2025-05-22 LEACH REPORT

Dick Gabriel talks with Keith Farmer, Justin Rowland, and Jack Givens.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning everybody.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Dick Gabriel sitting in once again for the Voice on
the Leach Report, presented by Bobcat Enterprises and another pack
lineup today. Keith Farmer BBN tonight in l X eighteen
joining us as well as Jack Gibbons, the UK All
American and Tom's broadcast partner.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
On UK basketball games.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
And Justin Rowland from Katz Illustrated All joining us today
on the Leach Report. Time to look at Wildcat News
of Today presented by Joseppes of Election and go to
Open Table today to make your reservation for a special
dining experience. And let's lead off with the fact that
first of all, you can still make donations to Kentucky

(00:42):
tornado relief outside Kroger Field today. It began yesterday, it
is happening again today. UK student athletes Jagger Burton Trent
Noah are helping to spearhead this initiative along with LX eighteen.
UK Sports and Campus Marketing also are pitching into tech
to help to really support these people who were just

(01:04):
absolutely devastated once again.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
By the storms.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
So if you can get over there between eleven am
and one pm. Donations received this week directed to Tornado
relief efforts in southern Kentucky, rakes and shovels, trash bags,
cleaning supplies, paper goods, flashlights and lanterns, nonperishable foods, and

(01:29):
you can really help if you would just head over
to Kroger Field between eleven am.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
And one am.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
This came out late yesterday afternoon, but Shay Gilgess Alexander
has become the first UK men's basketball product to be
named the NBA's Most Valuable Player. He led the league
in scoring at wow thirty two point seven points per
game during the regular season. He's also the first UK

(01:56):
player former Wildcat to lead the league in scoring. And
remember he was a Canadian import from Hamilton, Ontario, and
his per game average also the most in Oklahoma City
Thunder history twenty or more points in seventy two consecutive games.
He scored the most twenty, thirty, forty and fifty point

(02:20):
performances in the NBA this season. And of course, his
team is up one to zero on Minnesota led by
Julius Randall in the Western Conference finals. UK's men's basketball
team with another marquee opponent on its schedule. This is
an exhibition the Georgetown Hoyas will come to Upp Arena

(02:40):
at Central Bank Center on October thirtieth. Mark Pope's team's
going to be playing a heck of a warm up
schedule in exhibitions and then a pretty stiff regular season
game time TV designation will be announced at.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
A later date.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
And of course you've got the basketball Wildcare that's playing
a difficult schedule, as I said all year long, but
Mark Pope has said he wants to play forty games.
He wants to play tough games every week. People like
to complain about the schedule and the scheduling challenges are enormous,
and you've got to mix in some of those games.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Where you know they're going to almost be automatic, and
a lot.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Of people complain about that. But you want to hear
many complaints about the exhibition schedule this year. That's a fact.
So the Georgetown Hoyas are coming to a rupp Arena.
Make your plans now, as they like to say, all right,
when we come back, we are going to chat with

(03:40):
Keith Farmer of l e X eighteen.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Jack Gibbons will.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Join us later and then Justin Roland from cat Illustrated
all ahead here on the Leach Report. Welcome back to
the Leach Report. Dick Gabriels sitting in for the voice
and quick correction. I got my dates a little scrambled.
If you're going to make a donation over at UK
tomorrow it's eleven am to one Today it's four to

(04:03):
eight pm. So if you want to take anything over
to Kroger Field that they're looking for the donations begin
today four to eight pm. Tomorrow at eleven am to
one pm and if you get over there you just
might meet our next guest.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
He is a sports director. You know him.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
You see him on TV each night on LAX eighteen
and BBN tonight.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Mister Keith Farmer came in, Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
How are you tell everybody what you guys from BBN
tonight and LAX eighteen will be doing over there. I
know you're going to be working and doing whatever you can,
but in terms of your broadcasts.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Yeah, well, first off you mentioned it, it's you know
trenton No and Jagger Burton that kind of spearheaded this thing,
wanted to get it done and so we came along
to be able to help kind of promote it as
the partner with the UK being the official station. So
we are going to go over and do newscast. Think
they're actually going to start about noon, and you'll see

(05:03):
Michael Burke out there just helping kind of promote this thing.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
And uh then.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Also we'll be out there with all of our newscast
and bb in Tonight's going to be out there live
as well, so we're gonna kind of just help in
the promotion process of it, help when we're not on
the air of just you know, anything coming in which
you know, actually the things they're looking for are rakes
and shovels, like trash bags, paper supplies you know, like

(05:30):
toilet paper and paper towels, flashlights and lanterns, and then
some non perishable foods. You know, I don't think they're
necessarily looking for monetary monetary donations for this. You can
do that in some other ways. So these are some
of the things they're looking for.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Let me throw in as well, maybe pet food, non
perishable pet food because people, yeahs they do. You're right,
this is just and it's it's sad that it happens,
and you know when it does. But UK can Kentucky
people have such a great history of pitching into help.
You know, we saw the pholtos of reed Shepherd back
home and then Mark Pope and his players, and honestly,

(06:09):
you know, it stretches back through the Caliperi era, you know,
and I worked on some of the telethons that he
put together. I mean, it's it's sure terrible that it happens,
but you know it's uplifting, isn't it.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
It really is.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
I mean just to hear the stories, especially yesterday, you
know we heard from Mark Pope and yeah, and you
know he was just saying, now he was headed to
one particular house and they got sidetracked by another one
ended up there and like every twenty minutes somebody knew
would come along and you know, bring some more equipment
and some more help. And you know, it is it's

(06:42):
need to hear the rallying that's going on. And certainly
we've seen the Shepherd since it hit their area kind
of taking a lead role in this as well.

Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
So and again today from four to eight and tomorrow
from eleven to one at the stadium.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
But keep it on.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
Yeah, and I should say that, yeah, I should say
that's on the blue lot side. So that's kind of
the one that's adjacent to Alumni Drive, so drive up
to Krogerfield on the blue lot side.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, good point, Very well done.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
All right, let's talk some more Kentucky sports, UK sports
in fact. And I don't know that we should be
surprised that Shay Gilders Alexander is the MVP this year.
But who saw this coming when he was playing for
the Wildcats. The guy wasn't even a starter at.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
The beginning of the year.

Speaker 2 (07:28):
But you can see by Christmas that he was the
straw for that team and just a really special college player.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
But man, is he blossomed in the NBA? Hasn't he?

Speaker 3 (07:39):
I mean, wasn't the starter. Wasn't the guy that we thought,
we thought he's going to be here three years, He's gone.
You're like, why is he going? Shows that he can
play all of a sudden, he becomes a leader now here.
He is doing what he's doing.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
In the NBA.

Speaker 3 (07:52):
It's just amazing. I think we kind of saw it
coming in the last couple of years because he's been
in that conversation as being an MVP. But to do
what he did this year with you know, basically thirty
three points, hids seventy two games in a row where
he's twenty plus and when you put your name in
the conversation, you're the fourth highest to do it. The

(08:12):
guys above you are Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson. I
mean that's pretty special. Now you're you're it's a pretty
lofty company there. Yeah, and yeah, just to lead them
to the best record, I mean, it's pretty amazing.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
And then of course there was the residual follow up
conversation after that first game in Minnesota that people were
complaining he was going to get a friendly whistle, but
when you're you know, that's slender, you're six six, But
he gets into the lane, yeah, all like he did
at Kentucky all the time, and draw so much contact
and still finishes.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
It's incredible.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
It's the length of his arms. I mean, you just,
you know, you think he's not going to get there,
and then the arm just comes up and the layup
is like at the rim. It's just so amazing to see.
You know, so many of these basketball players now we
see are a certain height, but then they're wings span,
you know, much bigger. You know, it's six 'y five
with a seven three wingspan. I mean it's just it's

(09:06):
amazing how he can get that done. And you're right,
he's just really blossomed into this player that I mean,
it's gonna be fun to see where he goes from
here when you reach that that top is MVP. Where
does he go from here?

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, well, I'll tell you what he's trying to do.
Win the MVP, win the Scoring Championship, and an NBA championship.

Speaker 1 (09:30):
And then you mentioned the other names. Well, you know, that.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
Puts him in an incredible company with you know, Bird
and Magic and Michael and Tim Duncan and Shaq and
Lebron teams. So it's incredible when you think about those. Yeah, well,
somebody else trying to win. Of course, there's there's gonna
be a wildcat getting a ring on all four final
four teams. But Karl Anthony Towns and the Knicks get
one let one get away last night, and sad to say,

(09:53):
Carl Anthony Towns missed the clutch free throw down the
stretch as the Knicks blew a seventeen point fourth quarterly
No lead is safe as you know in the NBA. Oh,
but he had a double double thirty two or thirty
three and fifteen. Watching him play, especially in the garden now,
is phenomenal, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (10:11):
I'm so happy for him being back there. I mean,
that's kind of where he really wanted to play, although
you know, he gave his heart and sold in Minnesota
for so long. But I just felt like the Knicks
are where he wanted to be, and you know, it's
been a long time for them. I mean, you know,
so tough loss. But if there's somebody that's going to
bounce back, it's going to be him. I like the

(10:32):
combination of him and and Jalen Brunson as well. So yeah,
we'll see if they can get it done.

Speaker 2 (10:37):
I think Brunson had forty three or something like that
last night. Another basketball note, another exhibition game for the Wildcats.
You know, the Georgetown hoy Is are coming to town.
And you know you've seen the comments from Mark quote
more than once about how he loves playing big games.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
He wants to play a forty game schedule. He'd liked
for all.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
Of them to be huge events, and even this will
be an exhibition came in.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
This is gonna be big, isn't it.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:05):
I mean we saw this come out and I was
like Oh, Chris Briggs is coming back over. That's awesome.
And then looked a little closer at it and I
was like, oh, it's the Hoyas. Okay, I was a
little bit surprised when I looked it up. They've only
played twice in history. Isn't that amazing? Yeah, nineteen twenty two,
you know, and then nineteen eighty four with the one

(11:27):
that we'd like to forget. In the Final four, you
were there. I remember you passing by the big cameras,
you know, as you made your debut on TV in
the Kingdom, right, and you were walking by as one
of those shots went up. But yeah, yeah, yeah, but

(11:49):
but yeah, so I think that's really awesome that you're
able now to play against some you know, marquee teams.
Not only is it going to be fun for the
fans to see these teams come in, but it's gonna
be a tougher exhibition game, and so that's gonna.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
Be fun to watch.

Speaker 3 (12:05):
I do say I will miss, you know, seeing Chris
Briggs and Brian Lane and some of those guys bringing
their teams in.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, me too. But you know, but it is going.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
To help, you know, kind of get these teams ready
for the for the season.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
I loved it.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
When Transie was playing and took an early lead and
called time out so they could take pictures of.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
That was so great And it was a great.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Story, yes, and it was a great national story. When
the team walked from campus to the game, it was fantastic. Yeah,
you know, maybe we'll see it someday, but yeah, this
is gonna be special when the Hoya has come to town.
And yeah, that was a rough day in Seattle. We would,
as you say, we would just assume, you.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
Know, but and you know what's gonna be tough.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
People are gonna flock to over a man Kenny Walker
as this game comes up, because Kenny was in that
game and Keith Farmer is the sports director at l
e X eighteen co anchor of BBN tonight and get
over to Kroger this afternoon and tomorrow maybe you have
a chance to even me ky Man, but at least
check out his work.

Speaker 1 (13:12):
Thank you, sir, I have a great day all.

Speaker 3 (13:14):
I appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
And when we come back, mister Jack Gibbons will join
us here on this edition of The Leach Report. The
Leach Report, presented by Bobcat enterprises for locations in Kentucky.
When you need to rent or buy heavy equipment, Google
them to find the closest location to you.

Speaker 1 (13:34):
And we are happy to welcome in our next.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
Guest, mister Jack Gibbons, UK, all American Tom Leach's broadcast partner.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
On Wildcat basketball games.

Speaker 4 (13:42):
Good morning, sir, Hey Gage, good to be on with
you this morning. Hey, just a.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
Quick comment again.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
We were talking to Keith Farmer about the donations that
they're going to be taking over at the kroger Field
Blue Lot today four to eight and then tomorrow eleven
am to one.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
This is nothing new to you.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
Joby Hall made sure that you guys were really active
in the community as well, didn't he.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
Well, yeah, I mean we made a lot of visits
to hospitals, mainly the children's unit at hospitals around the area.
We traveled throughout the state. But fortunately, I guess we
didn't have to. We didn't have as many tornadoes and

(14:31):
situations and floods that it seems like they're having now,
So boy, that kind of devastation is something I'm glad
we didn't have to see. But yeah, he tried to
keep us out in the community and let us give
back as much as we possibly could when when the

(14:54):
situation needed it.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, and he just obviously knew that you guys, you
guys belonged to the state. You know when you when
you sign on to play basketball at UK, you're going
to be working in the game. When the Wildcatch take
on the Georgetown Hoyse It's an exhibition game, but another
tough one Purdue and Georgetown. What are your thoughts on
this exhibition schedule that Mark Pope has put together.

Speaker 4 (15:17):
Well, I kind of like it, you know. I mean,
I like the big games. I like the games that
are against teams that you often sit back and say, Man,
I'd love to play against those guys. You know that
we never ever get to play against. Purdue is one
of those teams. Of course, the Hoyas are another that

(15:39):
program has been been down just a little since back
in eighty four, the last time these two teams got
together out in Seattle. I remember sitting there in the
dome and thinking about halfway through the second half, sitting
there thinking, man, have we even scored this half? And

(16:00):
we hadn't. Man, But yeah, I'm really excited about these
kind of games.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Ed Cooley is the coach now came over from Providence,
only won nine games.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
His first year, but doubled that the following year.

Speaker 2 (16:14):
And you've got to wonder, Jack, as you said, Georgetown
has been down, has that had some moments, but just
really hasn't had that Ada Patrick Ewing obviously, but once
John Thompson retired, and some people think that because it's
such a small school, facilities being what they are, it's
not a big football school that Georgetown really was. It
was a fluke under John Thompson. I don't know that

(16:36):
I buy that in this day and age, do you.

Speaker 4 (16:40):
No, No, No, John Thompson could coach man. He was
a great coach and a good guy. I love talking
to him the few opportunities I got to talk to him.
But yeah, you know, I'm not sure why they kind
of fell behind him. The recruiting part of it. Thompson
did have a lot to do with it. He could

(17:02):
go and he could find a way to get uh
get players and bring him bring them into the DC
area and play there. But they they lost that. I
do think they'll get back. I think uh playing games
like this one helps them a lot because it gets
them on the big stage and people get to see him,

(17:24):
so again, I'm looking forward to this Georgetown exhibition game.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
That's a great point.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, this will help Georgetown as much, maybe even more
than Kentucky because it's gonna put them there definitely more.

Speaker 1 (17:37):
You know.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
And uh and I remember that that John Thompson Patrick
Ewing era.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (17:44):
There are kids everywhere where we're in Georgetown gear, you know,
so maybe that'll happen again. We'll come back and talk
more with Jack Gibbings in just a minute here on
the Leach Report. Welcome back to the Leach Report, Dick
Gabriel with Jack Gibbons.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
I think we still have Jack. Do we still have Jack?

Speaker 2 (18:02):
May have to reconnect with Jack. Oh, we get him back. Okay,
all right, welcome back, mister Gibbons.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
Let's talk a little.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
Bit about a former Wildcat who has had and he's
having a huge NBA season, and that's Shay Gildess Alexander
as an NBA veteran, what are your thoughts about what
he has accomplished this year, Jack, that very few other
people have done and the way he goes about it,
because as you know, he's not a huge, physically imposing

(18:30):
guy like Lebron, but somehow gets his thirty three points
a game.

Speaker 4 (18:36):
It's pretty amazing when you think about it. And you know,
while he was here, you could see he was a
special talent. You never thought he was gonna explode this much.
But he's been on the verge, man. I mean, he's
been knocking on the door to this kind of recognition
for the last few years. And you can you just

(18:59):
have to feel really good about this happening. And you
not just because he's from Kentucky, but man, it's it's
just so refreshing for the casual NBA fans, uh, you know,
and the NBA picks up a lot of those kinds
this time of the year, Uh, folks who think, well,

(19:22):
you know, it's playoff time. That's the only time I
watched the NBA. But it's great to be talking about
a fresh name. You know, you're not talking about Lebron
and you know these names that you you hear every year.
You're talking about a guy who now people are thinking,
who is this SGA dude?

Speaker 2 (19:41):
Man?

Speaker 4 (19:41):
And I think it's I think it's a good thing
for the league, and that plus the fact that these
playoff games have just been amazing. I watched that next
game last night Nix and the Pacers, and I thought
that thing was over. I kept saying to myself, Man,
I like, the Knicks should be up probably fifteen or eighteen.

(20:04):
It's a four or five point game. And then finally
they got up seventeen, and you thought, okay, well this
is where it should have been probably ten minutes ago,
and all of a sudden, here come the Pacers. But
they did that against Cleveland and that series. I mean,
it's just been a great playoff season this year.

Speaker 2 (20:22):
Yeah, the Knicks came twice from twenty plus down against
the Celts and one. Yeah, I was with some friends
playing cards last number watching the game, and I will
I'm proud to say that with two fifty one to play,
the Knicks are up fourteen, And I said, that's an
eternity in the NBA, as you well know, uh, you know,
with timeouts and you know, different rules and things like that.

Speaker 1 (20:46):
But yeah, the Knicks just fell apart.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
And it's sad to say Karl Anthony Towns missed a
clutch free throw, but those game one matchups, it seems
like that's when teams can steal one on the road.
You know, who's to say the Knicks won't do that
now in Indiana. But that Indiana team is really tough,
isn't it.

Speaker 4 (21:06):
Yeah, yeah, man, they they they can shoot the ball.
I mean, I took my grandson. Think I told Tom
last week, I took my grandson up to a uh
Pacers Cabs game. Uh. And you know, it's such an
exciting time of the year. I used to love when
I was when I was broadcasting, uh for for Turner.

(21:30):
You know, I'd go into these playoffs series and you know,
the atmosphere was so much different in the playoffs than
it was in the regular season when you go into
these places and uh. And that's the way it was
up in Indiana last last week when I went up

(21:52):
for a game there, and Uh, it's so much fun.
But these again, that game was was was not a
good one because the Cavs blew the Pacers out. But
the rest of the games that I've been able to watch,
and I've watched a lot of them this year, have
been just great basketball. You get a guy hot like

(22:13):
like you saw last night. Man, you have a guy
in one period rat alot five straight three. He said,
You're right. Games in the NBA are never.

Speaker 2 (22:23):
Over, No, and people forget that in terms of your
broadcasting career as much or more pro basketball as college basketball.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
So yeah, you're you're well versed in both.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
And yeah, because regular season, you know, well, you know,
this game's over, I'll catch the next one. Playoffs aren't
like that, as you know. So it is a lot
of fun to watch this. And you know, I was
listening to you and Tom last week and I was
really interested to hear you talk about the fact that
Antonio Reeves got such great advice Otega. Oh, I don't

(23:00):
I don't know who's talking to him, but I guarantee you,
as you pointed out, he's getting similar advice and what
that how that might have benefited you, you know when
you were trying to make because you were kind of.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
An undersized three, that wasn't.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Really it to you were a tweeter, you know, one
of the best college players of all time. But you know,
with a little more information, you know, things would have
gone a little differently for you.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
In the league. I just thought that was fascinating.

Speaker 2 (23:24):
But it's it's a great time now for kids like Oway,
isn't it.

Speaker 4 (23:29):
Yeah, And a lot of times our fans get all
been out of shape because guys go and they're going
to test the waters. Then you start to worry and
wonder and you know, get that. But this is something
that benefits these guys. I mean, they know, and I
think Oway knows that he has a little ways to

(23:52):
go before he's ready for the league. But like when
I was at Kentucky, you get kind of penciled into
a spot and you get used to playing a certain system.
And I worked really well in our system, but man,
I would love to have had these guys kind of

(24:15):
tell me, Man, you got to increase your ball handling
what I mean. Yeah, you can shoot it at you
jump all right for a guy six' five and playing
against guys six eight, you jump all right and all
of this stuff. But you know, at your size six
four sixty five, you're going to be a point guard.
You got to handle that ball. You got to get
out on the floor and learn how to defend these

(24:36):
quicker players, which I had to try to do in
the NBA. And believe me, when you're doing it for
a job and everybody's trying to make a living, it's
a very difficult place to change your whole style of play.
So yeah, I think it's good. Oh wait, we'll hear
some stuff that he won't hear from his from his girlfriend,

(24:57):
he won't hear from his parents, he won't hear from
all those people around him who are advising him. He'll
hear some stuff that he really needs to hear and
hopefully that'll help him get better the rest of this
summer and going into next season.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
He is Jack Gibbings.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
He is Tom Leach broadcast partner and also you hear
him on The Leach Report each week. Thank you, sir,
have a great day.

Speaker 4 (25:21):
Always good talking to you, Gabe.

Speaker 2 (25:24):
And when we come back to this edition of The
Leach Report, we will chat with Justin Rowland of Cats Illustrated.
Stay with us, Welcome back to the Leach Report, coming
to you from the Clark's pumpin Shop studio, and remember
to sign up for the new Loyalty rewards program. Return
refreshed and refuel at Clark's. Turning us down the Club
Blue Nil hotline is mister Justin Rowland of Cats Illustrated

(25:48):
and good morning sir.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
Good morning Dick. How are you.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
I'm well? Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (25:53):
Let me get your thoughts on the newest wildcat, Braden Hawthorne,
who had been at one point in West Virginia commit
and then reopened his recruiting and I kind of thought
justin off the top of Kentucky was a launch shot.
But since then the young man has said he's always
been a Kentucky fan, and he talked about just how

(26:13):
much Mark Pope worked to connect with him. What were
your thoughts on his commitment.

Speaker 5 (26:21):
He's an intriguing guy, kind of a kind of a
late developing late riser with a tremendous wingspan, mobility, athleticism, body, developing,
scoring skills, and he's the kind of guy that two
or three years from now you could like check back
in on how he's doing if you're not following Kentucky
in shocked. He's an all SEC guy. He's a draft prospect,

(26:43):
and you know he might not be as ready to
come in right away in average fifteen a game as
some of Cal's won and done's, but he's climbing the
national charts and there's a ton of upside there.

Speaker 1 (26:55):
So when you're filling.

Speaker 5 (26:55):
Out the roster, he could have could have done a
lot worse based on all the pieces he's already got.
It's a good bought for somebody to come in and
develop their skills.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
But you know, that's where we are in this process
with college sports now, especially basketball, and especially Kentucky. When
a guy like that signs, my initial response is, my
first question is how patient will this young man be?
You know what I'm saying, Because we know how the

(27:22):
portal door spins and how the NBA beckons and all that,
and then you and I grew up and really everybody
did with you know, kids kind of easing into a
career at times and waiting their turn and then going
through the process, and that's just really not the way
it is anymore.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
And I wonder about that, do you.

Speaker 5 (27:42):
Yeah, it's gonna be constant. That's gonna be something that
we just have to watch all year long. I mean,
one good thing maybe one of the reasons he picked
Hope was he saw how consistently he got ten to
fifteen minutes a game for pretty much everybody. Yeah, so
even if you step into a situation with a good
team context and used to experience players around you who
are gonna make you look good, bring out the best
help you know where to be, communicate with you, you

(28:06):
get ten to fifteen minutes your first year. Then you're
looking at maybe twenty twenty five minutes your second year,
and I think that time is there, And I think
the fact that he's a late riser, He's not somebody
who has just read his press clippings for the last
two or three years and now I'm ranked number four,
I should be ranked number two.

Speaker 1 (28:20):
I should be ranked number one.

Speaker 5 (28:22):
I think he knows where he's at, and that's probably
why he picked Kentucky's just he'll get some playing time
in a good context and gradually increase it.

Speaker 2 (28:29):
There are a lot of players who have come out
of that Huntington Prep school. What can you tell us
about about that facility or that program?

Speaker 5 (28:36):
Yeah, I mean, all I know is the guys that
have come through, and it's pretty nice to have a
pipeline that close to Lexington, But it seems like a
lot of the guys that surface there are definitely big
on Kentucky. You have, you have programs like that, you
know in a lot of states where guys typically get funneled.

(28:57):
And yeah, but I think for him, he's why Kentucky
guys in the first round of the draft his entire life.

Speaker 1 (29:03):
So whether it was his.

Speaker 5 (29:04):
Number one dream school or not for somebody who's probably
just happy to be there after where it was a
couple of years ago. Kentucky was probably a big deal
for him.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
You know, I don't know about you, but I always
find it interesting how sports can make people like you
and me. We've been around for a while. I have
a few years on you now, but you've got you've
got a big family. You see the kids growing so fast,
but you know you have a Tennessee to feel dated.
And now we're hearing kids justin and you've heard them
saying I grew up a John wall fan. You're like,
wait a minute, he was at Kentucky. But that's all

(29:35):
part of it, isn't it.

Speaker 5 (29:37):
Time flies, and that that's gonna be pang dividends for
a long time. I mean, how long was was North
Carolina the hot recruiting program because of Michael Jordan. I
mean that residual downstream effect was like twenty thirty years
of recruiting dominance for Smith and can't with cal leaving,
that's a little bit different. But Kentucky's going to be
riding that wave. And we're hearing quotes from Kentucky commitments

(29:57):
about this was my favorite player I grew up watching him,
and it's going to shock us like that for a
long time.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
I think a couple minutes left with Justin Rowland of
Cats Illustrated part of the Rivals Network. You have a
story on the website about the fact that two quarterbacks
have landed offers from Kentucky without giving away the store,
what can you tell us, Well.

Speaker 5 (30:16):
They're both twenty twenty seven quarterbacks, and they're both well known,
well established commodities. But what was interesting to me is
Kentucky already has a quarterback.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
Commitment in DJ Hunter. He's from Knoxville and.

Speaker 5 (30:27):
Maybe moving back to Kentucky, and he's from Kentucky, but
he's coming off an injury, and so it doesn't seem
like the twenty twenty sixth class the current class is
that huge of a deal for quarterbacks. I know Busham
then has offered and brought in oscar Rios from out
in California for an official visit, but they're more focused
on twenty seven when it looks like they're going to
bring in two guys, and I like that strategy. Hunter

(30:49):
is a little bit raw and he's coming off an injury,
but he's got tremendous upside. You bring him, bring him
in with another quarterback, and you kind of cover your bases.
But again, this is the portal eras how many of
these guys are even going to be a college they
signed with anywhere?

Speaker 2 (31:01):
You can't have too many quarterbacks. We've seen We've seen
Kentucky run out of QB's, haven't.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
We That's right?

Speaker 5 (31:07):
Yeah, yeah, I mean we've seen depth become acute a
number of positions. But I like the situation they're going
into this year with. I feel like Cutter is as
a second at multiple years in the system, you have
to hope is more ready to be a really solid
If you've got to go behind center, it doesn't change
much of what you're running the offense.

Speaker 2 (31:25):
Kind of guy, and I really believe, and having been
down there on the sidelines watching him perform at Texas
when things did not go swimmingly all the time, but
then sometimes it did, that's just invaluable, isn't.

Speaker 5 (31:39):
It, No doubt, no doubt, And even the bad moments
are going to be valuable, Like when you put him
in a spot and he makes it out and it's
just a throw you can't make. I'm sure he learned
from that, and so there were ups and there were downs.
But he has some qualities, just some gamer qualities. The
way that his body moves. For somebody that's that's a tall,
big quarterback is impressed. I heard he's up like sixteen

(32:00):
pounds or something like that from last year. So he's
still building that body up and be interesting.

Speaker 1 (32:05):
To see his development.

Speaker 5 (32:06):
But Calzada is obviously.

Speaker 1 (32:09):
Interesting as well.

Speaker 5 (32:10):
He had a couple of great years in Incarnate word,
but who knows how that translates back to the sec Yeah.

Speaker 2 (32:15):
Well, speaking of Cutter, I remember I'll never forget when
he had that big run against Murray State on a
broken play. Oh yeah, laughed about it later and said,
I've never run that far that fast in my entire life.
People need to remember he ain't the scrambler that Will
Levis was.

Speaker 1 (32:29):
He's not.

Speaker 5 (32:29):
He's not, but he's also not a not a bad athlete.
So no, he's somebody the community's got that big stride.
And yeah, that was that was great, and I got
a feeling we haven't seen the last of it. You
go into a season with a plan and you know
whether it's going to be a blowout or whether Helsada
misses some time or maybe you cutter even beats out
over the course of the year. He probably not played

(32:50):
his last meetingful football for Kentucky.

Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yep, I agree with you. He is justin Rowland.

Speaker 2 (32:54):
He is the publisher of Cats Illustrated, part of the
Rivals Network and you can follow him at Roll Rivals
on x or Twitter if you will, and keep an
eye on Rivals. If you're not a subscriber yet, they've
got a deal coming up July first you can get
access to all the on three sports national and fan
site premium content and vice versa, so keep an eye

(33:15):
on that.

Speaker 1 (33:15):
Thank you, sir, I have a good one.

Speaker 4 (33:17):
Thanks lock you as well.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
All righty, and when we come back, we will wrap
up this edition of the Leach Report. Welcome back to
Legends of the LPGA Tour are coming to Woodford County
some of the top players in the history of the tour.
We'll be playing in the Woodford Legends Invitational on June
seventh and eighth at the Woodford Club in Versales. Tickets

(33:40):
are fifteen dollars per day. Go to Woodford Clubfoundation dot
org to get details. Woodford Clubfoundation dot org. Proceeds benefit
KVC Kentucky. As we wrap up this edition of the
Leach Report, and we thank our guests Jack Gibbons, Keith
Farmer and Justin Roland.

Speaker 1 (34:01):
This Day in UK History presented.

Speaker 2 (34:03):
By Kentucky road Show, Sports Cards and Memorabilia and lexingdon
learn more about them at Roadshowcards dot com. And really
not much going on in UK history on this day,
but there is a birthday and it is mister Rob Locke,
the one and only. In fact, he is the one
and only Wildcat for now with a birthday on May

(34:23):
twenty second. And he was one of my personal favorites
because he actually interned for US at WKYT one summer
and actually showed up for work and.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Carried trypods and did what interns do.

Speaker 2 (34:37):
Didn't really put stories together for the news, but he
was a great guy to be around, a really California guy,
and six' eleven wasn't the most graceful of. Players seemed
like he was on the floor quite a, bit but
he wasn't afraid to mix things. Up AND i remember
the following year WHEN i don't even remember who was
playing in the paint For, kentucky but people were complaining

(35:01):
that they weren't tough. Enough and ACTUALLY i heard somebody, say,
man we could really Use Robert.

Speaker 1 (35:05):
Locke AND i, thought, well that's a.

Speaker 2 (35:06):
Turnaround but rob was drafted in the third round by
THE La clippers and he could have.

Speaker 1 (35:11):
Bounced around the.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
League but he accepted an offer to go play In,
europe AND i believe it was In. Spain AND i
remember seeing him during one of the off, seasons one
of the, summers AND i, said, man how's it.

Speaker 1 (35:23):
Going he, SAID i hated. IT i, said what get?

Speaker 2 (35:28):
This he was living in a villa with a nice.
POOL i think it was near the, ocean all this.
Stuff they played twice a week and he had lost.
WEIGHT i, said, man you look. Good he, said. Well
their style of play was run up and down the
floor and shoot even the.

Speaker 1 (35:43):
Bigs so he didn't carry all the.

Speaker 2 (35:45):
Muscle he needed At, kentucky so that style of play suited.

Speaker 1 (35:49):
Him they.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
Practiced when they, practiced it was one hour a, day
and AS i, said two games a, week And i'm,
thinking what could be. BETTER i don't know what he was,
making but you, know decent money for back. Then but
he didn't like it because he was so, homesick and he,
SAID i doesn't want to make enough money to start
my business and go.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
Home and he did. That he played ten, years put
together all the capital he needed to start a. Company
with his.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
Dad he was an, Aviator rob, Was he was a,
pilot and they built together a bye wing, plane one
of Those Waldo pepper type, planes and they went around
the country giving people rides in the. Airplane that was
his business for the longest. Time, also he ultimately Married
Valerie still they since split. Up But Rob locke one

(36:38):
of my all time Favorite wildcats and a good guy
and a pretty good, pilot and we we wish him happy.
Birthday stay tuned For billion The dude coming up next
here on The Leech report.

Speaker 1 (36:50):
Stations