KSR Today: Recruiting, NBA Summer League and Donut Contests

This. Is. July. When else are you gonna get shoulder-to-shoulder crowds at NBA exhibition games in Las Vegas and donut-eating contests at Ryan Lemond’s house? You can’t beat the dog days of summer, and buddy, we’re certainly in ’em right now.

Let’s start, though, with Where in the world is Mark Pope? Watch — and don’t blink, because you might miss him.

Kentucky hits the recruiting trail

He’s on the recruiting trail with his Kentucky coaching staff, hitting two big-time events to open the July Live Period. Pope started in Rock Hill, SC on the adidas 3SSB circuit to check out the likes of four-star PG Tay Kinney, four-star PG Deron Rippey Jr., five-star SG Caleb Holt, and four-star SF Bruce Branch (2027) while Cody Fueger kept a close eye on five-star SF Anthony Thompson. Speaking with KSR’s Zack Geoghegan at the event, Rippey confirmed an official visit to Lexington set for August 1-3 — one to watch for Big Blue Nation.

From there, Pope made the 130-mile trip to North Augusta for the Nike EYBL circuit, watching some of the top targets in attendance there. Those standouts include five-star wing Tyran Stokes, five-star guard Jordan Smith Jr., five-star wing Christian Collins and four-star guard Qayden Samuels, among others.

Both of those events continue into the weekend — along with a second July Live Period next weekend, too. KSR is in attendance for both, starting with 3SSB now and EYBL then.

How’d the Cats play in Summer League?

The NBA Summer League started last week and continues through July 17 — the real stuff happening now in Las Vegas with all 30 teams competing all day and night, tipping off yesterday. Six former Wildcats took the floor to open things on Thursday with seven set to play on Friday.

How did things go in Vegas yesterday? Chris Livingston and Rob Dillingham were the top performers of the bunch.

Minnesota Timberwolves def. New Orleans Pelicans 98-91

• Antonio Reeves (NOP) – 10 PTS (5-9 FG), 1 REB, 1 STL
• Keion Brooks Jr. (NOP) – 3 PTS (1-3 FG), 2 REB, 2 STL
• Rob Dillingham (MIN) – 15 PTS (4-14 FG, 3-6 3PT), 6 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL, 7 TO

Indiana Pacers def. Cleveland Cavaliers 116-115

• Jaxson Robinson (CLE) – 0 PTS (0-3 3PT), 2 AST

Milwaukee Bucks def. Denver Nuggets 90-89

• Chris Livingston (MIL) – 18 PTS (7-12 FG, 3-6 3PT), 3 REB, 2 AST

San Antonio Spurs def. Philadelphia 76ers 111-70

• Justin Edwards (PHI) – 6 PTS (2-6 FG), 1 REB, 3 TO

Friday Summer League Schedule

It’s a big day for BBN as some of your favorites from this past season are making their unofficial NBA debuts — including the likes of Amari Williams, Lamont Butler, Koby Brea and Andrew Carr. We’ll also see Reed Sheppard give it a go for the Houston Rockets, among other matchups.

Action starts at 4 PM ET and lasts well into the night, Carr taking the floor at 11 PM ET on ESPN2.

Check out the full schedule:

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
4:00 PM	Memphis Grizzlies	Boston Celtics (Amari Williams)	NBATV, ESPN+
4:30 PM	Atlanta Hawks (Lamont Butler, Jacob Toppin)	Miami Heat	ESPN2, ESPN+
6:00 PM	New York Knicks (Lance Ware)	Detroit Pistons	NBATV, ESPN+
9:00 PM	Washington Wizards	Phoenix Suns (Koby Brea)	ESPN, ESPN+
10:00 PM	LA Clippers	Houston Rockets (Reed Sheppard)	NBATV, ESPN+
11:00 PM	Portland Trail Blazers (Andrew Carr)	Golden State Warriors	ESPN2, ESPN+

Ryan Lemond tries to eat 10 donuts for $5K

Speaking of elite athletes, Ryan Lemond is ready to unleash his inner Joey Chesnut by trying to eat 10 donuts in 15 minutes LIVE on Kentucky Sports Radio. The prize? $5,000 and ultimate bragging rights on the show — proving the naysayers wrong with a fat wad of cash in his pocket.

He’ll have the home-court edge doing it from his back porch (not open to guests, unfortunately) with festivities starting shortly at 10 AM ET.

Can Ryan do it? I believe in him.

TBD on NCAA Tournament expansion

All signs are pointing toward NCAA Tournament expansion with 72- and 76-team options thrown around, up from the previous field of 68. For now, though, a decision has not yet been made after the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball committees met this week.

All of those possibilities remain on the table, but they’re not there yet, the NCAA said in an official statement.

“The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees met this week, with the men’s meeting taking place in Savannah and the women’s meeting in Philadelphia,” NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said Thursday. “The topic of expanding the field for each championship was discussed at length but no decision or recommendation was made. The still viable outcomes include the tournaments remaining at 68 teams or expanding the fields to either 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2026 or 2027 championships.”

If they want to expand the field in 2026, a decision must be made by mid-August, according to NCAA president Charlie Baker. We’ll see if that happens.

Student ticket prices increase at Kentucky

Want to see the Cats in action this season as a student? Prepare to see some price increases on tickets for both football and basketball.

Kentucky student tickets will now cost $145 in football for the year– a 60% increase from last season. As for basketball, those season tickets will now be $345, which is over a 70% increase from 2024-25. That’s $15-$40 per ticket compared to $11-20 per ticket from a year ago.

Those used to be $5 a pop in recent years, but with budget increases thanks to revenue-sharing, you have to find the money where you can.

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Enjoy your Friday, BBN. Let’s have a weekend.