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KSR Today: MBB Preparing for Florida; NBA Trade deadline is here

Zack Geogheganby: Zack Geoghegan02/10/22ZGeogheganKSR
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Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Good morning, folks! Today is the basketball fanatics version of Christmas Day as the NBA trade deadline comes around at 3:00 p.m. EST. Personally, it’s a day-long event for me, filled with consistently checking my phone for Woj Bombs. It could get interesting on the national landscape as All-Stars such as Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook (who is a shell of his former self) could all be moved by the time the deadline comes around. So far, Eric Bledsoe is the lone former Kentucky Wildcat who has been shipped to a new team in recent days — and it might not be the last time he’s moved before the deadline.

But don’t expect him to be the only familiar name you hear mentioned on social media throughout Thursday. De’Aaron Fox could still be up for the taking, the New York Knicks have a trio of Wildcats it could all theoretically trade, the Houston Rockets would love to get off John Wall’s contract. Something BBNBA related is going to happen today, it’s just a matter of who and when. For a full rundown of all the one-time ‘Cats potentially on the trade block, check out Sam Gillenwater’s article right here.

Now let’s dive into the rest of the news and notes you need to know to get your Thursday rolling, starting with this weekend’s MBB matchup against Florida.

MBB hosts Florida on Saturday

Following back-to-back road wins against Alabama and South Carolina, the No. 5 ranked Kentucky Wildcats Men’s Basketball team is hitting its stride. Add in Auburn finally dropping its first game of the season earlier this week and UK is actually in terrific position to not only fight its way to the top of the SEC standings, but also secure a one-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Taking care of an average Florida Gators squad on Saturday would go a long way in achieving those goals.

Florida expects to have its star big man back in the lineup against the ‘Cats: 6-foot-11 Colin Castleton, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury. He sat out six consecutive games for the Gators earlier this year before finally returning in Florida’s win over Ole Miss over the weekend. Unfortunately, he suffered what appeared to be a cramping issue against the Rebels. Regardless, he’ll likely be back in the lineup once against Kentucky and he’ll easily become the main priority for the Wildcat defense. Castleton is averaging 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per outing while shooting 54 percent from the floor.

The overall numbers are highly in Kentucky’s favor though, no matter how many minutes Castleton plays for Florida. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives UK a 90.3 percent chance to win while KenPom has the ‘Cats at an 89 percent chance of victory. We’ll have plenty more coverage previewing the game over the next couple of days, but in the meantime, why don’t you read up on some of our MBB content that you might have missed from Wednesday.

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WBB hosts No. 1 South Carolina

Admittedly, the timing of this matchup couldn’t be worse for the struggling Kentucky Wildcats Women’s Basketball team. It’s a home game at Memorial Coliseum, luckily, but coming to town will be the No. 1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, which previously smacked UK by 20 points earlier in the year. Tipoff is scheduled for Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Kentucky is currently on a three-game losing streak and has won just one of its previous eight outings. The wheels have fallen off fast for head coach Kyra Elzy and her Wildcats, which are now sitting on a losing record of 9-10 and just 2-7 in conference play. The only hopes of making the NCAA Tournament at this point would require a massive upset win over South Carolina or winning the entire SEC Tournament to earn the automatic bid. Neither result appears likely as of right now.

Grant Grubbs will be back later in the day for a full preview of the matchup.

Calipari, Barnhart speak in favor of new NIL bill

When Andy Beshear signed an executive order that allowed all KY college student-athletes to make money through name, image, and likeness (NIL), it was one of the first of its kind. Since then, NIL has become the new norm in college athletics, but an official state law in Kentucky is necessary with no federal law currently in place.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kentucky Men’s Basketball head coach John Calipari and UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart traveled down to Frankfort to make a case in favor of Senate Bill 6, a new NIL bill that outlines proper guidelines for Kentucky’s student-athletes. The legislation, which was introduced in the middle of January, aims to “provide protections for student athletes seeking compensation through name, image, and likeness agreements or seeking an athlete agent.” The bill ultimately passed unanimously, 10-0, in the Senate Education Committee and will now head to the full Senate for a final vote.

Calipari believes NIL could help colleges keep student-athletes at a program instead of leaving for professional options, stating that kids have made mistakes in the past by leaving early, but that likely won’t be the case under this new bill. He’s in favor of SB6 because he says it will put protections in place — for both the student-athletes and schools — that will prevent them from running into any unforeseen issues that will inevitably arise.

“What’s gonna happen, if you don’t have a state law and you say I’m free to do whatever I want, you got no protection,” Calipari said on Wednesday, according to Hunter Shelton. “And the NCAA may choose to say we’re gonna let that one go, but you? We’re gonna question everything about it… There’s no protection.

“I think we’re gonna end up with 40 state laws. Because they’re gonna try to protect themselves. My hope is this model is the one they look at and play off of. If we get 30 (states) to do the same, then the federal government can step in and say ‘you know what, all these states are comfortable with this, let’s enact this.’”

You can read more on this by clicking the link here.

UK Softball kicks off 2022 season

With this week’s Media Day in the rearview, the 2022 Kentucky Softball team is ready to take the field for the first time this year. That time has finally come, as well, as the No. 19 ranked ‘Cats are down in Florida for a season-opening weekend tilt that includes five games across four days in what is dubbed the 2022 Nothern Lights Southern Nights tournament. All games will be broadcast on FloSoftball.

Feb. 10 vs. Wisconsin (6:00 p.m. EST)
Feb. 11 vs. Michigan State (12:30 p.m. EST)
Feb. 11 vs. Liberty (3:00 p.m. EST)
Feb. 12 vs. Iowa (10:00 a.m. EST)
Feb. 13 vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech (10:30 a.m. EST)

To help get you prepared for the season, check out Kassidy Stumbo’s deep-dive preview of the entire team, along with Hunter Shelton’s profile on the team’s star player, catcher Kayla Kowalik.

That’s everything I’ve got for you all this morning. Make sure you have that radio dial (or iHeart app) tuned into KSR from 10:00 a.m. to noon later today.

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2025-08-02