November 25, 2025 • 34 mins
Breaking down early season games. MBB: Louisville, Michigan State, etc.... WBB: Perfect start, Louisville, etc.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Turkey all the way, and I may judge you
just a little bit if.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
You're eating him on Thanksgiving, just a little bit, just
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Well, the way I look at it is we're in
the midst of Beast Week and the defending MVP of
Eeast Week is Turkey. And part of the reason why
is Turkey's versatility. You can you can bake it, you
can fry it, you can even put a duck in
it if you want, And Michelle kind of it reminds
me of Mark Pope's basketball teams. There's just so much
(00:27):
versatility there. So I think the trouble with Ham is
it just doesn't affect the game plan enough. It's not
something that you have to step out and guard. So
for me, the only answer is Turkey, and that's the
only right answer.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
One Happy Thanksgiving Week.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
We're excited to have you back for episode five of
the Kentucky Basketball Podcast presented by UK Credit Union. I'm
Noah Frairie and speaking to someone who's back, Michelle Knezevic.
Thanks for jumping back on the show this week.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
It is feast week. I could not be Feast week, Noah.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Thanksgiving the best time of the year. There's so much
great basketball on TV, although I will add I wish
there was more women's basketball on TV. The men's slates
pretty jam pack this week around the country.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, nay, they need to get some more national games
on the women's side of things, especially during feast week
and right around Thanksgiving, because we need more of it.
And I was struggling because I know there are people
out there who have YouTube TV, and I've been struggling
with the whole ESPN YouTube TV trying to find the games.
We've got True TV back in the action in feast week,
(01:42):
so yeah, all those things. Usually you don't have to
get True TV until March, that's fair, but now you
got to get it in November, so all over the place.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
But yes, I wish more women's games were on little
national programming.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Hey, we're starting to sound like millennials a little bit here,
having to deal with multiple.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Screaming or streaming subscriptions.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
But I wanted to start this episode by just kind
of talking Thanksgiving. Obviously we're heading into Thanksgiving week and Michelle,
I was just curious any big Thanksgiving traditions in the
Knezeviek home.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, so we always It's a rotating household on my
mom's side of the family up in Upstate New York,
and it rotates every single year. So this year, shout
out my aunt Betsy, love you. She's hosting this year.
Unfortunately I won't be able to make it because there
is a Kentucky basketball game on Wednesday, so I will
be veering to Chicago with my partner's family this year.
(02:33):
But that's okay because sometimes traditions change. But I definitely
will be facetiming into my aunt's household. She makes a
mean broccoli castrole. I feel like I might have to
tweet out the recipe.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
I think you have to, but.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I did a version of it last week when my
family was in town. We did a little early Thanksgiving.
So I know around the holidays it's always like what
is your tradition? But it's okay if traditions change and
veer off your traditional path. But usually at my ant's house,
this year, we're changing a little bit.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
But it'll be good.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It'll be good.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
What about you now?
Speaker 3 (03:05):
So actually me and my wife are starting new family traditions.
I'll be married for two years in December, but we're
actually hosting Thanksgiving for the first time ever. Wow, both
my sisters and their husbands are making the trip here
to Lexington for the first time. So if you see
us out and about, show them a good time. But
we're excited for the host for the first time. My
(03:25):
parents can't make it. But we're cooking turkey and we've
got all the fixings and we're going you know, old
family recipes for you know, green bean cast role and
I'm a big mashed potatoes guy, so it'll be a
lot of fun. There's gonna be eight of us in
our apartment, so it'll be a little bit crammed, but
it just gives us a reason to be out in
Lexington a little bit more this week.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
How are you feeling? What is the stress level like?
Because I hosted.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
A mini one, like I said, a week ago for
my family when they were in town, and I was
stressed and I did the bare minimum.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
We did a small turkey breast. How are you feeling.
How's the stress level?
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I would say a little stressed.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think my wife probably more so, knowing that you know,
she's probably gonna carry a little bit heavier a load
when it comes to to cooking the Thanksgiving meal. But
I'm gonna get in the kitchen, I'm gonna I'm gonna
pitch in and we're just gonna have some fun here
in Lexington hosting Thanksgiving for the first time. But that
also brings us Michelle to I think a very important
question and we toss this out on the UK sports
network Twitter the other day, asking the hard hitting questions
(04:25):
in the midst of Feats week. Are you team Turkey
or team Ham or something else. I'm gonna give you
the floor and let you.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Go first, Team Turkey, Team Turkey. I like Turkey in
any single form. If I'm ordering a sandwich, I'm getting
a Turkey sandwich, Turkey for Thanksgiving. Literally anything I order,
always Turkey. No offense to Ham if you like Ham,
but you'll never catch me eating Ham. I will never
eating a Ham sandwich and I will never probably be
(04:55):
meeting eating a Ham. Not trying to be rude to
people who like him out there, but not my cup
of tea. I'm Turkey all the way, and I may
judge you just a little bit if you're eating him
on Thanksgiving, just a.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Little bit, just a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, the way I look at it is, we're in
the midst of Feast Week and the defending MVP of
Feast Week is Turkey. And part of the reason why
is Turkey's versatility. You can you can bake it, you
can fry it, you can even put a duck in
it if you want, And Michelle kind of it reminds
me of Mark Pope's basketball teams. There's just so much
(05:28):
versatility there. So I think the trouble with Ham is
it just doesn't affect the game plan enough. It's not
something that you have to step out and guards. So
for me, the only answer is Turkey, and that's the
only right answer.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I feel like for Turkey there's not as much margin
for error. I think there is a pretty big margin
for air. If you don't cook the ham right, the
turkey any form. It's good. Like you said, fried on
a turkey sandwich. You can make a turkey sandwich a
Thanksgiving Turkey sandwich days after with your left exactly you to.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
That's fair, that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Looking at our poll right now, we only put it
up just about an hour ago, team Turkey is winning
no surprise, sixty four percent, Team Ham twenty eight percent.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
That is a little surprising.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Something else seven percent I don't know what that something
else is, but I know there are some vegetarians out there,
so I really see even.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
People eat steak on Thanksgiving or you know some people
maybe you know, in our situations where we're not hosting,
you just do like Italian or something like that. But
you know, if you're hosting, I think the answer you've
got to go turkey.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
You gotta go Turkey.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
So there we have it, settling a age old debate.
But let's get back to basketball, because honestly, Michelle, we've
got a lot to talk about. And on today's episode,
we're going to talk about the starts of the season
for the Kentucky men and the women, and in the
spirit of Thanksgiving, I think it's only fair to talk
about some things that Big Blue Nation should be thankful
for this year. But before we get to all of that,
(06:54):
I just want to remind you about last week's episode.
Jordan Obi joined me and Darren Hedrick here in the
studio to talk about her start and her journey returning
from injury and just her strong play early on this year.
So if you haven't had a chance, go check that
out on UKs and All Access or go to wherever
you get your podcasts. It was a great conversation. But
let's start with the women. I think they're seven and
(07:15):
oh Michelle, for the second consecutive year in a row,
they win the Battle of the Bluegrass on Saturday. They're
perfect once again. And when you look at that team,
that was the first big test that I think they
had to pass in Michelle. They passed it with really
glowing reviews.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yeah, that was a fun one.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I was not in Louisville for that game, but I
was watching very tentiully on my phone, like staring at
this game.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
That's always going to be a fun matchup, right.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You know, Kenny Brooks's is not new to this Kentucky
Louisville rivalry because he played Louisville a lot when he
was in the ACC with Virginia Tech. But I think
to go back to back years and have success both
years here at home, which you were on the broadcast
for that game. That was the first game where we
had seen historic Memorial Colisseum sold out in what it
(08:05):
could look like at with that type of atmosphere. And
of course it goes into overtime. Of course, the drama
is there, and then they go into Louisville, they go
into the Young Center and they have success in year two.
Because we know there were some questions around this Kentucky
women's basketball team. They were ranked a little bit low preseason.
There's a lot of questions of losing Georgia Amore, What
would Tony Morgan be able to do? Who had a
(08:26):
great performance at which I know we're going to get
into in a second, but.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
What could this team do?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
And I think that them going into Louisville, playing on
the road, winning, looking really good, having Tony Morgan, like
I mentioned, have a great performance, I think it just
shows that Okay, yes, and the polls have showed because
they've already moved up the poles. I think sixteen was
what I saw yesterday. So this Kentucky women's basketball team
just continues to prove themselves. But I know I kind
(08:54):
of got off on a little tangent there and I
know I need to go back to what we are
thankful for for this women's basketball program.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Well, no, we'll get to that little bit later.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
But I just some high level discussion I think right
now with women's basketball. And I did want to add
one thing that I love the jersey matchup, the blue
for Kentucky, the red for Louisville. I think that should
be the standard every time these teams play, whether or
not it's here in Lexington or over Louisville.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Do you agree with me?
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I won one hundred percent agree. I mean, it's red
versus blue, it's who gets the state. I think that
for rivalry matchups, you should wear your color. Yeah, like
I think in any that just doesn't just go for
here in Kentucky, but it goes for maybe Virginia Tech,
Virginia Duke, North Carolina. I think you need to wear
your color because, first off, I love a good uniform matchup.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
We've talked about this before.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
It's just so aesthetically pleasing when you're watching it on
the broadcast or you're watching it on the court. But
it also just shows like Kentucky fans love to say
they bleed blue, so wear blue. And I don't know
if Louisville fans say they bleed red, but I guess
blood is red.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
I think we all bleed red technically, right, No, I
bleed blue?
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Okay, Well that's fair. I understand you've only been.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Here a couple months. That's away you next year.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Okay, I'll have to change my mind next year. But
you know, I think coming out of that game, one
of the things Michelle that stood out to me and
really has stood out all season long, has been the
improvement that we have seen defensively from Kentucky women's basketball.
Right now, they're seven to zero, you're giving up forty
six points per game, and their third best in Division One.
Only Virginia and TCU and I haven't looked at their
schedules are better than them. But you know, I think
(10:22):
it's fair to mention obviously strength the schedule early on
this year. But for me, the Louisville game was their
first big test and they passed it glowingly because that
was a Louisville team that came in averaging seventy eight
points per game. You hold them to sixty two, and
they also held them to their second we're shooting performance
of the year. So for me, Kentucky women's basketball's defense
is a big early season talking point and makes you
(10:45):
think that this team could make a deep run this year.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Well, and I'll even go back to the Purdue game
in historic memorial cosseum. I don't care if a team
couldn't make shots. To hold any power for team to
nine points in the second half, nine nine points in
the second half, I mean.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That was phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
When I looked at the stat line and I looked
at the halftime score, and then I looked at the
final score, I almost had to like redo them. I
was like, wait, the fact that they held them to
nine points. I don't care if a team wasn't making shots.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
That was a defensive stand by Kentucky to hold that
team to nine points in the second half.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Noah, Yeah, I think it just makes you realize that
this is a Kentucky women's basketball team that can win
in so many different ways. And you know, I think
one thing that's interesting is they've not gotten off to
their best start shooting the three ball. I mean, you
have a poor showing in the opener, then you rebound
against Monmouth in that second game of the year and
almost break the program record, And it's kind of felt
(11:43):
a little bit like a roller coaster when it comes
to the three point shooting. But you know, they take
a lot of them, they're just slightly above average in.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Terms of making them.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
And for me, if they can settle in in that area,
you couple that with the defense and you know other
parts of the offense that have been firing on all cylinders.
I think, I think this becomes a really, really good
women's basketball team.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And when we talk about the three point shooting, it
doesn't worry me as much because I'm looking I'm looking
at the box score from Lover right now, and I'm
just looking.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
At the different players, like there are people on the
team who can shoot the three.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I mean, we've seen an Asia when we saw her
in Big bumandas and what she did. You know, Lexie
Blue had a game earlier this year where she hit
six threes. Amelia hasse it, we know what she did
last year. There are players who can shoot the three.
Jordan Obi even shot a couple threes against Purdue Tony Moore, right,
you know they want Clara Strack to shoot more threes.
Kenny Brooks has not been shy to say she's not
a traditional center. We want her to be able to
(12:34):
shoot at every single different.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Area on the floor.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
So it doesn't concern me as much as who will
be that person to step up, because I think it
can be a.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Different person in each game.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
It's just more so what you said, settling in and
kind of figuring out who will that be and maybe
it is a different person each game, but as they figure.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Out what these pieces can look like.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
We've talked about the consistency with Tianni Key, Amelia Hasset,
Clara Strat, but the lineup, like we talked about that consistent,
but there still are so many new pieces and figuring
out how they fit exactly into this lineup, like Jordanobi
and Tony Morgan in Asia Boon and Lexie Blue. So
it doesn't concern me as much because I do see
players on this roster who I feel confident can get
(13:16):
you a shot if you need one.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Well, and I think you bring it up. Tony Morgan
for me is the lynchpin to this team. And it's
crazy to believe how much time we spent talking in
the preseason about having to replace Georgia Amore and you know,
kind of wearing your own shoes. And right now, Tony
Morgan through seven games is leading the nation and assists
and assists per game, and coming off of what I
think we can say is her best performance of the
(13:39):
year against Louisville and here's why she has nineteen points
in that game. She has five rebounds. She has seven assists,
and Michelle, I think that that's the right mix for
Tony Morgan. We saw her have a sixteen assist game
earlier this year and almost break the program record or
tie the program record. But if she is scoring like
that and also facilitating, this team becomes so much better
because with her ability to get downhill, you're gonna get
(14:02):
better looks from three and better looks throughout the offense.
So I think Tony Morgan's early season play has been
a massive bright spot for Kentucky women's basketball.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, and I'll even add in there, Noah, seven assists
and one turnover, So she's taking care of the basketball.
You're not allowing silly mistakes or messy basketball to let
Louisville capitalize off of it or let any team capitalize
off of it. So seven assists, won turnover, playing clean basketball,
getting her teammates involved, but also being smart with the
basketball and not letting another team capitalize off of turnovers
(14:34):
or something like that. But I agree, I think a
lot of people had a lot of eyes on her,
And I know we have that quote that Kenny Brooks said,
you know, she's not feelling George to shoes. She's bringing
her own shoes, and I think she's proved that early
on here.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Well, and if you're sitting and saying, why haven't they
talked about Clara Strack yet, We're actually not going to
talk about Clara Strack right here. We've got a section
in this episode a little bit later on where we
will get into the greatness that has been Clara Strack
to begin the season. But so don't worry, we will
talk about Claristrack in this episode. All right, quick break,
Big Blue Nation. If you're a student or a young
(15:07):
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partnering with the UK Federal Credit Union to bring awareness
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(15:27):
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Speaker 4 (15:42):
All right, let's get back to the show.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Okay, now let's start and talk about Kentucky men's basketball,
and Michelle, I think we can be a little bit
honest here. They've left a little bit to be desired
here to.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Begin the year.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
You come into the season with what many have said
around here national championship expectations, and they still have though
those are still reachable. But I will say, having just
moved to Lexington, things got a little out last week
after the lost to Louisville and then the lost to
Michigan State. So you definitely hear that. But when I
think you look at Kentucky men's basketball right now, you
(16:15):
look at a team that even Mark Pope has said,
I think is still trying to figure things out. And
there was a really interesting stat I forget the exact
number on the ESPN broadcast the other day against Michigan
State about the number of different lineup combinations. And obviously
there's been injuries there. But you know, when I think
about Kentucky men's basketball here, early on the season, we
wanted to see what depth would step up, and I
(16:38):
think one of the biggest things for me has been
the continued emergence of Colin Chandler in his play and
the young freshman Malachi Marino. And you talk about Colin Chandler,
and you know he was the MVP of the BBN
United tip Off Classic, but I think you could make
the argument that he's probably been the MVP of Kentucky
men's basketball to begin the year. His three point shooting
has been great. He's making over three per game. And
(17:00):
then when you talk about Malachi Marino, I think what's
been impressive with him is it feels like from game
to game he's growing. Gets that first start against Michigan State,
and I'm really just excited to see when it comes
to Marino as the strength continues to grow, as he
continues to get used to the speed of the college game,
you might have a future lottery.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Pick there, Yeah, Malachi Marino.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
I think also something people forget is him and Jasper
Johnson spent some time with Team USA Basketball over the
summer and they missed some of those early days with
the team getting on campus, so they have as freshman,
you're always playing catch up a little bit to some
of the older guys on the roster, but I think
even more so that they missed a little time over
the summer and they lucked out that coach Mark Pope
(17:42):
was the head coach of USA Basketball, so he got
to see them there. But Coach Pope in an early
press conference, I remember he said something along the lines
that maybe it was him or Cody Figue or somebody
on the step said something along the lines about Malachi
that they were really impressed by how he was catching
on to different concepts over the summer. And now we've
been able to see as viewers and people who cover
(18:04):
the team how they've been able to translate onto the floor.
I mean, I even go back to the Purdue exhibition
earlier this year. Purdue has veteran players on that team,
and they have strong physical presence in the paint, and
I thought Malachi Marino handled that very well in his
true first test as a college basketball player. And it's
only shown that each and every game he's taking steps
(18:26):
in that right direction. Got his first start on Friday
against Loyola Maryland. So him, if he can really just
emerge into this role, be a presence in the paint,
I think that, like you said, he could emerge as
a lottery pick, but he could also emerge as a
very very valuable player and starter for this Kentucky team
(18:48):
as they try to figure out what matchups and what
lineups look best because they have so many weapons on
this team, and how can they maneuver it all and
figure out who are the.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Best five to be on the floor at the same time.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Noah, Well, and to your point, looming over all of
this is we still have not yet seen Jaden Quaint's
put on a Kentucky jersey, and most likely he would
be your starting five. He is a projected lottery pick
at this point, So even when he comes back, I
think there will be some more tinkering, and it obviously
is still TBD on when he will make his season
debut in Blue and White. But you know, I think
(19:23):
to your point, Michelle, when you talk about kind of
that that straw that stirs the drink, I think one
of the things that maybe is hurt Kentucky a little
bit early on this season has been Jaalen Lowe's health.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
And you know, he he gets.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Injured in that Blue and White scrimmage and then works
his way back, plays against Valpo, plays some you know,
really good minutes against Louisville. There was some great stretches
in that game. But then you know, I don't think
he was fully back up to speed, and then we
hear that next week he reinjures himself, and now there's
kind of this conversation about if he's going to play
again this season. I know Mark Pope said in his
(19:55):
press conference earlier this week that they felt good about
you know him, you know, maybe coming back, and he's
trying to work his way back.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
But you know, it was interesting.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
I had a really good conversation with Robbie Moss, a
friend of the UK sports networks and a guy I
have done some games with, and you know, he talked
that he said, when I'm watching Kentucky men's basketball and
Jalen Lowe's on the floor, they're just playing with a
different feel and pace, and I think if they could
get him back, that really changes the complexion of some
things for this offense.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Well, it's a point guard, right.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
If you're a football fan, it's your quarterback, it is
your Tony Morgan of the women's basketball team. It is
the person who is the extension of the coach and
the coaching staff out there running this office offense, this office,
running the.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Office his office as well.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
That's a job too.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
I will proclaim myself as a point guard in his office.
But you know, fans can look at the roster that
they had last year. They know how different this team
looked when Lamont Butler was on the court versus when
Lamont Butler was not on the court, and how other
players had to step up and play that point guard position.
And if it's not your true position, it's a lot
harder to learn. Colin Chandler a little bit of the
point guard this year. You know, we've seen a little
(21:02):
bit of Jasper Johnson, of course Denzel Aberdeen. But you're right, no,
it is it's their lynchpin, it's their point guard. It's
their person they look for in the off season to
come and be able to run this offense. The On
the Mark Pope Coaches Show last night, he did say
that Jadalen Lowe had some court activity, but it was
all non contact work. So I would say that's trending
(21:23):
in the right direction. And to your Jaden Quaintan's point earlier,
he said he participated in some three on three work,
so that was the first time they've seen that this season.
So and Modiabatte too, who I forgot to mention injured
himself in the Michigan State game. He still is working
in a coaching role, is what coach referred to it as,
so not not able to be there on.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
The court in a playing capacity just yet.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
So I think as as they're trying to figure out
what five fit together, they're also navigating, well, what is
Jaden Quaintan's timeline look like?
Speaker 1 (21:55):
What does Jalen Lowe's timeline look like?
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Who at the start of the season, I mean, they
are your start that's your starting point guard.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
You hadn't had your starting five.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
And you hadn't had Trent Noell for a little while
as well injured. So there have definitely been some injury
questions early on the season for this team. And you know,
I think that takes me to my last point and
I'm still a little bit TVD on this. We spend
a lot of time this offseason talking or Mark Popeed
and the team did about improving defensively, and right now
they're twelfth and Ken Palm's defensive ratings, I think we
can maybe discount that a little bit based on some
(22:24):
of the teams that they have played. But if this
team gets back to full strength, I think this could
be a really good defensive team, which we all know
the saying defense wins championships.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Oh yeah, and at the beginning of the year, the
coaching Steff has not been trying to say that. Coach
McLean said on one of our practice reports that they
want to be a top ten defensive team in the country.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
That was such a point of emphasis this offseason.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And you know, times where I've interviewed coach at halftime,
I've I've mentioned maybe the offense and he's then credited
the defense of saying, you know, if we keep playing
like this defensively the offense, will shots.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Will be made.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
They're not so much worried about, you know, will the
shots you may because if they're strong on defense and
they get kills in the game, that will then translate
to the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Well, it's officially time for trivia, and our trivia this
week is presented by UK Federal Credit Union Better Banking
Services for All y'all, and we wanted to have a
question that tied into this week and John Pelfrey is
making his return to Rapperina as the head coach of
Tennessee Tech. He's a UK Hall of Famer and has
(23:31):
had his jersey retired. The question is how many former
Wildcats have had their jersey retired. We'll let you think
about it. We'll give you the answer a little bit
later on in the show. But as we alluded to Michelle,
it is Thanksgiving and we need to be grateful this
time of year. I think there's a lot to be
(23:51):
grateful for in terms of basketball here in Lexington, So
we wanted to take some time just to discuss some
of our gratitudes and I'm gonna give you the floor
and let you start.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Okay, well, we're gonna start on the women's basketball side of things.
And also, if you're listening to this, please tweet at us,
please tell us what you guys are grateful on the
women's side, on the men's side, or even just if
you're grateful for anything this time of year. It's always
good to reflect. But as you start with the women's
basketball team, I am so thankful for this coaching staff.
And let me get into it, Kenny Brooks from the top,
(24:21):
top down, all the assistants.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Something that I've noticed.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Whether it be at a shoot around at a practice
covering this team is that the relationship among this coaching
staff from top, top to bottom the relationship with the players,
like they all.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Just seem so in lockstep.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
And one thing that I love, you know, when you
open social media, all of the coaches, all the assistants
who are on social media, like posting, posting content, videos
or fun interviews with their players, or the fact that
their ranks sixteenth and the ape pull, all of these
things that are just good vibes around the program.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
I know all of the assistants are always such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
To work with and love seeing maybe an assistant working
one on one with a player. I mean, Jordan Obie
all last season worked with coach Peterson to get back
on the floor and like what that relationship is. Like
we took them golfing this off season, Josh Peterson and
Jordan Obie and Coach Golda on the women's golf team.
But seeing that relationship and just seeing how in lockstep
this entire entire staff is and Coach Brooks is not
(25:23):
shy to say that he is loyal to his entire
staff and how long that that staff has been together.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
It's something I love.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
When you look at college basketball, it's so easy to
see coaches or staffs or people jump from different programs
all over the country.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
But I think the.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Fact that they've had such a group that has been
in lockstep for so many years now, I just love
that and it's just such a pleasure to work with
them now.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yeah, I think you can clearly see a family atmosphere
over there, and even this big recruiting class that they
just signed, we can officially talk about it now, but
a lot of those recruits talked about the family atmosphere,
and I think what they have built there is something
that BBN is really going to be able to be
grateful for, not only this year, but for many years
to come. And for me, we'll stay on the women's
basketball side. I think the biggest thing I am grateful
(26:10):
for and BBN should be grateful for is getting to
watch Clara Strack play basketball right now. Through seven games,
she has six double doubles, a number that leads the
nation and Michelle I wanted to see, like, what was
the next closest in its four so not even really
close if we're being honest. And I thought it was
a great stat that UK women's basketball put out the
other day and I'm just going to read the numbers.
(26:30):
Five hundred and seventy five points, three hundred and seventy
five rebounds, seventy five assists, seventy five blocks, twenty five
steals since the beginning of last season. Clara Strack one
of just two players in the country to reach those plateaus.
The other one Sarah Strong of Yukon, who's expected to
be a potential WNBA lottery pick in a couple of years.
(26:52):
I thought this was interesting, Michelle. I've told you before,
I love the advanced analytical numbers and I'm a big
subscriber to her hoop Stats, so if you're a basketball
nerd like me, subscribe.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
It's fairly cheap.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
But they have her right now as the third most
in factful player in the country, trailing only Audie Crooks,
who's been fantastic to begin the year for Iowa State,
and Hannah Hidalgo, who basically just steals every basketball that
she is around. But I think we're really getting to
see something special here. And I haven't even mentioned that
(27:23):
she's also rated as the number one defender in the country,
So it's pretty special to get to watch Clara Strack.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Play video game numbers. Claire Strack video game numbers absolutely
incredible to watch her her fade away. She had a
little euro step the other day in transition. She is
such a pleasure to watch and if you have not
been to Historic Memorial Coliseum to see her in person, greatness,
absolute greatness that we're witnessing. And she's only a junior,
(27:51):
a young junior. Wanted to add that in there. That
was a great one. And as Noah teased earlier, we
were definitely going to talk about Claire Strack. How could
we not in this episode because six double doubles in
the last seven games and all the stats that you mentioned,
she has had a great start to her junior season.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Transitioning a little bit to the men, I'll go ahead
and start first here, and you're gonna have to bear
with me on this take just a little bit. But
I think Big Blue Nation can be grateful for the
return of national championship expectations. Everybody knows, We've talked about
it at nauseum. I've only been here five months, and
I know the last time this team won a national
(28:28):
championship was in twenty twelve. And I think the last
time that maybe you had true national championship buzz was
back in twenty twenty three when Oscar Sibe was here
and that really talented recruiting class, and they weren't able
to accomplish those expectations. But obviously the year has not
started the way that Kentucky men's basketball wanted to. But
(28:49):
I just think it's great to see those types of
expectations because that's really what Kentucky men's basketball and that
program is all about. It's about winning national championships.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I love it. I love it. March Yet is it March?
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Can we get to March? Hey?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
True TV were using True TV and I've ever almost there. Okay,
I'll move on to mine.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And BBN bear with me when I get to mine
as well. Similar to Noah, I'm thankful for the non
conference schedule that Kentucky basketball has this year. I know that,
of course, you wanted to get a win over Louisville
in Michigan State, but when you look at the opportunities
this team has over the next two weeks, You've got UNC,
(29:28):
You've got Indiana, You've got Gonzaga, and you've got Saint John's.
And I know that is not in the order in
which they play them, but the amount of opportunities that
this team has before they get into conference play is
nothing to scoff at. This non conference schedule is so tough,
and to be able to watch this team play against
the Gonzagas the Saint John's Indiana bringing that rivalry back
(29:49):
in Reperena, I think it's one of the toughest tickets
to get because fans are so excited about that rivalry
coming back, and I just get so excited about college
basketball and all of those opera tunities this team has.
You know, I of course I mentioned it. You wanted
to win against Louisville, you wanted to win against Michigan State.
But those games are over and what you need to
have in season is a quick, a short memory. You
(30:12):
need to move on because there is another basketball game
that this team is going to play, and every day
they are figuring out who they are and what their
identity is. And what better opportunity than to have those
matchups coming up in the month of December.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Hey, I'm just hoping that we see some closer basketball
games in the month of December than we have seen
in the month of November at Roperina.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
Let's be honest.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yep, yep, yeah, And you've got uh, you've got one tomorrow, Tomorrow, Wednesday.
I can't even to be honest, I take it day
by day exactly.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
But I know all of these works my calendar. When
I wake up that morning, I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Like, I can only take it day by day and
then let's we're gonna. We're gonna do something that we're
both just individually thankful for. Because of course basketball is
the best. But you know, I'm just thankful for every
every year and honestly every day, try to be just
so thankful for my friends and family. Don't get to
go home often, but I'll get to go home for
Christmas this year to see my family in New York.
So thankful for them, so thankful to cover Kentucky here,
(31:04):
Thankful for that orange ball that brings so many people together.
But shout out to my family, shout out to my friends,
so excited to see them this holiday season, and shout
out to you BBN.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
I think for me, very similar, very thankful for my
wife Olivia. We dragged her across the country here to
move to Lexington, and we've both are feeling very settled in.
I think to your point, the way BBN has embraced
me being here and just how much fun it is
to step foot in rob step foot in historic memorial
Colisseum and be around this fan base. That's something that
(31:36):
I can definitely be thankful for this year.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Sometimes you just got to look around and rap and
pinch yourself.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
I do, wow, it is. It is one of those
special places. But we had a trivia question earlier on
in this show. We want to go ahead and give
you the answer now, and Michelle, you and I went
back and forth on this. I'll kind of ask you
a bonus trivia question here, but who was the last
person to have their jersey retireired for Kentucky basketball?
Speaker 2 (32:02):
So I had to think about this when you originally
asked me the question, and I knew that there was
nobody whose jersey was retired in the cal era yet,
so I pretty much just went further back than that.
And of course it kind of hit me when you
said it was an older player. I remembered it was
our dear friend Michael Pratt, who was on our radio
(32:23):
team for so long alongside Tom Leech. Actually when I
interned for the UK Sports Network, I would shoot his
little stand ups on the court.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
We miss you so much, Michael Pratt.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
He didn't get to see his jersey retired in person,
but we know he was looking up there and saw
it got hanging hung in the rafters. So just always
good to remember those. And yes, he was the last
jersey retired.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Before that, it was Tobby Smith and then Tony Delk
back in twenty fifteen, sized double zero retired. But time
for the answer now, Michelle, I'll give you one attempt
at it. How many players have had their jersey retire
at Kentucky.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Well, it's funny because I was just over there and
I was looking at the jerseys because of course John Pelfrey,
who's the coach of Tennessee Tech, is here his jerseys
in the rafters, and I thought it was in like
the twenty thirty range, but I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Yeah, it's actually forty five people have had their jerseys retired,
And unlike at some places, if your jersey's retired, it
doesn't necessarily mean that that number will never be worn again.
But there have been forty five people who have had
their jerseys retired.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
So a lot of.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
History here, and I know for me it's been fun
kind of learning more about all of that history.
Speaker 4 (33:36):
But before we let.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
You go today we wanted to say one more quick
thanks to our sponsor, UK Federal Credit Union. This show
would not be possible without them. Coming up next week
on the Kentucky Basketball Podcast, we're going to be discussing
a big week for the Kentucky Men that includes matchups
versus North Carolina and Gonzaga down in Tennessee, and we
may even have a special guest join us on the show.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Show.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
But before you head out, here's one thing you can
do for us. Sign up for a free UKSN All
Access subscription and get all the best of Kentucky athletics
in one place. Also, make sure you're subscribed to this
show on your favorite podcast app. And if you liked
today's episode, feel free to leave us a review. But
that's it for today. I'm Noah Frairi, She's Michelle Kenezevik.
(34:21):
That's a wrap on episode five. Go enjoy some turkey
I'm Turkey all the way, and I may judge you
just a little bit if.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
You're eating him on Thanksgiving, just a little bit, just
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Well, the way I look at it is we're in
the midst of Beast Week and the defending MVP of
Eeast Week is Turkey. And part of the reason why
is Turkey's versatility. You can you can bake it, you
can fry it, you can even put a duck in
it if you want, And Michelle kind of it reminds
me of Mark Pope's basketball teams. There's just so much
(00:27):
versatility there. So I think the trouble with Ham is
it just doesn't affect the game plan enough. It's not
something that you have to step out and guard. So
for me, the only answer is Turkey, and that's the
only right answer.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
One Happy Thanksgiving Week.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
We're excited to have you back for episode five of
the Kentucky Basketball Podcast presented by UK Credit Union. I'm
Noah Frairie and speaking to someone who's back, Michelle Knezevic.
Thanks for jumping back on the show this week.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
It is feast week. I could not be Feast week, Noah.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Thanksgiving the best time of the year. There's so much
great basketball on TV, although I will add I wish
there was more women's basketball on TV. The men's slates
pretty jam pack this week around the country.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, nay, they need to get some more national games
on the women's side of things, especially during feast week
and right around Thanksgiving, because we need more of it.
And I was struggling because I know there are people
out there who have YouTube TV, and I've been struggling
with the whole ESPN YouTube TV trying to find the games.
We've got True TV back in the action in feast week,
(01:42):
so yeah, all those things. Usually you don't have to
get True TV until March, that's fair, but now you
got to get it in November, so all over the place.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
But yes, I wish more women's games were on little
national programming.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Hey, we're starting to sound like millennials a little bit here,
having to deal with multiple.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Screaming or streaming subscriptions.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
But I wanted to start this episode by just kind
of talking Thanksgiving. Obviously we're heading into Thanksgiving week and Michelle,
I was just curious any big Thanksgiving traditions in the
Knezeviek home.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, so we always It's a rotating household on my
mom's side of the family up in Upstate New York,
and it rotates every single year. So this year, shout
out my aunt Betsy, love you. She's hosting this year.
Unfortunately I won't be able to make it because there
is a Kentucky basketball game on Wednesday, so I will
be veering to Chicago with my partner's family this year.
(02:33):
But that's okay because sometimes traditions change. But I definitely
will be facetiming into my aunt's household. She makes a
mean broccoli castrole. I feel like I might have to
tweet out the recipe.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
I think you have to, but.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I did a version of it last week when my
family was in town. We did a little early Thanksgiving.
So I know around the holidays it's always like what
is your tradition? But it's okay if traditions change and
veer off your traditional path. But usually at my ant's house,
this year, we're changing a little bit.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
But it'll be good.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It'll be good.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
What about you now?
Speaker 3 (03:05):
So actually me and my wife are starting new family traditions.
I'll be married for two years in December, but we're
actually hosting Thanksgiving for the first time ever. Wow, both
my sisters and their husbands are making the trip here
to Lexington for the first time. So if you see
us out and about, show them a good time. But
we're excited for the host for the first time. My
(03:25):
parents can't make it. But we're cooking turkey and we've
got all the fixings and we're going you know, old
family recipes for you know, green bean cast role and
I'm a big mashed potatoes guy, so it'll be a
lot of fun. There's gonna be eight of us in
our apartment, so it'll be a little bit crammed, but
it just gives us a reason to be out in
Lexington a little bit more this week.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
How are you feeling? What is the stress level like?
Because I hosted.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
A mini one, like I said, a week ago for
my family when they were in town, and I was
stressed and I did the bare minimum.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
We did a small turkey breast. How are you feeling.
How's the stress level?
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I would say a little stressed.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think my wife probably more so, knowing that you know,
she's probably gonna carry a little bit heavier a load
when it comes to to cooking the Thanksgiving meal. But
I'm gonna get in the kitchen, I'm gonna I'm gonna
pitch in and we're just gonna have some fun here
in Lexington hosting Thanksgiving for the first time. But that
also brings us Michelle to I think a very important
question and we toss this out on the UK sports
network Twitter the other day, asking the hard hitting questions
(04:25):
in the midst of Feats week. Are you team Turkey
or team Ham or something else. I'm gonna give you
the floor and let you.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Go first, Team Turkey, Team Turkey. I like Turkey in
any single form. If I'm ordering a sandwich, I'm getting
a Turkey sandwich, Turkey for Thanksgiving. Literally anything I order,
always Turkey. No offense to Ham if you like Ham,
but you'll never catch me eating Ham. I will never
eating a Ham sandwich and I will never probably be
(04:55):
meeting eating a Ham. Not trying to be rude to
people who like him out there, but not my cup
of tea. I'm Turkey all the way, and I may
judge you just a little bit if you're eating him
on Thanksgiving, just a.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Little bit, just a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, the way I look at it is, we're in
the midst of Feast Week and the defending MVP of
Feast Week is Turkey. And part of the reason why
is Turkey's versatility. You can you can bake it, you
can fry it, you can even put a duck in
it if you want, And Michelle kind of it reminds
me of Mark Pope's basketball teams. There's just so much
(05:28):
versatility there. So I think the trouble with Ham is
it just doesn't affect the game plan enough. It's not
something that you have to step out and guards. So
for me, the only answer is Turkey, and that's the
only right answer.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I feel like for Turkey there's not as much margin
for error. I think there is a pretty big margin
for air. If you don't cook the ham right, the
turkey any form. It's good. Like you said, fried on
a turkey sandwich. You can make a turkey sandwich a
Thanksgiving Turkey sandwich days after with your left exactly you to.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
That's fair, that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Looking at our poll right now, we only put it
up just about an hour ago, team Turkey is winning
no surprise, sixty four percent, Team Ham twenty eight percent.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
That is a little surprising.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Something else seven percent I don't know what that something
else is, but I know there are some vegetarians out there,
so I really see even.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
People eat steak on Thanksgiving or you know some people
maybe you know, in our situations where we're not hosting,
you just do like Italian or something like that. But
you know, if you're hosting, I think the answer you've
got to go turkey.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
You gotta go Turkey.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
So there we have it, settling a age old debate.
But let's get back to basketball, because honestly, Michelle, we've
got a lot to talk about. And on today's episode,
we're going to talk about the starts of the season
for the Kentucky men and the women, and in the
spirit of Thanksgiving, I think it's only fair to talk
about some things that Big Blue Nation should be thankful
for this year. But before we get to all of that,
(06:54):
I just want to remind you about last week's episode.
Jordan Obi joined me and Darren Hedrick here in the
studio to talk about her start and her journey returning
from injury and just her strong play early on this year.
So if you haven't had a chance, go check that
out on UKs and All Access or go to wherever
you get your podcasts. It was a great conversation. But
let's start with the women. I think they're seven and
(07:15):
oh Michelle, for the second consecutive year in a row,
they win the Battle of the Bluegrass on Saturday. They're
perfect once again. And when you look at that team,
that was the first big test that I think they
had to pass in Michelle. They passed it with really
glowing reviews.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yeah, that was a fun one.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I was not in Louisville for that game, but I
was watching very tentiully on my phone, like staring at
this game.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
That's always going to be a fun matchup, right.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You know, Kenny Brooks's is not new to this Kentucky
Louisville rivalry because he played Louisville a lot when he
was in the ACC with Virginia Tech. But I think
to go back to back years and have success both
years here at home, which you were on the broadcast
for that game. That was the first game where we
had seen historic Memorial Colisseum sold out in what it
(08:05):
could look like at with that type of atmosphere. And
of course it goes into overtime. Of course, the drama
is there, and then they go into Louisville, they go
into the Young Center and they have success in year two.
Because we know there were some questions around this Kentucky
women's basketball team. They were ranked a little bit low preseason.
There's a lot of questions of losing Georgia Amore, What
would Tony Morgan be able to do? Who had a
(08:26):
great performance at which I know we're going to get
into in a second, but.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
What could this team do?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
And I think that them going into Louisville, playing on
the road, winning, looking really good, having Tony Morgan, like
I mentioned, have a great performance, I think it just
shows that Okay, yes, and the polls have showed because
they've already moved up the poles. I think sixteen was
what I saw yesterday. So this Kentucky women's basketball team
just continues to prove themselves. But I know I kind
(08:54):
of got off on a little tangent there and I
know I need to go back to what we are
thankful for for this women's basketball program.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Well, no, we'll get to that little bit later.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
But I just some high level discussion I think right
now with women's basketball. And I did want to add
one thing that I love the jersey matchup, the blue
for Kentucky, the red for Louisville. I think that should
be the standard every time these teams play, whether or
not it's here in Lexington or over Louisville.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Do you agree with me?
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I won one hundred percent agree. I mean, it's red
versus blue, it's who gets the state. I think that
for rivalry matchups, you should wear your color. Yeah, like
I think in any that just doesn't just go for
here in Kentucky, but it goes for maybe Virginia Tech,
Virginia Duke, North Carolina. I think you need to wear
your color because, first off, I love a good uniform matchup.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
We've talked about this before.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
It's just so aesthetically pleasing when you're watching it on
the broadcast or you're watching it on the court. But
it also just shows like Kentucky fans love to say
they bleed blue, so wear blue. And I don't know
if Louisville fans say they bleed red, but I guess
blood is red.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
I think we all bleed red technically, right, No, I
bleed blue?
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Okay, Well that's fair. I understand you've only been.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Here a couple months. That's away you next year.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Okay, I'll have to change my mind next year. But
you know, I think coming out of that game, one
of the things Michelle that stood out to me and
really has stood out all season long, has been the
improvement that we have seen defensively from Kentucky women's basketball.
Right now, they're seven to zero, you're giving up forty
six points per game, and their third best in Division One.
Only Virginia and TCU and I haven't looked at their
schedules are better than them. But you know, I think
(10:22):
it's fair to mention obviously strength the schedule early on
this year. But for me, the Louisville game was their
first big test and they passed it glowingly because that
was a Louisville team that came in averaging seventy eight
points per game. You hold them to sixty two, and
they also held them to their second we're shooting performance
of the year. So for me, Kentucky women's basketball's defense
is a big early season talking point and makes you
(10:45):
think that this team could make a deep run this year.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Well, and I'll even go back to the Purdue game
in historic memorial cosseum. I don't care if a team
couldn't make shots. To hold any power for team to
nine points in the second half, nine nine points in
the second half, I mean.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That was phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
When I looked at the stat line and I looked
at the halftime score, and then I looked at the
final score, I almost had to like redo them. I
was like, wait, the fact that they held them to
nine points. I don't care if a team wasn't making shots.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
That was a defensive stand by Kentucky to hold that
team to nine points in the second half.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Noah, Yeah, I think it just makes you realize that
this is a Kentucky women's basketball team that can win
in so many different ways. And you know, I think
one thing that's interesting is they've not gotten off to
their best start shooting the three ball. I mean, you
have a poor showing in the opener, then you rebound
against Monmouth in that second game of the year and
almost break the program record, And it's kind of felt
(11:43):
a little bit like a roller coaster when it comes
to the three point shooting. But you know, they take
a lot of them, they're just slightly above average in.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Terms of making them.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
And for me, if they can settle in in that area,
you couple that with the defense and you know other
parts of the offense that have been firing on all cylinders.
I think, I think this becomes a really, really good
women's basketball team.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And when we talk about the three point shooting, it
doesn't worry me as much because I'm looking I'm looking
at the box score from Lover right now, and I'm
just looking.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
At the different players, like there are people on the
team who can shoot the three.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I mean, we've seen an Asia when we saw her
in Big bumandas and what she did. You know, Lexie
Blue had a game earlier this year where she hit
six threes. Amelia hasse it, we know what she did
last year. There are players who can shoot the three.
Jordan Obi even shot a couple threes against Purdue Tony Moore, right,
you know they want Clara Strack to shoot more threes.
Kenny Brooks has not been shy to say she's not
a traditional center. We want her to be able to
(12:34):
shoot at every single different.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Area on the floor.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
So it doesn't concern me as much as who will
be that person to step up, because I think it
can be a.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Different person in each game.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
It's just more so what you said, settling in and
kind of figuring out who will that be and maybe
it is a different person each game, but as they figure.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Out what these pieces can look like.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
We've talked about the consistency with Tianni Key, Amelia Hasset,
Clara Strat, but the lineup, like we talked about that consistent,
but there still are so many new pieces and figuring
out how they fit exactly into this lineup, like Jordanobi
and Tony Morgan in Asia Boon and Lexie Blue. So
it doesn't concern me as much because I do see
players on this roster who I feel confident can get
(13:16):
you a shot if you need one.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Well, and I think you bring it up. Tony Morgan
for me is the lynchpin to this team. And it's
crazy to believe how much time we spent talking in
the preseason about having to replace Georgia Amore and you know,
kind of wearing your own shoes. And right now, Tony
Morgan through seven games is leading the nation and assists
and assists per game, and coming off of what I
think we can say is her best performance of the
(13:39):
year against Louisville and here's why she has nineteen points
in that game. She has five rebounds. She has seven assists,
and Michelle, I think that that's the right mix for
Tony Morgan. We saw her have a sixteen assist game
earlier this year and almost break the program record or
tie the program record. But if she is scoring like
that and also facilitating, this team becomes so much better
because with her ability to get downhill, you're gonna get
(14:02):
better looks from three and better looks throughout the offense.
So I think Tony Morgan's early season play has been
a massive bright spot for Kentucky women's basketball.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Yeah, and I'll even add in there, Noah, seven assists
and one turnover, So she's taking care of the basketball.
You're not allowing silly mistakes or messy basketball to let
Louisville capitalize off of it or let any team capitalize
off of it. So seven assists, won turnover, playing clean basketball,
getting her teammates involved, but also being smart with the
basketball and not letting another team capitalize off of turnovers
(14:34):
or something like that. But I agree, I think a
lot of people had a lot of eyes on her,
And I know we have that quote that Kenny Brooks said,
you know, she's not feelling George to shoes. She's bringing
her own shoes, and I think she's proved that early
on here.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Well, and if you're sitting and saying, why haven't they
talked about Clara Strack yet, We're actually not going to
talk about Clara Strack right here. We've got a section
in this episode a little bit later on where we
will get into the greatness that has been Clara Strack
to begin the season. But so don't worry, we will
talk about Claristrack in this episode. All right, quick break,
Big Blue Nation. If you're a student or a young
(15:07):
fan of UK this is for you. This year, we're
partnering with the UK Federal Credit Union to bring awareness
to their Student Rewards Account. You'll get five percent cash
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(15:27):
family and friends, it'll help you stretch your budget even further.
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Speaker 4 (15:42):
All right, let's get back to the show.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Okay, now let's start and talk about Kentucky men's basketball,
and Michelle, I think we can be a little bit
honest here. They've left a little bit to be desired
here to.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Begin the year.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
You come into the season with what many have said
around here national championship expectations, and they still have though
those are still reachable. But I will say, having just
moved to Lexington, things got a little out last week
after the lost to Louisville and then the lost to
Michigan State. So you definitely hear that. But when I
think you look at Kentucky men's basketball right now, you
(16:15):
look at a team that even Mark Pope has said,
I think is still trying to figure things out. And
there was a really interesting stat I forget the exact
number on the ESPN broadcast the other day against Michigan
State about the number of different lineup combinations. And obviously
there's been injuries there. But you know, when I think
about Kentucky men's basketball here, early on the season, we
wanted to see what depth would step up, and I
(16:38):
think one of the biggest things for me has been
the continued emergence of Colin Chandler in his play and
the young freshman Malachi Marino. And you talk about Colin Chandler,
and you know he was the MVP of the BBN
United tip Off Classic, but I think you could make
the argument that he's probably been the MVP of Kentucky
men's basketball to begin the year. His three point shooting
has been great. He's making over three per game. And
(17:00):
then when you talk about Malachi Marino, I think what's
been impressive with him is it feels like from game
to game he's growing. Gets that first start against Michigan State,
and I'm really just excited to see when it comes
to Marino as the strength continues to grow, as he
continues to get used to the speed of the college game,
you might have a future lottery.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Pick there, Yeah, Malachi Marino.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
I think also something people forget is him and Jasper
Johnson spent some time with Team USA Basketball over the
summer and they missed some of those early days with
the team getting on campus, so they have as freshman,
you're always playing catch up a little bit to some
of the older guys on the roster, but I think
even more so that they missed a little time over
the summer and they lucked out that coach Mark Pope
(17:42):
was the head coach of USA Basketball, so he got
to see them there. But Coach Pope in an early
press conference, I remember he said something along the lines
that maybe it was him or Cody Figue or somebody
on the step said something along the lines about Malachi
that they were really impressed by how he was catching
on to different concepts over the summer. And now we've
been able to see as viewers and people who cover
(18:04):
the team how they've been able to translate onto the floor.
I mean, I even go back to the Purdue exhibition
earlier this year. Purdue has veteran players on that team,
and they have strong physical presence in the paint, and
I thought Malachi Marino handled that very well in his
true first test as a college basketball player. And it's
only shown that each and every game he's taking steps
(18:26):
in that right direction. Got his first start on Friday
against Loyola Maryland. So him, if he can really just
emerge into this role, be a presence in the paint,
I think that, like you said, he could emerge as
a lottery pick, but he could also emerge as a
very very valuable player and starter for this Kentucky team
(18:48):
as they try to figure out what matchups and what
lineups look best because they have so many weapons on
this team, and how can they maneuver it all and
figure out who are the.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Best five to be on the floor at the same time.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Noah, Well, and to your point, looming over all of
this is we still have not yet seen Jaden Quaint's
put on a Kentucky jersey, and most likely he would
be your starting five. He is a projected lottery pick
at this point, So even when he comes back, I
think there will be some more tinkering, and it obviously
is still TBD on when he will make his season
debut in Blue and White. But you know, I think
(19:23):
to your point, Michelle, when you talk about kind of
that that straw that stirs the drink, I think one
of the things that maybe is hurt Kentucky a little
bit early on this season has been Jaalen Lowe's health.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
And you know, he he gets.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Injured in that Blue and White scrimmage and then works
his way back, plays against Valpo, plays some you know,
really good minutes against Louisville. There was some great stretches
in that game. But then you know, I don't think
he was fully back up to speed, and then we
hear that next week he reinjures himself, and now there's
kind of this conversation about if he's going to play
again this season. I know Mark Pope said in his
(19:55):
press conference earlier this week that they felt good about
you know him, you know, maybe coming back, and he's
trying to work his way back.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
But you know, it was interesting.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
I had a really good conversation with Robbie Moss, a
friend of the UK sports networks and a guy I
have done some games with, and you know, he talked
that he said, when I'm watching Kentucky men's basketball and
Jalen Lowe's on the floor, they're just playing with a
different feel and pace, and I think if they could
get him back, that really changes the complexion of some
things for this offense.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Well, it's a point guard, right.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
If you're a football fan, it's your quarterback, it is
your Tony Morgan of the women's basketball team. It is
the person who is the extension of the coach and
the coaching staff out there running this office offense, this office,
running the.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Office his office as well.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
That's a job too.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
I will proclaim myself as a point guard in his office.
But you know, fans can look at the roster that
they had last year. They know how different this team
looked when Lamont Butler was on the court versus when
Lamont Butler was not on the court, and how other
players had to step up and play that point guard position.
And if it's not your true position, it's a lot
harder to learn. Colin Chandler a little bit of the
point guard this year. You know, we've seen a little
(21:02):
bit of Jasper Johnson, of course Denzel Aberdeen. But you're right, no,
it is it's their lynchpin, it's their point guard. It's
their person they look for in the off season to
come and be able to run this offense. The On
the Mark Pope Coaches Show last night, he did say
that Jadalen Lowe had some court activity, but it was
all non contact work. So I would say that's trending
(21:23):
in the right direction. And to your Jaden Quaintan's point earlier,
he said he participated in some three on three work,
so that was the first time they've seen that this season.
So and Modiabatte too, who I forgot to mention injured
himself in the Michigan State game. He still is working
in a coaching role, is what coach referred to it as,
so not not able to be there on.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
The court in a playing capacity just yet.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
So I think as as they're trying to figure out
what five fit together, they're also navigating, well, what is
Jaden Quaintan's timeline look like?
Speaker 1 (21:55):
What does Jalen Lowe's timeline look like?
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Who at the start of the season, I mean, they
are your start that's your starting point guard.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
You hadn't had your starting five.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
And you hadn't had Trent Noell for a little while
as well injured. So there have definitely been some injury
questions early on the season for this team. And you know,
I think that takes me to my last point and
I'm still a little bit TVD on this. We spend
a lot of time this offseason talking or Mark Popeed
and the team did about improving defensively, and right now
they're twelfth and Ken Palm's defensive ratings, I think we
can maybe discount that a little bit based on some
(22:24):
of the teams that they have played. But if this
team gets back to full strength, I think this could
be a really good defensive team, which we all know
the saying defense wins championships.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Oh yeah, and at the beginning of the year, the
coaching Steff has not been trying to say that. Coach
McLean said on one of our practice reports that they
want to be a top ten defensive team in the country.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
That was such a point of emphasis this offseason.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And you know, times where I've interviewed coach at halftime,
I've I've mentioned maybe the offense and he's then credited
the defense of saying, you know, if we keep playing
like this defensively the offense, will shots.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Will be made.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
They're not so much worried about, you know, will the
shots you may because if they're strong on defense and
they get kills in the game, that will then translate
to the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Well, it's officially time for trivia, and our trivia this
week is presented by UK Federal Credit Union Better Banking
Services for All y'all, and we wanted to have a
question that tied into this week and John Pelfrey is
making his return to Rapperina as the head coach of
Tennessee Tech. He's a UK Hall of Famer and has
(23:31):
had his jersey retired. The question is how many former
Wildcats have had their jersey retired. We'll let you think
about it. We'll give you the answer a little bit
later on in the show. But as we alluded to Michelle,
it is Thanksgiving and we need to be grateful this
time of year. I think there's a lot to be
(23:51):
grateful for in terms of basketball here in Lexington, So
we wanted to take some time just to discuss some
of our gratitudes and I'm gonna give you the floor
and let you start.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Okay, well, we're gonna start on the women's basketball side of things.
And also, if you're listening to this, please tweet at us,
please tell us what you guys are grateful on the
women's side, on the men's side, or even just if
you're grateful for anything this time of year. It's always
good to reflect. But as you start with the women's
basketball team, I am so thankful for this coaching staff.
And let me get into it, Kenny Brooks from the top,
(24:21):
top down, all the assistants.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Something that I've noticed.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Whether it be at a shoot around at a practice
covering this team is that the relationship among this coaching
staff from top, top to bottom the relationship with the players,
like they all.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Just seem so in lockstep.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
And one thing that I love, you know, when you
open social media, all of the coaches, all the assistants
who are on social media, like posting, posting content, videos
or fun interviews with their players, or the fact that
their ranks sixteenth and the ape pull, all of these
things that are just good vibes around the program.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
I know all of the assistants are always such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
To work with and love seeing maybe an assistant working
one on one with a player. I mean, Jordan Obie
all last season worked with coach Peterson to get back
on the floor and like what that relationship is. Like
we took them golfing this off season, Josh Peterson and
Jordan Obie and Coach Golda on the women's golf team.
But seeing that relationship and just seeing how in lockstep
this entire entire staff is and Coach Brooks is not
(25:23):
shy to say that he is loyal to his entire
staff and how long that that staff has been together.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
It's something I love.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
When you look at college basketball, it's so easy to
see coaches or staffs or people jump from different programs
all over the country.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
But I think the.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Fact that they've had such a group that has been
in lockstep for so many years now, I just love
that and it's just such a pleasure to work with
them now.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yeah, I think you can clearly see a family atmosphere
over there, and even this big recruiting class that they
just signed, we can officially talk about it now, but
a lot of those recruits talked about the family atmosphere,
and I think what they have built there is something
that BBN is really going to be able to be
grateful for, not only this year, but for many years
to come. And for me, we'll stay on the women's
basketball side. I think the biggest thing I am grateful
(26:10):
for and BBN should be grateful for is getting to
watch Clara Strack play basketball right now. Through seven games,
she has six double doubles, a number that leads the
nation and Michelle I wanted to see, like, what was
the next closest in its four so not even really
close if we're being honest. And I thought it was
a great stat that UK women's basketball put out the
other day and I'm just going to read the numbers.
(26:30):
Five hundred and seventy five points, three hundred and seventy
five rebounds, seventy five assists, seventy five blocks, twenty five
steals since the beginning of last season. Clara Strack one
of just two players in the country to reach those plateaus.
The other one Sarah Strong of Yukon, who's expected to
be a potential WNBA lottery pick in a couple of years.
(26:52):
I thought this was interesting, Michelle. I've told you before,
I love the advanced analytical numbers and I'm a big
subscriber to her hoop Stats, so if you're a basketball
nerd like me, subscribe.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
It's fairly cheap.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
But they have her right now as the third most
in factful player in the country, trailing only Audie Crooks,
who's been fantastic to begin the year for Iowa State,
and Hannah Hidalgo, who basically just steals every basketball that
she is around. But I think we're really getting to
see something special here. And I haven't even mentioned that
(27:23):
she's also rated as the number one defender in the country,
So it's pretty special to get to watch Clara Strack.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Play video game numbers. Claire Strack video game numbers absolutely
incredible to watch her her fade away. She had a
little euro step the other day in transition. She is
such a pleasure to watch and if you have not
been to Historic Memorial Coliseum to see her in person, greatness,
absolute greatness that we're witnessing. And she's only a junior,
(27:51):
a young junior. Wanted to add that in there. That
was a great one. And as Noah teased earlier, we
were definitely going to talk about Claire Strack. How could
we not in this episode because six double doubles in
the last seven games and all the stats that you mentioned,
she has had a great start to her junior season.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Transitioning a little bit to the men, I'll go ahead
and start first here, and you're gonna have to bear
with me on this take just a little bit. But
I think Big Blue Nation can be grateful for the
return of national championship expectations. Everybody knows, We've talked about
it at nauseum. I've only been here five months, and
I know the last time this team won a national
(28:28):
championship was in twenty twelve. And I think the last
time that maybe you had true national championship buzz was
back in twenty twenty three when Oscar Sibe was here
and that really talented recruiting class, and they weren't able
to accomplish those expectations. But obviously the year has not
started the way that Kentucky men's basketball wanted to. But
(28:49):
I just think it's great to see those types of
expectations because that's really what Kentucky men's basketball and that
program is all about. It's about winning national championships.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I love it. I love it. March Yet is it March?
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Can we get to March? Hey?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
True TV were using True TV and I've ever almost there. Okay,
I'll move on to mine.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And BBN bear with me when I get to mine
as well. Similar to Noah, I'm thankful for the non
conference schedule that Kentucky basketball has this year. I know that,
of course, you wanted to get a win over Louisville
in Michigan State, but when you look at the opportunities
this team has over the next two weeks, You've got UNC,
(29:28):
You've got Indiana, You've got Gonzaga, and you've got Saint John's.
And I know that is not in the order in
which they play them, but the amount of opportunities that
this team has before they get into conference play is
nothing to scoff at. This non conference schedule is so tough,
and to be able to watch this team play against
the Gonzagas the Saint John's Indiana bringing that rivalry back
(29:49):
in Reperena, I think it's one of the toughest tickets
to get because fans are so excited about that rivalry
coming back, and I just get so excited about college
basketball and all of those opera tunities this team has.
You know, I of course I mentioned it. You wanted
to win against Louisville, you wanted to win against Michigan State.
But those games are over and what you need to
have in season is a quick, a short memory. You
(30:12):
need to move on because there is another basketball game
that this team is going to play, and every day
they are figuring out who they are and what their
identity is. And what better opportunity than to have those
matchups coming up in the month of December.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Hey, I'm just hoping that we see some closer basketball
games in the month of December than we have seen
in the month of November at Roperina.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
Let's be honest.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yep, yep, yeah, And you've got uh, you've got one tomorrow, Tomorrow, Wednesday.
I can't even to be honest, I take it day
by day exactly.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
But I know all of these works my calendar. When
I wake up that morning, I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Like, I can only take it day by day and
then let's we're gonna. We're gonna do something that we're
both just individually thankful for. Because of course basketball is
the best. But you know, I'm just thankful for every
every year and honestly every day, try to be just
so thankful for my friends and family. Don't get to
go home often, but I'll get to go home for
Christmas this year to see my family in New York.
So thankful for them, so thankful to cover Kentucky here,
(31:04):
Thankful for that orange ball that brings so many people together.
But shout out to my family, shout out to my friends,
so excited to see them this holiday season, and shout
out to you BBN.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
I think for me, very similar, very thankful for my
wife Olivia. We dragged her across the country here to
move to Lexington, and we've both are feeling very settled in.
I think to your point, the way BBN has embraced
me being here and just how much fun it is
to step foot in rob step foot in historic memorial
Colisseum and be around this fan base. That's something that
(31:36):
I can definitely be thankful for this year.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Sometimes you just got to look around and rap and
pinch yourself.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
I do, wow, it is. It is one of those
special places. But we had a trivia question earlier on
in this show. We want to go ahead and give
you the answer now, and Michelle, you and I went
back and forth on this. I'll kind of ask you
a bonus trivia question here, but who was the last
person to have their jersey retireired for Kentucky basketball?
Speaker 2 (32:02):
So I had to think about this when you originally
asked me the question, and I knew that there was
nobody whose jersey was retired in the cal era yet,
so I pretty much just went further back than that.
And of course it kind of hit me when you
said it was an older player. I remembered it was
our dear friend Michael Pratt, who was on our radio
(32:23):
team for so long alongside Tom Leech. Actually when I
interned for the UK Sports Network, I would shoot his
little stand ups on the court.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
We miss you so much, Michael Pratt.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
He didn't get to see his jersey retired in person,
but we know he was looking up there and saw
it got hanging hung in the rafters. So just always
good to remember those. And yes, he was the last
jersey retired.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Before that, it was Tobby Smith and then Tony Delk
back in twenty fifteen, sized double zero retired. But time
for the answer now, Michelle, I'll give you one attempt
at it. How many players have had their jersey retire
at Kentucky.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Well, it's funny because I was just over there and
I was looking at the jerseys because of course John Pelfrey,
who's the coach of Tennessee Tech, is here his jerseys
in the rafters, and I thought it was in like
the twenty thirty range, but I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Yeah, it's actually forty five people have had their jerseys retired,
And unlike at some places, if your jersey's retired, it
doesn't necessarily mean that that number will never be worn again.
But there have been forty five people who have had
their jerseys retired.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
So a lot of.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
History here, and I know for me it's been fun
kind of learning more about all of that history.
Speaker 4 (33:36):
But before we let.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
You go today we wanted to say one more quick
thanks to our sponsor, UK Federal Credit Union. This show
would not be possible without them. Coming up next week
on the Kentucky Basketball Podcast, we're going to be discussing
a big week for the Kentucky Men that includes matchups
versus North Carolina and Gonzaga down in Tennessee, and we
may even have a special guest join us on the show.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Show.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
But before you head out, here's one thing you can
do for us. Sign up for a free UKSN All
Access subscription and get all the best of Kentucky athletics
in one place. Also, make sure you're subscribed to this
show on your favorite podcast app. And if you liked
today's episode, feel free to leave us a review. But
that's it for today. I'm Noah Frairi, She's Michelle Kenezevik.
(34:21):
That's a wrap on episode five. Go enjoy some turkey
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