KSR Today: Kentucky football defense and Watch List SZN
Good morning, folks! We hear there’s quite the football game happening in a couple of days down in Knoxville. One that could completely change the perspective of the entire season for both squads. Tennessee’s offense is a juggernaut and has yet to be slowed down this season, but if anyone can do it, it would be The Great Brad White.
Coach White and members of the Kentucky football defense spoke with reporters on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s big night. Listen below.
Hear from Brad White, Kentucky defense
Brad White
Keidron Smith
Jordan Wright
Stoops, Heupel talk at SEC Teleconference
Saturday’s matchup between No. 19 Kentucky and No. 3 Tennessee is inching closer and closer. On Wednesday, both schools’ head coaches made their weekly appearance on the SEC Teleconference to preview the upcoming game.
Stoops fielded questions about Tennessee’s unique offense and how his team will try to contain it. He also weighed in on which is more important to the Big Blue Nation, the Tennessee game or the Louisville game, and how much better he’s feeling about his squad now that Chris Rodriguez is back on the field.
Meanwhile, Heupel talked about the importance of tempo in Saturday’s game, his connections to the Stoops family, and what he’s expecting from Will Levis and Kentucky’s offense. You can hear from both coaches below.
Leftover Kentucky MBB Media Day content
- The difference between last year and now? Oscar Tshiebwe: “Our freshmen look ready.”
- John Calipari sees shades of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Immanuel Quickley in Adou Thiero
- John Calipari: Kentucky is “ahead offensively” at this stage in preseason
Watch List SZN is here!
Sahvir Wheeler, Chris Livingston, Cason Wallace, and Antonio Reeves have all made preseason watch lists this week. Wheeler got the week started after he was named to the Bob Cousy Award (nation’s best point guard) Watch List. Livingston was then named to the Julius Erving Award (nation’s best small forward) Watch List before Wallace and Reeves both made the Jerry West Award (nation’s best shooting guard) Watch List.
There’s also this guy named Oscar Tshiebwe who will almost assuredly make the Kareem-Abdul Jabaar (nation’s best center) Watch List once that is released on Friday. Some time today, we should know who makes the Karl Malone (nation’s best power forward) Watch List. Will Kentucky go 5-for-5 and see the likes of Daimion Collins or Jacob Toppin crack a Watch List, too?
Fans are encouraged to vote in each of the three rounds for the Naismith awards. The five lists will be cut from 20 players to 10 players in January, then down to five nominees in February, before the final recipients are named at a to-be-determined date during the postseason.
Rob Dillingham looking for a new team?
At this point, we’ve all heard about Kanye West and his latest Anti-Semitic (and other controversial) comments, which have landed him in plenty of hot water and resulted in sponsorships dropping him left and right. Well, now it would appear the school he founded in California, Donda Academy, has been shut down, effective immediately.
Why is this notable? Because that’s where Kentucky’s five-star PG commit, Robert Dillingham, has been playing his senior season of high school basketball so far this offseason. He was teammates with a pair of highly-ranked ’23 prospects, AJ Johnson and JJ Taylor. So what happens next for Dillingham? Great question, and hopefully one we’ll know the answer to soon.
Kentucky Play-By-Play Classic features big talent
On Sunday, Dec. 11 the Kentucky Play-By-Play Classic will come to Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY (one of five national sites for the event), where eight programs will battle it out across a four-game slate. Most notably, a pair of Kentucky men’s basketball commits in Imhotep Charter’s (PA) Justin Edwards and North Laurel’s (KY) Reed Sheppard will go head-to-head in the final game of the day.
Tickets for the Play-By-Play Classic can be purchased through the link here. Below are the four matchups in place:
1:30 PM: Woodford County (KY) vs. Buchtel (OH)
3:15 PM: North Oldham (KY) vs. Spire (OH)
5:00 PM: Trinity (KY) vs. Huntington Prep (WV)
6:45 PM: Imhotep Charter (PA) vs. North Laurel (KY)
Show Me Your Tents: Ep. 3
Before Kentucky Football held Mississippi State’s offense to 10 points and scored another league win before the bye week, KSR roamed the pregame scene around Kroger Field for a new episode of “Show Me Your Tents” presented by Country Boy Brewing.
In this third episode, we found a shot-dispensing replica of UK’s Memorial Hall that you need to see, plus an old mascot head that smelled awful and lots of excited Kentucky fans eager for the game. So hit play below to see all of the fun and be sure to like, comment and subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.
Eric Bledsoe is headed to China
While the NBA currently has more one-time Kentucky players than any other college in the world, Eric Bledsoe is no longer one of them. The former Wildcat one-and-done is reportedly joining the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association after spending the last 12 years state-side.
Bledsoe was the No. 18 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft after spending one season at Kentucky, where he was named to the SEC All-Rookie Team as part of John Calipari’s first recruiting class in Lexington.
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