2025-10-30 KSR PRE-SHOW

Billy is joined by Jack Pilgrim.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everyone to another edition of the KSR Pre Show.
Today is Thursday, October thirtieth. I am Billy Rutledge and
one more show without Shannon the Dude. He returns from
his many vacation days tomorrow at Whiskey Thief. Give us
a call today on the Clark's Puppet Shop phone line.
It's eight five nine two eight h two two eight seven.

(00:20):
Text us at five oh two two six five six
six five six And as always, the KSR Pre Show
is brought to you by Italics Here in Lexington, fine
Italian dining at the City Center on Main Street.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
That's where I'm at today.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Hi atop the City Center on the seventh floor where
we continue our week of guest Big thank you to
Darren Hendrick who joined us on the show yesterday, Nick Coffee,
everybody that's jumped in with us throughout the week, including
Jeff Piccoro on Monday.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
And now it's game day.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Kentucky basketball takes on Georgetown tonight at seven pm at
Rupp Arena in the final exhibition game before the regular
season gets started, and there's no better man to discuss
it with than Jack Pilgrim, the UK men's basketball beat
rider for Kentucky Sports Radio dot Com. Not Jack's first
rodeo here on the radio. You can hear him every
Sunday morning on the Sunday Morning Sports talk show, but

(01:09):
also a frequent guest here on the pre show What's up, dude,
Great to see you, buddy.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Life is good, isn't it. We've got Kentucky basketball. We
got the appetizer. But it almost felt like a like
a fever dream with the Purdue game. And now it's like,
oh no, that wasn't just a one off. That wasn't
just a unique thing. We get it again and then
again and then again. It's just I'm so excited. So yes,
I couldn't be happier to be here with you.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
It's a wonderful time of year. We were talking about
it before the show started. I mean, crossover season football
and basketball coming.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
And we can't complain.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
We can't complain about our jobs, Jack, when we talk
about covering the Cats for a living. We can't say that,
you know, we're too busy or anything like that, because
we've got the greatest job in the world.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Don't you think, Oh yeah, it's you know, anytime you
want to bring out your tiny Violin and talk about
how many hours you work and all that. It's like,
you know, I I I good to watch Kentucky basketball
for a living. There's no better life, no other life.
You know, there isn't even another path for me necessarily,
Like this was the one thing that I said that

(02:08):
I was going to do in my life. I didn't
have a backup play, and I just kind of said,
this is what I'm pushing all of my chips in for.
I hope, I hope it works out. So hopefully we
don't have to find out what the alternative is.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Well, hopefully you're staying on top of your game, you're
mentally sharp for the season ahead. But I also hope
you're working on your basketball game because recently we had
the topic of KSR versus the Kentucky coaches and Jack,
I think you might be our best player, or at
least one of them, my man, I mean, we're gonna
need your performance on the court.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
I don't know if we're gonna be able to sell
you out for a while.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
If we do have this game, you know, we'll see
I'm for it. I'm very it was very humbling to
see the you know, as a Boston Celtics fan, I
was like in the weeds of all of that coverage
with the media game and seeing again, you know, they
have some former NBA players on the staff. They have
you know, high high level D one players on that staff,

(02:58):
So I understand the uh, the dynamic there that they
were signing up for a beatdown. But that's exactly what
Kentucky has on its roster too, So it's not like,
you know, if if it were any other coaching staff
in America, i'd you know, feel like i'd feel pretty
good about it. But we're also talking about former NBA
players and high high major D one players on the
Kentucky staff, So I don't know how that went unfold,

(03:20):
but I'd give it my best shot.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Don't tell yourself short.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
We've seen the mixtape, We've seen you at the camps
in the past. We've also seen Ryan Lemon at some
of the camps. So you know, our guy is gonna
be a hustle guy. He's gonna maybe draw some fouls.
But Jack, you're gonna need to make some buckets. You
and Mario are going to probably have to carry the team.
You don't want to see my jump shot, Well, you
got to give yourself a little bit more credit. Well,
let's let's get to the gym together and we'll we'll

(03:43):
we'll work on something. I mean, if you want to
go full court press, I can. I can sub in
and give you some deeper The.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Energy guy, You're you're the the energy, the energizer bunny.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
But if you tell me to go.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Stand in my corner and shoot threes, I may just
stand over there and never get the ball.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
It may be one of those situations.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
I learned yesterday that I need to dress up for
our Whiskey Thief remote tomorrow outside of Frankfurt.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
So Jack, what are your Halloween plans?

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Are you in the family going to be dressing up
tomorrow or is it more of just about making sure
the kids get some candy I have.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
I have a woody and buzz in in my children's future.
We're definitely in a toy story phase. Little Billy, your godson,
he's he is in a big, big, big time toy
story phase. We just had his second birthday and it
was his toy story theme two Infinity and Beyond and
so yes, he's all in on the buzz light Year

(04:31):
and we're we did that boo at the zoo. I
don't know if you've heard of that or seen it
at the Louisville Zoo. And they kind of, you know,
hand out you know, like makeshift trick or treating. They
kind of set up these little stations throughout the zoo
and you go by, and you know, they drop one
little piece of candy in the bag. So we were
getting used to the like, hey, people, if you ask nicely,

(04:51):
will hand you a treat. And it's like, whoa, why
can we just do that anywhere in life? Can we
just go up to, you know, a stranger and say
trick or treat and they'll magically put tasty, tasty goodies
in your bag. So we're learning, and tomorrow's gonna be
a very very big day for Woody and Buzz.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
How old is a little Billy now?

Speaker 3 (05:08):
Billy just turned two on October eighteenth, and then little
Miles is three months, So yes, we're we got our handsful.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
You're in the thick of it right now.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yes, Well, Halloween is a special time, and I'm sure
even more so with kids, So I'm sure that'll be
very fun for you. Be careful showing the kid's toy
story three Jack, I don't know if you've seen all.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
The Toy Stories three Buddy, gut puncher, Buddy.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
I've seen all of them one hundred times over, and
maybe that's even short changing it.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
I mean I'm in the theater, like tear it up
at three. I mean that was like my whole childhood.
We can't let it end like this.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah, the Andy leaving for college and Bonnie that that's
it's it's a lot. It definitely puts a lot on
your on your mental and on your tear ducks. Have
you seen four Toy Story? Four It's good, it's it's
very underrated. Four Key is a very very underrated Again,
I can't worgue that I'm talking about that on the
case aprec but yes, four Ky is a very underrated

(06:01):
character in one of one of Baby Billy's fails.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
Well, you know, if there's any show to bring up
four Key, and you know Toy Story, it is the
pre show. Shannon and I have a good time every
morning and appreciate everybody listening. If you have a question
for Jack, you can text us at five O two
two six five six six five six. You brought up
your family and yesterday was family Day with the Kentucky
basketball team. I saw Matt was able to bring his
mom and dad, they were able to meet Mark Pope

(06:25):
and everybody there.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
I saw you did much of the same. How was
it overall? I mean, that seems like a pretty unique thing.

Speaker 3 (06:30):
Look, I'm not trying to be a softy just to
bear with me for our listeners. But I got the
email on Sunday afternoon that Mark Pope had had set
this thing up, and I'll be honest, like I got
a little like teary eyed. I was a little emotional
because it was, you know, the inclusion of their family. Hey,

(06:51):
I know that, you know this job takes you away.
You know when you're driving down to Starkville on a
Tuesday night and you're not coming back till you know,
Wednesday late, and then you're not going to see your
kids until you know, Thursday morning. Like these it's it's
you know, your home often, but when you're gone, it's
always a couple of days at a time, and having
to explain that to your kids. Hey, I'm you know,

(07:12):
dad has going to work. Okay, Oh, so you're gonna
be back in a couple hours, Well kind of you know,
I'm going out of town for a day and I'll
be back tomorrow so I'll see you. I'll tuck you
into bed, you know, tomorrow night. So having to explain
that dynamic and for him to include, you know, our families,
and it'd be one thing for them to invite media

(07:33):
to practice, that'd be cool, appreciated whatever, But to say, hey, no,
we want your children there, we want your wives there,
we want your you know, your family. If it's not
a wife or a kid, it's you know, we want
your your brother, we want your mom, we want whatever
it is. It's just a very thoughtful thing that they
did not have to do. And I you know, that
was the first time that I've you know, kind of

(07:53):
just disconnected like I I went, I chased Billy. I
think touched every single seat inside Reperena. You know. We
we saw Andrea Yellovich at the pro day go up
and touch the top of Memorial Coliseum as a punishment.
My son decided to do it just for fun. He
just was all over the place and it was just

(08:13):
very cool to not feel like I was working. I
was just enjoying the event with my you know, with
my family. I was got fed a bottle to my
three month old and then I chased you know, Billy
around Rupperina. There's some pictures that chet White got that. Again,
just the emotions are just getting to me. But it's
a very sweet thing that Mark Pope did that. You know,

(08:34):
there's nothing more important in my life than my family
and for them to recognize that and include them in
my job. And so when when I'd say, hey, dad,
dad is going to work, they can see where Dad,
Dad's working. So very very cool, very very thoughtful.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
Well, we've talked a lot about Mark Pope getting it right,
being an alumnus of the university, understanding that the standard
is a final four every year. He just says the
right things and he's done that since day one, once
he got off that bus at Rapperina. But just another
example of him getting it right and a really unique and.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Cool opportunity he was offering the media.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
Not a bad idea considering the media or you know,
can be the mouthpiece of the fan base and can
be critical of you at times.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
I mean, I think that's a.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
Savvy move to offer something like that, and obviously it
had an impact on somebody like you.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Yeah, and you know it's a I scratch your back,
you scratch mine world in business with with sports, I
get it. I totally understand it. But it's also a
priceless thing where, you know, with with my three month old.
I was down at Peach Jam back in July. I
had just arrived. I mean, I hadn't even been in
North Augusta for twenty four hours. And my wife text

(09:43):
and says, hey, I know. She you know, we were
within the ballpark of having our second child, and so
I knew there was some risk with it. But I
was like, well, you know, we're two weeks away from
our due date. The odds, the odds are just so,
you know, so slim. And you know, he wrecked cognizes that.
I know. She texts and says, hey, you know, I
just had a pretty serious contraction. You know, I know

(10:07):
you're eight hours away, but we might have a decision
to make here. And I went up and asked Mark Pope, Hey,
what would you do as the father of four girls?
What would you do? He said, get your butt in
the car and go home right now. And he records
this video to send home to my wife and tell
her that I'm on my way. So this was also
the first time that she got to you know, she said, hey,
I really want to thank Mark Pope for you know,

(10:29):
getting my husband home in time to to you know,
witness the birth of our child. And like, I mean
I got home and fifteen minutes later it started water broke.
It was like the whole thing. I mean, it was
fifteen minutes there. I could not have have cut it
any closer. So just for her to kind of get
that chance to say, like, hey, thank you for kicking

(10:49):
my husband out of the gym to get him home
to be here with with his children, it was just
a very cool thing that you know, meant a lot
to her and obviously with the two other kiddos, it
definitely meant a lot to all of us.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
You bring that up. I remember the video because he's like,
what are you doing here?

Speaker 1 (11:03):
Jack?

Speaker 2 (11:03):
You need to get home right now.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
And so that's, you know, so playful and awesome of
him to hint for Pope to go up the stairs
and to meet with fans in a wheelchair hours after
a road game. Continues to show the kind of man
that he is and again that he.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
Just gets it. And you mentioned taking you away.

Speaker 1 (11:22):
You know, that's something probably people don't think about it's
easy to overlook about the long nights at Reupp Arena
after an eight pm tip, or like you said, the
peach jam, that just takes you away from your family,
and now you're able to share that with them more
than just giving him a ticket to the game. So
a really cool thing that Mark Pope did yesterday. We
get more Mark Pope today as Kentucky takes on Georgetown.

(11:43):
It's the second and final exhibition game. And Jack, I mean,
I've been saying it all week. I don't know how
you don't come away really optimistic after that first exhibition game.
Was that surprising to you or you could you kind
of feel this coming with some of the talent they've
been building.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
I knew that this Kentucky team was going to be good.
I felt really really good about just kind of the
feedback over the you know, over the course of the
eight weeks in the summer and then the early feedback
in the fall, you know, the preseason stuff. It was
just always overwhelmingly positive and optimistic. And you know, last
year's feedback it was good. It was Hey, I think

(12:17):
we're going to be better than people expect. But there
was nobody in that building that was going clear room
up at the rafters are rub we got another banner
to hang. It was you know, hopeful, you know, the
ball can bounce your way in March and that you know,
we know that teams that aren't always the number one
seed make deep runs and sometimes even win it all.
So that was never a you know, ruled out, but

(12:39):
it was also not a you know kind of something
that they were expecting to happen. This offseason, the tone
has just shifted so much to where, like, you know,
there's a there's a real level of excitement that, hey,
this this could be the team. This could be the
one that we talk about and write books about and
share you know, stories with our grandkids about down the
road that this team has that makeup. So to see

(13:01):
them go out on that stage after hearing all that
against the number one team in the country, against the
preseason national player of the year, all of that stuff
and you know, two hundred and ninety five combined starts
between you know, Fletcher Lawyer, Trey Kaufman, Ran and Braden Smith,
you would expect that Purdue team to be cohesive and
you know, further along than a Kentucky team that's putting

(13:22):
a bunch of the puzzle pieces together kind of on
the fly in Kentucky look like that team Kentucky look
like the you know, the season vets that have been
playing together for several years, and like, how are they
further along than this Purdue team? So it definitely had
you dreaming big. Do not let Purdue fans tell you
that that game didn't matter. Both teams played hard, they

(13:42):
played defense, it was it was a hard fought battle
that Kentucky was just simply better. And I think that
we're going to see that theme come up very often
this season. I think that the depth and the talent
is just is just too much for most of college basketball.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yeah, the depths is key for me.

Speaker 1 (13:57):
I mean, doing that without your starting point guard or
your top ten pick in the next NBA draft is incredible.
And the atmosphere and rough, you know, I'm stuck in
the studio. Jacket's the one bad part of this job
is that ten eleven hour days I'm stuck in the studio.
I can't experience the energy at RUP, which looked like
a February SEC game, not an October exhibition game.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Am I wrong in saying that that place was rocking?

Speaker 3 (14:19):
The other. Yeah, in two RUP's credit. The last year
it was the first. You know, there's always just a
you know, a mid week seven o'clock game against No
Name University that in the past RUPP has just not
been electric. People are still coming in from work, it's
a cold, rainy night, you know, it's it's they're not
going to use their their time or money or resources

(14:41):
or whatever to to you know, pour everything into those matchups.
We kind of saw that shift a little bit last
year where it was I remember just No Name University
coming into town and you know, RUP was packed at
tip off and going, how is this? How is this possible?
This is like the glory days that you know, the
old time talk about wait, you know, decades and decades

(15:02):
and decades ago that this this is what RUP you
know was in the past and what it should be.
And it kind of got that that energy back. But yeah,
there's a whole different animal whenever it's a number one
team in the country and you know, you could just
kind of tell for an exhibition game, it's something that
none of us have ever seen and very very fortunately
the on court execution and production match that entergy.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
Good good well, I mean we can say that about basketball.
I don't know if you can say the same, but
football in the atmosphere that they've had.

Speaker 2 (15:29):
We'll talk about Mark Stoops a little later in the show.

Speaker 1 (15:31):
I couldn't get Jack to stop talking about Mark Stoops
before the show started, so I think he's got some thoughts,
so he wants to share a little later. You know,
the LSU governor talking about the LSU head coaching search
as a headline, will need to discuss. I mean, some
wacky stuff that's on the docket today for this Thursday
edition of the KSR pre Show, being joined by Jack Pilgrim.
You can give us a call today eight five nine
two eight zero two two eight seven.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
Will be right back.

Speaker 3 (15:54):
Welcome back.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
It is the KSR pre Show, Billy Rutledge and Jack
Pilgrim this morning eight five nine two two two eight seven.
If you'd like to join us, This segment is brought
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(16:16):
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(16:39):
at dkig dot co slash audio limited time offer. Our
guest is a Celtics fan, and just the other day
Jalen Brown was getting laughed at because his spray on
hair was going on the other team's jerseys when he
duck his head into him. I mean that was Ryan
Lemonesque with him putting his head up on the wall
and his the paint going there.

Speaker 2 (17:00):
You saw Jalen and his hair, right Jack.

Speaker 3 (17:02):
Yeah, it's a it's a transition period for for our
book Boston Celtics with Jason Tatum going out with his
his achilles probably out for the season. So yeah, we're,
you know, seeing what Jalen Brown is is our superstar,
go to go to guy looks like And unfortunately with
that spotlight comes you know, things like this that that

(17:22):
can't go unnoticed. So unfortunately, I think he went live
on Twitch to getting a haircut and like the barbers
like giving him a close up of like what his
hairline looks like, and like, yes, he you know, was
faking it for a little bit, but it's not that bad.
It's fixable. We can we can work with this. So unfortunately, yes,
we're we're in a hairline season for Celtics, not talking

(17:44):
about hanging banner number nine.

Speaker 1 (17:46):
He tried to call Lebron to ask for advice on
his hairline, and that's probably the person he needed the
advice from. Lebron's been holding onto that hairline for a while.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
Also cheating the system with with you know, a little
little work arounds there. So yeah, it happens it to
the best.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
The spray on hair going off on the opposing guy's jersey.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
That was it happened twice, Actually did it happen to
It happened in back to about games, and I think
that's when people said, all right, if you're you know,
doing a little bit too much launch what do we
do it? We you know, using too much shout. We
don't need the you know, doing this much laundry for
every single game. It's it's putting the other you know,
team's managers in a bad spot. So we had to
address this.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
We're talking college basketball today with Jack Pilgrim. You can
fall him online at Jack Pilgrim KSR. Also The Horse,
host of the Sources Say podcast with John Smith. You
guys do a great job with that, Jack, Don't let
me not give you some praise on that. CBS Sports
ranked the top coaches in college basketball and Mark Pope
came in at number sixteen, Dan Hurley number one, Kelvin

(18:46):
Sampson number two, and Rick Patino number three. Jack, do
you think there's ever a day where Mark Pope can
be in the top three of coaches in college basketball?

Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well, if you know, we have anonymous quote saying that
he'd be a complete bozo to not win a national
championship with this roster in Kentucky's resources and all the
all of the things. So yeah, I think he's underrated already,
which is it's just hilarious. I think people get too
caught up in the mind games of it and wanting
to outthink themselves and not just you know, take what

(19:17):
last year's roster was, which was this island of misfit
portal toys coming together, yeah and making history. Like we
can just look at that and say, Wow, that was
a bang up coaching job. Mark Pope deserves endless you know,
praise for that, while also acknowledging, hey, it was a
only quote unquote of sweet sixteen. We kind of take
that for granted here recently. We haven't been since twenty

(19:39):
nineteen prior last season, so we got to take the
wins as they come. But you know, the goal is
winning national championships. And you know, he built a roster.
You know, so much of it is is not just
you know, what his ex'es and o's are, and I
think that's that speaks for himself as a brilliant basketball mind,
but also at the roster construction and retention and you know,

(20:00):
earning wins when they can, you know, pr wins. So
much of it is is outside those those those lines
on you know, those ninety four feet So I think
sixteen is highly highly, highly underrated. And we'll be having
a different conversation here probably this time next year.

Speaker 1 (20:16):
And I can't help but think that last year is
going to be such an outlier when it comes to
that roster construction. I mean, whether it be him driving
stick in South America trying to sign somebody, or picking
up Andrew Carr in between Bowling Green and Lexington. I mean,
it was just it was like a throw it together
in a month. You got to get anybody that you can.
You know now, and how much he stresses the importance

(20:37):
of a guy being in his second year in his system, Like,
I think you're going to see that retention that you
mentioned and really just maybe roster management a little different
than what you see throughout college basketball outside of Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
Would you agree with that?

Speaker 3 (20:50):
Well, And you know it's such a taboo thing to
talk about just the money and how much this roster costs.
It goes with Pope's trend of just doing whatever it takes.
Last year's roster was, Hey, I'm hired in mid April.
I'm a month behind on you know, portal baits and
you know guys have already come off the board. I

(21:11):
have no recruit high school recruiting base whatsoever. Just get
the guys that will win games right away. Maybe not
the future NBA superstars, but build a roster at whatever
cost that is going to compete. Going into year two,
it was okay, now, let's let's build a roster again.
Whatever it takes, whatever the cost to win a national championship.

(21:32):
What what is the cost of a national championship. Let's
put it at twenty two million dollars. You know, it's
it's doing whatever it takes. And you know, having the
you know, the guts to to make that call when
you know, saying, hey, we that's my responsibility to win
national championships. And then hopefully as the years go on,
the value comes down as the revenue sharing and all

(21:53):
that stuff clears up and we don't have to overspend
and things like that. And his you know, he's more
of a name brand, you know, known modity in college
basketball Kentucky. So we're trending in the right direction. But
until then, it's doing whatever it takes to win.

Speaker 4 (22:05):
Well.

Speaker 1 (22:06):
I like where Kentucky sits. I mean, while Dan Hurley
has a conniption on the sideline and Tom Izzo and
Kelvin Sampson are critical of college basketball as it is today,
he seems like you have Mark Pope who is fully
embracing the challenge and seems like is really with the times,
and that's exactly what you need with Kentucky, who started
behind the eight ball and nil and didn't embrace the

(22:27):
transfer portal like they should.

Speaker 2 (22:29):
Maybe initially, Jack.

Speaker 1 (22:30):
Pilgrim's our guests will get more on the way here
on the ksrpre show Welcome Back Thursday edition of the show.
Before the show, we'll hand it off to KSR at
ten am. Until then, it's Billy Rutledge and Jack Pilgrim Today,
the host of the Sources Say podcast. You can find
his work at Kentucky Sports Radio dot com. Today it's
Kentucky versus Georgetown at seven pm. One of those computer

(22:53):
games ESPN plus s SEC Network Plus. You're gonna have
to have the extra package to watch it. It's also
Devin Booker's birthday. Happy twenty ninth birthday to Devin Booker.
Were you licking cars back in the day, Jack.

Speaker 3 (23:06):
I was just thinking of a licking car joke, and
you hear here you are, Stepan Stephan on my head?
Great mind, yeah, great minds Uh. I don't even remember
your question because I was so focused on asking.

Speaker 1 (23:16):
Happy birthday, Devin, Booker. Were you licking cars back in
the day? Were you a big Booker fan?

Speaker 3 (23:21):
I never licked a car, fortunately, but yes I was
a Devin Booker fan. I am a bigger fan of
of Uh. You know, all the shoes that he keeps
sending Kentucky's way and making sure that La Familia is,
you know, permanent territory in Lexington, not anywhere else. So yeah,
we're we're loving. We're loving just how you know. And
apparently his shoes are awesome. I actually want want to

(23:42):
get to get a pair, but those those book ones
are apparently just just terrific.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
So well, you get some extra ones, let me know, Jack,
and uh, I'll even slip on some of those for you.
Matt's more of the shoe guy than me. I've been
wearing the same hookahs for the last eight months. But
you know what to teach their own.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
On the text line five oh two two six five
six six five six says ask Jack, what is the
earliest best case scenario that Jaden Quaintance comes back?

Speaker 3 (24:05):
Ooh man, the all the tough ones November is ruled out.
Don't expect anything in November front from Jaden, and then
anything past that point, we're in wait and see territory.
I have put a mid December kind of timeline in
my head, just kind of an educated guess hunch, knowing

(24:27):
kind of what they're prioritizing and where we are with that.
But yeah, I definitely think it's going to be you know,
a mid They want to be at full strength by
the time SEC play starts, so they don't want to
throw him in with the Wolves in that first road
trip down to Tuscaloosa to begin SEC play. They would
like for him to have a tune up couple of

(24:48):
games if possible, while also not wanting to throw him
in to you know, a high stakes, emotional, you know,
Rick Patino matchup on December twentieth. I think that's one
that they're like, you know, we're not scared to play him.
Obviously he's a you know, top five draft pick, but
that game is going to be pushing all the chips
in on winning and it's not you know, I can

(25:09):
you'd prefer a Bellerman over a Saint John's against Rick
Patino if the possibility presents itself. So that's kind of
the in between territory that they're looking at. But yes,
the no no, they want to get to the point
where an SEC play there's no minister restrictions, no, you know,
other other nonsense with it. They want to be at
full strength against SEC opponents.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
Is November ruled out for Jalen low or is that
somebody that could be coming back before the season.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
I would expect to see Jalen Lowe sooner rather than later.
I'm not expecting him tonight. But we got to see
him in you know, up up close and personally yesterday
at the media day, fan family day. So he looked great,
was moving really really well, was shooting grade, did some
non contact practice stuff, and was was you know, very

(25:56):
involved with a lot of it. So yeah, I think
we are very much on the cuss of Jalen low
making his debut.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
We mentioned Devin Booker, but speaking on players of the past,
we got the news, I think just yesterday that Lamont
Butler is going to be out for the year tearing
his meniscus and acl. I hate that for a fan
favorite last year, you could say, maybe the most important
player on the team last year, just because they didn't
have a ton of ball handlers. You saw how good
he was defensively and how much they missed him when

(26:24):
he was out. There was just a ton of injuries
last year too. But Jack, who is this year's Lamont Butler?
Who do you think is the guy that Kentucky needs
to have on the floor for them to reach their ceiling?

Speaker 3 (26:34):
Good question. Yeah, I hate it for Lamont. That's just
the absolute worst news. It went through way too much
last year and now you know that street kind of continuing,
So I hate it for him. Hope he's doing okay.
I think that answer could go a couple of different directions.
If you're looking for like a Lamont Butler style of
player in terms of you know, winning, tenacity, toughness, those things,

(26:56):
I definitely think that Denzel Aberdeen fits that mold. I
think he is, you know, just the dog of all
dogs and is you know, takes pride in defense and
you know, making the you know, diving for loose balls,
making the tough play. So I definitely see a lot
of La Mott Butler in him. But in terms of
just you know, stability and guy to kind of be
the straw that stirs the drink, I think it's Modiabate.

(27:18):
I think Modiabate is is you know, kind of have
that same winning culture and you know, kind of do
it all whatever you need me to do. Bring the
ball at the floor, grab a tough rebound, get a
defensive stop, get a tough bucket. I think that's that's
the you know, that's exactly what he embodied. So I'd
say guard as a guard, Denzel Aberdeen as a forward.
Kind of overall, I'd say Modibate.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
I love that answer because Mark Pope, I think, addressed
a lot of the deficiencies of the roster last year
by bringing in a guy like Modia Bat that's going
to bring in some defense, they get some of that
depth that was an issue when they had those injuries
last year. For him to be able to pinpoint what
was wrong last year and make it better that to
turn this year is exactly what you want to see.

(28:00):
You know, he scores two points in the first exhibition game,
but then Mark Pope comes out and says Colin Chandler
was the MVP. I mean, how much Colin Chandler we
see in this year? Jack, I mean, at times he
was really important for the team last year, came on late.
I just I feel like expectations vary for this guy
a lot, and so what do you expect from him?

Speaker 3 (28:17):
I think Colin is going to be in that group
of uh, you know, Cam Williams, Trent Noah, there's gonna
you know a lot of guys in that wing position
that I think it's gonna be Jasper Johnson to an
extent that it's gonna be whoever's hot, whoever is you know,
feeding the hot handy if we needed, you know, a

(28:38):
high level defensive defensive player, a stop or you know whatever.
I think that's going to vary, but Colin definitely fits
in in that mold. His confidence is an all time high.
You know, really maybe yesterday was really interesting watching practice.
He you know, when the team needed a tough bucket,
he was always the one that hit a big shot
or you know, when when the team messed up, he

(28:58):
was the first person to speak up and kind to
be that leader. So I think he does a lot
of the intangible stuff that Mark Pope loves that will
put him on the floor and keep him on the floor.
But he's unfortunately at a very deep position that I
think is going to be kind of as as matchups unfold,
you know who's a better defensive matchup for him? You know,
kind of situational based compared to you know, just a

(29:19):
traditional starter or a traditional rotation game.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
Well, you mentioned Jasper Man.

Speaker 1 (29:22):
I don't know if I was more excited for any
player after that Purdue game than Jasper. I mean, if somebody,
if he's somebody that's making a lot of money through
NIL through Kentucky this year, he's he earned it in
that first exhibition game, and hopefully he can keep it up.
But I mean, you just don't know how the freshmen
are going to come in and play. But Jasper and Malachi,
we're both sensational in that game and hopefully can lead
to more minutes at least until guys like Jalen Lowe

(29:45):
and Jaden Quainton's can reach their full form. I also
saw a story and I guess fill me in on
more about like in practice, the guys played and the
loser had to do the other team's laundry. So it
was like a really competitive practice and one of the
teams won and the guys didn't even do the laundry.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
Is that what happened?

Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah, that was you know, apparently there was some shenanigans
as well that they you know, after practice when they
were supposed to do the laundry. They they the you know,
winning team stayed out on the on the floor and
stuck around for a couple hours to you know, prolong
because he was like, it's a three hour process, and
they hung around on the floor and got extra shots
up for another two hours to delay them you know,

(30:24):
potentially five hours. So uh yeah, that that was you know,
but I think that's just kind of the competitive nature
that's this team. They they they obsess over winning, and
you know, Mark Pope talks about, you know, it's it
could be a game of checkers and they're going to
you know, you know, lose, lose their minds over it.
So yeah, I think this team has that kind of
identity and that kind of makeup that you know that
they're they're gonna get competitive over overdoing laundry of all things.

Speaker 2 (30:47):
Well there's another thing.

Speaker 1 (30:48):
Was it Jaden Quaintance was playing chess and it was
like Mark Pope and Jalen Lowe together taking on Jaden Quaintance.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
There's the competitive nature you're talking about right there.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, him and and uh Colin Chandler. I believe it
was Colin and Mark Pope teaming up against Jaden quaintanceworst
two chess matches games whatever we call them, going on
at the same time, two chess board, two chess boards,
and they were taking turns against Jaden one taking on

(31:19):
Mark Pope on one chess board and Colin Chandler on another,
and said that Jaden got Pope easily and they worked
together on the other one and they were able to
split it with with them going one and one, but
said that Jayden just ran the floor with them.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
That's even more impressive.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
Like that's like the New York City hustlers that are
sitting out at the park waiting for people to come by.
I mean, you're playing two games at once. I mean,
Jane Quainton's tell me a hidden talent that you have.

Speaker 3 (31:48):
Yeah, he's unique. He's a one of a kind, generational
kind of play. I'm just I'm so excited for fans
to see him, because you know, it's different to watch
a highlight tape or whatever. But I've been you know, insane.
I'd say some you know, diehard fans have been following
his career since he was fifteen years old because he
was a Kentucky recruit at fifteen years old, so watching
his trajectory he has. I think there was he's maybe

(32:11):
just now starting to realize it, but there was a
point in his life that he had no idea how
good he was going to be. He had no idea
that he was going to be a six eleven, two
hundred and fifty five pound, you know, freak of nature
athlete built like you know, a brick house who's going
to be a potentially five hundred million dollars player. Like
I think that realization is just now kind of like,
oh yeah, I might be able to do this thing

(32:33):
for a really long time and make some good money
doing it. So I'm very excited for fans to see
him kind of turn that us see that vision of
like what he could be into a reality when he's
actually on the floor.

Speaker 1 (32:44):
Okay, one more player I'll ask you about because we
could sit here all day and go through the roster
and say who's going to be the odd man out?
Is it going to be this guy or this guy?
But I mean, early on in the year, is there
a more important player than Brandon Garris. I mean, Malachim
Raino played really well early on, but Brandon Garrets as
a guy that's improved his conditioning a lot. If you
listen to some of the practice reports, somebody that was
thrown up after Windsprints last year is now the first

(33:07):
one to finish at times.

Speaker 2 (33:08):
This is a guy should develop a lot.

Speaker 1 (33:11):
Do you agree with that sentiment that he is, if
not the one of the most important players at least
early on for Kentucky.

Speaker 3 (33:17):
Especially with Jaden out, somebody of that group has to emerge,
whether it's Brandon Garrison or Malachimreno, who for my money,
has actually been kind of inching closer and closer and
closer to sh Garrison to where we're having the conversation
where when Jaden Quainton's comes back, all three of those
guys are not going to be able to play starter

(33:37):
level minutes. They're not going to be able to play
twenty plus minutes a game. So how is that going
to work out? And I think that's putting some pressure
on Brandon to you know, grow up and you know
work to take you know, go one hundred and fifty
percent instead of one hundred percent. Like I think that
that was kind of one of those those things that
you know, they they loved about Brandon. It's because he's
just this you know, firecracker. He goes out there and

(33:59):
he's just the high energy guy is going to get
a big stop. He's gonna you know, get a tech
doing something crazy, but then make up for it with,
you know, an explosive play. He's that, He's that kind
of guy. But is it sustainable? Is his style of
play sustainable? Can he process the game well enough and
and turn into that read and react kind of point
forward that Amari Williams was last year. That was kind

(34:21):
of what the wait and see stuff was in Malachi.
The way he has become that and in kind of
a safety net where he's a really really high floor guy.
He's in the right spots, he makes the right reads,
you know, not as athletic, not as agile, maybe not
the same explosive plays, but he's a safety net for
Mark Pope. Who is Pope going to lean on most?

(34:41):
Is he going to take the potential or the you know,
the the higher ceiling or the higher floor. I think
that's a real conversation that we're having and I think,
you know, it's iron sharpens iron. I think I think
it's going to be really really good for both players
to see see who who wins that kind of you know,
heavyweight matchup.

Speaker 1 (34:56):
Well, I think we've talked myself out of it. With
how good Malin Camerino's been playing. I think that takes
some pressure off of Brandon Garrison having to be that
important guy. But look, I mean, you got some big
games early on that he's going to have to show
up for. So I'm hoping Brandon Garrison has one of
those moments early on this year. Let's take a quick
call before you need to take a break. Anthony has
been patiently waiting. What's up, Anthony? How are you this morning?

Speaker 4 (35:17):
Hey? What's going on? Buddy?

Speaker 2 (35:19):
Hey man? What do you got for us?

Speaker 4 (35:21):
Oh? Hanging tough, hanging tough as the coaching search or
you know the situation with coach Stoops. There he's up.
I just wanted to call in and just give a
take to kind of support coach Stops and just kind
of say, I feel like the kind of the mob
mentality's out there right now, and I just wanted to
say a few words to kind of show the other

(35:44):
side a little support for Stoops and just kind of
how I feel great.

Speaker 1 (35:49):
Yeah, we don't hear that enough, Anthony. I appreciate you
calling in and being a part of the BBN. I
want Jack to respond to that, but we are a
little late for a break, so I'm going to give
him a couple of minutes to think about it. If
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talking a little football on the other side of this break.
It's a Thursday edition of the kasrpre Show with Jack Pilgrim.
We'll be right back. Welcome back. It is the KASR

(37:15):
pre Show. I'm talking about stupid stuff during the break.
I don't don't even know where to begin there. We'll
keep it on Kentucky Sports on air eight five nine
two two two eight seven. Did want to address the
question that Anthony had before we went to break. He
was really wasn't a question, actually just sowing support for
Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football team. It's Kentucky versus
Auburn this weekend. And Mark Soups is still the coach

(37:38):
at Kentucky. He is in his thirteenth season and I
think many in Big Blue Nation think that this might
be his last jack. Do you think that what happens
in these last few games determines that or do you
think his fate is sealed no matter what happened.

Speaker 3 (37:53):
I think that we're like weeks behind on this. I
think I think this could and should have been something
that has been cooking cooking up internally, you know, dating
back to the Georgia game. Even so, yes, I definitely
think that this is the last run. My patience has
has worn thin too. Would that would be an understatement
to say I love Mark Stoops? I really do.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
Like I I.

Speaker 3 (38:18):
Loved the approach, the tenacity that he brought when he
got hired. It was the perfect, perfect, perfect thing for
this program and made a diehard. So like I grew
up in the Andre Woodson you know Rich Brooks era,
like that was my first real run at like obsessing
over every single game as a kid. So I have seen,

(38:40):
you know, some semblance of success. You know, I didn't
live in the you know, way back wind days where
it would people talk about how bad things used to
be for Kentucky football. So I have seen it, you know,
at a at a solid high and then I saw
it hit the low with Joker and then man, that
that's stoop skyrocketing. That man has just been an absolute blast,
and I really do appreciate, you know, his ability to

(39:03):
make fans believe again and set a standard that fans
didn't didn't even know could be met at at Kentucky.
But the thing that going back to that caller and
even my previous stance, you know, he got paid accordingly
for resetting the standard and the expectation Lexington, So I
just don't feel bad for somebody that, you know, was

(39:26):
this bring your lunch pail to work, you know, blue
collar guy for so many years, got paid accordingly, earned
every single cent that he got. And then when the
times got tough, when N A. N I. L. Came
in and he got like, hey, we're paying you the
top ten paid coach in college football. Now's when you
earn the earned the bucks, like, let's see you adapt,

(39:47):
let's see you change, And then the whining and the
tiny violin stuff started, and it was just like, wait,
I thought we were the tough, gritty, Youngstown, tough mindset coach.
What where did that? Where did that go? So it's
it's a frus stra on my part that he's lost
his way. He is no longer the gritty I'll work
myself out of anything. And now it's become a meme
that you know, I let's go back to work. I'm

(40:09):
motivated those those things. It just it's it's fallen upon
deaf ears and it drives me crazy listening to just
the the word salad that comes from from him at
these press conferences and just kind of explaining why we
should feel bad for him and in his situation. I
just don't. I don't feel bad. And it has gotten

(40:30):
to a point where we were at the end of
the coach cal era again. Another man that I love
and will cherish those memories for, you know, the rest
of my life. And I can't wait for the day
that he retires and comes back to Lexington and he
can have Jobie Hall's old seat sitting court, you know,
court side at mid court. I'm thrilled for that day
when it comes. Now he's an enemy at at an

(40:50):
sec rival, But I just I I'm ready for Mark
Stoops to you know, get the fresh art that he needs,
for us to get the fresh start that we need.
Just like the basketball program. FELT don't assume that just
because uh, it's going to be difficult to find a
coach that that lived up to that standard and that

(41:11):
type of hype. It's it's possible. Just like in the
basketball program found it's possible. We found the right guy,
and there's there's another right guy out there for the
football program. Oh, get it out, buddy, it's a little session.
I feel I'm there yet.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
Oh, I understand.

Speaker 1 (41:25):
And that's why a lot of people have that anger,
is because they are passionate about it and they do
want to see it so badly succeed. It is a
little bit of a loser leaves town match up with
Kentucky and Auburn, Mark Stoops and Hugh Freeze, but you know,
maybe saves his job if he gets to five wins.

Speaker 2 (41:41):
We'll see.

Speaker 1 (41:42):
It'll be in the hands of Mitch Barnhardt. Unfortunately, Jack,
this is the end of our time.

Speaker 3 (41:46):
Therapy, So just kidding, I just getting rolling.

Speaker 1 (41:47):
I know these hours go by quick. But looking forward
to your coverage tonight with Kentucky versus Georgetown. You can
read it all on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com or
check out the Sources Say podcast.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
Appreciate your time.

Speaker 1 (41:58):
Jack, Thanks again, budd appreciate you. That's going to do
it for us, for Jack Pilgrim. I'm Billy Rutledge. We're
at Whiskey Thief tomorrow outside of Frankfurt with Shane and
the Dude.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
We'll talk to you then