April 9, 2024 • 42 mins
Billy and Jack Pilgrim talk the UK coaching situation.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everyone to another edition of the KSR pre Show.
Today is Tuesday, April ninth. I am Billy Rutledge and
I got my showback. Happy to be back on enjoyed
yesterday with Matt and Ryan. It's been a busy week
or so with Shannon the Dude out. He should be
returning on Thursday. If you'd like to give us call
(00:20):
today eight five nine two a two two eight seven,
or you can Texas at five oh two four one
four one seven two four. Yesterday a crazy day throughout
the Big Blue Nation as we learned of the news
John Caliperi would be leaving Kentucky for Arkansas, and I
expect this week to be about as crazy as yesterday
was still waiting on that official word. I am live
(00:42):
here at KS Bar and Grill with no guest with
me in person, but we do have a guest on
the phone line this morning, and I think we can
all understand because he's on dad duty. It's one of
the most plugged in reporters throughout Kentucky basketball. It's Jack Pilgrim,
the host of the Sources Day podcast, and he also
does a great job on Kentucky Sports Radio dot Com.
(01:03):
Good morning, Jack, How are you doing this morning? How
is baby Billy? I'd love the name, How are you
doing this morning?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I named him after you. You've been such as an inspiration,
inspiration to him and in his life, so he just,
you know, yeah, we wanted to honor you in that way.
But yeah, dude, it's been just a ridiculous week. Forty
eight hour seventy two hours of just running on fumes.
I think I was on three hours of sleep yesterday
(01:30):
and didn't get much yesterday stand up for the National
Championship game. It's been rumor mill Central, where people are
coming out of the woodworks and you know, giving you
information and you don't know where it comes from, and
you know, brand new people you haven't talked to in
ten years saying that they have heard from a buddy's
aunts and cousins and third brothers saying that their horse
(01:56):
farms being bought in versales. So it's been an absolute whirlwind.
But hey, that's that's what we sign up for, man,
That's why this is all fun.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's exactly right, And I'm really glad that I'm having
you on today since we'll talk about some of the
things that we've seen whether it be Col walking his
dog with a stroller down Richmond Road, or a player's
only meeting get a can is getting canceled. And if
you'd like to ask Jack any questions over the phone
today eight five nine two eight zero two two eight seven.
Well we'll probably take some calls in the third segment,
but Jack, before we get there, let's let's talk about
(02:25):
that National Championship game last night. Yukon defeats Produced seventy
five to sixty. It's their sixth championship in twenty five years.
An unbelievable run by Yukon and now Dan Hurley with
a plus one hundred and forty point differential in the
tournament this year, just sensational. It has been amazing to
watch this team, this Yukon team throughout the tournament and
(02:46):
they capped it off with a National championship game last night.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, I mean the level of dominance and just the
confidence and how loose they are going into every the
game play and an execution with every little tiny detail,
where you have Dan Hurley going into games saying we
make a really hard tournament look easy. And that was
going to the final four like he still had two
games left to play, saying that we make this stuff
(03:13):
look easy, and then he goes and wins back to
back games by double dits thirteen plus points in both games.
It's unheard of the level of dominance back to back seasons.
The overall point differential, I think it was a twenty
twenty point margin of victory on average in twenty twenty
three and then twenty three point three this past run. So,
(03:36):
I mean, you're looking for a two year stretch of
start to finish, just blowing everybody out that you face
and just proving that you are the current face of
college basketball. I mean that you look no further than
what Dan Hurley's doing up in stores.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Maybe one of the more dominant teams I've ever seen
in my lifetime in college basketball. And while you know
Billy Donovan and the Gators did it in the early
two thousands, they did it with a lot of returning players.
Yukon had to replace three starters on the team from
a year ago. What makes Dan Hurley such a great coach?
You know he was he was a little bit whiny
on the sideline, very energetic during the national championship game.
(04:13):
At one point he got out of the coach's box
to push one of his players to start the offense.
I thought that was pretty funny. But you know, overall,
what do you think makes Dan Hurley a good coach?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
He is a maniac. He is in an obsessive, hungry
guy that stops at nothing to win basketball games. I again,
van Hurley being discussed the way that he has with
this Kentucky job, doing some betting and kind of you know,
people that have known him, been in his circle, that
(04:44):
have you know, kind of knows where he comes from,
what drives him. They say, he's just obsessed with becoming
the king that he wants to prove, almost like a
nineties Rick Patino, just the way that he is just
obsessed with winning and proving that he can be the
best of the best at the best of the best.
And that's kind of what he's doing. That's why he's
(05:06):
the current fase of basketball. But he's just always been
a guy that just obsesses over this craft. He said.
I mean, I mean, you just go on a historic
run of twenty three point three points per game winning differential,
and the first thing you say in your postgame interview
on the court is I'm a student of the game.
I'm always learning. I'm still trying to perfect my craft
(05:29):
and see what's next. Like, that's a guy that you know,
is it's not going to stop here. He's going to
continue to be hunger and continue to you know, do
bigger and better things. And that's why he's such an
unbelievably appealing Kentucky candidate. No matter what his personality is,
whether it kind of rubs some people the wrong way,
that dude wins. And this is a program that has
(05:50):
fallen short in that area a little bit too much
here in the last four years. And you'd have to
think that's something that Mitch Barnhardt, whether he loves the
personality itself and whether it rubs some people the wrong
way or not, that that's going to be something that
he's going to highly, highly prioritize in these next couple
of days.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
His name is in the coach and carousel, and I'm
sure many in Big Blue Nation would love to see
Dan Hurley in the blue and White. Don't know how
realistic it is, but that will start to take shape
over the next couple of days as Mitch Barnhart narrows
down his list before we get into maybe some of
the specifics of guys that you would like to see
at Kentucky. Your reaction, man, I mean this just kind
of hit me late at night, eight nine pm the
(06:30):
other day. What was your reaction after John Caliperry goes
on TV with Mitch Barnhart and does that interview with
BBN tonight to hear just a week and a half
later that he is possibly going to be leaving for Arkansas.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
What were your thoughts of initially.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Lame? I think the leaving in the middle of the
night and agreeing to terms, you know, after saving face
with the you know yeah, holding hands and skipping with
Mitch Barheart saying that everything's fine. I'm the guy that's
built for this job. We have a standard of championships
that you know we've not upheld as of late. But
I am committed to doing whatever it takes you sell
(07:09):
and again talking to the you know, the players and
recruits and their families and what they've bought bought in
with I am here to tell you none of them
had any idea that he was even in remote talks
with with any other school. They were thinking, you know what,
I know, the loss sucked. Let's you know, let's focus
(07:30):
on what's next, what's to come, what can we do
to be a part of the change. You know that
the recruits are hungry and guys that are considering coming back.
I mean there was talk that d J. Wagner and
Big Z had already kind of made it clear like hey,
I couldn't I might be able to rock with the
second year Kentucky. Let's see what let's let's see what
we got. Let's kind of run this thing back. What
(07:50):
happens with Reed Shepherd that's still so much up in
the air and as unlikely as it was just due
to you know, just the finances of it and what
you know, he's pretty acted as as a clear top
ten pick. Now, you know what if he wakes up
with just this random epiphany of you know what I'm
I want to do? You know, I have unfinished business
to take care of and like, say, let's run it back.
(08:10):
You still have those things up in the air, only
to then wake up and scroll through you know, your
social media feed and find out that your head coach
is not just leaving for fill in the blank, high
profile program but Arkansas, like he's he's leaving this situation
in Lexington to stay within the conference and and you know,
(08:31):
make Fayetteville his home. So I was actually on the
phone with a recruits parent the night that it was
all kind of unfolding. I called it like eleven forty
five and was like, Hey, what the heck, what what's
going on? He was like, he was like, what are
you talking about? I have what do you what do
you mean? I said, have you not scrolled through your
(08:51):
phone right now? And he had no idea, had no clue,
and the frustration kind of set in, and Uh, yeah,
it's it's tension is there to say the least, And
it's just it's frustrated. That's why I said, it's kind
of lame. I think communication has not been very very
impressive over in that facility really in recent years, but
(09:14):
especially the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And now more than twenty four hours really about thirty
six hours since the national reporters like Pete Fammeil were
saying that Kentucky and John Caliperry and Arkansas we're going
to agree to a five year contract. We haven't heard
anything that's still correct, right Jack, there's nothing official out
right now. There's been talks about CAL, rumors about CAL
(09:36):
wanting to stay. Do you know any more about kind
of what's happened over the last twenty four hours.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Oh yeah, it's been. It's been weird. It's been very,
very weird. Because there was a players meeting that was
scheduled at Cal's house at two o'clock. That was, in
my understanding, going to be the you know, appreciate everything
that you guys have been, you know, given me, thank
you for your time, but I'm going to be the
(10:04):
next head coach at Arkansas. It was my understanding that
was going to be the case. And then I got
a text twenty five minutes before it started that said
meetings canceled. So don't know what that means. We weren't
given a reason. We just it's it's done. And then
it was kind of my understanding that they were gonna
do some follow up meetings and have some conversations at
the Joe Craft Center, and it just kind of turned
(10:25):
into you know, I started getting weird calls and text
I was like, he hasn't signed on the dotted line
at Arkansas yet, right, Like that's not a done be
And I was like, I mean he agreed, you know,
in principles, My understanding, and it was like, hmm, because
there's some there's some talk about cold feet, and I
was like, well, that would be awkward because it's my
(10:48):
understanding that everybody's really really frustrated and that I think
everybody's just looking for a fresh start. So that's when
it kind of the leaks on the other side about Hey,
his contract was pretty that said if he were to
talk to another school and get deep into those conversations
that he you know, that he had to let Mitch
(11:10):
Barnhart the age, you know, before before getting into those
and he did not do that, as Mitch made that
clear to Matt Orlander of CBS Sports. So it kind
of became a whether you are getting cold feet at
Arkansas or not. It's either Arkansas or not back here.
You can go wherever you want, but you just you
(11:31):
just can't come come back home. So it got really,
really weird, But it's my understanding. As the night kind
of progressed, it was now we were let's let's move
forward with this, let's do that, and that's we get
the magical headlines of we're finalizing a deal, it should
be announced on Tuesday. There was never anything in question,
you know, the public spin of it. So yeah, so
(11:52):
a minor, minor, minor hiccup that could have made things very,
very awkward. That is no longer the case.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
You can't be flirting with teams in the middle of
the night life this and then come back to the school.
I think the relationship would we wouldn't be able to have.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
That Jack, That would just be surreal.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And then we get the video of John Caliperi walking
down Richmond Road with his dog. I will say the
dog was not in the stroller in the video, but
that's what the stroller was there for, right, because the
dog was in the stroller at one point.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
It may be this.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
I saw somebody say this online that it's this generation's
Billy G and Alan Cutler video is Alan Keller chase
Billy G for an interview? That I mean, that video
from wk YT I think will go down in infamy
and it's just bizarre because why would you do that
right in the middle of being the biggest story in
sports yesterday?
Speaker 4 (12:42):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And you know that there are TV cameras that have
been outside the Craft Center, that have been outside your
house that they knew about the two PM meeting so
you knew that the players were supposed to be there,
and you are. You know the cameras are there outside
your house. You know that's going to be the case,
and you choose that time to take a nice little
stroll down the sidewalk of the busiest street in Lexington.
(13:07):
It's like, dude, again, I see a theme here of
kind of living in your own little bubble and not
really understanding the magnitude of the frustration and the like,
you know, reading the room. I just don't think has
been a great a great feel for call and his
staff here in the last couple of years, but especially
(13:28):
the last several weeks. So to see him walking a
dog in a dog stroller on the busiest road in
Lexington in the middle of the craziest rumors of all time,
it's pretty telling. And it's just kind of parper the
course with the current administration until that's made official later today.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, Honestly, I think it takes a little talent to
read the room sometimes, and I don't think Kentucky's done
that well, and I don't.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Think Caliperry did that well. Yesterday.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Before we take a break and then get into maybe
some of the possibilities of who will be the next
coach at Kentucky. I want to ask you this, Jack
about the legacy of John Calipari at Kentucky, because on
KSR yesterday, Matt and Drew were in agreement that looking
back on Cow's tenure ten, fifteen, twenty years from now,
we'll remember the good times. We'll remember the national championship,
(14:15):
We'll remember the twenty fifteen season, We'll remember the great
talent that's come in. But I kind of disagreed to
a point and said, who has done less with more
than John Calipari and all the stars that have come
through this program specifically of late, you know, put yourself
in the future right now, how do you think you'll
look back at John Calipari's legacy.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, it's it's bad because and I think that's part
of where my bitterness is coming from. I think because
I am a John Calipari kid through and through. He
was my childhood. He's who I grew up with with
this program, my favorite memories as a kid. You know,
I just remember where I was when John wall stegned.
(14:59):
I remember that introductory press conference. I remember the feeling
of this is my first you know, I was a
fan of you know, Kentucky as a kid kid as
you know, growing up, but like the peak of my
childhood going you know, middle school, high school, college, all,
you know, kind of just the foundational moments of my life.
It's been count from from the beginning. So you have
(15:20):
a soft spots for that guy. And somebody who I
genuinely think, in my heart of hearts means well. I think,
you know, reading the room has been an issue, but
I think big picture he does mean well. He's an
unbelievable person who has brought so much good to the state,
to you know, the basketball program. The highs were just
feelings that you know, it's it's really hard to replicate it.
(15:41):
He's he's alleged. There's a reason why he's in the
Hall of Fame. There's the reason why you have Boogie
Cousins saying that the program began when John Caliperry arrived,
and you have Doron Lamb last night on his Instagram
story saying that there's never going to be another national
championship in Kentucky. I won the last one in twenty twelve.
Like there's a reason why people feel that way, and
(16:01):
it's because he is just you know, he's universally loved.
That's a guy that has given so much the school
with a lot of lows that kind of make it complicated.
It's like when your son gets in trouble over and
over again at school and like you love him and
you but it's like, okay, at some point the punishment,
Like we have to have a breakthrough in some way
(16:22):
because we can't just keep repeating the same behaviors and
those things. So it's been difficult and it's been a
tricky emotional relationship that I think at the end of
the day, there wasn't anything that cal could say or
do to buy this fan base back as a whole.
Like I think there were always going to be people
that would ride with him till the wheels fell off,
whether they won, whether he lost one hundred straight games
(16:46):
or not. But big picture, I think he had kind
of lost the sales pitch that had made him so special,
and I think it just had had finally fallen upon
deaf ears and that's why we got to where we did.
Where It's that he said in and you can't have apathety.
You can't have apathy with the Kentucky basketball program. So
I love him. I will love him five years, ten years, whatever.
(17:08):
But this was the best thing for both sides.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I think apathy is a good word. It's something you
have to avoid. You cannot become Indiana and the way
that things were trending, at least in the NCAA tournament,
it has not been pretty. And just give baby Billy
a couple of years, Jack, and he'll be that troublemaker
in school. You're gonna have to give him some discipline
at some point, but you know what, I think that
he'll be there before you know it. We are with
one of the most plugged in reporters throughout Big Blue Nation.
(17:33):
He does a great job on the beat. Jack Pilgrim,
as our guest here on the ksrpre Show, gives a
call today eight five nine two eight h two two
eight seven. In the third segment, we're gonna go rapid
fire and take some calls if you have any questions
for Jack, and we'll continue to wad through this together.
It's Billy Rutledge and Jack Pilgrim here on the KSR
pre Show.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
We'll be right back. Welcome back. It is the KSR
Pre Show live at Chaos Bar and Grill.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Today, we're all be joining Matt and Ryan again for
Kentucky Sports Radio. Jack Pilgrim as our guests on the phone,
the hosts of the Sources Say podcast, and plugged in
right now with what's happening with Kentucky basketball?
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Did you see the eclipse yesterday? Jack?
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I did. It was really cloudy above my house, so
I got like four or five little peaks at it.
I was more fascinated by how many important people, like
basketball players. I saw Trey Young and different guys who
were like, so do I need to wear the glasses
or not? It's like, dude, yes, please. I remember there
was something that went viral was Odell Beckham looking straight
(18:34):
into the sun as the last time around, and somebody
put his stats before and after that moment and he did,
like just completely sell off a cliff. So yeah, we
now have the future success of these professional athletes to
blame for staring straight into the thunder and the eclipse.
So I hope you wore your glasses yesterday.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I didn't have any glasses, but when I went outside,
my neighbor had an extra pair and they lent them
to me. So thanks shout out to my neighbor and
it was pretty cool, not in totality, but an event
that doesn't happen often, so was cool to see before.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
The clouds took over Jack.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Before we take another break, let's talk about some possible names.
Yesterday we heard that Jay Wright and Nate Oates are
a big fat no when it comes to the Kentucky
basketball job. Now it's also a line season to a degree, right,
I mean, we've seen guys say things like, oh, I'm
not going to take the job, even call at Memphis
I think to this to a degree, and then ended
up taking the Kentucky job. But who would be your
(19:29):
short list of realistic candidates that Kentucky could go after
for the coaching position.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Honestly, I think the list should be limited to two,
and I know it's not. And you either a chance
that both of you guys say no and you've got
to just kind of have to keep moving down the list.
But you swing for the fences with Dan Hurley and
then you do whatever it takes to, you know, kind
of just secure the deal with Scott Drew and just
say that those are my two guys. I don't think
(19:56):
that this needs to get to the point of the
Mark Pope. And I think if you look at the
latest betting odds, you have names like Richard Bettino any
Hardaway got just randomly thrown in there. And it's like,
we shouldn't have to be getting to the point of
whether or not Chris Beard has accomplished enough or morally
(20:17):
good enough to be the head coach here, Like this
is Kentucky. Go swing for the fences, Go see make
Brad Stevens tell you no, work your way down that way,
and if you get to your fifth option there and
that fifth option just so happens to be Scott Drew,
that's a successful coaching search. Again, John Calipari did this
(20:37):
program an unbelievable service by leaving on his own and
with a thirty three million dollar buyout. That was an
absolute hurdle that Mitch Barnhart just wasn't willing to clear
in terms of whether or not he was going to
fire him or not, and you know, deciding to bring
him back. So now that you have that lifted off
your shoulders, you now have financial flexibility too, continue to
(21:01):
make NATO's tell you know, I know he released his
statement saying he's comfortable where he is and wants to
win a national championship. Go put the money where, you know,
in a place where it makes him have to say no,
or make it at least really really difficult. Just go
down the list of the absolute home runs. But I
don't think the list should go any farther than Scott Drew.
(21:22):
I love Dan Hurley, I love Scott Drew.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
We got a minute till we need to hit this
hard break. I heard you did not mention Billy Donovan.
People have been sending me flight trackers already from Chicago
to Lexington. Is that not somebody that Kentucky should go after.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
I think it is, and I think they will. I
think there will be a lot of mutual interest there.
I think the issue is he's been out of the
game so long, and talking to some NBA guys, they
kind of see it as a kind of the way
we felt about Cal that they don't hate him, but
also if you're really willing to take him off of
our hands by so it's kind I don't like having
(21:59):
people on the other side tell you, Yeah, if you're
looking for this offensive renaissance and what we saw this
past season, you're not going to find it with Billy Donovan.
He's still running O seven Florida stuff, and that has
kind of sent a chill up my spine that I
don't necessarily love so i'd like him, don't love him.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Well, he left the college game because he wasn't happy
with recruiting. I wonder how he'd feel with the transfer
portal and nil. So maybe a fantasy for some Kentucky fans.
But well, we'll keep it rolling with Jack. He'll join
us for one more segment. We'll take some of your
phone calls. Next eight five nine two eight zero two
two eight seven. It's Jack Pilgrim and Billy Rutledge here
on the Ksrprecio. Welcome Back Tuesday edition of the KSR
(22:40):
pre Show. I'm Billy Rutledge here at KS bar and
grill with Jack Pilgrim. You can follow Jack on Twitter
at Jack Pilgrim KSR.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Jack.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
We got the news yesterday that Aaron Bradshaw is entering
the transfer portal and Carter Knox has reopened his recruitment.
But you dropped some news about Jaden Quintin's tell me
about what you're hearing.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah, it's that was an interesting one, just because he
is such a high profile guy that I think, you know,
you don't typically need to include personnel with you know,
coaching decisions and things like that. Though, because his circumstances
are so unique, I think that could you know, kind
of be a tool, a leveraging barget bargaining tip, if
(23:24):
you will, for Mitch Barnart to say, hey, I have
this generational talent, you know, contensus top five kid that
has to stay in college for two seasons. What you know,
what what do you think about potentially having him kind
of anchor your your team and build around him, or
at least just have him at your disposal however you
want to use him. I think that was a pretty
(23:45):
important piece, and I think it is pretty cool because
it's my understanding that he committed to the University of Kentucky.
For you know, John Calpaery was a significant part of that.
But in some conversations with with some people around Jayden,
it was was pretty clear to me that he committed
to the University of Kentucky first, and because he committed
(24:06):
to Kentucky, he wants to hear them out and not
just leave the program the second that the head coach
leads that he wants to at least hear out the
pitch and see what that looks like before you know,
turning his attention. I still think there's a pretty solid
chance he backs out of his letter of intent and
just kind of gets a fresh start to listen to
everything before. I mean, again, this is a massive, massive
(24:27):
decision and thing that was kind of thrown onto his
lap that was not expected, and another situation of a
family that didn't hear anything from from cal or anything
leading up to that point. So it kind of makes
it a tough situation for all parties involved. But I
think he wants to at least give Kentucky the first
shot at him before turning his attention elsewhere. So it's
(24:49):
pretty cool on him to hear that it wasn't just,
you know, kind of what we've been hearing so often.
This is the University of John Caliperry, and these kids
only commit to him and him only, so we'll see
what happened there.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
And also the fact that he can play or he
has to play two years before he can enter the
NBA draft is also an interesting scenario. But let's go
to the phones eight five nine two A zero two
two eight zeven If You've got a question for Jack
and we have Tom on the line.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Good morning, Tom, how are.
Speaker 5 (25:14):
You morning, gentlemen? And this is kind of a question
like I guess who cares at this point. But obviously,
you know, I kinl made changes onto his staff like
he did when he brought John Welchin, which was a
brilliant move.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
You know, maybe this year they could.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
Have brought our defensive you know, genius as well, and
that would have given me a little bit of hope,
even though it's probably not so much. But do you
think that when he goes to Arkansas he's going to
get rid of some of his staff, which would kind
of be a actor freely admit that my assistant coaches suck.
So I just interest your opinion on that. I'll hang
up and listen.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Thank you, Tom. Jack.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
I think we know that Brad Calipari would be there,
but how much of Kentucky's current staff would make the
trip to Fayetville.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Do we have with him now? Go ahead?
Speaker 3 (26:05):
It's my understanding that the staff that would be with
him now is the one that he would be bringing
with him to Fayetville. So that's a really controversial thing
for some people. For me personally, I think it's a
bad decision. Just being totally transparent, I think that there
are some people around him that have kind of pulled
(26:25):
down Cal in different ways and have kind of taken
advantage of his loyalty. And I think he can be
successful at Arkansas. I think he could have a really
really high level of success there, And I'm personally rooting
for him again, obviously not against Kentucky, but I am
personally rooting for him, and as a friend and fan
(26:46):
of John Caliperry, I hope that he kind of sees
the writing on the wall and say that we don't
just say this stuff publicly and say, you know, oh,
it's it's easy to make fun of this guy or
this guy. These guys are hurting your reputation and your
ability to continue moving forward and be the best version
of yourself. So if he wants to make those decisions,
(27:07):
that's fine. And you know, I think they will continue
to handstring him in ways that they hamstrung him in Lexington,
but that's now not our problem. So it's unfortunate, but
kind of reality of the situation.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Well, we've heard Frank Franklin's comments about the coaching staff
and when Matt reported that cal would retain most of
the staff, if not all of it, I think that
upset many in Big Blue Nation.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
We'll go to the phones again. Billy is up next?
Good morning, Billy, how are you hey?
Speaker 6 (27:36):
Good morning guys. You know something that no one ever
talks about is you know they gave him two years
too many for me. I don't take the guy. He
can't do X and o's. He won't listen to anybody,
and I don't care what that staff has had nothing
to do with him. He needs to make the changes
(27:56):
never did. But the only thing that think that rubbed me.
We're all for the last last few years, well ever
since the Wisconsin lost. Be honest with him. Yeah, too
much control. You know, he gets these players Dillo shady
sharp and puts him over on the bench knowing you
know that they were never going to play because all
he was worried about was that NBA. It was too
(28:18):
much NBA garbage, that's all you heard. And the kids
and the family and all that. It's just it was
just too much. It was like he was running the
program and he has run it, in ran it, he
has ran it into the dumpster. I am so glad
he's gone. I can enjoy my summer knowing that we
don't have him on the sidelines and we will get
(28:39):
a good coach. Have a great day, BB and Billy,
see you listen.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Thank you very much, Billy. Yeah, Jack, we've heard this
frustration before. The revolving door to the NBA is something
that has big Blue nations some fans up in arms.
But I also don't blame Cal too much for Shad
and Sharp. I feel like that was out of his
hands and he could have maybe handled it a little better,
not telling fans to go watch him warm up, but
I think he would hams drink a little bit in
that situation. But nevertheless, I think he put players first
(29:04):
before the program.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
And again, if you want to use that as an
example of, you know, his loyalty to a fault and
just kind of trusting the wrong people and and just
not having the right circle around him, I think people
around him took advantage of that loyalty, and I think
Shaden's circle was an example of that. They had kind
of built up trust from the Shake Gildess Alexander recruitment,
(29:27):
saying people that got Shay here and kind of led
him to the superstardom that he got. So cal saw
that and said, well, I mean they didn't burn me
the first time, so why would I get burned this time?
So there was an unnecessary level of trust there where
he was like, I know this seems fishy. I know
it looks dumb for me to kind of keep buying
(29:48):
into this on the on the outside. But this guy
is not going to hurt me. I know he's not
going to hurt me. And then he hurt him. So
that's kind of a theme with him of the you know,
kind of just trusting people and just put pishing all
of his chips in on people that he thinks are
good influences and that are you know, forcing him to
kind of spread himself unbelievably sin in different areas. And
(30:10):
you know this might sound controversial, but I don't think
the Kentucky job is that hard big picture. I think
the job kind of runs itself if you have the
right people around you. That kind of takes some stuff
off your shoulders in different ways that I just don't
think that this staff had had done. And he kind
of lost trust in some people, and I just kind
(30:33):
of became this conspiracy theory everybody's out to get me,
and that's where he built the walls up, and that's
where he kind of had the control of the caller
Billy said, like, it just kind of became this this
weird out on an island thing where he had people
around that he thought he trusted but couldn't ever totally
buy in, and it just he spread himself too thin,
and then that's kind of how we got to where
(30:56):
he is. So it was really really just sad and
I again, I hope that he sees how hard he's
had to work to not without the results that he's
been looking for, and hopes to find find help that
will actually help him.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Clint is up next. Good morning, Clint, How are you good?
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Good?
Speaker 4 (31:15):
What do you got for us this morning?
Speaker 6 (31:17):
Ay?
Speaker 7 (31:18):
First time caller. I was just you know, remisc reminiscing
about Calipari. Really, you know, I was there when he
got there in two thousand and nine, John Wall all
those guys, and that atmosphere was just magical. And that's
why I'm glad to see calif party leave but also
(31:40):
hate at the same time. My problem isn't really with Calipari,
It's more with Mitch Barnhardt. Because I think everything rests
on his shoulders now with Nil and recruiting and transfer portal.
It's just the game has changed, is why Calipari. I
think it's kind of all and off. And you know,
(32:02):
I've heard the rumors Scott Drew, you know, NATO's Billy Donovan,
off them. I'd be happy with any one of them.
I just hope we don't go with Scott Drew because
quote unquote, you know, he's friends with Barnhart, and I
just hope we don't get in another situation like Gillespie,
where we hire somebody and we're kind of stuck with
(32:24):
him because he's buddies with Barnhart. And another concern I
have is just you know, Scott Drew's record is actually,
if you look back, I think you all talked about
it yesterday, it's not any better than Cali parties. So
I don't know kind of what direction we're wanting to
go in if we're just gonna bring in the same thing.
(32:45):
And I was just wanting to get your alls opinion
on that and maybe what you think we're you know,
what mindset Mitch has and where you think we're gonna
go with our coaching from there.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Thank you, Clint, appreciate the call. Jack. What are your
thoughts on Scott Drew.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
That's a guy that built that program from the ground
in Baylor, but you know also maybe seen by some
as a safe hire.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yeah, I get it. I totally understand where you could
kind of see the you know, yes, everybody loves the
Bubble National Championship in twenty twenty one, and I do too,
not the discredit it at all, but have seen the
number of early exists and have kind of said, well,
how is this going to be any different? The thought
process there is he took that Baylor program basically off
(33:33):
of a death penalty, I mean, from the rubble, they
had absolutely nothing, bare bones, and built that up over
a long period of time into a powerhouse, whether you know,
whatever the end result is. And his ability to win
in March and some of those things, there's just a
lot of respect there on Mitch Barnhardt's side to take
(33:56):
what he did and you know, kind of just has
a good personality. That's it's kind of what Mitch Barnhart
prioritizes and has the uh, you know, a different selling
points that I think Mitch really resonate well with Mitch,
and the thought is, okay, he was able to do
that at Baylor again, the private school, different funding and
you know, it's different circumstances. But if he were able
(34:18):
to do that with these resources, unbelievable fans support, ready
to push all their chips in a hungry fan base,
how would that kind of change what his ceiling looks like?
You know what did? Is his ceiling at Baylor different
than what it would be what it would be in Lexington?
And I think that's where the intrigue on Barnhart's side
comes from. So again, I don't think it's an absolute
(34:40):
slam dunk, knock it out of the park home run.
I'm a fan. I think I would be kind of
trusting the vision there and seeing what he was able
to do there and hoping that he would be able
to do that, you know, to do bigger and better
with you know, better resources and different different levels of
support and kind of pushing all his chips in there.
So I see the hesitancy, but I think that's the
(35:00):
one you just kind of have to trust the vision
there and you know, a different fresh start for him
because he's been there for one hundred years.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
We'll try to go quick here so we can get
a couple more in. Chris is on the line. Good morning, Chris,
how are you hey?
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Good morning guys. Are you this morning? Well? The previous
caller kind of was covering what I want to talk
about with Scott Drew, because you know, there's a lot
of dream hires i'd like to have before especially I'm
kind of on the I guess the Dan Hurley train,
because that guy's is totally impressive. But anyhow, I know
(35:33):
Scott Drew, like you said, as a friend of Barnhart's,
and and as kind of a realistic probably easier to
get higher. So I'm trying to think cala Perry sort
of took us, you know, we were sort of in
a downward slump and he kind of built it back
up in a shorter time than Drew did with Baylor.
(35:58):
Are we looking to just get a coach to make
deep runs or do you really think that Scott Drew
to get us back to a Final four or a championship?
And I'll go ahead and listen to what you have
to say. If you could elaborate just a little bit
more on him.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Yeah, thank you, Chris, well, I mean, he's won a
title more recently than cal Jack, So I think the
expectation and as it should be at Kentucky is to
go to final fours and win championships, right yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
And again I think that cal could win a national
championship at another school within you know, in a recent
in a pretty short term period. The issue is his
messaging has fallen upon deaf ears pe the buy in
isn't there anymore that. I think the pressure once we
(36:44):
get to March is what kind of brings him down
and why we have Oakland and Saint Peter's and different
things like that. The weight of the world is on
his shoulders and he just hasn't been able to adjust.
So I think in a vacuum, you're not necessarily looking
for this absolute slam dunk out of the park higher.
You're just looking for something comparable, something a guy who
(37:05):
can handle the spotlight, a guy who can, you know,
live in this fish bowl at his Kentucky basketball and
just recruit, win games and and not have that weight
of the world on their shoulders. I think kind of
in a vacuum, Scott Drew isn't that far off of
of of John Caliperry, but he's going to have none
(37:26):
of the the weight on his shoulders and new, fresh
messaging things that will resonate with this fan base, and
it's it'll be different. Fans like different and you know,
kind of feeling that they have a fresh start. So
if you're getting similar production that you are you know,
had been getting, especially at John cal Perry's peak, that's
something Kentucky fans will welcome with open arms. They were
(37:48):
just done with the extra stuff that kind of led
to the pressure, that led to the discontent. So if
you're getting similar just x's and O production, I think
he's a better Ex's and No guy than cal Maybe
of lesser recruiter, but similar overall production, I think it's
still a massive win for Kentucky if you are able
to get Godrim.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
Yeah, I agree. I mean it's just something different.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
You're seeing that now with the University of Louisville and
their men's basketball program.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Pat Kelsey is just different.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
He has a different energy about him than Kenny Payne,
and we're seeing them raise a ton of money. It's
been an interesting cycle of that. The men's and women's
job at Kentucky both came open and also.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
The University of Louisville.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
Unfortunately, we don't have time for another call, but Jack,
I did want to get some final thoughts from you
before we let you go. I mean, can you imagine
the ticket when John Calipery comes back with Arkansas rupp Arena.
I mean, that is going to be one of the
most insane environments. What are your expectations for the next
twenty four hours.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Ooh, it's going to be complicated. I would like to
get this thing across the finish line, get a final
announcement in public official address from Cal from Mitch Barheart.
I would like to hear what publicly what Mitch Barnhart
is looking for in this higher and kind of an
expectation of you know, there's some murmurs that he's prioritizing
a guy with, you know, championship pedigree. I think that
(39:03):
clearly fits Dan Hurley, that clearly fits God Drew, that
clearly fits Billy Donovan for what you know, various reasons
and different levels of intrigue there. But you know, I'd
like to see and hear from Mitch Barheart and say, hey,
we kind of got screwed over here. We I looked
into a camera with BBN tonight and we were kind
(39:24):
of on the same page in terms of what we're
looking for. And then a week later he's taking, you know,
leaving in the middle of the night to stay Itville.
We kind of got burned here. Now it's on me
to take this opportunity of this thirty three million dollar
buyout no longer with this program and use it to
make this fan base and reward them with what they've been,
you know, very impatiently waiting for, and that is swinging
(39:47):
for the fences at the highest of how You start
with Dan Hurley and you give him an offer you
can he cannot refuse. I know people are talking about
the Northeast and his his ties and his comments after
last night. I could not care less about any of
that stuff. The people that talk about those things don't
know what really drives Dan Hurley, and that is to
be the king of all kings in the basketball world.
(40:10):
He's already proven that he can do that at Yukon.
He has let one in ways that nobody will ever
be able to accomplish a Yukon ever again. But he's
a challenged guy. He's a guy that sees what's next,
and he's hungry for what's next. If Mits Barnhardt sits
there and says, here is twelve million dollars a year,
please just hear me out and hear my pitch, and
(40:33):
let's see where we get at the end of it,
I think that he would be surprised at the result.
I think that that is something that Yukon would not
be able to afford. Look into their finances and how
their athletic department is run, and how healthy they are
in terms of a money standpoint, and what they would
be able to offer as an absolute sealing, and I
think the difference there is going to be something that
(40:54):
may make that answer pretty interesting.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Well, Jack, you've bet a wealth of knowledge this morning.
Make sure you followed you on Twitter at Jack Pilgrim
KSR and stay tuned for the Sources Say podcast or
even sign up for that KSR plus and get some
of that insight that Jack's been dealing out on the daily. Jack,
I appreciate you, my man, and best of luck the
rest of this this week.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
Thanks man. Appreciate you having me.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
All Right, we need to take a break. We'll have
some housekeeping notes on the other side of this break.
Here on the KSR apprecio. Welcome back. It is the
KSR pre Show. Big thank you to Jack Pilgrim who
joined us. We went a little along with Jack. So
just enough time to remind you that the KSR Pre
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(41:37):
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slash m m a KSRS. Next with Matt Jones and
Ryan Lemon, I am Billy Rutledge and this has been
the KSR pre Show
Welcome everyone to another edition of the KSR pre Show.
Today is Tuesday, April ninth. I am Billy Rutledge and
I got my showback. Happy to be back on enjoyed
yesterday with Matt and Ryan. It's been a busy week
or so with Shannon the Dude out. He should be
returning on Thursday. If you'd like to give us call
(00:20):
today eight five nine two a two two eight seven,
or you can Texas at five oh two four one
four one seven two four. Yesterday a crazy day throughout
the Big Blue Nation as we learned of the news
John Caliperi would be leaving Kentucky for Arkansas, and I
expect this week to be about as crazy as yesterday
was still waiting on that official word. I am live
(00:42):
here at KS Bar and Grill with no guest with
me in person, but we do have a guest on
the phone line this morning, and I think we can
all understand because he's on dad duty. It's one of
the most plugged in reporters throughout Kentucky basketball. It's Jack Pilgrim,
the host of the Sources Day podcast, and he also
does a great job on Kentucky Sports Radio dot Com.
(01:03):
Good morning, Jack, How are you doing this morning? How
is baby Billy? I'd love the name, How are you
doing this morning?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I named him after you. You've been such as an inspiration,
inspiration to him and in his life, so he just,
you know, yeah, we wanted to honor you in that way.
But yeah, dude, it's been just a ridiculous week. Forty
eight hour seventy two hours of just running on fumes.
I think I was on three hours of sleep yesterday
(01:30):
and didn't get much yesterday stand up for the National
Championship game. It's been rumor mill Central, where people are
coming out of the woodworks and you know, giving you
information and you don't know where it comes from, and
you know, brand new people you haven't talked to in
ten years saying that they have heard from a buddy's
aunts and cousins and third brothers saying that their horse
(01:56):
farms being bought in versales. So it's been an absolute whirlwind.
But hey, that's that's what we sign up for, man,
That's why this is all fun.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's exactly right, And I'm really glad that I'm having
you on today since we'll talk about some of the
things that we've seen whether it be Col walking his
dog with a stroller down Richmond Road, or a player's
only meeting get a can is getting canceled. And if
you'd like to ask Jack any questions over the phone
today eight five nine two eight zero two two eight seven.
Well we'll probably take some calls in the third segment,
but Jack, before we get there, let's let's talk about
(02:25):
that National Championship game last night. Yukon defeats Produced seventy
five to sixty. It's their sixth championship in twenty five years.
An unbelievable run by Yukon and now Dan Hurley with
a plus one hundred and forty point differential in the
tournament this year, just sensational. It has been amazing to
watch this team, this Yukon team throughout the tournament and
(02:46):
they capped it off with a National championship game last night.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, I mean the level of dominance and just the
confidence and how loose they are going into every the
game play and an execution with every little tiny detail,
where you have Dan Hurley going into games saying we
make a really hard tournament look easy. And that was
going to the final four like he still had two
games left to play, saying that we make this stuff
(03:13):
look easy, and then he goes and wins back to
back games by double dits thirteen plus points in both games.
It's unheard of the level of dominance back to back seasons.
The overall point differential, I think it was a twenty
twenty point margin of victory on average in twenty twenty
three and then twenty three point three this past run. So,
(03:36):
I mean, you're looking for a two year stretch of
start to finish, just blowing everybody out that you face
and just proving that you are the current face of
college basketball. I mean that you look no further than
what Dan Hurley's doing up in stores.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Maybe one of the more dominant teams I've ever seen
in my lifetime in college basketball. And while you know
Billy Donovan and the Gators did it in the early
two thousands, they did it with a lot of returning players.
Yukon had to replace three starters on the team from
a year ago. What makes Dan Hurley such a great coach?
You know he was he was a little bit whiny
on the sideline, very energetic during the national championship game.
(04:13):
At one point he got out of the coach's box
to push one of his players to start the offense.
I thought that was pretty funny. But you know, overall,
what do you think makes Dan Hurley a good coach?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
He is a maniac. He is in an obsessive, hungry
guy that stops at nothing to win basketball games. I again,
van Hurley being discussed the way that he has with
this Kentucky job, doing some betting and kind of you know,
people that have known him, been in his circle, that
(04:44):
have you know, kind of knows where he comes from,
what drives him. They say, he's just obsessed with becoming
the king that he wants to prove, almost like a
nineties Rick Patino, just the way that he is just
obsessed with winning and proving that he can be the
best of the best at the best of the best.
And that's kind of what he's doing. That's why he's
(05:06):
the current fase of basketball. But he's just always been
a guy that just obsesses over this craft. He said.
I mean, I mean, you just go on a historic
run of twenty three point three points per game winning differential,
and the first thing you say in your postgame interview
on the court is I'm a student of the game.
I'm always learning. I'm still trying to perfect my craft
(05:29):
and see what's next. Like, that's a guy that you know,
is it's not going to stop here. He's going to
continue to be hunger and continue to you know, do
bigger and better things. And that's why he's such an
unbelievably appealing Kentucky candidate. No matter what his personality is,
whether it kind of rubs some people the wrong way,
that dude wins. And this is a program that has
(05:50):
fallen short in that area a little bit too much
here in the last four years. And you'd have to
think that's something that Mitch Barnhardt, whether he loves the
personality itself and whether it rubs some people the wrong
way or not, that that's going to be something that
he's going to highly, highly prioritize in these next couple
of days.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
His name is in the coach and carousel, and I'm
sure many in Big Blue Nation would love to see
Dan Hurley in the blue and White. Don't know how
realistic it is, but that will start to take shape
over the next couple of days as Mitch Barnhart narrows
down his list before we get into maybe some of
the specifics of guys that you would like to see
at Kentucky. Your reaction, man, I mean this just kind
of hit me late at night, eight nine pm the
(06:30):
other day. What was your reaction after John Caliperry goes
on TV with Mitch Barnhart and does that interview with
BBN tonight to hear just a week and a half
later that he is possibly going to be leaving for Arkansas.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
What were your thoughts of initially.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Lame? I think the leaving in the middle of the
night and agreeing to terms, you know, after saving face
with the you know yeah, holding hands and skipping with
Mitch Barheart saying that everything's fine. I'm the guy that's
built for this job. We have a standard of championships
that you know we've not upheld as of late. But
I am committed to doing whatever it takes you sell
(07:09):
and again talking to the you know, the players and
recruits and their families and what they've bought bought in
with I am here to tell you none of them
had any idea that he was even in remote talks
with with any other school. They were thinking, you know what,
I know, the loss sucked. Let's you know, let's focus
(07:30):
on what's next, what's to come, what can we do
to be a part of the change. You know that
the recruits are hungry and guys that are considering coming back.
I mean there was talk that d J. Wagner and
Big Z had already kind of made it clear like hey,
I couldn't I might be able to rock with the
second year Kentucky. Let's see what let's let's see what
we got. Let's kind of run this thing back. What
(07:50):
happens with Reed Shepherd that's still so much up in
the air and as unlikely as it was just due
to you know, just the finances of it and what
you know, he's pretty acted as as a clear top
ten pick. Now, you know what if he wakes up
with just this random epiphany of you know what I'm
I want to do? You know, I have unfinished business
to take care of and like, say, let's run it back.
(08:10):
You still have those things up in the air, only
to then wake up and scroll through you know, your
social media feed and find out that your head coach
is not just leaving for fill in the blank, high
profile program but Arkansas, like he's he's leaving this situation
in Lexington to stay within the conference and and you know,
(08:31):
make Fayetteville his home. So I was actually on the
phone with a recruits parent the night that it was
all kind of unfolding. I called it like eleven forty
five and was like, Hey, what the heck, what what's
going on? He was like, he was like, what are
you talking about? I have what do you what do
you mean? I said, have you not scrolled through your
(08:51):
phone right now? And he had no idea, had no clue,
and the frustration kind of set in, and Uh, yeah,
it's it's tension is there to say the least, And
it's just it's frustrated. That's why I said, it's kind
of lame. I think communication has not been very very
impressive over in that facility really in recent years, but
(09:14):
especially the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And now more than twenty four hours really about thirty
six hours since the national reporters like Pete Fammeil were
saying that Kentucky and John Caliperry and Arkansas we're going
to agree to a five year contract. We haven't heard
anything that's still correct, right Jack, there's nothing official out
right now. There's been talks about CAL, rumors about CAL
(09:36):
wanting to stay. Do you know any more about kind
of what's happened over the last twenty four hours.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Oh yeah, it's been. It's been weird. It's been very,
very weird. Because there was a players meeting that was
scheduled at Cal's house at two o'clock. That was, in
my understanding, going to be the you know, appreciate everything
that you guys have been, you know, given me, thank
you for your time, but I'm going to be the
(10:04):
next head coach at Arkansas. It was my understanding that
was going to be the case. And then I got
a text twenty five minutes before it started that said
meetings canceled. So don't know what that means. We weren't
given a reason. We just it's it's done. And then
it was kind of my understanding that they were gonna
do some follow up meetings and have some conversations at
the Joe Craft Center, and it just kind of turned
(10:25):
into you know, I started getting weird calls and text
I was like, he hasn't signed on the dotted line
at Arkansas yet, right, Like that's not a done be
And I was like, I mean he agreed, you know,
in principles, My understanding, and it was like, hmm, because
there's some there's some talk about cold feet, and I
was like, well, that would be awkward because it's my
(10:48):
understanding that everybody's really really frustrated and that I think
everybody's just looking for a fresh start. So that's when
it kind of the leaks on the other side about Hey,
his contract was pretty that said if he were to
talk to another school and get deep into those conversations
that he you know, that he had to let Mitch
(11:10):
Barnhart the age, you know, before before getting into those
and he did not do that, as Mitch made that
clear to Matt Orlander of CBS Sports. So it kind
of became a whether you are getting cold feet at
Arkansas or not. It's either Arkansas or not back here.
You can go wherever you want, but you just you
(11:31):
just can't come come back home. So it got really,
really weird, But it's my understanding. As the night kind
of progressed, it was now we were let's let's move
forward with this, let's do that, and that's we get
the magical headlines of we're finalizing a deal, it should
be announced on Tuesday. There was never anything in question,
you know, the public spin of it. So yeah, so
(11:52):
a minor, minor, minor hiccup that could have made things very,
very awkward. That is no longer the case.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
You can't be flirting with teams in the middle of
the night life this and then come back to the school.
I think the relationship would we wouldn't be able to have.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
That Jack, That would just be surreal.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And then we get the video of John Caliperi walking
down Richmond Road with his dog. I will say the
dog was not in the stroller in the video, but
that's what the stroller was there for, right, because the
dog was in the stroller at one point.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
It may be this.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
I saw somebody say this online that it's this generation's
Billy G and Alan Cutler video is Alan Keller chase
Billy G for an interview? That I mean, that video
from wk YT I think will go down in infamy
and it's just bizarre because why would you do that
right in the middle of being the biggest story in
sports yesterday?
Speaker 4 (12:42):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
And you know that there are TV cameras that have
been outside the Craft Center, that have been outside your
house that they knew about the two PM meeting so
you knew that the players were supposed to be there,
and you are. You know the cameras are there outside
your house. You know that's going to be the case,
and you choose that time to take a nice little
stroll down the sidewalk of the busiest street in Lexington.
(13:07):
It's like, dude, again, I see a theme here of
kind of living in your own little bubble and not
really understanding the magnitude of the frustration and the like,
you know, reading the room. I just don't think has
been a great a great feel for call and his
staff here in the last couple of years, but especially
(13:28):
the last several weeks. So to see him walking a
dog in a dog stroller on the busiest road in
Lexington in the middle of the craziest rumors of all time,
it's pretty telling. And it's just kind of parper the
course with the current administration until that's made official later today.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, Honestly, I think it takes a little talent to
read the room sometimes, and I don't think Kentucky's done
that well, and I don't.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Think Caliperry did that well. Yesterday.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Before we take a break and then get into maybe
some of the possibilities of who will be the next
coach at Kentucky. I want to ask you this, Jack
about the legacy of John Calipari at Kentucky, because on
KSR yesterday, Matt and Drew were in agreement that looking
back on Cow's tenure ten, fifteen, twenty years from now,
we'll remember the good times. We'll remember the national championship,
(14:15):
We'll remember the twenty fifteen season, We'll remember the great
talent that's come in. But I kind of disagreed to
a point and said, who has done less with more
than John Calipari and all the stars that have come
through this program specifically of late, you know, put yourself
in the future right now, how do you think you'll
look back at John Calipari's legacy.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, it's it's bad because and I think that's part
of where my bitterness is coming from. I think because
I am a John Calipari kid through and through. He
was my childhood. He's who I grew up with with
this program, my favorite memories as a kid. You know,
I just remember where I was when John wall stegned.
(14:59):
I remember that introductory press conference. I remember the feeling
of this is my first you know, I was a
fan of you know, Kentucky as a kid kid as
you know, growing up, but like the peak of my
childhood going you know, middle school, high school, college, all,
you know, kind of just the foundational moments of my life.
It's been count from from the beginning. So you have
(15:20):
a soft spots for that guy. And somebody who I
genuinely think, in my heart of hearts means well. I think,
you know, reading the room has been an issue, but
I think big picture he does mean well. He's an
unbelievable person who has brought so much good to the state,
to you know, the basketball program. The highs were just
feelings that you know, it's it's really hard to replicate it.
(15:41):
He's he's alleged. There's a reason why he's in the
Hall of Fame. There's the reason why you have Boogie
Cousins saying that the program began when John Caliperry arrived,
and you have Doron Lamb last night on his Instagram
story saying that there's never going to be another national
championship in Kentucky. I won the last one in twenty twelve.
Like there's a reason why people feel that way, and
(16:01):
it's because he is just you know, he's universally loved.
That's a guy that has given so much the school
with a lot of lows that kind of make it complicated.
It's like when your son gets in trouble over and
over again at school and like you love him and
you but it's like, okay, at some point the punishment,
Like we have to have a breakthrough in some way
(16:22):
because we can't just keep repeating the same behaviors and
those things. So it's been difficult and it's been a
tricky emotional relationship that I think at the end of
the day, there wasn't anything that cal could say or
do to buy this fan base back as a whole.
Like I think there were always going to be people
that would ride with him till the wheels fell off,
whether they won, whether he lost one hundred straight games
(16:46):
or not. But big picture, I think he had kind
of lost the sales pitch that had made him so special,
and I think it just had had finally fallen upon
deaf ears and that's why we got to where we did.
Where It's that he said in and you can't have apathety.
You can't have apathy with the Kentucky basketball program. So
I love him. I will love him five years, ten years, whatever.
(17:08):
But this was the best thing for both sides.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I think apathy is a good word. It's something you
have to avoid. You cannot become Indiana and the way
that things were trending, at least in the NCAA tournament,
it has not been pretty. And just give baby Billy
a couple of years, Jack, and he'll be that troublemaker
in school. You're gonna have to give him some discipline
at some point, but you know what, I think that
he'll be there before you know it. We are with
one of the most plugged in reporters throughout Big Blue Nation.
(17:33):
He does a great job on the beat. Jack Pilgrim,
as our guest here on the ksrpre Show, gives a
call today eight five nine two eight h two two
eight seven. In the third segment, we're gonna go rapid
fire and take some calls if you have any questions
for Jack, and we'll continue to wad through this together.
It's Billy Rutledge and Jack Pilgrim here on the KSR
pre Show.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
We'll be right back. Welcome back. It is the KSR
Pre Show live at Chaos Bar and Grill.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Today, we're all be joining Matt and Ryan again for
Kentucky Sports Radio. Jack Pilgrim as our guests on the phone,
the hosts of the Sources Say podcast, and plugged in
right now with what's happening with Kentucky basketball?
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Did you see the eclipse yesterday? Jack?
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I did. It was really cloudy above my house, so
I got like four or five little peaks at it.
I was more fascinated by how many important people, like
basketball players. I saw Trey Young and different guys who
were like, so do I need to wear the glasses
or not? It's like, dude, yes, please. I remember there
was something that went viral was Odell Beckham looking straight
(18:34):
into the sun as the last time around, and somebody
put his stats before and after that moment and he did,
like just completely sell off a cliff. So yeah, we
now have the future success of these professional athletes to
blame for staring straight into the thunder and the eclipse.
So I hope you wore your glasses yesterday.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I didn't have any glasses, but when I went outside,
my neighbor had an extra pair and they lent them
to me. So thanks shout out to my neighbor and
it was pretty cool, not in totality, but an event
that doesn't happen often, so was cool to see before.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
The clouds took over Jack.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Before we take another break, let's talk about some possible names.
Yesterday we heard that Jay Wright and Nate Oates are
a big fat no when it comes to the Kentucky
basketball job. Now it's also a line season to a degree, right,
I mean, we've seen guys say things like, oh, I'm
not going to take the job, even call at Memphis
I think to this to a degree, and then ended
up taking the Kentucky job. But who would be your
(19:29):
short list of realistic candidates that Kentucky could go after
for the coaching position.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Honestly, I think the list should be limited to two,
and I know it's not. And you either a chance
that both of you guys say no and you've got
to just kind of have to keep moving down the list.
But you swing for the fences with Dan Hurley and
then you do whatever it takes to, you know, kind
of just secure the deal with Scott Drew and just
say that those are my two guys. I don't think
(19:56):
that this needs to get to the point of the
Mark Pope. And I think if you look at the
latest betting odds, you have names like Richard Bettino any
Hardaway got just randomly thrown in there. And it's like,
we shouldn't have to be getting to the point of
whether or not Chris Beard has accomplished enough or morally
(20:17):
good enough to be the head coach here, Like this
is Kentucky. Go swing for the fences, Go see make
Brad Stevens tell you no, work your way down that way,
and if you get to your fifth option there and
that fifth option just so happens to be Scott Drew,
that's a successful coaching search. Again, John Calipari did this
(20:37):
program an unbelievable service by leaving on his own and
with a thirty three million dollar buyout. That was an
absolute hurdle that Mitch Barnhart just wasn't willing to clear
in terms of whether or not he was going to
fire him or not, and you know, deciding to bring
him back. So now that you have that lifted off
your shoulders, you now have financial flexibility too, continue to
(21:01):
make NATO's tell you know, I know he released his
statement saying he's comfortable where he is and wants to
win a national championship. Go put the money where, you know,
in a place where it makes him have to say no,
or make it at least really really difficult. Just go
down the list of the absolute home runs. But I
don't think the list should go any farther than Scott Drew.
(21:22):
I love Dan Hurley, I love Scott Drew.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
We got a minute till we need to hit this
hard break. I heard you did not mention Billy Donovan.
People have been sending me flight trackers already from Chicago
to Lexington. Is that not somebody that Kentucky should go after.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
I think it is, and I think they will. I
think there will be a lot of mutual interest there.
I think the issue is he's been out of the
game so long, and talking to some NBA guys, they
kind of see it as a kind of the way
we felt about Cal that they don't hate him, but
also if you're really willing to take him off of
our hands by so it's kind I don't like having
(21:59):
people on the other side tell you, Yeah, if you're
looking for this offensive renaissance and what we saw this
past season, you're not going to find it with Billy Donovan.
He's still running O seven Florida stuff, and that has
kind of sent a chill up my spine that I
don't necessarily love so i'd like him, don't love him.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Well, he left the college game because he wasn't happy
with recruiting. I wonder how he'd feel with the transfer
portal and nil. So maybe a fantasy for some Kentucky fans.
But well, we'll keep it rolling with Jack. He'll join
us for one more segment. We'll take some of your
phone calls. Next eight five nine two eight zero two
two eight seven. It's Jack Pilgrim and Billy Rutledge here
on the Ksrprecio. Welcome Back Tuesday edition of the KSR
(22:40):
pre Show. I'm Billy Rutledge here at KS bar and
grill with Jack Pilgrim. You can follow Jack on Twitter
at Jack Pilgrim KSR.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Jack.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
We got the news yesterday that Aaron Bradshaw is entering
the transfer portal and Carter Knox has reopened his recruitment.
But you dropped some news about Jaden Quintin's tell me
about what you're hearing.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah, it's that was an interesting one, just because he
is such a high profile guy that I think, you know,
you don't typically need to include personnel with you know,
coaching decisions and things like that. Though, because his circumstances
are so unique, I think that could you know, kind
of be a tool, a leveraging barget bargaining tip, if
(23:24):
you will, for Mitch Barnart to say, hey, I have
this generational talent, you know, contensus top five kid that
has to stay in college for two seasons. What you know,
what what do you think about potentially having him kind
of anchor your your team and build around him, or
at least just have him at your disposal however you
want to use him. I think that was a pretty
(23:45):
important piece, and I think it is pretty cool because
it's my understanding that he committed to the University of Kentucky.
For you know, John Calpaery was a significant part of that.
But in some conversations with with some people around Jayden,
it was was pretty clear to me that he committed
to the University of Kentucky first, and because he committed
(24:06):
to Kentucky, he wants to hear them out and not
just leave the program the second that the head coach
leads that he wants to at least hear out the
pitch and see what that looks like before you know,
turning his attention. I still think there's a pretty solid
chance he backs out of his letter of intent and
just kind of gets a fresh start to listen to
everything before. I mean, again, this is a massive, massive
(24:27):
decision and thing that was kind of thrown onto his
lap that was not expected, and another situation of a
family that didn't hear anything from from cal or anything
leading up to that point. So it kind of makes
it a tough situation for all parties involved. But I
think he wants to at least give Kentucky the first
shot at him before turning his attention elsewhere. So it's
(24:49):
pretty cool on him to hear that it wasn't just,
you know, kind of what we've been hearing so often.
This is the University of John Caliperry, and these kids
only commit to him and him only, so we'll see
what happened there.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
And also the fact that he can play or he
has to play two years before he can enter the
NBA draft is also an interesting scenario. But let's go
to the phones eight five nine two A zero two
two eight zeven If You've got a question for Jack
and we have Tom on the line.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Good morning, Tom, how are.
Speaker 5 (25:14):
You morning, gentlemen? And this is kind of a question
like I guess who cares at this point. But obviously,
you know, I kinl made changes onto his staff like
he did when he brought John Welchin, which was a
brilliant move.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
You know, maybe this year they could.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
Have brought our defensive you know, genius as well, and
that would have given me a little bit of hope,
even though it's probably not so much. But do you
think that when he goes to Arkansas he's going to
get rid of some of his staff, which would kind
of be a actor freely admit that my assistant coaches suck.
So I just interest your opinion on that. I'll hang
up and listen.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Thank you, Tom. Jack.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
I think we know that Brad Calipari would be there,
but how much of Kentucky's current staff would make the
trip to Fayetville.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Do we have with him now? Go ahead?
Speaker 3 (26:05):
It's my understanding that the staff that would be with
him now is the one that he would be bringing
with him to Fayetville. So that's a really controversial thing
for some people. For me personally, I think it's a
bad decision. Just being totally transparent, I think that there
are some people around him that have kind of pulled
(26:25):
down Cal in different ways and have kind of taken
advantage of his loyalty. And I think he can be
successful at Arkansas. I think he could have a really
really high level of success there, And I'm personally rooting
for him again, obviously not against Kentucky, but I am
personally rooting for him, and as a friend and fan
(26:46):
of John Caliperry, I hope that he kind of sees
the writing on the wall and say that we don't
just say this stuff publicly and say, you know, oh,
it's it's easy to make fun of this guy or
this guy. These guys are hurting your reputation and your
ability to continue moving forward and be the best version
of yourself. So if he wants to make those decisions,
(27:07):
that's fine. And you know, I think they will continue
to handstring him in ways that they hamstrung him in Lexington,
but that's now not our problem. So it's unfortunate, but
kind of reality of the situation.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Well, we've heard Frank Franklin's comments about the coaching staff
and when Matt reported that cal would retain most of
the staff, if not all of it, I think that
upset many in Big Blue Nation.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
We'll go to the phones again. Billy is up next?
Good morning, Billy, how are you hey?
Speaker 6 (27:36):
Good morning guys. You know something that no one ever
talks about is you know they gave him two years
too many for me. I don't take the guy. He
can't do X and o's. He won't listen to anybody,
and I don't care what that staff has had nothing
to do with him. He needs to make the changes
(27:56):
never did. But the only thing that think that rubbed me.
We're all for the last last few years, well ever
since the Wisconsin lost. Be honest with him. Yeah, too
much control. You know, he gets these players Dillo shady
sharp and puts him over on the bench knowing you
know that they were never going to play because all
he was worried about was that NBA. It was too
(28:18):
much NBA garbage, that's all you heard. And the kids
and the family and all that. It's just it was
just too much. It was like he was running the
program and he has run it, in ran it, he
has ran it into the dumpster. I am so glad
he's gone. I can enjoy my summer knowing that we
don't have him on the sidelines and we will get
(28:39):
a good coach. Have a great day, BB and Billy,
see you listen.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Thank you very much, Billy. Yeah, Jack, we've heard this
frustration before. The revolving door to the NBA is something
that has big Blue nations some fans up in arms.
But I also don't blame Cal too much for Shad
and Sharp. I feel like that was out of his
hands and he could have maybe handled it a little better,
not telling fans to go watch him warm up, but
I think he would hams drink a little bit in
that situation. But nevertheless, I think he put players first
(29:04):
before the program.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
And again, if you want to use that as an
example of, you know, his loyalty to a fault and
just kind of trusting the wrong people and and just
not having the right circle around him, I think people
around him took advantage of that loyalty, and I think
Shaden's circle was an example of that. They had kind
of built up trust from the Shake Gildess Alexander recruitment,
(29:27):
saying people that got Shay here and kind of led
him to the superstardom that he got. So cal saw
that and said, well, I mean they didn't burn me
the first time, so why would I get burned this time?
So there was an unnecessary level of trust there where
he was like, I know this seems fishy. I know
it looks dumb for me to kind of keep buying
(29:48):
into this on the on the outside. But this guy
is not going to hurt me. I know he's not
going to hurt me. And then he hurt him. So
that's kind of a theme with him of the you know,
kind of just trusting people and just put pishing all
of his chips in on people that he thinks are
good influences and that are you know, forcing him to
kind of spread himself unbelievably sin in different areas. And
(30:10):
you know this might sound controversial, but I don't think
the Kentucky job is that hard big picture. I think
the job kind of runs itself if you have the
right people around you. That kind of takes some stuff
off your shoulders in different ways that I just don't
think that this staff had had done. And he kind
of lost trust in some people, and I just kind
(30:33):
of became this conspiracy theory everybody's out to get me,
and that's where he built the walls up, and that's
where he kind of had the control of the caller
Billy said, like, it just kind of became this this
weird out on an island thing where he had people
around that he thought he trusted but couldn't ever totally
buy in, and it just he spread himself too thin,
and then that's kind of how we got to where
(30:56):
he is. So it was really really just sad and
I again, I hope that he sees how hard he's
had to work to not without the results that he's
been looking for, and hopes to find find help that
will actually help him.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Clint is up next. Good morning, Clint, How are you good?
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Good?
Speaker 4 (31:15):
What do you got for us this morning?
Speaker 6 (31:17):
Ay?
Speaker 7 (31:18):
First time caller. I was just you know, remisc reminiscing
about Calipari. Really, you know, I was there when he
got there in two thousand and nine, John Wall all
those guys, and that atmosphere was just magical. And that's
why I'm glad to see calif party leave but also
(31:40):
hate at the same time. My problem isn't really with Calipari,
It's more with Mitch Barnhardt. Because I think everything rests
on his shoulders now with Nil and recruiting and transfer portal.
It's just the game has changed, is why Calipari. I
think it's kind of all and off. And you know,
(32:02):
I've heard the rumors Scott Drew, you know, NATO's Billy Donovan,
off them. I'd be happy with any one of them.
I just hope we don't go with Scott Drew because
quote unquote, you know, he's friends with Barnhart, and I
just hope we don't get in another situation like Gillespie,
where we hire somebody and we're kind of stuck with
(32:24):
him because he's buddies with Barnhart. And another concern I
have is just you know, Scott Drew's record is actually,
if you look back, I think you all talked about
it yesterday, it's not any better than Cali parties. So
I don't know kind of what direction we're wanting to
go in if we're just gonna bring in the same thing.
(32:45):
And I was just wanting to get your alls opinion
on that and maybe what you think we're you know,
what mindset Mitch has and where you think we're gonna
go with our coaching from there.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Thank you, Clint, appreciate the call. Jack. What are your
thoughts on Scott Drew.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
That's a guy that built that program from the ground
in Baylor, but you know also maybe seen by some
as a safe hire.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yeah, I get it. I totally understand where you could
kind of see the you know, yes, everybody loves the
Bubble National Championship in twenty twenty one, and I do too,
not the discredit it at all, but have seen the
number of early exists and have kind of said, well,
how is this going to be any different? The thought
process there is he took that Baylor program basically off
(33:33):
of a death penalty, I mean, from the rubble, they
had absolutely nothing, bare bones, and built that up over
a long period of time into a powerhouse, whether you know,
whatever the end result is. And his ability to win
in March and some of those things, there's just a
lot of respect there on Mitch Barnhardt's side to take
(33:56):
what he did and you know, kind of just has
a good personality. That's it's kind of what Mitch Barnhart
prioritizes and has the uh, you know, a different selling
points that I think Mitch really resonate well with Mitch,
and the thought is, okay, he was able to do
that at Baylor again, the private school, different funding and
you know, it's different circumstances. But if he were able
(34:18):
to do that with these resources, unbelievable fans support, ready
to push all their chips in a hungry fan base,
how would that kind of change what his ceiling looks like?
You know what did? Is his ceiling at Baylor different
than what it would be what it would be in Lexington?
And I think that's where the intrigue on Barnhart's side
comes from. So again, I don't think it's an absolute
(34:40):
slam dunk, knock it out of the park home run.
I'm a fan. I think I would be kind of
trusting the vision there and seeing what he was able
to do there and hoping that he would be able
to do that, you know, to do bigger and better
with you know, better resources and different different levels of
support and kind of pushing all his chips in there.
So I see the hesitancy, but I think that's the
(35:00):
one you just kind of have to trust the vision
there and you know, a different fresh start for him
because he's been there for one hundred years.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
We'll try to go quick here so we can get
a couple more in. Chris is on the line. Good morning, Chris,
how are you hey?
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Good morning guys. Are you this morning? Well? The previous
caller kind of was covering what I want to talk
about with Scott Drew, because you know, there's a lot
of dream hires i'd like to have before especially I'm
kind of on the I guess the Dan Hurley train,
because that guy's is totally impressive. But anyhow, I know
(35:33):
Scott Drew, like you said, as a friend of Barnhart's,
and and as kind of a realistic probably easier to
get higher. So I'm trying to think cala Perry sort
of took us, you know, we were sort of in
a downward slump and he kind of built it back
up in a shorter time than Drew did with Baylor.
(35:58):
Are we looking to just get a coach to make
deep runs or do you really think that Scott Drew
to get us back to a Final four or a championship?
And I'll go ahead and listen to what you have
to say. If you could elaborate just a little bit
more on him.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Yeah, thank you, Chris, well, I mean, he's won a
title more recently than cal Jack, So I think the
expectation and as it should be at Kentucky is to
go to final fours and win championships, right yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
And again I think that cal could win a national
championship at another school within you know, in a recent
in a pretty short term period. The issue is his
messaging has fallen upon deaf ears pe the buy in
isn't there anymore that. I think the pressure once we
(36:44):
get to March is what kind of brings him down
and why we have Oakland and Saint Peter's and different
things like that. The weight of the world is on
his shoulders and he just hasn't been able to adjust.
So I think in a vacuum, you're not necessarily looking
for this absolute slam dunk out of the park higher.
You're just looking for something comparable, something a guy who
(37:05):
can handle the spotlight, a guy who can, you know,
live in this fish bowl at his Kentucky basketball and
just recruit, win games and and not have that weight
of the world on their shoulders. I think kind of
in a vacuum, Scott Drew isn't that far off of
of of John Caliperry, but he's going to have none
(37:26):
of the the weight on his shoulders and new, fresh
messaging things that will resonate with this fan base, and
it's it'll be different. Fans like different and you know,
kind of feeling that they have a fresh start. So
if you're getting similar production that you are you know,
had been getting, especially at John cal Perry's peak, that's
something Kentucky fans will welcome with open arms. They were
(37:48):
just done with the extra stuff that kind of led
to the pressure, that led to the discontent. So if
you're getting similar just x's and O production, I think
he's a better Ex's and No guy than cal Maybe
of lesser recruiter, but similar overall production, I think it's
still a massive win for Kentucky if you are able
to get Godrim.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
Yeah, I agree. I mean it's just something different.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
You're seeing that now with the University of Louisville and
their men's basketball program.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Pat Kelsey is just different.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
He has a different energy about him than Kenny Payne,
and we're seeing them raise a ton of money. It's
been an interesting cycle of that. The men's and women's
job at Kentucky both came open and also.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
The University of Louisville.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
Unfortunately, we don't have time for another call, but Jack,
I did want to get some final thoughts from you
before we let you go. I mean, can you imagine
the ticket when John Calipery comes back with Arkansas rupp Arena.
I mean, that is going to be one of the
most insane environments. What are your expectations for the next
twenty four hours.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Ooh, it's going to be complicated. I would like to
get this thing across the finish line, get a final
announcement in public official address from Cal from Mitch Barheart.
I would like to hear what publicly what Mitch Barnhart
is looking for in this higher and kind of an
expectation of you know, there's some murmurs that he's prioritizing
a guy with, you know, championship pedigree. I think that
(39:03):
clearly fits Dan Hurley, that clearly fits God Drew, that
clearly fits Billy Donovan for what you know, various reasons
and different levels of intrigue there. But you know, I'd
like to see and hear from Mitch Barheart and say, hey,
we kind of got screwed over here. We I looked
into a camera with BBN tonight and we were kind
(39:24):
of on the same page in terms of what we're
looking for. And then a week later he's taking, you know,
leaving in the middle of the night to stay Itville.
We kind of got burned here. Now it's on me
to take this opportunity of this thirty three million dollar
buyout no longer with this program and use it to
make this fan base and reward them with what they've been,
you know, very impatiently waiting for, and that is swinging
(39:47):
for the fences at the highest of how You start
with Dan Hurley and you give him an offer you
can he cannot refuse. I know people are talking about
the Northeast and his his ties and his comments after
last night. I could not care less about any of
that stuff. The people that talk about those things don't
know what really drives Dan Hurley, and that is to
be the king of all kings in the basketball world.
(40:10):
He's already proven that he can do that at Yukon.
He has let one in ways that nobody will ever
be able to accomplish a Yukon ever again. But he's
a challenged guy. He's a guy that sees what's next,
and he's hungry for what's next. If Mits Barnhardt sits
there and says, here is twelve million dollars a year,
please just hear me out and hear my pitch, and
(40:33):
let's see where we get at the end of it,
I think that he would be surprised at the result.
I think that that is something that Yukon would not
be able to afford. Look into their finances and how
their athletic department is run, and how healthy they are
in terms of a money standpoint, and what they would
be able to offer as an absolute sealing, and I
think the difference there is going to be something that
(40:54):
may make that answer pretty interesting.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Well, Jack, you've bet a wealth of knowledge this morning.
Make sure you followed you on Twitter at Jack Pilgrim
KSR and stay tuned for the Sources Say podcast or
even sign up for that KSR plus and get some
of that insight that Jack's been dealing out on the daily. Jack,
I appreciate you, my man, and best of luck the
rest of this this week.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
Thanks man. Appreciate you having me.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
All Right, we need to take a break. We'll have
some housekeeping notes on the other side of this break.
Here on the KSR apprecio. Welcome back. It is the
KSR pre Show. Big thank you to Jack Pilgrim who
joined us. We went a little along with Jack. So
just enough time to remind you that the KSR Pre
Show is brought to you by DraftKings. Turn five becks bet,
turn five bucks into one hundred and fifty dollars instantly
in bonus bets. The NCAA tournament may be over, but
(41:37):
Las Vegas UFC three hundreds right around the corner, you
can bet on some baseball. The NBA playoffs is almost here.
I could use the promos code KSR on DraftKings and
turn five dollars into one hundred and fifty dollars instantly
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Ryan Lemon, I am Billy Rutledge and this has been
the KSR pre Show
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