Welcome to the Big Blue and Sider Dick Gabriel with you in a snowy, icy frigid Friday. And as we speak, as you know we pre record, we may be blanketed by snow again. But earlier today, before the snow fell, Cameron Mills made his way to the garage and you will hear that coming up the beginning of our conversation at the bottom of this hour. We'll talk some basketball, a lot of basketball before that, and of course we'll look ahead to Kentucky Mississippi State tomorrow night. That is
going to be a really tough game. This is a really good Mississippi State team in a tough place to play. Stark Bill can be quite unforgiving and we'll ask Cameron about that. But we'll get his thoughts on what happened with the Georgia game as well. I know we'll get into officiating. Cameron loses his mind sometimes when we talk about referees, but we always have fun talking to Cameron. We'll try to stay on point, get off on some major tangents at times, but we'll we'll have some fun.
But before we do that, and before we talk about the basketball, Wildcats, both men and women Women got a great win yesterday. Got to talk about that game last night. Penn State, Notre Dame and I had parenthetically, those were two teams that I really rooted for growing up. I mean, I grew up in Louisville, so you kept an eye on U of L. You kept an i on UK when Corso was a Louisville It was fun. They had some wins, but they were usually mediocre.
You know.
The best Johnny and Nitis ever did at U of L. I think was five and five. Anyhow, in Kentucky was really struggling under John Ray, So I rooted for Notre Dame. Growing up Catholic, I rooted it for Penn State. That was my East Coast team. They were really good under Joe Pa and I really liked USC OJ and the traditional uniforms and all that stuff. And now here they are Notre Dame in Penn State playing last night. I
got off Notre Dame. I wasn't a lou Holtz fan at all, and he had success there, but I just wasn't a fan. And you know, Penn State under Joe Pa, I felt bad, but he needed me fired and I said as much and wrote as much, but I just kind of lost interest. But here they were playing for a shot at the national championship, and I wound up rooting for Notre Dame.
Part of it is I really.
Like Marcus Freeman, but I'm just not a huge James Franklin fan either. And wouldn't you know, And by the way, what a great game, back and forth, back and forth. Penn State jumped out, looked like they were going to dominate. Notre Dame comes back at halftime, and I talk about the fact that quote unquote adjustments are always not always, but oftentimes overlooked and overblown, and this time Notre Dame adjusted whatever they were doing with their run game. It
wasn't working in the first half. It worked beautifully in the second half. But one of the key elements of the game, and the TV announcers Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy, they made a great point of it before, during, and
after the game. Then Notre Dame lost its starting quarterback for a while, they thought he might have a concussion, and their back came in and played extremely well, and in fact, he was going to be the starter till Riley larn came through the portal from duke and won the starting job, but the backup came in and moved at the end of the half Notre Dame to a field goal and made a ten to three and that ended up being huge, and Notre Dame wins on a forty one yard field goal at the end of the game.
And by the way, Mitch Jeter, the kicker, was hurt much of the year and their kicking game was the worst in America, and ironically enough, a field goal sends them to the championship game. But Notre Dame played so well. Penn State made the crucial turnover late. Their quarterback in the final minute threw a pick. He threw late over
the middle, and that's one of the mantras. McElroy beat it to death on the broadcast, and our own Jeppecoro on the UK Radio Network constantly reminds us that with an exception or two, because the net's only at the quarterback and someone make it work, never throw late over the middle because the defense will make you pay. And it cost Penn State the game. Notre Dame's kid made an incredible diving interception and the Irish moved the ball
into field goal range and won it. But that game might have been decided, if you believe in such things. Earlier in the week, Notre Dame's coach.
Freeman I mentioned, kind of.
Felt disrespected by James Franklin apparently at the final news conference before kickoff and both teams were present, kind of
a media gathering photo op, that kind of stuff. James Franklin kind of playfully asked Freeman how old he was, and then he complimented his hairline, and evidently that didn't set well with Freeman, Who's I think thirty nine today happy birthday, And the players were really ticked off about it, and one of their players, Xavier Watts, said coach was angry, said he was angry with the whole press conference thing. I said all the anger went toward us, and that
anger went onto the field. So maybe that played a part. I don't know, but they're one of their star players, they're running back. Jeremiah Love, who played hurt, played with a brace on his knee, said, I'm not going to speak on their head coach. We felt like their team didn't really respect us. We wanted to come into this game make a statement. Be the aggressors dominate them physically. That's the message to be physical and play violent the whole game. Well they didn't. They only did in the
second half, but that was enough. They wanted twenty seven to twenty four. Now they play the winner of tonight's game, Texas out of the SEC and Ohio State. I do like Ohio State in that one, but if it's anything like a last night's game, it's.
Going to be a good one. And I urge you to keep an eye on it.
By the way, all that' stuff, ugh that Jeremiah Love was saying, playing with a chip on the shoulder, that's sound familiar. The best Mark Stoops teams played that way. One other football note, Carson Beck says he will come back. He's not going to go to the NFL Draft, but
he may not go back to Georgia. Pete Thamil of ESPN is reporting that Miami is the favorite right now to lead to land Carson Beck because his girlfriend, Hannah Cavender plays for the Miami basketball team, one of the Cavender twins, very attractive blondes who are hot property when it comes to nil dollars, and Carson Beck may be down in Coral Gables when the season begins next year. So stay tuned on that. Mark Pope and Wildcats are already in Starkfield. They got the game plan in place
and they have been working on fixing things. Of course, somebody pointed out in the news conference yesterday that all three Kentucky losses were similar in the way the Wildcats were eating, you know, that they were having a hard time with physicality, that they weren't being consistent with the way they attacked. They kind of got away from what they were supposed to be doing.
And Pope agreed that.
The fact that they were also the losses were consistent, meant that it made it a little bit easier for the coaching staff to work on fixing things.
Well, we love trends as coaches, right, You love trends because trends are easy to attack, you know, And there have been some trends in the three losses. But the trends get a little bit more murky when you include the wins, because some of the same things have happened in the winds, right, So so that's when it gets really interesting. But yes, for sure, we love trends. I love all the trends, except for any trend that has to do with els, right, so but you know that's
what you do. Like we're patterned seekers. You want to go find patterns. You want to go things that wear their heads more than once because those are easy to they're more tangible, and they're more easy to address for sure, like because it gives you something that's, like I said, this tangible that you can really focus on.
Well also said there were good things of course that they need to hang on too, that they notice in terms of trends. But yeah, you got to clean things up and we'll see how well they do it. You'll hear it tomorrow night right here, eight thirty tip off seven o'clock for UK Network, covered six o'clock for a KSR local coverage. So we'll have it for you with Tom and Jack and Cameron and Dave who and Cameron of course will join us coming up at the bottom of the hour. A note from UK Football which I
mentioned earlier. Kentucky getting interest or at least is interested in a tight end from Montana State who has an offer from the Wildcats. Rohan Jones six ' three, two thirty five. His team played for an FCS national championship but lost to North Dakota State. Again Montana State won the title forty years ago and was fifteen and oho going into the game. North Dakota State was thirteen and
two but won its tenth national championship. Montana State has lost each of the last six games against North Dakota State, all in the SCS playoffs since twenty to ten, and
the final was thirty five to thirty two. Despite the fact that Montana State quarterback Tommy Malott, who was the Walter Payton Award winner as the best offensive player in the country at the FCS level, ran for one hundred and thirty five yards on fourteen carries and hit on thirteen to twenty four passing for one ninety five and two touchdowns, but they came up short, and now the Wildcats are interested in a Montana State tight end even though they got some talent at that position.
Well.
Here from Kenny Brooks next year on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Moon Sider coming up in just a few minutes. Cameron Mills of the UK Radio Network two time national champion joined us here in the garage as he often does, to talk about not just the Wildcats, but his former teammate Mark Pope, now the head coach, as you will know, and we'll talk about what he has seen so far. But we do get
off topic. A warning if you've never heard one of our shows, welcome with Cameron and yours truly, but we.
Often get off on some tangents.
I don't think that'll happen much today because we have so much to discuss. So that's coming up in just a few minutes, starting at the bottom of the hour. The he'lp you with us till the end of the show. But we always have a lot of fun with Cameron and one of the things we will talk about is
UK women's basketball man Kenny Brooks. He's got this team roll in fourteen and one, three and zero thanks to the win over Florida in conference play on the road last night, and if you heard it right here on six thirty WLAP, as Darren Hedrick called it, Wildcats raced off to lead the gru too as big as twenty
four points. It got whittled down to about fourteen midway through the second half, but Kentucky hung on, didn't really hang on, just sort of re exerted itself and won seventy one to fifty five, and just another tremendous effort by Georgia Amore. She had eighteen points. She did have six turnovers, but four steals four assists. Kentucky had thirteen steals, forced a total of twenty turnovers by the Gators. Thirteen of them were Kentucky steals, and Kentucky points off turnovers
twenty five to just seven for the Gators. Kentucky did turn it over thirteen times, as I said, anymore had almost half of those, but Florida only capitalized minimally with just the seven points. So in case you're wondering, by the way, because I was, Yeah, it's the SEC. Yeah, it's tough, and the schedule's tough. Next up for the UK women is Sunday at Historic Memorial Coliseum, three o'clock taking on Auburn. It will be on the SEC network, but we urge you to tune in Darren two forty
five pregame three o'clock tip. But then after that they go to Georgia to A and M before they come back with Arkansas Alabama. Skip ahead to the end of the schedule. That's what you're wondering about. I've got to think listen to the last three games for Kenny Brooks's team in the SEC Sunday, February twenty third, LSU here
in Lexington, Tennessee here in Lexington. That's the following Thursday, and then on Sunday the last game of the year South Carolina, which has lost some games, but still by then,
you know it's going to be playing its best. So the last three games and you know what, that's murderer's row, but it honestly it's probably for the best because, yeah, they're going to be the three toughest games, at least theoretically for the UK women, But they come at the end of the year and just think if they can pull off at least one win, how they'll position themselves for a run through the SEC and the NCA tournament. It's going to be interesting. And again, a couple of
those games are in electioningon. And believe it or not, there was a good Kentucky crowd in.
Gainesville last night. You might have been able to hear it if you watched or listened. I did both.
Watched and then I pulled up Daron synced it up with the iHeart app and Kenny Brooks said the crowd definitely helped his team we heard him.
And they gave us a little bit of a boost.
Now it wasn't our best performance, but we got some juice from them. And even when Florida, you know, made a run, we were were.
Aided by.
Obviously weather in the storm, but also because you know, we had a big continuency here supporting it.
So, you know, that's our goal.
You know, Kentucky is, you know, a basketball state, and obviously there's a lot of history on the other side. We want to do our best to create some history on our side so people can be excited about it.
So it helped Kentucky went on the road. Anytime you went on the road anywhere any sport, it's big. And think about this too. With the team that he had to cobble together almost from scratch, a lot like Mark Pope, Kenny Brooks and his players are experiencing the Southeastern Conference for the first time, especially on the road. Of course, he came from the ACC he knew that league inside out, had a lot of success there, took Virginia Tech to
the Final four at one point. But now he's kind of starting over when he's learning, you know, some of the coaches of course, either he's played against them, knows.
Them by rep or whatever. But when you go.
On on the road, I mean, in a minute's first time he coached the team in Gainesville. That's pretty much the case throughout the Southeastern Conference.
Obviously.
Every time we go to a venue, I'm probably there for the first time. Its first time I've ever been to the University of Florida, and you know, we're just we're just trying to get used to it. You know, I think Georgia alluded to it a few games back, which we're almost naive. We're just okay, hey, let's go into this venue, and if we just focus on ourselves,
then we focus on ourselves. It's not something that this group is doing a really good job of and just trying to continue to get better and better and better. That's the main That's the main thing. Make the main thing the main thing. But it's a She'll probably attest to this. It's it's a physical league.
Just like a SEC men's basketball.
Women's basketball is so much more physical now than it has ever been, and it is probably played at a higher level and that's ever been played. Because the sport is growing and the coaching is getting better, the facilities are getting better, so it's a pretty tough order to try to work your way up. Kentucky's done it before in the SEC. I'm talking about when Matthew Mitchell was
the head coach. Yeah, the Cats won an SEC tournament championship under kyra Elzi won an SEC title back in the day with Valerie still but this league now is so much more athletic than it used to be. But this is an athletic Kentucky team that can make shots, has a lot of size, but quite frankly, it's not as physically strong I don't think as some of these other SEC teams I've seen on TV and women's basketball.
But it's going to be interesting as this Kentucky team gets better and better under a pretty good coach and Kenny Brooks, and then finishes up with a run of what are going to be some really really interesting games. And by then, of course, those teams will have Kentucky scouted and figured out and vice versa. You know, the Kenny Brooks and his staff will have, you know, a huge mouth of information and video on those teams. So it's going to be fun. And the way this Kentucky
team behind Georgia Amore is getting it done. But Amelia Hassett Georgia Amore was talking. She was interviewed on television after the game, and she said Amelia might be the biggest surprise. She only had five points, but five rebounds and a couple of assists yesterday in thirty one minutes. But Amore said, here, Amelia comes from junior college and she is starting for Kentucky and playing really, really well.
And Dejah Lawrence four of eight from beyond Him Heart by the Arc, had a huge three pointer down the stretch. And of course Clara Strack, who came over from Tech at twelve points and eight rebounds, six foot five and four assists.
By the way, how about that.
Brought the ball up the floor at one point. Now, not a lot of depth. Two Kentucky's best players are injured out for the year, so a lot of minutes played by a very few. But they've just got to figure it out as they go along. But one final note on that game, twenty four point lead, almost got it, well, I will say almost got away, but Florida made a run and Aymore said later we knew they were going
to because that's what they do. Kenny Brooks never called time, and I know a lot of fans out there they get.
So narrow, aren't you calling time out?
Kenny Brooks made it a point to say I didn't call time because I feel like when the other teams make it a run like that, we need to learn how to figure it out. The players on the floor need to learn how to figure it out on their own and stop it. And Kentucky did that. Wildcats got back into their stuff offensively, got a better shot and hit it and stopped the Florida run and rebuilt the lead.
I thought that was pretty interesting. That's something we'll talk about with Cam, as well as a lot of other stuff on the other side of the break. Here on the Big Bloon Sider six thirty Welcome back to the Big Blue and Sider. We are here in the garage. As we said with Cameron Mills, who we thought if there was snow, a lot of snow, it's going to be here. Well, probably falling as we speak, but we pre record. Uh, it was going to be a zoom call. But no, the streak is alive.
Here is cameronage even zoom. I mean it's better than just on the phone, but this is just better. I mean you and I. It's like doing zoom calls for business or if I'm there for I mean when I when I work from the healthcare company, I work for LC Group. I travel, thank you, try I travel well. I mean locally, it's care Tender's Home Health, Lifeline Home Health, and Commonwealth Home Health. If everybody's interested, I should have
a sound effect ready for that. Yeah, we actually yeah, we actually have four agencies here.
Uh.
They can say that again.
Uh, Lifeline home Health, care Tender's Home Health, Commonwealth Home Health. Thank you, thank you very much, or I could.
Have gone yep.
As right now, we're taking care of a very a very a very famous local person. But I'm you know, hippolos. I'm not allowed to tell you who, but.
Checked in there. I'll get it out.
Yes, I'll tell you checked in ut because it's it's it's it's it's known this person is uh is recovering, but very proud to be taking care of him or her good.
But here you are.
Yes.
Uh.
And before we go one nano second further, you were telling me right before we began to record.
Yeah, I don't think I knew this.
I'm surprised I'm hurt you.
We were talking about the media, but you didn't know how you and I are now good friends. But yes, I was covering your team. Obviously.
I only knew you as a UK player.
Right, and I only knew you all as the enemy. That's right, Yeah, as it should be, totally wrong, as it should be. You all asked all these questions that are none of your business. You take it out of the world of sports. Question is rude?
What is it going to take to be George? What I mean?
That's Obie Braya're gonna play tonight?
How's that you're all's business because we're covering the team anyway? Apparently, And I swear to you, I don't remember this all that. It was a long time ago.
Yeah, your parents, uh huh?
After you all won the ninety eight champion.
The week after what the week after my scene, the week after my career was over at the University Kentucky. My parents, unbeknownst to me at the time, they did not check with me. They did not ask me. They just they and and I look back on this not only with great fondness, but just thinking, God, leave my parents were smart and classy, because this is just one of that, because I've been told by several members of the local media that it was one that they've never
had it happen before. Don't know if it's ever happened again, but it was one of the is one of the sweetest, classiest things they've ever had. Anybody ever to do. So my parents sent an enormous fruit basket to the Herald Leader, to Channel thirty six, Channel twenty seven, Channel eighteen. Don't know fifty six was around then, were they ninety eight? Okay,
so probably would have sent one. I don't know if they were doing new and I can't remember, but any local media probably sent one to LAP, probably sent one to the other radio stations. But uh yeah, just in a big fruit basket. And if you want, if I'll tell you the person who remembers this the most is Ryan Lemon. Ryan Lemon reminds me of it all the light teen back then. Yes, he was at Channel eighteen. I don't see.
I don't think I even knew that we were.
Well, it was in part for you. There were pairs in there specifically picked out for you.
Wow.
But anyway, it was just a thank you, and I think the note basically said thank you for all the kind coverage of our son over the last really eight years because of you know, when I was at high school Drumbar and when I found that out, I was just like well, I mean, like well done. Like I mean, it was like because I didn't know, and I think I didn't know for like a year or so. I honestly feel like I honestly feel like Ryan Lemon may have been the person to tell me, like ten years later.
You were you good with it when you found out? Or were you embarrassed? Oh?
No, I was, Oh I was. I was, well, I'm I'm certainly great with it now. I assume I was great with it then because I just thought what a smart thing to do. I mean, because look good or bad coverage, Coverage is coverage, and you guys for them for them. I mean, honestly, I can't think of any anytime you weren't. But I mean I I personally don't think I ever had any what I would you know, truly negative coverage or anything like that.
I mean, I think what you were SA significant. I mean, with all due respect.
I can't wait a minute landscape. First of all, I was not when I was a dunbar no, no, no, at Dunbar you were. Yes, I will I will agree that I was significant for two and a half years exactly.
But what I was getting to was when you suddenly had your breakout.
Moments exploded onto the scene.
You absolutely did, Plus you also amplified that by doing what what.
Do you mean?
Remember?
No, what you were not only making as well your play on the court. But there was a moment there and I think it might have been during the ninety eighth season.
Yeah, when you.
Kind of got into the fans.
A little oh yeah, that was ninety eight. That was that was a good copy for about four days. Well but what you yes, and we and we I'll talk about that because that was I don't remember.
We were in the back hallway at the coliseum post practice or something.
That was the day after I did that. Let me let me tell you this story. Then we'll get into that one.
So at some point, folks, we're going to talk about this show.
I doubt it. I doubt it. That's that's usually not
what happens when you and I get together. But one of the smart things I did, and one of the one of the good I mean, even when I was insignificant as a player, I was not insignificant as a sound bite, true because and I always found it funny, though wonderful, that we would have just gotten done playing a game that I did not even play it, and I would have, you know, I wouldn't have the throng of all of the media around my chair asking me questions,
but I would still have people, you know, I'd still be put on camera, people asking because and this is no offense to my teammates, and certainly not even all of them, but some of them struggled in front of the microphone, especially freshman year. I've never struggled in front of a microphone. At least I've struggled to be concise. I've struggled to get my point across. Sometimes I have
not struggled to keep the words flowing. And for you all, especially in TV, I mean, you know, the more I talk, the more I mean, the less you all had to work.
So I had people around me all the time and then and so that that was a good thing, and that, honestly is one of the things that kind of encouraged me to keep doing media when I got done playing and then adopt you as my media mentor, which I mentioned several times, and then yeah, So in ninety eight we were it was against Tennessee at home, and I think that I don't know what the date was, see I don't I'm not sure exactly what the date was,
but I think it was after our last loss. So it was after the Old Miss game of Valentine's Day nineteen ninety eight, and it was one of these things where, Okay, we've we as a team are now sold out. So I mean we we are, we are in on Tubby
Smith and what we need to do as a team. Now, I didn't know we were going to go undefeated the rest of the year, but what I did know is there had been a completely active commitment that we had made to a do guys, this is it and for guys like Alan Netwards and Jeff Shepherd and I this was it. Yeah. And then as it turned out, for nause Mohammad as well, who wound up going to the NBA after that. So it was it was we had
sold out. And so we're playing Tennessee at home. We've got a I'm gonna guess I could be dead wrong on this, but I don't know, a ten point lead or something, and or maybe it's close to that, maybe it's four or five. Maybe I don't know, but I'm sitting on the bench. I'm standing on the bench. And again, this is when I was playing, so I was in and out of the game, but I'm over on the bench.
And this was when the student section was directly behind us, right, and then they kind of went up on that on that corner piece, and then all the way up to the upp arena. The eruption zone did not exist yet, and I just I'm sitting there and I'm like, it is too quiet in here. And I know Rupp has that that reputation sometimes, but I was finished with it
at that point. I was done. It looked if, yes, if we're gonna sell out and put our blood, sweat and tears on this court, then you'll have better put your blood, sweat and tears up there in that crowd. And if you're not going to, then stop complaining about us winning and losing games. And so I and I and I struggled with when I was going to do this. I remember sitting on the bench like, all right, am I gonna do this because I feel like I need to do this. Yeah, oh yeah, Oh no, no, no,
it was. I thought about it for a good thirty in it thirty seconds to a minute, and then I decided, I'm I'm going for it. So I stood up on the chair on the bench. Immediately was worried about is that chair gonna fold in? And I'm gonna fall? Because again, last thing you wanna do is trip reparena.
How did you get hurt?
Yeall, well, I was gonna yell at a bunch of fans, which is always a smart thing to do. But anyway, so yeah, I stood up on the on the stands. I I I turned around, I dressed the students, and I said something in fact as loud as I could, because it's it's still repperena, twenty four thousand people in there. Hey y'all make some freaking noise. And I did, I did say freaking yeah. Uh well, I mean I wasn't
gonna I was gonna yell the other word. And and even though I could use the occasionally, I usually didn't. And I remember one student, one student yelled back at me, or yelled yelled at everyone else, that's right. And then the student section kind of like slowly grew in in in in excited and the next day is what you're referring to, and the world call seem for media day
because we won that game. I was, I mean, I had everybody around me because apparently that was a big deal, right, And so I was asked by everyone like it may have been even been you one of them. Do you regret what you said? And I said no, And then I went back into my tirade, like, don't come to the games to be quiet. If you want us to give all we have, then you give.
All you have.
This is a team, I mean, and Mark Pope made it clear. This is our team, not the team's team, not Mark's team, not this is all of our teams.
So not back then Pope made Oh.
Yeah, he made he made it. H You're right, he made David hiding the treft parmers. So you know what, if this is all of our team and you expect us to give one hundred and ten percent, then you better if freaking give one hundred and ten percent when you come to rupt.
I don't think you've ever told me that complete story. But I'm honored to have been a part of it. I'm honored to have camera Mills here in the garage We're going to talk about Pope and the team when we come back here in the Big Bloon Sider six thirty w LP.
Welcome back to the Big Bloon Sider.
Camera Mills is here in the garage, and we've been talking about Rapperina of the fans back when he was playing, and are are fans better now the same?
I don't know from that perspective, because the thing is is that and we've seen it this year. There are sometimes the fans come in for a church service. Yeah, right, and again not all of them. I mean I can always go to my upper deckers. My upper deckers, they're nuts because again they don't have the greatest seats in the house. A lot of them. Man, this is the only game they've ever come to, they'll ever gets come to. They'll sit up there and go crazy.
But you know what's unfortunate about that is because of the height of the of the roof. Yeah, most of the most of the noise, but a great deal of that noise is lost.
If you're downstairs.
Yeah, I mean everything rises, so you know there there are fourteen Yeah, when it was twenty four thousan ten thousand downstairs, fourteen thousand rushstairs. Yes, so there's more noise upstairs, but some of it doesn't make it down to the floor.
Yeah, and a lot of times the noise upstairs is louder, but I never thought of it that way. It never makes it down. But I do think overall the upper deck or the upper arena tends to be a little
more raucous. Yeah, yeah, than the lower. But I'll tell you one thing that that UK not only that the UK fans, particularly of basketball fans at Rupperena, that I noticed as a kid attending games, that I noticed as a player attending games, and I noticed at the Florida game the other day, and it was a That's what I want to talk about because it was a reminder to me of you know what, they may not always, they may not always give the energy that as a player you want them to, all of them, but what
they do do and this is this is why I have no problem saying they're the smartest basketball fans in the country because what they understand and they have understood again since I was a kid. They understood when I played, and they understand even today. During that Florida game, as an example, Florida went up eleven quick, because we are a team that just for whatever reason cannot get off
to quick starts. And I'm standing in the corner with your son mocking me, and every time he walks by, and I'm noticing again I am frustrated by the fact that Da gon it. You know, I just like to have fans that we're down eleven, and I'm like, here we go. And then I'm reminding myself that we've come back several times. Why couldn't we come back here? And
of course we came back within like three minutes. I mean, but what the fans do is when we go on a stretch, right, we talked about the runs in the Florida game sixteen ten and oh. When we go on the opposite kind of stretcher the other team goes on a run, That's when our fans will get loud. They'll get loud when we when they see some spectacular we go on a sixteen in oh run. That's as loud
as rue we'll get. But they will also when Florida comes down and hits, you know, they go on a six to zero nine oh run, Our fans respond and instead of booing, which they have rarely rarely done. Instead of booing. That's when they stand up and start saying, all right, let's got And it's not one person, it's it's thousands of them.
They trying to help.
Yes, but they're the only one. I mean, as many places as I went to on the road and play, they're the only place I've ever seen that happen. Only place I've ever seen that happen. That's why people talk about all the time, what do you want to do when you're on the road. You want to immediately quiet that opposite you know, quiet that crowd because you can
quiet them. Oh yeah, you can't quiet them at rup because they're smart enough to know that what our team needs now is not us booing them or sitting on our hands now. Our team needs us behind them. And as much criticism as rep gets for being loud enough for you know, the the old fuddy duds with all the money, you know, not cheering hard enough and getting you know, being too low. And it's not like Cameron Indoor.
All of our fans understand that, you know what, when our team is struggling where we need, we need to stand up and start encouraging them then. And I have always thought that as the best one of the one of, if not the best things about BBN.
I thought the Florida crowd was one of the best in a long time. Well it was palpable, man. I mean the moment you.
Think about that Kenzagga game. If that Gonzaga game wow had been at Rough. Yeah, yeah, if that Duke game had been at Rough, which it should have been, instead of in Atlanta. So stupid.
I'm good with the home at home? No, I get it.
Why wouldn't anyone be good that look home. You have a huge game at home that all the home fans get excited about, and then you have to go into Cameron Indoor.
The answer to all your questions is money.
I know the reason. I'm not interested in the money. I'm interested in banners and the tougher you you make a team tougher about putting them.
Mary's excuses basically about signing up for all these neutral set games, which was a recruiting ploy, which I understand.
Why is that recruiting because you.
Can tell kids we're gonna play Duke in Atlanta national television.
We're gonna play Duke at Cameron Indoor on national television.
That ain't gonna happen. I'm sorry, what that ain't gonna happen? Why?
Because they don't agree to home and homes like that?
Because coaches, because coaches don't, Cow didn't and Mark won't either, becauh.
Why wouldn't he go back to Bloomington You might lose?
We're not. We did not go to Bloomington because we might lose. No, No, we didn't go to Bloomington because they almost hurt people.
Oh that was an that was one, absolutely not what. No, No, I even got storm. I remember that.
I know that's why we didn't go back to Bloomington.
No, I don't buy that.
What are you talking about?
I don't buy that.
That is precisely why you think Cal didn't go back to Bloomington because we lost. So I guess we're I guess then we'll never go on another road game again. And Cal never went on. Cal never went on any road games after that.
How many home and homes?
Not nearly enough, but he did zero non conference home and home play schedule the Gonzaga you.
Gotta play, Well, that was a special circumstance.
Okay, but that's one. Yeah, And there were no other home and homes.
I can't think of any right off the top of it. There might have been.
Sighted and understanding.
So I understand that coaches don't like to schedule games where there's a pretty good chance they're.
Gonna lose, which is dumb. Yeah, I agree, that is absolutely.
Do you know what the hell of it is about that game?
And I guarantee you this, Mark, Mark might have re sent up for the Chase Bank State Farm whatever it is, he might have re sent up for it, But that is because of money. But you get better, and Mark this, You get better putting your team in hostile environments early and even to give you this, oh well, we wanna, we wanna, we want, we want tournament like atmosphere, good think, go to Cameron Indoor, go to the Dean. Don't I agree? Put your team where everybody hates them and makes them respond.
Couldn't agree more.
And that game they lost in Bloomington motivated those kids for the rest of.
The years, exactly.
And they told us that they kept going back to that. Yeah, And part of that was ESPN had that game and that shot by Christian Watford was the greatest clip of videos ESPN owned, which they used to promote their college basketball covers, which was only smart so they sure saw it around the.
Clock, which again I mean back to the point. It's why you don't talk trash before a game. It's why you don't talk trash during a game. It's why you don't talk trash after a game. You do not give your opponent any reason to hate you and to be refocused when they play you again, or to take what you did to them out on the rest of college basketball.
You know what, I'll put some.
Of this on our my media brethren, we go to the break. You know, I would be okay with a home and home Duke Kentucky or whatever. Say now, let me finish, because I would. I would not hold it against the coach if they lost the game.
On the road.
More so, Yeah, but people will I mean when people talk about wanting to see all these great football games by the Wildcats, are you okay? Are you willing to accept that Kentucky might lose at least half of those games?
No? Big picture? You know, in the moment, sure, that's fine. Big picture, Now.
Look at the guys overall record, Look at all the games he's lost. Can't win this game, can't win that game. It's a measurement of failure that coaches try to distance.
Them, which is short sighted. And see, I.
Couldn't agree more. For once we agree, we got to get to the break. More from Cameron Mills. In just a minute, we'll here from Mark Pope, and we're gonna take Cameron back down memory lane. He's already been down there once. Here in the garage on six thirty wag Welcome back to the Big Blue Sider I renumber two. We're here in the garage with Cameron Mills. Of course we've been talking about everything but this year's team.
That's true. We've kind of talked about it.
We kind of talked about this year's team, but we have so much other ground to cover.
Are you reaching for your phone?
I'm reaching for my glasses and this is look look where I am in my life?
Oh reading glasses all right, Welcome to my world.
Man, I could I told you I could not believe how badly I wasn't seeing until I could see.
All right. There's a parable somewhere in that.
I think I actually, I think there's actually a Bible verse that says something to that effect. Uh, maybe a China Chinese proverb.
Probably both Mark Pope talked to the media yesterday about mostly the Georgia game, but we're going to talk a little bit here about Mississippi State because he was asked about, uh, what he knows about the Bulldogs that.
Talked about that earlier.
But I asked him, what do you remember about going to Starkville back when he was a teammate of Camera Mills.
Here's what he had to say.
I actually remember very little. I remember Eric Dan Pierre, who was a you know, a terrific pro and a trific college player. And uh, I remember who was the really exploed most of his names gave me right now, really Dante Jones. Of course I remember Dante Jones. I remember going to Starkville and having a big, winning, really physical game, and you know, you know, I remember the vibe in the gym was electric like he usually is there.
And I remember high level competition. You know, it was fun that year both of us were in the final four.
And then, of course things worked out for the Wildcats in the final four, not so much for Mississippi's date with lost the Syracuse, But prior to that, Mississippi State handed the Wildcats a loss in the SEC Tournament Championship game, and I reminded Mark that Dante Jones had nine turnovers and the loss in Starkville, and then Pope jumped in.
But then he blew us up in the SEC Championship. Man, he lost his mind, him and everybody else on the team. And I mean we had walk ons making one foot runners, you know, from seventeen feet. That's why this game is so beautiful. And it is beautiful.
And of course he can say that now because all's well, that ended well for that Kentucky team. But like so many coaches, he admits and players too. I guess we'll cameraon to talk about this in a moment, but he remembers that loss to Mississippi State. The Starkville win was hazy, not that lost in the tournament.
When you do it right, when you're built the right way, you know, I forcibly went to trying to remember our game at Mississippi State, which I remember somewhat that we won, but like all the stories I tell are from the SEC Championship when we lost to Mississippi State. And that's how you build a season, like that's what it is. And it's the same with fans, like you know, our run in ninety six in the n SIVY Tournament was probably more specially to our fans because we've been through
it together. Also, Like if you ask him about that season, I remember a lot of games, but I really remember you masked that game of the season. I tell you of details from that. And it's it's it's these hard moments to make you grow too. And and that's I'm
telling you. It's it's why basketball is special. And so when you can take the hard moments and turn them into something great, and you can take the great moments and continue along with them, that's when you have a That's when you're on a journey that you do in a locker room and with your fan base and with everybody else, and and and and the ballance. You know that the outcome holds it and hangs in the balance the whole way. And that's why it's so fascinating.
All Right, you were.
Nodding your head throughout all of that. Uh, do you have similar memories? And you played a Darkville twice or at least went there twice.
I remember being there once. I guess we went. Maybe I have a vague breath every year. Maybe, Well, remember when we played Old Miss back then we had a for whatever reason, we played Old Miss. Uh. Their home game for us one year was in Memphis, and then our home game for them that next year was at the Freedom was at Freedom All. I don't know what that was about. Yeah, but I guess I did go to Starkville twice. I do. I do remember Starkville being aptly named as a town. But to be honest, this
is about every SEC. That's all I love about the SEC is well now now, I guess it may be different. But other land grand institutions, Well, we're not in they're not in big cities, right, I mean, you know, you look, when we travel, we're used to eating at Ruth's Chris. Right, there's not a Ruth's Chris in Gainesville. There's an outback steakhouse, which just so happened to be coach Tino. I think had it's taken no no pun intended and uh so.
But anyway, I I don't remember I remember Starkville once. I don't know if I remember it twice. Maybe it maybe maybe it was well, you know what I guess it was. It was Tubby's year. Tubby's first year may have been when we went back there. But anyway, what I remember the most about Starkville, I mean or or or the Hump, right, and they called the Hump and
and I freaking yeah. And I say this understanding that every every fan base has their their their bad apples, right, But what I remember more than anything was being shocked at the things that the fans were yelling at our black Yeah. I mean, now I was a freshman and I was, I was, I was speechless. I mean I was like, And the thing that I remember thinking the most is do you all not think your black players
are hearing what you're saying? And I'm like, I mean, I was just And again, it wasn't like the entire and it was mainly, as far as I could tell, the student section, but it wasn't like all of them. It was just like but it's like nobody was policing that nonsense. Like there wasn't and I mean like self policing.
I don't mean like you know, like we're One thing I love about Mitch is is when because he stands down there every home game, right in front of the eruption zone and when he no, oh no, he get And I love that about him too, man every place. He lives and dies on every play and not just basketball, every tennis match. I mean, he just.
He football, He stands in the ends.
He's he's he is a mess. And I mean that in a wonderful complimentary way as far as what his teams are doing. But but he stays on the eruption zone and if he hears a bad word, if he doesn't like what they're chanting, he will tell them to shut up. And I've always I've always appreciated him for doing that. But yeah, I remember that. That's what I remember about Starkfield because it was just I was shocked. I was like, oh, so this is what's gonna be like on the road in the SEC and it wasn't.
He I mean that, I'm not saying it didn't have another place. That's the only place in the place. I really noticed it.
And I'm sure you can relate to what Mark said about remembering that loss in the SEC tournament more vividly.
The whole the whole point according to coach Fatino, who I don't know is has he ever admitted that he wanted I mean, I know that's always a.
But you guys talked about it on the party boat right in Miami when we were shooting the documentary The Party Vote.
First of all, can we come up with a better name for it than that?
I mean, it was a boat and the party that's true.
But just called you know that party boat in Miami that that.
Was and wasn't fit to go out on the ocean because it was too small.
Somebody told yeah, well somebody told him. Uh, Betino told me this. Who owned it? Ron Mercer and a couple of other guys.
I thought, I thought a partnership.
And somebody told him, man, this boat is too you cannot take this out on the waves.
It'll break apart.
This is really anyhow, But no, what do I know about boats though?
That's true? Uh?
But anyhow, Yeah, he talked about the fact that he said, if we don't lose that game, no way we win the champions And you guys all agreed that doesn't But remember he benched antwine for half of that game. For the rest of the game, which and and Dante Jones went nuts. Uh, and it all came together. I will tell you this that coming off the floor, Huh. Steve Moss got a quick shot a little bit of video.
Patino with just the.
Time of an evil Well, and I can tell you this that locker room only time we've ever lost, and we weren't berated. He was in a good mood in that locker room. Literally said to us, we adjust, this is our second loss of the season. We are getting ready to go in to the if not already the most important well definitely the most important part. That we
got six games to get it done. And you remember the documentary Mark even said in his interview in the documentary The Team by the Way, available on Vimeo, that Mark even said, it's this year, or it's not, It's gotta be this year. And so the pressure of going in to those six games knowing that, man, we just got beat by a team we got no business being beat by. As it turned out, they were much better than they'd been throughout the season.
And you had beaten them by almost third.
Here the crazy yeah yeah, well and then Starkville. But then you take one of our best players out. I'm just telling you, and just why I don't I don't know how to tell people any different, but I just don't think people believe me enough when I say you learn more from a loss than you do a win.
You can learn from a win. But under the right coach, with the right players, which I believe we have now and I believe we've had before, you you can't argue with your coach mentally, even if you don't do it verbally, you can't argue with him. You can't look at him and say, dude, what are you griping about rebounding and free throws? For we won by forty. You can't do that.
When you win by forty, you will listen when you've not made your foul shots and you've been out rebounded and you've lost a team you shouldn't have been beat by. So in that locker room, he not only was not yelling, not ranny and raving, he literally, with the smile on his face, said, guys, I want you to go out on Bourbon Street and have a fun night tonight. And we're looking around. I'm like, he's setting us up, right,
this is a joke. This is a joke. He's gonna see who's gonna do it, and then they're gonna be up at five am running right, that's what's gonna happen. I mean, we're like even looking at these others, like are we going, are we going out tonight? What are we doing? Because he's there's no, this is not our coach, and it was our coach because what he knew was
season reset. Yep. Now we had no excuses and he hopefully has just taught his six ' nine mouth of a power forward who wants to shoot threes all day and handle the ball at point guard. Maybe now he's going to listen for the six games. Yeah, yeah, he definitely did that. Angeline, come over here and sit and don't get up.
He is Camera Mills. We're here in the garage.
We'll come back and talk more about these wildcasts and more on The Big Blue Sider.
Six thirty w LAP. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider.
Camera Mills here in the garage, and we have kind of circled the subjects of this shooting team. We've touched on it, but we haven't been super specific. But what I wanted to do is we are one more comment from Mark Pope with you, and that's about the fact that and we were talking about this in the last segment and you said learning from losses versus wins. Mark Pope agrees with you.
Oh, surprise, surprise, maybe maybe maybe or you agree with him, maybe we both learned it at the same place.
About that, and Pope talked about the fact that this group he believes can learn from losses.
I do think we have a group that's capable of doing that. And I think we have tremendous resilience and tremendous resolve, and I think the guys have shown that a bunch this season already. And now we're facing the biggest challenge we have all year on Saturday, going on the road for this game, and and man, let's go roll that out and see what we can do.
Let's go maybe a little.
Bit of coach speak, their biggest game in the season, but coming but coming off a loss.
I mean obviously it's it's, you know, bigger than it might have been.
But they're all huge.
Well, you were looking at the statue and I knew we'd get into this because of your irrational uh.
Hate accurate officials.
Okay, first of all, before you go any further, did you see the Tennessee Florida game?
A little bit of it? What about it?
Okay?
I didn't?
You? You and I? You and you and I are okay, fair enough? I because you consider yourself a journalist and impartial. Fair enough, Okay, I do not.
I also officiated sporting events, so have I.
I went middle school, elementary school. I mean I officiated a soccer game once got yelled at by a coach. I was only in middle school myself. Then I don't have it. I don't have a I don't have a dog in this fight. Florida Burst, Tennessee. The officiating was horrendous, horrendous. You saw the flop Kentucky, Georgia.
Right.
You saw a dude just flail his arms and officials literally standing five feet blow his whistle. Explain to me how, And I know part of it's the rules, But you cannot touch a person on the perimeter. But you can elbow and swing and do all you want down in the low post. And the moment you get past the perimeter as a guard or as anyone in your dribble penetration doesn't matter what happens in there. It's all free for all. So we want to protect players out here.
We don't give a whatever about what happens down here. It is horrible. It is the worst it's ever been. I'm sorry it is, and look I have I'll tell you what I have done. Doug Shows, who I used to detest, beyond belief I have I have fallen in love with that man I have, I have met I have no no, no, no, no no no no no no easy easy. He's not he's not lifting as much as he used to, and he's not wearing his mediums as much as he
used to. But I have talked to too many people who I respect who have told me that Doug Shows is one of the best, not only one of the best officials, which I might have a little contention with, because there's no such thing as a best official, but as a person. And my thing with Doug was always personal in part.
Because he wouldn't talk to you.
Well, that's part of it. Yeah, Curtis Shaw as an official, my favorite. He's still an official, right, still going to hell, but he's but he was. He would not only talk to Shalls, wouldn't talk to anyone but the captains, right. Shaw would talk to everybody, yeah right, And he would look if you approached him with respect, he would treat you with respect, and that's how it should be. It's like, hey, Curtis, dude, he's grabbing me when I'm going off screens. Watch him,
he's grabbing my shorts. I'll watch for it, Cameron. So it's like he even knew my name. It's like, I don't know, Doug. Doug Shalls almost teed me up down in Tennessee just because he did accurately catch me bouling somebody and I had a problem with it. But then he like, you know, showed me anyway. But officiating's getting awful.
So yeah, what I was pointing out was the fact that and I know I'm sure a lot of fans have pointed this out as well, but thirty eight free throws to our what was it, nineteen thirty eight free throws for Georgia to our nineteen No, I realized part of that is the way we play. Yes, but did we did?
Did?
Did we? We? We fouled them enough to get them to the line thirty eight times.
I thought they thought Kentucky did foul a lot.
Well, I know one we didn't because I saw the replay of it. And okay, so you don't think that happened.
More, I agree, But I just think you look at whatever. They were lucky to beat Florida because Florida missed free throws, including the front end.
Again and we made three. So let's not exactly say lucky.
No, I'm saying that when it came to free throw shooting, he had a ninety one percent or miss a couple for Florida.
Saying is well, I wasn't prepared for the big moment.
I'm saying is that this team has got a lot of work to do defensive where it has to be yes and stop fouling. Not only that, and this comes back, and this was a great topic for discussion. Yeah, with Pope, physical play, yes, because Kentucky is not used to dishing it out knowing how to be physical. Look, you may be right about officiating, but I am I contend that the play itself is not nearly as good as it used to be.
I don't know why.
Well didn't they change that perimeter rule where again you cannot put you can put one hand on a player on the perimeter two and that's an automatic foul. And they did that. Why Why did they do that?
Because they were the hand checking was getting out.
Of hand, and they did that. They did that because they wanted more penetration, they wanted more freedom, They wanted the offense to be better therefore they wanted a better product. And yet what did you just say?
I think the inside play is worse.
Because because they beat on each other, there's constant fouls and they're never called. And that's my problem is the inconsistend. One of my problems, the inconsistency between can't touch this dude here, I can elbow this dude in the face, and it's not a foul down here because you're a first I never wanted to be an inside player in my life, nor did I ever. I'm un jealous. Listen, I was yelled at when I got inside the three point line, as I should have been.
I need to sit you down with Doug Hampton, the uh the time out coordinator and former D one referee sons are both.
Uh do you want I know? I know John and uh yeah, I know John. John used to officiate our blue white games, among other things. And you know what I'll ask, y'all the first question ask every official is there such a thing as a makeup call? And you know John will say right, and you know what he's doing lying.
I as someone who is officiated games, I will tell you I never made a makeup call. But there is a mental uh something mentally about pressure on you. If everybody's mad at you and you make a call that settles them down.
A little bit, that's a makeup call.
Not it to me, it's not a makeup call just because you do consciously, consciously say and I and I need to make a call to shut them up.
No, I don't think you make a call to shut people up.
That's why people say makeup.
No, no, no, no. A makeup call is when you know you've blown one against this team.
You're always going to know you blew No, you're never perfect.
No, you don't always know that you've blown one. No, you don't know until you're until. No, you don't know you've blown it. If you knew.
People never talk to an official said yeah, man, I missed that one.
Coach you know used to get Officials do it all the time. But there are also plenty of times where they clearly blew it and wouldn't admit it. You are they not admitting it?
You can't admit every other call. I missed that one. But you're gotta believe in what you're doing. You gotta sell calls.
We're getting off sell calls, we're getting off topic.
This is perfectly an hour and a half to cover.
I am going to not anymore halfway through it next time. And I've gone to Doug's place.
He is a master pizza chef, really, and I've taped a show there with him, Billy Rutligion, and I did. And the next time I go, I'm taking you with me.
That's fine.
So we'll talk pizza, which you'll know.
Is he he's a former official as well.
Yeah, well, we'll talk pizza. And he was the best high school official I ever saw. And he also worked college. And then we'll talk officiating.
Why don't we just talk officiating and then we'll and then we'll argue over pizza.
I'm telling you, as you watch him make pizza, you're gonna want to talk about pizza. I promise you.
Okay, all right, does he have does he have a pizza oven?
Yes, he does.
He has a pizza pizza Rhea in his in his recreation.
You see what happens. You can be official. All the money in the world.
His wife gave it to him. All right, we'll take your break, come back and get back on the wild.
Let's get back on six thirty.
Welcome back to the.
Big Blue Sider Rear in the garage with Cameron Mills having his usually spirited discussion. But other than than free throws, rebound disparity rebounding, is that, is that what sticks in your cross?
Yeah?
I think so, in spite of the fact that before the Florida game, at least we were like like Florida and I Flora, Florida and I Florida and Kentucky were like one in two in the country in defensive I'm sorry, in rebounding average per game. At least I read that. But you know, journalism is today, can't believe what t read.
And talking about sid is you're calling Deadmore a liar.
I would never call it Deadmore. Allied Deadmore is one of my favorites. But yeah, here's the thing. This goes back to the physicality thing as well. And I told
this to somebody the other day. I can't rememberho it was, but one of the things that I've noticed is, and I noticed this in the Florida game, is the way Florida attacked the rim rebounding wise, and the way we attack the room, the way Florida boxed out, the way we box out we and and this is a physicality thing, and and I think honestly it's it's one of those things where the good news is it's learnable, and it
is a requirement this year that it be learnable. Meaning Mark will make sure we're drilling right, just like he did with the You know that what we talked about before after the Ohio State game. How many times did they go over the high pick and roll right the high ball screens? So it's something that that that I would almost guarantee you he's seen enough film to notice, because I noticed it just on a couple of plays without the benefit of watching it over and over again
on film. But I mean Florida would offensively the offensive last They would attack it with I mean reckless, abandoned. I mean they would sprint to the basket. They would throw you aside in a legal way. And again I'm not predisposed to see what Florida does in that game is legal meaning you know, and not against not against the rules and fouling. But I mean they would just
I mean they would run at you. They would arm bar you right to get around you, right, which which look on the low post that that well, maybe not anymore, but it used to be a foul, right if you're using your arms and you're gaining advantage or you're wrapping your arm around the guy that's guarding. By this, I mean, they won't call that necessarily on a rebounding play. So if you're running in and you're actually efforting to get the ball, as coach p usould say, smell the ball.
If that's what you're.
Doing, he said, yeah, yeah, you got to.
You gotta smell the ball, meaning no matter where the ball is, you better know where it is. Yeah, coach Coach used to talk about all the time. So we do a poor job, or we did in the Florida game of when that when when they took a shot we would turn and maybe hand check a guy instead of hip check box it, because look, I get it, you can't sit there and box out, box out, box out. You got to go get the ball at some point. But we would maybe and they just didn't go for
the all five guys on the on the court. But you know, there's one person in particular I noticed, and I'm not gonna mention it by name, but just hand checked and then turned and I mean his guy got off asive rebound. So it's like at some point. Look, you got to get physically, you have, and not just that, You've got to hit them hard enough to discourage them.
It's like running into a screen. Right. One of the one of one of my biggest faults as a defender, among many, was I would run into and Coach Bush, you got so mad at me over this, rightfully, So I would run into a screen and in my mind, well I'm out of the play. Wow, So I might as well just stay here. What sort of mentality is that? But the point is is to add one that could be your mentality is uh, all right, I'll just stay here. That you don't want me in there? Okay, I'll stay here,
I mean I And that cannot be our mentality. Our mentality has got to be you hit me, I'm hitting you back. And look I'm not talking about throwing punches. I'm talking about going back, being physical and fighting around, in my case, fighting around a screen instead of just and we still we do that occasionally. You watch Guys last year in particular, but it's happened this year. You run into a screen. It takes physical exertion to get past it. So you just all right, hey, let's switch right, No,
rebounding you've got he's gonna come block you out. You've got to fight like heck to get around him because you've got to go. You've got to want that ball more than he does. And so it's a question of effort. It's a question of physical But the physicality, to me, is more of a question of effort because look at a Mari. You don't think a Mari can be physical if he wants to and has been. Brandon can be. I mean, look, we all can. We got muscles on
this team. We're now used to having muscles on this team. We're used to having string beings on this team. We got muscle. I remember, look at Sibwe that is a fifth year senior. We've got fifth year seniors. We've got guys. Because as I've said before, that that that that that freshman the sophomore year is so big for putting on masks, for putting on for getting that old man's strength, right yeah, and then the conditioning. I mean that freshman year, you
are getting used to things. By the time you're where most of these guys are. You know what Division one is like, and you know what you have to do. And we've just got to do it corporately as a team, where we start to become the aggressors and not let other teams. Especially since we've got the reputation of being unphysical, that gives us a perfect opportunity to shock a few teams and start to grow our own reputation. As you don't mess with Kentucky. I mean, they will put you on your rear end.
And now that's the blueprint. Run them off the three point line. Don't let them get comfortable out there. You can take thirty five threes, but if they're not good threes, we know what's gonna happen. But the other thing is body them up because they'll back away. Kentucky will shy away from contact. That might be what I'm saying is how people perceive Kentucky now. And if that's the case, maybe they can use that to their advantage.
The funny thing is, yeah, no, I agree, I agree that can It's just a matter of will they And it's not a matter of will day as though will Mark tell them to or coach them to. It's a matter of look. And this is why I you know, I never It's one of the reasons that I never really got angry at cal for anything cal did. There's two reasons for that. Number One, John cali Perry never won a single game in his fifteen years here. Never his players won every game he won. John cal Perry,
he didn't lose a game. He would tell you he did, which is admirable, but he never lost the game. John Calipari has yet to make a shot for the University of Kentucky. Ever. It's the players. So coaches can rant and raven do every I mean that, and look you've seen You've seen Mark do it. I mean Mark is already I mean Mark is so already ultrapsychological and thinking in terms of how to best communicate and get what
I need out of my players. And then I mean he's already got a psychologist, you know constantly you know, at practice, watching the team, seeing, you know, noticing things, communicating that town. I mean, Mark is just he is a thinker, and he is constantly and he's also been on the player side. And so it's just like, you know, I can tell my guys to do something so many times before you know, what what what what do I have to do to get across to you and be
physical if you're not used to it. I mean, it's one of the it's one of the reasons we used to have loose ball drills, right, I mean we would have loose ball drills when coach Patino had decided, in particular that you know what we're we're a weak team. We're a weak team. We don't we don't deserve to win. There's always his favorite things to say, we don't deserve to win. And then even though we won, we didn't
deserve to win. And so we were gonna do thirty minutes of loose ball drills and charge drills and just to try to get us to understand that it's gonna hurt, make your peace with it. It's gonna hurt. What's what's the phrase, how be comfortable with being uncomfortable? And that's what these guys have to do. They have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. But yeah, I think reboundings some
make things. I don't know to your other point, Kobe Brea in particular, and and I know we didn't have a great shooting night the other night overall, but I don't think Kobe Brea can take a bad shot. I've seen him make too many very contested threes and oh wait, I know no, don't get me wrong, I get that, oh way contested three. I think Andrew just because every three that Andrew's taken has been wide open. I think I can't. I can't think of him taken too many, really, chat,
I mean there have been guys running at him. Yeah, he does, and I kind of wish you wouldn't. But at the same time that isn't better. That's part of our offense though, is that you know what, if you you may have a good shot, but is there a great shot of past or two away? But you know what, honestly, here's the main thing. How much time we got one? Okay, all right, so let me let me see if I can get this in under one. This is a theory, okay, and this is my theory. This is not based on
anything that I know or anything. This is just something that I'm starting to believe. All of most of our guys came from men majors, and in men majors, what you understand is that you have got to go out and you have got to As a mid major, you're the team that's typically especially early in the season when
you're playing hid one, you're gonna get beat. Right, You got there and fight, but you're expected to get beat because you're a mid major, meaning the team based on rankings, or based on reputation, or based on what the media is saying you are. So this is an uphill climb for you tonight. Most of our guys came from that environment there that they came from teams that were supposed
to get beaten by the high D one teams. Right, well, I wonder if a lot of these guys have not brought that attitude into Kentucky knowing that Now I'm at Kentucky, so now I'm the team that's spos I'm with the team that's supposed to win. So when we play Clemson, who we're supposed to beat, you get beat. When we play Georgia, who we're supposed to beat, we get beat.
I'm wondering if that's not our attitude, not not not maybe corporately, but it comes out corporately, is that we we will beat top ten teams easily, relatively easily easily. But when we play a team that's not ranked or that isn't quote unquote special.
It's their super Bowl, it is you.
Look, people mock all that all. I'm locked that all that one it is. But I'm wonder if that's not a problem for us right now that we are the average teams. We're not coming ready to play.
An interesting theory.
We'll come back and wrap things up with camera Mills here in the garage.
Not yet. We have one more.
Segment here in the Big moon Sider six thirty. We'll come back to the Big bon Sider. Camera Mills is here in the garage. We are counting things down our final segment, and we.
Haven't really talked about movies and TV and.
All like we usually do because we have so much to cover with this basketball team.
But you know, I really enjoy hearing Mark Pope.
Talking about his thought process, and you talked about the fact that he is really into the analytics.
He has made a study.
You know what most coaches are, They just don't really like to call it analytics. You know, they keep an eye on things, especially when you talk about baseball and baseball hardcore baseball people, they spit out the word analytics. My contention is, you've always used it, but most really good baseball guys have all that stuff stored in the back of our minds.
It's a lot of stuff.
It's a lot of stuff.
There's a lot of stuff, and the science now involved can help you sift through it and put it to better use, which is what Mark Pope kind of staff what they do. Oh, I thought, when it gets right down to it, man, and this is what you've been talking about here in the garage. Yeah, Like in football, they say it always comes back to blocking and tackling. Basketball comes down to what you got to play defense. You gotta rebound until you.
Got to make shots. You got to make shots. I mean, I don't care. I don't care if you take bad shots as long as you make them. I mean, in the.
Grant Abbitty nds are there well.
And but that gets into analytics, doesn't it. I mean, look, if you go back and this is the one thing and you and I may have talked about this before, but this is one thing I love about Mark and how very much because again he is an intellectual probably above everything else. Uh. But Mark, even though he is very much into the analytics. And I'm told you just before, they literally have one of the team managers during every game is plugged in to Tim Asher's video, right the
head video. Guys, you know who's up up up in the top recording he is plugged into and it has a laptop over by the bench, and he is logging every play live so that the coaches on their iPads can pull that up at any minute and show the players what they're talking about, which is mind boggling to me because we had to wait until the next day or in some cases a few hours later to watch film of the game and for coach to make his points and say because sometimes you don't realize you're doing
until you see it on film. But what I love about Mark is that he is very much into the analytics. I would say in a major, major way, but he has also said something like this is that, look, at some point, you got to go with your gut. And that's what bothers me about analytics is that I appreciate them, I'm fascinated by them, but they're not It's not black and white. They're not the end all be all, because just from a personal experience, if you're going by the analytics,
I don't. I'm not even in the game against Duke in nineteen ninety eight. I'm on the bench because I hadn't hit a three all tournament, So why would I be in the game when the game was on the line.
Billy Packer pointed out, yeah.
You love of all people, so but yeah, you know, I I I appreciate the analytics and I and I do. I find him fascinating and I and I think part of the reason if I don't. I mean, I got a friend named Kyle Man. I don't know if you know Kyle, but he works for the Ringer uh Ringer dot com and he's he lives in Louisville. He's a he's a Kentucky fan. I think think he might have actually been at practice yesterday. He he is. I got
in touch. I found him on Twitter. I started following his Twitter account and I started following the things that he was saying. I'm like, dude, this guy knows more about current basketball than I do. So and I think I might have just got the job at JMI and so it was like, mantwork, Yeah, well yeah with a UK force network. So I'm like, you know what I need to I need to I need to have somebody in my life that can that could show me teach
me analytics. And that's one thingle Kyle is don God's awesome.
Let me let me run this by.
Real quickly, since you're studying a little more acutely, I feel like analytics are as much, maybe more, a reflection of what has happened as opposed to a prediction of what will happen.
But yeah, I mean, but too many times people lean on it.
Yeah, here's what's going to happen if we do this, because here's what the numbers say.
Well, and what bothers me the most is and again I understand fans being fans, but the criticism that fans lay at the feet of coaches sometimes because they didn't go with the analytics. They went with their heart because they just and I've heard it so many times, just felt like so and so was due.
That's right.
Well, you know what, it's so easy after a game when so and so might have been due but he didn't come through, because that's a great rhyme. And then for you to criticize a coach. But here's the thing that I'll always remind fans of what you see is five percent of what the coach has seen all week. The coach has been in practice, They've seen things that you haven't. So their their gut their estimation. Their hunches are a lot more powerful than what you're looking at. After the game's happened.
Real quickly, as we only have a few minutes left. I mentioned this early in the show before you got to the garage. Kenny Brooks talked about the win over Florida yesterday. They had a twenty four point lead that got down to fourteen or so, never called a timeout. Florida made a run, and he said after the game, people might wonder, but he said, and again he had a bigger lead, and he knew his team. He said, they learn more.
Yes, they do if.
They figure it out on their own without me calling time out.
You can go back to the very beginning of the season, right how many times where? And I didn't know that was the attitude, But I love that attitude because I started I started noticing like there would be runs and I'm thinking, Okay, Pope's gonna call timeout this not all right? Now? Is coming time out? And Pope would just be standing in their hand, hands behind his back, you know, head down, head up, head down, thinking right, and I'm like, what's he doing. Oh, He's gonna let them figure it out.
From the very beginning of the season. He's done that with the players in practice well.
And the best example of that, in my opinion, was when they were losing to Duke and Jack Gibbons has told this story more than one Yeah, and he could hear from his seat Pope's right over there, right, and he could hear Pope yelling.
To his players, we're okay, We're okay, you know, which I think was more important than calling time.
Yeah. But look, just just setting settling down and make them grow up and fight through the adversity how many times if you've not already, you will. As long as Mark Pope's head coach here, he will never veer away from this because this has been his mantra, I'm assuming since he was fourteen years old, maybe earlier. It certainly was why he was here. Fight through adversity, learn from adversity, Embrace adversity, learn more. Yes, that's why you learn more
from losing than you do from winning. And though I don't want to lose every game, I want to lose one or two, I just don't want to. I just don't want to lose those last six. That's why everything or nothing matters until March and technically April for be pedantic about it.
Well we will, we will converse more than once, and you will. You'll be heard on uh the UK Network pre game show so many many times. Well tomorrow especially, yeah tomorrow, But as as March draws near. But in a minute, do you have a pretty good feeling about this team right now?
I freaking love this team. I still love this team.
I look, just because they shoot a lot of threes.
Well, I am jealous of the green light, you Stu, But look I had that green light too, and Pope has said that what will coach. Tito's mantra was if you are open and you do not shoot, you're on the bench. That's that's the green light. I love this team. I love this team's heart. I love that they are never out of a game. They aren't. I mean Georgia and I was standing they are they were, they are not. They they have the mentality let it get away. Yeah, but they never are out of a game. I don't
care who now. The one thing that is when we're playing Georgia, when we're playing Clemson, you gotta win those games too. But the SEC is a bear, and Georgia may not be ranked but rankings are stupid anyway.
I'm glad we didn't get bogged down on that today.
See I saved that for the last times.
That's right, next time, all right, brother, thank you, We will listen for you on the pregame show.
Thanks sir.
Always fun when Cameron comes by, he and Dave will start at seven o'clock. When Network covers meaning KSR Boys at six o'clock. Tomorrow night, Kats in Mississippi State at eight thirty. Hear it right here, that's it, good night from the garage in Lexington.
Looks like I picked the wrong week for smoking.
It's like I picked the wrong week. Quick, looks like I picked the wrong week.
Quin On Fetamans picked the wrong week. Chris mana