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- [00:00]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
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- [01:01]
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- [01:55]
AJ Stewart
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- [02:01]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington welcomes comedian, podcaster, author and actress Zarna Garg June 5th and 6th. Then from the Moon Tower Comedy Festival, catch Dean Stanfield June 12th and 13th and don't miss AGT finalist and club favorite Josh Blue June 18th through the 20th. For tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway shows, call 859271 joke or visit comedyoff broadway.com comedy off broadway
- [02:31]
Matt Jones
this is Kentucky Sports Radio, presented by Stockton Mortgage and the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety Safe Summer Driving Tour. Now here's Matt Jones.
- [02:42]
AJ Stewart
All right, what's going on, sports fans?
- [02:44]
Perry Stevenson
This is AJ Stewart and I am Perry Stevenson and we are the host
- [02:48]
AJ Stewart
today this morning for you guys on Kentucky Sports Radio, brought to you by TJ Law and company. And so we have a special guest with us here today, Darius Miller, Somebody a lot of people might know, a lot of you UK fans might know. He's a three peat guy. He's a Kentucky high school state champion. He has a national championship at the University of Kentucky, and he's also a good friend of ours, you know what I'm saying? So I'm gonna introduce Darius Miller to you guys.
- [03:24]
Darius Miller
Appreciate y' all having me, man. Pleasure to be on here, especially with my guys, my brothers, you know, I'm excited to hop into the conversation and chop it up a little bit.
- [03:34]
AJ Stewart
All right? And so, look, we're gonna be taking over today. Matt and the guys are gonna be out today. So we're your host today, hump day. And so jump right into it. Perry, what you got for us, man?
- [03:48]
Perry Stevenson
I'm happy to see Darius, man. It feels like our adult lives has taken us in a ton of directions, and it's always good to see a familiar face.
- [03:58]
AJ Stewart
And we go back, like, four flats on the Cadillac.
- [04:00]
Darius Miller
You already know, all of us, the
- [04:03]
Perry Stevenson
three of us, emphasis on the flats, because of what we went through. But we'll talk about that.
- [04:08]
AJ Stewart
It started off a little bumpy, you know what I mean? And, Pete, you know, you got three coaches under your belt, you know what I mean? I'm pretty sure the last one was the favorite.
- [04:18]
Perry Stevenson
Yes, I really liked Tubby, and I'm sure a lot of people like Tubby as well, because that's who I signed up to play for. But I also like Cal. Like, we had a good time that year, and there was another guy, but that's neither here nor there. Maybe. I'll tell you all the story later. We'll get into them, though.
- [04:39]
AJ Stewart
I do think people want to hear about some of those stories there, too. But, Darius, you got a national championship, you know, and some of the guys, the UK team, they're here now. We talked about the last episode they started practice, you know, and you said there's gonna be a lot of pickup. We went back and forth about it. We didn't know. I don't know if the rules were gonna be where the coaches were gonna be allowed to be hands on in practice, but it seems like they are. And they've had some feedback, you know, on some of the guys and how they've been playing. But we've seen a lot of videos, some back and forth, you know, Mom, Chillovich, Hitting the threes. Love to see that. That's something that we wanted to see. We are big UK fans as we are players, you know what I mean? But I mean, what do you think? High energy, how they look? How they look. Look like a national championship team. That's what I said.
- [05:28]
Perry Stevenson
Yes, absolutely.
- [05:29]
AJ Stewart
Okay.
- [05:30]
Perry Stevenson
But we could be the worst team in the league. And I'm still going to say that looks like a national championship team until proven otherwise. But they really do look good for a team that just. So many new faces. And what's the date? January or June 17th.
- [05:48]
AJ Stewart
Right.
- [05:49]
Perry Stevenson
Like, they, they look good. We're on track to get what we want out of this season, I think so.
- [05:55]
AJ Stewart
What you think, D? Bill?
- [05:57]
Darius Miller
Yeah, I'm. I'm excited about the roster, bro. I think we have a lot of pieces. I think we have a lot of weapons that can go out and create their own shot, which is something that, you know, maybe we wasn't seeing over the past couple years, you know, and I think we can really create a lot of shots. We got a lot of shooting. I feel like we got a lot of height, size, you know, which is necessary in the sec. So I think it just comes down to chemistry, you know what I'm saying? Seeing how they mesh together. But I think we got a lot of pieces to make a really good team, you know what I mean? And I'm excited to see how it turns out.
- [06:33]
AJ Stewart
I hear you on that balance, I think for sure. Kind of something that I looked at when I look on paper, I think balance, we really look balanced. We look solid. Injury was something that plagued us last year, you know what I mean? It was hard for the team to kind of get through a couple of those tough times during the season with the lack of a point guard and, you know, that solid big inside and stuff like that. But this year I think we have a lot of balance. I think I looked at was Coach McLean made some comments about some of the guys. I think he said the same thing. Some of the guys are going to be really good at two way players, being able to play multiple positions, you know, and I think that's agility. That's something you're going to be able to add to this lineup. You know, something that, you know, not stagnant, you know, going into the lineup. If you're scouting against this team, you might not really know, you know what you might know he'll be on the floor, but where is he going to hurt you? Is it going to hurt you at this position or at that Position.
- [07:29]
Perry Stevenson
Right.
- [07:29]
AJ Stewart
And that matters. That matters, absolutely.
- [07:32]
Joe
Yeah.
- [07:32]
AJ Stewart
And so one of the things I was looking at, they said, Zoom. Zoom is one of the guys that kind of emerged, I believe you said, as the kind of the quarterback of the team and the vocal leader of the team so far. And it's still early. It's the first week, you know, you remember the first week.
- [07:50]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
But
- [07:53]
AJ Stewart
what have you guys heard? That's something that stood out to me, I think. I like that it was kind of my pick to be the point guard. I think him being a vet, you know, I like to hear that he's already embracing that role as that kind of vocal leader and pushing guys and getting them. You know, he has a goal, you know.
- [08:09]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah, absolutely. Which. That does make sense to me. Like the. I would expect your point guard, especially a veteran point guard, to be kind of the coach on the floor, if we're going with cliches, but you kind of expect him to be the coach on the floor and him to kind of lead by example. And heck, we had one of those guys in, Romel Bradley, for sure. In fact, you couldn't get him to shut up, which was a. It was a fantastic thing for young
- [08:46]
AJ Stewart
players, but you needed to hear that voice when one.
- [08:48]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
When things.
- [08:49]
AJ Stewart
When everyone else was loud and maybe the distractions were loud. Him being as loud as he is, it really overpowered that, you know, because it kind of rallies the troops together and stuff like that. And I think that was kind of something that was said. And D. Mill, you know, you're probably not familiar with Ramil, but, you know. You know, you didn't get to play with. But.
- [09:09]
Unknown Guest
But.
- [09:09]
AJ Stewart
But you. Again, the only national champion in the room. What stands out to you? I mean, how important? Because you played with some solid point guards. I mean, you had, you know, some pros, some guys. And so, I mean, how important is. How important is that leadership role going into? I mean, do you have to have 1, 2, 3 leaders? Is it. Is it a. Is it a group of five? What does it look like in the locker room of a national championship team?
- [09:38]
Darius Miller
Yeah, I think you have a couple leaders, but I think, of course, that one vocal leader, you know what I mean, is very important to kind of set the tone and get everybody rallied and on the same page. I love that being Zoom. I'm curious to see, you know, how it's gonna play out. As far as I said, like, chemistry. He's a big. He has some big size. He got a good handle, can get downhill. I think he can create a Lot of shots for the shooters that we have. So him being the leader, you know, role and taking that head on, I think is very important. Somebody has to do it. So hearing the floor general, who I think could be, you know, a huge part of creating opportunities for everybody on the team, I think that that's, that's a huge and really good sign for us this early on. As Pete said, you know, it's only June, so him filling that role, by the time we're actually playing, I think everybody will have some good chemistry and know, like, where the roles are and what's expected on a day to day basis, you know.
- [10:38]
AJ Stewart
For sure, for sure. Let me ask you this. Who was that guy on your team? I want to say it was 2012. Who was that guy on your team that. That kind of stood out and I guess in the pressure moments, maybe vocally or, you know, just kind of took the lead.
- [10:56]
Darius Miller
Yeah, I think it was a shared responsibility. I tried to do my part. Of course, being the older GU. Being the guy who just went to the final four the year before. T. Jones did a great job of that. D. Lamb did a great job of that. I think all the guys that had been there before, you know, kind of stepped up and knew what to expect and what it took to get to the next level. And we all were hungry to get there, you know, because we failed the year before. So it was kind of a shared responsibility. But I definitely tried to step up
- [11:25]
AJ Stewart
and do my part, you know, and I was. I was kind of expecting that when I asked you that question.
- [11:29]
Darius Miller
Well, because I.
- [11:30]
AJ Stewart
Well, because I play with you. I know, I know you. You know what I mean? And I know how hungry you are. You know what I mean? You're not. I mean, you are a champion. You came in a champion, you know what I mean? And as at a young age, you know what I mean? You can see that in this game. But your boy Pete, Cam, well, I love him too, but he's from your neck of the woods. He's in a boot right now. He's from the boot. In the boot.
- [11:54]
Perry Stevenson
I like it. I like that a lot.
- [11:56]
AJ Stewart
Talk to me. It's not nothing to be worried about. Obviously.
- [12:00]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
No.
- [12:00]
AJ Stewart
But when we talked earlier, I wanted him to kind of step up and be somebody that was a leader because again, with where he is in his career, his college career and things like that, I felt like it would be good for the team. You know, he got a good, good run in the SEC last year. Played a good amount of minutes and things like that got to see, you know, a good amount of action. I think he's a guy that, like you said, will be able to come back hungry, you know, kind of understanding what we're trying to make up for, you know what I'm saying, what we're trying to correct, you know, and you kind of want that, you know, but early on he's in the boot, you know, how do you think that's going to affect or is it going to have an effect, do you think?
- [12:41]
Perry Stevenson
I don't think it's going to at all. We're, like I said, It's June 17th and the season doesn't start, I guess, officially until October.
- [12:52]
AJ Stewart
Right.
- [12:54]
Perry Stevenson
I'd rather him be in a boot now than be in one at all
- [12:59]
AJ Stewart
during the season, no question.
- [13:00]
Perry Stevenson
So, like, if you need to take a couple of weeks off a month, like, by all means, even if you took the entire summer off, that June and July, you still got August, September, and a majority of October to be 100%. So I don't think. I don't think there's any cause for worry. Yeah. And the way they make them down in Lafayette, Louisiana, we're. We're a tough bunch.
- [13:29]
AJ Stewart
So he'll get through it. I hear that. My. Well, the reason why I asked is because I feel like he's competing for a tough spot. Oh, yeah, he's coming back, but he's competing for a tough spot. It's not like I said earlier, I don't think any of these spots are really given, with the exception of maybe the point guard in the center position. We got Zuma, we got Malachi. I think everything else is going to be up for grabs. You know, we got to. At the power forward position. We got Usman or we got a couple guys, you know, I think Warren's supposed to be killing it right now, you know what I mean? We already know. We got mom, mom, chill. You know what I mean? And he gonna light it up.
- [14:13]
Perry Stevenson
Yes, absolutely. And we're going after another one.
- [14:15]
AJ Stewart
We're going after another one to fill
- [14:17]
Perry Stevenson
that last roster spot. I don't want to butcher his last name.
- [14:21]
AJ Stewart
I'm not gonna butcher his last name. But I'm gonna tell you right now, and we'll talk about that in the next segment. But I'll tell you what, I think I like that. I like. I like his background. I'll just say that I like his background. FC Barcelona. That boy.
- [14:37]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah, he could play.
- [14:38]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [14:39]
AJ Stewart
You know, so. But. But like I said, you know, just get back to Cam and some of those other guys, you know, I kind of thought he'd be kind of more of a bit of a vocal leader and stuff like that, you know, going into this season. So we hope he gets back on the court. Yeah, pretty quick.
- [14:54]
Perry Stevenson
And you could still be vocal from the sidelines. Like, it's. You've. You've put in the work for at least. I forget how long he was at Tulane, but multiple years at the college level. And you have a voice on the court.
- [15:09]
AJ Stewart
We need that wisdom like you.
- [15:11]
Perry Stevenson
You've done. You've done a lot, and your voice is. It's needed. So he's got to be vocal there, and once he gets back on the court, he's got to be vocal, then just more voices are better than one, I'll tell you that much.
- [15:24]
AJ Stewart
I hear. All right. So, again, it's early in the season. I give you any memories you have about this time of the year, I guess early in the season. Anything that the guys should probably focus
- [15:38]
Darius Miller
on, man, just getting on the same page. Getting on the same page, you know, year after year. It's new faces, figuring out people's attributes, their traits, you know what I mean, how they like to play where you want to place the ball, all the different things, you know, in order for us to really make a run at the end of the year. And, you know, like Pete said, as many different. It's going to be a lot of different waves as we know. It's Hoopers, like, it's going to be a lot of ups and downs. There's injuries that's just a part of the game. There's just waves of confidence for players, you know, So I think there's a ton of opportunity for all the guys, you know, Cam to be able to step up and be that leader when his number is called, when his time is. And, you know, he could be. It could be early on, it could be in the middle of the season. But I think he's one of the guys that has to do it because he's played at Kentucky. And as you both know, that's a totally different ball game, bro. The standards are unbelievable. The pressure is different. You know what I mean? So he has to be one of the guys that fills the role of explaining that to these other guys and helping to, you know, help them adapt to, you know, this new environment that they're stepping into, because I think that's important to embrace early on and get that out of the way, you know, so you can really make that push to go deep into the tournament.
- [17:02]
AJ Stewart
1,000%. That's super valuable. That's super valuable.
- [17:05]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [17:05]
Perry Stevenson
Very few places are comparable to what Kentucky has.
- [17:08]
Darius Miller
Definitely.
- [17:10]
AJ Stewart
Yeah. And any knowledge he can give to these guys going into this next season, you know, just him knowing that, that's going to be really big. You know, we'll take a little break here. You know what I mean? We'll come right back and get back after. We got Darius Miller with us, Perry Stevenson and A.J. stewart. We'll be right back.
- [17:26]
Hoda Kotb
Hey, I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. Together we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges.
- [17:40]
Olivia Munn
I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartum. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.
- [17:49]
Hoda Kotb
Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [18:00]
Fernanda Chavarri
I love the sounds, the buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place. Soccer, football. It's home.
- [18:10]
Perry Stevenson
Why do I watch the World Cup?
- [18:12]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
That's like asking, why do I breed?
- [18:15]
Fernanda Chavarri
I inherited that fandom from my mom.
- [18:17]
AJ Stewart
I like watching it with my dad.
- [18:19]
Fernanda Chavarri
It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the US and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great.
- [18:36]
Perry Stevenson
A soccer game is a festival.
- [18:38]
AJ Stewart
It's not just a game. It's your culture.
- [18:41]
Matt Jones
I took an elbow to my head,
- [18:43]
Perry Stevenson
which cracked my skull.
- [18:44]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though.
- [18:48]
Fernanda Chavarri
Are they the only ones that don't like that?
- [18:50]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Nobody likes that.
- [18:52]
Fernanda Chavarri
As we get ready for the men's World cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [19:09]
Keith Giamanca
Keith Giamanca seemed like a mild mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?
- [19:23]
Keith Giamanca Interviewee
It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.
- [19:33]
Keith Giamanca
Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like?
- [19:37]
Keith Giamanca Interviewee
No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success.
- [19:44]
Keith Giamanca
Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double
- [19:50]
Unknown Narrator
life that is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamics forever. Because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue.
- [20:05]
Keith Giamanca
Listen to Deep Cover the Family man on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:16]
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- [20:57]
AJ Stewart
All right, all right, all right. And we're back. We're back. You're back with KSR Radio hosted by today AJ Stewart Perry Stevenson. And we got our good friend Darius Miller in here and we're usually the host of Arc360 podcast. You can catch that anywhere that you usually watch your podcast, but that's something me and P got going on. But right now we're in the studio. We got Darius Miller with us today and D Mill. D Mill, baby. I like that. I like that. And so D Mill, I actually got a question for you from one of the fans here. I wanted to ask is like playing for Kentucky means a lot, means you're surrounded by five star talent and everyone has to sacrifice a part of their individual game for the team to work. Looking back, what is one of the sacrifices to your natural basketball identity that you had to suppress, give up at uk and do you think that that ultimately helped or helped or hurt your transition going to the next level?
- [22:00]
Darius Miller
I think something that everybody had to sacrifice coming to Kentucky is, well, except for a handful, a select few, you know, that's extremely gifted. But when you make it to Kentucky, normally at high school, you're the guy on the team, you know what I mean? And you coming to Kentucky, like you said, you play with so many great talents, it's like you have to sacrifice trying to be the guy at all times. And that's something that I had to do. Definitely. Coming from Mason County, I was the guy on the team. I was expected to do a Ton score a lot, you know. And then I got on a team with a ton of Jody, John Wall, you know what I mean? Eric Bledsoe, big cuz, Anthony. It's like you have to learn how to adapt and fit certain roles, you know what I mean? And try to star in those roles in order to push the team forward. And that ultimately helped me a ton. Being able to, you know, adapt and adjust in my professional career and fill different gaps and play different roles on different teams. In Germany, you know, I was asked to be one of the guys to go out and produce a ton of and I was able to, you know, fill that need. And then in the league, you know, I was asked to, you know, play defense, shoot, knock down, open jumpers and I was able to do that. Cause I've played that role at Kentucky also. So, you know, it really opened my eyes on what was necessary in order to win and be a part of a really, really good team. So it helped me a ton, honestly.
- [23:33]
AJ Stewart
That's awesome. You got three championships in Germany.
- [23:36]
Darius Miller
Yeah.
- [23:36]
Joe
Yeah.
- [23:36]
AJ Stewart
You were three time champion. Yeah, I loved it.
- [23:39]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Yeah.
- [23:40]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah. So one thing we don't, if there's like young listeners like you're still on your basketball journey, what we don't want you to take from that is that you don't have to still work on your game. Like, just because you're sacrificing for your current team doesn't mean you're not going to be called upon at some point on that season or your next team. Basically stay ready so you don't have to get ready. Right. And just always be working on your game is basically what I'm getting at. Just because you're not the guy on your current team, fill your role and be ready for your next opportunity.
- [24:18]
AJ Stewart
And that's something when I listen to you and both of you guys, because Darius, you stick in my mind because we all, we all shared Gillespie, we all had to play for Billy G. And man, he was tough. He was tough. He was tough on all of us. You know what I'm saying?
- [24:33]
Joe
Yeah.
- [24:33]
AJ Stewart
And man, just how proud I am because I know, at least I watched you, you know, you were somebody I saw roll with the punches. And I mean, I mean at the end of your career at uk, you ended up with the national championships and I felt like well deserved because I mean, even from the very start, you know, you talk about never knowing that moment's going to come and stuff like that. You're talking about somebody that when I say roll with the punches, I Mean, just our coach wasn't the nicest guy.
- [25:06]
Perry Stevenson
And we don't mean actual punches just for a disclaimer.
- [25:09]
AJ Stewart
There was no physical violence, but, but he, but he was, he was, he was not a nice guy, you know, and, and, and there is your persistence, you know, and, and you're just. I feel like he was meant to be stronger, you know what I'm saying? And, and I just listen rolling through that, man, and, and he, he ended up being somebody that, that we relied on, you know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? He was, he was a big part of our team and every team after that, you know what I'm saying? So I can say he means what he says, you know what I mean? You just gotta keep going, you know what I'm saying? Keep working on your game, you know what I'm saying? Keep improving. Because I mean, you came in, your game was smooth silk, you know, it just got better and better and better and I feel like, man, you know that. Props.
- [25:57]
Darius Miller
I appreciate you, bro. I appreciate that. I really do. Especially like I said, coming from Hoopers, you know what I mean? That made it to the same level that I made it to. That means a ton. And like Pete said, just because I wasn't the man, that doesn't mean I can stop working, you know. And just filling certain roles allows you to shape your identity as a player and allow you to be great at certain things, you know what I mean? Which is ultimately what you need to try to get to. There's very few people who get to be Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, you know what I mean? And those guys, there's a lot of work that goes into that and a lot of God given talent that goes into that that you can't teach, you know what I mean? So you really have to find your identity on the court and lean into it, you know what I mean? And put the work in to be the best version of yourself and fill certain roles, you know what I'm saying? But what P said is extremely important. Like just cause you're not the guy in that moment doesn't mean you can stop working or be satisfied filling certain roles and not being great in those roles, you know. So that's a huge point to, you know, to listen to for sure.
- [27:07]
AJ Stewart
And that's what it takes to be elite, you know, that's what it takes to be elite, you know, push yourself, push your teammates, you know what I mean? But, and so, but when you talk about identity and stuff like that, you know you know, I think that's what some of the guys as this. As the team now is getting into their flow and, you know, their summer workouts and stuff, that identity is something that, you know, some of these guys are starting to kind of blossom a little bit, you know, realize where they're going to fit in, what their roles might be if they have an opportunity to change it, you know, if they have an opportunity to, you know, make an impact, where the impact's going to be made and stuff like that. So there's plenty of. Plenty of options.
- [27:50]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah. Now is the time to bump heads. Like if you're going to bump heads as teammates and it's going to happen.
- [27:55]
AJ Stewart
It's inevitable. It's inevitable.
- [27:58]
Perry Stevenson
Do it now.
- [27:58]
AJ Stewart
That's right. All right. And we'll be right back at KSR radio. And I'm A.J. and I'm Perry or A.J. perry. And we'll be right back.
- [28:09]
Darius Miller
T.J. smith, personal injury attorney.
- [28:11]
AJ Stewart
Call T.J. he'll make him pay.
- [28:13]
Matt Jones
Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Here's Matt Jones.
- [28:22]
AJ Stewart
Welcome back to KSR Radio with the guest takeovers where you host today, AJ Stewart, Paris Stevenson from Arc360. Got you guys today. So p. Something I heard that was interesting. Dares we the guys are staying in the Wildcat lodge or the lodge this summer. We talked about camaraderie and stuff like that, getting, you know, your identities and stuff like that. It's one thing to be on the court, but your identity off the court also matters. We also know that, you know, there's the cool guy, the fly guy. They're a little weird. That's a little weird. You know, you got it.
- [29:03]
Perry Stevenson
You got a little.
- [29:04]
AJ Stewart
You're figuring it out right now. You're figuring it out. But that's a little bit different than something we dealt with you. I don't think we stayed in the lodge, especially in the summertime. That wasn't a summer thing.
- [29:13]
Perry Stevenson
We did it backwards. Backwards. We stayed in the lodge throughout the year, but during the summer we had our own places around the city.
- [29:22]
AJ Stewart
Right.
- [29:24]
Perry Stevenson
Which with this whole nil thing, you know how it goes.
- [29:27]
AJ Stewart
Now we're staying in some real nice spots.
- [29:31]
Perry Stevenson
These dudes are making tons of money and they can literally buy a place. But it's insane and I'm a little jealous. But, you know, it is what it is. We. Somebody had to pave the way for them.
- [29:45]
AJ Stewart
I hear you.
- [29:46]
Perry Stevenson
And that's what I think a lot of the older guys did.
- [29:50]
AJ Stewart
I mean, I mean, we definitely paved the Way right there is the lies, the, the nil thing, you know. But proud to do it. Happy to do it.
- [30:00]
Perry Stevenson
Listen, I got paid for. Paid on March Madness.
- [30:03]
AJ Stewart
I'll say.
- [30:03]
Perry Stevenson
There was the video game until 2010.
- [30:07]
AJ Stewart
We did get money after that it was the video game EA Sports check.
- [30:11]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah, I'll take it.
- [30:12]
AJ Stewart
All right. There you go. D mill. Did you guys. Were you guys in the lodge during the summertime? Was that something was that reserved for.
- [30:19]
Darius Miller
No, it was only during the year, right? Yeah, only during the year. But I think it can only help like you said, just building that chemistry, figuring out guys personalities and how to gel with one another, talking through, you know, the goals for the year. Coach getting in their ear a little bit, planting them seeds early, you know. So I mean it can only help for sure. I think it's a great idea.
- [30:40]
AJ Stewart
And that's another thing that's different, you know. Coach getting in their airplane. MCs couldn't do that in the summertime, you know what I mean?
- [30:48]
Perry Stevenson
So that we didn't want any of those seeds that were being planted. Not in those times.
- [30:53]
Hoda Kotb
That was different.
- [30:54]
AJ Stewart
It was different there.
- [30:55]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
It was.
- [30:55]
AJ Stewart
It was a lot different. Different times, you know. But, but I hear you. I think that's. That might be, that's good. Might be a good thing going into this. A change because they. I'm sure with the Nils they. During the season they. They're probably very off in their own space. Right? Yeah, more than likely.
- [31:16]
Perry Stevenson
I would have. I would have.
- [31:17]
AJ Stewart
If you had the means to. You probably. Right, right.
- [31:20]
Perry Stevenson
And you know I, I wonder if they've got. Actually, you know, I'm kind of obsessed with, with Zillow so I wonder what kind of house shopping they're doing. Like what you're college kids but. Right. You've got more money than a lot of people.
- [31:41]
AJ Stewart
True.
- [31:42]
Perry Stevenson
So I just wonder what that's like.
- [31:44]
AJ Stewart
And it's pretty, pretty nice pass out there.
- [31:48]
Perry Stevenson
Genuinely curious.
- [31:49]
AJ Stewart
There's some pretty nice real estate out there in Lexington, man.
- [31:52]
Perry Stevenson
I scroll Zillow like people scroll Instagram for money or for houses and apartments people can't buy.
- [31:58]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, kind of my guilty pleasure. I do the same thing. Yeah, I know the feeling. I know the feeling. But. But yeah, man, just building some camaraderie. I think again, I think that could be a good thing for the guys, you know, before they go their separate ways. You know, maybe some of the guys get a, get a group going because they found out hey, we like to hang out with each other. So I have my own place and you, you can come over, kick it whenever. Just pull up.
- [32:26]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah. And also find out if you don't really like guys, like, you can not like teammates. But as long as the product on the court doesn't show it, then that doesn't matter.
- [32:36]
AJ Stewart
Am I allowed to ask, is there anybody that you didn't like that you played with Darius?
- [32:42]
Perry Stevenson
Are coaches include. I'm kidding.
- [32:43]
AJ Stewart
I'm told coaches are fair. Just. Just so everyone has a safe space. I'll say. Coaches are.
- [32:49]
Perry Stevenson
It was just a joke. I like everybody I played with and coached or played for. But let's leave it at that.
- [32:58]
AJ Stewart
That I didn't like Chris Walker.
- [33:03]
Perry Stevenson
Chris. Chris Walker.
- [33:05]
AJ Stewart
He was a good guy. Good guy. No, he. I mean, yeah, like, he's like. He's a very good person. You know what I'm saying? But he really annoyed me.
- [33:14]
Perry Stevenson
True. You know what was Chris. Was he a grad assistant, but also an assistant?
- [33:20]
AJ Stewart
Yes. Yes.
- [33:22]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Just.
- [33:22]
AJ Stewart
Yes.
- [33:23]
Unknown Guest
Yeah.
- [33:23]
Perry Stevenson
Chris was one of those guys. He practiced with us a lot and he just played hard all the time and too hard sometime after those three hour practices where we're still going. And Chris is fresh. Thanks, Chris.
- [33:41]
AJ Stewart
He was my favorite. Yeah. What's up? You got any memories from those times? I guess.
- [33:49]
Unknown Guest
You.
- [33:51]
Perry Stevenson
Any safe ones to share?
- [33:52]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
That's safe.
- [33:53]
Darius Miller
Yeah, that's the key.
- [33:56]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, man.
- [33:57]
Darius Miller
I mean, too many, bro. Too many. I'm thinking, because with y', all, of course, about the Billy G era. But I don't know if I want to share any of those stories.
- [34:08]
AJ Stewart
That's the thing. There's this vault people don't understand when they ask these questions about Billie G. It's some of those stories kind of get locked in a vault and, you know, kind of like the Disney vault, you know, you kind of lock it. The big lock, the big old crank. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's really, really hard to get them back out after that. You know what I'm saying? So. But I mean. But yeah, you know, good times. You know, obviously our teammates, we talked about that back in the day.
- [34:35]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah.
- [34:36]
Joe
Getting.
- [34:38]
Perry Stevenson
And those stories are funny now, but I'll tell you this much. They weren't. They weren't funny then.
- [34:43]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, no, no, I hear you. They were. But let me ask you this. I watched. I watched or listen to the show. And I know we, the players, we feel like the team looks good. I'm happy with the team. I think they look better than they did last year.
- [35:07]
Perry Stevenson
Oh, yeah.
- [35:08]
AJ Stewart
Already.
- [35:08]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Yeah.
- [35:09]
AJ Stewart
I think some of the problems we ran into last year, we're already out of that territory. We have another point guard. Worst comes to worse, right? And we have another center. You know, worse comes, right? And so, you know, we're good. We're balanced. We got multiple two way guys, you know what I'm saying? I mean, we. We're pretty good, but I think they still put Coach Pope on the hot seat for some reason.
- [35:38]
Fernanda Chavarri
What.
- [35:39]
AJ Stewart
What's he gonna have to do? I mean, is it gonna have to, like. Is he just there until the season starts and we just start, you know,
- [35:47]
Perry Stevenson
for a job like Kentucky, if you're not winning immediately, I feel like you're on the perpetual hotspot.
- [35:58]
AJ Stewart
But he winning this recruiting thing.
- [36:00]
Perry Stevenson
That's what I'm saying. Mike, bro, get off of Coach Pope. Let him. Let him live for now, man.
- [36:09]
AJ Stewart
Can't make it.
- [36:10]
Perry Stevenson
Let him live for now. That's why he grew a beard.
- [36:13]
AJ Stewart
That's why he grew the beard.
- [36:14]
Perry Stevenson
He's growing his hair out because y' all are stressing him out, but scary. Look, I. I think his job should be fine for now. Let's. Let's see how the year plays out before we set the man's seat on fire, like, right? Seriously?
- [36:32]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, I mean, they. It's. It's hard. It's not easy. It's a transition, you know what I'm saying? You had the nil, you know what I mean? And so coaches have to transition, find different ways to connect with players, whether it's recruiting, rather it's on the court, coaching, developing, all that type of stuff. I think everybody's had to make an adjustment, you know what I'm saying, all the way around. No one's safe of that, you know? So, I mean, there's going to be some growing pains, but that's the thing about growing pains, you know, that's when you stretch out and you get big and you get stronger, you know what I'm saying? No one is weaker after the growing pains. You're stronger.
- [37:13]
Perry Stevenson
End up settling them. Yeah.
- [37:17]
AJ Stewart
I mean, this guy right here, Are you still growing?
- [37:21]
Unknown Guest
I'm pretty.
- [37:22]
AJ Stewart
Pretty sure that's what I said.
- [37:23]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Every time.
- [37:23]
AJ Stewart
Every time. You see Darius, is he not. I'm telling you, he grows the itch every time you. Every time I see him, Every time I see him, he's taller than me.
- [37:32]
Joe
What?
- [37:32]
Perry Stevenson
Come on, man.
- [37:36]
Darius Miller
We gotta know. It takes time to create a culture, too, you know what I'm saying? We gotta give him time to build what Kentucky under Pope looks like, you know what I'm saying? We've had injuries. We've had all kind of different things, and it's only been a couple years. We have a lot of talent this year. But one thing that doesn't help, I feel, is if the certain. It's only him, but certain fan base really goes into that narrative and pushes that and makes it stressful and strenuous. It's uncalled for, really. You know what I mean? So just let the man build because it takes time to build, and we have to be realistic, you know, with our standards, because it's a new phase that we're entering into. Like you guys said, I feel like we got a really talented roster. I'm excited about a lot of the guys that's coming, you know what I mean? So I feel like we got a good chance to make a run and build, you know what I mean, off of the past couple years. And that's what it's going to take is just time to continuously build and put the culture into place to where you can go out and get the guys that fit the culture that you're trying to build here and continue to push that, you know, for the years to come.
- [38:41]
AJ Stewart
That's what it's all about. That's what it's all about. And like you said, it just takes time, you know what I mean? And, P, Your thing is let Coach Polk cook, you know, and sometimes things take better when they stew a little bit. But, you know, again, I think what I like to see is he's learning, he's growing as a coach, as somebody that understands the culture of Kentucky, you understand, somebody that's been here. He's a champion himself, you know, he understands the fans.
- [39:06]
Joe
He's.
- [39:06]
AJ Stewart
He's not backing away or anything like that. But, I mean, I. I'm always props to that guy, you know, head on, facing everything head on, you know, and. And. And I say put his best foot forward.
- [39:22]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah.
- [39:22]
AJ Stewart
You know, and him being able to come in and. And recruit those guys, put a team together. And again, like I said, I think he really. He really capitalized and on some of his mistakes, some of the mistakes that were made last year, you know?
- [39:36]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah. And I don't know if fans know the people in the room, Darius, especially since he was in New Orleans and AJ And I were just from the South. I don't know if you know how long it takes to cook gumbo. It takes a while, takes a minute. And I think Pope is cooking a gumbo, figuratively, obviously.
- [39:57]
AJ Stewart
I like that. I like that.
- [39:58]
Perry Stevenson
You gotta let them. You gotta stir the roux, make sure. It's a good color before you start throwing stuff in there. We're not just frying an egg. Like, just relax. Let's see how it plays out, and then go from there. Right?
- [40:11]
AJ Stewart
I mean, that's what it is. You know, like I said, like, like D said, is it just. It's gonna take time, you know, And I think that sometimes people get a little hasty, you know, and in this kind of transition from one thing to the next or, you know, nil rules changing and things like that, conferences are even changing, you know, back to back. So it's just. It's. It's. It might be a little bit more difficult to put that culture together. But again, he's persevering. He's. He's. He's getting it done in a time that. That it's not easy to do, you know, and he's rolling with the punches, and I think we got a good one. I'm gonna give him a break. I'm gonna get him off the hot seat on this one.
- [40:57]
Perry Stevenson
And those loud voices in bbn, you give him a break too, until you don't have to. We'll let you know when.
- [41:06]
AJ Stewart
We'll let you know, but we'll be right back after these messages.
- [41:11]
Hoda Kotb
Hey, I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. Together we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges.
- [41:25]
Olivia Munn
I've gone through breast cancer and then help my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartum depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.
- [41:34]
Hoda Kotb
Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [41:45]
Fernanda Chavarri
I love the sounds, the buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place soccer, football at home.
- [41:55]
Perry Stevenson
Why do I watch the World Cup?
- [41:57]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
That's like asking me why do I breathe?
- [42:00]
Fernanda Chavarri
I inherited that fandom from my mom.
- [42:01]
AJ Stewart
I like watching it with my dad.
- [42:04]
Fernanda Chavarri
It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echabarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the US and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great.
- [42:21]
AJ Stewart
A soccer game is a festival, a game. It's your culture.
- [42:26]
Matt Jones
I took an elbow to my head,
- [42:28]
Perry Stevenson
which cracked my skull.
- [42:29]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
It is An American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though.
- [42:32]
Fernanda Chavarri
Are they the only ones that don't like that?
- [42:35]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Nobody likes that.
- [42:37]
Fernanda Chavarri
As we get ready for the Men's World cup this summer, listen to American football as part of the Mikeultura Podcast Network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [42:54]
Unknown Podcast Host
June is Black Music Month, and on the Drink Champs podcast, we're speaking with the hottest names in the culture, like Swae Lee.
- [43:00]
Darius Miller
Do you realize how legendary you are? I appreciate that I be seeing it,
- [43:04]
AJ Stewart
but I'm like, man, I still got, like, so much more to do. Like Prince, he dropped like 30 albums. We dropped like five right now.
- [43:10]
Darius Miller
That's the rate we gotta be going.
- [43:11]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, that's a good attitude.
- [43:13]
Unknown Podcast Host
You'll also hear stories from industry legends and hip hop pioneers like Fab five Freddy.
- [43:18]
Unknown Guest
I directed one of Nas's early videos.
- [43:21]
Perry Stevenson
Which one?
- [43:21]
Darius Miller
One Love.
- [43:22]
AJ Stewart
Wow.
- [43:24]
Joe
Yes.
- [43:25]
Unknown Guest
I literally filmed in his apartment in Queensbridge. His moms was still up in that apartment. Nas was just beginning to take off. His pops used to live near me in Harlem. His dad introduced him to a whole lot of, you know, conscious stuff, and he made a young prodigy.
- [43:40]
Unknown Podcast Host
No matter the era, Drink Champs brings you the biggest names and the most unfiltered conversations. Listen to Drink Champs from the Black Effect podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [43:54]
Keith Giamanca
Keith Giamanca seemed like a mild mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea?
- [44:08]
Keith Giamanca Interviewee
It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.
- [44:18]
Keith Giamanca
Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like?
- [44:22]
Keith Giamanca Interviewee
No, I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success.
- [44:29]
Keith Giamanca
Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life?
- [44:36]
Unknown Narrator
That is not the look of an innocent man. This is gonna change my life and my family dynamic forever. Because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue.
- [44:49]
Keith Giamanca
Listen to Deep Cover the Family man on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [45:02]
AJ Stewart
The show song.
- [45:05]
Perry Stevenson
No, I'm saying we could go now. We're on. Please forgive us for the Taylor Swift.
- [45:11]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, I'm sorry. Perry's over here. I was jamming. I didn't know he was lip syncing the song. Welcome back to KS I'm in the music. I was gonna say we're loving it right now. I'm up to KSR radio. This is KSR guest week, guest host week, and AJ Stewart and Perry Stevenson from Arc360 getting you through your hump day. Shannon, who's this?
- [45:31]
Unknown Podcast Host
Who's this?
- [45:32]
AJ Stewart
Brought to us by.
- [45:32]
Matt Jones
Yeah, Let me jump in here and tell you guys about court physical therapy. Hey, bbn. Summer in Kentucky means staying active. But if pain is slowing you down, it's time to call in the pros at court physical therapy. From sports injuries to everyday aches and pains, court helps you recover faster and get back to what you love doing. Their expert clinicians create personalized care plans to help keep you moving all season long. So don't set the summer out. Visit court.com they spell it k o r t court.com to find a location near you and start your Comeback today@court.com. back to you guys.
- [46:04]
AJ Stewart
All right, so let's. I think we got some callers on the line. Let's answer some questions.
- [46:09]
Matt Jones
All right, let's start with Joe. Go ahead, Joe.
- [46:12]
Joe
Thank you, gentlemen. Gentlemen, when y' all get a little bit older, Reba McIntyre will probably sound pretty good to y', all, so don't. Don't get too hyped up on this. Taylor Swift, two questions. No, no, actually, two comments. First, on ball handling. You hear a lot of comments from guys my age, 74 years old, AAU don't teach them anything when it comes to ball handling. And then when you see a gentleman play for Kentucky that looks at the floor when he's dribbling, it's kind of validates that. That concern. And second comment is on Coach Brooks. I hope Coach Brooks is so good for our girls program that he takes his product through Rupp arena and put. Put in about 13 or 14,000 fans every night. So that's by comments. I'll let y' all talk about it. Thanks a lot. Goodbye.
- [47:02]
AJ Stewart
All right. We definitely appreciate that. We definitely appreciate that.
- [47:04]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah, thanks, Joe.
- [47:05]
AJ Stewart
Yeah, thanks, Joe. Well, for starters, I mean, ball handling, I think growing up, when we came up, you know, ball handling is one of those things is kind of. I mean, if it's what you do, you do it without having to be told or taught or anything like that. You know, the. The good ones of. I guess they always have a ball in their hand. Yeah, they take it everywhere with them. They're dribbling everywhere. So I think that's just. Is it a culture thing now? Maybe guys just don't have that passion. They don't keep the basketball with them everywhere.
- [47:38]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah, I think AAU has become a, a money maker basically. And when we were playing, like, yeah, you, you made money from aau, the coaches and stuff, but we were doing it for more. So for the love of the game versus how much money your local coach can make from it. But ball handling is not a very difficult thing. All you have to do is be able to dribble the ball without the defender taking it from you. And how straight of a line can you go from the three point line all the way to the basket?
- [48:16]
AJ Stewart
And there are a million ways to work on that, ways to work on that. But it's interesting because I mean, the landscape of the AU is changing just the same way. College basketball, you know, I'm actually not Even sure if AU's really the big thing anymore. I think is the circuit now. The circuit, right. And then they do the circuits and. But you're right. Yeah, we had a different, I guess a different goal, a different mission when we were out there on the court. You know, we did enjoy the game. We, we worked hard on stuff and that was our opportunity to go out and show it off, you know. And you wanted to show it off because you knew that all the coaches and everyone were going to be there watching and it was your chance to showcase your talents. Right?
- [48:54]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah.
- [48:55]
AJ Stewart
And so, yeah, you know, just kind of being hungry to, you know, you got to want it for yourself, you know. And there's still guys out there that do a good job of handling the basketball. It's not.
- [49:04]
Perry Stevenson
Oh yeah.
- [49:04]
AJ Stewart
You know, so it's not, it's not a lost art. It's not a lost art. I guess it's just going to be about how bad you want it and, and the second part of that, man, shout out to Coach Brooks. I mean, he is, he's fantastic job. He's, he's doing, he's doing a great job, you know, with the girls basketball program. Seriously. And I mean that's, it's actually getting more competitive in that college girls realm, you know what I'm saying? With Coach Don, you know, the coach down in lsu, you got. Obviously Geno's been killing it for decades now.
- [49:38]
Unknown Advertiser Voice
Right.
- [49:38]
AJ Stewart
You know, and so I mean, shout out for Coach Brooks because those are some juggernauts, you know, and. Yeah, and to kind of get his girls, get our girls out there, you know what I'm saying? And this program up on, you know, on that stage to be, you know, contenders with those, those teams.
- [49:54]
Perry Stevenson
Yeah.
- [49:55]
AJ Stewart
You know what I'm saying? You know, that's, you know, I think that's a really, that's a really good look for him. That's props to him for that.
- [50:02]
Perry Stevenson
For a long time the girls, the girls game has been top heavy. Like it's always the top dogs in the final four and the elite eights and now it's becoming a little more spread out.
- [50:14]
AJ Stewart
Exactly.
- [50:15]
Perry Stevenson
And it's a cool thing to see. Like women's basketball, it's relatively young still if we're comparing it to the men's game. And I, I enjoyed seeing how far it's come and where it's going to go.
- [50:27]
AJ Stewart
Right. So I like, I like watching women's college basketball a little bit more than I might watch like watching the WNBA maybe because I have a team per se, you know what I mean? So I know exactly who I'm going for that. Thanks for that, Joe. And we'll be right back.