KSR Today: Monday with Mark Pope, La Familia survives, Summer League recap, and more

You’re back! We’re always glad to have you here at KentuckySportsRadio.com, the most frequented website for Kentucky fans online. Thanks for spending part of your Monday internet time here with us, whether you’re distracting yourself from work at the office or scrolling KSR’s pages on your phone on the go (hopefully not while driving). Whatever the case, it’s good to see you. I had a feeling that you’d check back in, so I prepared a rundown of Monday morning notes to catch you up on the latest things you should know. We have a big day ahead, as we’ll be hearing from the big guy.

We’ll hear from Mark Pope today

Fresh off a busy recruiting weekend, Mark Pope will hold an invitation-only press conference on Monday to share the latest around Kentucky Basketball. Pope will take questions as summer workouts come to a close and the team takes a short break before regrouping for the preseason.

Come back to KSR later on for a recap of Pope’s Monday comments and a full replay of the press conference. We expect a beautiful, extraordinary, and special conversation about the Wildcats.

La Familia survived a TBT scare on Sunday

La Familia nearly suffered an upset in Historic Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, playing the No. 4 seed, War Ready, in The Basketball Tournament. The Kentucky alums led throughout the entire game, mostly by double digits, but reverted to hero ball in the end when the Elam ending was within three points. Meanwhile, the Auburn alums scratched and clawed back with each missed La Familia 3, tying the game at 76 points, three shy of the Elam score of 79.

War Ready even had a look at a game-winner, then rebounded the miss for a second chance. However, Kahlil Whitney stole the ball on the potential game-winning possession and found Archie Goodwin for the final bucket going the other way. Goodwin’s layup through contact in transition gave La Familia a narrow 80-76 victory in Round 2.

LA FAMILIA WINS IT!

ARCHIE GOODWIN WITH THE BUCKET 🔥@LaFamiliaTBT x @thetournament pic.twitter.com/YCvt58gRT6

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) July 20, 2025

[FINAL: La Familia survives with 80-76 win over War Ready, advances to TBT Sweet 16]

More from La Familia’s second-round victory

If you missed it, KSR has a video recap that will catch you up in only seven minutes of your time.

Also, after the game, members of the team held a postgame press conference and members of KSR’s team, namely Zack and Mario, recorded a Rapid Reaction. We also have a photo gallery. Nobody covers TBT like KSR.

Louisville’s TBT team got knocked out, surrendering home-court advantage to La Familia

La Familia secured two big wins on Sunday. First, the aforementioned victory over the No. 4 seed in the Lexington Regional provided a good test early in the tournament. Then, Louisville’s TBT team, The Ville, got upset in Freedom Hall, thus surrendering home-court advantage to La Familia and Lexington.

SIDELINE CANCER GET THE ELAM ENDER!

Jermaine Marrow's 6th 3 of the game gives @SidelineTBT the upset win over The Ville!

WHAT A GAME! pic.twitter.com/cCZwLIqljd

— TBT (@thetournament) July 21, 2025

Until yesterday’s upset in Louisville, The Ville was set to host all of its games before the Final Four, including a potential rematch against La Familia in the Elite Eight. However, The Ville’s early exit changed up the structure, moving the quarterfinal game to Memorial Coliseum.

But first, La Familia will need to get past Eberlein Drive, the No. 2 seed, in Round 3. That game is tomorrow night at 6 p.m. on FS2, with a spot in the Elite Eight up for grabs.

The NBA Summer League ended on Sunday

If you watched as much of the NBA Summer League as I did, it probably felt like the longest event in sports history to you, too. Man, that was a lot of basketball, and it all ended on Sunday with the Las Vegas championship, won by the Charlotte Hornets, featuring Summer League MVP Kon Knueppel.

Before the final game, several former Kentucky Wildcats played over 11 days in the desert, headlined by summer standouts Reed Sheppard, Chris Livington, Rob Dillingham, and Jacob Toppin. A couple of the rookies out of Kentucky looked good, too:

• Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets (2 games) — 23.0 ppg (36.4% FG, 31.8% 3PT, 70% FT), 5.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 4.0 spg, 24.0 mpg
• Chris Livingston, Milwaukee Bucks (4 games) — 20.8 ppg (49.2% FG, 38.1% 3PT, 71.4% FT), 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 28.3 mpg
• Rob Dillingham, Minnesota Timberwolves (4 games) — 17.3 ppg (39.4% FG, 33.3% 3PT, 91.7% FT), 6.5 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 spg, 29.3 mpg
• Jacob Toppin, Atlanta Hawks (3 games) — 15.3 ppg (56.7% FG, 40% 3PT, 66.7% FT), 7.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 22.9 mpg
• Antonio Reeves, New Orleans Pelicans (5 games) — 14.4 ppg (46.3% FG, 31.3% 3PT, 100% FT), 3.4 rpg, 0.6 apg, 20.6 mpg
• Justin Edwards, Philadelphia 76ers (3 games) — 12.3 ppg (33.3% FG, 40.9% 3PT, 80% FT), 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 27.5 mpg
• Koby Brea, Phoenix Suns (3 games) — 12.0 ppg (42.4% FG, 42.9% 3PT, 100% FT), 4.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 20.4 mpg
• Keion Brooks Jr., New Orleans Pelicans (5 games) — 9.8 ppg (44.4% FG, 26.7% 3PT, 76.5% FT), 3.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 21.3 mpg
• Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic (5 games) — 6.4 ppg (45.8% FG, 100% FT), 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 16.2 mpg
• Amari Williams, Boston Celtics (4 games) — 6.3 ppg (44.4% FG, 26.7% 3PT, 76.5% FT), 5.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 17.6 mpg
• Andrew Carr, Portland Trailblazers (5 games) — 3.0 ppg (37.5% FG, 14.3% 3PT, 50% FT), 2.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 12.2 mpg
• Jaxson Robinson, Cleveland Cavaliers (4 games) — 3.0 ppg (20% FG, 11.8% 3PT, 100% FT), 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg, 16.2 mpg
• Lance Ware, New York Knicks (4 games) — 0.8 ppg (16.7% FG, 12.5% FT), 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 9.7 mpg
• Lamont Butler, Atlanta Hawks (0 games) — DNP

[BBNBA: Recap for all 13 Kentucky guys in the Summer League]

40 days until Kentucky Football’s home opener

August 30 isn’t so far away. We’ll be listening to the sweet sounds of Carl Nathe’s voice and the UK pep band at Kroger Field in only 40 days, when the Wildcats kick off the season with Toledo in Lexington.

If that seems like a long time to you, you may want to consider UK’s Fan Day on August 2 to hold you over until the opener. The team’s preseason training camp begins next week.

Wind down from Monday with KSR’s Happy Hour

Coming up later today, after Mark Pope’s press conference and whatever else pops up, a new KSR Happy Hour presented by Country Boy Brewing will stream live on KSR’s YouTube channel. Tune in at 4 p.m., wherever you are, for a live rundown of the latest news around Big Blue Nation and beyond. Leave a comment on the live stream, and the panel will try to get to it during the broadcast.

Matt Jones returns to KSR’s airwaves

KSR’s morning radio program returns to its regular format today, with Matt Jones back in the host’s seat. Matt is back after a week away to catch up with KSR listeners. We’ll be live from the iHeart studios at 10 a.m., so tune in then. Go Cats.