June 14, 2024 • 41 mins
Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith from Source Say Podcast take over to talk UK Basketball and shark attacks.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington. Welcomes David Lucas June sixth
through the eighth, Then catch Josh Blue June twentieth through
the twenty second, and don't miss Rocky Dale Davis June
twenty eighth and twenty ninth. Comedy Off Broadway opened in
downtown Lexington in nineteen eighty seven, and they're still bringing
the best in stand up comedy to the area thirty
(00:20):
seven years later. Call E five nine two seven to
one joke or visit Comedy Off Broadway dot com com
Off Broadway.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now
here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Welcome in to Kentucky Sports Radio. It is Friday, June fourteenth.
It is also the Sources a podcast Takeover Day KOSRS
Jack Pilgrim in the Big Chair joined by Sean Smith
of Frederick Douglas Basketball and Go Big Blue Country. Sean,
how the heck are you?
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I am fantastic, Jack Pilgrim. It's always a joy to
do this with you. And this is our third time
guest hosting Kentucky Sports Radio and.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
We talked about it before we had layups. The last
couple of shows. We had Davion Mintz returning, announcing his
return the day before. The first time we did it
last year it was Pete Jam. You know, practices were
already underway. It was very easy to kind of navigate those.
But this time, you know, when we scheduled this, we
didn't think that, you know, we didn't know what the
(01:19):
College World Series schedule was gonna be, didn't know that
a historic run was about to go be underway. That
starts today for the folks out in Omaha. Kentucky starts Saturday,
but the other games start today, So we're kind of
in the middle of a whole bunch of stuff. I
am coming off of vacation. We got some stuff to
talk about with that. That's going to kind of start
the show. But until then, source say takeover on KSR
(01:41):
sponsored by t J Smith, LOFs you called d TJ.
He will make them pay. We'll also be looking for
the Don Franklin Call today Kentucky branded tweet of the day.
Then we will have the Whiskey Thief Song of the Day,
and also give us a call on the Clark's Pumping
Shot phone line eight five nine two eight ho two
two eight seven or give us a text on the
A Vision line, and that's with Ryan. So I don't
(02:02):
even know what that would do, but you know you
have that number if you want to go ahead and
do that. We got plenty to talk about UK basketball
Heavy Show today. We will have special guests Andrew Carr
coming on at eleven forty. We're very excited about that.
Kentucky baseball gets rolling in Omaha. We got jello shots
to talk about all of the fun stuff. So obviously
we're gonna start this thing by talking about shark attacks,
because why not.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yeah, it's definitely a topic of conversation right now nationally.
And I know you just returned from the coast, so
you didn't get anything with a shark. There was no attack,
So I'm glad you're all together here.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Well I wasn't, but unfortunately some other people down the
shore from me weren't. So I was down with a
couple couple friends from high school. You know, we've been
friends for a long time, and we decided to go
on like a little family vacation. My first trip with
little man or eight month old, taking him to the
beach for the first time, playing the sand, all that nonsense,
and so We're just kind of you know, drinking, having
(02:59):
a good time, soaking away in the in the ocean.
Little man gets kind of restless. We take him up
for his afternoon nap, and my buddy, who was still
down in the water, comes rushing up and goes, dude,
you will have you no idea what just happened down there.
The lifeguards just ran across the shore and said, you guys,
get me to get the heck out of the water.
(03:21):
There were two shark attacks right down the shore, like
a mile away from where we were. So I was
just blissfully ignorant, just floating in the water like four
or five drinks and just couldn't not a single care
in the world, not having any idea that like, actual
shark attacks were a mile down down the beach from
where we were. Unfortunately, it was pretty graphic, and you know,
(03:46):
people lost limbs and there's one teenager that lost two
thirds of her blood ended up surviving. It was, you know,
glad that everything worked out, you know, no no deaths,
but it brought you know, it kind of led to
the questions of, okay, if you were in a position
to where you were in the line of fire for
a shark attack? How would you respond, shan because the
(04:09):
rest of that vacation, of course, it was like day
two when we got down there, so we kind of
spent the rest of the vacation going do you get
in the water? Do you like, how do you respond
from that? Would you be the type of person to
fight off the shark? Would you be the type of
person to just freeze up and just let that sucker
go ham on you? Or do you like rush back
to this, Like what would your response be in that circumstance,
(04:32):
because that's that's what consumed the rest of my vacation.
The rest of the time.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Well, it's funny because I actually saw a TikTok yesterday
that was talking about how to survive a shark attack,
and it said to look at in the eye.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
That seems a little impossible.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Right, It's like an intimidation tack.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
But like it's a sneak attack, right, you have no
idea that's coming. Am I just gonna have my head
underwater the entire time looking for sharks? No, but I
would punch it. Definitely wouldn't punch it in the mouth though,
because that's that's risky. But trying to poke its eyes
for sure. They said, that's a sense.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Of bopping the news, like, do you square up with
a shark? How does how does that work?
Speaker 5 (05:04):
I'd tackle it, I would, I would drag it to the.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Coach like happy feel more taken on the gator. I
feel like that would be what every you know, you
think in your head, that's how it would unfold. Man,
I could beat the heck out of a shark. You
gotta think that you could, you know, not like a
great one, but like a little bull shark or hammer
head shark, you know, something manageable. I feel like I
(05:28):
feel like I could beat up a shark. I don't know.
Maybe maybe I'm just eating it. Maybe I'm just.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
From that point the adrenaline's rushing, you know, it becomes
a it's a living or dying situation.
Speaker 6 (05:37):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
The worst thing's ever happened to me at the beach
is I got a school of jellyfish that swim across
my arm. And I don't know even I don't even
know if this is true. But they tell you to
like pour urine on it. I don't know if you
can pour urin on a shark attack though, so.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So so the question I will be asking callers throughout
the show, I need a percentage chance you're you're utmost confident,
as optimistic as you could be your chances of surviving
a shark attack. I gotta know, are you Are you
gonna be one of those guy one hundred percent chance
I'm fighting that thing off and I'm winning that battle.
Are you? Are you one of those people that say
(06:16):
zero percent chance I'm gonna freeze up and you know
it is what it is at that point? Or are
you just not even gonna be in the water to
begin with? Are you, you know, have the shark attacks
taking over the country and that have you know? Is
that gonna push you away from the water? I want
to hear from you eight five nine two eight zho
two two eight seven. Make sure you get those those
calls in. We are very excited to hear from each
and every one of you. But we know that's not
(06:38):
why you guys came here. I mean, it's why we
came here, but it's not why you guys are here.
You guys want to hear about Kentucky basketball. You want
to hear about the latest with Kentucky baseball. That was
obviously something that was thrown into our lap. Very convenient.
We were very very happy. Just an unbelievable run for
Nick Minjeon and in the squad like Sean, just for
them to get to this point knowing what was at
stake two years ago and at the hottest of seats,
(07:01):
imaginable there. I mean, it wasn't a hot take to
say that, you know, probably time to part ways for
him to respond and get to this point where they're
in Omaha making history. I can't think of a cooler
turnaround success story than that.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Oh, it's yeah, amazing, right, Like, because that program just
a couple of years ago, you wondered where it was
going to go. You build a brand new stadium, you
invest in baseball, they weren't getting the results, had a
really really good first year here, been trying to get
back to that ever since. But that regional a year
ago kind of built the momentum for this one. And
we're talking about not getting layups on the show. We've
(07:40):
got a program competing to win a national championship in June.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
That's a layup and on that note, third highest odds
to win the whole thing, Like it's history because it's
the first time in program history that they were able
to do that. But they're not going there to just
you know, for a participation Trophyyy, we made it. Congrats,
Let's just you know, build a statue back in Lexington.
Now they're they're still you know, the main thing is
(08:07):
the main thing in Omaha. They're still going to win
a national championship. This isn't just for a participation trophy.
They're going to win the whole thing. If you're gonna
if you're gonna make history, you're gonna go do this.
Why not go bring home the hardware on Oha. So
they're the third highest odds right now, behind Tennessee and
Texas A and M, which you know it's gonna be
an ACC versus SEC battle the entire way in Omaha.
(08:29):
But man I, it feels like the magic is there
for this team. It feels like their year everything has
come together with the roster, with the chemistry, the anticks,
all the fun stuff. It feels like this is the
team of destiny.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Well and and a lot of it was the lineup, right.
We knew that this team could you know, could produce
on that side of it, but it was the pitching.
The pitching in that regional, the pitching in the Super
Regional like getting them to that point and now you've
got some confidence there, like this is a team that
can do it? Or are we destined for Kentucky Tennessee?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Like is is.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
That something that gaus look this this rivalry that these
two fan bases where we talk about it in football,
we talk about it in basketball, we here and there
in baseball, but not like competing for a national championship.
That would probably be the ultimate Kentucky Tennessee battle for sure.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
I can't wait. So it starts today. You got North
Carolina taking on Virginia starting at two pm on ESPN.
That we have Tennessee Florida State in game two at
seven pm on ESPN, and then on Saturday, Kentucky gets
things rolling against NC State two pm on ESPNU. We'll
see what happens. To me, it's gonna be a blast.
We are very very excited for a shout out to
(09:38):
the Nick Minjeon and in the back Cats having an
absolute blast. Also while while they're out in Omaha, it's
become the coolest like unique fan tradition to be at
Rockos and win the jell O shot War and can BBN.
There was kind of this narrative going in that because
this was Kentucky's first time out there, that they weren't
(10:01):
going to show out, Like this is basketball school, football school.
They travel for those sports. But BBN, of course is
not going to travel all the way out to Omaha
and participate in you know what is the third sport
for UK athletics. Obviously, you know, could couldn't imagine doing that.
And of the jell o shot war to start with,
Kentucky takes an overwhelming lead, ends up settling in third
(10:24):
place to close out the night. But for all of
the talk about how BBN wasn't going to show out,
it's almost like a dare How fair? You know, if
BBN has dared to do something, it doesn't matter what
it is, They're going to show out and show up.
And it's really cool that they're in the competition for,
you know, something that seems as dumb as just a
jello shot challenge out in Omaha, but they're there, they're competing.
(10:47):
I hope that translates to an excellent fan turn out
of these games.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Yeah, jello shots in baseball in June, you know, in
Omaha doesn't sound like too bad of a time, So no,
I would fully expect Kentucky fans to show up, and
I'm interested to see what that crowd looks like out there.
I mean, it's the first time this program's got to
take that journey. This fan base they backed their programs. Man,
we saw it when the volleyball team won a national
championship a few years ago, like that's there's going to
(11:11):
be a really good environment out there and a lot
of blue and the stands for sure.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
And I think it helps as well. Nick Minngeon being
there before twenty thirteen as the runner up in Mississippi
State on that staff, so he's seen this. He knows
what it, you know, the pressure in the you know,
pouring everything into this event. You like having a guy
that even though none of the players have been there,
it's kind of a new fresh experience for them for
(11:35):
the guy running the ship to say, settle in, embrace
the moment. He had a great quote, I said, I
just remember coming here and thinking about there's so a
lot of things going on, rightfully, so this is the
mecca of college baseball. I just remember reflecting and taking
talking to some of the folks that have been here
since then about how to try to stay focused on
the task at hand. It's a very similar message to
(11:56):
our teams. You'll be pulled in a lot of different directions,
but we have to keep the main thing the main thing.
This team has done a great job job of that
all year, but to be able to stay focused on
the task at hand, that is to bring Kentucky its
first ever college baseball national championship. So I like it.
The vibes are immaculate. I can't wait. You have the
right guy leading the charge, somebody who's been there, that
(12:17):
knows the pressure that goes into this.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Is Kentucky the national team right now that you think
has kind of taken over? Like if you're not a
fan of any of the teams in Omaha, is Kentucky
the team that maybe the nation's following?
Speaker 5 (12:27):
I know never would happen in basketball.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And that's what Miggeones said, Like he said, if you
guys don't have a rooting interest right now, why would
you not want to pick the team that hasn't been there?
That's the you know, kind of cinderella story of the season.
Because I mean it's not like they're the Cinderella of
the postseason, because they've been arguably the best team in
baseball all season long, So they it's a season long
(12:51):
Cinderella story of just kind of everything coming together at
the right time. It's a team of destiny. Why would
you not if you are a casual baseball fan living
out in Omaha in the area, it's such a national
fan event where you don't have to be a team
specific fan. You can just be a fan of sports
and want to show up because it's the College World Series,
(13:12):
it's a you know, historic annual moment. Why would you
not want to pick Kentucky this team to be your
rooting interest. Nick Minjeon is very outspoken about that, saying,
if you want to pick somebody to root for, if
you want to go eat a bunch of jello shots
with a rooting interest of a specific school, make sure
it's our school.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
And I mean like Nick Minjeon is doing an excellent
job promoting this program every single time he takes the mic.
Been doing the same thing since they got out there.
But a lot of those folks in that area and
it's the same as the NCAA tournament. The locals turn out,
and there's gonna be a lot of locals there and
if Kentucky can win a couple of games and keep
advancing the way Minjeon speaks on the mic man, some
(13:54):
of those people in that area, they're going to be
Kentucky fans by then of the weekend and going to
the next week.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Well, we certainly are here back in Lexington. Were gonna
be rooting for the Batcats on all week. Excited to
follow along very closely. Excited to hear from you guys
today eight five nine two a two two eight seven.
It's gonna be an absolute blast. We want to hear
from you. What are your thoughts on shark attacks? Could
you survive? What is your percentage chance? What are your
thoughts on UK baseball out in Omaha? But our specialty?
(14:18):
What we you know? We hope you guys are coming
here for UK basketball. We'll talk about rotations, roster, thirteenth scholarship,
the latest and greatest, with all that stuff. We can't
wait to hear from you. A five nine two a
oh two two eight seven. We're coming up on our
first break. We will see you in a second. Well
come back, it does these sources say takeover day here
on KSR Gifts called eight five nine two eight oh
(14:40):
two two eight seven. Jack Pilgrim here with Sean Smith. Sean,
it took all of one segment for us to get
our Kentucky branded, tweet to Day. Jordan Cooley says Cal
was almost a victim of a shark attack. The team
tried to warn him and he responded he hadn't seen him.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
And you left at that as you're reading it the
first time too, well.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
So in my mind, as I'm reading it, in my head,
I'm thinking, okay, well, we've been to the Bahamas several times.
There have been opportunities for the team to be around water,
you know, the the you know, ocean excursion and all
that stuff over the years. So as I'm reading and
I'm like, oh wow, is that a story that I
missed over the years. And like I'm reading and reading
(15:20):
and reading, and like at the very end, I'm like, dang,
I got got I got the punch lot hit me.
So well done on that one. You get our Kentucky
brandt tweeted to Day, Sean, let's get rolling with the
Kentucky basketball roster talk. Why hopefully you guys are tuning
in right now. Jackson Robinson. The latest edition number twelve,
(15:40):
the one that we all kind of been waiting for,
the one that tied it all together with a nice,
little beautiful bow that you felt good going into that.
The eleven man group up to that point was good,
but it was missing something. You were just waiting for
that one guy that had the system familiarity, the guy
that you could lean on to you hit the big
(16:02):
shot or go get you a bucket when necessary, just
the gap filler. You were waiting for that one final
piece to really start dreaming big about this roster. You
could see the vision going into it, but to dream big,
I think you needed Jackson Robinson. What does that edition
mean for Mark Pope and what he's trying to accomplish
in your.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
One Well, you mentioned that he's number twelve, but when
all this first happened, we probably thought he was number two,
right behind Travis Parry. We knew Travis Parry was going
to stay in the fold, but it took a while
to get there. But you and I took it through
the spring and we talked with each piece that was
added to this roster. There was a vision of what
the need was, and he was the need. I mean,
you're talking about a guy that scored twenty five points
(16:43):
in an NCAA tournament game, like you need that on
your roster. Ninety percent free throw shooter a year ago
can cash in there. I'm interested to see what the
role is going to be rotation wise, with him coming
off the bench last year at BYU.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Is that just a role that.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Maybe Pope kind of pencil pencils him into here because
he's already done that. But then again, being the one
guy that has played for Pope, played for the staff,
done the things offensively, probably going to have to lean
on him early. That's the biggest thing with this is
they have somebody that's gone through the fire in the
system that has done it, had success in it. Don't
have that with the other pieces. So I thought that
(17:17):
was the most important thing about it.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
And he had such a difficult decision to make. And
Mark Pope went on a kind of a TV media
tour yesterday where he talked openly about Jackson Robinson with
a couple different people and just said that Jackson, you know,
he could have stayed in the draft. He was going
to get drafted. But you can't come back specifically to
(17:41):
say I'm a first round pick like you you want
to have a guy that comes back with the right
intention with the I also want to come back because
I have one season left. Why not do it at Kentucky?
You know, do it for the right reasons, not selfishly
just wanting to only put yourself in position to be
a first round pick. And Mark Pope talked about that
with a couple of people, saying that that was a
(18:02):
really important part of this and that's what was so
refreshing about the process that once it became clear that, Okay,
I'm withdrawing from the draft, Kentucky's my spot. There wasn't
a long drawn out bidding war. There wasn't a who
is going to promise me the most shots? Who is
going to put me in position to be a you know,
potential first round pick. I'm somewhere in the second round
(18:23):
right now. Who is going to be the one team
that's going to put me in position to be a
first rounder? Those conversations never it never even got to
that point. It was a quick and concise I know
BYU is offering me a bag. I know Kansas is
flirting and you know, wanting to get in there, but
I know exactly what I'm gonna get with Mark Pope,
that familiarity is just so important, as you said, somebody
(18:45):
you can lean on early and often as everybody else
kind of figures out the you know, the the uncharted
waters for them.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Yeah, for Pope, it's a lot of new faces, right.
But we talked about this off spring with the way
that he pieced this roster together, and it is very strategic.
And I even, well, you and I were talking to somebody,
a parent of a player, and they were even using
the word strategic of how this roster was pieced together.
So when you look at it with Jackson Robinson, you
got all these other guys that the thing when you
(19:14):
pulled apart, Hope has went after guys in the landed,
guys that he not recruit against, but played against, had
to scout day in and day out in the Big twelve.
These are guys that have had success against them, and
he's saying, Okay, you've had success against me. Now I've
got respect for you. Now let's do it together. But
Jackson Robinson is a guy that he's actually had success
with having that to start the season. When you're playing Duke,
(19:37):
you're playing somebody early, somebody that you can lean on
and play a lot of minutes through and maybe go
to offensively while everybody else kind of figures it out
and maybe like, look all these veterans coming in, jack
they still got to figure out their role in this program.
They've got a role in college basketball. They've played ninety
seven one hundred games, some of them started ninety nine games.
Kurk cursive, What is their role at Kentucky? Is it
(19:59):
going to change? Yes, it has to for some of
these guys. While you figure that out, You've got Jackson
Robinson in the system who has had success in it.
That's a massive starting point for Kentucky, and.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
You touched on it a little bit, Jackson being the
seventh super senior that Pope has added. You don't want
to have this revolving door of one and done's on
the other end. I know everybody kind of talked focus
on the one and done with cal but we're gonna
have seven to one and dones with this upcoming roster.
But that was the way for a quick fix. The
(20:31):
easiest way to win right away is by getting as
old as possible guys that have been an instabay tournament,
who has scored twenty five points in a tournament game.
That was the path for an immediate rebuild where you
can dream big about the championship expectation that Mark Pope
has talked about ad nauseum. How important is that for
the seven super seniors to get those guys locked up
(20:52):
with a nice, little complimentary mix of guys with multiple
years of eligibility.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Well, we've talked about this a lot that he's got
a window here. You're coming into a situation where you're
in a roster is in I mean, you're starting over
like you're used to doing that at Kentucky, but not
to this extreme, like this is Super seniors starting over.
And you said mixing in some freshmen and some other
guys that you find value in that could have multiple
years in this program. But when you look at it, though,
(21:17):
Jack there Kentucky basketball, it's it's not forgiving. So there's
gonna be some fire when you're losing games. Even though
he's an alum, even though he's won a national championship here,
there's going to be some fire if he loses a
couple of games early. People aren't going to be like, ah, man,
we'll wait till next year. There's there's an understanding here
that he's building something, but you also want to have
(21:38):
the best chance to win right away at Kentucky, and
he's done that. Like this gives Kentucky the best chance
to have success in your one loading up on super seniors,
figuring it out. He's got guys that have made big
shots in NCAA tournament games. He's also got a couple
of guys that in this system that I think can
pop and go to another level. And if that happens,
I think Kentucky can outperform some of the preseason expectations
(21:59):
that they have.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Yeah, we're gonna talk a little bit about Mark Pope
embracing those championship expectations saying yes, they're terrifying.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
We know that.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
You know, he comes out, it comes off the bus
in front of a packed Reparna crowd. It would have
been so easy for him to just say, guys, I
know you guys are ravenous, I know you guys are hungry,
but this is gonna be you know, we're starting a
brand new culture. I got to establish myself. I got
to build the culture, and he threw all of that
(22:29):
in the dumpster. I mean, he could have taken the
easy way out and immediately walked in and said, you
know what, screw all that. I want you guys to
demand the most success imaginable from day one. We'll talk
about a little a little bit about that. Right after this,
we'll talk about what Mark Pope is going to do
with that thirteenth scholarship spot. Right after that we will
see them. TJ. Smith, personal injury attorney, called TJ. He'll
(22:52):
make them pay.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
Here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
We'll come back source to say take over day. Jack
Pilgrim here with Sean Smith, give us call eight five
nine two to eight oho two two eight seven. We
are talking batcats, we are talking Kentucky basketball. We are
talking shark attacks. You do not want to. I don't
even know which one which one of those topics I
like the most. I'm hoping that we get some good
feedback on that. And although I didn't make a mistake,
(23:22):
somebody tweeted at me in DRC tweeted you said earlier
that none of the UK players had World Series experience,
daily transfer from Texas and played in the World Series.
I was more so like the general idea of the leader,
having the experience and kind of you know, leading the
charge with a lot of guys who have and I
know it's a veteran led team that that's how they
got to this point by coming together at the right time.
(23:44):
And you know, but you just like to have the
the guy leading the charge, you know, capable of you know,
rallying the troops and doing what he's been able to
do up to this point. So I know there are
specific guys that have been here, but the big Pictures
speaking talked a little bit about the thirteen roster spot
you have twelve. There's a lot of debate about how
(24:06):
you would want to use this this this last spot,
you know, Pope and initially called it a floating piece
where you know, we could take a guy who's you know,
gonna be a five year red shirt piece where you know,
you you take a project on and say, we know
you are not going to contribute year one. We know
it's probably gonna be a two, three, four year process
(24:27):
before you finally find your groove and hopefully, you know,
rocket into superstardom that's the goal. Or you could take
you know, an international piece that's what you know. Cody
figuer Kind of hinted at that, saying, you never know
which European prospect is going to become available in August.
As we saw last season with Big Z, those opportunities
(24:47):
always kind of come out later on in the summer.
Reclass possibilities are very you know, peach gam is kind
of a sweet spot for a lot of those guys
that basically decide, you know, I don't have a lot
to gain by another year school, why not just make
the jump. You get into that tricky situation of do
you take a guy who just wants to be force
fed with shots in minutes knowing that he's the thirteenth
(25:09):
scholarship piece. So it's a tricky position to be in,
and I understand why Pope wants to kind of be
patient with it. What is your take on that, and
I'll give a quote that Pope kind of talked about
what his plan is as of right now.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
I think the pressure is off thirteen because of what
they were able to do one through twelve and Jackson
Robinson being the twelfth. I think it takes a ton
of pressure off what you do with this last one
because you don't really feel pressed to have to do
anything that to impact this current team. It can be,
as you said, for a future piece. It could be
for a guy that maybe could possibly play his way
(25:43):
into a role here, but you don't really have to
have that need. So I think that everything that they've
done has been so strategic. And that's the word that
I'm going to keep using. I've used it off spring,
I'll continue to use it all Summer. Number thirteen is
going to be in the same form, same model. Whoever
gets added, it's to be for a reason. It's not
just to add somebody. They're going to be very intentional
with who they take for that thirteen scholarship. I just
(26:06):
like that we're using thirteen scholarships. Take advantage of all
of them. You got them, use them. And with this
one though, you can kind of have a holding pattern
because you've got what you need. If you can add
to that and get some back and help, great, If not,
you get somebody that's a reclass or something for the future,
a guy that you can build and grow in your program.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
Do that too.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
So I think Kentucky's in a unique spot here, but
it's a comfortable position for Pope to be in with.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
This, And he said yesterday told BBN tonight, we have
one scholarship floating out there, and we'll see whatever happens
is going to be a little bit creative and it's
going to fit really, really well. Will Riley is the
one that you know, in the short term, immediate one
that we're keeping an eye on. Takes an official visit
to Kentucky seen as a kind of neck and neck
(26:51):
race with Illinois in the Wildcats, Orlando Antigua leading the
charge there. He loved Will Riley at Kentucky and just
kind of continued where he left off going back to Illinois,
a you know, clearer role for him as a superstar.
If he does have dreams of reclassing up, he would
be draft eligible in twenty twenty five. So it would
(27:12):
make sense for a guy like Will Riley to you know,
go somewhere where he will have a bigger role and
get the shots to become, you know, the lottery pick
that he hopes to become. That's where things get tricky
for Pope is what is the what is his priority?
Do you take a surefire lottery pick and say, man,
that's just going to elevate our ceiling, Why the heck
(27:35):
would we not take take a risk on that, or
do you take maybe a guy who you know that
wants to reclass but is going to be a multi year,
you know, two year guy. That's the tricky part. I
think that, you know, I would like adding Will Riley,
but I also understand the concern there of maybe not
messing up what's already working really really well.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
With his group.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Yeah, because you've already got guys that are you know,
we know we're going to play, you know, in this roster.
Speaker 5 (28:02):
What does that do?
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Does it disrupt the rhythm of what you've already pieced
together and some of that camaraderie And I think they
would figure it out if that's the way Kentucky goes.
But hey, this is the unknown that we have right
now with Mark Pope right load it up on transfer portal.
Didn't really get to touch on high school recruiting since
he's been here. This is the first swing at that,
and that's what we're waiting to see. Can he recruit
and land elite high school talent and how does he
(28:24):
blend that with transfer portal and guys that grow in
your program and kind of you're able to retain there.
So who's the first big splash for Mark Pope. Does
he make a splash with number thirteen or is this
kind of just another strategic way that you try to
add to what you've got or maybe somebody that can
build and grow inside of this program, because Jack, I
(28:46):
think that that's something that you're going to see that's
different moving forward. You're going to be able to touch
all areas of roster construction. Now it's not going to
be top heavy with guys that are going to be
out the door after one year.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
You're going to get some NBA talent.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
You're going to get really good trans for players from
the portal, but you're also going to be able to
get bodies that you can retain and grow in your program.
And I think if you can touch all three of
those areas, and I think you've got a really good program.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
I kind of separated into three different tiers. It was
so important for Pope to land Colin Chandler a for
continuity of that guy wants to play for me and
he's following me. That was the first, you know, and
he was a top thirty recruited, but that was a
I can land high school talent that you know, people
I'm a wanted commodity as a coach. That was an
(29:30):
important first get. Jackson Robinson I think was the next
tiered guy of Okay, that's that's your big fish in
the transfer portal. You had Kobe Brea, you added some
other key pieces, but Jackson Robinson was the anchoring piece
that you really really needed to get again for system
familiarity and continuity, those things were important. But you're still
(29:50):
missing that blue chip high school you know, and I
think the staff knows that talking to some people around
the program, that's what they're They're navigating those waters right
now with this thre teenth spot because they do love
this twelve man group so much that they don't want
to add a polarizing personality to muck all that up.
You can't afford the one bad egg to kind of
(30:12):
mess everything out in the one bad apple to mess
everything else up. So but you also know how important
it is to land your first big fish at the
high school level. Will Riley would be that guy. We
got our first top ten guy. We're Kentucky Basketball. Let's
keep rolling. You know, we're not going to just recruit
the top ten players in every single class moving forward
like Cal did. But I can still land dudes that
(30:33):
fit my system, that that is a super important, tricky,
touchy thing that he has to deal with, and that
you know that I understand the hesitancy there. And that's
why even if you'd miss on Will Riley he goes
to Illinois. I think that's why you wait till after
Peach GMC if there's a guy, you know, that's why
I just keep coming back to Jasper Johnson where he
(30:53):
is emerging as the guy in twenty five, but he
has somebody work to do and needs to had some
weight and kind of figure himself out. What is he
going to get with another year of high school that
he can't get with the UK strength and conditioning program,
knowing that he's on a two year path. You know,
I don't do I think that's likely. No, but that
(31:14):
type of vision of you know that he could be
on a two year path or that you know, finding
something similar with the international international path.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
And that's the creativity that you know we talked about
that Pope said there you can get creative with what
you do with this last spot. So it's interesting to see,
but look, roster one for Pope at Kentucky's going to
look different than roster two, three and four because he
had to do what anything just to kind of be
able to compete right away there. They didn't have the
(31:42):
blue chip talent that was available when he got this job.
All those guys were taken, they were already signed and
going somewhere else. He loaded up with some really really
good college basketball players, got in state talent, and then
let's see what the blueprint is following year one. Your
one is about what are we doing on.
Speaker 5 (31:59):
The floor here?
Speaker 4 (32:00):
Are we establishing a system and a culture and what
we want at Kentucky? And I think that that's being
done now.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
Starting to get the callers in. Let's go to the
Clark's Pumping Shop phone line. We have Seth on the line. Hi,
what's going on? Seth?
Speaker 6 (32:14):
Hey, not too much. This was my questions kind of
from your guys to show the other day with your
bench press, what kind of shark would be your max press.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I appreciate the call, Seth for the new listeners that
are unfamiliar. We got a little hectic on the draft
decision deadline show where we were waiting for Jackson Robinson's
decision that never came, so we you know, up through
midnight up through one AM one point thirty or whatever.
(32:51):
We got really really really really really ridiculous there at
the very end, and we ended up playing rock paper scissors.
One of the any ridiculous dumb topics that we had were,
you know, talking about whether or not we could bench
press Pat Kelcey and how many of Pat Kelcey's we
could we could bench press, talked about his height and
weight and just kind of you know, measuring that. So uh,
(33:13):
a really ridiculous nonsense topic, but it does beg the question, seank,
could could you bench press a shark? And what what
shark would that be? Would it be a baby.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Shark, a dwarf of lantern shark?
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Did you google google the smallest sharks?
Speaker 5 (33:28):
So a dwarf lantern shark is smaller than a human hand?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Oh you could? You could? You could use that as
a dumbell.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Yeah, like Pat Kelsey is that is.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
That our shark equivalent of Pat Kelsey?
Speaker 5 (33:41):
That's our shark equivalent of Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
I just don't know what the like the weight ratio
is of like how much Google for me? How much?
Is it a bull shark?
Speaker 6 (33:51):
Way?
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Because I feel like that's gonna be something ridiculous four
you know, five hundred pounds can't do that obviously, just
but I need something scalable.
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Here between two hundred and five hundred pounds.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Oh well, I mean, all right, the grips.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
What's going to get you though?
Speaker 6 (34:06):
Right?
Speaker 5 (34:06):
What are you gripping? Are you going inside the mouth?
Speaker 3 (34:09):
And that'd be a really cool photo like.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
Beat her last one?
Speaker 3 (34:13):
Probably, yeah, man, that'd be that's that would be you.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
You get you get attacked by the shark, but then
you come out car and get over your shoulders like.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Like a Greek god or something like Aquaman coming out
of the water. Oh gosh, Well, so much for keeping
this thing on the rails because we're already very off. Great,
great call, they're they're I appreciate that, seth. I want
I want to go back a little bit. Mark Pope
also talked about his championship demands and knowing just how
(34:44):
scary they are and I want to, you know, see
what you think about just kind of the approach Sean
and if you know, he if it's a right one.
He gets off the bus as we talked about to
start the show, says our assignment is to go win
banners in the final four win national championships. That's our job.
And then he followed it up after getting the twelve
man group that we see today, says, if you know Kentucky,
(35:07):
you don't really have an option. This is Kentucky. Bass, Well,
you can try to go out there and moderate expectations,
but that's not going to be accepted by anybody. If
you want to moderate expectations, don't take the job at
the University of Kentucky. There's one thing that's expected here,
and that's that one thing will seal your tenure as
a coach here and as a player here. That expectation
is to go win a championship. So he said, it's
(35:28):
terrifying for sure, and it's daunting, and it's humbling because
you understand how hard it is. I'm not naive to understanding.
So he knows that it's probably a, you know, a
dumb thing to say that we're gon we're gonna go
win a national championship in year one. But in my opinion,
that's the approach you got have because I would rather
a guy who will swing until he falls down dead
(35:53):
versus somebody who kind of takes the cushioned approach and says, well, let's,
you know, let's take this one step at a time.
Let's try to build this culture first before we can
kind of take this in three, four or five years.
I'd rather a guy, you know, try to get to
the finish line and die trying, versus somebody who didn't
give it, give it his best shot at all.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
Yeah, shoot for the moon, catch a star approach, right,
like you you never know what you get. So I
like that he isn't shying away from the expectations. My
favorite thing about Mark Pope so far, though, has been
the way he talks about Kentucky.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
It's we, it's us, And.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
It's different though, right because like when it was Cal
and other coaches, it was BBN, it was Kentucky fans,
and I get it, Like those guys didn't have Kentucky.
They weren't Kentucky before they got here. Mark Pope is Kentucky.
He is Kentucky basketball. He's gone through the fire plane here.
He's been Kentucky his entire career, his entire coaching career,
(36:53):
his entire playing career. He's been Kentucky. So I think
him saying we and us, he's not just talking about
this current team. He's talking about all this And I
think that's a really cool approach, and that's a genuine
thing that's just coming out of his mouth. That's not
something that he's strategically doing. He's he's saying, this is
all us, this is all Kentucky basketball. We're in this together.
(37:13):
And I think that that approach is kind of bringing
we know, Jack that everybody is supporting Kentucky basketball. Even
through the frustration of John Calipari's tenure closing there the
last four or five years, people still wanted Kentucky to win.
At the core of it. You were a Kentucky fan,
you wanted them to have success. But it feels like
this has been a two month process of just bringing
(37:34):
everybody back into the same room.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yeah, let's go on hit our next break itives call
eight five to nine two eight h two two eight
seven will be back right after this. Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
It is Kentucky Sport Radio. The sources say podcast takeover
or we'll get back to the guys in just a minute.
But person, let me jump in here and tell you
that this segment is sponsored by Shady Rays. Stop overpaying
for sunglasses. If you're tired of buying expensive sunglasses, only
to lose or break them. You need to check out
Shady Raise. They're an independent American owned company that started
right here in Kentucky. If you lose or break your shades,
(38:05):
they're going to replace them for you, no questions asked.
They have premium polarized shades for every activity and if
you use the code KSR, you're going to get fifty
percent off two pair or more in store at their
flagship location at the Summit at Fritz Farm. More online
at shadyrais dot com. All right, Jack Sean, back to
you guys.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Shannon real quick, the Shannon the Dude brew Tap takeover
at Chasbar starting at six pm. How awesome is that
that you get your first ever litk takeover?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Oh, looking forward to it. We've we've been trying to
fine tune the taste you know.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
Of this new beer.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
This is a newly revamped version of it in a
new partnership with Country Boy Brewing, and you can come
out to night at Chaosbar, like you said, starting at
six o'clock and get your first taste of it.
Speaker 5 (38:49):
So really excited about.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
It, man, That's awesome. Chasbar also having a watch party
for the Baseball game starting tomorrow at two pm. You
do not want to miss that. A bunch of great
stuff happening over at ks Bar got a question from
Twitter from Wildcat's Tongue. I wanted to ask you this, Sean.
I think it's a good one in your career, which
(39:11):
recruit UK commit or not was the most frustrating to
cover and which one was the nicest.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
The nicest is easy for me and you and I
have talked about this a lot. So when I was
first getting into to the beat, that was around Tyree
Smaxiy in that class. And I'll tell you this, Tyree
Smaxi is one of the nicest human beings I have
ever interacted with in my entire life. And he is
the only player to this day that I covered on
(39:40):
any circuit eybl three SSB, any of it that reached
out to me after the weekend and.
Speaker 5 (39:46):
Thanked me for coming.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
That's awesome.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
And I remember when he left Kentucky I did an
interview with him as well. He got back to me asap,
and you that smile and things like who what you
saw of Tyre Smacksy on TV is exactly what you
get a Tyree Smacksy in person.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Yeah, and like, I just remember knowing that about him
as he kind of went through his journey at Kentucky
and then for him to become what he has as
a max level contract player in the NBA, I think
that is just the coolest, you know, one of the
coolest UK specific stories, because UK has had a lot
of great guys to come through, but for him specifically
(40:28):
to kind of go through what he went through for
whatever reason, falling down the draft boards a little bit
to you know, put himself in a really good competing
position from day one with the Sixers to becoming now
arguably the face of the Sixers alongside Joel embiid Man.
That's a guy who deserves every single, you know, bit
of praise, but also every single scent that he is
(40:48):
coming has coming his way.
Speaker 4 (40:50):
One of the nicest, toughest guys that you'll see. Nice guy, man,
He's tough, especially on the best. Before I remember, it
was his high school graduation and I was I'd talked
back and forth with his mom and he hopped on
the same day of his graduation to record with me
for about ten or fifteen minutes before he got to Kentucky.
I was like, man, what an unbelievable kid.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
Man. That's awesome, And I guess the most frustrating there
were a lot like Kate Cunningham was a really really
tough one because there was just so much. You know,
when you're dealing with high school kids that are just
navigating a brand new process, sixteen year olds that are
trying to figure out what their future looks like and
where would be best fit for them, and you commit
privately to one staff and that leaks on one side,
(41:31):
and then he goes and commits elsewhere, like you get
those were the most most frustrating kid was obviously up there.
But I think, honestly, it's been tougher with the transfer
port layer. I think these guys win. There's money involved.
It's just fogged things up so much that you know,
you could, I mean, you could be minute difference between
a kid being at one place versus the other. First
hour flew by, I can't believe we're already done with
(41:52):
this one. Back right after this source of s a
takeover here on Kentucky's Sports radio
Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington. Welcomes David Lucas June sixth
through the eighth, Then catch Josh Blue June twentieth through
the twenty second, and don't miss Rocky Dale Davis June
twenty eighth and twenty ninth. Comedy Off Broadway opened in
downtown Lexington in nineteen eighty seven, and they're still bringing
the best in stand up comedy to the area thirty
(00:20):
seven years later. Call E five nine two seven to
one joke or visit Comedy Off Broadway dot com com
Off Broadway.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now
here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Welcome in to Kentucky Sports Radio. It is Friday, June fourteenth.
It is also the Sources a podcast Takeover Day KOSRS
Jack Pilgrim in the Big Chair joined by Sean Smith
of Frederick Douglas Basketball and Go Big Blue Country. Sean,
how the heck are you?
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I am fantastic, Jack Pilgrim. It's always a joy to
do this with you. And this is our third time
guest hosting Kentucky Sports Radio and.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
We talked about it before we had layups. The last
couple of shows. We had Davion Mintz returning, announcing his
return the day before. The first time we did it
last year it was Pete Jam. You know, practices were
already underway. It was very easy to kind of navigate those.
But this time, you know, when we scheduled this, we
didn't think that, you know, we didn't know what the
(01:19):
College World Series schedule was gonna be, didn't know that
a historic run was about to go be underway. That
starts today for the folks out in Omaha. Kentucky starts Saturday,
but the other games start today, So we're kind of
in the middle of a whole bunch of stuff. I
am coming off of vacation. We got some stuff to
talk about with that. That's going to kind of start
the show. But until then, source say takeover on KSR
(01:41):
sponsored by t J Smith, LOFs you called d TJ.
He will make them pay. We'll also be looking for
the Don Franklin Call today Kentucky branded tweet of the day.
Then we will have the Whiskey Thief Song of the Day,
and also give us a call on the Clark's Pumping
Shot phone line eight five nine two eight ho two
two eight seven or give us a text on the
A Vision line, and that's with Ryan. So I don't
(02:02):
even know what that would do, but you know you
have that number if you want to go ahead and
do that. We got plenty to talk about UK basketball
Heavy Show today. We will have special guests Andrew Carr
coming on at eleven forty. We're very excited about that.
Kentucky baseball gets rolling in Omaha. We got jello shots
to talk about all of the fun stuff. So obviously
we're gonna start this thing by talking about shark attacks,
because why not.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yeah, it's definitely a topic of conversation right now nationally.
And I know you just returned from the coast, so
you didn't get anything with a shark. There was no attack,
So I'm glad you're all together here.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Well I wasn't, but unfortunately some other people down the
shore from me weren't. So I was down with a
couple couple friends from high school. You know, we've been
friends for a long time, and we decided to go
on like a little family vacation. My first trip with
little man or eight month old, taking him to the
beach for the first time, playing the sand, all that nonsense,
and so We're just kind of you know, drinking, having
(02:59):
a good time, soaking away in the in the ocean.
Little man gets kind of restless. We take him up
for his afternoon nap, and my buddy, who was still
down in the water, comes rushing up and goes, dude,
you will have you no idea what just happened down there.
The lifeguards just ran across the shore and said, you guys,
get me to get the heck out of the water.
(03:21):
There were two shark attacks right down the shore, like
a mile away from where we were. So I was
just blissfully ignorant, just floating in the water like four
or five drinks and just couldn't not a single care
in the world, not having any idea that like, actual
shark attacks were a mile down down the beach from
where we were. Unfortunately, it was pretty graphic, and you know,
(03:46):
people lost limbs and there's one teenager that lost two
thirds of her blood ended up surviving. It was, you know,
glad that everything worked out, you know, no no deaths,
but it brought you know, it kind of led to
the questions of, okay, if you were in a position
to where you were in the line of fire for
a shark attack? How would you respond, shan because the
(04:09):
rest of that vacation, of course, it was like day
two when we got down there, so we kind of
spent the rest of the vacation going do you get
in the water? Do you like, how do you respond
from that? Would you be the type of person to
fight off the shark? Would you be the type of
person to just freeze up and just let that sucker
go ham on you? Or do you like rush back
to this, Like what would your response be in that circumstance,
(04:32):
because that's that's what consumed the rest of my vacation.
The rest of the time.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Well, it's funny because I actually saw a TikTok yesterday
that was talking about how to survive a shark attack,
and it said to look at in the eye.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
That seems a little impossible.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Right, It's like an intimidation tack.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
But like it's a sneak attack, right, you have no
idea that's coming. Am I just gonna have my head
underwater the entire time looking for sharks? No, but I
would punch it. Definitely wouldn't punch it in the mouth though,
because that's that's risky. But trying to poke its eyes
for sure. They said, that's a sense.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Of bopping the news, like, do you square up with
a shark? How does how does that work?
Speaker 5 (05:04):
I'd tackle it, I would, I would drag it to the.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Coach like happy feel more taken on the gator. I
feel like that would be what every you know, you
think in your head, that's how it would unfold. Man,
I could beat the heck out of a shark. You
gotta think that you could, you know, not like a
great one, but like a little bull shark or hammer
head shark, you know, something manageable. I feel like I
(05:28):
feel like I could beat up a shark. I don't know.
Maybe maybe I'm just eating it. Maybe I'm just.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
From that point the adrenaline's rushing, you know, it becomes
a it's a living or dying situation.
Speaker 6 (05:37):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
The worst thing's ever happened to me at the beach
is I got a school of jellyfish that swim across
my arm. And I don't know even I don't even
know if this is true. But they tell you to
like pour urine on it. I don't know if you
can pour urin on a shark attack though, so.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So so the question I will be asking callers throughout
the show, I need a percentage chance you're you're utmost confident,
as optimistic as you could be your chances of surviving
a shark attack. I gotta know, are you Are you
gonna be one of those guy one hundred percent chance
I'm fighting that thing off and I'm winning that battle.
Are you? Are you one of those people that say
(06:16):
zero percent chance I'm gonna freeze up and you know
it is what it is at that point? Or are
you just not even gonna be in the water to
begin with? Are you, you know, have the shark attacks
taking over the country and that have you know? Is
that gonna push you away from the water? I want
to hear from you eight five nine two eight zho
two two eight seven. Make sure you get those those
calls in. We are very excited to hear from each
and every one of you. But we know that's not
(06:38):
why you guys came here. I mean, it's why we
came here, but it's not why you guys are here.
You guys want to hear about Kentucky basketball. You want
to hear about the latest with Kentucky baseball. That was
obviously something that was thrown into our lap. Very convenient.
We were very very happy. Just an unbelievable run for
Nick Minjeon and in the squad like Sean, just for
them to get to this point knowing what was at
stake two years ago and at the hottest of seats,
(07:01):
imaginable there. I mean, it wasn't a hot take to
say that, you know, probably time to part ways for
him to respond and get to this point where they're
in Omaha making history. I can't think of a cooler
turnaround success story than that.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Oh, it's yeah, amazing, right, Like, because that program just
a couple of years ago, you wondered where it was
going to go. You build a brand new stadium, you
invest in baseball, they weren't getting the results, had a
really really good first year here, been trying to get
back to that ever since. But that regional a year
ago kind of built the momentum for this one. And
we're talking about not getting layups on the show. We've
(07:40):
got a program competing to win a national championship in June.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
That's a layup and on that note, third highest odds
to win the whole thing, Like it's history because it's
the first time in program history that they were able
to do that. But they're not going there to just
you know, for a participation Trophyyy, we made it. Congrats,
Let's just you know, build a statue back in Lexington.
Now they're they're still you know, the main thing is
(08:07):
the main thing in Omaha. They're still going to win
a national championship. This isn't just for a participation trophy.
They're going to win the whole thing. If you're gonna
if you're gonna make history, you're gonna go do this.
Why not go bring home the hardware on Oha. So
they're the third highest odds right now, behind Tennessee and
Texas A and M, which you know it's gonna be
an ACC versus SEC battle the entire way in Omaha.
(08:29):
But man I, it feels like the magic is there
for this team. It feels like their year everything has
come together with the roster, with the chemistry, the anticks,
all the fun stuff. It feels like this is the
team of destiny.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Well and and a lot of it was the lineup, right.
We knew that this team could you know, could produce
on that side of it, but it was the pitching.
The pitching in that regional, the pitching in the Super
Regional like getting them to that point and now you've
got some confidence there, like this is a team that
can do it? Or are we destined for Kentucky Tennessee?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Like is is.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
That something that gaus look this this rivalry that these
two fan bases where we talk about it in football,
we talk about it in basketball, we here and there
in baseball, but not like competing for a national championship.
That would probably be the ultimate Kentucky Tennessee battle for sure.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
I can't wait. So it starts today. You got North
Carolina taking on Virginia starting at two pm on ESPN.
That we have Tennessee Florida State in game two at
seven pm on ESPN, and then on Saturday, Kentucky gets
things rolling against NC State two pm on ESPNU. We'll
see what happens. To me, it's gonna be a blast.
We are very very excited for a shout out to
(09:38):
the Nick Minjeon and in the back Cats having an
absolute blast. Also while while they're out in Omaha, it's
become the coolest like unique fan tradition to be at
Rockos and win the jell O shot War and can BBN.
There was kind of this narrative going in that because
this was Kentucky's first time out there, that they weren't
(10:01):
going to show out, Like this is basketball school, football school.
They travel for those sports. But BBN, of course is
not going to travel all the way out to Omaha
and participate in you know what is the third sport
for UK athletics. Obviously, you know, could couldn't imagine doing that.
And of the jell o shot war to start with,
Kentucky takes an overwhelming lead, ends up settling in third
(10:24):
place to close out the night. But for all of
the talk about how BBN wasn't going to show out,
it's almost like a dare How fair? You know, if
BBN has dared to do something, it doesn't matter what
it is, They're going to show out and show up.
And it's really cool that they're in the competition for,
you know, something that seems as dumb as just a
jello shot challenge out in Omaha, but they're there, they're competing.
(10:47):
I hope that translates to an excellent fan turn out
of these games.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Yeah, jello shots in baseball in June, you know, in
Omaha doesn't sound like too bad of a time, So no,
I would fully expect Kentucky fans to show up, and
I'm interested to see what that crowd looks like out there.
I mean, it's the first time this program's got to
take that journey. This fan base they backed their programs. Man,
we saw it when the volleyball team won a national
championship a few years ago, like that's there's going to
(11:11):
be a really good environment out there and a lot
of blue and the stands for sure.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
And I think it helps as well. Nick Minngeon being
there before twenty thirteen as the runner up in Mississippi
State on that staff, so he's seen this. He knows
what it, you know, the pressure in the you know,
pouring everything into this event. You like having a guy
that even though none of the players have been there,
it's kind of a new fresh experience for them for
(11:35):
the guy running the ship to say, settle in, embrace
the moment. He had a great quote, I said, I
just remember coming here and thinking about there's so a
lot of things going on, rightfully, so this is the
mecca of college baseball. I just remember reflecting and taking
talking to some of the folks that have been here
since then about how to try to stay focused on
the task at hand. It's a very similar message to
(11:56):
our teams. You'll be pulled in a lot of different directions,
but we have to keep the main thing the main thing.
This team has done a great job job of that
all year, but to be able to stay focused on
the task at hand, that is to bring Kentucky its
first ever college baseball national championship. So I like it.
The vibes are immaculate. I can't wait. You have the
right guy leading the charge, somebody who's been there, that
(12:17):
knows the pressure that goes into this.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Is Kentucky the national team right now that you think
has kind of taken over? Like if you're not a
fan of any of the teams in Omaha, is Kentucky
the team that maybe the nation's following?
Speaker 5 (12:27):
I know never would happen in basketball.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And that's what Miggeones said, Like he said, if you
guys don't have a rooting interest right now, why would
you not want to pick the team that hasn't been there?
That's the you know, kind of cinderella story of the season.
Because I mean it's not like they're the Cinderella of
the postseason, because they've been arguably the best team in
baseball all season long, So they it's a season long
(12:51):
Cinderella story of just kind of everything coming together at
the right time. It's a team of destiny. Why would
you not if you are a casual baseball fan living
out in Omaha in the area, it's such a national
fan event where you don't have to be a team
specific fan. You can just be a fan of sports
and want to show up because it's the College World Series,
(13:12):
it's a you know, historic annual moment. Why would you
not want to pick Kentucky this team to be your
rooting interest. Nick Minjeon is very outspoken about that, saying,
if you want to pick somebody to root for, if
you want to go eat a bunch of jello shots
with a rooting interest of a specific school, make sure
it's our school.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
And I mean like Nick Minjeon is doing an excellent
job promoting this program every single time he takes the mic.
Been doing the same thing since they got out there.
But a lot of those folks in that area and
it's the same as the NCAA tournament. The locals turn out,
and there's gonna be a lot of locals there and
if Kentucky can win a couple of games and keep
advancing the way Minjeon speaks on the mic man, some
(13:54):
of those people in that area, they're going to be
Kentucky fans by then of the weekend and going to
the next week.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Well, we certainly are here back in Lexington. Were gonna
be rooting for the Batcats on all week. Excited to
follow along very closely. Excited to hear from you guys
today eight five nine two a two two eight seven.
It's gonna be an absolute blast. We want to hear
from you. What are your thoughts on shark attacks? Could
you survive? What is your percentage chance? What are your
thoughts on UK baseball out in Omaha? But our specialty?
(14:18):
What we you know? We hope you guys are coming
here for UK basketball. We'll talk about rotations, roster, thirteenth scholarship,
the latest and greatest, with all that stuff. We can't
wait to hear from you. A five nine two a
oh two two eight seven. We're coming up on our
first break. We will see you in a second. Well
come back, it does these sources say takeover day here
on KSR Gifts called eight five nine two eight oh
(14:40):
two two eight seven. Jack Pilgrim here with Sean Smith. Sean,
it took all of one segment for us to get
our Kentucky branded, tweet to Day. Jordan Cooley says Cal
was almost a victim of a shark attack. The team
tried to warn him and he responded he hadn't seen him.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
And you left at that as you're reading it the
first time too, well.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
So in my mind, as I'm reading it, in my head,
I'm thinking, okay, well, we've been to the Bahamas several times.
There have been opportunities for the team to be around water,
you know, the the you know, ocean excursion and all
that stuff over the years. So as I'm reading and
I'm like, oh wow, is that a story that I
missed over the years. And like I'm reading and reading
(15:20):
and reading, and like at the very end, I'm like, dang,
I got got I got the punch lot hit me.
So well done on that one. You get our Kentucky
brandt tweeted to Day, Sean, let's get rolling with the
Kentucky basketball roster talk. Why hopefully you guys are tuning
in right now. Jackson Robinson. The latest edition number twelve,
(15:40):
the one that we all kind of been waiting for,
the one that tied it all together with a nice,
little beautiful bow that you felt good going into that.
The eleven man group up to that point was good,
but it was missing something. You were just waiting for
that one guy that had the system familiarity, the guy
that you could lean on to you hit the big
(16:02):
shot or go get you a bucket when necessary, just
the gap filler. You were waiting for that one final
piece to really start dreaming big about this roster. You
could see the vision going into it, but to dream big,
I think you needed Jackson Robinson. What does that edition
mean for Mark Pope and what he's trying to accomplish
in your.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
One Well, you mentioned that he's number twelve, but when
all this first happened, we probably thought he was number two,
right behind Travis Parry. We knew Travis Parry was going
to stay in the fold, but it took a while
to get there. But you and I took it through
the spring and we talked with each piece that was
added to this roster. There was a vision of what
the need was, and he was the need. I mean,
you're talking about a guy that scored twenty five points
(16:43):
in an NCAA tournament game, like you need that on
your roster. Ninety percent free throw shooter a year ago
can cash in there. I'm interested to see what the
role is going to be rotation wise, with him coming
off the bench last year at BYU.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Is that just a role that.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Maybe Pope kind of pencil pencils him into here because
he's already done that. But then again, being the one
guy that has played for Pope, played for the staff,
done the things offensively, probably going to have to lean
on him early. That's the biggest thing with this is
they have somebody that's gone through the fire in the
system that has done it, had success in it. Don't
have that with the other pieces. So I thought that
(17:17):
was the most important thing about it.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
And he had such a difficult decision to make. And
Mark Pope went on a kind of a TV media
tour yesterday where he talked openly about Jackson Robinson with
a couple different people and just said that Jackson, you know,
he could have stayed in the draft. He was going
to get drafted. But you can't come back specifically to
(17:41):
say I'm a first round pick like you you want
to have a guy that comes back with the right
intention with the I also want to come back because
I have one season left. Why not do it at Kentucky?
You know, do it for the right reasons, not selfishly
just wanting to only put yourself in position to be
a first round pick. And Mark Pope talked about that
with a couple of people, saying that that was a
(18:02):
really important part of this and that's what was so
refreshing about the process that once it became clear that, Okay,
I'm withdrawing from the draft, Kentucky's my spot. There wasn't
a long drawn out bidding war. There wasn't a who
is going to promise me the most shots? Who is
going to put me in position to be a you know,
potential first round pick. I'm somewhere in the second round
(18:23):
right now. Who is going to be the one team
that's going to put me in position to be a
first rounder? Those conversations never it never even got to
that point. It was a quick and concise I know
BYU is offering me a bag. I know Kansas is
flirting and you know, wanting to get in there, but
I know exactly what I'm gonna get with Mark Pope,
that familiarity is just so important, as you said, somebody
(18:45):
you can lean on early and often as everybody else
kind of figures out the you know, the the uncharted
waters for them.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Yeah, for Pope, it's a lot of new faces, right.
But we talked about this off spring with the way
that he pieced this roster together, and it is very strategic.
And I even, well, you and I were talking to somebody,
a parent of a player, and they were even using
the word strategic of how this roster was pieced together.
So when you look at it with Jackson Robinson, you
got all these other guys that the thing when you
(19:14):
pulled apart, Hope has went after guys in the landed,
guys that he not recruit against, but played against, had
to scout day in and day out in the Big twelve.
These are guys that have had success against them, and
he's saying, Okay, you've had success against me. Now I've
got respect for you. Now let's do it together. But
Jackson Robinson is a guy that he's actually had success
with having that to start the season. When you're playing Duke,
(19:37):
you're playing somebody early, somebody that you can lean on
and play a lot of minutes through and maybe go
to offensively while everybody else kind of figures it out
and maybe like, look all these veterans coming in, jack
they still got to figure out their role in this program.
They've got a role in college basketball. They've played ninety
seven one hundred games, some of them started ninety nine games.
Kurk cursive, What is their role at Kentucky? Is it
(19:59):
going to change? Yes, it has to for some of
these guys. While you figure that out, You've got Jackson
Robinson in the system who has had success in it.
That's a massive starting point for Kentucky, and.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
You touched on it a little bit, Jackson being the
seventh super senior that Pope has added. You don't want
to have this revolving door of one and done's on
the other end. I know everybody kind of talked focus
on the one and done with cal but we're gonna
have seven to one and dones with this upcoming roster.
But that was the way for a quick fix. The
(20:31):
easiest way to win right away is by getting as
old as possible guys that have been an instabay tournament,
who has scored twenty five points in a tournament game.
That was the path for an immediate rebuild where you
can dream big about the championship expectation that Mark Pope
has talked about ad nauseum. How important is that for
the seven super seniors to get those guys locked up
(20:52):
with a nice, little complimentary mix of guys with multiple
years of eligibility.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Well, we've talked about this a lot that he's got
a window here. You're coming into a situation where you're
in a roster is in I mean, you're starting over
like you're used to doing that at Kentucky, but not
to this extreme, like this is Super seniors starting over.
And you said mixing in some freshmen and some other
guys that you find value in that could have multiple
years in this program. But when you look at it, though,
(21:17):
Jack there Kentucky basketball, it's it's not forgiving. So there's
gonna be some fire when you're losing games. Even though
he's an alum, even though he's won a national championship here,
there's going to be some fire if he loses a
couple of games early. People aren't going to be like, ah, man,
we'll wait till next year. There's there's an understanding here
that he's building something, but you also want to have
(21:38):
the best chance to win right away at Kentucky, and
he's done that. Like this gives Kentucky the best chance
to have success in your one loading up on super seniors,
figuring it out. He's got guys that have made big
shots in NCAA tournament games. He's also got a couple
of guys that in this system that I think can
pop and go to another level. And if that happens,
I think Kentucky can outperform some of the preseason expectations
(21:59):
that they have.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Yeah, we're gonna talk a little bit about Mark Pope
embracing those championship expectations saying yes, they're terrifying.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
We know that.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
You know, he comes out, it comes off the bus
in front of a packed Reparna crowd. It would have
been so easy for him to just say, guys, I
know you guys are ravenous, I know you guys are hungry,
but this is gonna be you know, we're starting a
brand new culture. I got to establish myself. I got
to build the culture, and he threw all of that
(22:29):
in the dumpster. I mean, he could have taken the
easy way out and immediately walked in and said, you
know what, screw all that. I want you guys to
demand the most success imaginable from day one. We'll talk
about a little a little bit about that. Right after this,
we'll talk about what Mark Pope is going to do
with that thirteenth scholarship spot. Right after that we will
see them. TJ. Smith, personal injury attorney, called TJ. He'll
(22:52):
make them pay.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
Here's Matt Jones.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
We'll come back source to say take over day. Jack
Pilgrim here with Sean Smith, give us call eight five
nine two to eight oho two two eight seven. We
are talking batcats, we are talking Kentucky basketball. We are
talking shark attacks. You do not want to. I don't
even know which one which one of those topics I
like the most. I'm hoping that we get some good
feedback on that. And although I didn't make a mistake,
(23:22):
somebody tweeted at me in DRC tweeted you said earlier
that none of the UK players had World Series experience,
daily transfer from Texas and played in the World Series.
I was more so like the general idea of the leader,
having the experience and kind of you know, leading the
charge with a lot of guys who have and I
know it's a veteran led team that that's how they
got to this point by coming together at the right time.
(23:44):
And you know, but you just like to have the
the guy leading the charge, you know, capable of you know,
rallying the troops and doing what he's been able to
do up to this point. So I know there are
specific guys that have been here, but the big Pictures
speaking talked a little bit about the thirteen roster spot
you have twelve. There's a lot of debate about how
(24:06):
you would want to use this this this last spot,
you know, Pope and initially called it a floating piece
where you know, we could take a guy who's you know,
gonna be a five year red shirt piece where you know,
you you take a project on and say, we know
you are not going to contribute year one. We know
it's probably gonna be a two, three, four year process
(24:27):
before you finally find your groove and hopefully, you know,
rocket into superstardom that's the goal. Or you could take
you know, an international piece that's what you know. Cody
figuer Kind of hinted at that, saying, you never know
which European prospect is going to become available in August.
As we saw last season with Big Z, those opportunities
(24:47):
always kind of come out later on in the summer.
Reclass possibilities are very you know, peach gam is kind
of a sweet spot for a lot of those guys
that basically decide, you know, I don't have a lot
to gain by another year school, why not just make
the jump. You get into that tricky situation of do
you take a guy who just wants to be force
fed with shots in minutes knowing that he's the thirteenth
(25:09):
scholarship piece. So it's a tricky position to be in,
and I understand why Pope wants to kind of be
patient with it. What is your take on that, and
I'll give a quote that Pope kind of talked about
what his plan is as of right now.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
I think the pressure is off thirteen because of what
they were able to do one through twelve and Jackson
Robinson being the twelfth. I think it takes a ton
of pressure off what you do with this last one
because you don't really feel pressed to have to do
anything that to impact this current team. It can be,
as you said, for a future piece. It could be
for a guy that maybe could possibly play his way
(25:43):
into a role here, but you don't really have to
have that need. So I think that everything that they've
done has been so strategic. And that's the word that
I'm going to keep using. I've used it off spring,
I'll continue to use it all Summer. Number thirteen is
going to be in the same form, same model. Whoever
gets added, it's to be for a reason. It's not
just to add somebody. They're going to be very intentional
with who they take for that thirteen scholarship. I just
(26:06):
like that we're using thirteen scholarships. Take advantage of all
of them. You got them, use them. And with this
one though, you can kind of have a holding pattern
because you've got what you need. If you can add
to that and get some back and help, great, If not,
you get somebody that's a reclass or something for the future,
a guy that you can build and grow in your program.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
Do that too.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
So I think Kentucky's in a unique spot here, but
it's a comfortable position for Pope to be in with.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
This, And he said yesterday told BBN tonight, we have
one scholarship floating out there, and we'll see whatever happens
is going to be a little bit creative and it's
going to fit really, really well. Will Riley is the
one that you know, in the short term, immediate one
that we're keeping an eye on. Takes an official visit
to Kentucky seen as a kind of neck and neck
(26:51):
race with Illinois in the Wildcats, Orlando Antigua leading the
charge there. He loved Will Riley at Kentucky and just
kind of continued where he left off going back to Illinois,
a you know, clearer role for him as a superstar.
If he does have dreams of reclassing up, he would
be draft eligible in twenty twenty five. So it would
(27:12):
make sense for a guy like Will Riley to you know,
go somewhere where he will have a bigger role and
get the shots to become, you know, the lottery pick
that he hopes to become. That's where things get tricky
for Pope is what is the what is his priority?
Do you take a surefire lottery pick and say, man,
that's just going to elevate our ceiling, Why the heck
(27:35):
would we not take take a risk on that, or
do you take maybe a guy who you know that
wants to reclass but is going to be a multi year,
you know, two year guy. That's the tricky part. I
think that, you know, I would like adding Will Riley,
but I also understand the concern there of maybe not
messing up what's already working really really well.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
With his group.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Yeah, because you've already got guys that are you know,
we know we're going to play, you know, in this roster.
Speaker 5 (28:02):
What does that do?
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Does it disrupt the rhythm of what you've already pieced
together and some of that camaraderie And I think they
would figure it out if that's the way Kentucky goes.
But hey, this is the unknown that we have right
now with Mark Pope right load it up on transfer portal.
Didn't really get to touch on high school recruiting since
he's been here. This is the first swing at that,
and that's what we're waiting to see. Can he recruit
and land elite high school talent and how does he
(28:24):
blend that with transfer portal and guys that grow in
your program and kind of you're able to retain there.
So who's the first big splash for Mark Pope. Does
he make a splash with number thirteen or is this
kind of just another strategic way that you try to
add to what you've got or maybe somebody that can
build and grow inside of this program, because Jack, I
(28:46):
think that that's something that you're going to see that's
different moving forward. You're going to be able to touch
all areas of roster construction. Now it's not going to
be top heavy with guys that are going to be
out the door after one year.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
You're going to get some NBA talent.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
You're going to get really good trans for players from
the portal, but you're also going to be able to
get bodies that you can retain and grow in your program.
And I think if you can touch all three of
those areas, and I think you've got a really good program.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
I kind of separated into three different tiers. It was
so important for Pope to land Colin Chandler a for
continuity of that guy wants to play for me and
he's following me. That was the first, you know, and
he was a top thirty recruited, but that was a
I can land high school talent that you know, people
I'm a wanted commodity as a coach. That was an
(29:30):
important first get. Jackson Robinson I think was the next
tiered guy of Okay, that's that's your big fish in
the transfer portal. You had Kobe Brea, you added some
other key pieces, but Jackson Robinson was the anchoring piece
that you really really needed to get again for system
familiarity and continuity, those things were important. But you're still
(29:50):
missing that blue chip high school you know, and I
think the staff knows that talking to some people around
the program, that's what they're They're navigating those waters right
now with this thre teenth spot because they do love
this twelve man group so much that they don't want
to add a polarizing personality to muck all that up.
You can't afford the one bad egg to kind of
(30:12):
mess everything out in the one bad apple to mess
everything else up. So but you also know how important
it is to land your first big fish at the
high school level. Will Riley would be that guy. We
got our first top ten guy. We're Kentucky Basketball. Let's
keep rolling. You know, we're not going to just recruit
the top ten players in every single class moving forward
like Cal did. But I can still land dudes that
(30:33):
fit my system, that that is a super important, tricky,
touchy thing that he has to deal with, and that
you know that I understand the hesitancy there. And that's
why even if you'd miss on Will Riley he goes
to Illinois. I think that's why you wait till after
Peach GMC if there's a guy, you know, that's why
I just keep coming back to Jasper Johnson where he
(30:53):
is emerging as the guy in twenty five, but he
has somebody work to do and needs to had some
weight and kind of figure himself out. What is he
going to get with another year of high school that
he can't get with the UK strength and conditioning program,
knowing that he's on a two year path. You know,
I don't do I think that's likely. No, but that
(31:14):
type of vision of you know that he could be
on a two year path or that you know, finding
something similar with the international international path.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
And that's the creativity that you know we talked about
that Pope said there you can get creative with what
you do with this last spot. So it's interesting to see,
but look, roster one for Pope at Kentucky's going to
look different than roster two, three and four because he
had to do what anything just to kind of be
able to compete right away there. They didn't have the
(31:42):
blue chip talent that was available when he got this job.
All those guys were taken, they were already signed and
going somewhere else. He loaded up with some really really
good college basketball players, got in state talent, and then
let's see what the blueprint is following year one. Your
one is about what are we doing on.
Speaker 5 (31:59):
The floor here?
Speaker 4 (32:00):
Are we establishing a system and a culture and what
we want at Kentucky? And I think that that's being
done now.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
Starting to get the callers in. Let's go to the
Clark's Pumping Shop phone line. We have Seth on the line. Hi,
what's going on? Seth?
Speaker 6 (32:14):
Hey, not too much. This was my questions kind of
from your guys to show the other day with your
bench press, what kind of shark would be your max press.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I appreciate the call, Seth for the new listeners that
are unfamiliar. We got a little hectic on the draft
decision deadline show where we were waiting for Jackson Robinson's
decision that never came, so we you know, up through
midnight up through one AM one point thirty or whatever.
(32:51):
We got really really really really really ridiculous there at
the very end, and we ended up playing rock paper scissors.
One of the any ridiculous dumb topics that we had were,
you know, talking about whether or not we could bench
press Pat Kelcey and how many of Pat Kelcey's we
could we could bench press, talked about his height and
weight and just kind of you know, measuring that. So uh,
(33:13):
a really ridiculous nonsense topic, but it does beg the question, seank,
could could you bench press a shark? And what what
shark would that be? Would it be a baby.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Shark, a dwarf of lantern shark?
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Did you google google the smallest sharks?
Speaker 5 (33:28):
So a dwarf lantern shark is smaller than a human hand?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Oh you could? You could? You could use that as
a dumbell.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Yeah, like Pat Kelsey is that is.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
That our shark equivalent of Pat Kelsey?
Speaker 5 (33:41):
That's our shark equivalent of Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
I just don't know what the like the weight ratio
is of like how much Google for me? How much?
Is it a bull shark?
Speaker 6 (33:51):
Way?
Speaker 3 (33:51):
Because I feel like that's gonna be something ridiculous four
you know, five hundred pounds can't do that obviously, just
but I need something scalable.
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Here between two hundred and five hundred pounds.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Oh well, I mean, all right, the grips.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
What's going to get you though?
Speaker 6 (34:06):
Right?
Speaker 5 (34:06):
What are you gripping? Are you going inside the mouth?
Speaker 3 (34:09):
And that'd be a really cool photo like.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
Beat her last one?
Speaker 3 (34:13):
Probably, yeah, man, that'd be that's that would be you.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
You get you get attacked by the shark, but then
you come out car and get over your shoulders like.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Like a Greek god or something like Aquaman coming out
of the water. Oh gosh, Well, so much for keeping
this thing on the rails because we're already very off. Great,
great call, they're they're I appreciate that, seth. I want
I want to go back a little bit. Mark Pope
also talked about his championship demands and knowing just how
(34:44):
scary they are and I want to, you know, see
what you think about just kind of the approach Sean
and if you know, he if it's a right one.
He gets off the bus as we talked about to
start the show, says our assignment is to go win
banners in the final four win national championships. That's our job.
And then he followed it up after getting the twelve
man group that we see today, says, if you know Kentucky,
(35:07):
you don't really have an option. This is Kentucky. Bass, Well,
you can try to go out there and moderate expectations,
but that's not going to be accepted by anybody. If
you want to moderate expectations, don't take the job at
the University of Kentucky. There's one thing that's expected here,
and that's that one thing will seal your tenure as
a coach here and as a player here. That expectation
is to go win a championship. So he said, it's
(35:28):
terrifying for sure, and it's daunting, and it's humbling because
you understand how hard it is. I'm not naive to understanding.
So he knows that it's probably a, you know, a
dumb thing to say that we're gon we're gonna go
win a national championship in year one. But in my opinion,
that's the approach you got have because I would rather
a guy who will swing until he falls down dead
(35:53):
versus somebody who kind of takes the cushioned approach and says, well, let's,
you know, let's take this one step at a time.
Let's try to build this culture first before we can
kind of take this in three, four or five years.
I'd rather a guy, you know, try to get to
the finish line and die trying, versus somebody who didn't
give it, give it his best shot at all.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
Yeah, shoot for the moon, catch a star approach, right,
like you you never know what you get. So I
like that he isn't shying away from the expectations. My
favorite thing about Mark Pope so far, though, has been
the way he talks about Kentucky.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
It's we, it's us, And.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
It's different though, right because like when it was Cal
and other coaches, it was BBN, it was Kentucky fans,
and I get it, Like those guys didn't have Kentucky.
They weren't Kentucky before they got here. Mark Pope is Kentucky.
He is Kentucky basketball. He's gone through the fire plane here.
He's been Kentucky his entire career, his entire coaching career,
(36:53):
his entire playing career. He's been Kentucky. So I think
him saying we and us, he's not just talking about
this current team. He's talking about all this And I
think that's a really cool approach, and that's a genuine
thing that's just coming out of his mouth. That's not
something that he's strategically doing. He's he's saying, this is
all us, this is all Kentucky basketball. We're in this together.
(37:13):
And I think that that approach is kind of bringing
we know, Jack that everybody is supporting Kentucky basketball. Even
through the frustration of John Calipari's tenure closing there the
last four or five years, people still wanted Kentucky to win.
At the core of it. You were a Kentucky fan,
you wanted them to have success. But it feels like
this has been a two month process of just bringing
(37:34):
everybody back into the same room.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yeah, let's go on hit our next break itives call
eight five to nine two eight h two two eight
seven will be back right after this. Welcome back.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
It is Kentucky Sport Radio. The sources say podcast takeover
or we'll get back to the guys in just a minute.
But person, let me jump in here and tell you
that this segment is sponsored by Shady Rays. Stop overpaying
for sunglasses. If you're tired of buying expensive sunglasses, only
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Shady Raise. They're an independent American owned company that started
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(38:05):
they're going to replace them for you, no questions asked.
They have premium polarized shades for every activity and if
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at shadyrais dot com. All right, Jack Sean, back to
you guys.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Shannon real quick, the Shannon the Dude brew Tap takeover
at Chasbar starting at six pm. How awesome is that
that you get your first ever litk takeover?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Oh, looking forward to it. We've we've been trying to
fine tune the taste you know.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
Of this new beer.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
This is a newly revamped version of it in a
new partnership with Country Boy Brewing, and you can come
out to night at Chaosbar, like you said, starting at
six o'clock and get your first taste of it.
Speaker 5 (38:49):
So really excited about.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
It, man, That's awesome. Chasbar also having a watch party
for the Baseball game starting tomorrow at two pm. You
do not want to miss that. A bunch of great
stuff happening over at ks Bar got a question from
Twitter from Wildcat's Tongue. I wanted to ask you this, Sean.
I think it's a good one in your career, which
(39:11):
recruit UK commit or not was the most frustrating to
cover and which one was the nicest.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
The nicest is easy for me and you and I
have talked about this a lot. So when I was
first getting into to the beat, that was around Tyree
Smaxiy in that class. And I'll tell you this, Tyree
Smaxi is one of the nicest human beings I have
ever interacted with in my entire life. And he is
the only player to this day that I covered on
(39:40):
any circuit eybl three SSB, any of it that reached
out to me after the weekend and.
Speaker 5 (39:46):
Thanked me for coming.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
That's awesome.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
And I remember when he left Kentucky I did an
interview with him as well. He got back to me asap,
and you that smile and things like who what you
saw of Tyre Smacksy on TV is exactly what you
get a Tyree Smacksy in person.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Yeah, and like, I just remember knowing that about him
as he kind of went through his journey at Kentucky
and then for him to become what he has as
a max level contract player in the NBA, I think
that is just the coolest, you know, one of the
coolest UK specific stories, because UK has had a lot
of great guys to come through, but for him specifically
(40:28):
to kind of go through what he went through for
whatever reason, falling down the draft boards a little bit
to you know, put himself in a really good competing
position from day one with the Sixers to becoming now
arguably the face of the Sixers alongside Joel embiid Man.
That's a guy who deserves every single, you know, bit
of praise, but also every single scent that he is
(40:48):
coming has coming his way.
Speaker 4 (40:50):
One of the nicest, toughest guys that you'll see. Nice guy, man,
He's tough, especially on the best. Before I remember, it
was his high school graduation and I was I'd talked
back and forth with his mom and he hopped on
the same day of his graduation to record with me
for about ten or fifteen minutes before he got to Kentucky.
I was like, man, what an unbelievable kid.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
Man. That's awesome, And I guess the most frustrating there
were a lot like Kate Cunningham was a really really
tough one because there was just so much. You know,
when you're dealing with high school kids that are just
navigating a brand new process, sixteen year olds that are
trying to figure out what their future looks like and
where would be best fit for them, and you commit
privately to one staff and that leaks on one side,
(41:31):
and then he goes and commits elsewhere, like you get
those were the most most frustrating kid was obviously up there.
But I think, honestly, it's been tougher with the transfer
port layer. I think these guys win. There's money involved.
It's just fogged things up so much that you know,
you could, I mean, you could be minute difference between
a kid being at one place versus the other. First
hour flew by, I can't believe we're already done with
(41:52):
this one. Back right after this source of s a
takeover here on Kentucky's Sports radio
Host
Matt Jones
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