KSR Today: Happy Father's Day, BBN!

ZGeogheganKSR

Good morning, folks! And a Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads who represent the Big Blue Nation (and all of the other dads too, I guess). It’s shaping up to be a perfect weather day across the Bluegrass. The cookouts should be plentiful and leather sandals will be worn around the pool all day long. Which color tie did you get dad this year? Gold again? Doesn’t matter, honestly. Dads don’t care about the gifts. Just make sure to spend time with him and tell him the burgers looked perfectly cooked and he’ll be content.

Now let’s get into the news and notes you need in order to make this Father’s Day a great one.

Titans Rockets Summer Shootout final day

The final day of the 2022 KABC Titans Rockets Summer Shootout comes to a close later today at Collins High School in Shelbyville. The massive tournament-style event is in its third consecutive year and has quickly become one of my favorites to cover. There aren’t as many star players as there might be for a Nike EYBL event, but there is always an absurd amount of homegrown talent with a few schools outside of the state making the trip.

Jack Pilgrim and I were there on Friday and Saturday to check out the likes of Kentucky commit Reed Sheppard, fresh five-star center Xavier Booker, and rising local prospect Travis Perry. All three had their moments and plenty to say to reporters after their games. You can read up on what was discussed through the links below.

Sunday’s game began this morning at 8:00 AM and will run until the final championship games, which are scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM. If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of either Sheppard or Booker though, you unfortunately missed your chance. However, Perry and his Lyon County teammates will take the floor again at 11:00 AM against Wayne (OH) at the Martha Layne Collins HS main gym.

Massive football weekend comes to a close

Kentucky was set to host seven official visitors over the weekend, and four of those 2023 recruits are top-500 prospects. Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren defensive back Cristian Conyer highlights the group as the Wildcats are battling Tennessee before a decision is announced on July 4th weekend. Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral defensive lineman Kendrick Gilbert is also a major target. Elsewhere, national recruit Neeo Avery made the trip to campus while Kentucky is battling South Carolina and Maryland for Florida linebacker Jaden Robinson. Ohio wideout Anthony Brown could be on commitment watch.

A pair of surprise Georgia-based unofficial visitors also popped up on the radar once they arrived in Lexington: three-star DL Tavion Gadson and three-star LB Marcellius Pulliam.

Gadson is making his second trip to Lexington in three months and is a player to monitor moving forward. Joining him are a pair of 2024 prospects from Savannah — Michael Smith and Lorenzo Cowan. The former is a top-150 recruit in the On3 Consensus. Pulliam is the No. 503 prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker earned an offer from Clemson after visiting Dabo Swinney’s program in April.

Buzelis, Evans trending away from Kentucky

A pair of Kentucky’s top men’s basketball targets for the 2023 class appears to be trending away from the Wildcats. Most notably, five-star wing Mataz Buzelis received a Crystal Ball prediction on Friday from 247Sports analyst Travis Branham that has Buzelis headed to the professional route with a confidence score of “7”. There had previously been plenty of noise surrounding the likes of UK and North Carolina with Buzelis, but the threat of the pro route has always loomed large.

Elsewhere, five-star forward Kwame “KJ” Evans is trending heavily towards Arizona. He received a prediction to Arizona from On3’s Jamie Shaw earlier this month and then saw two more experts projecting him to the rival Wildcats on Saturday. Both Branham and Jason Scheer of 247Sports put in picks for Evans to choose Arizona. It was previously believed to be a battle between Kentucky and Oregon for the services of Evans, but that narrative has been flipped over the last two-to-three weeks.

That’s all the info I’ve got you this morning. It was a light one today. Now go enjoy your Father’s Day!