December 17, 2025 • 38 mins
Tom talks with Chris Fisher, Rob Dauster, and Caroline Makuaskus.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, everybody, how you doing. Welcome into the show for
a Wednesday. We're always presented by Bobcat Enterprises, and coming
up today we will talk some college hoops with Rob
Doster from the Field of sixty eight. They do their
after dark podcasts after games when there's a big slave
(00:21):
of games, and they did that last Saturday and talked
about Kentucky and Indiana, so we'll get Rob's take on that.
We will hear from Chris Fisher of The Cat's Pause,
and Caroline Makowskis from the Lexingdon.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Harold Leader Kentucky Sports.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Dot Com where she covers not only UK women's basketball,
but covered a little volleyball last week as well. So
that's the lineup for today. Wildcat News of the Day
presented by Giuseppes of Lexington and you should check out
John Hale's article in the Lexington Harold Leader Kentucky Sports
dot Com. John's on the show yesterday, but the article
(00:59):
is just coming out today and he did a long
one on one with Mitch Barnhardt about several of the
things that people have been talking about that came up
in the UK Network interview last weekend. The business side
of college athletics, nil, the JMI deal, even a little
bit on Mitch just thinking about retirement. It's all in
(01:20):
the one on one that John did and obviously you
can see that at Kentucky sports dot Com and well
done as always by John. So we'll get him back
on the show and get some thoughts on some of
this at some point, but it's there for you at
Kentucky sports dot Com and the Lexington Herald Leader. Coming
(01:43):
up tonight neat event here in Lexington over at Kentucky
Roadshow Shop on Romedy Road and the Chevy Chase area.
Mo Diabate is going to do a toy drive and
what great timing after the game that he played last week.
This was set up in advance and actually at last
Friday at practice I talked to him about this and
(02:07):
to give him a little extra publicity. It's it's tonight
from six to seven thirty. If you bring a new
toy for child, then you can get an autograph in
a picture with Mo. They're at Kentucky Roadshow Shop during
that ninety minute window tonight. And so anyway, I talked
to me about that a little bit about coming we're
coming back from the injury a little bit about looking
forward on the season. All of that here with Mo.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Diabatte anybody you know, coach hearn anything helps you get
through it because you went through it before and you've
been able to manage it yourself.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
My training to Brandon Wells, I've been working with him
every day to trying to get a better line. You know,
I'm getting like two or three sessions in a day
on my ankle, just trying to get better. My family
and age days will check on me, make sure I'm good.
You know, I make sure I mensday in a right spot.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Well, IM sure that's a little frustrating, but so we'll
talk about something that should be uplifting. Then you're going
to be involved with over Kentucky Road Show shop for
Christmas and is a toy drive. Fans can get autographs
and pictures if they bring toys for kids.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
How did this come about?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
I just wanted to do something nice for holidays. I
just it's.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
A moment of rock and connect with the fans and
you know, meet some of the fans that I haven't
got to me yet. And I'm sure it's a lot
of them that DM me every day that wants to
meet me. And you know, this is the opportunity for
them to try to connect with me or get it,
get an autograph.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
And it must be nice to know that you're gonna
be doing that.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
You mean, it be fun to be fans, but that
you're gonna be putting a smile on the face of
a youngster.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Yeah, that's right, man, that's that's that's all we try
to do. And you know, as a Kentucky player and
you know, be the best we can't for our fans
and keeps up happy.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
You know what gives you confidence that you guys are
gonna get this sports through what you're going through and
be this you think.
Speaker 7 (04:00):
You're we like like we're we're really like you know,
close off the court like a lot of people, you know,
there's there'd be a lot of rumors going on and stuff,
but you know, we believe in our.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
In each other, Like we hang out each other outside
of the court.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
You know, we still have those conversations like when it's
when it's gonna when it's gonna be that time when
we turn it all.
Speaker 6 (04:23):
Around, you know and make all the noise stops.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
So like we we we have a lot of confidence
in ourselfs and like you know, we all came in
for a reason and we all we all believe in
that goal. Like we could still do it because we
have the talent. You know, it's just about putting everything together,
you know. So like I'm really still confident in our team,
Like like I feel like it's it's still early. You know,
(04:46):
we had a lot of things to figure out, but
you know it's getting to that point where like we're
gonna turn it around.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
And I believe that last thing.
Speaker 8 (04:53):
While you're waiting to get back on the court, you're
like spending some time doing drills and things with another
teammate who's in that same spot. Uh, what's the what's
what are fans gonna see when JQ makes it out there?
Speaker 6 (05:06):
They gonna love JQ.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Man.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
JQ he plays with a high mortal He's a terrific kid.
My fans are gonna love him.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
By the way he plays is like he's so dominant,
great defensive player, ray.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
About for it's presidential self and.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
That that's something that consuct a fans, like you know,
the players that play hard and you know, give an effort.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
So they're gonna they're gonna fall in love with JQ.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Mommedy Abatte and uh, that's tonight the Toy Drive at
Kentucky road Show Shop. It's on Romedy Road here in
Lexington Roadshowcards dot com. You can uh find the address
and get yourself over there tonight between six and seven thirty.
Bring a toy and toy a new toy and you
can get a picture in autograph with Mohammed Abate tonight.
(05:56):
We'll be right back. It is the Leads Report rob
Oster coming up next. This opening segment always presented by
Giuseppes of Lexington. We had some folks over last night,
picked up Guseppes for dinner and had obviously a big
It was a big hit. Everybody loved it. You can
get gift cards. In fact, while I was waiting to
pick up the order, lady came in to get some
(06:19):
gift cards. You can go to the restaurant and pick
up gift cards right now. It's getting late, but if
you need a last minute gift, that's the way to
do it. You can also get them through Guseppes Lexington
dot com and they can email you the gift cards.
So check those out Giuseppes Lexington dot com. We'll be
right back, Welcome back into the show. Coming here from
the Clark's Pumping Shop studio, Return, refresh and refuel, and
(06:39):
to get a perspective from outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
we go to Rob Doster from the Field of sixty
eight as the Cats get set to return to the
court on Saturday in Atlanta against Saint John's and Rob,
I was watching the after Dark podcast, which folks can
find on through the Field of sixty eight network, after
a lot of the big nights in college basketball, and
(07:02):
on Saturday night, you guys talked. One of the games
you touched on was the Kentucky win over Indiana, and
its sounded like you thought Kentucky took some significant steps
toward Would maybe finding out a finding an identity be
the right way to describe it.
Speaker 9 (07:17):
Yeah, you know, I feel like that's been one of
the things that Post been kind of struggling with this year,
is what kind of team are we and how are
we going to play?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Right?
Speaker 9 (07:26):
Like they if you think about the ideal Mark Polk team,
it's a team that is going to have a bunch
of guys that can space the floor and shoot it
and you can run all these fancy zoom actions and
you can play all this NBA style offense. You can
do all those different things, but that doesn't work when
you don't have guys that have the skill sets to
be able to do that. And it's fine. There's a
lot of teams that have had a lot of success
(07:46):
playing college basketball over the years that didn't have that.
And I think what we saw, especially in the second half,
with him leaning to this idea that hey, look, you
know what, we got some dudes here that are tough,
that are physical, that are athletic, that can kind of
beat you up physically. And that's what I think they
did in the second half and down the stretch against Indiana.
(08:08):
You know, holding in any end the team to twenty
one points and a half is not an easy seat, right.
Being able to do what they did defensively is something
that I think we should If you are a Kentucky fan,
you should be hoping that they lean into because it worked.
And once you get Jade Quainton's back, and once you
get another guy that's just big and physical and athletic
(08:29):
and can play that way, I think that is going
to be how you kind of make this thing work
in the long term. If you are Mark Pope, and
it'll be very interesting to see if that's something that
he agrees with and that's something that they decide to
start leaning into as a team.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And it's interesting in that we'll it will take him
out of you know, coaches ask players to step out
of their comfort zone at times. It'll take him out
of what I would assume was his comfort zone as
a coach with coaching this kind of team, right, yeah, a.
Speaker 9 (08:58):
Little bit, But I mean the best coach which are
the ones that are able to adapt to the pieces
that they have. And this is what they got. This
isn't the NBA. You're not going to be able to
go out and add something in the trade deadline. You're
not going to be able to go out and you know,
sign someone from the G League. You got the fifteen
players that you came with, and this is what you're
gonna have to figure out to find a way to
be able to do. Now, getting Jaden Quainton's back certainly
(09:21):
will help, especially if you want to lean into that
kind of physicality and athleticism angle. But this is the
group that he has and he has to find a
way to be able to make it work. With the
group that he has now, I think the criticism has
been you know, there's I think there's two things where
Pope has kind of struggled this year.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Right.
Speaker 9 (09:40):
One is you put together a roster that maybe isn't
the best fit stylistically for the way that you want
to play. And that that is something where you know,
we always talk about how important recruiting is. I think
evaluating is more important than recruiting. Right, Figuring out these
are the guys that are going to be the best
way for me to be able to win is more important.
I'm saying, I just got the highest ranked player, especially
(10:02):
if you want to play a certain style. Now, if
you are the kind of coach that is going to
change up what you do depending on the personnel that
you have, then go out and get the biggest names
and the the you know, the most talented players you
can and then just figure it out from there. And
I think the latter is what Pope is going to
have to start doing moving forward with this group. You
(10:24):
don't have a big man that can pass, you don't
have the kind of shooters that you used to have,
and so look Yamo Diabat and and you care them
with Jane Quaintin's that's not going to be the prettiest
thing that you're ever going to see. But you want
to go out there and kind of get physical and
get ugly and force them force teams to deal with
your physicality and strength. Now that is something that those
two are going to be able to have success with.
(10:46):
And then I mean that just kind of leaned into
it will take always the same kind of players, So
I'll be very curious to see how I'll make kind
of adapt moving forward. And also say this too, Indiana's
not the most physical team. I don't know if there
are many programs in the country that that Indiana is
going throughout muscle and out tough. Saint John's is not
(11:08):
like that. Saint John's is going to come in there
through Atlanta and they're gonna be ready for the fight.
So we're going to find out, I think, on Saturday,
whether or not this is something that will work in
the long term for Kentucky.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
They had close to what their full roster looks like
for this game, really for the first time since the
Louisville game when Low played thirty minutes and Diabate was
still at full strength. So Moe's not all the way back,
I'm sure from a you know, to one hundred percent
off the ankle, and Jalen's in whatever situation he's going
(11:40):
to have to be in for the rest of the year, probably,
and it's not so much that it's going to get
a lot better, it's just can it stay where it is? Probably,
So with that in mind, assuming they can keep Jalen
Low in the game for they played twenty four minutes
in this game something like that, maybe maybe more, what
can the offense look like if they get it right
(12:01):
on the defensive end, what can the offense evolve into?
Speaker 9 (12:04):
I honestly think that playing like this leads a little
bit more into the skill set of Jalalen Low. Right.
Like Jalen Low. That was one of the questions that
I had when they decided to go out and get him,
is this is a guy that wants to have the
ball in his hands and wants to be able to
kind of dribble that thing and make decisions and make reads,
and he wants to be able to be put into
(12:25):
ball screens where he is the one that is making
the choice on what happens, as opposed to letting him
be off the ball and kind of running some of
those actions. So I think that having something where you
run a little bit less stuff and get a little
bit more basic probably is better for Jalen Low as
a player in terms of what his profile is as
a point guard. Now, the risk that you run is
(12:45):
you're probably one more aggravation to that shoulder as you're
away from him saying you know what, I don't know
if I can do this right, And I think that
that is probably inevitable that that happens. You know, the
thing that's frustrating with shoulders is you probably need surgery
to fix it. Now, it's not something that gets worse
(13:06):
when you don't have surgery, and you can play through
it if you can handle the pain. But I mean,
Kentucky fan saw this last year with Lamon Butler. He
handled the pain for a while, but he was never
the same guy that he was before he started dealing
with this. So you know, it's you can try to
build around it, but you're again like one one screen
(13:26):
that he runs into at the wrong angle, away from
having this be something where okay again, Now it's January
and you're gonna have to revamp what you're trying to
do all.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Over again totally, rob osterro Field of sixty eight. Where
all can people find the Field of sixty eight products?
Speaker 9 (13:41):
Yeah, we're all live on YouTube every night at eleven o'clock,
streaming on x and anyway. You get podcasts for absolutely free, Tom,
It's absolutely free our podcast feed, Apple Podcasts, Spotify everywhere
and look.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
For Field of sixty eight. Let's talk about the SEC,
since conference play will be starting before long. Obviously not
as strong as it was last year. What's your take
on just the overall strength of the SEC versus what
you expected coming into the year.
Speaker 9 (14:09):
I mean, I think we all kind of knew it
was going to take a little bit of a step
back from this year. It's probably be taking more of
a step back than I expected that it would. But
we're at a point right now where I think that
there's a real possibility that Arkansas is the best team
in the SEC, which is crazy to say and probably
not what Kentucky fans want to hear. But Florida's got
(14:29):
their warts. I'm not a believer right now in Tennessee
as being that level of good. Alabama's got some injury
issues that they're dealing with, but they're small. They don't
really have the physicality inside when you look at I mean,
you got to be big, and you got to be strong,
and you got to be tough to be able to
win with some of these bigger teams in college basketball
(14:50):
this season. I don't know if Alabama necessarily has that,
so I mean it might be Arkansas. Man, it might
be Arkansas. That is a team that is the best
team with the best chance to make a final four
out of the SEC.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Rob noster Field sixty eight.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Thanks toom.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Always interesting to get the national perspective on Kentucky since
we see them here day in and day out. Let's
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hundred dollars or more at Cornbreadhemp dot com. This is
the good life. We'll be right back on the Leach Report.
It's the Leach Report for a Wednesday. We are coming
to you from the Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return, refresh
(16:14):
and refuel as we welcome Chris Fisher into the program.
You can read his work Cats Illustrated and follow What
is the X handle?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Now? Chris? How do you get hacks?
Speaker 10 (16:26):
We had to change at Chris Fisher Kwy.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
At Chris Fisher Kwy. Great.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
What was your take on the win over Indiana last
Saturday and any progress you saw?
Speaker 9 (16:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (16:39):
I came on the show last week saying that Mark Pope,
you know, as an offensive coach, needed to kind of
lean into that and if the effort and intensity wasn't
going to be there on defense, maybe just you know,
put your best five scorers on the floor and take
that approach. And it shows what I know. He went
the opposite way and it worked out for him that
(17:02):
the second half against Indiana, I was extremely impressive the
way Kentucky defended and got after the basketball and dominated
Indiana on the boards. Modiabatte obviously had a lot to
do with that. I think he had obviously a double double,
but seven offensive rebounds. And you know, this is an
(17:23):
Indiana team that's no slouch offensively. They scored one hundred
and thirteen points against Penn State. They hit seventeen three pointers.
Now I'm having Lamar Wilkerson in foul trouble for much.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Of the game.
Speaker 10 (17:34):
Obviously aided in that effort, but forced them into eight
season high eighteen turnovers, held them to thirty four percent
shooting four of twenty four from the three point line,
and so it was a gritty performance. And you know,
when they fell behind, I think it was thirty nine
to thirty, you know, you could almost hear like a
(17:56):
groan in the rep Arena crowd, like oh, here we
go again. But this team responded and responded in a
big way.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
More Chris, So we come right back on the Leads
Report second half of our show, presented by Bobcat Enterprises.
They have four locations in Kentucky. When you need to
buy or rent heavy equipment for a job site something
like snow removal for example, Bobcats excavators, loaders, forklifts, et cetera.
Bobcat Enterprises needs to be the go to spot and
(18:24):
they will take great care of you after the deal
is done as well at Bobcat Enterprises. Chat with Chris
Fisher from Cats Illustrated at Chris Fisher ky on X
about Kentucky basketball and once they get acquaintance back and
get him up to speed, that should only enhance the
(18:45):
ability to be better a better half court defensive team.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Chris.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
It's the lineup that they put on the floor to
do that. It's not going to be their best shooting lineup.
So it's but Mark.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Pope said the other night he thinks the shooting will
come around.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
I don't know if you look at historic averages for
you know, like Modia Bonte is not a high volume
three point guy, and you know Otega's you know, mid thirties.
It's it's unexpected that those guys would become like forty
to forty five percent three point shooters. The guys who do, though,
could be valuable contributors to the plan. Chandler, Noah Williams,
(19:25):
and coach Folk was talking about their Noah Shooting system
that tracks all the shooting in practice, and I know,
you know.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Fans will say, well, that's not it's not games. But
still Mark said.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
He's it almost always works out to where the numbers
get to wear close anyway to what the Noah system
says they are in practice over the course of a season.
So it will see if the math plays out for him,
but they could certainly use that improvement.
Speaker 10 (19:53):
Yeah, I still think this is a better shooting team
than we've seen to this point, and Water is going
to find its level eventually, and I think that'll be
the case with this team. I think, you know, Colin
Chandler started out the season high and now teams have
started to kind of key on him. He's getting the
Kobe Brea treatment that he got last season. But you know,
a guy like Cam Williams is a guy that Kentucky
(20:16):
really needs to find his rhythm, and he was a
forty three point shooter as a freshman at Tulane last season. Now,
shooting the ball at Kentucky is a little bit different
than than Tulane, so I'm not really that surprised to
see an adjustment period there. But he's a guy it
would be so valuable for Kentucky because he does so
many other things that that help you. If he could
(20:39):
find his perimeter shot, I think that would go a
long way. You know, Trent Noah is a guy that
is going to get you know, limited looks I think
from deep, but still shooting a pretty good percentage. So
once this team starts shooting the ball a little bit better,
I think obviously that will will go a long way.
Jaden Quainton's now, he's not a guy that's gonna help
(21:00):
your perimeter shooting, but he's a guy that averaged two
point six blocks per game as a seventeen year old
freshman in Arizona State last season. And you know, a
high tide lifts all boats, and you know, more often
than not, even coming off of torn acl he's going
to be the most talented player on the floor. And
I think that'll go a long way for Kentucky.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yeah, it's just not going to be the kind of team.
It sort of didn't look that. It looked like that
Park Pope has coached throughout his career. But I was thinking,
you know, this year is not only the it's the
fiftieth season of Kentucky basketball and up Arena.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
But it's the fifty year.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
This season will be the fifty year anniversary of the
n championship team in seventy six, And it was one
of my favorite teams just as a fan coming up
watching because of you know, they just dealt with it.
They had to deal with a good bit of adversity
and they found a way to be successful that was
(21:59):
different from what Joe B. Hall typically did because they
lost Rick Roby to an injury and other guys dinged
up down the stretch, and they had lost a lot
of their great experience with the four seniors from the
year before that had made it to the finals. So
it was a you know, a team that was good
bit younger than Joe usually coached, and so they had
(22:20):
to kind of find a way and some people that
weren't expected to contributed much like Reggie Wharford did down
the stretch, and that's what this team's going to have
to do, is just to kind of find a way
get much better defensively, perhaps from what we saw last week,
build on that, and then find a way to find
(22:41):
a way to score enough offensively. And I think if
they can keep Jalen low healthy, that's the probably the
path they follow there.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Right.
Speaker 10 (22:50):
Yeah, I think I think we all know what Mark
Pope expected this team to look like. It hasn't played
out that way, and obviously injuries have been a big
part of that. But you have to play to your identity,
and I think Kentucky took a huge step forward in
maybe finding its identity against Indiana, and they're gonna have
(23:15):
to lean into that, I think, And you know, if
they have to beat teams defensively, then then that's how
you have to do it and maybe complement that with
some timely outside shooting. But getting Jalen Lowe and Mo
Diabate back, you know, it completely changed the dynamic and
the look of this team. It shouldn't be any surprise that,
(23:39):
you know, two of your top transfers being out with
injuries is gonna take its toll, and we saw that.
But getting those guys back. I think both of them,
in their own different ways, provided a completely different dynamic
for this team. And I think that will happen again
when we see Jayden Quainton's come back. Now, maybe he's
not one hundred percent right away, it'll be interesting to
(23:59):
see if they shot him out against you know, in
a high level matchup against Saint John's, or they hold
him back and kind of let him dip his toes
in the water against Bellerman. But this could, you know,
look like a completely different Kentucky basketball see and not
only then the one we thought we were going to
see at the beginning of the season, but even the
one that we've seen in the last several weeks.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah, and I think they're gonna be some guys who
will not have as big a role or as many
minutes as they had in the first month of the season.
But the who you count on for the fifth, sixth,
seventh spots could change from game to game. It was
Cam Williams, they gave him a big lift the other night,
(24:41):
but it was Yelevitch who didn't play the other night
that was great against Caleb Wilson in North Carolina. I think,
you know, guys like all like those two and you know, Noah,
maybe Chandler are going to be guys that on a
certain night, they they will be the ones that helped
one or two of those guys will be the ones
that help you. On another night, it'll be a different
(25:01):
combination of one or two of those guys.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
And that's you know.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You would like to be able to have it maybe
a little more set, but they are who they are.
Speaker 10 (25:12):
Yeah. And Jasper Johnson is another guy. You know, he
gets coming off point season high twenty two points the
game before. I think he played just three minutes against Indiana,
So you're right. I think the top six or seven
are probably going to be pretty static, and then the
kind of depending on the matchup night tonight, we may
see different guys kind of rotated in there.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Jasper, to me, if you look at the five games
against Marque opponents, didn't play much against Indiana, but the others.
He didn't play a lot against Michigan State, but a
couple of.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
The he did.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Anyway, he's he has one assist in those five games
in something like fifty plus minutes, and he's got to
be different from that guy because he he can really
help them with his ability to create his own shot.
And if you know, Low is not a guy that
can play as many minutes, maybe he you know, will
see what he can give them in terms of minutes
(26:06):
and keep him out there. But Jasper's a guy that
can give them some of what Low gives them, but
he's got to be able to give them the passing
ability of Low in addition to beating your man and
getting getting to the room to score.
Speaker 10 (26:19):
Yeah, I think outside of Jal and Low, he's really
the only other guy that can get you consistent paint
touches off the dribble, and that's going to be extremely
valuable for this team. I think he also excels operating
out of a pick and roll situation and kind of
getting to the rim and or or creating for others.
So yeah, he needs to take on, I guess, more
(26:40):
of a facilitator mindset when he's out there, because the
buckets are going to come, you know. With with him,
he's always been kind of streaky, is gonna ebb and
flow and you kind of have to ride the wave
with him, good and bad. But he's I think he'll
still be an important piece for this team going forward.
As we get into sec play.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Great Fisher, Caspaul or Cats Illustrated and at Chris Fisher
Ky joining us here on the Leach Report.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Thank you, Chris, all right, thank you, and Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
By the way, because next week we'll have Chris's normally
with us on Wednesdays. We'll have a best of show
next Wednesday and Thursday coming up. Carolyn mccawskis joins us
for the Lexdon Hair Leader on The Leach Report Radio
Network presented by Bob kat Enterprises. Fourteen away from the
top of the hour, we come to you from the
Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return, refresh and refuel at Clark's.
(27:31):
Carolin mccawskas joins us from the Lexington Hairleader Kentucky Sports
dot Com. You see her covering Kentucky women her work
covering Kentucky women's basketball, but also covering volleyball last week
at the Lexington Regional and carolinen that was quite an
atmosphere for those two days over there for coach Skinner
and his squad.
Speaker 11 (27:52):
Absolutely, good morning from Kansas City.
Speaker 12 (27:57):
It was amazing to watch.
Speaker 11 (27:58):
It was a really cool and because this is a
team that has really been putting together an impressive resume
all season, you know, undefeated in SEC play, ninth straight
SEC title, you get the SEC tournament title, and then
they brought their biggest crowds of the season out for
(28:22):
that final weekend in Memorial Coliseum and it was loud.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
And this was a team that was expected to be
good coming into the season. But are they even perhaps
better than people thought as they get to the final four?
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Now?
Speaker 12 (28:43):
I think so, I really do think so. I mean,
it's a Kraig Skinner volleyball team. The expectations are always
going to be high. The non conference is always going
to be difficult. But this team, with a true fashman
setter with a couple of transfers on the front line,
(29:06):
has just been a force to be reckoned with. And
they're fun to watch. They seem to really get along
and they're firing.
Speaker 11 (29:16):
On all cylinders and I just I'm really looking forward
to seeing what they could do.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
On Thursday, he was on the Coach Pope Show on
Monday and Mark asked him about kind of how he
went about building what he's built at Kentucky. When I
was over there Thursday watching the cal Poly match, and
you look up on the wall and they've got the
banners and they had a good run in the eighties
(29:40):
with Kathy de Boord.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
They were really.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Good, and then there's like a gap of you know,
about twenty five twenty six years before the next banner
for an SEC title is up there from coach Skinner's program,
and he's had an incredible run.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Now. Mark asked him about, you know, putting that together.
It was interesting.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
He talked about the foundational pieces for him in building
this were the setter and the Libiro has said, you know,
in basketball terms, he wanted to have a great point guard,
and you know, to start with a great point guard
and a great defender and then build around that. So
even though the hitters like you know, Delay and Hudson
(30:23):
get a lot of the attention in the awards, it's
that those foundational pieces that he builds around. And his
center is a true freshman and I mean I'm a
no volleyball expert, but her numbers look impressive.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
Oh.
Speaker 12 (30:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 11 (30:36):
Cassie O'Brien won this setting job, the starting setting job,
and this is the program there. You know, to your point,
he cares so much about having a strong setter, a
calm setter, someone who can really make sure everyone is
on the same page and making the right connections. And
(31:01):
this is the first competition in nearly a decade that
this program has had because it's been such a you know,
culture build, right, So you've got one setter who's got
it for a few years, and then this person who's
been in the program kind of learns from the setter
(31:22):
before her steps up. But this year it was kind
of wide open. And I don't know that many people
expect a true freshman to come in and win a
job like that of that level of importance and then
handle it with such grace, But O'Brien really has and
(31:44):
she was the sec Freshman of the Year, and there
is a lot of chatter that she may be named
the national Freshman of the Year as well.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
You had a.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Posted or a story in the Herald Leader and clip
this post from X to talk with you about it
when we had you on the show about the surging
popularity of volleyball in terms of just fan engagement. You've
cite some numbers from ESPN, and the most viewed match
this season was the first one Kentucky and Nebraska. They
(32:16):
had over a million viewers on August thirty first, and
just by comparison, Kentucky and Indiana men's basketball had two
million last Saturday for their most watched game of the season.
So that's a strong number for volleyball and volleyball and
just women's sports in general. Business is quite good right now,
as well as the quality of play.
Speaker 12 (32:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 11 (32:37):
I think, you know, maybe people will see me and
many others around Lexington wearing the shirt everyone watches women's sports.
Speaker 10 (32:47):
But you know, it's true as these sports.
Speaker 11 (32:51):
Are gaining parody and opportunities when it comes to broadcast.
Really think think that's more of what it is. And
I think Craig's gonna put it really nicely a couple
of weeks ago when he said, look, volleyball is a
sport that people will fall in love with. They just
(33:13):
need the opportunity to see it, to be there, to
be a part of it. And I think women's basketball
is similar. I think a lot of women's sports are similar.
We're seeing it with the United States women's national soccer team.
People are looking for high level competition, they're looking for
good team chemistry, and people like watching good storylines. And
(33:36):
these athletes have worked so hard and it's cool to
see people starting in this case in particular, to really
become aware of how exciting women's volleyball is and the
storylines are just I mean, they're everywhere, and it's just
a pleasure to watch.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
I wondered when I was reading your story and the
Hair Leader and these numbers and just some others saw
something recently where the I think ESPN's getting the same
dollar amount for ads in women's basketball coverage as it
is in men's coverage right now. And I wonder if
if there all is any element to this that the
(34:20):
sports for the women are more like what a lot
of fans came up with for college sports. In other words,
you know, you don't see as maybe as much player movement.
I know Craig is a couple of key transfers, but
it seems like there's not as much player movement. There's more,
you know, players are there for longer time, Fans get
(34:43):
to know them more, They enjoy, you know, getting to
build a relationship with their favorite players on their team
and see them grow over time. And you get more
of that still in the women's games than in the
men's games, at least in something like football and men's basketball.
Speaker 11 (34:58):
Yeah, I think that's and there are a few reasons
for that. Right when we talk about limited professional opportunity
at the next level.
Speaker 10 (35:08):
Change that is changing.
Speaker 11 (35:11):
You know, Major League volleyball is coming up. There were
three drafted athletes on that creating team that Kentucky swept
in the Elite eight, and they're all excellent and they're
all going to have the opportunity to compete.
Speaker 5 (35:26):
At the next level.
Speaker 11 (35:27):
We're seeing leagues like unrivaled pop ups or basketball, and
it's really neat to see. But you know, there are
rules in place. You can't go to the WNBA. If
you're playing NCAA women's college basketball, you can't go one
and done. There are systems in place. You've got to
(35:49):
be in there for a few years or be the
correct age. So oftentimes there's a focus on getting the degree.
Speaker 12 (36:00):
You know.
Speaker 11 (36:00):
Uh, there are transfers, of course, and there are some
high profile transfers that cause a lot of talk online,
but there are things that you just can't do in
the same way. And as there aren't as many opportunities
for broadcast at this point, you know, that is changing rapidly.
There's not as much money right now in women's college
(36:24):
sports at there as there are in say college football
or men's college basketball. So there's there's less there are
less resources to throw around. Uh there aren't. Uh there
there are more rules in place.
Speaker 12 (36:40):
And you know, I imagine that maybe one.
Speaker 11 (36:43):
Day there they will get a little bit more similar
in that regard as the money increases. But right now,
I think that's why.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Caroline interesting chat. Appreciate it. We're out of time.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
We'll get you back before conference play starts for women's basketball.
Get into that as well. But thank you much, Mery.
Speaker 8 (37:02):
Christmas, Thank you very much.
Speaker 10 (37:04):
Have a good one.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Mary.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
And that's Carol mccawskis joining us here on the Leach Report.
You can read her work at Kentucky sports dot com
and the Lexington Herald Leader.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
We'll close it out in just a moment. Stay in
Wildcat history.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
In nineteen seventy eight, Kentucky beat Saint John's one two
seventy two to capture the championship of the UK Invitational Tournament.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Mike Phillips with twenty led the way.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Happy birthday, Josh Pascal, and it was on this day
that mister Wildcat Bill Kitely was born. Those notes presented
by Kentucky Roadshow Shop on Romney Road in Lexington and
at roadshowcards dot com. They'll be hosting Modia Batte for
that autograph signing tonight six to seven thirty Eastern time,
and if you bring a new toy, you can get
(37:45):
a picture and an autograph with mo. Shufflebe Coffee is
one of our great partners here on the Leach Report,
and they are all about being the best and you
can check it out the commitment to excellence. It's a
Kentucky based company at Shufflebee dot org. You asked you
order some of their product there. You can get their
coffee from Amazon or you can go to Central Kentucky
Myers stores and pick it up there. Get some shuffle
(38:07):
Being Coffee in the home for the holidays, and you'll
be set for all of your guests that are coming over.
College hoops. Last night, Tennessee routed Louisville eighty three to
sixty two. Saint John's goes to seven to three, beating
to Paul seventy nine to sixty six. See tomorrow on
the Leach Report.
Hello, everybody, how you doing. Welcome into the show for
a Wednesday. We're always presented by Bobcat Enterprises, and coming
up today we will talk some college hoops with Rob
Doster from the Field of sixty eight. They do their
after dark podcasts after games when there's a big slave
(00:21):
of games, and they did that last Saturday and talked
about Kentucky and Indiana, so we'll get Rob's take on that.
We will hear from Chris Fisher of The Cat's Pause,
and Caroline Makowskis from the Lexingdon.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Harold Leader Kentucky Sports.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Dot Com where she covers not only UK women's basketball,
but covered a little volleyball last week as well. So
that's the lineup for today. Wildcat News of the Day
presented by Giuseppes of Lexington and you should check out
John Hale's article in the Lexington Harold Leader Kentucky Sports
dot Com. John's on the show yesterday, but the article
(00:59):
is just coming out today and he did a long
one on one with Mitch Barnhardt about several of the
things that people have been talking about that came up
in the UK Network interview last weekend. The business side
of college athletics, nil, the JMI deal, even a little
bit on Mitch just thinking about retirement. It's all in
(01:20):
the one on one that John did and obviously you
can see that at Kentucky sports dot Com and well
done as always by John. So we'll get him back
on the show and get some thoughts on some of
this at some point, but it's there for you at
Kentucky sports dot Com and the Lexington Herald Leader. Coming
(01:43):
up tonight neat event here in Lexington over at Kentucky
Roadshow Shop on Romedy Road and the Chevy Chase area.
Mo Diabate is going to do a toy drive and
what great timing after the game that he played last week.
This was set up in advance and actually at last
Friday at practice I talked to him about this and
(02:07):
to give him a little extra publicity. It's it's tonight
from six to seven thirty. If you bring a new
toy for child, then you can get an autograph in
a picture with Mo. They're at Kentucky Roadshow Shop during
that ninety minute window tonight. And so anyway, I talked
to me about that a little bit about coming we're
coming back from the injury a little bit about looking
forward on the season. All of that here with Mo.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Diabatte anybody you know, coach hearn anything helps you get
through it because you went through it before and you've
been able to manage it yourself.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
My training to Brandon Wells, I've been working with him
every day to trying to get a better line. You know,
I'm getting like two or three sessions in a day
on my ankle, just trying to get better. My family
and age days will check on me, make sure I'm good.
You know, I make sure I mensday in a right spot.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Well, IM sure that's a little frustrating, but so we'll
talk about something that should be uplifting. Then you're going
to be involved with over Kentucky Road Show shop for
Christmas and is a toy drive. Fans can get autographs
and pictures if they bring toys for kids.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
How did this come about?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
I just wanted to do something nice for holidays. I
just it's.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
A moment of rock and connect with the fans and
you know, meet some of the fans that I haven't
got to me yet. And I'm sure it's a lot
of them that DM me every day that wants to
meet me. And you know, this is the opportunity for
them to try to connect with me or get it,
get an autograph.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
And it must be nice to know that you're gonna
be doing that.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
You mean, it be fun to be fans, but that
you're gonna be putting a smile on the face of
a youngster.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Yeah, that's right, man, that's that's that's all we try
to do. And you know, as a Kentucky player and
you know, be the best we can't for our fans
and keeps up happy.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
You know what gives you confidence that you guys are
gonna get this sports through what you're going through and
be this you think.
Speaker 7 (04:00):
You're we like like we're we're really like you know,
close off the court like a lot of people, you know,
there's there'd be a lot of rumors going on and stuff,
but you know, we believe in our.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
In each other, Like we hang out each other outside
of the court.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
You know, we still have those conversations like when it's
when it's gonna when it's gonna be that time when
we turn it all.
Speaker 6 (04:23):
Around, you know and make all the noise stops.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
So like we we we have a lot of confidence
in ourselfs and like you know, we all came in
for a reason and we all we all believe in
that goal. Like we could still do it because we
have the talent. You know, it's just about putting everything together,
you know. So like I'm really still confident in our team,
Like like I feel like it's it's still early. You know,
(04:46):
we had a lot of things to figure out, but
you know it's getting to that point where like we're
gonna turn it around.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
And I believe that last thing.
Speaker 8 (04:53):
While you're waiting to get back on the court, you're
like spending some time doing drills and things with another
teammate who's in that same spot. Uh, what's the what's
what are fans gonna see when JQ makes it out there?
Speaker 6 (05:06):
They gonna love JQ.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Man.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
JQ he plays with a high mortal He's a terrific kid.
My fans are gonna love him.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
By the way he plays is like he's so dominant,
great defensive player, ray.
Speaker 6 (05:21):
About for it's presidential self and.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
That that's something that consuct a fans, like you know,
the players that play hard and you know, give an effort.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
So they're gonna they're gonna fall in love with JQ.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Mommedy Abatte and uh, that's tonight the Toy Drive at
Kentucky road Show Shop. It's on Romedy Road here in
Lexington Roadshowcards dot com. You can uh find the address
and get yourself over there tonight between six and seven thirty.
Bring a toy and toy a new toy and you
can get a picture in autograph with Mohammed Abate tonight.
(05:56):
We'll be right back. It is the Leads Report rob
Oster coming up next. This opening segment always presented by
Giuseppes of Lexington. We had some folks over last night,
picked up Guseppes for dinner and had obviously a big
It was a big hit. Everybody loved it. You can
get gift cards. In fact, while I was waiting to
pick up the order, lady came in to get some
(06:19):
gift cards. You can go to the restaurant and pick
up gift cards right now. It's getting late, but if
you need a last minute gift, that's the way to
do it. You can also get them through Guseppes Lexington
dot com and they can email you the gift cards.
So check those out Giuseppes Lexington dot com. We'll be
right back, Welcome back into the show. Coming here from
the Clark's Pumping Shop studio, Return, refresh and refuel, and
(06:39):
to get a perspective from outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
we go to Rob Doster from the Field of sixty
eight as the Cats get set to return to the
court on Saturday in Atlanta against Saint John's and Rob,
I was watching the after Dark podcast, which folks can
find on through the Field of sixty eight network, after
a lot of the big nights in college basketball, and
(07:02):
on Saturday night, you guys talked. One of the games
you touched on was the Kentucky win over Indiana, and
its sounded like you thought Kentucky took some significant steps
toward Would maybe finding out a finding an identity be
the right way to describe it.
Speaker 9 (07:17):
Yeah, you know, I feel like that's been one of
the things that Post been kind of struggling with this year,
is what kind of team are we and how are
we going to play?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Right?
Speaker 9 (07:26):
Like they if you think about the ideal Mark Polk team,
it's a team that is going to have a bunch
of guys that can space the floor and shoot it
and you can run all these fancy zoom actions and
you can play all this NBA style offense. You can
do all those different things, but that doesn't work when
you don't have guys that have the skill sets to
be able to do that. And it's fine. There's a
lot of teams that have had a lot of success
(07:46):
playing college basketball over the years that didn't have that.
And I think what we saw, especially in the second half,
with him leaning to this idea that hey, look, you
know what, we got some dudes here that are tough,
that are physical, that are athletic, that can kind of
beat you up physically. And that's what I think they
did in the second half and down the stretch against Indiana.
(08:08):
You know, holding in any end the team to twenty
one points and a half is not an easy seat, right.
Being able to do what they did defensively is something
that I think we should If you are a Kentucky fan,
you should be hoping that they lean into because it worked.
And once you get Jade Quainton's back, and once you
get another guy that's just big and physical and athletic
(08:29):
and can play that way, I think that is going
to be how you kind of make this thing work
in the long term. If you are Mark Pope, and
it'll be very interesting to see if that's something that
he agrees with and that's something that they decide to
start leaning into as a team.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
And it's interesting in that we'll it will take him
out of you know, coaches ask players to step out
of their comfort zone at times. It'll take him out
of what I would assume was his comfort zone as
a coach with coaching this kind of team, right, yeah, a.
Speaker 9 (08:58):
Little bit, But I mean the best coach which are
the ones that are able to adapt to the pieces
that they have. And this is what they got. This
isn't the NBA. You're not going to be able to
go out and add something in the trade deadline. You're
not going to be able to go out and you know,
sign someone from the G League. You got the fifteen
players that you came with, and this is what you're
gonna have to figure out to find a way to
be able to do. Now, getting Jaden Quainton's back certainly
(09:21):
will help, especially if you want to lean into that
kind of physicality and athleticism angle. But this is the
group that he has and he has to find a
way to be able to make it work. With the
group that he has now, I think the criticism has
been you know, there's I think there's two things where
Pope has kind of struggled this year.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Right.
Speaker 9 (09:40):
One is you put together a roster that maybe isn't
the best fit stylistically for the way that you want
to play. And that that is something where you know,
we always talk about how important recruiting is. I think
evaluating is more important than recruiting. Right, Figuring out these
are the guys that are going to be the best
way for me to be able to win is more important.
I'm saying, I just got the highest ranked player, especially
(10:02):
if you want to play a certain style. Now, if
you are the kind of coach that is going to
change up what you do depending on the personnel that
you have, then go out and get the biggest names
and the the you know, the most talented players you
can and then just figure it out from there. And
I think the latter is what Pope is going to
have to start doing moving forward with this group. You
(10:24):
don't have a big man that can pass, you don't
have the kind of shooters that you used to have,
and so look Yamo Diabat and and you care them
with Jane Quaintin's that's not going to be the prettiest
thing that you're ever going to see. But you want
to go out there and kind of get physical and
get ugly and force them force teams to deal with
your physicality and strength. Now that is something that those
two are going to be able to have success with.
(10:46):
And then I mean that just kind of leaned into
it will take always the same kind of players, So
I'll be very curious to see how I'll make kind
of adapt moving forward. And also say this too, Indiana's
not the most physical team. I don't know if there
are many programs in the country that that Indiana is
going throughout muscle and out tough. Saint John's is not
(11:08):
like that. Saint John's is going to come in there
through Atlanta and they're gonna be ready for the fight.
So we're going to find out, I think, on Saturday,
whether or not this is something that will work in
the long term for Kentucky.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
They had close to what their full roster looks like
for this game, really for the first time since the
Louisville game when Low played thirty minutes and Diabate was
still at full strength. So Moe's not all the way back,
I'm sure from a you know, to one hundred percent
off the ankle, and Jalen's in whatever situation he's going
(11:40):
to have to be in for the rest of the year, probably,
and it's not so much that it's going to get
a lot better, it's just can it stay where it is? Probably,
So with that in mind, assuming they can keep Jalen
Low in the game for they played twenty four minutes
in this game something like that, maybe maybe more, what
can the offense look like if they get it right
(12:01):
on the defensive end, what can the offense evolve into?
Speaker 9 (12:04):
I honestly think that playing like this leads a little
bit more into the skill set of Jalalen Low. Right.
Like Jalen Low. That was one of the questions that
I had when they decided to go out and get him,
is this is a guy that wants to have the
ball in his hands and wants to be able to
kind of dribble that thing and make decisions and make reads,
and he wants to be able to be put into
(12:25):
ball screens where he is the one that is making
the choice on what happens, as opposed to letting him
be off the ball and kind of running some of
those actions. So I think that having something where you
run a little bit less stuff and get a little
bit more basic probably is better for Jalen Low as
a player in terms of what his profile is as
a point guard. Now, the risk that you run is
(12:45):
you're probably one more aggravation to that shoulder as you're
away from him saying you know what, I don't know
if I can do this right, And I think that
that is probably inevitable that that happens. You know, the
thing that's frustrating with shoulders is you probably need surgery
to fix it. Now, it's not something that gets worse
(13:06):
when you don't have surgery, and you can play through
it if you can handle the pain. But I mean,
Kentucky fan saw this last year with Lamon Butler. He
handled the pain for a while, but he was never
the same guy that he was before he started dealing
with this. So you know, it's you can try to
build around it, but you're again like one one screen
(13:26):
that he runs into at the wrong angle, away from
having this be something where okay again, Now it's January
and you're gonna have to revamp what you're trying to
do all.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Over again totally, rob osterro Field of sixty eight. Where
all can people find the Field of sixty eight products?
Speaker 9 (13:41):
Yeah, we're all live on YouTube every night at eleven o'clock,
streaming on x and anyway. You get podcasts for absolutely free, Tom,
It's absolutely free our podcast feed, Apple Podcasts, Spotify everywhere
and look.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
For Field of sixty eight. Let's talk about the SEC,
since conference play will be starting before long. Obviously not
as strong as it was last year. What's your take
on just the overall strength of the SEC versus what
you expected coming into the year.
Speaker 9 (14:09):
I mean, I think we all kind of knew it
was going to take a little bit of a step
back from this year. It's probably be taking more of
a step back than I expected that it would. But
we're at a point right now where I think that
there's a real possibility that Arkansas is the best team
in the SEC, which is crazy to say and probably
not what Kentucky fans want to hear. But Florida's got
(14:29):
their warts. I'm not a believer right now in Tennessee
as being that level of good. Alabama's got some injury
issues that they're dealing with, but they're small. They don't
really have the physicality inside when you look at I mean,
you got to be big, and you got to be strong,
and you got to be tough to be able to
win with some of these bigger teams in college basketball
(14:50):
this season. I don't know if Alabama necessarily has that,
so I mean it might be Arkansas. Man, it might
be Arkansas. That is a team that is the best
team with the best chance to make a final four
out of the SEC.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Rob noster Field sixty eight.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Thanks toom.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Always interesting to get the national perspective on Kentucky since
we see them here day in and day out. Let's
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the good life. We'll be right back on the Leach Report.
It's the Leach Report for a Wednesday. We are coming
to you from the Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return, refresh
(16:14):
and refuel as we welcome Chris Fisher into the program.
You can read his work Cats Illustrated and follow What
is the X handle?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Now? Chris? How do you get hacks?
Speaker 10 (16:26):
We had to change at Chris Fisher Kwy.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
At Chris Fisher Kwy. Great.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
What was your take on the win over Indiana last
Saturday and any progress you saw?
Speaker 9 (16:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (16:39):
I came on the show last week saying that Mark Pope,
you know, as an offensive coach, needed to kind of
lean into that and if the effort and intensity wasn't
going to be there on defense, maybe just you know,
put your best five scorers on the floor and take
that approach. And it shows what I know. He went
the opposite way and it worked out for him that
(17:02):
the second half against Indiana, I was extremely impressive the
way Kentucky defended and got after the basketball and dominated
Indiana on the boards. Modiabatte obviously had a lot to
do with that. I think he had obviously a double double,
but seven offensive rebounds. And you know, this is an
(17:23):
Indiana team that's no slouch offensively. They scored one hundred
and thirteen points against Penn State. They hit seventeen three pointers.
Now I'm having Lamar Wilkerson in foul trouble for much.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Of the game.
Speaker 10 (17:34):
Obviously aided in that effort, but forced them into eight
season high eighteen turnovers, held them to thirty four percent
shooting four of twenty four from the three point line,
and so it was a gritty performance. And you know,
when they fell behind, I think it was thirty nine
to thirty, you know, you could almost hear like a
(17:56):
groan in the rep Arena crowd, like oh, here we
go again. But this team responded and responded in a
big way.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
More Chris, So we come right back on the Leads
Report second half of our show, presented by Bobcat Enterprises.
They have four locations in Kentucky. When you need to
buy or rent heavy equipment for a job site something
like snow removal for example, Bobcats excavators, loaders, forklifts, et cetera.
Bobcat Enterprises needs to be the go to spot and
(18:24):
they will take great care of you after the deal
is done as well at Bobcat Enterprises. Chat with Chris
Fisher from Cats Illustrated at Chris Fisher ky on X
about Kentucky basketball and once they get acquaintance back and
get him up to speed, that should only enhance the
(18:45):
ability to be better a better half court defensive team.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Chris.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
It's the lineup that they put on the floor to
do that. It's not going to be their best shooting lineup.
So it's but Mark.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Pope said the other night he thinks the shooting will
come around.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
I don't know if you look at historic averages for
you know, like Modia Bonte is not a high volume
three point guy, and you know Otega's you know, mid thirties.
It's it's unexpected that those guys would become like forty
to forty five percent three point shooters. The guys who do, though,
could be valuable contributors to the plan. Chandler, Noah Williams,
(19:25):
and coach Folk was talking about their Noah Shooting system
that tracks all the shooting in practice, and I know,
you know.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Fans will say, well, that's not it's not games. But
still Mark said.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
He's it almost always works out to where the numbers
get to wear close anyway to what the Noah system
says they are in practice over the course of a season.
So it will see if the math plays out for him,
but they could certainly use that improvement.
Speaker 10 (19:53):
Yeah, I still think this is a better shooting team
than we've seen to this point, and Water is going
to find its level eventually, and I think that'll be
the case with this team. I think, you know, Colin
Chandler started out the season high and now teams have
started to kind of key on him. He's getting the
Kobe Brea treatment that he got last season. But you know,
a guy like Cam Williams is a guy that Kentucky
(20:16):
really needs to find his rhythm, and he was a
forty three point shooter as a freshman at Tulane last season. Now,
shooting the ball at Kentucky is a little bit different
than than Tulane, so I'm not really that surprised to
see an adjustment period there. But he's a guy it
would be so valuable for Kentucky because he does so
many other things that that help you. If he could
(20:39):
find his perimeter shot, I think that would go a
long way. You know, Trent Noah is a guy that
is going to get you know, limited looks I think
from deep, but still shooting a pretty good percentage. So
once this team starts shooting the ball a little bit better,
I think obviously that will will go a long way.
Jaden Quainton's now, he's not a guy that's gonna help
(21:00):
your perimeter shooting, but he's a guy that averaged two
point six blocks per game as a seventeen year old
freshman in Arizona State last season. And you know, a
high tide lifts all boats, and you know, more often
than not, even coming off of torn acl he's going
to be the most talented player on the floor. And
I think that'll go a long way for Kentucky.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yeah, it's just not going to be the kind of team.
It sort of didn't look that. It looked like that
Park Pope has coached throughout his career. But I was thinking,
you know, this year is not only the it's the
fiftieth season of Kentucky basketball and up Arena.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
But it's the fifty year.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
This season will be the fifty year anniversary of the
n championship team in seventy six, And it was one
of my favorite teams just as a fan coming up
watching because of you know, they just dealt with it.
They had to deal with a good bit of adversity
and they found a way to be successful that was
(21:59):
different from what Joe B. Hall typically did because they
lost Rick Roby to an injury and other guys dinged
up down the stretch, and they had lost a lot
of their great experience with the four seniors from the
year before that had made it to the finals. So
it was a you know, a team that was good
bit younger than Joe usually coached, and so they had
(22:20):
to kind of find a way and some people that
weren't expected to contributed much like Reggie Wharford did down
the stretch, and that's what this team's going to have
to do, is just to kind of find a way
get much better defensively, perhaps from what we saw last week,
build on that, and then find a way to find
(22:41):
a way to score enough offensively. And I think if
they can keep Jalen low healthy, that's the probably the
path they follow there.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Right.
Speaker 10 (22:50):
Yeah, I think I think we all know what Mark
Pope expected this team to look like. It hasn't played
out that way, and obviously injuries have been a big
part of that. But you have to play to your identity,
and I think Kentucky took a huge step forward in
maybe finding its identity against Indiana, and they're gonna have
(23:15):
to lean into that, I think, And you know, if
they have to beat teams defensively, then then that's how
you have to do it and maybe complement that with
some timely outside shooting. But getting Jalen Lowe and Mo
Diabate back, you know, it completely changed the dynamic and
the look of this team. It shouldn't be any surprise that,
(23:39):
you know, two of your top transfers being out with
injuries is gonna take its toll, and we saw that.
But getting those guys back. I think both of them,
in their own different ways, provided a completely different dynamic
for this team. And I think that will happen again
when we see Jayden Quainton's come back. Now, maybe he's
not one hundred percent right away, it'll be interesting to
(23:59):
see if they shot him out against you know, in
a high level matchup against Saint John's, or they hold
him back and kind of let him dip his toes
in the water against Bellerman. But this could, you know,
look like a completely different Kentucky basketball see and not
only then the one we thought we were going to
see at the beginning of the season, but even the
one that we've seen in the last several weeks.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah, and I think they're gonna be some guys who
will not have as big a role or as many
minutes as they had in the first month of the season.
But the who you count on for the fifth, sixth,
seventh spots could change from game to game. It was
Cam Williams, they gave him a big lift the other night,
(24:41):
but it was Yelevitch who didn't play the other night
that was great against Caleb Wilson in North Carolina. I think,
you know, guys like all like those two and you know, Noah,
maybe Chandler are going to be guys that on a
certain night, they they will be the ones that helped
one or two of those guys will be the ones
that help you. On another night, it'll be a different
(25:01):
combination of one or two of those guys.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
And that's you know.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You would like to be able to have it maybe
a little more set, but they are who they are.
Speaker 10 (25:12):
Yeah. And Jasper Johnson is another guy. You know, he
gets coming off point season high twenty two points the
game before. I think he played just three minutes against Indiana,
So you're right. I think the top six or seven
are probably going to be pretty static, and then the
kind of depending on the matchup night tonight, we may
see different guys kind of rotated in there.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Jasper, to me, if you look at the five games
against Marque opponents, didn't play much against Indiana, but the others.
He didn't play a lot against Michigan State, but a
couple of.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
The he did.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Anyway, he's he has one assist in those five games
in something like fifty plus minutes, and he's got to
be different from that guy because he he can really
help them with his ability to create his own shot.
And if you know, Low is not a guy that
can play as many minutes, maybe he you know, will
see what he can give them in terms of minutes
(26:06):
and keep him out there. But Jasper's a guy that
can give them some of what Low gives them, but
he's got to be able to give them the passing
ability of Low in addition to beating your man and
getting getting to the room to score.
Speaker 10 (26:19):
Yeah, I think outside of Jal and Low, he's really
the only other guy that can get you consistent paint
touches off the dribble, and that's going to be extremely
valuable for this team. I think he also excels operating
out of a pick and roll situation and kind of
getting to the rim and or or creating for others.
So yeah, he needs to take on, I guess, more
(26:40):
of a facilitator mindset when he's out there, because the
buckets are going to come, you know. With with him,
he's always been kind of streaky, is gonna ebb and
flow and you kind of have to ride the wave
with him, good and bad. But he's I think he'll
still be an important piece for this team going forward.
As we get into sec play.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Great Fisher, Caspaul or Cats Illustrated and at Chris Fisher
Ky joining us here on the Leach Report.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Thank you, Chris, all right, thank you, and Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
By the way, because next week we'll have Chris's normally
with us on Wednesdays. We'll have a best of show
next Wednesday and Thursday coming up. Carolyn mccawskis joins us
for the Lexdon Hair Leader on The Leach Report Radio
Network presented by Bob kat Enterprises. Fourteen away from the
top of the hour, we come to you from the
Clark's Pumping Shop studio. Return, refresh and refuel at Clark's.
(27:31):
Carolin mccawskas joins us from the Lexington Hairleader Kentucky Sports
dot Com. You see her covering Kentucky women her work
covering Kentucky women's basketball, but also covering volleyball last week
at the Lexington Regional and carolinen that was quite an
atmosphere for those two days over there for coach Skinner
and his squad.
Speaker 11 (27:52):
Absolutely, good morning from Kansas City.
Speaker 12 (27:57):
It was amazing to watch.
Speaker 11 (27:58):
It was a really cool and because this is a
team that has really been putting together an impressive resume
all season, you know, undefeated in SEC play, ninth straight
SEC title, you get the SEC tournament title, and then
they brought their biggest crowds of the season out for
(28:22):
that final weekend in Memorial Coliseum and it was loud.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
And this was a team that was expected to be
good coming into the season. But are they even perhaps
better than people thought as they get to the final four?
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Now?
Speaker 12 (28:43):
I think so, I really do think so. I mean,
it's a Kraig Skinner volleyball team. The expectations are always
going to be high. The non conference is always going
to be difficult. But this team, with a true fashman
setter with a couple of transfers on the front line,
(29:06):
has just been a force to be reckoned with. And
they're fun to watch. They seem to really get along
and they're firing.
Speaker 11 (29:16):
On all cylinders and I just I'm really looking forward
to seeing what they could do.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
On Thursday, he was on the Coach Pope Show on
Monday and Mark asked him about kind of how he
went about building what he's built at Kentucky. When I
was over there Thursday watching the cal Poly match, and
you look up on the wall and they've got the
banners and they had a good run in the eighties
(29:40):
with Kathy de Boord.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
They were really.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Good, and then there's like a gap of you know,
about twenty five twenty six years before the next banner
for an SEC title is up there from coach Skinner's program,
and he's had an incredible run.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Now. Mark asked him about, you know, putting that together.
It was interesting.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
He talked about the foundational pieces for him in building
this were the setter and the Libiro has said, you know,
in basketball terms, he wanted to have a great point guard,
and you know, to start with a great point guard
and a great defender and then build around that. So
even though the hitters like you know, Delay and Hudson
(30:23):
get a lot of the attention in the awards, it's
that those foundational pieces that he builds around. And his
center is a true freshman and I mean I'm a
no volleyball expert, but her numbers look impressive.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
Oh.
Speaker 12 (30:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 11 (30:36):
Cassie O'Brien won this setting job, the starting setting job,
and this is the program there. You know, to your point,
he cares so much about having a strong setter, a
calm setter, someone who can really make sure everyone is
on the same page and making the right connections. And
(31:01):
this is the first competition in nearly a decade that
this program has had because it's been such a you know,
culture build, right, So you've got one setter who's got
it for a few years, and then this person who's
been in the program kind of learns from the setter
(31:22):
before her steps up. But this year it was kind
of wide open. And I don't know that many people
expect a true freshman to come in and win a
job like that of that level of importance and then
handle it with such grace, But O'Brien really has and
(31:44):
she was the sec Freshman of the Year, and there
is a lot of chatter that she may be named
the national Freshman of the Year as well.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
You had a.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Posted or a story in the Herald Leader and clip
this post from X to talk with you about it
when we had you on the show about the surging
popularity of volleyball in terms of just fan engagement. You've
cite some numbers from ESPN, and the most viewed match
this season was the first one Kentucky and Nebraska. They
(32:16):
had over a million viewers on August thirty first, and
just by comparison, Kentucky and Indiana men's basketball had two
million last Saturday for their most watched game of the season.
So that's a strong number for volleyball and volleyball and
just women's sports in general. Business is quite good right now,
as well as the quality of play.
Speaker 12 (32:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 11 (32:37):
I think, you know, maybe people will see me and
many others around Lexington wearing the shirt everyone watches women's sports.
Speaker 10 (32:47):
But you know, it's true as these sports.
Speaker 11 (32:51):
Are gaining parody and opportunities when it comes to broadcast.
Really think think that's more of what it is. And
I think Craig's gonna put it really nicely a couple
of weeks ago when he said, look, volleyball is a
sport that people will fall in love with. They just
(33:13):
need the opportunity to see it, to be there, to
be a part of it. And I think women's basketball
is similar. I think a lot of women's sports are similar.
We're seeing it with the United States women's national soccer team.
People are looking for high level competition, they're looking for
good team chemistry, and people like watching good storylines. And
(33:36):
these athletes have worked so hard and it's cool to
see people starting in this case in particular, to really
become aware of how exciting women's volleyball is and the
storylines are just I mean, they're everywhere, and it's just
a pleasure to watch.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
I wondered when I was reading your story and the
Hair Leader and these numbers and just some others saw
something recently where the I think ESPN's getting the same
dollar amount for ads in women's basketball coverage as it
is in men's coverage right now. And I wonder if
if there all is any element to this that the
(34:20):
sports for the women are more like what a lot
of fans came up with for college sports. In other words,
you know, you don't see as maybe as much player movement.
I know Craig is a couple of key transfers, but
it seems like there's not as much player movement. There's more,
you know, players are there for longer time, Fans get
(34:43):
to know them more, They enjoy, you know, getting to
build a relationship with their favorite players on their team
and see them grow over time. And you get more
of that still in the women's games than in the
men's games, at least in something like football and men's basketball.
Speaker 11 (34:58):
Yeah, I think that's and there are a few reasons
for that. Right when we talk about limited professional opportunity
at the next level.
Speaker 10 (35:08):
Change that is changing.
Speaker 11 (35:11):
You know, Major League volleyball is coming up. There were
three drafted athletes on that creating team that Kentucky swept
in the Elite eight, and they're all excellent and they're
all going to have the opportunity to compete.
Speaker 5 (35:26):
At the next level.
Speaker 11 (35:27):
We're seeing leagues like unrivaled pop ups or basketball, and
it's really neat to see. But you know, there are
rules in place. You can't go to the WNBA. If
you're playing NCAA women's college basketball, you can't go one
and done. There are systems in place. You've got to
(35:49):
be in there for a few years or be the
correct age. So oftentimes there's a focus on getting the degree.
Speaker 12 (36:00):
You know.
Speaker 11 (36:00):
Uh, there are transfers, of course, and there are some
high profile transfers that cause a lot of talk online,
but there are things that you just can't do in
the same way. And as there aren't as many opportunities
for broadcast at this point, you know, that is changing rapidly.
There's not as much money right now in women's college
(36:24):
sports at there as there are in say college football
or men's college basketball. So there's there's less there are
less resources to throw around. Uh there aren't. Uh there
there are more rules in place.
Speaker 12 (36:40):
And you know, I imagine that maybe one.
Speaker 11 (36:43):
Day there they will get a little bit more similar
in that regard as the money increases. But right now,
I think that's why.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Caroline interesting chat. Appreciate it. We're out of time.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
We'll get you back before conference play starts for women's basketball.
Get into that as well. But thank you much, Mery.
Speaker 8 (37:02):
Christmas, Thank you very much.
Speaker 10 (37:04):
Have a good one.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Mary.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
And that's Carol mccawskis joining us here on the Leach Report.
You can read her work at Kentucky sports dot com
and the Lexington Herald Leader.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
We'll close it out in just a moment. Stay in
Wildcat history.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
In nineteen seventy eight, Kentucky beat Saint John's one two
seventy two to capture the championship of the UK Invitational Tournament.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Mike Phillips with twenty led the way.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Happy birthday, Josh Pascal, and it was on this day
that mister Wildcat Bill Kitely was born. Those notes presented
by Kentucky Roadshow Shop on Romney Road in Lexington and
at roadshowcards dot com. They'll be hosting Modia Batte for
that autograph signing tonight six to seven thirty Eastern time,
and if you bring a new toy, you can get
(37:45):
a picture and an autograph with mo. Shufflebe Coffee is
one of our great partners here on the Leach Report,
and they are all about being the best and you
can check it out the commitment to excellence. It's a
Kentucky based company at Shufflebee dot org. You asked you
order some of their product there. You can get their
coffee from Amazon or you can go to Central Kentucky
Myers stores and pick it up there. Get some shuffle
(38:07):
Being Coffee in the home for the holidays, and you'll
be set for all of your guests that are coming over.
College hoops. Last night, Tennessee routed Louisville eighty three to
sixty two. Saint John's goes to seven to three, beating
to Paul seventy nine to sixty six. See tomorrow on
the Leach Report.
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