Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast of the Leech Report is presented by Boone's
Butcher Shop in Barnstown at one hundred Old Bloomfield Pike,
Family owned and operated since nineteen forty six, with fresh
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Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good day, everybody, welcome into our show for a Tuesday.
We are presented by Bobcat Enterprises, and coming up today,
we're going to chat with Larry Vaught from your sports
Edge dot com and touch a lot of bases with
Larry from Kentucky football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and then
Brandy Ramsey from on three Sports at KSR. He does
(00:38):
a former college coach that does the breakdowns of the
tapes after Kentucky games, and I'm sure there was a
lot to break down after the performance at Alabama, So
we'll talk about that a little bit, a little bit
ahead to the matchup with Missouri tomorrow night for the Wildcats.
So that's the agenda for today. Wildcat News of the
Day always presented by Giuseppes of Lexington and late last
(01:01):
night Kentucky found its quarterback from Notre Dame.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Kenny Menshe out of.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Grew up in Tennessee, played high school ball there signed
originally committed to Pitt, then signed with Notre Dame, and
then had committed to Nebraska.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
But he flipped to Kentucky last night, and.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Obviously Sam Levitt was in for the visit over the weekend,
that's where the initial focus was on. And then he
did not make a commitment to Kentucky before leaving. Ultimately
decided to visit LSU that was supposed to start tomorrow
or excuse me yesterday, So Kentucky has moved on to
find its quarterback. He was a four star recruit out
(01:44):
of high school. Red shirted with an Irish in twenty three,
played a limited role in their run to.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
The National Championship Game the next season.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
This past year, he was locked in a battle for
the starting QB job. He lost out to CJ. Carr,
so he just sawed action again. He was twenty of
twenty six for one hundred and ninety six yards in
twenty twenty five, number ten portal QB according to the
on three Sports Transfer rankings for that position, and we'll.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Learn more about him in the days to come.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
We'll get some folks on who have done deeper dives
on the tape at this point than I have had
a chance to do, but he we were talking about
this with John Hale yesterday. To get the QB decided
whoever was going to be had to be a big
(02:36):
key to building out the roster of the offensive side
of the ball. They've had more portal commitments on the
defensive side than on the offensive side to this point.
But you see a lot of visits lining up now
for guys in the O line, wide, receivers, running backs,
and I have to think that a lot of things
in the coming days will fall into place in terms
(02:56):
of commitments that a lot of those positions. Now that
everybody knows who the quarterback is, they probably still need
to find I would think, not probably almost certainly need
to find a little more help at the QB spot
in terms of having depth at that position. And that's always,
I think a tricky one because nobody.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Wants to.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Or a few people want to accept, I think, to come
in and know that they're likely going to be the
backup or definitely going to be the backup. Markope Radio
show last night, we talked about a lot of subjects
there on The starting lineup is a hot question for fans,
and he did not make any commitment to making a change,
(03:39):
but just talked about some of the things that they
think about. So we'll see if they make a change
come Wednesday night. They had won four in a row.
So coaches never acknowledge being superstitious, but they tend to
kind of whether it's superstition or just keeping a winning
formula intact. They tend to not make changes until something
(04:00):
changes with the winning streak, and so that happened on Saturday,
So we'll see if they make a change in the
starting lineup out of that loss to Alabama.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Also talked to.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Uh Mark about the reviewing of the tapes and how
that goes when they have a loss like this, and
is it one sided thing, is it a you know,
open discussion. Does it get a little uh you.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Know, real as they say.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
He said, it was an intense, long day, but quote
a good day of finding some common ground.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
He said.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Some of the chippiness that you saw at times in
the in the huddle with guys, you know, kind of
gooting at each other a little bit, he said he
actually had no problem with that.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
He likes to.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I mean, obviously, if you're a coach, it it shows
you that the guys are are still, you know, deeply
invested in it. So he uh, he said he actually
liked seeing that. He said, there's no truth to speculation
about any chemistry issues. He said, the team is quote
asked close and cares as much about each other as
any team I've ever been around. So now, the thing
(05:06):
about sports is that the proof is always on the
court or on the field. And so now that's the
challenge for the Wildcats to go out and take care
of business in two home games this week that are
very very important to them. And some good news from
Kenny Brooks off his radio show last night on the
UK Sports Network. He said he expects tianni Key to
(05:26):
return from a dislocated elbow, and he said minimum of
a couple of weeks, but he said it could be longer,
and one would think it probably will.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
But anyway, good news to know that the.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Expectation is for her to return because she had just
gotten back into the lineup and played so well in
the win over LSU last Thursday night. So hopefully she
is back up and feeling good here sooner rather than later.
Because the Tennessee game last year is the one that
always jumped out of me. You saw the best version
(06:01):
of what her game can look like, and it is.
You can do so many things for them that it
certainly will hurt them not to have her. Kentucky's up
to number six and the new AP rankings this week
and one spot behind Oklahoma, who will be coming into
Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
In between Kentucky goes to Alabama on Thursday night.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
When we come back, Larry Vaught will join the program
and our opening segments always presented by Giuseppes of Lexington.
They have a bullet barrel pick that you can buy
and take home, and they're also working on the Russell
Reserve Baryl pick for Giuseppes customers, So take advantage of
that the next time you're out of Giuseppes and get
(06:40):
to open table today and make plans to be there
for Valentine's Day or some other special occasion. So we
welcome Larry Vaught into the program. You read them in
your sports edge dot com, follow at Vaud's views on
x You can hear them on the Sunday Morning Sports
talk show and the Anthony white Jack Pilgrim Bow Robinson
each week here in Lexington, and I imagine it was
(07:01):
just a festive occasion this past Sunday, wasn't it, Larry?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Oh, yeah, about as festive as it was for you after.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The game talking to Mark phone, Yeah, it's it is
a time of a lot of stress.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And you know it's there's Last night on the on
the radio show, Mark had a long answer to we
were talking about you know, what's it like when you
break down the film h after a game or the
tape after a game, and you know, is it one sided?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Is it back and forth?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And uh, it was a long answer where he explained
how that process works. And I think it's at a
point where when you don't when you have a game
like that and they've had, you know, more than one
of them, that there's really not much you say that
gets received very well, whether it's a lot or a little.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Yeah, exactly because the performance on the court, that mode
the docking for you, and you just have to try
to figure a way to get things changed. But I mean,
when you get into mid January now and you're still
struggling with some of the same issues you were a
month and a half ago, I'm not saying it's exactly
time to get the panic button, but it's time you're
maybe kind of reaching your hand out there and thinking
(08:19):
about putting it on there. So they've got a big
week coming up. I mean, this game with Missouri is
one of those kind of games I think could kind
of change the season if they don't win that one.
The Missouri showed you how good it is for beating
Florida and started going to in the SEC. That's a
lot to overcome with the non conference play that you
already had.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
True, And the thing I was looking at yesterday, you
look at their ken palm you can go and that
the losses are highlighted in red and the winds are
in green.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Same thing for good and bad.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Stats, and you look at the losses and there are
no bad losses. I think the North Carolina loss was
probably the worst one because it was at home and
you had roll of that game. But you know, Gonzaga, Alabama,
Michigan State were all better on the day in Louisville,
on the better on the day that they played them.
I don't think North Carolina was, uh, but doesn't mean
(09:13):
they have to be better by late January or February. UH.
So you don't have any bad losses to uh, you know,
have to try to explain away on your resume, but
you also started you need some good wins, and you
know Indiana and Saint John's we're a step in the
right direction and they're gonna have opportunities now in the league,
even if it's not as you know loaded as last year.
(09:34):
There's plenty of opportunities to build your tournament resume.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
But you have to do it.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Yeah, they just need wins period. Who they're playing right now,
they just need wins period. And again, as she said,
statistically or maybe resume wise, those aren't band losses. But
if you're a UK fan watching the game, the pretty
bad losses we seated the margin way they have in
the way that they Yeah, love spot. So the eye
(10:01):
tests and the stat tests are kind of a little
bit different on those things. But I think they need
something for the eye test, for their confidence, for the
I think even more Pope's confidence. Definitely for the fans confidence.
They need to do something good and show that they
can kind of get on the same page. To me,
that's the hardest thing. When you watch them play, it
(10:22):
just seems like a team as a whole has just
never been on the same page.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, it's hard to fix everything at once, and so
it seemed like they had made some progress in those
two wins over Indiana and Saint John's that I talked
about with starting to develop an identity going to be
you know, more physical, good on the offensive glass at
points there when when that stat be better defensively? You
(10:49):
know Indiana, Indiana's a really good three point shooting team,
and they stifled their three point shooting. Is Saint John's
really good inside. They took care of business us there.
They shot like under forty percent on two point shots.
So they were starting to develop that identity. Didn't see
any of that come to fruition down in Alabama, No.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
No, you sure didn't. That's one thing Sunday Morning Partner
and Anthony Whites always taught that no matter what the fort,
the team's going to have some identity. And as you
all were calling the game Saturday, I was also listening
a little bit on the TV and Seth Greenberg talked
about that Donald Kentucky don't have an offensive dentity against Alabama,
didn't have a defensive identity and when you didn't have
any either one, it was about impossible to win. And
(11:33):
that's kind of how the game played out. So hopefully
Mark can kind of get some things work back around
and Wednesday against Bassouri they'll look a whole lot different.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
They've got to find things, some things that you can
be good at and then build on that. And the
thing of that that is players have to buy into that.
They have to want to and believe that that is
who they need to be, and sometimes that takes a
little time.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Yeah, there's a lot of players right now who are
not sure exactly what their role is going to be
because it seems to change from games to game in
the playing time. I mean Mark has got to I think,
just gets settled on a rotation and maybe not try
to play as many players and just go with Watch
Kenny Brooks, you know, stick with seven players on the
(12:21):
women's team and they just go. I mean they play
thirty nine minutes game. They don't worry about fatigue and
all these different things. They just play their best players
and just go. I think maybe Mark's going to have
to do some of that too.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
I asked them blast Night, I said, this is an
interesting it'd be an interesting case study. I don't know
anybody has done anything with this particular number it's not
really an analytic it's more of a poll. But I said,
for starting lineups, I think fans believe they put like
a ninety percent level of importance on that, and coaches
seem to put about a ten percent level of importance
(12:54):
on that. I don't know if there's any one issue
in basketball where there's a greater diversity of a between
fans and coaches than that.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Do you get that sense?
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Yeah, And I think you especially get it with Kentucky
because of the Tree. They've had to get behind big
early in so many games. I think that's what is
the focal point with so many fans thinking you gotta
do something. Have I changed the starting line? What could
it hurt? Because you're not getting off to a good
start very often at all. They even heard Jack talking
(13:25):
after the game about that. You know, so you just
got to do something. You can't just follow by early
every game. So I would kind of like to have
my best five. I'm one of those ID like to
have a best five players out there from the beginning. Obviously,
Mark's not always that way. A lot of coaches aren't
that way, but that's how that's how I am. I
like my best guys to be out there where the
game starts.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Twenty three past the time of the hour layer thoughts
with us from your sports edge dot com will continue
the chat here in just a moment. Good news, I
guess on Tiany Key last night right as good as
it could be.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Yeah, I think from what Kenny Brooks said that be
out maybe will be out at least a couple of weeks,
maybe a little bit longer, but that looks like season ending.
And when you first saw her go down, and then
when you saw her just kind of stay there, then
you saw her get up and the pain that she
was in, and I mean it was just kind of
a scary sight because the Missouri coach was right around
(14:18):
Missouri eventch she got over there and just kind of
held Tiani just steal and then Tony Morgan went over
there and immediately just pivoted and came back, and you
could just see for the looking at Tony that wow,
whatever she saw was not good. And when the trainer
put the towels over and helped her off the floor.
So just a freakage type injury. But I never really
(14:41):
remember a basketball player that I've been around over here
that he had a dislocated elbow, So I think this
will kind of be a learning process about how long
it takes, but certainly changes him around for the next
couple of weeks and be interesting to see how they
can kind of adapt and what wins they can get
with Tiani not playing because she's coming up that I think
it's seventeen points, sixteen rebounds or sixteen rebounds seventeen points,
(15:04):
whichever it was against LSU, but she was really, really
free in that game. Is a huge part of this team.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Now this to football and looks like Kentucky found its
quarterback last night from Notre Dame Kenny Minshew, who had
committed to Nebraska and now will be a Wildcat, And
it seemed like, you know, they were at a point
we're talking John, how about this yesterday where getting the
QB was whoever was going to be, was crucial to
lining up the rest of the offensive transfer portal breakdown.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Yeah, I think in Hastley and this is an interesting
pick when you're talking about that, it looked like you
did leave it and that was your guy, and everybody
was talking about there's great speculation he was coming to
Kentucky and there's somebody who had this dance he had
and now you've come back and instead got a player
who may turn out to be great, may not. I
mean I'll be his first A bit. I don't know
(15:57):
enough about him to really know. This is trusting Will
Stein on and it worked out really well. We Kentucky
running a guy named Will Levis we didn't know a
lot about. Didn't work out quite as well running brock Dandergraph,
a guy we didn't know a lot about. So that's
why I do to chess. And Idio has to make
these personnel decisions, and this is probably the biggest decision
(16:18):
that he's had to make. Is going to be the quarterback.
And now we'll see in a he who what twenty
five twenty seven paces at Notre Dame last year. So
there's really not a lot for most of us to
know about him other than he just has a trust
Will on this exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
And you know he's a new coach.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You've got to make his decisions that he thinks are
the best ones. But inevitably, you know, we all know
fans are going to be tracking Kenny Minshew's stats and
Cutter ballystats right.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Absolutely, And it's interesting when you look at at Arizona State.
Right now, they are probably going to sign two of
the top four receivers in the portal and their coach.
I think they're going to have the best skilled group
they've ever had next year for Cutter Bowley to work with.
So it's easy to see ify Cutter went to where
he did for the compensation package and the chants to
(17:11):
play and start and with the players he's going to
hamp around him. So hope this will end up a
win win for Kentucky and Cutter Bowley both.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, I agree with that, and I think, you know,
we don't know yet what's going to be built around
Minshi at Kentucky because now that'll probably starts to fall
into place now that Kentucky has its guy, Larry, Thank
you much. Brandon Ramsey joins us from on three Sports Ksar,
a former college coach who now analyzes the game for fans,
(17:42):
breaking down the tapes of Kentucky games in particular.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
And this was not.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
A for a guy who is not only you know,
analyzing this, but does so from the perspective of being
a Kentucky fan like yourself, Brandon. Not a pleasant exercise
to have to go through, but it is. It is
the job you have chosen.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Yeah, that's right. It wasn't.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
It wasn't the most fun to watch live, and it
wasn't the most fun to certainly have to go back
and break down, you know. I was just I was
pretty disappointed in the way Kentucky guarded three point shot
as much as anything.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Because you know, I think even the even the.
Speaker 5 (18:21):
Casual fans know what Alabama does offensively. They're going to
shoot a million threes. They're going to play fast, and
that's how they want.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
To beat you.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
And to me, it's it's frustrating when you kind of
when you let a really good team beat you how
they want to beat you, that's that's.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
Kind of disappointing.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
And I thought that's what Kentucky allowed to happen down
in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Yeah. I think that's probably the right place to start it.
Fifteen to four disparity on three point baskets is asking
a lot to overcome. It's like asking a football team
to get, you know, two punts blocked and still try
to win or something like that.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
The stats on that are not good.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
When you have you probably a disparity of ten or
more three point field goals. I would imagine the win
percentage is pretty low. What I would assume you have
you're trying to do in that situation at Kentucky's not
This Kentucky team is you know, not built to out
three Alabama. But if they were averaging thirteen Bama, if
you could hold them to ten and then you could
(19:21):
make seven, it gives you a chance something like that.
Speaker 5 (19:24):
Right, absolutely, Yeah, it was never going to be about
Kentucky making more threes in Alabama or or having an
advantage in that in that statistical category, as you said, Yeah,
it's just about not.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Getting killed in it the way that you did.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Yeah, I mean I have to imagine that when teams
lose the three point battle by eleven, that you're a
winning percentage is just incredibly low. In the like you said,
if it could have been ten to seven or eleven
to seven, you know, well, whatever it is, then you know,
you just give yourself a much better chance to be
got quite for when you shoot four or nineteen on
(20:02):
your own, you're not giving yourself much of a chance.
But that's all that compounded. Then when you let the
other team who's an elite three point shooting team get
off thirty eight of them and make fifteen of them. See,
it was just it was just too easy, quite frankly,
for Alabama to do what they wanted to do offensively.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
You had a post.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
I don't have it in front of me, but I
think the gist of it was for that particular area
of breakdown, it's either a breakdown in the plan or
in the execution. And we did talk with coach Pope
last night, and you know, he said the plan was
not to go under ball screens.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
As they too often did. So it's kind of what
I felt was the case.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
So that either's a good answer, but it leaves you
at probably the spot of you know, execution of the plan.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Right absolutely, And they are somewhat equally frustrating because you know,
we're we're now into January, we're now into conference play,
and we've seen these issues persist throughout the season, especially
against the best teams that Kentucky plays, Like this isn't
a this isn't a new problem where we watch the
(21:10):
take it away close out short on some shooters, or
we watch Colin Chandler go under some ball screens. So
when you hear twitch Popes say like well, no, that
wasn't the game plan, Like I believe them because it
wouldn't be my game plan either. But then the fact
that you're still watching veteran players make the same mistakes,
you know, ultimately, that's a problems as well. It's a
(21:30):
it's a major problem now that you're in BETEC play
and it's January.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
With the way the game is now, having to you know,
construct basically new teams every season and there's very little
you know, carryover, you can sometimes find yourself in a
situation you didn't think you were going to be in.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Saint John's is deal with that with you. I thought
they had a point guard figured out coming into the season.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
They don't.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Kentucky's got its issues to deal with ultimately, though, you
have to find a way. You know, there's almost always
a way to get better. You just have to get
everybody to buy into it.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Right Yeah, yeah, I think that's what Coach Pope, the
staff and Kentucky is still searching for. Is you know,
all right, fine, maybe this roster wasn't constructed as perfectly
as we thought it was, but there's nothing we can
do about that right now, and you have to find
ways to maximize the group that you have. And I
(22:28):
think because of some of the injuries that Kentucky's had
and and all of that, that's that that's made that
job harder because you just haven't had your full complement
of pieces and practice and games to figure all of
it out. But you know, unfortunately, we are still in
a situation where I think we are trying to figure
out what, you know, what what what, what lineups worked best,
(22:49):
the you know, rotations, different things like that, even just
style of play. I think we're still throwing some things
at the wall and seeing what sticks. And that's that's
unfortunate for for this point in the season. But injuries
did some of that, and then I think, you know,
just some guys not being maybe necessarily what you thought
they would be.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Uh plays a role.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
On that too.
Speaker 5 (23:07):
See I think absolutely you're still trying to trying to
find your find the way to maximize.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
The most out of this group.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Right now, I would think the formula to find enough
points to win any game.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
We saw the two guys that are gonna lead the
way and that on Saturday and Away and uh Low
they combined for forty three in that game.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
But then the third guy had seven.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
They said the phrase yesterday that my old broadcast partner
Mike Pratt used to use two can three, can carry two?
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Two can't carry three.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
So bottom issue, you need more, you know, scoring than
just two guys. And so how do they go about
finding that consistently?
Speaker 5 (23:52):
Yeah, it's gonna be tough, quite friendly, because I think
outside of jail and low and otaga oh way, there's
not necessarily that clear guy who's gonna step up on
a on a game to game basis. Now, I think
that if you're Kentucky, probably your hope is that that's
where some of the depth comes in. It doesn't have
to be the same guy on a game that gave
(24:13):
the game to game basis. Maybe maybe sometimes it's Modi
ga Bote who has a mismatcher. Maybe there's a game
where Jayden Quaint it's you know, really shows his future
lottery takes itself and can dominate inside. Maybe there's a
game where Tam Williams gets hot from three at a TIM,
or College Chandeler gets top from.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Three at TIM.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
But I I don't know if you're going to necessarily
see somebody step up on a consistent basis. And and
be that be that third score. But you know, I
think the hope is that Jayle lower Otago Way are
good enough to kind of always be those one and two,
and then a sort of by committee by matchup, who
really steps up uh in that in that sort of
(24:51):
third score role that you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
One of the hot topics for fans is the lineup
that is starting, and I think probably top of that
list is fans want to see Jaln Lowe starting the game,
and he is such an important part of what they
do offensively. I certainly understand that, but it is an
interesting thing. I mentioned this to coach Pope last night.
I was talking about it with Larry. I don't know,
(25:15):
and you've coached basketball and in addition to now covering
it and approach it as a fan, but have been
a coach. Is there any issue in college basketball where
there's a greater diversity of importance that is placed on
starting lineups than between fans and coaches.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Probably not.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
No, I think it's something that coaches probably don't worry
a ton about, and I think there's times where that
can be fair, because you know, when Dyland winds up
playing twenty seven minutes or whatever, like, whether those are
the first four minutes or the last four minutes, it
doesn't make a ton of different time or probably where
(25:56):
that would maybe fall a little bit short is when
Canentucky does just so consistently seem to have issues starting games.
I mean we we we've seen it against you know,
for two years now, where Kentucky is regularly against the
best teams digging themselves a whole. So then you probably
would feel, hey, like that, maybe it is time to
(26:17):
to try rolling your best players out there to start,
just so that you're not always in this position or
you have to dig from behind it no matter how
talented you are. That's tough to do on a consistent basis.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
So John's they were down nine late in the first time.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
Exactly right, right right, Yeah, you you had to have
major comebacks to win the when the couple of meaningful
games that Kentucky has won. So I think that's probably
where the fan base is at right Nowaday, and I
think there's probably some some credibility to it where it's like, hey,
we we have a pretty consistent problem here. We all
know what it is, and we're watching one of the
(26:53):
most talented players on the team. Not come in for
you know, three four five minutes every game. Maybe be
a time to switch that up.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
We're tago with Brandon Ramsey and you can read them
at on three Sports of KSR. Where else can they
find you?
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Hey, you can subscribe to the Brandon Ramsey College of
Basketball Show on YouTube. Have some video breakdowns usually after
each Kentucky game on there, as well as some other
college of Basketball content. Also subscribe to the KSR YouTube
channel means Zach gig and have a show which we're
recording later today there as well. And again all that
gets promoted through my Twitter at b Ramsey KSR.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Will be right back to continue the discussion here and
just a moment, we're presented by Bob Can enterprises Key basketball,
men's basketball and the lost to Alabama with Brandon Ramsey
from on three Sports and KSR and at b Ramsey
KSR on X. After the game, Alabama coach Nate Oates
talked about part of their plan and it's got a
lot of attention from the folks who covered Kentucky about
(27:55):
the tracking the number of assists in big games for
the big men of of Kentucky. Uh, what was your
take on what he had to say.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Yeah, I think he's right probably that that, you know,
the something we've talked about a lot really with with
this Kentucky team is the difference between their statistics in
the in the games against the best teams on the
schedule so far, those Quad one games, and then the
statistics that we've seen in the Quad four games and
(28:26):
there and there really is no in between right now
yet on Kentucky's schedule. And I think he was, you know,
really diving into the film and the analytics and the
and the statistics of Kentucky against those Quad one opponents
and and things just don't look the same as maybe
they do on paper when you just look at the
season stats or look at Kinbaum and some of the numbers. Uh,
(28:46):
when you drill into a little bit deeper, I think
he was able to probably find some deficiencies that don't
necessarily are as glaring just to the average fan. And
and I think that we've all seen that at times
with the big men, that especially when the ball goes
into the post, it doesn't necessarily come out as well.
I think the big men are decent passers when they're
(29:07):
hitting the back cut or they're able to face up
a little bit, but it does seem like that sometimes
it's can it can kind of just get get stuck
in there when you throw it into the post. So
I thought that was probably a pretty good point that
he came up with, just in terms of how Alabama
was going to guard Kentucky's post guys.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Part of this, I would think, though, too, is that's
not how Kentucky was planning to play coming into the season,
certainly not how they played last season. There was a
play in the second half where Quainton's caught the ball
down on the block and threw it back out to
Oway and unfortunately it went right through his hands and
almost hit Coach Pope in the head from who's standing
(29:47):
right behind him. But it was the right play and
Away has a huge path to drive to his strong
hand down to the baseline, and you know, Quaintans could
then screw and his guy off and so that's a
play where that was just you know, a poor piece
of execution, but that's the kind of thing that they
(30:10):
want to be doing moving forward.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
Right absolutely, And unfortunately that that possession that you're talking about,
that was a pretty big possession too. I think Kentucky
had just gotten it down to, you know, right around
that nine ten to eleven point mark where they were
showing a little bit of life there kind of in
the middle of late parts of the second half, and
yet when you just have a careless turnover like that,
(30:32):
and it's part of Kentucky's issues offensively right now. I
highlighted several of them in my breakdowns after the game,
where you know that there's just too many wasted offensive possessions,
whether that's a turnover, whether that's a lack of execution
on set plays, whether that's just guys not getting the
ball to open players off of plays. You know that
(30:53):
there's just too many possessions where kind of Kentucky gets
bogged down and nothing really ever happen. And that's sort of,
you know, part of the problem that both coach Natots
was alluding to and certainly that we're talking about here,
just in a lack of execution offensively.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Yeah, there were several times in that game where they
were fighting to get back in it and seemingly right
there on the precipice of putting some real pressure on Alabama,
and they would have plays like that either into the
court because right at the end of the half.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Goose was talking about this on the ear.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
You know, they weren't twenty one point lead down to
thirteen in a short span of time. So you've just
scored to get to thirteen. It's about, I don't know,
thirty seconds left. And Goose said, don't give up a three.
Don't give up a three. And Alabama comes down and
you know, Holloway's dribbling the air out of the ball,
and you know what's coming. And Kentucky players had to
(31:49):
know what's coming, but they certainly didn't look like they
knew the way they played it that they knew what
was coming right exactly.
Speaker 5 (31:56):
Yeah, that's where it's just a lack of concentration, the
lack of urgency, And yeah, it was really frustrating in
some of those situations where you kind of like you said,
you needed one more stop or you need one more
bucket to really put a little bit of pressure on
Kentucky or at least fuel some real momentum if you're
Kentucky and it has never got done. But part of
(32:17):
that too, it's like, hey, you're but that's why you
can't get down twenty one points to a really good
team is because it's like everything has to go perfectly,
your margin exactly exactly. Yeah, then and then and that's
that goes back to some of the things we're talking
about with the slow starts and everything.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
See, I did this.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
You can't dig yourself such a hole against these really
good teams because they're hard to beat anyway, and when
you increase the level of difficulty, it becomes you know,
darn year impossible.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
At this point, h bark shad a situation where if
he talks in long stretches, he gets criticized, and if
he talks in short stretches, he gets criticized because there
is no right answer than play better and win.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
Right. Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
I think you know, some some fans and you know,
even media or whatever want to, you know, criticize some
of the things that he says. I get it to
some extent, but but also really all any of us
care about are winning the basketball games. And when when
we win the basketball games, he can pretty much talk
out every once, and when we lose the basketball games,
there's nothing that he's going to say that's going to
(33:25):
make anybody feel any better. So see, I think he's
just kind of in a tough spot when things aren't
going well. His press conferences are not going to be
perceived well, not necessarily because of what he says, but because.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
We're losing, and in fairness to fan concerns, there's you know,
in in the lot of these big games where you
end up, you know, in a big hole. I mean,
it's one thing if you're you know, even the Carolina game,
they went through a long stretch without scoring, but they
were you know, they defended Caleb Wilson. Well, they you know,
took out the Carolina's best player. They were playing hard.
(33:56):
They didn't make shots, but uh that that's the kind
of fight that they want, fans they want to see
in those biggest games.
Speaker 5 (34:04):
Right, absolutely, Yeah, I mean you want to be competitive,
you know, not that that's the standard for Kentucky by
any means. We're not in the business of moral victories, certainly,
but but yeah, you you at least want to give
yourself a chance to win some of these games. And
that's been the frustrating part, largely outside of the of
the North Carolina game, is against these best teams, you
(34:27):
just really haven't felt like you had much of a
chance to win. And that grows pretty old, especially for
a fan base that expects excellence like Big Blue Nation does.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Absolutely, Brandon appreciate the time as always as at Brandon
and Ramsey ksr on X and then the the YouTube channel,
the podcasts for all of his network of coverage, and
we appreciate you joining us here on the show.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
YEP Thanks Tom anytime.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Brandon Ramsey with his breakdown of where the Cats are heading.
Say happy birth day to the pride of Lee County.
Larry Stamper celebrating a birthday today. Talk about a guy
that was a battler on the glass and in the paint,
Larry Stampard over twenty two I believe of Bemory Serfs.
(35:15):
Happy birthday to Larry Quasheed. Scott has entered the transfer
portal Kentucky's starting nickel last season, so you knew there's
gonna be a lot of guys departing with the coaching change.
They have picked up several transfers already in the portal
on the defensive side. I would suspect that with a
(35:36):
quarterback now committed to Kentucky that the offensive side will
start to fall into place with a lot more commitments
there on this particular upcoming week or shortly thereafter. Shuffle
Being Coffee is the official coffee of the Leech Report
and of raupp Arena. It's a group of Kentuckians that
(35:57):
got together to form this company more than a decade
ago go, and they talk about following the process from
seed to cup with their company starts with the very
best coffee beans that leads to coffee with a fantastic
aroma and an even better taste. Try it for yourself
by ordering some through Amazon, by getting it through the
company's website shufflebean Us, or by picking some up at
(36:18):
a central Kentucky Myers store and put some hustle in
your shuffle Today. Kentucky Football has found its new Director
of Football Sports Performance, Brandon Roberts coming in with that
title to work in strength and conditioning. Comes from South Florida,
where he's been the last seven years, but worked with
will Stein when they were both at U of L.
(36:40):
We're going to get to the end of the show,
so appreciate you joining us. We'll be back tomorrow game day.
We'll talk about the matchup between the Cats and Miszoo
to That's Report. Anytime you missed the show, you can
listen to the podcast at Tom LEECHKWI dot com, WLAP
dot com, or seven ninety Louisville dot com, and anytime
(37:00):
you're out of range of the stations, catch the show
via the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
If you have any questions for Tom, email Leach Report
at gmail dot com and check out his website at
Tom leach Ky dot com
This podcast of the Leech Report is presented by Boone's
Butcher Shop in Barnstown at one hundred Old Bloomfield Pike,
Family owned and operated since nineteen forty six, with fresh
meat cut on site daily. Boons Butcher Shop.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good day, everybody, welcome into our show for a Tuesday.
We are presented by Bobcat Enterprises, and coming up today,
we're going to chat with Larry Vaught from your sports
Edge dot com and touch a lot of bases with
Larry from Kentucky football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and then
Brandy Ramsey from on three Sports at KSR. He does
(00:38):
a former college coach that does the breakdowns of the
tapes after Kentucky games, and I'm sure there was a
lot to break down after the performance at Alabama, So
we'll talk about that a little bit, a little bit
ahead to the matchup with Missouri tomorrow night for the Wildcats.
So that's the agenda for today. Wildcat News of the
Day always presented by Giuseppes of Lexington and late last
(01:01):
night Kentucky found its quarterback from Notre Dame.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Kenny Menshe out of.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Grew up in Tennessee, played high school ball there signed
originally committed to Pitt, then signed with Notre Dame, and
then had committed to Nebraska.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
But he flipped to Kentucky last night, and.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Obviously Sam Levitt was in for the visit over the weekend,
that's where the initial focus was on. And then he
did not make a commitment to Kentucky before leaving. Ultimately
decided to visit LSU that was supposed to start tomorrow
or excuse me yesterday, So Kentucky has moved on to
find its quarterback. He was a four star recruit out
(01:44):
of high school. Red shirted with an Irish in twenty three,
played a limited role in their run to.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
The National Championship Game the next season.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
This past year, he was locked in a battle for
the starting QB job. He lost out to CJ. Carr,
so he just sawed action again. He was twenty of
twenty six for one hundred and ninety six yards in
twenty twenty five, number ten portal QB according to the
on three Sports Transfer rankings for that position, and we'll.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Learn more about him in the days to come.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
We'll get some folks on who have done deeper dives
on the tape at this point than I have had
a chance to do, but he we were talking about
this with John Hale yesterday. To get the QB decided
whoever was going to be had to be a big
(02:36):
key to building out the roster of the offensive side
of the ball. They've had more portal commitments on the
defensive side than on the offensive side to this point.
But you see a lot of visits lining up now
for guys in the O line, wide, receivers, running backs,
and I have to think that a lot of things
in the coming days will fall into place in terms
(02:56):
of commitments that a lot of those positions. Now that
everybody knows who the quarterback is, they probably still need
to find I would think, not probably almost certainly need
to find a little more help at the QB spot
in terms of having depth at that position. And that's always,
I think a tricky one because nobody.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Wants to.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Or a few people want to accept, I think, to come
in and know that they're likely going to be the
backup or definitely going to be the backup. Markope Radio
show last night, we talked about a lot of subjects
there on The starting lineup is a hot question for fans,
and he did not make any commitment to making a change,
(03:39):
but just talked about some of the things that they
think about. So we'll see if they make a change
come Wednesday night. They had won four in a row.
So coaches never acknowledge being superstitious, but they tend to
kind of whether it's superstition or just keeping a winning
formula intact. They tend to not make changes until something
(04:00):
changes with the winning streak, and so that happened on Saturday,
So we'll see if they make a change in the
starting lineup out of that loss to Alabama.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Also talked to.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Uh Mark about the reviewing of the tapes and how
that goes when they have a loss like this, and
is it one sided thing, is it a you know,
open discussion. Does it get a little uh you.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Know, real as they say.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
He said, it was an intense, long day, but quote
a good day of finding some common ground.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
He said.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Some of the chippiness that you saw at times in
the in the huddle with guys, you know, kind of
gooting at each other a little bit, he said he
actually had no problem with that.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
He likes to.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I mean, obviously, if you're a coach, it it shows
you that the guys are are still, you know, deeply
invested in it. So he uh, he said he actually
liked seeing that. He said, there's no truth to speculation
about any chemistry issues. He said, the team is quote
asked close and cares as much about each other as
any team I've ever been around. So now, the thing
(05:06):
about sports is that the proof is always on the
court or on the field. And so now that's the
challenge for the Wildcats to go out and take care
of business in two home games this week that are
very very important to them. And some good news from
Kenny Brooks off his radio show last night on the
UK Sports Network. He said he expects tianni Key to
(05:26):
return from a dislocated elbow, and he said minimum of
a couple of weeks, but he said it could be longer,
and one would think it probably will.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
But anyway, good news to know that the.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Expectation is for her to return because she had just
gotten back into the lineup and played so well in
the win over LSU last Thursday night. So hopefully she
is back up and feeling good here sooner rather than later.
Because the Tennessee game last year is the one that
always jumped out of me. You saw the best version
(06:01):
of what her game can look like, and it is.
You can do so many things for them that it
certainly will hurt them not to have her. Kentucky's up
to number six and the new AP rankings this week
and one spot behind Oklahoma, who will be coming into
Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
In between Kentucky goes to Alabama on Thursday night.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
When we come back, Larry Vaught will join the program
and our opening segments always presented by Giuseppes of Lexington.
They have a bullet barrel pick that you can buy
and take home, and they're also working on the Russell
Reserve Baryl pick for Giuseppes customers, So take advantage of
that the next time you're out of Giuseppes and get
(06:40):
to open table today and make plans to be there
for Valentine's Day or some other special occasion. So we
welcome Larry Vaught into the program. You read them in
your sports edge dot com, follow at Vaud's views on
x You can hear them on the Sunday Morning Sports
talk show and the Anthony white Jack Pilgrim Bow Robinson
each week here in Lexington, and I imagine it was
(07:01):
just a festive occasion this past Sunday, wasn't it, Larry?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Oh, yeah, about as festive as it was for you after.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The game talking to Mark phone, Yeah, it's it is
a time of a lot of stress.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And you know it's there's Last night on the on
the radio show, Mark had a long answer to we
were talking about you know, what's it like when you
break down the film h after a game or the
tape after a game, and you know, is it one sided?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Is it back and forth?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And uh, it was a long answer where he explained
how that process works. And I think it's at a
point where when you don't when you have a game
like that and they've had, you know, more than one
of them, that there's really not much you say that
gets received very well, whether it's a lot or a little.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Yeah, exactly because the performance on the court, that mode
the docking for you, and you just have to try
to figure a way to get things changed. But I mean,
when you get into mid January now and you're still
struggling with some of the same issues you were a
month and a half ago, I'm not saying it's exactly
time to get the panic button, but it's time you're
maybe kind of reaching your hand out there and thinking
(08:19):
about putting it on there. So they've got a big
week coming up. I mean, this game with Missouri is
one of those kind of games I think could kind
of change the season if they don't win that one.
The Missouri showed you how good it is for beating
Florida and started going to in the SEC. That's a
lot to overcome with the non conference play that you
already had.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
True, And the thing I was looking at yesterday, you
look at their ken palm you can go and that
the losses are highlighted in red and the winds are
in green.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Same thing for good and bad.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Stats, and you look at the losses and there are
no bad losses. I think the North Carolina loss was
probably the worst one because it was at home and
you had roll of that game. But you know, Gonzaga, Alabama,
Michigan State were all better on the day in Louisville,
on the better on the day that they played them.
I don't think North Carolina was, uh, but doesn't mean
(09:13):
they have to be better by late January or February. UH.
So you don't have any bad losses to uh, you know,
have to try to explain away on your resume, but
you also started you need some good wins, and you
know Indiana and Saint John's we're a step in the
right direction and they're gonna have opportunities now in the league,
even if it's not as you know loaded as last year.
(09:34):
There's plenty of opportunities to build your tournament resume.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
But you have to do it.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Yeah, they just need wins period. Who they're playing right now,
they just need wins period. And again, as she said,
statistically or maybe resume wise, those aren't band losses. But
if you're a UK fan watching the game, the pretty
bad losses we seated the margin way they have in
the way that they Yeah, love spot. So the eye
(10:01):
tests and the stat tests are kind of a little
bit different on those things. But I think they need
something for the eye test, for their confidence, for the
I think even more Pope's confidence. Definitely for the fans confidence.
They need to do something good and show that they
can kind of get on the same page. To me,
that's the hardest thing. When you watch them play, it
(10:22):
just seems like a team as a whole has just
never been on the same page.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, it's hard to fix everything at once, and so
it seemed like they had made some progress in those
two wins over Indiana and Saint John's that I talked
about with starting to develop an identity going to be
you know, more physical, good on the offensive glass at
points there when when that stat be better defensively? You
(10:49):
know Indiana, Indiana's a really good three point shooting team,
and they stifled their three point shooting. Is Saint John's
really good inside. They took care of business us there.
They shot like under forty percent on two point shots.
So they were starting to develop that identity. Didn't see
any of that come to fruition down in Alabama, No.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
No, you sure didn't. That's one thing Sunday Morning Partner
and Anthony Whites always taught that no matter what the fort,
the team's going to have some identity. And as you
all were calling the game Saturday, I was also listening
a little bit on the TV and Seth Greenberg talked
about that Donald Kentucky don't have an offensive dentity against Alabama,
didn't have a defensive identity and when you didn't have
any either one, it was about impossible to win. And
(11:33):
that's kind of how the game played out. So hopefully
Mark can kind of get some things work back around
and Wednesday against Bassouri they'll look a whole lot different.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
They've got to find things, some things that you can
be good at and then build on that. And the
thing of that that is players have to buy into that.
They have to want to and believe that that is
who they need to be, and sometimes that takes a
little time.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Yeah, there's a lot of players right now who are
not sure exactly what their role is going to be
because it seems to change from games to game in
the playing time. I mean Mark has got to I think,
just gets settled on a rotation and maybe not try
to play as many players and just go with Watch
Kenny Brooks, you know, stick with seven players on the
(12:21):
women's team and they just go. I mean they play
thirty nine minutes game. They don't worry about fatigue and
all these different things. They just play their best players
and just go. I think maybe Mark's going to have
to do some of that too.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
I asked them blast Night, I said, this is an
interesting it'd be an interesting case study. I don't know
anybody has done anything with this particular number it's not
really an analytic it's more of a poll. But I said,
for starting lineups, I think fans believe they put like
a ninety percent level of importance on that, and coaches
seem to put about a ten percent level of importance
(12:54):
on that. I don't know if there's any one issue
in basketball where there's a greater diversity of a between
fans and coaches than that.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Do you get that sense?
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Yeah, And I think you especially get it with Kentucky
because of the Tree. They've had to get behind big
early in so many games. I think that's what is
the focal point with so many fans thinking you gotta
do something. Have I changed the starting line? What could
it hurt? Because you're not getting off to a good
start very often at all. They even heard Jack talking
(13:25):
after the game about that. You know, so you just
got to do something. You can't just follow by early
every game. So I would kind of like to have
my best five. I'm one of those ID like to
have a best five players out there from the beginning. Obviously,
Mark's not always that way. A lot of coaches aren't
that way, but that's how that's how I am. I
like my best guys to be out there where the
game starts.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Twenty three past the time of the hour layer thoughts
with us from your sports edge dot com will continue
the chat here in just a moment. Good news, I
guess on Tiany Key last night right as good as
it could be.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Yeah, I think from what Kenny Brooks said that be
out maybe will be out at least a couple of weeks,
maybe a little bit longer, but that looks like season ending.
And when you first saw her go down, and then
when you saw her just kind of stay there, then
you saw her get up and the pain that she
was in, and I mean it was just kind of
a scary sight because the Missouri coach was right around
(14:18):
Missouri eventch she got over there and just kind of
held Tiani just steal and then Tony Morgan went over
there and immediately just pivoted and came back, and you
could just see for the looking at Tony that wow,
whatever she saw was not good. And when the trainer
put the towels over and helped her off the floor.
So just a freakage type injury. But I never really
(14:41):
remember a basketball player that I've been around over here
that he had a dislocated elbow, So I think this
will kind of be a learning process about how long
it takes, but certainly changes him around for the next
couple of weeks and be interesting to see how they
can kind of adapt and what wins they can get
with Tiani not playing because she's coming up that I think
it's seventeen points, sixteen rebounds or sixteen rebounds seventeen points,
(15:04):
whichever it was against LSU, but she was really, really
free in that game. Is a huge part of this team.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Now this to football and looks like Kentucky found its
quarterback last night from Notre Dame Kenny Minshew, who had
committed to Nebraska and now will be a Wildcat, And
it seemed like, you know, they were at a point
we're talking John, how about this yesterday where getting the
QB was whoever was going to be, was crucial to
lining up the rest of the offensive transfer portal breakdown.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Yeah, I think in Hastley and this is an interesting
pick when you're talking about that, it looked like you
did leave it and that was your guy, and everybody
was talking about there's great speculation he was coming to
Kentucky and there's somebody who had this dance he had
and now you've come back and instead got a player
who may turn out to be great, may not. I
mean I'll be his first A bit. I don't know
(15:57):
enough about him to really know. This is trusting Will
Stein on and it worked out really well. We Kentucky
running a guy named Will Levis we didn't know a
lot about. Didn't work out quite as well running brock Dandergraph,
a guy we didn't know a lot about. So that's
why I do to chess. And Idio has to make
these personnel decisions, and this is probably the biggest decision
(16:18):
that he's had to make. Is going to be the quarterback.
And now we'll see in a he who what twenty
five twenty seven paces at Notre Dame last year. So
there's really not a lot for most of us to
know about him other than he just has a trust
Will on this exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
And you know he's a new coach.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You've got to make his decisions that he thinks are
the best ones. But inevitably, you know, we all know
fans are going to be tracking Kenny Minshew's stats and
Cutter ballystats right.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Absolutely, And it's interesting when you look at at Arizona State.
Right now, they are probably going to sign two of
the top four receivers in the portal and their coach.
I think they're going to have the best skilled group
they've ever had next year for Cutter Bowley to work with.
So it's easy to see ify Cutter went to where
he did for the compensation package and the chants to
(17:11):
play and start and with the players he's going to
hamp around him. So hope this will end up a
win win for Kentucky and Cutter Bowley both.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, I agree with that, and I think, you know,
we don't know yet what's going to be built around
Minshi at Kentucky because now that'll probably starts to fall
into place now that Kentucky has its guy, Larry, Thank
you much. Brandon Ramsey joins us from on three Sports Ksar,
a former college coach who now analyzes the game for fans,
(17:42):
breaking down the tapes of Kentucky games in particular.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
And this was not.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
A for a guy who is not only you know,
analyzing this, but does so from the perspective of being
a Kentucky fan like yourself, Brandon. Not a pleasant exercise
to have to go through, but it is. It is
the job you have chosen.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Yeah, that's right. It wasn't.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
It wasn't the most fun to watch live, and it
wasn't the most fun to certainly have to go back
and break down, you know. I was just I was
pretty disappointed in the way Kentucky guarded three point shot
as much as anything.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Because you know, I think even the even the.
Speaker 5 (18:21):
Casual fans know what Alabama does offensively. They're going to
shoot a million threes. They're going to play fast, and
that's how they want.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
To beat you.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
And to me, it's it's frustrating when you kind of
when you let a really good team beat you how
they want to beat you, that's that's.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
Kind of disappointing.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
And I thought that's what Kentucky allowed to happen down
in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Yeah. I think that's probably the right place to start it.
Fifteen to four disparity on three point baskets is asking
a lot to overcome. It's like asking a football team
to get, you know, two punts blocked and still try
to win or something like that.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
The stats on that are not good.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
When you have you probably a disparity of ten or
more three point field goals. I would imagine the win
percentage is pretty low. What I would assume you have
you're trying to do in that situation at Kentucky's not
This Kentucky team is you know, not built to out
three Alabama. But if they were averaging thirteen Bama, if
you could hold them to ten and then you could
(19:21):
make seven, it gives you a chance something like that.
Speaker 5 (19:24):
Right, absolutely, Yeah, it was never going to be about
Kentucky making more threes in Alabama or or having an
advantage in that in that statistical category, as you said, Yeah,
it's just about not.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Getting killed in it the way that you did.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Yeah, I mean I have to imagine that when teams
lose the three point battle by eleven, that you're a
winning percentage is just incredibly low. In the like you said,
if it could have been ten to seven or eleven
to seven, you know, well, whatever it is, then you know,
you just give yourself a much better chance to be
got quite for when you shoot four or nineteen on
(20:02):
your own, you're not giving yourself much of a chance.
But that's all that compounded. Then when you let the
other team who's an elite three point shooting team get
off thirty eight of them and make fifteen of them. See,
it was just it was just too easy, quite frankly,
for Alabama to do what they wanted to do offensively.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
You had a post.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
I don't have it in front of me, but I
think the gist of it was for that particular area
of breakdown, it's either a breakdown in the plan or
in the execution. And we did talk with coach Pope
last night, and you know, he said the plan was
not to go under ball screens.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
As they too often did. So it's kind of what
I felt was the case.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
So that either's a good answer, but it leaves you
at probably the spot of you know, execution of the plan.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Right absolutely, And they are somewhat equally frustrating because you know,
we're we're now into January, we're now into conference play,
and we've seen these issues persist throughout the season, especially
against the best teams that Kentucky plays, Like this isn't
a this isn't a new problem where we watch the
(21:10):
take it away close out short on some shooters, or
we watch Colin Chandler go under some ball screens. So
when you hear twitch Popes say like well, no, that
wasn't the game plan, Like I believe them because it
wouldn't be my game plan either. But then the fact
that you're still watching veteran players make the same mistakes,
you know, ultimately, that's a problems as well. It's a
(21:30):
it's a major problem now that you're in BETEC play
and it's January.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
With the way the game is now, having to you know,
construct basically new teams every season and there's very little
you know, carryover, you can sometimes find yourself in a
situation you didn't think you were going to be in.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Saint John's is deal with that with you. I thought
they had a point guard figured out coming into the season.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
They don't.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Kentucky's got its issues to deal with ultimately, though, you
have to find a way. You know, there's almost always
a way to get better. You just have to get
everybody to buy into it.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Right Yeah, yeah, I think that's what Coach Pope, the
staff and Kentucky is still searching for. Is you know,
all right, fine, maybe this roster wasn't constructed as perfectly
as we thought it was, but there's nothing we can
do about that right now, and you have to find
ways to maximize the group that you have. And I
(22:28):
think because of some of the injuries that Kentucky's had
and and all of that, that's that that's made that
job harder because you just haven't had your full complement
of pieces and practice and games to figure all of
it out. But you know, unfortunately, we are still in
a situation where I think we are trying to figure
out what, you know, what what what, what lineups worked best,
(22:49):
the you know, rotations, different things like that, even just
style of play. I think we're still throwing some things
at the wall and seeing what sticks. And that's that's
unfortunate for for this point in the season. But injuries
did some of that, and then I think, you know,
just some guys not being maybe necessarily what you thought
they would be.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Uh plays a role.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
On that too.
Speaker 5 (23:07):
See I think absolutely you're still trying to trying to
find your find the way to maximize.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
The most out of this group.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Right now, I would think the formula to find enough
points to win any game.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
We saw the two guys that are gonna lead the
way and that on Saturday and Away and uh Low
they combined for forty three in that game.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
But then the third guy had seven.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
They said the phrase yesterday that my old broadcast partner
Mike Pratt used to use two can three, can carry two?
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Two can't carry three.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
So bottom issue, you need more, you know, scoring than
just two guys. And so how do they go about
finding that consistently?
Speaker 5 (23:52):
Yeah, it's gonna be tough, quite friendly, because I think
outside of jail and low and otaga oh way, there's
not necessarily that clear guy who's gonna step up on
a on a game to game basis. Now, I think
that if you're Kentucky, probably your hope is that that's
where some of the depth comes in. It doesn't have
to be the same guy on a game that gave
(24:13):
the game to game basis. Maybe maybe sometimes it's Modi
ga Bote who has a mismatcher. Maybe there's a game
where Jayden Quaint it's you know, really shows his future
lottery takes itself and can dominate inside. Maybe there's a
game where Tam Williams gets hot from three at a TIM,
or College Chandeler gets top from.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Three at TIM.
Speaker 5 (24:29):
But I I don't know if you're going to necessarily
see somebody step up on a consistent basis. And and
be that be that third score. But you know, I
think the hope is that Jayle lower Otago Way are
good enough to kind of always be those one and two,
and then a sort of by committee by matchup, who
really steps up uh in that in that sort of
(24:51):
third score role that you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
One of the hot topics for fans is the lineup
that is starting, and I think probably top of that
list is fans want to see Jaln Lowe starting the game,
and he is such an important part of what they
do offensively. I certainly understand that, but it is an
interesting thing. I mentioned this to coach Pope last night.
I was talking about it with Larry. I don't know,
(25:15):
and you've coached basketball and in addition to now covering
it and approach it as a fan, but have been
a coach. Is there any issue in college basketball where
there's a greater diversity of importance that is placed on
starting lineups than between fans and coaches.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Probably not.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
No, I think it's something that coaches probably don't worry
a ton about, and I think there's times where that
can be fair, because you know, when Dyland winds up
playing twenty seven minutes or whatever, like, whether those are
the first four minutes or the last four minutes, it
doesn't make a ton of different time or probably where
(25:56):
that would maybe fall a little bit short is when
Canentucky does just so consistently seem to have issues starting games.
I mean we we we've seen it against you know,
for two years now, where Kentucky is regularly against the
best teams digging themselves a whole. So then you probably
would feel, hey, like that, maybe it is time to
(26:17):
to try rolling your best players out there to start,
just so that you're not always in this position or
you have to dig from behind it no matter how
talented you are. That's tough to do on a consistent basis.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
So John's they were down nine late in the first time.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
Exactly right, right right, Yeah, you you had to have
major comebacks to win the when the couple of meaningful
games that Kentucky has won. So I think that's probably
where the fan base is at right Nowaday, and I
think there's probably some some credibility to it where it's like, hey,
we we have a pretty consistent problem here. We all
know what it is, and we're watching one of the
(26:53):
most talented players on the team. Not come in for
you know, three four five minutes every game. Maybe be
a time to switch that up.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
We're tago with Brandon Ramsey and you can read them
at on three Sports of KSR. Where else can they
find you?
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Hey, you can subscribe to the Brandon Ramsey College of
Basketball Show on YouTube. Have some video breakdowns usually after
each Kentucky game on there, as well as some other
college of Basketball content. Also subscribe to the KSR YouTube
channel means Zach gig and have a show which we're
recording later today there as well. And again all that
gets promoted through my Twitter at b Ramsey KSR.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Will be right back to continue the discussion here and
just a moment, we're presented by Bob Can enterprises Key basketball,
men's basketball and the lost to Alabama with Brandon Ramsey
from on three Sports and KSR and at b Ramsey
KSR on X. After the game, Alabama coach Nate Oates
talked about part of their plan and it's got a
lot of attention from the folks who covered Kentucky about
(27:55):
the tracking the number of assists in big games for
the big men of of Kentucky. Uh, what was your
take on what he had to say.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Yeah, I think he's right probably that that, you know,
the something we've talked about a lot really with with
this Kentucky team is the difference between their statistics in
the in the games against the best teams on the
schedule so far, those Quad one games, and then the
statistics that we've seen in the Quad four games and
(28:26):
there and there really is no in between right now
yet on Kentucky's schedule. And I think he was, you know,
really diving into the film and the analytics and the
and the statistics of Kentucky against those Quad one opponents
and and things just don't look the same as maybe
they do on paper when you just look at the
season stats or look at Kinbaum and some of the numbers. Uh,
(28:46):
when you drill into a little bit deeper, I think
he was able to probably find some deficiencies that don't
necessarily are as glaring just to the average fan. And
and I think that we've all seen that at times
with the big men, that especially when the ball goes
into the post, it doesn't necessarily come out as well.
I think the big men are decent passers when they're
(29:07):
hitting the back cut or they're able to face up
a little bit, but it does seem like that sometimes
it's can it can kind of just get get stuck
in there when you throw it into the post. So
I thought that was probably a pretty good point that
he came up with, just in terms of how Alabama
was going to guard Kentucky's post guys.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Part of this, I would think, though, too, is that's
not how Kentucky was planning to play coming into the season,
certainly not how they played last season. There was a
play in the second half where Quainton's caught the ball
down on the block and threw it back out to
Oway and unfortunately it went right through his hands and
almost hit Coach Pope in the head from who's standing
(29:47):
right behind him. But it was the right play and
Away has a huge path to drive to his strong
hand down to the baseline, and you know, Quaintans could
then screw and his guy off and so that's a
play where that was just you know, a poor piece
of execution, but that's the kind of thing that they
(30:10):
want to be doing moving forward.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
Right absolutely, And unfortunately that that possession that you're talking about,
that was a pretty big possession too. I think Kentucky
had just gotten it down to, you know, right around
that nine ten to eleven point mark where they were
showing a little bit of life there kind of in
the middle of late parts of the second half, and
yet when you just have a careless turnover like that,
(30:32):
and it's part of Kentucky's issues offensively right now. I
highlighted several of them in my breakdowns after the game,
where you know that there's just too many wasted offensive possessions,
whether that's a turnover, whether that's a lack of execution
on set plays, whether that's just guys not getting the
ball to open players off of plays. You know that
(30:53):
there's just too many possessions where kind of Kentucky gets
bogged down and nothing really ever happen. And that's sort of,
you know, part of the problem that both coach Natots
was alluding to and certainly that we're talking about here,
just in a lack of execution offensively.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Yeah, there were several times in that game where they
were fighting to get back in it and seemingly right
there on the precipice of putting some real pressure on Alabama,
and they would have plays like that either into the
court because right at the end of the half.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Goose was talking about this on the ear.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
You know, they weren't twenty one point lead down to
thirteen in a short span of time. So you've just
scored to get to thirteen. It's about, I don't know,
thirty seconds left. And Goose said, don't give up a three.
Don't give up a three. And Alabama comes down and
you know, Holloway's dribbling the air out of the ball,
and you know what's coming. And Kentucky players had to
(31:49):
know what's coming, but they certainly didn't look like they
knew the way they played it that they knew what
was coming right exactly.
Speaker 5 (31:56):
Yeah, that's where it's just a lack of concentration, the
lack of urgency, And yeah, it was really frustrating in
some of those situations where you kind of like you said,
you needed one more stop or you need one more
bucket to really put a little bit of pressure on
Kentucky or at least fuel some real momentum if you're
Kentucky and it has never got done. But part of
(32:17):
that too, it's like, hey, you're but that's why you
can't get down twenty one points to a really good
team is because it's like everything has to go perfectly,
your margin exactly exactly. Yeah, then and then and that's
that goes back to some of the things we're talking
about with the slow starts and everything.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
See, I did this.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
You can't dig yourself such a hole against these really
good teams because they're hard to beat anyway, and when
you increase the level of difficulty, it becomes you know,
darn year impossible.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
At this point, h bark shad a situation where if
he talks in long stretches, he gets criticized, and if
he talks in short stretches, he gets criticized because there
is no right answer than play better and win.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
Right. Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
I think you know, some some fans and you know,
even media or whatever want to, you know, criticize some
of the things that he says. I get it to
some extent, but but also really all any of us
care about are winning the basketball games. And when when
we win the basketball games, he can pretty much talk
out every once, and when we lose the basketball games,
there's nothing that he's going to say that's going to
(33:25):
make anybody feel any better. So see, I think he's
just kind of in a tough spot when things aren't
going well. His press conferences are not going to be
perceived well, not necessarily because of what he says, but because.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
We're losing, and in fairness to fan concerns, there's you know,
in in the lot of these big games where you
end up, you know, in a big hole. I mean,
it's one thing if you're you know, even the Carolina game,
they went through a long stretch without scoring, but they
were you know, they defended Caleb Wilson. Well, they you know,
took out the Carolina's best player. They were playing hard.
(33:56):
They didn't make shots, but uh that that's the kind
of fight that they want, fans they want to see
in those biggest games.
Speaker 5 (34:04):
Right, absolutely, Yeah, I mean you want to be competitive,
you know, not that that's the standard for Kentucky by
any means. We're not in the business of moral victories, certainly,
but but yeah, you you at least want to give
yourself a chance to win some of these games. And
that's been the frustrating part, largely outside of the of
the North Carolina game, is against these best teams, you
(34:27):
just really haven't felt like you had much of a
chance to win. And that grows pretty old, especially for
a fan base that expects excellence like Big Blue Nation does.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Absolutely, Brandon appreciate the time as always as at Brandon
and Ramsey ksr on X and then the the YouTube channel,
the podcasts for all of his network of coverage, and
we appreciate you joining us here on the show.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
YEP Thanks Tom anytime.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Brandon Ramsey with his breakdown of where the Cats are heading.
Say happy birth day to the pride of Lee County.
Larry Stamper celebrating a birthday today. Talk about a guy
that was a battler on the glass and in the paint,
Larry Stampard over twenty two I believe of Bemory Serfs.
(35:15):
Happy birthday to Larry Quasheed. Scott has entered the transfer
portal Kentucky's starting nickel last season, so you knew there's
gonna be a lot of guys departing with the coaching change.
They have picked up several transfers already in the portal
on the defensive side. I would suspect that with a
(35:36):
quarterback now committed to Kentucky that the offensive side will
start to fall into place with a lot more commitments
there on this particular upcoming week or shortly thereafter. Shuffle
Being Coffee is the official coffee of the Leech Report
and of raupp Arena. It's a group of Kentuckians that
(35:57):
got together to form this company more than a decade
ago go, and they talk about following the process from
seed to cup with their company starts with the very
best coffee beans that leads to coffee with a fantastic
aroma and an even better taste. Try it for yourself
by ordering some through Amazon, by getting it through the
company's website shufflebean Us, or by picking some up at
(36:18):
a central Kentucky Myers store and put some hustle in
your shuffle Today. Kentucky Football has found its new Director
of Football Sports Performance, Brandon Roberts coming in with that
title to work in strength and conditioning. Comes from South Florida,
where he's been the last seven years, but worked with
will Stein when they were both at U of L.
(36:40):
We're going to get to the end of the show,
so appreciate you joining us. We'll be back tomorrow game day.
We'll talk about the matchup between the Cats and Miszoo
to That's Report. Anytime you missed the show, you can
listen to the podcast at Tom LEECHKWI dot com, WLAP
dot com, or seven ninety Louisville dot com, and anytime
(37:00):
you're out of range of the stations, catch the show
via the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
If you have any questions for Tom, email Leach Report
at gmail dot com and check out his website at
Tom leach Ky dot com
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