2025-02-06- KSR - Hour 1

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington. Welcomes rising comedy star and social media sensation Renee Fakka January twenty third through the twenty fifth, Then catch urban comedy legend our NETg January thirtieth through February second, and welcome back Billy Gardell, the star of Mike and Molly and Bob Hart's Abashova February sixth through the eighth. Four tickets called eight, five, nine, two, seven to one joke or visit Comedy Up Broadway dot com off by.

00:00:31
Speaker 2: Hi. Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, Welcome to this Thursday edition of Kentucky Sports Radio. It is Thursday, February sixth. We are missing our big toe this morning. We'll get to that in just a minute. But as always a text Sports Radio sponsored by the t J. Smith Office called TJ. What happens, Shannon, he'll make them pay. He'll make them pass.

00:00:48
Speaker 3: You go out with TJ. Then you make him pay.

00:00:51
Speaker 2: He did pay for you.

00:00:52
Speaker 3: He paid for dinner.

00:00:53
Speaker 2: To hear you made him pay. That's right, there we go. That's so that we need to do. Shannon the Dude Law Office. He'll make you. Hey, we'll have our whiskey thief call today at Kentucky Branded tweeted the day and of course the Avis and Glass text line is out of commission to day. Unless you have my cell phone, you can text it. We'll go with some of that, but uh, we're kind of we've called an audible again today are our big toe. Matthew Harper Jones as us. He announced yesterday he's going to have a colonoscopy this afternoon. Thought he was going to try to, you know, make it a go this morning, thought he could come in, do the show and then have his colonoscopy, which is this afternoon. We kind of raised the red flag, warned him a little bit. That may be a little tough, but uh but he he sent us all a text this morning group texting, Hey, man, I'm okay, I'm just not feeling the greatest. I think I want to tap out. Totally get it, totally understand, don't you.

00:01:45
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, you warned him, Try to warn him. He was going to try to walk, you know, several blocks downtown to be here. That I actually would have liked to have seen that where he would have stopped along the way over McCarthy's over there.

00:01:56
Speaker 2: That's where I knew he couldn't do that, so I was offering to come pick him up this morning. I said, Hey, man, I just coming to pick you up because that walk from his house to hear after you just took one of those clean out pills. Yeah, it wasn't going to be nice, Shannon.

00:02:09
Speaker 5: Well, as Drew said, somebody tried to warn them, you know, like you've done this before, you you know from experience. Not a good idea, not going to work. But wait, Matt Jones didn't listen to somebody. You're telling me come on now, that's come on. He always takes your advice. Ryan surprised he didn't listen.

00:02:26
Speaker 2: Well, he's kind of in a he's just in a real stinky situation right now. Oh here we go, we go.

00:02:32
Speaker 4: We're gonna do this all day right as well?

00:02:34
Speaker 3: Why not?

00:02:35
Speaker 2: You know, he would like to be here, but there's just a lot of movement in his world going on.

00:02:39
Speaker 4: Yeah, most of it's already behind him, hopefully.

00:02:43
Speaker 2: Ah good good. So if you want to call with your Matt Jones puns today for his klenoscophy, uh eight five nine two tweets seven that's a phone ROMF you want call, get a morning, Ryan, Drew and Shannon here, we'll get you through today. As Kentucky, uh that that Thursday in between games is always a slow day anyway. Coming on the loss to Ole Miss, well, now they've lost two in a row, they've lost four of their last five, and they've got a home game against one of the worst teams in the SEC and probably the worst team in the SEC, South Carolina on Saturday. Do It's almost like the perfect medicine. Kentucky needs a win, they need a feel good win, and they've got the worst team in the conference coming in on Saturday. Can they pull it off?

00:03:20
Speaker 1: Can I?

00:03:21
Speaker 4: Can I crap on your medicine? An unintentional pun?

00:03:24
Speaker 2: Then, is a crappy situation to be in.

00:03:26
Speaker 4: South Carolina's won two in a row against Kentucky and they won their last game in rep Arena. So and those weren't good teams. Those were not I know that was a different era, there's a different coach, there's different players. But to have a two game losing streaks South Carolina is kind of silly in itself. But that's that's what we're staring at now. And they haven't won an SEC game yet. They're in dead last. But if you look at their results, they've lost by like three, two, one, three, five, even played Auburn within a possession. So they've been very close in just about all their games, just haven't been on the right side. But you know it'll be it'll be a test if Kentucky plays defense anything like it or doesn't play defense anything like it didn't an Ole miss, it could be another long day.

00:04:07
Speaker 5: Shannon Well, I mean, you can't ever take a night off in the SEC. So even though they haven't won any games, you can't just take for granted that they're going to win. I think, you know, if they hadn't dropped four out of their last five, I don't.

00:04:20
Speaker 3: Think there would be any pressure going into this game.

00:04:21
Speaker 5: But I feel like there's a little bit of pressure, a little bit of lingering pressure going into this game.

00:04:26
Speaker 3: Even though it's a home game, you still feel good about it. This is one of those.

00:04:29
Speaker 5: Games you absolutely cannot drop, and I think it may be a little bit tougher than what some people think it's going to be.

00:04:38
Speaker 2: I was Shannon, I think there's a little pressure on Kentucky. You can't lose this one. You can't you have to win this one, and you mentioned those two losses. South Carolina bea Kentucky the last two years after maybe the first one. We talked about how that gets Ferris. His last coach Ferris is that his name is South Carolina Pha R.

00:04:54
Speaker 3: Paris.

00:04:54
Speaker 4: Yes, like the city out.

00:04:56
Speaker 2: Coached Cal Like we didn't even know who this guy was. First time to play again Kentucky and he literally out coached Kentucky that night. He's still there. I'm surprised they're struggling as much as they are.

00:05:07
Speaker 4: Yeah, his first he's is he undefeated against Kentucky?

00:05:10
Speaker 2: He might be in two years, he might be.

00:05:13
Speaker 4: He's one of the last two. I mean they were a nineteen and a half point underdog when they won in Reparena two years ago. Paris was like in coach of the year conversation in his first season. Obviously not in that conversation this year without winning any games. But he's been all right there. Just don't think he has the horses this season. I have a little bit of a soft spot for him. He went to my wife's high school and I met him at the sec or in CA tournament recently. We were like name dropping local ice cream shops and stuff in Finley, So part of me, I mean, I want him to lose by a million, but I've rooted for him from afar as much as one can being a Kentucky fan. But I hope Saturday Mark Pope beats him by a million because Kentucky needs to write this ship.

00:05:51
Speaker 2: I do think he's a good coach. I've always thought he's a good coach. And if you watched the SEC last night, John Caliperry got his second win in a row, went on the road to Texas. Yeah one at Texas last night.

00:06:02
Speaker 5: You think maybe there's a little bit of confidence that the team got after winning at Kentucky over the weekend, and you know there's still a chance that he can turn this thing around.

00:06:10
Speaker 3: They're three and six, but you know there's still a chance.

00:06:13
Speaker 5: They could fight back and possibly finish at five hundred, which if you get to five hundred, I think you're in the NCAA tournament.

00:06:19
Speaker 6: Yah.

00:06:20
Speaker 4: You know, I gotta take the blame for last night. That's all on me. Don't you all get excited about Arkansas turned around? I bet on Texas. I am on a historically cold run. It is unbelievable, unbelievable how bad I am. And I wasn't gonna bet on Texas because I knew that would just be an automatic Arkansas win. Arkansas went up eight or something early and then the line dropped to where Texas was plus money and I couldn't help myself. And then they just continue to pummel them, so more money down the drain from me. And I really think my Jenks played a role in that.

00:06:50
Speaker 2: I'm with you. I've been on a very cold streak on drafting, Like I have a dollar and sixteen cents in my account right now. That's it. I gotta redeposit for the super Bowl this weekend.

00:07:00
Speaker 4: Last Saturday, I bet on Florida at Tennessee before all the Tennessee injuries came out, and I thought I had beaten Vegas. I was so excited that I got in before everything moved. No, Tennessee goes and bloils them out unbelievably bad but too in all. Seriously, with Arkansas, it looks like not that Boogie Flann wasn't doing well, but it looks like that getting rid of that logjam in the backcourt there has opened them up. And Davis has been playing a lot better since he's been out.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: Look, I got a text. We'll say it's the Avis and Glass text machine. The guy said, Look, this was typical col He's got his favorites, he plays his favorites. Boogie Flann was one of his favorites. Kate everything around him to keep him happy. He's now removed from the lineup and he has to play the guys that deserved to be playing in those spots. And look what's happening. They're playing a lot better. Is there any buy into that at all?

00:07:43
Speaker 4: I mean, Boogie was the best on the team when he was playing, so I don't think it was like cow playing favorites, but I think it could have been the case. Just with three guards that you like to have the ball and like to create, they just had too many people.

00:07:55
Speaker 2: Uh huh.

00:07:56
Speaker 4: I mean they're still very thin, but Davis has turned it on since since boogiey Flan went out because he had been pretty bad all year. He had eighteen last night DJ had another big game. So yeah, I mean Arkansas is still on the bubble and still heading towards plan on Wednesday, but having won two in a row, both road games, heavy underdogs in both, you do wonder if it's another they had their back against the wall, and here goes cal motivating them again.

00:08:20
Speaker 2: You look at the SEC standing Shannon, Arkansas just one game behind Kentucky in the SEC standings.

00:08:26
Speaker 3: Isn't that scary? It just goes to show you.

00:08:29
Speaker 5: I mean, one game could be the difference between being in the top four and the bottom four of the SEC. Matt and now we're just having that conversation a couple of days ago. You know, if you beat Tennessee or you beat Arkansas, excuse me, you could be in the top four. You would have been in that situation they had, you know, lost a game against Tennessee, then all of a sudden you're in the bottom four. So one game can have a big swing and where you end up in the standings and what day you play in the SEC tournament.

00:08:53
Speaker 2: So right now, the Kentucky's tenth in the in the SEC standings, which puts some plan on Wednesday.

00:08:58
Speaker 4: Night, Well, if they we have they're they're actually the eighth seed. We have a projected bracket on KS board. Now everyone should do let's see it. Kentucky right now would be the eight seed playing on Thursday. They would get the winner of South Carolina and Mississippi State. Those are the noon games, first game of the day. But then if you beat Mississippi State or South Carolina, you have Auburn on decks. It's not the best draw, it's better than playing on Wednesday, but we'd still like to move up a little bit.

00:09:26
Speaker 7: Now.

00:09:27
Speaker 4: That's that as Arkansas is the fourteen seat.

00:09:29
Speaker 2: You know, it's something I think we got to keep an eye on now and the way the season play is gonna play out, and who Kentucky tells you yet to play? You don't you want to stay away from that Wednesday night game and try to get at least first round by. I think the double buys now probably is out of the question, but they can still. I hope she'll get at least a one game by.

00:09:47
Speaker 4: They'd have to get really hot to get the double by beat Tennessee Alabama. The teams in front of I'm just wondering what this tournament's gonna like. Are we gonna go on Tuesday? Like, what are we doing shows? If they happen to play on winds have to and if they get knocked out, what do we do on Friday for our big show at ten roof? This is just the tournament's so different this year. I'm looking at the bracket and there's looks like four good games on Wednesday. I mean, you got Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Texas, Van Day, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Misissippi State. We're used to just seeing the four bottom feeders ready to go home on that day. It's just gonna be a whole different experience down there.

00:10:18
Speaker 5: So wait, we've got a Friday. Is it still the remote still on for Friday? Because that will be a problem if you don't well.

00:10:24
Speaker 4: I mean normally, Yeah, that's what I'm asking. What would we do if they play on Wednesday? I hope they hope they go.

00:10:29
Speaker 2: Through them Wednesday Alice Bluegown Concert. Is it Thursday night? Yeah, Thursday night. Yeah, there is a lot to consider it all this.

00:10:38
Speaker 4: Just so you, I mean, you needn think about being on Wednesday in the past, really even on Thursday, and if you did, it'd be a game you'd win. But that, as we know, the conference is so loaded this year in this new format, It's just it's gonna be completely different.

00:10:50
Speaker 2: Be like this moving forward to that would be awful. We have a show on tin roof on Friday, and they lose on Thursday.

00:10:55
Speaker 3: And Arkansas fans show up.

00:10:59
Speaker 2: Awful.

00:11:00
Speaker 4: Let's not speak that in the existence. How about they how about they run through all of it. But right now it's good to see them in the noon Thursday game.

00:11:06
Speaker 2: So we got a lot to talk about. I also want to talk to you guys about some things that Mark Pope said last night on his Coaches Show. Found out a couple of interesting things last night from the Coaches Show last from what he did in the locker room, maybe at the Old Miss game, maybe a little blood involved. So we'll talk about that and take your calls. Let's make it an Ask Anything Thursday. I mean, that's not here all right, kind of a slow day. Ask Anything Thursday. Did you hear the Coaches Show? I heard the part. No, I read the part that Jack Pilgrim and Tyler Thompson post.

00:11:33
Speaker 4: They got to get that podcast up sooner. I don't know who does that, but like that should be there this morning. I tried to catch it. There's like a video of Randall Cobb from an Arkansas game. Really I need to I read the stories, but I wanted to hear it myself.

00:11:44
Speaker 2: See that's what that was me I just read what Jack and Tyler posted last night this morning, so not the fastest. All right, well take our break. Come back kind of stinks around here out Matt, doesn't it? Here we go?

00:11:56
Speaker 4: Are you gonna do this for two hours?

00:11:57
Speaker 2: I might as well this coun take a sports radio Shannon, the dude is so good. Folks on the podcast won't can't hear that? But Shannon so good. Welcome back Tekey Sports Radio. Ryan Drew and Shannon. Matt is taking the morning off for his colonoscopy this afternoon. Uh, Matt had to bow out gracefully.

00:12:19
Speaker 4: Oh man, He's gonna up being the butt of all these jokes, isn't it.

00:12:23
Speaker 2: This is so if you got your Matt pun, we'd like to take it today eight five nine two two two eight seven Our Clarks puppish out phone number, Ryan Drew and Shann Okay, let's talk about what Matt Matt Mark Pope said last night on his Coaches show. I'm gonna read you a couple of quotes and then we'll talk about him. The one quote is there may or may not have been some furniture destroyed in the locker room after a recent game. Drew somebody called in said they saw blood on his hand coming out of halftime. Do we think maybe some furniture got destroyed at halftime in the Old Miss game?

00:12:57
Speaker 4: According to Pope, it got completely destroyed. We don't know what pieces of furniture. We don't know what got moved around, We don't know what kind of bill they racked up in the Old Miss visiting locker room. But even said something about maybe some some replacements that will be made in Old Miss's locker room. So whatever happened behind closed doors, anyone that says Pope is too nice and he's ted Lasso, that's been the case up until Ole Miss. But it sounds like we got a little dark Pope behind the scenes and he might have snapped on him a little bit. He'll be good for him. They needed it after the way they played in that game.

00:13:28
Speaker 2: When you think about that, Shan.

00:13:29
Speaker 5: It sounds like Ole Miss is gonna get a little bit of furniture upgrade, right.

00:13:33
Speaker 3: I think I would say, yeah, that chair was worth five thousand.

00:13:36
Speaker 5: Dollars, Give me an upgrade, like an insurance claim, you know, Like I know another caller was asking like about him being too soft, not stern enough and I'm sure there's a lot of those moments that happened behind the scenes. I just don't think Mark Pope is the type of coach that's going to, you know, scream in a guy's face in public, in front of everybody. So I'm sure the players are getting that. I just don't think they're getting it during the game. Of course, that's what we see, and that leads to some of our fans thinking, well, he's just being too soft.

00:14:04
Speaker 3: I don't think that's the case at all.

00:14:06
Speaker 4: His way in explaining it was very Mark Pope, though. He said something like sometimes we have to run extremely white hot. Yeah, and okay, if that's his way of saying I snapped.

00:14:16
Speaker 2: I think that, you know, he's come up with these phrases, like one time he's talking about his cerebral cortex. One day was it was his chest confidence championship, chess championship chest. Last night it was burned white hot. I think that's what he said that a couple of times. Explain that.

00:14:30
Speaker 4: Well, I'm not I'm assuming it just means he yelled and really let into him something I don't think he's had to do much in the past. He just kind of said you know, sometimes it's got to get to that point to get your message across. And he burned white hot at Old Miss, maybe burned a few things else.

00:14:44
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:14:45
Speaker 4: What do you think he broke in the locker room? You got chairs in there.

00:14:48
Speaker 2: Well, there's a whiteboard. There's a famous Guy Morris incident when he was a head coach of Kentucky went into halftime over there at CommonWell Stadium when it was Commonwealth, punched a whiteboard, broke a bone in his hand. Like he coached the second half with a broken bone in his hand, and he's wrist or something. So it's it happens. It's not the it's not the well. Yeah, I think a lot of it's like your parents with your kids. You do have to pick and choose your battles. You can't just yell and scream and be burn white hot every time they do something wrong. That's all you would do all day. But if you pick the spot where they really need some adjustments of some guidance, that's maybe it may be more of a learning tool for him. I think that's what Pope is trying to allude to.

00:15:30
Speaker 4: And hopefully that carries over to South Carolina, and it wasn't wasted in a blowout. You know, you don't want to tear down the locker room and then just still leads to a loss and nothing happened. And so hopefully that team takes it with them and responds on Saturday. And who knows, maybe we need a little more dark Pope.

00:15:43
Speaker 5: I don't like this, but you know, if someone's constantly screaming at you after a while, that wears you down.

00:15:50
Speaker 2: And I think it does.

00:15:50
Speaker 5: Pope was saying, you know, like you guys were saying there, you got to kind of pick and choose those moments. You don't want to be constantly screaming at your players. There's a time and a place for everything. And I think Pope really that.

00:16:01
Speaker 4: I got the quote. He even said he said he might have gone a little coach p maybe pulling Patino in. He did say that it's got to be for a purpose. It can't just be an emotional release. That's not the productive thing. We try and make sure it's something that's always really really personal and not just indulgent, like an indulgent emotional outburst. It's not functional. That's such a nerdy way to say. I broke something, but that's.

00:16:22
Speaker 2: Pope well bringing coach p You know, the stories about Coach Patino around here are famous. Like he went into the locker room I think it was at Vanderbilt, I'm not sure about that, took his shoe off and threw it at Sean Wood's head. Oh yeah, bounced off the wall in the locker room.

00:16:37
Speaker 4: I've heard Sean tell that one fairly recently. I don't know if it's with us on pregame or whatever, but yeah, you've already got two of these. You got any more in there in that brain of old UK memories.

00:16:47
Speaker 2: Well there was I know, old coach p Patino got on the team plane and walked the aisle of the team plane and just took turned, chewing everybody. I just went down the aisle and them out before they could take off. This is like before they even left the airport.

00:17:04
Speaker 4: That day the Kentucky Louisville game basketball in Indianapolis, the Harrison shot you know, part of that big run Tyler Thompson. And now I got to sit right behind the bench, which is pretty rare. We're usually up on the moon. But Aerobic broke a clipboard. I can't remember if it's over his knee, or he just slammed it down. It landed right in front of us, and we each took half with us. They left it there, so got a little souvenir of a broken John Robic clipboard.

00:17:27
Speaker 2: You know, Shannon and I both played for a college baseball coach that was kind of that way. But yet it made me and a lot of our players mad. We wanted to prove him wrong. I think maybe is that the thought process when you get do that.

00:17:38
Speaker 5: I feel like for us it made us play more timid, like we were so afraid to make a mistake.

00:17:44
Speaker 3: We were tight.

00:17:45
Speaker 5: And you know, it depends like some players react differently. You know, some players, if you get in their face and you yell at them, they they play better. Other players, I feel like, go into their shell. And I think that's part of being a coach. You have to manage those unique personalities for each per. You know, what may make you Ryan play better may make me.

00:18:03
Speaker 2: I totally agree with this. Yeah, yeah. My dad always used to say he would yell at me instead of yelling at the other guard because the other guard was kind of emotional, so he'd yell at me so to kind of get scare the other guard.

00:18:17
Speaker 5: Right, some players just completely shut down and don't respond to the you know, being screamed at all.

00:18:22
Speaker 2: Well, here's the other half of Pope's quote. Pope says, any staff are trying not to be emotionally belligerent. This game begs you to lash out at your players, but that has limited short term, short term returns. So I think you know there is a I guess he's trying to say, there's time to get mad, to motivate, but it's not going to help you long term. It's just to get them out of the funk or get snap them into something at the moment. Right.

00:18:45
Speaker 4: Is That's how I he doesn't believe in just screaming all the time. He didn't say Hurley, but I'll use Hurly as an example. A guy that just seems to always be on fire. That's not Mark Pope. But it is good to know that he has it in him when necessary, because I think a lot of the fans after Tuesday night were we're wondering if that's in him because the team played a little soft and trickle down effect from your coaching staff. It's good to know he has that white hot fire when he needs it. Now, let's see what that turns into.

00:19:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, because just me hearing this story that he got upset at halftime justified the way they played in the first half. If he's got a break whiteboard or a chair or whatever happened in that locker room, the Fire's team up. They did play better in the second.

00:19:27
Speaker 3: Half, no doubt.

00:19:28
Speaker 5: Whether they score fifty three fifty three points in the second half, Ole.

00:19:32
Speaker 4: Miss goot money too, They'll be fine. They can get some new furniture. I just wish it had been in a win. So those journey videos they put out, for sure we might actually get video evidence of it, even though it sounds like maybe a bit of a crime of destructive property there, but it would be cool to see what actually happened. That'll probably stay in house forever.

00:19:49
Speaker 2: So I guess now that it's out there, do you think it'll happen again? Or does that? With his personality, almost have a hard time believing that's gonna be a regular occurrence.

00:20:01
Speaker 4: Yeah, if it happens again, I worry what kind of situation we're in.

00:20:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, hopefully he does kind of need to do it again.

00:20:06
Speaker 4: Let's let's go beat South Carolina on Saturday by twenty and move on to the next game. And but if he needs to tap into it, it's.

00:20:13
Speaker 2: There, Shannon, what do you think?

00:20:14
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I again, like for fans seeing Mark Pope and not seeing him outraged, I feel like it's easy for us on the outside looking in to go, well, he's he's not showing a lot of passion, a lot of emotion over there on the sideline, But as long as he's getting the message across behind scenes.

00:20:32
Speaker 3: I'm totally fine with it.

00:20:33
Speaker 5: And like we said, obviously it worked because they came out in the second half they look like a completely different team than they did in the first.

00:20:39
Speaker 2: So maybe maybe there's some guys that can or will respond to that kind of coaching. But with the things that we've got a couple guys that are so quiet in their own just their personality, you know, Jackson Robinson, Kobe Braa, these guys are kind of quiet guys, you know.

00:20:53
Speaker 3: Mari Mari.

00:20:55
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:20:55
Speaker 4: I don't know if they're still doing it, but they've they've been rotating who gives the pregame speech. Kirk was a sign on him there for a while and it's been a month or so, but Pope when it was Amari's turn, his pregame speech was like two sentences. You know, that's just his personality.

00:21:09
Speaker 2: Well, you mentioned Lamar Butler, Pope said last night, he's well, he was the heart and soul of our team. You take that away, you can kind of see why you may have some struggles when it comes to passion, emotion, getting ready for a big game.

00:21:22
Speaker 4: Yeah. I'm going all the way back to the summer. When we were doing the first interviews, everyone talked about Lamont being the on court leader, very vocal, kind of hyping him up a bit. I think they're missing that just as much as his actual play and defense out there, because you know, I don't know if he would have made a difference Tuesday that was a whooping. I don't know if he could have changed the out come much, but he might have gotten guys a little more dialed in defensively and given him a chance.

00:21:44
Speaker 2: I felt like he would have help probably a lot more. At the Arkansas game, Yes, Garden DJ and Gardening the preimter out there for sure, but the only miss game that they were just hitting everything they were. You know, we talked about how well they shot. They had some wide open looks. They also hit shots with guys right in her face.

00:21:59
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean Pope has been a big thing is he wants the guys who can't shoot to shoot. They're allowing it. But this is two straight games with the guys who can't shoot or lights out, So I don't know if that strategy can keep going on. Maybe it's the case these guys are seeing Kentucky and we all know everybody plays their best when that Kentucky logos across from him. But I'm a little done with just letting the non shooters shoot willingly because they're knocking them down lately.

00:22:22
Speaker 3: Well.

00:22:22
Speaker 2: I don't want to pooh pooh on what punk Pope did in the locker room, but I think it maybe it worked. All Right, We'll take our break, we'll come back. Don't feel where Kentucky branded on Friday Tomorrow? Gosh tomorrow is Friday. Come out and see's out there always a good show. And I've got I'm gonna ask you guys a question. I want you to make a hot take on the Kentucky basketball season. This year. The dude predicted a triple double. Can you guys predict something else that's gonna happen. We'll get your hot takes. We come back here can take a sports radio. We've talked about this song before. I can't believe that this is like the early seventies. I can't believe they played that on the radio. I think a lot of stations refuse to play it. Think about that in the early seventies and this song comes out. Yeah, about being on the pill. That's little that's pushing the envelope quite a bit.

00:23:13
Speaker 5: I was planning for Matt Jones and his pill that he's in today, a little bit different pill.

00:23:17
Speaker 2: Speaking of Matt Jones, Textra calls in on the Avis and Glass text Machine. I'm surprised Matt missed today as antal as he is.

00:23:26
Speaker 4: That's true. If he keeps missing, he'll have to slot over to number two show.

00:23:32
Speaker 2: I like this eight two to eight seven. That's our Clark's pumpa Chop phone number. Before we go to the phones, we'll get to you, I'll promise you. But I ask you guys to come up with a hot take on the basketball season for the rest of the year. Because the reason I thought of this the guy that called in the pregame show Tuesday night, Drew called the Amari Williams triple double. That's a heck of a that's a heck of a pool to call that out there. So we're gonna we're all gonna make ours right now in case we hit something, you know, and we that guy now will remember forever Mason I think was his name. He'll be remembered forever for his hot takes, and am Mari Williams are going to get a triple double in the game. We all need to go on record right now. Mario, we might get you to do one too. They got hot take, Mario hot take of the UK basketball this year, So though, if it happens, we can go back and chant and can play it like have Do you remember when you said that on that day Matt was out, Yeah, yeah, so you got one.

00:24:23
Speaker 4: Uh yeah, We're gonna be Auburn.

00:24:26
Speaker 2: That was gonna be mine. That was literally gonna be mine.

00:24:30
Speaker 4: Let's just speak it into existence. I have some logic behind it. We wasted our best effort in the Arkansas game. Reperena was so good. The whole town was excited. Pope Nosey dropped the ball in that one. We run it back for number one. Auburn I'll throw in the game days in town or wait, we're at Auburn, aren't we?

00:24:50
Speaker 2: No, it's here.

00:24:51
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, that's right, Game Bay is coming here. Sorry, I was getting confused. It yeah, Game day will be in town. We redo our fastball at Rupperina and win that game as a seven and a half point underdog.

00:25:03
Speaker 5: All right, Shannon uh Okay, I made my take, I guess back in November, but I'll double down on it. I said, going into the SEC, Kentucky was gonna finish eleven and seven. They're four and five right now. It doesn't look like they're gonna be able to do that, but I think they still will. I think they're gonna get white hot, to use Mark Pope's phrase, and I think there's still a world where they can get hot and finish eleven and seven and finish in the top five of the SEC standings.

00:25:29
Speaker 2: All right, Drew Stole mind, just stick with just double down. I like that one. That's what I was gonna pick.

00:25:34
Speaker 4: I what was your reasoning? Did you have anything behind it? Mine is just the crowd and a second chance at a big, you know, Saturday game.

00:25:40
Speaker 2: Mine was gonna be Yours is a lot better than mine. My reasoning was, Pope teams, even at BYU, win the games they're not necessarily supposed to. It seem like they lose some games they should win. I think that's a game everybody's gonna pick Auburn to win, and it's gonna be a rough and like you said, it'll be a crazy environment. Kentucky will win it.

00:25:56
Speaker 4: And even though they just destroyed Oklahoma, they have they've had two close games easily, they're gonna slip up somewhere will just hopefully it's in Lexington.

00:26:03
Speaker 2: They'll have an off shooting night. Those guys can, like all five of them can shoot. They'll have a night where somebody or their most of their team's off. So I'm gonna I'm gonna go with this one because this is one I kind of flirted with. Jackson Robinson is about to go off. He's he's figured it out and he will be an NBA draft pick. Everybody keeps saying he's not. We have no NBA guys. Jackson Robbins's gonna finish so strong, he's gonna play his way to being an NBA draft pick. That's what I'm going with.

00:26:30
Speaker 4: He's turned it on lately since that dud at Georgia, he's been so good at that twenty seven at Mississippi State. He's had four threes in just about every game at SEC play. I think Vandy had three. But he's lighted up. His problem is on the other end, we're losing him. He's one of the guys that just aren't defending Will. Early in the season he was good at getting deflections, getting his hand in places. The last two games, he's been guilty of being one of the fenders that is just getting blown by play after play. You're coming over here, Mario.

00:26:57
Speaker 2: All right, microph remember with the day we did this, he's hot takes off one of them hit. We can play it back and say, oh, remember look how smart we were. All right, super Mario, what yours?

00:27:05
Speaker 8: My hot take is going to be that Kentucky's gonna meet up with Arkansas and the SEC tournament and we're gonna win.

00:27:11
Speaker 2: That's a good one. That's that's my hot take. Leaving it on that, that's a good one. Yeah, there's very strong possibility they could definitely meet and you know what, and then in the NCAA tournament they're gonna play Saint John's in the second round.

00:27:23
Speaker 4: Now we're just trying to set up all the count on that one, all the awkward things.

00:27:26
Speaker 2: Uh, here's from Navis and Glass Tex Machine. I'm just glad Matt is getting this klon oscar Bey, so now you can put it all behind him. I think it's fair fair to say, for to say, all right, eight five nine two a oh two two eight seven, who's our first collar? Shannon? Ted ted go ahead, Ted, Hey.

00:27:42
Speaker 9: Good morning. First of all, Jesson's definitely an NBA prospect.

00:27:45
Speaker 7: I agree with that.

00:27:47
Speaker 9: You know what, guys, I want to make this clear. Good athletes like elite athletes, and then you know, Kentucky, any of these guys in this level, they want to be coached hard. And then what I mean is they want to be held accountable because they know if they're gonna win and win championships, they need to be held accountable and be coached. Now, I'm not saying Pope doesn't coach them hard. I'm not watching practice, I'm not in the locker room. But the talk that these guys want to be treated with kid gloves is completely flawed. When you're at this level, even and especially at the pro level, these guys want to know that if they're held accountable and their coach hard, they're gonna win. They're not there to like take second place in third place. We just went through this with our head coach for the Bear Fberflupes. He was fired midseason. Heck of a nice guy, actually a pretty good coach. He didn't hold anybody accountable. He was way too soft on these guys. And as the players kept speaking and speaking about him throughout the season, the same things have coming out. He's too easy on people, He's not holding guys accountable, and they knew they weren't going to get to the next level. Now I'm not saying Pope's not doing any of this, and I'm glad to hear that maybe something went happened in the locker room, but I just want everyone to know, and you guys know this, the elite athletes want to be coached hard. They don't want to treat it softly because they're that good they can take it. They're not taking it personally, and I think these guys on Kentucky are much better than what we've been seeing the last two games. I'm personally a little concerned, like what is going on behind the scenes because I've seen them in some tough games and maybe they've figured that out now. But hey, players on this team, let's say they can put it together as we get close to the tournament. That's really all that matters.

00:29:25
Speaker 2: Perfect, good call, Ted, Thank you appreciate your phone call. I mean, I think you said a lot of things I agree with right there, and maybe Pope getting into them a little bit will pay off for some of these guys.

00:29:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, I agree with the caller. I mean, you can only do the ada boy and we'll get them next time and keep your head up so many times so you got to light an actual fire under them.

00:29:44
Speaker 2: Again.

00:29:44
Speaker 4: A surprised it hasn't happened before, Old Miss. Maybe it has, we didn't hear about it because there were some bad losses before that. At least it finally happened. And to his point about there's good players are still a good team. I feel like a lot of our fans completely forgot December. I'm seeing people just like it's just not working. It's like, yes, and it has been bad, and I'm as mad at Old Miss as anyone. That was a horrible game, But I mean the wins did anyone have Mark Pope beating Duke Gonzaga Louisville, Florida. I'm not trying to crown him and say this is a great season because of those games. But you can't just pile on the losses and not at least give them credit for what they did earlier. Now they need to get back to that. They're obviously trending the wrong direction. You got guys regressing they shouldn't be in the spot after starting so well. But we do have to acknowledge that they have won those games. They're capable of it. They just need to find out how to do it again.

00:30:32
Speaker 2: And Shannon, just a week ago they won at Tennessee. They was shorthanded, they'd have car Butler in the Tennessee Gaming going down there and beat a team that was number one in the country for.

00:30:40
Speaker 5: Several weeks, right, I mean for Mark Pope to come in and build this team from the ground up with all transfers and you know, some Kentucky guys, all new coaching staff, I feel like he has still exceeded expectations. If you say, going in, you know what Drew just laid out there, you win all those games. I think most of the fan base would probably be happy, wouldn't you. I mean, you know, what were your expectations going into the season before we tipped off the first game?

00:31:06
Speaker 2: Well, I'm with you. I think I picked eleven and seven in the SEC.

00:31:10
Speaker 5: Well, I just mean, in like just overall the entire season, before we played the first regular season.

00:31:15
Speaker 2: Game, I mean, I remember thinking, I think I think we said on this show, I want him just to get to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament and play on Saturday in the SEC tournament and get to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament's I wanted to see this first year.

00:31:27
Speaker 4: I feel like Kentucky fans forgot what we were saying in April. I mean, people just wanted to win a game in Nashville and win a game in the NCAA. And now I'm seeing stuff like this team can't go to the final four. He can't do it. It's like, well, did you expect that in May? I mean, we're Kentucky. We want to be there. But I'm not going to beat him up for not going to the final four this year. Now, if he goes on and doesn't win a game in the SEC or n Cuba that's a conversation we'll have. But right now, I'm not just throwing this aside. They could still go on and run and have a lot of fun moving forward. Heck, they could make the final four. Someone just predicted their hot take. They tweeted in they said, Kentucky men and women in the final four this year.

00:32:02
Speaker 2: I love that.

00:32:03
Speaker 4: That's an extremely hot take. But that was the submission here on Twitter.

00:32:07
Speaker 2: The women are what now twenty and two, nineteen and two, something like that. I think that's crazy. We really don't talk about them as much as we should have because they are. They got the best player on campus and right now, they got the best team on campus, and they deserve their flowers.

00:32:20
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:32:20
Speaker 4: Earlier this week, Georgia was named Nate Smith Player of the Week. She's a point Guard of the Year finalist SEC Player of the Week. I mean, as you said it, who's the best basketball player in Lexington right now? Georgia amos exactly, And they are so fun to watch. I hate that there's not a Thursday game tonight. They have a full week off.

00:32:36
Speaker 2: They don't play.

00:32:37
Speaker 4: It's a Sunday or Monday. I'll be tuned in for that one. But I can't wait for them to get back to Memorial Coliseum and get over there and watch them in person at LSU and Tennessee around the corner, back to back.

00:32:48
Speaker 2: Not easy. The SEC women's schedules as hard as the SEC men's schedule every year. All right, let's take take one more call, Shann who we got? All right, let's go to Rob, Rob, Go ahead, Rob.

00:33:00
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:33:00
Speaker 10: I just had a comment and then a question. A comment was I was privileged enough to be in the locker room for Coach Hall on the eighty three team in the eighty fourteen, and the psychology of the players is interesting. I'm not sure that. I'm not sure back then that it was realized. You could tell Charlie Hurt, get on him that he couldn't do something, and he would run through a wall. If you got on Derek Cord, Derek would believe you and he couldn't do it. Sam just was to himself, and Sam had to motivate himself, and what you said to him didn't matter. And Melvin was just you know, Melvin sometimes didn't know who we were playing, and that is a truth. Coach Hall one time not really destroy anything, but hit something, and he was at the chalkboard and there was a coke there, and he took his program and went across and knocked a coke across the room minute it landed in one of the assistant coach's chest. And then my question was, and I was talking to some people earlier, and I know this was brought up on the Leach Report earlier. First of all, what Pope has done is amazing, coming in after the portal was partially full or taken and come up with a team he has. My question is he can teach great offense, but can he teach great defense or is it just the fact that we don't have Butler. I mean, getting me to one hundred and six to one hundred by Alabama is just shouldn't happen. So that's my question.

00:34:37
Speaker 2: Thank you, Okay, all right, ro I appreciate that. We'll get to that after break. We need to take a break. We'll get to that as well. Shanon, you got what you need to read here before we go to break.

00:34:43
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00:35:24
Speaker 2: This is the good life. Here is Shannon the Dude. We're here with Drew Franklin, Ryan Lemon. We'll take our break Kentucky's Sports Radio. We'll eventually stop making Matt the butt of all jokes. All right, Welcome back Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan Leman, Drew Franklin, Shannon the d We have breaking new Shannon the Barstool guys Dan and Big Cat and PFT have officially put Matt Jones on the hot seat. So yeah, so look out for that. Listen. Drew has a friend that is on fire right now? Can I just read? Can I read all of his that he just sent during the commercial break?

00:36:07
Speaker 4: His puns, Well, he sent him to you, not me, So I don't know what it's on there.

00:36:10
Speaker 2: I thought you were you were you got them?

00:36:11
Speaker 4: Also, no, you have green text. I don't know any groups with you.

00:36:15
Speaker 2: Is today the only day that Matt is allowed to be a dukie? You did? Like? That was Shannon's It's all right.

00:36:24
Speaker 8: He's going to be so mad if he sees these jokes, if he sees getting Oh lord, these procedures are these procedures are normal.

00:36:35
Speaker 2: Once you hit farty like you are allowed.

00:36:38
Speaker 3: You were allowing during the break like it was the funniest thing you had ever read in your life.

00:36:42
Speaker 2: And that's the one I like.

00:36:43
Speaker 3: Read them and they're not that good. The farty was all right?

00:36:46
Speaker 2: Remember that. That's the joke that guy told us we were in New Hampshire. He said, why is there only two hundred and thirty nine beans in this can of beans? Because if there was one more, it'd be too foddy. The silence is definitely eight five nine two two eight seven. Let's go to the phone lines. Who we got Shannon, Jeff Jeff, Go ahead, Jeff, Jeff, are you there?

00:37:09
Speaker 3: Didn't like your joke?

00:37:10
Speaker 2: No, he must have hung up. All right, who's next, Let's try Joe, Joe, go ahead, Joe.

00:37:16
Speaker 7: You all got to leave him j alone. He totally drained and needed the day off.

00:37:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, he is totally drained.

00:37:24
Speaker 7: Uh have you all seen I think I thick think it was Drew to tweet this out. Have you all seen that Daniel Wolf kid at Michigan.

00:37:31
Speaker 2: Oh?

00:37:31
Speaker 4: Yes, he's my number one. Go get him, Pope, portal target.

00:37:35
Speaker 7: Gotta get him, Gotta get him. He fits the system perfectly. And uh, I think he'd be a great fit. But that's the problem for for next year. I guess all.

00:37:46
Speaker 2: Right, thank you appreciate the phone call. You know, next year, I think it's gonna be interesting mix. He's already got the freshman Jasper Johnson, Malchomarino and a Kaden Lewis. He's gonna have at least three guys probably come back, Brandon Garrison, Otaga and Kerr, and then he'll have another three or four portal guys. It's like it's gonna be a mix of everything. I think next year.

00:38:06
Speaker 4: I want Danny Wolf. I know Garrison's coming back, probably to take a Mari spot. But Danny Wolf's seven foot tall. He shoots the three. Last night, I tweeted it or retweeted it. He playing against Oregon. He just put this dude in a blender and stepped back and hit a three in his face. I mean, he looks like a guy that was made to play for Mark Pope. He's having a great year for Michigan. If anyone's watched them, you know exactly who I'm talking about. And I know they already have Garrison Marino. I don't feel that comfortable with only those two going into next year. So when it's time to go portaling, it's time to go shopping, I hope he's on the list.

00:38:39
Speaker 2: I failed to mention the three freshmen. So we have three recruits, three freshmen, three returning players, and then three or four portal guys. Probably, yeah, that would have to have to.

00:38:49
Speaker 4: Get some big portal guys. I mean, I like the pieces he already has, But I just don't think Pope's gonna need a good year. I don't think you can trust the freshman coming in and just what you've already named, he's got to go out and Land some big tar.

00:39:00
Speaker 2: Who's next, Shannon Scott? Scott, go ahead, Scott.

00:39:04
Speaker 6: I think, guys, I just got a comment about Coach Pope and then I got a hot take for you. I'm actually the guy that called originally in the Fall and compared Coach Pope to Ted Lasso. Do you have to disagree that Pope busting furniture makes it a little less like ted Lasso?

00:39:23
Speaker 4: You there, Yeah, ahead, it does hurt your argument.

00:39:27
Speaker 6: Sorry, yeah, I mean I think, you know, if anything, in my opinion, it kind of makes me more like ted Lasso, and that, like I mean, kind of reminds me of when a scene where ted Lasso got mad and you know, I think one of the players not coming out for practice and kind of lights of fire. But I think his calculated use of that emotion makes it so much more popent when it actually does come out. So that said, I kind of wish you would have done it a little bit more during the first half. You're a mississip, you're an old me excuse me, rather than you know in halftime. But but anyway, that that's just my take on it all.

00:40:02
Speaker 2: I appreciate it. Go ahead, go ahead, Yeah, go ahead.

00:40:05
Speaker 6: Go ahead. He take, Yeah, hot take. Lamon returns for Alabama until we dominate and we beat Alabama on the road. So love to see it happen.

00:40:16
Speaker 2: All right, appreciate it, Rob. You know, Billy had a little hot take about Lamont Butler on the pre show this morning, Shannon.

00:40:21
Speaker 3: Yeah, uh he said.

00:40:23
Speaker 5: I think he said next week he would expect Lamont Butler to be back.

00:40:26
Speaker 3: I have no idea what that's based off of.

00:40:29
Speaker 2: But he kind of said it like confident, like he knew something.

00:40:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, but does he know something or is he just saying things he does.

00:40:35
Speaker 4: Billy's got some unbelievable confidence.

00:40:38
Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, I mean he might be right. I don't know.

00:40:40
Speaker 5: I don't know anything more than apparently he knows more than I do. If he knows this, give me back next week. I think it was encouraging that he was.

00:40:48
Speaker 2: He did the pregame shoot around and stuff with the team had down in Oxford or Old Miss where he was running up and down the field of the court trying to get his conditioning back in order. I think that's a huge positive step. Yeah.

00:40:58
Speaker 4: I mean, Kentucky was down by twenty and so it kind of skipped right over that. But Jimmy Dike saying Lamont was not a full participant, but was very active in shoot around, running intoing his own drills, doing as much as he could. That's the first we've heard of that. So that's that's a good step moving forward.

00:41:12
Speaker 2: I think Matt predicted the twenty second February twenty second.

00:41:15
Speaker 4: That's Alabama.

00:41:16
Speaker 2: Alabama. Yeah, yeah, So I do think they'll have him back from March when he comes back for regular season. I'm not sure, I think, but they want him, I think as healthy as possible when they go into March. Don't you think that's the plan?

00:41:28
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I'm to the point I expect him back just with all the comments and you know, social media and popping on that Brandon Garrison video, it's just a matter of when. But we haven't seen the last one. That's why. As bad as this is, it's like there's a little light that we can hopefully get back to everyone healthy. Outside of Kurr, he probably won't be back, but at least have car and Butler back full in the rotation and see what can happen.

00:41:47
Speaker 2: Well, even with Kerr, he was out shooting around without a boot on. I mean, you know, he's still a long way away, but at least he's mobile enough. We can shoot around a little bit in the shoot around things, so we'll see. All right, we'll take our break, come back hour number two. We'll take your phone calls and ask anything. Thursday eight five nine two eight h two two eight seven, Ryan, Drew and Shannon. Don't forget. We're Friday tomorrow. We're Kentucky branded out by the Mall. We'll be right back. This is Kentucky's Sports Radio.