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!

@JRowland - Any chance we could get a portal visits tracker thread pinned at the top where the initial post will be updated with days/dates and known visitors listed for that day? With so many names and schools flying around, it is hard to keep up with who is visiting and when. I think that would be a good thread to keep pinned for quick reference. Thanks

Coaching matters aside, what players entering the portal make sense for UK to pursue?

Congratulations to the KY women's Volleyball team for reaching the elite 8 and will play the winner of number 1 seed Pitt or Number 4 seed Oregon to get to final four.
Craig Skinner Rocks!!

Go Cats

A link to a U of L scouting report would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

My friend @Mobilecat2 requested some of the terminologies of offensive actions used by Mark Pope. For anyone who has Twitter, Chris Steed is really good. I am going to copy and paste two of his posts from a month ago. Let me say this first. I use "NASCAR" because that is what Jimmy Dykes calls it on ESPN. That is a hard cut just like a player would come and get a handoff. Instead of that the cutter keeps going and curls over the screener to the rim. It is basically cutting like an oval. Let me know if this helps.

Off ball screening ACTIONS

GLOSSARY:

Flare- back screen cutting away from the basketball
Exit- horizontal screen for a baseline 3
Pin- down screen with back to the ball
Wide pin- pin beyond the 3 point line
RIP- back screen
Flex/STS- set a screen and immediately receive a screen
Ram- pin down for the ball screener
UCLA- RIP screen from the elbow
Cross/Power- Low block to low block
Slice/Shuffle- screen outside of the paint to receive a low post touch
Elevator- side by side screen that closes after a shooter splits them
Floppy- single screen on one side, stagger screen on the other side of the floor
Hammer- flare on the weakside off of a baseline penetration
Horns- right and left ball screen at the top of the key
Zipper- down screen along the lane line to receive the ball in the slot
Split- pin/flare into a reject or a curl, and pop
Away- pin down that is horizontal to the basketball in the middle third of the floor
Gortat- screening your own as the roll man in PNR.

On ball screening ACTIONS

Glossary:

77- Double screen
Stagger - Double with no symmetry
Drag- Screener(s) is trailing the play
Ricky- Rescreen
Spread- Corners and 45 occupied; PNR is middle third
Angle- 45 ball screen
Logo- mid post PNR
Flat- Back to the hoop
Ghost- touch/miss and pop
Step up- slot/45 with back to the baseline
Flip- change the angle due to coverage
Dead Corner- baseline PNR
Grenade- pitch from the post or mid post to a cutting
Slip- aim to miss on trail (typically)
Veer- on ball into off ball screen
Spain- middle third ball screen into a RIP screen 3 man action
Zoom/Chicago- pin into a DHO 3 man action
Get/Touch- Pass and go get the DHO
Chase- Pass and chase into setting the PNR

Here is some simple, perhaps OVER-simplified, math showing the point differentials between three-point shots versus two-point shots for first 10 games:
Two-Pointers: 228/389 = 58.6% ... .586 x 2 points = 1.172 points per attempt
Three-Pointers: 102/287 = 35.5% ... .355 x 3 points = 1.065 points per attempt

Overall: 330/676 = 48.8%
Total Points: 911
Free Throws: 149
Field Goals: 762 ... 762 points/676 total attempts = 1.127 points per attempt

Not a math major ... and would be interested in thoughts of others, but it seems clear that shooting threes makes sense only if you can make a high enough percentage of them, relative to two-point shooting success. It is overly simplified to think this way, most probably, but the three-point shooting, versus inside the arc, seems to make the most sense if your two-point shooting percentage is LESS than 1.5 times your three-point shooting percentage. I realize the analytics go much deeper than that, of course ... rebounding, match-ups, ability to drive to lane/rim, defense you are playing against, etc... but if you shoot a lot of threes, you simply have to hit a good percentage of them (which is already the OBVIOUS conclusion) ... but this post is to discuss the either/or dilemma and how to evaluate the most successful approach for your team.

I do think you can expect to shoot more free-throws if you shoot more shots inside the arc ... free-throws can add up and make a difference, as we all know, especially late in close games.

For FUN and DISCUSSION ... comments and insights are welcomed ... especially by Mathematicians and Statisticians. 😎

Defeated Mizzou

Have to be reigned in. He is now 20/68 from deep which is 29.4%. He is leading the team in FGA and 3FGA, but does not shoot the ball well and takes a lot of bad shots.

There are many issues that Pope has to address on this team, but I think Robinson‘s usage is one of the main concerns.

Northern Arizona defensive back Alex McLaughlin just announced an offer from Kentucky.

In 2023 he was a second team All-Big Sky defensive player. He started 10 games, this as a true freshman, and was the Conference DPOY once.

The 6'2, 190-pound defensive back had a breakout season in 2024 with 96 tackles, 7 for loss, and 5.5 sacks to go along with two picks.

San Diego State, Akron, Coastal Carolina, Washington, Cal, Colorado, Arizona, and Houston have all also offered.

If it has been posted I have not seen it.

Got a great local event in Louisville this weekend at St X high school. UK/UL game is on Saturday, but Sunday is loaded. Two top teams in the state in Great Crossing and St X play at 6PM, Male and Woodford County play at 4PM.

Good chance to see Malachi Moreno if you live in Louisville area.

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Slightly disturbing trend last 3 games. Subpar 40 minutes at Clemson. Terrible 1st 20 minutes vs Gonzaga. Painful 40 minutes against Colgate. Louisville is solid this year. Cats need steady solid 40 to beat them

I feel like it doesn't get talked about enough, Oweh is always getting big time rebounds and when he doesn't he's down in the paint fighting for it and at least keeping the ball alive for the rest of the team or at the very least making the other team take more time and be out of sorts which keeps transition opportunities against us to the minimal

As great as this team has played under duress, this team is STILL not shooting the basketball as good as they are capable of doing. Koby is the only player that is consistently knocking down shots. Everyone else has struggled at one point or another over the last few games.

Hopefully over these next 2+ weeks with only 3 games Coach Pope can get that straightened out. And when he does, this team will be at a championship level!!!

Wanting to take my son and the old man while we’re all off for the holidays. Let me know what you’ve got.

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One of my all time favorites…Cliff and his lefty crossover.

L’s down baby!!!!

UK would bury 5 three pointers over the next 5 minutes to take over the lead 61-49 w/10:20 left.

UK would continue the onslaught by pushing the lead to a gm high 18 pts w/5:21 left in the gm at 69-51.

Thats a 23-4 run over 9:44 sec of game clock.

That, without Butler and Krissa, our 2 PGs.

Thats a vintage Ky run, down 2 PGs, that buried Colgate.

This team is capable of destroying a team in a 1/4 of basketball.

CI is hearing, both @Travis Graf and myself, that Kentucky is likely to host Bowling Green offensive lineman Alex Wollschlaeger on an official visit.

Do not have the exact date yet. He just announced his entry into the portal.

He was a third team All-MAC pick in 2023 and was first team All-MAC in 2024. One season of eligibility remaining. 6'7, 305-pound native of Aurora, Illinois.

Played 773 snaps this year and had a 76.9 PFF grade. Very good both run and pass blocking. Has played 770+ snaps in each of the previous three seasons. Extremely experienced.