KSR Today: Lil Wayne lyrics and Kentucky roster updates

Did you have John Calipari drops a Lil Wayne lyric on your bingo card ahead of the Kentucky head coach’s press conference Friday afternoon? No? Yeah, neither did we.

But he did it anyway, a reference to keeping things under wraps inside the Joe Craft Center offices — roster moves, injury updates, coaching decisions, all of it.

“Lil Wayne said to me — if you don’t mind me dropping a name — said, ‘I like how you just keep it in house what you do.’ He said, ‘It’s like my lyric: Real Gs stay silent like lasagna.’ Now I have no idea what that means. But he gave it to me and said you need to roll with that.”

In short, he wants whatever comes out of his program to come from him and him only. And he spent 30 minutes on a Friday afternoon ahead of the 4th of July holiday weekend doing just that.

John Calipari’s press conference

What did the Hall of Fame coach have to say? Listen to the entire half-hour presser below:

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

The Rapid Reaction crew hasn’t gotten the chance to break things down since the Wildcats fell to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament back in March. With plenty of news to get to, they get the camera rolling once again right outside the basketball facilities (including surprise cameos from Rob Dillingham and DJ Wagner).

Tune in below:

We’ll have a Sources Say coming your way a little later diving into the nuts and bolts of Calipari’s presser a bit deeper.

More additions coming?

Don’t have time to watch the entire presser this morning? We’ve got you covered with the quick-hitters and necessities, three biggies in particular.

The first: Kentucky may or may not be done adding new pieces. If you ask Calipari, he expects the 11-man group to remain the same without additions or subtractions, but until the NCAA moves forward with a realistic portal deadline for graduate transfers, we’ll be seeing roster shake-ups throughout college basketball through the end of August.

“Will we do anything else? I don’t believe so” Calipari said. “But what if this happens and that happens? Maybe we would. It’s a little different environment.”

Aaron Bradshaw had surgery, expected to play for Kentucky

How about another significant news item? Calipari confirmed initial reports that five-star freshman Aaron Bradshaw did, in fact, undergo surgery to repair a broken foot that will force him to miss the team’s trip to Toronto for the GLOBL JAM.

It was a decision, though, that will allow him to play for Kentucky this season — his ultimate goal.

“Had a foot injury, had a choice to make. Do you let it heal or do you do an operation? He waited for a minute to say, let me see this. But at the end of the day, he said, I want an operation because I want to play. … He made that decision. He could have waited it out and then saw that it could work and he could be fine, but he said, ‘I don’t want to take a chance. I want to play.’”

Calipari said he will not rush the 7-footer back to action, but doctors expect him to be back in time for the start of the regular season.

Two weeks before the coaching staff is finalized

One spot remains on Calipari’s staff, and he says it’ll be filled in the next 10 days to two weeks. But is that the only move? He said he expects to add “a couple of pieces” to the mix, indicating he could get creative in how things are finalized.

“Still got other stuff to do with staff, and probably within the next 10 days to two weeks, we’ll lay everything out,” he said.

Oregon assistant Chuck Martin is expected to be one of those pieces, KSR has learned. Will there be more? What kind of surprise is Calipari trying to pull off? We’ll find out shortly.

KSR’s Tyler Thompson did a complete rundown of the top ten things you need to know from Coach Cal’s presser. Missed it? Click here.

ESPN lays off 20 on-air personalities

It was a sad day at the Worldwide Leader of Sports, as 20 on-air personalities were let go as a result of budget cuts. Among them?

Todd McShay
Jeff Van Gundy
Jalen Rose
David Pollack
Suzy Kolber
Nick Friedell
Max Kellerman
Keyshawn Johnson
LaPhonso Ellis
Todd McShay
Matt Hasselbeck
Steve Young
Jordan Cornette

ESPN later released a statement explaining the cuts and the “extremely challenging process” of making cost-saving moves.

“Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun,” it said. “This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead. This is an extremely challenging process, involving individuals who have had tremendous impact on our company. These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth.”

Upcoming decisions coming for Kentucky football

Could it be a multi-Yahtzee weekend for Mark Stoops and the Kentucky football program? It’s possible, as several high-profile targets are on the cusp of decisions.

Things will start with four-star linebacker Elijah Groves, who is set to choose between the Wildcats, NC State and Purdue on Saturday morning. Kentucky is firmly in the running there alongside the Boilermakers.

We’ll also get an announcement from 2024 ATH Cam Dooley, who will choose between Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. ET today. The Tigers are picking up the most buzz, with the Wildcats looming as a darkhorse.

Then Sunday, four-star cornerback Terhyon Nichols is set to announce his decision, with the Wildcats also seen as the runaway favorite there — 247Sports Director of Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong submitted a Crystal Ball for him early Saturday morning.

Will it be one, two or three commitments for Stoops and company this weekend? You won’t have to wait long to find out.