Loading summary
Transcript119 lines
- [00:00]
A
Early birds always rise to the occasion for summer vacation planning because early gets you closer to the action. So don't be late. Book your next vacation early on VRBO and save over $120. Rise and shine average savings $141 select homes only.
- [00:15]
B
Then she says, have you seen a
- [00:17]
A
photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person? Welcome to the Boys and Girls podcast. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family.
- [00:31]
B
I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition hoping to find love the right way, and instead I found chaos, comedy and a lot of cringe. Listen to boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. It's the new me and it's the old them.
- [00:48]
A
This woman's History Month the podcast if
- [00:50]
B
you knew Better with Amber Grimes spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power. My like tunnel vision of like I gotta achieve this was off the strengths of like I wanna make better life for us. If you knew better brings real talk
- [01:04]
A
from women who've lived it, unpacking career
- [01:06]
B
pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to if you knew better with
- [01:11]
A
Amber grimes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple
- [01:14]
B
Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Safeway and Albertsons have made saving easier than ever with great savings on family favorites this week. 16 ounce sweet strawberries are two for $5 member price. And don't miss the incredible deal on Signature select boneless skinless chicken breasts. Value packs for 2.97 per pound LIM plus extra large avocados or mangoes are 4 for $5 member price. Fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry and these deals won't last. Visit Safeway or albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. Welcome everyone. It is the local Toyota dealers KSR post game show. Kentucky loses on senior night at home 8477 to the Florida Gators. Finished the season 19 and 12 and now depending on what happens in the Oklahoma Texas game tonight, will either be the 9 or 10 seed in the SEC tournament playing on Wednesday for what I believe is the first time in the history of of Kentucky basketball. I don't think we've ever played on Wednesday before. Of course more teams play on Wednesday now because the conference has expanded, but nevertheless 859-280-2287 Kentucky really never had a shot in this game and part of what is is disappointing is they have now played 80 minutes of basketball against Florida this year and they have not led for one second of those 80 minutes. Florida is better. And as my friend Aaron Fleener said in a tweet, Florida is what Kentucky used to be. At various points in, in our history and certainly in the last 35 years. Kentucky just, you know, fell down 11 nothing fought back, made it, made it 11 nine and then at one point 20 to 19 but then gave up another 13 zero run and ended up with being down 33, 19 and then really never was over. As a matter of fact the closest they got was at the end of the game when really it was just about whether or not they would cover the spread. I was there for the beginning. I love senior Day. I'm a sucker for everybody's families being there and I'm a sucker for my old Kentucky home. And it was a great Kentucky pre game atmosphere. I will say once again, you know we have had some really, really exciting. I've gone to three of the home games before just to experience the atmosphere in Tennessee, Vandy in Kentucky and they all have, excuse me K Tennessee vanity in Florida and they've all been amazing. I mean the fans showed up, fans showed up 45 minutes before the game. I mean the place was full, it was electric in there and then just completely deflated at the beginning. I told Billy I, you know it's hard enough for me to watching the games in the arena. I just don't especially, especially it rubbed because we, there's. We're not allowed to sit close so we're way up and I ended up leaving right after that 11 oh run. It was like I'll just watch it at home. And it was, it was bad. You know you can give Kentucky credit for fighting back but I'm sort of tired about, I'm tired of being down huge in the first half. This has been a problem under Mark's pope for two years. To their credit they fought back and won some of these games but they have gotten down double digits in the first half. I had kept the stat for a while and then I stopped. But I mean literally it's, I think it's like 15 times in two years. It's in a, it's a crazy amount and it's ridiculous for Kentucky to do that and it's ridiculous they ended up not getting blown out on the score. But if you watch the game, you know we were blown out and it's ridiculous to get blown out at home. Kentucky should not get blown out at home. By anyone. You know, occasionally you might get blown out on the road, but you should never, ever, ever get blown out at home. And while we only lost by seven, that's not how the game played. The the team way too often takes essentially breaks. A perfect example to me was the play, I believe it. Mohamed Diabate hit a three that I want to say cut it to 11 to nine. I think that was 14 nine. Well, no, he cut it to 11 to nine and then they got the rebound and Kentucky was celebrating and they got the rebound and pushed it down and shot a three within seconds and it was 14:9. Am I right about that? Is that the sequence? I. It's. I think so. I'm. I think I'm right about that. I think it was 11, nine. And rather than getting back Florida, who's Florida is so well coached, gets the ball out of the net, comes down and hits a three within three seconds and it's 14:9. And the excitement you got from a diabate three, which is rare, and the crowd is just gone, immediately gone. And the key sequence in the game, obviously the start is bad, but they did come back from that. The key sequence in the game is that 20 to 19 to 33 to 19 and they get. Florida went on a 130 run in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. 2 minutes and 20 seconds. That is a Kentucky team not paying patiently not getting back. Florida killed him in transition, just killed him. And a couple times, maybe three times, it was literally just because we didn't run back on defense. It wasn't turnovers. We only had nine turnovers for the game. It was just not getting back. It's the first time all year we've lost when we had fewer than 11 turnovers. Just did not get back on defense. And then Florida's really good. Don't get me wrong, Florida's really good, but you did it to yourself to get that gap. So for me, this is where we are tucking finishes 19 and 12 in the regular season. I judge. We've talked a lot about this on ksr. I judge a team on three things. The non conference, I want you to be play good teams, win games that matter and be competitive. But ultimately it doesn't really matter as long as you play you. I want to be Duke, I want to be Louisville, you know, Kansas, North Carolina, etc. But it doesn't really matter. But if you look at the non conference, we went 2 and 4 against good team. Beat St. John's beat Indiana, Indiana is not that great, but beat St. John's who won the Big east but got blown out by Michigan State, blown out by Gonzaga, lost at home to North Carolina and didn't really get blown out by Louisville, but it was a game very similar to this one where we really weren't in it and then made a little bit of run at the end. So 2 and 4. Then you get to conference play. And in conference play, it's the second straight year we finished 10 and 8. Last year we were the eighth seed, or, excuse me, the seventh seed. And now this year, the 10 seed Mark Pope at Kentucky has been 20 and 16 in the SEC. That's, that's not, that's not what you do at Kentucky. You don't go 20 and 16. You don't. So the SEC to me is not only disappointment. I, I would say the regular season this year is at best like a C minus, D plus. I'm not going to say it's an F, but it's, it's barely passing. And the only reason I even give it a passing grade is you did lose your point guard at the beginning and you did lose, like your six man. I've said to you, I don't put anything on Jaden Quaint's. I never expected him to play. You sign a guy with a torn acl, you have to understand there's a possibility he won't play. But J. So not having Jalen Lowe and Cam Williams matters, but that still doesn't excuse the record. We got more talent than teams that are going to finish ahead of us in the sec. We have enough talent to beat Georgia at home. We have enough talent to beat Missouri at home. Right. So I just, I don't accept that. It's. It's a factor, but it's still a bad regular season. C minus, D plus. Now the next thing is the SEC tournament, and it matters more to me than it has to our coaches over the year. I was glad to hear Mark Pope say we're going down there to win. You know, I'm glad we have a coach that cares about it. I care about it. But we haven't been good in this tournament and we haven't been to the weekend since 2019. And we are going to have to win three games to get to the weekend. This time. We'll see what happens. If Texas beats Oklahoma tonight, you might avoid Florida. You're kind of looking at a path, I think. I don't know where it fits out, but it looks like maybe LSU or South Carolina or Ole Miss in game one. I don't know. Who that would be then probably, you know, I don't know where the tiebreakers get. It'll be Tennessee, Vandy, Georgia, somebody like that in round two and then Alabama in round three. Not exactly an easy path just to get to the weekend. Okay, that's just to get to the weekend and now and then you get the NCAA tournament. I would say unless Kentucky wins multiple games in the SEC tournament, you're probably looking at a seven. Maybe if you win two games in the sec, maybe you get to a six. But that means you're going to have a hard first round game in the ncaa. You're going to play somebody good. So there is a chance to change the narrative on the season, but there are no more room. There's no more room for mistakes. Kentucky finishes the year disappointing. 19 and 12 is not acceptable. And I'll give you a stat that's sobering. In two seasons, Mark Pope's regular season record is now only two games better than Billy Gillespie's was two games. So SEC is better than it was then, but still two games. That's frustrating and it should be frustrating to all fans. And now we see over the. But things can change in March 2014. Team is an example. But then a lot of times March just backs up what you saw all season. We'll see what happens this year. 859-280-2287 Want to hear what you think about this? You know what was your take on the game if you were there? I thought Otega Wade by the way went out playing the way he's played all year, gave it his all. Aberdeen started slow, played well in the second half but we've learned when they shut down Colin Chandler this offense drags happened tonight and this happened a lot of the year. We'll take your calls. 859-280-2287 A very disappointing loss and a disappointing regular season for Kentucky. We'll be right back. This is the local Toyota dealers KSR postgame show. Welcome back. It is the local toy dealers KSR postgame show. 859-280-2287 Some good questions on the text machine. One person writes Matt, I hadn't realized we were only two games better than Billy Gillespie. Billy Gillespie didn't come back. Do you think Mark Pope should come back? Well, should is a complicated conversation. I, I don't think he shouldn't. I think he, I think you just, you do it for a variety of reasons include including the fact that you know there's a. There are a lot of reasons One is the contract, one is the nil situation across. One is our athletic department budget. One is, you know, he went here and we want it to work. But I do think next year is the year. I mean, I do think next year is the year and he has no players. So it's. It's understandable to be pessimistic. I think Billy would have been here a third year if not for the off the court stuff. But Billy would have been in the same situation where it would have been, okay, we'll see what happens in year three. I would actually go so far as to say if Billy didn't have his meltdown at the end of that season, where you may remember, he said, I'm not an ambassador for the school. And he had all kind. He said crazy stuff. I think he probably would have been back for a third year then. So, yes, he will be back for third year. I support him being back for third year, but the third year will decide it, at least for me, going forward. One person writes, matt, let's say all those guys were healthy. What would our record be? All those guys were healthy. Could be better. I'm not counting. Like I said, I'm not counting. Quaint. Because when you recruit that guy, you can't. Like when you recruit a guy that has that injury, you're taking a chance and, you know, it's. If you had Low and Williams, maybe you win one or two more games. I don't think you. Look, we. I mean, we lost four before that, right? We got blown out to Louisville with Low and Williams. Maybe you win one or two. Maybe you don't lose to Georgia at home, maybe you don't lose to Missouri at home, but you weren't beating Florida, probably either way, it was just not a. It was not a well constructed roster. So maybe, maybe you go 21 and. And 10, which is better, but not what we want. All right, who's up first? Brennan. Brennan. Go ahead, Brennan.
- [15:19]
A
Hey, Matt. What's going on, man?
- [15:21]
B
What's up?
- [15:23]
A
Hey, just so I'm having trouble watching these games. I need you to kind of pick me up here. They feel so cumbersome when we're sitting here watching them.
- [15:34]
B
It's hard not to feel cumbersome when you get down so much. I mean, you know, just think about the last two games. We've been down so much so early in these games that it is cumbersome. And even remember, even in games we've won, we've been down. I mean, we've just. I don't Know what? The minutes I'd like to see. Maybe somebody will do this. How many minutes have we led in the SEC versus how many have we been behind? I think it's probably the case we've been behind significantly more than we've been ahead. And I think that's probably why it feels so cumbersome.
- [16:10]
A
Sure. One more thing. Just hypothetical. I'm on board with Pope. If he can get it going, I'm fully behind him. But what would you say right now? Todd golden or Bruce Pearl after year three of hope?
- [16:24]
B
Yeah, you know, I appreciate the call. I mean, the. The. The. Both those guys. You would. Both those guys have. Have issues. I mean, I think the fan base with Ty golden has a lot of issues, including is. Is clearly a jerk. It is funny how the two best coaches in college basketball right now are tremendous jerks. Well, maybe you don't need to. Danny Hurley, Todd Gold. I mean, Todd Gold was screaming at everybody at the game. I had a friend sitting behind that said he yelled at the clock people. He yelled at fans in the front row like, he's just a jerk. Now, he's an amazing coach, like, shockingly amazing to me how well prepared his teams are, and he could win a second title this year. So, you know, we'll see. I would have always said Mitch Barnhart will never hire Todd Goldnote, but Mitch Barnhart will not be the AD Whenever a new coach comes up. Who's next? Skyler. Skyler. Go ahead, Skyler.
- [17:22]
A
Hey, Matt. How's it going? My. My thought, the whole season has been, Mark Pope isn't the guy. And I don't want to turn this into a show about that, but I think you know the difference. You just mentioned Tom golden and Bruce Pearl or whoever. There's like a dog to him. And you sit there and you watch Mark Pope on the sidelines coaching. We're getting run off the court for the first half, and he's there with his arms crossed. He's standing. There's nothing on his face. That's why we've seen these. I would say performative over dramatic grasping for who he is kind of post games. Did I see that he only spoke for four and a half minutes after the game today? Or is that just a YouTube thing that I saw?
- [18:05]
B
I don't know how long he spoke after the game. I mean, he normally does three segments on the post game. He only did two. He's not. Listen. He is. He's a kind of a poor loser, at least in terms of the media part of it. I Don't think he support loser in lot like in, in like it seems like he's gone to the other coaches and all that. But I think when it comes to media part, he's been a, he's been really bad after games this year, like really bad all year. And I don't know why because it doesn't seem to fit what I know of his personality. But I'll remind you when, when he left byu. I've told this a couple times. We, this, that was when we were trying to figure out about Mark Pope. And I, I talked to a couple people who knew him well at BYU and they said, look, great guy, awesome person, fan base will love him. Barbara loses very poorly, takes it personally, loses very poorly. And I think we've seen that to be true. But, but you're right, it doesn't show that during the game, which is interesting. But the thing about John Shire at Duke, he doesn't either and he has success.
- [19:14]
A
But, but I Coach A 6th grade girls basketball team and if we're starting to get run and I can feel the momentum swing, you call a timeout, you switch something up, you put you, you look the girls in the eye and you say, hey, let's, let's lock it in right here. And, and you're not down 20. These are like D1 basketball players that we've spent a lot of money on. You can motivate them a little better. And I think it takes a dog. And I'm not sure Mark's a dog.
- [19:37]
B
I mean, appreciate the call. I mean that's, I understand what you're saying. I think there's multiple ways to do it. Right. I think there is the, it seems like right now the coaches that are excelling for the most part are these relatively younger guys who have this passion, who have embraced this whole Nil era and who are fiery. But it all, it hasn't always been like that. And I also think, you know, I, I just, to me, the best coaches in the country right now are Danny Hurley, Todd Golden, John Shire and Dusty May at Michigan. I don't know as much about the guy at Arizona because I don't watch them as much because they're late at night. But those just seem like the guys who are, it's just rolling and they're getting the players for next year. And, and I, you know, I want to see Mark in that group. He, he should be in that group. They're his age bracket, they're at programs like he is. He should be in that group, but he hasn't been. Who's next? Curtis. Curtis. Go ahead, Curtis.
- [20:40]
A
Hey, Matt. Was at the game today, been at most of every home game this year. And, and I, I, I've been all on board trying to support Pope for the last two years, been to tons of games, tried to give him every benefit of the doubt. But I think today and this week in general has been the breaking point. I know what you said earlier, that next year is going to be the tipping point, and we all know for a lot of reasons, he's going to get year three, could lose the next two games. Still going to get year three. But I have to ask you this. What gives you any hope that this guy can do it? I mean, today and this week just broke me the absolute number of things. For first time, things happening for the University of Kentucky basketball program giving up 27, three run, going down 11, nothing at home in Florida, just knowing you're going lose. His excuses about being everybody's tired and then his players going on to say, I don't know if you saw it, but yellow, vicious quote, say, no, that's not the problem. All these kids are used to playing 35 minutes a game. You look across the country, they're doing it. Pope just seems like he's clueless and lost and in over his head here. And, and this whole week has just been the absolute breaking point for me. And I don't know how anybody else could actually believe that this guy is the right man for Kentucky basketball. I would love to hear your thoughts, but I just can't see it. And I've tried to give him time and I've tried to give him a chance. I just can't see it.
- [22:07]
B
Well, first of all, I think you articulate all that very well. I understand what you're saying. And, and I. Let me be clear. I'm not saying I believe he is. Okay. I'm not saying that. I mean, I probably thought that, okay, I start. Let me put it like this. I certainly thought that going into the year, this year has very much disappointed me in really every way possible. It's disappointed me in roster management. It's disappointed me in performance. It's disappointed me in off the court media. Just things that the way you kind of run a program like this and early in the year, although this is. I haven't heard as much of this recently, early in the year, it kind of disappointed me in what I was hearing behind the scenes with the team. That, that seems to have gotten better. But so, no, I'm not confident. I Would look at it and say, in year one. In year one, I considered it a success. In year two, I consider it. Unless there's a big change, I would consider it a failure. So that then leads to me to year three. Breaks the tie. Does that make sense? That's probably where I know that's well put.
- [23:23]
A
That's. That's well put. I think we're both kind of on the same level, but I'm gl to hear you say that because, you know, I follow you on Twitter. I get emotional and stuff during games and whatnot. But I. I kind of feel like. And tell me if I'm wrong or you can just kind of plead the fifth, But I feel like you have even said this. Even with Cal, you got to be careful about calling for somebody's job and your position. And I get it, but I've kind of got the. The hint from you and even Drew and whatnot. And I see that you guys have
- [23:49]
B
kind of much more negative about it. I mean, Drew's much more negative about it than I am. If there's a scale, I would say Drew is maybe not where you are, but close. Ryan still believes. And I'm kind of in the middle because I see a lot of troubling concerns, but I can't overlook that. I actually think he did a really good job last year. So, you know, so I appreciate the call. That's a good conversation. I. In terms of calling for somebody's job, I wouldn't. I'm not going. I wouldn't call for a job either way this year. But I will note, like, it is different when I talk. I can't just go online. But, you know, any criticism that we at ksr but I specifically do, it resonates. And it's not like it's one of those things. You can't take the genie out of the bottle. I don't have the. You know, so I try to consider that that's what makes me so frustrated when coaches or the ad, you know, say, oh, there's a couple people doing this. They're knuckleheads. What makes me frustrated is I bite my tongue. I mean, ask Billy in our group text. I bite my tongue. And, like, they get mad at the smallest criticisms at the small. Just going, hey, where's this money coming from for $950,000 leads to in his goodbye press conference calling people knucklehead. Knuckleheads. That's what we've dealt with since COVID Our coaches, starting with Cal stoops in the Last year or so, he wasn't like that before. Mitch, like everybody gets you. They are also on edge about everything that I try to be responsible and like not say it until you can't not say it. And even then you see the result. So. But I'm still going to do the same thing. I'm going to be responsible. And then when I say it, like I eventually did with Mark Stoops and like I eventually did with John Caliperi and like I did with Mitchell, I mean it at that point. And I think when I've said it, like 70% of the fan base has agreed at that now on this, I think it's a lot closer and I think people are all over the place. Who's next? Ryan is next. Ryan, go ahead.
- [26:26]
A
Hey, Matthew Harper. Jones. I was just calling to see what kind of success do you need to see from coach Mark Pope in order to be excited for season three? We got recruiting. It's a giant issue. Talent is an issue. But I've matched in every game we play. He's been.
- [26:41]
B
Can I be honest with you on that question? There will be almost nothing that can happen in the NCAA Tournament that will change my mind. And let me say why I think the tournament. There's a lot of randomness. So let's say we make a run to the Elite Eight. Do I still think this roster was well put together? No, I don't. Do I still not have problems with his coaching? I do. So what would make me feel better going into next year, them going out and getting a good roster and not striking out with every recruit and striking out with all of their top portal attempts. That's what's happened last year. They lost their top three guys in the Portal and they got probably their second choice on like three different guys and they've got no recruits. So you want me to have excitement? Let's see what you do. You know, if we make the Final Four, I'll be excited. We make the Elite Eight, I'll probably be excited, but there's probably not. My view's probably not going to change much based on what happens in the next few weeks.
- [27:48]
A
The big issue I'm seeing is our guy is getting out coached every game. It doesn't matter if we're on every
- [27:54]
B
game, but a lot of games matter
- [27:55]
A
if we're in rep arena. A lot of games. He's getting out coached. He looks outmatched. Looks like he can't coach out of a paper bag to me at times. We are not Vanderbilt. We are not Ole Miss, to quote Marcus Teague, we is Kentucky and right now it feels like we are Mississippi State.
- [28:13]
B
Appreciate the call. I don't. I don't disagree with you. A couple things here before we take a break. Morehead states playing for a tournament berth tonight. The OVC championship is here relatively soon. Who do they play? Do you know who they play? I don't. Let me just look it up right now. They play tonight for the first official bid. And there actually is one bit that's already been decided. Long island plays Mercyhurst tomorrow in the Northeast Conference. And Mercyhurst is not eligible for the tournament this year because they're still Transitioning from Division 2. So Long island automatically has the bid. And do you know who coaches Long Island? Billy? No, who? That would be Rod Strickland, former UK assistant coach who has built that team from his first year. They won three games to this year. They won, I think 23 and they're going to the NCAA tournament. Tennessee State is who? Moreheads? Tennessee State? Yeah, I think that. I think Tennessee State maybe the one and Morehead the two or something. So good luck to Morehead tonight. We'll take a break and be right back. This is the local toy dealers KSR post game show. Welcome back. It is the local Twitter dealers KSR post game show. One person writes, Matt, you really need to hear yellow Vich post game answers. They were very telling. What did they say? I haven't heard these. Do you know what they said? I haven't been able to hear it. He said. They said that he was. They were not tired, by the way. I. I've never bought the tired. I wish Mark Pope, he said that at the game tonight. He was like, you know, we start making turnovers when we're tired. Ridiculous, ridiculous statements. It continues the. I don't know what he thinks when he says stuff. I mean, he may actually believe that, but I mean, we were down 11, nothing to start the game. Were we tired? The game was just starting and then we were we. The 130 run that changed the game was with it 20 to 19. Were we tired? We were still 10 minutes into the game. If we aren't so tired all the time. I don't believe we're tired. By the way I watch it. I do not. I sometimes see the bigs get tired, but the guards never look tired to me. Chandler looked a little tired. One of those games, I can't remember which one. I have yet to see away and Aberdeen look tired, but the tired is ridiculous. But if they are tired, then that's on your conditioning. Yes. If they really are tired, then that's on you. Cause like, these are crazy good athletes. Almost every player on this team is at least a good athlete. And some of them are great athletes. So don't give me the tired. It's just. I'm tired of the tired. Billy, I'll be honest with you. Yeah. Tonight was demoralizing for me. I will say that. 11 oh run to start the game. The game wasn't even on TV yet. I know. Yeah. I couldn't even watch it. And by the time it came on, they were down double digits. I got to see it up close. It was like watching Chill. I thought we were going to lose by 40 after watching the first few minutes because it looked like we were pathetic. But, you know, he did fight fight back on it. One person writes. Matt, it looks. If you say Drew is the one that is most negative, it looks like he's the only one that understands what Kentucky basketball is. No, I mean, I understand this has not been Kentucky basketball. It's not like it's. This has been. But it's not been Kentucky basketball really for six years. I mean, if we're really honest with ourselves, we've had one really one good season in six years in the regular season. And in that year, we lost to St. Peter's in the first round of the tournament. So think about it. Kentucky basketball has not been Kentucky basketball since COVID So the question is, when's it going to change? But we have to. But I also accept the realities of, you know, there are people who want to just fire people all the time and think that's going to help. I think what's got to help is a complete change of mentality at the university. That's what has to start the university. Well, I mean, that's a conversation. We'll save it for the off season. But no, this isn't Kentucky Bass. It has not been Kentucky basketball since they shut down that SEC tournament in Nashville. It really hasn't. Who's next? Mike. Mike. Go ahead, Mike.
- [32:38]
A
This is Mike E. Town.
- [32:40]
B
What's going on?
- [32:43]
A
A couple of points. The Billy Gillespie comparison to Mark Pope. College basketball is in a different landscape now.
- [32:57]
B
Well, okay, but that. I don't disagree with that. But so what? So what? You've got to adjust, right? I mean, yes, it is different. The SEC is better in aisle exists. You are exactly right. It's different. But you know who's. You know who I'm watching play right now? Duke. They're number one in the country. They're 28 and two. It's. They're winning by 20 against North Carolina and they don't even have the coach that built the program. So guess what? They did.
- [33:28]
A
Yeah, just.
- [33:30]
B
Oh, yeah. But that's just true. You know who else has been good the last six years? Kansas. You know who else has been good the last six years? UConn. You know who made a national championship in the last six years? A national championship game? North Carolina. They adjusted, sir. Why can't we.
- [33:48]
A
All right, so another point is.
- [33:51]
B
But I'm gonna answer that question because I'm not trying to like go at you, but when I hear that conversation quite a bit. College basketball is different. Okay, but why have all the other powers adjusted and we haven't? Why is Florida going for a back to back title with a completely different roster?
- [34:14]
A
Well, you definitely have to get out there and find some good talent. But we also have them do it.
- [34:23]
B
But why? What's the excuse? Excuse? There's no excuse.
- [34:27]
A
That's right. There is no excuse.
- [34:29]
B
If college back. If, like, if I was looking at the top 25 in college basketball and the top five teams were Minnesota, LSU, like just complete random teams, then I might agree with you. But they're the same teams that have been good all time. It's just we're not there.
- [34:49]
A
Correct. Now, my last point, and then I'll hang up. Hope is soft when it comes to the officials. You see John Shire, you. You see Hurley. Well, you even see Florida's coach tonight? They whine all the time.
- [35:10]
B
Todd Golden.
- [35:11]
A
And they did. And they get. And they. Yeah, Todd Golden. And they get all the calls and. So why couldn't we get a review tonight? That's what I want to know.
- [35:20]
B
Well, we were out of timeouts and we had used our. So like, we. That's why when you take your last time out, then the only way you can get a review is if the ref initiates it himself and he has the ability to do it in the last two minutes. So I think it's fair to criticize that they didn't do it. No, but at the same time. Yes, but at the same time, if you watch college basketball for the most part on things like out of bounds, they almost never initiate it unless a coach challenges it.
- [35:54]
A
Well, but you got Duke's coach, Yukon's coach, and Florida's coach putting pressure on the referees to look at it. And they get it. And they get it.
- [36:05]
B
Well, I appreciate the call. I mean, that's. That's true. I. I don't I don't disagree with that. He's. He. He yells at refs. He just does it a different way. I don't know what the right strategy is with refs, but I will say this. Todd golden does not shut up during the game. Who's next? Neither did Cal. No, he didn't. Neither did. Sometimes we thought Cal. Sometimes we thought Cal hurt himself by doing that. Who knows? You know, who knows what works? Who's next? Another Mike. Mike. Go ahead, Mike.
- [36:35]
A
Hey, guys, I'll tell you, man, there's nobody that's been a bigger Pope supporter than me, but he's about to lose me because, you know, I hear all these people talking about our talent, and, yeah, it's not the most talented, but I do believe it's talented enough to compete in the sec. And I think his management of the roster is worse than the actual roster.
- [36:58]
B
I agree with that. I agree with the second point, and I actually agree with the first point. He may not have the talent to be as good as Florida, but we have just as much talent as probably everybody in the league except Florida, Arkansas, and Alabama. And guess what? We beat him.
- [37:14]
A
More talent than Georgia.
- [37:15]
B
Oh, without question. More talent than Georgia, Missouri, Texas, all these teams we've lost to, we beat Texas. But A and M, like, we have more talent than all those teams. You're exactly right.
- [37:26]
A
And shout out to Oscar Combs for calling for some of these upper guys to step aside. I thought that was a bold take, but also the correct pick.
- [37:36]
B
Appreciate the call. Who's next? Andrew is next. Andrew, go ahead. Andrew.
- [37:43]
A
And I called you after the Louisville Kentucky football game, and I kind of had the same question. Again, like, what's like, the sales point if you're the ad Obviously it won't be Mitch, but, you know, a few season tickets to football, as I do in basketball. Both. What's like, the sales point for me to renew again? They got it with football because they fired suits or whatever.
- [38:07]
B
Well, basketball, my sales point would be we're going to be good at basketball again and we're going to be really good. Now, is it going to be a Pope? I don't know. Yeah, yeah, we will. This school, there's too much.
- [38:22]
A
But there's only next year. We will.
- [38:25]
B
No, no, no, no, no. Oh, well, I mean, the reason you would renew is if you lose your season tickets next year, you're going to be sitting up in the rafters. Unless you already sit in the rafters, and then maybe you don't. Then maybe you don't renew. I don't know, but I'm just saying like the reason. It's the same reason I renewed for the Reds when I knew they were going to be terrible because I wanted to keep my seats for if they got good. That's the reason. But, but and again before when you say would you renew next year? Let's see what the ro. We don't even know what the roster is like. We don't know one person that's going to be on the team next year for sure.
- [38:57]
A
Yeah, but I'll will probably have to renew before that. Before that's known.
- [39:01]
B
You'll know. We're gonna know by. We're gonna know pretty quick. We're gonna know by probably May 1st. Most of the roster.
- [39:08]
A
Should we. Okay then. Okay. So maybe the roster will be fine. I guess. I just, I just feel. You can't really feel optimistic about it. I want pro to succeed more than anyone. I just, I just don't think how you can feel optimistic about like the direction of the program. Right. Same as football. And it changed, it changed after I talked to you in that game. So I kind of think what can basketball do to change the direction? And I don't want it to be a coach change like it was for football. I want there to be something else.
- [39:40]
B
Well, that's not going to happen so. And I appreciate the call, that's not going to happen. So you'll have to decide if you're positive enough without that. Who's next? Let's give our Johnny Rocker, personal injury attorney, money maker of the game. Next, Matt. Injured get small town compass with big city results. When you call the rocker at 270-321-4429. And tonight it goes to Ortega. Away 28 points was 4 of 8 from deep, 8 of 8 from the free throw line in 38 minutes. He had only one turnover. And to add to the stat that you shared on the pregame show, OA has now scored double digits in 63 of the 67 games that he's played with at Kentucky. He is our money maker of the game tonight. All right, sounds good. 859-280-2287 by the way. Well, let's do one more call real quick. Who's next? Okay, Chris is next. Chris. Go ahead, Chris.
- [40:33]
A
Hey, Matt. I kind of like where the conversations go on because I got program concerns. Two years ago we made a reach higher, But I was one of 24,000 people at RUP to welcome Pope with open arms. We flash forward these two years. The record is what the Record is we have no recruits. We have no sight of hiring a general manager to run this thing. We have jmi, who just canned Baker, who I love. We have Mitch, who's stepping aside kind of, but he's in another role. But he's not going to be dad. Okay, great. Like, where is my hope for this program coming from?
- [41:19]
B
Well, I mean, I, you know, I, I can't determine your optimism or not, but everything you just questioned. I have the same questions Mark Story wrote in the Herald Leader just a week ago. These next two months are Mark Pope's career. I completely agree with that. I'll go further. These next six months are massive for the future of Kentucky basketball, not just Mark Pope. I would make an argument that if Kentucky doesn't get its act together in the next four to six months and do not make, does not make the right decision, then that will become a three or four year process that's hard to get out. The AD hire is going to be crucial. There are many things happening behind the scenes that are not, you know, part of the issue is I can't just talk about them because me talking about them will change everything. Will change things. Not change things, but will make it completely different. But they're happening.
- [42:24]
A
And quick follow up, Matt?
- [42:27]
B
Well, I mean, I just can't, you know, I can't. But Mark Pope, right, You've got whether he's going to succeed. What kind of roster are we going to have? Are we going to hire a gm? Is it going to be the right hire? I would argue that when we get to that, the decisions that will be made from today until August 31st of next year, or I'll even say July 1st, because we'll have to have an ad then. The decisions from March 7th to July 1st are going to determine the next five years of Kentucky basketball. And so I'm nervous about it, but I'm not giving up, but I am nervous it about. About it.
- [43:05]
A
Are you hopeful? There are folks in the room that.
- [43:09]
B
I don't know. I don't know who's this. I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't know who's making decisions. I'm.
- [43:14]
A
Eli Capo is 108 years old.
- [43:16]
B
Capo is not Eli Capaluto. I, no offense to him because I like Eli Capaluto. I think he's done a good job. I don't even know if he's making decisions. I doubt. I, I kind of don't think he'll be the president next year. That's just my guess. That's, that's not inside information. It's just a guess. I mean, so you know, Eli Capaluto spends a lot of his time in Alabama. I don't know. So I, I honestly don't know who's making the decision. So when you ask me are the people in the room, I don't even really know who's in the room. I mean, I was shocked today to see WKYT say the board of trustees of the university did not know about the Mitch contract. What, like Eli did that on his own? But did Eli do it? Did somebody else tell him? I don't know the problem. So to answer your question, I don't know who's making the decision. So it's hard for me to know.
- [44:08]
A
Well, Matt, thanks for being a voice piece. I appreciate you. I appreciate what you do. Just, we need some hope, man.
- [44:16]
B
I appreciate the call and I want, I have hope because I'm an optimistic person. But, you know, I'll be real with you on July 1st. I'll tell you how positive I feel. And that doesn't mean I'll be right. Like, you know, my initial reaction to the Pope higher was negativity and then I switched. Maybe my initial reaction was right. Maybe my switching will be have been right. Who knows? But we'll see. We'll take a break. Come back. Final segment, Local Toyota dealers, KSR post game show. Welcome back. Local toy dealers, KSR post game show to say LSU and A and M's in triple overtime. 87, 85, triple overtime. Time, three minutes left. Yeah, I don't know, I don't know what the, what, what, what that game impacts, who we, who we would play first. All right. I'm sitting here looking at the SEC standings. LSU is 3 and 14. LSU looks like they, well, if, so, if they win, then they would get into a tie with South Carolina and Ole Miss. So I think we can say with confidence that we are either going to play South Carolina, Ole Miss or LSU in the first year.
- [45:25]
A
True.
- [45:26]
B
Do you have a preference as to which of those you would play? Not Old Miss? Because I know Travis Perry scoring 20 in that game. So, yeah, I think LSU is the best of those teams. Yeah. Oh, they're the best. I think South Carolina is awful, but so, I mean, we should beat all of those teams, but LSU is probably the best of that group. So one at South Carolina already and then it looks like we're going to be either the 9 or the, the 10. So that will be us. Or it would look to me like if we are the nine, we would play Missouri in the next round. And if we were the 10, I think we would play Georgia in the next round. I would love. So. So it looks like we're going to get a chance to avenge one of those home losses. We'll see, though. I can't. The tiebreakers are so weird. So would you. Arkansas or Alabama?
- [46:32]
A
Will.
- [46:32]
B
Had. Did. Who. Who won when Arkansas played Alabama this year? That's who the two would be. I don't know. I'm guessing Alabama, but let me check. Let's see. Alabama beat Arkansas. So that means Alabama will be the 2 seed, assuming they beat Auburn tonight, which would make Alabama our team we would play on Friday. So it looks like we will play either South Carolina, Mississippi or lsu. Then in the next round, either Missouri or Georgia, and in the next round, either Florida or Alabama. That's. Yeah, yeah. But that's what happens when you go 10 and 8. Who's up next? Stub. Stub. Go ahead, Stub.
- [47:12]
A
Hey, Matt. So Colin Chandler is way too easy to take out of a game.
- [47:20]
B
He is, unfortunately. Yeah.
- [47:22]
A
Yeah, it's. It's unfortunate.
- [47:26]
B
Well, that's two straight games, and that is worrisome for the postseason. He's been essentially taken out of both of those games.
- [47:34]
A
Yeah, he's just. Bless his heart. He's just. He's just soft. But what frustrates me, Matt, is these teams, like you ask the average Florida fan, they would trade in a heartbeat if you said, hey, if we would trade your three basketball national championships to even make the football playoffs, they would trade it without even batting an eye. Same thing with.
- [48:03]
B
I agree with you. I totally agree with you. I. I totally agree with. That's so frustrating. And you're right. I thought that today I was looking at the Florida fans there and they had so few fans there, and I was sitting there thinking, man, they don't even care and they're good and we would give anything to be good, and we're not.
- [48:21]
A
And same thing with Alabama fans, with. With whatever success they've had in Alabama football. I don't know.
- [48:31]
B
That is without question. I completely agree with you. You. I completely agree with you. I appreciate the call. That is. That. Is that. I thought about that tonight. It's frustrating. Who's next? Jeremy. Jeremy. Go ahead, Jeremy.
- [48:50]
A
Hey, what's up, Matt?
- [48:52]
B
What's going on?
- [48:53]
A
So, two things. Not much, man. Rough night. I think. I think I'm gonna hit on a couple things that some other callers have already hit on and they've been Good calls. But I think what we're talking about is uncertainty. Yes, there's a ton of uncertainty surrounding the state of the basketball program with. With a new AD coming in, you know, Pope to some level, on. On. On the ropes, game to game. I think it's fair to say there have been times that this program has faced uncertainty, but I don't think they've ever faced it. In the types of times that we're in, where you've got nil, you're. You're paying players, but we don't. We don't have a recruit, man. We don't have, like, a top 20, 25 kid out of high school coming in next year, and that is. That's uncharted territory.
- [49:41]
B
Well, part of the uncertainty for me is the fact that the entire system is changing. And if you look throughout history, when the systems change, okay? So when college sports has undergone massive institutional change, the teams that figure it out the best are not only good immediately, they tend to become the teams that are good for the next 10 to 15 years. Right?
- [50:07]
A
So they write the rules, basically.
- [50:09]
B
And they do write the rules. And so think about when the one and done era started. We took advantage of it first, and we kind of owned the sport for a few years and for a decade, you know, this next iteration of college basketball, it feels like UConn and Florida and Duke and Houston have kind of figured it out, and they're kind of being good every year, no matter who they have. And I worry we're getting left behind. Now there's another change coming, which is whatever college sports looks like after Congress passes whatever legislation they pass. And so that is the next thing. But I do. I'm with you. Part of the uncertainty is it feels like it's a crucial time to be good, and we're not good.
- [51:00]
A
That's right. And. And the only other thing was. And this just literally gets back. It gets back to, you know, fundamental coaching, you know, and even. Even Jimmy Dykes pointed out today, you know, there was a couple of different instances where, you know, Todd golden calls plays, right? Like, they. They set up three dudes on the right side of the court. It's a smokescreen. That dude set a simple pick, handed the ball to H, and he nailed a three. I mean, that's. It's fundamental basketball, right? It's coaching. And I think there's a level like, I think Mark Pope may be too smart. I think he gets locked. He gets locked in.
- [51:34]
B
I agree.
- [51:35]
A
That you can battle in his. Yeah, he doesn't Know what to do
- [51:41]
B
around those. Yeah, I appreciate. Yeah, I was around a lot of those people when I was in law school. People who are really, really smart, and they almost were so smart that when they got in front of a courtroom, they couldn't do it because they. They couldn't make oral arguments because they were almost too bookish. I'm not saying Mark Pope is like that, but that does exist in. In some form. Who's next? Cletus. Cletus. Go ahead, Cletus. Cletus. All right. No, Cletus. Who's next? I have a feeling that was probably a fake caller. Just. Just a guess. Who's next? Jen May. Jen May, how are you?
- [52:20]
A
Hey, there. I'm doing okay. Really sad about the loss. I listened to the show yesterday and was really excited when I heard Jasper Johnson and Moreno talk about the game and they were really pumped up about it and really thought that we were coming. I knew. I thought it would be really close. I didn't think they'd stop us like we did. But I give a shout out to oa. He's been carrying us and he did a fantastic job tonight.
- [52:45]
B
Yeah, I agree with you. And Jack Givens apparently said in the post game show that he didn't think Kentucky believed it could win. I hope. I hope that's. I didn't hear him say that, but I hope that's not true.
- [53:00]
A
Right. I know, right? I thought they would. I just. I also thought that Jasper Johnson, like, when he came out there was like a momentum change. He kind of was a little bit selfish there.
- [53:11]
B
And, well, you know, his plus minus was interestingly not that bad. I mean, Billy was telling me the plus minus. You said only one player had a positive plus minus, and I appreciate the call. Billy, tell everybody who. The one player that had a positive plus minus, Brandon Garrison in 14 minutes was plus five. Only person in the plus for that stat. It's interesting. Sometimes you never know who's next. Bob and Jamestown.
- [53:38]
A
Bob.
- [53:39]
B
Go ahead,
- [53:41]
A
Matt. We could have. I mean, the way that game played out, that clock business, we. We could. We had a very good chance.
- [53:50]
B
I'm not blaming the. I'm not blaming the clock or the ref. We were completely outplayed. There were a couple of bad calls down the stretch. The clock thing was an issue. But you know what? We. If I kind of feel like this game the way I did, I'm trying to think, was it Auburn or one of those games where we had no business winning and if we had won, it would have been lucky.
- [54:13]
A
I Would have been a stunner. I mean, but it would have been lucky.
- [54:17]
B
We got completely outplayed the entire game.
- [54:21]
A
Oh, yeah, I agree, but look at. I mean, look, the last minute to the game. Well, how about those Miami Redhawks? Now I got my fingers.
- [54:29]
B
I appreciate the call. I'm not worried about your Miami Redhawks. It's a UK post game show. I think that was the only reason he wanted to call. You know, we're seeing them in the tournament. The thing is, I want to root for Miami, but then it's Bob, right? So you have to. So that makes it hard. Who's next? We're getting matched up with them. How many more take here? Because I got. Let's do. Let's do. Let's just do one more. Who's next? Okay, Dirk is dirt. Go ahead, Dirk.
- [54:55]
A
Hey, man, I got a couple thoughts and I'll try to be brief before I hang up and listen, you know, to the point at the very beginning of the show about getting in these deficits and then coming back for a lot of games this year. You know, as my buddy Nick from Paris said, we're in a bit of a rinse and repeat cycle with this team. And unfortunately, the way the games changed, I don't think you can draw any positive lessons from coming back the way you could 10 years ago. You say you got a second year coach rebuild or, you know, building back the program. But now you got to forget all the lessons year to year because you got total roster.
- [55:29]
B
Every team is a new team. You're exactly right. And the coaches that will adapt are the coaches that can take a new group and go. And I don't think there's any doubt about that.
- [55:41]
A
And the games themselves, I think are playing out more like. And this is not bad. This can be fun to watch. They're playing out a lot more like NBA games where you have wild lead changes. Everybody's shooting 25 to 33s a game. So it's not uncommon to just turn a game on and see A team up 17 in the first half, and then you look back at the TV and it's a tie game, just like in the NBA. And so unfortunately, I mean, of course you'd like to see a team fight back when they're down 20 and they lose by seven instead of giving up and losing by 40. But I'm just not sure what kind of lessons you can draw, so.
- [56:12]
B
And I also, yeah, I agree with all that. And I also would say, you know, if you fall down 20 every game yeah, you come back and steal a couple. But what about the other six? You know, how about we, how many games this year have we gotten up a lot at the end of the first half? Not many, but we've been down a lot. So Kentucky will either play at, they will either play at one o' clock or actually noon or seven. It will all come down to the Oklahoma Texas game tonight and they are in the first half and I'm going to give us a score before we get out of here. 12, 7, Oklahoma. Yeah. So really not much to say yet. Oklahoma wins. We play at, at noon. If Texas wins, we will play at 7. Thank you folks very much for listening. We appreciate it. Tough end of the regular season. The cats go down. We will see you on Monday morning. This has been the local toy Dealers KSR postgame show. If you're a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility and your machinery isn't working right, Grainger knows you need to understand what's wrong as soon as possible. So when a conveyor motor falters, Grainger offers diagnostic tools like calibration kits and multimeters to help you identify and fix the problem. With Grainger, you can be confident you have everything you need to keep your facility running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. It's the new me and it's the old them.
- [57:58]
A
This Woman's History Month the podcast if
- [58:00]
B
you Knew Better with Amber Grimes spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power.
- [58:06]
A
My like tunnel vision of like, I
- [58:08]
B
gotta achieve this was off. The strengths of like, I wanna make a better life for us. If youf Knew Better brings real talk
- [58:13]
A
from women who've lived it, unpacking, career
- [58:16]
B
pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to if youf Knew Better with
- [58:21]
A
Amber grimes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [58:27]
B
Fourteen years in prison for killing a young woman. A 15 year sentence for a crash that caused three deaths. Twelve and a half years for killing a child and critically injuring her mother. All true stories, all caused by marijuana. Impaired drivers. No matter what you tell yourself, if you feel different, you drive different. So if you're high, just don't drive. Brought to you by NHTSA and the
- [58:55]
A
AD Council New Year New Vibe. Want the warmth of a drink, that smooth little kick, but also want to wake up tomorrow feeling amazing. That's where Arkay comes in. Arcay is the world's first zero proof spirits brand and they invented the Warm molecule, giving you the burn of whiskey or tequila without a drop of alcohol. Start the year strong with 28 Bold Zero Proof Spirits. Zero calories, zero sugar, zero regrets so you can celebrate big and still keep your resolution solutions on track. Start the year right. Join the Zero Proof Revolution at rkbeverages.com.