Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good day, everybody, and welcome in to the Leech Reports,
presented by bobcat Enterprises. Coming up today. We'll lead off
in the first half of the show a little Kentucky
football talk. John Hale covers Kentucky football for The Harald Leader.
So the transfer class for now is in place for Kentucky.
There can be more movement after the spring, but Kentucky
(00:27):
has filled a lot of needs and we'll talk about
that in detail with John. And in the second half
of the show, Cameron Mills will join us and we'll
talk about Kentucky basketball and where things stand as the
Wildcats get set to play three of their next four
games away from home, and it's tough everywhere as all
three road teams lost last night in the SEC, and
(00:51):
we'll talk about that with Cameron. Also, he was telling
me on a text that the replay of the ninety
six documentary that he and Dick Gabrielle put together, it's
going to get replayed this weekend. So we'll tell you
about that because that is particularly pertinent now that Mark Pope,
who was on that ninety six team, is coaching the Cats.
By the way, have you seen the video that's making
(01:12):
the rounds on social media. There was a still picture
somebody put out with Mark Pope guarding Kobe Bryant when
Mark was with the Pacers and Kobe was with the Lakers,
and I was a text chain with some of our
group and said, we were all wondering, you know, wonder
(01:34):
what the video looks like? How did this turn out?
Turns out Mark Pope blocked the shot. Somebody put the
video out later, so you'll probably get asked about that
at the press session tomorrow. Anyway, let's jump into the
wildcat news of the day. It is a service of
Juseppes of Lexington. Last night, Kentucky's next opponent, Vanderbilt, played
(01:55):
Kentucky's most recent opponent in Alabama, and the Crimson Tide
one one, three to eighty seven, jumped out early and
never looked back. I think Baby got it maybe down
to ten at one point in the second half, but
couldn't really seriously threaten. And it just goes to show
(02:16):
you again, it goes back to what I was saying
about how dialed in Alabama was not only because they
were playing Kentucky and Rup Arena, but because Alabama was
coming off a bad performance in his previous game. So
Alabama that was so outstanding at the free throw line
against Kentucky. Let me look up the numbers here real quick.
(02:37):
Alabama made twenty nine of thirty four free throws against
Kentucky eighty five percent. And it's a team that shoots
under seventy for the season. Well, last night they got
back to normal. They shot under seventy percent. They made
twenty three sixty four still won the game. Grant Nelson,
who had twenty five against Kentucky, got back to where
he had been. He had been averaging eight points a
(02:57):
game in SEC play. He scored ten last night. But
Diabate had twenty two off the bench. Eaton Holloway had
twenty two off the bench. It's a really good Alabama
team because they have a deep bench that can you
have two guys come in and give you twenty point
games there. So impressive performance by the Tide at home Tennessee.
(03:18):
The team that is two games away for Kentucky next Tuesday,
the Cats will be in Knoxville. The vall stayed perfect
at home last night, and they jumped on Mississippi State
early and really never let them get up off the match,
sixty eight to fifty six was that final, and then Missouri,
which had just moved into the top twenty five, went
(03:38):
on the road and lost at Texas last night, sixty
one to fifty three. It's a big win for the
Longhorns because they're one of those teams that will be
fighting to make the NCAA tournament. And then Kentucky's in
Cuba tournament resume got a little help last night on
two fronts. Ohio State went into Purdue and beat number
(03:59):
of mber eleven boiler Makers seventy three to seventy. Ohio
State has suffered some close losses of late, but they
still have been losses, and so they had been playing
pretty well but losing close games. Well, they won one
last night, and that's still considered a Quad one loss
for Kentucky because Ohio State has played well enough to
(04:22):
make a neutral court loss to the Buckeye still a
Quad one loss, and so that enhances their standing in
the net rankings and keeps Kentucky from having that change
from a Quad one to a Quad two loss. All
of this stuff obviously affects their tournament resume. With run
all the quad numbers out and then another one is
Louisville team Kentucky beat had moved into the national rankings
(04:44):
this week and went in and won at SMU last night,
ninety eight to seventy three. So Louisville's playing very well
right now and that boost to Kentucky's resume as well.
And then tomorrow night the Kentucky women are out on
the road to play at Texas A and M. And
Kenny Brooks and Tiani Key talked to the media yesterday
and Coach brook spent a lot of time talking about
(05:05):
the chemistry on this team and the leadership and players
either leading or willing to be led, and how all
of that has contributed to their fast start, undefeated in
SEC play, sixteen and one overall, and just on the
fringe of the top ten in the national rankings right now.
So they've got A and M on the road, and
I think it's Arkansas at home on Sunday, so we'll
(05:28):
talk a little bit more about that matchup tomorrow. Right now,
we need to get to a break wild Cat News
of the Day presented by Giuseppes of Lexington, And if
you're coming in for a Kentucky game or looking ahead
to the Keenland Spring meet, go on open table and
make your reservation to include a stop at Giuseppes off
Nicholasville Road here in Lexington. If you've never been before,
(05:48):
you gotta go and then you'll be going back. Most
of us around here are regulars at Giuseppes because the
food's fantastic, so's the ambiance. Check it out at Giuseppes
Lexington dot com and then make your reservation for a
really special dining experience. We're gonna be right back with
John Hale from the Harold Leader to talk Kentucky football.
I'm the Leitch Report presented by Bob kat Enterprises. Leecher
(06:12):
Pork comes cch Day from the Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return,
refresh and refuel at Clark's and make sure you sign
up for their new Loyalty Rewards programming. Get some discounts
on gassed by being a loyal customer and items in
the stores as well. John Hale joins us now he
covers Kentucky football for the Lexington Herald Leader in Kentucky
Sports dot com, and he joins us on the Club
(06:34):
blueinil dot com hotline and John the Transfer portal has
seemingly gone pretty well for Kentucky, at least in terms
of filling needs. That will learn exactly how well it's
gone once they start playing games, But they have field
most difted out all of their needs, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I mean when you looked at the number of holes
they had on the roster after graduation, in the draft,
guys who left via the courtle, I don't know that
you could have hoped for it to gone much better.
You know, acknowledging that everybody has a budget within the
nil era and you have to spend new resources that
you have and spread them across and the fact that
they addressed all those holes is a good steps. It's
(07:11):
interesting though, because the class does not look like what
we've become used to. It's not a bunch of guys
that they recruited out of high school and went to
some sort of power program, which we've seen plenty of
times before. It's not a bunch of players that they
had previous connections to. There's a few of those, but
mostly it seems like a bet on their ability to
evaluate and find guys that they think can translate. I mean,
(07:31):
so many of these players played at smaller schools, and
we've seen like a guy like Zion Children's that strategy
work before. Until they do it, we're going to have
that question of whether that production can translate to the SEC.
But it seems like Mark and his staff have made
a bet that you know, whatever changes they made behind
the scenes that they've hinted at but not really specified,
have led to a system where they can identify maybe
(07:53):
some guys that were overlooked previously and can come in
and they think can thrive.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
At this level.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Do you know if they had in any way tweaked
their evaluation process in other words, you know, we're fairly
new into all of this, and uh, you know how
you go about, you know, gathering the the intel on
the players that you think might be entering the portal,
or that if they entered the portal, you'd be interested
just to kind of build your your list once you
get to that point.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, it seems like they have. I mean he's not
gone into the specifics, but a few times down the
stretch he hinted it. They I think they beefed up
the personnel, you know, maybe on that support staff, the
recruiting staff a little bit, and maybe had made a
few tweaks to how they were evaluating. So it's interesting
to see if he'll he'll get into some specifics now that
the class is done, now that it's not necessarily some
sort of you know, protroprietary secret that they're worried about
(08:41):
other guys finding the same transfers. I'm here to hear
what kind of changes they made there, because I think
that's going to be part of getting some fans who
are skeptical back on board, is you you got to
tell them a reason why this portal class is going
to be different than last year's, which frankly was a
big bust. I mean, they had Jamie Dimish Johnson Thrive
to Own Farmer looks like a multi year starter.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
But outside of those.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Two guys, you know, not a lot went right for
them in that transfer class. And so I think he
needs to at some point come out and say what
changes they made so fans can get on board and say, Okay,
I understand why this class might be different.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
I grew up in a small town. I think pretty
much every industry is somewhat like a small town in
that you know, in a you could be in a
widened scope, but still there's you know, a smaller number
of people that you know, any big picture that work
in that industry. The point being that you know, there's
(09:35):
a certain extent of everybody knows everybody's business a little bit,
and you kind of, yeah, there's always the tampering allegations
all that, but you know, you just you, I'm sure
hear who's unhappy or who might be entering the portal,
and you know, and people around them are you know,
putting those words out however that happens. But you have
to be able to you would you think that Kentucky,
(09:57):
probably even as early as the South Carolina game, started thinking, uh,
oh this we're not quite We've got some issues beyond
what we thought. We need to really start ramping up
because we're going to have to make a little bit
of a more of a remake than we thought we
were going to.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Absolutely, I mean you have to know from you know,
early in the season. And Mark said that like we
got we focused in I think a lot on it
on that second by week Okay, this is the week
that you really have a lot of those conversations playing
your roster. But he was clear that like those conversations
are going on like all year, Like you go into
it thinking Okay, which of my current players are going
to the draft, which of them are out of eligibility,
who might be unhappy here? And knowing kind of what
(10:36):
holes you need to fill, you have to constantly update that.
But you have to be doing your homework too on
who else might be out there. I mean, obviously you
can look at other teams' depth charts and especially the
position like.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Quarterback and say, okay, that guy's probably going to consider
his options.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
But you're still in high schools recruiting guys for your
high school classes, and all these current college players are
talking to their high school coaches and people around them,
and you can hear back channel that way.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
There's all you know.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
You have to be involved with agents this day and age,
and they represent multiple players. So certainly, if you're waiting
to see who pops into the portal the day it opens,
you're probably.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Behind the game.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Let's talk about the offensive site to get started with
specifics and a large focus obviously in the offensive line.
But they brought in a quarterback who's a seventh year guy,
brought in a big running back and the role that
Chip Trainam would have been expected to fill last season,
(11:30):
they had to get receivers to fill voids after those
and tight end after guys left. In all of this
coming and going, Bush Hampden came late on the scene
as the offensive coordinator last year, so the roster had
pretty much been put together, including the what they were
going to do at quarterback. Do you think that this
(11:51):
is more of his stamp on the offense that he
wants to run.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
I think it's certainly part of it, for sure. And
you can expe that probably.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
To the offensive line too, because Eric Wilford was not
in quite as late as Bush handed, but he was
in fairly late because he didn't come until after Nick
Saban retired and so there wasn't a lot of time
to rebuild the offensive line last winter.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Either.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
He's clearly gone out and found guys he thinks that
the way he wants to coach in that unit, and
so the quarterback, you know, probably is the most interesting
decision in terms of what Bush wants the offense to
look like, because you had Cutter Bowley coming back. They
all they've been very clear he's the quarterback of the future.
But the plan was always kind of twenty twenty six
for him, and he looked good at moments last year,
(12:31):
but they didn't score on any of the drives that
he was in against Power four teams, So I don't
think you could count on that beat him being the
guy next year. So you had to get somebody else.
Do you go out and try and go all in
for one of the top quarterbacks in the portal. That's
going to be hard to do with cut her on
the roster. So they went out and found a guy
who's you know, you're not going to find Zach Calzad
on any of the top ten available quarterback lists. But
(12:51):
he's experienced, had two great years and incarnate word has
sec experience helped you.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Know, A and M to win over Alabama when he
was a red shirt freshman.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Is very very veteran and savvy and maybe fits the
skill set a little bit better in terms of he's
not gote. If he were an NFL quarterback, he'd probably
be in the NFL right.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Now at his age.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
But he can make the throws and he has a
little bit of mobility, which he's going to be really
important in Bush's offense.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Twenty three past the top of the hour, we're going
to head to a break and come back and continue
our chat with John Hale from the Lexington Herald Leader
in Kentucky sports dot Com. Show's presented by Bobcat Enterprises
for locations around Kentucky. So google them when you need
to buy or just rant a piece of heavy equipment
or a job site, or to get the parking lot
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(13:38):
You'll find the location the closest to you and they
will give you fantastic service after the sale. We'll be
right back twenty five past the top of the hour.
We're visiting with John Hale from the Lexington Herald Leader
in Kentucky Sports dot com. Kentucky football. Now that the
transfer portal for now has closed, it's spent a little
bit on the time on the defensive side, John, how
(14:01):
well did they do of matching transfer portal acquisitions to deeds?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah, that one's probably a little more interesting because just
the holes were so obvious on offense. I mean they
do have to replace their entire starting defensive line, so
that that was clearly.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
A point of that phasis.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
They dad had three guys there. David Gusta from Wasshieton
State is probably going to be your your new nose
with with Joe hut SAEs coming back, Jade Williams from
Wyoming who can fill in and rotate there.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
And then the big one late was mcqueesse Grace.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
From South Dakota who's actually from from Cincinnati, but he
went to South Dakota was an SCS All American last year.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
They think he can fill that kind of Josh Pascal
role where he's, you know, a guy with his.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Hand in the in the dirt most of the time,
but maybe can stand up and rush off the edge too,
So that was important in the front seven. And then
they're kind of rolling with with what they have coming back,
especially in the secondary and a little bit inside too,
where they where they think that Alex Safari and Dave
bren Rayner can be the guys an inside linebacker. I'll
be interested to see after they go through spring practice
(15:01):
if they have a little bit better idea of maybe
needing the help at those two positions specifically, but they didn't.
They added one corner, but he doesn't look like a
guy who's going to come in and start right away.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
That didn't add any safeties.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
They did add a couple of d rushers at outside linebacker,
But some of those most important parts on the defense,
they're they're clearly making up at that the veterans they
have coming back and take a step forward and lead them,
which is going to be crucial for that that unit
to get back what we've we've been used to under
mark stops and Brad.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
White coaches call an inside linebacker that's got some bulk
to him a thumper. Is there a potential thumper in
there somewhere along with the Rainer and Afari you know,
Godfree played some late. Is their potential to bulk up
more and you'll be the you know, the Doumas Johnson
type guy.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Yeah, that's the question.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I mean, they did add Landon Watson, who is transferred
to Marshal at that inside spot. Does I mean, I
would not think he's going to start over either either
Rainer or a Fari, considering how the coaches talked about
those two eyes.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
But he does have a little more physicality to him,
and maybe the.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Best case scenario is he makes the kind of jump
in an SEC straightening conditioning program to where he forces
his way on the field and then you can play
a Fari or Rainer outside a spot that both those
guys are familiar with. But that is a question for
depth of nothing else. They need that group of young
guys with Godfrey and Antoine Smith and some of the
freshmen last year to make a step forward because we
(16:24):
know that's a position where guys get beat up, and
both the Fari and Rainer are not the biggest linebackers
in the world, and so you even worry about even
more there. So that's certainly a question still for me
moving forward.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
We've talked a bunch about transfers. Anybody that's you know,
a freshman that didn't play or played a little last season,
or Richard freshman that is ready to make I mean,
think about a guy like Maxwell Harston that went from
just barely playing to being an LL SEC caliber guy
the next year. Is there anybody you think that's capable
of some kind of jump like that.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, I mean, hopefully we'll get a little more specifics
in the spring, but they're gonna need it because you know,
part of the strategy when you go all in on transfers,
especially guys from smaller programs, is you're you're capping your
ceiling a little bit. I mean, on the offensive line,
would do that specifically, Like I went and counted yesterday,
I think there were fifty five linemen drafted last year
and only ten of them.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Were guys who transferred into the program they got drafted from.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
In five of those were like Power five transfers. So
I mean the NFL will find you even in a
smaller school, and if you're getting fifty six year seniors,
those guys would be in the NFL right now if
they were sure flyer draft prospects. So to raise that ceiling,
they need some young guys currently on the roster to
step up. I think corner is a spot to look
at that. Maybe tryan Nichols, who we saw play some
down the stretch when when Harston was hurt, as a
(17:40):
guy who can take that step forward. And then in
the front seven, you know that class two years ago
was so high on you know, four star guys in
the front seven. They need those guys to step up,
whether it's Brian Robinson or Jared Smith or some of
those other linemen.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
That would help a lot if those players could make
that lead.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Follow him on X or Twitter at John Hale Underscore
HL and in the Leader at Kentucky sports dot Com
covering the Cats on the grid Iron. Thank you, John,
thanks for having me halfway home. On the Late Report,
We'll be right back with Cameron Mills. It's the Late
Report for sent of b Bobcat Enterprises and we go
back to the Club Blue andil dot com hotline to
bring on Cameron Mills.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
You hear him with Dave.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Baker on the pregame show on the UK Sports Network.
Some people think you guys don't like each other? Why
do you not like each other?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Camera?
Speaker 4 (18:28):
What I love about that question coming from Utah or
anyone on anyone that's part of our our network team
is that I think people think we don't like each
other because we bicker like like a married.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
Double like yeah, like And literally every.
Speaker 6 (18:43):
Time I leave the studio if it's in away games,
you know you.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
And Jack are of course at the site for the for.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
The game on the road, Tom, Dave and I do
the pregame show from the studio here in Lexington, And
every time I leave the studio, no matter what we've
if we've argued.
Speaker 6 (18:59):
It's always love you Love you too, man. I mean,
I justis people could hear that part and understand it.
I'm not going to say that what we do on the.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
Air is a show. I mean it's a show, but
it's not like acting.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
We're not like pretending to argue.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
For the sake of entertainment, if even people would find
that entertaining.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
We just we different opinions. Sometimes.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
I think part of it is too We've known each
other so long. I mean he has either covered me
to some degree when I was in high school, and
of course he was the Channel twenty seven when I
was in high school, when I was at UK, and
then we've just known each other since then. It's kind
of like my relationship with Dick Gabriel. When Dick and
I are on the air together, we argue. We have
different opinions. They don't maybe come across as passionate as
(19:39):
Dave and I do.
Speaker 6 (19:39):
But Dave and I love each other.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
It's just it's comical to both of us when we
hear stuff like that, because like, what are they talking about?
Speaker 6 (19:47):
And I think we're just sold because you fight on
the air.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
I'm like, we don't fight.
Speaker 6 (19:50):
We have a disagreement of opinions and sometimes they passionate.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
We have reality TV, which is usually the least real
thing on television, but that's reality radio.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
It terms.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
That's like two guys that are sitting at a sports
bar watching an NBA game and arguing about whether Michael
Jordan or Lebron James is the greatest player of all time.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
All right, now, let's not get started on that mess
because that's just that's the most I mean, people just
argue that I don't know what they're talking about, so
let's not you and I get started on this.
Speaker 6 (20:19):
But no, that's exactly what it is. And you know
what I when I had my radio show, I had
one of my guests.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Who's in Louis, he's in the Litell media, say, you
know the great thing about your show and this is,
you know seven eight years ago when I started my show,
is it feels like it's just a couple of guys.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
Did you get a sports bar watching a game having,
you know, arguing.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Over sports and that's how Yeah, well I hope so look,
I hope it's entertaining. You know, there's there have been
some people who make comments about it, and maybe maybe
you know, sometimes we get a little too passionate, but
the idea that we don't like each other is just false.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
We we absolutely love each other.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
We talked like three times this week, having nothing to
do with UK basketball per se. I mean, we just
you know, it's it's just two old friends who are
talking about something that everybody's passionate about around here, and
sometimes we get passionate about our opinions on it.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
And it's a segue into why you're your dear friend
now coach of your alma mater is connected with fans
so well, it's just very genuine.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Yes, and and and it's that that was the fun
thing and thinking about when he first got here, you know,
all the things, you know, Jeff Shepherd and I had
conversations about it, as did a lot of my, my,
My and Marshall teammates, you know, like what what's gonna
make Mark special here? We knew obviously the intellect, the
intellect for specifically the game, but then there was the
things personality wise that kind of transcend coaching, which you know,
(21:45):
he is an ultra positive person.
Speaker 6 (21:47):
The way he saw and we saw it, you know,
the Dave was pres commence, the way you know he pops.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Out of the car and you know it just wants
to interact with fans, waiting to get in rupt.
Speaker 6 (21:56):
And then the things he said it rough.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
And you know, the one thing that I when people ask.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Like, what do you really like?
Speaker 4 (22:01):
What you're really like? The one word I always come
back to is everything you see, you know at press
conferences on TV, you know, doing interviews. You know the
little kid that you get to see at practice, You
get to see the way he asks him and gains.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
That is genuinely who Mark is.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Mark. Mark doesn't put on a facade about anything, and
he's not He's not trying to. You know, I tell
people for years, Look when a when a head basketball
coach or any coach for.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
That matter, is having a press conference and he is.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Answering questions from the media, do not believe a word
they say because they are under no obligation, nor are
they under any sort of I mean, there's nothing to
be gained about being honest with the media about certain stuff,
especially when it comes to the next opponent. Bandy Obviously
this week, why would we give away our game play?
As I mean, coach, we used to do this all
the time. He would he would answer questions from the
(22:50):
media and basically tell them the opposite of what.
Speaker 6 (22:53):
He's been telling us all week. So it was just
one of those things where I've said that for years
and would walk.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I'm not so sure that's the case, because you know Mark,
and I even think coach Brooks with the women's team,
they approached the media with like, look, I'll be straight
and honest with you guys as I can, and you know,
there's certain things you want you won't talk about, and
just don't you know, want to protect his players and
protect the game plan. But he'll answer your he'll answer
the questions, and I'll answer him long form, and he'll
(23:22):
be as honest and forthright and genuine as he can be,
because that's just who Mark is.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, And I think that and maybe we're seeing that
with these two coaches that I think that's probably more
the way you have to go now than maybe when
when Rick was here and do what you were talking about,
and still a lot of coaches do, just because there's
so many ways for people to to you know, be
out there on platforms and interacting and uh, you know,
(23:52):
engaging and challenging, and so you might as well just
kind of, uh, here's what, here's why we're doing this
up to a Brian again, like you said, uh, and
I think as a fan, then you kind of say, Okay,
I see what you're thinking. I don't still don agree
with you, but I respect what you think.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
Yeah, I think exactly what it is I think, and
I think part of the two is and I don't
I don't know coach Brooks well at all obviously, I mean,
have no prior relationship top so I can't speak to
this for him with him, but with Mark and Albert
presume this about coach Brooks, especially with the season they're
both having in their first year at Kentucky.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
I mean, the portal makes it somewhat easier. You come in,
you line up a brand new team.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
But look, we saw it with what was it Auburn,
not Auburn, Alabama or no Arkansas last year. You put
together a great portal team, but you got to build
them into a team. And you know, Mark is just
a genius at that, and he did so many things
to you know, put these guys who came from different
kinds of teams, different kinds of programs, different levels of programs,
(24:56):
brought them all here and we're having this amazing season.
And that's just that's again, that's just Mark's attitude, how
Mark is and the kind of player Mark was.
Speaker 6 (25:05):
It was the same thing.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
I don't think either of these guys have any reason
and what are they afraid of?
Speaker 5 (25:11):
You know?
Speaker 4 (25:12):
I feel like some coaches are less than honest with
the media because they don't you know, why am I
giving away my game plan?
Speaker 6 (25:18):
Why am I giving away my secrets?
Speaker 5 (25:20):
You know?
Speaker 4 (25:20):
Sometimes it's out of attitude. But with Mark and Coach Brooks,
what do they have to fear?
Speaker 5 (25:25):
I mean, it's like they're having these great seasons.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Why not be forthright and and and hey, here's why
we're doing this, and here's what we may do, and
like you said, not giving the farm away when they're
having these press conferences. But they'll genuinely try, and I
think that's important thing. They'll try to genuinely answer the
questions in the press conferences and give the fans, slash
the media something.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
We are gonna ahead to a break. But before we
do that, let me get a quick note here about
something that's coming up this weekend that people will get
a feel for Coach p and Coach Pope from the
ninety six championship season and you and Dick Gabriel did
a documentary and it's going to be replayed this weekend.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
Yeah, so so Channel twenty seven WK watte here and
election didn't helped world. Basically, the distributors quote unquote. Back
in twenty seventeen when Epic Films, Dick Gabriel and I
put together our first documentary called The Team, which was
about the ninety six championship team, and we told twenty
seven when Mark first got here, hey, if y'all want
to run this again this year. They haven't ran it
(26:28):
since twenty seventeen, but y'all want to run it, feel
free to run it here.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
You know here it is.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
And they loved the idea.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
They wanted to rerun it.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
So let's running this Sunday at five pm. It's about
fifteen minutes long. Obviously have commercials. It will be on
Channel twenty seven, but you really do get a picture.
It's funny to me, Dick and I go back to
rewatching it over the last week to prepare it for Sunday.
The things you hear Mark saying, and this was nine
years ago or eight years ago when we did the interviews,
(26:58):
he's saying the same thing, and it's the consistency and
who he really is. But it's a reminder I think
of everyone of when you hear Mark talk about the
assignment and we know what our job is to do
here at Kentucky as coaches.
Speaker 5 (27:11):
You go back and watch this documentary when he was
the coach I think.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
At at Utah Valley at the time, you're like, Oh,
you're saying the same things back then.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
That's because this is just who he is.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
He's not putting on acts for Kentucky. You see a
lot of coach p in there. And this is a
fun documentary just going through the entire ninety sixth season
and the pressure we face because we started is number one.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
We were expected to win it all.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
And how we won it And when I say we,
I used that work carefully because my WII was on
the bench cheering on the guys who were actually playing.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
But I had a front row seat for what these
guys did in the ninety sixteen and it was amazing.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
So documentary is out Sunday, five o'clock on wk YT
out of.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Election seventeen away from the top of the hour, Cameron
Mills joining us on the Club Blueenisle dot com hotline.
Go to Club Blueenile dot com and click on the
giveaways tab and you could get entered for a drawing
to win two sideline lower level tickets for the Kentucky
Arkansas game a week from Saturday, February first, and you
(28:11):
can get those tickets through. You can sign up through
January thirtieth to have a chance to win. Club Blues
the official collective partner of UK Athletics, and proceeds go
to benefit the NIL efforts for athletes in all sports
at UK Club blueil dot com. We'll be right back,
so let report presented by Bob KNT Enterprises Cameron Mills
(28:32):
with us. You hear about the UK Sports Network on
the Countdown to tip Off show with Dave Baker, of course,
a member of the ninety six ninety eight National championship
teams here at UK. And let's talk a little bit
about the current Cats as they get set to head
into a stretch of three of the next four games
on the road. Alabama plan obviously, well right now, to
(28:55):
come in here and win, and then to win at
home convincingly over a good Vanderbilt team. Last night and
a week ago Alabama lost at home by ten to
Ole Miss. So I think that's kind of gonna be
the sec this year is you're gonna have a bad
game and then you'll get mad and rip off two
or three in a row, and the ying and the
yang of it. It's gonna be crazy to watch from
night to night. What's your take on where Kentucky stands
(29:19):
at this point in the season, about a third of
the way through the conference race.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Well, if you take rankings at face value, which I
never do, but I know a lot of people do,
and I understand it's a good way of genuinely measuring,
you know, how good teams are.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
But I always take not of the fact that it
changes every week.
Speaker 6 (29:39):
What changes every week because the week before.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Was wrong or was based on how they were playing,
then that's not how basketball works. You play how you
played when you're playing it. And as you know I
learned from Coach p everything's channeled towards March. I mean,
you just kind of want to build towards that. So
what we've got a base of building on of what.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
Four is it?
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Four top fifteen team wins. It's the first part of
the year. But then we get it. See see, as
we've seen and as we expected, I mean everyone's kind
of expecting twelve make teams to make the tournament.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
I don't know how that's I mean, hopefully it's possible.
But we're gonna beat the tar out of each other.
We already are. I mean, for us to for us
to beat Florida at home, and in Florida.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
To go home and beat Tennessee the next game by
thirty who is the number one team in the country.
Speaker 6 (30:26):
You know.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
I mean, it's just we're gonna beat up on each other.
I mean, the team that wins SEC this year may
maybe nine and nine.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
I mean, you just, I mean, you just don't know what.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
I mean.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
They won't be obviously mathematically, but I mean, you just
don't know.
Speaker 6 (30:37):
What's gonna happen from ninety nine.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
And the thing is, yeah, Alabama came in here and
played well.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Alabama came in here off a loss, and as soon
as I realized, oh my maube, they're coming down for
a lot.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
Okay, CEBC, sing's that much harder, right because Alabama has
become a team like Kentucky's that you just you don't
see Kentucky lose two games in a row for the
most part, and so you just expect them to come
and little chip on the shoulder, and then you also
had things after the Alabama game, and this just kind
of been bugging me the last few days.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Like I saw something in an article somebody wrote basically
questioning in Kentucky's cive defense because they gave up one
hundred and two points to Alabama.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
I'm like, is.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
Anybody asking about Alabama's defense the game up ninety seven
to us? I mean, it's gonna come down to, especially
the way we play Alabama place Tennessee to some degree,
though they've got certainly a focused defense, is who's gonna.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
Be on any particular night. I mean, it really almost is.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
And I hate saying this because.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Not necessarily a big believer in luck, but it's almost
a roll of the dice anywhere in the SEC, even
South Carolina, which I think is what oh to four,
maybe oh to five, I'm not sure if they got
to win yet, but even South Klina could pop up
out of nowhere and beat anybody because the SEC's just
that good. And this is what we've wanted for years, Tommy,
And how many times have we said at the end
(31:53):
of the year, you know, we see four SEC teams
in the tournament, and body's complaining, like you know, there's
that rivalry with Louisville, but all the ACC's got a
better basketball program now the SECS, which it didn't for
a while, and now there's nobody in the country to
compete with our conference. Not only is it getting bigger
and will be about forty teams in about five years,
I'm guessing, but it's just we've got these great coaches,
(32:16):
they've got these great teams, and they're doing a great
job and it just makes us better. So the exciting
thing to me is that, yeah, SEC is a juggernaut.
SEC is going to be brutal and already has been
for everybody, but it's only going to hopefully make the
good teams better teams, and hopefully the better teams one
of them will be the best team.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
Now who that's going to be. It's going to be
the team that's.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Going to take losses like Alabama like we had, and
look at the things that we got to fix. Fix
those things and folks, some things we're doing well, reiterate
those things and then come out against Vandy on Saturday
and that freak show of the gymnasium and you know what,
play a great game.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
To your point about you know, the scores and the
score of the Alabama game. The ninety sixth season, Kentucky
and U. Mass were clearly the best teams. Twenty fifteen,
Kentucky Duke Wisconsin think we're clearly the best teams. Some
years it's like that, other years it's like this where
there's not you know, a two or three teams, and
(33:13):
so it's you know, matchups, who's playing well, you know
when we get to the postseason, and also kind of
what you emphasize if you're not going to be great
at everything, like some of those teams were. So Tennessee,
I look at Tennessee, is a Kentucky's going to play
next week. They're a defensive more defensive oriented team. Well,
you don't see the winning score against Tennessee in the
(33:36):
eighties very often. Even if they lose, well, Alabama Kentucky
offensive oriented teams, the losing scorer is going to be
in the eighties or nineties a lot of times. Because
if you score, if you're good enough to score one
hundred and two and you're playing a good team, you're
going to pull them along with you.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
You're not going to beat them by thirty.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
Yeah, the same thing is come true last year, you know,
because that that Alabama Alabama game we play last year,
Alabama was kind of as bombed as they are this year.
Same offense, basically, same kind of talent and same ability
to just put one hundred on the scoreboard. And yet
you know, they was I think it was I can't
remember it's the home game, away game. I guess its
home game, but Alabama team in here and we crushed
(34:14):
them by thirty I mean, and it wasn't even it
was a forty point absolute beat down. So yeah, it's
it's a lot of that stuff. And yeah, it's going
to be okay. You've got the defensive focused teams, you
got the offensive focus teams, or the teams that are
just jacking up threes like Alabama.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
Does and like we do.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
But what it's gonna challenge come challenging, not only.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
For matchups game by game is two things. It's number one, which.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Team's riding the confidence which seemed walk on that core.
This was the whole who's in the house tonight UK
thing for us in ninety six. It was this kind
of shout from the hallways back in the back when
we took the floor of this kind of I don't know.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
It was silly maybe, but.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
A reminder to the crowd out in the gym that hey,
it's getting ready to be on like it's getting ready
to happen.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
And that was Look, it was.
Speaker 6 (35:00):
A balance between arrogance and confidence.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
But there's a lot of both.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
Air to say, confidence on that team individually and corporately
the same thing, because we believe in ourselves and believed
in our coach.
Speaker 6 (35:10):
So I mean, it's just one of those things where
so confidence is.
Speaker 5 (35:13):
Gonna be big, but it also look sometimes.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
Especially us teams like Alabama lived by the three, died
by the three, we're gonna have to put together a
streak of games where we are on fire. And I'm
talking about March when you got to win six in
a row to win it all, and or we've really
got to button down our defense. And it's one of
the things I think. You know, Marks made no bones
about this. They've been focusing on defense. You didn't talk
mainly about that.
Speaker 5 (35:36):
He will. He'll be asked about.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Shooting and shooting comes and shooting dos Ian shootings are
streaky things sometimes, even with this great shooting talent we have,
but the defense, ironic enough, I get for me to
say this defense is something that had It's not left up.
Speaker 5 (35:50):
To chance, it's not left up to being hot or cold.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
It's a matter of doing the assignment, getting it right,
playing the game plan, putting in the effort, putting in
the focus, being in the right place, being in the
right roadations, and then believing in each other. Defensively is
a team so against the team like Alabama that is
offensively minded in the future, I mean, we got to
take that game and figure out, okay, what can we
do to stop them? Slow them down? Put them in
(36:13):
the eighties and then we go in the nineties and
there's a lot of teams in SEC like that. So
Tennessee is going to be different. But at the same time,
defense is a way offense is here. It'll it'll fluctu
away from game to game, but defense is where we've
got to say, Okay, regardless of whether we can cut
up ninety, what if we put up seventy, we still
got to be able to win.
Speaker 6 (36:32):
And we've had a couple of games like that.
Speaker 5 (36:33):
We just got to have more games like that.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Got to run.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Thank you for the Time as Always documentary on WKYT
five o'clock Eastern Time on Sunday. The documentary in the
ninety six Team.
Speaker 5 (36:42):
Right Yes, Sir called the team.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Thank you, Sir, Cameron Males joining us here on the
club Blueenil dot com hotline. We'll get to a break
come back with our final segment. Gorn Brad Hemp is
based right here in Kentucky. Couple of Kentucky boys founded
the company and it is the fastest growing company of
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(37:07):
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order corn Bread Hemp. This is the good life. This
(37:28):
Dan Wildcat history is presented by Kentucky road Show Sports
Cards and Memorabilia on Romney Road in Lexington. Any Roadshowcards
dot Com. It was this day in nineteen eighty four
that it was Super Bowl Sunday and they used to
play big college basketball games on that day. A Kentucky
hosted Houston and beat them seventy four to sixty seven.
Kenny Walker twenty and ten, Melvin Turpin nineteen and eleven,
(37:50):
Sambui eight and eighteen rebounds, a chem Elaijuan fourteen points,
twelve boards, but he turned it over seven times, and
a big happy birthday to a Wildcat legend Conley celebrating
a birthday today. Arkansas Boogie flanned out for the rest
of the season with a hand injuries their leading score.
That's from John Rothstein at CBS. We'll see you tomorrow
(38:10):
on The Leacher Report, presented by Bob Kaed Enterprises
Good day, everybody, and welcome in to the Leech Reports,
presented by bobcat Enterprises. Coming up today. We'll lead off
in the first half of the show a little Kentucky
football talk. John Hale covers Kentucky football for The Harald Leader.
So the transfer class for now is in place for Kentucky.
There can be more movement after the spring, but Kentucky
(00:27):
has filled a lot of needs and we'll talk about
that in detail with John. And in the second half
of the show, Cameron Mills will join us and we'll
talk about Kentucky basketball and where things stand as the
Wildcats get set to play three of their next four
games away from home, and it's tough everywhere as all
three road teams lost last night in the SEC, and
(00:51):
we'll talk about that with Cameron. Also, he was telling
me on a text that the replay of the ninety
six documentary that he and Dick Gabrielle put together, it's
going to get replayed this weekend. So we'll tell you
about that because that is particularly pertinent now that Mark Pope,
who was on that ninety six team, is coaching the Cats.
By the way, have you seen the video that's making
(01:12):
the rounds on social media. There was a still picture
somebody put out with Mark Pope guarding Kobe Bryant when
Mark was with the Pacers and Kobe was with the Lakers,
and I was a text chain with some of our
group and said, we were all wondering, you know, wonder
(01:34):
what the video looks like? How did this turn out?
Turns out Mark Pope blocked the shot. Somebody put the
video out later, so you'll probably get asked about that
at the press session tomorrow. Anyway, let's jump into the
wildcat news of the day. It is a service of
Juseppes of Lexington. Last night, Kentucky's next opponent, Vanderbilt, played
(01:55):
Kentucky's most recent opponent in Alabama, and the Crimson Tide
one one, three to eighty seven, jumped out early and
never looked back. I think Baby got it maybe down
to ten at one point in the second half, but
couldn't really seriously threaten. And it just goes to show
(02:16):
you again, it goes back to what I was saying
about how dialed in Alabama was not only because they
were playing Kentucky and Rup Arena, but because Alabama was
coming off a bad performance in his previous game. So
Alabama that was so outstanding at the free throw line
against Kentucky. Let me look up the numbers here real quick.
(02:37):
Alabama made twenty nine of thirty four free throws against
Kentucky eighty five percent. And it's a team that shoots
under seventy for the season. Well, last night they got
back to normal. They shot under seventy percent. They made
twenty three sixty four still won the game. Grant Nelson,
who had twenty five against Kentucky, got back to where
he had been. He had been averaging eight points a
(02:57):
game in SEC play. He scored ten last night. But
Diabate had twenty two off the bench. Eaton Holloway had
twenty two off the bench. It's a really good Alabama
team because they have a deep bench that can you
have two guys come in and give you twenty point
games there. So impressive performance by the Tide at home Tennessee.
(03:18):
The team that is two games away for Kentucky next Tuesday,
the Cats will be in Knoxville. The vall stayed perfect
at home last night, and they jumped on Mississippi State
early and really never let them get up off the match,
sixty eight to fifty six was that final, and then Missouri,
which had just moved into the top twenty five, went
(03:38):
on the road and lost at Texas last night, sixty
one to fifty three. It's a big win for the
Longhorns because they're one of those teams that will be
fighting to make the NCAA tournament. And then Kentucky's in
Cuba tournament resume got a little help last night on
two fronts. Ohio State went into Purdue and beat number
(03:59):
of mber eleven boiler Makers seventy three to seventy. Ohio
State has suffered some close losses of late, but they
still have been losses, and so they had been playing
pretty well but losing close games. Well, they won one
last night, and that's still considered a Quad one loss
for Kentucky because Ohio State has played well enough to
(04:22):
make a neutral court loss to the Buckeye still a
Quad one loss, and so that enhances their standing in
the net rankings and keeps Kentucky from having that change
from a Quad one to a Quad two loss. All
of this stuff obviously affects their tournament resume. With run
all the quad numbers out and then another one is
Louisville team Kentucky beat had moved into the national rankings
(04:44):
this week and went in and won at SMU last night,
ninety eight to seventy three. So Louisville's playing very well
right now and that boost to Kentucky's resume as well.
And then tomorrow night the Kentucky women are out on
the road to play at Texas A and M. And
Kenny Brooks and Tiani Key talked to the media yesterday
and Coach brook spent a lot of time talking about
(05:05):
the chemistry on this team and the leadership and players
either leading or willing to be led, and how all
of that has contributed to their fast start, undefeated in
SEC play, sixteen and one overall, and just on the
fringe of the top ten in the national rankings right now.
So they've got A and M on the road, and
I think it's Arkansas at home on Sunday, so we'll
(05:28):
talk a little bit more about that matchup tomorrow. Right now,
we need to get to a break wild Cat News
of the Day presented by Giuseppes of Lexington, And if
you're coming in for a Kentucky game or looking ahead
to the Keenland Spring meet, go on open table and
make your reservation to include a stop at Giuseppes off
Nicholasville Road here in Lexington. If you've never been before,
(05:48):
you gotta go and then you'll be going back. Most
of us around here are regulars at Giuseppes because the
food's fantastic, so's the ambiance. Check it out at Giuseppes
Lexington dot com and then make your reservation for a
really special dining experience. We're gonna be right back with
John Hale from the Harold Leader to talk Kentucky football.
I'm the Leitch Report presented by Bob kat Enterprises. Leecher
(06:12):
Pork comes cch Day from the Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return,
refresh and refuel at Clark's and make sure you sign
up for their new Loyalty Rewards programming. Get some discounts
on gassed by being a loyal customer and items in
the stores as well. John Hale joins us now he
covers Kentucky football for the Lexington Herald Leader in Kentucky
Sports dot com, and he joins us on the Club
(06:34):
blueinil dot com hotline and John the Transfer portal has
seemingly gone pretty well for Kentucky, at least in terms
of filling needs. That will learn exactly how well it's
gone once they start playing games, But they have field
most difted out all of their needs, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
I mean when you looked at the number of holes
they had on the roster after graduation, in the draft,
guys who left via the courtle, I don't know that
you could have hoped for it to gone much better.
You know, acknowledging that everybody has a budget within the
nil era and you have to spend new resources that
you have and spread them across and the fact that
they addressed all those holes is a good steps. It's
(07:11):
interesting though, because the class does not look like what
we've become used to. It's not a bunch of guys
that they recruited out of high school and went to
some sort of power program, which we've seen plenty of
times before. It's not a bunch of players that they
had previous connections to. There's a few of those, but
mostly it seems like a bet on their ability to
evaluate and find guys that they think can translate. I mean,
(07:31):
so many of these players played at smaller schools, and
we've seen like a guy like Zion Children's that strategy
work before. Until they do it, we're going to have
that question of whether that production can translate to the SEC.
But it seems like Mark and his staff have made
a bet that you know, whatever changes they made behind
the scenes that they've hinted at but not really specified,
have led to a system where they can identify maybe
(07:53):
some guys that were overlooked previously and can come in
and they think can thrive.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
At this level.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Do you know if they had in any way tweaked
their evaluation process in other words, you know, we're fairly
new into all of this, and uh, you know how
you go about, you know, gathering the the intel on
the players that you think might be entering the portal,
or that if they entered the portal, you'd be interested
just to kind of build your your list once you
get to that point.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, it seems like they have. I mean he's not
gone into the specifics, but a few times down the
stretch he hinted it. They I think they beefed up
the personnel, you know, maybe on that support staff, the
recruiting staff a little bit, and maybe had made a
few tweaks to how they were evaluating. So it's interesting
to see if he'll he'll get into some specifics now that
the class is done, now that it's not necessarily some
sort of you know, protroprietary secret that they're worried about
(08:41):
other guys finding the same transfers. I'm here to hear
what kind of changes they made there, because I think
that's going to be part of getting some fans who
are skeptical back on board, is you you got to
tell them a reason why this portal class is going
to be different than last year's, which frankly was a
big bust. I mean, they had Jamie Dimish Johnson Thrive
to Own Farmer looks like a multi year starter.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
But outside of those.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Two guys, you know, not a lot went right for
them in that transfer class. And so I think he
needs to at some point come out and say what
changes they made so fans can get on board and say, Okay,
I understand why this class might be different.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
I grew up in a small town. I think pretty
much every industry is somewhat like a small town in
that you know, in a you could be in a
widened scope, but still there's you know, a smaller number
of people that you know, any big picture that work
in that industry. The point being that you know, there's
(09:35):
a certain extent of everybody knows everybody's business a little bit,
and you kind of, yeah, there's always the tampering allegations
all that, but you know, you just you, I'm sure
hear who's unhappy or who might be entering the portal,
and you know, and people around them are you know,
putting those words out however that happens. But you have
to be able to you would you think that Kentucky,
(09:57):
probably even as early as the South Carolina game, started thinking, uh,
oh this we're not quite We've got some issues beyond
what we thought. We need to really start ramping up
because we're going to have to make a little bit
of a more of a remake than we thought we
were going to.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Absolutely, I mean you have to know from you know,
early in the season. And Mark said that like we
got we focused in I think a lot on it
on that second by week Okay, this is the week
that you really have a lot of those conversations playing
your roster. But he was clear that like those conversations
are going on like all year, Like you go into
it thinking Okay, which of my current players are going
to the draft, which of them are out of eligibility,
who might be unhappy here? And knowing kind of what
(10:36):
holes you need to fill, you have to constantly update that.
But you have to be doing your homework too on
who else might be out there. I mean, obviously you
can look at other teams' depth charts and especially the
position like.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Quarterback and say, okay, that guy's probably going to consider
his options.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
But you're still in high schools recruiting guys for your
high school classes, and all these current college players are
talking to their high school coaches and people around them,
and you can hear back channel that way.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
There's all you know.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
You have to be involved with agents this day and age,
and they represent multiple players. So certainly, if you're waiting
to see who pops into the portal the day it opens,
you're probably.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Behind the game.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Let's talk about the offensive site to get started with
specifics and a large focus obviously in the offensive line.
But they brought in a quarterback who's a seventh year guy,
brought in a big running back and the role that
Chip Trainam would have been expected to fill last season,
(11:30):
they had to get receivers to fill voids after those
and tight end after guys left. In all of this
coming and going, Bush Hampden came late on the scene
as the offensive coordinator last year, so the roster had
pretty much been put together, including the what they were
going to do at quarterback. Do you think that this
(11:51):
is more of his stamp on the offense that he
wants to run.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
I think it's certainly part of it, for sure. And
you can expe that probably.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
To the offensive line too, because Eric Wilford was not
in quite as late as Bush handed, but he was
in fairly late because he didn't come until after Nick
Saban retired and so there wasn't a lot of time
to rebuild the offensive line last winter.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Either.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
He's clearly gone out and found guys he thinks that
the way he wants to coach in that unit, and
so the quarterback, you know, probably is the most interesting
decision in terms of what Bush wants the offense to
look like, because you had Cutter Bowley coming back. They
all they've been very clear he's the quarterback of the future.
But the plan was always kind of twenty twenty six
for him, and he looked good at moments last year,
(12:31):
but they didn't score on any of the drives that
he was in against Power four teams, So I don't
think you could count on that beat him being the
guy next year. So you had to get somebody else.
Do you go out and try and go all in
for one of the top quarterbacks in the portal. That's
going to be hard to do with cut her on
the roster. So they went out and found a guy
who's you know, you're not going to find Zach Calzad
on any of the top ten available quarterback lists. But
(12:51):
he's experienced, had two great years and incarnate word has
sec experience helped you.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Know, A and M to win over Alabama when he
was a red shirt freshman.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Is very very veteran and savvy and maybe fits the
skill set a little bit better in terms of he's
not gote. If he were an NFL quarterback, he'd probably
be in the NFL right.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Now at his age.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
But he can make the throws and he has a
little bit of mobility, which he's going to be really
important in Bush's offense.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Twenty three past the top of the hour, we're going
to head to a break and come back and continue
our chat with John Hale from the Lexington Herald Leader
in Kentucky sports dot Com. Show's presented by Bobcat Enterprises
for locations around Kentucky. So google them when you need
to buy or just rant a piece of heavy equipment
or a job site, or to get the parking lot
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(13:38):
You'll find the location the closest to you and they
will give you fantastic service after the sale. We'll be
right back twenty five past the top of the hour.
We're visiting with John Hale from the Lexington Herald Leader
in Kentucky Sports dot com. Kentucky football. Now that the
transfer portal for now has closed, it's spent a little
bit on the time on the defensive side, John, how
(14:01):
well did they do of matching transfer portal acquisitions to deeds?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah, that one's probably a little more interesting because just
the holes were so obvious on offense. I mean they
do have to replace their entire starting defensive line, so
that that was clearly.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
A point of that phasis.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
They dad had three guys there. David Gusta from Wasshieton
State is probably going to be your your new nose
with with Joe hut SAEs coming back, Jade Williams from
Wyoming who can fill in and rotate there.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
And then the big one late was mcqueesse Grace.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
From South Dakota who's actually from from Cincinnati, but he
went to South Dakota was an SCS All American last year.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
They think he can fill that kind of Josh Pascal
role where he's, you know, a guy with his.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Hand in the in the dirt most of the time,
but maybe can stand up and rush off the edge too,
So that was important in the front seven. And then
they're kind of rolling with with what they have coming back,
especially in the secondary and a little bit inside too,
where they where they think that Alex Safari and Dave
bren Rayner can be the guys an inside linebacker. I'll
be interested to see after they go through spring practice
(15:01):
if they have a little bit better idea of maybe
needing the help at those two positions specifically, but they didn't.
They added one corner, but he doesn't look like a
guy who's going to come in and start right away.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
That didn't add any safeties.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
They did add a couple of d rushers at outside linebacker,
But some of those most important parts on the defense,
they're they're clearly making up at that the veterans they
have coming back and take a step forward and lead them,
which is going to be crucial for that that unit
to get back what we've we've been used to under
mark stops and Brad.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
White coaches call an inside linebacker that's got some bulk
to him a thumper. Is there a potential thumper in
there somewhere along with the Rainer and Afari you know,
Godfree played some late. Is their potential to bulk up
more and you'll be the you know, the Doumas Johnson
type guy.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Yeah, that's the question.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I mean, they did add Landon Watson, who is transferred
to Marshal at that inside spot. Does I mean, I
would not think he's going to start over either either
Rainer or a Fari, considering how the coaches talked about
those two eyes.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
But he does have a little more physicality to him,
and maybe the.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Best case scenario is he makes the kind of jump
in an SEC straightening conditioning program to where he forces
his way on the field and then you can play
a Fari or Rainer outside a spot that both those
guys are familiar with. But that is a question for
depth of nothing else. They need that group of young
guys with Godfrey and Antoine Smith and some of the
freshmen last year to make a step forward because we
(16:24):
know that's a position where guys get beat up, and
both the Fari and Rainer are not the biggest linebackers
in the world, and so you even worry about even
more there. So that's certainly a question still for me
moving forward.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
We've talked a bunch about transfers. Anybody that's you know,
a freshman that didn't play or played a little last season,
or Richard freshman that is ready to make I mean,
think about a guy like Maxwell Harston that went from
just barely playing to being an LL SEC caliber guy
the next year. Is there anybody you think that's capable
of some kind of jump like that.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, I mean, hopefully we'll get a little more specifics
in the spring, but they're gonna need it because you know,
part of the strategy when you go all in on transfers,
especially guys from smaller programs, is you're you're capping your
ceiling a little bit. I mean, on the offensive line,
would do that specifically, Like I went and counted yesterday,
I think there were fifty five linemen drafted last year
and only ten of them.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Were guys who transferred into the program they got drafted from.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
In five of those were like Power five transfers. So
I mean the NFL will find you even in a
smaller school, and if you're getting fifty six year seniors,
those guys would be in the NFL right now if
they were sure flyer draft prospects. So to raise that ceiling,
they need some young guys currently on the roster to
step up. I think corner is a spot to look
at that. Maybe tryan Nichols, who we saw play some
down the stretch when when Harston was hurt, as a
(17:40):
guy who can take that step forward. And then in
the front seven, you know that class two years ago
was so high on you know, four star guys in
the front seven. They need those guys to step up,
whether it's Brian Robinson or Jared Smith or some of
those other linemen.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
That would help a lot if those players could make
that lead.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Follow him on X or Twitter at John Hale Underscore
HL and in the Leader at Kentucky sports dot Com
covering the Cats on the grid Iron. Thank you, John,
thanks for having me halfway home. On the Late Report,
We'll be right back with Cameron Mills. It's the Late
Report for sent of b Bobcat Enterprises and we go
back to the Club Blue andil dot com hotline to
bring on Cameron Mills.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
You hear him with Dave.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Baker on the pregame show on the UK Sports Network.
Some people think you guys don't like each other? Why
do you not like each other?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Camera?
Speaker 4 (18:28):
What I love about that question coming from Utah or
anyone on anyone that's part of our our network team
is that I think people think we don't like each
other because we bicker like like a married.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
Double like yeah, like And literally every.
Speaker 6 (18:43):
Time I leave the studio if it's in away games,
you know you.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
And Jack are of course at the site for the for.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
The game on the road, Tom, Dave and I do
the pregame show from the studio here in Lexington, And
every time I leave the studio, no matter what we've
if we've argued.
Speaker 6 (18:59):
It's always love you Love you too, man. I mean,
I justis people could hear that part and understand it.
I'm not going to say that what we do on the.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
Air is a show. I mean it's a show, but
it's not like acting.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
We're not like pretending to argue.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
For the sake of entertainment, if even people would find
that entertaining.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
We just we different opinions. Sometimes.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
I think part of it is too We've known each
other so long. I mean he has either covered me
to some degree when I was in high school, and
of course he was the Channel twenty seven when I
was in high school, when I was at UK, and
then we've just known each other since then. It's kind
of like my relationship with Dick Gabriel. When Dick and
I are on the air together, we argue. We have
different opinions. They don't maybe come across as passionate as
(19:39):
Dave and I do.
Speaker 6 (19:39):
But Dave and I love each other.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
It's just it's comical to both of us when we
hear stuff like that, because like, what are they talking about?
Speaker 6 (19:47):
And I think we're just sold because you fight on
the air.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
I'm like, we don't fight.
Speaker 6 (19:50):
We have a disagreement of opinions and sometimes they passionate.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
We have reality TV, which is usually the least real
thing on television, but that's reality radio.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
It terms.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
That's like two guys that are sitting at a sports
bar watching an NBA game and arguing about whether Michael
Jordan or Lebron James is the greatest player of all time.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
All right, now, let's not get started on that mess
because that's just that's the most I mean, people just
argue that I don't know what they're talking about, so
let's not you and I get started on this.
Speaker 6 (20:19):
But no, that's exactly what it is. And you know
what I when I had my radio show, I had
one of my guests.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Who's in Louis, he's in the Litell media, say, you
know the great thing about your show and this is,
you know seven eight years ago when I started my show,
is it feels like it's just a couple of guys.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
Did you get a sports bar watching a game having,
you know, arguing.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Over sports and that's how Yeah, well I hope so look,
I hope it's entertaining. You know, there's there have been
some people who make comments about it, and maybe maybe
you know, sometimes we get a little too passionate, but
the idea that we don't like each other is just false.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
We we absolutely love each other.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
We talked like three times this week, having nothing to
do with UK basketball per se. I mean, we just
you know, it's it's just two old friends who are
talking about something that everybody's passionate about around here, and
sometimes we get passionate about our opinions on it.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
And it's a segue into why you're your dear friend
now coach of your alma mater is connected with fans
so well, it's just very genuine.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Yes, and and and it's that that was the fun
thing and thinking about when he first got here, you know,
all the things, you know, Jeff Shepherd and I had
conversations about it, as did a lot of my, my,
My and Marshall teammates, you know, like what what's gonna
make Mark special here? We knew obviously the intellect, the
intellect for specifically the game, but then there was the
things personality wise that kind of transcend coaching, which you know,
(21:45):
he is an ultra positive person.
Speaker 6 (21:47):
The way he saw and we saw it, you know,
the Dave was pres commence, the way you know he pops.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Out of the car and you know it just wants
to interact with fans, waiting to get in rupt.
Speaker 6 (21:56):
And then the things he said it rough.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
And you know, the one thing that I when people ask.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Like, what do you really like?
Speaker 4 (22:01):
What you're really like? The one word I always come
back to is everything you see, you know at press
conferences on TV, you know, doing interviews. You know the
little kid that you get to see at practice, You
get to see the way he asks him and gains.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
That is genuinely who Mark is.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Mark. Mark doesn't put on a facade about anything, and
he's not He's not trying to. You know, I tell
people for years, Look when a when a head basketball
coach or any coach for.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
That matter, is having a press conference and he is.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Answering questions from the media, do not believe a word
they say because they are under no obligation, nor are
they under any sort of I mean, there's nothing to
be gained about being honest with the media about certain stuff,
especially when it comes to the next opponent. Bandy Obviously
this week, why would we give away our game play?
As I mean, coach, we used to do this all
the time. He would he would answer questions from the
(22:50):
media and basically tell them the opposite of what.
Speaker 6 (22:53):
He's been telling us all week. So it was just
one of those things where I've said that for years
and would walk.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I'm not so sure that's the case, because you know Mark,
and I even think coach Brooks with the women's team,
they approached the media with like, look, I'll be straight
and honest with you guys as I can, and you know,
there's certain things you want you won't talk about, and
just don't you know, want to protect his players and
protect the game plan. But he'll answer your he'll answer
the questions, and I'll answer him long form, and he'll
(23:22):
be as honest and forthright and genuine as he can be,
because that's just who Mark is.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, And I think that and maybe we're seeing that
with these two coaches that I think that's probably more
the way you have to go now than maybe when
when Rick was here and do what you were talking about,
and still a lot of coaches do, just because there's
so many ways for people to to you know, be
out there on platforms and interacting and uh, you know,
(23:52):
engaging and challenging, and so you might as well just
kind of, uh, here's what, here's why we're doing this
up to a Brian again, like you said, uh, and
I think as a fan, then you kind of say, Okay,
I see what you're thinking. I don't still don agree
with you, but I respect what you think.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
Yeah, I think exactly what it is I think, and
I think part of the two is and I don't
I don't know coach Brooks well at all obviously, I mean,
have no prior relationship top so I can't speak to
this for him with him, but with Mark and Albert
presume this about coach Brooks, especially with the season they're
both having in their first year at Kentucky.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
I mean, the portal makes it somewhat easier. You come in,
you line up a brand new team.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
But look, we saw it with what was it Auburn,
not Auburn, Alabama or no Arkansas last year. You put
together a great portal team, but you got to build
them into a team. And you know, Mark is just
a genius at that, and he did so many things
to you know, put these guys who came from different
kinds of teams, different kinds of programs, different levels of programs,
(24:56):
brought them all here and we're having this amazing season.
And that's just that's again, that's just Mark's attitude, how
Mark is and the kind of player Mark was.
Speaker 6 (25:05):
It was the same thing.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
I don't think either of these guys have any reason
and what are they afraid of?
Speaker 5 (25:11):
You know?
Speaker 4 (25:12):
I feel like some coaches are less than honest with
the media because they don't you know, why am I
giving away my game plan?
Speaker 6 (25:18):
Why am I giving away my secrets?
Speaker 5 (25:20):
You know?
Speaker 4 (25:20):
Sometimes it's out of attitude. But with Mark and Coach Brooks,
what do they have to fear?
Speaker 5 (25:25):
I mean, it's like they're having these great seasons.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Why not be forthright and and and hey, here's why
we're doing this, and here's what we may do, and
like you said, not giving the farm away when they're
having these press conferences. But they'll genuinely try, and I
think that's important thing. They'll try to genuinely answer the
questions in the press conferences and give the fans, slash
the media something.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
We are gonna ahead to a break. But before we
do that, let me get a quick note here about
something that's coming up this weekend that people will get
a feel for Coach p and Coach Pope from the
ninety six championship season and you and Dick Gabriel did
a documentary and it's going to be replayed this weekend.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
Yeah, so so Channel twenty seven WK watte here and
election didn't helped world. Basically, the distributors quote unquote. Back
in twenty seventeen when Epic Films, Dick Gabriel and I
put together our first documentary called The Team, which was
about the ninety six championship team, and we told twenty
seven when Mark first got here, hey, if y'all want
to run this again this year. They haven't ran it
(26:28):
since twenty seventeen, but y'all want to run it, feel
free to run it here.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
You know here it is.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
And they loved the idea.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
They wanted to rerun it.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
So let's running this Sunday at five pm. It's about
fifteen minutes long. Obviously have commercials. It will be on
Channel twenty seven, but you really do get a picture.
It's funny to me, Dick and I go back to
rewatching it over the last week to prepare it for Sunday.
The things you hear Mark saying, and this was nine
years ago or eight years ago when we did the interviews,
(26:58):
he's saying the same thing, and it's the consistency and
who he really is. But it's a reminder I think
of everyone of when you hear Mark talk about the
assignment and we know what our job is to do
here at Kentucky as coaches.
Speaker 5 (27:11):
You go back and watch this documentary when he was
the coach I think.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
At at Utah Valley at the time, you're like, Oh,
you're saying the same things back then.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
That's because this is just who he is.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
He's not putting on acts for Kentucky. You see a
lot of coach p in there. And this is a
fun documentary just going through the entire ninety sixth season
and the pressure we face because we started is number one.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
We were expected to win it all.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
And how we won it And when I say we,
I used that work carefully because my WII was on
the bench cheering on the guys who were actually playing.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
But I had a front row seat for what these
guys did in the ninety sixteen and it was amazing.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
So documentary is out Sunday, five o'clock on wk YT
out of.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Election seventeen away from the top of the hour, Cameron
Mills joining us on the Club Blueenisle dot com hotline.
Go to Club Blueenile dot com and click on the
giveaways tab and you could get entered for a drawing
to win two sideline lower level tickets for the Kentucky
Arkansas game a week from Saturday, February first, and you
(28:11):
can get those tickets through. You can sign up through
January thirtieth to have a chance to win. Club Blues
the official collective partner of UK Athletics, and proceeds go
to benefit the NIL efforts for athletes in all sports
at UK Club blueil dot com. We'll be right back,
so let report presented by Bob KNT Enterprises Cameron Mills
(28:32):
with us. You hear about the UK Sports Network on
the Countdown to tip Off show with Dave Baker, of course,
a member of the ninety six ninety eight National championship
teams here at UK. And let's talk a little bit
about the current Cats as they get set to head
into a stretch of three of the next four games
on the road. Alabama plan obviously, well right now, to
(28:55):
come in here and win, and then to win at
home convincingly over a good Vanderbilt team. Last night and
a week ago Alabama lost at home by ten to
Ole Miss. So I think that's kind of gonna be
the sec this year is you're gonna have a bad
game and then you'll get mad and rip off two
or three in a row, and the ying and the
yang of it. It's gonna be crazy to watch from
night to night. What's your take on where Kentucky stands
(29:19):
at this point in the season, about a third of
the way through the conference race.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Well, if you take rankings at face value, which I
never do, but I know a lot of people do,
and I understand it's a good way of genuinely measuring,
you know, how good teams are.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
But I always take not of the fact that it
changes every week.
Speaker 6 (29:39):
What changes every week because the week before.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Was wrong or was based on how they were playing,
then that's not how basketball works. You play how you
played when you're playing it. And as you know I
learned from Coach p everything's channeled towards March. I mean,
you just kind of want to build towards that. So
what we've got a base of building on of what.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
Four is it?
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Four top fifteen team wins. It's the first part of
the year. But then we get it. See see, as
we've seen and as we expected, I mean everyone's kind
of expecting twelve make teams to make the tournament.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
I don't know how that's I mean, hopefully it's possible.
But we're gonna beat the tar out of each other.
We already are. I mean, for us to for us
to beat Florida at home, and in Florida.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
To go home and beat Tennessee the next game by
thirty who is the number one team in the country.
Speaker 6 (30:26):
You know.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
I mean, it's just we're gonna beat up on each other.
I mean, the team that wins SEC this year may
maybe nine and nine.
Speaker 6 (30:33):
I mean, you just, I mean, you just don't know what.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
I mean.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
They won't be obviously mathematically, but I mean, you just
don't know.
Speaker 6 (30:37):
What's gonna happen from ninety nine.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
And the thing is, yeah, Alabama came in here and
played well.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
Alabama came in here off a loss, and as soon
as I realized, oh my maube, they're coming down for
a lot.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
Okay, CEBC, sing's that much harder, right because Alabama has
become a team like Kentucky's that you just you don't
see Kentucky lose two games in a row for the
most part, and so you just expect them to come
and little chip on the shoulder, and then you also
had things after the Alabama game, and this just kind
of been bugging me the last few days.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Like I saw something in an article somebody wrote basically
questioning in Kentucky's cive defense because they gave up one
hundred and two points to Alabama.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
I'm like, is.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
Anybody asking about Alabama's defense the game up ninety seven
to us? I mean, it's gonna come down to, especially
the way we play Alabama place Tennessee to some degree,
though they've got certainly a focused defense, is who's gonna.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
Be on any particular night. I mean, it really almost is.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
And I hate saying this because.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Not necessarily a big believer in luck, but it's almost
a roll of the dice anywhere in the SEC, even
South Carolina, which I think is what oh to four,
maybe oh to five, I'm not sure if they got
to win yet, but even South Klina could pop up
out of nowhere and beat anybody because the SEC's just
that good. And this is what we've wanted for years, Tommy,
And how many times have we said at the end
(31:53):
of the year, you know, we see four SEC teams
in the tournament, and body's complaining, like you know, there's
that rivalry with Louisville, but all the ACC's got a
better basketball program now the SECS, which it didn't for
a while, and now there's nobody in the country to
compete with our conference. Not only is it getting bigger
and will be about forty teams in about five years,
I'm guessing, but it's just we've got these great coaches,
(32:16):
they've got these great teams, and they're doing a great
job and it just makes us better. So the exciting
thing to me is that, yeah, SEC is a juggernaut.
SEC is going to be brutal and already has been
for everybody, but it's only going to hopefully make the
good teams better teams, and hopefully the better teams one
of them will be the best team.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
Now who that's going to be. It's going to be
the team that's.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Going to take losses like Alabama like we had, and
look at the things that we got to fix. Fix
those things and folks, some things we're doing well, reiterate
those things and then come out against Vandy on Saturday
and that freak show of the gymnasium and you know what,
play a great game.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
To your point about you know, the scores and the
score of the Alabama game. The ninety sixth season, Kentucky
and U. Mass were clearly the best teams. Twenty fifteen,
Kentucky Duke Wisconsin think we're clearly the best teams. Some
years it's like that, other years it's like this where
there's not you know, a two or three teams, and
(33:13):
so it's you know, matchups, who's playing well, you know
when we get to the postseason, and also kind of
what you emphasize if you're not going to be great
at everything, like some of those teams were. So Tennessee,
I look at Tennessee, is a Kentucky's going to play
next week. They're a defensive more defensive oriented team. Well,
you don't see the winning score against Tennessee in the
(33:36):
eighties very often. Even if they lose, well, Alabama Kentucky
offensive oriented teams, the losing scorer is going to be
in the eighties or nineties a lot of times. Because
if you score, if you're good enough to score one
hundred and two and you're playing a good team, you're
going to pull them along with you.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
You're not going to beat them by thirty.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
Yeah, the same thing is come true last year, you know,
because that that Alabama Alabama game we play last year,
Alabama was kind of as bombed as they are this year.
Same offense, basically, same kind of talent and same ability
to just put one hundred on the scoreboard. And yet
you know, they was I think it was I can't
remember it's the home game, away game. I guess its
home game, but Alabama team in here and we crushed
(34:14):
them by thirty I mean, and it wasn't even it
was a forty point absolute beat down. So yeah, it's
it's a lot of that stuff. And yeah, it's going
to be okay. You've got the defensive focused teams, you
got the offensive focus teams, or the teams that are
just jacking up threes like Alabama.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
Does and like we do.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
But what it's gonna challenge come challenging, not only.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
For matchups game by game is two things. It's number one, which.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Team's riding the confidence which seemed walk on that core.
This was the whole who's in the house tonight UK
thing for us in ninety six. It was this kind
of shout from the hallways back in the back when
we took the floor of this kind of I don't know.
Speaker 5 (34:50):
It was silly maybe, but.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
A reminder to the crowd out in the gym that hey,
it's getting ready to be on like it's getting ready
to happen.
Speaker 5 (34:58):
And that was Look, it was.
Speaker 6 (35:00):
A balance between arrogance and confidence.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
But there's a lot of both.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
Air to say, confidence on that team individually and corporately
the same thing, because we believe in ourselves and believed
in our coach.
Speaker 6 (35:10):
So I mean, it's just one of those things where
so confidence is.
Speaker 5 (35:13):
Gonna be big, but it also look sometimes.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
Especially us teams like Alabama lived by the three, died
by the three, we're gonna have to put together a
streak of games where we are on fire. And I'm
talking about March when you got to win six in
a row to win it all, and or we've really
got to button down our defense. And it's one of
the things I think. You know, Marks made no bones
about this. They've been focusing on defense. You didn't talk
mainly about that.
Speaker 5 (35:36):
He will. He'll be asked about.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Shooting and shooting comes and shooting dos Ian shootings are
streaky things sometimes, even with this great shooting talent we have,
but the defense, ironic enough, I get for me to
say this defense is something that had It's not left up.
Speaker 5 (35:50):
To chance, it's not left up to being hot or cold.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
It's a matter of doing the assignment, getting it right,
playing the game plan, putting in the effort, putting in
the focus, being in the right place, being in the
right roadations, and then believing in each other. Defensively is
a team so against the team like Alabama that is
offensively minded in the future, I mean, we got to
take that game and figure out, okay, what can we
do to stop them? Slow them down? Put them in
(36:13):
the eighties and then we go in the nineties and
there's a lot of teams in SEC like that. So
Tennessee is going to be different. But at the same time,
defense is a way offense is here. It'll it'll fluctu
away from game to game, but defense is where we've
got to say, Okay, regardless of whether we can cut
up ninety, what if we put up seventy, we still
got to be able to win.
Speaker 6 (36:32):
And we've had a couple of games like that.
Speaker 5 (36:33):
We just got to have more games like that.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
Got to run.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Thank you for the Time as Always documentary on WKYT
five o'clock Eastern Time on Sunday. The documentary in the
ninety six Team.
Speaker 5 (36:42):
Right Yes, Sir called the team.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Thank you, Sir, Cameron Males joining us here on the
club Blueenil dot com hotline. We'll get to a break
come back with our final segment. Gorn Brad Hemp is
based right here in Kentucky. Couple of Kentucky boys founded
the company and it is the fastest growing company of
its kind in the country, according to Ink Magazine. Cornbreademp
dot com go there and you can see all of
their products, the organic gummies, the oils, and the lotions
(37:07):
that can help you make it a better twenty twenty
five than it was in twenty twenty four. You can
have a healthier, care free lifestyle without the alcohol, fewer
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with the products from Cornbreadhemp dot com. Enter the kode
Tomat check out you get thirty percent off your first
order corn Bread Hemp. This is the good life. This
(37:28):
Dan Wildcat history is presented by Kentucky road Show Sports
Cards and Memorabilia on Romney Road in Lexington. Any Roadshowcards
dot Com. It was this day in nineteen eighty four
that it was Super Bowl Sunday and they used to
play big college basketball games on that day. A Kentucky
hosted Houston and beat them seventy four to sixty seven.
Kenny Walker twenty and ten, Melvin Turpin nineteen and eleven,
(37:50):
Sambui eight and eighteen rebounds, a chem Elaijuan fourteen points,
twelve boards, but he turned it over seven times, and
a big happy birthday to a Wildcat legend Conley celebrating
a birthday today. Arkansas Boogie flanned out for the rest
of the season with a hand injuries their leading score.
That's from John Rothstein at CBS. We'll see you tomorrow
(38:10):
on The Leacher Report, presented by Bob Kaed Enterprises
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