Hi, everybody. Dick Gabrielle my last day of vacation today before football really starts and then morphs into basketball and baseball. So one more edition of the Best of the Big Blue Insider, and I'm going to take you back to March, first day of March, and forgive me right away for the fact that in this particular show very weak voice, I was coming off a bad cold, but John Caliperi was still Kentucky's head coach when we spoke and reed
Sheppard was still a Wildcat. Here it is the best of the Big Blue Insider from the first day of March. The Wildcats tomorrow take on Arkansas. It is not the Arkansas team we thought we would see this year. It's not clearly the Arkansas team that razorback fans thought they would see. Some pick this team to win the SEC. They're not even a factor right now except for being a spoiler, and of course the Wildcats hoping to avoid
that fate tomorrow. But based on obviously the way playing you gotta think Kentucky now, I would think I would hope is like a kid with a new toy, and by that I mean, hey, you're learning how to play defense, make it work for you. Let's see what you can do with it. So we'll find out. We're gonna talk about that a lot tonight with Tom Leech, voice of the Wildcats. Sewn Wood's the unforgettable guard. We talked to Sean each week. Sewan of course played for the Wildcats
and also a longtime college basketball coach. And then our West End burea G. Gary Moore. We were bumped on Wednesday by the State Wide Show. So we will talk with Gary coming up in our number two. But yeah, Kentucky's still spinning and beaming and twirling talking about the team, the Big Blue Nation after that win over Mississippi State.
And it wasn't that they went down there and won, it's how they won in my opinion, because remember now they were playing essentially without Rob Dillingham for much of the game. He played a total of sixteen minutes. He was in foul trouble. As you know, Justin Edwards wasn't quite himself, got in the early foul trouble and just wasn't playing back to the form he had shown. So I felt like they were kind of, you know, hamstrung
a little bit. Fortunately, big performance from Big z even though he didn't rack a lot of numbers, but his plus minus was best for the team seventeen, which I find amazing. But the Cats hit three pointers ten out of thirty doesn't sound like it's great. And in fact, between Thiero and Dillingham they were two for eight and Reeves was two for seven himself. But Shepard had a
good day shooting. DJ Wagner hit two for four. So enough went right so that when Kentucky down the stretch, put together a good defensive run and lord Mississippi State into a running gun game. And that's when State was missing shots and shooting quickly and didn't know how to do it. Kentucky, of course does and that's how the Cats came back sixty one percent shooting in the second half,
fifteen of fifteen from the line. Now, State shot seventeen to thirty four in the second half, got inside way too much, and thanks to Hubbard, six to sixteen from the arc. But Kentucky took care of the ball a little bit better until the last seconds and got it done, thanks of course, to a lot of different things. But Reed, Shepherd was huge and Cali Perry. John Caliberry talked about him on his show with Tom Leach the other night.
He has the ability to stay calm and not worry about losing. You only worry about winning. How do we win not? You can't play not to lose it. It's like a defensive team playing prevent defense. What does that prevent you from doing?
Yes, So he goes.
Down and you know, again, in a normal situation, you don't call it time out. In those situations, you let it play out because you take the other coach out of it. Their team is saying, don't foul, so you'll get a shot off because they're not going to fool you. And Reid had the sense to go and shoot that shot and he was guarded.
Now I want to talk to Sean Woods more about that. We've talked in the past about why you call it time out, why you don't call time out. But yeah, getting back to read Shepherd, it was amazing to me, first of all what he did in the last minute and fifteen seconds. But secondly, and I don't mean this with any disrespect, how bad that pass was that he threw away. I mean that's something you see in middle school, maybe in high school. And I can't say he panicked
because as Caliperi pointed out, he doesn't panic. But I think he has so much confidence in his own ability to advance the basketball and he saw his teammate, but it was just like a football pass that hangs up and gives the safety a chance to come over and pick it off, and it almost costs him the game. But all's well. That ended well, and it certainly ended well for the Wildcat Well, like I said, we'll talk more about it with Tom Leach and with Sean Woods.
Coming up in a little bit was Gary Moore the come mine underway. And you might have read a little something here and there about Trevin Wallace, Wildcat linebacker, gave up his last year to try his hand to the NFL. We'll get this, and we knew he's a great athlete, But yesterday was the day linebackers and defensive tackles and ends were tested, and Trevin Wallace tied for third in the forty yard dash time among linebackers four point five to one seconds, tied him with the Edgerrin Cooper of
Texas A and M, so that'll get your attention. And in the vertical jump thirty seven and a half inches second to a kid from University of Washington, and then he shows up in the broad jump second by an inch to the kid from you dub Ulu Full show is that kid's name? Now, you know you could scoff at all his testing, But what it does is measure
out their fast twitch capabilities. Kind of athlete are they doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be a great player, And if you don't test well, it doesn't mean you won't. But it puts him front and center, doesn't it. And yeah, you gotta go back and look at how he played at Kentucky. And if you don't, you're a fool. If you go just on combine, you know you're asking for trouble. But if you ignore this, you're a fool as well.
And by the way, that the real headline came in the d Lineman when a kid from Penn State named Chop Robinson d Lineman six three two fifty four did a forty and four point four eight seconds. That's incredible. Will he be a great player, I don't know, but he probably moved up a little bit. It was a full tenth of a second faster than the next kid. Pretty amazing. I'm not a big combine guy. I know a lot of people tune in. I follow it a little bit. I like to see how the Kentucky kids
will do. Obviously, I want to see how Andrew Phillips does. Like I've said before, I met that kid and me he was like one. His father interned for me at Channel twenty seven and then later in life bumped into him at a UK practice. Here's my son, Andrew. One other note before we go to break. Tubby Smith is going to be honored at the SEC Tournament as an SEC Legend. They'll be part of the Legends class past
greats from all fourteen SEC institutions. And you know what he did here from ninety eight to oh seven, nca Tournament champion, ten conference titles, five League, five Tournament, and more than anything, carried himself like one of the great gentlemen in all the college basketball. Tip of the BBI, Captain w Smith. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider more to come here on six thirty WLAP welcome back Dick Gabriel with you the best of
the Big Blue Insiders that wrap up vacation. On this particular clip, we're going to take you back to that day in March, where we talk about the fact that Mitch Barnhardt and John Caliperi got together and decided that Caliperi would remain, at least for the time being, the
head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Here it is the best of the Big Blue and s you might be able to say, it's well, we'll have to look back and see if this was hump day for the John Caliperry era, because, as we all know, last night, Mitch Barnhardt announced via Twitter that John Calipery will be back to coach again next year for the Wildcats, to the chagrin of some to to relief for the coach, I'm certain, but it's got some people scratching their heads what happens next.
But we had to wait until Barnhart released the statement saying, as we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Caliperry and I have had conversations about the direction of our men's basketball program. I can confirm you will return for a sixteenth season as our head coach. Quick note on the final part of that sixteenth season, and I will never forget when I was talking to Tubby Smith and I actually got to have conversations with Tubby. He was head coach. I could just walk up, say
hello and have conversations with him. Imagine that. Tubby told me that Lou Holtz told him that Kentucky basketball was like Notre Dame football, said, basically, it's a coach killer. It'll grind you up and spit you out. And Holts was urging Tubby to get out of there. And this was well before Tubby left. But I don't know. Caliperry's built differently, I think than Holts. And and by the way,
Holts didn't leave Notre Dame because of the stress. He left because they raised the academic standards back to what they had been before he got there, and he took advantage after they dropped the academic standards, brought in a lot of I'm not saying they were bad kids, but kids who ord nearly might not have gotten into Notre Dame and won a national title and almost one another one. Then they raised him back up over his strenuous objections and he left. But he wasn't wrong when he was
talking to Tubby. And you look at the before and after pictures of Tubby from when he first got here, and when he left Man, you could tell the stress had taken a toll. It's hard to see how much stress has taken a toll of Caliperi because I think of that disconnect, we don't know him that well, at least media fans. He has definitely changed, there's no question about that. And I do think that the fans and a lot of this, of course, comes from the stress
of losing, of premature exits. You know, you're gonna like a guy when your team wins. You're not gonna like a guy so much when your team loses, obviously, but when he refuses to do a postgame radio show after a loss, he refuses to talk to the media, meaning to the fans indirectly. Prior to just about every game, he didn't do much of a speech at Madness this year. It was almost like, let's get this over with and
get on with it, you know. And that was one instance where and I don't know if it's because Eric Lindsay is gone. I think Eric wrote those speeches when he was a sports information and They'm not pointing fingers at anybody who's there, because if Calberry wanted a speech like that, they could have done it for him. But there just isn't the feeling right now toward the head coach,
as we all know. And yeah, so many people wanted him gone, but as I've always said, a lot of that is I'm angry and someone needs to be punished. Why do you punish the coach? You fire him? The question is what brings us to the top part of Barnhardt's statement conversations about the direction of our men's basketball program.
And this could be a standard line in every release about any coach at the university, successful or otherwise, but it's particularly important now, of course, because the direction of this basketball program is wrong. It's going in the wrong direction. It is becoming irrelevant to the NCAA tournament. And as somebody pointed out, and then this was tweeted and retweeted, it's becoming Indiana basketball now. At least Kentucky's making the tournament.
But that's a terrible thing to say for Kentucky because, as Cali Perry's pointed out, they don't raise banners for getting to the tournament. And yes, Kentucky's won only eight NCAA titles only and how many you havever many years they've had this tournament. But Kentucky's been a contender so many times, and in fact was a contender under Caliperi each of his first five years. And you can make the arguments should have won one, could have won another.
And I will still say the team that was knocked out of the tournament by COVID, I don't say they win it all caliberry. We would have won it. A lot of good teams obviously, but that team was his best team in my opinion, even better than this year's team in the post I guess in the last five years, I do believe that why Experience, Nick Richards, Emmanuel Quickly, Neck and Neck for Player of the Year, Remember that Neck and quick Who do you like Experience? Those were
good teams and they guarded. I had a passionate discussion with Billy Rudgles and Aaron Gersha on Monday night. We got to argue about who should start. You know, they believed that Dillingham and Shepherd should have been starters from early on. My contention is they were not good on ball defenders and that Wagner and Justin Edwards gave them more in that department as well as rebounding and part of that too was Caliperry needed to keep them in
the lineup for their own good mental health. Let's say, And you know one thing I didn't get into either is I know Edwards is part of that clutch group and Cali Perry needs that group when it comes to recruiting. So it's all intertwined. But bottom line is I still like the notion, as I said, of bringing those two guys off the bench early, an injection of enthusiasm. They change the game. You know, the other team is settled into whatever it thinks it's doing. Next thing, you know,
these guys come in and change everything. Of course, it's a mood point now because you know Dillingham's leaving. You don't know so much about Reed Shepherd. We'll find out soon, but also find out on the fifteenth of April when that portal door swings open again, what happens and it stays open for two weeks? Who comes, who goes? And will Kentucky get older? As Cali Perry said on a show money, we need to get older? How much older? How many players can he bring in? He's got what
six freshmen coming in? What if Bradshaw comes back? What if Shepherd comes back, which they should. They all should, really, but it's who's ready to pay them. Because remember, you've got that G League hanging there, so if you're not ready for the NBA, you can go to the G League and learn your craft. Oscar she Way's killing it in the G League right now. Of course, he was older and more mature, but that's what Kentucky needs, maturity on their team. And I played a little bit of
this the other night. I was going to share with you if you didn't hear it the first time. After Kentucky's loss, the talking heads got together on both CBS and ESPN and chopped it up. And Jay Wright, who everybody seems to think would come back with the right price, he ain't coming back. And by the way, two national titles of Villanova a lot of dry spells, the same kind of dry spell Kentucky has in Villanova. While it's
not Kentucky, it's close. When it comes to success in the postseason, it doesn't have eight, but of late it's been pretty damn good. But anyhow, everybody thinks that Jay Rod not everybody, but a lot of people think Jay Wright would take over Kentucky. He's not gonna do that. But I think he's doing a great job on CBS. And this is what he had to say about where not just Kentucky, but teams that might be dependent too
much on young players. Where are they right now, especially given the fact that it's now the portal and NIL kind of ruling college sports.
An era of taking these young freshmen and trying to play against older players is over.
He did it.
I think he did a phenomenal job with the guys all year, getting them to be as successful as they were. You can see they're playing against grown men. The guys on Kentucky will be far better pros than any of these guys on Oakland or any of these guys in the tournament, but they're not as good college basketball players. It's at this point in their career. They're not as disciplined yet as the guys from Oakland. And it's not
Coyle's fault. It's they're eighteen years old and they're in this era where everyone's telling them how great they are. Just show up in college and you're gonna win. It doesn't happen that way. And the more the guys stay in college because of NIL is going to be tougher. For young teams like this to be successful.
And he was talking specifically about Kentucky there, and he's absolutely right, absolutely right. 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 is a friend and a blogger and an author and a Kentucky man, John Wong Wong's whinings when you read his bloggie also is a writer a reporter for Nolan at Media Group. And that's right, isn't it Nolan Media Group.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dick.
It's always an honor to be on here with you. And I'm not just saying that because you asked me. I'm periodically, but I was. I was actually out of town for about five weeks doing a little research and writing on the West Coast and it was great to be able to tune in to Dick Gabriel and dus Lynn on the SEC Plus and you made me feel like I was writing Kentucky brout Park even though I was three thousand miles away. You guys do a great job. Thank you.
You shot me at text when you were out there. I didn't realize you were going back after the coach of your daughter's out there? Are you did I hear you say your researching? Are you writing another book?
Yeah?
I'm actually working on a little fiction novel, my debut fiction novel. So part of the setting took place out there. I wanted to do a little bit of research and make it a little bit more realistic.
Plus southern California pond trees.
When sky see sand, you can't beat it.
Is it a sports backdrop kind of book? Are you completely straining away from your comfort zone? No?
No, We're all product of our experiences. And one of the main characters in here is a sports.
Writer, believe it or not.
And the premise of the book is a hall of fame basketball coach gets brutally murdered.
During the quarter of a championship season.
Yeah, and it's called get this Name, Image and Murder.
I got to strike while the iron is hot. I love it.
I love it now. Is one of the ancillary characters a dashing on orthodontist.
Perhaps, Well, you'll just have to wait and see. But like I, like I said, we.
All write about things that we're familiar with.
So a lot of.
These characters are composites. There's a lot of Big Gabriel and this sports.
Writer got it well. And you've written books you also kind of processed and what the better word is for your father's books, your father's book that came out recently. But what is it like now, John, to try to fashion this story at a cent air when in the past you've been able to listen to other people, talk to other people, draw upon their experiences, and put fact onto the page.
Yeah, it's completely different writing.
Fiction, boding nonfiction, completely different areas. And that's one of the reasons why I wanted to kind of explore that life is short. You want to take advantage of all these opportunities, explore different options. But it was very, very different. For example, in some of my other books, I had to really focus in on making sure that I got the scores correct and the facts and the figures and
the historical aspect of it. I include a lot of history in this fiction book, But on the other hand, I'm able to craft a lot more with it than I usually would with some can already happen that's already written in stone. Plus if I miss getting a particular score. Who cares, I'll just make it up.
It's fiction, right when in your many endeavors, when you're wearing your journalist cap, you have to be accurate. You have to strive to be as accurate as possible. And in this case, who cares?
Right, Well, there are probably some people who will still care. You don't want to purposely go mawaligning anybody. You want to say bad things that are completely untrued.
But you can leave a lot of things to the imagination. And I had a.
Lot of fun with this. I've always wanted to do a.
Fiction book, and I may still crash and burn.
But hopefully I built up enough of an audience that people be interested. It's first and foremost it's a who done it? It's a murder mystery. But on the other hand, it's given me kind of a platform and I can write an exposition on everything that I think.
Is wrong in the world of.
College sports right now, all this nil transfer portal onset of sports gambling. I certainly give my personal take into all of that, and it'll be interesting to see what the responses are. I can speak through a lot of the main characters.
I'm looking forward to that you and I've talked before, and I teach you about you know, a former Well, you'll always be a dentist. I mean, you don't lose that status, but you are retired. Orthodonisy turned basically to sports writing and reporting, and in your second career, as it were, you happen to hit it. You just referred to this this period of college athletics, and you and I were at UK at the same time, giving away
your age a little bit, didn't know each other. But what that means is our backgrounds are similar when it comes to the sports and teams we followed. And now you and I and everybody really we're having to a just to this period of college athletics. It is really unprecedented, John, and it can make your head spin, can it.
Well, you have to have the right mindset, Dick, because.
If you let it, it can really get It's easy to be the old guy. Get off my lawn. It was better in the old.
Days, And realistically, I do think.
It was better in the olden days.
I mean, I'm not saying that there wasn't a lot of payment to players going on.
There was pay to play going on. Ever since the dawn of civilization. I'm sure some of it was underhanded and such, but there was still more of a sense of the purity of the game. People playing for the name on the front of the jersey, people playing for the love of the game. And it's so different right now. It's a whole new world. But you know what, you better get used to it because it's not changing. The
force is already out of the barn. All this legislation that they're kind of coming up with to try to limit the collectives out there and the influence of parties, well, when it comes right down to it, I say, who you do. It's still paid to play. Sure, whether the collectives are paying or whether the school's paying, it's all different right now.
Yeah, Well, in the ruling that came down the settlement two point seven billion, I just saw something where UCLA has six hundred scholarship athletes and they may be divving up as much as twenty million dollars among them. So you know, the thing to remember is if you're a Kentucky fan, you're gonna be okay. You know, your school isn't a power conference. It has a it's dealing from
a position of strength. John, I worry about it. I always say that's the Ekus, the Murray States, the Moorhead States, even to a degree, the Western Kentucky's because that's not in a big media outlet, not in a huge D one conference. And I really wonder in the next decade what it's going to look like. I hope I'm around to see it. But you're right, it's nothing like when we were and it never will be again like when we were in school.
Yeah, I think that they play a big, big part of this landscape of why we.
Enjoy sports so much. I love seeing the Westerns and the Easterns them doing.
Well and to see them kind of fade out.
Or be sucked up into.
Some other big board Texas that's coming, where all we have.
Are the big boys playing the game.
That scares me. But even within UK, Dick, I'm a I'm a sports fan, but I think.
I'm first and foremost at University of Kentucky sports fan.
I'd rather watch UK ping pong than.
I would probably the NBA Championship because I love the University of Kentucky and right now, what with all these changes that are coming, they're gonna be sports in which you're gonna have to pick and choose. You know, Kentucky is gonna obviously they're gonna support men's basketball and football, and women's basketball and baseball. But some of these other minor sports are gonna have to pick and choose switch ones that that want to be throwing that money into.
And that's going to be a difficult decision.
Yep. And as all of this evens out, uh, there are gonna be schools that make tough decisions. And you're gonna see, and I've said this from day one, You're gonna see Olympic sports disappear at some schools. I don't think it will happen to Kentucky, but I do fear for and I love you know, I cover baseball, volleyball for the SEC network, you know, every now and then women's basketball, soccer, stuff like that. So I fear for that.
But in terms of the name on the front of the jersey, Kentucky with a basketball coach now who has pledged that that will be job one representing that name. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider More to come here on six thirty WLAP He it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. We're talking with blogger, author reporter John
Wong of Wong's whinings and the Nolan Media Group. I don't know that you and I have spoken on the air, John, since Mark Pope was hired, because it's we said you've been traveling. But I had some of his comments that he that he said on the Fine Bomb Show yesterday. They've been making the rounds and I played some of them earlier on the show tonight, and as I was preparing for the interview with you, I got to think, and this guy is perfect for John Wong because he
loves UK. He has talked from literally day one about the name on the front of the jersey as opposed to the back. He's a man of faith, he's a family man. You are Mark Pope, aren't you. Maybe without all the basketball acumen, but in so many.
Ways right, And I think he probably enjoys winning as much.
As I do. Also, So the proof is going to.
Be in the polding. Ultimately, there's going to be a there's a period in which was kind of a lot of slack just because of who he is, but ultimately it's going to come down the winning ball games and.
Dancing in the tournament. Different than it is with any other coach. But yes, very very exciting. Yeah, I left.
Town the day before his news conference. I missed all of that albolo. Of course, I streamed everything online, but.
As you know, it's not the same as being.
There in person and soaking it all in. But on the other hand, it gave me a little chance to kind of step away from the hubbub that was brewing within the town. I was three thousand miles away. People there in California. They didn't ever know who Mark Pope is, Mark wu what'd you get him for? They're interested at Dagers, Lakers, whatever. And it really made me realize how Kentucky centric we are living here in central Kentucky. This was the first
Saturday of May. Of course, I'm waking up Kentucky Derby, I'm in my yoga class, and I.
Say, hey, everyone, first Saturday of May.
Hooray.
They didn't know what I was talking about.
But we really are Kentucky centric, and that's a good thing. There are things that we're just very, very passionate about. But yeah, I've had.
A chance to kind of kind of sit back and the way things worked out thick.
It was probably as well as we could have even drawn it on the board. The way that fan base was divided over coach John Caliperry, I don't think there was any way we could have.
Come back the next year and had any.
Sort of success. I mean it was literally I think split fifty fifty down the middle. People loved him, other half hated him. But with Pope on board, boy, there was a little bit of initial pushback, but within twenty four hours that was so amazing. The tie turned completely And everybody I talk to you now is the full support of them. Do I wish he had a couple more great scores? Yeah, I wish she could have done that. But Mark Pope supposedly a great offensive mind. He'll put
it together. That's why we're paying him the big bucks.
Well, and may get one or two great scores because that that's not over yet. Now, Well, were these deadlines coming and going? You know, you may you bring up an interesting point about if Calipari had stayed. I do think they would have had success. It would have won a lot of games, But you would have had this I don't know if it was a pallor or a dark cloud or whatever hanging over the program because it seemed like there was this win or else vibe that
that arose. You know, you had the uncomfortable meeting between Caliperi and Barnard and they appeared on on TV. Some said they looked like hostages. Others said they looked like, you know, people in couples therapy.
Uh.
And clearly it was uncomfortable. But everybody in the big Blue Nation, good or bad, you know, pro or con, would have been waiting to see just how far they went in the NCA tournament, John, and I don't think it would have mattered how far they went short of the final four. People would have gone I don't want to They wouldn't have gone crazy, but especially if they got knocked out in the first round. But it just
would not have been palatable. I don't think so. Now, like you say, it's a fresh start with.
Mark Pope, Yeah, you are correct in that for the very first time. And this is what's extremely, extremely scary, Dick. I knew people who were just as avid Kentucky fans as I were. Was cheer for the program always, and there were a couple of those guys who were actually cheering against cal Perry. They wanted the team to do poorly just so that it would kind of hasten his exit. That to me is extremely, extremely scary. We're fans, we're passionate. We should cheer for.
The program no matter what.
Now, of course I'm talking everything, not not regarding our media hat. You know, that's a whole different ballgame.
But as a fan, to be cheering against your team.
Just because you have an agenda with the coach, to me, that crosses the line. That's not good.
And that said, you mentioned cutting some slack to Mark Pope. Do you think the Big Blue Nation is capable of that? And I will And I mentioned this on the show earlier. We saw that in Patino's first year because we you know where the program was then it hit below rock bottom. That's that wasn't the case, even though the roster was empty. That's not really the case in this day and age of the portal. But nobody expected much of anything from Patino,
and he delivered well beyond I think their expectations. Mark Pope, who of course played for Rick, I don't think has that luxury, does he? I mean, will people cut him slack?
I think He's got a one year honeymoon period for sure. I think they could do extremely, extremely poorly this year, and they're not going to get rid of them or anything like that. There'll be a few natives who are restless,
but that's to be expected. This does remind me a little bit of that eighty nine year, that first Patino year, and I think a lot of the excitement that was generated that year was because of who the player were, you know, the unforgettable, the in state stars, plus the style of play that they played, you know, that ustle up and down the court. I think that played a lot into how how the fans got into it and
got got after him. I think this year, with Travis Perry and and Trent Nolan there in the Kentucky connections, there's a lot of similarities associated with that. So yes, I think they well cut him from slack. I think he's got a complete free range this one. Ear the excitement, the brand new fervor of Kentucky basketball back again. I think that'll carry the team through. That'll carry Pope through a few.
Minutes left with John Wong, blogger author Kentucky fan, Wong's whinings, Staying with this parallel interesting that you had. We talked about Patino when he first got here. Pope played for Patino, but played for a lot of guys in the NBA and draws a lot of the lessons he learned from them. But when Patino got here, yeah, his roster was not full of all stars. Mashbourne wasn't here yet. But now I was talking to Sean Woods about this on the show last night. Patino inherited guys who knew how to
play the game, and I'm talking. You talked about the unforgettables of Sean and Pelfrey and Feldaust and Richie. Those guys knew how to play basketball, basketball players and which Cali Perry talked about this year, and he wasn't wrong about that. He had guys with high basketball IQ starting with Reed Shepherd. I think Pope's gonna have a similar roster because he's gonna have veterans and he has vetted these guys. Plus he's a pretty good coach.
Right, Absolutely.
I think when when you mentioned those guys the Unforgettables fell House and Farmer and pil and Woods, those guys were not only high I but they were very coachable.
Yes, they had good coaching.
Throughout their high school careers, and I think that that kind of parlayed into being able to accept a guy like Patino who was extremely demanding coming in and essentially telling them you will do this this, You're going to do it my way too. He ran those guys ragged, and they were able to accept his coaching acumen and parlay it into.
The success that they did that year. I'm hoping that you're going to see the same thing with some of these guys on this team, this roster.
Well, as we wrap this up, speaking of the portal and coachable players and building with guys who are transferring in. What a job Nick min Joon and his staff have done really the last two years of blending their recruits three year guys like Devin Burks and Nolan McCarthy and Evan Byers with the portal guys, and that's all been a part of the fabric of college baseball for decades.
People transferring in because they only have eleven and a half scholarships, but they've put together another contender and now an SEC champion. John and I know you've covered several of the baseball games since you've been back you got to be looking forward to this weekend.
This This is amazing, Dick. When you think.
About where men young and the program lost two to three years ago. This was a guy who was on the hot seat. People really wanted to do it and to see what they've accomplished the year after in which they made to run the SEC Tournament, and then last year and now this year. It's a little bit different than basketball.
We're not going to be judging this team on the success.
In the postseason. I'd like to see him make him run. One of my bucket list items is still Omaha College World Series. But even if they don't make it out of the regional I think what they've accomplished during the course of the season these past seasons, that's pretty amazing. That speaks for usself.
Thanks Dick, Thanks so much.
See at the ballpark Listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Hour number two is next here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel, Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Joining us now is a longtime buddy at, a friend of the show, former WTVH sports director. Now the sports director WHS said Louisville, Kent Spencer, who, as I like to say, is one of only two guys on the beat that I know of who's been hitting the mouth in a college football game.
Him and Jeff pcorro So. I love talking football with uh SEC media days in Dallas. It's going to be a zoo down there, Kent. But if your Mark Stoops, what do you think is going to be the message about your team? Because last year I think everybody bought into the Kentucky hype and I think rightfully so, and Kentucky underperformed. I got to think he back sat down a little bit, don't you.
I think cautious optimism is probably, you know, his his best thing. And you know, I think if if he has a few question marks or if he has a few unknowns, even if it feels good about him, I think it's okay to put things out like, look, hey, we're gonna have to see We're gonna see have to see how these guys perform. We're gonna have to see how these guys hold up and this in this situation. But I think you know, if you're Mark Stoops, you're
you're one hundred percent right. He was pretty he was very bullish on his team last year, and to be quite honest, I mean they were, you know, they were really close to having a really good season, but you know, some of those losses I South Carolina and a few others, you know, they were real letdowns and underperformed in certain situations. I mean, even look at the at the bowl game.
Great great moments, right, yeah, but you can't get it done against a Clemson team that's a that's a notable brand. That would have been a huge victory for them, you know, and and propelled them into the offseason. Just didn't work out that way.
Yeah, I think Kautia's optimism is fair because there are so many question marks starting at quarterback, but defense has question marks two so uh and and they can't mess around ken as you know, the scheduled demands, they'd be ready to go almost immediately.
No, you're right, and and you know you you mentioned you mentioned quarterback. They felt so good about Devin Leary going into last year and that he was more of a proven product than than Brock vandergriff Is. And so you know, I think when you and I think for me and and probably most people would would agree, Devin Leary experiment was more of a disappointment than it was a positive there. You know, I just don't think, you know, anybody he had the season that anybody thought he was
going to have. I thought, you know, I think everybody thinks that they were going to be a lot better in that in that department. So you know, those kind of things, especially early on, that's going to be tested. And then also, you know, I think the offensive line showed a little bit of improvement last year, as you know, but but it needs that it needs to get back to where it used to be, and that's tougher. You
and I have talked about this before. You know, the longer that John Schlarman is is not there anymore, the more you know, the Big Blue Wall is only the Big Blue Wall in name only at the moment. And it's a I almost kind of equate it to remember when Nebraska's defensive line used to be known as the black Shirts. Yeah, and they would have the black Shirts. You know, they still do that at Nebraska. That's a name only, like they don't play that way anymore, and
so and that used to come from the tom Osborne days. Well, you know, tom Osborne is long since gone, so you know, you almost have to redefined or find your own identity now. And so you know, they really need their offensive line to get back to protecting the quarterback, to be in physical on a on a consistent basis, and they just weren't that anymore. And I look at their their secondary so many question marks there, like, hey, what's what's going
to happen there? You know, I think there are a lot of question marks, and they're going to be tested, Like you said, with that schedule early, with with the likes of South Carolina and Georgia. You know, early, man, they're going to be put to the test early.
Yeah, you can't losing Andrew Phillips and and right away think oh we'll be fine, maybe we'll be even better. Now you've got to go out and prove that. And they've got some opportunities to do that. But the last time we saw that defensive backfield, it had been decimated by injuries by the end of the bowl game. And we all know what happened at the end of that game. So so much to prove isn't there.
You know, they've they've had guys though that have had rough outings and bowl games and at the end of the season season and they've specifically in the secondary, and those guys have used that in the past as a motivation for the future and really have have bounced back
and had great seasons the very next year. And so that's that's one of those things that I'm curious to see and and you know, to be to be quite to be quite honest, you know, I look at a Barry and Brown at wide receiver, who I think had nice moments last year, and even maybe Dame Key at
wide receiver. I think some of those guys had nice moments, but I think they would even probably tell you their season as a whole was largely a disappointment, yeah, because they had set so much of expectations on them, on themselves and what they did. I think both of those guys had had had nice Bowl games there, Well, how do you use that back and how do you have a more consistent season Because those guys, they have the talent to be able to play on Sundays, but you
got to be consistent in what you do. You got to be consistent in how you prepare and your knowledge for the game. So I'm curious to see how they react. I'm curious to see how they perform in bush Hampden's offense that they're going to use this year.
Talking to Ken Spencer, sports director whas Over in Louisville, and I'm glad you brought up bush ham down because it's interesting. One of the things that Mark Stoops I think has done at Kentucky is built consistency in the world way they recruit and develop and win games. But he's not afraid to make changes. And it's not often his decision like you know, Liam Cohen suddenly bolts. But he has had more than one offensive coordinator. They have
not all been cookie cutters. But you know, I think that he is willing Stoops to go with a guy like bush Hamon and say, let's see what you can bring. And you know, in basic philosophy is what he needs. But he's always gonna want to run the football, isn't he. It's always going to have to be balanced.
Yeah, I mean, they want they want to be fifty to fifty. They want to be better in the passing game. They want to be explosive. You know, I think you know everybody talks about Okay, Kentucky football is here. Okay, and they've had a few years where they've been able to kind of make that jump and get up there and and you know, have have really really a really
really nice season. And so for me, when I look at when I look at them kind of going forward, I think that they need consistency in the offensive coordinator position. They just haven't had it.
Dick.
I mean, you know, yeah, Liam Cohen came back for two different stints, but it was to one year stints. I believe, Yeah, that's just not that's just not enough. And you know, Rich Gangarello and then even before that, obviously there was there was the one year even though Eddie granted had been there a long time. But I mean we're talking what bush Hampton is is the fifth offensive coordinator they've had.
In five years.
Yeah, and and you know, maybe you know, some things stay the same, but verbiage always changes and how things are called in different things. So that's these kids happened to learn five different you know, five different systems in five different years. Now some of those are coming in to new and freshmen. You know, they really haven't had
to learn that much. That's so much change, you know, and it's impossible to say, like, hey, we're going to keep an offensive coordinator for five ten years, but you know, you could really benefit by having somebody for three to four years. And so I think they really need consistency at that position in order to be able to take the next step. It's impossible to do it with so much change.
You know, as you say that, I flash and it doesn't take much to the Bill Curry era when Bill changed his offensive coordinator so many times. But the difference is they change their style. You know, they go from pro style to eyebone to optionists, you know, and it affects your recruiting patterns. That's the one thing they haven't
really had to change. They've they've kind of stayed pro style, so they haven't had to go out and you know, maybe get a whole bunch of fullbacks or a whole bunch of more wide receivers or different kinds of old linemen, you know what I mean.
Yeah, But but here's my here he would be the only pushback on that. So personnel is always the same, right, But when you change burbage so much, when you change burbage and plays and all of this this so much, it can be the same concept, but it can be completely different is what is the one thing that coaches want their teams to do. They want them to play
without thinking. They want them to play fast, right, I want them to be free of mind, so you can play fast if you are learning a whole new playbook each and every year. Man, it is impossible to do that thing without thinking. And so and in college football and in the SEC when you take a moment and you're thinking about it, the plays already passed, You're you're long gone.
If you're a steps low in that league, you're losing by thirty and so you know, it's it's one of those things where I think, you know, these guys in some moments are thinking so much. That's why it's so tough for true freshmen to really be able to exel. They can excel in certain positions because maybe certain some positions are a little simpler but or they have a certain package, but you know, you put a you put a true freshman in there, let's say an offensive line
or something like that. Man, that game moves really really fast. It takes a long time for it to slow down. So I just think that benyl side of things, it needs to get easier. And with that comes consistency.
Ken Spencer's my guess he is a sports director. Whas and Louisville will come back and talk more Kentucky football with Campada. They're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w lap. Hey, it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider talking with Ken Spencer talking Kentucky football with This Furts director W h As This week in Dallas, Dion Walker, I think will captivate the writer's room.
I think, really any room he's in own you. He's one of the three players. And I think Derek Jackson will be fine. Marcus Cox will be fine. Old Limaner usually, as you know, pretty good interviews. But there's just something about Walker. He's charming, isn't he.
Yeah, so he not only is he charming, but he's not afraid to be bullish.
That's true.
You know, there might be some they may tell him not to say certain things, but sometimes you just you you know, you can't put him in a cage. First off. First off, he's too big and he's too good, and there may be a few things that come out of out of his mouth that will make Mark Stukes cringe a little bit. But yeah, he's one of those kids like once you sit down with him and then you get away from the conversation, you look at whoever you're with and you're like, man, I really enjoyed that. Yeah,
that's just the way, that's just the way that he is. Yeah. I think that he'll be a kid this week that everybody enjoys talking to.
Yeah, And I'm curious to see how de Eric Jackson does and I think he will do well. He's a smart kid, but he is soft spoken. As you know. He's not a bad interview. But generally when it came to linebackers, we would gravitate to Trevin Wallace, wouldn't we His running made and now. But of course Derek D. Jack is a veteran. He's played a lot of football and he knows what's coming at him.
I think, you know, the funny thing about it is is sometimes like you know a kid and you don't know if they're the best talker or not, or you know, you don't maybe necessarily go with them to interviews. So when it comes to coaches and fans, they don't care about that stuff. Like, are you solid?
Yeah?
And Eric Jackson for Kentucky's defense is as solid as rock. I mean, I really think that he took a massive step forward last year on that defense. And I think when you look at their defense outside of Dion Walker, who's always going to be, you know, a one man wrecking crew up front, I think the Eric Jackson at linebacker is as as solid as a gainst. He always seems like he's in the right He always seems like he's in the right place. And when he arrives, he arrives with bad intention.
When you lose a running mate, like like a Trevin Wallace who obviously was a great college player, he's in the NFL now and came out a year early as a linebacker, what what are the adjustments you have to make? What kind of challenge is it going to be for Jackson? And again an experienced guy, but he's going to be flanked by a new running mate, you know what I mean?
Yeah, but that that running mate has already had some experience, a ton ton of experience at the SEC level. And so you know, the one thing about you know, playing with a linebacker for a couple of years is you know where they're going to be you know, kind of how they do things and this and that you know, it will it will come, and it can and I think at linebacker honestly that I think it can come
in practice. You know, sometimes you don't really know things until you get in a game, but I think you can feel of each other at that position in practice. And the way that that that Brad White and and those coaches they you know, they've they they've coached those linebackers up really well, you know, over these you know, last handful of years or how however many long so you know, inside linebacker for them, in my opinion, has
has generally been a strength for what they do. They've always found the fips and they found guys who kind of compliment each other there.
Yeah. Yeah, they've done a good job at that and they need to. That has to happen because if they're not communicating, that could be a real disaster. A couple of minutes left of Ken Spencer Kent covers U of l Indiana whatever it takes there in the city of Louisville, and I watched again that Louisville Kentucky game. I was laid up recovering from surgery, as you know, when they played that game, and what a great football game. But I had kind of forgotten how talented Louisville was going
into that game. It was the favorite, an eight point favorite, I think in that game Ken. So now it's almost a rebuilt roster for Jeff Brohm and they've already been predicted to be better than Kentucky. That's that's a win from most prognosticators for Louisville when they look at the schedule, what can we expect from from the Cardinals and when UK and U of L get together. A lot of foot ball has to happen between then and now. But it's going to be interesting again, isn't it.
Yeah. I mean, you know, when you look at the when you look at the cards I think that most people, even though I mean, you know they Louisill played so well last year, but you know, their their biggest disappointment was, you know, they lost the last three games of their season, and Jeff Brown was he has not been shy about the fact that even in those three games, his most disappointing loss were the Kentucky loss because that's a rivalry game. That's the game that he desperately wants to win. He
knows his fan base desperately wants to win. It's not been easy going for them in that series the last handful of years, and so it's it's the one game that that he wants. I also think that most fans would tell you that they thought that Jack Plumber was not the best answer for them at quarterback, even though I think he was by far the best quarterback they
had on the roster. Right, they wanted more out of that position, right, And let's be honest, I think Kentucky fans wanted more out of that position for them last year as well. So Jeff Bron brings in Tyler Shuck transfer from Texas Tech. He is going to be I want to say, he's going to be twenty five years old at some point in like August or September, right, and he's a talented kid. Actually he's a talented man.
When you're twenty five, you're told you're a man. But he is a talented man who has not been able to stay healthy. They have to keep him healthy, they have to keep him upright for them to be able to win football games. I think that they believe that their offensive line is even though they lose a Brian Hudson. I think they think their offensive line is you know, uh, one of their strongest assets that they have coming back. Their question marks obviously are at quarterback if you can
keep him healthy running you know, they running back. They lose two of their running backs, their their top two running backs to the NFL. And then wide receiver. You know, you had a lot of wide receiver turnover. Now you do have some guys coming back, but not you know, not your high end producers. So they do have some question marks. He's you know, he has lived in the portal.
You know, they they've really attacked the portal and so you know, we'll kind of see, you know, not so much early on because you know they kind of they kind of ease into this thing right a little bit schedule wise, but at some point you know you're gonna
be tested and you'll see how those guys perform. But no, I think, you know, with the way that they you know, some of the guys they got out of the portal, they feel good, but you've got to be able to to to mesh and go forward and be successful as a unit.
So I guess by the time UK and U of L play. We'll find out which team is meshed the best. I guess and stayed healthy.
I think that's the Dick. I think that's the biggest thing right Like also, I think, what what are you playing for when that game rolls around? And are you healthy enough to be able to perform at your best? I think those two are huge, huge factors.
Ken Spencer sports director Whas and Louisville give everybody your ex handle at WJS eleven ten. It's just that simple. Thank you, brother. We'll see it on the road. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w LAP. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Dick Gabriel with you my last day of vacations. So we're taking you back to a conversation and I had with Ryan Walschmidt later in the season. The Wildcats were rolling. They
were coming off the sweep of Alabama. This particular segment aired the night of the Kentucky Samford game down in Birmingham. In fact, Samford beat the Wildcats, but Kentucky went on to win a series at Auburn. Again, another road series win at Auburn the Cats on their way to an SEC title. So my conversation with Ryan Walshman, who would go on to become a supplemental first round draft pick and signed for a couple of million bucks, they're listening
to the best of the big doingsider. Yeah, that's a big road week for the Wildcats, but they are rolling. Man. They come off a sweep of Alabama. That's their fifth sweep of the season, three in the conference, two in
non conference. And one of the guys in one of the biggest reasons, quite frankly, is Ryan Walshmidth Kentucky's left fielder who blew his knee in the summertime playing summer ball, but had the surgery and then made it all the way back just about for the start of the season, began as a DH They finally put him back and left. He has been killing the ball and I had a chance to sit in and talk with him in the dugout after the win on Sunday against Alabama. Well, first
of all, congratulations on another sweep. You guys. Your confidence level's got to be off the charts.
Yeah for sure.
I mean just coming out here every day having a good time with each other and just enjoying playing baseball.
You know, when you do that.
I think it takes a lot of stress off of everything, just making the pitch, making the play, getting the hit. I think when you're just out here having fun with each other and just enjoying everyone's company makes it a lot of stress free baseball, And I think that accounts for a lot of winning too. So I think that's the biggest part of our success so far.
It's a happy time right now. But take me back to to your injury. Had you ever had an injury like that?
What happened? Just a bad step or what.
Yeah, I stepped in a hole in the cape trying to make a throw to the plate, and you know, I felt the tear when I did it.
I was hoping I broke my leg. Wasn't ended up being the case.
It's funny to say that I hope I broke my mind.
Yeah.
Yeah, Usually when it's that bad, you're hoping for just the most positive thing that could happen.
But yeah, it was tough. I had an injury way back in high school. I hurt my arm.
I was out for a little bit, but nothing to this extent of tearing your ACL, and I think the hardest thing about it is just you gotta be able to deal with it as quick as you can and just move on because you can't change it. You just gotta change your mind and change how you think about it.
I rehab three knees, not an ACL, but still some serious surgery. And isn't it weird how your body just doesn't feel like it's yours, that part of you, that limb.
You're like, what are you doing to me?
Yeah?
No, for sure.
Sometimes I'm doing stuff and I'm like, man, I don't remember doing it feeling like this when I did it.
But you know it, Just gotta keep pushing.
Every day, just get healthier and just keep going down that path of just positive mindset, positive just things that happened for me, and just keep getting strung longer and keep getting better every day.
Was the timetable first put to you, You should be able to play this year.
Did you think it would take longer?
Did the doctor sink it would take longer?
Yeah, So as soon as I got hurt, I obviously mapped out the chart. I took the calendar out, accounted the month, so I was like, okay. They at first there telling me, eight months is the earliest possible. And you know, I'm I'm a pretty positive guy. I'm pretty hard worker, and I think the first thing I said was like, I'm gonna be back for the first game. Like that was my goal was to be out there for February seventeenth. I was like, that's the day I'll be back. And I came really close. I mean I
was right there. I pressure Doc, We all pressured Doc, like hey man, he's ready, and he was like, I'll give him that bat for the first weekend. So I got one pinch hit, remember, made it back. I got to DH one game the next week. Take taking the baby steps, but that was just always my goal. I set the data being ready for the first game, and that's that's why I put my mind to And usually when I my mind.
Of something, I don't I don't like to do anything but that.
So what was it like for you when you could we talk to you after you got to finally play defense and you got to get back to patrolling left field.
Yeah, no, it's awesome.
I mean obviously just being able to play the game again was a big thing for me. And you know, still dhing was awesome, but I like to try and impact the game in as many ways as possible, so getting back out there on defense was just another big step for me, and it was a little nerve wracking at first. I think the first ball I got was the groundball to throw someone out of the plate, and I missed it. I ended up messing up to play and I was just like, man, I was thinking about
it obviously going in. I'm like, of course, this is the first play I'm going to get. But you know, every game I get to go back out there, every day that goes by, I just feel more comfortable playing the field. Confidence is back, and I'm just getting back to playing like I normally do.
I don't remember the game, but I was feeling it for Darren on the radio, and I remember I was seeing, Yeah, he's coming back from the ACL slowly, blah blah blah, and I don't know much we're gonna see him on your stole second. How was that for you when you really got to turn it loose on a base pass.
Yeah, that's a big thing for me.
I think my base running and my ability to run the bases is one of my better tools as a baseball player, and I think being able to do that again and just feeling the freedom to be able to run the bases how I want and being aggressive and just not really thinking about my knee too much on the basis is a huge thing for me, and I think it might help me in some extent where the other teams probably know about my injury, probably heard about.
It, like be any of the season. Probably, Yeah, he's most likely probably not gonna steal.
He came back from ACL recently and I go take it off and catch him off guard. So I'm sure that might not be the case anymore. I've gotten some stolen bases and play a little bit of games, But it's just it's awesome to be able to do things and just not have anything in my mind about it and just be able to play free again.
And I know you were so hungry to get back this your second year here. You knew this team was gonna be special, or at least you hoped it would be. Maybe you knew it would be, so that had to be even tougher for you coming back.
Yeah, definitely, I think that I was just looking forward to being out there and playing with the guys. I got to watch all fall, got to do track lan. I got to help out in practice and I saw a really similar team to last year.
I saw the group of guys we had.
I got to really get to know everyone off the field, as I couldn't really play much on the field, so I did my best to do that.
And it's just really similar to the guys we had last year. We built the culture last.
Year, we're continuing it this year, and I think that's it's the new way of Kentucky baseball now. I think that's the big thing for us, is just taking those steps to set the tradition and set the standard for the future teams coming. And I think that's the biggest thing for us, is just to keep doing what we're doing and don't change.
We're talking to Kentucky left field or Ryan Waldschmid. Kind of an odd question, but did being forced to step away at all help you in any way? You were just talking about it and Minch told me that you were such a help in the fall, But having to sort of look at it from a distance, relatively speaking, did that help you much at all?
Yeah, definitely.
I think anytime you can step back and take a different perspective to the game, that you don't normally have. You can pick up on little things that you wouldn't be doing usually. I did a big job with the TrackMan for the pictures for the Fall, and I think it helped me as a hitter.
Track man's pretty much just the.
V LO spin rate location just tracks all their pitches and as a hitter, for me to get on that information, to be able to understand that information, I think it really.
Helped me as a hitter. And knowing the zones, like I got.
To see umpire strike zone, He's like, okay, a few balls.
Off, not giving it.
Just learn like the little things of just umpires, strike zone, how pitches move, what pitchers are trying to do, And I think that helps me out as a hitter as well. And also with that, I think just watching from the side, just picking up on little things, picture tendencies.
I try to do as much as I could as.
Being in the dugout as I could help me out when I run the bases or when I'm hitting. I think anytime you can have a different point of view as a player, it definitely helps.
You are really barreling up. It seems just about everything, even loud foul balls, and it took a little while this season to get to that point. But are you feeling it about as well as you have because it looks that way.
Yeah, I'm just really confident right now at the plate, I'm trying to get my swing off. I think last year I was a pretty patient hitter. I got walked a lot, and I think, yeah, I didn't get hit a lot. But I think for me, it's just knowing what I can do and knowing my zones. And I think when I get more swings off this year, I'm putting more balls in play hard, getting more hits, and I'm still getting the walks because I mean that when you show you can hit it, they're not gonna try and
throw it there again. So that's for me, it's just getting back in the groove. And I don't think coming back from being out for seven eight months, you're not really gonna get much better by taking pitches and walking.
You gotta swing away.
Everyone talks, you gotta swing your way into the lineup, Gotta hit yourself, you gotta keep yourself in the lineup.
So I think for me, it's just getting as many swings as possible.
I know when I came back in the beginning of the spring, I told Jamo and coach Couzy coach Mne, I was like, hey, like, I know, I have pretty good plate discipline.
I'm not really trying to work that right now.
I'm trying to get as many swings in as possible before the season starts because I want.
To be able to be ready for when my time comes.
And I think that has definitely helped me down this stretch for the future and just as we continue to go through the season.
Mason Moore said that when he was young, he might not have an He's young still, but he might not have foreseen this kind of start for you guys. He said today, this doesn't surprise me use the same way.
Yeah, I think coming in last year, I didn't really know what to expects my first year in the SEC.
I came from a small conference.
Obviously, all the guys here look like they're the best players I've seen in a long time, so I didn't know what to expect. But when we went through the season, I was like, man, we can compete with anyone. I think our style of baseball, how we play. Everyone says we don't have much power, but I think we've out homeered every team we've played so far in our series. But we also have the bund We also have the hit.
We do a great job at two strikes. And I think we were talking yesterday and I was like, we're just a team. We do it for each other, we do it to get on base. We trust the guy behind us, We steal bases, we find a way to get things done. Whereas other teams maybe stationed the station might take them four hits to score.
That's not us and that's not our way to baseball.
And I think even showed Friday night, they bunted against us two times in a row and scored a run and they were going crazy, And it's like people like to criticize our way of baseball, but then they start implementing it.
It's pretty good idea, yeah exactly.
So I think for us, it's just continuing to stick with that and just being how we are.
And I think this year, when I came in, I.
Was that we had a lot of returners coming back, We had a lot of good arms coming back, and I thought this was how our season was gonna be going. I thought we were going to be a really good team again. And I think when you believe that, it really helps to actually go out there and get it done.
We're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Two of my conversation with Ryan Walt Schmid, wild kat leftfielder who has worked his way all the way back from a serious knee injury in the summertime, and he's tearing it up right now. He's talking to Darren. He brought up a great point about this ballpark and
your ball club. Two other teams come in here and look around, they wonder about how it'll carry if they can get out. You guys know how to swing in this ballpark. You know you're not gonna be swinging from the heels. That ain't gonna work. And the way you guys do it is the way that works. Obviously, that's a huge advantage, isn't it.
One hundred percent?
I think a lot of swings for other teams are tailored for the long ball. They have shorter parks, they have upwards swings. They're trying to get the ball in their and hit home runs. For us, we come out here every day for VP and our swings are tailored, hit line drives, and hit the ball hard, hit it low, which when you hit it hard like that, you're gonna get hits here, you're gonna get hits at the other
field always plays for how we swing. The other teams are park might not play for them, and it's not anything we did to them. It's just they're trying to hit home runs in a place where it's not gonna play to your advantage. But I think our swings and how we hit the ball it'll play anywhere. And I think that's a big part of it is as long as we stick with that and we don't try and get away from what we're doing, we'll always have success.
It translates throughout the league. You guys played down in Texas, you hit home runs, you hit doubles. That's gotta be kind of a comforting thought. Even if you're behind a run or two, you just keep doing what you're doing.
I think for us, not only can we hit the long ball, we also work counts.
We get pitchers pitch counts up.
That helps you as a hitter, and the dugout helps you as a hitter on deck, you're seeing everything he throws. And I think for us, so when you try and hit line drives and you stick to your approach the entire time, home runs will come by accident. And I think that's a big part of our offenses. We just try and hit the ball hard, and if you elevated and hit a home run, you weren't necessarily trying to
do that. But when you have teams that just keep trying to hit home runs and take some four hits to score, it's really hard to come back from the game. Like today, As soon as we had that five run lead, I was like, man, Mason's throwing sinkers in there. They're swinging to hit the ball in the air. I don't know how much success they're going to get today.
You mentioned Mason, You guys, I think clearly, well at least seven and zero the best Sunday starter. You've flip flopped a little bit on Friday.
It has been successful.
Dom comes through the portal and all American. Yeah, you mentioned that you thought your pitching would be as good or better. Your bullpen has been solid. I mean, you know, you just look like you got all the elements.
It takes one hundred percent, and I think that the more their success continues to happen, the more confident they're going to get, and the more it's just gonna build for us. I think we use five arms this weekend in total, and that's crazy to think when you have people like Hags that still hasn't gotten much work coming back from injury buyers, hummele all these guys. Cooper O'Brien didn't throw this weekend and he was leading in appearances
for a while. I just think it's awesome to see that our starters can do that and go seven innings. Because when you can do that and you have a bullpen that'll come in and shut it down, I think it's really hard to beat us. And I think it's just awesome to see all these guys take that next step that I knew they had.
In them, and it just just.
Took some confidence and just a little bit of success to have them really show it.
And I think it's awesome for those guys.
It took the pollsters a little while a little extra time to take notice of you, even though you you swept a really good Georgia team and now you're finally moving up at the polls, but people who wonder still what the heck happened with Kennesaw and Nick said, you guys just weren't yourselves. But I got to think, in hindsight, that's a great lesson.
Yeah, definitely, I've always believed that you were.
This is a long haul.
We're going to play some great teams, and sometimes it's good to just get that little fire and you it's good to lose a game or two just to just to know you're a human and just to know you're back down to earth. I mean, some teams that don't ever have to go through adversity, when you face it later in the season, it takes you down. You're done, your season's over. If you have a team that just cruises through the entire season and a postseason comes around
and then you finally face some adversity, it's hard. But when you get to see it early and then you get to build from it, learn from it.
I know Coach always talks about.
Losing and how you learn from it, and I think that was a big thing for us.
We really learned that we needed to be ourselves again and not.
Try and do too much. And also I give credit to that team. They played really well that weekend.
They hit the ball.
They're shortstop.
Yeah, they had good defense, good pitching, and they hit the ball. I mean it's hard teams we usually manipulated. We were saying teams are trying to hit home runs, and they really didn't try and do that. They just hit line drives and they were getting hits. And sometimes you just lose.
They beat you. But I think it really gave us some fire to be better.
We'll let you go with this. You got a kind of an odd week coming up with the game in Birmingham and then the Thursday Saturday series. But I got to think the closeness to this team, and I've traveled with you guys as you know, uh, not an issue really and maybe a little more fun.
Yeah.
I definitely think the way our our team has developed that dugout atmosphere too.
Recently loves a dugout. I love it. I mean I'm laughing in the outfield sometimes at these guys. I can hear it at the play. It's just incredible.
I think that these the energy that we bring doesn't make any away series feel any different thing we're playing at home. I think they really get involved, and they keep us involved, and it really keeps the players locked.
In, and that helped make Oxford your ballpark, didn't it one hundred percent?
I mean I think Friday night they said something around eight thousand fans, and I really felt like there was nobody cheering against us. The way the dugout was talking, the way we were playing is like I didn't even notice it had eight thousand fans there.
It really didn't phase us at all.
And I think that's a huge, huge advantage going into some of these parks and some of these places and into the postseason, because you're not always going to be playing at home. So I think when we can develop that feeling of being at home, it's really going to help us in the long run.
We've signed a lot of autographs. I appreciate your time and good luck. I know you'll have fun. And congratulations on the.
Way you're hitting the ball, Yes, sir, I appreciate it.
Hopefully we keep going and keep winning some games and I keep hitting them hard.
That's Ryan Walschmid, and he might be hitting the ball better than anybody right now for this Kentucky team. He's hitting three ten, but in conference play against the best pitchers in America. He's batting three fifty five with six doubles. He's got two of his three home runs, not a home run hitter, but two of us three against SEC pitching. And again, this is a guy who got off to the slow start because of injury and now is just
destroying Southeastern Conference pitching. Everything he hits, it just seems as a rocket, even the foul balls coming off his bat. He has three three hit games, four two hit games, so just piling up base hits in bunches, thirteen steals officially caught four times, but down in round Rock. In one of those games, he stole third base easily, but they called batter interference on Devin Burks at the plate, which meant that the base runner stealing during that play
is also out. Devin struck out and they called Waldi out at third base, so they really took a stolen base away from him. That's all for now, Back tomorrow night, live on tape in color. You're on the Big Moon, Sider. That's it. Good night from the garage in Lexington and so SA