Kentucky Roster Updates | the Billy Donovan Shadow | Mitch Barnhart backlash

ROUND of SHOTS #135 - show date 4.26.2026

Roundtable featuring Terry Brown, Drew Byous, Tres Terrell, and Paul (Bleed Blue Network) - hosted by Kevin Hale

Topics:
* Kentucky Football Recruiting Updates
* Kentucky Basketball Portal/Recruiting Updates
* Billy Donovan 'Shadow' Effect
* Mitch Barnhart's 'Golden Parachute' Grounded
* NCAA five-for-five rule
* Final Shots

@TBrown_80 @DrewByousBBN @TerrellTres @BleedBNetwork @kevinhale423


ROS Link:
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Transcript

SPEAKER_08 0:56

There is definitely buzz with the football program. Nationally, depending on what rankings you follow, you like it, you know, top ten, what Stein has put together. He made some comment recently, and this goes back to you know his recent time at Oregon. How impressed he is right now with this offensive line. Obviously, that was a big deal to get some of the get some beef, get the studs in here. Go ahead, Drew. What do you got?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Yeah, well, back to the offensive line topic. I thought I thought it was interesting. I don't remember where he said it on. It might have been with Matt Jones on the KSR, but he said I think I was a lot of the a lot of you know offensive line finalists for the year, which is you know top five in consideration. Um, and he said this might be the best group he has has been around yet. So that's pretty alarming and something to monitor because that could be a huge you know development throughout the year, obviously if offensive line plays good. But you know, we got another commit this week, Antoine Higgins Jr., he's an edge four-star out of Cincinnati, Ohio, six foot two, two thirty, ranked number nine in Ohio, uh 29 edge, and then the number 293 overall recruit in the country per on three. So another big time commit, just continuing to stack. I don't know where necessarily where they stand with some other guys or some guys to monitor, but you know, I I've been saying it every week. Like this is the time when when the staff is trying to close on recruitments and they, you know, keep popping and getting guys. There's another tight end recruit as well. I can't remember his name, but from Lexington, uh, I think it was Lexington Catholic or Lexington. So, you know, they they just continue to get, you know, stack recruitments, getting commitments. And now, you know, their job is to hold on to them. Obviously, teams will continue to recruit them up until signing day. Kentucky's gonna do the same with some guys that they've lost in recruitment. Um, but they just continue to keep you know doing what they can do and uh stacking commitments and hopefully, you know, continue to to put together an impressive class. TB in the house, Terry. How are you, brother?

SPEAKER_03 2:58

I'm doing well, man. Had a quick in and out to uh back home in Louisville. So I'm I'm back in Iowa. So glad to glad to be able to come on.

SPEAKER_08 3:06

And uh I won't try my best to keep this uh short and sweet so you can get to your Lakers. Uh yeah, your Lakers are playing.

SPEAKER_03 3:15

Yeah, hopefully they sweep tonight, man. That's that's my that's my that's my hope. All right, let's stay.

SPEAKER_08 3:20

Uh I'll I'll just stay with you, Terry. Uh, you know, again, the the buzz we're talking about, uh football, the portal, everything with what Stein has done. Uh, I'd mentioned depending on the uh rankings, thing, you know, platforms that you follow, top 10. Um, after you know, we had the spring game, April 18th. Uh, you know, Kenny Minchie is clearly was clearly a hot, hot topic uh of that uh uh spring game. Uh, we talked about the big big blue ball, rebuilding the big blue ball. But what you got for them?

SPEAKER_03 3:53

The the the thing I like about Will Stein is number one, there's enthusiasm.

SPEAKER_04 3:58

Like I said, I was back in uh Kentucky this weekend, and and people are actually talking about Kentucky football, which is a step in the right direction, right? Uh so there's that thing. I also think that when it comes to college football, it's like everybody wants to get to the next step, everybody wants to get to the NFL. What can you do to help someone get to the next step? Right. Will Stein's become an offensive guru, like he's he's had all these quarterbacks that make the leap. The offense is always good. And I say that because again, I'm here in Iowa. Kirk Ferrants had his 100th player drafted since he's been there for the last 25 years. Uh, and and that's the thing, is what can you hang your hat on as a program? And Will Stein, I'm hoping he gets to the point where it's it's the offense, right? Like we all like to score 40 points a game. We all like to uh do that starts with the big blue wall. Uh, but Willstein is a is a commodity out there in the in the college football world. And I think that's gonna be great for Kentucky moving forward, right? If you're not Ohio State, if you're not Michigan or Indy, like if you're not one of these top teams that guarantee playoffs every year, what do you do to separate yourself from the from everybody else, right? The other 120 teams in uh college uh division one. And Will Stein being that offensive guru, it helps, right? It helps that he's like, I can get you where you need to go. Like, I know the focus is on college football, but these kids want to get to the next level. And Will Stein putting out his niche as being a guy that can do that, helps Kentucky. Trace, jump in. What you got? What are you feeling?

SPEAKER_02 5:29

I think Terry hit it great. I mean, with Will Stein, he has the association around him of he's a young, offensive-minded, uh, offensive-minded coach. He's exciting football to watch. I think these guys are just like he just got the number two quarterback in America just immediately. Like, this is just new blood. I think these players, it's it's funny how quickly things can change. These players are wanting to come play for Will Stein. He's got he's put a great staff together. Um, they have right now a top 10 recruiting class. I mean, partially right now, it's because it's early, they're getting a lot of commitments. Like these other top programs don't have as many volume-wise, but they still got five three stars, five, four stars, um, and plenty of time left to keep adding to it. So I'm super excited. And I saw Davo's comment there about the four and a half wins. He I might hammer that too. I mean, I know we got a uh a gruesome schedule, but four and a half wins, uh Will Stein is not he might be a new head coach, but he's not new to high profile football games. I mean, they want a lot of Oregon, so that's that's good advice from Davo. I hope you feel better, man.

SPEAKER_08 6:23

Yep, same Davo, miss you, but uh Drew, what's what's what's left? I mean, what is as far as come you know, filling out the needs, uh the portal needs, what what stands out to you that we have to still uh get a hold of, make happen with with football? Yeah, football, same football.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Well, obviously, I mean the roster is set, um, because there's no spring window now. But I think with the recruiting class is like just get the talent you can get in the door and then go from there. I mean, you know, you'll see it like guys will come in and they'll start as D tackles and they'll move to DNs or they'll be good point, you know, maybe safeties and they get bigger and they'll move the linebacker or something like that. So, you know, when especially with football recruiting, like the biggest thing is just getting guys in the program and then developing them from there. But uh, you know, back to what we were talking about with with Will Stein as well, like think of the weekend that Will Stein had and and Joe Sloan had with the NFL draft and the amount of guys that they had that were up under them or a part of them with offenses at Oregon or LSU and and that they can sell there. I mean, we hear them talk about you know, Will Stein sending multiple guys to the Heisman Trophy finalists and Joe Sloan having Jaden Daniels who won it, but also the amount of guys that they've been around that they've sent to the NFL in the last couple of years, like that stuff matters in recruiting as well. So you know they should it means something, right, Drew?

SPEAKER_04 7:41

It it it means when college football, because there's so many people, there's so many recruits. What is it that you can do to separate yourself, right? And Will Stein has that cachet of like, hey, I'm working with these dudes in the NFL at the Heisman Trophy ceremony, and and that carries weight. That's why you can get, like Trey said, the number two recruit, right? Like, you know, that's what it takes to get to that next level. Uh, you know, no matter what happens this first year, you have to build that momentum. And Will Stein's doing a great job doing that.

SPEAKER_08 8:11

Yep. Um, you know, just kind of piggybacking too off uh this past week's NFL draft. Well, we had, I want to say four four starters, four players drafted, several, obviously, you know, the uh what do you call that? The free agent. Undrafted free agent. Undrave, undrap. Yeah. So uh yeah, I mean, again, uh it's very exciting as a fan. Uh every I don't I'm I try to at least see a clip or two of uh of Will Stein doing these interviews and stuff, and you know, his enthusiasm, his I he this is where he wants to be. At least he's for you know you're for for now. Um, and I I think um I think uh I think we're in good hands, definitely in good hands. Who's behind you, Drew? What does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 8:56

I don't know what he's talking about. Uh maybe there's a ghost or something behind me. I don't know. Well, I mean, you know, could be. I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 9:03

I got anti Davis over my shoulder, so that's who's behind me. And we and look, who's over your shoulder? Is that Davis too, Trace? I'll take it away. Oh, wait, okay, got it. All right, I don't know how he got there. Uh all right, let's uh shift gears to the men's basketball team. Uh portal recruiting updates. Drew talked about.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Yeah, so got a commitment on Friday, I believe it was Usman Jai, um, you know, a big, versatile, you know, just athletic guy who's still developing, very raw, it seems, on you know, the offensive side of the ball with some skill and stuff like that, but super big. I think he's 6'11, long wingspan, just a great athlete as well. You know, I don't put in a lot of stock on the international guys in terms of preseason stuff because it's hard. Some guys hit, some guys don't. Um, you know, but I I think when you just look at the tools, right? Like his length and athleticism and some of those things, like that stuff should translate in terms of the skill stuff and you know, the shot creativity and the efficiency and those things, like we don't really know. So, you know, for him, I think it was a good pickup. Um, you know, he has a lot of tools, but now you got to unlock it out of him. Um, so we'll we'll see if Mark Pope can do that. And then um, you know, Zion Hawthorne is well committed this last week. Braden Hawthorne's younger brother, who is a 6'1, 6'2 kind of combo guard, um, who's probably gonna be more of a practice player, which you need. And then um, you know, a guy that maybe can develop one day and as you know, his career goes on, if he wants to stay at Kentucky, maybe when he's a junior or senior, he can crack the rotation and be a backup guard or something like that. So pretty cool story though, with between Zion and Braden. They both announced Braden announced he was returning, and Zion announced his signee in like a 10-minute span. So that was a pretty cool thing. Um, but yeah, and then obviously we heard multiple reports that Kentucky offered Jamal Crawford um, you know, an official assistant coaching job. So we'll see kind of how that plays out. I haven't really heard anything new, I think it's kind of a waiting game if he wants to do it or not. You know, Jamal obviously is an assistant coach at Raynor Beach where his son JJ plays and will be a sophomore next year. He's working on TNT or something, you know, NBA media coverage. So, you know, the Kentucky assistant job obviously is a great job, but it's not like you know, Jamal Crawford doesn't already have a good job in basketball in one way, shape, or form. So we'll see. Maybe Kentucky can pull it off, maybe they don't. And then um, you know, with Tyron Stokes, obviously there was some buzz. Jeff Goodman reported he thinks Tyron could commit tomorrow. Um, nothing official, obviously. So we'll see. I mean, it's the same Tyron Stokes story. Forget Goodman. What does Drew think happens tomorrow? I don't know. I mean, he could commit, he could not commit it. It's just a guessing game at this point. I I'm not gonna say he's committing or not until he officially says it or he officially commits. So we'll see how that goes. And then Mika Murin does commit tomorrow morning. Um, I think Kentucky's kind of they were pushing him really hard back in the early wintertime of springtime, but kind of faded off due to where he was playing overseas and those things. But I think Arkansas is probably the probably the expected destination. Um, Kentucky's made a push as of late, but we'll we'll see if it's enough. He would be a great pickup if they could add him. Just another really talented, long, big, athletic, um, you know, skilled big man who has tons of potential. Um, Justin McBride transferred from James Madison, a 6'7, 6'8 forward, was on a visit to Kentucky, canceled his Louisville visit while here. I think a lot of people expected him to commit and sign. It didn't happen. And since then, I don't know if anybody else has any more information, but it's been kind of quiet as far as what I could gather. So we'll see. You know, maybe did the um Usman commitment, you know, push him back? Does he want a starting spot as there are financial negotiations going on? We'll see with that. Something to monitor. And then other than that, I mean, Kentucky's at 10 guys right now. And if you ask me, I think it's been a little bit of a disappointing offseason, but you know, there's still room.

SPEAKER_08 13:16

There's there's my little segue.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Uh yeah, but um, you know, I I think finally, like, I think they need another guard. I think they need a wing, obviously, Tyron Stokes potentially, um, or maybe some, you know, Tounde Yesafu or um Milan Mamchilovich if they decide to pull out of the draft, or you know, just another wing in general, and then probably one, I would say two more bigs just to be safe or some depth, and maybe you know, one of those guys could compete for the starting four spot, and then maybe that 15th roster spot, maybe another guard or another wing just to round out the roster and bring some some practice, you know, flexibility and stuff. But we'll see. I I think these last four or they need five more additions. I think four of them need to be legitimate rotational potential starting caliber players if Kentucky wants to be a SEC contender, national championship final contender.

SPEAKER_08 14:08

Let me uh let me get uh let me trace you jump in. Um I don't want to be a party pooper, but when I look at the these the ten that are on um, you know, that are part of the roster right now. Uh I'm not exactly dazzled as a as a Kentucky fan who expects some elite players, elite talent. Talk to me, chat me up with your thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

As Drew said, and kind of like I mentioned to you before we get went live, but it is so far to this point been kind of a disappointing uh offseason of it in the in the transfer portal. You know, you got no high school recruits coming in. I don't think Tyron Spokes folks is coming to Kentucky. I really don't. I also don't believe he's committing on Monday to anywhere. I think this is just the game is going to keep on going and going until it happens. You know, I don't I believe any timeline that we've had eight of them already. I just don't think he's coming to Kentucky. Um Kentucky desperately needs him. Uh, if you look at this roster we got right now, as of today, the roster is worse than it was last year, uh, in my opinion. I think losing Colin Chandler really, really hurt. I was more high on Colin Chandler than most people, but he had a a huge uh improvement from year one to year two. I think this next year would have been GYU expects him to be a top three or four guy on their roster. At least that's what they're paying him for. Um, I think also uh I don't think Kentucky expected to be this bad off because now when you're looking at it, it looks like we would have been better off having ket keeping some of the players we had of where we're at now. I mean, I don't think we thought we would film O Diobate's spot. Uh, in my opinion, the guy, the international guy. I mean, I'm not high on international players as well. Big Z was kind of a letdown outside of the Georgia game. Uh Yellow Vic was okay, but I think that that film overseas doesn't translate entirely to uh college basketball. So a lot overhyped, you see a seven-footer shooting threes, but no one's guarding them. I just at over two essentially in terms of the hype. But I remember last last summer when we learned about Yellow Vic, I mean, you would have thought Luka Dontich was coming here. He thought that he was like stuck. He was he was all right, he wasn't bad, but he's we're done with him after one year, so that tells you how it went.

SPEAKER_08 16:03

Um but in you know, in fairness too, and I don't I'm not gonna I'm not gonna mention names, but uh, this is where I I struggle with our um all these you know platforms, BBN platforms, BBN uh podcasts, BBN shows, and you know, all these players. I mean, I just like what the guys that I would expect to say, uh give me a summary, a sub subnop sub uh feedback on a player, they always paint this like, yeah, to your point, Lucas, Dante isn't it? He's coming, you know, that kind of thing. And you know, and it's just Terry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 16:41

Well, it's hard. It it it's hard because we have you know, high school, college, pro over here in America. Europeans do things differently, and it's really hard to look over there and try to discern who's gonna apply to where. It it it just is so for for my money, uh, I think Drew said, like you take that with a grain of salt, right? Like, you don't know who these guys are playing, you don't know anything about the league that they're in, you know, short of the national team. You just hope you you get a guy that can turn out, right? Like the NF, the the NFL, the NBA has had misses, right? Like Darko Milichich, right? Was looking great until they got to stateside. So it's just a crapshoot, and you hope you can find the raw tools to to make them whatever, right? Right. The difference is like Illinois has Pedro Stoyakovich's son, right? He's the son of an NBA player, and a lot of those guys on Illinois like played with him, so they know the quality of the players they're getting in Illinois. For a lot of teams, you don't know who you're getting. Like, who's who's the top rating guy in Slovakia? No one really knows, right? So you're it's a lot of trying to figure this thing out on the fly. So said, like, hey, we don't know what we're getting.

SPEAKER_08 18:01

You hope he's pretty good. Let's let's go back to what we've got. Uh uh, TB, I'll ask you the same. Uh, these 10. Uh, I think was it Trace said it. I think he said it. Uh these 10. This roster right now is the roster itself is worse than last year, clearly worse than last year.

SPEAKER_04 18:19

I I'm not I'm not moved, right? Like, I think we need to have serious conversations. People people think I'm anti-Pope, but I'm like, I'm old enough to look at it.

SPEAKER_07 18:29

Well, I think that was our president. Uh joking. That's a joke. That's a joke.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

Like, yeah, it's it's I'm not moved like people think that we're just enamored with John Calipari, right? And having these these studs. I look, Tayshawn Prince was a stud. Rick Matino brought in studs. Sam Bowie was a stud. Kenny Walker was a stud. You know, Kyle May's a stud. Kentucky brings in top guys. Now we're in this world where it's like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 18:59

The name on the front, the name on the front isn't not the influence that it used to be.

SPEAKER_04 19:05

And I don't know that it was ever a big influence. It was an influence like I can come to Kentucky and get to the next step. That's not me saying it. That's Jamal Mashburn saying, I can come to Kentucky, play for Rick Bettino and get to the next step. He has said that, right? So I think as fans, we need to take a step back. Name on the front, a little bit transactional. What I'm saying is Mark Pope needs his guy. I think I said this last week, right? Joe B. Hall had Kevin Greevy as SEC player of the year, all American as a sophomore, right? Eddie Sutton had Rex Chapman. Rick Patino got Jamal Mashburn. Tubby Smith got uh Tayshawn Prince, all American SEC caliber player, SEC player of the year caliber player to come play. And we know that John Caliperry had John Wall. I hope and I pray that that that Stokes is that guy for Pope.

SPEAKER_08 19:56

You just said something right there, Terry, that is not supposed to be ever mentioned when it comes to Kentucky basketball. Not that. I well, I hope and I pray we should not have to be praying for our roster at this program.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

You know, I mean it's I think I agree with you, Kevin, but I think at least in my point of view, I think we got a real um what's the word? Uh awakening when we went through the coaching search with Pope and where we landed on, who we missed out on, and now with North Carolina, and now these recruits go into I think we uh to me, my eyes have finally opened that the blue bloods unfortunately doesn't they don't carry as much weight as they used to. And no, I I never saw that coming, but unfortunately I think that's how it is.

SPEAKER_08 20:38

Well, but hold uh uh to your point there, Trace, the coaching search that that happened, you know, after Tubby. Look who we had to settle for. That was Gil Gillespie, what number choice six or eight? And then when Gillespie left, uh you know, obviously Calipari Calipari wanted the job after Tubby. He wanted to be here, and actually, it's you know, it's it's funny, it's a good thing that Caliperi did not follow Tubby because what would have possibly happened is Derek Rose followed came here, and we all know what went on with D. Rose. Now, maybe I don't know, but he was I guess my point on this is that and then you know, with Coach Pope, you know, he wasn't the first choice. What was he choice four or five? You know, these five or later. Yeah, elite coaches and that again.

SPEAKER_04 21:25

And Kevin, I've said this forever. Every fan base thinks their job is the best job ever until it's a good thing. Yeah, but we we've got to we've got we've got history to prove that, though. Yeah. Well, the I know we all like to think about the Eddie Sutton that he would crawl from Fayetteville to Lexant to take this job, right? That's not the way it works, right? Anytime the job comes open, people say no, right? It's not what we think. We have seen really good jobs go to lesser people, right? Because it's not what we think as fans. With this whole pope and everything, like y'all make me defend Indiana fans. Indiana is a great job, okay? Let's be Indiana basketball is a great job, but it's tough to get the right guy in. Nebraska football is a great job, but it's tough to get people because it's more than just X and O's. A lot of really good coaches don't want the extra. Right. And can you blame them, right? If you can make considerable the same money at Arizona State, why are you going to Kentucky and have to deal with the BBN? Right? Like, why would you go to Nebraska and have to deal with the Nebraska fan? Like, people think that the fans, because I've seen people like, we don't want to be Indiana because Indiana fans just gave up. No, they didn't. No. Like they did. They just hired bad coaches. They the Indiana fans I know still want to win like they did in 1987. I'm here in the Midwest, those Nebraska fans still want to win, but they don't have a coach that can do that.

SPEAKER_08 22:51

Well, Dougie Hudson saying we should have gone after I don't think well, Donovan was locked in with the bull. I mean, he wasn't leaving. He, you know, it didn't matter what college job. Donovan was not ready to leave at that time. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Also, along that last topic right before Donovan that we were talking about, also one thing I try to remind myself as well, it's it's been over a decade since Kentucky's been to a Final Four. These players that are 18 and 19, a decade ago, they were eight and nine. You think they remember truly like have vivid memory of the DM for the 2015, 2016, all those teams before? No, they don't. And we all do, it wasn't that long ago, but when you're 18 and 19 at 8 and 9, you don't remember a whole lot. And so Kentucky is not truly the Kentucky of that we know it as that has been because the farther you get away from being relevant in history, the more it's less irrelevant. And and UConn, they see Yukon, they see Arizona, they see all these other teams that it ain't just Kentucky Duke, North Carolina, Kansas anymore. It's just not.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

Can I just say this though? You could say whatever you want, brother. Folks in a lot of recruitments for a lot of the big guys, there's just a disconnect in closing. It would be different if we if Kentucky wasn't even operating in the same ballpark as those recruits. For whatever reason, they just can't close the job. And that's that's why I say, like, you know, it it's not so much about the name on the front anymore, about Kentucky. What you're what you mentioned, Trace, like, yeah, it's not the way that it used to be because you're not signing up just to play for the name across the front. Like, there's a lot that goes into recruiting now. Like, you got to find the coach, the right guy to make it happen. And for whatever reason, you know, I I have a ton of belief in Pope as a coach, just pure basketball. But I have as about as five percent level of confidence in him and actually recruiting and closing the deals, which at the end of the day, like you you can be a great coach, but you gotta have dudes. And yeah, like Otega was a great player, but Otega on a really good team would probably be a number two option. And instead, we we we needed him to play like Superman last year to even and and make some heroic shots for Kentucky to even be in a in the decent spot that they were in.

SPEAKER_04 24:56

And that's and and that's the thing, right? Is we're asking dude to be superhuman, and that's that's not fair. We should have a dude on the roster.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

Well, dudes who are incapable of being superhuman. Some guys are they're just built like that. Like AJ DeBanza, he's built to be superhuman, you know, all these guys, Darius Acuff and Darren Peterson, and you know, right uh particularly Tyron Stokes, like Kentucky has to get those guys. We we can't ask a guy like Otega Owe who came in from Oklahoma. Yeah, he developed a ton. But Kentucky was asking him to do things that like he probably didn't even do in high school. Yeah, Ms.

SPEAKER_04 25:32

Well, and there's a go ahead, Terry. I said there's a comment here from S. King, like, you know, we're Kentucky keeps being the top five and the top three and not closing. What does that mean? And I only say that because for a hundred years of Kentucky basketball, we've closed on these dudes, right? We got we got Pat Raleigh from upstate New York, you know, we got dudes to come play, and all of a sudden we can't. That's what I'm asking. Is like we've done this, but we can't do it all of a sudden anymore.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

I think with the new guidelines where money is a factor, uh, the new guidelines of what college basketball is today versus what it was five years ago, I think we just haven't got caught up, not necessarily caught up, we haven't mastered the new world of college basketball, unfortunately. I think that's what the delay is. We're a couple years behind.

SPEAKER_04 26:18

And but but my point, Trace, is Kentucky's never been behind. Like my point is because I'm the Negro on the panel. If you remember 1966 with Texas Western and the big deal of the all-black starting five, beating the all-black or the all-white starting five, and within uh Joby Hall getting here, we're runners up, and then we're national champions within eight years. The three-point shot comes in in 1987, and by 1989, we have Patino's Bambinos. In 2008, we hear about the uh uh uh the NBA one and done's, and by 2009, we now go on a run where we're elite eight or better in five or six years. So when people tell me the world is changing, my pushback is Kentucky figures it out and it figures it out quick. That's what I'm saying. Every time there's a rule change, Kentucky figures it out, and now all of a sudden it's supposed to be well, you know, they get money now, so it's different.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

We are Kentucky. I a hundred percent agree. I like I'm in a full agreement with you. It's just we haven't figured it out yet. That's why we're behind. But that's what I'm saying. Let me jump in.

SPEAKER_08 27:26

We need to, we need to, but uh Paul Paul's traveling and he's he's joining us.

SPEAKER_05 27:32

Uh hey, Paul, thanks for all if I can jump in just there, like go. TV, I agree with what you're saying, but like knowing the side of of the NIL and you know things like that that I've been involved with, this has been this is not as much a program, you know, issue from well, this is not like the basketball program issue, right? This is an institutional ideal, ideological, philosophical issue. Mitch Barnhart, and this is a proven fact, was late on NIL. We had dudes that were running NIL that had no business operating the NIL space, especially when it came to basketball. And that's what really did it. So, like when we have these conversations, I agree with you, like we should figure it out. But Mitch didn't figure it out because A, he was late, and B, we had people who should not have been running it to begin with there. So now we have the situations we have now where whether I I think it's just a cocktail of, I think Pope is a great, probably X is an O's coach. I don't think he's like Will Stein, where Will Stein's walking into the building, he's like, Oh yeah, I changed the catwalk and didn't tell him, right? I think he's way too soft from that. Like you have to have a guy that's gonna come in here and go, This is stupid as hell, right? And that's what we did too, right? TV, like we got Patino, massive personality. We got Cal, massive personality. No, we're gonna go get the one and dunce, right? The coach kind of forced the change as well. But in the NIL era, you've had these hiccups with from the mission administration that's really throwing this off. You saw it with football too, a shitty coach. Mark Stoops was just didn't adapt, and you had an administration that didn't adapt, and then you had a team that sucked.

SPEAKER_04 29:11

I I'm I'm with you guys, but again, I'm a Negro, I have talked to Negro people like the switch to we are gonna work on integration was huge, and I think that gets underplayed by a lot of non-Negro people. Like that was a big deal, and we underplay that to boost up a guy we like.

SPEAKER_05 29:29

But but did we also have but did we also have an administration that I don't know a lot about the history, so I'm I'm not that we like give me give me just a second.

SPEAKER_04 29:38

We had a gut we had a governor go to Wes Unselled of Seneca High School, where I went and went to Rump and said, You need to get this guy on campus, and it didn't work. And then Joe B showed up and made it work. We keep thinking that what we're going through is new and unusual and all this kind of stuff, but to get a black person to the University of Kentucky to play basketball was mind-blowing in the 1970s, and I refuse to believe that what we're doing right now is more is is mind-blowing. I refuse to believe it.

SPEAKER_05 30:10

It's it's TB, I agree with you 100% that I refuse to believe it.

SPEAKER_08 30:16

It's actually easy. Yeah, let me let me easy. Let's go, Trace. Let Trace jump in. Go ahead, Trey.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Well, uh, yeah, I think we're all on the same page. They they need it's not the hardest thing we've ever done. We need to be, but I just don't think we have. What Paul is saying with Mitch running the show and all these people slow to adapting in this era in the last 20 years, we are slow to we well under the last few years, we've been slow to adapt and I know they want to do that. You're right, you're right. And I agree with you, it's just we haven't done it yet. Like we 100% should be doing.

SPEAKER_05 30:46

And it's very frustrating because it's not as hard as we're making it. And I've taught I've talked to people in other athletic departments who have literally said, you know, Kentucky says this, that, and the other. But if you get in a recruiting battle with them, you can beat them because they have issues. And we've seen it, we've seen it. Even Will Stein, right? We lost some guys that we were leading. We were the highest bidder on, we lost them. So there's flaws in our entire philosophy, but it doesn't affect football the way it affects basketball. But we should figure it out because it's not that complicated to figure out. Other schools are doing it.

SPEAKER_04 31:14

Right. It it shouldn't be, and that's Paul, that's what I'm saying is people tell me you have to be patient. I'm like, how long has I agree with you?

SPEAKER_06 31:23

No patience.

SPEAKER_04 31:23

No, how is how long has Dusty May been in Michigan when he takes over a win team, right? I agree. In Iowa, I'm in Iowa of all places, and I'm telling these people, hey man, Florida is tough. I don't know if y'all are gonna get them. Like, they we haven't led one minute against Florida, and then Iowa puts Florida the fuck out. And I'm like, and they're looking at me like, you said it was hard. I'm like, I guess.

SPEAKER_05 31:45

I agree with you. We shouldn't be patient. This is a very easy thing. We're doing something nobody else is doing. Maybe we need to do something that other people are doing where it's working, at least in basketball, because that would fix the problem. We shouldn't like if anyone says patience in the NIR. No, this is not a patience thing. This is a stop letting stupid people make the decisions thing.

SPEAKER_08 32:04

Let me let me let's for the sake of time, because Terry, I know I'm gonna try to get you out of here to watch your old Lakers. Uh, this whole Billy Donovan effect, the shadow. He he's, you know, in my opinion, uh Pope is on the hot seat next season. Uh, looking at this roster, um, the 10 that's currently on the roster, uh, you know, we're not I I think a majority of BBN are just not dazzled with this team. And it's the consensus here is that this roster is less than this past roster. Ah, and now you got Billy Donovan, who is uh a free agent. He's likely looks like he's gonna sit this season out, but I mean, dude, I mean, as soon as if if we get anything near uh from Pope to what we got this past season or next season, what we got this past season. I mean, uh you gotta you gotta throw the you gotta throw everything at to get Donovan in, right? Am I as a fan? I mean, that's the time is now. That's the guy that BBN has wanted since what tubby left, right? Yeah, so now's the time. Trace, I'll I'll start with you. The Billy Donovan shadow.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

Yeah, but let me ask you a question on that topic. So Billy Donovan was good, was great. What was it, late 2000, around 2007, eight, that era. I'm not opposed, like I'm not like anti-bil Billy Donovan at all. Help me understand how that how he is gonna be, he was good what 20 years, 20 years ago almost. That's you know, that's a great idea. He'll be that good in this era. I'm not saying he won't. I'm just saying, you know, are is he gonna are we is he gonna be good in this era? He can be, but like help me understand that he will be.

SPEAKER_08 33:46

Like that's a good, you know. I I'm I'm I'm thinking, I don't know if I have the answer to that. Uh, Paul, I'll start with you. You answer that.

SPEAKER_05 33:53

Well, uh, I mean, there's no doubt that he's gonna be the guy that they're gonna go to. I mean, there's not gonna be someone that you're going to pull with the r resume that Billy Donovan has as far as a multi-time national champion, multi-time Final Four winner. I think he'd probably actually have an easier time in the NIL era now when you go come from the NBA because you're gonna operate in free agency. He would be in the he would understand the GM world. He could attract a hell of a staff. I mean, when we think about it, Cal wasn't a great X is a N's guy, right? Robick was. When Robick left, we saw that kind of slide. So you can have coaches that have a deficiency in one way or the other. But I think Donovan coming here would be a huge thing. They're not like I know a lot of people yell are saying, oh, go get Jai Lucas. Like, like, do you see who Miami's going to get there for their AD? He's the president of Rock Nation. They're Miami is like playing, Miami's playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers in NIL right now. Um, like Jai Lucas will has a blank check to stay in Miami. Plus, I don't think that you go get a guy after his second year, no matter what. If he wins the national title, maybe you throw the brink check at him. But I think the pressure piece is gonna be huge because right now you're right, the roster isn't good. I don't think this is gonna be the final roster, but they've gotta, we said this a couple times, they've gotta thread the needle now to make it to where it could be a final full roster. But every if it doesn't happen, you're just gonna have a whole year of like dead man walking. And Donovan, I just think adds the pressure because he's the easiest get. He's the lowest, he's the easiest, least risky get. And I'll kind of counter a little bit too. You're also gonna have a new AD, right? So, what's the thing that the new AD would want to do? Bring in a guy who has Kentucky ties, who's a multi-time national champion, been to a bunch of Final Fours, understands the SEC and the fans love. It's a low-risk hire, so if he bombs, right, you can kind of say, hey, like that was the guy you wanted.

SPEAKER_04 35:40

No, like Paul, I agree with you that most of BBM would be like, go get Billy. If the Pope thing doesn't work, go get Billy Donovan, right? So you can at least show we did what you wanted. But the the pushback would be to North Carolina, like they just got Mike Malone. Like, we don't know how that's gonna work on the court, but he's a championship-winning courts coach on the inner uh NBA level, and he's coming to North Carolina with you know a GM in place, right? Because North Carolina realized a former player got it like I just keep saying that with Pope, we're not gonna get to the seven, eight win, nine-win plateau. But like North Carolina, it's like is getting to 20 wins enough? That's where we are. Mark Pope is never gonna deliver a bad season where we're like, oh, yeah, gads, but can we get to a 30-win season? That's the question, Drew.

SPEAKER_08 36:29

Uh, you've not had a chance to talk. You're listening. Give us your takes.

SPEAKER_01 36:34

Yeah. Well, I think the biggest thing is kind of like what Paul mentioned, like, there's gonna be a new AD. So, I mean, even in general, like Pope could have a decent year and like he can feel the need to just cut ties, anyways, if he doesn't like what he sees out of Coach Pope. Now, I'm not saying that's likely to happen, but like you've seen that in the in the past with like new ads taking over, like they just they want their own guy here. Yeah, so I mean, that's something interesting. I think I think watching Michael Malone this year as well will give us a little bit of you know, a completely different coach, right? Billy Donovan's coached in college before, but that can kind of give Kentucky fans a little bit of like something to look at and be like, okay, is Michael Malone doing good? Is he doing decent? Is he doing bad? Like to kind of get a little bit of a eyeball at how it could work. But you know, like Billy Donovan, I mean, he'd be a good hire. I mean, I'm sure he'll be able to recruit, you know, has NBA ties, he's a well-likable guy. He's wired like crazy. You know, I've heard like nobody works harder than him in in the coaching world. So, you know, I don't know. I mean, I think the shadow effect probably will be real, you know, especially if he's sitting out for a year. Like, that's something to definitely monitor. There was no chance that Kentucky was hiring him when we hired Mark Pope. That was not gonna happen. Billy Donovan is a guy that he wants to stick things out. Kentucky would have been so late to hire him, it's why he didn't take the North Carolina job. Like it would have been like another week and a half, two weeks after they hired Mike Malone for him to get in the door. So now that he's sitting out, it could be something interesting. But I mean, just I hope that it works out with Coach Pope, but like I I hate we all do. I think I would hate to go through another coaching change and those things, but obviously, I mean, if he doesn't get the job done, then you got to make changes because Kentucky's not in a great spot.

SPEAKER_08 38:20

No, it's staying true to the TB3 rule. It's not just TB's rule, but it is the rule on this show. It's the TB3 rule, three-year rule. Well you know, this this roster, Terry, this coming, this roster that has these 10 players on this roster right now is not cutting it. He's gonna he's gonna barely win 20, he's gonna lose 14.

SPEAKER_05 38:45

Yeah, but you're also not taking into account the five and five rule that's gonna kick in, and that's gonna be a whole nother whole nother portal.

SPEAKER_08 38:52

Paul, can you hold on to the for that segment?

SPEAKER_04 38:56

And and and look, people can sprinkle in all these differences, you know, the five and five rule, the one and dollar. Let's go, let's just go the the three-point chance time out. All all I'm saying is for 85 years from coach Rupp taking over in 1932 to Mark Pope taking over in 2024, every coach at Kentucky that coached three plus years reached an elite eight in the NCAA tournament. And you can sprinkle in whatever things you want to say that has happened. Every three-year coach reaches the elite eight. Every coach since Adolph Rupp has been SEC coach of the year, except for the current coach. And you can come back with, well, it's different and bliss. I'm just telling you, that's what happens within three years. Within three years, we get proof of concept. Are you familiar with that? Anybody familiar with proof of concept? Is if you remember Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile forever and ever they thought that no one could break the four-minute mile, and then he did. And now in 2026, my daughter can break the four-minute mile because she saw someone do it. What I'm saying is within three years, as Kentucky fans, we have gotten at least an elite eight, and the elite eight was the guy that got pushed out the door in Eddie Sutton. Every other coach has done more than that within year three. I'm being I'm being generous with year three, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_05 40:24

Eddie and and Billy G are the only two that have it, right?

SPEAKER_04 40:27

Billy G only got two years. Billy G lost. At least three years. At least three years. And I hate to tell you, even Billy G was SEC coach of the year. Yeah. Even the guy we don't even claim was SEC coach of the year. And now I've got a guy that's scrambling to beat Tex AM. Like y'all telling me that it's moved this much.

SPEAKER_05 40:50

What was the worst we were? What isn't the worst we finished under Billy G in the SEC third? Yes.

SPEAKER_08 40:55

Yes. Well, and what's that argument about the SEC back then? It wasn't as strong as it is now, which is fair. I mean, it wasn't, but uh still Billy G also didn't have the rosters that we had. No, he didn't either. Yeah. So we had Patterson was his guy then.

SPEAKER_04 41:12

By year three, we have proof of concept that a coach can get it done. Yep. And if if we go through this next year, and I don't care who we get, somebody international, if Stokes signs, if we are having the same conversation in April of 2027, then the standard has changed. Then we don't do what we've done. That's all I'm saying. All right, let's let's say like with championships and all this, but I'm like, this is what we do. Yeah, you can't change it because you like the coat.

SPEAKER_08 41:40

Let's go to this uh five, um, what am I saying here? Five for five rule, guys. Um, so basically, for people out there who are not familiar with this, this is in a sense that uh the NCAA would grant all all athletes, not basketball, all athletes uh five years of eligibility um to play five season, uh effectively eliminating uh red shirts, right? Fair. Uh so you you you say goodbye to red shirts, Drew, but you say hello to 23-year-old senior. Well, and you say goodbye to and then you throw in uh real quick, uh, correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't this a President Trump executive order? Is it right? It is that it has to be done by like uh in the summer, July, August, or something. But, anyways, Drew, start with you. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

Well, there's a lot of rule changes that are being thrown around with transfer portal, you know, rules and those things, but this is the one that is gaining the most traction right now. You mentioned it would take away red shirts, it would also take away like seventh-year, 25, 26-year-old seniors as well. Um we don't want dads playing on our dad. Yeah, exactly. But I I think I honestly originally I was kind of against it. I was like, well, let's just leave the kids the four years and get them out of here or whatever. But I think if if all the rules go into effect, like transfer rules, you get one free transfer. If you transfer again, um your coach has or you have to sit out a year. If your coach leaves, you get the transfer for free, like all these rules being thrown around. I actually like it because I think it makes the system a lot better. And it's better for I think the schools, but also better for the for the student athletes as well. So I'm in favor for it. I mean, that like I think it it's it's needed to happen because really anything, like rules need to happen anyways, because you know, there there are no rules right now. And if there are, like you can you can maneuver your way around them. So really I'm just happy to see that rules are being talked about like seriously and actually potentially go into effect to fix college sports. So you're right, yeah. I mean, that's kind of my thoughts on it.

SPEAKER_08 43:50

Trace. Um, you know, my take, you know, in reading this and trying to get familiar with it, to me, it's like the the hired gun fifth year guy. Uh, you know, the what's gonna happen, you know, come uh, and I found this is it's August, is when it's supposed to go into effect. How how will the transfer portal? I mean, will it explode if every senior now suddenly becomes a free agent? One year, one more year. Go ahead, Frederick.

SPEAKER_02 44:16

I'm I'm for the the rule if it gets approved and passed on through because it provides stability to this whole world. It's not gonna be about not that I'm I would do the same if I was them, but not that I'm against it. But these players just I think I'm gonna throw muddy o but in the bus. Let's go and Kirk Kreesa every year. Let's just see how much money I can get. I would do the exact same if I was in their position, but I think it's gonna provide more stability, and then also you you're gonna have more retention. Uh, a lot of your players are gonna stay. I assume with your team multiple years versus let me just go here. I mean, Odio Bate went to LSU and they had nobody on the roster at zero.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

And what is it? He's still the only player on LSU right now.

SPEAKER_02 44:51

Yeah, that there you go. I'm saying it's there's strictly bad work. That's all that is. I'm not hating on him. I would do it as well if I was him. But that chaos of not knowing next year, then the team's gonna be entirely different. It's gonna give you some stability. And so I'm for it. I I can't at this moment think of the negatives of it.

SPEAKER_07 45:06

Uh TB, you want to jump in on that? Follow up. Hello, TB. Somebody.

SPEAKER_04 45:11

No, it's it it's fine. It's it it it's a it's a good rule, but I I don't know how enforceable it is. I think a lot of people need to read up on what an executive order actually entails. Uh, but you know, uh, I think five for five makes sense because we're all tired of you know 24-year-olds playing college basketball, college football. So I think it makes sense, but we'll see if it holds up.

SPEAKER_05 45:33

Paul, what you got? Um, I think it's this will be if not when. There's a big push for it to happen in May. I think it probably will. Uh, no one's on a worse losing streak in the world um than the NCAA. Um you basically can sue them and they lose. They I mean, the it's just it just shows you how bad the governing body actually has been. I I think it's a good rule too. I agree with everything everybody said. You need more stability. I think it's gonna go back. It will go back to having an importance on your high school recruiting and development a little bit more, which is the way college athletics should be, instead of just your hired guns all the time. Um, I think it would benefit, I think it'll benefit some schools a little bit more than others, right? I think it benefits where Kentucky football is going a hell of a lot more. I think it'll eventually uh really uh do do well for Kentucky basketball soon. But this year, there is that big push. And look, I've already talked to people that are around Kentucky. Like they if Stokes doesn't sign, you know, Otega basically has a blank check. Like he will be and there's a good shot he the only way I think Otega doesn't come back and he's like, yeah, I don't want to go to class anymore, that kind of stuff, right? Um but he's not a protected first-round pick. He would make way more money going into the coming back here. Now, does he want to bet him on a bottom bet on himself and go for the second contract that's up near? But there's a lot of dudes that are gonna be there, and I think you're seeing, I think you're seeing a couple coaches. LSU might be one of them. Kentucky, I definitely think, is one of them that's paid kind of patiently waiting in the wings for those guys. Because you're right, they're basically gonna be mercenaries for hire. And what's gonna happen is you're gonna have a bunch of these teams that are gonna use up so much of their budget that are gonna scramble. They're not gonna have Kentucky money. LSU has bags of money, right? They're not gonna have that, and they're gonna be able to go out and snatch up two or three of these guys. And some of these guys might come off the bench when they wouldn't have come off the bench somewhere else. I mean, like there's a rule, there is a world where Stokes comes here. We haven't necessarily gotten a better, like a proven, proven four outside of that, the international guy. And Otega comes back and you have Stokes playing the four at times. I mean, there's a world where that happens. Um, so I like the rule. It's gonna be chaos this year again, but then I think I think it does provide the stability that uh that we're all looking for in college athletics. Because right now, the portal's fun, it's good for engagement, right? Like it's for us and media doing this, and it's people really pay attention. Right. But for the good of the game long term, um, it just kind of sucks. And it's going to get to a point where people are going to check out because it ruins how special it is.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

Well, also, also with the rule, like I I don't know if there's fine print in there, but it'll be interesting if it does get past what the actual like wording is. Like, do those do these guys already have to be in the portal? Because some of them entered the portal, like they'll just sue. Yeah, or the or will they open up a certain transfer portal window for these guys? Like, you know, that that's that's the biggest thing of like how do they really navigate this, or do they just don't allow it? I think it's easy.

SPEAKER_05 48:30

You just give it a two week, you just give it, they'll give a two-week window. All right, if you were in or you're not, if you want to pull out there, that's why they have to do it before the draft, right? Like, because then guys that don't get drafted, then they're gonna sue for their eligibility back. It'd just be a massive mess if they wait until August.

SPEAKER_01 48:45

So they need to do it before the draft.

SPEAKER_08 48:47

That's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

Really that's what I think. I think they'll probably, if they do it, I would I would lean more that they will take it into effect next year and not right now because of the absolute chaos that it would cause.

SPEAKER_05 49:00

But then, Drew, you'll have people suing because the executive orders already happen. That's why I think it'll go really fast now because the NCAA just loses all the time. And that's why I think it'll probably happen before the draft this year.

SPEAKER_04 49:11

They don't lose as much as you think. Like they've lost some some some some cases that we point to. The NCAA has not lost as much as we as we think. There's been some big losses. They also need to NCAA, they haven't lost as much as you think.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

For something like this, too. They they need to buckle down and actually like enforce the rules. And whether it's lawsuits or not, like they they can still put penalties on teams who, you know, like they, you know, Coach Pope mentioned it himself. Like, the NCAA does have a, you know, the I I guess, you know, they can they can determine who makes the NCAA tournament, they can control who pretty much makes the college football playoffs, like they can buckle down if they need to. It's just, yeah, lawsuits obviously like they suck for the NCAA and everybody else, but they also can determine a lot as well. But they need to start buckling down more and put down the authority of like, hey, these are the rules. If you know, like quit suing, or if you sue, you know, like it doesn't change anything, even if the courts allow you to be eligible, they can still enforce penalties and rules and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_08 50:11

I hate to be a be that guy, but I gotta I gotta talk to my hold on, I gotta talk to my Ruptured no good podcast friends as they're live streaming on a Sunday night. I thought we had carte blanc the Sunday night. All right, I'm playing. All right, real quick, let me let me get some comments and let me share some of the comments and get y'all's feedback. Uh, did I miss this? What's the not so good news about tomorrow that Quincy speaks of? True? What's you know that Paul? Anybody? I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 50:38

Is uh Slim Jesus kid gonna go to Arkansas? I don't know if you were actually if you're actually really thinking that he was gonna come to Genzai, I don't know. You don't think that's good news, but he got crystal ball for Arkansas.

SPEAKER_07 50:50

All right, and then what's this?

SPEAKER_08 50:52

Uh how many Dr. Miller time, how many of y'all believe Pope will be here after this year race, race of hands?

SPEAKER_05 50:58

Uh I gotta see the roster first.

SPEAKER_08 51:01

Yeah, it's not done. We get it, but Paul, even you have to admit you're not dazzled with this roster.

SPEAKER_05 51:08

It's 50-50 right now.

SPEAKER_08 51:10

Uh and and then you got the uh this is the roster, we're not even going to the NIT. Oh, and then you got Donovan uh uh, you know, in free agent mode, too.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

So well, and also I mean, the new AD, like, who knows? Maybe he can pull some of the big fish out in college basketball that we were just thinking of our last search or what just happened at North Carolina, but Kentucky hires a new AD, like who knows who he could pull too.

SPEAKER_05 51:33

So it's not just I would just I would I push back on that too, just because we're seeing this across not only college basketball, but college football. The big guys aren't leaving, right? Like, look at Penn State, took him like two months, two and a half months to get a coach, right? Like, you the money that's at these programs, if the coach is good, is going they go get the extra money, they give him the extra NIL, they pay him more money. That's where NIL's kind of made this a little bit more level playing field. And until that trend changes, no one's gone out and done it in the last three, two or three years. So maybe we are, but I just don't think that that's gonna happen because the comfort of staying where you're at and you know the success, and you have a less hot seat than coming to Kentucky knowing it's gonna be on F and fire if something doesn't work, it the risk rewards are great and different, like it's not worth the extra million a year you might get.

SPEAKER_08 52:21

Is this would this this would be uh accurate? So a 25-year-old player from overseas can play in the NCAA until he's 30.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

No, I no, no, they I think there's certain I think I think there's a certain deadline of age, like it might have been 25 or 26. I think like you're you're literally cut off from playing in NCAA sports. Is there?

SPEAKER_02 52:45

I thought it was like from when they graduate high school or 18th.

SPEAKER_08 52:52

Okay, yeah, it's five years from high school or 18. Yeah, I don't know. Granted, there are dads that are playing right now, but yeah, overseas over overseas.

SPEAKER_04 53:02

What does that even mean? Like, that's the the the fine print. Like we're painting in broad strokes. What does overseas, what does high school mean? Overseas. Does anybody know in Finland what what that looks like? Like, we don't know what that means, and so people smarter than me. But they don't find course we do, right? We but that's the point I'm making is we say high school, what does that mean in Finland? What does that mean in Slovakia? It's like that's the people smarter than me.

SPEAKER_01 53:30

I was gonna say that's the stuff that the NKA has to discuss before they put these rules into effect, because if not, people are gonna find loopholes like they've done through the NIL, the the the COVID stuff. These are the things that the NCAA has to discuss, and they have got to get it right if they're gonna make rule changes, if not loopholes, lawsuits like what Paul was mentioning, lawsuits are gonna happen, like they have got to get this in fine print of every single possible situation.

SPEAKER_04 53:56

That's the point I'm making. Like we can talk about of sh, of course, a 23-year-old can't play. Lawyers that make a thousand dollars an hour are going to get to the minutia of it. That's what I'm talking about, is we can paint in broad brushes, like of course a 25-year-old couldn't play. Do you know the the structure in Sweden? I don't. Somebody has to figure that out to make sure we don't have 30-year-olds playing college basketball. I think that's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 54:25

18 or you're graduating high school because we have 19 year olds that graduate high school here, right? So I think that's why it puts the age stipulation of 18 or graduating high school.

SPEAKER_04 54:35

That's just the that's just the executive order, but that like I can write a piece of paper on the executive order. Like we're we're holding that like it's law, it's got to go through a process.

SPEAKER_05 54:45

Sure, sure. I I I we're just talking in the superficial right now.

SPEAKER_08 54:48

Yeah, right. And you know, let me um, you know, one program that has killed it with the with the portal, you know, sad but true, is the local school here in my town, Louisville, Kentucky. Cards uh, I mean, they they've done a great job with their portal. Um, however, should I hate their team.

SPEAKER_05 55:08

I think it's the I think them I think the built construction of that team stinks.

SPEAKER_08 55:13

We'll we'll see how that plays out. But my where I'm going with this is that you got it for this five five for five thing, um, you know, somewhat like a program like Louisville, uh who's the Ryan, Ryan, uh what's uh Ryan Conwell? Con Conwell. Some a a kid like that who probably is not going to be a high, you know, an im a first round draft pick.

SPEAKER_05 55:36

If he mocked this 53, I think, right now.

SPEAKER_08 55:38

Yeah. So so if he he's in a position, he would be in a position definitely to come back and make some money, whether but it, you know, but does he obviously with Louisville's with all their spending? I don't think Kelsey's looking at the big picture when it comes to the five for five. And you got, I guess what where I'm going with is that now how many how many teams out there are in a position to bring back the you know, a player who was a senior on their team because you know, because they have had the money or they don't have the money, you know, is is Pope maybe uh looking big picture and you know knew of this five or five, and you know, could potentially reel in a player or two that becomes really a fifth-year senior would be pretty much an elite player for the program. Fairfowl, what am I off here? Somebody Bueller, France. I mean I mean Kentucky or Drew, go ahead, Drew. Keep on.

SPEAKER_01 56:38

Yeah, I mean Kentucky definitely is in the spot where they could improve from that. I mean, yeah, Pope was waiting around for the five for five. He he might get it sitting on his golden or you know, on a he might get a golden ticket for, but I don't think he should have done that, and I hope that's not what he's doing, is just waiting around hoping a rule change happens. Like I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think that's I'm gonna be the farthest person from just using that as an excuse of why the roster looks the way it does. But uh, what do I know? Maybe he knows some top secret stuff that we don't know, and he's gonna end up putting together and he's gonna end up grabbing four or five fifth-year seniors, and then all of a sudden you're like, oh, Kentucky's the number one preseason team in the country. Like, I don't know, but I I hope and I don't think he was operating under that assumption.

SPEAKER_08 57:25

Yeah, if that plays out, then all of a sudden Billy Donna was like, I had a$10 million payday waiting for me in a year.

SPEAKER_05 57:33

I I'm gonna disagree, though. I think it's exactly what he's doing. I think he does know. I think he, I think, I think it's like I think it's a culmination of I think he's waiting on a couple dudes that are maybe gonna make NBA decisions. I think there's a couple guys in that five, five and five, and I think they're and some other international guys. And then if Stokes comes, Stokes comes. I I think that that's kind of the way that that he's that is getting looked at. So then you notice where that five and five thing really kind of kicked in and a lot of the chatter about May, about that rule change. Like we it kind of was like Kentucky went like a streaky hall. And even McBride, they were recruiting another guy. Kentucky told him they had McBride for the backup role, and now McBride's not even like committed because now I think Kentucky's even like there's other gonna be other options. Uh, there's the guy he he I forget, I forgot his name, uh, played it at Minnesota power forward, average 20 points a game shot to 41%. K Tyson, yeah. Like that's one that I think that they would look at and salivate over. I think he'll take over if it if Stokes doesn't come. I mean, you're bringing back another three that that basically could could, you know, is a 20-point per game. If you add like those two guys along, Kentucky, you have you have a you have a your roster all of a sudden it goes from good to borderline elite. You have one more guy, and now it's elite elite, right? So I think they are playing that game a little bit. At this point, it's probably not a stupid game to play because a lot of the elite cases are off the board. So it's kind of like, hey, if you're gonna go down, at least go down with a chance to go get two or three more dudes that would be hyper elite. And if it works, look, if it works, it changes the narrative. If it doesn't work, you're probably out of a job anyway, but you weren't getting the top guys. I also think there's there's there has been talk about Graves or Milan, and there's a lot of money on the table potentially for for one of those guys. So I, you know, I think they're playing that cat and mouse right now. It's high risk, but if it works, I mean that's why I tell people like there is still a chance Kentucky has an elite roster next year. They just got to thread a needle, and but if it happens, we're all excited. If not, we're you know, talking about Billy Donovan all summer.

SPEAKER_08 59:36

Michelle Morton, can we start please? Can we start over? Just got back from Happy Hour. I tell you what, the I'll I'll send you my Venmo. You you hook me up, I will start this show all over and entice Trace, who has the Michelle's great she watches about 20 hours of never used to be. Is she the most loyal BBN fan as far as all the podcasts out here? So, Michelle, love you. Like, all right, so let's uh Michelle's great. Yeah, she is great. Mitch Barnhart. That golden parachute got grounded. Wow. Let me just say this. Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't this all basically because of our governor? Is that fair?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:20

Because he put he put out a I mean, I would I would like to think that all we all played a big role in that freaking thing.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:27

That's yeah, and you know what? Let's let's say this. And you're right, because during this stretch, once that got announced that Barnhart was getting this uh this freaking almost um one million dollar uh handout, you know, a lot of BBN voiced their opinions, voiced their concerns, and all this stuff. So to your point, Paul, you're right. Governor Bashir might have been the person who made the final turn of that jar that we were all struggling to open. And he he put the post out, and here we are. Um, so on April 23rd, my birthday, y'all can give me belated birthday. No, we'll we'll check. So, yeah, so Barnhart uh on uh 423, April 23rd, uh is no longer taking this executive in residence role. Paul, you have been someone that I have wholly relied on when it came to Mitch and this golden parachute. What say you about him uh and no longer taking this role?

SPEAKER_05 1:01:36

I mean, the fact that he's just not gonna be associated with Kentucky is just a fantastic thing. Um I saw something where I think Matt Jones said it, it makes a lot of sense. It's he's like, you know, it's like a couple of these other guys, like Cal or Stoops or whatever, at the end of the tenure. You don't care about the other stuff he did because of the what what happened, right? And I mean, look, Mitch is five years too long from being being, you know, out of this job. I think he's a dinosaur. Um, I think it's interesting that the governor basically took a used it to get engagement. So whoever advised him to do that, and he really didn't give a shit about that, actually. It was really about the dean of law, because you saw that in his subsequent post and everything that kind of went went out. But it was actually that, but it was but it still got the traction, right? Like VSTN picked it up, Yahoo picked it up, CVA, everybody ran with it. Like, holy shit, look at this. And it caused the pressure that we've all been giving, right? Like, and this isn't just like I don't want to take a dunk, you know, a dunk on piss. I've been very critical of Mitch Barnhart for two straight years. So um, I'm very happy. Uh, but I think for the goodie at the I think two things it did. A, it got gets Mitch away from the program. You needed that. And B, I think it all but guarantees and solidifies you're not gonna get Mark Hill or Rachel Baker as your athletic director, which is all three things are huge wins for the future of the University of Kentucky, and to what we've been talking about earlier with like TV, you know, get people in here that can actually fix some of these problems because the current administration uh that we've seen uh either doesn't have the competency or is too stupid to adjust to fix these problems.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:07

Trace, jump in.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:08

Ain't it as Paul was going through that, ain't it ironic how you know the end, how all three of their exits happened, Stoops, Cal, and now Barnhart, how you thought it was gonna be this thing, and we were like, wait a second, that this doesn't like you know, the cow interview of him coming back, and everybody's like, What? This is weird, and all, and then we almost get bailed out. I don't know if that's the right word, but now Barnhart's not going to be associated with the program. We didn't really want him to. Cal gave us a favor, and then Mark Stoops was a nice enough guy that said, Hey, if you can give my buyout over X amount of years. It's weird how it all worked out because you got for a second there thought, like, oh shit, here we go. We get kind of bailed out.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:42

Yeah, oh, good take. Uh TB, what are you thinking? Feeling?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:46

Yeah, like I I probably was the last person on Mark uh Mitch Barnhart Island. Uh, but a lot of things have come uh over the last few years where I'm like, that's that that dude's gotta go. And I think people are focused on what men's basketball's doing. There's also some a couple of scandals going on. That's what I'm getting to is the the you know, we're talking about men's basketball and football, but I'm like, I implore people to go to the Pablo Torre podcast on the Riley Gaine situation, and I'm not here to debate that. What I'm here to debate is one of the former University of Kentucky swimmers said, I can't care about this because my head coach raped my teammate. And the response from the university to that to me is disqualifying to be continue to be athletic director 100. The same way with the the cross-country code. I know people don't give a shit about women's sport. I have two daughters playing sports, right? So to me, your response to that is disqualifying. I don't care what you built on alumni drive, I don't care about any of that other stuff. I don't care about the men's basketball stuff, but I'm tired of seeing my university drug through the mud and and the athletic director is twiddling his thumbs. He's gotta go. Like full stop.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:02

And don't and the cheerleading skin, the hazing thing that we had a couple years ago, too, right? Like this is all it's and it's all been handled and trying to be pushed under the rug and discredited. And I agree with you, man. That's so well. I had two daughters too. So this stuff pisses me off. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:18

You mentioned hold on. Well, you mentioned the cheerleaders, give a quick shout out. Uh I don't I know well, I don't talk much outside of basketball and football. The the cheerleading win wins another title. Just sorry, just say it. But anyway, go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:31

It it was it it it was basically what has happened with all the other things with these women's sports is the coach or assistive coach gets too cozy, okay? And we could all pretend like we don't know what that means, but if you have a daughter, you know what the fuck that means when somebody gets too cozy. All right. Let me just put it like that. And so what has happened is uh for most of these coaches, it's like a year-to-year or maybe a two-year contract. And so the university has investigated the coach's contract ends, and it's like he doesn't work here anymore, so we're good to go. And for me, I'm like, no, fuck that. If I can be so blunt, like, no, those young women that wear Kentucky across their chest should be just as protected as we are about the people that play in Ruperena for Mark Poe. We should protect all of them. And so for this uh athletic administration to be like, well, he doesn't work here, so we're good to go. No, fuck that. He's gotta go. So I'm gonna end that right here.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:28

And that's only the things that the public knows about, and I'll just leave it at that.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:33

That's that's another and it's the thing, Paul, like the stuff we know about is terrible. What I tell people is like it's the stuff you don't know about that's way fucking worse.

SPEAKER_08 1:06:43

Yep. Yep. Um as a podcaster doing a show, I mean Kentucky sports right now is like I mean, there's we can talk I uh you usually with round of shots, I shut it down. I'm a seasonal sh I was a seasonal show. I would stop uh after basketball season and pick up you know a a month before the football season starts, but I don't think this is the case. I think we're gonna be on every Sunday for a while, and I get to hang with a lot of lot of foolishness, a lot of foolishness up there, Kevin A. Uh, you know, here's a where what's this? Let me bring this comment up, Paul. I uh this is Shannon Payne. Thanks for your comment. And this has been addressed before, but Paul, you know this better. Do y'all think that JMI is a huge part of why we are not getting recruits? And and we've we've shared that narrative with JMI. But help help her call.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:37

I think it's a I think it's a part because we've heard you know players, coaches, recruits, agents, all of it across the board saying something over the other about the language of the contract. I I refuse to also believe that you miss out on however many guys we've gotten into the last two or to the finish line when you go into contract negotiations, that it's all on Mark Pope. I mean, if you want to say he should have hired a GM, yep. Should he be stronger to get these situations fixed, I agree. But like all these things about like, oh, Mark Pope and recruiting and showing him acting like a buffoon, maybe that's partly there. But at the same, and I know we have misses, and there's been stuff the staff has fumbled, but I I don't know if it's like like the odds tell you that it can't be 20 for 20, right? Like you can't be every top recruit we've had, every top guy in the portal. You know, we've been highest bidder for stuff. I I do think that we, you know, and and the PSR Pilgrim in politics put it out, right? Like there's inhibitive language in there that talks about, you know, signing your NIL over. And people don't understand. In basketball, it's way there, it's way more of an individual, the individualism and and the money off of your individual who you are is much higher. Like nobody in here knows who the number one football recruit is. He's not getting an IT deal, he's not getting an Adidas deal, right? How many of those guys actually get deals or have sniff a deal like that in college? So you have to have more of a free-flowing agreement there, and I think some of the agents don't like the language that's in it. And then, you know, I think folk probably doesn't help it. I think it's a it's just a cocktail there. Where in football today is a little bit more about what the bottom dollar line is because it's your marketability is gonna be very much more regional.

SPEAKER_08 1:09:12

So that was another comment. Is JMI just a basketball thing or you know?

SPEAKER_05 1:09:17

I think it's a I definitely think it's more, it's it's it's hurting basketball more than than football. It's an easy fix, but this goes into, I think, I think some of the issues is more so administration restrictions on JMI than it may be actual JMI itself. Um, I know some people over at JMI. There's some really good recruiting, you know, guys there. Um you know, I think that they could have a little bit more openness where you could allow other collectives. I think that there could be some other mechanisms that you could be like if it's less, I think in the restrictiveness, I think if you open it up a little bit more, you'd have a lot more success. But also Pope's gotta Pope's gotta dial it in too and be the guy like you know, like Will Stein's kind of like, oh yeah, we're gonna change the catwalk. Um, oh, you should do this for like notice football's PR is out the window right now. Like he's basically said, fuck that to everything with the PR and doing whatever he wants. He said it did it with a catwalk. You gotta have a coach that's gonna come in and ask him Swagger and be like, that's fucking stupid. We're doing it this way. I don't think that that's also where I think that's a fair criticism of Pope.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:19

They're also already doing the uh locker room, the training room. They're already regutting it and putting new stuff in. What are you saying? Just let's make it how it needs to be, let's do it now. He's only been here what three or four months. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:30

Can I jump in on the JMI thing?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:32

Go ahead, Drew.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:33

Yeah, I I agree with a lot of what Paul was saying. Me and him, we we've kind of disagreed in the past with the JMI thing, and that's fine. But um, like for me personally, like I I I think JMI definitely has an impact, but I put me personally again, I put more at fault to Coach Pope because you know you can blame JMI this, JMI that, but at the end of the day, like Kentucky had the most expensive roster in the country last year, they'll probably have a top 10, maybe even a top five this year, depending on who it is, could even be top three. If if if the money is there, how is JMI at fault when the players don't want to come here? Especially when we've seen if it was just one or two or just a handful of misses, okay, maybe there is something there. But when it's been like, I don't know, 20 to 30 legitimately misses or recruiting mishaps in the three years, three off seasons that Pope's recruited. Like at some point, it's it we we can't blame the people that are just writing contracts. Like at some point, that's on Coach Pope.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:33

But Pope doesn't write the contracts, and so you can't always say he gets to the end either and be like every time was hit, like so. We get to the contract phase and we lose these guys at the end when you're negotiating to get them to sign on the bottom line. That the coach doesn't do that, like that's not a coach mechanism, and the money doesn't matter. If you have 30 million dollars, but you're saying, well, you got to do Bank of the Bluegrass and you got to do Paul Miller Ford, and they're like, fuck that. I want to do Nike and I want to do Adidas and Dick Sporting Goods, and you're like, Well, you're gonna go get those deals on your own. We're not gonna help facilitate that, and you can't use another collective to come in that's gonna be in here with those connections to get it. That's where you're missing these because guys are taking deals with less money not to come to Kentucky because of the uh contract language. It's not always that now. Pope, you're right, Drew. Like, I Pope is to blame. We have, I would say it's probably 50-50, but it that 50% is still bad because when you have like that, that's the misnomer about NIL. NIL is not just about the check, right? It's about the structure of what you can do. It's like, how does the brand of this player move forward? And then also it's the viability of where, like, where could that brand go? So if you can't sign your NIL rights over, and now you can only do, you know, those places with no disrespect to them, right? Now all of a sudden your marketability is less because now maybe you've come to Kentucky, now you're a superstar, you're leading the nation and scoring, and now Dix wants to do a deal with you. Well, now you got to do that all on your own. The school's not gonna help you. You're not gonna be able to wear the school marks or anything like that potentially either, because there's no give and take there. That's something where it's like, well, I can go here and make 200 grand less, but I have a potential to make three million dollars more if I ball out.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:11

But we just yeah, we just saw Otega Oway, though, right after the shot did the deal with Buffalo Wild Wings. Maybe part of the problem is Kentucky hasn't had any like serious marketable guys since Pope has been here to legitimately have these big things. I Otega Oway was on a a um Raising Canes commercial throughout February and March too.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:31

Like Raising Canes is also is also local to Kentucky.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:34

Yeah, but over your shoulder. I gotta raise and I got I gotta raise in Canes.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:40

Hold on real quick. What I gotta do my man Trace a solid. Uh he did hit me up and said he needed to bail at at at 10 30. And we're appreciated. We're we're gonna, but Trace, uh, I know you're gonna bail. Let's uh give me your final shot, I'll let you go. And thank you so much for always hanging with us.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:58

Yeah, yeah. Uh final shots. I've got a lot of my I usually go the negative route. I got a lot of my ones that I hate off the last few times. I'm gonna go positive for once, try to be more positive. If you the uh the Oreos that have the peanut butter flavor inside of them are light years better than any other Oreo, especially the regular Oreo, just putting that out there. If you haven't had them, get them.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:19

See, that's that's I'm gonna shot out because I love the double stuff. I'm gonna fist fight you, Trace.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:24

Next time I'm in Kentucky, I'm gonna look you up. I understand the double stuff. Top that's top three for me for sure.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:30

All right, okay. Well, I won't fist fight you because I can't fight. Thank you as always, my brother.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:34

Love you, buddy.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:35

Thank you all. All right, we'll hit you up later. All right, sorry, Trace gone. All right, so we're not final shot, but are are we talking, done talking?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:45

Yeah, I mean the the issue is I think what what Drew and Paul are saying is whatever it is, you gotta cloak because I am John Q average fan. I'm tired of Kentucky getting the top two or three, and then the kid going somewhere else. I don't know if it's Pope or it's JMI. What I'm saying is I'm tired as fuck as watching Kentucky get in the top three, four, five, and we're not closing.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:11

And I'm tired of I'm tired of us having to pivot to like our second or third options as well because we can't close on the first option. I know.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:18

Look, I'll I'll say this. I I don't know how many guys in the year have seen NIL contracts or talk to the lawyers that do NIL contracts.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:25

I have Rick Patino close on Jamal Matt.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:27

I have some people I know that do this world, and um, that's why when I say these things, I say them kind of adamantly, it's because I've I've seen them, like I've actually seen an NIL contract, I've actually seen a negotiation, right? So I I agree with you. It's not 100% on that, but it's definitely a contributing factor.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:45

No, and and and I'm tipping my hat to you because I have not. All I'm saying, Paul, is for 85 years, no matter what college basketballs look like, Kentucky has come out on top, no matter what. I refuse to believe that we're going to just be like, well, you know, the world's different with NIL. I just refuse to believe that.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:04

I promise too. I promise too. If we had a coach that players legitimately died to play for, they would sign that contract. If we had this deal in 2010 to 2009, Cal wanted somebody, those players would have signed that contract.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:18

Cal knew that this deal was coming and what the setup was and left. Like we can say he did a susal, but Cal also knew 100% that what Mitch was doing in the NIL space and he got to get out of jail free front card from Arkansas and bail because he knew it wasn't gonna work the way he wanted it to. So, like, that's that's a fact, too. Like so was on the down downward trajectory that his own. But he was still recruiting, he was still getting top five classes. So we can't move that we can't move the needle if you're gonna say that that that's the thing. Yeah, now he was still getting it. Now he wasn't winning, but he was still getting the dudes, and he left because he didn't think he was gonna still get them. Could this be the right Kitty Walker or just all right?

SPEAKER_04 1:16:57

Go ahead. All all I'm saying is no matter what the world looks like, Kentucky eats. And I refuse to believe in 2026 that we're just like, well, you know, we'll figure it out. Like, I refuse to believe that whoever is responsible.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:12

As John Q fan, what have we ate the last couple of years? What are you talking about? You said Kentucky eat, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:17:18

We were getting dudes on campus and cow was not doing the X and O's. I look, you want to put the Cal thing on me that I defended Cal. I did because he's a Hall of Fame co right now. We have a coaching situation which is unproven, both on the floor and in recruiting. Like we could talk about recruiting is easy, is it? We could talk about X and O's is easy, is it? All I'm saying for John Q fan out there whose grandpappy was a fan of Adolph Rupp, we keep talking about these details. They don't give a shit. All they want is Kentucky to win. We won with Rupp's runs, we won before Negroes could play. We won before the three-point shot. We won before all these things. And all of a sudden, people are telling these Kentucky fans that have been fans for four generations hey, we don't know, man. Y'all gotta just make do. Really? We we gotta make do while Iowa makes an elite eight. We gotta make do while Iowa State puts Kentucky out. We gotta just be like, oh well, is that what we're saying?

SPEAKER_08 1:18:17

No, that's that should not be what we're saying.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:20

That but that's what I'm hearing, is because it's this reason, it's that reason. I don't give a shit. Dusty May probably doesn't even know the words to hail to the victors, but you know what he knows? I won a championship. I don't like the fucking coach at Yukon, but he's out here running circles around a blue blood in my home state, and I'm supposed to be like, Well, you know, hey, the world's different. I don't want to be different. I want to be Kentucky, I want to be fucking better. We've been better for we've been better for 85 years. We're going to be better because the people of Kentucky deserve it. There's not a lot of stuff in Kentucky to root for, right? Where the top five or bottom five of education, we're the bottom five of all this, the one thing that's brought Kentucky people together is Kentucky basketball.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:06

And I refuse to believe, hey, well, we'll just figure it out. You know, hey, the world's different. Okay, no, right, sure, whatever. Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:14

All right, let's wind this down. Uh, it is where's my little time? Here it is. It's not official until I show it. Final shot, time. Shots, final shots, screw. Uh, tell us, give us your final shot of the night.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:28

Final shot. My final shot is can Tyron Stokes please commit this week? Like, this this thing needs to get over. I I mean, it's it's crazy, but uh, in all seriousness, like, you know, it is a big decision. And I I thought he actually laid out a good quote on um whatever he was on when he said, uh, you know, like let me lay it out for a normal person, you know, imagine trying to choose a job but for a year, but you don't know what you're really getting yourself into and those things. But I'm just ready for the recruitment to end. My final shot is this is legitimately the weirdest recruitment in my 23 years of life that I have ever seen. And stuff with stokes, you're saying? Oh, yeah, without a doubt.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:10

And I've I just want to know when when you were like four years old, you were really invested in no I was probably about 11.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:19

Okay, fair 10 or 11. I I was in the weeds following every single thing with every recruitment that whoever Kentucky was recruiting in those things. This is this is by Zion probably takes the lead right now of a weird recruitment that I can remember just off the top of my head right now. But Tyron has surpassed that bias.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:38

Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins was later than Stokes. Okay, yeah. And you know what's crazy is that the two longest, weirdest recruitments could help both go Kansas way.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:49

Something about real self, I guess.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:50

Yeah, all right, Paul. While you're bringing your your strong vocals, give us your final shot.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:57

Um, look, I'm getting on the road a lot more now, not home as much. So I know everybody's incessantly with the transfer portal, but like, you know, the one the final shot I have is uh, you know, make sure you're still connecting with what's important. Um, family time, your kids, Kentucky basketball, you know, kind of to what TV said, right? Kentucky basketball will endure, right? They're gonna figure it out, it's gonna happen. Um, I've seen some really good things, but also some real ugliness out of people in this fan base over the last two weeks. And it's just, you know, remember that this is this is sports, it's not life. Um, and uh, you know, there's some real things going on in people's lives, and just to uh know that that moment of kindness could potentially um you know be a good thing. So um enjoy it. Um make spend time with your family if you have kids, them, your mom, your dad, if they're still alive, and realize every day is a gift from God and uh and uh it you get to you get to have one more day uh and uh and you know enjoy it. Well said, Amen.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:56

Yeah. TB, take us home, my brother.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:59

Uh I was able to piggyback off what Paul said.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:02

I was able to go back to uh uh my hometown, Louisville, Kentucky, and uh watch my youngest daughter run her uh track meet. Uh she runs the 400 and uh she finished first place at her meet this week. I got to watch it actually in person. And uh, like Paul said, uh there like I've watched videos of her. She's won first place before, she's won medals before, but to be there when your kid crosses the finish line in first place, I can't even I can't even put your words. What I will say is my only beef is, and I'll wrap this up, is uh mama Kelsey when when when when Jason and Travis played in Super Bowl, way too calm. My daughter is is doing this this this local track thing, and I am freaking the fuck out. Losing your mind. She's like, this is great. I'm like, I am losing my mind. And people looking at me, but what Paul said is it's it's absolutely accurate. Uh go there, be there for your people. Uh college, uh, you know, Kentucky basketball is important, but there's a lot of stuff that should come before that on your on your dance card. So that's my final shot of the other tonight.

SPEAKER_08 1:23:10

I I'll say this. Uh I'll try I try to squeeze the final shot in uh when I remember to. Uh I celebrated a birthday this past Thursday. It's uh you know, one of those where I I don't know, long story short, is that I I struggled with this number. And my I guess uh to piggyback off what Paul and T B said is that it it you you get to a certain part of certain point of your life where you just realize there's just certain things that just matters the most. And and first and foremost, it's it's family, it's the people that you love, it's the people that love you, it's the people that love me unconditionally, you know, for all my major fuck-ups in life. And um, so yeah, uh it's uh one of those times where you just you get that yearly reminder where you know, for me at my age, I I'm big picture, I'm not gonna live to be a hundred and twenty years old. So that makes me on the back half of my life, and I'm very appreciative of family and you guys because tonight I get to do something on a Sunday night outside of family, you know, where prior priority is family, but uh sports is uh is my getaway, is our getaway of the real world, and we'd love this this is family too, yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:34

Yeah, like the people that the people that watch the people we talk with, I love Drew, I love Paul, I love Cover, I love Trace, I love Dave O.

SPEAKER_07 1:24:42

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:43

You guys are my come together because look, my my wife. Look, I know we need to wrap this up, but like I'm here in Iowa, right? I wear my Kentucky stuff all over the place. I will still be stopped by a go cat, okay? Like wherever I go and I wear Kentucky stuff, and that makes it worth it wearing it.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:00

It makes it worth it. I've had it happen in like four countries, it's cool, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:25:06

I had a friend that went to a safari Africa wore a Kentucky hat, and somebody was like, Go cat. So when we say big blue nation, it's not just a marketing ploy, it's not the free fifty two, it's it is like Paul said, wherever you go on earth, you will run a Kentucky fan and be like, Hey man, what do you think? Look, I'm gonna tell y'all quick something. Like, I stopped, I was driving back from Kentucky to Iowa. I had somebody stop me. It's like, hey, Will Stein is my cousin. What do you think about the cats? I don't think you get that anywhere else, but with Kentucky, that's what I love about you guys. Anything. Wrap it up, Kevin.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:44

Yeah, what it is. You know, it it it's it's interesting because you've got like all like three different locks of life on this call, right? You got the big Andrew who I can call you, baby, because I'm gonna be I'm going on 41, so I can almost I could legally probably be able to. Some are adopted son. You know, and it's like and and and the thing is is like it's and to see what TB's saying, you know, I travel a lot. I don't have as much time with my kids when they're younger right now, but I'm doing it all for for for them, right? Like the things, the sacrifices, the travels, the everything that that we've done. And I like when with TV St. A, like he got to see his kid do it. I'm sure he had stuff and sacrifices and time that he wished he could have nights back with his daughters and stuff. And it's the reward that you have because you know, my son doesn't understand why I'm leaving. And it's like, man, like I'm leaving, so you have a life that I never had. And it's and and it's the family when you know I was driving up to a hotel right now because I have an early flight, so I drove up to Cincinnati because I didn't want to wake up at four, right? And so it's those little things that I got to do this and have a brain break break and be with you guys and talk about this. And TB's right, there is no other fan base that you get to do this with.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:49

None, none. Like I've talked to people from all over the Midwest. They're like, hey, you Kentucky fans are different, and so I appreciate all this that we get to do.

SPEAKER_08 1:26:59

Well, they can you know real quick, I gotta, you know, one of my other I do other podcasts, and one of my other podcasts I do is uh paranormal for the record, guys. You know, this I don't know if you follow this on social media, but it's all over. It's it's so mainstream. This whole UFO alien thing, it's Trump has like the guy down disappearing and stuff. Oh, that's those true. That's weird. Uh that was yeah, I'm yeah. So my point is is that once the aliens do announce that they are here, that they really are here. Are they they do they lean? Are they BBN? How many of them are BBN?

SPEAKER_05 1:27:39

Can any of them are they eligible? They got any eligibility left? We need a power forward. That's what I'm wondering. Can a couple of them hooke? Yeah, yeah. Do they look like the monsters? Like not the midget one, like the baby ones, yeah. The big ones, yeah. We don't want the little uh Steven Spielberg ET one. We want we don't want the Muggsy Bogues one. We need we need one, preferably 7-3, 7-4. And if you can shoot 35% from three, he'll work great in the zoom offense. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:05

The Sean Bradley one.

SPEAKER_08 1:28:07

Yeah, we we've just we've taken the whole alien angle to a to a different I love I I love you guys.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:14

I enjoy doing it, so I appreciate y'all having me.

SPEAKER_08 1:28:17

All right, shutting it down, everyone in the chat. Thanks for hanging with us. Thanks for watching, thanks for the comments. Appreciate you all birthday shout outs, uh, everyone. Uh it's a Sunday night thing I get to do with my uh uh my partners in crime and uh and you guys in the chat. Uh yeah. All right. So we got uh we'll be back derby weekend. Next weekend. Oh, we don't talk dark. Anyways, it is Derby weekend. We'll be back next Sunday for Drew, TB, Paul, Davo, who is uh getting well. We'll be back next Sunday with round of shots. Everyone have a good week. Uh Derby week here in the ville. It's big time here. Yeah. So we'll see you all next Sunday. Peace out. Yeah. Peace out. All right. Have a good night.