KSR Today: Kings-Warriors Round 2, Transfer Portal Moves, And More
Good morning, Big Blue Nation, and welcome to yet another early Monday morning with us here on Kentucky-Sports-Radio-dot-com. We are grateful for the time you spend with us. Come back anytime. Bring a friend.
For now, your weekly lead-off hitter is loaded up on Bad Ass Coffee and ready to recap the weekend, and all that’s ahead on this sixteenth Monday of 2023. I have all the NBA stats a Kentucky fan could need, some transfer portal updates, weekend UK results, and other things to know to get your week started on the right foot.
Shall we? We shall.
Fox, Monk host Golden State in Game 2 tonight.
Tonight at 10 o’clock, a rematch of the best basketball game I’ve seen in many years will air on TNT when Sacramento hosts Golden State in Game 2 of their neighborly first-round series in California.
This past Saturday night, former Kentucky stars De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk carried the Kings in the franchise’s first playoff game in 17 years. The 2016-17 Kentucky backcourt combined for 70 points in the thrilling Game 1 victory over the defending champs.
Sacramento’s fourth-quarter scoring breakdown is beautiful:
And let’s not forget Trey Lyles, the third former Wildcat in Sacramento. Lyles was also a significant contributor to the Kings’ Game 1 win with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from outside. Lyles’ 16 off the bench were second only to Monk’s 32 in a non-starting role. Monk went 14-for-14 at the line.
Find a TV with TNT on it tonight at 10:00.
Even better, get in front of one at 7:30 for Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers in Game 2 against Brooklyn to start the doubleheader.
Several former Wildcats shined in yesterday’s NBA marathon.
Though not as exciting as Saturday night’s Kings-Warriors battle, Sunday gave us a four-game NBA Playoff marathon featuring several former Kentucky Wildcats across the board.
Los Angeles Lakers 128, Memphis Grizzlies 112
In the first Sunday game, Anthony Davis led the Lakers past the Grizzlies in Memphis with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks in the 128-112 win. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Pau Gasol, and now Davis have playoff games with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks for the Lakers.
Next to Davis in the paint, Jarred Vanderbilt had four and four as a starter, plus one minute logged by Wenyen Gabriel off the bench.
Memphis does not have a former Wildcat on its roster, which is lame.
Miami Heat 130, Milwaukee Bucks 117
A couple of former Wildcats helped their team earn a first-round series lead when Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro combined for 34 of Miami’s 130 points against Milwaukee in Milwaukee. However, Herro left the game in the first half with a broken right hand.
But not before he hit a three-pointer with said broken hand:
Also injured in the game: Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak missed all but 11 minutes of the game with a back injury.
Los Angeles Clippers 115, Phoenix Suns 110
Devin Booker wasn’t as successful as his fellow Kentucky alums in Sunday’s NBA Playoff action. He scored 26 points against the Clippers in Phoenix, but the Suns lost Game 1, 115-100, for the Suns’ first loss with Kevin Durant on the team. Durant had 27 in defeat.
Denver Nuggets 109, Minnesota Timberwolves 80
And in the Cat-vs-Cat finale, Jamal Murray‘s Nuggets and Karl-Anthony Towns‘ Timberwolves met in Denver, where Murray led all scorers with 24 points in Denver’s Game 1 win. Towns was held to 11 points with 10 rebounds in the losing effort. Both managed to avoid the fisticuffs because they were raised better than that.
College football’s transfer portal is open for business.
While you enjoyed the beautiful weather on Saturday, college football quietly re-opened its transfer portal for a 15-day window of moving about the country. And since it opened, Kentucky Football has kept a watchful eye on any potential additions, and at least one name caught the Wildcats’ eye for help on the Big Blue Wall.
USC offensive tackle Courtland Ford entered the portal yesterday and has already heard from Kentucky’s coaching staff. The conversation must’ve gone well because Ford set up a trip to Lexington to visit Kentucky’s campus and football facilities later this week. If it works out, the 6-foot-5, 305-pound junior could fill a big need at tackle in Lexington.
Gavin Grover picked Cincinnati, not Kentucky.
Before Kentucky locked in Ford’s visit on Sunday, the staff lost out on three-star tight end Gavin Grover in a rare recruiting loss to Scott Satterfield. Grover recently visited Kentucky and appeared to love his time on Kentucky’s campus, but the Ohio native ultimately decided to stay within state lines to attend the University of Cincinnati next season.
Grover once told KSR that UK felt like home after multiple visits to Lexington, but not home enough, I guess.
A school to watch for Sahvir Wheeler in the transfer portal.
In college basketball’s transfer portal, Sahvir Wheeler is still shopping around for a new home for his talents, and now Washington is a player for Wheeler’s third stop. 247Sports’ Travis Branham logged a Crystal Ball pick for the Huskies, where Wheeler would rejoin former Kentucky teammate Keion Brooks Jr. if he decides to head to the Pacific Northwest.
Kansas State, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Baylor have also been named as potential landing spots for Wheeler in his life after Kentucky. Good luck to him wherever he goes.
Will Levis to visit with the Indianapolis Colts today.
Today is an important day for us Titans fans who do not want Will Levis at QB1 for the Indianapolis Colts because Will Levis will meet today with the Indianapolis Colts. Colts owner Jim Irsay said yesterday that Levis and the three other top QB draft prospects (Young, Stroud, and Richardson) are still on the table for the franchise with the fourth overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Colts are willing to trade or stay put to get the best QB, Irsay tweeted, and today Levis will make his case to be that guy.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 27.
Kentucky Softball swept by the Vols in Lexington.
The weekend was not kind to Kentucky Softball in the Wildcats’ own ballpark in Lexington, where the Tennessee Vols swept Kentucky in a three-game series. On Sunday, Tennessee scored 15 runs in John Cropp Stadium to run-rule the home team in five innings, 15-1, and clinch the three-game sweep. Tennessee scored 27 runs in total during its stay.
Up next, No. 17 Kentucky heads to Northern Kentucky on Tuesday to get back in the win column.
Kentucky Volleyball lost on Sunday, too.
Also on Sunday, Kentucky Volleyball‘s four-game spring schedule concluded with a loss to Pittsburgh. Played at Olentangy Berlin High School in Delaware, Ohio, the Panthers got the better of the Wildcats, winning 3-1 with three straight sets to close out.
Kentucky went 0-3-1 in the spring slate.
KSR to return to the morning radio airwaves at 10 a.m.
It’s a busy week on Kentucky Sports Radio’s morning radio program as the show heads to Valhalla tomorrow and then the Republican primary debate for the governor’s race on Wednesday. Today, the show is in its usual place with Matt Jones, Ryan Lemond, and Shannon The Dude recapping the weekend. Tune in.
Go Cats.
A message from the team at Charities for Kentucky:
Here is your chance to win some AMAZING bourbon from Give270 and partner 501c3 Charitable NIL, Charities For Kentucky. The two non-profits are teaming up to raise funds to benefit other local charities and University of Kentucky athletes.
Charities for Kentucky works in cooperation with University of Kentucky student-athletes who help promote fundraising with their name, image, and likeness for the benefit of worthy causes across Kentucky. Some participating charities include Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass, God’s Pantry Food Bank, Junior Achievement & others.
Winners will be drawn live on our YouTube channel at 8 pm ET, April 26th following that week’s Whiskey Wednesdays drawing. But only 3,000 tickets are available so get yours before they’re gone!
Here’s how it works.
• First, we’ll draw for single bottle prizes 4-50 before returning each of those winning tickets to the tumbler for the drawing or our grand prizes
• Then the first name drawn wins our grand prize, a 5-bottle set of Van Winkle Bourbon including an Old Rip Van Winkle, 10 year, Van Winkle Special Reserve, 12 year Lot “B”, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve, 15 year, 20 year and 23 year.
• The next name drawn wins grand prize #2, a 6-bottle Weller vertical including a Weller Special Reserve, an Antiques 107, a 12 year, a Full Proof, a C.Y.P.B. and a Single Barrel.
• Finally, the third name drawn wins grand prize #3, an 8-bottle set of Blanton’s Single Barrels with a complete set of toppers that spell B-L-A-N-T-O-N-‘S.
Reminder: The drawing will be Wednesday 4/26 at 8pm on our YouTube Channel. Enter to win.
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