2025-12-23- KSR - Hour 1 Half Hour

Summary

Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) – Hour 1/Half Hour

Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Ryan Lemond & Jack Pilgrim
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)

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Episode Overview

This special half-hour episode of Kentucky Sports Radio features Ryan Lemond and Jack Pilgrim filling in for Matt Jones, who's away to call his first-ever college football bowl game for national radio. The KSR crew delivers updates and commentary on Kentucky basketball, football, and volleyball, while infusing the show with festive holiday spirit and local flavor. The episode blends sports insights, behind-the-scenes observations, and a touch of pre-Christmas chaos, as Lexington and its fans ramp up for both the upcoming Kentucky vs. Bellarmine basketball game and the holiday rush.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Christmas Eve/Early Basketball Game Atmosphere

• Schedule & Crowd ([02:33 – 03:52])

  • The day features a unique, early 1:00 PM Tuesday tip-off at Rupp Arena for Kentucky vs. Bellarmine.
  • Holiday games draw big crowds: Many families give tickets as holiday gifts or attend together when they’re back in town.
  • Bellarmine's local connections are expected to energize the crowd.

  “...these games at Rupp Arena before Christmas usually has a really good crowd because the people come in for the holidays. Maybe mom and dad gives somebody gives their family the tickets.”
  – Ryan Lemond (03:34)

2. Matt Jones’ Play-by-Play Debut

• Matt’s Role and Nerves ([04:18 – 05:14])

  • Matt Jones is in New Orleans to call a college football bowl game on national radio.
  • The crew jokes about how he practiced ‘whisper’ play-by-play on flights.
  • Both hosts express support but note it’s understandable to be nervous ahead of a big broadcast.

  “I can tell you he’s legit a little nervous about it... Once you get going you’ll settle in.”
  – Ryan Lemond (04:51)

3. Holiday Preparations and Family Traditions

• Festivity & Procrastination ([05:33 – 07:31])

  • Jack Pilgrim loves Christmas, wears a Santa sweater, and decorates right after Halloween.
  • The magic of Christmas is revived for Jack through his two-year-old son Billy’s excitement about decorations.
  • Both hosts admit to last-minute holiday shopping—Ryan especially.

  “This is the first Christmas that Billy, my two-year-old, grasps it.... When you get older as a kid, it’s the most magical thing in the world. And then... the kids bring it right back.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (06:16)

4. Kentucky Volleyball’s NCAA Tournament Run

• Season Review & Loss to Texas A&M ([07:31 – 09:38])

  • Hosts reflect on Kentucky’s runner-up finish, with Jack noting momentum shifts and tough self-inflicted errors in the loss.
  • They praise the team for an exciting season, even though it ended short of a championship.

  “Momentum is just so real in volleyball where it’s just one point turns into three and turns into five.... Sometimes you just gotta give credit where it’s due. Texas A&M just steamrolled the entire field.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (08:50)

5. Kentucky Football and Will Stein Era

• Staffing, Recruitment, and Portal Strategy ([09:54 – 13:20])

  • Jack believes new offensive coordinator Will Stein brings positive vibes and high expectations to UK Football.
  • Discussion about the challenges of last-minute recruiting:
    • Will Stein is compared to Mark Stoops in building a program from the ground up and "selling the dream."
    • Hosts discuss whether to hope Oregon (Stein’s current team) wins their bowl game, with both agreeing that long-term momentum and attention will help UK recruiting more than an early start to Portal season.

  “I go back to when Stoops first got hired and just kind of selling the dream. Like, hey, we don’t have anything to work with right now, but come believe in me and let’s... make something special.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (10:44)

6. Will Stein’s ‘Christmas List’: Needs for UK Football

• Roster Priorities ([17:56 – 19:49])

  • Stein needs ‘studs’—particularly wide receivers and a reset on the offensive line.
  • With all five offensive line starters departing (mostly seniors), rebuilding the O-line is critical.
  • Hosts also discuss bringing back existing talent and hitting the Portal for upgrades.

  “Hit reset on that receiver room. Bring back the talent from last year... go find a true wide receiver number one.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (18:10)

7. Mitch Barnhart’s (Athletic Director) Christmas List

• Expectations and Program Direction ([19:49 – 21:02])

  • Barnhart needs his recent football and basketball hires (Will Stein, Mark Pope) to succeed—these are "legacy hires."
  • For basketball, there’s a push to deliver a championship-tier roster, given increased NIL investments.
  • Barnhart’s public comments before Christmas indicate strong financial backing for the coaches; now, the pressure is on results.

  “We are holding up our end of the bargain, Pope. Now it’s on you to make sure that the $22 million roster you put together is a championship quality one.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (20:43)

8. Kentucky Basketball Mood: From Low Point to Resurgence

• Recent Roller Coaster ([21:02 – 23:21])

  • The mood among fans improved dramatically after wins over Indiana and St. John’s, following a low after the Gonzaga loss.
  • Cites DeMarcus Cousins’ criticism of team effort on social media and Mark Pope’s candid postgame reaction.
  • Jack sees effort, passion, and “diving for loose balls” as the new hallmark of the team, making them easy to root for again.

  “That product was totally inexcusable... when you have DeMarcus Cousins publicly tweeting, 'These guys don’t have [heart]’... So when you hit rock bottom in that way... compared to what has made these last two games so enjoyable...”
  – Jack Pilgrim (21:20)

9. Gambling Lines and Injury Updates

• Bellarmine Game Predictions & Player Health ([23:21 – 25:29])
  • Kentucky is a 35.5-point favorite over Bellarmine; both hosts advocate "hammering" the spread.
  • Jalen Lowe will likely sit out the Bellarmine game to rest his shoulder with a long break before the next SEC game.
  • Jack advocates caution: “Wrap him in bubble wrap... Don’t let him get touched.”

10. Holiday Game Crowds and KS Bar & Grill Scene

• Local Flavor ([25:41 – 26:09])

  • KS Bar & Grill is open early and busy for the game.
  • Holiday games bring new faces and festive energy, both at the bar and in Rupp Arena.

  “It’s kind of rare. We don’t do it all the time... A lot of new faces here. That’s what’s kind of cool about these holiday games.”
  – Ryan Lemond (25:48)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I’m the dude that puts my Christmas decorations up on November 1st... but December just flew by, man. It just feels like we snapped our fingers and it’s here.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (05:33)

• “You gotta have—whoever it is—have somebody to throw the ball to... Not having kind of a go-to superstar on the outside. I’m pushing all my chips on the best receiver Will Stein can get his hands on.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (18:03)

• “When you have DeMarcus Cousins publicly tweeting, 'these guys don’t have [heart]'... and you have Mark Pope at the podium saying, hey, I’m a former player too, and I’d be mad at the coach... So when you hit rock bottom in that way—not just the score, but how they got there—compared to what has made these last two games so enjoyable... They’re easy to root for again.”
  – Jack Pilgrim (21:18)

• “Wrap him in bubble wrap and shove him away... Do not let him get touched for the next 14 days... Keeping him healthy is priority number one for Mark [Pope].”
  – Jack Pilgrim, on Jalen Lowe (23:37)

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Timestamps Overview

| Segment | Start | End | |-------------------------------------------|-------------|--------------| | Early Game & Holiday Atmosphere | 02:33 | 03:52 | | Matt Jones’ Play-by-Play Debut | 04:18 | 05:14 | | Holiday Festivity & Traditions | 05:33 | 07:31 | | Kentucky Volleyball NCAA Tourney Recap | 07:31 | 09:38 | | Will Stein & Football Portal Strategy | 09:54 | 13:20 | | Will Stein’s Christmas Needs | 17:56 | 19:49 | | Mitch Barnhart’s Hopes/Pressure | 19:49 | 21:02 | | Kentucky Basketball Emotional Rollercoaster | 21:02 | 23:21 | | Gambling, Bellarmine Preview, Injuries | 23:21 | 25:29 | | KS Bar, Crowd, and Closing | 25:41 | 26:09 |

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a snapshot of Kentucky sports fandom in late December—holiday spirit mixing with sports passion, hope for new coaching hires, excitement for bowl games and basketball turnarounds, and the familiar Kentucky tradition of supporting the Big Blue through highs and lows. The hosts’ camaraderie and regional pride shine through, making it a feel-good, informative listen for UK fans and anyone enjoying the festive pulse of college sports in Kentucky.

Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Jack Pilgrim]

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[Comedy Off Broadway Promoter]

Comedy Up Broadway in Lexington invites you to celebrate New Year's Eve with Lexington's own Lee Kimbrell for two shows only on December 31st. Then from Netflix is a joke, catch Ray Lau January 2nd and 3rd and January 8th through the 10th. Don't miss AGT finalist Aaron Belial. For tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway shows, call 859271, joke or visit comedyoffbroadway.com.

[Ryan Lemond]

Comedyoff broadway this is Kentucky Sports Radio.

[Valpak Advertiser]

Presented by Stockton Mortgage.

[Ryan Lemond]

Now here's Matt Jones. Welcome in. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. How about it? We are now, what, less than 48 hours away from Christmas. And we're less than three hours away from tip off between Kentucky and Bellarmine on this edition of Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan Lemon and Jack Pilgrim here for you this morning. As always, Kentucky Sports Radio Sponsored by the TJ Smith law office. Called TJ he'll make them pay. We've got the Clark's Puppy shop phone number 859-280-2287. Jack kind of kind of abbreviated schedule today we're going to have KSR from 10 to 1030, but then at 1030 we have to start the pregame show because Kentucky and Bellamy tip off at one o' clock in the afternoon down here at Rupp arena today.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Weird, right?

[Ryan Lemond]

It is kind of weird.

[Jack Pilgrim]

It's very weird. Before I left, Katie said the, my wife Katie said the traffic shouldn't be too bad. It's a Saturday. I said it's, it's too, it's Tuesday. But I think just the scheduling of this is just throwing everybody off. It's a very, very weird time. But hey, I'm for it. Nothing like a matinee.

[Ryan Lemond]

These games that are, we'll get into a lot of the basketball game itself in the. During the pregame show but these games at Rupp arena before Christmas usually has a really good crowd because the people come in for the holidays. Maybe mom and dad gives somebody gives their family the tickets. So it's usually a pretty decent crowd even though it's one o' clock on a Tuesday afternoon.

[Jack Pilgrim]

And I think that the local factor with Bellarmine, it's an, it's a name brand for locals where some alums can come in and you know, celebrate and you know, cheer on their, their former school. So yeah, I'm excited. I think it's going to be and I think there's a lot to be excited about with how they won against St. John to get the debut of Jaden Quaintance. There's a lot of other stuff that went into just kind of the feel good bringing the feel good vibes back to Kentucky basketball.

[Ryan Lemond]

So our 30 minute edition of KSR we're kind of like the pre pregame show you and I'll do it. Matt is course down in New Orleans getting ready to call his first ever play by play on national radio of a college football bowl game down in New Orleans today.

[Jack Pilgrim]

I am very excited to see how that goes goes for him. I've loved hearing you know being on the plane and doing whispering the play by play under, under his breath watching NFL games and stuff. But yeah, he's going to crush it but I don't know how I would react if I were in his shoes. So I wish, I wish him nothing but the best.

[Ryan Lemond]

I told him, I said dude, once you get going you'll settle in and you'll get into a flow and it'll be all right. But I can tell you he's legit a little nervous about it.

[Jack Pilgrim]

The interesting thing is memorizing the rosters and how all, you know, the team dynamics and all those things. Like he's got some homework to do. Like I hope he's brushed up and he's studied up and he's ready to go.

[Ryan Lemond]

So that'll be later today. The UK basketball games at 1 and the pregame show probably get over about 5ish. And then I think kickoff for his game game is at 5:30, so it'll kind of bleed all in together. So it's a long day of listening to the radio all day today. But what else you gonna do, man? It's a Christmas. Are you ready for Christmas in two days?

[Jack Pilgrim]

I am one of the most festive people that I know. I have your Santa sweater on. I very much enjoy it. I'm the dude that puts my Christmas decorations up on November 1st. As soon as we get post Halloween, I'm all in on Christmas. But December just flew by, man. It just, it feels like we snapped our fingers and it's here. So I'm trying to figure out that's why I'm wearing what I'm wearing today. Just because I'm trying to force myself into just a dramatic exaggerated version of my festive self. Because I'm not feeling, it doesn't feel like it's 48 hours away.

[Ryan Lemond]

Less than 48 hours away. Now your little boys will be getting up, going crazy at 6am in the morning because Santa came to the house, man. That's a special time when you got little ones at the house.

[Jack Pilgrim]

This is the first Christmas that Billy, my two year old, grasps it. You know, we walk around the neighborhood and he sees all the, oh, there's big Santa, there's the nutcracker, there's the polar bear. Like he, he is obsessed with all of the decoration. So that's, that's definitely added. When you get older as a kid, it's the most magical thing in the world. And then once you get kind of, you know, 20s and 30s, it, you know, kind of lose some of that magic and then the kids bring it right back. So I, I very much enjoyed just the, the magic behind it this year.

[Ryan Lemond]

And then there's people like me that I have to go shopping after the postgame show because I still have stuff I have to buy. My parents are coming down this afternoon and I have not bought them Anything. I've not been to Kroger, I've not bought groceries. I'm that guy waiting to the last minute. Billy. Our sports, I think, is the same way. We're out tonight and tomorrow on Christmas Eve, finishing up.

[Jack Pilgrim]

I have a couple of things that I see. My wife just does a great, such a great job with hitting every cousin and aunt and uncle and grandpa and grandma. Like she does all of the immediate family for me, like she does it back in November. She's so prepared. But I still have to do my own personal, some, some, some of those things that I, you know, I'm, I'm the procrastinator. She's definitely the, the early bird.

[Ryan Lemond]

So since we're going to get into basketball during the pregame show, I'll ask you some other questions. Did you able to watch the volleyball tournament on Sunday?

[Jack Pilgrim]

Man, I did. It just sucked, you know, it just sucked how they won on Thursday. Kind of felt like, okay, well, they got the ugly, you know, got knocked the rust off, you know, the big moment was it felt a little big on Thursday in that first one against Wisconsin, but they overcame it and all right, well, now you're taking on a team that you've already beaten and you can feel good and hopefully bring a championship back to Lexington. And then just came out flat, self inflicted errors over and over and over again. You felt, okay, well, we just got the ugly first set behind us, that'll be fine. And it kind of felt like Texas got the momentum and said, oh well, this stuff is sweet. Like we can, we can not only beat them but kind of dominate them. And I just never were able to respond and it's just, it sucks. It doesn't take away from the magic. That was the season. I watched more volleyball this season than I ever have. It was, it was so fun watching this team and rallying around these girls, but I wish they got it across the finish line.

[Ryan Lemond]

It's like after they, they jumped out of that first lead in the first set and once Texas A and M caught him and then won that first set, it's like they were never the same after that. They just didn't recover. Like you said, hitting serves out of bounds, hitting serves into the net, returns, easy returns, hitting them out of bounds, it was just like they just were thrown off a little bit.

[Jack Pilgrim]

It seemed like momentum is just so real in volleyball where it's just one point turns into three and turns into five. And once it just kind of get unravels, it's really hard to kind of put the toothpaste back in the. Back in the tube. So they've done a great job. 8 and 1. And on the year up to that point in matches where you fall behind 11 0. So this is a kind of comeback cat team, but they just. They just didn't have it. You know, sometimes you just got to give credit where it's due. Texas A and M just steamrolled the entire field. And, you know, sometimes it happens. It's. That was the team of destiny. And unfortunately, it wasn't. Wasn't Kentucky.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, it's like you said, still great season. Finished national runner up. But Texas A and M, they beat three number one seeds in a row. They beat Nebraska, Pitt, and Kentucky back to back to back. They kind of earned it, man.

[Jack Pilgrim]

After reverse sweeping Louisville to kind of.

[Ryan Lemond]

You're right.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Start the run. So you're right. So, you know, it's like UConn in basketball that 20, you know, 2011. Sometimes just those teams, they go on runs and you just have to tip your cap and say, hey, that's sucks that we're not. That we're not in your shoes. But. But, you know, what can you do?

[Ryan Lemond]

So we'll. We're gonna. Like I said, we'll get into basketball after the break. I want to talk a couple football questions. You kind of got your finger on the pulse with UK basketball right now. Have you been able to keep up with Will Stein's staff and who he's hiring and you bringing the guys he's bringing in?

[Jack Pilgrim]

Well, I mean, we got to feed the studs somehow, right? I mean, this, this team, you know, we. We gotta. We. We gotta go bowling, man. We're not sitting next. You know, we're. We're setting expectations high. There's. There's good vibes in Lexington football again. So, yeah, I've been following it super closely. I'm very excited for the portal to open up next week and really kind of see him take this thing and run with it. Seeing. Seeing. All right, got a couple of late steals in the high school recruiting class, but what can you do that late in the game? You're, you know, you're hired the day before national signing day. Like, you can only do so much. Getting Darby to sign on the dotted line was. Was big enough as is, but this is where he can. He can really kind of show his game off a little bit as a recruiter and kind of a, hey, let's go build something special. It reminds me, I go back to when Stoops first got hired and Just kind of selling the dream. Like, hey, we don't have anything to work with right now, but come believe in me and let's. Let's make something special. And we saw what that turned into with Stoops and hopefully with the floor raised, thanks to what Stoops was able to do, Will Stein's able to not just get high 3 and low 4 stars to start his tenure. We'll be able to get Will Stein to bring in some four and five stars dudes. Studs.

[Ryan Lemond]

So are you in the boat? You were kind of hoping Oregon would get beat to get Will Stein on campus. Are you in the boat? You want Oregon to succeed, to miss, to make him look even better and then talk about UK Every time they talk about the Oregon, Oregon offense.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Go Ducks, baby. No, we are, we are rooting for them all the way. I mean, March, do they play Texas Tech? I think so. I just thought I had it. You look it up.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'll look it up while you're talking.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Yeah, I, we did the exact same thing when Stoops got hired. I mean, Florida State was in the middle of their national championship push and we kind of saw like, hey, our defensive coordinator is coming from a, you know, national championship winning program. How fun is that? Like, I mean, that's some real tangible success that we can kind of hang on to, to, to build, build off of. Yes, it would be nice to get a little head start on the Portal and he wouldn't be so distracted if he got, you know, knocked out. But we're talking long term, the momentum in general with the, the attention on the program, with Will Stein at the podium being able to say whatever he wants about Kentucky. And hey, you see what we just, we just put, put up 50 points and 500 yards. You want to come do that for me next year? Come do it in Lexington. It's, it's. I will take the long term success, even if it means that, you know, some short term hiccups with juggling the Portal with it.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'm with you. I'm the same way. They do play Texas Tech, by the way, this weekend. And I think that's why his staff was so important. Have guys here with boots on the ground in Lexington working on that kind of thing. Well, he's got to fly back and forth between here and Oregon.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Yeah. And you got Joe Sloan, he's, you know, ready to go. We got, you know, Texas saying that we. You have guys with boots on the ground here now. Anwar Stewart, right. Offering guys yesterday announced that his. He was coming back yesterday as well so that you, you can feel confident in the foundation with the guys to kind of relay the message to the people that need the message relayed to them while Will Stein takes care of it business up in Eugene.

[Ryan Lemond]

You mentioned Anwar Stewart, former player, been on the stoop staff. He's retaining him, he's retaining Mike Hartline and I think that's good because he.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Had believed Mike Hartline just took a job at usf.

[Ryan Lemond]

I thought he was staying.

[Jack Pilgrim]

I think he just left.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, that takes away what I was getting ready to say. Never mind then. So when we come back from the break though, I want to ask you what is Will Stein, what's on his Christmas list? What's he's asking Santa for Christmas, so. Alright, still looking for last minute gifts. Yes. Will make your loved ones feel great. Cornbread Hemp has got you covered right now. Save $40 on orders over 1 20. Save $40 on orders over 120. I guess what they're trying to say with code Kychar, that's code Kycheer. So stock up on gummies, seltzers, sleep support, oils, topicals. It's an easy way to check off your whole list in one go. If you're truly down to the wire like me. Cornbread gift cards. Gift cards make gifting easy. So go to cornbreadhemp.com cornbread hemp. This is the good life. Been a good friend of ours for over many, many years. We've done a lot of shows with them. And again, that code right now for the Christmas holiday is KY Cheer. All right, we'll take our break, come back. We got one more segment of ksr. Then we'll start the KSR pregame show. Kentucky and Bellarmine coming up. This is Ryan and Jack. We'll be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Trainer Games Narrator]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.

[Trainer Games Commentator]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Narrator]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Trainer Games Commentator]

Pressure is coming down.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

Trailer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trail on trainergames.com your ticket.

[Valpak Advertiser]

To big Savings is that big blue envelope in your mailbox.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Valpak.

[Valpak Advertiser]

It's brimming with deals from big name brands and your favorite local spots, dining services, stuff you're already buying all for less. And you could score 100 or other instant prizes just for opening it. Or save even faster with mobile coupons you can use right [e-mail] Valpak there's definitely something in it for you.

[Sports Promo Announcer]

The world's best ski and snowboard athletes are chasing medals. Now you can follow their every move. Join Insider, the official US Ski and snowboard fan loyalty program, and get premium viewing at World cup ski events, exclusive athlete meetups, discounts from brands you love, and a custom welcome gift mailed direct to your doorstep. This winter, show your support as they race for the podium. Head to insider.usski and snowboard.org and join today.

[Ryan Lemond]

I thought you were getting ready to say you were going to play Chuck Berry's Christmas song here. Gus thought you asked us what we wanted to hear. Jackson play that one when we go.

[Jack Pilgrim]

To the break here.

[Ryan Lemond]

Okay, gotcha.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Extra treat for you.

[Ryan Lemond]

Oh, gotcha. All right, so Ryan Lemon, Jack Pilgrim, here we are live at KS Bar and Grill. We are now open. We opened at 10 o' clock this morning. We were serving breakfast because Kentucky's playing Bellarmine at 1 o'. Clock. We opened a little hour early and it filled up. We got a good crowd here already. Like I said, a lot of this, these right before Christmas games get a lot of different crowd. You know, you see some different faces. People kind of in for the holidays and we're seeing that already here as KS Bar is filling up. And the breakfast here is really good, by the way. So come on out. You know Commonwealth causes creating a better Kentucky by shining a spotlight on local charities and inspiring generosity across the state each week. You can join in the fun while giving back. The Queen of Hearts raffle happens every Thursday and the next Ultimate Bourbon Collection Raffle will be January 29th. Your ticket doesn't just give you a shot at $20,000 worth of bourbon or a share of the $10,000 Queen of Hearts pot. It makes you a piece of the puzzle in supporting Kentucky's charities. To date, Commonwealth Causes has donated nearly $650,000 to nonprofits right here in the bluegrass. So grab your tickets [e-mail] that's commonwealthcause.org follow y causes on social media, download the app and play and win in support. Happy holidays from Commonwealth causes. All right, you had a little minute to think about it. Will Stein's crawling up on Santa Claus's knee. Sandy asked what he wants for Christmas. What's Will Stein ask what's on his Christmas list.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Oh well if I were Will Stein I'd say we got, we got to get some studs and I think the quarterback room is going to be fine. I think there's so much to. He will have his pick of the litter for quarterback whether it's Cutter Bowley, whether it's somebody else that he wants to hand pick. I think those questions are being had right now, those conversations are being had right now. But you got to have whoever it is have somebody to throw the ball to. And I think we saw the value of that this year. The lack thereof. Not having kind of a go to superstar on the outside for Cutter. I'm pushing all my chips on the best receiver Will Stein can get his hands on. Two or three. I mean hit reset on that receiver room. Bring bring back the talent from last year, the D.J. millers, the you know, Harley Gilmore's of the, of the world and you know, go, go find a true wide receiver number one.

[Ryan Lemond]

You know they've lost every single offensive lineman now. They had four seniors and with Farmer committing to the NFL, going to the NFL, they've lost all five of them and they hardly played anybody in the rotation at all. I mean they've got to. That's one thing, it's got me on his Christmas list.

[Jack Pilgrim]

I think there's going to be a lot of presents under the tree. Like I think, I think we need to understand that this is a total reset. I, yeah I was more selfishly talking about the, the explosion of, of the Will Stein offense and getting carried away in that regard that I just personally want to see, selfishly want to see a superstar wide receiver. But a resetting the, the offensive line room is, is make or break for year one for Will Stein. So that's probably that, that the like pre Christmas like that was Thanksgiving. Like we gotta, we gotta set the foundation there and then Christmas is kind of, you know, where you can get, get a little selfish there. So yeah, I think those are priorities. A, B, C, D through Z.

[Ryan Lemond]

What is on Mitch Barnhart's Christmas list?

[Jack Pilgrim]

Probably for me to shut up. Probably if I had to guess just you know, I don't know. I think that's.

[Ryan Lemond]

He definitely wants A winning season for football or definitely. Or at least some success in the football. This is his hire. We know Will Stein, his. Maybe his legacy hire.

[Jack Pilgrim]

And I think a. A turnaround to get. Because also the Mark Pope hire was his legacy hire as well.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yep.

[Jack Pilgrim]

He needs this thing to turn around and continue to build upon what we've seen work over the last two weeks for this Kentucky basketball team as well. We kind of heard him unfiltered a little bit on the show that the last one I was on pre Indiana, where he talked about just kind of the, you know, hey, you know, the money is where it needs to be. We like the foundation with JMI and, you know, the deals that we're able to secure. But it's up to the coaches to build rosters that are going to compete. It wasn't a shot at Pope, but it was like a, hey, we are holding up our end of the bargain, Pope. Now it's on you to make sure that the $22 million roster you put together is a championship quality one. So I think seeing. I bet Mitch Barnhart was just as excited as anybody to see Jaden Quaintance's debut, to see that vision maybe come together a little bit more clearly.

[Ryan Lemond]

You know, it seems like the attitude of Big Blue Nation definitely has changed after beating Indiana and beating St. John's because it was about as low as it's been in a long time after the Gonzaga loss. And you were there, you witnessed it. Crowd was into it electric, loud, and they just got waxed.

[Jack Pilgrim]

And that's. There are two extremes with this because that product was totally inexcusable, totally unacceptable. That was a losing brand of basketball. I don't care who was in, who was out, who was hurt, who was available. I don't care. That effort, the. The passion, the want to. All of those things. When you have DeMarcus Cousins publicly tweeting, these guys don't have. I know what Hart looks like playing for the University of Kentucky. These guys don't have it. When you're publicly called out by a legend like that and you have Mark Pope at the podium saying, hey, I'm a former player, too, and I'd be mad at the coach if you know right now as well. So when you hit rock bottom in that way, not just the score, but the how they got there compared to what has made these last two games so enjoyable, with the passion and the diving for loose balls and, you know, crashing the offensive glass and just playing hard, tough basketball. It's. They're easy to Root for again. So, you know, got to meet in the middle somewhere. It's probably not sustainable to play this style of basket. You got to make shots eventually, but you also just can't play a losing brand the way that we saw leading up to this little, little stretch.

[Ryan Lemond]

And you're the guy that asked the question, the DeMarcus cousins quote. You're the one that asked that. Kudos to you, by the way.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Well, it's, it's the idea that, that that generation of player was known as the. Oh, these guys don't care about the school. They, they only care about being here for eight months and making, you know, nowadays it's being here for eight months and making as much money as you can with nil before going to the draft. But for their generation of kids it was, I'm using this program as a stepping stool to get to the NBA. And the old generation of Kentucky fans viewed that as like, oh, that's not real. You know, they don't care about the name on the front, they only care about the name on the back. That guy is saying that these guys didn't care for his program. You know, it was kind of ironic and kind of a full circle moment that I think that was, that was pretty revealing. I was pretty telling when it went. A guy like DeMarcus Cousins, a fan favorite in the one and done era, is saying that these guys don't have heart.

[Ryan Lemond]

DraftKings big sponsor of Kentucky Sports Radio as well. And I'm gonna go over some DraftKings odds that you tell me what you think. Kentucky over bellarmine is a 35 and a half point favorite.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Hammer it, baby.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, hammer it.

[Jack Pilgrim]

Feel good about this one.

[Ryan Lemond]

We will get into it more but is Jalen Low play today?

[Jack Pilgrim]

He did not practice yesterday and there's no shoot around today. So I'm just. My educated guess here is that they will correctly make the decision to hold him out. I would wrap him in bubble wrap and shove him away. Keep him away from the basketball floor practice. Do not let him get touched for the next 14 days. Just, just leave him be. We saw plenty in the second half against St. John's keep him health. Keeping him healthy is priority number one for Mark.

[Ryan Lemond]

Why not? Like you said, there's a big drought now before they play Alabama again, you know, they play what, January 3rd?

[Jack Pilgrim]

Third. I mean 14 day gap between St. John's and so Alabama.

[Ryan Lemond]

Why not, why not just sit him right now against Bellarmine and let that shoulder, he heal up because it's going to get bumped again once the SEC starts.

[Jack Pilgrim]

You, you, this is touch and go. This. I mean, you're going to have to delicately, delicately handle Jalen Lowe the rest of the season. Pope said last night in his call in show that he does expect Jalen to be available the rest of the season. Like he doesn't think that this is something that's going to linger and it's going to take him off the floor at some point. He thinks that they can manage this, which I'm all in on. But you got to be able to manage it. You got to be able to pick and choose the AD as needed spots with Jalen Lowe, you can't just throw them out there and say, Hey, 35 minutes a game, buddy. Go, go. Let her rip. Like, pick and choose your spots when to use this very, very valuable tool for your team.

[Ryan Lemond]

So you say hammer the over at 35 and a half on DraftKings. The over under is 156 and a half. Ooh, I'm going. I think Kentucky will score a lot of points. Will Bellarmine score enough points to get over the. Get over the over?

[Jack Pilgrim]

Well, and I don't want to share my secrets for the pregame show, but I'm picking a big, big win that doesn't involve Kentucky scoring enough points to make however many Bellarmine scores not matter as much. So I'm still slamming the over on.

[Ryan Lemond]

That one that Kentucky may hit 100. So will Bellarmine get 50, 55?

[Jack Pilgrim]

There's your question. There's your question right there.

[Ryan Lemond]

So yeah, we'll get more into that. Again, we're open here at KS Bar and Grill. Nice crowd, kind of people coming in early.

[Jack Pilgrim]

I am getting salivating looking at some of these plates that are coming out with the eggs and bacon and biscuits. It's, it's looking pretty darn tasty.

[Ryan Lemond]

The breakfast is actually very, very good here at Case Bar. It's kind of rare. We don't do it all the time. Sometimes we have an early football game. Monica, open up a little early and eat the breakfast. So we're doing it here. A lot of new faces here. That's what's kind of cool about these holiday games.

[Jack Pilgrim]

I'm enjoying seeing some of the morning beers as well. We got to get, we got to get some excitement in Rupp arena for a 1 o' clock Tuesday game.

[Ryan Lemond]

So that does it for this edition of KSR. 30 minutes gone, but stay tuned. We're going to start the Central Kentucky Chevy Dealers KSR pre game show with Jack Pilgrim, Kentucky and Bellarmine coming up, so stay tuned. We're right back talking basketball here on Kentucky Sports Radio. Goodbye.

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