2026-02-18- KSR - Hour 1

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Speaker 1: Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington. Welcome to the hilarious New York comedian Phil Hanley February fifth through the seventh. Then it's the return of EGT finalist and impressionist Greg Morton February twelfth through the fourteenth. And don't miss legendary comedian and podcaster Greg fifth Simmons February nineteenth through the twenty first four tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway shows called eight five, nine, two seven, one joke or visit Comedy Off Broadway dot com comed Off.

00:00:30
Speaker 2: This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.

00:00:36
Speaker 3: Welcome everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio, Wednesday, February eighteenth. I'm Matt Jones. Here. It is ash Wednesday and the official first day of Ramadan. I said it was yesterday. I looked later. My book was a day ahead. It said the it started at sundown. Now this is the actual. So you got a couple holidays, you give shout Clark's Puppet Shop phone line eight five nine twenty two eighty seven. A Vision Auto Glass tax machine is seven seven to two seven to seven four five two five four In this distion sponsored by the TJ. Smith Office. They called TJ. He'll make them pay. We are here at the KS Bar and Grill. It is wings day. Uh and you got burgers and you got wings, and you got dollar wings. But you also got a little bit of sadness because the Cats lose last night. Uh eighty six seventy eight. This couple came in here from Marshall County. They drove all the way to the game. This is the one game they were going to this year, and they picked it because they thought, well, there's a good chance we're gonna win this one, right And uh, that didn't happen. Instead, we lose in what I aks a big loss for Kentucky big picture. You know, I talked a lot of details of the game yesterday, but I think big picture, big loss because if they had won last night, I think they were basically in the tournament. Probably needed to win one more game, but probably in either way. Now you've got five games left, you're gonna be an underdog four of them, and you can't afford to slip, and you might even need to steal one to not be in Dayton the SEC tournament. Your double buys probably gone your single bye is not certain. I mean, there are nine teams for eight spots, and you've got the hardest schedule of the group, so that's not certain. And you know, if at best, even if you kind of get hot here and win some games at the end, you've probably cost yourself a seed line losing it home. Ryan, it did not go well. It's crazy.

00:02:34
Speaker 4: One week ago we're sitting here talking about playing for first place in the SEC. Now a week later we're talking about we got to win a couple these just to get into tournament. It's crazy how things have turned.

00:02:43
Speaker 3: Just to get a not I mean even just like we could not we could be playing on Wednesday. Not only could we be playing on Wednesday or the SEC tournament, we can play on Wednesday the first game because if we're the nine seed. Just for people to realize, if we're the nine seed, we play at one o'clock on Wednesday, And I don't think there's really a way for us to drop below the nine seed, but there is a way to be the nine seed, and so you could end up being playing one o'clock on Wednesday. So like, it's not great.

00:03:12
Speaker 5: No, the double bye was still a little unlikely. But I think we closed the door on that last night. Unless you just get some crazy hot to end the year, and you know we're gonna be in that bubble conversation. And this is why I hated losing early, Like, even if your team turns the corner, if you get to the tournament and you're such a high seed that your path is improbable. I mean these the Georgia games matter, the Missouri games matter, the games in November matter because to achieve the goals we want to achieve, and you'd be one of those top seeds and there's no way they're gonna be a path that they're gonna like when the bracket comes up.

00:03:42
Speaker 3: No, no, it's gonna be. Yeah, I've won it all year. Avoid the eight or nine seed because I think the ones are so much better than the twos and threes in the tournament this year. And we may end up avoiding the eight or nine because we're a ten or eleven, I think if we're not careful. So look, I went over why I thought we lost the game last night. I want to get your all's take here in just a second, but I will say to you, I'm really I was really disappointed last night with two things in particular, one of which is the well, they both kind of go to the same thing. I'm just really disappointed the way we played in the first half. I gave this stat last night, and in case you all went to bed, and I would forgive you if I did. I just want people to just digest because I want this stat to take root in people's minds. We've played nineteen games against power conference teams this year nineteen. We've played seven games against bad teams, nineteen games against power conference teams at halftime. Do you know what our record is if the game ended at halftime.

00:04:49
Speaker 4: I heard you say this last night, four and fifteen.

00:04:53
Speaker 3: We've been losing at halftime in fifteen of these nineteen games. Thirteen of the games we've been down at least a dozen points at some point. So we I mean, we're four and fifteen at halftime. Now, by the way, we're only ten and nine for the games. We've barely won more games against major conference teams than we've lost. But we're four and fifteen at halftime. And that is awful. Like that is awful. And yesterday is an example of a game where it costs you because you could have won that game, should have won that game, and fourign fifteen at halftime, to me, as a coach, should be like, well, whatever we're doing in the first half is not working. But Mark Pope will not alter. He was asked a couple times after the game about well, why do you do the substitution patterns you do and you go, and he was like, well, we've done research that says that if you don't do that, your play will suffer down the stretch. I mean, I guess, but we know it's suffering, as Steve Smurrier would say, in the first half. And then so that's first thing, then second thing. And listen, we had this conversation yesterday on the show, so it makes me hesitate to bring it up today because it's gonna sound like I'm picking on the kid. I do not want to pick on the kid because I don't just blame him. All right, it's not his fault. But if you look at the plus minus from the game last night, most of our guys were all either plus one or minus five, so they were all like bunched together. Chandler was the best, I think, actually Moreno was the worst. But they're all close to each other, but Trentono was minus thirteen and Jasper Johnson was minus sixteen in fourteen. So Trentona was minus thirteen and nine minutes and Jasper Johnson was minus sixteen and fourteen minutes. Jasper Johnson was two for eight from the field, and I watched him personally give up four baskets on his own. Now he wasn't the only one. Yellovich probably gave up five. But I watched it and to me, I thought, well, after that conversation yesterday, that's an unfortunate performance. After the game, Mark Pope, unprompted, brought up Jasper as having played well, looked at the stat sheet, so he goes, Jasper I thought, did some really good names things for us, and then you could almost see him looking at the stat sheet and then he went, well, you know, the stat sheet didn't really show it, but I thought he played played well. And then he had said earlier I think he needs to play more minutes. I mean, there's a part of me goes, what game is Mark Pope watching? Like, what game is he watching where we don't change the first half even though we're four and fifteen at halftime, and where the player who had I think, objectively the worst statistical game. You come out of it and say he needs to play more. That that's what kind of makes me go, what am I watching? Is that unreasonable?

00:08:04
Speaker 4: No, it's not. It definitely was not one of Jasper's better games last night. So I had a friend of mine and text me, well, is the positive he's doing a great job coaching at halftime making adjustments for the second half.

00:08:17
Speaker 5: Those are forty minute games. Would you get half your paycheck? I mean we need a full game.

00:08:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree, I mean, okay, I'll give him the halftime adjustments. Okay, but it's a full game.

00:08:31
Speaker 4: It makes no sense how they have started slow like this every single game and.

00:08:35
Speaker 3: Then she started well, it was like the last eight minutes of the first run.

00:08:38
Speaker 5: You're right, it's what stuck so bad last night. It wasn't what's been getting.

00:08:42
Speaker 3: Them all year.

00:08:43
Speaker 5: And you're like, well, that's just what they are. And they couldn't come back. They're up twenty seven to nineteen. Was seven minutes left in the first half. That should be foot on the gas. We're running you out of elections to night, You're not gonna be in this. But you know what, Georgia goes up there, up and half.

00:08:55
Speaker 3: All right, but I had somebody, a little birdie, send me the advance stats what happened with each lineup? Okay, all right, I can look at the lineups and see exactly who was in the same two players were in playing together during George's run in the first half and the second half. He had Jasper and Jelovich in together for only five minutes in the entire game, and we were minus fourteen in those five minutes. Now, why they can't guard and you cannot play those guys together if you're gonna play him, you can't. And he had Jasper, Jealovich and Noah in at the same time for three minutes and we were minus seven in those three minutes. How does he think you can play objectively your three worst defenders on the floor at the same time. And in one of those there were two possessions where we had Jasper, Jeovich, Noah and Garrison in, which is objectively our four worst defenders. Yeovich, guess what Georgia scored on both the possessions. So he is not He is smart, But you cannot have stretches, I said last night. See if you agree with this, Aberdeen O Way Chandler Moreno, three of those four have to be on the floor at all times. I agreed. Would you agree have to have three of those floor? You cannot have We had scenarios last night where only one was in. Can't play like that. This team's not good enough to play like.

00:10:26
Speaker 5: That, and that shouldn't be that hard to do most nights. That's the thing that drives me the craziest is he keeps saying, I'm trying to find these ways to get these guys rest. I'm not trying to be the old guy like these are college kids. But surely they're capable of playing thirty six minutes a game.

00:10:40
Speaker 3: I'll with the season off the medio, surely they're surely they can do. There are people all.

00:10:45
Speaker 5: Over the country that have figured out how to play thirty six minutes.

00:10:48
Speaker 3: In a game, and they're doing over. I mean, I would say, look, last night, you completely screwed up the rotations and O Way played thirty four. You think if he plays thirty six, he's just gonna fall down and go that was it. But it's nothing he said the last two minutes that just did in Take me home, Lord, I have to like he didn't say they get tired.

00:11:07
Speaker 5: He says, we just start playing worse, almost like he's saying they lose focus.

00:11:10
Speaker 4: Well he said this, Yeah. In the post game show with Tom last night, he said the reason the ball went off always leg was for fault.

00:11:15
Speaker 3: Come on, come on, come on? He did, Yes, he did. I didn't hear that he did not he said he dribbled it off his foot, because I think he didn't say that. Ryan, don't you be misquote why Mark Pope?

00:11:26
Speaker 4: Yes, it was when he was talking to say the crowd, he said, fatigue set in. I always had to pur over and he drove it in.

00:11:32
Speaker 3: So he thinks he drove it off his foot because he was tired.

00:11:34
Speaker 4: Me, it's the twenty sixth game of the season. There should not be a fatigue problem where he, like Drew said, other teams figured it out. Why is Kentucky not figured out?

00:11:41
Speaker 3: It's not lost to me.

00:11:42
Speaker 5: Pope was on the team that is historically known for conditioning and vomiting. Like he, of all people, should think the guys could handle it. We know all those stories from Patino's.

00:11:51
Speaker 3: Practice in the trash game, Like you're making that up because he did not dribble off his foot because he was tired.

00:11:58
Speaker 4: The exact word Mark Pope used time it was fatigue.

00:12:02
Speaker 3: I just don't bund it. Here's what I know. Whatever fatigue said in the full spirit of that lineup he was playing in the first half was worse. I'll take a fatigued Aberdeen, Chandler and o Way. I mean, I understand, you're gonna have to play Yovich, you're gonna have to play Jasper, and you might have to play Noah. I get that, but she can't play them all together. You can't put all those guys in together. You're actually not even giving them a chance to succeed. Like if they have like if you're gonna play Noah, put him with four starters in Noah, right, But you cannot have. At one point Aberdeen, Owah, Chandler and moreno were all out And you can make an argument those are our three best scores and they were all out. You just this team, you.

00:12:50
Speaker 4: Can't do that well, So let's let's try to figure it out. For most of the game last night, you had two offensive threads, Chandler and Oway until Aberdeen got hot Lady, which she was Chandler, and that's your only offensive threats. Is he trying to find who could be another offensive threat?

00:13:04
Speaker 3: Listen, And I'm not now this is nitpicking, But at the end of the game, when we went from nine to three, who had the ball in their hands every play and made decisions Aberdeen? Why did we then not do that on the last play? Yeah, right, Well he gave it to an Oway who then droubled. And I understand listen, oways great, but how about having Aberdeen make a drive then get it to Oway. Oh, Aberdeen had the ball in his hands the last four minutes of the game and he was getting to the rim and either finishing or kicking it out. Those two Chandler threes were off kicks from Aberdeen. He missed them, but they were open. Why did we then go all right, this has worked for the last four minutes. I think Dame Bradshaw says in the broadcast they need to get to Aberdeen, let him create something, and then we didn't do that.

00:13:50
Speaker 4: Well, So, with all this said, you're right, at the end of the game we had the ball in the hands of Chandler and Oway, the two guys that should have had the ball.

00:13:56
Speaker 3: That's true.

00:13:57
Speaker 4: Challenger's three opportunities with the all for three and re empty possessions.

00:14:00
Speaker 3: And that's tough. But it's hard for me to get mad at those guys because that we weren't in the game.

00:14:05
Speaker 5: Were already done at that point.

00:14:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, we were blowing eight.

00:14:07
Speaker 5: Point lead to Georgia at home and you're Kentucky. That's already a loss for me in itself.

00:14:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, so very frustrated, very frustrated. And I and more I hate the miss free throws. Aberdeen, o Way and Noah combined to shoot seven of fourteen from the free throw line. Those are your best free throw shooters along with Chandler. And Chandler got no free throw. So are your four best free throw shooters combined to go seven for fourteen.

00:14:32
Speaker 4: Can't happen, Trent like an eighty five percent shooter.

00:14:34
Speaker 3: Diabotte and Garrison and moreno were five for six. It was your guards who missed.

00:14:41
Speaker 4: The free at the end of the game. You're talking about every day. When Aberdeen was getting in the lane getting fouled, he except the free throw. Two of them couldn't a free throw one of them.

00:14:47
Speaker 3: It was good he missed because we got the rebound and scorey rebound. Yeah, that was a bit Diabata had nine boards in seventeen minutes.

00:14:54
Speaker 4: You got to give him that credit, you know. Georgia set the tone early, tried to get physical with this and we didn't respond. But a bot day, the physicality of the game did not bother him at all.

00:15:03
Speaker 3: Yeah A five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven text Machine seven seven two seven seven four five two five four. Uh, we will take him. We'll take a break, uh and take your calls. Tough loss, but you know what we do, or at least we're not. We're not Mike Cronin because we got to play that tip or clip not tip.

00:15:21
Speaker 4: We'll bear it back, kind of saying.

00:15:31
Speaker 3: Welcome back. Turkey Sports Radio A Feb Nine, two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. One person writes, matt Lebron James is five hundred and twenty years old and he plays thirty three minutes a game. Are you telling me these dudes can't play thirty three minutes a game? That's a good point. I mean, now, granted he's a pro and in amazing shape, but he is he is like just a little younger than I am and still going.

00:15:57
Speaker 2: And why aren't our guys an amazing shape, right, I mean, there's no excuse.

00:16:03
Speaker 3: Shannon, like Shannon chiming in, so you think there's no excuse for not being.

00:16:07
Speaker 2: I think there's a lot to be said about what Drew said earlier. I mean, Mark Pope played for Rick Patino and those teams. Every guy on that team, I guarantee you back then could play for forty minutes and if it went to overtime, they play forty five minutes and not have to set out. And it's like now, it's well, you know he can't go another two or three minutes.

00:16:25
Speaker 5: Why Olway played sixteen minutes in the second half so he has a halftime break four minutes somewhere in there. You're telling me that's why he dribbled off his foot. He was so tired from that.

00:16:37
Speaker 3: Yeah. And again, if you're gonna give away and Chandler rest, just don't do it at the same time, right. I mean there's NBA teams that take the view. Well, the Lakers do this with Lebron and Luca. They're like one of them's always on the court, So why don't we do that?

00:16:53
Speaker 4: I don't know. Substitution pattern have puzzled me ever since Pope got here.

00:16:57
Speaker 3: One person writes, please ask Ryan to defend his position. He made a pronouncement yesterday about Jasper. He's now minus thirty four in his last two game.

00:17:08
Speaker 4: Yeah, we talked about ituring the break, not Jasper's best performance.

00:17:11
Speaker 3: And what are you gonna do, mister stand on a soapbox.

00:17:14
Speaker 4: I still think he's an NBA player waiting to explode. It just he's not not figured it out right now.

00:17:20
Speaker 3: Would you what would you do if you were if you were the coach, would you play him?

00:17:24
Speaker 4: I think you got to play him a little bit. But when he's when he's hurting like he has the last couple of games, it's tough to get him on the floor.

00:17:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, when he's knocking.

00:17:33
Speaker 4: Down shots and he made a couple of good passes, you know, I think that's what Pope was talking about. I think he provided a spark offensively, but he's such a liability defensively it's hard to leave him out there.

00:17:41
Speaker 5: You know that those guys just need to get in with four good players around him and just survive a few minutes to give the guys the break. I agree, they don't need forty minutes. Guys do need to sit for a minute. So just get Johnson in there with o Way and Chandler. Give Aberdey a little break. Johnson just that'll be the main character.

00:18:00
Speaker 3: I actually think that's exactly right. I think Johnson should play when Aberdeen is out. I think what happened last night is they were taking Johnson in for oh Way and then I don't think you got enough well either.

00:18:15
Speaker 5: Way, just as you said, having all the bench guys in together doesn't do them any favors. Just try to slide them in one at a time for a guy and get a few minutes to spell Aberdeen, Oway, Chandler, whoever it is. But when you're putting him in and having what john had eight shots, I mean, I don't know if we need eight shots when he's having an off night like that.

00:18:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with you, AF. I'm nine to twenty two eighty seven one buss reps matt our players don't pass the ball. Thirteen assists and thirteen turnovers is ridiculous that that's the stat If the game that's the most important, Georgia had twenty assists and seven turnovers and we had thirteen and thirteen. That's you're gonna lose. I'm surprised. You look at that surprise. The scores not bigger, you know.

00:18:55
Speaker 4: If it wasn't O Way driving to the basket or Chandler hitting a three. Our offense did not look good last night like they put on they were so being so physical, just kind of rattleus on the offensive end. But my question defensively, it's a second game in a row. We've given up many wide open looks at the three point line, a perimeter defense last two games has been this is.

00:19:13
Speaker 3: Just a guess. This is just a guess because I'm not in the you know, I'm not in the walkthrough or the game prep. Florida's ranked three hundred and fiftieth in the country and three pointers Georgia was ranked two hundred and ninety first. So my guess is the game plan is let him shoot that. That's my guess, and I don't think that's irrational. What I wonder is do we just stay with it no matter what's happening on the court, Like once you see three or four go in, then don't you have to say, okay, maybe we gotta maybe we gotta change up. And it doesn't feel like they change up really.

00:19:45
Speaker 5: I'll give it to them early in both games because Georgia especially, they do everything in the room. They don't shoot threes. Yeah, but you can't just leave them wide open. Yeah, like uh Lee early in the Florida game, you're going under screens. Maybe there was a game play, but you don't leave them ten feet to shoot. I mean it was just you know, open gym for those guys. So I think even talking about on the pre show, these teams have bad percentages because people are guarding them, and then Kentucky's just letting them shoot wide open threes.

00:20:13
Speaker 3: All right, So I'm gonna act this out with Mario, even though the only people that will see it are these four people.

00:20:18
Speaker 5: Do you mean to film with my phone?

00:20:19
Speaker 2: No?

00:20:19
Speaker 3: No, No, pers need to film this, and this is gonna be one of the reasons why you need to come. You know, you don't need to film.

00:20:24
Speaker 5: Oh, we have a basketball involved.

00:20:26
Speaker 3: Let's make this. Let's make this is just for y'all. Okay, the people at home are just gonna have to visualize it. All right, Mario, You're gonna be a guard for Georgia and I'm gonna play defense for Kentucky, and I'm gonna show you what drives me crazy. Okay, all right, so you're gonna be guard, I'm gonna be let's say I'm Brandon Gars. Okay, now you're a guard. You're faster than me in real life. This is actually true. You are a little faster than me. I will create. So I've gotten switched on you, so I know I might have to give you a little space. But here's my argument. Now make a move towards you need to get your arms up, matok So to go up here and now make a move towards me. Brandon Garrison goes like all the way back here in Malchai moreno, like like I'm gonna and then you've given me one step right and you start to shoot and I come flying, but the balls already off. We give So I want these guys make Mario beat me off the triple. Okay, if he does, I got big dudes that can collapse. If he can hit that little floater, that's fine, well done. Okay, if you can tyrese Maxie it and hit that little eight footer, but a wide open three that you know how much the white the two is worth two two, you know, match that three is worth three three? How much do you think he practiced the eight foot runner off one foot? Probably not a lot. How many open threes does a player shoot a lot? A bajillion? And I get so frustrated our players. We play so far off of these guys, so far with trying to stop them from the drive that we can't get back out and they end up with a complete open three. That happened with Malachi at the end of the game Milliner that got shot on Millinder. Malachi was so far back that then and he got and the made the Millinder made one step, Malachi went farther back and he came flying at him and.

00:22:19
Speaker 4: It was too late at the show, too late.

00:22:21
Speaker 3: That's your that's your basketball acting. I hope you all enjoyed that. Are you out of breath?

00:22:25
Speaker 5: Do we need to stub and uh, we need to get in there and give you a few minutes fatigued?

00:22:30
Speaker 3: Well, I just I wanted to I just wanted to show for the you know basketball Bennies.

00:22:35
Speaker 5: I like the lateral quickness, especially around the table.

00:22:37
Speaker 3: Well there were tables. You did a good job navigating him without the table that those are like screens that we don't fight through, and that lead to open shot your water. I'm good. We'll take a break. We will take your calls. No more acting for me. We'll be right back. Tek you Sports Radio. TJ Smith personal injury attorney called TJ. He'll make them.

00:22:58
Speaker 2: Pay now more can Tucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage.

00:23:02
Speaker 1: Here's Matt Jones.

00:23:03
Speaker 3: Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio eight five, nine two, eight twenty two eighty seven. One person rides Matt. You say Mario's quicker than you? Is that regularly? Or what about when you're on Ambien A beat and Matt give me just for the record, all of you all on Ambien man, I got you just so you're not gonna be You're not gonna beat me on that show. Still I can't listen to it and it makes me embarrassing me. Is that a UK bean bag?

00:23:31
Speaker 4: Yes, she's bringing it and getting the mines to the restaurant here. Oh wow about that.

00:23:36
Speaker 3: Old school it's a nice UK bean we'll set there right here that way when somebody like Larry can lay on that when he comes nice. That's the very nice. I like the UK beanbag. That'll be a good uh, it's a good.

00:23:49
Speaker 5: Speaking of someone stole our hat, I think, and lets one if you all took.

00:23:51
Speaker 3: It home, have we had a theft? Mario's got it?

00:23:54
Speaker 5: Okay, Mario has it. Because Monique and I were ready to go to the cameras just chat the big the big fat uk that hangs up there.

00:24:01
Speaker 3: Oh okay, that one, all right? Good.

00:24:03
Speaker 5: I was ready to get the law involved.

00:24:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, don't be good, don't be Don't come here and steal stuff you're visiting. That's not very nice.

00:24:10
Speaker 4: You know, we did have eight draftking little football helmets. Whatever happened to those?

00:24:13
Speaker 3: They get they get stolen. And by the way, I've turned you all into the police. It's just a matter. It's just a.

00:24:18
Speaker 5: Matter of when they get around to we're gonna release the list.

00:24:20
Speaker 3: Yes, eight five, nine two, eight, twenty two eighty seven one person rights, Matt. These players have money, cars, girls and phones. Do you think they care about Kentucky basketball? It's the phones. Yes, first of all, they've always had at least the the money cars, girls. But I say this every time people are like, in today's era, the players don't care. These other teams are doing fine, and they've got I mean, think about Duke, They've got all of that. Maybe not I went there. Maybe not the girls, but the money and the call in the basketball, Like, we're not the only school playing nowadays. So these other schools are finding a way to win. Michigan winning won on the road at Purdue last night by ten.

00:25:12
Speaker 5: They're good and they're a big and il team. If there was a team that was gonna have money problems, Michigan would be there.

00:25:17
Speaker 3: They're making the most money of anybody. Michigan's probably the only team that outspent us. And guess what, it's working. So I just I don't buy that. Now, are there guys that maybe aren't giving full effort. Maybe, but it's not just because they're making making money. It's because it's them or the motivation, et cetera. So I just I don't buy that these other team works for the other teams.

00:25:40
Speaker 4: And really, if we just hit some free throws last night, we might be sitting here having a different show today. You know, they they didn't play their best, but yet they had a chance to win it. The balls in Chandler's hands at the end of the game, the balls and it'll take his hand at the end of the game, and they miss some free throws or they have won that game last night coming behind for another win.

00:25:56
Speaker 3: We lost three of the last four to Georgia. The last time that happened was the twenties.

00:26:01
Speaker 4: I don't remember those games.

00:26:04
Speaker 5: Nineteen twenty three.

00:26:05
Speaker 3: The nineteen last time we lost to them at RUP was Billy Gillespie. Every time any stat goes since Billy Gillespie, everybody goes.

00:26:15
Speaker 5: Pope's got a lot of sense.

00:26:16
Speaker 3: Billy Gillespie's all right, who's up first? Ship Roger, Roger, go ahead, Roger.

00:26:22
Speaker 6: No, thanks to take my call, Matt, and I agree with whatever y'all was talking about while ago. For sure. On defense, I don't know if they don't know how to play defense. But anyway, what I really want to they have talked about is the first half, oh way was hot as all get out. Yes, I mean, he was putting us up eight points, and what's he doing? Pope takes him out, puts Johnson in, and he's in. A commentator said, what's he doing? Taking me out? Putting him in? Always said that. And then he went down eleven and they was up three. Then he decided to call time out.

00:26:53
Speaker 3: After that dirt, Yeah, that was that was too late. On the time out. By the way, you're exactly right. They they went on a seven oh run to cut an eight point lead to one, and Pope let him keep playing, and then they scored four more and next thing you know, uh, it's it's it we're down three. You're right, that was a that in my opinion, well, he took He would say he took him out because it's hot. Yeah, the numbers say get rest, and you and I are right agree, that's not what you do.

00:27:25
Speaker 6: If he leaves him in, we're up sixteen, another ten minutes or five minutes, and then we're gonna we got to we could blow him out maybe, but no, he's done this like four times. We lost every game.

00:27:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, I appreciate everything. I'm with you. I'm with you. And then at the end of the game, Aberdeen's hot and you take the butt of his hands. I mean, I you know, numbers people will tell you the idea of people getting quote unquote hot isn't true, but when you watch games, that's I don't I don't agree with that. Chandler was hot from three, get him more shots, like when he's hot, go. I mean, I would say a Chandler three is about the shot Chadler opened three, he might be my favorite shot this team can take.

00:28:03
Speaker 5: Oh the run he's on since the Vandy game. It's five games now, it's like twenty for thirty three or something from three. It's insane. But to the point sticking on taking out Oh Way, you're up eight, as the caller just said, push that thing up, and I don't know, maybe give Way a rest in the second half when you're up by fifteen in the games out of reach, let him sit the last few minutes. Like when you have that momentum and you're up eight early in the half, keep pushing it. See how big that lead can get, and worry about the rest when you're up even bigger.

00:28:30
Speaker 4: Caller's right too. The camera did catch Oway when they took him out. He could read his lips like really, like he was cooking.

00:28:36
Speaker 3: So clearly he didn't need a rest. If he's like really, yeah, you know, what is it? John bon Jovi said, Shannon, I'll sleep when I'm dead, right, No, yeah, he said that was that bon job that said that he might not have been bad name. Yeah, yeah, I don't think that was. I wasn't thinking. If you'll give love a bad.

00:28:53
Speaker 4: But she's a little runaway.

00:28:54
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, I was thinking more of these alive. Okay, but again that those are not the slogans. He also said I'll lay you down in bed Roses. That doesn't have anything to do with his game. This game I'm talking about when he said I'll sleep when I'm dead.

00:29:11
Speaker 4: Well, like we just said, he always was cooking at that point, and you only had two offensive threats to first half all way drive Colin three.

00:29:18
Speaker 3: That was it.

00:29:19
Speaker 4: There was no other offense to generate. Gotta leave him out there, man, you gotta win the game.

00:29:22
Speaker 3: It's, by the way, the same two guys kill us every year, som Toe and Blue Cane.

00:29:27
Speaker 2: I can't stay in Blue Blue Cane knock off of like a independent wrestler.

00:29:32
Speaker 3: It does if the Blue Cane sounds like the Kentucky version of the wrestler cane.

00:29:36
Speaker 5: He comes out and he has blue fire. But was a monster though. That dude's a freak inside. I would have loved watching him a Kentucky. I mean, he his rebounding numbers weren't huge, but he's just so physical in there.

00:29:47
Speaker 3: When he got the biggest rebound and game, I mean, that was that was a huge That was the game Roy, Who's next? Jake in Florida? Jake, go ahead, Jake.

00:29:58
Speaker 6: When I'm Matt, it's pretty indicative. Pretty crazy, how indicative our our exhibition games were as.

00:30:04
Speaker 2: Far as the high at Purdue and then the lower Town.

00:30:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's true. Good point some of our games this season.

00:30:12
Speaker 4: I went back and listened to the to the Purdue Show, the postgame show, and it's pretty funny, uh, what you were saying on there.

00:30:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, don't don't bring it up now. I'm sure I was way too happy after that Purdue game, and I learned my last and next year, if we win an exhibition game, I'll go, well, you know, we'll see.

00:30:33
Speaker 5: That's all I got.

00:30:33
Speaker 3: Maybe appreciate it. Uh. You know, when Mark Pope was hired, I said this on this show very a few times, because I watched Pope a lot at b y U. Why he had weird He would beat really good teams, yeah, including on the road, and then he would lose to people he had no business losing.

00:30:51
Speaker 4: To, often at home.

00:30:52
Speaker 3: So I remember he beat Kansas and Lawrence on a Monday. I told you, they don't lose on Monday. I think Mark beat him on a Monday one, and then he went home and lost at home to Central Florida, and that has played itself out drew here as well.

00:31:08
Speaker 5: Yeah, we were kind of warned that that's what he could do, and I don't I guess we all just got excited. Well, it won't happen at Kentucky. This is Kentucky. But that's what we're looking at right now through almost two full seasons.

00:31:17
Speaker 3: See, I wonder if I'm him, don't you sit and want like, look at well, why does that happen?

00:31:22
Speaker 5: You'd think for guy that's so into the data and studying everything.

00:31:25
Speaker 3: Why is it that I have that? Because he has this is a pattern over both of his coaches. Why does why? Why is this what plagues me? You know? Kyle Tucker had a really good article yesterday. He's back on college basketball. He's writing for twenty four to seven Sports, and he basically looked at Mark Pope what the people his friends said about him this year, and they all said the same thing. They were worried about him early this year in terms of what he was saying. Apparently, Rick Patino not only called him, Ricko called him and said, what the hell is wrong with you?

00:31:59
Speaker 5: He even called name.

00:32:00
Speaker 3: He even called him the name. He was like, stop being a blah blah blah, and he was like, stop getting in front of the media and whining and like I give Rick credit. He was like, stop acting like you know. He reminds me of the scene in Godfather when when Marlon Branto snaps him and go smacks even go snap out of it.

00:32:20
Speaker 4: I have yeah, I saw them, I saw the Godfather.

00:32:23
Speaker 3: Who did he smack his son?

00:32:24
Speaker 4: No, his co ort, coworker, No, I don't remember. Keep guessing his dog.

00:32:32
Speaker 3: That would be bad. He didn't smack his dog. No, he smacked his uh what was it his god cent or whatever. That this the lounge singer from Vegas, remember he was he needed a part in the movie and he was like Godfather in my career everybody anyway, and he said, snap out of it. Be a man.

00:32:48
Speaker 5: Patino did that to Pope.

00:32:50
Speaker 3: Pope kind of I think got a smack from Patino. He was the Pope was being the Vegas lounge singer. We can't talk like that about Pope as Patino can. But during that time we were saying, it feels like he's hiding under the table.

00:33:01
Speaker 5: Yeah, like he's the one that should be sticking his chest out, and he's had a couple.

00:33:04
Speaker 3: Of post games that made me uncomfortable.

00:33:07
Speaker 4: I thought we were gonna get that last night at.

00:33:09
Speaker 3: A Michigan State game, and then I think it was the Missouri game. There were a couple of those where I was like, Man, are you good?

00:33:17
Speaker 4: I really was, Yeah, what's wrong with you?

00:33:19
Speaker 3: Man? Yeah?

00:33:21
Speaker 5: So like, we're scared. We need you to tell us not to be scared. You're in the back of the line, hiding behind us, and you're the coach. Where's the conference?

00:33:26
Speaker 4: I said, I thought we're gonna get that. Mark Pope last night. It was such a bad loss at home. He was right, he was all right last night.

00:33:31
Speaker 3: A BBN. Don't let aches and pains fall you into the new year. Start twenty twenty six strong Court physical therapy can help you get back to what you love. Whether you want to get back at the gym, pick up a new sport, or just be able to get around easier, A physical therapist from court can help you do so pain free. It's court dot com KRT dot com to find the closest center or caller book today at court dot com. We'll take a break bury Backs. Okay, you sorry, here you go. I knew bon Jovi said that a five nine twenty two eighty seven one person right, a Texas machine. No wonder our coaches don't want to come on your show after loss. You guys trash them? Well, I mean, I'm not trashing them. I'm giving you my opinion. And uh, I think they'll come on the show. But you know, sometimes they stop. And that's I mean, this goes back to my view. You're at Kentucky, man, You're getting paid a lot of money. If you can't handle it, nobody's making you coach here.

00:34:22
Speaker 4: Mark Pope looked you in the eyes and said, when things aren't going well, I want.

00:34:26
Speaker 3: You to be critical. He looked me directly in the eyes and said, when we lose, you should blast me. That's what he said. Yep, and I appreciate it because he's right now. I don't I don't think I blast him. But like, that's this job. And if it means that a coach doesn't come on here, so be it. Like you can't. You can't you want me to come on here and say, yesterday was good. Hey, we losing the Georgia at home. That's no big deal. You know. One of our players was my sixteen and after the game you said you need to play more. Makes sense to me, coach, Like, I mean, what do you want me? What do you want me to do? You want me to have like be real or not? You know, I mean the easiest analogy for me is politics. There are accounts you can follow that anything. Your guy says, Boy, he's brilliant, But like that's not the real world. So I mean, that's just how I am. But I I think Mark Pope will come on here at the end of the year. I don't think he has any grudge. But if he were not going to then you still have to be honest with the true right.

00:35:38
Speaker 5: We're fans. That was not good. Georgia has two wins in a month. It's Kentucky lsu. I mean, what do you want us to say? That's basketball? Grew up watching.

00:35:47
Speaker 3: They lost it home at home to Oklahoma by sixteen last week, and then they came in here and beat us.

00:35:54
Speaker 5: They have four wins in Lexington since nineteen twenty three. We're gonna be a little shocked and disappointed when it happens again.

00:36:00
Speaker 3: Now, the one thing we don't have is a jerk for a head coach. Did you hear Mick Cronin last night?

00:36:05
Speaker 4: I heard of you, but I heard your teasing it.

00:36:06
Speaker 3: So here's the backdrop of this. Xavier Booker played at Michigan State last year, took a bigger nile to go to UCLA this year. This was his return to Michigan State. Okay, okay, so he's he's playing for UCLA. Michigan State just runs Ucla out of the gym during the game. The student sex and section. Every time he does something bad and apparently he played poorly, they just start chatting Booker. Booker not the most creative chant, but you know, trying to like get at the kid. So a student reporter for Michigan State ask a what did you think of the student section chanting? Now I'm not saying that's Woodward and Bernstein journalism, but it's a reasonable.

00:36:54
Speaker 4: Question, right, such if he thinks it have caused the difference to his performance.

00:36:57
Speaker 3: Especially if he didn't play well because of it. Two points he had two point. So Cronin is doing his press conference. If you haven't seen the video, he's not even looking at the guy who asked the question. He has like his shoulder to him. And then this is one of the jerkier things I've ever seen someone do to a reporter, especially when it sounds like it's a student reporter.

00:37:18
Speaker 7: Go ahead in the student section, channing Hooker's name, I could give a rat's ass about the other team student section.

00:37:27
Speaker 2: Overall the way that, I would like to give.

00:37:29
Speaker 3: You a kudos for your worst question I've ever even asked.

00:37:35
Speaker 5: All Right, did you like.

00:37:37
Speaker 3: You should take it? Do you really think I care about the other.

00:37:42
Speaker 5: About you are?

00:37:46
Speaker 7: Come on, dude, yes you were. Everybody's standing here listening to you. Everybody this is on camera, they can hear you. I answered the question. I could give a rat's ass about the other team student section.

00:37:58
Speaker 3: I coach you.

00:37:59
Speaker 7: I don't care a Michigan State students who cares?

00:38:04
Speaker 3: What a jerk? Wow? Okay, So it's one thing to say I don't care about the student section. Fine, if that's your answer, fine, But then he comes back and says, that's the worst question I've ever heard, and the kid apparently says I'll take it, and then he goes, yeah, you'll take it. B'ber berber burr, still.

00:38:26
Speaker 5: Not really looking at him.

00:38:27
Speaker 3: By the way, that's a big part of Addie. He comes back and he goes, you know you're burb berber berber bluh. And then the kid responds, he goes, you raised your voice at me.

00:38:37
Speaker 4: That's where he crossed the line right there, I felt like.

00:38:39
Speaker 3: And he didn't raise his voice. He didn't raise his voice, and he and and then he goes, I answered your question. I don't care about the student section. No, you answered it, and then you kept yapping at him. I was saying last night, if I was a student when this happened, I would have sat there and probably I probably wouldn't have been as confident as that kid was. But if he did that to me now, I'd be like you, you know, you little And if he did it to one of our ks r college kids, like I'd be, I'd be even madder.

00:39:08
Speaker 8: Who do you think you are? Just these college coaches are such jerks. They think they run the planet. And then everybody should back you are, Mick Cronin. You've never won anything.

00:39:22
Speaker 3: What have you done? You've never done anything? And it was a reasonable question. You're just embarrassing this, like, you're right, he didn't even raise it.

00:39:30
Speaker 5: I looked at everybody else like write, it's no video. Look at him kind of like it's like, yeah, it is on video, Mick, we can see it.

00:39:35
Speaker 3: You're gonna be the one that looks like the video does exist, and you're the one that looked like.

00:39:40
Speaker 4: A video is gonna show you tried to bully a college kid. A college reporter asking, I.

00:39:45
Speaker 3: Know you are, but what am I?

00:39:46
Speaker 5: That's what he should have voicing me, I would I understand as a student, I would have had a hard time not being an asspec because.

00:39:54
Speaker 3: I was just way over the line. I agree, did you well? I have strong stance word bully.

00:40:03
Speaker 5: So make if you can put your little man syndrome aside for one minute and answer my question.

00:40:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, and he doesn't even look at him, Shannon, doesn't you ever saw the video? Don't you think he looks like a jerk? Oh, he is a jerk.

00:40:13
Speaker 4: He's the angriest little man in college.

00:40:15
Speaker 3: But he is just the angriest little elf. Yeah, hello, angry elf? All right, who's next? Sean? Sean?

00:40:25
Speaker 6: Go ahead, Sean, quick question, too, little nuggets.

00:40:28
Speaker 3: If I can at seventeen and nine and eight and five, do we back off of they're a second half team or are they a second half team and they're just not that good. Well, I don't I appreciate the call. We're not that good. I mean we're not We're not bad, but we're not good. We're kind of in the you know, I don't know, what's a team that's perpetually just over the bubble. What's a team that's like always a seven to ten seed. It feels like for the last decade, Michigan State has been that lot.

00:41:04
Speaker 5: I would take, I would take their scenario, but.

00:41:06
Speaker 3: You know what I mean, Like it feels like they've been that quiet. I mean, they used to be better than that, but it feels like they've been that lot over the last few years.

00:41:12
Speaker 5: I haven't told Ryan last night, I got my guard up big time with this game because I just felt like we won some we weren't supposed to, and eventually that average, you know, he gets back to the mean.

00:41:21
Speaker 3: But I mean, this is the kind of team that could go to Auburn and win Saturday easily, you know, I mean, this is the kind of team that could go when at A and M and you're.

00:41:29
Speaker 5: Like, what I think Kentucky's backcourt really turned a corner. Chandler Aberdeen in away, getting back to for him and moreno is better. But outside of those four, I mean, guys have good games, they come and go. Diabate is Diabate, but it's kind of like if any of those guys don't have a good night, you're in trouble. You're kind of relying all four of those to play.

00:41:47
Speaker 3: Well.

00:41:48
Speaker 5: Yes, we have four guys that with Diabate going and getting every rebound.

00:41:52
Speaker 3: I have four guys that you can count on. And then we have a Diabate who I think you can count on, but is an offensive dout.

00:41:59
Speaker 5: Yeah, he goes and get It's that free throw rebound that saves you a game.

00:42:02
Speaker 3: So there's like five guys you know what you're gonna get. And besides that, it's kind of like, well, who knows, hope somebody brings it. Yeah, who knows? And you're right, be nice to have a former All American Big Guy lottery pick. Yeah,