KSR Today: NBA Finals set; NBA Draft Decision Eve
After Derrick White’s incredible tip-in at the buzzer on Saturday night, it looked like the Boston Celtics might be a team of destiny, but Miami stepped in and dashed that dream. The Heat avoided becoming the first NBA team to blow a 3-0 lead with a 103-84 win over the Celtics last night in TD Garden. After losing to the Celtics on their own home floor in Game 7 of the conference finals last year, it was some pretty sweet redemption.
Miami is the first No. 8 seed to advance to the NBA Finals since the 1999 New York Knicks. There, they’ll face the No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets. Three former Kentucky Wildcats are set to participate: Denver star guard Jamal Murray and Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro for the Heat. Herro fractured his right hand in the first game of Miami’s first-round series vs. the Milwaukee Bucks but is expected to return during the Finals. TNT’s Chris Haynes reports that could come in Game Three.
Last night, his teammate Bam Adebayo had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Afterward, he told reporters that he’s not surprised at all by Miami’s incredible postseason run.
The NBA Finals start Thursday night in Denver. It’s hard to believe that by then, we’ll finally have some answers regarding next year’s Kentucky roster.
Still no NBA Draft decisions; Oscar working out for the Hawks
We are 39 hours from the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline and there is still no news on what Kentucky’s trio of players testing the waters will do. Monday came and went without significant updates on Oscar Tshiebwe, Chris Livingston, and Antonio Reeves‘ decisions, bringing anxiety in the Big Blue Nation to a simmer. The only nugget of news we did get is that Oscar is working out for the Atlanta Hawks today. They hold the Nos. 15 and 46 picks in next month’s draft.
So far, Oscar has worked out for the Boston Celtics (No. 35), the Houston Rockets (No. 4, No. 20), the Milwaukee Bucks (No. 58), and the Sacramento Kings (No. 24, No. 38, No. 54). He, Chris Livingston, and Antonio Reeves have until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow to decide if they want to retain their college eligibility; will anyone take it right up to the deadline like Hamidou Diallo? For all of our sakes, I hope not.
When the news does break, make sure you’re signed up for our Text Alerts so you get it as soon as possible. Just text “KSR” to 41372. If you’d rather get an email, we can do that too.
SEC Spring Meetings begin in Destin
Coaches, athletic directors, and university presidents descend upon Destin, Florida this week for the annual SEC Spring Meetings. Among the topics expected to be addressed is the scheduling format once Texas and Oklahoma join the league next year. A few months ago, it seemed like we were headed toward a nine-game format (three permanent rivals and six rotating opponents), but the winds have shifted toward an eight-game model (one permanent rival and seven rotating opponents).
Last night, Ross Dellenger reported that SEC officials are prepared to stay at eight conference games for at least the first season of the 16-team league in 2024, in part because they want more money from ESPN to move to nine games. Kentucky is one of the big proponents of staying at eight games in order to preserve a winnable non-conference home game. If the league decides to stay at eight games, South Carolina will likely be Kentucky’s “permanent rival,” although again, that is probably only temporary.
A decision probably won’t come at the Spring Meetings, but it will definitely be a big topic of conversation.
All-Session Tickets for the Lexington Regional are on sale NOW!
Yesterday, Kentucky Baseball found out its NCAA Tournament path. The Bat Cats drew the No. 12 overall seed and will host Ball State, Indiana, and West Virginia in the Lexington Regional this weekend. Kentucky will play Ball State Friday at noon, and Indiana will take on West Virginia at 7 p.m.
All-Session tickets are on sale NOW at UKBaseballTix.com. Reserved grandstand seats are $90 and general admission is $60. That gets you tickets to every game. Single-session tickets go on sale Thursday at 9 a.m.
Here’s the schedule:
Friday, June 2
- Game 1: Ball State vs. Kentucky (Noon ET | SEC Network)
- Game 2: Indiana vs. West Virginia (7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+)
Saturday, June 3
- Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (1:00 p.m. ET | TBD)
- Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (7:00 p.m. ET | TBD)
Sunday, June 4
- Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (1:00 p.m. ET | TBD)
- Game 6: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4 (7:00 p.m. ET | TBD)
Monday, June 5
- Game 7 (if necessary): Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (7:00 p.m. ET | TBD)
After the Selection Show, Nick Mingione, Devin Burkes, and Darren Williams met with reporters to talk about Kentucky’s draw.
KSR Baseball beat writer Daniel Hager also shared his thoughts on it with Drew Franklin:
It may not seem like it due to the basketball team’s recent woes, but Kentucky is in elite company in college sports when it comes to the postseason. The Cats are one of seven schools to make the NCAA basketball, baseball, and softball tournaments and a football bowl game. The others are Texas, Arkansas, Duke, Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana.
On3 NIL Elite Series begins in Nashville
It’s a big day down here in Nashville for our parent company. On3’s inaugural NIL Elite Series kicks off today in the Gulch. The event brings together the top 35 prospects in the 2024 football recruiting class and leading voices and decision-makers in college sports to discuss the latest trends in NIL. Our pal Tom Hart will serve as host and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, Kirk Herbstreit, Vayner Sports’ AJ Vaynerchuk, and On3 Founder and CEO Shannon Terry are among the featured speakers. Should be a cool week. We’ll bring you all the highlights.
Radio Show returns
It was a busy Memorial Day for Kentucky Sports Radio the website team, but the radio crew got the day off. This morning, they’ll be back at it to recap the long weekend and preview a long week ahead as NBA Draft decisions loom, Kentucky Baseball prepares to host its first regional since 2017, and the Railbird Music Festival comes to town. The fun starts one hour from now, or you can get a head start with Shannon the Dude and Billy Rutledge on the KSR Preshow.
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