April 29, 2024 • 43 mins
Matt, Ryan, Drew, and Shannon are joined by UK Basketball Head Coach Mark Pope. Also, NFL Draft talk and the latest news from the weekend.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Looking for a mortgage bank to help you make your
next major mortgage move, whether it's a refi or home purchase,
regardless of whether it's your first one or one of many,
consider our friends at Stockton Mortgage, but don't just take
our word for it. Stockton Mortgage has over seventy thousand
five star reviews and counting, just like this review from Joshua,
who says this about.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
His experience with Stockton.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
They were super professional, always answered my questions I had,
and streamlined the process. I could not ask for better
people to help me and my family get our first house.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I feel blessed to be able to go through them.
Be like Joshua or.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
The sixty nine nine hundred ninety nine others just like him,
and get started with Stockton Mortgage today by going to
Stockton dot com and get started.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I've even used.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Stockton Mortgage myself on my own home loan.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
For your home loan needs, Stockton dot com and click
get started. Stockton Mortgage NMLS eight two five nine, Equal
Housing Lender NMLS, Consumer Access dot Org.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Welcome to our two of Kentucky Sports Radio present it
by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Welcome everyone, Kentucky Sports Radio. Here live at Chaos Bar
and Grill. We are now happy to be joined on
the phone by the new coach. Only two weeks into
the job may seem like longer. Mark Pope, Mark, congrats
and thank you for your first appearance here on KSR.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Matt, I'm hyped to be on man.
Speaker 6 (01:28):
Tons of love for you and Ryan and Drew and
the whole crew. Super great for what you guys do.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, thank you very much. First of all, you know
what I've heard you do some of your intro interviews,
so I won't repeat those questions. You mind if we
talk some of the details that fans I know are
interested in. You good with that.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Let's let's get in the weeds man. That's what thankes
Kentucky Basketball great.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I love it all right. Let's start with your staff.
You added, uh I think four of the five members
have been announced. Looks like a couple really I know
or focus for you on recruiting. We've got the Mark
Fox who I know, and then the Cody that you
brought from BYU. Tell people what you're what they're getting
in your staff.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
I love the staff so far. It's it's probably the
most eclectic staff I've had, for sure, and I think
guys that are not just bringing unique strengths and unique
dimensions to the staff, but also bringing them from from
wildly different categories. I think the breadth of what we
have on the staff has got me super excited.
Speaker 6 (02:30):
We've you know, we've actually.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
The four of us have only been together now for
I don't know, seventy two hours maybe all.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
Together in the same room.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
And so it's it's and and what's nice has been
We've been recruiting so hard that we're actually spending a
lot of time together in situations where it's just it's
just flowing conversation. And I dig it, man, I'm telling you.
I was in the room with with coach Fieger a
long time, long time I'm uh coaching partner with me,
(03:03):
and then Jason Hart, who you know we played together
with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Speaker 6 (03:07):
I've known it forever and love them.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
And watching those two personalities just like bounce off each other,
the room was electric and I'm just like this, and
I was sitting back and I'm like, yep, this is
exactly what this is supposed to be. Those are just
That's one example of just those guys making each other.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Better and I love it. So I dig the vibe. Man.
Right now, it's it's it's.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
Gotta be great, like our job is to be great.
And and in the early early early stages, I'm like,
there's some synergy here with these guys that's going to
be really, really special.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
It's interesting to say you gotta be great. One of
the things I've really liked is it feels like you've
embraced the call to This is Kentucky. It's another level
and I got to reach that. Am I right about that?
Speaker 6 (03:52):
Yes? I want to understand. I mean, this is this
is this is the job, this is the this is
the best job in college basketball.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
It's the most demanding job in college basketball. It's it's
the mecca of college basketball.
Speaker 6 (04:02):
There's nowhere like it. And with that comes this deal.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
It's like, hey, you either got to get the job
done or you're not. You know, there's no there's no
you know, there's no second place, guys. It's just the
reality of this job.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
I know full well what this is.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
I think I've shared this a couple of times.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
But.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
You know, twenty eight years ago, when I was walking
the whole length of the court to go shoot feet throws,
and the only thing that enter in my mind is
if I don't make these freet throws, I will never
be allowed to cross the state line into Kentucky again.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
Literally with fear for physical harm.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
That was the only fact going through my mind.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
I get it, like we say this all the time,
but we understand the assignment and we're embracing it, and
it's terrifying and that makes it beautiful. That's why this
place especially, and that's why we're just so related to
be here.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Let's talk roster. I know you there's some things you
can and can't talk about, so I'll just do a
big picture. You have, by my account, six guys now
in your roster for next year. How do you feel
about what you you have, how do you feel about
what you're what you're trying to get? You feel good
about these next couple of weeks? And do you expect
to fill up all thirteen slots?
Speaker 6 (05:10):
Yeah, so you're smarter than me.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
I'm I'm a to take those questions whether the time.
So I'm really excited about where we are today. I
think that it's it's a little bit the way I
feel about the staff.
Speaker 6 (05:25):
You know, this is really artistic.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I think putting together a staff and putting together a
roster have a similarity, and it's very artistic. It is
puzzle pieces, and with every new piece it kind of
changes the picture where you have to readjust the next
you know what you're looking for in the next piece,
and you don't have there's so many factors you don't
have control over. You don't have control over timing sometimes
about when a.
Speaker 6 (05:47):
Player is going to commit. You don't always have control
over you know, if.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
He's going to commit, and and so you know, on
our big board right now, we're actually working with twenty
nine guys that we've really really zeroed in on. And
every time somebody breaks a little bit in our direction
or maybe fades a little bit out of our direction.
As we do more research and more with consistance and
hear more information about guys and how they're built, it
(06:12):
doesn't just change the picture for that player, it changes
the picture for all twenty you know, almost thirty guys.
Speaker 6 (06:19):
And so I'm.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Elated with where we are right now. We got a
ton of work to do. We feel like we're really
close in a lot of areas. I feel like we're
spending an inordinate amount of time as a staff late night's,
early mornings, kind of like we just keep talking it through,
talking it through, talking through to make sure that we get.
Speaker 6 (06:40):
The right collection.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
And we're happy with where we are right now and
excited about the coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Do you think you'll fill up the entirety? Well? Use
will you use all thirteen scholarships?
Speaker 5 (06:52):
You know we're gonna see. So I'll give you an
example of the way that we work. So I knew
that we had to with this staff together really really fast, okay,
and I I kind of zeroed in on a short
list of guys and ended up with actually the four
guys that I was desperate to get.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
And then we're taking a little pause.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
I have some more people to add to this staff,
but I need to take a little pause right now
and just kind of see how our pieces are fitting together.
And and then we'll go light speed again. But this
like a surge of a pause where you just you
just get a chance to breathe it in and see
exactly where you are and once you need and and
so I imagine that as we get to that place, there
(07:34):
will be a lot of things that would come into
play for example.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
You know, you know, I don't know how fast we can.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Get to ten or eleven or twelve, but you know,
if we get there before this draft deadline, you know,
we definitely will take a pause just because we're gonna
leave some room open in case. You know, we're talking
to a bunch of guys that are in that category,
and so we're gonna have to We're gonna have to
leave a little bit of space, but we're not gonna
leave too much space because there's really talented players that
(08:00):
actually sit us and fit together now. And so that's
gonna probably our evaluation that is gonna change every day,
like our valuation and everything, because as you put pieces together,
it changes the.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Picture you you you've been.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
That, Matt, how about how about that?
Speaker 5 (08:15):
For like a two minute answer, They didn't really say anything.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
But that's actually that's actually really the truth.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
No, no, I believe that. I mean, you guys, I
was I'm fascinating to here you have twenty nine When
you say you have a big board, is it like
I see we had the NFL Draft this weekend. I mean,
do you kind of have okay, tier A, Tier B, TIERC.
I mean you don't have to. Does that kind of
how you look at it or is it just sort
of hodgepodge?
Speaker 6 (08:38):
Well, so we got two days.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
What we have a right now in my omics, I
have a giant whiteboard that we rolled in here. Unfortunately,
one of the wheels on the right on the whiteboard is.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Broken, and that's driving me crazy.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
Like my new EA, Megan Summers like she's elite level,
but if she can't get this wheel face, we're gonna
have a problem.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
We can't we can't roll the thing around.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Man, Yes, like we got I'm trying.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
So but we have another big board and we're making
I have a huge push to go digital as digital
as we can. And so we also have several series
of of Google Docs. Please please uh BBN, don't try
and break the code on our on our you know,
privately shared Google docs. We need to keep some of
(09:23):
this in house. I probably shouldn't even mention that there's
gonna be some.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Like, yeah, you shouldn't do that. It's just like coaching
bro screwed up and put your plane tail the other day.
You gotta be careful about that stuff.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
So we gotta you know, we'll figure all that out.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
But so but it is, and it's actually you know,
we have you know, five different colors and and several
different markings, uh, you know, and it looks more like
a cloud than it does a roster charge in terms
of what we're doing on board. But it's just because
this is a very artistic, organic process.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
That's the way. That's the way we operate.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
Like, I think teams are a beautiful thing, man, because
they're living and they're dynamic, and they they kind of
it's it's it's it's.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
Like a living organism. And so.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
If you walked in and you sat with us and
heard us talk to you and feel like, wow, this
seat seems really messy, but as you get through the mess, man,
something really beautiful comes out of it.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
All right, let me go through some kind of quicker questions.
I get asked a lot you're scheduling. You mentioned you'd
like to play Saint John's. Rick Patino then said, yes,
are we playing Saint John's next year?
Speaker 5 (10:33):
Yeah, So we're actually having a scheduling meeting tomorrow. In fact,
if you guys want to, you know, we can bring
you in live.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
We'll just do the whole low. Okay, Okay, I think
people would enjoy that.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
No, So Coach Fox's Coach foxes where right now we're
in treas mode, which is just.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
So guys, you know, I love the idea of startup companies.
I actually love it. I love the of like being in.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
The infant stage of building because you never get to sleep.
There's there's nine billion things on the list and you
only get to like three of them.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
And so we're in.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Treeas right now about like our prioritis of this staff
and this roster, and so a lot of super important
things have been pushed to like three and four, and
those two things are so critical and cruse right now
that the other stuff is just gonna have to wait.
Speaker 6 (11:26):
Even though it deserves attention right now.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
It's just we got to keep focused on the most
important things being the most important thing. So we're gonna
have our first real scheduling meeting tomorrow. I don't know
if we'll make con decisions. I've actually talked to Coach
p and he trust me. He knows his business better anybody.
He has a good idea of like what we're going
through right now, and so I think that would be
super fun for Big Blue Nations. I think it'd be
(11:52):
really fun for Saint John's. It would be really incredibly
special to me and and and so that's something we're
gonna work on.
Speaker 6 (11:59):
But we'll make progress.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
You know, this roster staff first, we'll get the scheduling
here in the in the coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Let me ask you about when in terms of in
the future. You know, we Kentucky over the last few
years gotten a ton of of of highlycounted freshmen starting.
I know this year that's tougher because where you're coming in,
But is your plan on the next few years? Are
you going after the top tier freshman? I mean, I
know you want guys that fit your system, but do
you still plan on going after those elite top ten
(12:28):
to fifteen kind of guys?
Speaker 6 (12:32):
This is this is the University of Kentucky, right.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
That is a massively important component of building.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
Uh, I mean, come on, Kentucky is Kentucky of being
not building but being.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
What Kentucky is is having the most talented players in
the world, the most talented high school players in the
world come be a part of this. So that will
always be a very important staple. It was important for
Jobe Hall, it was for Rick Patino, it was important
for for you know is every coach to come through
it clear it was really important for cal Cal Actually,
(13:07):
you know, Cal redefined the process of being to do
that in his incredible constribution to the University of Kentucky.
Speaker 6 (13:13):
And so that's a that's a huge part of what
we'll do.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
And the portal is also, you know, we're we're also
in a brand new era. Guys, like the portal and
n i L rules are different this.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Year than they were last year.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It is a.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Brand new era and so so you know, we're really
fortunate to be at the University of Kentuck.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
I'll never get tired of saying that, gentlemen at the
University of Kentucky.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
As this new era comes also, and that adds a
whole new dimension to to this. This this incredible stew
that you that you did, you contact of putting together
a great roster, and so that's gonna be a huge piece.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Also, do you let's talk in i L. Obviously that's
a huge thing now maybe one of the biggest things
in getting players. Do you feel like Kentucky as of
today is in a place to be able to compete
with every program in the country From an Nile perspective, The.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Short answer is yes.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
The longer answer is is we are growing, and we
need to grow desperately fast. Nile is a massive and
massively important part of the landscape of college athletics, and
certainly at Kentucky basketball, it is. It is massively important.
It's going to be one of the factors. It's going
to be one of the foundational factors in whether we
(14:41):
can hang banners or not. That there's no two ways
about it, guys, There's no way to get around that.
And so it's wildly important. We are in a in
a solid spot right now. We know that we need
to grow and grow really fast. The beautiful thing about
Kentucky is that we have some really really really significant
capable donors, uh that are that are making a big
(15:06):
difference in what we do. But what we have that
no one else in the country has is we have
big Blue nation, man and and and if we can
find the right ways to harness the ownership that this
state and big blue nation around the world has of
this team, uh, then we're going to be just fighting
and uh and that's my job. That's my job is
(15:26):
I have to you know, I have to galvanize this
entire fan base to jump behind.
Speaker 6 (15:30):
This, and and and.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
And it's it's not just ownership in in word or
or or idea, but it's actually ownership in terms of
participation also.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
And that's how we're gonna roll.
Speaker 7 (15:41):
Man.
Speaker 6 (15:41):
That's why this place is special. That's why it makes
us different than everyone else.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Well, let me help you with that. There's the you
I think are doing an event if I'm correct, where
people who are part of Club Blue, the Club Blue
NI L think can meet you. Am I right about that?
Speaker 6 (15:58):
Yeah? So and this is uh, you know, it's like
it's like.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
A if you need to get that. If that's somebody important,
I understand, if there's a player on.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
That line, I'm actually I'm actually my assistant gravitics right here.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
You telling them, I'm calling my back.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Okay, now listen, if that's important, Mark, We'll wait. I
don't want you to miss out.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
No, No, we're gonna be. We'll be. We'll be absolutely fine.
We can have this right now.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
This is actually what we're talking about right now.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
Hey, what we're talking about right now is probably the
most important thing. Okay, listen, Club Blue is real, Like
this Club Blue is is this is the.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Focal point of our whole nil life right now. We
have some amazing people that are that are helping to
UH TO to run this. It is a there is
no overhead with this program. It is one hundred percent
of the money goes exactly where we wanted to go.
And so we're holding our first UH kind of meet
(16:58):
the team event. It's gonna be June fifteenth. There will
be details. We're hoping that we're gonna almost have a
completed roster by then. We should be done, if not completed,
and it'll be our first kind of opportunity to spend
time with the team. And so we're making a push
right now for as many people in Big Blue Nation
(17:19):
that can join Club Blue. You will make a very
tangible direct impact on this program. And so the event's
going to be June fifteenth. Anyone who subscribes to Club
Blue before May fifteenth is.
Speaker 6 (17:33):
Going to be invited.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
I'm hoping that Ruff is too small actually to hold
this group of people. I hoping we have to move
into the football stadium. That would be my goal, or
or maybe team then maybe we do it on the fairgrounds.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
You know, I'm hoping it has to be that big
a venue. But if you people how to do it?
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Mark, Yeah, Club Blue INIL, Club Blueenile dot com. If
you have to subscribe by May fifteenth, there'll be a
meet and greet with Mark, the players, giveaways, et cetera.
If you subscribe by May fifteenth, the event is June fifteenth,
Mark and they will meet Club Blue and IL. Is
that correct, Matt?
Speaker 5 (18:11):
You said that way better than I was. That's exactly right.
Club Blue Nil.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Just go on join Club Blue.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
There's one hundred different options, but be a part of this.
This is our team, like that's what makes it special.
I hope everybody jumps on, let's do this together.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah. I don't remember ever them doing an event, Like
there was one event where they had the practice, but
I don't think I've ever seen a meet and greet
with the basketball program. So that will be June fifteenth.
Do you remember Mark in nineteen ninety seven you worked
with w L e X. You obviously mentioned Cutler at
the press conference. Do you remember Ryan Lemon, who's sitting
here next to me.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Come about Ryan is a legend?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
Are you? Like? Guys, what are we talking about? So
I'm just hoping.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
I'm just hoping that Ryan has forgot some of this
totally stupid stuff did on that truth?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
No, I haven't.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
You have not forgotten?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
No, no, no, no, not at all.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
Ryan.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Unfortunately for me, like like every good reporter, I have
a follow up question.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Go for it. Okay.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
My first question, Mark, it's kind of the serious question.
I just got to know one thing. Can you tell
me who's in the house tonight?
Speaker 6 (19:18):
UK? There we go.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
My second question, Well, I've said for twenty eight years,
my most favorite moment covering the Cats has nothing to
do with that, but on the court, it's when that
bus rolled into Rupperena in ninety six and a lot
of memories and a lot of talk, and since you
got the job's been pointing back to that era. Can
you just talk about that special moment and what has
your ninety six group chat been like since you got
(19:42):
the job?
Speaker 6 (19:43):
Yep, So.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
It's uh, yeah, guys, I mean listen, there's those nont
works and the fact that we got to run it
back with it, I think even a bigger you know,
I think there were more people actually seen it on
the court than there were when it came back and
and ninety six there's just no words. It's just you know,
I've said this a lot since then about the press
(20:06):
conference about driving back in into the building twenty eight
years later, that that that deal at Rupp had.
Speaker 6 (20:13):
Really nothing to do with me.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
That had to do with Big Blue Nation coming in
that building and look at each other and putting putting
arms around each other and sharing love with each other,
saying we're still here, man, and this is real. And
and that again is like that is you know, people
are going to try and recreate that, People going to
try and mimic that, but that that just is that's
unique to that's unique to Kentucky. And and so I
(20:37):
feel all the you know, I feel all of.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
The beauty of that.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
And the fact that I got to be a part
of that and share that with everybody in BBM was
super cool.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
That was a special day, by the way, just a
couple of weeks ago. I hope, I mean, I hope
you realize. I know you do, Mark, but I hope
you felt that that day and rup I mean, along
with like the national Championship in twenty twelve, that's as
special a day as I can remember. I hope you were.
I hope you felt that.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
Yeah, I definitely did.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
And you also feel the burden of responsibility, right, and
you also feel that you also It's interesting because you
feel the burden of responsibility, but you also feel like
we are not in this alone. I mean, I don't
know if anybody gets to walk into the job and
feel like I think, you know, you usually walk in
the job and feel like the.
Speaker 6 (21:19):
Whole world's are your soldiers, which we feel here.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
But i also feel like I'm looking around the room
and I'm like, there's twenty two thousand people, and there's
all my guys from ninety six, and all the guys
from ninety eight, and all the guys from twenty twelve,
and all the guys in between them, before and after,
and all these fans, like all of us, all of
us together.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Are living and dying by every moment.
Speaker 5 (21:38):
That is so guys, I'm telling you, it's just it's
a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Well, we want to have you in here so that
we can talk to you for a longer session, but
we knew you were busy. Thank you for making the time.
I'm sure we'll get to talk to you again very soon.
Club Blue Nil to get to help with the barroster
and to meet Mark and the team. On June fifteenth. Mark,
thank you very much and go get us some more players.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
Guys, super and listen.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
I'm telling you I love I'm so incredibly grateful for
the storytellers of these guys journey.
Speaker 6 (22:12):
And like I know that you guys.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
Are speaking to every person, every BBN faithful in every
barbershop and every bar around the state of Kentucky, around
the world, and I'm grateful for you guys telling their story.
It's super powerful, man, and it brings us all together.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
So grateful what you guys do.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Thank you, Mark, good luck to you. Appreciate you coming on,
Mark Pope, the new coach here at the University of Kentucky.
We will take a break and be right back. This
is KSR. Welcome back. Good stuff there. We just have
a second because I went very long so that we
could have him an we'll be of a second before
we have another break. He remembered you.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Well, I appreciate the k stafford that alerted him. But
they're going to ask you about some new fists on
the show. Just at I thought he did great. He
was awesome and the sort of behind the scenes. I
love that he said there's twenty nine names. That means
there are twenty nine names, like, you don't just come
up with the number twenty nine, right.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I love that he said he would let us do
a broadcast from the room. He won't, But I like
that he like that he noted that, and I just
he seems like such a genuine dude.
Speaker 8 (23:17):
He does have lots of fun. I like what interviews
don't feel like scripted answers. I mean, he's off the cup,
answered questions, and we gotta fix that damn wheel on
the whiteboard yet, fix the wheel.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Come on, we gotta fix the wheel. All right, we'll
take another break and then we'll be back for the
regular show. Okay, is on TJ Smith personal injury attorney
call TJ. He'll make them pay.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio present it by Stockton Mortgage.
Here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Welcome back Tekee Sports Radio. A couple things here real quick.
The KSR Golf Scramble, the Lexington one will go on
sale Wednesday, So those of you that like to play
in that and those of you that have never played, well,
that'll go on sale Wednesday, so keep that in mind.
The Lexington win the Louisville one will go in sale.
A couple of weeks later. This year, all of them
are in August. Normally the Lexington win's early, but I'm
(24:04):
leaving so that so they will all be in August.
The Lexington one will tell you more about, but it'll
go on sale on Wednesday. Back to the Pope thing
for a minute. I do love how eager excited he is.
I think you're gonna see you know, it's interesting. He said,
their head is down and they're kind of focused on
staff and players, and I think, you know, that's what
(24:26):
they need to do. Having a scheduling meeting tomorrow, I do.
I mean there's a lot that they've had to get
done so far.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Yeah, he's been going one hundred and thirty miles an
hour since he got the job. Yet you could still
hear the excitement in his voice. You know, he is
excited about what this program not just means to him,
but what he's building now. I think that's what's cool about.
Speaker 8 (24:43):
It of the basketball things, beyond just the personality excitement.
I love hearing about the names on the board and
then the part about leaving room for guys testing the waters.
He said, we're still talking to a lot of them,
So I mean there's names that I probably haven't even
been speculated around BBN that he's saying, or still out
there in the NBA process that might come back. And
those people have to be in the portal by May first.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
So by May first, you'll know everyone that can potentially transfer.
That's something different this year. It used to be that
some of those guys could wait and wait and wait. Yeah,
Now May first, Wednesday, Wednesday. If you're not in, you're not,
so you're gonna see some names I think go in
there of guys who maybe you even assumed were going
to the draft, who were just leaving that option open
(25:27):
for that. So May first a huge day.
Speaker 8 (25:30):
And if anyone out there is still panicking because so
and so committed here and so and so went there,
and the options are getting small.
Speaker 9 (25:36):
Twenty nine people, he said.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
We don't have to know everybody, and we clearly don't
know everybody. If there's half nine people, there's probably been
of the guys that are left, there's probably seven or
eight that have been connected to Kentucky. So just so
you know, that means about twenty people are on their
board that you haven't even you haven't even heard connected
to UK. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
So I love the phone call there in the middle
and you're like, hey.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
If you need to answer that, dude, Well no, I
mean if that was that was you know what he
said to his assistant, get that and tell him I'll
call him right back. That does mean that was an
important call through, and I just wanted him to know
he could take it if he needed to.
Speaker 6 (26:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (26:16):
I mean, we liked that he's on the show, but
we like that he's getting players more so the show
can wait.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
If that needed to be a commitment, yeah, Shannon, I
would we want to put him on hold if recruit
because of us, but getting it done. What was your
take on the whole thing, Shannon, you're a harsh critic.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
No, I thought he was great. I think he answered
everything perfectly. You can tell the excitement that he has
in his voice. I also love that he said he
had that digital layout of the players that they're targeting
and ask Big Blue Nation not to try to hack
into that. Probably shouldn't have said that, because you know
our fans now will.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
So I didn't know what he meant by that when
he said there was a Google what was he talking
about with the players.
Speaker 8 (26:51):
It's a Google doc, a doc is short for documents,
he said, a word different than doc. Uh kids called
docs these days on the internet. But uh, you know
a spreadsheet that's being passed around.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Okay, well, I can shut up. Who's up next.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Let's gonna keep you all hip, Thomas.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Thomas, go ahead, Thomas.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
Hey there, Matt. I'm super excited about Mark Pope and
hearing him talk.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
That was awesome.
Speaker 7 (27:20):
But I do have and I'm not even worried about
the roster, but I do have one. I don't know, hiccup.
Hold up. I'm kind of worried about the soul of
our state just because of all like the Mormon talk.
And I say Mormon because LDS is like a concentrated
PR campaign rebrand for them to attract Christians and.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
The like, stop stop stop. I appreciate it, Matt, they
have Mat. I appreciate the call. Let's who's up next?
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Ed?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Ed go ahead?
Speaker 6 (27:47):
Ed? Ed?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Hello? Ed? All right?
Speaker 10 (27:54):
No?
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Ed? Who's next? Rick? Rick? Go ahead? Rick? Hey guys
there you go doing good?
Speaker 6 (28:01):
Hey?
Speaker 11 (28:02):
Yeah, I just wanted to make a quick comment and
I got one question for you, Matt. I love the
way the team looks so far. I'm gonna start it
for next year. My question is me and my wife
came down to the bar and we entered in on
the Master's tournament. I was wanting to know if there's
an update about the winners.
Speaker 9 (28:19):
I'm weird.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
We have our new coach on and these are the
first two comments we get. The winners will be sent
out there. We're thirty eight of you, so it's taking
a little bit longer because Scottie Scheffler won, but you
will get it. I promise Monique's actually working on that
this week. But thank you.
Speaker 11 (28:35):
Okay, sorry, all.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Right, there you go. That's this is good. Two really good.
I mean, we just have our new coach on and
those are gonna be the first two calls. A five, nine,
two eighth, twenty two eighty seven. We have a couple
of open lines. Let's talk real quickly. UK football. UK
football got a massive commitment this week.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah they did.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
DJ Waller, a cornerback from Michigan, former four star was
from Youngstown, Ohio, played at Michigan, had a chance to
start at Mission this year, decided to come here. He
is transferring. He will be I think you can plug
him in as a starter moment one. Ryan, this was
a huge git at a position of neat.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, dude played in every game
last year for the team that I believe won the
national championships. So this is a player that's coming in
and a starter for sure.
Speaker 9 (29:19):
Huge git.
Speaker 8 (29:20):
I might have even had eyeballs on him Saturday night,
having a nice dinner and celebrating having fun UK football
locking one down. I know Vince was thrilled to get him,
just hey, because he's such a good player. And it's
another Youngstown connection too. I know they like keeping those,
but that's a huge git. Especially after losing England to
the Portal. That upset a few people.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yeah, I think it's that is they needed that position,
especially after losing the kid. The England kid ended up
going to pitt just like Devonshire did a year ago.
But now they have him. The running back Penny Boone
that we talked about is yet another kid who it
sounds like maybe the whole transcript issue is coming into
(30:00):
He was a transfer from Toledo. He went, He's been
to three different schools. He was at Louisville only this semester.
But the transferring of all that is making it to
where his credits I think are having trouble matching up
with the UK admission standards, and this continues to be
(30:20):
an issue that people don't think about. It's not that
they don't have grades. I want to be clear when
this is not people having grades or not. It's that,
like the admission standards are different. So for instance, if
you are majoring in a county, at some schools you
can take fifteen electives, at some schools you can only
(30:41):
take can take six, and the school admissions differences. I
think it's hurt us with the point guard from Utah
and is now hurting us with the running back from Toledo.
By the way, we're not the only school dealing with this.
Other schools are dealing with this too. And it's not
that UK admission standards are quote un quote harder. It's
(31:02):
just that they're different and because they're different, it's not
matching up and I it's gonna be unfortunate. It might
cost us two very quality players.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
And that's something I think a lot of people me included,
didn't see coming that when the transfer portal the credits
and things they have to transfer you to be able
to be eligible.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Now this is happening though all over the country. Yeah,
there's people posting about it in football and basketball. This
is happening all over the country. Colleges just have different
The big one apparently is how many courses you have
to have for your majors. You know at some school
and some schools like grading is different. It's just a
completely different situation.
Speaker 8 (31:40):
And this is hitting the guys that are just bouncing
around a lot. I mean, Penny Boon's looking for a
fourth school in four years. You went Maryland, Toledo, a
spring semester at Louisville, and now he's trying to get
to the fourth school. And some of these guys are learning.
It's you can't just bounce around like that. Eventually it
catches up to you. I mean, I can speak for
first hand experience. Madisonville Community College to UK. I had
a few I thought transfer and didn't had to retake
(32:01):
him up here. Exact same situation as him. You understand what.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
He's going You're exactly right.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
It's almost exactly walk him through it if he wants it.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Really is almost exactly the same. All right, who's next, ship, John? John?
Speaker 12 (32:14):
Go ahead, John, Hey, guys, Yeah, it's a breath of
fresh air to hear Mark Polp talking like he's running
a business and uh and when you ask him.
Speaker 10 (32:25):
A question, he answers the question and elaborates on it
and talks basketball and it's just a breath of fresh air.
I got a renewed excitement. I'm so excited about what
he's got of going. If he picks up two of
these three guys he's really looking at right now, we're
gonna be set on the.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
On that point. To me, this is the this is
the path to a really good team next year. Great awesome.
First of all, Jackson Robinson, to me, is the most important.
You gotta have a dude. I think he's a dude.
They gotta find a point guard. It could be the
Mahini kid that was here this weekend. I'm not sure
that's gonna happen. We'll see or someone else, and then
(33:05):
a wild card good player might be great ossib or
A lot of people think it will be Maybe it's
somebody else. And then I think you can fill in
with a couple of dudes who can shoot. I actually
think there's a lot of dudes out there that can shoot.
Kobe Braya would be the best, but there's a lot
of people that can shoot. Go get those, and then
I think you have a team, sir, that can be
(33:25):
really really good.
Speaker 10 (33:27):
What about Have you heard any scuttle butt on the
kid that transferred to South Carol or committed to South
Carolina but Calibery wasn't recruiting me trail Row.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Yeah, I have not heard anything about him. I appreciate
the call that. First of all, he signed a letter
of intent, so that's another thing. I have not heard
him connected to the UK. I think he I know
everybody in Harlan tells me he would come if UK
was interesting, but I have not heard Drew whether whether
they are or not.
Speaker 9 (33:56):
I've been earlier.
Speaker 8 (33:58):
I was staying up on top of that one quite
a bit once Pope got here, because I wanted it
to happen. I think maybe even Noah would have been
interested if Pope made that call. I just don't know
that it ever got to that point.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I'm not sure it did either. Tell me about Doctor.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Mortgage, Stockton Mortgage. You know, we just talked about a
house that may be up for sale fairly soon over
here on all barely soon, fairly soon on main Street.
If you're interested in that house. Stockton Mortgage can help you.
It's easy to apply. You can do it online Stockton
dot com and also Stockton Mortgage is a good.
Speaker 9 (34:25):
Place to work.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
So if you're thinking about making a career change, or
maybe you've got a background in in mortgages, give stock
To Mortgage a chance. You can apply online as well.
There's a little button that says start here Stockton Mortgage
n MLS A two five nine Equal Housing Lender.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
So I hit the start here.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Buttons, hit the start here.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
That's what you do.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
You hit that click that button on your Google doc.
I'll take you right to it.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
You don't even know what that is. We'll take a
break and be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.
Welcome back, Tukey Sports Radio A nine twenty two eighty seven.
Court Physical Therapy. If you it's baseball season, that means
spring is sprung. So get yourself and your body healthy
with Court Physical Therapy Kort dot com. Whether you like
to attend ballgames or just be healthy, Court Physical Therapists
(35:08):
therapists can help you do your thing and help you
get back to what you love. Shake off the winterweatherblues
at court dot com. That's Kort dot com. A couple
quick things. First of all, I do want to address
the phone call where the guy was saying the thing
about about Mormons. We now have not only a coach
(35:28):
that's a Mormon, We're gonna have players that are Mormons.
It's time. I know ninety eight percent of our fans
will do this, but for the other two percent, show
some respect.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Part of religious freedom and part of being in America
is that everyone gets to have their religious beliefs, but
also have some like decency and just respect people who
disagree with you. Mark Pope did not come on here
and you know proselytize, and neither is anybody else, But
we also owe it to him, and honestly, all the
people who live in the state of Kentucky in religions
(36:01):
that are not of the majority, to show them respect.
How somebody else shows their faith should have no bearing
on how you show yours. And just like you would
hope that people will show Christians respect, you should do
the same to other folks and more. And you know,
I'm not familiar with all the specifics of Mormonism, but
(36:22):
that stuff is unnecessary and wouldn't be tolerated about anybody else,
and we shouldn't tolerate it about the Mormon faith either,
So I just wanted to say that. I didn't want
to just ignore when the guy called and said that. Secondly,
on a different note, the UK football team had four
guys get drafted, three of them very early, so you
(36:44):
had Drew Phillips going the third round to the Giants.
He and Juan Dell, who used to be buddies that
train together, get reunited in New York. So that's very cool.
Did you like that?
Speaker 8 (36:55):
I did, And I love Drew Phillips. The emotion when
he got picked. I don't know if you all say
all that big old tiars happy tears coming down his face,
and asked him how excited he was and who he
wanted to guard this and that he actually said I'm
most excited to go against Wan Dell.
Speaker 9 (37:08):
So I love that connection.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
The Giants made a big deal about them being college teammates, etc.
Trevin Wallace goes to the Panthers, where most reports I
read said they think he'll play right away.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
A lot he impressed people, I think with his offseason
workouts and the NFL combines and things, So yeah, I
think he's got a chance to play.
Speaker 9 (37:25):
He's gonna play for that owner, though, I mean go
in and he.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Walks in, and he should walk in and take the
owner's hat off as soon as he walks in. Ray
Davis going to the Bills, I thought the emotion of
when he was picked. They showed him in his house
and he was crying. His story is amazing and he
gets to immediately be on a team that's a contender.
I mean, we'll be seeing Ray Davis on TV a lot.
He'll probably be the backup running back for a Bills
(37:50):
team that will be going trying to go and win
a Super Bowl.
Speaker 8 (37:53):
So happy where he landed. I just wish we had
more than one year with that guy. He was a
lot of fun, great personality and an outstanding football player.
We'll remember that Florida game forever and now we'll be
seeing him on Sundays.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
And then Devin Leary picked by the Baltimore Ravens. I
was reading some of the Baltimore stuff. They expect him
to make the team and be the third string quarterback
in his first year. I think a lot of Kentucky
fans are probably surprised. But in the workouts he was
kind of ranked as the tenth best quarterback the whole time.
Who would have first time in the history of the
(38:24):
NFL than in the Louisville and Kentucky quarterback are on
the same tea.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Is it really this kind of cool? He gets learned
from Lamar now and work.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
You know, we're very different they are. If Leary has
to come in, it ain't gonna be the same offense
that Lamar runs. I don't think Ryan no.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
I was happy for Devin Leary. I think we got
cheated a little bit the last season. I don't know
if he was completely healthy most of the season, but
I think he's a much better quarterback than what we saw.
Speaker 8 (38:48):
I hate the Baltimore Ravens, but it was a cool
connection there. T Martin is the quarterbacks coach, and when
they picked him, it was too who called him, and
I guess the owner whoever spoke first said T had
you circled as one of his sleepers in the drafts.
We're glad you got your nice even though T Martin's vall,
we had him for a little bit here, so.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
I hope it works out for him. I think a
combination of him being a little banged up and then
I just don't know that he and Liam ever completely
got on the same page on the system. Hopefully that
he'll find his rhythm at the next level. Who's up next, ship, Blake, Blake,
what's up, Blake?
Speaker 13 (39:20):
Hey, guys, I'm super excited to hear Coach Pope talk.
He is, uh, you know, he's rejuvenating the soul of
Big Blue Nation.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Right, He's he's energized.
Speaker 13 (39:33):
He's got a lot of hope, he's got a lot
of faith, he's got a lot of energy and hunger
for the like for doing the job.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
So it's it's fun to.
Speaker 13 (39:40):
See and you know, we can all get together a's
Big Blue Nation and be part of Mark Pope's Caturday Saints,
you know, not the Latter Day Saints. But I've got
one question about possible staff. So is there any scuttle
butt or anything about Rajon Rondo? Since he's at the school,
(40:01):
he's got a graduate.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
That could happen. I mean, that could happen. I haven't
heard that. I have not heard that, But I do
know when they were hired that their goal was to
try to have somebody that was involved in the col
Era as part of the team. I do not think,
I mean, Rondo was not part of the cal Era,
but he kinda like cal almost adopted him as part
(40:24):
of the cal Era. So maybe that's maybe that who
is is who it ends up being. I appreciate the
call we did. One piece of news we didn't make
is he basically said the fifth member of the staff
it may take a while before he does them because
he wants to see how things fit. That's interesting, Like,
so we may that pot, that spot may not may
stay open.
Speaker 6 (40:43):
For a while.
Speaker 8 (40:44):
I thought that was interesting about the last coach and
even the roster. He said, now that we have so
many bodies, we're going to take a pause and figure
out kind of what we need and what fits. We
said when we got to want to but uh, it's
not just we're gonna pile up whatever we can get.
We're gonna make sure all the pieces fit together.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
That is interesting. He did say when they got to
like ten or eleven, he would take a pause. So
that's probably where we're targeting. Uh here in the next
few weeks. Who's next, Alex, Alex, go ahead.
Speaker 14 (41:09):
Alex, Hey, Matt, just a couple of questions. So, with
the recruise that we currently have twenty four to seven sports,
has our transfer class rank is eight overall with a
thirty two overall class rank. Where do you think we
will land with the remaining targets that we have.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Do you get Osibor and you get Jackson Robinson will
either be we'll be in the top three in the
transfer rankings and I do and I think if that's
your your your team, you'll be top twenty five preseason.
Speaker 14 (41:39):
And then do you have any predictions of what you
think our starting lineup will.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Be this fall? Yeah? I need to wait and see
who we get. I mean, I I appreciate the call.
I mean, Jackson Robinson will start, Osibor will start. Beyond that,
let's see who we get. I think Carr had some
huge numbers. Carl start.
Speaker 8 (41:59):
I think that's a guy that's probably in his brain
he's starting.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Yeah, we'll see. I mean, I don't know though, because
I don't know what what will matter to Mark. But
this will be a this will be a year where
like ten guys will play.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
Wouldn't you say, yeah, those two guards we just got
the they're kind of similar in style, So I think.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
Yeah, I mean ten guys will play. Yeah, yeah, so
uh corpredthimp dot com. If you go to cornbredhimp dot com.
Promo code is KSR Full spectrum Flower only Himp CBD
gut meys come where corn bredhamp helps you, rest, helps
you relax. I slipped great this weekend thanks to cornbredthimp
dot com. Use a promo code KSR for thirty percent
(42:37):
off at corn Bred Heamp give me your staff.
Speaker 8 (42:39):
I was just gonna say, Car played against four SEC
teams last year, averaged like twenty two and nine, shoot
fifty percent from the field.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
That's wow.
Speaker 9 (42:46):
That's coming in expecting to play.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (42:48):
That is good.
Speaker 8 (42:49):
Now, it was against George Lsu Florida, but I mean
on the schedule we play all those teams.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Thank you all very much. Thanks to Mark Pope. We
are here all week here at KSPAR. This has been
Kentucky Sports Radio.
Looking for a mortgage bank to help you make your
next major mortgage move, whether it's a refi or home purchase,
regardless of whether it's your first one or one of many,
consider our friends at Stockton Mortgage, but don't just take
our word for it. Stockton Mortgage has over seventy thousand
five star reviews and counting, just like this review from Joshua,
who says this about.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
His experience with Stockton.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
They were super professional, always answered my questions I had,
and streamlined the process. I could not ask for better
people to help me and my family get our first house.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I feel blessed to be able to go through them.
Be like Joshua or.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
The sixty nine nine hundred ninety nine others just like him,
and get started with Stockton Mortgage today by going to
Stockton dot com and get started.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I've even used.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Stockton Mortgage myself on my own home loan.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
For your home loan needs, Stockton dot com and click
get started. Stockton Mortgage NMLS eight two five nine, Equal
Housing Lender NMLS, Consumer Access dot Org.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Welcome to our two of Kentucky Sports Radio present it
by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Welcome everyone, Kentucky Sports Radio. Here live at Chaos Bar
and Grill. We are now happy to be joined on
the phone by the new coach. Only two weeks into
the job may seem like longer. Mark Pope, Mark, congrats
and thank you for your first appearance here on KSR.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Matt, I'm hyped to be on man.
Speaker 6 (01:28):
Tons of love for you and Ryan and Drew and
the whole crew. Super great for what you guys do.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, thank you very much. First of all, you know
what I've heard you do some of your intro interviews,
so I won't repeat those questions. You mind if we
talk some of the details that fans I know are
interested in. You good with that.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Let's let's get in the weeds man. That's what thankes
Kentucky Basketball great.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I love it all right. Let's start with your staff.
You added, uh I think four of the five members
have been announced. Looks like a couple really I know
or focus for you on recruiting. We've got the Mark
Fox who I know, and then the Cody that you
brought from BYU. Tell people what you're what they're getting
in your staff.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
I love the staff so far. It's it's probably the
most eclectic staff I've had, for sure, and I think
guys that are not just bringing unique strengths and unique
dimensions to the staff, but also bringing them from from
wildly different categories. I think the breadth of what we
have on the staff has got me super excited.
Speaker 6 (02:30):
We've you know, we've actually.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
The four of us have only been together now for
I don't know, seventy two hours maybe all.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
Together in the same room.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
And so it's it's and and what's nice has been
We've been recruiting so hard that we're actually spending a
lot of time together in situations where it's just it's
just flowing conversation. And I dig it, man, I'm telling you.
I was in the room with with coach Fieger a
long time, long time I'm uh coaching partner with me,
(03:03):
and then Jason Hart, who you know we played together
with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Speaker 6 (03:07):
I've known it forever and love them.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
And watching those two personalities just like bounce off each other,
the room was electric and I'm just like this, and
I was sitting back and I'm like, yep, this is
exactly what this is supposed to be. Those are just
That's one example of just those guys making each other.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Better and I love it. So I dig the vibe. Man.
Right now, it's it's it's.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
Gotta be great, like our job is to be great.
And and in the early early early stages, I'm like,
there's some synergy here with these guys that's going to
be really, really special.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
It's interesting to say you gotta be great. One of
the things I've really liked is it feels like you've
embraced the call to This is Kentucky. It's another level
and I got to reach that. Am I right about that?
Speaker 6 (03:52):
Yes? I want to understand. I mean, this is this
is this is the job, this is the this is
the best job in college basketball.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
It's the most demanding job in college basketball. It's it's
the mecca of college basketball.
Speaker 6 (04:02):
There's nowhere like it. And with that comes this deal.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
It's like, hey, you either got to get the job
done or you're not. You know, there's no there's no
you know, there's no second place, guys. It's just the
reality of this job.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
I know full well what this is.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
I think I've shared this a couple of times.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
But.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
You know, twenty eight years ago, when I was walking
the whole length of the court to go shoot feet throws,
and the only thing that enter in my mind is
if I don't make these freet throws, I will never
be allowed to cross the state line into Kentucky again.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
Literally with fear for physical harm.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
That was the only fact going through my mind.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
I get it, like we say this all the time,
but we understand the assignment and we're embracing it, and
it's terrifying and that makes it beautiful. That's why this
place especially, and that's why we're just so related to
be here.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Let's talk roster. I know you there's some things you
can and can't talk about, so I'll just do a
big picture. You have, by my account, six guys now
in your roster for next year. How do you feel
about what you you have, how do you feel about
what you're what you're trying to get? You feel good
about these next couple of weeks? And do you expect
to fill up all thirteen slots?
Speaker 6 (05:10):
Yeah, so you're smarter than me.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
I'm I'm a to take those questions whether the time.
So I'm really excited about where we are today. I
think that it's it's a little bit the way I
feel about the staff.
Speaker 6 (05:25):
You know, this is really artistic.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I think putting together a staff and putting together a
roster have a similarity, and it's very artistic. It is
puzzle pieces, and with every new piece it kind of
changes the picture where you have to readjust the next
you know what you're looking for in the next piece,
and you don't have there's so many factors you don't
have control over. You don't have control over timing sometimes
about when a.
Speaker 6 (05:47):
Player is going to commit. You don't always have control
over you know, if.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
He's going to commit, and and so you know, on
our big board right now, we're actually working with twenty
nine guys that we've really really zeroed in on. And
every time somebody breaks a little bit in our direction
or maybe fades a little bit out of our direction.
As we do more research and more with consistance and
hear more information about guys and how they're built, it
(06:12):
doesn't just change the picture for that player, it changes
the picture for all twenty you know, almost thirty guys.
Speaker 6 (06:19):
And so I'm.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Elated with where we are right now. We got a
ton of work to do. We feel like we're really
close in a lot of areas. I feel like we're
spending an inordinate amount of time as a staff late night's,
early mornings, kind of like we just keep talking it through,
talking it through, talking through to make sure that we get.
Speaker 6 (06:40):
The right collection.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
And we're happy with where we are right now and
excited about the coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Do you think you'll fill up the entirety? Well? Use
will you use all thirteen scholarships?
Speaker 5 (06:52):
You know we're gonna see. So I'll give you an
example of the way that we work. So I knew
that we had to with this staff together really really fast, okay,
and I I kind of zeroed in on a short
list of guys and ended up with actually the four
guys that I was desperate to get.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
And then we're taking a little pause.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
I have some more people to add to this staff,
but I need to take a little pause right now
and just kind of see how our pieces are fitting together.
And and then we'll go light speed again. But this
like a surge of a pause where you just you
just get a chance to breathe it in and see
exactly where you are and once you need and and
so I imagine that as we get to that place, there
(07:34):
will be a lot of things that would come into
play for example.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
You know, you know, I don't know how fast we can.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Get to ten or eleven or twelve, but you know,
if we get there before this draft deadline, you know,
we definitely will take a pause just because we're gonna
leave some room open in case. You know, we're talking
to a bunch of guys that are in that category,
and so we're gonna have to We're gonna have to
leave a little bit of space, but we're not gonna
leave too much space because there's really talented players that
(08:00):
actually sit us and fit together now. And so that's
gonna probably our evaluation that is gonna change every day,
like our valuation and everything, because as you put pieces together,
it changes the.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Picture you you you've been.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
That, Matt, how about how about that?
Speaker 5 (08:15):
For like a two minute answer, They didn't really say anything.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
But that's actually that's actually really the truth.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
No, no, I believe that. I mean, you guys, I
was I'm fascinating to here you have twenty nine When
you say you have a big board, is it like
I see we had the NFL Draft this weekend. I mean,
do you kind of have okay, tier A, Tier B, TIERC.
I mean you don't have to. Does that kind of
how you look at it or is it just sort
of hodgepodge?
Speaker 6 (08:38):
Well, so we got two days.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
What we have a right now in my omics, I
have a giant whiteboard that we rolled in here. Unfortunately,
one of the wheels on the right on the whiteboard is.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Broken, and that's driving me crazy.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
Like my new EA, Megan Summers like she's elite level,
but if she can't get this wheel face, we're gonna
have a problem.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
We can't we can't roll the thing around.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Man, Yes, like we got I'm trying.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
So but we have another big board and we're making
I have a huge push to go digital as digital
as we can. And so we also have several series
of of Google Docs. Please please uh BBN, don't try
and break the code on our on our you know,
privately shared Google docs. We need to keep some of
(09:23):
this in house. I probably shouldn't even mention that there's
gonna be some.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Like, yeah, you shouldn't do that. It's just like coaching
bro screwed up and put your plane tail the other day.
You gotta be careful about that stuff.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
So we gotta you know, we'll figure all that out.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
But so but it is, and it's actually you know,
we have you know, five different colors and and several
different markings, uh, you know, and it looks more like
a cloud than it does a roster charge in terms
of what we're doing on board. But it's just because
this is a very artistic, organic process.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
That's the way. That's the way we operate.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
Like, I think teams are a beautiful thing, man, because
they're living and they're dynamic, and they they kind of
it's it's it's it's.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
Like a living organism. And so.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
If you walked in and you sat with us and
heard us talk to you and feel like, wow, this
seat seems really messy, but as you get through the mess, man,
something really beautiful comes out of it.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
All right, let me go through some kind of quicker questions.
I get asked a lot you're scheduling. You mentioned you'd
like to play Saint John's. Rick Patino then said, yes,
are we playing Saint John's next year?
Speaker 5 (10:33):
Yeah, So we're actually having a scheduling meeting tomorrow. In fact,
if you guys want to, you know, we can bring
you in live.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
We'll just do the whole low. Okay, Okay, I think
people would enjoy that.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
No, So Coach Fox's Coach foxes where right now we're
in treas mode, which is just.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
So guys, you know, I love the idea of startup companies.
I actually love it. I love the of like being in.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
The infant stage of building because you never get to sleep.
There's there's nine billion things on the list and you
only get to like three of them.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
And so we're in.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Treeas right now about like our prioritis of this staff
and this roster, and so a lot of super important
things have been pushed to like three and four, and
those two things are so critical and cruse right now
that the other stuff is just gonna have to wait.
Speaker 6 (11:26):
Even though it deserves attention right now.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
It's just we got to keep focused on the most
important things being the most important thing. So we're gonna
have our first real scheduling meeting tomorrow. I don't know
if we'll make con decisions. I've actually talked to Coach
p and he trust me. He knows his business better anybody.
He has a good idea of like what we're going
through right now, and so I think that would be
super fun for Big Blue Nations. I think it'd be
(11:52):
really fun for Saint John's. It would be really incredibly
special to me and and and so that's something we're
gonna work on.
Speaker 6 (11:59):
But we'll make progress.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
You know, this roster staff first, we'll get the scheduling
here in the in the coming weeks.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Let me ask you about when in terms of in
the future. You know, we Kentucky over the last few
years gotten a ton of of of highlycounted freshmen starting.
I know this year that's tougher because where you're coming in,
But is your plan on the next few years? Are
you going after the top tier freshman? I mean, I
know you want guys that fit your system, but do
you still plan on going after those elite top ten
(12:28):
to fifteen kind of guys?
Speaker 6 (12:32):
This is this is the University of Kentucky, right.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
That is a massively important component of building.
Speaker 6 (12:41):
Uh, I mean, come on, Kentucky is Kentucky of being
not building but being.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
What Kentucky is is having the most talented players in
the world, the most talented high school players in the
world come be a part of this. So that will
always be a very important staple. It was important for
Jobe Hall, it was for Rick Patino, it was important
for for you know is every coach to come through
it clear it was really important for cal Cal Actually,
(13:07):
you know, Cal redefined the process of being to do
that in his incredible constribution to the University of Kentucky.
Speaker 6 (13:13):
And so that's a that's a huge part of what
we'll do.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
And the portal is also, you know, we're we're also
in a brand new era. Guys, like the portal and
n i L rules are different this.
Speaker 6 (13:25):
Year than they were last year.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It is a.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Brand new era and so so you know, we're really
fortunate to be at the University of Kentuck.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
I'll never get tired of saying that, gentlemen at the
University of Kentucky.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
As this new era comes also, and that adds a
whole new dimension to to this. This this incredible stew
that you that you did, you contact of putting together
a great roster, and so that's gonna be a huge piece.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Also, do you let's talk in i L. Obviously that's
a huge thing now maybe one of the biggest things
in getting players. Do you feel like Kentucky as of
today is in a place to be able to compete
with every program in the country From an Nile perspective, The.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Short answer is yes.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
The longer answer is is we are growing, and we
need to grow desperately fast. Nile is a massive and
massively important part of the landscape of college athletics, and
certainly at Kentucky basketball, it is. It is massively important.
It's going to be one of the factors. It's going
to be one of the foundational factors in whether we
(14:41):
can hang banners or not. That there's no two ways
about it, guys, There's no way to get around that.
And so it's wildly important. We are in a in
a solid spot right now. We know that we need
to grow and grow really fast. The beautiful thing about
Kentucky is that we have some really really really significant
capable donors, uh that are that are making a big
(15:06):
difference in what we do. But what we have that
no one else in the country has is we have
big Blue nation, man and and and if we can
find the right ways to harness the ownership that this
state and big blue nation around the world has of
this team, uh, then we're going to be just fighting
and uh and that's my job. That's my job is
(15:26):
I have to you know, I have to galvanize this
entire fan base to jump behind.
Speaker 6 (15:30):
This, and and and.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
And it's it's not just ownership in in word or
or or idea, but it's actually ownership in terms of
participation also.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
And that's how we're gonna roll.
Speaker 7 (15:41):
Man.
Speaker 6 (15:41):
That's why this place is special. That's why it makes
us different than everyone else.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Well, let me help you with that. There's the you
I think are doing an event if I'm correct, where
people who are part of Club Blue, the Club Blue
NI L think can meet you. Am I right about that?
Speaker 6 (15:58):
Yeah? So and this is uh, you know, it's like
it's like.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
A if you need to get that. If that's somebody important,
I understand, if there's a player on.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
That line, I'm actually I'm actually my assistant gravitics right here.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
You telling them, I'm calling my back.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Okay, now listen, if that's important, Mark, We'll wait. I
don't want you to miss out.
Speaker 6 (16:19):
No, No, we're gonna be. We'll be. We'll be absolutely fine.
We can have this right now.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
This is actually what we're talking about right now.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
Hey, what we're talking about right now is probably the
most important thing. Okay, listen, Club Blue is real, Like
this Club Blue is is this is the.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Focal point of our whole nil life right now. We
have some amazing people that are that are helping to
UH TO to run this. It is a there is
no overhead with this program. It is one hundred percent
of the money goes exactly where we wanted to go.
And so we're holding our first UH kind of meet
(16:58):
the team event. It's gonna be June fifteenth. There will
be details. We're hoping that we're gonna almost have a
completed roster by then. We should be done, if not completed,
and it'll be our first kind of opportunity to spend
time with the team. And so we're making a push
right now for as many people in Big Blue Nation
(17:19):
that can join Club Blue. You will make a very
tangible direct impact on this program. And so the event's
going to be June fifteenth. Anyone who subscribes to Club
Blue before May fifteenth is.
Speaker 6 (17:33):
Going to be invited.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
I'm hoping that Ruff is too small actually to hold
this group of people. I hoping we have to move
into the football stadium. That would be my goal, or
or maybe team then maybe we do it on the fairgrounds.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
You know, I'm hoping it has to be that big
a venue. But if you people how to do it?
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Mark, Yeah, Club Blue INIL, Club Blueenile dot com. If
you have to subscribe by May fifteenth, there'll be a
meet and greet with Mark, the players, giveaways, et cetera.
If you subscribe by May fifteenth, the event is June fifteenth,
Mark and they will meet Club Blue and IL. Is
that correct, Matt?
Speaker 5 (18:11):
You said that way better than I was. That's exactly right.
Club Blue Nil.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
Just go on join Club Blue.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
There's one hundred different options, but be a part of this.
This is our team, like that's what makes it special.
I hope everybody jumps on, let's do this together.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah. I don't remember ever them doing an event, Like
there was one event where they had the practice, but
I don't think I've ever seen a meet and greet
with the basketball program. So that will be June fifteenth.
Do you remember Mark in nineteen ninety seven you worked
with w L e X. You obviously mentioned Cutler at
the press conference. Do you remember Ryan Lemon, who's sitting
here next to me.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Come about Ryan is a legend?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
Are you? Like? Guys, what are we talking about? So
I'm just hoping.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
I'm just hoping that Ryan has forgot some of this
totally stupid stuff did on that truth?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
No, I haven't.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
You have not forgotten?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
No, no, no, no, not at all.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
Ryan.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Unfortunately for me, like like every good reporter, I have
a follow up question.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Go for it. Okay.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
My first question, Mark, it's kind of the serious question.
I just got to know one thing. Can you tell
me who's in the house tonight?
Speaker 6 (19:18):
UK? There we go.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
My second question, Well, I've said for twenty eight years,
my most favorite moment covering the Cats has nothing to
do with that, but on the court, it's when that
bus rolled into Rupperena in ninety six and a lot
of memories and a lot of talk, and since you
got the job's been pointing back to that era. Can
you just talk about that special moment and what has
your ninety six group chat been like since you got
(19:42):
the job?
Speaker 6 (19:43):
Yep, So.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
It's uh, yeah, guys, I mean listen, there's those nont
works and the fact that we got to run it
back with it, I think even a bigger you know,
I think there were more people actually seen it on
the court than there were when it came back and
and ninety six there's just no words. It's just you know,
I've said this a lot since then about the press
(20:06):
conference about driving back in into the building twenty eight
years later, that that that deal at Rupp had.
Speaker 6 (20:13):
Really nothing to do with me.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
That had to do with Big Blue Nation coming in
that building and look at each other and putting putting
arms around each other and sharing love with each other,
saying we're still here, man, and this is real. And
and that again is like that is you know, people
are going to try and recreate that, People going to
try and mimic that, but that that just is that's
unique to that's unique to Kentucky. And and so I
(20:37):
feel all the you know, I feel all of.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
The beauty of that.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
And the fact that I got to be a part
of that and share that with everybody in BBM was
super cool.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
That was a special day, by the way, just a
couple of weeks ago. I hope, I mean, I hope
you realize. I know you do, Mark, but I hope
you felt that that day and rup I mean, along
with like the national Championship in twenty twelve, that's as
special a day as I can remember. I hope you were.
I hope you felt that.
Speaker 6 (21:02):
Yeah, I definitely did.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
And you also feel the burden of responsibility, right, and
you also feel that you also It's interesting because you
feel the burden of responsibility, but you also feel like
we are not in this alone. I mean, I don't
know if anybody gets to walk into the job and
feel like I think, you know, you usually walk in
the job and feel like the.
Speaker 6 (21:19):
Whole world's are your soldiers, which we feel here.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
But i also feel like I'm looking around the room
and I'm like, there's twenty two thousand people, and there's
all my guys from ninety six, and all the guys
from ninety eight, and all the guys from twenty twelve,
and all the guys in between them, before and after,
and all these fans, like all of us, all of
us together.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Are living and dying by every moment.
Speaker 5 (21:38):
That is so guys, I'm telling you, it's just it's
a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Well, we want to have you in here so that
we can talk to you for a longer session, but
we knew you were busy. Thank you for making the time.
I'm sure we'll get to talk to you again very soon.
Club Blue Nil to get to help with the barroster
and to meet Mark and the team. On June fifteenth. Mark,
thank you very much and go get us some more players.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
Guys, super and listen.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
I'm telling you I love I'm so incredibly grateful for
the storytellers of these guys journey.
Speaker 6 (22:12):
And like I know that you guys.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
Are speaking to every person, every BBN faithful in every
barbershop and every bar around the state of Kentucky, around
the world, and I'm grateful for you guys telling their story.
It's super powerful, man, and it brings us all together.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
So grateful what you guys do.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Thank you, Mark, good luck to you. Appreciate you coming on,
Mark Pope, the new coach here at the University of Kentucky.
We will take a break and be right back. This
is KSR. Welcome back. Good stuff there. We just have
a second because I went very long so that we
could have him an we'll be of a second before
we have another break. He remembered you.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Well, I appreciate the k stafford that alerted him. But
they're going to ask you about some new fists on
the show. Just at I thought he did great. He
was awesome and the sort of behind the scenes. I
love that he said there's twenty nine names. That means
there are twenty nine names, like, you don't just come
up with the number twenty nine, right.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I love that he said he would let us do
a broadcast from the room. He won't, But I like
that he like that he noted that, and I just
he seems like such a genuine dude.
Speaker 8 (23:17):
He does have lots of fun. I like what interviews
don't feel like scripted answers. I mean, he's off the cup,
answered questions, and we gotta fix that damn wheel on
the whiteboard yet, fix the wheel.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Come on, we gotta fix the wheel. All right, we'll
take another break and then we'll be back for the
regular show. Okay, is on TJ Smith personal injury attorney
call TJ. He'll make them pay.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio present it by Stockton Mortgage.
Here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Welcome back Tekee Sports Radio. A couple things here real quick.
The KSR Golf Scramble, the Lexington one will go on
sale Wednesday, So those of you that like to play
in that and those of you that have never played, well,
that'll go on sale Wednesday, so keep that in mind.
The Lexington win the Louisville one will go in sale.
A couple of weeks later. This year, all of them
are in August. Normally the Lexington win's early, but I'm
(24:04):
leaving so that so they will all be in August.
The Lexington one will tell you more about, but it'll
go on sale on Wednesday. Back to the Pope thing
for a minute. I do love how eager excited he is.
I think you're gonna see you know, it's interesting. He said,
their head is down and they're kind of focused on
staff and players, and I think, you know, that's what
(24:26):
they need to do. Having a scheduling meeting tomorrow, I do.
I mean there's a lot that they've had to get
done so far.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Yeah, he's been going one hundred and thirty miles an
hour since he got the job. Yet you could still
hear the excitement in his voice. You know, he is
excited about what this program not just means to him,
but what he's building now. I think that's what's cool about.
Speaker 8 (24:43):
It of the basketball things, beyond just the personality excitement.
I love hearing about the names on the board and
then the part about leaving room for guys testing the waters.
He said, we're still talking to a lot of them,
So I mean there's names that I probably haven't even
been speculated around BBN that he's saying, or still out
there in the NBA process that might come back. And
those people have to be in the portal by May first.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
So by May first, you'll know everyone that can potentially transfer.
That's something different this year. It used to be that
some of those guys could wait and wait and wait. Yeah,
Now May first, Wednesday, Wednesday. If you're not in, you're not,
so you're gonna see some names I think go in
there of guys who maybe you even assumed were going
to the draft, who were just leaving that option open
(25:27):
for that. So May first a huge day.
Speaker 8 (25:30):
And if anyone out there is still panicking because so
and so committed here and so and so went there,
and the options are getting small.
Speaker 9 (25:36):
Twenty nine people, he said.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
We don't have to know everybody, and we clearly don't
know everybody. If there's half nine people, there's probably been
of the guys that are left, there's probably seven or
eight that have been connected to Kentucky. So just so
you know, that means about twenty people are on their
board that you haven't even you haven't even heard connected
to UK. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
So I love the phone call there in the middle
and you're like, hey.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
If you need to answer that, dude, Well no, I
mean if that was that was you know what he
said to his assistant, get that and tell him I'll
call him right back. That does mean that was an
important call through, and I just wanted him to know
he could take it if he needed to.
Speaker 6 (26:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (26:16):
I mean, we liked that he's on the show, but
we like that he's getting players more so the show
can wait.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
If that needed to be a commitment, yeah, Shannon, I
would we want to put him on hold if recruit
because of us, but getting it done. What was your
take on the whole thing, Shannon, you're a harsh critic.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
No, I thought he was great. I think he answered
everything perfectly. You can tell the excitement that he has
in his voice. I also love that he said he
had that digital layout of the players that they're targeting
and ask Big Blue Nation not to try to hack
into that. Probably shouldn't have said that, because you know
our fans now will.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
So I didn't know what he meant by that when
he said there was a Google what was he talking
about with the players.
Speaker 8 (26:51):
It's a Google doc, a doc is short for documents,
he said, a word different than doc. Uh kids called
docs these days on the internet. But uh, you know
a spreadsheet that's being passed around.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Okay, well, I can shut up. Who's up next.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Let's gonna keep you all hip, Thomas.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Thomas, go ahead, Thomas.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
Hey there, Matt. I'm super excited about Mark Pope and
hearing him talk.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
That was awesome.
Speaker 7 (27:20):
But I do have and I'm not even worried about
the roster, but I do have one. I don't know, hiccup.
Hold up. I'm kind of worried about the soul of
our state just because of all like the Mormon talk.
And I say Mormon because LDS is like a concentrated
PR campaign rebrand for them to attract Christians and.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
The like, stop stop stop. I appreciate it, Matt, they
have Mat. I appreciate the call. Let's who's up next?
Speaker 6 (27:45):
Ed?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Ed go ahead?
Speaker 6 (27:47):
Ed? Ed?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Hello? Ed? All right?
Speaker 10 (27:54):
No?
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Ed? Who's next? Rick? Rick? Go ahead? Rick? Hey guys
there you go doing good?
Speaker 6 (28:01):
Hey?
Speaker 11 (28:02):
Yeah, I just wanted to make a quick comment and
I got one question for you, Matt. I love the
way the team looks so far. I'm gonna start it
for next year. My question is me and my wife
came down to the bar and we entered in on
the Master's tournament. I was wanting to know if there's
an update about the winners.
Speaker 9 (28:19):
I'm weird.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
We have our new coach on and these are the
first two comments we get. The winners will be sent
out there. We're thirty eight of you, so it's taking
a little bit longer because Scottie Scheffler won, but you
will get it. I promise Monique's actually working on that
this week. But thank you.
Speaker 11 (28:35):
Okay, sorry, all.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Right, there you go. That's this is good. Two really good.
I mean, we just have our new coach on and
those are gonna be the first two calls. A five, nine,
two eighth, twenty two eighty seven. We have a couple
of open lines. Let's talk real quickly. UK football. UK
football got a massive commitment this week.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah they did.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
DJ Waller, a cornerback from Michigan, former four star was
from Youngstown, Ohio, played at Michigan, had a chance to
start at Mission this year, decided to come here. He
is transferring. He will be I think you can plug
him in as a starter moment one. Ryan, this was
a huge git at a position of neat.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, dude played in every game
last year for the team that I believe won the
national championships. So this is a player that's coming in
and a starter for sure.
Speaker 9 (29:19):
Huge git.
Speaker 8 (29:20):
I might have even had eyeballs on him Saturday night,
having a nice dinner and celebrating having fun UK football
locking one down. I know Vince was thrilled to get him,
just hey, because he's such a good player. And it's
another Youngstown connection too. I know they like keeping those,
but that's a huge git. Especially after losing England to
the Portal. That upset a few people.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yeah, I think it's that is they needed that position,
especially after losing the kid. The England kid ended up
going to pitt just like Devonshire did a year ago.
But now they have him. The running back Penny Boone
that we talked about is yet another kid who it
sounds like maybe the whole transcript issue is coming into
(30:00):
He was a transfer from Toledo. He went, He's been
to three different schools. He was at Louisville only this semester.
But the transferring of all that is making it to
where his credits I think are having trouble matching up
with the UK admission standards, and this continues to be
(30:20):
an issue that people don't think about. It's not that
they don't have grades. I want to be clear when
this is not people having grades or not. It's that,
like the admission standards are different. So for instance, if
you are majoring in a county, at some schools you
can take fifteen electives, at some schools you can only
(30:41):
take can take six, and the school admissions differences. I
think it's hurt us with the point guard from Utah
and is now hurting us with the running back from Toledo.
By the way, we're not the only school dealing with this.
Other schools are dealing with this too. And it's not
that UK admission standards are quote un quote harder. It's
(31:02):
just that they're different and because they're different, it's not
matching up and I it's gonna be unfortunate. It might
cost us two very quality players.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
And that's something I think a lot of people me included,
didn't see coming that when the transfer portal the credits
and things they have to transfer you to be able
to be eligible.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Now this is happening though all over the country. Yeah,
there's people posting about it in football and basketball. This
is happening all over the country. Colleges just have different
The big one apparently is how many courses you have
to have for your majors. You know at some school
and some schools like grading is different. It's just a
completely different situation.
Speaker 8 (31:40):
And this is hitting the guys that are just bouncing
around a lot. I mean, Penny Boon's looking for a
fourth school in four years. You went Maryland, Toledo, a
spring semester at Louisville, and now he's trying to get
to the fourth school. And some of these guys are learning.
It's you can't just bounce around like that. Eventually it
catches up to you. I mean, I can speak for
first hand experience. Madisonville Community College to UK. I had
a few I thought transfer and didn't had to retake
(32:01):
him up here. Exact same situation as him. You understand what.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
He's going You're exactly right.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
It's almost exactly walk him through it if he wants it.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Really is almost exactly the same. All right, who's next, ship, John? John?
Speaker 12 (32:14):
Go ahead, John, Hey, guys, Yeah, it's a breath of
fresh air to hear Mark Polp talking like he's running
a business and uh and when you ask him.
Speaker 10 (32:25):
A question, he answers the question and elaborates on it
and talks basketball and it's just a breath of fresh air.
I got a renewed excitement. I'm so excited about what
he's got of going. If he picks up two of
these three guys he's really looking at right now, we're
gonna be set on the.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
On that point. To me, this is the this is
the path to a really good team next year. Great awesome.
First of all, Jackson Robinson, to me, is the most important.
You gotta have a dude. I think he's a dude.
They gotta find a point guard. It could be the
Mahini kid that was here this weekend. I'm not sure
that's gonna happen. We'll see or someone else, and then
(33:05):
a wild card good player might be great ossib or
A lot of people think it will be Maybe it's
somebody else. And then I think you can fill in
with a couple of dudes who can shoot. I actually
think there's a lot of dudes out there that can shoot.
Kobe Braya would be the best, but there's a lot
of people that can shoot. Go get those, and then
I think you have a team, sir, that can be
(33:25):
really really good.
Speaker 10 (33:27):
What about Have you heard any scuttle butt on the
kid that transferred to South Carol or committed to South
Carolina but Calibery wasn't recruiting me trail Row.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Yeah, I have not heard anything about him. I appreciate
the call that. First of all, he signed a letter
of intent, so that's another thing. I have not heard
him connected to the UK. I think he I know
everybody in Harlan tells me he would come if UK
was interesting, but I have not heard Drew whether whether
they are or not.
Speaker 9 (33:56):
I've been earlier.
Speaker 8 (33:58):
I was staying up on top of that one quite
a bit once Pope got here, because I wanted it
to happen. I think maybe even Noah would have been
interested if Pope made that call. I just don't know
that it ever got to that point.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I'm not sure it did either. Tell me about Doctor.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Mortgage, Stockton Mortgage. You know, we just talked about a
house that may be up for sale fairly soon over
here on all barely soon, fairly soon on main Street.
If you're interested in that house. Stockton Mortgage can help you.
It's easy to apply. You can do it online Stockton
dot com and also Stockton Mortgage is a good.
Speaker 9 (34:25):
Place to work.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
So if you're thinking about making a career change, or
maybe you've got a background in in mortgages, give stock
To Mortgage a chance. You can apply online as well.
There's a little button that says start here Stockton Mortgage
n MLS A two five nine Equal Housing Lender.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
So I hit the start here.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Buttons, hit the start here.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
That's what you do.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
You hit that click that button on your Google doc.
I'll take you right to it.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
You don't even know what that is. We'll take a
break and be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.
Welcome back, Tukey Sports Radio A nine twenty two eighty seven.
Court Physical Therapy. If you it's baseball season, that means
spring is sprung. So get yourself and your body healthy
with Court Physical Therapy Kort dot com. Whether you like
to attend ballgames or just be healthy, Court Physical Therapists
(35:08):
therapists can help you do your thing and help you
get back to what you love. Shake off the winterweatherblues
at court dot com. That's Kort dot com. A couple
quick things. First of all, I do want to address
the phone call where the guy was saying the thing
about about Mormons. We now have not only a coach
(35:28):
that's a Mormon, We're gonna have players that are Mormons.
It's time. I know ninety eight percent of our fans
will do this, but for the other two percent, show
some respect.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Part of religious freedom and part of being in America
is that everyone gets to have their religious beliefs, but
also have some like decency and just respect people who
disagree with you. Mark Pope did not come on here
and you know proselytize, and neither is anybody else, But
we also owe it to him, and honestly, all the
people who live in the state of Kentucky in religions
(36:01):
that are not of the majority, to show them respect.
How somebody else shows their faith should have no bearing
on how you show yours. And just like you would
hope that people will show Christians respect, you should do
the same to other folks and more. And you know,
I'm not familiar with all the specifics of Mormonism, but
(36:22):
that stuff is unnecessary and wouldn't be tolerated about anybody else,
and we shouldn't tolerate it about the Mormon faith either,
So I just wanted to say that. I didn't want
to just ignore when the guy called and said that. Secondly,
on a different note, the UK football team had four
guys get drafted, three of them very early, so you
(36:44):
had Drew Phillips going the third round to the Giants.
He and Juan Dell, who used to be buddies that
train together, get reunited in New York. So that's very cool.
Did you like that?
Speaker 8 (36:55):
I did, And I love Drew Phillips. The emotion when
he got picked. I don't know if you all say
all that big old tiars happy tears coming down his face,
and asked him how excited he was and who he
wanted to guard this and that he actually said I'm
most excited to go against Wan Dell.
Speaker 9 (37:08):
So I love that connection.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
The Giants made a big deal about them being college teammates, etc.
Trevin Wallace goes to the Panthers, where most reports I
read said they think he'll play right away.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
A lot he impressed people, I think with his offseason
workouts and the NFL combines and things, So yeah, I
think he's got a chance to play.
Speaker 9 (37:25):
He's gonna play for that owner, though, I mean go
in and he.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Walks in, and he should walk in and take the
owner's hat off as soon as he walks in. Ray
Davis going to the Bills, I thought the emotion of
when he was picked. They showed him in his house
and he was crying. His story is amazing and he
gets to immediately be on a team that's a contender.
I mean, we'll be seeing Ray Davis on TV a lot.
He'll probably be the backup running back for a Bills
(37:50):
team that will be going trying to go and win
a Super Bowl.
Speaker 8 (37:53):
So happy where he landed. I just wish we had
more than one year with that guy. He was a
lot of fun, great personality and an outstanding football player.
We'll remember that Florida game forever and now we'll be
seeing him on Sundays.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
And then Devin Leary picked by the Baltimore Ravens. I
was reading some of the Baltimore stuff. They expect him
to make the team and be the third string quarterback
in his first year. I think a lot of Kentucky
fans are probably surprised. But in the workouts he was
kind of ranked as the tenth best quarterback the whole time.
Who would have first time in the history of the
(38:24):
NFL than in the Louisville and Kentucky quarterback are on
the same tea.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Is it really this kind of cool? He gets learned
from Lamar now and work.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
You know, we're very different they are. If Leary has
to come in, it ain't gonna be the same offense
that Lamar runs. I don't think Ryan no.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
I was happy for Devin Leary. I think we got
cheated a little bit the last season. I don't know
if he was completely healthy most of the season, but
I think he's a much better quarterback than what we saw.
Speaker 8 (38:48):
I hate the Baltimore Ravens, but it was a cool
connection there. T Martin is the quarterbacks coach, and when
they picked him, it was too who called him, and
I guess the owner whoever spoke first said T had
you circled as one of his sleepers in the drafts.
We're glad you got your nice even though T Martin's vall,
we had him for a little bit here, so.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
I hope it works out for him. I think a
combination of him being a little banged up and then
I just don't know that he and Liam ever completely
got on the same page on the system. Hopefully that
he'll find his rhythm at the next level. Who's up next, ship, Blake, Blake,
what's up, Blake?
Speaker 13 (39:20):
Hey, guys, I'm super excited to hear Coach Pope talk.
He is, uh, you know, he's rejuvenating the soul of
Big Blue Nation.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Right, He's he's energized.
Speaker 13 (39:33):
He's got a lot of hope, he's got a lot
of faith, he's got a lot of energy and hunger
for the like for doing the job.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
So it's it's fun to.
Speaker 13 (39:40):
See and you know, we can all get together a's
Big Blue Nation and be part of Mark Pope's Caturday Saints,
you know, not the Latter Day Saints. But I've got
one question about possible staff. So is there any scuttle
butt or anything about Rajon Rondo? Since he's at the school,
(40:01):
he's got a graduate.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
That could happen. I mean, that could happen. I haven't
heard that. I have not heard that, But I do
know when they were hired that their goal was to
try to have somebody that was involved in the col
Era as part of the team. I do not think,
I mean, Rondo was not part of the cal Era,
but he kinda like cal almost adopted him as part
(40:24):
of the cal Era. So maybe that's maybe that who
is is who it ends up being. I appreciate the
call we did. One piece of news we didn't make
is he basically said the fifth member of the staff
it may take a while before he does them because
he wants to see how things fit. That's interesting, Like,
so we may that pot, that spot may not may
stay open.
Speaker 6 (40:43):
For a while.
Speaker 8 (40:44):
I thought that was interesting about the last coach and
even the roster. He said, now that we have so
many bodies, we're going to take a pause and figure
out kind of what we need and what fits. We
said when we got to want to but uh, it's
not just we're gonna pile up whatever we can get.
We're gonna make sure all the pieces fit together.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
That is interesting. He did say when they got to
like ten or eleven, he would take a pause. So
that's probably where we're targeting. Uh here in the next
few weeks. Who's next, Alex, Alex, go ahead.
Speaker 14 (41:09):
Alex, Hey, Matt, just a couple of questions. So, with
the recruise that we currently have twenty four to seven sports,
has our transfer class rank is eight overall with a
thirty two overall class rank. Where do you think we
will land with the remaining targets that we have.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Do you get Osibor and you get Jackson Robinson will
either be we'll be in the top three in the
transfer rankings and I do and I think if that's
your your your team, you'll be top twenty five preseason.
Speaker 14 (41:39):
And then do you have any predictions of what you
think our starting lineup will.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Be this fall? Yeah? I need to wait and see
who we get. I mean, I I appreciate the call.
I mean, Jackson Robinson will start, Osibor will start. Beyond that,
let's see who we get. I think Carr had some
huge numbers. Carl start.
Speaker 8 (41:59):
I think that's a guy that's probably in his brain
he's starting.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Yeah, we'll see. I mean, I don't know though, because
I don't know what what will matter to Mark. But
this will be a this will be a year where
like ten guys will play.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
Wouldn't you say, yeah, those two guards we just got
the they're kind of similar in style, So I think.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
Yeah, I mean ten guys will play. Yeah, yeah, so
uh corpredthimp dot com. If you go to cornbredhimp dot com.
Promo code is KSR Full spectrum Flower only Himp CBD
gut meys come where corn bredhamp helps you, rest, helps
you relax. I slipped great this weekend thanks to cornbredthimp
dot com. Use a promo code KSR for thirty percent
(42:37):
off at corn Bred Heamp give me your staff.
Speaker 8 (42:39):
I was just gonna say, Car played against four SEC
teams last year, averaged like twenty two and nine, shoot
fifty percent from the field.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
That's wow.
Speaker 9 (42:46):
That's coming in expecting to play.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (42:48):
That is good.
Speaker 8 (42:49):
Now, it was against George Lsu Florida, but I mean
on the schedule we play all those teams.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Thank you all very much. Thanks to Mark Pope. We
are here all week here at KSPAR. This has been
Kentucky Sports Radio.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.