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- [00:01]
Caller
New year Same extra value meals at McDonald's. So now get two snack wraps plus fries and a medium soft drink for just $8 for a limited time only.
- [00:11]
Matt Jones
Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California.
- [00:14]
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- [01:14]
Matt Jones
Business on a very happy night for yours truly. The Cats get a big win at home. Much needed. 92 to 68 over Mississippi State to get off the losing ways and get a victory there first in SEC play. You can give us a shout here in just a minute. I you're going to have to excuse me because what Billy, two minutes, three minutes ago my football team won their first well, they've won a playoff game, but it's been a while. But beat the packers in an amazing comeback. I could do the postgame show on that but I know that's not what everybody why everybody tuned in, but we were down 21 to 3 and came back. All of my teams, the Cats, the Bears and the Canes all win in the same evening and Kentucky gets a commitment football that we'll talk about in just a minute, but I will refocus into basketball. Bear down Cats. After a bad start, a really bad start, down 12 early on, come back and actually absolutely blow out Mississippi state winning by 24. It was kind of a shocking comeback in some ways. Not only did they start poorly, Jalen Lowe went out quickly in the game with the shoulder injury that I worry might mean the end of his season and Kentucky initially when he went out, fell apart. They were not able to not only score, they couldn't stop Mississippi State, Mississippi State scored 28 points in the first seven and a half minutes of the game. But then after giving up 28 points in seven and a half minutes in the other 32 and a half minutes they only gave up 34 points as Kentucky's defense clamped up and most importantly they began sharing the ball. 21 assist and I would say by far the best passing game that they've had all year. Made some shots. Big game by Ortega away his third straight game with 20 points. Malachi Moreno was great. We saw aggressive Cam Williams, Colin Chandler made some shots. Denzel Aberdeen after three airballs in the first 10 minutes plays I thought pretty well after that and then other guys came in and gave you good minutes. Jasper Johnson, I thought Brandon Garrison had some good minutes. Overall Kentucky played excellent over the next 30 and gets a 24 point win on a night that Rupp's runs have the 60th anniversary of their of their run to the championship game. My take on it is this. With the rest of the season and we are now officially over halfway, I'm going to assume we don't have Jalen Lowe. I would think now after being injured and after re aggravating it twice, it would seem likely to me he doesn't play again. If you saw him on the bench he didn't even have his arm through the sleeve of his shirt and and Mark Pope said was asked about it in the post game and he said all options are on the table including not coming back. I mean I again no knowledge. Maybe he does but we've now seen him get it hurt at the start of games twice. I think it probably is best for him with no medical knowledge to to not play. So that means you have a team where you're basically not going to have a traditional point guard guard. You're either going to have to play Aberdeen or Chandler at point guard or you're going to have to play basically move Jasper Johnson from having games where he didn't play to being a primary point guard. And I actually think that's going to be the best option long term but the only way you're going to succeed in that scenario because the one thing Jalen Lowe could always do for you is create offense. The only way you're going to be able to create offense is by sharing the ball. You don't have anybody on the team that can consistently beat guys off the dribble and you don't necessarily have any individual huge scoring talent. So you're going to have to share the ball. You're going to have to play like a team and you're going to have to make outside shots and they did all of that in the last 30 minutes. I think it's very important to look at who was in the lineup because I think they're going to have to do something that probably was not what they thought when they built this team. I think when they built this team, they thought Jalen Lowe, Otega O Way, Denzel, Aberdeen, Mohamed Diabate and then either Malachi Garrison, Quaintance, etc. I don't think that's going to be how they're going to be able to play. The team was better with Diabate on the bench. He only played 13 minutes. I think part of it is he's not really played well in SEC play and there have been other issues we've talked about. He's kind of been bickering, etc. But I don't think that was the issue tonight. I think Mark Pope's offense requires a four man who can shoot, period. End of story. When they try to play the two bigs of traditional, which I've never liked, it worked a little bit against St. John's but that's because they can't shoot either. I don't think he can play unless he has a four that can shoot. When Andrew Carr was playing last year, Kentucky played pretty good. In some of the games where he was out, you may remember, we really struggled. I just don't think they can play with a Diabate and two guys clogging up the paint. Kentucky's got to spread out. They've got to be able to make back cuts and they got to have a guy like Cam Williams who can hit that corner three. And I don't know what that means for Diabate. I don't know if it means he plays 12 minutes a night like he did tonight. But this team I think will be better since they don't have low. I think they're going to be better with Cam at the four and either Garrison or Moreno at the five. Maybe with Yellow Vic playing some four because he can shoot as well. I think that's what you got to do and I that's. You will have spent a lot of money on Diabate. He is. In some ways he's a tough player. But tonight I watched other guys play better and I think that's the way this team's gonna have to play. And if they play like that, I still don't know what their ceiling is. Without low, I don't know how good they can be but if they're going to win, they're going to have to win like they did tonight. Hustling, hitting the glass. I thought they rebounded really well. Sharing the ball. That's the secret to their success. And Rupp was a factor tonight, I think. Mississippi State down the stretch. I don't say they quit, but they were demoralized. And the crowd was a big part of that. You know, Kentucky was losing. They show Will Stein. There was booing. They show Will Stein. He starts. He starts, like, getting the crowd going. And next thing you know, the crowd was great. This was a great Rupp arena crowd. I was there for some of the game, and I loved the atmosphere. It was bad when it was booing. I actually went. I'd gone outside at that, and when I came back in, so I kind of missed the booing. You know, I was pretty. I'm not a booer. I don't. I don't like the booing, especially for whatever reason. It bothers me more at Rupp than when it happened in Nashville. But you know what? They turned it around, and you got to see the best of the crowd at the end of the first half and in the second half. So he's now one and two in conference. Man, if they could have beaten Missouri, they'd actually be sitting in a pretty good spot. But they're not. They go to LSU on Wednesday. LSU is the only team in the conference without a win. You got to win that game, and then if you win that game and you're two and two, you know, you're kind of back on level. Alabama lost at home tonight to Texas, a Texas team that had not won a conference game yet. Arkansas lost by 25. Tennessee lost. So, I mean, there's still time to turn this around and do some good stuff. This was a must win. They got it. I think they've got another not a must win, pretty close to must win on Wednesday. And then we'll see if this team that will be without Jalen Lowe probably for the rest of the year. In my opinion, that's just a guess. I think Quaintance will come back, but you might have him in and out. The rest of this team's got to play like they did tonight, and if they do, maybe they can make some noise. Now, also, what happened at the game. Kentucky got a major, major football commitment. If you remember. If you've been listening to my show, I've been talking about how they wanted to, you know, they mentioned feed the studs. Well, the idea was have six to eight players that you think are big time studs and then build your team around it. Well, they got two today. One of them happened before the game. Offensive lineman who originally played for Tennessee and before that lsu. He commits to Kentucky. Lance Heard, he's third team all SEC left tackle last year. That was a big get. But the bigger get at the game to Will Stein in front of the student section. Billy, think about that.
- [10:46]
Billy
Oh, that's cool. Didn't know that.
- [10:48]
Matt Jones
Did you not know this? No. So Bo Barnes, for people who don't know, comes from Texas, played at Texas last year. I don't even, I don't know if he even got in, but he was the number one ranked linebacker in America coming out of high school the year before. Okay, let me repeat that. Number one ranked linebacker in America coming out of high school in 2024. He has just committed to Kentucky five star. You know, I bet you we have not gotten a player that highly ranked. I know it's in the Portal, but I don't know if we ever have. He committed while on his visit to Will Stein, while they were standing Billy in front of the student section and Will Stein announced it to the student section.
- [11:38]
Billy
That's awesome. I love that.
- [11:39]
Matt Jones
So Will Stein is the one that actually broke the story to the student section and then it came out like one minute later from on three. And so now he will join. So they now have, I think they would say a guy they think is a stud quarterback, two offensive linemen. Now they have a linebacker. I think they're going to go get a pass rusher. They got Todd Bryant in the secondary. They got Willie Rodriguez's tight end who announced he was coming back. And then I think they're going to try to get a stud wide receiver. And that'll be the core of your team next year where you've got seven to nine guys who potentially could play in the league and you build a team around that. And I think if you go back and look at Mark Stoop's best teams, that's what he had when he had that level of talent. Kentucky was pretty good and Will Stein looks to be building that. And for those of you that haven't followed the the Portal process, he is the number one interior offensive lineman in the country in the Portal. Has committed to Kentucky. The number two offensive tackle in the portal, the number four linebacker in the portal and the number 10 quarterback in the Portal. For a guy who's only been on campus a total of 72 hours since he's been. Since he's been hired. I think that's a pretty good job. 859-280-2287. I may sound giddy, but I am. The Bears won the playoff game. Kentucky gets their first SEC win. The Canes won their fourth straight hockey game. And Kentucky football is showing signs of life. Good Saturday night to be on the radio. 859-280-2287. We'll take a break and take your calls right after this. This is the Local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show. Welcome back. It is the local toy dealers KSR postgame show text machine. 772-774-5254. I was just talking with Billy about Caleb Williams. Billy, I have to tell you, Ellie De La Cruz is my favorite baseball player of all time. Caleb's not my favorite football player yet. He's second to Walter Payton, but he's growing. It would be. It's weird when you are, like, you know, a lot older than your favorite players.
- [13:56]
Billy
Yeah.
- [13:58]
Matt Jones
Weird.
- [13:59]
Billy
Real.
- [14:00]
Matt Jones
He's like, what, 23 or 24? And Caleb is probably the same, but, man, he's awesome. What do you think of the guy bringing the cheese grater into the game?
- [14:10]
Billy
Well, it's, it's your rival, the Packers. You, you got to bring in.
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Matt Jones
They allow you to bring in cheese graters in the game.
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Billy
Would that be a weapon?
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Matt Jones
I don't know, but I loved him just grading cheese. First of all, did he just bring a block of cheese? And he was like, I'm going to do this at some point? I guess he did, didn't he?
- [14:25]
Billy
And found the camera, too. That was the important part.
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Matt Jones
I'm going to. I'm going to go to this game and I'm going to bring a huge block of cheese. And when I have a chance, I'm gonna grade it.
- [14:36]
Billy
Caleb made two of the best throws I've seen this year.
- [14:39]
Matt Jones
Look at this guy. I mean, are you looking at this like there are all these people with their shirts off? It's got. It's like 19 degrees. I wish I was there. Malachi Moreno, let me read you this stat. This is a crazy stat. If I can find it. Billy, where is it? Okay, he had 17 points, eight boards, six assists and four steals. 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals. Only two players in UK history have ever had that stat, a stat line that good in terms of points, assists, steals and rebounds. Shay Gilgis, Alexander and Rajon Rondo.
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Billy
What a list.
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Matt Jones
That's a pretty good list. I mean, having four steals, you know, big guys don't Give four steals. So that's why it would be two point cards. By the way, he and Jasper. I thought you got good minutes from Jasper. Jasper Johnson, in my opinion is going to become him over the next 15 games. Growing might be the most important thing to happen like as to whether or not Kentucky's gonna be good because he is gonna have to play and he's gonna have to play a lot. And he now becomes now that low is in my opinion likely out really the only person that can really get to the rim on his own. And he's going to need to be good. So this was hopefully a big start for, for him as well. Who's next, Paul or first? Paul. Go ahead, Paul.
- [16:09]
Caller
Hey, Matt. Congrats on the Bears, man. Ben Johnson bringing a little bit of that Lions magic tonight, man. Yeah.
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Matt Jones
Marino.
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Caller
Oh, man. Off the chart today. Aberdeen played well. Is Cam Williams fighting for his fight start a start starting spot.
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Matt Jones
Well, to me you are. You starts to meet. You just start him. I, I especially again, I, you're hearing me say this without low. We, I mean, we have to have Cam Williams because he's got to score. And I thought you got to see tonight. You notice he was doing stuff on offense beyond just shooting threes. He was taking it to the basket. I like that. That's going to be huge.
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Caller
Great game, man. Pope needs to. I'm not the starting five there towards the end. Moe's not give us much, you know. Jelly come in, did good sitting down. Put him right back in, you know, I, I, I don't know. I think Pope is, I don't know if he's getting it or, or, or what, man. You know.
- [17:08]
Matt Jones
Well, he may not, I mean, look, you know, you, what is it? I appreciate the call. When I was growing up, a man on Billy on the city council would say desperate people do desperate things. Mark Pope was desperate. So like, he's like, okay, I haven't played yellow bench since the Bellarmine game. Let's go. Didn't play Jasper Johnson more than a minute in the last game. Let's go. Diabate, who at one point this year might have been considered the team's leader. Things are a little off with him. All right. You're sitting on the bench. I mean, I think there was a sense of like, you didn't, there was, you couldn't lose this, so you might as well throw everything at it. And it worked. And by the way, Otega away, you know, again, we, we often like when Ortega away is at his best. We don't Mention him because he just scores 20 points. And. And he did that again. Three straight games of 20 points. He is starting to be the guy that we had hoped he'd be at the beginning of the year, which is good. We need that from him. I mean, we. Now, again, without Jalen Lowe, he's going to have to score 20 points every game if Kentucky's going to win. No, I mean, he is.
- [18:18]
Billy
Double digits last game every year. Now 20 points every game.
- [18:22]
Matt Jones
And they scored 92 tonight without arguably their best offensive player. That's good. I mean, I don't think you can be anything but happy about that, especially after the start.
- [18:33]
Billy
16 to 6. Five minutes in and low goes down. Joey is up next.
- [18:38]
Matt Jones
Joey. Go ahead, Joey.
- [18:42]
Caller
Hey, Matt. Why haven't we had Elvish play the whole year? Because he facilitates the offense, and then when he's on the perimeter, he shoots up three and he brings the big man to the outside. So why can't.
- [18:54]
Matt Jones
Well, I mean, I think the reason he hasn't played. I think the reason he didn't play is there's been a worry about athleticism and, like, defense. But if he makes shots and if Pope is committed to having a four that shoots, Shoots threes, then he will play more, in my opinion. Yeah.
- [19:16]
Caller
To me, he's like the prototypical Pope player, and he should play the whole time. That's all I gotta say.
- [19:20]
Matt Jones
Appreciate it. Yeah. I mean, what's gonna happen? What's going to happen, Billy, if, like, he just doesn't play Diabate?
- [19:29]
Billy
It'd be a lot of wasted money.
- [19:31]
Matt Jones
But, I mean, there's a world, though, where I think this team, especially if quaintance comes back, there's a world where this team might be. I mean, here's the problem. If you're going to play Diabate, you really need to play him at the 5 even. I mean, he's not that tall, but, like, because he can't shoot and he can't handle the ball. Like, when he dribbles the basket, it never goes well.
- [19:55]
Billy
Yeah, you just can't behold yourself to preseason expectations. You just have to play the best.
- [19:59]
Matt Jones
You have to play the best guys, but I think you got to have a four that can shoot, which means it's got to be Cam Yellow, bitch. Or. I mean, you can play Moreno with Diabate, but then Moreno kind of has to be out on the perimeter. But you cannot play Diabate with Garrison. And I don't really think you can play Diabate with. With Quaint, so. And you got to have Cam Williams In. So I just think Diabate, which is amazing, could end up being the odd man out for a lot of this. Who's next?
- [20:33]
Billy
Zen.
- [20:34]
Matt Jones
Zen. Go ahead, Zen.
- [20:37]
Caller
I would just like. I have a few things to say, and I would like to say that Malachi Marino had a great game today with making a third in history for uk. And I'd like to say that Will. I love how Will Steinz has put in 100% of his effort into UK football and go Cats.
- [20:56]
Matt Jones
Well, I hated to see his team get blown out, but we do now have. We do now have a lot of, you know, we got his full effort and full, you know, focus. And tonight, you know, this was. I think tomorrow is the last day they can have these guys on campus. I think. Think I could be wrong about that. And, you know, they had a bunch of people here and it worked. And we got two big commitments. I think they. They still got to get some wide receivers and they still got work to do. But this was a big. And I just like Will Stein's energy. I mean, I don't. I'm sure it was a coincidence that the moment he ends up on the screen is when we turn it around, but I'm going to say it was good mojo. So that's what you need. Who's next, David, by the way? I don't know for the second half or a lot of the SEC or, you know, I came back to watch the Bears and then I watched the game on tv. I don't know who those announcers were, but they were actually, I thought, pretty good. Billy, who were they? Those two guys that announced the game. Younger guy.
- [21:59]
Billy
Jack Givens?
- [22:00]
Matt Jones
No. Well, I know on J. My, but there was a younger guy that was the play by play. I think I saw him like getting ready and then the other guy was. Was really tall also didn't seem that old, but I don't. I don't know. I didn't know who either one of them were. I don't think I've ever seen them before.
- [22:16]
Billy
But you managed to drop your credential in the meantime.
- [22:20]
Matt Jones
Apparently I did lose my credential, yes.
- [22:22]
Billy
And found by Mario.
- [22:24]
Matt Jones
And Mario, of all people, found it. By the way, I have a story about Mario. My house. Yeah, he left my house an absolute mess.
- [22:31]
Billy
What.
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Matt Jones
Which we'll. We'll talk about that on Monday. Mario left my house. You should have seen my house when I got here because I've been gone.
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Billy
Are you playing it up or did he really like.
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Matt Jones
No, I mean, he would. Well, I don't want to spoil the story. He was, it was. He was trying to help me, but I didn't realize he was going to completely change the place that I live in doing it. But we'll talk about it one day. Who's next?
- [22:56]
Billy
David is up next.
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Matt Jones
David, go ahead, David.
- [22:59]
Caller
It was a great win today, Matt.
- [23:02]
Matt Jones
Yes, it was.
- [23:05]
Caller
Yeah. And you said Will Stein gave them mojo. I think not only that, but I think the Rups runs may have gave the mojo as well, because they were.
- [23:12]
Matt Jones
Well, that's true. They brought the runts out at halftime. Pat Riley addressed the crowd. You know what I thought was neat is I saw a lot of people bringing David. Their children to take a picture with Rupp's runs. And you could see, especially from some of those guys, like, you know, Pat Riley gets a lot of attention. But the rest of those guys, you could just see the pride on their face of them getting like, these young kids getting many know, I'm sure the kids don't even know who they are, but their parents do. And I just, you know, I walked in before the game and they play that video and it is my favorite thing. It's the video where they have like three minutes of highlights and they alter it a little bit every year and it plays to that song. And I just, I love it so much because I think about all those memories and then like, that's really neat. And then you bring that team out there and just. That's what Kentucky basketball is, David. And I loved it. And you're right, the Rupp's runs gave him some good mojo.
- [24:19]
Caller
Yeah, they. Yeah, they did. If what you were talking about is like, if I was a kid and about 20 years ago, it would be the fabulous five for me and doing all that.
- [24:31]
Matt Jones
The fabulous five from like 1940 or 48.
- [24:36]
Caller
Yeah, yeah.
- [24:38]
Matt Jones
You don't remember them, David. That was seven. That was 77 years ago.
- [24:45]
Caller
No, yeah, but I, I was comparing both eras, but okay. What kind of. And have you seen the movie? The movie.
- [24:55]
The.
- [24:56]
The front movie, The Glory?
- [24:59]
Matt Jones
I have, yes.
- [24:59]
Caller
What do you think of that? What did you think of that movie?
- [25:02]
Matt Jones
It's fine. I mean, like, they're telling a story and you know, in every story, somebody's got to be the bad guy.
- [25:13]
Caller
So I thought John Voight may allow the a offer up.
- [25:15]
Matt Jones
He did, but, you know, I mean, that's. They gotta play a bad guy, so. Yeah. So, I mean, you know, I. But I thought it was fine. Let me put it like this, David. I. When that. When I heard they were making that movie. I thought it was gonna be a lot worse for us than it ended up.
- [25:31]
Caller
Yeah, I did, too. It's no. Remember the Titans or Miracle, but it was fine.
- [25:37]
Matt Jones
Yeah. All right. I appreciate the call. I believe. I believe at least one or two of those guys, maybe Larry Conley, consulted on the movie. I believe I may be wrong about that. For some reason. I feel like that's in my. My memory. Who's next? Heather. Heather, Go ahead, Heather.
- [25:56]
Caller
Hi, guys. First of all, I love when David calls, but I will forever think of him saying, where'd he get it? At the toilet store.
- [26:07]
Matt Jones
Oh, that was the best. Is the best. One of my favorite calls of all time. You're exactly right.
- [26:13]
Caller
Yes.
- [26:15]
I. I loved seeing him share the ball tonight, and I hope after hearing Frank Lemon on the pregame show that after this game, it Puritan right up.
- [26:30]
Matt Jones
Billy, you there? Yeah, I think I lost every. Heather, you're gonna have to say that again. I think I got disconnected. Go ahead. Say that for me again.
- [26:38]
Caller
I just said after hearing the pregame show Frank Lehman that after watching the game, I hope it purened him right up because, yeah, he was.
- [26:48]
Matt Jones
He was a little cranky, I thought. I appreciate the call. What'd you think, Billy? Did you think he was cranky in the pregame?
- [26:55]
Billy
He was very cranky. I think he took the Jaden Quaintance news and just. Just took it. As the season was over.
- [27:01]
Matt Jones
He just was being a little cranky. Although a lot of people on the text machine took up for his crankiness, But I thought he was being a little cranky. I thought I actually had to say, hey, man, you know, bring it down a notch. But. But, you know, a lot of fans were cranky. He wasn't the only one. What did you think of the booing, Billy? I mean, I. I'm not going to sit here and argue that people can't boo. I think they have a right to boo, and I think now that players are paid, people feel more obliged to do it. I don't like it. I'm not. I don't think it's, like, a disgrace like some people do, but I don't really like it, Especially for some reason. It bothered me more in Rupp than it did in Nashville. What? What do you think?
- [27:40]
Billy
Yeah, I'm fine with it. I think my opinion changed when they started making these millions of dollars, obviously. I also like to think I've been booed in my work line, so, I mean, might as well boo somebody else, too.
- [27:51]
Matt Jones
So when have you been Booed.
- [27:53]
Billy
Oh, come on. Probably last time Heather was on here, I got booed by somebody.
- [28:00]
Matt Jones
That's not the exact same thing. Well, I don't think that's exactly.
- [28:05]
Billy
I'm just saying, like, I'm fine with booing. Like, people lose their mind over it. I think it's. All right.
- [28:09]
Matt Jones
Here's here. Here's Mark Pope's comments on Jaylen Lowe. We'll know more tomorrow. He tweaked his shoulders, so we'll kind of see how it responds in the morning and see where we are with that. I think all options are on the table. He'll meet with the doctors tonight, and then we'll have, you know, some. It's always. Then this is what he said. We'll have some. You know, it's always the next morning. You kind of get a little bit more data and information just to see how it responds. So that doesn't sound like a guy who's, like, resigned to him not playing. So, I mean, maybe I. If it's just gonna keep being like this, though, all year, you know? But I give this kid. I give that kid a lot of credit for even trying to. A lot of people would have shut it down because he still has another year of. You know, he still has another year of eligibility after this, so. But I give him credit for trying. Who's next?
- [29:03]
Billy
Jacob.
- [29:03]
Matt Jones
Jacob. Go ahead, Jacob.
- [29:07]
Caller
Hey, Matt.
- [29:09]
Yeah.
- [29:10]
This offense in the second half was the best it's looked all year, and you hit the nail right on the head. The stretch four is a must for a Mark Pope offense, and it's got to be Williams or Yellowck.
- [29:23]
And Pope. These last couple games, he's tried to.
- [29:26]
Embrace this bully ball using Mo and another big. And that's just not how it's going to work with how Pope runs offense. And he just kind of went back to what he knows tonight.
- [29:35]
Matt Jones
Well, and it also takes away. It also takes away what our guards are good at. You know, we don't have a group of sharp shooting guards, right? So, like, our guards are kind of at the best, especially away. And maybe Jasper Johnson, if he plays more. Our guards are at the best going to the rim. And the problem when you have two bigs who are under the basket is you've now clogged the lane up, right? So you've got your guards and Aberdeen as well. Like, they need to get to the rim, and you've basically taken that away from them when you play two guys like that. So I'm with you. I think you got to have A four in there who can shoot.
- [30:14]
Caller
Yeah, I agree totally. I think you see the result of what our offense looks like in these past, you know, couple games when you have two bigs playing.
- [30:22]
But that's all I got.
- [30:23]
Just wanted to let you know, too, that our transfer class and football is at the number four in the country. Thanks, Matt.
- [30:28]
Matt Jones
Is that right? Who's ahead of us?
- [30:32]
Caller
Let me look.
- [30:33]
Matt Jones
Lsu, I think is one and maybe. Yeah.
- [30:35]
Caller
Oh, she's one. I think Oklahoma.
- [30:37]
Matt Jones
Oklahoma State. Yeah. They spent a lot of money. They spent a lot of money. Oklahoma State. Yeah. All right. I appreciate the call. I mean, number four in the country will take. I mean, four in the country in anything, but especially Kentucky football. Recruiting is pretty. Is pretty great. Back just a second to the point about having a four who can shoot. If you, if you don't have Jalen Lowe, then Denzel Aberdeen, even though he can frustrate me and he frustrated me a little bit early tonight, he's going to have to play. We just don't have enough guards. So if he's going to have to play a lot, he and O Way are most effective going to the basket. They are. That's their game. So you have to facilitate an offense that gives them driving lanes. And I don't know, you. You can't do that with two bigs who can't shoot. You just can't. You cannot do that with Diabate and Garrison or Diabate and Quaintance. Even Garrison can step out and shoot. I know Diabate has made them, but they look so, so ugly, Billy, when he shoots it. Like, I don't. I don't think people consider him a threat.
- [31:44]
Billy
No, I agree.
- [31:44]
Matt Jones
And he also doesn't have a lot of touch around the rim. He kind of just throws it against the backboard. And that's why Moreno. I mean, I think Moreno's got. Moreno shoots free throws. Well, like, I just think you're going to be a lot better off with Moreno and then a guy who can shoot out at the 4.85-928-02287. I got to meet Moreno's mom tonight, Billy, and she said she was very nice, but she said, you didn't think my son could play here two years ago? And I went, well. And I, you know, I was like, well, but it also shows you what an idiot I am. And she laughed and go, see, now I like you again.
- [32:25]
Billy
That's a good save.
- [32:27]
Matt Jones
Yeah, I mean, I don't know anything. So, like, it's. And if I, I like that his mom she was actually. She couldn't have been nicer about it. Take a break. 859-280-2287. It's a local toy dealers, KSR Post Game Show. Welcome back. Local toy dealers, KSR Post Game show. Been a couple great games. Thursday night, the Fiesta bowl, which was like a legendary game. And then the Bears game tonight. Three more playoff games tomorrow. I got to do ESPN here, Billy, and nine hours and 40 minutes. But I'm going to be excited about this. These victories tonight. 859-280-22-87. Tucky plays LSU does. Every team in the conference. Every team in the conference now has a loss except Texas A and M. What about Vandy? Oh, I guess in Vandy. Yeah, yeah. Texas A and M, though. Is that who you would have thought?
- [33:29]
Billy
No, didn't buzz. Just leave.
- [33:32]
Matt Jones
Yeah, they've got Bucky. They got Bucky McMillan. I think is a coach. Chris Jans. I. As I was walking to the game tonight, I was like, now who is Mississippi State's coach?
- [33:43]
Billy
The Dentist.
- [33:44]
Matt Jones
I couldn't remember. And then they announced Chris James at the game. And I was like, yes, the Dentist. Why do they. I don't. I still don't know why they call him the Dentist, but. The Dentist. Who's next?
- [33:54]
Caller
Ian.
- [33:54]
Matt Jones
Ian. Go ahead, Ian.
- [33:57]
Caller
If Heather's gonna shout out David's toilet store, I gotta shout out her. Being thankful for Mountain Dee. So that's the all time.
- [34:06]
Matt Jones
Those are good. Yeah.
- [34:10]
Caller
This is. I'm dubbing this the official Matt Jones official pod or post game show of joy.
- [34:16]
Matt Jones
Yeah, this is the. But this is the best. I mean, I don't know that you could. I mean, I've had happier nights, like when Kentucky's won the national championship stuff, but I can't think of a night where I've had three of my teams get bigger wins and a football commitment. And it all happened in like two hours, you know, because they were all playing at once. It's wild. Yeah.
- [34:37]
Caller
I got. I got one challenge for you, though, and it's gonna be tough, but I've got. I've got the solution for you. It's gonna be tough because I even catch. I even catch. Jack and Tom struggling with it every once in a while, but they'll. They'll catch really quick. And that is that I would. What? I would challenge you to try really hard to pronounce Malachi's last name, Marino. And I'll give you the two reasons that'll help you do it. One is you danced with Janet Reno and 2 and 2 last year.
- [35:11]
Matt Jones
What's it, wait a minute, what's it supposed to be? What's I, I, is it not Moreno?
- [35:16]
Caller
No, it's merino, it's with a long E. And.
- [35:20]
Matt Jones
Oh, I didn't even.
- [35:21]
Caller
Yeah, so, okay, so remember, you dance with Janet Reno.
- [35:25]
Matt Jones
Okay.
- [35:25]
Caller
And last year, for every time you had to do that ad read, as for that renovation company, you would say 1-859-555 Reno. Exactly.
- [35:38]
Matt Jones
So, yeah, estate reno.com. yeah. State renovations, they're still with us. Okay, so Marino, right? I, I, I don't think it was that. I can't remember it. I don't think I knew it was Marino. So it's Marino.
- [35:52]
Caller
Yes, sir.
- [35:53]
Billy
Yeah.
- [35:53]
Matt Jones
All right, Billy.
- [35:54]
Caller
And all the reason I, the only reason I know.
- [35:57]
Matt Jones
Billy, this is your job. What Your job is to. When I say Moreno, you can interrupt me and say Marino because I'm probably going to have a hard time because I think I've been calling those, that family Moreno for a decade.
- [36:12]
Billy
So Marino, you're giving me permission to interrupt you?
- [36:15]
Matt Jones
Yes. And by the way, sir, you better be correct about this.
- [36:19]
Caller
I promise, I promise. Because Tom and Goose, they, they, at the first of the season, they were having trouble, but it's Marino every time. And actually Ryan says it, Ryan says it. Marino every time also.
- [36:31]
Matt Jones
Okay, I appreciate the call. Marino. I saw his brother who played at Eastern at the game. He just got married I think a couple weeks ago. If I, if I'm correct, who's next?
- [36:41]
Billy
Well, it's the perfect time for the Johnny Rocker, personal injury attorney, moneymaker of the game. Then Matt injured get small town compassion with big city results. When you call The Rocker at 270-321-4429. We've been talking about him all night. For crying out loud. Matt met his mom tonight. It's Malachi Marino, our Johnny Rocker, personal injury attorney, moneymaker of the game.
- [37:00]
Matt Jones
What if that guy's not right, though? What if I change? I mean, I'm just trusting that he's correct.
- [37:05]
Billy
I trust bbn.
- [37:07]
Matt Jones
I believe him. I hope he's right. Okay, who's next?
- [37:09]
Billy
Bones.
- [37:10]
Matt Jones
Bones. Go ahead, Bones.
- [37:13]
Caller
What's going on, guys? I just got two things, man. First of all, I just want to say thank you to Mario. 20 against Mario's fix. So keep picking again, Keep picking against this Mario. Appreciate you put that on your inspirational quote on Twitter. And then number two, like I seen today, that there are at three, maybe four guys that have to be on the floor for 25, 30 minutes a game. And that is definitely Malachi, OA and Cam Williams. And really, I think you gotta, like, start letting Jasper play because the. The stuff between him and Malachi, they have a.
- [37:53]
Matt Jones
They do together very well. You're right. They do.
- [37:56]
Caller
Yeah. They have a very good chemistry. And I think if you can play those four guys, it'll help Jasper get better. But when every time we took Malachi off the floor, we lost points. Every time we put Malachi on the floor, we picked it up. He's our best rebounder. He's our. He. He's just one of the best players on the floor. And I think Mark Pope is going to have to start letting this kid play. And I think every time he's in, Jasper needs to be in with him and build that chemistry. And if you play those four guys and alternate the fifth with Quadens and maybe Garrison, I think that's where you go. And Mo's just gonna have to sit because Mo's attitude, I feel like, is kind of what drags the team down. So I think you rotate with Clay or with Jaden, you know? Yeah. And then, too. And then.
- [38:40]
Matt Jones
All right, I'd like to stop you there. I let. I let you go. You were good. I appreciate the call. I let you go like a minute and 15 seconds. I don't ever do that. But you did a good job there. It was. Matt Schumacher and Richard Hendricks were the announcers. Richard Hendricks, I think, played at Alabama. I think he was pretty good, too. I don't know who Matt Schumacher is, but I thought they did a good job. Just a shout out to them, you know. Although now I think, Billy, since I did play by play, I talked to Tom Leach about my play by play performance.
- [39:10]
Billy
Did he give you a grade? Did he listen to it at all?
- [39:12]
Matt Jones
He didn't give me a grade, but he. He said nice things and he gave me, like, a couple pointers. It's weird, though, like, being, you know, I mean, he's the best.
- [39:21]
Billy
Oh, yeah.
- [39:22]
Matt Jones
And so, like, when he. When he goes, oh, I listened to you, my heart skipped a minute. I was like, oh, no. And he was very nice.
- [39:30]
Billy
You know who else?
- [39:31]
Matt Jones
Yeah, And I'll tell you who else compliment complimented me on it. Tom Hart, the Cut man. No filter. I'm assuming he was giving me no filter because he didn't feel filtered. And he was very nice. He said he listened to 10 minutes and he. This was. This was exactly what Alan said. You did so much better than I thought you would.
- [39:56]
Billy
This is a low bar for Alan.
- [39:58]
Matt Jones
But that's exactly what he said. Like, he. I appreciate that because he's the only person who would say something like that. You did so much better than I thought you would.
- [40:06]
Billy
Well, it's not insane to think somebody that has never done it before.
- [40:09]
Matt Jones
That's such an Allen Cutler thing to say. Like, that's so perfectly him. Who's next?
- [40:14]
Billy
Cadence.
- [40:15]
Matt Jones
Cadence. What's up, Cadence?
- [40:19]
Caller
What's going on, guys? So first thing I want to say is that I was like, the probably eight years or 10 years, like you said, of watching, like, Michael and Malachi Moreno playing.
- [40:34]
Matt Jones
Well, I do not remember being Marino. Marino.
- [40:38]
Caller
I never remember that, but.
- [40:40]
Matt Jones
Oh, now are you trying to say that that guy's wrong?
- [40:44]
Caller
I don't know. I'm not saying he's wrong, but I'm saying, like, I just. I can't get behind it. I don't think.
- [40:50]
Matt Jones
Okay, well, his. And maybe if it's. Listen, Mom. Malachi. Mom, you said you listen, so maybe you could call in and tell us which one's correct. Marino, I think it's. But I'm going Marino for now, but go ahead.
- [41:06]
Caller
All right, so the second thing I want to say is that I was actually really surprised by how the team played tonight, because I watched the first. I was watching the first 10 minutes, like, really close, and I was like, this is just going to be just like the Missouri game. Like, it's going to be bad. And then Ortega away, he just, like, carried that, started trying to carry the team. And he did, like, he was such a leader. Like, he really showed, like, the way that we were saying SEC or national player of the year this winter. And it was like. It was insane.
- [41:36]
Matt Jones
He played the best version of himself, which is get steals, get in passing lanes, go to the basket. I agree with you. I think he hit a mid range like he was. He was the best version of himself tonight. I appreciate the call. And I, again, not to be a broken record, but I think having four shooters. Well, I won't say four shooters. I don't think we have four shooters. But having four guys who can be on the perimeter, on the floor helps away have lanes. Just like he did last year. I mean, last year, part of the reason he was so good is he had all those guys around him that allowed him to have space. And our five was Amari Williams, who could kind of get out of the way and think about how many plays we had tonight where a guy made an extra pass. They made so many extra passes and the bigs. We might need to thank Nate Oates for pointing out that our bigs didn't pass it once they got it because they did it a lot more tonight. And that has to be intentional. Let's do one more and we'll take a break. Who's next?
- [42:40]
Billy
Taylor.
- [42:41]
Matt Jones
Taylor. Go ahead, Taylor.
- [42:44]
Caller
Hey, Matt. I don't know if it's Moreno or Moreno, but I know if Malachi's mom listened to ksr, she would know the Malachi can't play at Kentucky. Reed shepherd can't play Kentucky and Alec Poythurst was going to be the number one pick in 2014 after the Duke game.
- [42:59]
Matt Jones
Are you criticizing us for those comments?
- [43:02]
Caller
No, absolutely. I agreed with all of them at the time.
- [43:05]
Matt Jones
No, no. Now, first of all, let me be clear. The Alex Poythurs was not Alex Poythurs. That was Chad Ford that put him in and it wasn't us that put him at the number one pick. ESPN did. Okay, that was ESPN that put him as a number one pick. Now, Reed Shepherd, I never thought Reed couldn't play here, but I never thought he'd be as good as he was. I thought he'd be like a four year guy that would be like a Darius Miller type. I never thought he'd be what he was. Malachi. I will admit that when I saw him his junior year, I was skeptical. But yeah, so I'll, I'll, I'll take that one on. And he has completely proven me wrong. And not only proven me wrong, he's a lot better this year than even I thought he'd be at the start of the year. Now I still think, like he needs to be a little tougher rebounding and, but to the last two games, if you, if you take away the last four minutes of the Missouri game where he made those turnovers and you take away that four minutes, these last two games have been his best. Two games at Kentucky.
- [44:13]
Caller
Absolutely. And that was not a knock at you at all. I think that game, Jared Polson played a major role. So I'm just going down memory lane by.
- [44:21]
Matt Jones
Only Jared Paulson had a great game in Brooklyn, I think, against Maryland. Do you remember that game when he, when we, we beat Maryland because of him. Do you remember that?
- [44:30]
Caller
Yeah, I absolutely do.
- [44:32]
Matt Jones
That was the Jared Paulson game. Anyway, go ahead.
- [44:35]
Caller
Yeah, so I, I guess I have a, a question. One, and you may have done this on the pregame show. Can you talk about the injury to jq and then can you also talk about Trent? Noah came in briefly tonight and evidently is maybe hurt. And we're Talking about shooters. What's the deal there?
- [44:53]
Matt Jones
With who? I'm sorry?
- [44:55]
Caller
Trent. Trent Noah?
- [44:57]
Matt Jones
Yeah. I don't know. Well, Trent got hurt in the game. You know, he turned his ankle, like, right as soon as he got in. Now, why is he not playing before? That's the question. You know, I think he just hasn't earned the minutes, at least in Pope's mind. Quaintance. You know, I. I have no information beyond what Jack Pilgrim reported, which I would assume comes from acquaintance family, and then what. What Pope said, both of which were swelling on the knee, and both talk like he would come back, so I'm gonna assume that's the case. Now, I know Ryan Lemon didn't assume that, but I'm gonna assume it until I hear otherwise.
- [45:36]
Caller
It just feels a little shaden Sharpish, and maybe I'm wrong.
- [45:41]
Matt Jones
Shane Sharp didn't play at all, though. Okay.
- [45:43]
Caller
And.
- [45:43]
Matt Jones
And I would say this two things. One, if he didn't want to play and just wanted to go the draft, he could have, like, he didn't need to try to come back. You know what I mean? He could have just done it. Second, though, like, this is a really good draft. There are, like, it's not guaranteed he'll be in the top 10, so he might. But if he comes back, he can have a real impact on his placement in the draft because this is a really good draft where the top four or five guys would be number one pick in a lot of years.
- [46:22]
Caller
Yeah, that makes sense to me. I was just curious what your opinion was.
- [46:26]
Matt Jones
I appreciate the call. I mean, you've got DeBonsa at BYU, Peterson at Kansas, Boozer at Duke, Caleb Wilson at North Carolina. Those four guys, probably all four of them would have been the number one pick. Who was the number one pick last year? Well, Cooper, he. They wouldn't have been ahead of him. But the year before, when it was like Risha Shay or whatever, probably all four of those guys would have been the number one pick that year. So it's a really good draft. 859-280-2287. Let's take a break. We'll come back for the final segment. This is the Local Toy Dealers, KSR Post Game Show. Welcome back. Final segment, local toy dealers, KSR postgame show. 859-280-2287. Feels like so much has been going on in the world in the last week. Did you see that in Iran? They literally blocked out the entire Internet. Have you seen that?
- [47:26]
Billy
So you mentioned something I haven't looked like.
- [47:27]
Matt Jones
You can't you know, because they're having all these protests potentially, like, you know, who knows, maybe trying to overthrow the government. And tonight they blocked off the entire Internet, like, there's no Internet, which, you know, it's hard to fathom. Just imagine if all the Internet just went out all over the country and you couldn't get on it from your phone or from what, like, you know what I mean? You just couldn't get on it.
- [47:55]
Billy
Yeah, I know. People would lose their mind because they.
- [47:57]
Matt Jones
Don'T want, you know, videos and stuff getting out of whatever's happening. So that's wild that that can happen. 859280. 2287. Otega had 22. Moreno, 17. Aberdeen with a quad. Marino. I'm gonna get it right. Although, again, we still don't know that it's right. Marino. Aberdeen had 16. I don't think people like. I don't know that I've really processed. He had 16, but especially in the second half, I thought he played well. Who's next?
- [48:29]
Billy
Brody.
- [48:30]
Matt Jones
Brody. Go ahead, Brody.
- [48:32]
Caller
Hey, thanks for taking the call. So I don't know the Malachi's family at all either, but my.
- [48:39]
Matt Jones
Are you there, Brody?
- [48:40]
Caller
Kids and I have.
- [48:42]
Billy
Yeah, Matt, you guys can hear me?
- [48:44]
Matt Jones
Yeah, I'm sorry. For whatever reason, my connection isn't great, but go ahead. If I drop out, Billy will talk, but go ahead.
- [48:52]
Caller
All right. Yeah.
- [48:54]
All I was saying was on the Marino Malachi Marino's name issue, my wife and kids and I have season tickets up, like, pretty much about five feet from where Drew sits. And the rough announcer says moreno every time. So.
- [49:09]
Matt Jones
So he says what I used to say.
- [49:12]
Caller
No, he. No, he says Marino. Maybe I said it wrong. Marino.
- [49:16]
Matt Jones
You did. You did say wrong. So. So. So he. So you're saying he says it like Dan Marino?
- [49:22]
Caller
Yes. Yes.
- [49:24]
Matt Jones
Okay, gotcha. All right, well, the. I would take the rough announcer, because my guess is he does what that. What's supposed to be correct.
- [49:32]
Caller
Makes sense. Second thing, I. I know Mark. We all think Mark can get stuck in his own head trying to outsmart maybe himself sometimes.
- [49:42]
Matt Jones
Yeah.
- [49:42]
Caller
So I feel like earlier in the year, Jalen was running a lot of pick and roll at the top. Like just a lot of tattoo man game. And late in the first half, obviously, after we. He went out and definitely in the second half, we went back to a lot of zoom action we did, which obviously I think was pretty effective.
- [49:59]
So I thought.
- [50:00]
Matt Jones
But we weren't doing but you know, take on that. Even when Jalen was hurt, though, we were not run. Like, you're right. He went back to zoom action. But even when, you know, remember, we didn't have Jalen for like six games this year, and we were.
- [50:14]
Caller
It's like round hole type thing. Like, he tried. He was trying to force pick and rolls too much.
- [50:20]
Matt Jones
He was. Even without Jalen. I mean, I think there's an argument that you would think with Jalen Lowe that's the way to play, but they were doing it without him, too. And I. I think maybe he just thought that's what this team needed to do. Maybe he's going back to just what his normal offense is, and let's see what happens.
- [50:36]
Caller
It was nice to just see us moving around, seeing a lot of back cuts, the ball, zipping around a little bit more. Maybe the Mississippi State's coach, the Dentist, wasn't the Dentist tonight, but maybe not.
- [50:48]
Matt Jones
I appreciate the call and by the way, to the guy on the text machine, and I can't read it out loud, but he made a joke about why Chris Chance was called the Dentist. And I just want to say I read it. Know I can't read it out loud. It was clever. I just want to give you credit because I'm not writing you back, but. Who's next? White.
- [51:08]
Billy
The tease. Robert is.
- [51:09]
Matt Jones
Well, this person knows.
- [51:12]
Commercial Announcer
Robert.
- [51:12]
Matt Jones
Go ahead, Robert. Hey, Matt.
- [51:16]
Caller
First time walk time.
- [51:17]
Matt Jones
Ooh. What's up?
- [51:21]
Caller
So I got a couple things. First thing being I hate bringing it up, but nil. Money, right? So take away the money, right?
- [51:32]
Matt Jones
Yes.
- [51:32]
Caller
The same players take away the money. Do we still get the same effort out of our players if the money wasn't there? When adversity hits and this team gets.
- [51:42]
Matt Jones
I don't think when these guys play a game, I. I think when. This is my view, if you have the right players, because, you know, there's people who make no money that don't give effort. If you have the right players, being paid is irrelevant to the effort. And the reason I say that is go watch LeBron vs Steph Curry in the NBA Finals. Are both making $60 million a year, and they still are going crazy. I do not think money equals effort.
- [52:11]
Caller
Okay, I appreciate that. I appreciate you clearing that up.
- [52:15]
Matt Jones
Well, I'm not. I mean, it's just my opinion. I mean, I don't know for sure, but that's kind of how I feel. If you get the right guys, then money is not going to change their effort. If you get the wrong guys, it might, but, you know, I played on a high school team. Nobody made anything, and we had guys who would dog the effort. So I don't think that. I don't know that necessarily. That the correlation, in my opinion, is not as strong as people think it is. And what was your second thing?
- [52:44]
Caller
It's just been. It's just been like a big. A big topic in the last, you know, little bit. It's just something.
- [52:50]
Matt Jones
It's only a topic, though, because people try to look for an excuse for why teams are playing bad. But. And I appreciate the call, but as I've said, go look at these other. I mean, y' all watch the Fiesta bowl the other night, Ole Miss in Miami. I mean, my. Carson Beck's the highest, maybe the highest paid player in college football, and he's diving around like, do you think those guys didn't care? I mean, I don't. It's just some people try hard and some don't, whether they're getting paid or not.
- [53:21]
Billy
Do you think it's different when you're, you know, winning in, like, the Final Four compared to, like, when you're losing and you're debating on whether to quit on the team or not and things like that? Like.
- [53:30]
Matt Jones
But who's quit? When have we had anyone quit? I haven't seen anybody quit. I mean. And we've had people quit before we. Again, people quit the team before we were being paid.
- [53:44]
Billy
That's true.
- [53:44]
Matt Jones
You know, I mean, people quit at everything in life. I just do, you know, does money have some impact? I'm sure it does, but if you pick the right guys, then I don't think it's gonna. It hurts it. And, you know, who. Who's the most competitive golfer of all time?
- [54:07]
Billy
Billy Tiger.
- [54:09]
Matt Jones
How much is he worth?
- [54:11]
Billy
Billions.
- [54:13]
Matt Jones
Do you think making all that money made him not competitive? No. Yeah. I mean, you know, I don't know why people, like. The whole premise of capitalism is the desire for money makes people work harder. Right. Isn't that the whole premise of capitalism? Money will make you work harder? That's the whole. Our entire economic system is based on that.
- [54:37]
Caller
That.
- [54:38]
Matt Jones
Why is it we would think that wouldn't be true in college sports?
- [54:42]
Billy
Yeah, I just don't think that's reality.
- [54:45]
Matt Jones
What, that money makes people work harder? Yeah. I mean, you don't believe that you work harder because you want to do better and make more money?
- [54:55]
Billy
I do, but I also think there's CEOs out there that get a raise every year, and they don't work any. Any much harder. So, I mean, it's.
- [55:01]
Matt Jones
And then there's people, like, who I Can't stand but Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, and he never stops working. Yeah. You know, so I just don't. I don't think work ethic is correlated to money like people think. Three more. Who's next?
- [55:15]
Billy
Kelsey.
- [55:16]
Matt Jones
Kelsey. Go ahead, Kelsey.
- [55:18]
Caller
Hey, Matt, first time caller. Thank you, buddy.
- [55:20]
Matt Jones
Who are.
- [55:23]
Caller
A couple things. You mentioned Oats earlier. I think that Oats mentioned in his post game that we were really good. Fast break, lower tier. And credit to the coach that Pope mentioned in the post game, we had 27 fast break points tonight.
- [55:37]
Matt Jones
Yeah, he's talking about McClain. Said that McClain had a defensive game plan, the goal of which was to get out and transition and to stop and basically to force Mississippi State to take certain kinds of shots. And Pope said that that was. It worked, essentially.
- [55:56]
Caller
And the other thing, I thought maybe the lineup changes. We had Yelly and. And Jasper, who had been playing. I think I felt like it kind of threw him off some and they were collapsing on our bigs. Like Nate Oates said, it's kind of like they took a play from his playbook from his post game. And we just passed so well tonight that we passed out of the post, and I think that kind of threw them off.
- [56:17]
Matt Jones
I totally agree with you and I appreciate the call. And we tended and the bigs we played, Moreno, Jovich and Garrison is. He'll pass in the post. Did a good job. Probably the two bigs we've had that have passed in the post the least, Diabate and Quaintance are the ones that didn't play tonight a lot. Now, Quaint hasn't had a big sample size, but Diabate is not really a passer in the post. He kind of takes it to the rim and, you know, maybe. Maybe you got more of it because of who was in. Two more. Who's next?
- [56:53]
Billy
Jerry?
- [56:54]
Matt Jones
Jerry. Go ahead, Jerry. All right.
- [56:57]
Caller
Thanks for taking my call, man. I think. I think Johnson can take over for low. And I think you'll do.
- [57:04]
Matt Jones
I hope so. I hope so. We need him to. We need him to.
- [57:09]
Caller
No, and I'll guarantee it. But I tell you what, I think Cam Williams. Marino has got to be on the floor all the time. I mean, as much as they can. You know what I'm saying? But what I'm saying is right here, at first, Marino, he. He is such a. He got so much energy that he just played his heart out. But at the end of the day, when I was. Okay, listen, I got one more thing. Then I get off here. Jackson Johnson And I think the Russian played good tonight. He didn't score a lot of points. Not rushing, but I think he has few rebounds. You know what I'm saying?
- [57:44]
Matt Jones
Yeah, yeah. He's taking my car. Croatian, right? Or is that. He's not Russian. What?
- [57:54]
Billy
That's just funny.
- [57:56]
Matt Jones
I mean, there was a time that all of Eastern Europe was kind of, you know, the Soviet Union sort of oversaw a lot of it. So that's probably where he's getting that. But he's Croatian, right?
- [58:15]
Billy
Or Slovakian. One of the two.
- [58:18]
Matt Jones
He's. I don't think he's Slovakia. He's either Croatian or Slovenian.
- [58:21]
Billy
Slovenian.
- [58:23]
Matt Jones
There's two different places, Slovenia and Slovakia.
- [58:25]
Billy
What's more important?
- [58:27]
Matt Jones
I've been to one, and I have to tell you, Billy, I always forget which one I've been to.
- [58:32]
Billy
And you're correcting me.
- [58:34]
Matt Jones
No, I'm serious. I know the town. I know the city I went to, which was like. Starts with a D and a J. Okay, so what are you laughing at? I've been to Slovenia. Yeah. Because I was in Austria, and then I crossed. No, no, that's not true. Hang on. I've been to Slovakia because I went to. No, I went to Bratislava. I didn't go to a town that started with the D and J. That's in Croatia, the dj. I went to Bratislava. I took a train from Vienna to Bratislava so I could go to another country. And I went to Slovakia and everywhere, like, they had a. They had a coffee shop where all they did was play 90s rap. That was the name. Like, that was the theme.
- [59:21]
Billy
I love that.
- [59:23]
Matt Jones
It was a Bratislavan coffee shop that just played 90s rap. And I actually really liked it. It's very drab, though, Bratislava. All right, one more. Who's next?
- [59:32]
Billy
Michael.
- [59:33]
Matt Jones
Michael. Go ahead, Michael.
- [59:36]
Caller
Hey, Matt. I thought tonight's effort was really good. I think that a few weeks ago, Pope was talking about how Noah had hurt himself, like, in practice or something, and he was trying to recover from that, and he was working his way back. So I think he had an injury prior to even last night.
- [59:59]
Matt Jones
Honestly, I didn't. I didn't. I don't remember that, but if you say so. Yeah, maybe that was it.
- [60:04]
Caller
I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. I was listening to one of the shows, and he had mentioned. I think it was Tom had asked him, and he just said he was working his way back from an injury and he was trying to get it. Okay, but.
- [60:14]
Matt Jones
Well, that makes sense.
- [60:15]
Caller
What was Garrison's plus minus tonight?
- [60:19]
Billy
I got it.
- [60:20]
Matt Jones
Right. Let's see. What is zero? Yeah.
- [60:24]
Caller
So he worked his way back into being. Well, he worked his way back, but.
- [60:28]
Matt Jones
We won by 24. When you win by 24, a zero is not great.
- [60:34]
Caller
Well, in the first half, I was really worried because when he took Marino out, he just made ridiculous passes over and over and over again. And he was. He. Everything that Marino was doing good, he was just, like, negating it in the first half. But I think what the biggest thing that helped us tonight was they picked up the guards further up court. Like, after they crossed half court, when they did those pick and rows, they were able to blow it out, and then Marino was able to recover very quickly. And that's how you do those pick and rows. You can't let them do those pick.
- [61:08]
And rows on three point line.
- [61:12]
Matt Jones
Yeah. Yes. Hey, hang on just one second, but I'm gonna let you finish.
- [61:17]
Caller
Yeah.
- [61:18]
Matt Jones
Billy Malachi's mom just sent me a DM on Twitter saying she would come on and say what it. How to pronounce his name if you would answer the phone. Are you not answering the phone?
- [61:34]
Billy
Well, no, I have the phones blocked off. Besides, who's on.
- [61:37]
Matt Jones
Okay, open them up again because I want to see if we can get her on real quick. But go ahead, sir. So while we're waiting, we're gonna do, like, I'll take, like, one or two more calls. Give her a chance. Okay. Because I'd like to. I'd like to hear what she. How you say? Go ahead, sir? Go ahead.
- [61:50]
Caller
I just felt like that the effort, like, in those. Pick a row, like, coming out really hard, blasting them, and then turn around and rushing back to the. To your man down low is what was. What Pope was talking about was like, we had to get to those very quickly. We got to go hard where we're going to when we're going to our spots. And I think they finally listened and executed the way they needed to execute tonight. And I feel like if they played that way, we would beat Missouri and.
- [62:21]
We would give an Alabama a really good game.
- [62:23]
But I was really worried at first because Garrison was really, like, negating a lot of the good stuff in the first half that Marino was doing. But I'm glad he kind of fixed himself a little bit. But I just feel like that's what we're going to be this year. Matt is like Helter Skelter.
- [62:38]
Matt Jones
I agree with you, and I think that's okay, though. I appreciate the Call me at this point. You have to win however we can Win. Because we don't. You know, we've talked about it not being a great put together team, etcetera, but now you are what you are. You're probably gonna lose your best score, probably. So now you gotta make it work however you can make it work. So I just sent her back a DM and said I asked her what her phone number was so we could.
- [63:03]
Billy
Call them, but they're open, so if she wants to call in now, I. I'll answer it.
- [63:10]
Matt Jones
Did you intentionally not answer it?
- [63:12]
Billy
No, I blocked the phone lines during our last segment.
- [63:15]
Matt Jones
Why would you block the phone lines when you know she might call?
- [63:17]
Billy
I didn't know that until the very end.
- [63:19]
Matt Jones
I mean, you always have to assume she might call.
- [63:22]
Billy
Well, you can give her.
- [63:24]
Matt Jones
That's how I've lived my entire dating life. I'm always gonna assume. Billy, she might call.
- [63:31]
Billy
Well, you might get let down.
- [63:33]
Matt Jones
All right, well, she hasn't responded to the dm, so I'll let it go. But she said she tried to call in and it wouldn't connect you, and that's your fault. Well, thank you. I think her name is Sarah for trying. And hopefully we'll find out before the next show if it's Marino or Moreno, but either way, it's a winnow and it's. And it was a big one and it was a great night, both for the big blue nation with rup's runs there with a big home win by Kentucky, and then on a personal level with Cats and.
- [64:08]
Billy
I got her.
- [64:09]
Matt Jones
You got her?
- [64:09]
Billy
Yeah, I got her.
- [64:10]
Matt Jones
You got her. Billy, in the time. Hello, Sarah. How are you?
- [64:17]
Malachi Marino's Mom
I'm good. How are you?
- [64:18]
Matt Jones
So for people who don't know, this is Malachi's mom. All right, let's start with this. How do we pronounce the last name?
- [64:26]
Malachi Marino's Mom
Well, it's really going to depend on who you ask because. Well, I think you would know Malachi. If you listen to Malachi, when he said it in some Happy Holidays thing, he said merino. But if you list to Michael when he says it, it's Moreno. When you ask people from Georgetown, they say Moreno. When you ask the announcer at uk, they say Marino. So really, I think you can pronounce it however you want to, but the correct pronunciation in Spanish is Moreno. So you roll your R and it's.
- [65:08]
Matt Jones
With the A. Oh, wow. So, yeah, so, but see, I. I don't think I can roll my R. Moleno. That's Italian.
- [65:18]
Malachi Marino's Mom
Marino, you can say whatever you want to say.
- [65:21]
Matt Jones
Okay, so here's the thing. Because that. Because I. I think I. You. You gave me a hard time tonight, so I owe you one. So I owe you one. I know, but. But I still. I owe you one. So. Because I owe you one, you tell me what to say, and it will be what I say from now on.
- [65:40]
Malachi Marino's Mom
You're the best, Matt. If you say Moreno Ray.
- [65:45]
Matt Jones
So not re.
- [65:46]
Malachi Marino's Mom
Yes, not re.
- [65:48]
Matt Jones
I was right, Billy. The caller was wrong. Moreno. Moreno. It is. You have to be proud of Malachi tonight.
- [65:59]
Malachi Marino's Mom
I was. Oh, my goodness. And, yeah, he was. He had the game of his life. I mean, he was amazing.
- [66:07]
Matt Jones
Well, I'm proud of him, too, and.
- [66:10]
Malachi Marino's Mom
Well, thank you.
- [66:10]
Matt Jones
Your other son, I remember watching at Eastern, and I heard he just got married, right?
- [66:16]
Malachi Marino's Mom
He did. He did, yes. I love his wife, Jade. She's wonderful.
- [66:20]
Matt Jones
Well, that's great. Well, listen, thank you for calling tonight. And from now on, I'm always going to be. I'm. I am Moreno's biggest fan.
- [66:32]
Malachi Marino's Mom
You're the best, Matt.
- [66:33]
Matt Jones
All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Good night. And thank you all very much for listening. What a great way to end the show. And the caller who called with such confidence ended up incorrect. Nevertheless, I enjoyed tonight. Cats win 9,000, 268. I will be back on the air in nine hours if you want to listen to ESPN radio to hear me talk about the Bears. Either way, we'll see you Monday. This has been Kentucky sports Radio or local Toyota dealers.