March 10, 2026 • 24 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Across the forty coming here side Tay five mets a buck.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
He's he's going off dun fuck Touchdown Kentucky from the
UK Sports Network. This is Clark's Pump and' hump, Big
Blue Nation Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Second for one, make the turn, got him, Game's over.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Kentucky Web interact with the show by calling eight five
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Speaker 4 (00:42):
Six three four.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Tuck or tweet the show at UK Sports Network.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hi for the eighth time college basketball National Championship Trophy
is coming home to Kentucky.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Now your host Taron Hendrick.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Hey, everybody, welcome in to another edition of BBN Radio
presented by Clark's Pumping Shop. I'm Darren Headrick, and postseason
basketball is here. For the Kentucky women. The SEC Tournament's
done now they're waiting to find out where they're going
to go in the NCAA Tournament. For the Kentucky men's
basketball team, the SEC Tournament starts on Wednesday at twelve
thirty against LSU. Airtime eleven o'clock with the Countdown to
(01:30):
tip Off presented by Jack Burford Chevrolet. One of the
guys you will hear on Wednesday leading up to tip
off is to my left, Cameron Mills and Cameron. The
regular season is behind us for Kentucky men's basketball, it
is postseason play with the tournament beginning, but before we
look ahead to the road to an SEC Tournament championship.
Kentucky had a tough finish to the regular season and
(01:53):
the loss at home to Florida just drew overall thoughts
on how the Gators were able to come into Repperena
and Senior Day for the Wildcats, Well.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
It's not the first Senior Day that's been spoiled. In
nineteen ninety seven, Anthony EPP's Jared Prickett, we are our
two seniors South Carolina, and we were I think the
number two ranked team in the country. South Carolina came
in and spoiled it for us. Bottom line is Florida
is just a better team than we are. I mean,
that's just it. And the reality is, And look, I've
said this to other people all year because I don't
(02:25):
want to say it all the time on the pregame show,
because I know people know this, but I think people
forget about it. And I was talking to one of
our colleagues the other day and he was kind of
exasperated about like the people understanding that, Look, yes, this
is not a typical to Kentucky team. We can go
off of last year and say what's the difference in
(02:46):
last year and this year? Well, guys, Mark didn't forget
how to coach. He knows what he's doing, His staff
knows what he's doing. We've got three guys that have
sat on the bench a majority of this year. Two
of them have this said on the bench for I
think all but five games, we are a different team
than what we thought we were going to have. And
you can sit there and say, well, you know, coach
(03:08):
Pope shouldn't have taken shouldn't have taken a chance on JQ.
To me, that would have been nuts because guess what,
the NBA is getting ready to take a chance on
JQ and they have a chance to losing a lot
more money.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Than we might or might not have. So we're just
not as great.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Of a team as we're typically we typically see a Kentucky. However,
we have shown an amount of grit without those three guys.
Even with those three guys that I'm honestly not sure
that you know. In nineteen ninety eight we got that
nickname to come back Cats. But that nickname we got
in the last three games of the season. We weren't
(03:44):
making comebacks like that during the regular season. It was
the last three games, right down ten at halftime in
all three games, practically came back, won all three games.
That's why we got that nickname. This year's team, to me,
deserves it far more than we do.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Now.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
You're only going to get a nickname, honestly, if you
went to national championship or get to a final four,
maybe a championship game at least. But the grit that
these guys have shown too. Now, granted, you can't come
back from nineteen down unless you fall down by nineteen,
but they don't quit. They do not quit. And to me,
that's the most impressive thing about that team. And maybe
I am just pying this guy thinking, but I feel
(04:20):
like that makes us despite the way we finished, despite
where this team's head might be now, and I will
guarantee you coach but will have them in the right
mindset going into SEC But they've just bottom line is
they are a scary team. And I know that sounds
insane when you look at some of the losses we've
(04:40):
had this year, But when you look at some of
the wins we've had this year, they are a scary team.
And I guarantee you there's not an SEC team out there.
There's no NCLA team out there that the coaches are
not if they have to run up against us, are
not going to be coaching and preaching their height out
to their kids. You better give us forty minutes or
this team's going to destroy you.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Cameron, to your point, Kentucky did win eight of nine
at one point, and they had a run in the SEC,
and I was listening to Tom Leach and Jack Gibbons
talk about that the difference between then versus having lost
five of seven, and it's just cleaning up turnovers or
limiting turnovers, because when they won eight of nine, I
think they were averaging under nine or right around nine
(05:19):
versus where they are in some of these losses. So
you start limiting turnovers, you're getting extra looks, and this
team gets hot from three and all of a sudden
it's a different ballgame.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
Well, I think I think the keyword is we get
hot from three. You look at the team, the games
where we have shot forty five to fifty percent, there
have been more than one of those games this year.
But go back to the A and M game, right,
I think we only had thirteen turnovers, but A and
M got eight steals, leading to a believer on eighteen
points off turnovers.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
And we had nine.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
Yeah, actually difference in the game right there, I mean
points wise, so it's absolutely limiting turnovers. And there's a
lot of stats we can look at, like points off
the bench. Right at the beginning of the year, we
were beating everyone in points off the bench. And I'll
grant you our bench is much smaller now and it
will consolidate as the season goes on, regardless of injuries
or not, so you know, but we've not gotten the
(06:09):
production off the bench that we need to have. And
I mean, there's all kinds of stats we can look at.
But to me, all year this has been a mental thing.
And it's been a mental thing because there's no reason
you can beat Purdue. And I get it's an exhibition,
doesn't matter. You still played a game, and you played
a forty minute game and both teams competed as hard
as they could, and we destroyed Perdue right without j Low,
(06:32):
without JQ. So we've got the ability to beat caliber,
great caliber teams.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
It's a mental thing.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
It's that's the reason we go into say, you know,
a Gonzaga game or a Michigan State game, or a
Vanderbilt game, and all of a sudden we get blown out.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
And then at the same time we can beat Tennessee
twice in one year exactly.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
But even in those games, we were down at half
and we had to battle back. But the grit, the determination,
the look it it takes a lot mentally and physically.
It doesn't take a lot to get down by ten
or twenty at halftime, but to come back and then
push through and then win a game by eight, nine, ten,
even one, it takes so much out of you mentally,
(07:15):
and yeah, we don't need to be doing that during
the tournament, but it does show that we're capable of
doing that. So to me, it's a mental thing. We've
got to get out of the gate fast. We've got
to In the A and M game showed us we've
got to finish games.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
I mean, we have learned.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
The gauntlet of it is a forty minute game, and
the first twenty minutes matter as much as the twenty
minute games, coach or twenty minute or the second twenty minutes.
Coach Smith used to say all the time, the most
insignificant scoring basketball is the halftime score, and we have
proven that again and again this year.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
You're exactly right. And more to your point, I mean,
they beat Arkansas too, and that's been one of the
better teams in the league all year.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
So he sat, John's right, I mean they're they're you know,
killing teams right now.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Right. I wanted to ask you about Denzel Aberdeen, who's
had to take over basically is PG one. Yeah, and
you know when that first happened, Yeah, there were some
rough patches there as he was getting going.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
But look at where they are now.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
How have you seen him grow into that role as
PG one with low out Well, So two.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Things on that number one again another example of how
much better we could be if Denzel could be at
his natural position at number two, right, whereas he has
now got to look, Denzel needs to be on the wing,
being part of the offense. That's not the initial initiation,
if you will, right, he's the one that has had
(08:37):
to take over bringing the ball off the court, getting
us into our offense, taking over that point guard role.
If Denzel could be in his two position and be
receiving passes on the wing kind of the way Colin
has especially here recently, then we're a different team. But yet, look,
we've had guys who've had to slide into different positions.
Malachi Marino. I mean, because JQ never you know, materialized
(09:02):
because of his injury other than at Saint John's game,
Malachi's had had to blossom. And that's that's the silver
lining of the injuries, right is you've got Denzel now
with the ability in the tournament to play one and two.
You've got Malachi, who, with JQ playing Malachie is not
getting the time. He's not getting the He might get
the practice time, but he's not getting the end game time.
I don't think he blossoms the way he blossoms. There's
(09:24):
there are some good things that have happened this year.
I think overall, you know, it's fair to say that,
Look I don't I don't think anyone's more disappointed than Mark.
But I think at the same time, you say I'm
biased say I'm not, but look, you've.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Got to be realistic.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
We have got a massive amount of talent that's on
that bench. Our Dave Baker said this the other day,
and I mean the stat blew me away. In Mark's
sixty games approximately that he's coached, his University of Kentucky
had basketball coach only ten games as he had a
full roster ten and yet last this year he won
(10:01):
what fifteen top twenty five games this year, I don't know,
maybe five six. So he's capable of getting his team
to beat the good teams. But right now, this is
the season has started. Everything else has been pre amble.
Everything else has been pre season. Don't care what happened
then it that matters what happens from here on.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Al this is your favorite time of year.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Yes, this is the only time of year, Daran. Nothing
matters until March.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
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Final segment of BBN Radio presented by Clark's Pumpman Shop
for this week, as we chat with Cameron Mills and
don't forget when We're done here. Coming up next on
the UK Sports Network. It is the debut of a
brand new season for the Nick mangjeone radio show. Kentucky
Baseball's won nine in a row. They finished up with
their non conference weekend series. They'll open SEC play against
(14:17):
Alabama at Kentucky Proud Park this Friday at six thirty.
So Baseball on Tap coming up when we are done here.
The SEC Tournament begins Wednesday for the Wildcats twelve thirty
tip off down in Nashville against LSU. Our pregame coverage
begins at eleven o'clock. There's a couple more players want
to ask you about before we dive into the SEC Tournament.
(14:39):
Colin Chandler, how does Kentucky try to get him going
again in the SEC Tournament with the way teams have
defended him, especially the way Florida was able to defend
him in that last regular season game.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
But so before we get to that, think about this,
the mere fact that Florida had to concentrate so much
on him right now. Now, look that again goes back to, well,
who else is out there that can create thrown shots?
We've got oh wait, we've got Aberdeen, But who else
can consistently do it? So that if the Florida tries
to shut someone down and effectively does, that's fine, right,
we got we should We're supposed to have four other
(15:11):
guys on the team that you're gonna pay for trying
to shut one of us down.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
We got four of the guys that are going to
destroy you.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
So that's kind of got to be where Okay, oh wait,
takes advantage, Denzel takes advantage, Malachi takes advantage. Mo the
other night, I mean had his best game of the year,
not against Florida, but I believe he gets A and M.
So as far as getting calling going, a lot of
people will talk about, Okay, well let's run an early
play for him. All right, Well you can do that,
(15:36):
and I'm non saying it's a bad idea. I mean
it's a great idea. But to get whether it's a
shooter or not, right, to get somebody going, you get
him an easy shot. And I don't necessarily need a
wide open three. If he has a white open three,
he better take it early in the game. But get
him something in the lane, get him a layup, get
him get him penetrating in that paint. Because if you've
knocked down an easy one, and look, it's the mentality
(15:59):
of the game. If you knock down that easy when
all of a sudden the long ones start to fall.
And Colin, being a shooter himself, he knows this.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Now.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Look he's had games where he's been all threes, he's
not even gotten into paint, but we know what he
can do in the paint. And so maybe not as
strong a finisher yet as Oway, where Oway just seems
to be able to get the ball to no matter
who's trying to challenge a shot. But get calling an
easy shot, get him something open, even if it's short range.
(16:28):
Let him hit a few, and then all of a
sudden that open up. Because again, basketball is a simple game.
And I know it looks complicated, and we make it
look complicated from times this year, but man, it is
all about reacting to what the defense gives you. If
they give you this, there is always always an option
and it's a matter of executing that option. So if
they shut down Colin, fine, We've got Way, We've got Aberdeen,
we've got Malachi, we've got Mo, We've got other guys
(16:50):
on that team that need to respond. And going back
to the points and of our points off the bench
that we haven't really had much of recently. That's where
that's got to come into play. So if Colin is
shut down one and the team focuses on them, fine,
we got other talent that.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Can beat you.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
We just got to put it all together and beat people.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
You can also get them going and transition offense, but
you got to get stops and rebounds in order to
get that transition offense working. And that's where Kentucky's been
at their best at times this year.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Well, they've got a drill. And I think you and
I've talked about it before, and I love the show.
It was a drill that coach Patino had, No we
hated it when it was us because it's it is
an exhausting, frustrating, wanting to throw punches at your teammates
kind of drill where it's called it's called kills, And
basically what it is is you've got a four on
four or five on five, and you've got one team
(17:36):
that's playing defense and they're perpetually playing defense as long
as the offense scores. So and in order for that
defense to get out and get a substitute or you
get a break, you got to get three defensive stops
and three defensive stops.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Is called a kill.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
And I think because they have and this isn't anything
different than any other college teams do, right, they have
different versions of it, but it's not rocket science. But
it's a matter of teaching these kids how to stop runs,
and not only how to stop runs, but how to
get you know, how to work together, because that's what
it really all comes down to is. Look, if it's
four or five of us, and we know on that
(18:10):
other team they got shooters, right, And I can't tell
you how frustrating it is to have two stops in
a row and then have some knucklehead like me deep
in the corner guarded by three people and still shoot
a fade away three and just get lucky. And that
says and it fall in and all of a sudden, no,
we're starting back to zero. That's when the punches want
to be thrown, right, someone go up there and kill him.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
But it teaches you like, okay, guys, we got to
work together.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Like it's not defense individually, it's defense as a team.
And that's why I think we've seen Kentucky with the
ability not consistently, but with the ability to shut down
runs and then as a result of those, go on
runs themselves, because basketball is a game of runs, cliche
as it is, but Kentucky's it all starts on the
(18:55):
defensive end. You get stops, you get steals, you even
if they're dead ball, turner whatever, you get them. And
then you go down and you execute on the other
end of the court. And that's what we've got to
do consistently. But I'll also add it's something we've got
to do consistently in the first twenty minutes of the
game because other than the A and M game, which
(19:15):
was baffling because it was a complete reversal of what
we had seen this Kentucky team all year. Right, we're
at our best at the end of the game. We
need to be our best all forty minutes of the game.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
No doubt about it. Otega Oway. When he arrived on campus,
he was considered one of those guys where it's like, oh,
he's going to be a nice addition by his team, right,
but not necessarily maybe the superstar focal point. How have
you just the improvement that you've seen from him day
to day going to practice in these games. The last
couple of years since he arrived on campus to what
(19:44):
he is. Now, what have you seen out of Otaga?
Speaker 5 (19:47):
His biggest improvement has actually been this year. Last year
he came in. And this is also part of you know,
we sit here and we say, and we've got our
experts out there who tell us what a recruit is worth. Well,
they're not worth anything until they get here improve what
they're worth.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
I don't care what they do.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
In AAU or high school. You've got to get here
or d one done in Kentucky. But what you do
here is what matters. And so everyone, as you said, predicted,
oh it would be a nice addition.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
No, you were wrong.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
He's the star of this team and has been for
two years. Right, so, but his best growth has been
at the very beginning of this year, where he came
out knowing, look, all these guys come here, and this
is just what the portal has opened up. All these
guys are transferring because Okay, I'm not getting the NBA
attention because they all want to play in BA. I
get that they are. They're not getting it where they are.
(20:39):
They're not getting the playtime where they are, so I
want to go somewhere else. So what we typically get
as a Kentucky team or a Duke team or a
Carolina team, We're going to get a lot of people
who want the Nile money that we're able to offer,
the attention that we're able to offer, just from it's
incredibly fun to play in front of twenty two thousand people,
crazy people at home, and the NBA opportunities that playing
(21:02):
at Kentucky and playing this kind of By the way,
remember we had the hardest schedule all year. Playing that
kind of schedule is going to benefit you. But at
the beginning of this year, Away who proved he was
the star Last year though no thought he'd be as
you said, thought he'd be a good addition.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
No, no, no, far better than that.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
But this year, because he was pressing, I think to all, right,
this is my last year, Right, I've got to prove
because last year I made a leap, but now I'm
going to make a bigger leap. And I think one
of the things that the NBA scouts are telling him,
and I don't know if they know this for a fact,
I'm just assuming, is that you got to become more
of a threat from the outside. So what was he
doing at the beginning of the season, he.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Was jacking up threes left and right. Well, that's not
his game.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
And I'm not saying he doesn't need to improve that,
but you improve that in practice, right. And the thing
about what people don understand about the NBA is he
had to watch games. But there's a reason we have
Pro Day. In Pro Day, by the way, it's not
a game. I mean, it becomes a scrimmage, but it's
not a game. They watch them in practice. And I
promise you the guys in the NBA are not watching necessarily, Well,
(22:06):
who's got the most points, Well, that's the guy we
need to draft.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
That's not how it works. There's so many factors to
go into it.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
So if Oway, let's say he never improves his three
point shot to the point that they wont him, that
the NBA is like, well, he's a three point shooter.
There's plenty of non three point shooters in the NBA.
Oway is a finisher. He is a guy that you
have a I don't care he gets around you, he
and then he will put that ball.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
In the basket.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
And I don't care if he's going up against guys
six ten, six eleven, seven foot one. He finds a
way to either get foul or go to the line.
Does it happen every time, No, but it didn't happen
every time for everybody. But he is so good at finishing,
and so his transition from early this year where I
think he was being a little bit selfish wasn't necessarily
making place for the team, because that's the thing. You
do something for the team, the team does something for you.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
We've got less than a minute left. Kentucky will open
the SEC tournament against LSU Wednesday at twelve thirty, and
then they'll get the winner. Well, actually, if they win
that game, they'll take on number eight seed Missouri on Thursday.
The number one Florida waits on Friday. So I got
less than thirty seconds. But LSU rematching that was an
exciting one down at bat Rouge Kentucky won on the
last second shot, should be an interesting rematch on Wednesday
(23:11):
morning or Wednesday afternoon.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
I said before the.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Florida game that I thought we were gonna beat him
because I just think I think we're I don't think
we're as good as them, but I think I think
there have been other things we're not as good as that.
We beating this year. If we get to Florida, I
that's two in a row. It's hard to beat a
team three times. There's a chance there. LSU kind of
worries me more in Florida does because of the way
that game ended, because they had us. Now granted it
was at home. This will be neutral, but look, I
(23:33):
think bottom line is we've got a decent draw with
where we are. We've just got to come to play
and hopefully do something special.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Cameron always fun, but thank you. It's Cameron Mills. I'm
Darren Heddrick. This has been BBN Radio presented by Clark's Puppets.
Stop by Clark's Puppets Shop. Stay tuned the Nick MinJe
Oonne shows coming your way next on the UK Sports.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Goodentucky, You've been listening to Clark's Pump and Shop. Big
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Speaker 2 (00:08):
He's he's going off dun fuck Touchdown Kentucky from the
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Second for one, make the turn, got him, Game's over.
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Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hi for the eighth time college basketball National Championship Trophy
is coming home to Kentucky.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Now your host Taron Hendrick.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Hey, everybody, welcome in to another edition of BBN Radio
presented by Clark's Pumping Shop. I'm Darren Headrick, and postseason
basketball is here. For the Kentucky women. The SEC Tournament's
done now they're waiting to find out where they're going
to go in the NCAA Tournament. For the Kentucky men's
basketball team, the SEC Tournament starts on Wednesday at twelve
thirty against LSU. Airtime eleven o'clock with the Countdown to
(01:30):
tip Off presented by Jack Burford Chevrolet. One of the
guys you will hear on Wednesday leading up to tip
off is to my left, Cameron Mills and Cameron. The
regular season is behind us for Kentucky men's basketball, it
is postseason play with the tournament beginning, but before we
look ahead to the road to an SEC Tournament championship.
Kentucky had a tough finish to the regular season and
(01:53):
the loss at home to Florida just drew overall thoughts
on how the Gators were able to come into Repperena
and Senior Day for the Wildcats, Well.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
It's not the first Senior Day that's been spoiled. In
nineteen ninety seven, Anthony EPP's Jared Prickett, we are our
two seniors South Carolina, and we were I think the
number two ranked team in the country. South Carolina came
in and spoiled it for us. Bottom line is Florida
is just a better team than we are. I mean,
that's just it. And the reality is, And look, I've
said this to other people all year because I don't
(02:25):
want to say it all the time on the pregame show,
because I know people know this, but I think people
forget about it. And I was talking to one of
our colleagues the other day and he was kind of
exasperated about like the people understanding that, Look, yes, this
is not a typical to Kentucky team. We can go
off of last year and say what's the difference in
(02:46):
last year and this year? Well, guys, Mark didn't forget
how to coach. He knows what he's doing, His staff
knows what he's doing. We've got three guys that have
sat on the bench a majority of this year. Two
of them have this said on the bench for I
think all but five games, we are a different team
than what we thought we were going to have. And
you can sit there and say, well, you know, coach
(03:08):
Pope shouldn't have taken shouldn't have taken a chance on JQ.
To me, that would have been nuts because guess what,
the NBA is getting ready to take a chance on
JQ and they have a chance to losing a lot
more money.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Than we might or might not have. So we're just
not as great.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Of a team as we're typically we typically see a Kentucky. However,
we have shown an amount of grit without those three guys.
Even with those three guys that I'm honestly not sure
that you know. In nineteen ninety eight we got that
nickname to come back Cats. But that nickname we got
in the last three games of the season. We weren't
(03:44):
making comebacks like that during the regular season. It was
the last three games, right down ten at halftime in
all three games, practically came back, won all three games.
That's why we got that nickname. This year's team, to me,
deserves it far more than we do.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Now.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
You're only going to get a nickname, honestly, if you
went to national championship or get to a final four,
maybe a championship game at least. But the grit that
these guys have shown too. Now, granted, you can't come
back from nineteen down unless you fall down by nineteen,
but they don't quit. They do not quit. And to me,
that's the most impressive thing about that team. And maybe
I am just pying this guy thinking, but I feel
(04:20):
like that makes us despite the way we finished, despite
where this team's head might be now, and I will
guarantee you coach but will have them in the right
mindset going into SEC But they've just bottom line is
they are a scary team. And I know that sounds
insane when you look at some of the losses we've
(04:40):
had this year, But when you look at some of
the wins we've had this year, they are a scary team.
And I guarantee you there's not an SEC team out there.
There's no NCLA team out there that the coaches are
not if they have to run up against us, are
not going to be coaching and preaching their height out
to their kids. You better give us forty minutes or
this team's going to destroy you.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Cameron, to your point, Kentucky did win eight of nine
at one point, and they had a run in the SEC,
and I was listening to Tom Leach and Jack Gibbons
talk about that the difference between then versus having lost
five of seven, and it's just cleaning up turnovers or
limiting turnovers, because when they won eight of nine, I
think they were averaging under nine or right around nine
(05:19):
versus where they are in some of these losses. So
you start limiting turnovers, you're getting extra looks, and this
team gets hot from three and all of a sudden
it's a different ballgame.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
Well, I think I think the keyword is we get
hot from three. You look at the team, the games
where we have shot forty five to fifty percent, there
have been more than one of those games this year.
But go back to the A and M game, right,
I think we only had thirteen turnovers, but A and
M got eight steals, leading to a believer on eighteen
points off turnovers.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
And we had nine.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
Yeah, actually difference in the game right there, I mean
points wise, so it's absolutely limiting turnovers. And there's a
lot of stats we can look at, like points off
the bench. Right at the beginning of the year, we
were beating everyone in points off the bench. And I'll
grant you our bench is much smaller now and it
will consolidate as the season goes on, regardless of injuries
or not, so you know, but we've not gotten the
(06:09):
production off the bench that we need to have. And
I mean, there's all kinds of stats we can look at.
But to me, all year this has been a mental thing.
And it's been a mental thing because there's no reason
you can beat Purdue. And I get it's an exhibition,
doesn't matter. You still played a game, and you played
a forty minute game and both teams competed as hard
as they could, and we destroyed Perdue right without j Low,
(06:32):
without JQ. So we've got the ability to beat caliber,
great caliber teams.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
It's a mental thing.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
It's that's the reason we go into say, you know,
a Gonzaga game or a Michigan State game, or a
Vanderbilt game, and all of a sudden we get blown out.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
And then at the same time we can beat Tennessee
twice in one year exactly.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
But even in those games, we were down at half
and we had to battle back. But the grit, the determination,
the look it it takes a lot mentally and physically.
It doesn't take a lot to get down by ten
or twenty at halftime, but to come back and then
push through and then win a game by eight, nine, ten,
even one, it takes so much out of you mentally,
(07:15):
and yeah, we don't need to be doing that during
the tournament, but it does show that we're capable of
doing that. So to me, it's a mental thing. We've
got to get out of the gate fast. We've got
to In the A and M game showed us we've
got to finish games.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
I mean, we have learned.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
The gauntlet of it is a forty minute game, and
the first twenty minutes matter as much as the twenty
minute games, coach or twenty minute or the second twenty minutes.
Coach Smith used to say all the time, the most
insignificant scoring basketball is the halftime score, and we have
proven that again and again this year.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
You're exactly right. And more to your point, I mean,
they beat Arkansas too, and that's been one of the
better teams in the league all year.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
So he sat, John's right, I mean they're they're you know,
killing teams right now.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Right. I wanted to ask you about Denzel Aberdeen, who's
had to take over basically is PG one. Yeah, and
you know when that first happened, Yeah, there were some
rough patches there as he was getting going.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
But look at where they are now.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
How have you seen him grow into that role as
PG one with low out Well, So two.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Things on that number one again another example of how
much better we could be if Denzel could be at
his natural position at number two, right, whereas he has
now got to look, Denzel needs to be on the wing,
being part of the offense. That's not the initial initiation,
if you will, right, he's the one that has had
(08:37):
to take over bringing the ball off the court, getting
us into our offense, taking over that point guard role.
If Denzel could be in his two position and be
receiving passes on the wing kind of the way Colin
has especially here recently, then we're a different team. But yet, look,
we've had guys who've had to slide into different positions.
Malachi Marino. I mean, because JQ never you know, materialized
(09:02):
because of his injury other than at Saint John's game,
Malachi's had had to blossom. And that's that's the silver
lining of the injuries, right is you've got Denzel now
with the ability in the tournament to play one and two.
You've got Malachi, who, with JQ playing Malachie is not
getting the time. He's not getting the He might get
the practice time, but he's not getting the end game time.
I don't think he blossoms the way he blossoms. There's
(09:24):
there are some good things that have happened this year.
I think overall, you know, it's fair to say that,
Look I don't I don't think anyone's more disappointed than Mark.
But I think at the same time, you say I'm
biased say I'm not, but look, you've.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Got to be realistic.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
We have got a massive amount of talent that's on
that bench. Our Dave Baker said this the other day,
and I mean the stat blew me away. In Mark's
sixty games approximately that he's coached, his University of Kentucky
had basketball coach only ten games as he had a
full roster ten and yet last this year he won
(10:01):
what fifteen top twenty five games this year, I don't know,
maybe five six. So he's capable of getting his team
to beat the good teams. But right now, this is
the season has started. Everything else has been pre amble.
Everything else has been pre season. Don't care what happened
then it that matters what happens from here on.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Al this is your favorite time of year.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Yes, this is the only time of year, Daran. Nothing
matters until March.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
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Speaker 3 (13:56):
Final segment of BBN Radio presented by Clark's Pumpman Shop
for this week, as we chat with Cameron Mills and
don't forget when We're done here. Coming up next on
the UK Sports Network. It is the debut of a
brand new season for the Nick mangjeone radio show. Kentucky
Baseball's won nine in a row. They finished up with
their non conference weekend series. They'll open SEC play against
(14:17):
Alabama at Kentucky Proud Park this Friday at six thirty.
So Baseball on Tap coming up when we are done here.
The SEC Tournament begins Wednesday for the Wildcats twelve thirty
tip off down in Nashville against LSU. Our pregame coverage
begins at eleven o'clock. There's a couple more players want
to ask you about before we dive into the SEC Tournament.
(14:39):
Colin Chandler, how does Kentucky try to get him going
again in the SEC Tournament with the way teams have
defended him, especially the way Florida was able to defend
him in that last regular season game.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
But so before we get to that, think about this,
the mere fact that Florida had to concentrate so much
on him right now. Now, look that again goes back to, well,
who else is out there that can create thrown shots?
We've got oh wait, we've got Aberdeen, But who else
can consistently do it? So that if the Florida tries
to shut someone down and effectively does, that's fine, right,
we got we should We're supposed to have four other
(15:11):
guys on the team that you're gonna pay for trying
to shut one of us down.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
We got four of the guys that are going to
destroy you.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
So that's kind of got to be where Okay, oh wait,
takes advantage, Denzel takes advantage, Malachi takes advantage. Mo the
other night, I mean had his best game of the year,
not against Florida, but I believe he gets A and M.
So as far as getting calling going, a lot of
people will talk about, Okay, well let's run an early
play for him. All right, Well you can do that,
(15:36):
and I'm non saying it's a bad idea. I mean
it's a great idea. But to get whether it's a
shooter or not, right, to get somebody going, you get
him an easy shot. And I don't necessarily need a
wide open three. If he has a white open three,
he better take it early in the game. But get
him something in the lane, get him a layup, get
him get him penetrating in that paint. Because if you've
knocked down an easy one, and look, it's the mentality
(15:59):
of the game. If you knock down that easy when
all of a sudden the long ones start to fall.
And Colin, being a shooter himself, he knows this.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
Now.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Look he's had games where he's been all threes, he's
not even gotten into paint, but we know what he
can do in the paint. And so maybe not as
strong a finisher yet as Oway, where Oway just seems
to be able to get the ball to no matter
who's trying to challenge a shot. But get calling an
easy shot, get him something open, even if it's short range.
(16:28):
Let him hit a few, and then all of a
sudden that open up. Because again, basketball is a simple game.
And I know it looks complicated, and we make it
look complicated from times this year, but man, it is
all about reacting to what the defense gives you. If
they give you this, there is always always an option
and it's a matter of executing that option. So if
they shut down Colin, fine, We've got Way, We've got Aberdeen,
we've got Malachi, we've got Mo, We've got other guys
(16:50):
on that team that need to respond. And going back
to the points and of our points off the bench
that we haven't really had much of recently. That's where
that's got to come into play. So if Colin is
shut down one and the team focuses on them, fine,
we got other talent that.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Can beat you.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
We just got to put it all together and beat people.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
You can also get them going and transition offense, but
you got to get stops and rebounds in order to
get that transition offense working. And that's where Kentucky's been
at their best at times this year.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Well, they've got a drill. And I think you and
I've talked about it before, and I love the show.
It was a drill that coach Patino had, No we
hated it when it was us because it's it is
an exhausting, frustrating, wanting to throw punches at your teammates
kind of drill where it's called it's called kills, And
basically what it is is you've got a four on
four or five on five, and you've got one team
(17:36):
that's playing defense and they're perpetually playing defense as long
as the offense scores. So and in order for that
defense to get out and get a substitute or you
get a break, you got to get three defensive stops
and three defensive stops.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Is called a kill.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
And I think because they have and this isn't anything
different than any other college teams do, right, they have
different versions of it, but it's not rocket science. But
it's a matter of teaching these kids how to stop runs,
and not only how to stop runs, but how to
get you know, how to work together, because that's what
it really all comes down to is. Look, if it's
four or five of us, and we know on that
(18:10):
other team they got shooters, right, And I can't tell
you how frustrating it is to have two stops in
a row and then have some knucklehead like me deep
in the corner guarded by three people and still shoot
a fade away three and just get lucky. And that
says and it fall in and all of a sudden, no,
we're starting back to zero. That's when the punches want
to be thrown, right, someone go up there and kill him.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
But it teaches you like, okay, guys, we got to
work together.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Like it's not defense individually, it's defense as a team.
And that's why I think we've seen Kentucky with the
ability not consistently, but with the ability to shut down
runs and then as a result of those, go on
runs themselves, because basketball is a game of runs, cliche
as it is, but Kentucky's it all starts on the
(18:55):
defensive end. You get stops, you get steals, you even
if they're dead ball, turner whatever, you get them. And
then you go down and you execute on the other
end of the court. And that's what we've got to
do consistently. But I'll also add it's something we've got
to do consistently in the first twenty minutes of the
game because other than the A and M game, which
(19:15):
was baffling because it was a complete reversal of what
we had seen this Kentucky team all year. Right, we're
at our best at the end of the game. We
need to be our best all forty minutes of the game.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
No doubt about it. Otega Oway. When he arrived on campus,
he was considered one of those guys where it's like, oh,
he's going to be a nice addition by his team, right,
but not necessarily maybe the superstar focal point. How have
you just the improvement that you've seen from him day
to day going to practice in these games. The last
couple of years since he arrived on campus to what
(19:44):
he is. Now, what have you seen out of Otaga?
Speaker 5 (19:47):
His biggest improvement has actually been this year. Last year
he came in. And this is also part of you know,
we sit here and we say, and we've got our
experts out there who tell us what a recruit is worth. Well,
they're not worth anything until they get here improve what
they're worth.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
I don't care what they do.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
In AAU or high school. You've got to get here
or d one done in Kentucky. But what you do
here is what matters. And so everyone, as you said, predicted,
oh it would be a nice addition.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
No, you were wrong.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
He's the star of this team and has been for
two years. Right, so, but his best growth has been
at the very beginning of this year, where he came
out knowing, look, all these guys come here, and this
is just what the portal has opened up. All these
guys are transferring because Okay, I'm not getting the NBA
attention because they all want to play in BA. I
get that they are. They're not getting it where they are.
(20:39):
They're not getting the playtime where they are, so I
want to go somewhere else. So what we typically get
as a Kentucky team or a Duke team or a
Carolina team, We're going to get a lot of people
who want the Nile money that we're able to offer,
the attention that we're able to offer, just from it's
incredibly fun to play in front of twenty two thousand people,
crazy people at home, and the NBA opportunities that playing
(21:02):
at Kentucky and playing this kind of By the way,
remember we had the hardest schedule all year. Playing that
kind of schedule is going to benefit you. But at
the beginning of this year, Away who proved he was
the star Last year though no thought he'd be as
you said, thought he'd be a good addition.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
No, no, no, far better than that.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
But this year, because he was pressing, I think to all, right,
this is my last year, Right, I've got to prove
because last year I made a leap, but now I'm
going to make a bigger leap. And I think one
of the things that the NBA scouts are telling him,
and I don't know if they know this for a fact,
I'm just assuming, is that you got to become more
of a threat from the outside. So what was he
doing at the beginning of the season, he.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Was jacking up threes left and right. Well, that's not
his game.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
And I'm not saying he doesn't need to improve that,
but you improve that in practice, right. And the thing
about what people don understand about the NBA is he
had to watch games. But there's a reason we have
Pro Day. In Pro Day, by the way, it's not
a game. I mean, it becomes a scrimmage, but it's
not a game. They watch them in practice. And I
promise you the guys in the NBA are not watching necessarily, Well,
(22:06):
who's got the most points, Well, that's the guy we
need to draft.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
That's not how it works. There's so many factors to
go into it.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
So if Oway, let's say he never improves his three
point shot to the point that they wont him, that
the NBA is like, well, he's a three point shooter.
There's plenty of non three point shooters in the NBA.
Oway is a finisher. He is a guy that you
have a I don't care he gets around you, he
and then he will put that ball.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
In the basket.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
And I don't care if he's going up against guys
six ten, six eleven, seven foot one. He finds a
way to either get foul or go to the line.
Does it happen every time, No, but it didn't happen
every time for everybody. But he is so good at finishing,
and so his transition from early this year where I
think he was being a little bit selfish wasn't necessarily
making place for the team, because that's the thing. You
do something for the team, the team does something for you.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
We've got less than a minute left. Kentucky will open
the SEC tournament against LSU Wednesday at twelve thirty, and
then they'll get the winner. Well, actually, if they win
that game, they'll take on number eight seed Missouri on Thursday.
The number one Florida waits on Friday. So I got
less than thirty seconds. But LSU rematching that was an
exciting one down at bat Rouge Kentucky won on the
last second shot, should be an interesting rematch on Wednesday
(23:11):
morning or Wednesday afternoon.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
I said before the.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Florida game that I thought we were gonna beat him
because I just think I think we're I don't think
we're as good as them, but I think I think
there have been other things we're not as good as that.
We beating this year. If we get to Florida, I
that's two in a row. It's hard to beat a
team three times. There's a chance there. LSU kind of
worries me more in Florida does because of the way
that game ended, because they had us. Now granted it
was at home. This will be neutral, but look, I
(23:33):
think bottom line is we've got a decent draw with
where we are. We've just got to come to play
and hopefully do something special.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Cameron always fun, but thank you. It's Cameron Mills. I'm
Darren Heddrick. This has been BBN Radio presented by Clark's Puppets.
Stop by Clark's Puppets Shop. Stay tuned the Nick MinJe
Oonne shows coming your way next on the UK Sports.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Goodentucky, You've been listening to Clark's Pump and Shop. Big
Blue Nation Radio on the UK Sports Network. Big Blue
Nation Radio is a presentation of the UK Sports Network
powered by JMI Sports.
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