KSR Today: UK Baseball vs. Wright State, NBA Combine, Nuggets-Wolves Pt. 5, and More

DrewFranklinKSR

Good morning, KSR readers. How are you? I am great. Thanks for asking. Today, baseball returns to Lexington as the Wildcats welcome one last non-conference opponent into Kentucky Proud Park for a midweek game. You can watch the NBA Combine to pass the time until Kentucky’s first pitch, then stay up late with the NBA Playoffs. It’s a good day for sports. Let’s talk about it.

Kentucky Baseball hosts Wright State tonight (with new bleachers!)

Before the final home series of the regular season, Kentucky Baseball hosts Wright State in the last non-conference game of the year tonight at Kentucky Proud Park. With a first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m., the Wildcats will make their first appearance with the new No. 1 RPI ranking, playing to polish up the NCAA Tournament resume as the schedule winds down.

If you’re going or watching on TV (SEC Network+), you may notice, or even sit on, some changes to the ballpark’s backdrop. Yesterday, the @UKBaseball account revealed new temporary bleachers behind the left field wall, installed just in time for the last week of the regular season and a potential NCAA Regional and Super Regional coming to town.

“We built it because we know you’re going to come,” the post read.

We built it because we know you’re going to come. pic.twitter.com/UX6g0Y1D7r
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) May 13, 2024

Wildcats in the NBA Playoffs

Last night, former Kentucky teammates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and PJ Washington were on opposite sides of Game 4 of the Thunder-Mavs series. Gilgeous-Alexander was the game’s high scorer in Dallas, going for 34 points with eight rebounds and five assists in the Thunder’s series-tying victory. Cason Wallace chipped in six points in 19 minutes off the bench for Oklahoma City, while Washington led the Mavericks with 21 points in the loss. Washington hit five 3-pointers and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.

(Photo by Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

In the other Monday evening game, the Celtics beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland to go up 3-1 in the only remaining playoff series without a former Kentucky player.

There is a former Wildcat on each team in both Game 5s tonight. First, the Pacers and Isaiah Jackson are in New York for Game 5 against the Julius Randle-less Knicks. Their Eastern Conference semifinal is tied at two games apiece.

In the nightcap, the Nuggets and Timberwolves will play to break their tie, featuring Jamal Murray with Denver and Karl Anthony-Towns with the Wolves.

Indiana Pacers @ New York Knicks – Game 5 (2-2 tie) – 8:00 p.m. TNT
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Denver Nuggets – Game 5 (2-2 tie) – 10:30 p.m. TNT

Maxey’s helping hand

Tyrese Maxey attended last night’s game in Dallas and was there to help a fellow Wildcat in a time of need:

Tyrese Maxey helped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander up as he fell in the stands 😅pic.twitter.com/rlOopolRQ4
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 14, 2024

Watch the NBA Combine today

At the NBA Combine, Reed Sheppard shined with the highest max vertical of the day at 42 inches. He performed well in this 3-point shooting drill, too:

Reed Sheppard showing off his picture perfect shooting stroke in the 3-point shooting drill at the NBA draft combine. pic.twitter.com/zvgerTRsFb
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 13, 2024

Here’s how the former Wildcats measured in Chicago:

Player	Height (without shoes)	Weight (lbs)	Wingspan	Standing reach
Rob Dillingham	6-1	164.2	6-3	7-11
Reed Sheppard	6-1.75	181.6	6-3.25	7-9.5
Justin Edwards	6-6	209.4	6-10	8-6.5

Today, you can follow the combine on ESPN2 from 1-5 p.m. ET.

Confirmed: Arkansas at Kentucky in Rupp Arena, but no Super Bowl in return

On Monday, the Southeastern Conference revealed each team’s home and away opponents for next college basketball season. The big news for Kentucky Basketball was the confirmation of John Calipari‘s Lexington homecoming with the league’s announcement. The SEC scheduled Calipari to bring the Hogs to Rupp Arena next year, but Kentucky will not return to Bud Walton Arena for a rematch as the teams will only play the one game in Lexington in the regular season. No Super Bowl for you in 2025, Arkansas.

Kentucky’s SEC Home and Away Games w/o Dates

Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
LSU
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
at Alabama
at Georgia
at Ole Miss
at Mississippi State
at Missouri
at Oklahoma
at Tennessee
at Texas
at Vanderbilt

Kentucky Football’s 2025 class lost a running back commit

UK Football’s 2025 recruiting class dropped from six to five members on Monday. Isaiah West, a talented running back from Philadelphia, decommitted from the Wildcats to consider other opportunities in college football. A top-500 talent nationally, West visited Ohio State last weekend, leading to speculation that he will soon flip to the Buckeyes.

West shared his recruitment update on X/Twitter, saying, “First I’d like to thank God for blessing me with the ability to play this game and the opportunity to continue to pursue my dreams. I’d also like to thank the entire Kentucky staff for their belief and investment in me. With that being said, I am re-opening my recruitment.”

West committed to Kentucky on March 1 following an early February trip to Junior Day in Lexington. “I can fit really well into the Kentucky offense,” he said at the time of his initial commitment.

Talking Day at the 106th PGA Championship

At Valhalla Golf Club, practice for the PGA Championship continues on Tuesday. Several players are on the course, and others are on the range and practice greens as the countdown continues until tournament play begins on Thursday. In the media room, Tiger Woods is expected to take questions at noon, followed by other golfers you recognize throughout the day. I can’t make it to Tiger’s Q&A in time, but KSR may have Nick Roush in the room for the conversation with Tiger. Nick wrote things to know about the PGA here.