January 15, 2026 • 37 mins
Dick Gabriel fills in to talk with Justin Rowland and Brandon Ramsey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
And now they've got the ball and Chandler will play
it in that three players in the front court. Aberdeen's
standing just inside the mid court line. Now Yellowich will
go into back court. Chandler looking throws it way up
into front court.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Merino catches shoots for the wind.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Oh my, they're gonna look at it.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
But the young fella, Oh man, what a great pass
and catch in traffic.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
They call that winning the catch and didn't won the game,
and it is good they're checking it, but it is good.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
He deserved that. Oh man, what I mean, Yes, he's
just amazing how well he's playing. And that, of course
is the voice time lead Dick Abril, sitting in for Tom.
As you might expect. They got back early early this morning.
WL last night excuse me, after the win over LSU,
but what a moment, what a comeback by the Wildcats.
(01:06):
Couldn't have played much worse in the first half, couldn't
have played much better in the second half. So we'll
talk a lot about that today here on the Leach Report,
presented by Bob Kat Enterprises, and our lineup today is appropriate.
Darren Hedrick will join us. Darren, of course, is the
voice of UK women's basketball. They've got a big win
tonight here in the Lexington Darren also called a last
(01:30):
second shot a win over LSU earlier this year. And Darren,
I have to tell you, was already scheduled to be
on with Tom because of tonight's game, but I'm happy
to fill in for Tom obviously, But Darren works out
perfectly because he's done some UK men's games but also
had that last second winner over LSU to shot by
Tony Morgan. So we'll talk about both the men and
(01:51):
the women with Darren Brandon Ramsey from All three Sports.
We'll go over last night's game with him and look ahead,
of course to the Tennessee game coming up, and then
a little bit later on as usual on Thursday, Justin
Rowland will join here on the Leach Report Wildcat News
of the Day, presented by just Sepis of Lexington. And
of course the biggest news was Melchai Moreno shot that
(02:14):
beat LSU seventy five seventy four. And if you heard
the postgame show or read any of the postgame comments,
I can't blame you. If you didn't. It was a
late night. You might have just hit the sack after
the game was over, but that was not the way
they drew it up in the huddle. It sort of was.
Usually the trigger man is Cam Williams, but he had
(02:35):
been on the bench for much of the second half
with four fouls, and so he you know, Mark Pope
might have been thinking about putting him in, but hesitated
long enough for Colin Chandler to say, I got this.
Let me do it. I've got this, and sure enough
he did. And I'm sure you were thinking, at least
a lot of us were, and some folks tweeted it
(02:55):
that that was so reminiscent of Grand Hill to Christian Ladner,
sorry to bring it up, but it's a happier moman
for Kentucky fans. And it looked to be perfect pass,
didn't it well, In truth, he kind of sailed it.
He kind of overthrew it. And Pope said he grabbed
Malachi as they broke the huddle and said, if the
(03:16):
pass is long, you just grab it and take a
moment and put it up. It is exactly what he did.
And ironically enough, Lsu covered that play the way so
many of us believe Kentucky should have covered that played
down against Duke with a big man on the passer
(03:38):
and another big fronting the big for the opposite team.
That's exactly what LSU did, and guess what, it didn't work.
That's not to say it wouldn't have worked in nineteen
ninety two, but who knows. But it turned out to
be an incredible pass, and amazingly the defender got his
hands on the basketball, you know, pulled that thing down.
(04:02):
Is beyond me. But when he turned and hit the shot,
Denzel Aberdeen later said he had seen Malachi do that
in practice, and he said when he let go of
the shot, he was behind him, had a good look
at the bucket, and one of the camera angles had
the same shot, the same look, and he said, I
knew it was good. So man, what a shot. What
(04:25):
a comeback. It doesn't make you forget about their problems
in the first half. They've still got a lot of
work to do, but at least at least they've now
won two straight after winning for just or leading for
only one minute and ten seconds total of the game.
And it looked like, oh, he had won the game
for him with a jumper, and then it was shown
(04:46):
and it was a good call that they did not
get out of his hand and Kentucky got a huge break.
LSU missed a couple of free throws, but also it
made a tough on itself, Kentucky did when it found
the second best free throw shooter in the conference and
McKinnon and he hits two free throws. Looked like the
game might be over. So it just went back and forth,
(05:06):
back and forth. But the Wildcats put together a brilliant
second half. And I choose that word carefully because LSU,
with all due respect, not one of the better teams
in the SEC. But Kentucky spotted the Tigers an eighteen
point advantage and still came back and won, did not quit.
(05:26):
So props to the players, props to Mark Pope and
his staff. They hung in there and got the win.
And now next up is Tennessee. Mentioned the UK women.
They've got Florida coming up tonight in the coliseum. Gator's
struggling this year, twelve and seven overall, zero to four
in historic Memorial Coliseum, and that games at seven o'clock.
(05:48):
You'll hear it on most of these same stations at
six forty five with Darren Hedrick. It doesn't look here
that Tony Key will play for the Wildcats, it should
be okay, excuse me, without her tonight, but they do
have to get her back, and they got to get
her back as quickly as possible. One other note from
college sports. At the recommendation of the men's and women's
(06:09):
basketball Oversight Committees, the transfer windows in men's and women's
basketball will open for a fifteen day period after the
championship game for their respective NCAA tournaments, effective immediately. If
there is a coach change, they will give them a
fifteen day period five days after the change is hired
(06:30):
or publicly announced. If not within thirty days that a
previous head coach's departure, fifteen day window will open. That
means you will not have news of transfers during the
NCAA tournament. These are changes that have to be made
and they are underway. We'll talk a lot about that
with Darren and Justin and Brandon coming up next. You're
(06:54):
listening to the Leach Reports, stay with us. Coming up
Darren Hedrick, the radio voice of the UK women's team
on the Leech Reboard. Welcome back, Dick Gabrielle sitting in
for Tom Lee's the voice of the Wildcats, chatting with
Darren Hendrick this morning here on the Leach Report, coming
to you Fromclark's Pumping Shop studio.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Good morning, Darren, Hey, good morning. How we do and
what a thrilling win last night so we can get
another one tonight.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Well, my thoughts not too long after that game went
to you because you knew what it was like to
cover an exciting game winning shot. It was not quite
the tall hill that the men had to climb, but
the women had to come from behind to win one
like that. You had to be just hitting deja vu
all over again, warn't you.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah, that was a lot of fun, and you're ride
as that game wound down and then moreno hit the
shot at the end there, I was thinking back to
Tony Morgan doing something similar to Kim Moulke's LSU Tigers.
Just I guess it's been what about two weeks ago now,
and man, and you know.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
I was just sitting there.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
They get baseball goes to Baton Rouge to play LSU
later this spring. Maybe when we get a couple of
night inning heroics to keep it going down there, keep
the mojo going in Baton Rouge.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
That would be awesome. What before I get over to
do a little preview of the women's game. But what
stood out for you other than that last shot? And again,
Darren has done some TV work for the men, so
he's covered this program yeah as well, But what what
stood out for you?
Speaker 3 (08:31):
You know what I think Malachi Moreno, even before the
game winning shot, dig just the minutes he was giving them.
I know last night was foul trouble. He was battling
some of that, picked up his fourth foul early in
the second half, but down the stretch there he was
able to get back in the game and guard and
give them some significant minutes without picking up that fifth foul.
(08:53):
So he stood out. And then just the overall resilience
to get back in that game. I mean, you look
early in the second half and it was almost like
the Wildcats were just sort of left for dead, and
it looked like they were going to absorb a devastating loss.
And then they just kept shipping away. They started making shots,
(09:15):
especially their three pointers, kept chipping away and shipping away,
and finally there at the end, they gave themselves a chance.
And you hear coaches it's cliche, but you know it's
cliche for a reason. Coaches always talk about we just
want a chance in the final minutes. Kentucky gave themselves
(09:35):
that and that set up the heroics for the Cats
on that last possession there.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
With any luck at all, the women won't need that
kind of heroics tonight, and then it looks like Florida
is overmatch. But as I mentioned earlier, it didn't look
like Kentucky. Wef Tony Keith tonight as well. And you
and I have talked at length on my show about
how important she is. But things are clicking right now,
at least at this stage of the season Kenny Brooks's team.
What do you like about what you've seen from the
(10:03):
UK women thus far?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
The way they answer the bell physically, especially in this
league SEC and women's basketball this year may be the
best league in the country, and talent wise, it may
be the best that I've ever seen it top to bottom.
And this team answers the bell, you know, they take
(10:27):
their body blows and they just get back up. I mean,
they've had some heavyweight fights with Louisville and Maryland, Oklahoma
and LSU and they've come out on top more often
than not. Especially like the way this team plays defense.
They just force you to execute your offense. They try
(10:47):
to funnel you into bad shots or funnel you into
the paint where the strength of their defense is, and
they just never give up. I mean, think about Kentucky
was able to win that game in the final minutes
or hold on to the lead because Tony Morgan comes
out of nowhere and blocks a shot from Reagan Beer
is one of the other great centers in this conference.
(11:08):
She's six foot five, six foot four. Tony Morgan, the
point guard for Kentucky, comes from behind and blocks her layup.
So I really like the way this team's playing defense
right now and staying connected overall offensively and defensively.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, I got about a minute left. But Tony Morgan
has stepped into the challenge of following I won't say
replacing George Amore, but following Georgia Amore about as well
as she could am.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I right, Yeah, no doubt about it. As coach likes
to say, she brought her own shoes to the dance
floor and she's been able to score it at multiple levels.
She plays terrific defense, and she's really blossom this year
under Coach Brooks, and it's been a lot of fun
to see her facilitate this offense for sure.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Is Darren Hedrick, voice of UK Women's basketball. You'll hear
that game tonight on most of these SAMES stations with
pregames at six forty five, tip off at seven at
the Coliseum. Thanks Darren, have a good call tonight, I
know you will.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I appreciate it. Man. Thank you so much, Dick, and
talk to you all later.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
All right, and when we come back. Brandon Ramsey, you
have On three Sports joined us on the Leach Report.
It is the Leach Report presented by Bobcat Enterprises, four
locations in Kentucky. When you need to rent or buy
heavy equipment or a new zero turn mower for your
long turn two Bobcat Enterprises, Joined now by Brandon Ramsey
of On three Sports.
Speaker 5 (12:31):
Good morning, Brandon, good morning, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Hey, you were up late last night. You saw some
wild finishes, not just the Kentucky game. Tell everybody about
the Virginia Tech SMU finish.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
Well, yeah, so you obviously had the Kentucky game winner.
You actually had an ole Miss game winner and overtime
against Georgia as well, and then and then yeah, then
probably what out did all of the game winners was
SMU throw it in a half court shot down to
to beat Virginia, tex Yeah, it was a It was
a pretty exciting night of college basketball across the board,
(13:07):
that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And you took it all in from your control center
and you're home. You tweeted a photo. How many TV
screens did you have going?
Speaker 5 (13:16):
We have three TV screens down in the basement that
I have my laptop and an external monitor, so we
can we can get five or six screens between between
everything we have going down there.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
And yet you were zeroed in, I know in the
Kentucky game. How in the world in your eyes did
Kentucky manage to pull out that comeback?
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Well, I think a really big part of it, and
I think some of the guys on the Kiss our
post game show talk about this too, But what was
just how quickly Kentucky really cut into that lead in
the second half, And obviously it went in the other
direction just for a minute where LSU got it up
to eighteen, but then like it was seven points within
(13:57):
you know, three or four minutes of that second half starting.
I think that really gives you a the confidence that, Okay, hey,
like we kind of have a normal basketball game here.
A seven point deficit with fifteen sixteen minutes ago is
obviously very very attainable, and I think it also, you know,
then put some earlier pressure on on LSU as well.
(14:17):
So I think how quickly Kentucky was able to get
that league shrunk down was a big part of it.
I think they did that by you know, certainly getting
some things figured out. Offensively. They were much more aggressive
there in the second half, not just getting better looks
from three or any looks from a three, but also
kind of figure out figuring out how to attack LSU's
(14:38):
half court defense. Might have thought things looked a lot
smoother in the second half, quite frankly, as they were
able to find a way to win.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
This is an oversimplification, I know, but it's a simple answer.
I really think that this team, I'm sorry, struggling with
a cold today. There's a lot of things they got
to fit. But shots going in, ball going through the
basket solves so many ills. And I'm not going to
(15:06):
say that there's nothing wrong with this team that made
shots couldn't fix, but that's a huge part of it.
They just didn't hit and they didn't take good shots
in the first half, much better in the second half.
And amazing how that turns things around, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Well, it just opens everything up so much more oftensibly
be able. It starts to spread out defense. You got
in the first half, to let's use credit, Kentucky wasn't
even able to get very many good shots but a
little make them. And then the second half, as you said,
as you start to see the ball go in, and
then all of a sudden, you know, in the first
half where Lsu was really clogging things up around the basket,
Kentucky couldn't get penetration, Kentucky turned it over a couple
(15:43):
of times trying to hit that short roll or the
guy rolling to the basket. Well, now in the second half,
all of a sudden, that role man is a lot
more open because they're having to stay out on the
shooters a little bit more, because there's in trepidation of
coming all the way in because well, now I've seen
o Way make a couple. Now I've seen camp to
make a couple of Colin Chandler has got one to
go win. Then, so Aberdeen's starting to shoot the ball.
(16:04):
So yes, when you start making shots, it just puts
a lot more pressure on the defense to kind of
cover the whole court where it's early on they were
able to just really clog things up inside and make
life hard on Kentucky.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
I got to cover Malachi Moreno a little bit and
when he was in high school, and man, the changes
he's made the development. Talk to me a little bit
about his maturity and his aggressiveness. Now he's not nearly
he's just learning the position, isn't he Yes?
Speaker 5 (16:34):
Yeah. What he's done all season, obviously beyond just making
the game winner last night, has really been impressive. He's
a guy. I watched him a lot through him playing
with Indian Elite in AAU. I covered the state of
Indiana pretty thoroughly from from a prep and high school perspective,
so I saw him with a bunch of Indiana teammates
(16:54):
in the AAU, and quite frankly, he's been above and
beyond anything I could have imagined as a fresh and
with his confidence, how he's able to bang around inside
with figure guys. How good of a rebounder he's been defensively,
what he's done around the rim, making guys miss, Yeah,
it's it's been really impressive. And then now we've seen
(17:14):
him kind of turn into that hub of the offense
even a little bit more. In the last couple of
days this can take he gets back to some of
last year's offensive structure a little bit more. And then
obviously you know what he did knocking him the shot
last night, but yes, what just h His complete game now,
you know, about halfway into his freshman year, has been
incredibly impressive.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I always say that seven footers have to learn how
to be seven feet tall, you know. And Anthony Davis,
who was a great example, was a six or four
guard until he's shot up, you know. And now look
at I know he's hurt again, but yeah, but Morino,
I think is amazed, probably even himself a little bit.
But it's fun to watch him mature like that. Brandon,
thank you so much and I'm glad you were able
(17:55):
to get up with us after such a late night.
Follow Brandon on Twitter or exit b Ramsey with an
e KSR. And he is with Tom each and every week.
Thank you, brother. Have a great day.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
Yep ey time, Tom Dick, thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
You can call me Tom. That's fine, all right. When
we come back justin Rowland, we'll join us right here,
stay with us on the Leach Report. Welcome back to
the Leach Report, Shannon. I'm not sure where we're going here. Okay,
Justin is with us, Thank you very much. All right,
let us welcome in Justin Roland to the Leach Report
(18:29):
Chats with Tom each and every week. Good morning, Justin,
Good morning, Dick.
Speaker 6 (18:33):
How are you well.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
You've got a house full of young ands. I gotta
think they were all in bed by the time you
got a chance to watch that game last night. What
were your thoughts first half, second half?
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Well, you know, it was ugly in the first half.
I'm not saying this is the only reason they were so.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Far behind, but I think I thought it was.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
A perfect storm that LSU came out so physical and
so aggressive and contesting everything, and they were only called
for six bouts in.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
The first half.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
And I'm not saying it was unfair, but the way
that they could, the mentality LSU came in, and the
way the game was officiated, I think created a dynamic
that it took a while for Kentucky to respond to it.
But in the second half, you saw incredible effort. You
saw some signs that otega O way is kicking it
into the right gear and they just stayed at it
(19:26):
and made the plays down the stretch. So it was
an effort win. It still wasn't pretty, but it was
the kind of toughness that I mean, two and two
in the SEC is markedly better than one and three
in the SEC.
Speaker 6 (19:38):
So must win, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
No question, And I'm glad you brought that up because
LSU did play good, tough, aggressive defense. This was a
desperate team. You know, this was a team that was
winless in the league, and you don't want to lose
at home. Of course, had to have this win. Big opportunity.
Here comes Kentucky. Let's play like we got nothing to lose,
although they had everything to lose. And Kentucky. We've rent
in Kentucky from hitting shots. But I felt too like Kentucky.
(20:03):
And again credit, LSU wasn't getting good shots, was it.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
M No, It's hard to get good shots when you're
not running good offense. Yeah, and they committed to it,
and it was I think more about just being decisive
and strong with the ball and getting out and running
when you could, and as much as they can get
out and run and score points off turnovers, that's going
to be huge for this team because they don't generate
offenses organically as last year's team did. But they shot
(20:32):
ten of twenty three from outside, and that's that was huge.
They've had some games where they've shot better and that
makes all the difference. They had shot thirty percent. If
they had made one few or three, it would have
that would have been the game. So they had to
shoot well from outside and they were able to win
on the road because of it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, tell me about the second half, what you saw.
I was just talking to Brandon Ramsey about the fact that, uh,
they got into it almost immediately. Yeah, they went down eighteen,
but then three pointers started going in, and it's funny
how things the world seems to change when your three
pointers are falling.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, they set up Yellovich for a couple of good ones.
Not everybody was hitting, but.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Oh wait, the shot.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
You know, it doesn't look like the prettiest thing in
the world. But he's starting to make him and he
he's more confident. You saw in that last take when
he got to the line and he hit one out
of two free throws. That was the most burst going
downhill to the rim that we've seen from him all season,
and he's still a little bit more loose with the basketball.
It's knocked away more, the crossovers or swipes out of
(21:32):
bounds more than they were at his best last year.
But I said at the beginning, you know, when things
were really bleak, one of the few things that could
save the season is if Oway somehow kicked it into
high gear. And it didn't look like he was gonna
do it earlier this season, but he could single handedly
at least power them to the tournament, which for the
sake of optics and the way people talk and think
(21:55):
about the state of the program, would be very important.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
How much of that justin do you think was the
fact that he had that turned ankle and was just
slow getting started.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it could be a lot of things.
There's all kinds of issues. You know that the timing
of that injury when you want him to be peaking
and ready to go, was really bad timing. And you know,
anybody can speculate on you know, the nil era.
Speaker 6 (22:23):
And motivation that's neither here nor there.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
But the point is he looks like he's got it
and he's locked in, and now everybody else has to
fall on it's gotta be Otega's team with the absences
and with low and you know, they hope that maybe
maybe in a best case scenario going into the season,
it would be always team and everything else would look great.
But it's just got to be always team at this point.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. But now the guy at
the controls is not Jalen Parker. This is there a
jail in low Rader. This is something that uh, the
whole team has got to make an adjustment and and
get into offense with Denzel Average and or Jasper Johnson.
I think that also has an effect as well. But
(23:06):
oh way, yeah, just the way he did last year
now looks like he's more than willing to shoulder the load,
you know, because he embraced that last year, and they
had to kind of do that on the fly, didn't they.
Speaker 6 (23:18):
Yeah, they did, they did.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
I mean, the way that you eventually hit your stride
isn't necessarily what you expect, say they they really need
to settle in to They at least have to be
able to consistently run some semblance of offense from night
to night. It can't just be we're feeling it out.
(23:42):
We're passing it around the perimeter for twenty seconds. We're
not getting into the offense until the second half. That's
not gonna work. Like Indiana Saint John's LSU some of
the high water marks over the last month. They're not
duplicating these because they're doing it against teams that are
showing a lot of flaws. When they play the betters,
they're not able to do that. So I don't know
(24:03):
what it's gonna take to get him to run consistently.
Good offense effort did it in the second half, but
they have to get the offense figured out for it
to really matter in the long run.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
The scene, practice, practice practice is what it will. Right
before we hit the brake, talk to me a little
bit about Malachai Moreno and then just his development, which
seems like it is really markedly sped up over the
last two or three weeks.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
And the thing that's like so interesting is like you
can when I watch him, I'm like, man, when he
gets a little bit stronger, when he gets a little
bit more explosive, when some of that baby fat is
converted to definition, you know he's going to be a
real problem because he's he's got very soft hands, He's
got very soft touch. He's got a great feel for
(24:46):
uh the game in the paint with how he uses
his weight and kind of rolls off guys that are
blocking him out and has.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
A nose for these.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
There's a lot of instinctive traits that could make him
special in college.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
And once he.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
Gets stronger, a little bit more explosive, able to finish
more above the rim in traffic, he could be a
special college player.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yeah, and just just so much more confidence now and
looking for the basket, which he didn't have to do
quite as much in high school. But this ain't high school, brother,
and he is growing into that seven foot body. We're
talking with Justin Rowland of Cats Illustrated now part of
the on three network Rivals dot Com. We'll come back
and talk with more basketball from football with Justin and
(25:29):
big changes didn't seem big, but it is about the
transfer window. We'll come back and chat more with Justin
in just a moment here on the Leach Report. Welcome
back to the Leach Report, presented by Bob Kat enterprises
chatting with Justin Rowland as Tom does each and every week,
and a couple more basketball questions Justin before we move on,
But what were your thoughts on the last play.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Man?
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That looks familiar to be on the other side of it.
I'm in for Fatino to chime in with the h
The acknowledgment of the scenario was pretty neat, and you know,
it's it's cool.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
They needed that.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
You know, it's been a hard season and just mentally,
I'm sure there's been a ton of strain and just
to have that bonding experience on the road of being down,
that's not something they're gonna forget. You know, they're gonna
be talking about that and laughing about it and sharing
anecdotes about it, and it's something that they could hang
their hat on.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
It's the kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
I don't think there's one jolt that's gonna knock them,
you know, right, or get them where people wanted them
to be. But it can be the kind of thing
that smoked snowballs and build some positive amount.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I don't know if you've had a chance yet. You you're,
like I said, a busy guy. But uh. The postgame
comments both by Pope Denzil Aberdeen after the game of
the media Uh. But Pope basically said that Cam Williams
on their home run play is usually the passer, but
he was kind of cold. He'd been on the bench
in fout trouble. Colin Chandler volunteered to make the pass,
(26:55):
which to me was just I kept saying. I was
with some friends. I said, man, that's Grand Hill over again.
But evidently its sailed on him a little bit. You know,
Morena was not the first target, but Pope had grabbed
Moreno and said, look, if the pass is high, you
get it, then put it up. Uh So, it just
it just all kind of worked. And to your point,
(27:16):
they guarded the passer, they fronted the big and it
still went in. That was just even more remarkable, I
think than what that guy from Duke did. I know,
the stakes were different, and in terms of execution, I
thought this was and I know I'm biased a little bit,
but all things considered, did you see it that way? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
And it's not like he should have been ejected earlier
in the game.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
I'm like the.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Previous that's a different story that was. That was a phenomenal.
It was a phenomenal play. Yeah, human error sometimes plays it.
I mean the Bluegrass Miracle, That's not how they drew
it up.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
Either.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
So sometimes insanity takes over. But it didn't feel like
it was like a fluke where they just stole one.
That felt like they buckled down, they locked in, and
they got over the hump at the end.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
And you know that was for LSU.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
They hadn't proved they could they could win in conference,
and you know, something something gave and Kentucky was the
was the winner.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I have to admit that at halftime I wondered, which
Kentucky team are we going to see? And it's not
that we have seen this yet, but I wondered, you know,
you're on the road. Nothing's going right. Thankfully, it wasn't
a huge crowd. Surprised the crowd wasn't bigger than a one.
But then again LSU has not been successful this year.
But the fact that Kentucky came out and just played
(28:30):
hard in the second half, I thought that win or lose,
I thought that was huge. Did you see it?
Speaker 4 (28:35):
The show's Pope's got the team that they're playing for him,
that he's in their ear and they're responding to him,
and they have some pride that they're playing for it.
But what you said about Chandler, I mean, it's not
surprising at all that he would be the guy that
they would want to have the ball in the hands
of making that pass at the end of the game.
Speaker 6 (28:51):
There have been a couple of games.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Late this year that have been close where you could
tell he and Pope feel like he's ready for that
moment because he's not not only on the court, but
he's kind of ball dominant in those high leverage, clutch situations.
And it hadn't gone well for him. There have been
a couple of miscues in some late moments in other games,
but he really came through and I think as long
(29:13):
as Chandler's in the program, he's going to be one
of the guys with the ball in his hands lading games.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Talking to Justin Rowland, let me shift you over to
the news that came down the recommendation, at the recommendation
of the men's and women's basketball Oversight Committees, the transfer
windows and both men's and women's hoops will open now
for a fifteen day period the day after their respective
championship games, effective immediately. You keep a close eye on recruiting,
(29:39):
and of course there is a caveat about head coaching changes,
but how big of a deal is this how dramatic
effect of an effect do you think this is going
to be? And again that it's early, but I don't
know about you. I think this is big your thoughts.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah, well, I mean these little tweaks. The devil is
in the details. And so you know the people that
kind of slept on the football portal window changing and
only having one football portal window change and maybe they
just didn't pay much attention to that.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
That's a huge difference.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
I mean, rosters are about to be set for the
entire season about eight months out from the next season,
and that's a very different.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
Situation than the past couple of years.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
And so, but you've got a lot of other deals
in football and in basketball where some schools front loaded
their rosters with a lot of nil before the College
Sports Commission.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Ruling came out.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
And these schools are going to have an enormous amount
of money or they've had an enormous amount of money,
and that kind of makes the playing field a little
imbalance in a way that most people don't see. But yeah,
these are these are big changes, and it seems like
it's a little more order insanity in chaos.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, it's a much needst step. There's no question about that.
I do wonder there are people calling for changes or
some sort of calendar limitation about coaches changing jobs, and
I think that ends up in court. I don't see
anyway they can win that one, do you, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (31:03):
I don't see that either.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
I mean there is this kind of like there's a
trend in how people talk about these issues, and it's
always like juxtaposing, like the rights of coaches versus the
rights of athletes. Yeah, well, coaches complain about this, but
they do this and athletes can't do this. And I
feel like that's a fair point to a certain level.
But coaches and athletes are never in college going to
(31:26):
be treated exactly the same as long as these athletes
are not considered technically, you know, university employees.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
On that same level.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
But well, I mean, who knows how any of this
is going to ultimately play out.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah, you're right. I do weary though about the argument, Well,
coaches can leave whenever they want, Yeah, but coaches don't
change jobs every year for four years, five years, six
years like some of these these players do. Yeah, And
there are many problems doing that, I know, but it
still matters a couple of minutes left with Justin Roland
just shifting over quickly to Kentucky football. We're gonna get
(31:56):
a chance to talk to will Stein next week, but
his guys have been out busy. Your thoughts on what
they've been able to get done within the portal, particularly
the offensive line of.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
Late Yeah, that was clearly an emphasis.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
I mean, they've recruited three obvious starters from the portal
on the offensive line. It looks like the situation is
Lanceford will be the left tackle from Tennessee and he
did a solid job there last year and he's very talented,
future NFL guy. Colton Price maybe also a future NFL
guy at center, one of the most experienced interior linemen
(32:33):
you know in the portal. And then Tegra from Ohio State.
He has great talent and he's nasty when he's when
he's locked in, and he needs to be locked in
and move those feet because they need him to be
an anchor. And there could be competition at left guard
and right tackle, but they've got a lot of bodies
and there's still offers going out in the portal as
of yesterday. So a build when a new coach comes in,
(32:54):
it is a new regime and there's a ton of
work to do.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, and part of that work is those guys getting
to know each other. And we talked last year and
I'm sure you did too with a lot of the
old linemen about having to compress what ordinarily was it
two and three year process as developing as a line
into several months. But again, these guys, as you said,
are experienced, so they've at least got a head start
on that, don't they.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
Yeah, Yeah, more and more than ever, I think college
athletes are responsible for their own development. I'm not saying
that coaches don't have a role in it.
Speaker 6 (33:29):
In some places, they have much more of a role
of it.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
The longer you are one place, the more your coach
is going to impact you. But if you're bouncing around
two three schools in a four or five year career,
which is just common now, you know, it's it's on
you to develop and have that year round consistency of
habit and work ethic. And that's separating, you know, guys
that are working out in the portal from guys that
(33:53):
are turning out to be fat. They got a turn
later on.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Yeah, And it's a process and it takes time, but
we'll want it right now. As we all know, he
is Justin Rowland. Follow him on Twitter at Roland's Rivals.
Thank you, brother, have a great.
Speaker 6 (34:06):
Day, thanks a lot, do take care and when.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
We come back we will wrap up this edition of
the Lease Reports, so stay with us. Thanks again to
our guest today, Justin Roland, Brandon Ramsey and Darren Heddrick.
And a reminder. UK Women's basketball tonight seven o'clock pregame
six forty five on most of these stations. The Leach Purport,
of Course, presented by Bobcat Enterprises. Final Thoughts Today presented
(34:30):
by Kentucky road Show Sports Cards and Memorabilia and Lectionon.
You can learn more about them at roadshowcards dot com.
Happy Birthday to Jay Scheidler, the Blonde Bomber is celebrating
a birthday today, and to the late Cliff Barker. Cliff
Barker was part of the Fabulous Five, but I think
had one of the most incredible backstories because he left
(34:53):
school after his freshman year before he ever played varsity
ball to join the Army. This was during the World
War Two. He joined the Army Air Force. This is
back before the Air force was a separate branch and
was a gunner and a B seventeen bomber. Imagine leaving
college after your freshman year. You join up. Now you're in,
(35:14):
and let me tell you what in the early stages
of the career rather of the war, anybody in a bomber,
the odds against them were just phenomenal. And sure enough,
he and his mates were shot down over Germany. Thankfully survived,
but he was a pow for sixteen months, and he
(35:35):
passed the time by bouncing and passing a volleyball, worked
on his ball handling skills. That's the only ball he
could find. Fast forward to now his brother's daughter, granddaughter,
his brother Mike. His granddaughter is none other than Molly Tuzzo,
(35:57):
Kentucky's All Conference libreo. So maybe she comes by that
volleyball skill. Honestly, I gotta think she does, because one
of her relatives passed the time in a German prison
camp bouncing a volleyball. That's Cliff Beard and a belated
or late happy birthday to Cliff. On this day in
(36:20):
history back in twenty twenty two, you might remember this one.
Kentucky beat Tennessee, and I mean beat Tennessee one oh
seven to seventy nine, and I remember Tennessee coming in
was playing well. Kentucky was up and down a little bit.
That was the ty Ty Washington team that night. Everything
(36:41):
went right for Kentucky, which is thirty eight of fifty
six shots, including eleven of eighteen from beyond the arc,
twenty of twenty one from the free throw line. Ty
Ti twenty eight points, five assists, three steals, Severe Wheeler
remember him, twenty one points, eight assists. Kellen Grady at
(37:04):
his best that night, four of seven from beyond the arch.
He had sixteen points. Davion Min's had ten points, four
or five from the field. They just threw at everything.
Two other guys finished with nine or otherwise. Kentucky had
six guys in double figures. But then the injuries began
to happen. Ty Tye went down at Tennessee a few
(37:26):
weeks later, and that team just kind of fell apart.
But that was a fun night at Rupperina. Thanks everybody,
have a great day.
And now they've got the ball and Chandler will play
it in that three players in the front court. Aberdeen's
standing just inside the mid court line. Now Yellowich will
go into back court. Chandler looking throws it way up
into front court.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Merino catches shoots for the wind.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Oh my, they're gonna look at it.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
But the young fella, Oh man, what a great pass
and catch in traffic.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
They call that winning the catch and didn't won the game,
and it is good they're checking it, but it is good.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
He deserved that. Oh man, what I mean, Yes, he's
just amazing how well he's playing. And that, of course
is the voice time lead Dick Abril, sitting in for Tom.
As you might expect. They got back early early this morning.
WL last night excuse me, after the win over LSU,
but what a moment, what a comeback by the Wildcats.
(01:06):
Couldn't have played much worse in the first half, couldn't
have played much better in the second half. So we'll
talk a lot about that today here on the Leach Report,
presented by Bob Kat Enterprises, and our lineup today is appropriate.
Darren Hedrick will join us. Darren, of course, is the
voice of UK women's basketball. They've got a big win
tonight here in the Lexington Darren also called a last
(01:30):
second shot a win over LSU earlier this year. And Darren,
I have to tell you, was already scheduled to be
on with Tom because of tonight's game, but I'm happy
to fill in for Tom obviously, But Darren works out
perfectly because he's done some UK men's games but also
had that last second winner over LSU to shot by
Tony Morgan. So we'll talk about both the men and
(01:51):
the women with Darren Brandon Ramsey from All three Sports.
We'll go over last night's game with him and look ahead,
of course to the Tennessee game coming up, and then
a little bit later on as usual on Thursday, Justin
Rowland will join here on the Leach Report Wildcat News
of the Day, presented by just Sepis of Lexington. And
of course the biggest news was Melchai Moreno shot that
(02:14):
beat LSU seventy five seventy four. And if you heard
the postgame show or read any of the postgame comments,
I can't blame you. If you didn't. It was a
late night. You might have just hit the sack after
the game was over, but that was not the way
they drew it up in the huddle. It sort of was.
Usually the trigger man is Cam Williams, but he had
(02:35):
been on the bench for much of the second half
with four fouls, and so he you know, Mark Pope
might have been thinking about putting him in, but hesitated
long enough for Colin Chandler to say, I got this.
Let me do it. I've got this, and sure enough
he did. And I'm sure you were thinking, at least
a lot of us were, and some folks tweeted it
(02:55):
that that was so reminiscent of Grand Hill to Christian Ladner,
sorry to bring it up, but it's a happier moman
for Kentucky fans. And it looked to be perfect pass,
didn't it well, In truth, he kind of sailed it.
He kind of overthrew it. And Pope said he grabbed
Malachi as they broke the huddle and said, if the
(03:16):
pass is long, you just grab it and take a
moment and put it up. It is exactly what he did.
And ironically enough, Lsu covered that play the way so
many of us believe Kentucky should have covered that played
down against Duke with a big man on the passer
(03:38):
and another big fronting the big for the opposite team.
That's exactly what LSU did, and guess what, it didn't work.
That's not to say it wouldn't have worked in nineteen
ninety two, but who knows. But it turned out to
be an incredible pass, and amazingly the defender got his
hands on the basketball, you know, pulled that thing down.
(04:02):
Is beyond me. But when he turned and hit the shot,
Denzel Aberdeen later said he had seen Malachi do that
in practice, and he said when he let go of
the shot, he was behind him, had a good look
at the bucket, and one of the camera angles had
the same shot, the same look, and he said, I
knew it was good. So man, what a shot. What
(04:25):
a comeback. It doesn't make you forget about their problems
in the first half. They've still got a lot of
work to do, but at least at least they've now
won two straight after winning for just or leading for
only one minute and ten seconds total of the game.
And it looked like, oh, he had won the game
for him with a jumper, and then it was shown
(04:46):
and it was a good call that they did not
get out of his hand and Kentucky got a huge break.
LSU missed a couple of free throws, but also it
made a tough on itself, Kentucky did when it found
the second best free throw shooter in the conference and
McKinnon and he hits two free throws. Looked like the
game might be over. So it just went back and forth,
(05:06):
back and forth. But the Wildcats put together a brilliant
second half. And I choose that word carefully because LSU,
with all due respect, not one of the better teams
in the SEC. But Kentucky spotted the Tigers an eighteen
point advantage and still came back and won, did not quit.
(05:26):
So props to the players, props to Mark Pope and
his staff. They hung in there and got the win.
And now next up is Tennessee. Mentioned the UK women.
They've got Florida coming up tonight in the coliseum. Gator's
struggling this year, twelve and seven overall, zero to four
in historic Memorial Coliseum, and that games at seven o'clock.
(05:48):
You'll hear it on most of these same stations at
six forty five with Darren Hedrick. It doesn't look here
that Tony Key will play for the Wildcats, it should
be okay, excuse me, without her tonight, but they do
have to get her back, and they got to get
her back as quickly as possible. One other note from
college sports. At the recommendation of the men's and women's
(06:09):
basketball Oversight Committees, the transfer windows in men's and women's
basketball will open for a fifteen day period after the
championship game for their respective NCAA tournaments, effective immediately. If
there is a coach change, they will give them a
fifteen day period five days after the change is hired
(06:30):
or publicly announced. If not within thirty days that a
previous head coach's departure, fifteen day window will open. That
means you will not have news of transfers during the
NCAA tournament. These are changes that have to be made
and they are underway. We'll talk a lot about that
with Darren and Justin and Brandon coming up next. You're
(06:54):
listening to the Leach Reports, stay with us. Coming up
Darren Hedrick, the radio voice of the UK women's team
on the Leech Reboard. Welcome back, Dick Gabrielle sitting in
for Tom Lee's the voice of the Wildcats, chatting with
Darren Hendrick this morning here on the Leach Report, coming
to you Fromclark's Pumping Shop studio.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Good morning, Darren, Hey, good morning. How we do and
what a thrilling win last night so we can get
another one tonight.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Well, my thoughts not too long after that game went
to you because you knew what it was like to
cover an exciting game winning shot. It was not quite
the tall hill that the men had to climb, but
the women had to come from behind to win one
like that. You had to be just hitting deja vu
all over again, warn't you.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Yeah, that was a lot of fun, and you're ride
as that game wound down and then moreno hit the
shot at the end there, I was thinking back to
Tony Morgan doing something similar to Kim Moulke's LSU Tigers.
Just I guess it's been what about two weeks ago now,
and man, and you know.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
I was just sitting there.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
They get baseball goes to Baton Rouge to play LSU
later this spring. Maybe when we get a couple of
night inning heroics to keep it going down there, keep
the mojo going in Baton Rouge.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
That would be awesome. What before I get over to
do a little preview of the women's game. But what
stood out for you other than that last shot? And again,
Darren has done some TV work for the men, so
he's covered this program yeah as well, But what what
stood out for you?
Speaker 3 (08:31):
You know what I think Malachi Moreno, even before the
game winning shot, dig just the minutes he was giving them.
I know last night was foul trouble. He was battling
some of that, picked up his fourth foul early in
the second half, but down the stretch there he was
able to get back in the game and guard and
give them some significant minutes without picking up that fifth foul.
(08:53):
So he stood out. And then just the overall resilience
to get back in that game. I mean, you look
early in the second half and it was almost like
the Wildcats were just sort of left for dead, and
it looked like they were going to absorb a devastating loss.
And then they just kept shipping away. They started making shots,
(09:15):
especially their three pointers, kept chipping away and shipping away,
and finally there at the end, they gave themselves a chance.
And you hear coaches it's cliche, but you know it's
cliche for a reason. Coaches always talk about we just
want a chance in the final minutes. Kentucky gave themselves
(09:35):
that and that set up the heroics for the Cats
on that last possession there.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
With any luck at all, the women won't need that
kind of heroics tonight, and then it looks like Florida
is overmatch. But as I mentioned earlier, it didn't look
like Kentucky. Wef Tony Keith tonight as well. And you
and I have talked at length on my show about
how important she is. But things are clicking right now,
at least at this stage of the season Kenny Brooks's team.
What do you like about what you've seen from the
(10:03):
UK women thus far?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
The way they answer the bell physically, especially in this
league SEC and women's basketball this year may be the
best league in the country, and talent wise, it may
be the best that I've ever seen it top to bottom.
And this team answers the bell, you know, they take
(10:27):
their body blows and they just get back up. I mean,
they've had some heavyweight fights with Louisville and Maryland, Oklahoma
and LSU and they've come out on top more often
than not. Especially like the way this team plays defense.
They just force you to execute your offense. They try
(10:47):
to funnel you into bad shots or funnel you into
the paint where the strength of their defense is, and
they just never give up. I mean, think about Kentucky
was able to win that game in the final minutes
or hold on to the lead because Tony Morgan comes
out of nowhere and blocks a shot from Reagan Beer
is one of the other great centers in this conference.
(11:08):
She's six foot five, six foot four. Tony Morgan, the
point guard for Kentucky, comes from behind and blocks her layup.
So I really like the way this team's playing defense
right now and staying connected overall offensively and defensively.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, I got about a minute left. But Tony Morgan
has stepped into the challenge of following I won't say
replacing George Amore, but following Georgia Amore about as well
as she could am.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I right, Yeah, no doubt about it. As coach likes
to say, she brought her own shoes to the dance
floor and she's been able to score it at multiple levels.
She plays terrific defense, and she's really blossom this year
under Coach Brooks, and it's been a lot of fun
to see her facilitate this offense for sure.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Is Darren Hedrick, voice of UK Women's basketball. You'll hear
that game tonight on most of these SAMES stations with
pregames at six forty five, tip off at seven at
the Coliseum. Thanks Darren, have a good call tonight, I
know you will.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I appreciate it. Man. Thank you so much, Dick, and
talk to you all later.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
All right, and when we come back. Brandon Ramsey, you
have On three Sports joined us on the Leach Report.
It is the Leach Report presented by Bobcat Enterprises, four
locations in Kentucky. When you need to rent or buy
heavy equipment or a new zero turn mower for your
long turn two Bobcat Enterprises, Joined now by Brandon Ramsey
of On three Sports.
Speaker 5 (12:31):
Good morning, Brandon, good morning, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Hey, you were up late last night. You saw some
wild finishes, not just the Kentucky game. Tell everybody about
the Virginia Tech SMU finish.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
Well, yeah, so you obviously had the Kentucky game winner.
You actually had an ole Miss game winner and overtime
against Georgia as well, and then and then yeah, then
probably what out did all of the game winners was
SMU throw it in a half court shot down to
to beat Virginia, tex Yeah, it was a It was
a pretty exciting night of college basketball across the board,
(13:07):
that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And you took it all in from your control center
and you're home. You tweeted a photo. How many TV
screens did you have going?
Speaker 5 (13:16):
We have three TV screens down in the basement that
I have my laptop and an external monitor, so we
can we can get five or six screens between between
everything we have going down there.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
And yet you were zeroed in, I know in the
Kentucky game. How in the world in your eyes did
Kentucky manage to pull out that comeback?
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Well, I think a really big part of it, and
I think some of the guys on the Kiss our
post game show talk about this too, But what was
just how quickly Kentucky really cut into that lead in
the second half, And obviously it went in the other
direction just for a minute where LSU got it up
to eighteen, but then like it was seven points within
(13:57):
you know, three or four minutes of that second half starting.
I think that really gives you a the confidence that, Okay, hey,
like we kind of have a normal basketball game here.
A seven point deficit with fifteen sixteen minutes ago is
obviously very very attainable, and I think it also, you know,
then put some earlier pressure on on LSU as well.
(14:17):
So I think how quickly Kentucky was able to get
that league shrunk down was a big part of it.
I think they did that by you know, certainly getting
some things figured out. Offensively. They were much more aggressive
there in the second half, not just getting better looks
from three or any looks from a three, but also
kind of figure out figuring out how to attack LSU's
(14:38):
half court defense. Might have thought things looked a lot
smoother in the second half, quite frankly, as they were
able to find a way to win.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
This is an oversimplification, I know, but it's a simple answer.
I really think that this team, I'm sorry, struggling with
a cold today. There's a lot of things they got
to fit. But shots going in, ball going through the
basket solves so many ills. And I'm not going to
(15:06):
say that there's nothing wrong with this team that made
shots couldn't fix, but that's a huge part of it.
They just didn't hit and they didn't take good shots
in the first half, much better in the second half.
And amazing how that turns things around, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Well, it just opens everything up so much more oftensibly
be able. It starts to spread out defense. You got
in the first half, to let's use credit, Kentucky wasn't
even able to get very many good shots but a
little make them. And then the second half, as you said,
as you start to see the ball go in, and
then all of a sudden, you know, in the first
half where Lsu was really clogging things up around the basket,
Kentucky couldn't get penetration, Kentucky turned it over a couple
(15:43):
of times trying to hit that short roll or the
guy rolling to the basket. Well, now in the second half,
all of a sudden, that role man is a lot
more open because they're having to stay out on the
shooters a little bit more, because there's in trepidation of
coming all the way in because well, now I've seen
o Way make a couple. Now I've seen camp to
make a couple of Colin Chandler has got one to
go win. Then, so Aberdeen's starting to shoot the ball.
(16:04):
So yes, when you start making shots, it just puts
a lot more pressure on the defense to kind of
cover the whole court where it's early on they were
able to just really clog things up inside and make
life hard on Kentucky.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
I got to cover Malachi Moreno a little bit and
when he was in high school, and man, the changes
he's made the development. Talk to me a little bit
about his maturity and his aggressiveness. Now he's not nearly
he's just learning the position, isn't he Yes?
Speaker 5 (16:34):
Yeah. What he's done all season, obviously beyond just making
the game winner last night, has really been impressive. He's
a guy. I watched him a lot through him playing
with Indian Elite in AAU. I covered the state of
Indiana pretty thoroughly from from a prep and high school perspective,
so I saw him with a bunch of Indiana teammates
(16:54):
in the AAU, and quite frankly, he's been above and
beyond anything I could have imagined as a fresh and
with his confidence, how he's able to bang around inside
with figure guys. How good of a rebounder he's been defensively,
what he's done around the rim, making guys miss, Yeah,
it's it's been really impressive. And then now we've seen
(17:14):
him kind of turn into that hub of the offense
even a little bit more. In the last couple of
days this can take he gets back to some of
last year's offensive structure a little bit more. And then
obviously you know what he did knocking him the shot
last night, but yes, what just h His complete game now,
you know, about halfway into his freshman year, has been
incredibly impressive.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I always say that seven footers have to learn how
to be seven feet tall, you know. And Anthony Davis,
who was a great example, was a six or four
guard until he's shot up, you know. And now look
at I know he's hurt again, but yeah, but Morino,
I think is amazed, probably even himself a little bit.
But it's fun to watch him mature like that. Brandon,
thank you so much and I'm glad you were able
(17:55):
to get up with us after such a late night.
Follow Brandon on Twitter or exit b Ramsey with an
e KSR. And he is with Tom each and every week.
Thank you, brother. Have a great day.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
Yep ey time, Tom Dick, thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
You can call me Tom. That's fine, all right. When
we come back justin Rowland, we'll join us right here,
stay with us on the Leach Report. Welcome back to
the Leach Report, Shannon. I'm not sure where we're going here. Okay,
Justin is with us, Thank you very much. All right,
let us welcome in Justin Roland to the Leach Report
(18:29):
Chats with Tom each and every week. Good morning, Justin,
Good morning, Dick.
Speaker 6 (18:33):
How are you well.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
You've got a house full of young ands. I gotta
think they were all in bed by the time you
got a chance to watch that game last night. What
were your thoughts first half, second half?
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Well, you know, it was ugly in the first half.
I'm not saying this is the only reason they were so.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Far behind, but I think I thought it was.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
A perfect storm that LSU came out so physical and
so aggressive and contesting everything, and they were only called
for six bouts in.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
The first half.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
And I'm not saying it was unfair, but the way
that they could, the mentality LSU came in, and the
way the game was officiated, I think created a dynamic
that it took a while for Kentucky to respond to it.
But in the second half, you saw incredible effort. You
saw some signs that otega O way is kicking it
into the right gear and they just stayed at it
(19:26):
and made the plays down the stretch. So it was
an effort win. It still wasn't pretty, but it was
the kind of toughness that I mean, two and two
in the SEC is markedly better than one and three
in the SEC.
Speaker 6 (19:38):
So must win, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
No question, And I'm glad you brought that up because
LSU did play good, tough, aggressive defense. This was a
desperate team. You know, this was a team that was
winless in the league, and you don't want to lose
at home. Of course, had to have this win. Big opportunity.
Here comes Kentucky. Let's play like we got nothing to lose,
although they had everything to lose. And Kentucky. We've rent
in Kentucky from hitting shots. But I felt too like Kentucky.
(20:03):
And again credit, LSU wasn't getting good shots, was it.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
M No, It's hard to get good shots when you're
not running good offense. Yeah, and they committed to it,
and it was I think more about just being decisive
and strong with the ball and getting out and running
when you could, and as much as they can get
out and run and score points off turnovers, that's going
to be huge for this team because they don't generate
offenses organically as last year's team did. But they shot
(20:32):
ten of twenty three from outside, and that's that was huge.
They've had some games where they've shot better and that
makes all the difference. They had shot thirty percent. If
they had made one few or three, it would have
that would have been the game. So they had to
shoot well from outside and they were able to win
on the road because of it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, tell me about the second half, what you saw.
I was just talking to Brandon Ramsey about the fact that, uh,
they got into it almost immediately. Yeah, they went down eighteen,
but then three pointers started going in, and it's funny
how things the world seems to change when your three
pointers are falling.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, they set up Yellovich for a couple of good ones.
Not everybody was hitting, but.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Oh wait, the shot.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
You know, it doesn't look like the prettiest thing in
the world. But he's starting to make him and he
he's more confident. You saw in that last take when
he got to the line and he hit one out
of two free throws. That was the most burst going
downhill to the rim that we've seen from him all season,
and he's still a little bit more loose with the basketball.
It's knocked away more, the crossovers or swipes out of
(21:32):
bounds more than they were at his best last year.
But I said at the beginning, you know, when things
were really bleak, one of the few things that could
save the season is if Oway somehow kicked it into
high gear. And it didn't look like he was gonna
do it earlier this season, but he could single handedly
at least power them to the tournament, which for the
sake of optics and the way people talk and think
(21:55):
about the state of the program, would be very important.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
How much of that justin do you think was the
fact that he had that turned ankle and was just
slow getting started.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it could be a lot of things.
There's all kinds of issues. You know that the timing
of that injury when you want him to be peaking
and ready to go, was really bad timing. And you know,
anybody can speculate on you know, the nil era.
Speaker 6 (22:23):
And motivation that's neither here nor there.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
But the point is he looks like he's got it
and he's locked in, and now everybody else has to
fall on it's gotta be Otega's team with the absences
and with low and you know, they hope that maybe
maybe in a best case scenario going into the season,
it would be always team and everything else would look great.
But it's just got to be always team at this point.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. But now the guy at
the controls is not Jalen Parker. This is there a
jail in low Rader. This is something that uh, the
whole team has got to make an adjustment and and
get into offense with Denzel Average and or Jasper Johnson.
I think that also has an effect as well. But
(23:06):
oh way, yeah, just the way he did last year
now looks like he's more than willing to shoulder the load,
you know, because he embraced that last year, and they
had to kind of do that on the fly, didn't they.
Speaker 6 (23:18):
Yeah, they did, they did.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
I mean, the way that you eventually hit your stride
isn't necessarily what you expect, say they they really need
to settle in to They at least have to be
able to consistently run some semblance of offense from night
to night. It can't just be we're feeling it out.
(23:42):
We're passing it around the perimeter for twenty seconds. We're
not getting into the offense until the second half. That's
not gonna work. Like Indiana Saint John's LSU some of
the high water marks over the last month. They're not
duplicating these because they're doing it against teams that are
showing a lot of flaws. When they play the betters,
they're not able to do that. So I don't know
(24:03):
what it's gonna take to get him to run consistently.
Good offense effort did it in the second half, but
they have to get the offense figured out for it
to really matter in the long run.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
The scene, practice, practice practice is what it will. Right
before we hit the brake, talk to me a little
bit about Malachai Moreno and then just his development, which
seems like it is really markedly sped up over the
last two or three weeks.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
And the thing that's like so interesting is like you
can when I watch him, I'm like, man, when he
gets a little bit stronger, when he gets a little
bit more explosive, when some of that baby fat is
converted to definition, you know he's going to be a
real problem because he's he's got very soft hands, He's
got very soft touch. He's got a great feel for
(24:46):
uh the game in the paint with how he uses
his weight and kind of rolls off guys that are
blocking him out and has.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
A nose for these.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
There's a lot of instinctive traits that could make him
special in college.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
And once he.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
Gets stronger, a little bit more explosive, able to finish
more above the rim in traffic, he could be a
special college player.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Yeah, and just just so much more confidence now and
looking for the basket, which he didn't have to do
quite as much in high school. But this ain't high school, brother,
and he is growing into that seven foot body. We're
talking with Justin Rowland of Cats Illustrated now part of
the on three network Rivals dot Com. We'll come back
and talk with more basketball from football with Justin and
(25:29):
big changes didn't seem big, but it is about the
transfer window. We'll come back and chat more with Justin
in just a moment here on the Leach Report. Welcome
back to the Leach Report, presented by Bob Kat enterprises
chatting with Justin Rowland as Tom does each and every week,
and a couple more basketball questions Justin before we move on,
But what were your thoughts on the last play.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Man?
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That looks familiar to be on the other side of it.
I'm in for Fatino to chime in with the h
The acknowledgment of the scenario was pretty neat, and you know,
it's it's cool.
Speaker 6 (26:05):
They needed that.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
You know, it's been a hard season and just mentally,
I'm sure there's been a ton of strain and just
to have that bonding experience on the road of being down,
that's not something they're gonna forget. You know, they're gonna
be talking about that and laughing about it and sharing
anecdotes about it, and it's something that they could hang
their hat on.
Speaker 6 (26:22):
It's the kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
I don't think there's one jolt that's gonna knock them,
you know, right, or get them where people wanted them
to be. But it can be the kind of thing
that smoked snowballs and build some positive amount.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I don't know if you've had a chance yet. You you're,
like I said, a busy guy. But uh. The postgame
comments both by Pope Denzil Aberdeen after the game of
the media Uh. But Pope basically said that Cam Williams
on their home run play is usually the passer, but
he was kind of cold. He'd been on the bench
in fout trouble. Colin Chandler volunteered to make the pass,
(26:55):
which to me was just I kept saying. I was
with some friends. I said, man, that's Grand Hill over again.
But evidently its sailed on him a little bit. You know,
Morena was not the first target, but Pope had grabbed
Moreno and said, look, if the pass is high, you
get it, then put it up. Uh So, it just
it just all kind of worked. And to your point,
(27:16):
they guarded the passer, they fronted the big and it
still went in. That was just even more remarkable, I
think than what that guy from Duke did. I know,
the stakes were different, and in terms of execution, I
thought this was and I know I'm biased a little bit,
but all things considered, did you see it that way? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
And it's not like he should have been ejected earlier
in the game.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
I'm like the.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Previous that's a different story that was. That was a phenomenal.
It was a phenomenal play. Yeah, human error sometimes plays it.
I mean the Bluegrass Miracle, That's not how they drew
it up.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
Either.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
So sometimes insanity takes over. But it didn't feel like
it was like a fluke where they just stole one.
That felt like they buckled down, they locked in, and
they got over the hump at the end.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
And you know that was for LSU.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
They hadn't proved they could they could win in conference,
and you know, something something gave and Kentucky was the
was the winner.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I have to admit that at halftime I wondered, which
Kentucky team are we going to see? And it's not
that we have seen this yet, but I wondered, you know,
you're on the road. Nothing's going right. Thankfully, it wasn't
a huge crowd. Surprised the crowd wasn't bigger than a one.
But then again LSU has not been successful this year.
But the fact that Kentucky came out and just played
(28:30):
hard in the second half, I thought that win or lose,
I thought that was huge. Did you see it?
Speaker 4 (28:35):
The show's Pope's got the team that they're playing for him,
that he's in their ear and they're responding to him,
and they have some pride that they're playing for it.
But what you said about Chandler, I mean, it's not
surprising at all that he would be the guy that
they would want to have the ball in the hands
of making that pass at the end of the game.
Speaker 6 (28:51):
There have been a couple of games.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Late this year that have been close where you could
tell he and Pope feel like he's ready for that
moment because he's not not only on the court, but
he's kind of ball dominant in those high leverage, clutch situations.
And it hadn't gone well for him. There have been
a couple of miscues in some late moments in other games,
but he really came through and I think as long
(29:13):
as Chandler's in the program, he's going to be one
of the guys with the ball in his hands lading games.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Talking to Justin Rowland, let me shift you over to
the news that came down the recommendation, at the recommendation
of the men's and women's basketball Oversight Committees, the transfer
windows and both men's and women's hoops will open now
for a fifteen day period the day after their respective
championship games, effective immediately. You keep a close eye on recruiting,
(29:39):
and of course there is a caveat about head coaching changes,
but how big of a deal is this how dramatic
effect of an effect do you think this is going
to be? And again that it's early, but I don't
know about you. I think this is big your thoughts.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah, well, I mean these little tweaks. The devil is
in the details. And so you know the people that
kind of slept on the football portal window changing and
only having one football portal window change and maybe they
just didn't pay much attention to that.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
That's a huge difference.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
I mean, rosters are about to be set for the
entire season about eight months out from the next season,
and that's a very different.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
Situation than the past couple of years.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
And so, but you've got a lot of other deals
in football and in basketball where some schools front loaded
their rosters with a lot of nil before the College
Sports Commission.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Ruling came out.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
And these schools are going to have an enormous amount
of money or they've had an enormous amount of money,
and that kind of makes the playing field a little
imbalance in a way that most people don't see. But yeah,
these are these are big changes, and it seems like
it's a little more order insanity in chaos.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, it's a much needst step. There's no question about that.
I do wonder there are people calling for changes or
some sort of calendar limitation about coaches changing jobs, and
I think that ends up in court. I don't see
anyway they can win that one, do you, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (31:03):
I don't see that either.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
I mean there is this kind of like there's a
trend in how people talk about these issues, and it's
always like juxtaposing, like the rights of coaches versus the
rights of athletes. Yeah, well, coaches complain about this, but
they do this and athletes can't do this. And I
feel like that's a fair point to a certain level.
But coaches and athletes are never in college going to
(31:26):
be treated exactly the same as long as these athletes
are not considered technically, you know, university employees.
Speaker 6 (31:32):
On that same level.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
But well, I mean, who knows how any of this
is going to ultimately play out.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah, you're right. I do weary though about the argument, Well,
coaches can leave whenever they want, Yeah, but coaches don't
change jobs every year for four years, five years, six
years like some of these these players do. Yeah, And
there are many problems doing that, I know, but it
still matters a couple of minutes left with Justin Roland
just shifting over quickly to Kentucky football. We're gonna get
(31:56):
a chance to talk to will Stein next week, but
his guys have been out busy. Your thoughts on what
they've been able to get done within the portal, particularly
the offensive line of.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
Late Yeah, that was clearly an emphasis.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
I mean, they've recruited three obvious starters from the portal
on the offensive line. It looks like the situation is
Lanceford will be the left tackle from Tennessee and he
did a solid job there last year and he's very talented,
future NFL guy. Colton Price maybe also a future NFL
guy at center, one of the most experienced interior linemen
(32:33):
you know in the portal. And then Tegra from Ohio State.
He has great talent and he's nasty when he's when
he's locked in, and he needs to be locked in
and move those feet because they need him to be
an anchor. And there could be competition at left guard
and right tackle, but they've got a lot of bodies
and there's still offers going out in the portal as
of yesterday. So a build when a new coach comes in,
(32:54):
it is a new regime and there's a ton of
work to do.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, and part of that work is those guys getting
to know each other. And we talked last year and
I'm sure you did too with a lot of the
old linemen about having to compress what ordinarily was it
two and three year process as developing as a line
into several months. But again, these guys, as you said,
are experienced, so they've at least got a head start
on that, don't they.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
Yeah, Yeah, more and more than ever, I think college
athletes are responsible for their own development. I'm not saying
that coaches don't have a role in it.
Speaker 6 (33:29):
In some places, they have much more of a role
of it.
Speaker 4 (33:31):
The longer you are one place, the more your coach
is going to impact you. But if you're bouncing around
two three schools in a four or five year career,
which is just common now, you know, it's it's on
you to develop and have that year round consistency of
habit and work ethic. And that's separating, you know, guys
that are working out in the portal from guys that
(33:53):
are turning out to be fat. They got a turn
later on.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
Yeah, And it's a process and it takes time, but
we'll want it right now. As we all know, he
is Justin Rowland. Follow him on Twitter at Roland's Rivals.
Thank you, brother, have a great.
Speaker 6 (34:06):
Day, thanks a lot, do take care and when.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
We come back we will wrap up this edition of
the Lease Reports, so stay with us. Thanks again to
our guest today, Justin Roland, Brandon Ramsey and Darren Heddrick.
And a reminder. UK Women's basketball tonight seven o'clock pregame
six forty five on most of these stations. The Leach Purport,
of Course, presented by Bobcat Enterprises. Final Thoughts Today presented
(34:30):
by Kentucky road Show Sports Cards and Memorabilia and Lectionon.
You can learn more about them at roadshowcards dot com.
Happy Birthday to Jay Scheidler, the Blonde Bomber is celebrating
a birthday today, and to the late Cliff Barker. Cliff
Barker was part of the Fabulous Five, but I think
had one of the most incredible backstories because he left
(34:53):
school after his freshman year before he ever played varsity
ball to join the Army. This was during the World
War Two. He joined the Army Air Force. This is
back before the Air force was a separate branch and
was a gunner and a B seventeen bomber. Imagine leaving
college after your freshman year. You join up. Now you're in,
(35:14):
and let me tell you what in the early stages
of the career rather of the war, anybody in a bomber,
the odds against them were just phenomenal. And sure enough,
he and his mates were shot down over Germany. Thankfully survived,
but he was a pow for sixteen months, and he
(35:35):
passed the time by bouncing and passing a volleyball, worked
on his ball handling skills. That's the only ball he
could find. Fast forward to now his brother's daughter, granddaughter,
his brother Mike. His granddaughter is none other than Molly Tuzzo,
(35:57):
Kentucky's All Conference libreo. So maybe she comes by that
volleyball skill. Honestly, I gotta think she does, because one
of her relatives passed the time in a German prison
camp bouncing a volleyball. That's Cliff Beard and a belated
or late happy birthday to Cliff. On this day in
(36:20):
history back in twenty twenty two, you might remember this one.
Kentucky beat Tennessee, and I mean beat Tennessee one oh
seven to seventy nine, and I remember Tennessee coming in
was playing well. Kentucky was up and down a little bit.
That was the ty Ty Washington team that night. Everything
(36:41):
went right for Kentucky, which is thirty eight of fifty
six shots, including eleven of eighteen from beyond the arc,
twenty of twenty one from the free throw line. Ty
Ti twenty eight points, five assists, three steals, Severe Wheeler
remember him, twenty one points, eight assists. Kellen Grady at
(37:04):
his best that night, four of seven from beyond the arch.
He had sixteen points. Davion Min's had ten points, four
or five from the field. They just threw at everything.
Two other guys finished with nine or otherwise. Kentucky had
six guys in double figures. But then the injuries began
to happen. Ty Tye went down at Tennessee a few
(37:26):
weeks later, and that team just kind of fell apart.
But that was a fun night at Rupperina. Thanks everybody,
have a great day.
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