Go Nebraska.
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KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:

* Colgate isn't having the season they had hoped, but they have championship pride and pedigree, and you saw it tonight. Played really hard.

* Liked how our guys finally answered the bell.

* Finally got back over 30 3s. We need to be a volume 3s team. We haven't been there lately.

* Work in progress with Travis Perry and Trent Noah. Made solid contributions tonight. Trent was out there when there was a little bit better vibe. One of the things I love about him is he's only been in the game 1 minute or so, and he's standing right in front of me as I'm saying punch it punch it into the post, and he pulls up and hits a 3. He's gonna be a player.

* We need to be masters of our own energy. It was not there tonight after the 17-0 start. Not sure why. Could be several reasons. But hopefully this will help us moving forward.

* Asked about Kerr's surgery, Pope says he's already had it done. They think somewhere around the 6-week period, I'm saying 10 days. (laughs). Thinks he'll continue to bring great energy to the team from the bench. He can be incredibly value to us right now.

* Kobe obviously shot the ball well tonight. Good to see that.

* Asked about being ranked 5th but eking out an 11-point win tonight... Glad that we're in the conversation of the best teams in the country. Right now, it's just a race to get better, and you want to win every game along the way. But those numbers matter. The metrics, the efficiencies need to be high.

* Lamont Butler update: On the court a little bit today. Every day is testing it a bit more to see how he's doing. We'll know more about how he's feeling in the morning. Would prefer to see him on the court sometime soon.

* On why the 30+ 3s is so important... It's a measure of how the whole system is working, how we're moving and screening. We don't just want to shoot casual 3s to get 30. We want to get them because we're doing things the right way on offense and have the right energy.

******

COLGATE HC MATT LANGEL & PARKER JONES Q&A:

* Langel opens saying this is excited because they've been to 5 straight NCAA tourney appearances and never had this much media attention. Liked how his guys competed and played really hard tonight. Kentucky's got a group of "winners," a bunch of guys who are here for the right reasons. We just ran out of gas tonight, and Kentucky stepped up and hit some big shots when we did.

* On how his team got back into after falling behind 17-0.... not sure how that happened, but a lot of inexperienced guys who have not been in the roles they are in now. You saw some hesitancy. The environment may have gotten to us a bit. And Kentucky has really good players. Once we saw a few balls go thru the hoop, we started playing like we are capable of playing.

* Planned to play zone tonight on makes and man on misses. You have to keep mixing it up against a team this talented. Tried to keep them thinking, keep them changing what they're doing. They got some good looks. I think they'll actually shoot better than that as the season moves along.

* Colgate's Parker Jones: "This is kinda sick. I've never been in a press conference until this. This is high-level." (Laughs)

******

UK PLAYERS Q&A:

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It seems that many folks here use YouTube TV. I think it was $49 when I first started now it will be $82.99. Not sure i will continue giving them my money.

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UNC gets Belichick so then why couldn't we get Saban? You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

Discuss.

it’s not often i hear stuff from reliable people involved with UK football, but yesterday i did hear from the same person that tipped me off last Spring/Summer that the staff had real questions/concerns about BVG.

Fast forward to today, QB is still the main issue at UK. While Hamdan likes Boley, he isn’t even close to being convinced that he’s ready to be QB1 by next Fall, thus UK is attempting to recruit a starting QB from the portal. They’re having to tread lightly and attempt to find a guy with only year 1 of eligibility left as to not spook Boley into portaling himself.

As for Boley, the general feeling is the Texas second half was an anomaly. Remember, just a few weeks prior UK was telling Jrow that the plan for 2025 was to go all-in on building around BVG. That was 100% true because they still viewed BVG as much more advanced and ready than Boley. Boley hadn’t shown signs of consistency in practice. However, UK needed a spark both on the field and off the field from a PR perspective. The second half of the Texas game with Boley gave them some cover.

Long story short - UK still lacks a QB1. Whoever they sign from the portal is being brought in to be QB1.

Former 5 star from USC to Boise to ??

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Beat U6!

I'll take it.
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UK is the main school that has reached out and he has scheduled an official visit. I will post the date when I am sure of it but he has confirmed.

I think this is likely to materialize for UK, along with Braun. Then you'd need two tackles.

Odds? According to a report from WRAL in Raleigh, the University of North Carolina has offered NFL legend and former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick their vacant head coaching position.

(sorry...Mods can you move to Football?)


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The staff is going to have to find someone else to quarterback the defense next year.

For tomorrow...

https://www.scoresandodds.com/ncaab/kentucky-vs-louisville

Toledo already has a commitment from a Pitt offensive lineman who started 9 games last year and has played in 35 games over the last 3 years. That's a really good commitment for a MAC program.

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Pope and half time adjustments 🔥

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MARK POPE Q&A:

* On teaching moments from Wednesday… There were actually more good moments than you may have expected. It was weird, but I wasn’t disappointed. Had to massage some energy issues.

* Lamont Butler still questionable for Louisville game. He was on the court a little bit yesterday. Didn’t do much. Pope says they’ll know more after today’s practice. If he can’t go, it’s a big opportunity for those other guys behind him to keep getting reps and making us better. But I’d still like Lamont to play.

* In-state rivalry games are kinda like going in the backyard and playing with your brother, Pope says. You throw out the numbers and the rules. It’s a brawl. The intensity is special.

* We’ll prepare harder for this game than any game we’ve played this season, but then we’ll turn around and prepare for the next one harder than this one. Both things can be true at the same time. Great teams have to operate like the next one is the most important one.

* So many things where we can grow and get better. Good flow right now playing two games a week. Big focus on our spacing and cutting on the offensive end of the floor. Adding some wrinkles on the defensive side.

* On Louisville… Really aggressive, disruptive. Some real length across the board. Massive upside team. They are really dangerous when all the pieces come together, and Pat does an unbelievable job. He’s going to crush it there.

* On his first memories of the UK-UofL rivalry… Knew it from afar when he was coming up as a player because it’s one of those iconic rivalries in sports. When he go here, it became even more clear being around the coaches and players and a guy like Bill Keightley getting teary-eyed before a big matchup with them because it meant so much.

* We sell out 100% on every single game. I know it’s different for the fans, but this is the only way I know how to approach it. The players hear “the noise,” but it’s not changing their approach because they’re bringing it every single game. I don’t have to hype them up.

* Asked about future scheduling, Pope says he’d like to see the sport move to 40 games in the future. It opens up opportunities for more development, more chances to play different people — some fun home and homes you’d like to do — and more revenue. It just makes more sense in this NIL era.

* On Jaxson Robinson’s mindset at PG… Starting to like it more the more he plays it. Carrying the world on his shoulders for our team. I don’t know if he hates it like he originally did, but it’s giving him a chance to show more of his versatility.

* Since he gave a great answer to the scheduling question, someone tosses him another one regarding the NCAA Tournament… Says he’s more hesitant to say because that’s the best event in all of sports. “The Jewel of the Nile.” If we make any changes to it, we have to be sure. We don’t want to break it. But he thinks the 12-team CFP was long overdue.

At halftime of this ARK-MICH game he said, “one thing about Cal is he’ll sell you a blank CD and say it was a deluxe.”
He ain’t lyin’!

With the new TV deals, SEC and Big 10 teams are going to be in a completely dominant position in terms of money. So won't teams belonging to those conferences basically be able to pick clean the rosters of ACC and Big 12 teams of their best talent by simply outbidding those schools? Meanwhile, the ACC and Big 12 will be the place where SEC and Big 10 programs can dump their recruits who don't pan out. The SEC and Big 10 truly are positioned to become NFL-Lite leagues while teams in the other conferences will become totally irrevelant. The few good kids those school manage to recruit or develop will simply get poached by SEC/Big 10 programs who have far bigger war chests. The difference between the SEC and Big 12 will almost be as big as the difference between the NFL and NCAA. The have-not conferences are going to look more like an intramural sports league than the once competitive conferences they were. The worst SEC or Big 10 team will be able to totally dominate the very best Big 12 or ACC team. We've already seen things trending in that direction, but it will get totally insane once that new TV money enters the picture.

Presented their board with 400 page ‘program Bible’ on how he’d structure it, how and who he’d staff with and the role of a sitting NFL GM or asst GM he’d hire to oversee recruiting, NIL and quality control. Had all bases covered, as you can imagine

UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
FOOTBALL
December 12, 2024


Malachi Wood Named to SEC All-Freshman Football Team

Redshirt freshman played in 11 games with five starting assignments at right tackle



LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky redshirt freshman and tackle Malachi Wood was named to the 2024 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Football Team, it was announced Wednesday by the league office. The team was voted on by the SEC’s head coaches.

Wood, a 6-foot-8, 320-pound native of Richmond, Kentucky, saw action in 11 games this season at right tackle and on special teams, tallying 352 snaps for the Wildcats. He started the final five games on the Big Blue Wall and totaled 25 blocks at the point of attack and seven knockdown blocks with only one missed assignment during the season.

2024 SEC All-Freshman Team

Offense



QB

LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina



RB

Caden Durham, LSU

Jadan Baugh, Florida*

Nate Frazier, Georgia*



WR

Ryan Williams, Alabama

Cam Coleman, Auburn



TE

Ethan Davis, Tennessee



OL

Bradyn Joiner, Auburn

Josiah Thompson, South Carolina

Bryce Lovett, Florida

Malachi Wood, Kentucky



C

DJ Chester, LSU



AP

Ryan Williams, Alabama



Defense



DL

Dylan Stewart, South Carolina

Colin Simmons, Texas

Jayden Jackson, Oklahoma

Jordan Ross, Tennessee



LB

Jalen Smith, Tennessee

Chris Cole, Georgia*

Myles Graham, Florida*

Demarcus Riddick, Auburn*



DB

KJ Bolden, Georgia

Boo Carter, Tennessee

Zabien Brown, Alabama

Jay Crawford, Auburn



Special Teams



PK

Brock Taylor, Vanderbilt



P

Tyler White, Texas A&M



RS

Boo Carter, Tennessee



KOS

Aeron Burrell, LSU



LS

Gannon Burt, Florida



(* - Ties)

Woof

Felt like parts of this game really flew by so it must have been free flowing without as many whistles. Who expected Colgate to be up 45-42? From that point, though, they did not shoot well enough to threaten the upset.

It was wild to see the runs with Kentucky cruising early and then maybe getting lazy thinking they had it in hand. But then Colgate's run and then Kentucky's final push.

Kentucky went on a big run in the second half to take the lead in a game that was much closer than anyone expected. Koby Brea was the highlight of the night. He made all four of his first half threes and was a very efficient player. Amari Williams was the other Kentucky player who stood out on a night when not many Kentucky players consistently grabbed your attention.

UK won the glass as expected but another less than great 3-point shooting night. They cant play as poorly as they did for a while against a good team.

But in the end its not a big deal, it was a comfortable win. Every team wins games like this.

This year was bad - but most thought we could/should have beaten whom on our schedule? South Carolina was one early - but we saw how they played and next year it's away with a potential Heisman candidate (L); Vanderbilt - Pavia coming back - we couldn't stop him this year - next year its home in Nashville- (L); Georgia - we played em great - but we lost -going to probably be a lot worse next year between the hedges (L); Ole Miss - a hail Mary and being overlooked - only time Kiffen has lost to us - they will bring an even better team here next year - (L); Tennessee, we played them pretty good - but they are expected to be much better next year - and they could win it all this year - (L); Florida - yes we get them at home - but Florida caught fire and changed quarterbacks who may have been the best freshman QB in the league - they were a top 6 team in the conference at the end of the season (L); Texas - again they have most everyone back and beat us pretty badly - (L); Auburn had its worst team in years and thumped us- they have a great recruiting class and will probably have an excellent quarterback next year (L); finally Louisville - how did that game go this year at home - (L).

So, we have 3 non conference games we should win - however, as people have said Toledo is pretty good so it could be a tough win. I'm usually very optimistic and can usually show you a reason we should win games - but as of now the season looks bleak. I would set the over under next year at 3.5. Keeping Stoops this year is beyond silly - not only was he not prepared for this past year - he will not be able to build a team for next season. The next coach will be starting at a level that is only slightly better than when Stoops arrived in my opinion. Looking at this with real eyes instead of wanna be eyes is making my decision on season tickets.

But as always!

Go Big Blue!