2026-04-03- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

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KSR – Hour 1 | April 3, 2026

Podcast: KSR (Kentucky Sports Radio)
Date: April 3, 2026
Hosts: Ryan Lemond, Drew Franklin, Shannon “the Dude”, Billy R. Sports
Location: KS Bar and Grill, Lexington, KY

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Episode Overview

This Friday edition of Kentucky Sports Radio dives deep into the state of University of Kentucky (UK) athletics, with an emphasis on basketball roster updates, recruiting challenges, and transfer portal rumors. With Matt Jones absent, the crew (Ryan, Drew, Shannon, and Billy) discuss why inclement weather thwarted their planned live broadcast from scenic Midway, Kentucky, and instead settled into their usual home at KS Bar and Grill. The episode rolls through lively takes on program expectations, NIL challenges, fan perceptions, and townie tales—with plenty of friendly banter and nostalgia for UK sports history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Change of Plans: From Midway to KS Bar

• Planned broadcast in Midway canceled due to rain

  • The group had scouted a spot downtown with the mayor set to join, and even a possible cameo for Shannon in a Hallmark Christmas movie now filming there.
  • [06:43] Ryan Lemond: “Yoga girl and I went over Wednesday night and scouted us out…Sterling Gypsy was going to let us use their outlet…and the mayor of Midway was going to come on.”

• Midway is buzzing: Hallmark movie filming and community support

  • Previews of Kentucky’s small-town charm and movie activity.
  • [07:08] Ryan Lemond: “They’re filming a Christmas movie, Shannon. A Hallmark Christmas movie in downtown Midway right now as we speak.”

• Comic relief about weather forecasts and logistics

  • Apple weather apps vs. droid, chairs and tents left unused, and the running Midway train causing concern.

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2. Roster Talk: Transfer Portal and UK Basketball

a. Player Updates from KSR Website

• Colin Chandler

  • Chandler is considered a key piece for Mark Pope’s plans and is tempted by a return home (Utah/BYU), but current mood favors staying at UK.
  • [09:04] Drew Franklin: “[Chandler] really trusts Mark Pope…But there is the temptation of going back home…His wife’s from there…From basketball standpoint, he’s better off here.”
  • [11:06] Drew Franklin: “He’s a guy you want to keep…Kind of the centerpiece of the roster, like Otega was last year.”

• Cam Williams

  • Wants to return, but is watchful of recruits the staff might bring in, particularly star wings.
  • [13:20] Drew Franklin: “He keeps saying all the right things. He wants to return…He was just starting to turn it on right when he had the foot injury.”

• Jasper Johnson

  • Wishes for a “redo” after a tough season, but his place depends on incoming transfers and point guard recruits.
  • [14:22] Drew Franklin: “…he would like to prove that he could do it at Kentucky…But…they have to go out and get a good point guard.”

b. Transfer Portal and Staff Activity

• Portal opens Tuesday, but activity is already “moving and shaking.”

  • [16:21] Ryan Lemond: “…may be even some news happening today here, Friday, probably like 12:05, when our show is over. Some portal drop from concerning basketball program.”

• Mark Pope tweets from the air, spurring speculation about recruiting moves.

  • [16:39] Drew Franklin (reading Pope’s tweet): “After a bumpy start, my pilots found the perfect zone. Not too high, not too low. Clear skies ahead. Let’s go, BBN.”

c. Roster Construction Pressure and NIL

• Pope “needs a win” in recruiting—a marquee name, big transfer, or top freshman.
  • [23:48] Drew Franklin: “Yes. Without hesitation…I think you have to. He needs a win…He needs to show Kentucky fans…that he can go out and get a big recruit.”

d. Kentucky’s Recruiting Standards & Fan Perspective

• Caller Shane (at [47:58]) expresses frustration:
  • [48:19] Shane, Caller: “I’m really sad about the state of our program. The fact that the Kentucky Wildcats do not have a single high school player committed. I mean like Kentucky should be selecting who plays for this team…”
  • Drew and Billy agree about recruiting urgency, but push back on the idea that Calipari’s blueprint fits the current era.

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3. Tournament Talk: NIT, “Crown” Tourney, and More

• NIT semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse, historic location from the movie Hoosiers.

  • [21:38] Ryan Lemond: “It’s where they filmed the movie Hoosiers, where you hit the final shot…Auburn and Tulsa, NIT championship tomorrow night.”

• Nostalgia for the NIT in Lexington—including Perry Stevenson’s memorable dunk—and how the tournament has lost luster.

  • [23:03] Ryan Lemond: “That’s everybody’s lasting memory. It's the Perry Stevenson dunk against UNLV.”

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4. Women’s Basketball: Portal, Recruiting, and Momentum

• Lexi Blue enters the portal; Kenny Brooks reloading with a strong class.
  • [35:06] Drew Franklin: “I fully expect Kenny Brooks to keep this train rolling…Didn’t work out with Lexi Blue…but that recruiting class has two top 10 players.”
  • Notable recruit names: Savvy Swords (“We’re still on the all-hands name team”).

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5. Kentucky Sports: Small Towns, Film Sets, Comic Con & Local Legends

• Hallmark and other movies filming around Kentucky:

  • [30:22] Ryan Lemond: “Yeah. A Hallmark Christmas movie in downtown Midway right now…Big movie in Lexington…Ken Jeong from the Hangover.”

• Local Comic Con, celebrity sightings, and the unique people-watching opportunities of downtown Lexington.

  • [33:20] Ryan Lemond: “Best people watching ever—is at Comic Con.”

• Listener calls about Kentucky sports connections—e.g., family ties to coaching legends like Danny Haney.

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6. NIL & The Changing Landscape

• Discussion about current NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) dollars compared to pre-NIL “wink wink” days.

  • [45:58] Drew Franklin: “Are you saying people paid before NIL?…Well, you know, it didn’t happen allegedly.”

• NIL and transfer portal colliding, with player demands rising but booster fatigue showing in some places.

  • [46:22] Drew Franklin: “Players are commanding even more this offseason…But in a lot of places, they’re like, we just can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

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7. Portal & Tampering: The Realities of Modern College Sports

• Increasingly open “tampering” between programs for transfers—coaches in opposing gear openly scouting at games.

  • [39:31] Billy R. Sports: “I was reading a story about the Queens coach…you had an SEC assistant in SEC logo and gear courtside for the conference tournament to wait until they lose so he can talk to the players.”

• The crew acknowledges this is now commonplace, and if a program isn’t tampering, “you’re behind.”

  • [40:35] Drew Franklin: “Everybody tampers everybody. If you’re not tampering, you’re behind. That’s just the reality.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On why Midway is called Midway

  • [45:30] Ryan Lemond: “Between Lexington and Frankfurt. Midway between Lexington and Frankfurt.”

• On the “make-or-break” expectations for Mark Pope

  • [27:04] Aviation Glass Text Message: “Pope has to do one of these three things to keep his job at the end of next season: win the SEC regular season, win the SEC tournament, or get to the Final Four. Which do you think happens?”
  • [28:34] Drew Franklin: “I don’t think they would win the SEC unless you go out and just completely nail it. I think winning the SEC is tough. I think Final Four is tough. So maybe winning the SEC tournament...is the most likely.”

• Caller Shane on UK recruiting

  • [48:19] Caller Shane: “…It just feels like the end of the Tubby Smith era to me, man. And I love Tubby too, but…makes me sad about where our recruiting stands today.”

• NIL & Tampering Real Talk

  • [40:52] Drew Franklin: “…when coaches run over to the other team star player and…there’ll be a little extra lingering hug or a few extra comments—they’re doing [it] in plain sight.”

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Additional Topics & Fun

• UK women’s basketball recruiting spree and transfer movement.
• Ryan wears his beloved “Manny” shirt, remembering a Lexington local legend.
• Discussion about aluminum vs. wooden bats in college baseball.
• Jokes about naming Drew’s soon-to-arrive daughter after the Masters winner.
• Ken Jeong, Duke fans, and the intersection of pop culture & Kentucky sports.

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Key Timestamps

• [03:54] – Show intro, hosts settle in at KS Bar instead of Midway
• [08:37] – Player portal updates begin (Chandler, Williams, Johnson)
• [16:21] – Portal news and Mark Pope’s cryptic tweet while flying
• [20:44] – Keeneland opening day buzz; NIT semifinals recap
• [23:48] – $4 million NIL offer for Stokes? Recruiting pressure for Pope
• [27:04] – Make-or-break benchmarks for Mark Pope next season
• [33:31] – Listener calls: Kentucky coaching family ties
• [35:06] – UK women’s basketball roster & recruiting
• [38:25] – Transfer shooter Brett Decker; the upside of the portal
• [39:31] – The evolution of tampering and transfers
• [45:27] – Why Midway is called Midway (trivia)
• [47:58] – Caller Shane’s frustration about recruiting standards
• [51:34] – Lighthearted talk on college bats; show wraps up

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Tone and Style

The KSR crew keeps to its trademark—part sports report, part small-town storytelling, with lively, unscripted banter and regular check-ins from engaged listeners. The hosts wear their UK fandom on their sleeves, sprinkle in generous helpings of humor and nostalgia, but don’t shy away from critical assessments of both program and broader college athletics.

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Summary

This episode is a quintessential slice of Kentucky sports culture: weather-driven improvisation, barstool wisdom on UK basketball’s unprecedented roster ebbs and flows, and authentic engagement with fans’ hopes, doubts, and relentless curiosity. Whether recounting failed outdoor broadcasts, parsing the nuances of NIL, or diving into the rumor-rife transfer market, Ryan, Drew, Shannon, and Billy bring both candor and camaraderie—making the show a fixture for listeners eager to keep their finger on the pulse of Big Blue Nation.

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Transcript

[Julian Edelman]

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[Ryan Lemond]

March 26th through the 28th.

[Drew Franklin]

And don't miss New York comedy superstar and podcaster Mark Normand April 2nd through the 4th. For tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway shows, call 859-271-joke or visit comedyoffbroadway.com comedy off broadway.

[Shannon]

This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, good morning. This Friday edition of Kentucky Sports Radio. Friday, April 3rd. Ryan Lemon, Drew Franklin and Shannon the dude here. We Drew and I are live at KS Bar and Grill. We'll explain why in just a minute. But as always, Kentucky Sports Radio sponsored by the TJ Smith law office called TJ Shannon. What's he do?

[Shannon]

He'll make him pay.

[Ryan Lemond]

He'll make him play. Make them pay. We'll have our Clark's puppet shop phone number will be open. It's 859-280-2287. That's 859-280. Cats also have the a vision glass text machine.

[Drew Franklin]

You brought it. Oh, looky there.

[Ryan Lemond]

I got it.

[Drew Franklin]

This guy.

[Ryan Lemond]

I got it.

[Drew Franklin]

Not that consistent.

[Shannon]

It only took you a whole week.

[Billy R. Sports]

Wow.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, listen, I already see a bunch of messages on it.

[Ryan Lemond]

One of you smart Alex must have posted something because I had like 50 people. Remind me to bring the text machine today.

[Drew Franklin]

What? Me?

[Ryan Lemond]

Somebody posted it somewhere.

[Drew Franklin]

It could just be listeners looking out for you. But I'm glad you have it. Could be nice.

[Ryan Lemond]

Here's a question. Do you have. You remember the phone number?

[Drew Franklin]

The text machine phone number 502 7?

[Ryan Lemond]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

You have to Take it from there. I just know that you really emphasized that 7, 502.

[Ryan Lemond]

Because 5 plus 2 equals 7. And then 35, 36.

[Drew Franklin]

There we go, 35, 36, 80. There we go. 5,027, 35, 36, 80.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yes.

[Shannon]

35 and 36 doesn't equal 80.

[Ryan Lemond]

No, but it kind of rolls off the tongue.

[Drew Franklin]

Just let that brain do it again. I'm just glad to see it. I'll be honest. I wasn't going to call you out, but you had left it at home so many times I thought you might have lost it and just didn't want to confess that you had misplaced it.

[Ryan Lemond]

It was in the drawer but not charged. Okay, So I even got it out, charged it. And realize that people have been sending a lot of text messages this week. Let's use it today to the aviation glass text machine. So listen, we'll use it maybe even like between every other phone call, maybe we'll throw in a text message from the aviation glass text machine. We gotta start with, I think, guys, the fact that we were supposed to be on site today and mother nature threw us a curve ball. You know, during the summer we like to do these pop up shows. We just show up unannounced, usually someplace we've never been. Some are kind of fun. So since Matt's not here, we thought, well, maybe we should go down the road and do it in Midway. Downtown Midway, if you've ever been there. It's this beautiful, quaint little Kentucky town. There's a train track that goes right down the middle of Main street and there's shops on each side of it, these boutiques, restaurants, bars. It's just a cool area. We thought perfect place to do our pop up show this morning would be in downtown Midway.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, today was your programming day and you told me earlier in the week you gave me like three options. You were like, these are my ideas. What do you think about these? And I was like, you know what? I've always wanted to go down to mid. Never really hung out there, driven through it and I thought that'd be a great idea. Probably get good weather, we could have some fun. But then today stepped outside and glad we called an audible. Not the best day to be on the sidewalk.

[Ryan Lemond]

We were going to be on the sidewalk. It's really, literally 20ft from the train tracks.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, that didn't help when you told me we were near the train tracks. Also had a little worry about that as well.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yoga girl and I went over Wednesday night and scouted us out A location. Had a perfect little location. Sterling Gypsy was going to let us use their outlet outside their store. The mayor of Midway was going to. Come on.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, my goodness.

[Ryan Lemond]

Grayson, don't call me Brock Vandergriff. Was. Is the mayor of Midway. They're filming a Christmas movie, Shannon. A Hallmark Christmas movie in downtown Midway right now as we speak.

[Shannon]

In the rain.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yes, I'm sure they are in the rain. And we were going to try to twist the mayor's arm to get Shannon a speaking role.

[Shannon]

Oh, man, I didn't know this.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, I didn't know that either.

[Shannon]

It's not too late. I mean, you can still call up. Would you say Vandergriff? Mayor Vandergriff?

[Ryan Lemond]

Grayson, don't call me Brock Vandegrift.

[Shannon]

Yeah, you can still call up Mayor Vandergriff and make that happen if you wanted to.

[Ryan Lemond]

It's a Hallmark Christmas movie. They're shooting it right now. And Shannon could have a speaking role.

[Drew Franklin]

See, I looked at the forecast, which I don't think you did well.

[Ryan Lemond]

When I looked at it, looked like the rain was going to clear out.

[Shannon]

You know why? You got one of those droid weather

[Billy R. Sports]

apps is what you did.

[Shannon]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Apple weather app is more accurate.

[Drew Franklin]

I was excited. I went downtown yesterday and I met Billy, and I got a table for my heart. I was gonna get us a little table. It's still in my car. Yeah, when got three chairs.

[Ryan Lemond]

I've got chairs in my car.

[Drew Franklin]

I was looking for a tent when I saw the rain, but when the rain just kept coming, I got halfway to Midway and called him. Like, I don't know if this is the best idea because, you know, it's our last day before Matt gets back. I had this vision of lightning and then a train coming by as we're trying to do the radio show.

[Ryan Lemond]

So this is.

[Drew Franklin]

This is the safe bet. But it was a great idea. I wish we could have pulled it off.

[Ryan Lemond]

Maybe the next time Matt takes one of his 14 vacations, we'll sneak down to meet Midway and do another show down there.

[Drew Franklin]

We will. We will get our redemption tour around Midway.

[Ryan Lemond]

So big thank to the shout out to the city of Midway, who really went out to help us when we start setting this up. We just couldn't pull it off with the weather today. All right. 859-280-2287. That's the Clark Pump Shop. Phone number. KSR, the website. I don't know if you've heard of it.

[Drew Franklin]

I've heard of it for about 17 years I've heard about it every day.

[Ryan Lemond]

They have been posting some updates on some of our guys, our basketball guys. Transfer portal. Should I go? Let's just kind of go through the. There's been three posts.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Ryan Lemond]

And they did it on Cameron Williams. Williams, Colin Chandler and Jasper Johnson. So let's start with, let's start with Colin. What, what does, what are you guys hearing about Colin and what does the article say?

[Drew Franklin]

At least on what I'm hearing the articles, well, it's pretty similar. And then we got the chaos board too, where the real scoop goes down. That's where we can throw some scuttlebutt around. But I think Colin really trusts Mark Pope. He knows this is where he needs to be, but there is the temptation of going back home. You know, he had the two year mission where he was away, then he comes straight to Lexington and you know, he's married and his wife's from there. So I think there is a pool of getting back home. But at the same time he knows from basketball standpoint he's better off here. And it's a big centerpiece of what Pope is building for next year. I think the nil pay would be a little bit better. You know, everybody thinks of byu, but he also grew up a Utah fan out there as well. But it doesn't seem like either one of those would really be able to match what Kentucky can do because Pope is prioritizing him to return. But you know, that is sounds like that is in his brain a little bit. You could think why, if that's where he's from, wife's from there, he's already been gone for so long. There's their, you know, the religious aspect of all that. But I think Colin knows what would be best for basketball and it's just a matter of getting that done before the portal opens soon because if it lingers too long, that temptation could grow to leave Lexington. But I think right now he trusts Mark Pope and what's next for with with him at Kentucky?

[Ryan Lemond]

I kind of agree with you. I mean, you know these, he's 21, 22 years old. You've been on away from home for four years. You got a chance to play ball in your home state where on your family's there, where your wife's from there. I can see where at least you might entertain that thought of possibly going back home.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. Now Pope and company need to get it done and get it official here because you don't want to leave the door open where one of those schools could Come up with money and really, really tempt him. But I think if, if, if he were to. If we're placing a bet right now, is Colin Chandler coming back? I would certainly be saying it as long, but I. That's not anything official. I just think he knows Kentucky's is the right place.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think he's coming back. Shannon, what do you think?

[Shannon]

College. I'm sorry, I was answering a phone call and Chandler.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yes.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I think he probably will come back. He's a guy that, you know, you can, I want, I don't want to say build your team around, but definitely a guy that gives you that continuity and a very good three point shooter. So I'd love to see him come

[Drew Franklin]

back and they're gonna take care of him. I mean there's a lot of math to math with the budget. I don't have any idea what Pope's got in the cash register right now, but I know that Chandler is high on his list to get that done.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think you want to keep him to help you put together that roster. Kind of the centerpiece of the Rock like Otega was last year. They went out, make sure they kept him, did what they need to do to keep him. They have to do with Colin and

[Drew Franklin]

I think he can make a big. Remember I was on the fan club early when people weren't sure and I think he ended up having a huge jump and if he can make another jump next year, I mean the way he shot from three, if he can just create his shot a better and drive and you know, improve just a little bit. But the, the shooting aspect is incredible and then his defense isn't great. But how many times did we see like those elite plays like the block. He had so many steals in critical moments. He was almost like a young Reed Shepherd a little bit where sometimes maybe couldn't stay in front of his man. But just timing and some of his help defense, he could get in and create a lot of turnovers.

[Ryan Lemond]

And let's totally off topic. Did you see What Reed had nine three pointers the other night? Yes, nine three pointers. I think he was nine of 14. Crazy from NBA three point range.

[Shannon]

Still couldn't start for Kentucky, still didn't suffer.

[Ryan Lemond]

Kentucky.

[Drew Franklin]

My brain, I know Reed's been good for years now. My brain still can't believe this is happening. After we were there at his regional

[Ryan Lemond]

tournament, 13th region tournament.

[Drew Franklin]

If you had told me when we were sitting there, he will be hitting nine threes in a game while playing with Kevin Durant for the Rockets. I would have thought that's. That's the craziest thing ever. But he's still living it, and I know a lot of people are used to it now. I still. When I see him out there on the court, I'm like, I can't believe he's. He's doing this.

[Ryan Lemond]

So they're going to be in the playoffs. We got a chance to kind of watch him go a little bit more than playoffs.

[Drew Franklin]

They love him in Houston.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, let's move on to Cam Williams. What are you hearing about Cam Williams?

[Drew Franklin]

He keeps saying all the right things. He wants to return, and I know fans really want him as a piece with him. He's unique, though, because, like, you know, Stokes could have a big play, and in what he could do, they kind of play the similar position, not Same type, but Stokes will command a lot of minutes on the wing if he. If he ends up here, which who knows about that. But also, I guess he's kind of just got to look around and see what Pope's doing in front of him. I don't know that Pope would recruit over him. Pope really likes him, too, but that's a spot where we all say Kentucky needs to go out and get a star. So I think Cam Williams likes it here. But if they were out to go out and land a big fish, you know, he might consider other options. But I know he really, really likes Kentucky, saying all the right things in interviews. He said it a couple times now,

[Ryan Lemond]

and he kind of got cheated this year when he got hurt, you know, missed so much time, thankfully, came back a little bit, helped him when he, you know, he didn't get a lot of minutes at least. He kind of helped him, kind of spread the defense a little bit, having him out there in the tournament.

[Drew Franklin]

And he really started getting going right when that injury happened. He minutes, you know, earlier in the year, wasn't getting a lot of playing time. I think of all the new guys, it took him a little longer to adjust to this level, but he was just starting to turn it on right when he had the foot injury. So you could see where he'd want to run it back and have a redo.

[Ryan Lemond]

So what do you think? Staying or going?

[Drew Franklin]

I'll say stay on him, but that's one. If they go out and get a couple just huge names, he would. He would have to, you know, look for somewhere he'd get more playing time because I think a lot of teams would want him.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think he's staying. Shannon, what do you think Yeah, I

[Shannon]

think he is too. I mean, obviously, as Drew said there, he has a desire to come back. He just wants to know what his role is going to be with this team next season. Another good three point shooter, a guy that could be a good six man coming off the bench.

[Ryan Lemond]

And the other article you guys wrote on, on 3KSR website, great website. Check it out.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

Kentuckysports radio.com is Jasper Johnson.

[Drew Franklin]

What's your scoop?

[Ryan Lemond]

I don't really have.

[Drew Franklin]

I genuinely don't know much about what you. I mean, the word is he would like to prove that he could do it at Kentucky, but at the same time, I don't know how that conversation with Pope goes because same with, you know, going out and getting a star on the wing, they have to go out and get a good point guard. And as much as we all love Jasper to have an amazing sophomore year, you can't give him too much of a role without knowing how that will look. But, you know, there's, there's buzz that he would like to have a second chance just because he doesn't want to, you know, have one year here and not go or go the way it went. I think he would like to prove people wrong, but they have to go load up in the backcourt and I don't know where he would fit in that with, with what he would want. All these guys are going to have to take some serious pay cuts from what they got a year ago, any of these guys returning. So I genuinely don't know what he would do. I would, I would still guess transfer. But it's not like Jasper's running, trying to get out of here. He likes the idea of a redo and trying to prove himself.

[Ryan Lemond]

And if he's looking at, you know, Pope has been talking to Dink Pate several times, talking to the other, the European, I guess, point guard they've been trying to talk to.

[Drew Franklin]

You already got Mason Williams, who knows what he'll be. But you know, it's already one guard

[Ryan Lemond]

in there, so there he. Jasper knows they're going, they're going out and looking for a, an elite point guard. He may be the type of kid to look, I can compete. I'm as good as that guy. Give me another redo and I'm here ready to play.

[Drew Franklin]

And I think he believes he can be a point guard. It was a little unfair this year. You know, he's supposed to be a shooting guard, freshman. No one expected Jalen Lowe to not play most of the year. So it's unique circumstances but like I said, Pope's got to go out and get a star. This is such a big make or break year for Pope. He can't mess around. He's got to really do well in the portal with some guys that we know are already proven.

[Ryan Lemond]

And I think, you know, he's made a point that that's who they're going after first.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

And then they'll go after maybe a post player and try to get some other guys, but they're going after a point guard, I think is playing a.

[Drew Franklin]

And Jasper was really close to North Carolina. Remember, he grew up in North Carolina. Fan.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You know, they don't have a coach right now, so if Huber Davis were running it back, I would probably even guess North Carolina. But there's so much uncertainty on that end. New coach might not even give him a call. Who knows?

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, stay tuned because the portal opens officially on Tuesday.

[Drew Franklin]

Tuesday. Four days from now.

[Ryan Lemond]

Four days. And really, even though it's already moving and shaking, so there may be even some news happening today here, Friday, probably like 1205, when our show is over. Some portal drop. Drop from concerning basketball program.

[Drew Franklin]

Mark Pope's in the air right now. Just tweet.

[Ryan Lemond]

Didn't see that.

[Drew Franklin]

It's a picture of clouds.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, well, it is cloudy.

[Drew Franklin]

It says after a bumpy start, my pilots found the perfect zone. Not too high, not too low. Clear skies ahead. Let's go, bbn.

[Ryan Lemond]

Wonder where he's going.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't know. Don't really know what that means either. But he hadn't done much tweeting. Tweeting. So he's. It's good to see him. They're busy out there.

[Ryan Lemond]

They're in the war room. They're in there. They're in the portal house getting everything ready.

[Drew Franklin]

Go get somebody.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, we'll take our break. Come back. Go to the phone lines. 859-280-2287. Ryan, Drew and Shannon. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

[Chelsea Handler]

This is Chelsea Handler. From Dear Chelsea, after the big game, like most people, I kept thinking about the commercials. And there was one that stayed with me. It was from the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. And it wasn't loud or flashy. It showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose not to ignore it. As someone who was Jewish, that moment felt very real to me. Not dramatic, just familiar. And what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself, but the impact is still huge. If you saw the Blue Square spot during the big game, it's worth thinking about. And if you want to show support, sharing the blue square is one small way to do that.

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Billy R. Sports]

Really?

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[Drew Franklin]

How can I go any faster?

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Hey, whoa, whoa. That's too fast.

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[Ryan Lemond]

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Ryan Lemond]

for monthly price of 5G Internet data on eligible plans.

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[Ryan Lemond]

Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan, Drew and Shannon joined now by Billy R. Sports, who makes the jaunt over from the iheart studios to here at KS Bar and Grill, where we expect maybe to get a good crowd today because Keeneland opens today.

[Drew Franklin]

Drew, first day, got the new fancy paddock, bar area, whatever that you want to call it going on. It's gonna be fun times over at Keeneland. Hopefully the weather gets better for everyone going to Keeneland, though.

[Ryan Lemond]

That's it. Yeah, if the weather clears up. If not, we'll come over here. Well, you know, we'll have a little NIT preparation. You played the NIT last night in Indianapolis. Did you see any of the NIT games?

[Drew Franklin]

I didn't.

[Billy R. Sports]

And Shannon was telling me this morning that there's a whole other tournament still going on. The cbc. Do you watch any of that, Ryan?

[Ryan Lemond]

I didn't know that was going on.

[Shannon]

The crown, College basketball crown. Did you know that West Virginia, Baylor, Oklahoma and Creighton are still playing basketball this season?

[Ryan Lemond]

This is news to me. I had to look up. I didn't know who's in the NIT Final Four, let alone the crown.

[Drew Franklin]

Final Four crowns out in Vegas. Have a lot of fun out there.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, I do like the fact that the NIT is moving to the site of the Final Four. So, like, the Final Four is in Indianapolis. So the NIT is at Hinkle Field House in Butler University. Never been here. It's one of the most awesome gymnasiums you'll ever go into. It's where they filmed the movie Hoosiers, where you hit the final shot. That was in Hinkle Field House. So last night Auburn won Auburn and Tulsa 1. So the NIT championship tomorrow night is Auburn and Tulsa line up now. Get your tickets now.

[Drew Franklin]

I need Stephen Pearl to win the NIT so bad.

[Billy R. Sports]

Oh, you want him to win?

[Drew Franklin]

I just think it'll be funny. I mean, they go from the Final four, winning the sec, Bruce hands it off, it's not a good year, and then they're gonna have to awkwardly hang a banner because he won the nit.

[Ryan Lemond]

You gotta. You gotta hang a banner if you win, don't you?

[Drew Franklin]

So I'm all in on Steve Pearl getting him a ring.

[Shannon]

Got a championship in his first year, which is pretty impressive.

[Drew Franklin]

He's already a step farther than his

[Billy R. Sports]

dad was last year.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah. That'll keep him around for a little bit longer.

[Ryan Lemond]

Oh, yeah.

[Billy R. Sports]

Ryan, I don't want to be rude, but are you old enough to remember when the NIT mattered?

[Ryan Lemond]

I don't. I do remember, though, the year that Kentucky, the year they won the title in 78. They played in the NIT in 79. And we're thinking, well, that's not cool. Seemed like then it was a step down.

[Drew Franklin]

So.

[Ryan Lemond]

Before my time when the NIT was really a big deal.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah, well, I guess there was a time where that was a big deal.

[Drew Franklin]

It was fun in Lexington. Did you all go?

[Billy R. Sports]

No.

[Ryan Lemond]

I didn't know.

[Drew Franklin]

I mean, it sucked that we were in the nit, but it was a fun atmosphere. Memorial, that game. That's when Perry Stevenson. That's it.

[Ryan Lemond]

That's everybody's lasting memory. It's the Perry Stevenson dunk against unlv. I think it was, wasn't it?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

I mean, we were. We were definitely coping with not being in the big tournament. But I will say, it made for a fun atmosphere for two hours as we pretended to care about being in the nit.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, well, I found the aviation glass text machine.

[Billy R. Sports]

Where?

[Ryan Lemond]

In my drawer.

[Billy R. Sports]

Junk drawer.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Yeah, we knew where it was. That wasn't the problem. The problem was getting Ryan to actually go into the drawer and bring it with him to work, charge it, and

[Ryan Lemond]

then bring it in. That was the trick.

[Billy R. Sports]

I'm very proud of you.

[Ryan Lemond]

527, 35, 36, 80. Here's the first question we're going to ask you. Are Mark Pope? It's a make or break year for you. You have 15 to 16 million. Stokes will cost you probably 4 million. Are you doing it?

[Drew Franklin]

Yes. Without hesitation.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think you have to.

[Drew Franklin]

He needs a win. He needs a win bat. He needs to show Kentucky fans here, needs to show everybody, other recruits that he can go out and get a big recruit. Because I don't like to use the word whiff. It's used a lot on the Internet. But there has been a lot of whiffing lately and he needs to go out and get a big play. And Stokes is awesome. I mean he wasn't the star of the McDonald's game earlier this week, but if you watch the fourth quarter, you saw the potential and why he's ranked number one.

[Billy R. Sports]

Not just a big recruit, the recruit number one in the class. So I think that would go a long way for perception purposes for the reason why you brought maybe like Mo Williams in to get land players like this because he understands that money is the driving factor, not the name on the front of the jersey. So I think this would be a huge win for Kentucky and Pope if they were to get him.

[Drew Franklin]

And he's projected the number one draft pick, you know, the summer after this summer. I mean if that were to pan out and he were. It was the Kentucky logo that we're seeing at the draft. I know we left that behind with Cal, but it'd be nice to have a number one pick again, especially for Pope where he didn't turn around and use that on the recruiting trail and say, look, I can help guys get to the NBA.

[Ryan Lemond]

You're both right, you're both dead on the perception that you can get the big number one guy and what the number one guy can do for your program, what it represents. Exactly.

[Drew Franklin]

And he's just a guy that can take over and you know, oh way was pretty good at that. But can they need more. More guys who can just go out and get a bucket when. When you need it.

[Billy R. Sports]

And if you get Stokes and you don't get it done, then there's some finality in that.

[Ryan Lemond]

Right.

[Billy R. Sports]

Like there's like yeah, it's not going to work if you can still get

[Ryan Lemond]

a recruit but not win other from the aviation glass text machine which I found and brought today, do you guys have any updates on the coaching staff? There was that picture Pope posted with a recruit.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

Included as an assistant coach. We haven't talked about. He said coach somebody.

[Drew Franklin]

No, he and McClain and figure went out visited a 2027 recruit. So if you're reading tea leaves, that would suggest figure and McLean aren't going anywhere. Things are still, I don't know the Mark Fox situation, but that's one I'm watching. I know all those guys sound like two years deals when they got here. It's kind of. They just didn't renew Hart and Brooks and I wonder if there are any more left as he. Pope kind of has a lot of staff turnover there.

[Billy R. Sports]

I Was a little surprised to see Brooks leave. Just seems like a really positive guy. I'm not. I wasn't there behind the scenes to see what was happening, but somebody that seemed like it was making a positive impact on the program. But, I mean, if you can just bring in a player, why not just hire their dad as a coach? Ryan.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, especially if that dad has a connection to Jamal Crawford, who has a connection to Tyron Stokes. I think, you know, we can read the tea leaves. Why not be in that little pipeline?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, it's not just through Crawford. I mean, Williams knows him, too. Williams offered Dink Pate 3 almost four years ago. And same for Stokes for Jackson State. So he's been personally recruiting them. Not that those guys would ever go to Jackson State. But Mo Williams was making those efforts years ago. So he has the connection. Just the. With the Self thing coming back, I've losing optimism on Stokes. We need, we need Nike to, to pull all the strings to push him to Kentucky. But it's. I don't like the buzz point in that direction, obviously.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think that's why Stokes was delaying it, to see what Self was going to do. But a Self pulls a Bruce Purr on steps down right before the season starts. What's that do for you?

[Billy R. Sports]

But, like, why do it after the Nike Hoop Summit? Like, if you're a Nike athlete, you're waiting after a Nike event to sign with an Adidas school. That's just as we've talked about the last sense.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah. Another good theory. All right. From the aviation class text machine, Pope has to do one of these three things to keep his job at the end of next season. Either win the SEC regular season, which secures a one or two seed, win the SEC tournament, or get to the Final Four. Which do you think happens?

[Drew Franklin]

Well, that's close to my, my guidelines for every year. I always say you got to win the regular season, win the SEC tournament. But then I say Elite Eight to consider it a successful year. I feel like putting all the pressure saying you were unsuccessful if you came up short of the Final Four. I think it's a little strict, but I always say Elite 8, SEC Tournament or SEC regular season. But as far as keeping his job, I think that's, that's a big. I mean, if he finished, you know, second the SEC and made it to Sunday in the SEC tournament and then made the Elite, I don't, you know, he's not getting fired there. I think that would be a big turnaround. So in that scenario, from the text machine I think that's a little too much to ask, but that's what Kentucky needs to be doing regularly.

[Billy R. Sports]

Most likely, probably weekend of the SEC tournament.

[Drew Franklin]

Right.

[Billy R. Sports]

Like that draw could, could lay out for you and Kentucky could get hot and win a couple games, but really just matters what you do in the postseason. Right. I mean, Kentucky and Oscar Sheepway get a two seed and all you remember is their first round exit. So I, it's. It is a make or break year, but if they have a ton of success in the regular season and it doesn't translate to the NCAA tournament, it's going to be all for nothing.

[Ryan Lemond]

But if you had to pick one of the three, the most likely, what would you pick? Oh, boy, I'll probably, I probably would eliminate Final Four. I mean, we haven't been to final four since 2015 and we don't have

[Drew Franklin]

a team, so it's hard to. I don't think they would win the SEC unless you go out and just completely nail it. I think winning the SEC is tough. I think Final Four is tough.

[Ryan Lemond]

So maybe winning the SEC tournament start

[Drew Franklin]

on Friday and win three games for that crowd I say is the most likely. But right now, with one player on the roster, I don't think any of those would be happening.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah, and that would be, that'd be good for the fan base too, right. Everybody that goes to Nashville for those games to win the SEC tournament would go a long way.

[Ryan Lemond]

Get a, get a draw like Cal got this year.

[Drew Franklin]

Just. Well, yeah, he had the double buy. Get the double buy. Figure it out. But playing on Wednesday, and I'm still upset about that, that was just embarrassing. And then deflects that we won two tournament games. Well, we won two tournament games because we played on Wednesday and Thursday. Start on Friday and maybe you can win three games. Figure it out.

[Ryan Lemond]

Speaking of cow, you see, he was up in May, Mason county, this, this week.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, the Lunderkins, they had some kind of big reveal. A garden.

[Ryan Lemond]

St. Patrick's Garden.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

Bill Clinton and John Calipari both in Maysville in Mason county.

[Billy R. Sports]

That make you double take. You see Bill Clinton and John Caliper

[Ryan Lemond]

in the middle of the week.

[Drew Franklin]

Surprised Matt wasn't there. Those are his boys.

[Ryan Lemond]

No kidding. All right, we'll take our break. We'll go to the phone lines. Ryan, Drew, Shannon, Billy. 859-280-2287. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. T.J. smith, personal injury attorney. Call T.J. he'll make him pay.

[Shannon]

Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio, presented by Stockton Mortgage. Here's Matt Jones.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, welcome back this Friday DISH to Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan, Drew Shannon, and Billy R. Sports from the A vision glass text machine. Got another one. I'm a distance runner at Midway University.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, nice.

[Ryan Lemond]

We had practice start at 10 because of good Friday. It is perfectly clear right now. No rain.

[Drew Franklin]

Has there been a train?

[Shannon]

Get back out there and give me that speaking role. Billy, did you hear that in the first segment?

[Billy R. Sports]

No.

[Shannon]

They're shooting a movie there. In Midway, you said, right?

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah. A Hallmark Christmas movie in downtown Midway right now.

[Shannon]

And Ryan said there was a chance he could get me a speaking role. And you're supposed to be on that. You know that you're my. My agent.

[Billy R. Sports]

Well, there's another Christmas movie being filmed in Kentucky right now.

[Ryan Lemond]

We just talked about Somerset on Somerset.

[Billy R. Sports]

So there's two Christmas movies.

[Drew Franklin]

Even better. There's a big movie in Lexington. They've been here all week. It's got Kim Jong from the Hangover. There's a lot of big names. They've been all over town. They were downtown just two days ago in front of the Lexington Theater. I think they've been at Jacobson Park. I mean, it's not a small cast. I've seen a lot of the names. I don't know exactly what the movie is. I tried to find it, but they've been all over Lexington this week.

[Billy R. Sports]

Well, I'll make some calls. Shannon, if we do any filming next week, you're gonna come in?

[Shannon]

Well, no, I'm out of town.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'm gonna be.

[Shannon]

I'll be in Hollywood. I'm put out there to try to find a real speaking role.

[Drew Franklin]

Right.

[Billy R. Sports]

Okay. Well, we're already at a disadvantage.

[Drew Franklin]

We did Jones from the Hangover. Y' all know what I'm talking about.

[Shannon]

Yes, of course.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay, so he's a huge Duke fan, and he was in Lexington for the Duke game because I know they were filming on Sunday. So I was like, man, I wish I could have known.

[Ryan Lemond]

No kidding.

[Drew Franklin]

That would have been fun to go find him and troll him.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, he's probably listening right now. You can come KS Bar and Grill, and we'll get you on the show. Talk a little dookie basketball while your Duke Blue Devils are crying at home watching the game this weekend. We do have the Final Four on all weekend here at KS Bar and Grill. We got the. The women play tonight in the Final Four. The women and then the men tomorrow night. So we'll have all that on here at K's Bar and Grill. Matt's Trivia. He announced with Mo, it'll be Thursday, right? Mo, it's next Thursday. This coming Thursday will be matched next round of Trivia here at KS Bar Grill. All right, Shane, I got a story for you.

[Shannon]

Yep.

[Ryan Lemond]

Annabelle Dahl. Uh. Oh, you know, they had a guy who was turning around the country. His name was Dan Rivera, 54 years old, unexpectedly died.

[Billy R. Sports]

When?

[Ryan Lemond]

Like this week.

[Shannon]

I thought that happened last year.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah. Somebody check on Matt Rife? Because I thought he had bought the doll and was moving it around.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, I saw it on the online. I was. I just assumed it was this week.

[Drew Franklin]

I think it was right before Annabelle came here. That was part of the big story.

[Ryan Lemond]

The guy died.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, very unexpectedly. He was the one transporting Annabelle.

[Ryan Lemond]

What's no secret that as soon as Matt made fun of Annabelle the doll and the guy carrying Annabelle the doll, Kentucky.

[Drew Franklin]

I believe in that.

[Shannon]

Here's the post from July 15, 2025.

[Ryan Lemond]

There you go.

[Shannon]

A year ago, still rest in peace.

[Ryan Lemond]

Breaking news.

[Drew Franklin]

I'll defend you, Ryan. I saw it going around on Twitter. People were even sending it to me.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, I saw it.

[Drew Franklin]

People were kind of presenting it like it just happened.

[Ryan Lemond]

Just happened.

[Drew Franklin]

So I got to defend you. You weren't the only one that. Well, not even fell for it. It's just. It was recirculating. But it did happen last year.

[Billy R. Sports]

Are you worried about this curse next year? Like, do we need to burn some sage or light a candle?

[Ryan Lemond]

We got to do something. Or bring Annabelle here with the owner and kind of do a little make good with Matt.

[Drew Franklin]

We just had Comic Con here this past weekend. Ryan and I, we've been going to that for years. I kind of hated not going over there.

[Ryan Lemond]

We missed it this year.

[Drew Franklin]

I saw the. The sidewalks of downtown. Man, you just don't know what you walk.

[Ryan Lemond]

Best people watching ever. Goodness, is it Comic Con?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, we had a blast there last year. Should have run it back. That's always a good time.

[Ryan Lemond]

859-280-2287. Let's go to our phone line. Shannon, who we got?

[Shannon]

Orvin.

[Ryan Lemond]

Orvin. Go ahead, Orvin.

[Caller]

Hey, Ryan. I was in Florida a couple weeks ago, and my cousin was getting married, and she got married unexpected. Well, I guess expectedly, to one of the Haneys. It's. I was just saying it's such a small world that. Been listening to the show for, like, seven, eight years now, so. And they brought you up, too. They said they're great friends with you guys.

[Ryan Lemond]

Talk about Danny Haney, the former Lexington Catholic basketball coach who moved down there to Florida. I Guess you're talking about.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah. His son got married to my cousin. I've been listening to you guys like seven or eight years now and. And yeah, it was just such a coincidence that she got married to one of the Haneys. So.

[Ryan Lemond]

Very cool.

[Caller]

Appreciate it or not, fan of you guys.

[Ryan Lemond]

Thank you, man. Appreciate the phone call. Shout out to them. The Lexington Catholic gymnasium is. The floor is named Danny Haney Court.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Ryan Lemond]

So it's still a big name around here. So. All right, let's get on the phone. Call Shannon. Who we got?

[Shannon]

Let's go to Jeff.

[Ryan Lemond]

Jeff, go ahead. Jeff, Are you there? Jeff,

[Shannon]

can you take us off Bluetooth?

[Caller]

I can't. I'm driving a tractor trailer. No, no, I'm gonna have to electrical. I'm in a bad area.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, okay. All right, call us back.

[Drew Franklin]

Sorry to bug you.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah, he's a working man.

[Ryan Lemond]

Keep both hands on the wheel if you're driving a big tractor trailer truck. There was some news. I guess I kind of skipped over. Should have talked about it. The UK women had somebody drop in the transfer portal. Lexi Blue, she was leaving the team. I guess she'd been there for a couple years. I remember she was supposed to be a. Maybe play a bigger player, bigger role this year. Just didn't work out for this year, it seems like yes, she was, if

[Drew Franklin]

not top 10, close to it as a recruit, but I got here and just didn't get the minute she probably wanted. So she's on the move. But you know, Kenny Brooks still loading up with that recruiting class he has bringing in. That's probably partially why Lexi's on the move. And then Clara Strack returning. I think they're going to be awesome again next year, maybe take another step forward.

[Billy R. Sports]

I mean, I fully expect Kenny Brooks to keep this train rolling, make a final four with Kentucky soon disappointed it didn't work out with Lexi Blue as somebody whose name is perfect to come to the University of Kentucky.

[Drew Franklin]

Right.

[Billy R. Sports]

So hopefully she cash in on some nil deal before she left.

[Drew Franklin]

Was a great name, though. Flexi Blue had to come to Kentucky. Now she's getting replaced by Savvy Swords, though, so we're still on the all hands.

[Ryan Lemond]

Oh, that's one of the recruits. Yeah. Savvy Sword. What a great name that is.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, but that's. That's a great recruiting class. We talked about it earlier this week for the McDonald's game, but you got two top 10 players and the others, like maybe top 30, I believe. So Kenny's loading up and got Some big returners coming back.

[Billy R. Sports]

You got a name picked out next week for.

[Drew Franklin]

For my child.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, if she's born on her due date on Masters Sunday, I'm just Hope I'm Tiger. I'm just trying to go with whoever wins the Masters. So.

[Ryan Lemond]

Rory Ro. Franklin.

[Drew Franklin]

Siwu. Franklin Kadeki Franklin Ludwig Franklin. Abby hasn't agreed to this, but I'm still hoping that in the back of my mind, if she is truly born on her due date, Master Sunday, we'll just go with the champion. You have to Jose Marie Franklin.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'll put it in the middle name.

[Drew Franklin]

There we go. Azalea. I threw that one out too.

[Public Investing Announcer]

Nice.

[Billy R. Sports]

That'd be good.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I'm trying. Probably gonna be a no, but, you know, I'm excited. I was just telling Billy during the break, if she's truly. If we hit the, you know, Masters weekend, I ordered the. The master's kit where you get all the food and the cups. I'm gonna have a little master's party with the nurses.

[Billy R. Sports]

He's gonna have a tub of pimento cheese and egg salad in the room with him. While Abby's trying to.

[Drew Franklin]

Cups give birth. Birds chirping. We're having a Master's party.

[Ryan Lemond]

You do have your bag packed, don't you?

[Drew Franklin]

Mostly. Still working on that. We're good. We're. We're efforting. I mean, we're counting down.

[Ryan Lemond]

You're like. You're in single digits. You're, like days away.

[Drew Franklin]

We're at, like any moment. Kind of like, check my phone every 15 minutes, make sure I haven't gotten the. The emergency code word to drop what I'm doing and run.

[Billy R. Sports]

It's exciting.

[Ryan Lemond]

Your life is going to change so much for the better. You're going to love every second being a dad. It's the greatest thing in the world to be a dad.

[Drew Franklin]

Thank you. We're very excited. Looking forward to it. I wanted to shout out your shirt, by the way.

[Ryan Lemond]

Oh, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You're wearing my guy Manny on your shirt. I appreciate that.

[Ryan Lemond]

The Manny shirt today.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, we made a lot of those. I'm glad you're. You're wearing it around.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, we missed him during March Madness. That's when. That's kind of his Super Bowl.

[Drew Franklin]

That's right.

[Ryan Lemond]

He loved March Madness and love hosting parties to watch the Cats play. Cheering on the Cats. And so Drew made these. These shirts when you guys all worked at the SEC tournament.

[Drew Franklin]

Right here. Made a hundred of them. I love seeing people wearing them.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, just shout out to Manny.

[Drew Franklin]

That's Right. Thanks for wearing it today.

[Billy R. Sports]

You got it on tv, right?

[Ryan Lemond]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[Drew Franklin]

On the background, wearing it.

[Ryan Lemond]

Didn't a little shirt pop even when

[Drew Franklin]

you had to let them know? Well, Wednesday at SEC tournament was our thing, you know.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Because normally Kentucky wouldn't be playing.

[Ryan Lemond]

We're going there to have fun.

[Drew Franklin]

So Wednesday would be my fun day. Then we'd lock in. So I wore them this year. But I'm glad you're wearing it today.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'm proud to 859-280-2287. That's the Clark's Puppy Shop phone number. There is one other transfer portal name I want to throw out there. Brent Brett Decker, who is from Liberty, may not ring a bell, but he's from Elizabethtown, played at Central Hardin High School and he was one of the top three point shooters in the country this year at Liberty.

[Drew Franklin]

I brought his name up on this show, the second game of the year in college basketball as a name to watch because he, yeah, he went like 7 for 7 or something his first game and followed up with another big game. I kept an eye on him all year. Recently, I heard scuttlebutt, okay, that they're, they're a Louisville family. So I don't know. I don't know what. I'm not saying that he's going there, that Kentucky's called. I don't know where we are in our journey with reaching out to him, but people in the E Town area have said that they're their card family, so that might be something to watch.

[Billy R. Sports]

The more shooters, the better right space. That seems to be Mark Pope style of play. And he got away from that a little bit last year. And, and you know, to see the UConn guy hit that shot and then hear that he was steps away from being at Kentucky, I mean, that's the, you know, you need to bring those guys in.

[Drew Franklin]

Shot 47%, taking seven a game. My, that's pretty good average 17 for Liberty.

[Ryan Lemond]

That's the good point of the transfer portal. A kid like this over excels at Liberty. Probably little better than playing at the Liberty level. Now he's got a chance to go prove himself somewhere else at a Power 4 school somewhere. So that's what's the good part about the transfer portal.

[Billy R. Sports]

Unless you're Liberty.

[Drew Franklin]

That's true.

[Billy R. Sports]

Or Western Kentucky, where, you know, your best player has a good year. And then, you know, I was reading a story about the Queens coach. They were having their conference tournament, right. And you had an SEC assistant in SEC logo and gear courtside for the conference tournament to wait until they lose so he can talk to the players.

[Drew Franklin]

It's become like the Peach Jam where you wear your, your gear, but instead of at a high school game, you're at another college game just staring at their players like they're not hiding it anymore.

[Billy R. Sports]

Oh, that's disrespectful though, is it? Not like it's unethical a little bit to do that in front of the coach and the team.

[Drew Franklin]

Listen, I've got some news for you all. When people go play at other schools, they're recruiting them. When like I'm just going to say Kentucky, an example. Kentucky plays at wherever. Texas, name it. If Texas, there's a player on Kentucky's team they want. They're recruiting. They're checking on mom and dad in the front row or in the hotel lobby, and that's everywhere. I'm not. I use Kentucky. But that is happening. It is out of control. We can pretend the portal starts on Tuesday. The portals open non stop.

[Ryan Lemond]

They've been talking the whole season, even talking. I'll be talking before the season.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, everybody tampers everybody. If you're not tampering, you're behind. And that's just the reality.

[Billy R. Sports]

Some truth of that.

[Ryan Lemond]

You have to now, I mean, they

[Drew Franklin]

might not be sitting down a meeting and making offers, but there is a. Hey, how you all doing? Glad you're coming by. Are you taking care of. How's your stay? Do you like the arena? How's your son doing that that's going on everywhere.

[Billy R. Sports]

It's just more egregious now, I guess, right? Like you just wear your school colors and you talk to the coach, hey, I'm going to recruit your kid after this.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, you see it in football when the, on the, we can see it on the field when the coaches will run over to the other team star player and there'll be a little extra lingering hug or a few extra comments. They're doing plain sight.

[Ryan Lemond]

I was going to say that. I mean it 100% absolutely happens after the football game during the handshake line. There's a little recruiting going on right then and there on the playing field as soon as the game's over.

[Drew Franklin]

So you're telling me if mom and dad go to watch their kid at name a small college town the night before, they're at the local restaurant, hotel lobby. You're telling me an assistant coach might not walk by and be like, oh, welcome to town. How are you all doing?

[Ryan Lemond]

Let me pay for your dinner.

[Drew Franklin]

What are you having that is happening?

[Ryan Lemond]

Have another bottle of wine on me.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right. 859-280-2287. We'll go back to the phone lines. We come back after the break. Ryan, Drew, Shannon, Billy. Our sports. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

[Chelsea Handler]

This is Chelsea Handler from. Dear Chelsea, after the big Game, like most people, I kept thinking about the commercials. And there was one that stayed with me. It was from the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. And it wasn't loud or flashy. It showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose not to ignore it. As someone who is Jewish, that moment felt very real to me. Not dramatic, just familiar. And what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself, but the impact is still huge. If you saw the blue square spot during the big game, it's worth thinking about. And if you want to show support, sharing the blue square is one small way to do that.

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[Drew Franklin]

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Really?

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Hey, whoa, whoa. That's too fast.

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[Ryan Lemond]

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[Ryan Lemond]

Welcome back. Ryan, Drew, Shannon, Billy we were explaining to Billy during the commercial break. We were going to talk be at Midway this morning, but Mother Nature kind of threw us a curveball. The train splits Main street right in downtown Midway. So on one side of the street you're going one way. It's just a one, it's a one way one lane. Then you got the train track and on the other side is the one way going the other way. I mean it literally is splits Main Street. It's it's really kind of cool.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, that's a picture there. Yeah, it is a very scenic downtown. It's like one of our most like postcard downtowns in Kentucky.

[Ryan Lemond]

Here's a little trivia. You know why they call it Midway?

[Drew Franklin]

What is it?

[Billy R. Sports]

Middle between Louisville, Kentucky close or a little Lexington?

[Ryan Lemond]

Between Lexington and Frankfurt? Midway between Lexington and Frankfurt. All right. 859-280-2287. I got a Clark's Puppet Shop phone line, a couple, couple lines open. I want to go to the Aviation Glass tax machine. How much more money is the average college team paying for the roster now versus Pre Nil? When it was wink wink you say?

[Drew Franklin]

Are you saying people paid before Nil?

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, you know, it didn't happen allegedly

[Shannon]

that supposedly money in McDonald's bags being passed around I'd say there's a folklore,

[Ryan Lemond]

right, that's not ton more money spent now.

[Drew Franklin]

Put a little cash in the football program.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, I mean, money was spent back then, but I think there's a millions and millions more spent now because you can get it from the booster legally and they're taking advantage of that.

[Drew Franklin]

What's weird is I'm seeing players are commanding even more this offseason. Their prices just keep going up. Then I'm also hearing that like schools don't have as much or boosters are hesitant because it didn't go as well. So it's weird that players are asking for more, but in a lot of places they're like, we just can't keep doing what we've been doing. But they might have to. Yeah, well, they, you gotta, you gotta win.

[Billy R. Sports]

Let's say you donated a bunch of money and Zach Calzada's throwing it around, right? Like, do you want to do that again? Are you getting, get any return on investment unless your team wins a conference championship? You know, things like that. So like there's a, there's a pool of dedicated money now that can be given to athletes with revenue sharing. So it's obviously going to be more

[Ryan Lemond]

than what it was, but definitely how

[Billy R. Sports]

much it is depends on each school. Right?

[Ryan Lemond]

859-280-2287. Shannon, who's this segment sponsored by before we go to the phone line?

[Shannon]

Well, I was going to ask you, is the sun out or is it still raining there in Lexington?

[Drew Franklin]

Pouring. Just started pouring hard.

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[Ryan Lemond]

All right. 859-280-2287. Who we got? Shannon.

[Shannon]

Let's go to Shane.

[Ryan Lemond]

Shane. Go ahead, Shane.

[Caller]

Hey guys, thanks for taking my call. I've been listening to this show since you all were on 1450 way back in the day. And I love what you Guys do. But so real quick, I was 12, 13 and 14 years old when we played in three straight national championships. So I have a high standard. Those guys were my heroes. Mark Pope was a hero of mine growing up and I just, I'm really sad about the state of our program. The fact that the Kentucky Wildcats do not have a single high school player committed. I mean like Kentucky should be selecting who plays for this team. That's just, that's the standard. We select, we pick who plays here and now we got money involved and we can pay them and they. It's like we're bet we can't get a top high school kid to come play here. What? It just feels like the end of the Tubby Smith era to me, man. And I love Toby too, but like just my two cents, man. I really believe we had a good thing with our former coach. And people can say he wasn't going to succeed here all they want. That's just convenient for that argument. Fact of the matter is Cal, we beat him this year but you know what? They won the SEC tournament because he's got elite talent and I want elite talent. I'll take that every single time over what we got now. I hope this works out with Mark Pope but I am dumbfounded at where our recruiting stands today. I've really just makes me sad.

[Ryan Lemond]

Alright brother. Appreciate.

[Caller]

Thanks guys.

[Ryan Lemond]

Appreciate it man. That's still the check Mark. That with the box has not been checked yet. Can you get in a top recruiting that's not from Kentucky, a top recruit, not from Kentucky, a top level guy. That box has not been checked yet.

[Drew Franklin]

No, not at all. And that's why there needs to be some urgency with Pope and getting some wins here and showing fans he can do it because you know, next year we can pretend it's not. But it's some pretty big make or break year for Pope and he needs to go out and get some stars. And if, I mean he got Jasper Malachi from Kentucky but if you look at his past recruiting classes when he was at byu, he didn't really get anybody outside of Utah. It was all. He's always just kind of gotten local recruits and he's got to go out and prove he can do it because I, I agree with the caller on Kentucky should be hand picking who they get. I disagree with the caller about Cal wholeheartedly, but I'm all in on him on how recruiting has been awful. Well, yeah, inexcusable.

[Billy R. Sports]

It was 15 years of Cal getting the best guys, right? And then you see Acuff succeed for Arkansas and you're like, maybe he should have been at Kentucky. But it's, it's a completely different landscape. The transfer portal brings in a whole different dimension. You're right. There should be a sense of urgency to get freshmen. But also that's just not how these teams are created anymore.

[Drew Franklin]

I got to step in real quick on Cal. He had Acuff and lost by 30 and had a pretty easy path to the SEC. I mean, they almost lost to like Winthrop. So I'm. I'm not in on the cow part of that argument. He still got a star and still didn't do anything with it. That was the problem here.

[Ryan Lemond]

Cow's been on all morning.

[Drew Franklin]

That was like a generational guard he has. And SEC tournament. Congratulations. But that wasn't a great year for

[Ryan Lemond]

Arkansas with showing the cow replay of him getting in the hall of Fame. And he was on first take just this morning. It's all Cal this morning. Every TV I turn around, TV I turn to, it's got cow on it right now.

[Billy R. Sports]

Do you see the news about Dino Nuggets?

[Ryan Lemond]

What's that?

[Billy R. Sports]

They were getting recalled.

[Shannon]

They got lead in them.

[Billy R. Sports]

Yeah, the ones at Walmart get the lead out.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, I'll admit the Dino Nuggets they sent us, Tyson Food sent us. I ate every one of them.

[Shannon]

You're full of leads. What's wrong with you?

[Ryan Lemond]

There he is.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, let's get another phone call before we take our head.

[Shannon]

Let's go to Richard.

[Ryan Lemond]

Richard. Go ahead. Richard.

[Caller]

Yeah. I want to ask you, is it required by the NCAA for colleges to use the wood. I mean the aluminum bat. If not, why can't colleges use wood bat? If the wood bat is good enough for the professionals, should it also be good enough for colleges? And also the sound of aluminum bat hitting the ball sucks. However, when the bat hits the baseball, it's a much, much more pleasant sound. What is your take on all that?

[Ryan Lemond]

All right, we appreciate it. We'll get to that. Maybe after the break. The aluminum bat versus the old wood bat issue College baseball. Now the aluminum bats are like titanium. Not even aluminum. They're titanium. Alright, we'll take our break. Come back. Ryan, Drew, Shane and Billy. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

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[Chelsea Handler]

This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea after the Big Game like most people, I kept thinking about the commercials and there was one that stayed with me. It was from the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate and it wasn't loud or flashy. Showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose not to ignore it. As someone who was Jewish, that moment felt very real to me. Not dramatic, just familiar. And what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself, but the impact is still huge. If you saw the Blue Square spot during the Big game, it's worth thinking about. And if you want to show support, sharing the Blue Square is one small way to do that.

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[Billy R. Sports]

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