Ryan Lemond (3:39)

Welcome to hour two of Kentucky Sports.

Matt Jones (3:41)

Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.

Ryan Lemond (3:45)

Welcome back. Hour number two, Kentucky Sports Radio here we are now open for wings day. Come on out to KS Bar and Grill. Dollar wings dollar boneless and bone in. And if you have people in your Christmas list that are hard to buy for, how about Noche Linda Farms dry age Beef? You've probably been hearing about how beef prices are like high, higher than they've ever been. But not at Noche Linda Farms. They supply our beef here that has been universally praised in the burgers. You can get it for yourself as well. Free shipping for orders over $250 in Kentucky and surrounding states. Free local deliveries for orders over 250 go to noche lindafarms.com beef from Kentucky in Kentucky grass fed. I'm telling you, it is great. And anytime you have a burger here, you'll know and you can make them yourself at noche linda farms.com everybody join me in welcoming Darius Miller, national champion, state champion from the University of Kentucky. Mr. Basketball, you kind of Darius, I would say lived the Kentucky kids dream. Is that fair to say?

Matt Jones (4:52)

It was my dream for sure, definitely. Being able to play for the university, having the moments that I had at the university growing up, being a huge fan, watching those teams, you know, compete, win championships, play at an elite level, you know, that's all I ever wanted to do. You know what I mean is come to Kentucky, put on for my community, my state and have success here. So that was definitely my dream.

Ryan Lemond (5:18)

I think if you're looking at the 20 years I've been doing KSR and you were to just say most beloved players, like the people that people love the most. There'd be a group, I mean obviously like your John Wall, your Anthony Davis is in it. But then I think of that, of the group of people right there with them. I always say, like Tyler Ulis and I think you're in that group too because of the Kentucky connections and the way you played. Do you feel that love that the fans have for you?

Matt Jones (5:46)

Definitely, definitely. And I feel like I'm a part of the family. Like I grew up as a fan. I had the same emotions and feelings that y' all had. You Know what I mean? So I can relate to everybody who is extremely invested in the university. And I carried a lot of pride when I played for the university because of that, you know what I mean? I grew up, like I said, watching Tayshaun, Prince Patrick Spark.

Ryan Lemond (6:10)

That was your childhood guy was Tayshawn.

Matt Jones (6:12)

I had a lot of them. Tony Delk, you know what I mean? Watching all those guys, watching them compete, it made me just fall in love with the program. There was a ton of swag, you know, with those guys. Those teams, they competed at a high level, ton of talent, and they were always exciting to watch. So that's what kind of made me fall in love with the program.

Ryan Lemond (6:32)

So let's go. I'm going to go through a little bit of your career, and then I want to talk about the current team. You. You came. We were saying this during the break. You came in the Billy G era. So you had a year with Billy G. Give me what were your Billy G thoughts.

Matt Jones (6:47)

Billy G. Billy G. Was an interesting character. He was an interesting guy. But I will say Billy G was good with X's and O's. I think his approach and to. To with the teams was kind of different, especially when dealing with high talent guys. Some guys might have egos, feel a certain way, so when you come in with a different approach, there's an adjustment period. But a different approach?

Ryan Lemond (7:12)

Yeah. Like what? Like verbally, he liked to yell. Is that fair to say?

Matt Jones (7:18)

Yeah, for sure. For sure. And, you know, the practices were extremely difficult. I'm not gonna lie. We had boot camp probably two, three weeks before training camp. And it really didn't involve basketball. Like, it was like some military stuff, you know what I mean? So it was. It was. It was just. It was a challenge mentally.

Ryan Lemond (7:36)

Let's clear up a couple of stories because you'll know the answer. Did jorts get left in a bathroom stall?

Matt Jones (7:44)

Not. Not left in the bathroom stall. He was in there for a second.

Ryan Lemond (7:47)

He got. He got put in the bathroom.

Matt Jones (7:50)

He was in there for a second.

Ryan Lemond (7:51)

Did he have to ride home separately from the Vandy gang?

Matt Jones (7:55)

Yeah.

Ryan Lemond (7:55)

Yeah. Okay, so see those. Those were true.

Matt Jones (7:59)

We fought it a little bit, but we. Yeah, he had to ride home.

Ryan Lemond (8:02)

Talk to me about the SEC tournament.

Ryan Lemond (8:06)

What? Something happened? I've always said that. I kind of knew the Billy G era was probably going to end at the SEC tournament. Were all of your family staying together down there? And then something happen happened. Did it involve you? Was it something.

Matt Jones (8:19)

What.

Ryan Lemond (8:19)

What was.

Matt Jones (8:21)

Involved? A couple of us, for sure, but I think I think he just kind of lost the guys.

Ryan Lemond (8:26)

Yeah.

Matt Jones (8:26)

Which I.

Ryan Lemond (8:27)

There was something like having to walk home or something from a game. Is that. Was that true?

Matt Jones (8:31)

No, I, he. He was talking about not taking some of us to SEC tournament. He was talking about.

Matt Jones (8:38)

There might have been a statement if we are coming, we have to walk or something, which came from. You know what I mean? But, yeah, he kind of. He kind of lost a couple guys and a couple of the key guys too, I think. Jody being one of them, which was one of our leaders, you know what I mean?

Ryan Lemond (8:51)

Which we saw at the NIT game when he didn't come out at halftime.

Matt Jones (8:55)

Right? Yeah, yeah, but, but yeah, yeah, I feel like that's where it kind of. Some of the guys were kind of like fed up.

Ryan Lemond (9:01)

But I always also knew I took Romel Bradley and Joe Crawford on their son, on their tour after the thing was over. And even though they knew he had issues, they still said, look, his heart was in the right place.

Matt Jones (9:15)

And it was.

Ryan Lemond (9:15)

Do you agree with that?

Matt Jones (9:16)

It was, it was. And like I said, he was a pretty good X and O guy too. I think just his delivery at times kind of turned people off. That's. That's all that it was. And he pushed us really hard. But I will say, when we got into games, it was way easier than practice.

Ryan Lemond (9:28)

Yeah. All right. So then Cal comes. Yeah. I mean, you had. You play with John Wall, you play with, you know, Brandon Knight, you play with Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd, Gilchrist. I mean, what was that like for you, that run?

Matt Jones (9:43)

Unbelievable, man. We. I was fortunate to play on some great teams with some amazing players. We had some great runs and that kind of developed me into the player that I became, you know what I mean? Showing up, having to compete for minutes every single day. A lot of my matchups were very difficult in practices.

Ryan Lemond (10:01)

Was it hard for you guys? You, Ramon, Perry, that had come from the other group, and then there's Cass, you and Ramon kind of played a lot. Perry really didn't get to play a lot. Was that a tough transition?

Matt Jones (10:15)

Kind of, Kind of. But at the same time, you're playing behind John Wall, Eric bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins. Yeah, I mean, it's. You understand, nobody's not that, you know what I mean? Everybody's pretty self aware, you know what I mean? You know who you're better than, who you're not, better than, who you can compete with, who you can't compete with. So we just bought into winning the championship.

Ryan Lemond (10:35)

Was there a moment? I always Bring up that moment against North Carolina when y' all went on that run to start the game with Wall. And the crowd goes, was there a moment where you like, okay, we're back. Did you have that feeling at any point?

Matt Jones (10:48)

Honestly, man? Day one, when they came.

Ryan Lemond (10:50)

Really?

Matt Jones (10:51)

Yeah. Because they were just extremely talented, and you can tell they were hungry. They were hungry. Coach Kyle was hungry. Everybody was hungry. So it was. It was a totally different dynamic when Coach Kyle came.

Ryan Lemond (11:02)

Give me how sad was the locker room after the West Virginia game. Saddest one I've been in ever.

Matt Jones (11:09)

Yeah. Yeah, man. We. Honestly, that was the team that I felt like we just knew we was going to win a championship with. Might. It might have hurt us in the end, but really, that game came down to us just missing shots. I'm pretty sure we was three for 33 from the three that night. They played a zone on us, and we just couldn't make shots. But they had a really good team also, too. They were. They were tough that year.

Ryan Lemond (11:28)

And Missoula, who's now the coach at Boston, was the one. It was the 2011 run to the Final Four, a little bit of a surprising run. Nearly lost in the first round to Princeton and then found a way to get all the way to the Final Four. That had to be a special. A special little run right there.

Matt Jones (11:47)

Definitely, man. It took. It took. It took a minute for us to figure it out. We had lost a lot. We had some new guys coming in who was trying to figure out their role, you know, what position they had on the team. So it took us a while to get rolling, but we were extremely talented, so we were going to figure it out eventually. And like I said, Cal's practices, they pushed us to be competitive every single day, so it was going to happen at some point.

Ryan Lemond (12:11)

2012. Is Anthony Davis the kind of guy. I mean, you played with him in the pros, too. Is Anthony Davis the kind of guy that the moment he walked in, you were like, okay, this is different.

Matt Jones (12:19)

1,000%. 1,000%. Because if. I don't know if many people know, he played guard in high school. Like, he was a guard. So when he came here, he had all. Everything that you see in the pros as far as, like, offensively, he had that in college, but he just fit into a certain role because he felt like that was better for the team. But as soon as he got there, you could tell he was different.

Ryan Lemond (12:38)

You famously.

Ryan Lemond (12:42)

Had the instance at the SEC tournament where you were inserted into the starting lineup, and that worked. And Then you became a huge component of that tournament run. Was that. Was that like a bonding moment? Was that a moment that got your confidence up, that like everybody talks about?

Matt Jones (12:59)

Definitely, definitely. Because I was trying to figure it out myself. And that was all Gilly. That was Gilly's idea. One of the greatest teammates I've ever played with, but that definitely got me rolling. For sure. I got to. I got. Played a pretty good game. We lost that game, but I played a pretty good game, got into a rhythm, found my shot a little bit, and it. It carried over. And like you said, it was just a bonding moment. Like, once, once that happened, all the guys kind of knew, like, everybody was here to win the championship.

Ryan Lemond (13:24)

You run through the tournament, you make big shots throughout it. Having grown up in Kentucky, won a Sweet 16, Mr. Basketball, what was it like standing on the floor in New Orleans, watching one shining moment, everything that happened after?

Matt Jones (13:41)

Oh, unbelievable, man. Like I said, that was a dream of mine. That's. That was my whole goal to, like, win a championship for Kentucky, you know what I mean? And to be able to do that with the guys that I got to do it with because we. We built some pretty good relationships my senior year. It was amazing. That's probably the best moment I've had on the basketball court.

Ryan Lemond (13:58)

Cal leaves for Arkansas. What's Darius Miller's reaction?

Matt Jones (14:02)

Oh, man, I was sad. I'm not going to lie to you. Cal's my guy. Cal's my guy. I love California. I love all that he did for the state and the university. But I also. I know nothing lasts forever. You know what I mean? I know there's. There's all. All hall of Fame coaches, they come. Their career comes to an end at the, you know, the college that they. Or the program that they spend a lot of time at. So I was hurt, but I. I mean, I understand. I get it.

Ryan Lemond (14:26)

But you're not going to do the Reed shepherd thing, though, and wear the Arkansas shorts and the Kentucky shirt guy.

Matt Jones (14:32)

Man, I'm a Kentucky guy. I'm a Kentucky guy through and through. Nice love cow, though. Love cow, but I'm a Kentucky guy.

Ryan Lemond (14:38)

Totally understandable. All right, so you've watched this team, obviously, a lot of struggles. How do you diagnose what's happened this year?

Matt Jones (14:49)

Well, I think injuries played a part, and you can never predict that or. And I. And I think the guys that were injury. That had their injuries were expected to be big parts of the team. I do know it takes a long time to build a culture. He's Only in year two, you know what I mean? And we had some pretty big losses, in my opinion, with Reed leaving with these guys, that could produce a lot leaving, you know what I mean? So I feel like it's just going to be an adjustment period, but I don't think that this year is over by any means. We just talked about my junior year. We struggled up until the end of the sec, you know what I mean? And our schedule's brutal this year. Man, we played some really good teams.

Ryan Lemond (15:29)

But when you watch them from a basketball standpoint, what do you think they need?

Matt Jones (15:35)

I think. I think they. I think they have talent. I think I still believe in Coach Pope 1000%. I think they just got to figure it out. Honestly. There's just so much that goes into winning a basketball game, especially against another good team. But I truly believe that us playing this strength of schedule, the way that Coach Pope is, we saw last night, he's holding people accountable, you know what I mean?

Ryan Lemond (16:01)

Did you have moments when you played where coaches did something like he did with garrison last night?

Matt Jones (16:05)

1,000%. Give me an example.

Matt Jones (16:09)

I mean, I've been benched. I think everybody that's hooped been benched before, you know what I mean? Because there's no telling what's going on in your life. What's, like, how you handle certain situations. Nil is a new thing, you know what I mean? That people have to kind of adjust, and you gotta be like, why didn't.

Ryan Lemond (16:25)

That happen when I was here? I mean, like, you. You would have probably done pretty well in the nil.

Matt Jones (16:30)

I would have loved nil. I would have loved Nil for sure.

Ryan Lemond (16:33)

Can you imagine, you're like John Wall team, how much you guys would have made in NIL that year?

Matt Jones (16:39)

I try not to think about it, Honestly. I try not to think about it.

Ryan Lemond (16:42)

That would be. That would. That would be tough. Now.

Ryan Lemond (16:47)

Actually, I'm. You. Can you hold back one more segment? Tell everybody we'll talk and begin about it. Tell them about what you got going on, because I think this is very cool.

Matt Jones (16:55)

Yeah, so we're. We're doing a holiday event, man. We. One of the reasons we took over the Sports center, now we're calling the Alumni center, is we wanted to be.

Ryan Lemond (17:04)

The Alumni center, which is out next to the mall.

Matt Jones (17:06)

Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Out next to the mall, across from the movie theater. But we wanted to be, you know, a hub for the community, man. We wanted to be able to do all kind of community events. Of course, there's the basketball the volleyball in there, the training, the tournaments, the camps. But this is something that I feel like our whole team is passionate about, being able to have community events give back to the community. We're doing a toy drive. We're trying to raise 500 toys. We've had some amazing partners and sponsors step up and, you know, try to make a difference in the community. We got Myers Coke.

Matt Jones (17:42)

We have. Let me pull it up.

Ryan Lemond (17:45)

That's okay. You could do them in the second segment. But when is it?

Matt Jones (17:49)

It is December 19.

Ryan Lemond (17:50)

December 19, 5 to 9pm 5 to 9pm and do people bring toys there?

Matt Jones (17:56)

Yes, yes. And you can bring toys from now until December 19th. We have a place set up inside of the gym where you can come over, come over and drop off toys. This Friday we have Aaron Harrison coming out and some other guys coming out. We're going to have, you know, just have a good time on Friday. You can come out and drop off some toys. But yeah, we're super excited, man. We think we can make a pretty big difference in a lot of kids Christmas. This year we partnered with Sunrise, a foster home here in the community, a local group, super excited about partnering with them and being able to provide a lot of toys. So we're excited and we hope everybody comes out and just have a good time with us. We're looking to have a big party.

Ryan Lemond (18:33)

So this Friday and next Friday.

Matt Jones (18:36)

Yep, this Friday is like a small taste. And then on the 19th will be the whole thing where we got Santa coming out, taking pictures. We're gonna have some hot chocolate, Christmas movies, playing some music and also a three point contest. We're raffling off some Kentucky tickets and we're gonna have some prizes for the three point contest too. So it, we're just trying to make it a fun.

Ryan Lemond (18:55)

So Friday the 19th, 5 to 9. Stick, stick tight here. We're gonna take a break. Come back with Darius if you got a question for him. 772-774-5254. I have a couple people are asking and we'll let Ryan do one since he's been good. This is ksr. This is Rob Gronkowski from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and jules. For the second season in a row, I partnered with T Mobile's Friday night 5G lights powering up hometown football across America. This year, T mobile invested over $4 million in prizes to help schools take their Friday nights to the next level. The votes are in. And now it's time to crown our $1,000,000 grand prize. Winner. Congratulations. To Derrick's High School and Derrick's Arkansas, home of the Outlaws and your 2020 5T mobile Friday night 5G lights champion the Outlaws and their community rallied to help them score a game changing home field upgrade, a Gronk Fitness weight room makeover, an epic 2026 tailgate party and a VIP trip to the SEC Championship game. To every school that competed posted and rallied your communities. Thank you and to T Mobile for making it all possible. This season may be over, but the story isn't. Stay tuned for season three in 2026. Congratulations again to Derek's High School Outlaws. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the parties and the end of year celebrations, but don't forget to take care of yourself by stocking up on your favorite nutritional products. Now through December 30th. Shop in store and online and save on items like Cliff Snack Bars, Luna Bars, Boost Nutritional Energy Drinks, Premier Protein Shakes, Z Bar Variety Packs, Open Nature Powder and Body Fortress Protein powder offers end December 30th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details. One touchdown can change everything. The crowd, the momentum, the game itself. It never gets old. Feel that same rush with the DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner the NFL Missouri Listeners. Hey, show me state. Listen up. Missouri DraftKings Sportsbook is now live. And the best part? New customers bet just $5. If your bet wins, you'll get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Look up Missouri and download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use my code KSR BET$5 and get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins. It's in partnership with DraftKings. The Crown is yours. If you have a game problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York. Call 877-8-HOPE and wire text Hopeny 467369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. What what Pass through of per wager tax May apply in Illinois 21 + age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Restrictions apply. Bet must win to receive bonus bets. Expire in 7 days. Minimum wads required for additional Durhams Responsible great gaming resources. See dkng co Audio. Hey Mario. Limited time offer.

Matt Jones (22:07)

Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean in cold water. Tide is specifically designed to Fight any.

Ryan Lemond (22:14)

Stain you throw at it, even in cold butter.

Matt Jones (22:18)

Yep.

Ryan Lemond (22:19)

Chocolate ice cream.

Matt Jones (22:20)

Sure thing.

Ryan Lemond (22:21)

Barbecue sauce. Tide's got you covered.

Matt Jones (22:24)

You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's got to be clean, it's got to be Tide.

Ryan Lemond (22:37)

Welcome back Techie Sports Radio here with Darius Miller again, his event next Friday, 5 to 9 at the Alumni center out next to the mall, Nicholsville Road. Bring presents and kind of connect with the community at Christmas. All right, some questions come in. I'll go first here. One person writes. Matt, please ask Darius about DeMarcus cousins. What was he like off the court?

Matt Jones (23:03)

Amazing. Amazing. That's honestly one of my favorite teammates, man. That's one of my favorite teammates. He's such a good dude. What y' all see is passion, man. He's passionate on the court. He loved winning. He loved competing. He wanted to be the best, and it showed on the court, but off the court, man, he's a great dude. I talk to him to this day.

Ryan Lemond (23:21)

Our conversations before the interview was basically about your daughters. You got two daughters. You said they're both soccer players. Yeah. Yep.

Matt Jones (23:27)

Yep. How you like being a girl dad?

Ryan Lemond (23:29)

And do you have any advice for this future girl dad right here?

Matt Jones (23:33)

I love it. I love it, man. They. They forced me to grow up a ton, you know what I mean? Changed my perspective on a lot. But it's been a lot of fun being on the other side of things, being able to push them towards their passions, you know what I mean? Help them to grow and develop. It's. It's an amazing ride, and I. It's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Ryan Lemond (23:52)

Matt, ran through the. The timeline of. Of your career, but there's one game I wanted to bring up because we play them on Saturday. Indiana wasn't the most. The best experience. Oh, no. Yeah. Including you at the bottom of the pile. Matt Noss.

Matt Jones (24:05)

Saw it.

Ryan Lemond (24:05)

That was utter chaos. But talk about how bad that was, but then how nice it was to get them back later in the year. They seem to forget that part, by the way. Wildest environment ever, right?

Matt Jones (24:15)

Oh, my goodness. It was crazy. It was crazy. It was. It was the end where they.

Ryan Lemond (24:21)

You're the one getting trampled. I remember it well.

Matt Jones (24:23)

But no, it was. It was a ton of fun. That rivalry, as we all know, is crazy. Super competitive. So I'm. I'm definitely.

Ryan Lemond (24:32)

How mean were they?

Ryan Lemond (24:35)

I mean, I. I say it's the meanest crowd I've ever been in by far. Do you agree with that?

Matt Jones (24:43)

It's one of them.

Ryan Lemond (24:44)

What else? Who. Who else is mean?

Matt Jones (24:47)

Louisville was pretty tough back in the day, of course.

Matt Jones (24:52)

Man. Most of the SEC school, I feel like every time we went somewhere, it was a white out, a black out, a blue out, a red out.

Matt Jones (25:00)

South Carolina was tough to play in back in the day. They had Devin Downey and a couple teams.

Ryan Lemond (25:05)

Okay, so that was after Obama called. What was it like to, like, you guys are in a college basketball season and. Hello, Mr. President, this is DeMarcus Cousins. That had to be crazy, man.

Matt Jones (25:17)

We had some of the wildest people show up to games and show interest in our teams, especially that John Wall DeMarcus year. We had.

Ryan Lemond (25:25)

We had Magic. You had LeBron, you had Jay Z.

Matt Jones (25:29)

Drake was there a couple times. J. Cole came out a couple times. It was wild, man. It was wild.

Ryan Lemond (25:37)

As a college kid, that has to be like nuts, doesn't it?

Matt Jones (25:41)

Yeah. And a bit distracting.

Ryan Lemond (25:43)

Was it?

Matt Jones (25:46)

I think we just. This kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier, man. I really think we just knew we were going to win it. You know what I mean? Just the.

Ryan Lemond (25:53)

You weren't here, but how embarrassing was it when Drake shot those air balls? I mean, I know you weren't here for that, but that was still pretty embarrassing, right?

Matt Jones (26:01)

I wasn't expecting it to look like a nice jumper. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to lie to you.

Ryan Lemond (26:06)

Or when he sat in the meeting room in the full warm up like he was on the team. No, I mean, that was, to be fair, that, that, that kind of happened. Talk to me. We always talked about those early Cal staffs having like the perfect conglomeration of people. John Robick doing a lot of the exos, Kenny Payne, Orlando. Talk about those early staffs. Because I thought one of the keys to Cal's success early on was how good those staffs were.

Matt Jones (26:34)

Oh, just. Yeah, the staff was crazy, man. I got to play for some amazing coaches that pushed us every single day. And yeah, that was a part of the magic, for sure. You know, Cal does a really good job of hiring a great staff, especially guys that fit his culture, that fits his. His vision, and he definitely did that here at Kentucky. Man, those guys were amazing. Kenny Payne was amazing. He did a great job pushing guys like me, Josh Harrelson, you know, to be better players.

Ryan Lemond (27:04)

Did you ever think Jorts would end up where he was? I mean, when the guy that walked in here under Billy, that he could end up being, like, a hero like he was his last year here.

Matt Jones (27:17)

I don't know if I saw that happening, but that just goes to talk to, like, the development that those guys were doing. Man, KP robes, strict. We had a. We had a crazy. We had a crazy group come through, and I'm really appreciative of that, for sure, because they taught us how to be pros.

Ryan Lemond (27:35)

We'll finish up with this. You've got. If you were to say to Kentucky fans, for a player, I think sometimes fans don't think about what it's like to play here from the side of a player. What's the best part of playing at Kentucky? And then I think there are challenges playing here that players at other schools may not have as much. What are those?

Matt Jones (27:58)

The best part, of course, is the fan. The traditions, the atmosphere. It's just like, you're not going to get that anywhere else. You're not going to get the support that you get anywhere else. You know what I mean? People show out no matter where you're playing in the world. We went to Hawaii, it felt like we were in Lexington. We went to Mexico, it felt like we were in Lexington. We went to Canada, it felt like we were in Lexington. And it's just amazing support. The tough side of that is our fans have high standards and high expectations. You know what I mean? Coach Pope's in year two. We expect them to win the championship. You know what I'm saying? So it's tough. And I think a lot of guys, they don't understand that. They hear it. But until you're actually in it and it's every single day, those expectations, those standards are on you. No matter if you're feeling.

Ryan Lemond (28:43)

Does it weigh on you?

Matt Jones (28:44)

I don't think it weighs on you. It just depends on the person that you are. You know what I mean? Some people feed off of that. Some people, it might be a little bit too much for them. Some people adjust to it, some people don't. But I will say if you use it the right way, it pushes you to. It pushes you to be the best player you can be. No other way it can. It can go, honestly.

Ryan Lemond (29:06)

Darius Miller, five to nine next Friday. Also a partial event this Friday. Bring out gifts for children across Kentucky. Thank you very much. You've always been a class act throughout your time here. One of the most beloved Kentucky players to play at this school and a member of the state. Thank you very much, Darius Miller. Appreciate it. We will take a break and be Right back. Welcome back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Call tj. He'll make them pay. Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Here's Matt Jones. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio. 859-280-2287. Folks here on Wednesday, dollar wings all day and night. Come on out in this little rainy day. Let's talk about a couple other things here before we go. The phones. Did you see the Shannon, the throw by or the attempted a shot by ESPN's Chris Russo?

Matt Jones (30:02)

No, I haven't seen this.

Ryan Lemond (30:04)

Please look it up. Okay, go, go. Have you seen it? I've seen it. Chris Russo tries to take a half court shot at an Arizona State game and seems to A, not know how to move, B, not know how to dribble, C, not know how to shoot and D, seemingly about to tear his ACL all on one shot. It is without question. I have to tell you, it's the most unathletic thing I've ever seen in my life. Like take we talk about the first pitches and there have been a lot of bad first pitches, but that's one action that's just throwing a ball. Shannon, he does everything poorly there.

Matt Jones (30:49)

Like what is he trying to do.

Ryan Lemond (30:50)

A crossover before he takes a half.

Matt Jones (30:52)

Court shot and then launches it based.

Ryan Lemond (30:54)

He dribbles, nearly falls down when he dribbles, picks it up, shoots it one handed and seems to tear his ACL in the process.

Matt Jones (31:05)

And he was over the line too. That wasn't even a half court shot.

Ryan Lemond (31:07)

What would you call that? I don't even know.

Matt Jones (31:10)

Unathletic.

Ryan Lemond (31:11)

It looked like the first time he'd ever touched a basketball in his life. ESPN should have fired him at that moment. How can you? How can you. And I'm not saying I'm a great athlete, but I don't know how you can talk about sports and move like that, Drew. And we've seen people, you get older, maybe they can't get it there because they have a shoulder injury. There's. But they're still have a natural motion that once upon a time they at least know what they're supposed to be doing. The body just quit on them. This looks like a guy who's never actually seen someone shoot a basketball. It looks like he's never played a sport or seen someone play it. I mean not. No concept of how to hold it. Like I remember when the mayor of Cincinnati threw that first pitch and John Wall threw a bad first pitch. But that's again one thing. He did everything badly. Like I Said the first time I think he'd ever touched a basketball, ever tried to shoot a basketball. But the fact that he injured himself at the end of it I think is the icing on the cake.

Matt Jones (32:11)

That's double dribbling too. You can't do that.

Ryan Lemond (32:13)

Everything he did not take one movement that was not awful. Take the basketball of the equation. I don't know that he's ever ran before. I don't know that his feet have gone that fast. Beyond walking. How did everyone on the gym just not start laughing at him? The hair flop at the end is.

Matt Jones (32:31)

What gets it for me.

Ryan Lemond (32:32)

His hair flopping as he's hobbling off. He does look to be in severe pain. He does moving. He did maybe it's most he's moved in his life for a long time. One of its top three worst attempt at something I've ever seen. Second, Australia. The country of Australia just banned starting today social media for anyone under 16. If you are under 16 you cannot be on social media in Australia. The prime minister got up and said there's too many bad things that can happen for kids on social media including self esteem issues but also trafficking like all kinds of things that whatever positive occurs from it is offset by the negative. Do you like that policy in Australia and would you. Do you think they should have it here? At first it seems kind of crazy but there are so many issues that can happen at that young age. Little things like we don't even consider. I had a teacher tell me recently that their students deal with where locations are on. It could be something as simple as three friends are together and you see that you're not even invited. Yeah, stuff like that. Leave aside travel, I mean there's major, major things but there's little things you don't even think about that will can really affect, you know, their most impressionable years of their youth and when they're you becoming who they are where they're just everything on social media can be trash and that's they they're just all consumed in it. I'm generally of the belief you err on the side of letting information out but I actually kind of think I'm for this. I kind of think that. I mean we already say that kids can't watch certain kind of movies, right. I mean we have age restrictions. 16 actually kind of makes sense to me as an age because they're able to drive at that point so they're going to be able to like go out and I don't know, I think I'm Kind of for this. What do you think? I'm definitely for it. You know, cyber bullying has led to. That's like another great point. Yeah. That's led to, you know, young kids committing suicide because they get cyber bullied so bad through social media. There are too many black spots. I think that's why I'm for it. You know, my kids grew up with it, and it was. At times, it's awful, you know, with the bullying and the. Leads to depression and things.

Matt Jones (34:51)

So it's hard. It's hard as an adult sometimes to read some of the stuff that people send to you. Somebody at 16 or younger than that.

Ryan Lemond (34:57)

So we have. All four of us would say. Say we would be for that.

Matt Jones (35:01)

I would vote for it.

Ryan Lemond (35:02)

Yes. The cons far outweigh the pro. What is the pro? You get to watch some. Well, the pro is, I guess you could say, like, you can. You could learn things and you can connect with people. And I mean, I. But yes, the cons seem much worse for that age. Yeah, I'm kind of with you on that. I. I think that Australia is probably right if in. In doing that. Lastly, for some reason, this story really makes me laugh. So you may see that there was a big. Paramount bought cbs and they're trying to buy Netflix. Well, or, excuse me, they're trying to buy Warner Brothers, which is like HBO and Turner and all that stuff. But when they bought. When Paramount bought cbs, the government has to approve these mergers. And I guess the guy that heads Paramount, he's close with Trump and he met with Trump. And amongst the things apparently that Trump said he needed to do to approve the merger was he wanted Paramount to agree to make Rush Hour 4. You got to be kidding. I'm not kidding. Go look it up. Demands. He said, no. You think I'm joking? This is who's in charge, folks. He said Rush Hour were his favorite movies and he wanted them to make Rush Hour 4. And now Paramount has agreed to get Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, wherever they are. I don't even know where those guys are. I haven't seen either of those guys in a decade. They are going to make Rush Hour 4. What do you make of that? Why is no one thinking about Jackie Chan here? I mean, it was already amazing that he was doing that stuff in his prime. I honestly thought he was dead. He's got to be in, like, his 70s. We can't put him through that. We cannot put Jackie Chan through that.

Matt Jones (36:48)

This is great.

Ryan Lemond (36:49)

I think it's great. Like, if I had the power to demand.

Matt Jones (36:52)

That's what I was.

Ryan Lemond (36:53)

Shannon, you're reading my mind. I was going to ask you this. I feel like you are the kind of person that, if you became president, would make people make the movies you want. I feel like you are the kind of person that would do that.

Matt Jones (37:06)

I would demand, like, Chi Chi's restaurants.

Ryan Lemond (37:07)

Are open in Kentucky. Demand Chi Chi come back.

Matt Jones (37:10)

I would demand that Jeff be. Bridges comes back, and we make Big Lebowski, too.

Ryan Lemond (37:15)

Oh, so you would demand a big Leowski sequel. That's right.

Matt Jones (37:18)

John Goodman.

Ryan Lemond (37:18)

Yep.

Matt Jones (37:19)

Bring him back.

Ryan Lemond (37:20)

Let's do it. Yeah. I. I would use my power for that. For selfish reasons. I mean, they're. They're. It's ridiculous. But there is something kind of funny of. I like the Rush Hour movies. It's like what a child would do.

Matt Jones (37:35)

Yeah.

Ryan Lemond (37:36)

I like Rush Hour. I'm president. Make more rush hours. Give me more rush hours. Right. I also like that it's not like a classic movie where there's one and you want more. I mean, we had three of them. It was already kind of running its course as it is again. Does he want another Fast and the Furious? Do you think Jackie Chan can still do all that stuff? Like, do you think he. I mean, I don't remember those. Like, but he's got. He's like Kung Fu. I don't know why I keep kicking my leg up in the air like I'm doing Kung Fu. But do you think he can still do it? I. I didn't think the other rush hours were any good to begin with. I sure don't want to see Rush Hour 4. I didn't like the first. It's not for you. It's for Trump. They're only going to show it to one person. That's so crazy, this billion dollar acquisition. And he's like, nope, I'm not going to prove it. I need Rush Hour four.

Ryan Lemond (38:23)

Who's up next? Jay. Jay, go ahead. Jay.

Matt Jones (38:27)

Hey, man. What's going on?

Ryan Lemond (38:28)

What's up?

Ryan Lemond (38:30)

Hey. So I'm like a 16 year veteran of the military. Okay. Okay.

Matt Jones (38:34)

I want to tell you this.

Ryan Lemond (38:35)

Maybe it's an analogy that could make some sense here.

Matt Jones (38:38)

In the military, every two to three.

Ryan Lemond (38:40)

Years, the commander of a particular unit or battalion or brigade gets moved out and a new one gets moved in. Their reasoning for doing that is to prevent stagnation. Yeah.

Matt Jones (38:55)

And complacency and to promote innovation.

Ryan Lemond (39:01)

Makes perfect sense to me. Yeah.

Matt Jones (39:04)

It would be amazing if not only.

Ryan Lemond (39:06)

The University of Kentucky would embrace that, but maybe even. I don't know our government. I'm with you. I'm with you. I have one of the guys that's in my fellowship with me is in army leadership and he talks and he has told me that exact thing. His, I think, were three years, but he said, we don't really believe in anyone leading a group more than three years. And he was like asked to extend for a year and he's basically said no for the exact reason you said. He goes, people get tired of hearing the same voice and you need to have new ideas.

Ryan Lemond (39:41)

So I appreciate the call. I'm not. I mean, three years is a very short period for athletics. But I think that does apply, Ryan, when you're talking about somebody who's been in the job for 23 years.

Matt Jones (39:51)

Yeah, I mean, that's why we have.

Ryan Lemond (39:52)

I think, term limits in political office. We don't though we should. We don't. Well, we do for some jobs, but we don't for some others. Yeah, president, things like that. You know, your leader, you. Sometimes you need that breath of fresh air to re energize your department, whether it's athletics or political, whatever it is. And here with college sports, nothing right now is the same as it was when they started and you know, they were good at back 23 years ago, but nothing is the same as it was then. But I worry we're still playing by the same rules as back then and it's exponentially different. And not just in IO. Everything is different, just the way fans consume it and one from media and one from experience. Everything is different, but we have the same people in place. They aren't good at both eras. Maybe they were good at the old era. That didn't mean they're good at the new era. With most of our coaches, there's been a moment where I saw the moment where I went, it's time. You've probably now you said something that makes me think, this may not be for you anymore. For Stoops, it was the pony up conversation. I think that was the moment where I was like, I don't think he's totally connected to this anymore. Honestly. For John, Cal, Peri, it was that, I'm going to go home and see my dog's conversation. That was a moment of. I don't think you get how bad that sounds. Part of me is Mitch the other day with his losing it about the question about Nil, that part of me wondered, is that that moment for him where you just go, man, I just don't know that you're connected to this anymore. That was an embarrassing answer on a day that was a celebration. What an opportunity that was. Just laid at his feet to get some excitement and be like, look at this new coach. We need more. We can do better. Let's fuel him with a good roster. Let's feed these studs. And he just told everybody to shut up instead of actually building on the back. He was only there two years, but Billy Gillespie was the. I'm not a. I'm not a role model or whatever his company is. I'm not an ambassador for the university. Like, they have these moments. And I do kind of wonder if that was Mitch's. So do you still feel like we're just, what, three weeks away from a big announcement from Mitch? Well, I don't know if it'll be in three weeks. I don't think he will be the athletic director next fall, but we'll ask him if he comes on next week and see what he says. Is pain, stiffness or a numbing sensation preventing you from enjoying watching your favorite team compete? For over 30 years, court has been Kentucky's go to physical therapy group to help athletes, fans and average Joes. If you have insurance deductibles, you still can maybe go for free till the end of the year. Go to court.com, that's kort.com. will you crawl under the table if we have Mitch after all of these conversations? I'm going to have a tent in here and I'll be hiding in the tent. Well, he won't come in here. We'll have to go to. He'll probably have to come to studio. Will you even stay in the studio? No, I'll be out in the tent somewhere hiding profusely. Hiding from whatever you. Profusely? Yeah. I don't even know how what that means. I don't either, but it sounded good. All right. Well, no, it didn't. We'll take a break and be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Race. This is Rob Gronkowski from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and jules. For the second season in a row, I partnered with T Mobile's Friday night 5G lights powering up hometown football across America. This year, T mobile invested over $4 million in prizes to help schools to take their Friday nights to the next level. The votes are in. And now it's time to crown our $1 million grand prize winner. Congratulations to Derrick's high school and Derrick's Arkansas, home of the outlaws and your 2020 5T mobile Friday night 5G lights champion. The Outlaws and their community rallied to help them score a game changing home field upgrade, a Gronk Fitness Weight Room makeover, an epic 2026 tailgate party and a VIP trip to the SEC Championship game. To every school that competed posted and rallied your communities, thank you and to T Mobile for making it all possible. This season may be over, but the story isn't. Stay tuned for season three in 2026. Congratulations again to Derek's High School Outlaws. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the in the end of year celebrations, but don't forget to take care of yourself by stocking up on your favorite nutritional products. Now through December 30th. Shop in store and online and save on items like Cliff Snack Bars, Luna Bars, Boost Nutritional Energy Drinks, Premier Protein Shakes, Z Bar Variety Packs, Open Nature Powder and Body Fortress Protein powder offers end December 30th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

Matt Jones (44:35)

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Matt Jones (45:35)

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Ryan Lemond (45:57)

Head to GoldBelly.com and get 20 off.

Matt Jones (46:00)

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Ryan Lemond (46:02)

That's GoldBelly.com promo code GIFT deal. No questions.

Ryan Lemond (46:09)

Welcome back Techie Sports Radio. We got some breaking news here Shannon.

Ryan Lemond (46:16)

UK Former UK offensive coordinator Bush Hampden has been high hired as the assistant head coach in charge of offense at Mississippi State. He actually won't be the coordinator. I don't know what that means but I guess they found something they like there from Bush Drew quick to find a job. I'll admit I'm a little surprised it's in the sec, but congrats to him. I think there was a stretch this season where we didn't appreciate Bush Hampden. I mean I think when the offense got rolling I think he had a lot to do with it because he finally felt confident in Cutter calling the right plays for Cutter, putting Cutter in the better position. Now of course we're all going to go back to the Texas game but that may not have been him making that call. We don't know. It'd be interesting. If Mississippi State goes and has a great offense then that might tell us that there were other things.

Matt Jones (47:04)

Remember game and we didn't score a point.

Ryan Lemond (47:06)

Yeah. Also Liam, Liam Cohen's doing pretty well by the way. He might win coach of the year. I mean he there they're actually doing pretty excellent. DraftKings. Go to DraftKings. Use my promo code KSR. Not a lot of choices tonight. I guess I will take the NBA Emirates Cup. That's the mid season tournament. Spurs, Lakers tonight both teams on winning streaks. Who you got? Lakers. I'll go Spurs. Then just make it a little different. I'll go Lakers. What do you have? Spurs. By the way, Kelton Johnson just sort of following UK guys. Kelton Johnson playing pretty well this year for the spurs in a six man role. And Rob Dillingham now lots of talk he might end up getting traded. Like they just. He's not even like he got taken out of the rotation. Really worked out for him. Now most of the guys we keep eyes on closely are having a great year. Reed turned it on after a slow start but Rob, we were expecting a big jump for him and it just hadn't happened. Who would have thought? I mean Justin Edwards plays well. Yeah, he does. You know Reed and Justin Edwards have. But Rob, look at Mario. Look how sad he is over there about Rob. Rob, you know Rob and Bronnie just aren't living up for him. Yeah, I'm bummed. I love Rob but it's just not worked out for him there. He's so fun. I thought there'd be a bigger jump. I did too. I thought he maybe another opportunity will be a good start for him. Maybe. So who's up next. Let's go to Jared. Jared. Go ahead, Jared.

Ryan Lemond (48:33)

Hey, guys, I want to talk about.

Matt Jones (48:35)

The atmosphere at UK games.

Ryan Lemond (48:37)

So I've intentionally not gone to basketball games for how boring it is and for context, like, I'm 33. I had more fun at a Hawaii volleyball game against Texas State than just a normal Kentucky basketball game at Ref.

Matt Jones (48:50)

Arena because it is so boring inside.

Ryan Lemond (48:53)

In between, like TV timeouts, for instance. Well, I mean, there's a lot of people that will tell you that even now going to a women's volleyball game or a women's game basketball game is more fun than going to a men's basketball game. I mean, there's a lot of. I'm saying.

Ryan Lemond (49:10)

Even here at Kentucky. Yeah. So. Well, I'm saying I'm going to Hawaii.

Matt Jones (49:15)

At Hawaii volleyball game against Texas State, which is not a great game to go to, but I had more fun.

Ryan Lemond (49:22)

Yeah.

Matt Jones (49:23)

With a crowd. Atmosphere there. Than a Kentucky basketball game.

Ryan Lemond (49:25)

Yeah. Well, I appreciate the call. I mean it. There's no doubt it's an issue. We've talked about it for a long time. I don't think it will change as long as Mitch Barnhart cad, because I don't think he considers it a priority, to be honest with you. So was that quote a long time ago? Fans want water, air conditioning and somewhere to sit. He said something along. Those say that he did make it sound like it was a concentration camp. He was like, they need food, shelter. It is about to be 20, 26. People want fun. Yeah. It's almost like he views it as, you know, we're supposed to be the most professional atmosphere with it because we're. We're Kentucky. We're the gold standard. We don't need to entertain you. You get entertained by our basketball. And that was true probably in the 70s or 80s. But this is different. There's so much other stuff. People. There's just other things. And all you got to do is go look at the difference in the atmosphere. Even in Nashville. Yeah, right. Like, we have a different atmosphere when we play in those places. And I will say to people, if you think the RUP atmosphere is great, go to one of these other arenas. I mean, I was at Louisville, Kentucky. It was wild. And even when things are good at Kentucky, I don't know if it gets like that. I just, you know, and I think that's. That. That's an issue. One more. Who's next? Matt. Matt, go quickly. Go ahead.

Matt Jones (50:46)

First thing I like to say is, my mom wanted to tell you she put you all on the prayer list. Matt Jones, for your family and God bless and many prayers. Is it crazy? She's a big fan.

Ryan Lemond (51:00)

Is it crazy to suggest like everybody.

Matt Jones (51:04)

Move back into the dorm rooms like they used to in the old days and hash it out and come together, maybe even do some meditation and you know.

Ryan Lemond (51:14)

Yeah, I'd like to say God bless.

Matt Jones (51:16)

And everybody make good choices.

Ryan Lemond (51:19)

Appreciate the call. I don't know, I mean I. Most of them, some of them live there, some of them don't. I don't know that that would do anything. All right. Kentucky volleyball Tomorrow plays at 3:30 in their in their Sweet 16 game. We'll have it on here at the bar. They play at 3:30 right here at the arena. Still some tickets on sale as well. Then if they win, they play Friday evening. We will be having a Ryan hosted watch party on Friday. Could be for a trip to the final four. Could be a huge game. Big weekend for UK volleyball. We will be back here tomorrow. Love to have you come say hello. We'll see you later. This has been Kentucky Sports radio. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap.

Matt Jones (51:59)

You're almost at the finish line.

Ryan Lemond (52:01)

But first.

Matt Jones (52:14)

There, the last one.

Ryan Lemond (52:18)

Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes.

Ryan Lemond (52:25)

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Ryan Lemond (53:29)

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