KSR Postgame UK MBB vs Missouri 01/07/26

Summary

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KSR Postgame Show: Kentucky MBB vs Missouri (01/07/26)

Date: January 8, 2026
Host: Matt Jones, with Billy Reed
Podcast: KSR Postgame Show (iHeartPodcasts & Sports Talk 790)

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Overview

This episode covers Kentucky’s “bafflingly terrible” 73-68 home loss to Missouri—a game the Wildcats led by eight points late, only to collapse on a 15-2 Missouri run. Kentucky starts SEC play 0-2 for the first time ever. Matt Jones, Billy Reed, and frustrated callers dissect what went wrong: coaching (“a disaster”), player effort, team chemistry, late-game execution, leadership, and even NIL distractions, painting a bleak midseason picture for UK basketball.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nature of the Loss: Historic SEC Start, Home Collapse

• Kentucky led by 8 with 4:15 left, but Missouri closed on a 15-2 run.
• First time ever Kentucky has started 0-2 in SEC play (00:30).
• Offensive execution was “brutal”, especially in the halfcourt.
• Mark Pope’s coaching and late-game management came under heavy criticism.

“This was bad… the first half the offense was just so atrocious that it was hard to watch... They have almost nothing they can do to get good shots in the half court.”
—Matt Jones (00:30)

• Defensive effort was improved, but not enough to overcome offensive woes.
• “When you’re up eight at home, with four minutes left, you need to win that game.” (02:49)

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2. Late-Game Meltdown

• Execution failures: turnovers from Moreno and Garrison, missed layup by Otega, failed box-out on a key free throw.
• Confusing substitutions: questionable why Moreno and Garrison handled the ball in crunch time; rotation confusion.
• Missouri’s first win ever in Rupp (17:00).

“The last minute was just a comedy of errors. The turnovers... The execution, poor man.”
—Matt Jones (03:50)

• Mark Pope’s late game plan (drawing up a play down three with 9 seconds left) made little sense:

“You have maybe your two best three-point shooters standing next to each other… What is the play?”
—Matt Jones (04:40)

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3. Coaching, Roster, and Leadership Criticism

• Matt Jones calls Pope’s coaching “a disaster” and “awful,” but stops short of claiming he “can’t coach.”
• Repeatedly mentions the team feels “tense and panicked” and that “the coaching staff doesn’t know what to do.”
• Roster construction flaws were visible even in preseason: not enough shooters, poor fit, unclear roles.

“This is a disaster. This is terrible management of the roster... This was a terribly constructed roster.”
—Matt Jones (15:09)

• Criticizes the reliance on Jalen Lowe:

“What if Jalen Lowe stops playing?... That’s how poorly constructed this team is.”
—Matt Jones (16:09)

• Coaching staff “spiraling out of control” with no clear answers.

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4. Team Chemistry, Body Language, and NIL

• Several mentions of poor chemistry:
  • Fighting/arguing on court (e.g., Diabate/teammate friction).
  • Lack of energy and emotional disconnect.
  • NIL distractions: players posting personal game highlights and even selling hats on Instagram within hours of a devastating loss.
• Discussion of changing attitudes in the NIL era—players are professionals now, and expectations must shift accordingly.

“You are now a professional. You are going to be treated as a professional... This is part of responsibility.”
—Matt Jones (44:09)

• Frustration with attitude:

“I’ve seen 80-year-old women show more emotion at Walgreens about coupons than these kids show on the court.”
—Caller, Path U (24:41)

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5. Caller Reactions: Frustration and Hopelessness

Callers reflect a range from sadness to outright alarm:

• Nostalgia for past coaches but strong calls for accountability (“this guy has got to go”).
• One recounts the passing of his 102-year-old grandfather, a UK fan, showing generational disappointment (17:12).
• Persistent sense of lost identity/connection and a “laughing stock” feeling (24:27).
• Multiple callers question Pope’s future if no turnaround happens.

“We’re not the gold standard right now. We’re the laughing stock.”
—Caller, Path U (25:28)

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6. Tournament Hopes Fading

• At 9-6, with a tough remaining schedule, concern Kentucky could miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a non-COVID season in decades.
  • “You’re not going to get into the tournament with more than 12 [losses] in the regular season.” (10:25)
• Back half of schedule is brutal, little confidence in easy wins ahead (12:26).

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7. Specific Player/Rotation Talk

• Otega OA, despite missing a late layup, acknowledged as best performer:
  • “20 points in 35 minutes; led team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.” (43:12)
• Repetitive rotation changes, no set closing five. Players like Quaintance and Diabate, sometimes playing well, totalling inconsistent roles game-to-game (28:13).
• Frustration at high-price recruits getting little to no playing time.

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8. Notable Stats & Anecdotes

• At least five (maybe as many as seven) current UK players are making more money (NIL) than star MLB rookie Elly De La Cruz (51:11).
• UK may have as many as five players older than the NBA No. 1 pick from two years ago.
• “Missouri's first win ever at Rupp Arena.” (17:00)

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9. Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Pope’s Current State:

“This thing has spiraled out of control and they don’t know what to do to stop it... the players... are tense and panicked and they get tight and they don’t particularly like each other, and it leads to what you had tonight.”
—Matt Jones (08:08)

On NIL Era Impact:

“With that comes some of the excuses I’ve given for people over the years—you’re kids. True. But now you got to grow up quicker.”
—Matt Jones (44:09)

On Team Identity:

“I feel like Kansas, when they’re at home... I just feel like even when they're down... they're going to find a way to win. I don’t feel that way about us right now.”
—Matt Jones (33:07)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 — Episode opens, recap of ugly loss, historic 0–2 SEC start
• 03:45 — Breakdown of late collapse, failed plays
• 07:55 — Rotational confusion; "he still doesn't know who he's playing"
• 10:06 — Tournament chances discussed
• 12:00–14:44 — Schedule worries, context from previous coaches (Calipari)
• 18:04 — Caller reflects on loss of fan enthusiasm (enthusiasm “not there any longer”)
• 24:27 — “More bland than Greek yogurt”; need for accountability (Path U)
• 28:13 — Roster depth, lack of playing time for certain big-name players
• 39:39 — “$22 million... Lamborghini... you put us on a Kentucky mountaintop.”
• 44:09 — NIL expectations: players acting as pros, growing up
• 51:36 — “At least five, potentially seven” UK players making more than MLB rookie Elly De La Cruz
• 55:08 — Caller: "It's got to be team dynamics, attitude issues..." Matt: "But that's on him."
• 56:00–end — Closing notes, hope for turnaround, frustration with new team culture

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Final Notes & Tone

• Overall Tone: Candid, passionate, at times scathing, but not entirely hopeless; fans and hosts both looking for a silver lining but struggling to find one in the current state.
• Fan Base Mood: Lowest of the Pope era, real threat of tournament miss, questions surrounding culture, chemistry, and leadership.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This is a can't-miss breakdown for any Kentucky basketball fan wrestling with the program’s uncertain future under Mark Pope. You'll get the unfiltered pulse of the fanbase, hard questions about modern college basketball, and a thorough summary of where UK stands (and why) after the Missouri collapse.

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Transcript

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[Matt Jones]

Welcome everyone. It is the local toy dealers KSR Postgame Show Kentucky loses a an extremely bad home loss 73 68. Missouri finishes on a 15 to two run to beat the Cats in Rupp and Kentucky starts Owen two in the SEC for the first time ever is what I'm reading. That's hard for me to believe, but apparently it is true. First time 02 Kentucky in the SEC. You can give us a shout. 859280 2287. You know, this was bad and it was bad in a couple different ways. First, the first half the offense was just so atrocious that it was hard to watch and Kentucky couldn't do much of anything. I thought Mark Pope was fairly was honest at the end of the game when he said in the half court this team's offensive. He used the phrase pacing. But I think it also could just apply to the offense in general. It's just brutal. It's just terrible. They have almost nothing they can do to get good shots in the half court, really beyond low running around until something comes open and either shoots or passes. Beyond that, if they don't get some sort of transition game to get, get the defense thrown off, they just, they just can't score. I mean, they, it's, it's running in mud hoping you get fouled. In the second half, they got in transition some. They were able to get some pace, get some open threes and things were better. But I mean, this game ultimately the the story is the last 4 minutes and 15 seconds. Kentucky's up by eight away hits a three to put Kentucky up eight. And when you're at home up eight with 4 minutes and 15 seconds left, I don't care who you're playing, you can be playing any team in the country. You need to win that game. And Kentucky not only didn't win it, they went from up eight to losing in three minutes. And the last minute was just a comedy of errors. The turnovers. You know, I heard Mark say in the post game that he thought the decision making was actually very good. But. But the execution, poor man. I don't know. I mean, I understand in theory why Garrison and Moreno were in. They had actually played pretty well up until that point. But I don't really understand how when you need buckets down the stretch, you want to put their hands on the ball to make the decision as to where the ball goes. Neither of them have necessarily been proven to be very capable passers and they had back to back turnovers on back cuts. I mean, Pope said we got exactly what we wanted. I don't know. I mean, I. A back cut with 2. With 4. Four hands in between you and the guy getting the ball. I don't know. It's not crazy to think that might not work out. And it doesn't. Otega misses a wide open layup. He's actually missed a lot of layups this year, usually long, usually coming from the left. And he did it again. And then they don't box out on a free throw. Malachi Moreno, if you want to be really sick, go watch that box out. He, he, he touches the guys boxing out and then just leaves him and the ball goes over his head. Oh, a almost lost it on him. And I kind of understand. It was really a horrible attempt at a box out. They make the free throws and then I don't know what that shot was at the end. I mean, I, you know, Jalen, I guess he had to take it because there wasn't. But I mean, what. I don't understand what the play is that with nine seconds left, you call time out and you have maybe your two bed. It's three point shooters on the floor, Aberdeen and Williams standing next to each other. Go look at that. They're standing next to each other, which suggests to me that either of their defenders could double the other one. I guess the play was for low to drive to the basket and then draw defense and kick out. But if you're Missouri, why would you even stop the Dr. I mean, Pope said we wanted him to drive and then kick it out to Williams. But if you're Missouri, why do you even stop the drive? It's a three point lead with five seconds left. You just let him have that layup. Probably. So I don't know. This has been a baffling, baffling, bafflingly terrible job by Mark Pope this year. Awful, awful. Just an awful coaching job. And I say that in part because I don't think you can just say the man can't coach. He's had success. I thought what he did with last year's team was very impressive, but this is a dis. I mean, this is awful. It's a disaster. I thought Mark finally sounded like himself in the post game today. He didn't sound. It was the first time I've heard him after one of these losses. Not be either rude or insanely sad. He actually sounded like himself for the first time. And I appreciate him explaining what happened, but I don't know how we got here. I mean, you go look at his quotes at the beginning of the year. He's got a Ferrari. He can't wait. He can't wait to unleash it. I mean, this team is. Offensively, is almost worse. Defensively, I think they've improved as the year's gone on. I actually thought they played pretty good defense tonight for most of the game, but they held Missouri to 73. You got to win. When you. When they do say, I mean, you got to be at 68 points. It's a team that, you know, we don't have to talk about how much it costs, but it cost a lot, and you can't get more than 68 points at home. Even though we led in the second half, I kind of felt like we were outplayed most of the game, but we still. We should have won up eight with four minutes and 15 seconds left. You should win. And now the specter of not making the tournament is real. You know, they are. They are nine and six. They have lots of losable games to come, and not a lot of certainly win games to come. You could argue that in theory. Easiest game is coming Saturday night. And I don't know how confident any of us feel about. About it. So I'm. I'm pretty down about the team. It's hard for me to see. You know, last year we lost a bunch of games in the sec, but I. I could see how that team could be good if things. You know, they obviously needed Butler to be healthy and they needed to make shots and et cetera, but there was a way you could see them beating almost any team in the country except Alabama. It's kind of hard for me to see us beating anybody good right now because we cannot score. And I don't know how that gets better. And I don't know how if in the last four minutes of the game, he still doesn't know who he's playing. I mean, that's part of the thing, Billy. They have no. I mean, I thought the play Colin Chandler made at the end that was a great play, but he hasn't played the whole game.

[Billy Reed]

Five total minutes.

[Matt Jones]

And then you put him in for the decisive play. Now, he made a good play, but that was odd to me. Garrison and Moreno, I mean, Jaden Quaint's the best rebounder. Quaint and Diaboti didn't play great. But when you have to rebound that free throw, how are they not in? Especially after you don't get the first rebound. And then he goes offense for defense at the end, puts in Aberdeen for defense when we come down. He doesn't put low in. He. I don't understand that. I just, I don't understand. Here's where I think it really is. I don't think it's that he can't coach. I don't think that he's, you know, I don't know if he's overmatched for the job yet. I'm not ready to say yes. But here's what I think has happened. This thing is spiraled out of control and they don't know what to do to stop it. And they are tense and they are panicked and the players feel it. And the players who, many of whom are cast in roles that don't showcase their strengths are tense and panicked and they get tight and they don't particularly like each other. And it leads to what you had tonight. Diabate, I think, essentially got benched for playing, for poor performance, but also fighting with his teammates. I mean, by arguing, not like physically fighting, but like being kind of, you know, you, you saw the place, you saw it happen a couple times. You know, he had that thing Dame Bradshaw pointed out the, the two man game where he doesn't pass Moreno the ball and then he yells Moreno. Even though it was his fault. And I think all of this is added up to a team that just, it's just not connected and the coaching staff doesn't know what to do. And then they got some bad breaks tonight. But you know what? You earn your breaks and they've earned the bad breaks so far, so far, this game, this year. So it's a bad performance and.

[Caller]

I.

[Matt Jones]

Don'T know if they're going to make the tournament. I really don't. I thought this game, this game for me was the swing game of, okay, if we win this, I don't know what our seating will be, etcetera, but we'll make the tournament. I don't know. I mean, I'll just sit here and look at some of these games. We have six losses already. Okay, Six losses. You're not going to get into the tournament. We have a pretty good strength of schedule, but you're not going to get into the tournament with more than 12 in the regular season. And we still have left at Tennessee, at Arkansas, at Auburn, at A and M, at undefeated Vanderbilt at Florida, Florida at home. Vanderbilt at home, Tennessee at home. I don't know, man. A lot of losses in that group. So I'm officially concerned that for only the third time since probation we could be staring at missing the tournament only the second time in a non Covid year. And I would even go further as to say the other time our best player got hurt. This could be a pretty disastrous season if they don't turn it around. 859-280-2287. We'll take your calls. I want to hear what you all think. I'm, I'm pretty frustrate. You all can tell me if you are. I get a sense at least online that most of you are. We'll take a break and be right back. It's the local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame show. Welcome back. It is the Local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show. It is 859-280-2287. The you, Bill, you were just saying you looked at the schedule. It's, it's, it doesn't look great.

[Billy Reed]

Kind of looks like it could be a long year.

[Matt Jones]

It could be if they don't, if they don't improve quickly. This was one they, they almost had to have and they didn't get it. And you know, you can always make that up. Like you could go in, in Knoxville or you could go in, you know, one of these, one of these games that we don't think it will. But you look at the back half of that schedule in February, like read Billy, start with at Tennessee and just read the games coming up.

[Billy Reed]

At Tennessee is January 17th and then it's home versus Texas, home versus Ole Miss, at Vandy, at Arkansas ver Oklahoma versus Tennessee, at Florida, versus Georgia, at Auburn, at South Carolina versus Vandy at A&M versus Florida.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean that's a, that's a tough, that's a tough sled and you just, you just couldn't lose this one. But you did. So we'll see what happens. Who's up first?

[Billy Reed]

Mike is up.

[Matt Jones]

Mike, go ahead and Mike.

[Caller]

What'S up, man? I know. You know? I know. Good God, this is crazy but, you know, we gave Caliper a crap down the end and, and it took me a while to get on board with him deserving it. But come on now, this guy. I know, I know that you take a lot of heat and you took a lot of heat for giving cow crap, but this guy has got to go. He has no clue. I already watched the Alabama game before this, just kind of. Because, you know, I'm like a film watcher and it seemed like the game plan was to help off shooters. That's what Alabama's trying to do, is kill you with three point shots. I mean, I love Mark C. As a player. He's great here, but man, he, he's not the coach. He's just not. It's. It's obvious at this point.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I don't know what. I mean, I, I think the second part of your. Of your statement is perfectly valid. I don't know what that has to do with the first. I mean, what does it have to do with Cal?

[Caller]

Oh, I wasn't saying. I'm just saying like it took me a while to get on board because Cal kind of had like. I think he had like some forgiveness for all the things that.

[Matt Jones]

No, I think he certainly did. No, no, no, for sure, for sure he did. I mean, I think you, you know, if you look at the last four or five years of Cal, it wouldn't have been acceptable except for the years before. Right. And Pope doesn't have. Exactly.

[Caller]

That's what I was getting.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I will say this. And again, I made this point earlier today. It's much less strong after this game than it was before. You know, they went to Sweet 16 last year. This season is. This season is how the hell that happened. Well, I know how. I mean, I think he did a good job with that team last year. I really do.

[Caller]

I mean, I thought so too, to be honest.

[Matt Jones]

I think he did a good job. I think we lost a couple games in the sec. We shouldn't have lost. But I do think that he did a pretty good job with that team. But I think this has been a total bank.

[Caller]

Do you not think that he just seems completely frickin lost this year?

[Matt Jones]

Yes. Yes. This year. Without question. Without question.

[Caller]

Last year.

[Matt Jones]

Without question. It is long. He's lost. God, he's lost this year. I appreciate the call. I don't think. I'm not ready to say he's lost because he can't coach. He did a good job at every job he's been at. He did a good job last year. This is a disaster. This is terrible. Management of the roster that. This was a. This was a terribly constructed roster that the weaknesses, while they're much worse than I thought they'd be. You could see it when we. I said it all summer to. To. A lot of people get mad. I never thought they had enough shooting. With that said, they shouldn't be as bad as they are. And you as a coach have to adjust. You have to adjust, and they don't adjust. I mean, I don't know what. Offensively, I do not know what they're running. I really don't. I. I don't know what the game. If Jalen Lowe went out. Billy, just think about this. What if Jalen Lo did stopped playing?

[Billy Reed]

Would they score 50?

[Matt Jones]

How many games would we win in the SEC? No, I'm being. I'm not even kidding. Let's say tomorrow Jalen Lowe announced that he had to have surgery and he couldn't play. What would your over under of SEC wins be out of 18 games?

[Billy Reed]

Like three. Three, two or three?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I'm serious. Like, that's how poorly constructed this team is that you are. And I think Jalen Lowe's very good, but he didn't have a great game tonight. I thought his shot that he took, where he got blocked when we were up six was a huge, huge, huge bad play. But without him, we might be, like, historically bad for the conference, and that's just poor roster management. When you had the resources, you had to get to this point. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Yeah. Missouri's first win ever at Rupp Arena.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, that's an interesting stat, but they've only been in the SEC. I mean, we only played them seven times, right?

[Billy Reed]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So, I mean, it's not playing 50.

[Billy Reed]

Times, but anyway, Michael is next.

[Matt Jones]

Michael. Go ahead, Michael.

[Caller]

Well, first, thanks for taking my call. I just wanted to say within the last couple weeks, my grandfather, who has been a longtime Kentucky fan, died at the year of 102 years old. His name is Audie Rich, and he was a World War II veteran. And I just want to thank the Lord for what he did, and he actually taught me to be a Kentucky fan. I'm sad for what the team's doing right now, but, you know, at the same time, we're thankful for the.

[Matt Jones]

What was your grandfather's name? You said? Audie.

[Caller]

Audie Rich. He's from. He was from. Yeah, Derek County, God bless him.

[Matt Jones]

And World War II vet. Derek County, 102 years old. Well, I. I was taught to be a Kentucky fan by my grandfather, who was also a World War II vet. So I appreciate you saying that.

[Caller]

Absolutely. And the second thing, you know, love Mark Pope and everything so far. What I remember from last year was just this, the sense of enthusiasm that he had coming in to the job and seems it's a very quick turnaround to now where I don't feel like the enthusiasm's there any longer.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I felt like he was. I felt like he was more normal tonight in the post game, honestly. I mean he. I thought he talked basketball. I thought he. I actually thought. I mean, he got a technical during the game, so he was certainly into it. But, but I, I have wondered about him this year, but I did think tonight was more at least what seemed like Mark like. But, but. Yeah. Well, God bless you and your grandfather. I appreciate, appreciate the call. I. He did say in the post game, Billy, that they had simplified the offense about as much as they could, which, you know, I'm trying to interpret what that means. I mean, these, these are not young players.

[Billy Reed]

Yeah, I mean, I mean these are.

[Matt Jones]

These are juniors and seniors. So like, are, are you saying your, your team doesn't understand your offense? Like, these are not young guys. We have one freshman that plays Malachi Marino, like everybody else has been around. Why can't they understand? It's either. When you say that that means you are either saying my team is not very smart or I can't communicate to. And neither of those, I mean, are very good sign. By the way, if you want to be depressed, watch our Vanderbilt Alabama. It looks like they're playing a difference.

[Billy Reed]

I got it on now.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean they really are. It looks like they're playing a different sport than we play because both these teams look pretty good. I can't believe how good Vanderbilt is. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Matt?

[Matt Jones]

Matt, Go ahead, Matt.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt, quick question. Towards the end of the March Stoops era, you know, you guys talked about this a lot where he was kind of given word the sort of scrambles about like head down, work hard, do this, do that. I feel like we're getting the same kind of answers from Mark Pope a little bit.

[Matt Jones]

Well, there's some of that. He did some of that tonight, but he also, again, I, to be fair to him, I do think of the post game show with Tom. He did talk about some specific things. I mean he broke down the final plays and how he felt the they went wrong. And I, I certainly had felt that way up until tonight. I can't, I can't really fault him for tonight's at least post game performance. I can fault him for the game performance.

[Caller]

I agree with you on that. Yes. Finally, for once this year we, we get some answers to, you know, to Tom Leach and shout out Billy for doing a great job. He always kills that. Listen to the pre game every day. Sorry, pre show. I mean, yeah. But yes, thank you.

[Matt Jones]

How nice is that?

[Billy Reed]

Well, thank you.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciate the call. How nice is that? Yeah, he. I don't know. It was interesting listening to Mark tonight, Billy, because it also made how he's been the last few weeks so much more bizarre because like he sounded like himself tonight. It would be fascinating to go back and listen to the post game show verse in Alabama versus the post game show tonight. Oh, it honestly would sound like you're listening to two completely different people night and day.

[Billy Reed]

But one of those things he keeps saying is you're going to be proud of this team.

[Matt Jones]

I hope so. I mean, I hope so. He sure has said that a lot. And I mean he, you know, after the Michigan State game, he said, we will not fail tonight. He said, we will not break. You know, I hope so. I don't want to. I mean, Aaron Harrison one day said, this will be a great story and I kind of laughed at that. And we ended up in the championship game. So I hope so. I hope, I hope that's what happens. I also think if you keep doubling down, people are going to start saying, hey, man, what's going on? Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Elliot.

[Matt Jones]

Elliot. Go ahead, Elliot.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. Just crazy to think about the turnaround from a month ago after we had lost to Vandy and Louisville in football. Just the depression in the football side to the excitement in the basketball side. And now it's seemed like after Willstein has, you know, got us pretty excited for this upcoming season.

[Matt Jones]

And Will Stein's been in Lexington, I think a grand total of three days. Literally, like, literally. He's not been in Lexington. He was here like two or three days when he got hired in one day for the Portal and that's it. And yet we're, you know, everybody's excited about football and this basketball. I mean, this is, I'm not going to say this is the most down. I don't think that's true. But it's certainly the most down we've been in the Pope era and it's not good.

[Caller]

That's right. Yeah. Thanks for taking my call.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciate it. I'm trying to think what flips this around for the fans. I mean, these next two games, you're playing two of the worst teams in the conference. You better not lose. And then I guess you Know, I guess when you play Tennessee, maybe that's the, that's the next. But it's at Tennessee, that game on Saturday, the 17th at Tennessee at noon. That'll be, that'll be a big one. But I can't say we're certainly going to win these games leading up to it because you could lose to anybody if you play like you did tonight. Let's do one more and we'll take a break. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Path? You.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. How are you gonna let somebody say their name is Path?

[Billy Reed]

I mean, I double checked.

[Matt Jones]

I don't believe this. This person's name. Go ahead. Path.

[Caller]

You, Matt, you say it every time I call. It's Path. You with a P. My guy. Anyway.

[Matt Jones]

Billy, hang on before I let him. Guys, he called before.

[Billy Reed]

He has.

[Matt Jones]

Okay? I forget sometimes I'm forgetful. All right, go ahead, Pat you.

[Caller]

That's right. I still love you, buddy. Listen, man, I've seen 80 year old women show more emotion at Walgreens about coupons than these kids show on the court. You know, Pope came in as this offensive guru, but instead we show up more bland than Greek yogurt. Something is significantly wrong with, you know, UK basketball right now. 20 some odd million dollars and this is the product we get even hearing Goose talk to Malachi after the game. Goose tried to baby him when Malachi took responsibility. No, I want these kids to take some accountability. You know, they're making more money than I am this year, so, you know, it's a job. I want them to be accountable. You know, earlier today you said this was a make or break game and right now we're broken. We're not going to make the tournament and we need to reevaluate our head coach position at the end of the year. From what I understand, Pope has a worse record than Billy Clyde through this point in his Kentucky career. And we're not the gold standard right now for the laughing stock.

[Matt Jones]

I appreciate the call. I think those are all reasonable points. And I'm with you on a secondary note about Greek yogurt. I've never understood Billy, why people like it. I think it has no taste at all. Why do people like it?

[Billy Reed]

Well, there's protein.

[Matt Jones]

I like yogurt a lot, but I've never understood the Greek yogurt thing. But to your point about having not a lot of emotion, I feel like they have emotion, but it seems more anger than it does, you know, than it does excitement. And I have to say, I mean, I don't want to put too much on away because I actually think owe played pretty well most of the night. Actually think he played really well most of night. I he can't miss that layup though. I mean you're here to be the guy and you get a wide open layup. He has missed. I would be fascinated. Somebody who does advanced stats. I feel like anecdotally he has missed six or seven wide open layups on the left hand side this year on drives. Maybe somebody can look that up. I don't know if there is a way to but that shot he missed, I feel like I've seen him miss it that way multiple times this year. Not, not going on the right but on the left and he did it there again. 859-280-2287 let's take a break and we'll be right back. This is the local toy Dealers KSR postgame show. Welcome back. It is a local toy dealers KSR postgame show. Vandy leads Alabama 69, 61. Vandy is 14 and oh, that is amazing. Now they have, I mean they haven't played the hardest schedule but if you beat Alabama, that's impressive and we have to play them twice. So I'm excited.

[Billy Reed]

There's nine minutes left in that game surpassing Kentucky's point total from tonight already.

[Matt Jones]

That's true. Good point. All right, let's say 592-802-2877 one person writes. Matt, do you think that Pope is playing the right guys? I don't understand why Quaintance wasn't in at the end. Well, I don't think quite as played great tonight but I also agree with you he should have been in at the end. I also think he has no idea who to play. I mean I think he knows he needs low and away but I think besides that he really has no idea who he wants on the court in these situations. And that's why you end up with a situation where against Alabama in the key moments of the game he was literally playing three different guys than he was in this game. Right. So against Alabama in the key points of the game he was playing Aberdeen, Quaintance and Diabate. And then in this game it was Cam Williams, Moreno and Garrison. I don't think he knows. I don't think he has any idea who to play. Yellow bitch doesn't even see the floor. Noah doesn't see the floor. Jasper Johnson doesn't see the floor. So I think it would be interesting to see how much money did we spend on those three guys, Billy, that don't even get in.

[Billy Reed]

Well, Jasper specifically. Right.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, any of them. I mean, all three of those guys. I mean, that's certainly a few million dollars. You know, we. We. And I say we because I did too praise the depth on this team. I have for years had the opinion that depth is overrated. I don't know. I think the injuries last year let me talk myself out of that. And it probably talked Pope out of it, too. You do. You don't need 12 guys because we have three of them not playing. But the thing is, I think what's more important is that Pope doesn't even know what five guys he wants to play. Really. He doesn't know who he wants to play outside of two guys. And that's. That's kind of a problem. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

We got another Michael on the line.

[Matt Jones]

Michael, Go ahead, Michael.

[Caller]

Hello?

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Caller]

Hey. Sorry. So I'm going to be on more of the hopeful side and say I don't think Hope needs to leave. I think that he learned a lot from last season, got us to the Sweet 16 this season. He's just. He's running through some rough edges. He'll figure it out, and hopefully we'll get somewhere. We need to be towards the end of the season. I do think something's going on with our point guard situation when Lowe's only got two assists. Aberdeen should have been sitting down a long time ago. Within the first five minutes of the game, I was there with my buddy Brock. I'm like, aberdeen should be sitting. He should not be out on the floor at all. And then also, as far as, like, they're, you know, lifting them up, pull out some. Remember the Titans or Coach Carter? Like, what about those movies?

[Matt Jones]

Well, these kids weren't. These kids weren't born when those movies came out.

[Caller]

Well, I'm. I'm just saying this might be a time for to. To remember these movies. They gotta understand you got to have a little bit of, you know, Mojo out there. It's got to be a. It's not just like a motion. I mean, you got people just standing in corners, not moving. Wait. Like you said earlier, we had a few minutes of where they were screening, setting, setting up plays where they're going down and passing out. But a few minutes when you're playing. Horrible. The first half can't get us back. And then, like you said again, four and a half minutes. We shouldn't have lost the game. I mean, I watched it. It's. It's just silly. Ortega missed that layup. And then I also hey, just for shiggles, I looked up on Chad GBT. Ortega is shooting roughly around 72, making his shots for the season. That's what Chad GPT says now. You know.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I appreciate the. He's not shooting 72% in the field. That would be a record.

[Billy Reed]

They'd have a better record shooting that.

[Matt Jones]

Too if he was shooting seven.

[Billy Reed]

He.

[Matt Jones]

All right, I'm looking right now. First of all, you don't need to do chat GPT. You can just go to ESPN or UK Athletics. He's shooting 46% from the field.

[Billy Reed]

Not close.

[Matt Jones]

Not, not, not 72%.

[Billy Reed]

He said he was going to be optimistic.

[Matt Jones]

So, yeah, I think when people say the sentence I looked at Chat gbt, I should just turn like, just right there. That's the end for me of listening to what they say. What's next? V is a V. Go ahead, V. Hi, Matt.

[Caller]

Thanks for taking my call. I'm. I'm gonna be honest. I'm just sitting here frustrated after watching that product that was just put on television here. I'm just sitting here wondering how much money do we have to pay to have someone box out on a free throw or give a little bit of heart?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, the box out, the box out there. I mean, it was Moreno. I mean, I, and I, I actually think Moreno played well most of the game, but Moreno had. Moreno had a couple of really costly errors there at the end. I mean, he, he had two turnovers down the stretch. And I consider the, the, the miss free throw block, box out. Three. I, I think that's three turnovers in four and a half minutes. And he played really well up until that point. But that was, that was a really bad 4 minutes and 15 seconds for him.

[Caller]

Yeah, and we had Garrison on the floor and he was at least giving some effort compared to the rest of the team. But I thought it was at least good to see that Mark Pope at least showed some little bit of fire and, you know, started yelling at the refs, maybe we need to have Pope have a legacy game and get kicked out. Maybe that'll get the team, you know, fire lit up on their.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I mean, it looked like that half court shot could have been the game that. I mean, that's. Or half court is three fourths of a court. That, that shot could have been the thing that turned it around and then it didn't. You know, it's interesting and I appreciate the call. I think about these last two nights. If you go back and look at the Kansas TCU game and the UConn Providence game tonight. Those are two legacy programs with hall of Fame head coaches that both were dead to the water, had no chance of winning the game they were playing. I think Kansas was like, what, up? Down 8 with 70 seconds left, and then UConn was down 11 with 3 minutes left on the road, and they both found a way to come back and win. And we, as a legacy program, are up eight with four minutes to go at home and lose. And it's just striking to me. You know, sometimes when I watch, I feel like Kansas, when they're at home, Duke, I just feel like even Billy, when they're down with a few minutes to go, I'm like, they're going to find a way to win this game. Right? I just always feel that way. I don't feel that way about us right now. And maybe that's part of what we've lost here is this idea of when Kansas is in Lawrence, they are winning. I almost don't care what the score is, they're going to win, and I don't feel that way about us anymore at home, and that's disappointing. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Jordan.

[Matt Jones]

Jordan. Go ahead, Jordan.

[Caller]

Hey, man. You know, tonight, it's. It's been weird because I feel like, you know, the first. First year, Mark Pope, we, you know, everybody was totally willing to give him grace, and we actually had a good season. I feel like anybody who's reasonable thought that, you know, that everybody liked that team. But now you look at. Look at this, and it feels like a comedy of errors, and nobody's really laughing anymore. And it's tough because it feels like we're not about to get to our biggest recruits, that we're supposed to get this next season, and I don't really know what to feel anymore.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I think that is something, too. I. I think that's something that. That is. Part of it is, you know, is. Is that feeling you're having, which is that, well, we're not even. You know, we're not even gonna get the. Get the recruits next year, too. That's. I. I think that's part of it. Right?

[Caller]

Yeah, it's, you know, it's. It's. It's, you know, being. Being down already and then not feeling like it's going to get better. You know, there's. Yeah, you know what? Bad things happen. Players get hurt. It's, you know, you have a tough season or whatever it is, and. But, you know, there's a short lease here, and it's. I don't know, it's tough. And.

[Matt Jones]

No, I agree.

[Caller]

Getting hard to watch. But you guys have a good night.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciate it. I'm sitting here looking, Billy, and I mean, it's a little thing. Okay. And I. I don't want to read too much into it. What? But I do think it's worth noting, you know, Fans, it's. It's 11:10 at night. We got thousands of people listening to this. Pete. Fans who care. I get it. Somebody just sent me one of the players stories. I'm not even gonna say which one it was, but. One of the players stories. Instagram, they're just reposting their highlights from the game. Like, all the good stuff. They did, like, three different. Three straight. Like, highlight clips of good after a bad loss.

[Billy Reed]

Like this.

[Matt Jones]

After a bad loss. Yeah. And I. You know, I don't know, man. We just lost two hours ago, and, you know, you're posting highlights of your good plays. Like. Yeah, I don't. You know, I understand. Like, these dudes have lives, etc. But I. It's just, you know, does it matter to you or not?

[Billy Reed]

If it did, you wouldn't be reacting.

[Matt Jones]

Like, if it did, I don't think you'd be doing that. I mean, I. Let's just say, like, what. I mean, there's not an equivalent, but, you know, if I was. If. Well, there's no equivalent in what I do. But if you lose, especially if you lose in a disappointing way, I don't think right after it's over, you talk about how good you did, right? And so. Yeah, that's frustrating. One more. We'll take a break. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Will be interesting to see if this locker room holds together throughout the year. I mean, that's a real question. Tim is up next.

[Matt Jones]

Tim, go ahead, Tim.

[Caller]

What's up, fellas? Happy New Year to you both. Happy New year to you, Mr. Matt. And just straight up prayers and smiles for your father. Dude, he got this. Thank you. And Billy, Billy, you are the best in the business, dude. Shannon, the dude needs to watch it because you're coming. Let's go. But, hey, I want to ask you a question, Mr. Matt. How many recruits we got signed for next year?

[Matt Jones]

At this moment, we have zero.

[Caller]

All right. Okay, that's. That's what I thought. I just want to double check. All right, so coaching, so recruiting. Not good. Okay, we're gonna put a check mark. Not good. All right, coaching.

[Matt Jones]

So.

[Caller]

So he puts. He puts Chandler in at the end in the. In the last five minutes to play defense, and then the last Play of the game. We need a three. And he's on the bench. So that's.

[Matt Jones]

That's true.

[Caller]

And then also, you got this, you guys.

[Matt Jones]

He did put him in for defense and not to shoot. Yeah, that is true.

[Caller]

Yes, that. That happened. That happened.

[Matt Jones]

He made a good play.

[Caller]

You got that? So we're. We're gonna put. We're gonna. Well, he did make a great play. Shout out to my man, hey. And Mormons forever. Hey. But he put a check mark, you know, from the coaching, we're not doing so good over there either. All right, so let's go with management here. We gave him $22 million, said, hey, dude, here's the Lamborghini. You go find the fastest speedway you can. And he put us on a Kentucky, Owensboro, Kentucky mountain top. That's where he put us. And you're like, okay, so you don't really know how to drive a Lamborghini. All right, okay, so you're not good at that. So that's all things. He's. He's a rising star is what I'm getting at. Right. But this is Kentucky. Okay, how much?

[Matt Jones]

Well, I don't know how rising. I mean, let's be real. He's. He. He's five years. He's in his 50s. So, like, I mean, there's only so much rising that you can do. You know, this is his. In his career, in his. Like, he's in prime time. This is his prime time. 40, when you look at college coaches, 45 to 60, that's like the prime time, and he's in it. And so, yeah, I. I think your point. I. I pretend I appreciate the call is completely valid. This is a failure so far. It's not over, but this is a failure of a performance. The gm part of the job. He didn't hire a gm, so he gets blamed for it. He should have one because he clearly is not doing well at it. The roster management, poor game prep, poor game execution, poor offensive execution, poor defense. Okay, that's it. I mean, what else can you say? I mean, there are multiple parts of this job. Motivation poor, you know, keeping the team focused. You know, he said after the game, literally, think about this, Billy. During the exact moments that Mark was. I bet if you look at the minute, it's almost the exact minute. During the exact minutes that Mark is on with Tom Leach saying, this team will not be broken. This team is resilient. We will not break. One of the players is posting his.

[Billy Reed]

Highlights of the game to the minute.

[Matt Jones]

Almost to the minute. Well, it makes me wonder, do you even have that locker room? I think it's a fair. It's a fair question. We'll take a break. 859-280-2287. It's a local Toyota dealers, KSR post game show. Welcome back. It is the. I can't believe this.

[Billy Reed]

You okay?

[Matt Jones]

Well, I just, somebody sent me this and I didn't think it was right then. I just looked at it. So I just said we have one player posting highlights. We have another player, a different player than that one on their Instagram story right now trying to sell hats.

[Billy Reed]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

I'm serious.

[Billy Reed]

Moved on to the next thing.

[Caller]

Wow.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, that's unbelievable. So we have two players, both of whom get minutes, one of whom after the game is posting his highlights, and the other one is trying to sell hats. I mean, I don't.

[Billy Reed]

I mean, if that doesn't tell you.

[Matt Jones]

They'Re checked out, you know, I don't know what to say about that. Well, I do know what to say about it, but I will give myself to tomorrow morning to say something besides that. Who's up next?

[Billy Reed]

Some positivity though, Matt. We got to give out a Johnny Rocker, personal injury attorney, moneymaker of the game tonight. Yeah. Injured get small town compassion with big city results when you call The Rocker at 270-321-4429. And this player led the team in points, rebounds, assists and, and steals tonight. That's Otega OA, who scored 20 points in 35 minutes. He is our Johnny Rocker, personal injury attorney, moneymaker of the game.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's who I would have picked, too. All right, who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Tyler is up.

[Matt Jones]

Tyler, go ahead, Tyler.

[Caller]

What up, Matt? What up, Billy?

[Matt Jones]

What's going on.

[Caller]

Man? I'm out in California and I just want to speak for everybody whenever I say I'm upset. I don't like this hat sales stuff. I don't like any of that. These cats have to do what they have to do to keep the. Just keep the company alive.

[Matt Jones]

To keep the what alive? The company.

[Caller]

Just keep the cat, the academy alive, all of it. Everybody's upset I'm out in California.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Caller]

We hate it.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, well, I hate it, too. I appreciate the call. They do need to keep it on the tracks. I mean, they could, they're. They. I mean, this could get bad. I think if you don't want it to get bad, you do have a couple games to get it back. I mean, you're, you know, you're not playing. You're playing Mississippi State at home, Saturday night. At night. That's a game you can easily win, but you got to go and do it. Yeah, I can't. I can't get over the people now are sending me. I can't get over this. Like, I, you know, I'm not. I'm somebody who has completely embraced the new. The new world of college basketball. I get it. It's not going to change. I think it's a lot more like it should be than it probably was before in terms of people getting their worth. With that said, like the caller said earlier, you are now a professional. You are going to be treated as a professional. And I want you to imagine if after, you know, in the NBA playoffs, a guy loses a game in the NBA if they immediately during the post game interview were selling hats like they. People would criticize them for that. Right. You know, there's a level of. I believe these dudes deserve what they get. At the same time, with that comes some of the excuses I've given for people over the years. Well, they're kids. True. But now you got to grow up quicker, right? You know, when you were kids and you were playing for free, I give you a lot more grace than when you're making. You know, it's just. It's part of it. It's. It's part of responsibility. And I cannot get over that. That was done after a home loss the way it was. Let's do. We'll do four more and call it a night. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

K. Wood.

[Matt Jones]

K. Wood. Go ahead, K. Wood. All right, Heywood. All right, who's next?

[Billy Reed]

All right, Jen. May.

[Matt Jones]

Jin. May. Hello. Hey.

[Caller]

Hello.

[Matt Jones]

What's going on?

[Caller]

Hey. I'm gonna keep this call positive. It was a bad game. I don't know. It was a great game, but like, I thought OA should have shot probably four points and three. Is that not another line when they go past the three point.

[Matt Jones]

Are you asking if there are four pointers?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

No, there are no four pointers. There was. That would probably count, but, you know, in the old MTV Rock and Jock games, there would have been 10 pointers, so maybe we could have used that also.

[Caller]

I feel like Shannon the dude sounds a lot like the. The commentator tonight, the Bradshaw.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, Bradshaw. I've had people have said that before. I appreciate the call. People have said that, that, that they. That they do sound like that. They do sound like. I can see it, actually. Who's up next?

[Billy Reed]

Jared.

[Matt Jones]

Jared. Go ahead, Jared. Vanderbilt up nine with four minutes to go. Jared, go ahead.

[Caller]

Hey, man. So I'm kind of just in the same mindset of a lot of the callers that you've had tonight with just, I don't see hope for Mark Pope to turn this around, you know, because the lines he keeps giving us on his radio show is, well, this team will be good eventually. They just haven't yet. You know, we're gonna make you proud. We just haven't done it yet, but we will.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, they better. I, I, I, I don't love that answer, but that's what he's saying. But, you know, if it reminds me of Cal used to always say, he said, a couple years, like, wait till March, and you might remember, then we would lose in March. And he'd say, well, we had a great regular season. And I said, you can't both tell us it will be great. March. And then also tell us about the, like, something's got to matter. You know what I mean? So if you're going to say we're going to be better at the end of the year, well, we better be better at the end of the year.

[Caller]

And I agree. And so with that, if this does end with the disaster that it is right now, and we, you know, don't have any recruits right now, how likely is it that we go for someone like Tommy Lloyd or Nate Oates by the end of the season?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, we're not going to. I mean, that's not likely. I appreciate the call. I mean, look, it's not as bad as his other ones, but I think, Billy, just for knowledge sake, Mark Pope has like a $25 million or something, or 23 or 20. I mean, it's a lot. It's not what it was, what some of these other ones have been, but it's, it's not nothing.

[Billy Reed]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

When you're still, when you're gonna be playing Mark Stoops, so. But yeah, you know, he said, well, three more. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Michael is up next.

[Matt Jones]

Michael. Go ahead, Michael.

[Caller]

I think I'm now the third Michael, but this is the one that is in Little Rock. And I just watched, you know, Ole Miss almost come back, and they're now nine and six with us, and I think we would have been beat by 20 if we played Ole Miss. I felt like I was watching my son's freshman basketball game tonight. Their intelligence, Basketball intelligence is not there. We had a very intelligent team last year. We just didn't have athletic, you know, people last year.

[Matt Jones]

I agree.

[Caller]

How, how does, how do you think you feel? And the Rest of the fan base feels because we're on that same path as the 9 and 16 season.

[Matt Jones]

We are.

[Caller]

Yeah, I know we only played 25 games that year, but we're going to be playing more than that. But a percentage wise, we're going to probably be at that or worse, like 56. We won 56, you know, and no, not 16.

[Matt Jones]

When we were 9 and 16, we won less than 50, 50%.

[Caller]

I'm with you, Matt, though. Here's the thing. When they weren't getting paid, their kids, they're young, I get it. This is something that they want to do for the rest of their life. They want to go to the NBA. They want to make money. So here's the thing. Put the pants on, grow up and play the game like you know how you are supposed to play the game and accept criticism because your job is to play basketball and do well at it. And if you can't listen and execute, then you don't need to be playing in the NBA.

[Matt Jones]

I agree. Appreciate the call. Appreciate the call. Let me give you an amazing stat. Okay? I just thought of this while he was talking. I want you to think about this, Billy. I'm going to count the amount of players that I am 100% sure are making an amount of money that's going to surprise you. Okay?

[Billy Reed]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

I'm just in my mind. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. At least five. Potentially seven, but I'm certain of five guys on the team, but it might be as high as 7. Are making more money this year than Ellie De La Cruz.

[Billy Reed]

That's crazy. Really.

[Matt Jones]

I'm dead serious. In the 20, 25, 26 basketball season, there are five, maybe up to seven players on the Kentucky basketball team making more money than Ellie De La Cruz. Now, why do I say that? Do I say that because that means they shouldn't get the money? Ellie's vastly underpaid. That's the way baseball works. But the reason I say that is the young excuse and all that, like, it kind of doesn't work when you're making that kind of money. You know, there's a guy, I think the number one pick in the draft a year or two ago was, was named Reese Shea or something like that, plays for Atlanta. I was listening to Bill Simmons talking about him, and they were talking about how, yeah, he's 20 years old, but. And then they just were criticizing him. We got three or four guys, Billy, on the. Five guys on the team, older than Rishi. Right. So, you know, this is part of it, that this Is part of what it is now. You got seven guys making more than Ellie, and we got probably five guys on the team that are older than the number one draft pick two years ago. This is. This is what comes with it. Two more. Who's. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Is the guy selling hats the one. One of them making more than Ellie?

[Matt Jones]

I'm not. People got to find that on their own. I'm not getting involved. Who's next?

[Caller]

You can't find it.

[Matt Jones]

Well, maybe they're not that many players. Go ahead. Yeah, maybe it got. It might have gotten taken down, hopefully, but go ahead.

[Billy Reed]

Thomas is up next.

[Matt Jones]

Thomas. Go ahead, Thomas.

[Caller]

So my wife says, look, if I have to watch this crap, will you watch every sec lost with against a Hallmark movie loss?

[Matt Jones]

Oh, no. Oh, that's brutal. That's brutal.

[Caller]

I know that's brutal.

[Matt Jones]

But you know what she does? I mean, I think that's a fair trade by her because it's not like we're just. So you're saying for every time Kentucky loses, you have to watch a Hallmark movie?

[Caller]

I'm not sure I would have. At the beginning of the year, I said yes. But now it's like, tell your wife.

[Matt Jones]

I think she has to enforce that. And that's going to make you root extra hard because those movies are bad. A lot of them are filmed, however, in LaGrange, Kentucky. But nevertheless, they are bad.

[Caller]

Oh, gosh.

[Matt Jones]

Well, good luck, sir. I'm sorry. I do like that deal by Toast.

[Caller]

I am toast.

[Matt Jones]

See if you can get her to watch Traders. Billy, I appreciate the call. The new season, I think, starts, what, tomorrow? And people tell me that's a great show. That's my new. It's like a. It's like a reality show. Have you heard about it?

[Billy Reed]

I've heard about it.

[Matt Jones]

I've never not watched it, but people say I would love it. And I think season three starts. I'm gonna go start with season one, but I think season three, like, starts tomorrow or something. Who's next?

[Billy Reed]

Our final caller, Kevin.

[Matt Jones]

Kevin. Go ahead, Kevin.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. Everybody's bashing Pope tonight. My thought. We know Pope. Is that a success. Everywhere he's been, we know what he did last year. He's got a tremendous support staff of coaches. Mark Fox, Alvin Brooks, Cody Figure. You can't tell me those guys are not coaching him well, that they're missing things, that there's things they've tried everything. I mean, they've got.

[Matt Jones]

So what would you. I mean, I don't disagree with anything you said, but what Would you say then, if I am to agree with you, which I generally do, that Mark's a very good coach. He does have a great staff. He had every resource in building this team, and it's Kentucky. How do you explain it then?

[Caller]

It's got to be team dynamics, attitude issues, chemistry, all that's on him.

[Matt Jones]

You don't know. Hang on. You don't get. I. I do not do this with coaches. Like, when Cal would win, people would go, well, it's the players. And then they'd lose. It'd be his fault. And I'm like, that's not fair. It's either the coaches or the players or it's both. He does not get the credit for last year being good if he also doesn't get the blame for this year being bad. You know what I mean? Like, why can't we just say, well, last year, Jackson, Lamont, Kobe, Braya, those dudes were special. Why. Why does he, Mark, get the credit for last year but not the blame this year?

[Caller]

I just think there's some groups of guys that mesh. Last year did. And this guy this.

[Matt Jones]

Well, he picked.

[Caller]

Obviously doesn't, but he picked them. Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, they didn't grow in training.

[Caller]

How do you know if they're going to match?

[Matt Jones]

Well, I mean, that's part of what you have to do. I mean, here's what I would say to you. Let's look at Nate Oats. Okay? Nate Oats has got a completely different team than he had last year. And last year's team went to the final four. And even though this. They're losing right now to Vandy, he still got this team really good. Like, don't you think great coaches in the portal era have to make teams mesh? That's part of what they have to do.

[Caller]

They do. But grapes. Coaches also have years where teams don't match over the years. So anyway, that's my thought. I still got hope for this year.

[Matt Jones]

Sometimes that's true, but. Well, let's see what happens this year. I don't want to make too many huge pronouncements until we see how it happens. We're. We are 9 and 615 games into the season. We are literally at halftime of the game. Saturday will be halfway through the season, and it's certainly not been the season that we had hoped so far. Hopefully it will be better. Alabama trying to come back. It's 91 85. If you could listen to this on podcast, you'll know whether they did. Billy, thank you very much for staying up with us sorry to the guy who has to watch a Hallmark movie after the loss tonight. And I think I'm gonna go buy hats, Billy, because I felt like this is the right time. We'll see you later. This has been the local Toyota dealers KSR post game show.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

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[Caller]

Because I want to get confident.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

This is DJ Hester Prynne's Music Is Therapy, a new podcast from me, a DJ and licensed therapist. 12 months, 12 areas of your life. Money, love, career, confidence. This isn't just a podcast. It's unconventional therapy for your entire year. Listen to DJ Hester Prynne's Music is Therapy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.