2025-02-27 LEACH REPORT

Dick Gabriel talks with Brandon Ramsey and Justin Rowland.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Of Leech Report Radio Network is on the air with
the Voice of the Wildcats, Tom Leech. HiT's the daily
gathering spot for the Big Blue Nation to hear the
latest news and views on the Cats. If you have
a question for Tom, email Leech Report at gmail dot
com or send a tweet to add Tom Leach khy.

(00:22):
Now Here's Tom.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Calls for a way to come out.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
He takes the hand off, always got it.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Goes to his left down the lane, angles right, flips it.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Up, go dead. With six seconds to play, here comes Oklahoma.

Speaker 4 (00:36):
Fierce drives into the lane, goes for the rams clock
by Garrison.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Picked up by Prayer.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Oh my mieros on the clock.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
And the Cats get out of Oklahoma with the wed
What when Ohtag always saves the day against his former school.
Good morning, everybody, Dick Gaberline for the Voice. That, of course,
was Tom Leech's call of the exciting last two plays
that the Wildcats needed to make the knockoff Oklahoma last night.

(01:03):
As you might expect, Tom and the Wildcats getting back
early early this morning, as they say, in the wee hours.
And you know what, Tom's got stuff to do today.
But he didn't have to get up and go to class,
So we're happy to fill in for him here on
the Leech Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises. Coming up today,
we'll talk a lot of basketball, of course, Christy Thomas

(01:23):
said the UK Network in SEC Plus will join us first.
She'll talk about last night's game. We've got to with Christy,
but also we'll preview tonight's Kentucky Tennessee women's basketball game,
and every game for both the men and the women
right now crucial for seeding in the SEC Tournament and
the NCAA, as you already know. Brandon Ramsey of On

(01:44):
three Sports and Kasar joins us after that, and then
Justin Rowland from kats Illustrated dot Com on the second
half of the show. But wow, last what a game.
I always split time between Tom and Jack and the
TV guys because I want to hear what everybody has
to say. And on the postgame wrap up if you

(02:05):
watch that on the SEC Network, the two former players.
Dame Bradshaw actually was on set last night with Pat
Bradley and they could not get over just a level
of play and the exciting elements that went down the stretch.
But obviously otega Oway, who was quiet in that first half,

(02:28):
exploded in the second half, scored twenty one of twenty
three points for Kentucky down the stretch, had the game winner,
and then was in on the defense. They kept trying
on TV to say Tom had it right, but they
kept trying to say that Oway had blocked the shot.
I think whoever was calling the game wanted that to

(02:49):
be the case. That would have been a great story, right,
but no, it was Garrison for the most part. But
it was interesting to me that a Kentucky team that
has been knocked right fully so quite frankly, and they've
talked about it for its defense and they've gotten better,
and the players told us this week how much they've
worked on defense, and it got away from them a

(03:11):
little bit last night. But in the end, it took
a terrific defensive play to stop a terrific player for Oklahoma,
and the Wildcats got it done. Although Oklahoma shot fifty
three percent from the field, Kentucky shot fifty percent. Wildcats
are thirteen and one when they shoot fifty percent or better,

(03:34):
but usually if their opponent shoots better than fifty percent,
the Wildcats will lose. It was just their second win
of the year first and SEC play when they're shooting
percentage is worse than their opponent. But and I know
everybody likes to complain about free throws and fouls and
all that, and they piled up early last night, but

(03:56):
Kentucky won the game at the free thrown line. The
Wildcats outshot, got more attempts and outshot Oklahoma at the line.
So when Oklahoma ends up hitting more three pointers than
the Wildcats, they hit ten of twenty five, Kentucky just
seven to twenty three from the line. But the Cats

(04:18):
were eighteen to twenty four at the free throw line
and Oklahoma just twelve at of seventeen. So, oh you
is better from beyond the arc, but Kentucky did a
better job of getting to the line at hitting although
man down the stretch there were some missus. Andrew Carr
missed two. I couldn't believe that one, and oh I

(04:39):
missed one. But I think you can overlook that Kencha
on a night that he had twenty eight points career
high and six rebounds, Kobe Braya led the Wildcats with
seven rebounds. How about that had to start the second
half after Jackson Robinson aggravated the injury. What a game

(04:59):
for and Garrison coming back to Oklahoma. He played out
of Oaklhoma State, as you know, hit two three pointers
and had four rebounds in twenty seven minutes. Samari Williams
in early foul trouble, played only nineteen but he still
had eight points and only three rebounds. But he was
a presence, no question. Good to see lam up Butler back.

(05:20):
I was pleasantly surprised that he not only played, but
he started. He did foul out and played only twenty minutes,
but he had six assists and three turnovers to go
along with seven points. Robinson had seven points, by the way,
didn't already know. And I'll tell you what. Everybody got

(05:41):
in there and contributed somehow, someway and that's what it took.
Last night. Big win for the Cats as they win
their nineteenth game, eight and seven in the SEC with
Auburn coming to town. And all Auburn did last night
was score one hundred and six points. Auburn is looking

(06:01):
pretty good right now. But a crazy night. Auburn beat
Ole miss one O six seventy six A and m
at home loses to Vandy and a game that wouldn't
end as you know, Bandy wanted eighty six to eighty four.
Both teams scored fifty two points in the second half
and Caliperry's Arkansas team eighty six eighty one over Texas.

(06:26):
It's seventeenth win. Arkansas now squarely on the bubble. Texas
is in some trouble now has lost four out of five.
The only win yeah to the Wildcats. That one went
over time, but Arkansas wins it, so the Hogs are
figuring things out. Next up, Christy Thomas of the UK

(06:46):
Network and the SEC Plus channel, and we'll come back
with more of the Leach Report. Stay with us. Welcome
back Dick Gabriel sitting in for the voice here on
the Leach Report. To remind me Wildcat News of the
Day as always presented by Giuseppes of Lexington, and we
talked a lot of basketball in the first segment. But

(07:08):
I do need to mention the fact that last night
baseball Wildcats picked up another win. They handled more Edge State,
put up a sixth spot in the first inning, and
then they turned the game over to the pitching staff,
including four pitchers from the State of Kentucky. Freshman Layton
Harris from Frederick Douglass, got the start, got the win.

(07:29):
What a thrill for him? Six three two point fifteen.
Doesn't look like a freshman or sound like a freshman
when you talk to him. Then two other freshmen, Zach
Spurrier from Elizabethtown and Logan Grubs from Anderson County, along
with the veteran of e buyers. So the state of
Kentucky showed out last night on the pitching mount for

(07:51):
the Wildcats. They got a series this weekend with Hostra
We'll have it for you right here on the UK
Radio Network and you can see it on SEC Plus.
All Right, we got Shannon, Brandon Ramsey. I'm sorry, Shannon,
We're gonna kind of juggle the lineup a little bit.
We'll good with Christy a little bit later. Good morning Brandon,

(08:12):
Good morning Dick.

Speaker 4 (08:12):
Thanks for having me on this morning.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
How much fun was that last night?

Speaker 4 (08:17):
Well, it turned out to be a lot of fun.
I'll admit I wasn't always having fun last night watching
watching the game. There were some periods where it was
a little bit sloppy. There was some periods where I
felt like it might slip away from us. But yeah,
it turned out to be a heck of a lot
of fun once the clock finally finally hit Zeros you know.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
O take away. Really, you know, he wanted to put
up his one of his better performances, and it had
to be frustrating for him in that first half. And
it was interesting after the game, he said he was
letting the game come to him and that didn't work
out too well in the first half, did it.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
No, Yo, there were periods of the game where, quite frankly,
he was struggling. He was struggling to finish at the rim,
he was turning it over a little bit, and it
just kind of seemed like that things were maybe happening
a little too fast for him, or he was kind
of letting himself get sped up. And then and then
down the stretch there may and I something slipped in

(09:18):
otake Oway's mind or body or both of them, and
he turned into a totally different player because he took
over the game, really, you know, in a way that
we haven't seen a Kentucky player take over a game
single handedly in quite a while.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
You're exactly right, And to your point, they won this
game in a way they haven't won many this season.
They were out shot from the field, from the arc
out rebounded, and yet Kentucky forced the season I fifteen turnovers.
What did you think of UK's defense last night.

Speaker 4 (09:54):
It's been really encouraging, and you know, last night wasn't
the first night where we've seen some I think it's
improved and additional aggression from this defense. And they've started
to force some more turnovers. You know, I wouldn't quite
call them, you know, overly disruptive yet, but they're moving
forwards that goal and they are forcing more turnovers and

(10:16):
it leads to some easier buckets. So I think they
scored sixteen points maybe off of those turnovers last night,
and you know that that really takes some of the
burden off of the half court offense that you kind
of you know, especially at this point in the year.
You know, it's it's scouted really well, and it's becoming
harder and harder to just execute and execute time at

(10:37):
the time, so you can get some of those fast
break you know points off of turnovers. It really it
really helps you, you know, put put more points on
the board and find a way to win.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
You're right, sixteen points off turns only air quotes, twelve
fast break points to fifteen bro Oklahoma interesting Brandon how teams.
I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out
you cannoutlet this Kentucky team get into transition. But there
were some big transition buckets down the stretch, weren't there absolutely?

Speaker 4 (11:07):
I mean, what one of them I think about that
was obviously two fast break points. Was the otega o
way steal and dunk to tie it up seventy one
seventy one, you know that was that was kind of
on the heels of one of Kentucky's tougher stretches. They
had just gotten down five points I think sixty eight
sixty three. It was a period where he kind of
felt like, Okay, this can go one of two ways here.

(11:27):
Either Kentucky's going to answer kind of right now, or
this is going to end up going to the Sooners.
And I thought, you know, plays like that and being
able to, you know, get turnovers and get out and
go get a kind of a pick six dunk like that,
that's how you end up beating good teams on the road.

Speaker 3 (11:42):
And it's funny you put it that way, because with
about nine and a half minutes left, Kentucky was down
three and I think Oklahoma had the ball and had
taken the lead, and I said that to myself, Okay,
this can go either way here. I don't know if
you remember that stage of the game, but Kentucky got
to stop and came back and tied it up. And

(12:04):
that told me, man, things are going you know, and
let's be fair. Now, Oklahoma's not Auburn, but still it's
a tough team and a tough environment. I thought this
was a major step forward for Kentucky last night.

Speaker 4 (12:15):
You know, it absolutely was. You know, yeah, nobody's gonna
mistake Oklahoma for Auburn. But still, you know, something I
always try to preach is like, you know, this is
still a quad one game against a border alliance of
a tournament team. Like, it's not supposed to be easy.
It never was supposed to be easy. And Kentucky went
in there. They still they ended up finishing the game

(12:37):
as if Jackson, Robinson and Lamont Butler were still out.
Quite honestly, because for the you know, for the final
four and a half minutes or whatever, Lamont didn't play.
I don't think Jackson played in the second half at all. Nope,
So you know, you end up kind of finishing the game,
just like you've played the last several and you find
a way to win this when unlike you know that
they kind of let it slip away at Texas, and

(12:59):
I thought it really showed some growth to be able
to find a way to win this one, especially when
you know you didn't necessarily get major contributions from those
guys who came back, especially down the stretch.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
Butler in foult trouble much of the night, fouled out,
played only twenty minutes. But what did he bring? What
did you see from him?

Speaker 4 (13:18):
He brought lab Butler's stuff. I mean, he had six assists,
He was disruptive defensively. I thought he did a really
good job of speeding Jeremiah Fears up at times. I
thought that of those fifteen turnovers, even though Lamont Butler
and only probably gets credit for a couple of seals,
he definitely helped cause a few of the other ones,
just because of the duress that he puts on the

(13:39):
ball handler and then playmaking wise, he has an element
that no other Wildcat has in terms of just having
some ability to one on one, get downhill against his
man and make plays to others and to see him
have six assists in only twenty minutes in his first
game back. I thought that just showed you know what
Kentucky's been missing in terms of some of that player making,

(14:00):
and he was able to provide that right away. Even
while I mean that brace that he's wearing like it
looks like it's made out of cement, Like I don't
I don't know how he can lift it. I'm not
sure how he how he can lift his left arm.
But he's a tough dude and you know, certainly found
a way to figure it out last night.

Speaker 3 (14:19):
A couple more minutes with Brandon Ramsey on the other
side of the break. Stay with us here on the
Leach Report, brought to you by Clark's Pumping Shops. Stay
with us. Welcome back Dick Abroell sitting in for voice
here on the Leach Report presented by Bobcat Enterprises. We're
talking with Brandon Ramsey of on three Sports Ks. Are
just a couple of minutes here, Brandon. But going into

(14:40):
the Auburn game, obviously the wild Casts feeling better about themselves.
You gotta wonder will they have Jackson Robinson, But even
some Lamont Butler is better than none. But man, this
Auburn team's rolling, isn't it.

Speaker 4 (14:55):
Auburn is just incredibly impressive. You Know, something I've finished
in the last couple of days is, you know, you
saw it with Florida going into Georgia, and you've seen it,
you know a number of other times this season with
you know, kind of the minefield that is the Southeastern Conference.
But it kind of seems like that coach Pearl and
Auburn have a map as to where those minds seem
to be because they are avoiding all of them for

(15:16):
the most part. It's just really really impressive. How you know,
in a historically tough Southeastern Conference and you know, one
of the best conferences we've seen in a long time,
they're just able to die in and night out, not
just win. But you know, last night you see him
just pummel a really good team at all. Miss.

Speaker 3 (15:34):
You know what amazes me and impresses me about Auburn
is as good as Broom is. Like Kentucky lost his
lost key peopled injury, they lost Broom for a little while.
Didn't say, well, it affected them, but they just figured
out another way, didn't they Exactly?

Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, that three or four game stretch. They're kind of
early in sec play when Jania Broom goes down and
you know, that's not just any player, that's quite possibly
the national player of the year, and for them to
step up around him. I think that that's where early on,
I think we all kind of got sent a message
of like, oh wow, Okay, this Auburn team really is
on a little bit of a different level than the

(16:11):
rest of us this season.

Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, And like him or not, you got to look
at Bruce Pearl and where he's been, i mean, won
a national title on the D two level, and everywhere
he's been, he's been successful. The guy knows what he's doing.

Speaker 4 (16:24):
He absolutely does. He's one of the best basketball coaches
in the game. And he's he's been at some places
that you know, certainly aren't traditional basketball powerhouses necessarily, and
he's gotten them, you know, to you know, you know,
add or near the top of the sport a couple
of times.

Speaker 3 (16:40):
Now.

Speaker 4 (16:40):
Cia continues to be really impressive what he's doing, not
just at Auburn but throughout his career.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
This is a stretch run for Mark Pope and the
well for everybody. Really, I think we will be an
underdog on its home court. But how do you think
Kentucky positioned itself last night for postseason play.

Speaker 4 (16:58):
I think it was a huge win because you know,
quite frankly down the stretch here playing Auburn, still happen
to go to Missouri. Yeah, it can be hard to
look at the look at the schedule and find the wins.
Uh see. I think you really needed to get that
one last night because it could just kind of continue
to hold serve and make sure that you're staying on that,
you know, whether it's the three or the four seed line.

(17:19):
I think Kentucky kind of solidified that last night where
you're playing with house money a little bit now playing
in Auburn, and as long as you take care of
business against LSU, you're kind of in the same position
again at Missouri. They need to see what happens in Nashville.

Speaker 3 (17:32):
I keep looking back and I got about thirty seconds on.
You know, games have got away like Vandy, Georgia A,
and M. But Bandy's nineteen to nine after beating and
I'm going to row last night. You so what Georgia
did to Florida. It's just crazy, isn't it.

Speaker 4 (17:47):
Absolutely? I think it's you know, it's just further you know,
confirmation about how how incredibly tough this league is this season.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
Yeah, yeah, see. And at first I thought, is this
all hyperbole? Are we being a little too nutty about this?
But these teams have proven us right, not that it
took a genius to see this coming. So hey, thanks
for joining us, and enjoy the rest of the season
what's left of it. But I'm sure we'll talk again, Brandy.
I pray, Brandon, I appreciate you jumping on.

Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yep, yep anytimeject Thank you.

Speaker 3 (18:14):
All right, that's Brandon Ramsey of A three Sports and
KSR efforting with Christy Thomas. But up next, Justin Rowland
of kats Illustrated dot Com. Stay with us here on
the Leech Report. Welcome back to the Leach Report. Dick
gabrielin for the Voice, and man, we're not having much
luck today with our guests. We haven't found Christy Thomas said.

(18:36):
We're waiting to hear back from Justin Roland here on
the Leech Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises for locations here
in the state of Kentucky. When you need to rent
or buy heavy equipment or a New Zero Turn, more
for your Long Turn to Bobcat Enterprises and of course
Tom back in the early morning hours from Oklahoma coming

(18:56):
in last night. A joyful plane ride, no doubt, especially
for Otega oh Way, a career high twenty eight points,
twenty three of those coming in the second half. It
was his ninth game with twenty or more points this season,
twenty one of UK's twenty three last night, coming down

(19:17):
the stretch. He had six rebounds. Of course, he played
his first two seasons at Oklahoma and those twenty eight
points were the most by a UK player against their
former school all time, And to be fair and accurate,
of course, there haven't been that many games where a
UK player has played against his former team. Generally it

(19:38):
goes the other way around. You'll see a former UK
player against the Wildcats. But now, in this day and
age of the transfer portal, you may see that more
and more. Brandon Garrison, who played at Oklahoma State, was
energized last night, twelve points, the two three pointers. Admit it.
When he rose up to shoot, did you hold your breath?

(20:00):
And then when he did it again I had to wonder, man,
he's going back to the well won too many times.
But I keep thinking back to a moment during a
news conference, probably you know, half a dozen games into
the season, when Brandon Garrison hadn't hit a three yet,
and Mark Pope talked about the fact that everybody shoots threes,

(20:22):
everybody can make them, and he said, Brandon Garrison is
capable of making threes. And of course Pope goes right
to the numbers, right to the science, right to the analytics,
and talks about the fact that Brandon was o for
whatever he was. He said, so when you play the percentages,
that means and I'm paraphrasing, he's due. The numbers say

(20:45):
he will hit three pointers and you wouldn't mistake him
for Kobe Brea. But he hit two last night, and
every shot, as it turned out, was big all night long. Again,
as it turns out, Garrison also steals, and one of
the biggest ones was that loose ball that he picked
up late in the game where it looked like Kentucky

(21:09):
had it, Oklahoma took it back and then Garrison stripped
it away and it led to a wildcat bucket. So
he has a big game. Oh way, they get in
the first half seven points. Excuse me from Jackson Robinson
including a three, and I didn't realize he had this
streak going. That's twenty one straight games in which Robinson

(21:32):
has appeared. Excuse me that he made a three pointer.
And remember early in the year he struggled with his shot.
Lamon Butler. We talked about him with Brandon had a
good solid line in twenty minutes seven points, six assists,
four rebounds and his six assists that's the fifth time

(21:56):
he said at least six assists in the nine s
games in which he's appeared. And honestly, I think the
seven rebounds for Kobe Brea might get lost in that
box score. And yeah, he was beaten on defense a
few times, but seeing him in there among the tall

(22:16):
timber as they say, pulling off boards not too bad.
And when guards can rebound like that. I remember Cali
Perry's first year here, when believe it or not, even
with Boogie Cousins and Patrick Patterson, every once in a
while Kentucky would be lacking in the rebounding department and

(22:37):
Caliperi will talk about our guards need to rebound more.
And next thing you know, John Wallas got five or
six rebounds. So when your guards can get in there
and clean things up. That's a huge plus for any team.
So now the Wildcats will try to get win number twenty.
Gonna be tough on Saturday. It's a game you'll hear

(22:59):
right here. It's gonna be on ABC, ABC. WHI was basically,
as I understand it bought the game. I don't understand because, uh,
Jefpichoor over at WTVQ, the ABC affiliate here in Lexington,
was explaining to me that ABC bought the game from ESPN,
even though it owns ESPN. I don't get that. And

(23:20):
I know in Louisville on the ABC affiliate over there,
w h AS, they'll have some pregame TV, as will
TVQ here in town. So it's gonna be huge. Mark Pope,
who is in his ninth year as a head coach,
but still compared to Pearl, he is he is a newbie,

(23:42):
he is a youngster. I believe we have justin Rowling.
Is that right? Shannon? Okay, Hi, justin, good morning, How
are you.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Hey, Dick?

Speaker 2 (23:50):
Thanks for having me on man.

Speaker 3 (23:52):
Your thoughts before we hit a break? We got one
coming up, but uh, what did you think start with
a wild finish? Let's go backwards. What did you think
of the way that one ended up?

Speaker 5 (24:02):
It felt like somebody said it felt like a second
round tournament game, and I kind of felt like that.
I mean, just just the chip that Otaga had on
his shoulder. You saw it in the first half. I
thought he was pressing a little bit in the first
HALFS three and nine had four turnovers, but there just
came a moment when he said, I'm not gonna let
this team lose. And they got a lot of other
things to clean up the defense. They were sloppy with

(24:26):
the ball at times, but Otaga in the second half
that was.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
That was the performance of the agents for sure.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
How much did Lamont Butler heu if he only played
twenty got in foul trouble but still had a pretty
decent stat line.

Speaker 5 (24:38):
I thought, yeah, well, you see, the on ball pressure
is night day changes what they can do defensively, and
he did foul a lot. He's getting back in the
swing of it. I didn't see too much hesitation with
the injury, and I thought the big thing was they
were kind of in a halfway house last night, as

(24:59):
far as it wasn't the that they were a few
weeks ago. And it wasn't the team that they've been
for the past couple of weeks. It was kind of
like Butler twenty minutes, Jackson twelve minutes, Amari Williams nineteen minutes,
and they just they were kind of halfway like what
team are they? And they still managed to get it out.

Speaker 3 (25:17):
I was gonna say, And you're on the road and
it just like everywhere psyched up for the Wildcats and
all that, and as you mentioned, and Williams in foult
trouble early, as was Butler, and yet they figured it out,
they figured away, which speaks well for a veteran team,
doesn't it.

Speaker 5 (25:36):
Yeah, yeah, sure it does. And really that was the
kind of game that they've proven that they need, they
need to learn how to win.

Speaker 3 (25:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (25:42):
I mean, they've they've.

Speaker 5 (25:43):
Beaten so many great teams. It's exactly this kind of
game Georgia. You know, you just go down the list
of middling, lower middling SEC teams where you thought they
would have fared better at them, But last night they
found a way to pull it out. I guess the
question is how much do you read into that and

(26:04):
how much of it was just the Tega being locked
in and having a special night because that.

Speaker 3 (26:09):
Was a big Yeah, but that was enough to self.

Speaker 5 (26:13):
Is significant because he had kind of been trending in
the wrong direction. So it'll be interesting to see if
that's something for him.

Speaker 2 (26:19):
To build on.

Speaker 3 (26:20):
Yeah, bouncing back off that Alabama performance. You're absolutely right.
Justin Rowland from Katz Illustrated dot Com. We'll talk more
basketball and a little football with Justin on the other
side of the break, stay with us here on the
Leach Report, coming to you from the Clark's Pumping Shop studio.
Dick Gabriel with you on the Leach Report as Tom
is getting a little extra sack time as you can
understand after getting back way late or early this morning,

(26:44):
depending on how you look at it. We're happy to
sit in and talk with Justin Rowland. We love talking
basketball and football with Justin. Mark Stroops talking to the
media earlier this week, we had a chance to talk
to a lot of the new Wildcats. We'll get to
that in just a moment, but just another question or two, uh, Justin.
At the basketball Wildcats, we saw once again Mark Pope

(27:05):
needed to lean on Travis Perry and Trent Noah and
Colin Chandler and you know, games like this are just
gold for these guys to be able to play and contribute.
It might not have been gaudy stats, but the fact
that they were able to get on the road and
play fairly well is gonna pay off down the stretch.
It already is, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
That's right.

Speaker 5 (27:26):
You see the difference in approach between Pope and Caliperi.
And that's not to say one is necessarily proven better
than the other, But if Kentucky had had these injury
issues last year, they would be riding with a much
tighter rotation than they are now.

Speaker 2 (27:40):
And some of that's just the roster construction.

Speaker 5 (27:42):
But the silver lining to all these guys being banged
up is you're gonna feel a lot better about Ansley
Almanor and Colin Chandler and Travis Perry and Trent Noah
getting minutes in high leverage March games now than you
would have if they hadn't had so much playing time.
And it's also an investment in keeping those guys in
the program. You know, you don't keep a Colin Chandler,
Trent Noah and Angeley Aminar in the program unless they

(28:07):
get these kind of minutes and these kind of opportunities.
And one of the hallmarks of this team is three
the ups and downs, there have been plenty of instances
of guys elevating when their number is called. Hasn't always
know it's had a couple of down games, but on
the whole, they have been very impressive. Back into the
rotation guys that.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
Have been able to elevate.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
Let me shift over to football. Mark Stoops and the
players the new faces talking to us earlier this week
and the last one of the last comments by Stoops,
I actually asked him the question. I said, are you
still enjoying your job, you know, within the big picture
as much as you used to? And he said more

(28:46):
than ever? And you know, I don't know if you've
got to see the entire news conference justin but man here,
I mean it must have been a half a dozen times.
He brought everything back to himself. You know, he wanted
to make sure people knew that he shouldered a responsibility
for what has happened over the last few years. Really,
what was your takeaway from what you heard from Stoops?

Speaker 5 (29:08):
It's not some people might hear that it's like his
Stoop's really having a good time, Is he really happy,
and I think, you know, there probably were moments over
the past one two three years when he wasn't really happy.
But you know, it's been a long time. It's been
a long off season. At a certain point, you see
your name in so many nasty tweets and headlines and

(29:30):
messageboard posts that like, you do get through it, and
you do feel differently, and you do process, and you
do get re energized, and I don't surprise, I'm not surprised.
He probably has that ship on his shoulder again that
he had when Kentucky was really climbing and trying to
achieve something earlier in his tenure. And he's probably done

(29:52):
a lot of soul searching. He's heard a lot over
the years, but how to get to the next level,
how to get it back?

Speaker 2 (29:56):
What went wrong? Why did it go wrong?

Speaker 5 (29:59):
And now he's got an old team, he knows what
they've got away from.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
It's clear up front they needed to make a lot
of changes.

Speaker 5 (30:06):
And you know, let's not to say it's gonna be easy,
Like he's got to incorporate a ton of new pieces
and that's not something he's ever had to do before
on this level at Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
But it seems like he's he's confident.

Speaker 3 (30:15):
The guys, he's got one of the people that we
got a chance to everybody got a chance to meet
him and talk to him. And you guys have written
about him extensively at Catch Illustrated. I remember when you
talked about when Kentucky was able finally to land the
big offensive tackle Shias Pete. What a fascinating story. A

(30:35):
full blooded Navajo, an eloquent speaker, and you know called
Mark Pope a statesman and said he wants to be
a statesman. And I don't know if you've ever had
a chance to see him minus shoulder pads justin they're
ain't an ounce of fat on this kid, you know,
six eight three twenty five. You only hope that he
plays as good as he looks.

Speaker 2 (30:56):
That's right. Yeah, he was.

Speaker 5 (30:57):
He was banged up a little bit last year, but
going on two years of very solid play measurables and
a body that you just guys like that don't go
on trees, and when they're in the transfer portal, they
become very coveted, and he was a very coveted player.
I mean when he gets his hands on you because
of his length, he can take you.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
Out of the play quickly. You know, there are areas
that he's going to.

Speaker 5 (31:20):
Be tested, consistency of that punch against speed rushers and
making sure that that he's really perfect in that regard,
because that's a position where you're judged on a perfection standard.
But he's very interesting and there are NFL people I've
heard that think if he has a solid offseason, he
could be an early round offensive tackle for next year.
But you know, you really never know how somebody's going

(31:43):
to translate making that move to the SEC.

Speaker 3 (31:45):
How optimistic are you that they can pull that offensive
line together because the days, honestly, I hate to say
it is of the way the Big Blue Wall came together,
building depth, playing together for sometimes two three four years.
You just don't see that much anymore in college football
in general today. Are you optimistic or how optimistic are

(32:08):
you that they can blend as one because that's what
all lines, you know, that's what all lions must do.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
I think the blending is.

Speaker 5 (32:18):
A big part of it. How do they play? How
do they communicate? If you have a hole? What's the
situation around the guy? But the big, the big thing
is they got a ton of experience. They got a
ton of competition and they haven't had competition like this,
maybe not as much at like left tackle, but you
think about right tackle. You got the Wolflager guy for
Bowling Green, but also possibly Wallace Inamba from from New Mexico.

(32:42):
And you know, we've been thinking about abas elm as
maybe a breakout guard for this is the second year now,
and he's still going to have a difficult path to
getting a ton of snaps because there are several legitimate
SEC guys. I just think they have more chances. They
threw more against the wall this offseason, and that's a
big part of it.

Speaker 3 (33:02):
I tell you. A guy who else was impressive was
Joshua Braun, the grad student and the kid who'd played
at Arkansas in Florida, and as he pointed out, he's
in what his fifth or six year a college football
so and he had a personality that seemed to say,
I know how to be a leader, and I'm ready
to do that here, you know what I mean.

Speaker 5 (33:24):
Yeah, they I agree, they got a lot of culture guys.
I mean, they seem to not just check the boxes
in terms of personnel and filling holes on the roster.
But with the experience and guys that have been team
captains or have spoken at media days elsewhere, I mean,
they really hammered that Braun was another coveted lineman. I mean,
he's not like Mensi, and that's all due respect to Mensi,

(33:44):
but Mensi came in from two SEC schools prior, but
it wasn't like he was in a better situation at
the end of those years. He was kind of looking
for looking for a spot. And Braun, on the other hand,
has played it at a consistently high level at different
SEC's got on the field early at Florida, was one
of Arkansas's better offensive linemen and so yeah, yeah, the experience,

(34:08):
the intangibles seems good.

Speaker 3 (34:09):
On paper, this is maybe the most important spring for
Mark Stoups since he first got here.

Speaker 2 (34:16):
Would you agree, Yeah, no, I agree. I mean this
is a huge year.

Speaker 5 (34:20):
There's a lot riding on it, just with the tone
and the center of the fan base after some disappointments
leading to last year's cratering, and it could go a
lot of ways. The field is totally open with this
many new parts, this many new pieces, you worry about
putting them all together. But with the experience that these
guys have and the track records that they have. You
and they're pros. Now you hold them to the standard

(34:42):
of expecting that transition.

Speaker 2 (34:46):
And yeah, he knows what.

Speaker 3 (34:48):
He wants to do.

Speaker 5 (34:48):
On the offensive side, get physical. I'm intrigued by the
defensive line. I think everybody's going to talk about Ribke
and Dion and guys that are moving on, but they're
getting guys back from injury and the guys they brought in.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
We're coveted players.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
Kirby Smart wanted a couple of them, Big Tennessee and
Texas A and M wanted another. If they're really good
up front offensive and defensive lines, which is possible, then
that could change what we think is possible for the season.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
Follow Justin Roland on Twitter or ex if you aren't already,
it should be at Roland Rivals and of course you
can see his work at Katschillustrated dot com. Thank you, brother,
have a great day. Thanks a lot, Tickie too, and
we'll come back and wrap things up here on the
Leach Report. Back on the Leach Report, presented by Bob Kat
Enterprises to Gaberlin for the Boys say they will wrap

(35:37):
things up with the day in UK history, presented by
Kentucky road Show Sports Cards and Memorabilia here in lection
and you can learn more about them at roadshowcards dot com.
On this date in nineteen fifty six, UK routed Georgia.
You think the Auburn win was impressive last night, thirty
points overall, miss how about one forty three the sixty

(36:01):
six at the Jefferson County Armory in Louisville. Jerry Bird
with twenty two points? That amazes me. He led Kentucky
with twenty two up seventy five thirty two at halftime,
and I guarantee you rough found something to complain about.
But on this date Kentucky beat Georgia one forty three
the sixty six over in the Jefferson County Armory in Louisville.

(36:24):
Jerry Bird part of that extremely talented Bird family from Corbin.
He was actually a guy who was drafted, believe it
or not, by the Lakers in the third round, but
ended up playing, according to Wikipedia, only eleven games for
the New York Knicks in the NBA. This is a

(36:44):
guy who was six', six so he had a tower
over a lot of people back. Then but THE, nba
of course not then what it is. Now But Jerry
bird had a big night for The wildcats who had
that big night on this date back in nineteen fifty.
Six happy birthdate a Former Wildcat David. Miller if you
don't Remember, DAVID i do remember him a little bit

(37:06):
because he was in school WHEN i got. Here he
was a freshman in for the seventy two to seventy
three team that won THE sec title Under Joe. Bye
hall only played in a couple of games the following
year when The cats went thirteen and thirteen when The
jimmy Dan Connor Kevin greevy team when they were. Juniors
as a, Sophomore david played in ten games coming off

(37:29):
that bench and scored a total in his career of
nine points for The, wildcats but he transferred on To
marshall where he played a bit. More The Carlton county,
Native happy birthday to. Him thanks To shannon The, Dude
thanks To Justin. Rowland have a good, day, everybody