Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks have been the head coaches of the Kentucky Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams for about six months now, but today, it gets a little more real. This afternoon, they’ll sit down with reporters for their first UK Media Day — at least, the first for Pope as the coach, not as a player.
It’ll be a full house at Memorial Coliseum as reporters from across the state — and yours truly, who is driving up from Nashville — pepper Pope and Brooks with questions about their inaugural seasons in Lexington. Pope is first at noon, followed by interviews with the men’s team on the practice court. Brooks takes the podium at 2 p.m., with player interviews coming shortly after and even a women’s basketball open practice at 3 p.m. I’m not sure Phoenix Stevens and/or Katie Hutchison have slept this week they’re so excited about seeing Brooks’ team in action.
KSR will have a small army on the ground to cover it all. We’ll be rolling out content on the site starting this afternoon, with live updates from Pope and Brooks’ press conferences on KSBoard. We’re not allowed to stream the pressers live, but we’ll have replays up as soon as possible on the KSR YouTube Channel, along with player interviews and whatever video content Drew Franklin dreams up. That’s also where you’ll find Sources Say tonight, at its regularly scheduled time of 8 p.m. ET.
We actually got a glimpse of the men’s team last night and there’s a massive football game coming up on Saturday. Not a minute to waste (and I need to get on the road), so let’s get to it.
Pro Day Takeaways
Last night, Kentucky held its annual Pro Day for players to showcase their skills for scouts and personnel from all 30 NBA teams. It’s the tenth year UK has held the event, but this year’s felt different, and not just because of the man at the top.
Pro Day was essentially a televised practice, with Mark Pope mic’d up and Dick Gabriel and Goose Givens providing commentary and pre-recorded interviews with players on the SEC Network+ broadcast. Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan were at Memorial Coliseum and shared their takeaways. In short, the shooting is legit, Lamont Butler showed off his defensive skills and leadership, the younger guys flashed with promise, and the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum is gorgeous. I’ll direct you to their post for more.
Our next glimpse of this squad comes Friday at Big Blue Madness. Crews are already installing the LED interactive glass floor at Rupp Arena, which will be used for the first time at a college basketball event.
Pope visiting Caleb Wilson
After talking to reporters, Pope will check in on five-star wing Caleb Wilson, according to Adam Zagoria. Wilson took his official visit to Kentucky in September, and the Cats have been trending as a frontrunner in his recruitment ever since. Last week, he canceled his official visit to Alabama and visited North Carolina instead. This weekend, he’ll head to Tennessee.
The 6’9″ wing from Atlanta (GA) Holy Innocents Episcopal School is considering 12 schools: Arkansas, Duke, North Carolina, Alabama, UCF, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oregon, Ohio State, and USC. He’s close friends with four-star point guard Acaden Lewis, who is down to Kentucky, Duke, and UConn. We found out yesterday that Lewis will take an official visit to Kentucky this weekend for Big Blue Madness.
With the bye week over, we’re back to our normal in-season schedule. We heard from Mark Stoops twice on Monday (more on that in a minute) and today, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan will chat with reporters after practice, along with a few members of his offense. It’s our first time talking to anyone other than Stoops since the Ole Miss win, so check the site and YouTube Channel tonight for a recap.
Quick-Hitters from Stoops
It was a very busy Monday, with Mark Stoops holding his weekly press conference at noon and sitting down with Tom Leach for his call-in show at 6 p.m. In case you missed one or both (the latter took place during Pro Day), here is a rundown of the top headlines:
- Injury updates: We didn’t get a lot of answers when it comes to injuries (more clarity will come with Wednesday night’s availability report) but Stoops did share that Chip Trayanum (hand) suffered a setback and freshman wideout Hardley Gilmore IV (collarbone) will play once he’s healthy instead of sitting out for a redshirt’s sake.
- Kentucky can’t afford a hangover: Vandy’s win over Alabama should ensure the Cats don’t overlook the Commodores, but Kentucky is notoriously bad after bye weeks under Stoops. Stoops knows his team must be dialed in to avoid a letdown from the Ole Miss win.
- “Possessions will be at a premium”: Saturday will be a battle of ball control. Third downs will be key for both sides, which controlled the game with their possessions on those downs vs. Ole Miss and Alabama. Here’s hoping Kentucky can produce some of the explosive plays we saw in Oxford.
- Plenty of praise for Pavia: Count Mark Stoops among the fans of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Stoops raved about Pavia yesterday, calling his ability to scramble and execute plays under pressure unique. Kentucky’s defense is good but will have to take Pavia to the ground to truly stop him.
- The Florida game is a late one: Game times were announced for Oct. 19 on Monday and Kentucky vs. Florida in the Swamp will kick off at 7:45 PM ET on SEC Network. It’ll be the second of four straight late kicks, as the Auburn and Tennessee games were designed as night games over the summer.
Need more? Catch up on Stoops press conference below, along with the latest episode of the KSR Football Podcast.
Sources Say at 8 p.m.
Speaking of the KSR YouTube Channel, Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith will recap a busy day on a new episode of Sources Say tonight at 8 p.m. Tune in to hear their thoughts on Pro Day and Media Day, along with a look ahead to Madness on Friday.
Men’s Soccer at Indiana
It’s rivalry night for the Kentucky men’s soccer team, which plays Indiana in Bloomington at 7 p.m. ET. The Cats are 2-2-4 this season, coming off a win at South Carolina, and prior to that, a draw at No. 6 West Virginia. They return home to hos Old Dominion on Friday night, but first up, the Hoosiers. You can stream the game live on BIG+/FoxSports.com.
If you’re on UK’s campus, keep an eye out for Vince Marrow
It’s Homecoming Week at UK, and Vince Marrow is celebrating by driving the UK Alumni Association’s “Swag Cab” (aka, his golf cart) around campus to quiz fans on their UK knowledge. He even set a Tennessee fan straight. Vince and the gang will be making the rounds all week, so keep your eye out for them.
Reed Sheppard Preseason NBA debut
Reed Sheppard’s first points as a professional basketball player are in the books. Last night, Sheppard made his NBA preseason debut with the Houston Rockets, scoring his first bucket around the 10-minute mark of the second quarter. He would finish with only four points on 2-7 from the floor, but filled up the box score elsewhere, totaling three rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal in 20 minutes of action.
Hang in there, Florida
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast near Tampa on Wednesday evening. The storm intensified rapidly on Monday to a category-five hurricane and is projected to hit an area already damaged by Hurricane Helene a few weeks ago. It’s supposed to weaken today but also double in size, meaning the devastation could be catastrophic. Hang in there, Sunshine State.
