Hell everybody through the facilities of the iHeartMedia Megaplex. This is Dick Gabriel. This is the state wide edition of the Big Booon Sider. You've heard comments from Mark Stoops, from Jack Gibbons, and now we will add Billy Rutledge to Aaron Gershaan or our menu tonight as we'll talk Kentucky football and basketball.
Also Jeff Piicoro.
The UK Sports Network will join us here on the state wide BBN Border to border. It is the stay wide Big Boo Insider. Dick Gabriel, Aaron Gersham, Billy Rutlie is going to open up tonight with basketball. We'll get the football and kind of slide out of that segment
into our conversation with Hippocorol. But way, way, way too early, almost as premature, Aaron, as the top twenty five polls that come out in like June, you know, because we've seen two exhibitions and we've seen an overmatch Wright State team. But we've got a pretty good idea now of style of play. Who will do what? Has anything surprised you yet?
No, I nothing crazy. I've loved the style of basketball we're watching. It's a lot more fun it's refreshing. I love. Look, they came out of the opening tip and drew up a play what what like? They didn't just say run the go go offense like they they It was a schematic play where they found They got them all to Amari Williams, I forget if he was behind the three point line, are kind of in the eighteen foot area, and they lobbed it up to Andrew krr dunk. They're
running inbound plays like. It's a fun style of basketball. It's refreshing to see more that it's focused on scheme and guys that fit the scheme rather than just raw talent.
And to be honest with you, it's yeah, you you mentioned it raw talent, and it's young raw talent. We're talking about the previous administration. So so often on a given night, raw talent's going to get you home. Sure, you know, with guys with with three or four guys on the floor who are going to be first round draft picks. But so in other words, the guys they have now they they've got to do it that way.
Yes, and they have some raw There is some raw tality. Thats not to say, you know, this.
Is not a much a church league guy.
And this is not a team full of scrull No, no, no, no.
No no.
These are guys who almost all of them were obviously starters or a famous six man right and and all star guys at previous stop.
There's just probably there may not be a lottery pick on this team, and that's okay. But they fit what Mark Pope wants to do and he has a plan for them, and you saw it with several different plays. You saw it just I mean the big thing that
stood out for me. I mean there are a couple guys individually, but Amari Williams, first of all, even playing I didn't think he was gonna play, and you get I think second possession, he grabs a rebound, he as a seven foot or two sixty two, He brings it all the way up the floor and then puts a perfect little shovel pass to Otega for a dunk like wall like that. I don't care who you're playing against. That's impressive. So there was a lot to like and
you know, stuff to clean up. I think the rebounding needs to be better off. Satively, the only grabbed I think seven uh and eleven for Right State in that category. So that's something I know. Mark Pope is a six to ten guy when he was playing, probably doesn't love to see, but a lot to be excited about it.
You know what, though, I bet he did because he knows what he's true.
There's something. Yeah, you don't want it to all be sunst said.
I couldn't do that, but this kid could sure, And I flashed. For some of you who've watched the program for a while, I flashed on one of the Tubby Smith teams in the mid auts that had both Eric Daniels and Chuck Hayes on the front line. Eric was a low post guy and really good at it, but he had been one of those guys who was a guard for for his entire career and had a growth spurt so he became a big guy who could handle it.
Chuck Hayes was was a front liner. I mean, he was a tough guy.
But he had a good handle as well. So that particular team for most games had five guys on the floor who could lead the fast break and often did. Now I'm not saying a Mario Williams is going to do that all the time. Bill, I know you peak at the TV while you're producing the radio broadcast.
So, yeah, what struck you as.
Being I don't know if it was surprising or well pleasant, pleasant would be like the first five minutes of the game, just the way that they played with emotion and being intentional about what they were doing, whether it be the plays off of the very first thing or just I don't know, the extra pass.
That's just really refreshing to see. Surprises, Otega Oway.
Last year, to be fair, last year that team lived on the extra pass.
They did, they did well, Yeah, they were almost were not aggressive enough.
Yeah, but surprises otega Away. Yeah, I mean to the point where Kobe Braa may be the sixth man, not even in the starting lineup. He's been so good and I did not expect that at all. And the fact that the two Kentucky kids aren't going to see a lot of playing time, I don't think early on, because these guys are healthy, they're solid, and I agree with the approach that you've got to get them as much
playing time as possible together before Duke coming up. So I understood while the Kentucky guys didn't play that much. But sports talk radio talk, please, let's.
Not get into it. Somebody told me that's.
The news, is Richie. It already is going to start.
Yeah.
Yeah, well it shouldn't be. Yeah, I mean, anybody knows anything should realize, especially if you listen to Mark Pope who talks about this offense that you guys both mentioned. Uh, if it's just out there looking for.
The open man. Yeah, those those kids. It wouldn't matter if.
If, if the two Kentucky kids played. But it's complicated and it's like he has said, they're quick studies, but they're still learning.
And that's what you want, no doubt.
And you were getting the right combinations on the floor while the guys last year got the extra pass like you were saying, you know, we just didn't see the right guys on the floor together Antonio Reeves, Reed Shepherd, Rob Dillingham. They didn't play together and that was part of the problem because a guy like Justin Edwards was promised men and we had to go halfway through the year before the guy could score sixteen points in a game. Give me a break with the roster management over the
last five years. But just like you know, I don't know if you heard Mark Pope talking about like the frontal cortex and like the difference between.
The that was a little different than not machines, not robots. It was just it's a different way of looking at things.
Yeah, and it really is refreshing, is the word that we we've used too often, but at the same time also encouraging.
One of the I didn't mean no, you're fine after one of the exhibitions.
I was at the women's game on Monday, and then I listened to Jack and Tom for the and watched for the men's game. But one of the exhibitions, I'm in the media room. I don't remember what I was sitting next to, and I turned to him halfway to you know, and.
He's answering the question. He's answering their work question. The guy goes, yeah, I know, I said, I don't know what to do.
We have a weekly press conference with him.
And he shows up in a weekly press conference with cant Perry, but he didn't show the game, right, Chuck Martin or something special guest star fill in the blanket Arkansas.
Already they've had two pregame press conferences and they've been Kenny painting Chuck Martin. So they're they're and you know what it's eight eight in that game. First media time out, just saying, but.
In all fairness, after a while, we preferred Kenny because we got directed to the questions.
It's just refreshing all the way around. Look at the end of the day, is it going to be better or worse? Who knows, right, But it's something different. I think the fan base was ready for something different, and it's just it's a fun style of play. Again, you said it right off the top. It was an overmatched Right State team, There's no question about it. Bucknell played a really good game against Delaware and then they'll play
Southern Indiana. Maybe they're better than Right State. Who knows, but either way, you know, it's like Billy said, trying to figure out some of the right combinations for this game against Duke, because look, I if they lose the Duke game, it's not into the world. But that's how the fan base is there. They haven't want to. Kentucky hasn't won a Champions Classic since twenty nineteen. It's been a long time, and the fans are devastate. Yes, the Tyres MAXI game am aschief, So the fans are circling
this game as Pope's first big moment. Duke is a young team. They're really talented. They're kind of that raw talent and they have a ton of it, including the guy who's probably the number one picking next to your draft and Cooper Flag. But Kentucky's experience, they're not going to be afraid, and this fan basic expects to win and that some of that honeymoon phase will die down just a little if they get beat down.
There I will and that's just all part of natural.
Yeah. Yeah, again, not the end of the world.
Well, if you think they're going to live and die by the three, look at the first game of the year where they had eleven threes but still scored one hundred and three points, Like, that's not you know necessary, only shot in nine.
Threes in the first half.
That's what stood out to that's impressive. That's that's not just you know, three and looking at numbers. That's like a modern basketball. That's what Natoate's evolved to to get his team to the Final four. It wasn't just threes. Yeah, it wasn't just threes. He figured it out. So I think that's really it's reassuring.
That's a great point because Alabama firing up all those threes, got everybody excited, and then he lost early in the.
NSA tournament and oh, that's just a gimmick, you know. Well, they went back to work and realized we got to add some inside.
Game to our attack and did that and became a Final four team. And I don't know that this Kentucky team is as good as that Alabama team.
But we've talked already. What time you got there, Billy.
We're good on time.
No, just tell me what time it is.
Oh, it's eight thirteen.
Okay, we've talked thirteen minutes. We haven't mentioned defense.
And they were, well, yeah, But the reason I bring that is that's that's the bedrock of this team. And we've talked about this before. That's how Pope built this roster, beginning with defense. Now they haven't really needed shut down defense yet, they haven't needed possessions where man, we got to stop these guys. We need to stop here to either turn this thing around or go get you know, because they haven't. They haven't knew if they played, but when they played Duke, that will come into play.
So yeah, now we've seen it on display.
If you think about it, Butler destroying different point guards.
Oh, he's a monster. Yeah, Oteg is a really good defender. Yeah, and that's where I was talking about earlier. That's not fun to talk about now, but that's why I was talking about closing possessions. They have to improve that before well, hopefully starting.
They got bored in the second.
Yeah a little bit, Yeah, probably probably, But eleven offense, three bounds a lot, That's that's more than you want to go. Yeah, and they only got seven themselves. So you know, I think he's exactly paraphrasing here, but he said after the game that you know, we have to we haven't even reached gotten close to where we need to be rim protecting one. Right, they only blocked four shots and they didn't close as many possessions. So yeah, that's all part of the matter.
Is expect that in November, right.
I think they might have practic this defense to Skun.
Actually a cal had even talked about defense with Arkansas. Yet they're just done a whole different thing, team bonding.
Team bonding. They're losing right now.
Look at his roster, I mean, look at all the young guys. I mean, that's if you're going to recruit that way. That has to be the way it is.
But why worry about that? One of you mentioned Oway, and I have to admit that, having watched this team practice a couple of times, having watched Pro Day, having watched three games, he is to me the biggest surprise, because, yeah, I was watching him in practice and I wondered, right, where does this guy It was easy to figure out and pretty obvious with some of the other guys when I'm thinking, who is this guy?
What is he going to do? What does he bring? And the answer is everything?
Yeah, literally, that is the answers. I mean, well, I think it was eight for nine for He's been almost perfect from the floor counting the preseason games, but he's eight for nine the other night, three for three from three. He it's so funny because his three is not pretty, like his jump shot is not esthetically pleasing, but it works. He's making shots. He gets to the rim. He's really
physical and defensively. You know, we obviously the mont Butler gets a lot of the headlines rightfully so, but that guy as an on ball defender is probably the second best they've got. Yeah, so really impressed with him.
Gets to the rim. I mean yeah, you know, people wonder about that, but.
Now he's been a pleasant surprise and kind of like I alluded to earlier, I mean, you have an abundance of riches now at the two spot. Kobe Brea can come off the bench. I was a little worried where he would be, but then he came in and lit it lit it up when he came in.
So you talk about it pretty and yeah, how about that with Kobe too. I mean, yes, he hit four threes and that was pretty, but he had made three shots at the rim as well. Yeah, like he he talked after the game that that's been something he wanted to add to his bag over the offseason, and it came to fruition a little bit right away.
Now, if we can get Lamont to just make layups, I think we'll Yeah, and that.
Was yeah, and that was something that Pope said after the game. We talked about making last year they made some extra passes. They did in this game too, because they are very, very unselfish. And then Lamote misses two dunks instead of just putting in the bunnies like they tried for the home run plays a little I'm sure as part of that is first regular season game so close to credit to the fans. I mean, that was
pretty darn close to being full for Right State. So I'm sure there's some showing off they wanted to do, but yeah, they got to clean that up.
By the way, speaking of last year's team and Dylan am who I will maintain after twenty minutes on the floor, he shouldn't have played more than twenty last year because his productivity went.
Down a drink a little bit. But his debut in the NBA very impressive.
Now, you and I we have an unofficial bet, but I'm not sure what the stakes are. You've told me he'll be an immediate All Star and I said, no, he won't.
Well, he got in graded on draft night to a team that didn't need him to start, so unfortunately, he's not going to be the All Star this year.
Need to know how to bet? No, I understand that, but I think he'll be an exciting player. I just don't know.
My whole thing with him will be the same thing here. Who's he going to guard?
Yeah, because you got a guard in the NBA. I don't care what people say. But anyhow, in the playoffs, well yeah, but all year long, as well any night, but All Star Night.
Well, Reid's not playing much either right now, He's not, but you got to learn. But I think that's normal, just rookies not playing on the rookie.
They also, I mean, Houston had a really like I know, they ended up with a third pick, but I think they got that pick via trade. They ended up being a forty one to forty one team last year, so there's probably some better personnel than a typical.
You know, they're always there.
Ever since the Hackem days and the Yoming days, just seems like Houston is always one of those teams.
It's in the middle somewhere.
Yeah, you know, Yeah, they had a couple of really rough years after they traded Harden, but they you know, I think there was that might have been the net pick that was third that they got.
I'm not huge any team that takes Harden, you're committing to letting him handle the ball forty percent of the time, so you're probably going to be a five hundred team.
Right Well, there's a reason he hasn't, I don't. I think the only fine we'll see if ever even played and was the one who had Katie and Westbroog with him and Westbrook Crystal really good at that time.
You didn't enjoy the Yao Ming era, and well.
I did because Chuck Hayes was on that team. And when Yao Ming was injured, Chuck Hayes started at center for the Rockets, and they looked up his official size, which was like six four and a half. He was listed to six six, of course, and so many did the research. He was the shortest starting center in the history of the NBA. So they go from a seven to five guy.
To the shortest center ever and honestly it didn't hurt the team that much. So anyhow, that's just we.
Have Koreemed away from UK and over to the NBA. But there's been an inextricable link for so many years, you know, And it's interesting to me, is Mark Pope is already recruiting guys who have Kentucky right back in the top five, if not.
The top three.
Yeah, the number two right now and the recruiting clash number two behind you.
Yeah wow, I didn't realize.
Yeah, I know they got a big commitment just recently, right Lewis, Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, high four star guy. And then they're I think they're in a good spot to close with Kayleb Wilson, who's the number eight prospect in the country. So that's probably that's a four man class.
When you when you read about on your site and in your magazine and others, the lens Mark Pope has gone to to.
Recruit these kids.
You know, he's doing what every recruiter in America does, showing up at all these of it. But now he's got a K on his jacket and not a b YU. All right, so odds.
Are much better for him.
I would say, all right, when we come back, we will shift to football a little bit later.
Jeppikoro.
If he's got his phone on and we don't get our hopes up here in the control room anymore, do we, guys, we'll join us. We hope here on a state wide BBI Border to border Pikeville two Predicula. It is the big Blue and Sider Dickabe real Billy Rutled Jaron Gershawan. You heard comments earlier tonight from Mark Stoops. He sounds exhausted, doesn't he.
Yes, I've can't him. No, I can't either. I mean he's going well, one, he's going through a ton personally, I'm sure. And then the season has been terrible. Let's just call it what it is. It's not been a good season. They haven't scored more than twenty points in the SEC game. Uh, they lost all their SEC home games like that. That weighs on you. And I'm sure you know he coaches and he says all the time, Oh well, I don't read anything. He sees it. He
knows the fings, right, That's what I'm saying. He knows, He's not He's not oblivious.
Well, you'd have to be a fool, not right now.
And it weighs on these guys. They're humans. Given all the.
Success that that he's had, you know.
I mean, even when his teams early weren't winning, they were building right toward winning and then they got where they got, but then of late not so much. But I will freely and openly admit Billy and I talked about this before one on the air. I expected just because Kentucky was so beat up and having watched a couple of Tennessee games, and I think you felt the same way. Yeah, I went into that and I've covered many a game down in Knoxville, and it comes with
the job. Sometimes you've just got to cover games like that.
Not at home.
Man, just were go rough and I was amazed and how competitive Kentucky was. And yeah, they missed three field goals to Tennessee, but the defense stopped the drives and forced.
Them to kick field goals.
But I thought they're favored by seventeen, they're gonna win by more than that, and Kentucky made them.
Work for it.
I thought, yeah, well, you got to give them credit for their effort, There's no doubt about that. But there is also a difference between playing hard and playing well. And I don't think we've seen Kentucky play well in quite a while.
I mean, we looked at it enough.
We saw a three game stretch that we thought Kentucky could win all of them, yep, to set up a very good or very big Tennessee game.
They lost all of them.
Lost the game versus Tennessee because, as Aaron has pointed out, you know, three missed field goals, two drop touchdowns. Yeah, you know, I do want to give those guys credit for playing hard in a season that looks lost, But you have risen the standard to where moral victories like that isn't something that you should come away with.
I think one more more of that goes to the defense than the offense, because, like you said, the defense did force some field goal attempts. They were down to three dbs or cornerback I mean that's and really two because j Q was in an outoholl game, so you're down to two cornerbacks and Ryan Nichols making his first career start and then the seer Addison virtually his first career start.
I looked at there like what is he doing?
Yeah, you know, and Tennessee is the number two or three rushing attack in the country. And until the fourth quarter, like they held, they had a fumble, and they held Dylan Sampson, who's the best back in this league, and check most of the game until he you know, did Dylan Sampson things at the end offensively though, I'm with you, Billy, Like to me, I thought Rock vandergriff was playing okay until he got hurt. I'll give him that, I got. But like they scored eighteen points and they had It's
not like they didn't have opportunities. They got to the five yard line on the thing, driving the game zero points, they got the ball back down three in the fourth quarter after a really nice drive their drive before that that. You know, they scored the touchdown. Nothing like. It's not like they didn't have chances. And they had so many penalties that killed them. I want to say, all their penalties in this game, off the top of my head, were on offense. I can't think of one defensively.
And Stubs had a funny moment tonight. He was like, we it was like a timeout or a stoppager play. He's telling the guys we're gonna go on to yeah, and they come out and they fall start.
Can you go on to? Are you good with that? Dylan?
Right?
False? I'm not trying to call guys out, but he fall started on two strat plays. At one point. It was like, guys, it's just self destructing. I mean they had to hold in a false start back to back. The offense I can't give as much credit to, but the defense, Yeah, they were warriors in this game. I give him a lot of credit.
I was a little confused, I will say when they I honestly, I was good. Was going for the touchdown and we talked about it on the air. Look, you're in Knox, but you're trying to steal this game. You gotta try it that early in the game. Go for seven. I'm good with that. Wasn't crazy about the play call.
I have to be honest. Some of these things really passing me.
And there was a call in the second half where I think it might have been on fourth down where I can't exactly remember what. We can ask Jeff, he'll remember, but I kind of scratched my head. But you know, I'm not out there reading the defense. I don't know what's going on.
And I will say this, but the other thing to recall, uh huh, you lose Barry and Brown. I was That's where I was going. I will say this. I thought going in and early in this game, Bush Hampden was calling some pretty good things we've seen all year, and I think a big part of their game plan in this one was let's feed number seven. Yes, and he was playing well. He rose to that. He made tough catches. He had that fourteen on the play got hurt. Was on fourteen yard play that got him outside of their
own tent. Like it looked like it was he was going to have maybe his best game of the year.
That happened right in front of he fell on the ball man.
And you know they spread it out, you know, nine different receivers with a catch like there were some things to like. But again, when you self destruct and and you have your opportunities, I can't give you too much credit. But defense, I will I give credit for just not that's an easy one to lay an egg on, and they laid it. Look, the defense kind of gave up at the end of the floor. In the Auburn games. They did not in this one. They fought all four quarters.
I agree, gave up, if not emotionally, physically.
Everything it was just even outstanding.
All right.
Well, if he's not got his phone locked up in his briefcase, or may we may hear from Jeff maybe coming up after the break, or if he's not in a loud restaurant, let's me use that one night.
Yeah, thank you did. Yeah, border to order.
It is the big Blue insider joining us now. His phone was on, was in reach, mister Jeppikoro of the UK Sports Network, Jeffroy, you survived another trip to Knoxville, the place that you hate. You saw that color that you hate, the team that you hate.
It was a game, though, wasn't it.
It was, it was. It was a fun game, especially for the first half. I mean the you know, the the offense.
Looked competition better.
Their offense looked like a real offense. It didn't sputter and spit and make mistakes. And then after the first two drives it became the old offense again.
Interesting Stoops talk tonight about and you know he kicks himself all the time when he makes a decision and at backfires and he'll stay you know, on hindsight, I wish I had X y Z sure And now he says he wished he'd taken a three point well, of course, because he came away with nothing. But I've told these two guys, you like the call on and off the air to go for seven. I did too, because in a game like that, you got to take some shots, right.
Yeah. Look, here's the thing. You're not gonna win kicking field goals. Not against Tennessee. They can score, They could score in bunches. I thought the defense played fantastic. You've got to get sevens, and they did. But you know that it's tough to walk away from that with nothing. But then it in when you watch that play. If you go back and look at the play. There's a
guy open in the corner of the end zone. You just you know, I'm look, I hope and I said this during the game and after the game with you. I hope Brock goes out and throws her four hundred yards every game because you know, I'm for UK and UK doing great, but they have to get better at quarterback play. I mean, he had a guy open. He locked on dan Key, and you just you cannot do that in the sec. If you lock on, you're gonna get killed.
Think he is so good in a way, I can't blame any quarterback for making him my security blanket, you know what I mean.
But you gotta you gotta take what they give you, right, Yeah.
You know. And here's this is just an example. And it just because I just watched this this afternoon. I was rewatching some of the plays in the game and I came across the Bowlie interception and he's at the far left hash Mark Okay. When he takes the snap, they're in man across the board and they have a single high safety, so that means everybody's in man and you have one safety sitting in the center of the field.
When the snap comes, Bowley immediately looks to his right and that's where Dame Ke is running an out pattern. And there's there's a second receiver on the inside that's running a scene pattern. I mean he's going straight up the hill or straight up the middle of the field. The safety jumps that with the other guy, so the whole middles open. The backside inside receiver for Kentucky has got his man beat, he's got a step on him already, and the whole middles open. All Cutter has to do
is lay it out in the middle. Instead, he throws the ball forty five yards across the field on a ten yard out pattern against an SEC defensive back. That ain't gonna work, nope.
I you and I talked about this a little bit post game, but I want to get a little deeper into this because Aaron brought up the fact that they were so thin at defensive back, specifically cornerback. Tennessee made a living, as it often does, on two step two and a half, three step drop fire, a pass out to the wing and or whatever you want to call that,
and then they run for five, six, seven yards. And you know, the Kentucky corners did a nice job tackling, missed some tackles, but I just felt like they were playing soft all night. And I'm figuring, Jeff, they were just trying to protect those young dbs.
Is that the way you saw it?
Yeah? Yeah, Look, you got to Ryan Nichols out there, and this young man is what is he eighteen years old? And yeah, he's a true freshman. And the tennis you gotta remember this too. The tennis sheiver receivers are all like track stars, right, they all run four three four four forties. So you're scared to death for a double move. You're scared to death out I'm just taking off. So
you've got to give him a little bit of cushion. Now, if you have the skills of Andrew Phillips, if you have the skills of Maxwell Harriston, who's an upperclassman, you can get up there, jam him on the line and still get back in pass coverage. But to ask a freshman to try to do that, that's awful. Tough man, now, the only thing I said instead of being and again, I don't know what Bifano wants out of them. I don't know how he's trying to coach that. If he
wants the eight or ten yard cushion. To me, five is plenty because that's that's at top speed. That's two steps. So I think I could be if I'm a you know, a four to four corner that most of these guys are full four four five at worst. That's you know, two steps is enough for me to get to full speed and and you know, not lose my guy. So the eight yards is a little much. I would have
taken a step or two up. But again we're asking freshmen to do a whole lot in that situation, and again, they just don't want to get beat deep Jeff.
Going back to the offense side of the ball, Obviously you don't want to give them too much credit because they only scored eighteen points, But it seemed like early in the game they had a pretty good game plan going, and I think a big part of that was feed number seven. And he was actually barry on Brown, I thought on track with some of the plays he was making to have one of his better games of the year. Do you think him getting hurt changed kind of the trajectory.
I know that drive basically stalled as soon as he came off the field, and they really just didn't have the same game after that.
Yeah, because the other thing that he does, even if they're not going to him, he's the guy that takes the top off the defense, you know, he's the guy that loosens the safeties up. Without him in there, you basically have three guys and because Anthony Brown Stevens can has got some quickness to him, but the other three guys are more inside receivers, right, They're not the burners that are going to go downfield on you. So Tennessee's
able to come up a little bit. So those extra two steps by the safety is really helping the running game. Remember at the start of the game too, they ran it really well, right, I mean, will Cox looked good running the ball, just had a better scheme going early in the game. But again, once you get somebody banged up, that's one of the keys to your game. That really hurts me. Look at and again I'm not trying to
compare this, but look at the Bengals. They had their a lot of their offense wrapped around the kid from Alabama, right, the receiver. He doesn't show up the practice on Saturday, so they have to bench into the game and they have to change their whole game plan overnight. This happened once before the Bengals, before the Super Bowl. They had a lot riding on and his name just just me and I'm sorry about Higgins.
No no, no, no no.
In the Super Bowl, yes.
Yes, yes, I remember, the other guy was messing around with drugs.
Yeah yeah, lock himself in his room, and and uh yeah, and then and and Boomer and them just couldn't you know, I mean, overnight, it just kills you. And so to lose a player of actually if he's because you put him back on returns. It killed the kickoff game because there were a couple of kickoffs that there was a hole there. But you don't have that burner back there returning the kicks man, and that's a huge difference maker. Yeah, I think it affected the game a lot well.
Due to the injury of Brown, we got to see Macklin have some success late in this game, and Jeff, it's hard not to feel like we've wasted him this year.
I think that they've wasted a lot of receivers this year, not just him. I mean, you look at you, just look at it. This is what I've always heard from from guys when they get to the professional level, they say, you know how good a guy is. All I have to do is look at the back of his baseball card. It tells you everything on there. Right. You got a receiver coming off of a seventy three catch over a thousand yards, one of what eleven in the NCAA coming back,
and he's only caught a handful of passes. There's something wrong, you know, And obviously we know all the problems they're not They're not giving them time to go off. You know, your your primary receiver. The quarterbacks that they do have when they do have time, aren't real good at going through all of their progressions. So that makes it tough on a receiver. Man, he's out there trying every play and you'll still playing hard. And he made two great catches.
Actually the touchdown, I have the two point diversion work.
But maclin Ca.
Macln lines up in the slot, and I really thought, and yeah, what do I know, because I'm still waiting for a chance to play quarterback in a college game. But I would think, Jeff correct me, and I know you will if I'm wrong. That might be a more manageable pass for a young quarterback, and not a young quarterback, but a raw quarterback like like Vander GRIFFI just hasn't played that much with an O line.
That's a little questionable.
Is a slot receiver not more of a of a desirable target?
I guess it depends on what the defense is doing. Right.
Yes, yes, But the answer to your question is yes. You you see them across the board. Guys that are the inside receivers or the slot receivers are the ones that run the little six yard hook.
And they they don't get jammed around.
They come right because they're off the ball. They're off the line of scrimmage. So you see them go in motion. A lot of teams that I've always wondered this, and I've I've not asked yet why they don't do this, but a lot of teams, when you have a great receiver, will put and then so what the other team does
is they put their best defensive back on him. And so what you do is you put him in motion, you snap the ball right when he gets to like where the tight end is on the other side, and he just runs a little just a little up and out pattern and you just toss the ball to him. So he's got it in in, you know, and he's got some space to move right. They don't. Kentucky doesn't do that. I've always don't.
Know why with Wandale.
Yes, Wandell was a perfect example of that. And and again that excuse me. You see NFL teams do that a lot. And that's why because you but when want Dell was here, you had an NFL play college, you know, call it excuse me.
The plays Jeff. Obviously by week, this week always means a lot of young guys getting reps. Cutter Bowlie's probably playing a ton but going just looking ahead a little bit. You play Murray State this next game. Obviously there FCS one and eight. Do you consider with all the injuries, like going all in on a game where you play like a lot of young guys. I know, bush Hamden was asked about Cutter playing significantly in this game, and you said it was something they had to take a
look at. Like how would you if you're going into this game as Kentucky, how would you approach it? Knowing it's a game you should be able to handle your business? Did no matter what?
Well eron, There's two questions you have to ask the first one, and I think this is the most important one, Okay, is who is your quarterback going forward? Okay? Is Brock gonna be here next year? Okay? That's that's their big question you have. You really have to ask, right if he's your quarterback? Okay, and you're dead set on he's the guy that's gonna bring this team to glory next season. Right. They said he was gonna do it this year. He hasn't.
So do you stick with him or I want or do you say, Okay, I think it's time to put Cutter Bully in there. For two reasons. One, Rock's probably not gonna be here next year, so we want you to get some experience, and you're gonna get it against a level that you should be able to succeed at. And the one thing you don't want is to put Cutter in or have him start the game and he does what he did at Florida, throws a bad pass and gets intercepted. He goes two of eleven for seventeen yards.
You know you can't have that. But to me, if I'm the coach, look are you gonna beat this team? Yes? And then the next week, can you beat Texas? Possibly, but you got to play your best game of the year. Then can you beat Louisville again? Possibly, But you gotta play like you did against Ole miss Right. If you think you can do that, then you have to play to win this game. If you're going for the future, you put Cutter Bowley in there. I mean, that's that's the bottom line.
Speaking of young guys, Jeff, A lot of people scratch their heads when Bush Hampden in the postgame press conference admitted that it took UK a week or two too long to force Jamaran Willcox the ball. I mean, that's that's bizarre thing to say. But isn't he the guy that decides who gets the ball?
Jeff? What did you make of those come?
You know, it's it's it is kind of bizarre to hear that. I think it's one of the things where I think, and again I'm just thinking off the top of my head. Here, Chip Training was going to be their guy, right, I mean, he was the number one running back. And again I think all of us who saw the practices, the open practices, Chip can run. He's you know, he's a four to four, maybe even a little under four to four. He's built like you know, a Greek guy, so he can take the hits and stuff.
But he breaks his wrist a week before the season, So now you're like, okay, Demi. He loves Demi because Demi, to him is the Swiss army knife that he's always had. If you look back at some of the teams that he's coached, he's always had that running back, that Christian McCafferty, and there's only one of him, but that type of guy that you can put it a slot, you can put he can pick up on blitz pick up, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he can
run between the tackles. I think that they he really likes that kind of back in his offense. And then he's saying, okay, I got three freshmen. If you put Micell in there with those guys at Patterson and him and those guys were going to be emergency youth type guys. And then you're five days before the first game and now you're told your number one tailback's done. Demi's gonna be your number one guy. We got to get these
guys ready. And at that point, you gotta remember this chips learning a whole new offense, he wasn't here, right, so he's getting all the reps, and the reps he's not getting Demi's getting.
That's true.
So now you've got a fourth feed, and that's why you're hearing and we're in week what ten, and you're hearing him say, we're telling them before the game, these are the plays we're gonna use you on. See, so they're trying to put in his head from Patterson and Wilcox. You're gonna go in and this is what we're going to run.
Yeah.
Yeah, here's your little the six or seven plays we're gonna run with you in the game. Okay, go in there. And if you watch the game and you look at what ja Marian did, it's the you know, it's the same five six seven plays. They just did it two or three times with him and.
Got Jeff, it's a few minutes left. Put your hat on now as a sports director and talk to us a little bit about basketball.
It used to be you would sit.
Up in your in your seats behind me in the in the press box as a fan, and now you have to work these games, or you get to work these games. But Billionaireon and I were just talking about that was kind of fun to see a veteran team running offense.
Isn't it.
Yeah, it is. You can actually go and watch and see plays develop and see what they're trying to do. It's it's really interesting. And I'll tell you the thing that I like is to watch it on TV because you got guys that you know, know the game so much better than we do. And they're saying, well, look at they're doing, and you know, an X out and
they're doing you know, they're doing. Watch this. He's coming off a double screen and you're like, you can actually see that, and I'm not look, I'm not knocking Cali. He had a great run here and the lot. But Cal was more NBA style, where it's just give the air and the ball and get out of the way. Give this guy the ball, get out of the way, get you know, dump it into Anthony and everybody run to the other end to play defense. You know, it's just such a different style. It's fun. I enjoy it.
And I'll tell you what, guys, if you don't go see the women, you're missing out fun to watch it. It's gonna be yea.
Jeff, we were talking about some of the biggest surprises of the UK basketball team. It's been a lot of sunshine and rainbows. But yeah, I mean, see, but what would be the reason why Kentucky would not have a successful season this year?
You know, I disagreed with some people after I've seen them play a couple of times, they said they don't have any NBA talent. I think Jackson is a Jackson, Robinson is an NBA talent. I think Oway might be an NBA talent. I've got no problem with their big but yeah, I've got no problem with their bigs. You know, all three of them. I think, in the right situation, could could play in the NBA. So I you know, I think uh, I think they they said they have to figure out who the alpha is. I don't think
they figure that out yet. There has to be that guy that's that at the end of the game. Is the John wall is the Antoine Walker? Is the guy that said Kenny Walker. Jamal Mashman gives me, you know, it's the Larry Bird. They break the huddle and he and you know, the coaches diagramming this play and they break the huddle. And if you've ever seen anything on Larry Bird, he said, you want to win the damn game. Give me the ball and they throw it into him and he makes it.
You don't think Jackson Robinson. I mean, I'm not talking about that. He's got the attitude of bird. But in terms of who you want the ball to have, I got to think it's Jackson Robinson or Oway.
He can he is.
I like, I like him. He's he's got some thickness to him. Man, he can take those. You know, he looks like you know what you reminds me. He reminds me some of those Villanova guys. Remember they were always dick They look like running backs, you know.
Yeah, well, before we let you go, you worked the women's game, and I think you've got tomorrow night's game as well.
Tomorrow. Yeah. Uh.
And I had the same reaction. I was three or four seats down from you at the women's game and I'm watching them and I'm like, this is a different style of different and again not knocking kyra Elzy. Matthew Mitchell had a completely different style with that running and you know, mid court defense and all. But in terms of half court offense, plus a point guard who knows exactly what she's doing, yeah, that's a huge plus.
Well, Dick. The other thing is the athleticism is no. I mean there there may not be a woman that played on last year's team that could play five minutes for this team, Mattie maybe.
Yeah.
Other than that, I don't know. That's how much better the team is than last year. They just they weren't They really weren't that good last year. I mean they were at times were atrocious. This team has got great size. As you said, they got great. Here's the big thing that you just wished wouldn't have happened. The two girls that are missing the season because of the ACL and
the Achilles injury. Both of them would have been playing twenty five to already minutes the game at both of them being huge contributors, and that that's really hurt his depth in the back court.
Watch for Jeff of Coral here in lexing in on WTVQ and listen for him along with Tom Bleach as he calls the action of Wildcatch and Murray State A week from Saturday. Enjoy your weekend off, sir, and we'll see you down the road.
Thanks guys. Going to Pete Roses Celebrational Life Sunday.
Oh good for you.
Let us know how that goes. We'll talk about that on next Monday and we'll come back with more. A right, g BBI, just a minute, stay with us, our thanks again to Jeffe Coral for being with us. Got him with on the third ring. That was pretty good. The third Ring UK men's basketball Saturdays.
So I guess you're in here. You don't have your feet up watching football.
They do that on the bye week.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, well and you gotta work, come as do I.
Uh but uh yeah, poor Billy thought he'd be out of this, out of.
This cocoon here.
That's okay. It's not a bad gig.
No, it's not. Plus the basketball days are not as long as that's right.
This is very true all the way around.
And you can you can watch football wire.
I got twinkies over there, Dick, I got the games. I got all these big screen TVs.
That's right.
I'm talking to you.
Half the it's awesome.
Not there's no heavy lifting.
No, no, it's awesome. Not it's not a must Every time you say it ends up being great football. But it's not a musty slate just looking through. I mean, if Georgia Ole Miss, that's pretty good. You have Alabama LSU at night. That'll be after the Kentucky game, so not missing too much.
Lane Kevin said, there are two plays away.
From being undefeated Old Miss.
Should it just be a crappy I can think of one.
Kentucky played superbly that day. That's gonna do it. Thank you so much for joining us. It's a good night from Lexington.