It's Stick Gabriel taking a little bit of time off, so we thought we would replay some of the best interviews from over the last several months. Please enjoy the best of the Big Blue Insider.
Coming up tonight Kyle Tucker of The Athletic.
Always good to check in with Kyle. We're going to be talking a lot of basketball, though I haven't forgotten about football, but we will talk with Kyle about what's coming up with Mark Pope's team. As Kyle has broken down the entire SEC when it comes to personnel, who has what players coming back, how many minutes, how many points, how much experience?
Things like that.
Really interesting story on the Athletic and we encourage you to subscribe again. It's a great website if you love sports. There just isn't enough good sports writing out there and newspapers today, as we all know, because papers are drying up. But the Internet is alive with good stuff, and the Athletic I think is a great place to start. Robert Hogan, one of the baseball Wildcats, will join us. We'll find
out about his future. He's awaiting to draft, but also has a year left if he wants to play more college baseball and what a year he had for the SEC champion Wildcats after transferring in from Texas A and M.
Also, Kinsey Lee from LAX eighteen and.
BB and tonight will join us to talk football and basketball. Kinzie went to Oklahoma State, so now she'll be covering the Sooners again. We'll talk about that with her. No hotter rivalry in college sports than Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, so we'll get her thoughts on that and a lot going on as well.
Starting with we'll start.
With a little bit of football from the professional ranks, but it involves a former Wildcat, Josh.
Allen, who now will be going.
By Josh Hinz Allen. He is changing his name officially to honor his family and by the way, this also will set him apart from the Buffalo Bill's quarterback Josh Allen, but the Kentucky Josh Allen says that because of the legacy of his family, he will be carrying on the tradition on the back of his jersey going by Heinz Allen, which is a nod to the maternal side of his family. He is from an athletic family. You might remember this.
His sister Maisha plays for the Washington Mystics to other sisters Kira and Lttori played college basketball, also going by Hines Allen. His uncle, Gregory Hines, not the dancer, the performer, but an athlete, played at Hampton University in the eighties, was drafted by the Golden State Warriors and now Josh Allen now Heinz. Allen has signed the huge five year deal worth one hundred and forty one million dollars for
Jacksonville after he gambled on himself. He could have signed another contract but decided to hold off, went for a career high seventeen and a half sacks, made the Pro Bowl force the Jaguars hands and they happily signed him to the huge contract, so he will remain at least for now in Jacksonville. But that does mean, of course Jacksonville fans who own a Jaguars jersey that says Allen, they.
Need a new one now.
But the jack said Hines Allen will host a jersey exchange in Jacksonville in September for people who own the old Allen jerseys. And he released through his Twitter in the X page, did Josh a really well produced piece? I'm sure Obviously the team helped him with it, explaining why he made this decision.
Is not a struggle to probably say that this is what I want to do. This is what I want to do. I have decided to change my last name. I'm Joshua Hines Allen defensive end, Jacksonville Jaguars. You know, I've always been to highs and legacy is forever Premer's
the point of the movie before. So you come from the richest and kind for other people in your family, and myself being the youngest one to go to all my sister's games, to know my what my uncles did in college and in the NBA, it just means something
a little bit more. Arizona's best thing for me to follow that footstepss T. It's gonna be a surreal moment the first time I can get my name, and now it's growing up, having my sisters run out the tunnel intos, I's gone dark behinds out, everybody's watching me, and I just thought that was the coolest thak my last things changed. But I am still that person and I'm gonna continue to play like that and play even better. See I see now It's like I have the tension of people
that are interesting. They saw what I did last year, so now I can't create my marritior on what I wanna do. And that's why I think right now is the perfect cause once I get.
To the part of the Jaguar, I's.
Gonna say a Josh run. And when I looked there is I went to my legs. You know, That's what I always wanna and that's he's going to see him that.
And again that is from Josh Allen's Twitter page. If you want to see it for yourself or follow him in fact, go to Josh heinz Allen all one word Josh heinz Allen. That's his new Twitter account. So that's a pretty cool story. And again the residue of this is whenever you hear about Josh Allen now in the NFL, more than likely people will be talking about the Bills quarterback and listen for heinz Allen or watch for heinz Allen when you want to see or hear about the
former Wildcat. Another story from the NFL, A couple of them, actually, this one is really sobering. Bernie Cozar, who if you're a Browns fan, and there are a lot of them, out there is in trouble in terms of his health. He's only sixty years old, but he is now suffering from Parkinson's, which is terrible, but also liver failure.
He has been fading fast. Quite frankly. He said his body gave out on him during this past season, and in fact, he was at a Jets Browns game and he said he wasn't sure he was going to get home because he said his body, like I said, just gave. I said, I wasn't sure if it was going to make it out of there. They took him to the hospital.
He needed a massive blood transfusion, and he said the doctors were wondering, how are you still alive because your hemoglobin levels were so low. He's on the liver transplant list and again diagnosed with Parkinson's in February, although he says now he's following a stricter diet exercise program and he feels much much better. But how could you not, I mean, he was suffering from ecoli blood poisoning, had heart trouble, and he said he believed he needed a
liver transplant asap. Well. He is on the list, but right now he's doing much much better. You might recall he was the first round pick of the Drafts in the eighty five supplemental Draft, you will call it if you're a little bit older. But he was a guy. He from Ohio and he wanted to play for the Browns. He made no secret of the fact that he wanted to play for the Browns, and he did for eight years before he finished up his career with the Cowboys
and the Dolphins as a backup. He led the Browns though to three AFC title games and never really broke through. But he did get to a Super Bowl with the Cowboys in ninety three and he got a ring, So technically he is a Super Bowl champion, but he has got a much bigger battle to win right now. He had a great career though, when you look at the stats, twenty three thousand yards, one hundred and twenty four touchdown passes, and now.
He needs a new liver.
And he would love, of course to get back to a Super Bowl. As a fan, he was there last year at the Super Bowl and in fact pos with pictures for pictures with Taylor Swift. Although I saw the photos and I would never have recognized him. He just obviously didn't look very good and looked very healthy. But yeah, Bernie Cosar, keep him in your thoughts because he's in trouble right now in terms.
Of his health.
Brett Farv trying to stay out of trouble, was trying to revive a defamation lawsuit. Now he's trying to bring to trouble. You might recall he's been in trouble in Mississippi because of misappropriated funds. He sued Shannon Sharp, television personality now NFL veteran, for defamation and the case was thrown out, but Farre's lawyers asked an appeals court today to revive the defamation suit. This is against a backdrop of the Mississippi welfare scandal, which is being called one
of the state's largest public corruption cases. Federal judge in Mississippi throughout the lawsuit in October said Shannon Sharp he used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcas cast when he criticized Farre's connection to the welfare misspending case. Sharp said that Farv was quote taking from the underserved and that quote he stole money from people that really needed
that money. And he also said someone would have to be a sorry person to quote steal from the lowest of the low, and Farre's lawyers said that a reasonable listener is taking the words steal literally and not figuratively. And of course Farv accused of using funds that were designated for underprivileged people for his own use. That and
his business partners. They believe the state of Mississippi that the Department of Human Services misspent more than seventy seven million from a temporary assistant fund for needy families down there, improperly received eleven million. I'm sorry one. Farv received improperly one point one million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that spent some of that money with approval from the Department of Human Services.
The money was supposed to go toward a.
Five million dollar volleyball arena at the University of Southern miss That's where his daughter was going to school and playing the sport.
Far paid back to.
One point one million. The court filing, though, said he still owes more than seven hundred thousand in interest. So anyhow, he sues Shannon Sharp loses the case. Now his lawyers are trying to make a comeback in appeals court. We'll step out when we come back All Star honors for Elied Delacruz of the Reds. And also we'll look back on a moment in my humble career when Holly Wood came to lexing. And that's more. Bottom of the hour. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider.
More to come here on six thirty WLAP.
It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider.
Speaking of baseball, Eli Delacruz is an All Star, no surprise. It would have been a shock if he hadn't been the most electric player in the game. And in fact was it last night he stole second base, the delayed steal. You see it, you know in the little league, it shouldn't happen in the majors, but catchers lobbing the ball back to the pitcher and Delacruze takes off and steals second base without a throw.
Just incredible.
And the Red release video of him of Dela Cruz getting the word from his manager in the full clubhouse, the locker room that he had made the All Star team.
We have our All Star Game selection today. The player that's going to be in the All Star Game for US, I know that we really appreciate this guy is a person and a teammate first and foremost. But since day one of spring training, he's worked extremely hard. He played hard every single game this year and just keeps getting better and it's extremely well deserved.
When to congratulate Ellie.
And then his teammates started yelling speech speech, so he gets up and start speaking Spanish, of course, and so then yelled in English. So he said in English. You can understand it a little bit.
I won't share it here, but he basically said he appreciated their support and how much it meant to him. So I can't wait to see what he does in the All Star Game, the only good professional sports All
Star game worth watching. Last night on our show, Aaron Gershaan mentioned the fact that he would be going to Dallas I Am too for the SEC preseason football meetings, and he said he was curious to see who Mark Stoops was going to bring with him as far as players were concerned, And sure enough, Dion Walker will go along with the Eric Jackson, the linebacker and left tackle
Marcus Cock. So Dion of course is everybody's preseason favorite as an All conference player and All American player and probably will be.
Leaving after this year. But last year seven and a half.
Sacks of his fifty five total tackles twelve and a half for lost second team All Conference, and man, that's a guy who commands double teams. Derek Jackson led the team for the second straight year in tackles eighty nine total, couple of sacks and interception, had a pick six at Mississippi State, broke up four passes. Did you realize he had that kind of season? Couple of quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. And Marcus Cox, remember he transferred in
from Northern Illinois prior to last year. They plugged him into left tackle as expected, started all thirteen games and grated out at seventy one point two on Pro Football Focus and allowed just a couple of sacks. And he will be playing because of injury and the COVID year and all that, for.
His seventh season with Kentucky.
I don't know if he'll go to the NFL, but he's played a lot of college football already and he'll play a lot more so. Looking forward to hearing those guys talk down in Dallas. I mentioned Hollywood prior to the break, and the reason I brought it up was because something sparked a memory in me of the year. It was twenty twelve when Richie Nash, who was the son of the late Great Cotton Nash, came to town.
Richie is an actor. He played college baseball. He played at Princeton and then turned to Hollywood, and like many actors, has a hard time finding work. You know, there aren't many actors who can just finish one job and line up the next. So Richie came back to his hometown with a movie that he had written, and he directed it and co produced it, which means help make it happen, and he called upon a lot of people he knew
for help. Cotton Nash was very close to Harry Miller Junior, who was Adolf RUPs attorney, was a great lawyer in the state of Kentucky. Was also kind of my surrogate dad because his sons, Tom, John and Harry were friends of mine, particularly Harry. Harry's one of my closest friends. He's working in Hollywood now as a film editor. I worked with Harry and with John Wynn Miller, who has
been on the show and will be again. John is a retired newspaper man and now an author, an award winning author, and he wrote a book called The Hunt for Peggy c which is, like I said, won awards and we're going to update that interview with John when he gets back from a European cruise. But Harry reached out to me one day from La and he said, Hey, you want to be in a movie.
I'm like, okay, what's up?
And he explained to me that Richie was filming a movie right here in Lexington for the most part, a little bit in LA. But it was about a ballplayer who had been released and was coming back to Ten to see his father. Ultimately, I won't spoil it for you. It's on Amazon Prime. But his father was played by Bruce Dern. He only had a couple of scenes. One scene really, and it's tremendous. But there's a flashback scene
where Richie's thinking through his troubled childhood. Dad had a problem with alcohol, Richie had a problem with personal discipline. And there's a scene that most of us lived a kid in bed with a transistor radio late at night, pleading with mom to let me stay up A little bit later, a little bit longer, and listen to the game, and they asked me to do a few lines as the radio announcer that the kid was listening to.
Here's what it sounded like.
He's a batter far in this series five for eighty two over runs six RBI in the previous two games. Me and he's showing no sign on tonight. Jimmy, are you still awake? And of course that's the kid, Jimmy Ripley. They called him Jimmy Rip in the film, Richie Nash's character. But they asked me to record those lines, which I
did at the radio station. I sent them off to Hollywood and I kind of forgot about it, and then my buddy reached out when the film was finally finished and he said, hey, you know you're.
In the movie. So that was really fun. And it's a fun film.
As I said, it's an Amazon Prime and it's shot primarily in lectioning, and so when you go to watch it, you'll recognize so many different scenes from Euclid Avenue and the UK campus and Southeastern Little League's field. It's worth the watch just for that, but it's also just a fun movie to watch. And Richie Nash did a real nice job with it. Cotton Nash's Son had its premiere at the Kentucky Theater, and I did appreciate being allowed to be a part of it and was invited to the premier party.
So that was a lot of fun.
But watching that rewatching it on Amazon Prime was a lot of fun as well. The movie's called Hitting the Cycle on Amazon Prime.
Uh.
Not my Hollywood debut, though I was in a made for TV movie for less than one second called Derby.
I was an extra, played my part with great gusto. But maybe my favorite Hollywood moment was actually in a movie My Name, Our Family Name from a Broadway show called Anything Goes, And there's a famous song referring to the angel Gabriel blowing his horn and ethel Merman sang it on the Colgate comedy album.
I Am.
Will You be Ready to Go?
When I Blow My That show originally appeared on stage on Broadway nineteen thirty four. It's been revived a few times, and I think that song ended up in a Marx Brothers movie of You at some point, which is where.
I first noticed it. But yeah, that's kind of fun.
Not just hear yourself on film on celluloid if they still use that, but to hear one's name sung from the Broadway stage and beyond. So all right, coming up next Kyle Tucker of the Athletic, and then a little bit later on Robert Hogan, Kentucky Pittrick. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty wlap. Hey, it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider.
Joining us now in our.
Celebrity hotline is Kentucky right hander Robert Hogan and Robert, how are you this summer?
I'm fantastic, Missure, Abraham, fantastic. Just you know, living life cool.
I got to know, what has life been like for you? After living the dream of playing in the College World Series, after winning a SEC championship, a regional title, a Super Regional championship, and then you make it to Omaha, what has life been like for you?
It's honestly been surreal being able to experience all of that. And now I just get to relax for a little bit and then get right back into it because once the next year comes, it's the new season, new team. Got to get ready for it.
It sounds like you will be playing again for the Wildcats, Is that right?
Yeah, as long as I don't get picked up in the draft next week. Yeah, I'm back at Kentucky.
I know it does depend on the draft though, doesn't it. But a lot of guys out there waiting to hear.
Aren't there?
Oh yeah? A lot.
Well, let me.
Talk first about it. And you've answered this before I realized. But the fact that you gambled on yourself, you left Texas A and M you know, it was a great program obviously, and you're essentially re recruited, and you had to make another big decision, just as you did coming.
Out of high school.
What is that like for a young person where you're really making decisions that are going to literally affect the rest of your life.
Was that tough?
Oh? Yeah, I'd have to say anyone out there that's young and kind of going through that process, just don't let it get too big. You don't want to get it, let it get too high, or let it get too low. Be able to take all the information in that you're getting and kind of analyze it. That was the big
thing for me, this last one. It was do I want to be a Friday night guy at a mid major, you know, get school paid for or that on myself, Like you said, take that step, go right back to the SEC because I believe in myself that I deserve and I believe that I should be playing at the SEC level. And that was just something where I was like, I'm going to prove to not only myself but everyone else that I belong here. And it wasn't a mistake that I was at Texas saying it.
Did you have any doubt out coming out of Texas? A and M an SEC school and you pitched, You made a lot of appearances as a reliever, But did you have any doubts coming out of A and M.
I would say for sure, Uh, coming out right away, I definitely had doubts. I was thinking, am I really good enough here and I able to play at this level? Just kind of questioning who I was, if I was a pitcher of what was going on. And then I had someone tell me like, just believe in yourself. You have proven that you can succeed. It's an off year, change your mindset and keep playing.
And then Nick calls or I don't know who made the first who reached out to you first from Kentucky.
So yeah, so from Kentucky. It was actually funny. So Ammo was following me on Twitter, following me on following following, trying to get my attention. I ended up dming him on Twitter. He reached out, We talked. I talked to coach Roselle. Then next we talked like an hour and a half the next day. Absolutely loved him, like every second that we talked to it was just baseball is being able to actually like have a conversation not just
about baseball but life. And then draft comes around, and after the draft I talked to coach Minche and we talked for an hour and it was like eleven o'clock at night, and I was like, wow, okay, and I just right then and there I knew. I was like, this is this is where God wants me, this is where my path leads. So I'm gonna go do it.
You mentioned coach Roselle. That's a guy who minces few words. Am I right? I mean you know where you stand with him. You know the word is he coaches hard. But a lot of guys really respond to that. And you guys responded this year to him, didn't you, Oh.
One hundred percent. I would have to say that when it comes to Roselle, he's so good at just being upfront, honest, telling you exactly what you need to work on, exactly what you need to do to get there. And he has trust in everyone. If you put in the work, he's going to believe in you. He's not going to just say, Okay, you're not thrown anymore. He's gonna make sure to work and help you even though yeah, it's gonna be hard sometimes, Like it's that's how it is.
I mean, it's tough love and you know he's in your corner. So when he does get on us, we're like, okay, yes, because we know that he's fighting for us.
Yeah, you don't know.
Exactly exactly, and we are all just like because we love We all, each one of us loved him. And he's like, So that's the thing where it's like as soon as he if he got on us, we knew it was out of love and that he's like he wants us to get better, he wants us to succeed.
Coaches are people who push athletes beyond where athletes they can be where they've been and oh yeah, I know that so much of pitching is mental. How does that element play in when you're talking about mixing the physical and the mental.
The mental is probably the biggest part about baseball. We have to define like the physical and mental between each person because some people are going to be it's going to affect them more physically, some people more mentally. And you need to know each of one of your players when it comes to the mentality side, because you can have some guys where they need to have it hard all the time. You need to give them that tough
love all the time. Then you have some guys where it's like you give them that tough love and then the next time it's okay, like you're improving. You just need to take it a little step step further and like just nice and easy, but talk to them. And so that's where you just got to know your players. And that's what I think Themsel is amazing, even coach Minch all the coaches really yeah, is that they know each one of their players so they know how to
coach them. And it's not just okay, I'm going to coach everyone like this, it's individually and I mean, for crying out loud, this game. If you hit the ball and get a base hit thirty percent of the time, you're in the Hall of Fame.
Yep.
And that's something like you have to be okay with failure in this game. You'd have to be And that's one thing I was not good with last year, and then this year I was like, you know what, it's baseball. It was one outing. It's not going to happen in the next one. And it's just that ability to just move on and be like, you know what, I am good enough. One outing doesn't define me. And that's something mine in Roselle say all the time.
You mentioned your initial conversation with Nick Minjee on release, the one that lasted for an hour, and I know he is not afraid to and he did so during the tournament profess his you know, support from his faith and you mentioned it as well. So you guys connected on that level. I got to think that brought you an element of peace, am I right?
Oh?
Oh yeah, it was. It was something that it was like, okay, me and him connect on this.
I know.
I could not tell you. I was in Louisiana last year during the Super Regional when they were playing Kentucky and their announcers, the fans, everyone had nothing but nice things to say about mine and the guys. And I was like, and then when he talked to me, and how he talked to me, and when we connected on our faith, it was just like you know what it was like that relaxing, like I don't have to worry.
Yeah, you know you're in good hands.
Yeah, exactly.
Robert Hogan is our guess.
He's a right handed pitcher for the baseball wild Cats, the SEC champs. Will come back and talk more baseball in just a minute, we're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty WLAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider, talking with Robert Hogan, a Kentucky veteran right handed pitcher who either will be drafted next week or return to the Wildcats.
Good to have options.
Let me look back on this past season, though, Robert, and we started at the end, but let's start at the beginning. You were lightly used early. I think it was not until the third week of the season that we saw when you went an inning against Western Kentucky. You went an inning against Lipscomb. But then to me, I believe and it was pretty evident. Your breakout performance was at Eku midweek game, but you guys had already beaten Eastern the night before. Now you're in Richmond and
they're amped up. Man, there were no hitting your offense until the seventh inning, but you came on early and you went three perfect innings and really held things down. What did that do for you and how did that help set you up for the rest of the year.
The biggest thing for me was I trusted myself and I knew everyone had my back. I knew the guys behind me, I knew and I was doing it for the guys behind me too. It was just that like mental change where I was like, Yeah, this is it and I'm just going to keep dominating. And then that just boosted my confidence and the next outing better like and then I come in against like Kennesaw and things start going really well. And that's just where you had.
I had that mentality like mentality click change, whatever you want to call it, and it it kind of changed my whole perspective on who I was.
What do you mean by your perspective on who you are?
So What I mean by that was, I was, how did I say this? I was kind of I didn't really like talk much. I was at the beginning, I was quiet. I was trying to figure out where I was, you know, in the program, and that's where just trying to fit in. So that perspective is like, okay, you can. When I could tell like okay, yeah, everyone's together, we all love each other, like okay, then that that like mentality change, I was like, yeah, I don't have to worry, I don't have to be nervous.
Okay, hey, what you did was you became Bobby Spins, didn't you. Yeah?
I did.
That's Robert's name because of the breaking balls he throws so well. But you really uncorked your emotions, is the way it manifested his self, didn't it.
I mean was that something you had always done up until that point?
Yeah?
I mean actually I would say yes. Until A and M. I kind of became a little bit quieter.
Okay.
My first year at A and M, I had the emotion. Second year, I don't know, I just had something change in me and who I was, and I didn't really show much emotion. And then this year everyone's telling me like, dude, that's who you are. You don't got to change it.
Yeah, And I.
Was like okay, So then I just started showing emotion being who I was on the mound and that's just being up there and no on, this is our game, you know, this is my game, and if something cool happens, I'm gonna go crazy because I think it's awesome when the defender, Like I'd like the defense makes me play, you know.
Yeah yeah, and they made a lot of them.
Uh yeah, oh yeah.
How much did it help? I got to think it was a big help because you're uh. I started to say bullpen, but your bullpen was good. But your dugout became famous this year, literally famous for.
The energy and weirdness.
And it just seemed like your emotion coming off the mound after a good inning just just fit right into that.
Am I right?
Oh yeah, Hunter, Like could not say it any better. I Mean, a dugout is what builds the energy for the game, you know, it's it kind of flips the momentum from side to side. If you have that good dugout, good energy coming from the dugout, then everyone else is like, oh yeah, okay, let's get into it, and like then they start getting that energy.
You know.
Yeah, I asked Ryan Hagen now the same question. Of course he's your dugout captain. Uh yeah, I said, is it tough when it's time for all of you guys should go to the bullpen to tear yourselves away from the fun and the dugout and go to work down there. In the book, of course, Haig's had to assign somebody else to be the captain, But when you guys had to break away, leave the nest and go to the bullpen, that had to be kind of tough.
Oh yeah, I would I would say. It was always like I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave because like it's sometimes it'd be like in an inning where we're actually doing something really fun and I'm like, oh no, I just want to stay a little bit longer. Yeah, you know, And that's what was so fun is we were all just engaged every single inning, no matter what. And that was something that's just so fun, because you know,
sometimes games can be four hours long. You get into extra innings and then you're sitting there like kind of losing it a little bit. But then when you have something to do every inning with the guys on the dugout, and you just make it feel like home. You have no like you're like, I don't care how long I'm here.
Yeah, you can't wait to get back into the doug at as exactly talking to Robert Hogan, Kentucky right hand or part of a team that won the SEC championship, and you did it by beating Vanderbilt, which was is a great program, but came to town the last weekend and you guys took two out of three. You pitched in the opener. It helps it set Kentucky up for that championship winning game the next night. What was that
weekend like with the crowds? I know, and they came despite the rain, as Nick said, they just wore the rain and yeah, and you guys just plowed through them for two games.
It was.
It's unbelievable seeing Big Blue Nations show out like that and have the support that we did this year.
It was.
It was awesome and it made going to Omaha that much easier for us because of BBN, because we were like, all right, we're used to these crowds like we're used to it being and so just having the fans like that and like showing that they're gonna sit out in the rain, like I don't think I've ever seen any any fan base sit down in the rain like they did, and it's really spectacular.
See, Yeah, they just bonded with you guys. Were you all bonded with each other?
Didn't they?
Yeah?
I think it was something that they had fun watching us. Yeah, you know they had They were like, oh my gosh, look at what they're doing. And then they started doing stuff like with the pink hat. You know. I think that's just I think it's super cool. Even with the walkout songs, yes, you know that that was when you look around and you see seven eight thousand people doing Waldy's walk up for doing Grants clap, doing the James McCloy like side to side, Like it's just it's unreal to see.
Yeah, we touched on defense earlier, and it's a really obvious question, but we always asked the pictures when you got the defense behind you, and Granted and Pete were established up the middle. But Ryan Nicholson, I think surprise people a little bit with his glove and then Mitchell Daily, who was a freshman All American as a middle infielder. Now he's a third base and now playing it at all conference level as a pitcher.
Man, that's a security blanket.
Oh my gosh, yeah, are you kidding me. It's one of those things where they hit it on the ground, you know, it's an out. You like, hit it in the air, it's an out. You even if you think like, oh, that's going to be a hit. Next thing, you know, g comes up out of nowhere, throws it, Ron picks it. You're like, wow, in never mind, or you know, Mitch, they put a bunt down, they put a really good bunt down. Misscums throws it. You're like, all right, I'll
take that. Like it's one of those things where you're like, all right, this is easy. And that's why it's just so easy to come the zone when you have guys like that, you have i say, four gold Glovers behind you in the infield.
Yeah.
Well, and you know Nick Manjeon has always preached in every great coach does pitching and defense, and that you've got you know, final question when you do come back. If you do come back, and I wish you the best with a draft, but I'd love to cover. Thank you your next season, new faces, a lot of guys moving on to the portal, graduation, the draft transferred.
But that's college baseball.
I mean, people get upset about it when it happens in football and basketball and baseball. People just kind of chuckle because that's business as usual on college baseball, isn't it.
M H.
I would one hundred percent agree, And I think the thing that we're going to have to do this year is the same thing that the older guys showed us last year. You know, they brought everyone in and treated them like a brother since they won. And I think even with all the new faces, I think we're gonna be able to mesh because I know Koozy and coach Rozelle and Manage when they look at guys, they look at guys with the same personality that we all do.
Great kids that want to have fun and they have and they show a motion on the field too, and that that's something that when you get a bunch of guys that have like for the same people, you can't beat that. That's why this year I don't like. I will say it's going to be hard to beat the chemistry we had this year because I just don't think there's a team out there that was as close as we were.
I don't see how. I don't see how.
Robert Hogan, right hander. Wherever you are next season, I'll be rooting for you. If it's in the pros.
If it's thank you, thank you.
Follow Robert on Twitter at Robert Hogan one four to two three, Thank you sir.
Having a great summer. Thank you very much, Robert Hogan.
Or you can call him Bobby Spins because he does throw a great breaking ball more than one. Actually, you're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. Our number two is next year on six thirty w LAP. Hey, it's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Big Blue and Side Hour number two. Taking a little time off soap, please enjoy the best of the Big Blue Insider. Coming up today, we're going to talk a lot of basketball, some football, and some baseball as well.
Quite frankly, I know a lot of you aren't.
Into baseball anymore, but you got to take note of what's happening up in Cincinnati. But we're going to talk with Sean Woods, the unforgettable Guard. He's with us on every Wednesday. By the way, our West n BERA chief Gary Moore, usually joined us on Wednesdays, is out of town once again called away on business, so he will not be with us. Cl Brown columnists for the Courier Journal. We'll talk to him about SEC football, among other things. Also,
Lee K Howard of WKYT TV. I want to talk to Lee K as well about the fact that Texas and Oklahoma are joining the SEC, because Lee K went to West Texas State. He's from New Mexico, so he's from that part of the world and he probably has a better feel for college football coming from that area just about anybody around. Yeah. I lived in Texas for a couple of years, but I didn't grow up there.
And he played high school football, and as I said, is from New Mexico Albuquerque and not Albuquerque, but that area and went to college in Texas.
So we'll talk to Lee K about that. One.
Kentucky football recruiting note it's not a huge headline, but it is important. Mark Stoopson's staff had picked up a junior college defensive tackle from the West Coast named Dennius or Deneas Jackson. He's six five, three thirty five, not a superstar at his college, which was San Pablo Contra Costa.
College, and he had eleven tackles last year. But keep two things in mind.
Number One, when you're the nose tackle, your job is to command double teams and that's so the other guys, of course, can have more room to roam, more room to operate. And if that's what this guy did PROMI and his team was successful, then yeah, he was a
good player. But what he'll provide for Kentucky is depth because they've lost Josiahs of the Wildcat to the torn Achilles and uh, I don't know that he'll play at all this year, but Mark Steops mentioned it a few weeks ago at a fundraiser over for Eku or his friend Walt Wells. So depth has been a strength for Kentucky on the d line, and it lost some important depth when Hayes went down. Number ninety seven had a couple of big tackles against Florida and against Louisville, the
two games. It popped up on the SEC takeover day for Kentucky. So they've got somebody to kind of fill that gap a little bit, and maybe he'll surprise us and play a lot. But the odds are he's been He's definitely been brought in for depth, but the odds are he won't play a whole lot, but depths so vital everywhere, especially when you're playing on the line.
One Kentucky and one more.
Can you note when it comes to the Olympics. Jasmine Camacho Quinn, another Wildcat, has now been named the flag bearer for Puerto Rico at the upcoming ceremonies. Can you imagine not just making the Olympic team, but being tapped by your country whatever it is to carry the flag in the opening ceremonies coming up in Paris on July twenty sixth. Camacho Quinn won Puerto Rico its first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in twenty twenty one. Remember they
put it off for a year because of COVID. She wins the gold there, then wins bronze and silver in twenty two and twenty three respectively at the World Athletics Championships, and another gold at the Central American and Caribbean Game. So she is a superstar in that part of the world, and she may well win one hundred meter hurdles in Paris. She will not have to race against Sydney MacLaughlin Lebron because she's only running in the four hunt where she absolutely owns.
The world right now.
But what a thrill for Jasmine Camacho Quinn And congratulations to her. Speaking of congratulations man Reese Hines, and I'm saying, speaking to you Reds fans, congratulations, you have something else to be excited about. Hasn't been a lot to be excited about of late for the Reds. We talked yesterday about Elie Dela Cruz making the All Star team. Well, Reese Hines is a guy who just came up. If you're a Reds fan, you already know about this guy.
If you're a casual fan, you may hear more about him, and you may not.
That's what's interesting about rookies. This guy was the second round pick overall number forty nine for the Reds in twenty nineteen, so he's been in the miners obviously for a while. But in his first two games he has five hits, eight at bats, right extra base hits, a couple of homers, a couple of doubles, and a triple, and last night against the Colorado Rockies, he hit a four hundred and fifty eight foot home run that honestly
rivals anything I think the Dela Cruz has done. Came off to bat at one hundred and twelve miles an hour, and of course number one pitchers don't know the rookies yet. But the pitch this guy hit was an off speed pitch that did not break. So it was a fat, huge, fat pitch right down the middle, and I think a lot of it and with all due respect, most major leaguers could have hit this one out, but not the
way this kid did it. And the internet now contains a clip from Red's Daily, which is a Twitter site or an x site, and Hoover put it together included all four broadcast calls or the four main broadcast calls TV and radio from both teams. Here's the Reds call from John Sadak And a lot of people complain about him.
I don't know the guy.
He's a good buddy of Darren Hedrick, and I don't see many Reds games, so I don't mind him so much when I see him. People who watch him a lot, so he gets too excited. Hard not to get excited about this home run. This is Red's TV.
Oh my goodness, just.
There would be all the.
Case signs in the un perduc race.
Hurns makes baseball history, the first man Evers launched rive extra base.
Hits in his first two games. And there is little Dogs. Wow wow, wow is right. That's all you could say.
And if you haven't seen it yet, please do yourself a favor and go find that video. Jeff Brantley was at the mic for the radio call and the Reds radio network, and this is not the greatest recording, but this is what was offered on Twitter.
Oh my pridmis dude, he killed that ball that is way over the crown case. The second home run in his Minny Knights for re times. My lord, what a home run by this kid. He has burst onto the scene here with the Reds and it's an eight four revs league. Oh man, thank you. This first five minutes are all extra base hits.
In the big League.
And I think that was Chris Wels there at the end. Again, not the greatest recording. It kind of sounds like an old timey radio broadcast the way that came off there. Somebody just stuck a recorder up in front of the radio. But we do appreciate having it. Now, what did it sound like to the folks back in Colorado. Well, here's Colorado Rockies TV.
Oh boys, this kid has hit two monstrous home runs. How far did that?
They go?
Eight to four? Reese Hines a homework day at the Big League's evident.
Late and you can hear the fireworks in the background, but Ree signs providing fireworks of his own. Finally, here is the Colorado Rocki's radio call of that home run.
Justin Lawrence with a bitch and hit harder to left field. Another home run, hammered disc ball into the third deck and left hung a sweeper that time. And Hines with his second home run in two games of a big league career, fifth extra basis and it's eight to four rids.
Now, I got to admit I love stuff like this. I love hearing the compared calls. Being someone who has done a lot of baseball on the radio and TV primarily over the last many many years, very blessed, very fortunate to do that. And we talk a lot a lot of us broadcasters about guys we like, guys we disliked. But this was just fun to hear this. I have to admit, though, that when I heard the Rockies call. I had an absolute flashback to a Kentucky versus Tennessee
game earlier this year, and now here it is again. Oh, just that immediate reaction like here we go again kind of thing, and I flashed back to UK Tennessee because this was the series you might recall, where Kentucky winds up losing the series at home to Tennessee and because of that had to share the SEC championship. Still a great weekend where Kentucky had really the last two weekends with the Wildcats wrapped up a share of the SEC title,
just their second, but Tennessee kept hitting home runs. Kentucky hit about as many home runs that weekend, but they were bases empty shots. Tennessee seemed to always have men on base, and that was the difference literally in the weekend. But there was always this feeling of dread when one of the Tennessee hitters came up, especially Christian Moore. And again, this is a team that went on to win the national title and Kentucky was this close to winning that
series and winning an outright SEC title. Still they'll say, hey, conference championship, will take it. But Doug Flynn and I we got called out a little bit on Twitter by at least one Tennessee fan who posted a clip from the movie Major League because at a crucial moment when Kentucky had a shot at nailing things down, but Tennessee one of their hitters.
I think it was more went.
Yard Doug and I gave way to our emotions. I try to play everything down the middle when I'm doing SEC network stuff because our audience, I know, is if it's Kentucky, Tennessee as many volunteer fans watching as Kentucky fans, maybe more because you got six to eight thousand Kentucky fans in the ballpark.
Doug trying to play a little more down the middle.
But Doug played at Kentucky, played two sports at Kentucky and didn't come up under Kavid Lefford as I did. He's trying hard, but in this particular game, we had
a hard time masking our disappointment. And so a Tennessee fan posted this clip from Bob Uker after a crucial home run in the Major League movie when the Indians team was still getting hammered early in that film, and this is what Yuker sounded like when he announced a key home run given up by Charlie Sheen's character the relief pitcher.
Top of the knife, leading ten to seven bases loaded, two down, and Rick Kawn has come on to try and nail it down against Philippi agular dangerous, right headed bout it.
Here's the pitch.
That's the first thing I thought of when I heard the Colorado Rockies broadcasters Doug and I. We didn't say the world that we bleeped out here, but we may as well have, because that's what it was like. As soon as I think it was more hit the home run, we knew it was gone and our shoulders dropped and we were like, oh man. But I just, like I said, I just love situations like this where it's an incredible feat and you get to go back and hear what
both sides had to say about it. And again, those are courtesy of the Reds and Rockies, TV and radio networks. Coming up in just a few minutes. Cl Brown of the Courier Journal. Also coming up Sean Woods, the Unforgettable Guard, and Lee K. Howard from WKYT. But after the break, did a major college football coach just admit to driving while intoxicated multiple times.
I got that for you.
Nick, You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty WLAP It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the best of the Big Blue Insider. Saw something else on Twitter in the X involving UK fans and Arkansas fans released in Arkansas supposed account on Twitter on X and it was something that apparently, and I say apparently for a reason, touted John Caliperi's success as the Arkansas coach.
There was a post.
About the former Wildcats who had success with the U Team USA and you probably saw, you know, bam Adebayo and Devin Booker, Anthony Davis and the tweetthead a graphic and I said, going for gold with the at Team USA, at USA Basketball and at coach cal arc which is
his new address. Turned out this was a fake because Kentucky fans went a little crazy about it, criticizing the Arkansas social media manager for posting something touting successive players under John Caliperi, making it seem like they were Arkansas products because the title of the account was Arkansas Razorbacks Men's Basketball. But a woman named Rachel Harris tweeted back said, Hi,
I run this account, this was never posted. Thanks for your time, Although somebody else tweeted back, but you did list all of coach Cow's draft picks from Memphis and Kentucky on draft night, and pardon my take, made fun of you for it that actually did happen. Well, yeah, maybe so, but you can't blame somebody on draft night for listing all the Caliperi's success no matter what the school, when it comes to players who have made it in the NBA. I don't blame it for that. But it's
just funny how this one sparked. And it's not surprising sort of. I won't say it was an avalanche, but an outcry of complaint about it. I mentioned Oklahoma State's coach Mike Gundy, and I talked about him yesterday with Kinsey Lee, who went to Oklahoma State. She works for a WLX and BBN tonight. And this is the guy who was criticizing a columnist who had written several years ago about one of his players, and Gundhy didn't like it, and he challenged the writer by saying, write about me
or come after me. I'm a man, I'm forty, which just became a punchline. But this is, as Kinsey told us yesterday, just a guy who was a fiery coach and emotional coach. And he was talking at Big twelve Media Day about one of his players, star running back Ali Gordon, who was arrested on a DUI charge and he was the Big twelve Offensive Player of the Year last year, actually was arrested for suspicion.
Of dui back at the end of June.
And Gundhy almost finally told ESPN on Tuesday, he said, he's going to play. I'm going to do what we think is best for Oklahoma State football, and I think it's best for Ali to stay. If there's any punishment, it's making him carry the ball fifty times in the first game. All right, you can you can debate forever this issue. You know, what kind of lesson are you teaching, not just Gordon but the other players. And I guarantee you Oklahoma State fans are ninety five percent behind Gundhy
on this because well, it's football. But basically, in my opinion, you're letting this kid get away with it. But here's what's more disturbing. Here's what Gundhy said at PAC twelve Media Day. It's part of his rationalization. Let's put it for why he is handling it this way.
So I looked it up on my phone. What would be the legal limit in Oklahoma was point oh eight and OLI was point one. So I looked it up and it was based on body way, not to get into the legal side of it, but I thought, really, two or three beers or four, I'm not justifying what all I did.
I'm telling you what decision I made.
Well, I thought, I've probably done that a thousand times in my life, and you know, it's just fine. So I got lucky. People get lucky first, I thought, okay.
So I looked it up and again, not the greatest. I'm sure it's out there, but I couldn't find a better recording. But I know I get a little preachy sometimes. I'm trying not to, however, and I'll admit that when I was young and dumb, I can think of a couple times I can remember that I got behind the wheel and I shouldn't have. And I'm sure there were other times when I did and didn't realize it. But
in this day and age, how in the world. Do you justify something like that because the kids your best player.
It's just wrong.
But that's where we are right now. And here's a guy, Mike Gundy who just admitted shrugged it off by saying, well, I've driven drunk probably a thousand times. That's the wrong thing to say, and it may stir something up out there, may already have for twenty four to forty eight hours.
Yeah, the kid made a mistake, but to.
Just ignore it, I don't get it. And in case you're wondering about how UK would handle it, it's essentially a case by case, but it is not I'm told up strictly to the coach. There are several layers of leadership on campus involved.
If you know what I'm.
Saying, that would work with the respective coach in that area. Back in the day when Sam Newton was here, and of course there was a terrible fatal car accident involving football players alcohol and Artie Steinmett lost his life. CM Newton put together a policy that was really too harsh. But it was, as he admitted later, a bit of a knee jerk reaction to having to call a parent or parents and say I'm sorry, but your child is
dead from a traffic related alcohol related incident. You sent him here to us, and we didn't take very good care of him, so you might recall for at least a year, the policy was a kid loses his scholarship or her scholarship, and one of the basketball players did lose the scholarship, and everybody got all upset, not understanding that that wasn't the only people thought they did it just for the publicity. No, that wasn't the only athlete
who lost their scholarship. It was the highest profile athlete see him later, back off, and the athlete was made to sit out a year if they were involved in a diui arst but did not lose their scholarship.
So that's where we are as a society right now.
Though you've got a football coach basically saying he's going to play and saying so in a defiant way. So make of it what you will. Oklahoma State fans are loving it. I can't say I love it right now myself.
Hey, it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. It's Dick Gabriel.
Welcome back to the best of the Big Blue Insider joining us now on our celebrity hotline for the first time is a familiar name if you're a Kentucky fan or a fan of high school basketball in the common. Well, Trent Noah, Kentucky's fifth all time leading scorer in high school basketball history and part of Mark Pope's first Kentucky team. Trent, thanks so much for joining us.
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure.
What has life been like for you since the end of your high school career when you were committed to South Carolina, then all of a sudden there are big changes at Kentucky and thing you know, you're a Wildcat.
What has life been like for you?
Yeah, it's been a whirlwind. But I mean, I'm just super thankful where I ended up and everything worked out like I should have. And now I'm super excited to be here and likes intend and be on campus and get things rolling up here. It's been an excellent four weeks and I just can't wait to keep going and keep them freeing with our team.
Well, before we talk about that, I got to take you back to the Sweet sixteen. I know it didn't end the way you like but man, it was close and you had the tournament of a lifetime for Harland County. You must have loved those rims and rupp Arena.
Am I right?
Maybe a little bit?
Well, you come in, you.
Get thirty five in your first game, forty eight in the next, going into that tournament, and you would add a great junior year. You'd had a great senior campaign. You average nearly thirty a game. But did you feel like you had that kind of.
Tournament in you as you took your team into the sweet sixteen?
Yeah, I mean it was just such a such an honor to be in the state tournament. We finally got over the hump. So I knew this was my last year and we had one opportunity to hope, make full history and win a game. So he and my teammates just wanted to do whatever we could go down in the history books and do something for our community.
Yeah, you were the.
First school, I know you know this to reach the state finals since twenty eleven, So I know that meant a lot to you, didn't it?
That's their for sure. I mean, I guess in our area, the success of the state tournament hasn't been great recently. So to see us I win a few games down there and make some noise just meant a lot to our community and the surrounding areas.
You Know. One thing I think people maybe in a bigger city like Lexington or Louisville, don't appreciate, and I've been down the state a little bit, is what the high school team like Carlon County High can mean. As you said, to the community.
I mean, it just grabs everybody, doesn't it.
It's there, I mean definitely. I mean all all of our team is all Harlan County kids. They've all grown up together. We didn't have any transfers or anything like that. So I think that's what what kind of makes us special. We just have been going to classes for four years together, just growing up, building our way up, and really just just build a determined team, get to make some noise and win some games. So it's always fun when.
You do it like that, you do it with your buddies, with your friends.
Right, It's there, definitely, I mean, that's what it's all about. That's why I go basketball is so special and I'll never take those times for granted. Some of the greatest times in.
My life talking to Trent Noi, he is, of course from Harland County and now Kentucky Wildcat, and you talked about how things changed not long after you had committed to South Carolina, but you said things are now the way they should be. I mean your dad played football, are you. I'm sure your grandfather played football in UK in the early sixties. Can I assume you grew up a Kentucky fan?
That's there definitely?
I did.
I mean growing up in Kentucky. I think everybody's a Kentucky fan. My grandfather played and playing with the ten thirty team. I mean every time going down to his house, there's there's just UK decres everywhere. He's always got Kentucky sports game on and then, and so is our family. I mean we've been going to Kentucky football games for for like sixty three years. I think has how long
we've had season tickets. So yeah, I mean it's just our family pleeds blue, and so do I. So it's it's just it's a real feeling now that I'm here where the Kentucky jerse.
What did he tell you about did you ever ask him about being part of the thin thirty?
Yeah? I mean it's super cool to just sit down and kick his brain and just and just hear the stuff that he has to say. I mean, how how hard that that he worked and and and to stay there and just a crazy, crazy year faking tucky football.
That was.
Well, let's talk about the president now. You you get the call from Mark Pope. What was that like to hear from him and get an offer because as you well know, he puts such a premium on shooters.
Yes, Sarah, it was. It was incredible. It was such a it was such a great feeling that that I won't forget. And it was it was a no brainer once that happened, I made. I made a pretty quick decision whenever whenever he uh reached out to me. So yeah, it just all worked out and and God's plan just just it. God plans there than mine. So it's a crazy little bit, but I'm so thankful for it all.
When you have scholarship offers a young man at your age, I know that is a life defining decision that you and your teammates have to make. But you also had to show a level of maturity when you had to reach out to South Carolina and say thank you but I'm going to Kentucky. How difficult was that?
Yeah, I mean I just there's some things that are going on, a lot of factors that went into it, and that's when I ask got on my letter of intent, and then my recruitment opened back up, and then it was just back back from day one. So that was something really challenging because I finally knew where I wanted to go and then I restarted all over. So yeah, it was difficult, but I mean, like I said, it all worked out how I should have been and I'm just super excited.
For this year.
So now you're on campus, You've already worked out with your new teammates, and there are a lot of older guys on that squad and here you are, as a true freshman kind of starting all over again.
What's happened like for you?
I mean, yes, it's like a gold mine here. I mean there's so many great resources and great people to learn from. I mean, our coaching tap uh, it's so brilliant in the IQ, in the gym whenever we practice, it is so high. I mean listening to all the older guys talk, but it's such a it's such a perk being around those those older guys and just getting to learn from them and let them take me under their wing and just and just uh stepping me off
in the right direction of my college career. I mean, there's just so much learning going on, and it's just it's just awesome and in a gold mine for for basketball.
Well, your head coach is a gold mine of information. You know how smart he is.
Rhodes Collar a candidate UH in college and I covered his teams obviously.
At u K. What's you like having kind of a brainiact for a head coach.
I mean it's amazing. I mean I wouldn't I wouldn't want to be playing for anybody other than him. I mean, he does a he does an excellent job. He definitely has us going in the right direction. So I mean just just every day just just looking to learn from him and and uh is picking up stuff that he does is just help me and the team out. I mean, it's just amazing that every day you can just learn so much from a guy with his knowledge.
He is quoted as saying that he liked you because you're tough, you're hard nosed, and you have a special physicality and ordinarily Trent you don't hear shooters described that way, but that, honestly, that's the first thing I noticed about you in the sweet sixteen is you're a little bit bigger than than most of the wing players, but you're strong enough to get inside. Tell me about that, that combination you've been blessed with, and I know you worked hard at that, haven't you.
That's there, I mean for sure. I mean I just do whatever I can to help the team win. I mean, I mean, no matter what it is, to try to always play hard and make the roight play and I just try and make my teammates better around me because that's what wins basketball game. So I can do that, and I think I think I'm doing a fair job.
Uh well, pretty fair. Yeah. Tell me about the way your Harlan County teams were prepared, were coached and how that's helped prepare you for u K.
Yeah, I mean we had excellent coaching staff. I mean it was it was such a cool experience being able to play for my for my dad and my senior year and then making the run whenever he was on the staff. So yeah, I mean, just going in it's just super cool that that we just leave like math class and then go practice with those guys. We were just trying to figure out mass problems and then and then we're running. So like, I think that's that's just
something a special thing about Hoschol basketball. So yeah, I mean I always, uh, occasionally I'll go back and watch some games from from this past season. But yeah, that was such a great song.
What's that like for you when you queue up a game from this past year and you get to watch your yourself and your buddies.
Yeah, I mean just whenever we all hang out after act the year, I mean, it's just good times, just getting to go back and laugh at and stuff and then it's just really good, good bonding time and then get a look back on the cool memories that we may.
It's more about what happens on the bus and in the locker room, right as opposed to I mean, you go back and look at wins and all that, but it's it's the stuff off the court that's the most fun, isn't it.
For sure? I Mean we had so many we had so many good times that that. I mean we can tell stories about forever. But yeah, that was great, great kids, great people to be here for sure.
Well, you've talked about the wealth of basketball knowledge on the Kentucky roster. Tell me about chemistry. Tell me about the bonding that's taking place.
Yes, sir, I mean you would think that. I mean I think if you put in an outsider, just just dropped them in and watch the practice with no power knowledge, I think they could they could tell that. They would say that we've been together for a while. I mean, I think our chemistry is really taken off super quick, and I think that comes with what's doing heart stuff together, practicing condition and also off the court. I feel like we take a lot of time bonding off the court.
I mean, we have all been excited about the new college football video games, so that's been fun. Playing with the gods. Yeah, I mean I just think we're a really closed group and I think that'll translate to the basketball court.
You mentioned conditioning. What has strength and conditioning been like for you? And nutrition they feed you guys pretty well.
It's their I mean it's it's all completely different, but I mean it's all for the better. I mean they're so they're so smart with what they do and they have a plan for everything. So me and my teammates who are just trying to follow the best we can and know that it all be good for us at the end.
I lived on campus my first year, and I met a lot of guys from around the country but also from around Kentucky, and a lot of them got homesick right away. I guess you probably don't have time for that, do you. You're so busy of basketball.
Yeah, I mean I am extremely busy with basketball in school. I mean, and and there's no there's no reason to be homestick for me. I mean, this is a dream that I've that I've always wanted to happen. Now it's finally happened. So I don't think the homestake problem. I'm just I'm just living and.
Well, now you've got a new roster of brothers. Right, so you're you're you're already at home. Uh have you decided yet what you want to study? What your major is?
I have not. I'm still kind of exploring a little bit. But hopefully we'll get that figured out here.
I had plenty of time for that. We're talking with trend Noah. He of course is one of the new Wildcats, so many new Wildcats, but coming in from Harlan County, which he led to the Sweet sixteen championship game you lost to Travis Perry. I know you've answered this question a bunch, But now he's a teammate. What's that like for you?
Yeah, I mean it's awesome getting getting sued up on the same team as him. I mean, he's an exceptional player, really good person, really good frandom on and now that we can finally we've been playing against each other all over these past years, and now we can finally be on the same team and share the ball with each other and tear the court with each other. So yeah, it's really cool to be alongside a player like him, and he just makes everybody around them better.
All right, who's a better shooter? You were him? I don't know.
He's a really good shooter. But yeah, I guess we'll have to have a shootout here too.
Looking at the.
Roster, here's an opportunity for you to work against guys, as you said, who have played so much ball, guys who are in their third, fourth, fifth years of college basketball. As it's been fun just picking up on the little things that these guys are kind of the subtleties.
Of the game.
Yeah, I mean definitely. They know they're so experienced and they never make like you rarely see them make mental areas because how often they've seen this stuff and how often that they play at this level. So I mean yeah, just being able to just talk with them and just hear the stories that they've been through and and and they're ups and downs, that just makes a big blot easier for the three pressmen that we had.
We got a chance to talk with three of the veteran players. I guess it was late last week early this week, uh.
And they all Trent talked about what it meant to them to be a part of Kentucky basketball and had that name on their chest.
I know some people are concerned about that that these guys, you know, they come and go after a year, they don't really know or appreciate what it means to play basketball here. I don't get that impression.
Now you've grown up with it, but what have you seen and these guys who have dropped in for maybe just the one year, but how they appreciate where they are?
Yes, sir, I mean I definitely. I think everybody in our roster really really gets the message and and really understand how big of a deal and honor it is
to put on the Kentucky jersey. And I think the coaching staff and coach Cope has has done a good job to let the people know, maybe like from far away that that don't fully get it at the beginning, that that how big of a how big of a deal it is, And yeah, it really just is an honor for all of us and to play for to stay to Kentucky and play for the people and the amazing fans that that we're that we're bussed to have is is really just an honor. There's so much proud of that kinds of stuff.
Your passion is really evident when you did not get the offer from the previous staff, were you hurt, were you angry dejected? Or did you just shrug it off and move on?
I mean, uh, I mean, like I said, everything times for a reason and never every uh, every coaching team has different philosophy, and I wouldn't want to be in a situation somewhere it wouldn't get best for the both of us. So I mean, I completely understand everybody does everybody does stuff different, but I was just focused on the school. Is that that we were created VI at the time.
Yeah, well that's smart and like you said, it all worked out. I will let you go with this.
Growing up, you grew up a wildcat. Whether people want to say that or not. You talked about what the household is like being a big Blue house. But that said, Trent, you know what the expectations are from Kentucky fans, and I know that you guys are intent on delivering. But what about expectations from the Big Blue Nation. How are you guys handling that?
I mean, I think I think it's I think it's awesome. I mean there's a lot that comes there's a lot that comes with where in a Kentucky Jersey. But I think that's what makes it so special. I mean, anything short of the banner is not what we wanted. So that that's the plan this year, and that's the plan moving forward. That hangs them or not, and and hopefully we can get the job done at UK.
Freshman Trent Noah, And you're listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider on six point thirty WLAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Troy Aikman, of.
Course, made a name for himself here were the Dallas Cowboys, and he's a lead broadcaster now in the NFL. But he's in the news today because he and Lamar Jackson, another famous number eight, are knocking heads over the number eight. Jackson is challenging Troy Aikman's use of number eight in the US Patent and Trademark Office complaint. According to federal records, Jackson owns or has applied for several trademarks using the number in various phrases, and Aikman right now is attempting
to use the word eight. I guess in all caps. That's the way it appears in a wire story on apparel and bags, and Jackson's complaint says likely cause confusion, mistakes, or to deceive the purchasing public as to whether they're buying products from Jackson or Aikman's company. This is all according to Jackson's attorney. They filed it earlier this month.
The motion or whatever they call it so. They claim that Jackson has spent a lot of time and effort and money in promoting advertising and promoting advertising and popularizing the number eight in connection with his personality and fame and is well known by the number because of his notoriety. Of course, well so is Troy Aikman. So now you're looking at recency bias, and this is all over two guys who are trying to use a word, just a number.
The image of the number eight later in the story it does not appear in all caps, so who knows. That'll do it for now. Thanks for joining us for this special edition The Stuff, the Big Blue Insider.
That's it. Good night from the garage in Lexington.