially the last game.
His parents had a lot of success at UK, so
I mean he might try and come back and do better.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Really, it is a special situation, right, It is him
that his parents both played there. He kind of understands
what it means to wear the blue and white more
so than the other kids that do. Let's be honest,
these kids aren't going to Kentucky because of the history, right,
They're going into because of the coach and the possibility
to go to the NBA. And I think to some
in the Big Blue Nation, that's where kind of maybe
(13:14):
the problems start with cal is that he's too focused
about players and not winning, Right, do you think that's
that's fair, Cory, because ultimately, if you're a coach, I
think you want to develop your players. You want that
set them up for life. This is much more than
just winning games. But to a point, you've got to
win games at some point, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I think the diehard fans are a tough spy because
I mean most of them, I mean they care about wins,
playing simple. I mean seventeen final four ars, eight tittles,
I mean something to people. But I mean also, like
I said, at the same time, you know, we would
like to care about the players and see him you
will at both levels college and pro. So we're not
(13:56):
getting the college success of late So I don't Okay's
got you something.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
He's got to do something, Corey, but he's not changing
up the staff. Let's hopefully let's you know, he's got
to find somebody in the transfer portal. But will he
be able to sell them on playing time, because that
is what is important to these kids looking for new schools.
Will they be able to offer them enough money from
some of the things that we've heard some of that
isn't getting communicated properly within the program. So these are
(14:23):
all issues that you know, we will all be talking
about endlessly until the next season starts. But uh, you
know what that's I'd have it no other way, you
know what I mean? In this state, that's no professional
sports teams. That is what the focus is. Five two
four one four seven two four is on text line
if you'd like to ask Corey any questions. Uh. On
his next final segment before we make way for Tom Creen,
(14:46):
I want to talk a little baseball because we've got
uku of l tonight after it got postponed yesterday. And
also Western Kentucky's got a new coach, Steve Lutz moving
on to Oklahoma State. We'll tell you who the new
man is for the Toppers when we come back. It's
Cory Price and Billy Rutledge here on this Wednesday edition
of the KSR pre Show. We will be right back.
Welcome back. It is the KSR pre Show. Billy Rutledge
(15:08):
and Corey Price joining me for one more segment. Uh
eight five nine two eight oh two two eight seven
or Texas at five oh two four one four one
seven two four. You coming to Matt Jones Trivia tonight, Corey.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I am I am a nerd at heart. I'm always
trying to make make the finals. I think last time,
I think we came pretty close. So hopefully we get
over that.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
That to hump tonight, you were telling me that there's
a large power ball out there. I think one point
nine billion, I think is the Smate jackpot. What would
you do with one point nine billion dollars? What would
I do for one point oh nine billion? Well, first
of all, I'd probably take two weeks off. I'm using
all my iHeart vacation right now, and then I'm probably
coming back to work. I don't know if I can.
(15:49):
Just I've got to have a purpose in my life, Corey,
you know what I mean, And waking up and doing
this show, I think to a degree gives me a purpose.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
That's that's that's awesome. You know. Uh me personally, I
wouldn't bet on myself to win one point oh nine
billion dollars, But Billy, if I did well, I bet
where would I go?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay, Cory, you now you're picking it up. Now, you're
a little savvy radio veteran over that you go to
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(16:29):
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(16:51):
Terms at sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com. Slash Ky look
at you, Cory are looking leading me into DraftKings. We've
got some questions for you. The first one comes via Twitter.
One person says, can you have Corey Price talk about
his process of data analytics and where he pulls from archives?
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Don't have a process, but I mean, I mean UK
has a fact book. I have access uh to old
papers through news newspapers dot coms I go through old
box scores that way. We had just uh old papers
in the in the in the UK that but John
Scott has an amazing website, Big Blue History dot net.
(17:31):
I mean that's I mean, by far, the best website
on planet Earth.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So the old newspaper thing, there's just like a database
that you go through and so you're like, oh, Adam
Luckett's on the show today. Let me look up Adam
Luckett and any reference of Adam Luckett and any newspaper
will come up correct.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Yeah, that's true. And uh, if you mentioned I did
try to look up some on Adam and I couldn't
really find a lot. I guess he was. I don't know,
not sure, but yeah. And also have a uh says
to a high school yearbook archive, which is where I
found all the opening.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
The old year But yeah, well you haven't found or
you haven't posted at least the one of me I
think I was. I was voted most likely to host
a reality TV show.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Well this is this is real, right, I mean it's
not TV, but it's real, so it's close enough.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I guess. Yeah. I mean working with Shan the dude
every day is a little bit like a reality rock star.
He's a rock star and he's got mice in his garage,
and we've got to figure out solutions for that. One
person says, Billy, can you ask Corey to give some
stats on what Kentucky's percentage was on layups? You know,
I don't know if Corey just has that off the
top of his head, but it did feel like it's
(18:41):
not good. Were there any surprising things that stuck out
to you, like stats wise this year?
Speaker 3 (18:49):
It's how about on defense? I think we gave up like, oh,
eighty points that can't count? How many we can't at
least eighty.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
And I mean averaging eighty the game, right.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Yeah, and I guess read Rob and Reuse combined to
shoot forty seven percent from three, which is I mean,
that's part even fathom.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Which is amazing, and also coaching malpractice of why they
didn't get more time on the court. At the same time, Yeah,
it was.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
It was frustrating to say the least. For sure.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Uh, if I've two two two eight seven, we do
want to take one call with Corey on the show
with us, and that is Casey. Casey is on the
phone and I think she wanted to surprise you. Good morning, Casey,
Good morning.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Sorry, I'm in a hotale in a pool.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Well I'm not in Casey, we could barely hear you.
You kind of got an echo on us right now?
Are we on speaker phone?
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Sorry? I got just can you hear me now?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Thank you? Casey? What do you got for us?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
I'm sorry, so good morning. I just wanted to just
give Corey some flowers. He I've known Corey for a
long time. I've bet into this show and he is
honestly the best human being on this planet. Sorry, am
I gonna emotional? He's one of my best friends. Beyond
this show and beyond stats, he is the best human
And I just wanted to know what is it like
(20:10):
being a busy senator and the statistician magician? What's your
favorite part of looking at stats?
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Forth?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
Corey Pryce, and thank you guys.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
You all have a great day.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Thank you, Kazy You're the best. Uh. I mean the
best thing for me is sitting next to Tom Leach.
I mean that's I mean, it's still hard to fathom.
I've done it for two seasons and I still can't
believe it. What Tom started calling games for football in
ninety seven. I was just twelve and if you told
me at twelve years old that one day I would
be sitting next to Tom Leach, I would sell you,
(20:39):
tell you you were nuts. So it's crazy. That's awesome,
and I don't take it for granted. And Jeff's awesome too.
Jeff's a funny guy. It's it's it's crazy to work
with those guys.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
They say don't meet your heroes, but that does not
apply when it comes to the UK Sports Network broadcast
team and Tom Leach and Jeff Precory. Those guys are
down to earth and nicer than in some of the
any of the people I've met in this business.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Tom is a true pros pro and he's always been
kind to me. So I have nothing but awesome work
to say that.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
All right, just a minute left or so. The Hilltoppers
have moved on from Steve Lottz. He's gone to the
Oklahoma State after one year, returning them to glory. They
have promoted assistant Hank Polona to head coach. Hank had
over an eight hundred percent winning percentage at Indian Hills
Community College for eight seasons.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Yes, you can't win.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Well, well, you see, this is why I've got you for
stat scorre.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
What is what is it?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Point eight hundred point eight? Yeah, how would I pronounce it?
That's a great question. But he was two hundred and
twenty five and thirty five and eight seasons at Indian
Hills Community College and now he'll take over the tops.
You know, it's worked in the past when assistants have
promoted to head coach on the Hill. I think of
Jeff Brohm after Bobby Petrino left, and hopefully that translates
(21:58):
on the basketball side. But fun watching the Hilltoppers, right,
I mean they looked good against Marquette for a hag.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
They played Marquetell for about twenty five minutes. Yeah, sure,
sure did they did.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Hey well Corey, Uh, just like Casey said, want to
give you your flowers. Man, you do a great job and
appreciate you joining me this morning.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Thank you, Billy. It was an honor and a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
All right, Corey Price. Follow him on Twitter at what's
your Twitter handle name?
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Corey P zero eight.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
He does a great job. Thank you to Corey. Tom Crean,
the former Indiana coach, is next here on the ksrpre Show.
All right, Welcome back. It is the KSR pre Show.
We roll along on a Wednesday. Big thank you to
Corey Price for joining us in the first half of
the show. He does a great job with the UK
Sports Network and all the stats that he puts out
now joining us is a familiar face. He is a
(22:43):
former coach, he is a broadcaster, he is a father,
he is a friend of the show. Former guests of
the Ksrpre Show. Tom Crean is now on the phone.
Good morning, Tom, how are you.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I'm doing great, Billy. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, absolutely, I really appreciate your time during this busy month.
I'm sure for you and before we get into the
final four this weekend and everything that's been going on.
What's been going on with you, Tom, How is life
looking right now? Are you doing a lot of broadcasting.
Are you spending some time with the family. What's been
going on the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Well, the broadcasting has slowed down, it's been busy. It's
been great with ESPN, with Westwood one Radio. I was
just in Evansville this past weekend for the Division two championship,
which was great to be a part of watching Minnesota
State played Nova Southeastern in a game that came down
to shot with one second to go from Minnesota State
(23:35):
to win it. I did the Memphis Regional for radio,
and then before that had TV games then or games
for television. I should say that a lot of studio
at ESPN. So it's definitely been busy, but it's been
good and I'm around this week now though, so now
as much broadcasting now.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Well, now you get to sit back a little bit
and watch some of this great basketball. It is the
best month of the year, Tom, at least in my opinion,
with all the basketball game going on, and we've got
the Final Four this weekend. I kind of wanted to
go through some of the teams with you and some
of your overall thoughts because I feel like we have
storylines everywhere throughout this Final Four, and none bigger than
Danny Hurley and this Yukon team. I'm looking to go
(24:15):
back to back and they're doing it in unprecedented fashion.
How are they good? So good? Tom? What is Danny?
What is he cut into with this team? How has
he found so much success because they're doing it with
almost a completely a different roster than they did last year.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Well, they get incredible connectedness and movement offensively, and they're
as good a passing team, if not the best passing
team in my opinion, in the country. And they move
it quickly and they run a lot of great actions.
But most importantly, the actions are great because the players
can make plays not only for themselves but for one another.
(24:52):
And then obviously they have a future lottery big man
and Donovan Klingen and a backup in Sampson Johnson that
really really compliment one another. But there are just so
many guys on their team that make plays for each other.
Then defensively, they really don't get out of whack. They
don't get they don't get into a lot of long
(25:12):
closeouts or where they've got to be an extended rotations
because somebody was in the wrong place. They're really really connected.
So obviously they're extremely well coached. They've got a deep team.
They improved throughout the year. I mean to watch what
Stefan Castle has done from going from being primarily a
point guard and a great one in high school in
(25:33):
an aau to see how well he moves without the ball,
how much he impacts the game without the ball for Yukon,
how much he can cut now and make plays. It's
just it's fun to watch them, and they just play
with so much speed. But it's one thing to play
with speed and be reckless. They're not reckless, you know,
They're They're really really on point with one another. And
(25:56):
I don't know how they get beat. They're going to
have to have a really real lead bad night offensively,
and to have a lot of breakdowns defensively, and somebody
would have to come in and just shoot the ball
incredibly well for them to get beat, because they're that good.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah, and as long as coach has his Lucky Dragon
underwear on, Tom, I think Yukon has got a really
good shot at repeating did you have any superstitions like
that when you were in when you were taching?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
No, And maybe that worked for him, but I think
his recruiting and his development of his team's got a
little more to do with it. Probably have those type
of things. I didn't have those type of things. I
drove the same way to the arenas and tried to
leave at the same time for home games. Little stupid
things like that, but nothing with the clothes.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Speaking of a team that has the possibility of shooting
really well, against Yukon Alabama and Natoates has made the
Final four, I believe the first final four to four Alabama.
You know, Natoates has been looked at as an innovator
in college basketball, really shooting a lot of threes as
of late. I guess they've done it in many different way.
But you know, Tom, they looked dead in the water
(27:02):
at the end of the SEC Tournament in the regular season,
and they have pulled off a miraculous run. You know,
what are your thoughts on NATO's and kind of the
coaching job he's done, you know, of taking Alabama to
some new heights.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Well, I think he's done a great job and he's
got a really good staff. They played extremely fast, and
everybody sees the threes and rightful listo like they had
sixteen of them against Clemson. But it's the layups. It's
the layups that they get that separate them. They do
a great job of playing two man action on one
side of the floor, having three people spaced and when
(27:38):
they kick the ball, they drive it again right like immediately,
and so when they get that's when they're at their best.
And then they make another pass for three or they
get something going all the way to the rim. So
they have really good spacing, really good unselfishness, and they
really haven't been challenged. Clemson had good big men, they
challenge them. Carolina had good big men challenge them, but
(28:01):
not where they went to them all the time. And
I think that's where there, that's where their weaknesses. They
struggle in the post with the defense. They're easy to
post up and the sense that you have size and
strength and you really duck in and and are committed
to ceilium. You can do that, and they don't get
a ton of pressure at the rim defensively, so like
(28:23):
you have to go inside on them if you're going
to beat them, and I think when they got beat
inside of the sec things like that happened. But they
are really really good on that perimeter and they're big.
Like Grant Nelson who's coming up maybe his best game.
He can obviously shoot the ball. I think the thing
that's going to be the problem for Yukon is defending
(28:43):
the paint, especially Donovan Klingon. But I think they're going
to struggle getting the layups that they get normally because
of the rim pressure that that Yukon can put on
their help is pretty good. And then Donovan Klingon and
Samson Johnson can create problems defensively at the rim like that.
Not only do they block the shots, it's the shots
(29:05):
that you don't think you can get because they're there,
and you know, there's different ways to challenge. You can
block the shot, you can draw a charge, you can
change the shot, all right. Well, you also have the
presence when you're in the paint that somebody doesn't think
that they can get there. And I think Yukon has
all four of those things going for them in that
game against Alabama.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
You know a note about Nato, it's we talked about
the evolution of what he's brought to Alabama, the three pointers,
in the layups, taking the most efficient shot. He talked
about having a third party company come in and give
him some statistics at halftime that helped him make adjustments
throughout the game. Were you an analytics guy, Tom, Did
you have somebody on the staff giving you those stats
(29:47):
or was it more of a we had different things?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah, we have different things. And I think that company
that he's utilizing, I think they work with some other
teams in the SEC. They work with other teams around
the country. If it's the same group, I'm thinking I
didn't read the story, and I saw the headline, but
I didn't read the story. I knew that that group
had been with them. But yeah, I think you're looking
for any piece of information that fits what you're doing.
I'm not sure it's innovative as much as it's just
(30:13):
being you know, taking advantage of the resources that you
have and and being able to listen to it. You know,
there's not a lot of new creations in basketball. Somebody
might come up with a new company, somebody might come
up with a new offense, but a lot of times
it's all derived from something else. And that's really what
analytics are. And when you're looking for matchups, when you're
(30:33):
looking for places that you're shooting the ball, there's so
many ways to get real time information during the game
that a lot of times at halftime, yeah, you may
adjust something, but if you wait till halftime to adjust
things and not make adjustments during the game during you know,
live action or during timeouts, you're going to be behind.
So I would I would think, you know, that's all
(30:55):
cool what they get at halftime, But I would think
that staff's pretty on top of things during the game.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
As well, you mentioned new creations. I'll mention two unicorns
in DJ Burns and Zach Edy. How fun is it
that we get to have that matchup in the final
four of those between those two big men. NC State
has an eleven seed making this magical run and then
purduing Zach Edy as the National Player of the Year.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Go ahead, Tom, Well, I think it's great. I mean,
I really do. I mean, I think it's going to
be fascinating how they get defended, because if you leave
both of them to defend each other, they're both going
to score because they both know how to score. They
both know how to spin, they both know how to
get positioned, they both know how to get into a rhythm,
(31:38):
you know when they want to get into their move,
especially DJ Burns with this far out as he is
comfortable catching the ball and going into his move. Zach
Edy's a little bit more seal at the lane type
of guy where DJ Burns will back you down into
the lane. But both of them do an incredible job
of reading how they're being played. Reading when you stand up,
(32:02):
taken advantage of the moment that you let down defensively,
so to me, it's going to come down to with
that matchup, who does the best job bringing help and
not bringing help necessarily early where they can just throw
the ball back out to somebody for three and get
the game in rotation. But who brings help on the dribble,
Who brings help before they get into their rhythm, before
(32:24):
they get into their move, Because both guys are phenomenal
at catching the ball and not only locating the defense
of the way they're being played. They can feel that
and a lot of times, you know special skills, you
can feel where the trap is coming from, so they
get that that it's locating where the help isn't all
right or is, so that they can make the pass out.
(32:46):
So you've got to be on them once they're into
their move because it's very, very hard to be into
your move and looking to pass the ball at the
same time. So who goes down, tries the time up,
tries to get them to pick the dribble up, and
who can do the best job stay in position because
Zach Edy, especially when he gives up the ball, he
(33:08):
is unbelievable being on to the next thing, whether it's receiling,
whether it's stepping across you, whether it's getting you on
his back so that he can get an offensive rebound position,
he's phenomenal at that. And then Dj Burns, it's incredibly
hard to block a shot because of his touch and
because of his wide shoulders and where he releases the
(33:28):
ball from. So he kind of got he's got an
advantage because he's got a great touch. So there's a
lot of there's a lot of storylines to that game,
but how those two are defended is going to be
the biggest one to me as a coach.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Tom is the one and done era dead. I mean,
we've seen college basketball trend older and older with the
COVID year, with the transfer portal. I think I saw
a stat that only three starters in the sweet sixteen
were freshmen. We're based out of Louisville and Lexington, and
Cali Perry likes to do it with freshman. He's got
another six incoming. He had his freshman in the year
(34:02):
and Reed Shepherd and Rob Dillingham, and that not to
mention guys like DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, But it
seems like the sports evolving and changing maybe past John Caliperry,
do you feel like the days are over of seventeen
and eighteen year olds dominating this.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
No, not at all, Not at all. I think the
days are over of it being that type of team.
And I don't think that's gonna I don't think that
plays well in a college basketball world where there's so
many older guys, you know, where it's much more common
for a team right now to average the age of
twenty one or twenty two, okay, or you know, twenty
(34:40):
and a half to twenty one. I should say there's
not a ton of teams that average twenty two twenty
two and a half. There's a couple, but it's really
hard to average eighteen to nineteen or nineteen to twenty.
I think it's just all about balance, I think, Billy,
I think that's what it is. I think it's really
really about balance. I don't think John's way is going away.
(35:00):
I think it's just I don't think it should. I
think it's a matter of having people like you. Look
at the Kentucky team. To me, they had a lot
of five men right now. Trey Mitchell may not have
been considered one, but that's what he was because that's
who he could guard. And they had the bigger, younger,
big guys on that team. They had young guards. Well,
they also had Antonio Reeves, right, they had guys that
(35:21):
were older. And I think the one thing John didn't
have that he's used to having this year that's so
good is he didn't have that foreman that changes the
game for him where he can post him. He's a
three point threat, he's a driver. If if John adds
to what he has with that team now and keeps
(35:42):
and keeps some of that team intact with the freshman
that he has, adds some people that can move without
the ball, add some people that can shoot, but truly
adds a foreman. I mean, you look at what Dalton
Connect did at Tennessee, right that they still had younger players. Yeah,
they had older players, they had young players. They had
a good mix. But he changed the game. Now, John
(36:03):
doesn't necessarily need a dult and Connect. Then he needs
a foreman that can have that type of impact. Not
maybe average twenty five points a game, all right, it's
not necessarily about that, but it's more about Kenny impact
the team and make everybody better. Because from where I
sat watching all these games, that was the one thing
(36:24):
they didn't have, and then if they just make some
tweaks and adjustments, especially to pick and roll defense and
to how they defend that John's team was at their
best this year when they weren't real depth oriented, right
when they weren't as deep, when they could play Yugana
maybe more minutes, and he got so much better during
(36:44):
the year. And obviously what you don't want to do
is you don't want to take away the shooting that
he had this year. I think they led the country
in three point shooting, or they were right near at
the top. Last time I looked, I think they did
lead the country in three point shooting. So you want that.
You don't want to lose. And even if you lose
some guys off that team, which invariably they will to
the draft, you don't want to lose the ability to
(37:06):
have that space that can have that shooting, because I
think he's really onto something with what he's doing offensively.
But you need that for man, you need some veterans
that you can put around those freshmen. And I think
he can find a way to have a really good
balance because he's got some of the best freshmen in
the country coming and he's also at a place where
he can add some of the best people from the
portal in the country, so it's really a good place
(37:28):
to be I think.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Yeah, we've seen guys like Oscar Siebwey come in as
a transfer and make a huge impact Stray Mitchell, like
you said, and to your point of a productive foreman,
Justin Edwards when he was playing confident and well at
the four, Kentucky really unlocked their potential. Tom Before I
let you go, The Kentucky Indiana Series has been revived,
starting in twenty twenty five and running through twenty twenty nine,
(37:49):
Kentucky and Indiana will meet again. As a former coach
of Ayu, I'm sure you love to hear that news,
am I right?
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Well, yeah, I should have never gone away. You shouldn't,
but it did. And as I've said numerous times in
the past, John actually tried to bring it back with
helping us get into that tournament that they do, or
that tournament, but with that classic that they do with
North Carolina, UCLA and Ohio State, and we were offered
(38:18):
that position, and our administration at the time didn't want
to do it because they didn't want to mess with
the Crossroads Classic. That was being played in Indianapolis along
with Purdue, Butler and Notre Dame, and instead of looking
for a date to change the Classic, they just decided
let's not play that game, which I was never in
(38:38):
agreement with because I thought it would have been a
perfect time to get that theories going again and it
would have maybe brought back more life and that was
all from from coach Calipari and CBS with that. So
the fact that it's there, I think it's great. It
went away. It shouldn't have it did. There was a
lot of needless drama inside of that and it just
(38:59):
it just is what it is. But it's back, and
I think that's great for college basketball. I think it's
great for television. I think it's great for the fan bases.
And I give coach Keller Perry a lot of credit
for agreeing to do it.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Well.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Tom, I really appreciate your time this morning and joining
us here on the ksrpre Show. It's your second time
on the show, and as a former Hilltopper, I love
having you on. Steve lotz Man, it was fun watching
the Tops. They looked good against Marquette for a half
and now they've hired their new assistant, Hank Plona as
the new head coach. So you know, I'm hoping things
can stay positive on the hill, and I'm hoping you're
doing well. Tom. I really appreciate you joining us, and
(39:34):
we'll have to talk some basketball again soon.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Absolutely absolutely. I wish I could be around there more often,
but I really appreciate you having me on Billy, So
thank you.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
All Right, there you go. Tom Creane, the former head
coach of IU and many other places Georgia, most recently
now a broadcaster on ESPN. A great guy and another
great interview here on the KSR. Appreciow we need to
take a break. We'll wrap things up here in the
final segment the ksrpre Show will be right back. Welcome back,
(40:04):
the final segment of the KSR pre Show. Just a
couple of minutes left here before we hand it off
to KSR, which I'm going to be joining them today
Drew Franklin and Matt Jones. It's to be an extended
episode to fade this. Hopefully I'm not going to have
to call anybody in a random town in the United
States of America. If you haven't checked out that podcast,
I highly recommend it. We do have some breaking news
(40:25):
a schedule update. The Kentucky Louisville baseball game has been
postponed again. There is currently no makeup date and further
details will be communicated, but as of now, the UK
and U OFL baseball game has been postponed again. Not
sure about the softball game. We have a softball game
as well for Kentucky and apparently that is postponed as
(40:49):
Matt walks in and tells me the news. So no softball,
no baseball. We get a little bit more inclement weather
on the way, so that will cause a delay in
any UK athletics action. Big thank you to Corey Price
and Tom Crean for joining us here on this edition
of the KSR pre Show. And before we let you go,
let me remind you about the best place to do
(41:10):
your sports gambling, and that's DraftKings. And with the college
basketball tournament time here and March Mania is here, i
just hit a huge parlay over the weekend for the
final four, so I'm back into it. It's a America's
top rated sportsbook. It's DraftKings and if you use the
code KSR and bet five dollars, you can get one
hundred and fifty dollars instantly in bonus bets. That's right.
(41:32):
To celebrate college basketball's most frenzy time of the year.
DraftKings is giving new customers a shot to rack up
some bonus bets. So that's DraftKings code KSR. The crown
is yours gambling problem called one hundred gambler eighteen plus
physically President Kentucky. Bonus bets are expired. Bonus bets expire
one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. Eligibility and
deposit restrictions apply. Terms at sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com
(41:56):
slash b ball. All right, that's gonna do it for us.
KSR is next. I'm Bill the Reutlags. This has been
the KSR preacher.
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