Clark's Pump-n-Show BBN Radio October 14th 2024 with Jeff Piecoro

Darren Headrick is joined by Jeff Piecoro to talk; football, basketball and talk all things UK Athletics.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Across the forty coming here side twenty five mets a buck.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
He's going off dun touchdown Kentucky from the UK Sports Network.
This is Clark's Pumpin' Shop, Big Blue Nation Radio.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Second for one, make the turn, got him. Game's over, Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Web interact with the show by calling eight five nine
two eight oh cats that's Saint five nine two eight
oh to two eight seven, or state wide at eight
hundred six oh six game that's eight hundred six oh
six four to two six three's.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Don scond.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Kentucky, or tweet the show at UK Sports Network.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
High for the eighth time college basketball National Championship Trophy
is coming home to Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Now your host, Tarren Hendrick.

Speaker 5 (00:59):
It is a busy week for UK Athletics. This Crossovers
season is upon us. We've got football coming up against
the Florida Gators on Saturday night. We've also got some
basketball with the Blue White Event on Friday night starting
at six o'clock here on the network. So a lot
to get to. Jeff Picorro's in the house tonight. We're
going to talk with him about Kentucky football. We'll revisit

(01:20):
this past Saturday against Vanderbilt, but we'll also look forward
to a big matchup with the Florida Gators down in Gainsville,
and we'll talk a little hoops too, as he'll also
be on the call for several women's basketball games on
the SEC Network, so we'll talk some hoops with him
as well.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Stick around.

Speaker 5 (01:34):
This is Clark's puppet Shop BBN Radio on the UK
Sports Network.

Speaker 6 (01:38):
Get out there and have some fun in a new
Toyota with more all wheel drive choices than anyone else.
Like America's best selling car, Toyota Camri.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
It's all hybrid, all.

Speaker 6 (01:48):
The time with available all wheel drive Now through November fourth,
you can Lisa Camri week for two ninety nine a
month for thirty six months.

Speaker 7 (01:56):
With thirty two to ninety nine.

Speaker 6 (01:57):
You would signing with the proof credit through t FI
text title and licensed extra. Call one eight eight eight
thirty six Toyota FRU details or go to Toyota dot
com Toyota Let's Go Places.

Speaker 8 (02:08):
Welcome to the American where history meets charming flavors. Unit
our top one hundred bourbon bar in Southern fine dining
offer unforgettable experiences. Join us Friday through Sunday, ten am
tool three pm for Southern Brunch. Aless new the renovated
a Beyonce Craft Memories here where each clink, laugh, and
moment shapes our ongoing story. Preserve today to be part
of our timeless narrative. Raise a toast with bourbons, savers,

(02:30):
Southern flavors, Experience history in everybody, Embrace Kentucky's charm and tradition.
Join us at the Miracan to make reservations and create
legacy of memories.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
Hey is your favorite big blue football team goes hunting
for trophies this season.

Speaker 9 (02:42):
UK Federal Credit Union already has one in the back.

Speaker 4 (02:45):
Thanks to our dedicated team, to the positive feedback from
independent surveys of our members, we won Forbes Best in
State Credit.

Speaker 9 (02:51):
Union for twenty twenty four.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
Exceptional service, incredible rates, and convenient locations are just the
few of the skills that we'll be using on our
grid iron to help us earn your make UKFCU back
to back champions in twenty twenty five. It's UK Federal
Credit Union, the official credit union of the University of Kentucky.
Membership eligibility required, Federally insured by NCUA.

Speaker 10 (03:11):
Hey Big Luination Liquor Barn has everything you need for
this week's Wildcat action. To stock up on all your
game day supplies, head to your nearest Liquor Barn store.
You know, you can also place an order for pickup
or delivery, and you can do that on the Liquor
Barn website or on the app. It's just that easy
to shop for your favorite spirits, wine and beer with

(03:33):
Liquor Barn. Liquor Barn where Kentuckians go to celebrate life,
Go Cats.

Speaker 11 (03:40):
If you're a healthcare professional who'd appreciate an environment that's
collaborative and supportive, Listen to what team members say about
working at Baptist Health.

Speaker 12 (03:49):
It's a wonderful place to work.

Speaker 13 (03:50):
Knowing that you're heard and that you have teamwork it
makes all the difference.

Speaker 11 (03:54):
Our work family is the best ever.

Speaker 14 (03:57):
If you are looking to broaden your horizon, since Baptist
is the place to come.

Speaker 11 (04:01):
Be inspired, impactful, included, be a part of Baptist Health,
visit Baptist Health dot com slash Careers Today.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Welcome back to Clark's Puppets Shop BBN Radio here on
the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 5 (04:22):
If you are watching this on the live stream, Jeff
Pecorrel trying to suit up over here.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
He's ready to go. It's Kentucky.

Speaker 5 (04:28):
You'll take on Florida this weekend down in Gainesville. We'll
start our coverage at five point thirty with the Jack
Burford Chevrolet countdown to kick off. Christy Thomas, Jeremy Jarmon
and Logan Stenberg will lean in to coverage inside the
Swamp Jeff Piccoro, Dick Gabriel, and Tom Leach Kentucky and Florida.
Now he's all suited there.

Speaker 15 (04:45):
Let me tell you if we had these helmets back
when I play, that have a few more brain cells
in here than what I had.

Speaker 5 (04:50):
Now when you were playing, did they still have the
single bar? Had they graduated to more full fig We had? No,
we had a little two bar two bars. Okay, you
know it's funny some NFL kickers still.

Speaker 15 (05:01):
Wear the bar.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
I love it. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (05:03):
Well, I'm glad we could start off with a little
bit of happy talk after Saturday.

Speaker 15 (05:08):
You know, you got to have some some humor and everything.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Right, go easier, no doubt about it.

Speaker 5 (05:13):
Coming off this past Saturday. We've heard from coach Stoops.
We spoke to the media today. We just heard him
on his radio show, and I think Big Blue Nation
kind of feels like he does. It's like where you're
coming off a great performance against Georgia, even though he
come up to point short, had a great win against
Ole Miss. Did not expect that kind of a performance
against Vanderbilt this past Saturday with the penalties and the mistakes.

Speaker 15 (05:35):
Yeah, and you know, Mark even talked about, you know,
he's talking to player, he goes, what is it? Why?
Why do they play this way? Especially at home? You know,
and it's well documented. In the last twelve games, they're
two and ten, lost twice of Vanderbilt, they lost twice
a South Carolina. These are teams that Kentucky should beat.
And and he's what, what is it? You know, is

(05:56):
it is there too many distractions? What can we do differently?
And you know the thing that I talked to Joe
Feedersfield today, former Kentucky great, longtime NFL player for the
New Orleans Saints, and Joe ed and I were talking about,
you know, it's a different era of football now. You
got to remember, each year you have twenty five freshmen
coming in and this year was at sixteen I think

(06:18):
it was, and I transfers, so you look at it
at forty kids who are coming in to join an
eighty five man roster, So almost half of your roster
are newcomers. So that continuity, and you know, newcomers come
in and even if they come a little early to
get here, it's still where is your leadership going to
come from? And I always say this if you're especially

(06:42):
in football. It's different in baseball because you know, baseball's
so much longer season. We always talk about the Big
one sixty two when I was with the Reds, you know,
but in football, you play one game a week and
you only have to get up twelve times.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Right.

Speaker 15 (06:55):
If a coach has to get you excited and ready
to play ten minutes before you go out on the field,
then there's something wrong with you as a competitor. So
you have to look within yourself and the players, especially
the older guys, the juniors and seniors, have to take
some of this responsibility. It's not coach Morrow, it's not

(07:15):
coach White, you know, it's not Bush, it's not coach Dubes.
You have to take that responsibility yourself that you when
you walk out on the field. I don't care if
it's Vanderbilt, I don't care. If you're playing Tates Creek
High School, you've got to go out with the same
fire each and every week, and there should be in
your job, in anybody's job, you can't go out there

(07:37):
and just say, you know what, I don't feel it today.
I'm only going to give fifty percent. Well fifty is
fifty percent not enough? Right, You've got to go out
there every single day and try to do your best.
There's one thing that and there's a lot that you
can like and dislike about coach Prime Right, Dion Sanders
said this, and I believe as he said. Going out

(07:59):
to practice, he goes, what did you guys do to
get better today?

Speaker 1 (08:03):
What did you do you?

Speaker 15 (08:05):
When he points a guy, he says, what did you
do to make us a winner today? In practice? Don't
go out to practice and five minutes in you're going,
how many periods do we have left? What time is it?
You're not getting any better? You have to go out
every single day and give a hundred percent. And it
dawns on you about the last week of your senior

(08:26):
year and you think back and you're going, this is it.
I've got four practices left in a game, and you're
thinking where to go and all that you let get
by you or all that you didn't do to get better,
you know. And and again I'm not trying to make excuses, sure,
but you saw the way that team played against Ole Miss,
and that wasn't the same team on Saturday.

Speaker 16 (08:48):
No.

Speaker 5 (08:48):
And he even referenced in his radio show tonight, he
said he was talking about wanting consistency in the way
the team practices, right because that's where the consistency on
Saturdays comes from.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
Right now.

Speaker 5 (08:59):
And you know, we could talk about all the different penalties,
but there were two that really stood out. And I
think the first one might have been on that opening
drive Kentucky was going down the field. They had at
least three points in their pocket and then there's the
unsportsman like penalty backs them up. But the other one
was the first and goal at the or not first
and goal, but the goal line at the one yard line.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
One of false four inches.

Speaker 5 (09:19):
Yeah, the four inches at false start because and you
think about that penalty, it backs you up five yards.
Even if you were to get an off side, it
only gets you back to the two. I mean, that's
just one of those penalties. It's like, guys, those can't happen.

Speaker 15 (09:31):
And what compounded that was that you got zero out
of that four inches away from a touchdown. Then you
get a bad snap and you get nothing out of that,
And those are things that and coach said this, and
I know because I was a holder too. You practice
that a thousand times a week, A thousand times. You

(09:51):
were sitting there taking a snap a thousand times.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
If Brock falls forward, you're in the end.

Speaker 15 (09:56):
Zone exactly, exactly, you know.

Speaker 5 (09:59):
And when we get to our break here, it's just
and he mentioned that the margin of victory is so slim,
and you look at the results and the scores around
the SEC and we're still.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
We're just now at the halfway point. For everybody.

Speaker 5 (10:11):
It's it's amazing how tight this league is when it
comes to getting wins.

Speaker 15 (10:14):
I look like it or hate it. Look what the
portal's done for a team like Vanderbilt. Sure, I mean
Vanderbilt was a laughing stock last year and they lost
a lot. I mean, the quarterback gone, best, best two
wide receivers, think gone, running back gone. They're all playing
for other teams and starting, and yet you're able to
bring in guys pretty much. Yeah, New Mexico States half

(10:38):
their team followed coaching. But look at the difference a
year made in Vanderbilt. We could have beat them a
hundred to nothing last year right down there. And then
this year look at that game Arkansas, another team. Last
year was horrible. This year there was good.

Speaker 5 (10:55):
Yeah, they really are. Let's get to our break here
on Clark's Pupping Shop. BBN Radio will continue with Jeff
Piccoro in a moment. This is the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 9 (11:04):
Hey Wildcat fans.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
Little Caesars, the home of Hot and Ready Pizza, invites
you to try our world famous Crazy Bread with Crazy Sauce,
Caesar Wins Italian Cheese bread and our new Cookie Dot
Browning dessert and Little Caesar's We begin each day with
dough made fresh from scratch, fresh never frozen cheese and
the tastiest toppings. Little Caesars is also a proud partner

(11:28):
of UK Athletics and an enthusiastic member of Big Blue Nation.

Speaker 9 (11:32):
So Go Cat Pizza, Pizza, Tipwater.

Speaker 17 (11:36):
Athlet UK Athletics with length I Bank, our official cornerstone partners,
Central Bank, the official Bank of UK Athletics, Kentucky Farm
Bureau Insurance, Big On Commitment and UK Healthcare official healthcare
partner of Big Blue Nations.

Speaker 2 (11:49):
Do Kentucky who okays take the learning track walking on,
then Kentucky goes up seventy two.

Speaker 17 (11:58):
Once again, thank you to our officials, owners Stone Partners
who play a vital role in the success of the
University of Kentucky Athletics program.

Speaker 18 (12:06):
Flight by Yingling is the next generation of light beer
for those who don't follow trends but craft them. Flight
by Yingling is twelve ounces of uncompromised refreshment from America's
oldest brewery, with only two point six grams of carbs
and ninety five calories. This is premium refreshment six generations
in the making. Don't just raise a glass, raise the bar.

(12:29):
Flight by Yingling available wherever beer is sold DJ Yingling
and Unincorporated Potsoil Pennsylvania. Please enjoy responsibly.

Speaker 19 (12:36):
When you need meal time inspiration, it's worth shopping Kroger
for thousands of appetizing ingredients that inspire countless melf watering meals,
and no matter what tasty choice you make, you'll enjoy
our everyday low prices plus extra ways to save, like
digital Coupon's worth over six hundred dollars each week and
up to one dollar off per gallon at the pump

(12:56):
with points so you can get big flavors and big
safe things. Kroger Fresh for everyone, feel restriction supply.

Speaker 20 (13:05):
What keeps you going? Your love for the game, your
teammates of victory. At arch Orthopedics, our goal is to
keep you paying free so your body can keep going.
There's no time for discomfort in your joints or ligaments
caused by an injury. Ar Each Orthopedic providers specialize in
treatment plans from non surgical and surgical options, so your

(13:25):
care is entirely centered around you. Visit ARH dot org
slash ORTHO define an orthopedic provider near you. ARH more
for Appalachia, whoa whoa whoa whoa.

Speaker 21 (13:38):
Whoa whoa before you use that backup, where's the gas
line and where's your wallet? Because you hit a gas
line and it's going to costume, not to mention that
it's also very dangerous. Okay, Now, where's your phone? Good
call eight one one before you dig. One call and
you'll know where to dig every time. To call eight

(13:58):
one one, no problem, no accident, no fines.

Speaker 1 (14:02):
Oh and it's the law Welcome back to Clark.

Speaker 5 (14:13):
Spepa chup BBN Radio here on the UK Sports Network.
We're joined by our eleite analysts on these football Saturdays,
Jeff Bicoro And know you're a busy man, thanks for
some time. You got to enjoy a little golf this
afternoon with Coach Madison.

Speaker 15 (14:26):
Yeah, you know what's it's a great cause that he does.
The sport's called Score International and it's something that I
know that you really love this. He takes former major
he's had Marietta Rivera. All kinds of guys go with him,
Austin's gone. They go down the Dominican Republic and they
bring equipment and they teach baseball and it's just a

(14:50):
wonderful cause down there for a lot of people that
don't have anything bringing a kid a mint or baseball
bat because they play with a broomstick and wadded up
paper and they bring balls and like it's like Christmas.

Speaker 1 (15:01):
Every day when they go out there.

Speaker 15 (15:03):
So that's really cool. And this is unfortunately this is
the last year coach is not getting any younger. And
it's called the Keith Madison Austin Current's Charity Golf Classic.
But it's a lot of fun for me because you know,
twenty six years being a Major League Baseball ron oster,
Billy Hatcher, you know, Jeff Parrott, Larry Luber's I mean,
I go on on, Doug Flynn. You know, all these

(15:24):
former ball players are there. Then a lot of UK
guys Jim Andrews is always there and plays, and Sean
Woods was there, Goose Gibbons, people like that. So it's
fun to see all those people that come out for
just such a wonderful cause.

Speaker 5 (15:36):
Not to get too far off topic, but just real quick,
when the baseball team made it to Omaha last year,
for me, besides being on the mic for the moment
and watching it and how fun that was, having coach
alongside me in the radio booth was.

Speaker 15 (15:49):
Just how cool is that? Yeah, for those guys, it's
a dream, I mean, you know, and to have it
come even though he's not coaching anymore, but to be
able to be there with you, I know he appreciated that,
no doubt.

Speaker 5 (16:01):
Talking about Kentucky football, they'll be down in Gainsville this
weekend against Florida and Jeff talking to Tom Leach before
Mike's Coach Stoops Radio show Mark Stoops Radio show. I said,
you know, the thing about Florida is there's so many
unknowns right now because this team is playing better football.
They took Tennessee to overtime and Knoxville should have won

(16:22):
that game. And now their lead quarterback, Graham Mertz is hurt.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
But DJ Lagway is a really suitable backup.

Speaker 15 (16:29):
You know, he Graham Mertz was their leaders. That's what
you're missing. And now you're having a freshman that comes
in that's had just a few snaps this year. He
played what a quarter and a half I think it
was in the game. First passing through was intercepted. So
if you're Brad White, he's going to try to confuse him.
One of the strengths of this team I think is
the secondary. The back seven of the defense is really good.

(16:51):
The defense on a hole is really good for Kentucky.
So but what you could do, because they have so
much experience with Zion and Tye and and I get
a prop backs well is not gonna play again. But
the quarnerbacks have really stepped up. But they can disguise coverages.
They look like a three D. They jump into two
it looks like two deep. They jump into mand things
like that too at the snap of the ball, So

(17:14):
a lot of movement on the defensive side, much like
offenses try to do. It's window dressing. And then the
ball snapped and they and you're thinking it's one thing,
and they pop into something else. So you know, Mertz.
Mertz is a really good quarterback. He had those three
years at Wisconsin, almost came here to the University of Kentucky,
but he ended up in Florida and that that's a
tough injury for him to leap. And so it's gonna

(17:35):
be in the freshman's hands. And look, I say this,
I don't care if you're playing major college football. I
don't care how good your defense is, how good your
running backs are. If you don't have a solid quarterback,
you're just not gonna win.

Speaker 5 (17:47):
No doubt about it. And you know one thing that
Florida and Knoxville they were able to do to move
the football, and this was when Mertz was largely in
the game, but they used a lot of misdirection and
window dressing, and that's something Kentucky's gonna have to You
always hear the coaches call it, I disciplined. They don't
need that Friday Night against or Saturday night against Florida.

Speaker 15 (18:05):
Yeah, it's it's gonna be interesting. I'm anxious to see
Saturday get here and actually how the kids are on
the plane? Sure, and when we get to the hotel,
because you can tell, uh and you know this because
you've been around athletes your whole life is you can
tell if they're locked in or not.

Speaker 22 (18:23):
You know.

Speaker 15 (18:24):
And one thing that coach students has done well this year,
and and all the assistant coaches it seems after adversity,
they seem to really play well and they bounce back
and and I can't wait to get you know. And
again we always talk about baseball, you and I. In baseball,
all you have to do is wait. I mean, look
at look at the Mets today, absolutely annihilated in Game one.

(18:47):
They come back and they had a six toz lead
before you could, you know, before the second inning today.
But you know, in football you have to wait a
whole week and you're like, gosh, that's just Saturday year.

Speaker 5 (18:56):
It's funny you brought that up because when I was
an intern in the minor league, just starting my broadcast career,
we had Jeff Samarja on the ticy Smokey's baseball team.
They were a Cubs affiliate, and somebody asked, Jeff, why
would you walk away from football and go to baseball?
He said, Well, besides from the nice contract the Cubs
gave me, he said, I love the fact that if
we have a bad night, I can bounce back the

(19:17):
next day.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
We're is in football. I had to sit there for
a whole week and stew on it.

Speaker 15 (19:20):
And plus he's not getting he's not getting crushed by
an NFL linebacker. Yeah, he was a great, great football
player too.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
Man, It's no doubt about it.

Speaker 5 (19:30):
Let's go ahead and get our next break here on
Clark's Pupping Shot bb AND Radio. We'll continue with Jeff
Pikoro when we come back here on the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 13 (19:38):
When it's time to sell your home, you hope your
agent knows the market, timing, pricing, interest rates, neighborhoods, staging
open houses, understanding contracts, completing paperwork. Oh, and can actually
help guide you on your big move. Don't hope. No,
When you hire a recard agent, you can be sure
you've got a partner who will guide you every step

(19:59):
of the way, from listening to closing. In everything in
between WIKERD Dream Move Home. Each WIKERD franchised office is
independently owned and operated.

Speaker 6 (20:08):
Get out there and have some fun in a new
Toyota with more all wheel drive choices than anyone else.
Like the best selling RAB four now through November fourth.
Get four point nine to nine APR financing on a
new gas power twenty twenty four RAB four or Lisa
RAB four Ali for three thirty nine a month for
thirty six months with thirty two to ninety nine. You
would sign him with approved credit through TFS Text Title

(20:30):
and License Extra. Call one eight eight eight thirty six
Toyota for details or go to Toyota dot com Toyota
Let's Go Places.

Speaker 23 (20:38):
Ever, wonder where the capital A and Chick fil A
came from. It started with Grade A top quality chicken,
but we believed everything, not just the food, should be
Grade A.

Speaker 22 (20:48):
Hi, I'm Jira, I am a team leader at Chick
fil A. To me, the A and Chick fil Ady
is a smile. I want to give the guests a
little encouragement, maybe just a little joke that makes them
laugh when I'm going to drive through.

Speaker 23 (21:01):
The A and Chick fil A is for all the
little things we do to bring you our best every.

Speaker 11 (21:05):
Day real team member paid for their testimonial.

Speaker 4 (21:08):
Hey is your favorite big blue football team goes hunting
for trophies this season. UK Federal Credit Union already has
one in the back. Thanks to our dedicated team and
the positive feedback from independent surveys of our members, we
won Forbes Best in State Credit Union for twenty twenty four.

Speaker 9 (21:21):
Exceptional service and credible.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
Rates and convenient locations are just the few of the
skills that we'll be using on our grid iron to
help us earn your vote and make UKFCU back to
back champions in twenty twenty five. It's UK Federal Credit Union,
the official credit union of the University of Kentucky. Membership
eligibility required, federally insured by NCUA.

Speaker 5 (21:50):
Welcome back to Clark's Puffins Shop BBN Radio here on
the UK Sports Network Darren Heeddrick joined by Jeff mccoro
and Jeff, I want to switch you over to basketball
here in just a second, but before we do that,
I want to circle back with one more football topic,
and that's Will Cox, who drew some questions from coach
Stoops and I know people are wanting to see him
get more carries. And what I wanted to ask you
about is there's a reason why so many people want

(22:12):
to see him carry the ball because he does so
he's angry when he carries the ball.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
I love to watch him run the day.

Speaker 15 (22:18):
You know what he for people who remember Kentucky history
at all. And I'm going back a little ways, but
there are guys that Petter patter in the backfield, and
then there are guys that really hit the hole. And
he has that burst like Mark Higgs had it. And
if you remember Mark Higgs, you were very young when
he played. But Mark Higgs hit the hole and then

(22:39):
he has just he's mad when he runs, and I
love that about him. But the problem is you only
had fifty something plays. So it's almost like last year
a coach gets a questioned, you only had seven They
got the ball for seven drives. They actually had eight,
but one was twenty seconds left. It was a kneel
down at the half. So with seven drives for each team,

(23:02):
that's unbelievable. In a college game, pros get about fourteen.
It's seven. That's amazing. So look, and here's the other thing.
And I don't know, I don't know how much NL
has to do with it and all that kind of stuff,
But you gotta keep guys happy. Yeah, look, Demi has
done a really good job. No one thought he was

(23:23):
gonna be able to carry it like a herschel Walker,
where he's gonna get twenty five carries a game. You're
not asking him that, but ten to twelve carries for him. Okay,
now you're down to if you're had fifty two plays,
now you're down to forty plays. Right, Well, you gotta
throw the ball and you gotta throw it to Dane
four or five six times a game. You gotta throw
it to barry On four or five times a game. Okay,
now you're down to thirty place. So as you see,

(23:46):
you're dwindling the number of times. Then you want to
get Gavin in the game, and he's gonna run it.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Three or four.

Speaker 15 (23:50):
You're gonna try that deep pass. Brock's gonna run it
three or four times. Now you're down so you just
don't have enough plays. But he's gonna be really, really good.
He's he's gonna be a special player. I just he
doesn't know. He's a freshman. He runs hard, he's done
everything they've asked him to do. But the difference is, Demi. Look, you,

(24:13):
a running back doesn't just run the football, especially in
this offense, because when you're trying to get receivers out,
that he has to stay back and block and blitz
pick up is a huge factor. He's a little slight.
He only goes what one ninety maybe one ninety five.
Maybe Demi's got a little more lead in the backside,
so you'd rather have him back there blocking because you
know he's done it for four years, so that that's

(24:36):
a difference too. But I think they're gonna be set
for a while in the backfield because I like Patterson
and I like Mizel too. When he's finally healthy.

Speaker 5 (24:46):
And not only does he run angry, but I just
feel like he initiates the contact. Yeah, got good vision
and he he's getting there in terms of his strength
because he's falling forward.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
Yeah, I mean it's hard to drive him back. Yeah.
Once he has a full head of steam.

Speaker 15 (24:58):
He has what we call a good lean.

Speaker 1 (25:00):
Yes when he runs. Yes.

Speaker 5 (25:01):
Chatting with Jeff Bikoro and I'm gonna switch over to
basketball for a couple of segments now and we'll just
go back and talk about Big Blue Madness. What a
show that was. The energy and reperna was special on
last Friday.

Speaker 15 (25:14):
And again, look I'm not saying this. I'm not against
Cal and what he did here or anything like that, but.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
It was just different. It was.

Speaker 15 (25:24):
I mean, we haven't seen a lot of these guys
who didn't play for Cal come back, right, And we
haven't seen the Scott pageants, we haven't seen we see
Shepherd because of his but you know there's a lot
of guys that just we haven't seen them take center focus.
And I think with Mark, you know, one of the
first things he did when he got here, he said,

(25:45):
why do we have all these NBA things in here?
This is Kentucky. This isn't the NBA. And it's just
a different attitude. We're playing. You're playing basketball for Mark
Pope for what's on the front of the jersey, and
the front of the jersey says Kentucky. So he took
down all the NBA bands. And now when you go
into the practice floor inside there are the banners from

(26:06):
from Rapperina, the same banners are hanging there. So gone
is Devin Booker and Antoine and you know, all the
Karl Anthony Towns who were in all their uniforms all around.
Those are all gone now because you play for Kentucky
and I think, I really think the people enjoy that. Look,
it was great that you had back to you know,

(26:27):
the number one and number two pick. It's great that
you've had whatever fifty NBA players come through when you're here,
but you've won one championship. And this the people in London,
the people in Paducah, the people in Pikeville.

Speaker 1 (26:40):
Across the Bluegrass, they want yeah.

Speaker 15 (26:42):
From Corbyn to Covington, Paduca to Pikeville, they want banners
and that's what they want. It's great to have NBA presents,
but they want banners and that's I think Mark's focus
is that, and that's refreshing.

Speaker 5 (26:56):
And the culmination of all of it at madness. To
have the players come down to the fans, yeah, the crowd,
and then to have all these former players and these
former champions back, and then to have coach p back
was pretty cool.

Speaker 15 (27:08):
I was wondering what kind of reception.

Speaker 1 (27:10):
He was gonna get. I think we all were.

Speaker 15 (27:12):
I was like, because I remember the last time he
came here as a coach and people were not too friendly.

Speaker 1 (27:17):
But yes, that perfect.

Speaker 15 (27:20):
I thought it was pretty cool the way people responded
and the way I thought he was touched. I mean,
he had tears in his eyes when he spoke. When
Halle aren't my reporter Channel thirty six talk to him,
he was on the verge of tears the whole time
talking about it. I think he's and he's always said it.
This was camelot to him, but you you couldn't fault him.

(27:40):
Folks aget ten percent ownership stake in the Boston Celtics,
Relieve and come on, it's worth a fortune.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
No doubt.

Speaker 5 (27:47):
And we got to see a glimpse of both teams. Yeah,
I'm going to ask you about the women in the
next segment. So let's talk a little bit about this
man's team. They're gonna get up and down the floor
and we're gonna see some three point shooting belly.

Speaker 15 (27:57):
You know, talking to Mark, watching the practices that we
you know, because they're pretty much open. It's hey, I
don't care if you're seven feet tall or six feet
tall or five feet tall, if you're open shoot. And
he said we're gonna put up thirty three is a
game You're like, Wow, I mean Richie Farmer, and they
were like, I want to play. That's gonna be really cool.

(28:18):
We thought Patino's offense was fun. Yeah, this is a
neat offense because it's different because of the size that
you have. You've got guys that are six ten six
eleven who can stretch the floor, and you got guys
like Travis Perry and Trevor daw they don't miss. You're
watching them, You're like, in practice, they don't miss, right,
That's yeah, it's crazy. He sit there for ten minutes

(28:41):
and maybe see one that clangs.

Speaker 5 (28:42):
Off the rim and they're upset with that, right of course,
So it's gonna be exciting. It was also fun for
the fans to get to watch Perry and Noah in
the three point shooting contest, and how about Chandler's dunk
for the wind going over as.

Speaker 15 (28:55):
All over the coach and his wife. If I was her,
I'm like, there's no way you're he's gonna do what? No,
But yeah, I think it's gonna be a fun team.
And it looks like they've already got a continuity of friendship.
They all looked happy. They all that's a big thing
because look, there's nobody on last year's team here. Yeah right,

(29:16):
that's a brand new except for the walk Ons. But
other than that, these guys don't know each other. I
mean I did Dayton games for years and it was fun.
Uh talking to Kobe about that, you know, because he
played Dayton.

Speaker 22 (29:29):
Uh.

Speaker 15 (29:29):
They got robbed of a championship in twenty twenty. I
really think they would have gotten to at least the
final four. They're led by Obie Toppin, which was Jacob
toppins big brother. But yeah, I just think that these
guys look like they already have a great camaraderie and
just had you know what I liked about it When
things were going bad with with coach cow, nobody smiled.

(29:51):
It was like, this is a job. These guys are
having fun. It's gonna be interesting to see halfway through
the season if they go into a tough, tough beat
or like that, how they respond. But it's gonna be fun.

Speaker 1 (30:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (30:02):
Absolutely, Let's take another time out. We'll continue with Jeff
Picorrel right after this on Clark's Puppet Shop BBN Radio.

Speaker 1 (30:08):
This is the UK Sports Network. Whoa WHOA, whoa Dave?

Speaker 21 (30:13):
Before you use that post hole, digger, where's your gas
line And where's your wallet? Could you hit a gas
line and it's going to cost you not to mention
that it's also very dangerous. Okay, Now where's your phone?
Good call eight one one before you dig. One call
and you'll know where to dig every time. It's to

(30:33):
call eight one one. No problems, no accident, no fines.
Oh and it's the law.

Speaker 14 (30:40):
This is coke zero sugar. Could I be the best
coke ever? Try and taste with your ears. Here those bubbles.
Imagine that tingling on your top, fizzy deliciousness. Listen to
that cascading liquid, a mouthwatering waterfall. Here is is to
be tasty zero sugar, Chris refresher and ice gold.

Speaker 24 (31:06):
Is coke zero sugar the best coke effort?

Speaker 4 (31:09):
Try and decide, hey is your favorite Big Blue football
team goes hunting for trophies this season.

Speaker 9 (31:13):
UK Federal Credit Union already has one in the back.

Speaker 4 (31:16):
Thanks to our dedicated team and the positive feedback from
independent surveys of our members, we won Forbes Best in
State Credit Union for twenty twenty four.

Speaker 9 (31:24):
Exceptional service and credible rates.

Speaker 4 (31:25):
And convenient locations are just to the few of the
skills that we'll be using on the our grid iron
to help us earn your vote and make UKFCU back
to back champions in twenty twenty five. It's UK Federal
Credit Union, the official credit union of the University of Kentucky.
Membership eligibility required, federally insured by NCUA.

Speaker 9 (31:43):
What's the best thing about a Skyline three way?

Speaker 25 (31:46):
Gotta be that secret recipe in chili, right, I mean,
there's nothing else on the planet that has that skyline taste.

Speaker 9 (31:52):
But it's not a three way without those noodles. And
then there's the cheese.

Speaker 25 (31:57):
Man, that super fresh credit cheddar cheese. You can only
get the Skyline.

Speaker 9 (32:01):
What am I thinking?

Speaker 25 (32:02):
It takes all free to make a Skyline three way.
I'm gonna make my way to Skyline right now for
the one and only Skyline three way.

Speaker 24 (32:09):
Feeling good?

Speaker 9 (32:10):
It's Skyline time.

Speaker 26 (32:11):
You could win a fortune when you purchase the all
new five million dollar Fortune Scratch Off ticket from the
Kentucky Lottery Play for your chance to win cash prizes
of up to five million dollars, our largest scratch off
prize ever. Purchase from your favorite Kentucky Lottery retailer for
your chance to win today with cash prizes starting at
seventy five dollars. This is a scratch off you can't miss.

(32:35):
Please play responsibly, Kentucky. Remember it's just a game.

Speaker 19 (32:40):
When you need meal time inspiration, it's worth shopping Kroger
for thousands of appetizing ingredients that inspire countless melf watering meals.
And no matter what tasty choice you make, you'll enjoy
our everyday low prices, plus extra ways to save, like
digital coupon's worth over six hundred dollars each week and
up to one dollar off per gallon at the pump

(33:01):
with points so you can get big flavors and big savings.
Proger Fresh for everyone.

Speaker 24 (33:07):
Field restrictions apply.

Speaker 5 (33:09):
James, I play home here on Clark's Pumping Shot BBN Radios.
We our last segment tonight with mister Coorro. We'll hear
from some of the women's basketball players in the next segment,
and we'll close out the show tonight with some Kentucky baseball.

(33:30):
Is there in the middle of fall practice. They've got
one exhibition game down and they have an exhibition game
at home against Moorhead State at the end of the months.
We'll chat a little women's basketball and baseball to close
out our show. But Jeff, since you're going to be
behind the mic on the SEC Network plus for several
women's games, I thought i'd get your thoughts on the
Kenny Brooks era that started with Big Blue Madness, because

(33:52):
when you look at the difference he's made in the
program before a single game is played, all you have
to do is look on the courts and you can.

Speaker 15 (34:00):
So the other day he had his All American that
he brought with him from Virginia Tech, Georgia Moore. She's
five to seven maybe then two guard was six to two.
The swing are small forward was what six three six four?
That he had a six five and six seven on
the court at the same time.

Speaker 1 (34:21):
How about that.

Speaker 15 (34:22):
I don't think UK basketball ever had more than one
six footer on the floor. I mean Ryan, Ryan was
right around six one six two, maybe Blair Blairs six
one six two, right, I mean, but to have four
on the court at the same time, Oliver six two,
and you're like, it's just completely different. It blew my mind.

(34:43):
And you watch him and it's not just sluggish six five.
They get up and down the court. It's gonna be
a totally different game. Than we're used to see. And
then you're gonna have a lot of fun. We're gonna
have a lot of fun. Colings.

Speaker 5 (34:56):
Not only do they have the size, but these young
ladies shoot the back. Yeah, I mean it's unreal.

Speaker 15 (35:02):
And and it's not like he got what two girls
from Australia he's got. They're from all over the one
what's the sixth where's she from? Is it Brazil?

Speaker 1 (35:12):
Portugal?

Speaker 15 (35:13):
Portugal? I mean they're from everywhere all and the same
thing as the men. Every time I've been around him,
they're having a great time. It looks like they're they're
you know, the friendships there and they have the maybe
one of the great names in the history of the
University of Kentucky. For her name to be at UK

(35:35):
Lexi Blue. I mean, come on, seriously.

Speaker 5 (35:40):
I asked her about that at media Day. We'll hear
from her coming up in the next segment. Yeah, just
grand from here to here going. Yeah, I guess it's
a perfect.

Speaker 15 (35:48):
She could have gone to Tennessee Lexi Blue. They wouldn't
have let her play at Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (35:53):
Changed her first name.

Speaker 15 (35:54):
It's gonna be fun, Seriously, They he's a fantastic coach,
I think it was one of the great steals that
Mitch Barnhardt's made since he's been here. And I think
you'll see on the court you're going to see a
totally different style than we've seen here in a long
time at uk bask.

Speaker 5 (36:09):
I can tell you that I have loved attending his
practices and watching the way he coaches and teaches with
this staff. It has just been tremendous to watch the
way he will You could tell he's he's trying to
get his point across, but then in the next moment
he'll kind of smile and relax the mood and they
go back to work.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
I mean, it's really.

Speaker 15 (36:27):
He's out there on the floor witch. Yeah, it's cool.

Speaker 5 (36:30):
Yeah, and his staff is really good. Lindsey Hicks is
a rising star, so coach rad is opening the door
to so many different avenues of recruiting and that's how
they've gotten some international players. And so I can't wait
to open the season November fourth against usc.

Speaker 15 (36:48):
Upstairs's say, that's our first game too, is at five
o'clock start on Monday, number fourth, So five o'clock, so
we're going to go early.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
But that'll be fun.

Speaker 5 (36:56):
It's an odd tip time, folks. But you have to
remember the men open their seats in that night as well.
That's why the women are playing at five, and then
the men will go at rep Arena and then.

Speaker 15 (37:04):
They're right back at it a couple of days later
on Thursday at six versus MKUS.

Speaker 1 (37:08):
I also like the schedule he's put together. It's a
tough schedule.

Speaker 5 (37:11):
He's got two Power four teams in Nashville, Arizona State
and Illinois. He's got a trip to Purdue, you have
to go to North Carolina as part of the sec
ACC Challenge, and then the mid majors he's got Western
Kentucky and Belmont on the schedule.

Speaker 15 (37:25):
Look, he's not gonna shy away from anybody. He didn't
do that at Virginia Tech and he's certainly not gonna
do it here. But look, if it's almost like we
have to get ready for sec play, So playing bunnies
isn't gonna help. Right when you have to go to
South Carolina, it's just not LSU or LSU. You know
you've got to get ready for them. You know, you
can't really replicate it in practice, so you have to

(37:47):
play tough teams. So gone are gonna be some of
these little bunny games that they played in the past,
and you're gonna see a true you know. I just
think it's gonna be a fun year in basketball here
for both teams.

Speaker 5 (37:58):
And that's not to mention the fact that historic memorial
collis sun gim is that amazing?

Speaker 1 (38:03):
And I don't mean j y M, I mean g
e M. Yeah.

Speaker 15 (38:06):
And there's air conditioning. That's the greatest thing. There's air
conditioning there, but it's it's gorgeous in there.

Speaker 5 (38:12):
Yes, Wow, cannot wait. Jeff, thanks so much for taking
some time to come out.

Speaker 15 (38:16):
You just get the glass floor memorial.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
Then, oh money, that was that thing was awesome.

Speaker 15 (38:22):
Thanks thanks having.

Speaker 5 (38:23):
That's Jeff Picoro. We appreciate him coming on with us.
We'll continue with Clark's Puppet Shop BB and Radio. We'll
hear from Lexi Blue and Clara Strack coming up on
the program. This is the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 24 (38:34):
Ever.

Speaker 23 (38:34):
Wonder where the Capital A and Chick fil A came from.
It started with Grade A top quality chicken. But we
believed everything, not just the food, should be Grade A.

Speaker 15 (38:43):
Hi.

Speaker 22 (38:43):
I'm Jira, I am a team leader at Chick fil A.
To me, the A and Chick fil Ady is a smile.
I want to give the guests a little encouragement, maybe
just a little joke that makes them laugh when they
come to the driver.

Speaker 23 (38:56):
The A and Chick fil A is for all the
little things we do to bring your best every day.

Speaker 27 (39:01):
Real team member paid for their testimonial.

Speaker 13 (39:04):
When you decide to sell your home, don't settle for
a good agent, go for a great one. Go for
a Wikerd agent. A Wikerd agent looks at you as
a partner, not a transaction, and will work day and
night to get you the results you're looking for. And
your wikard agent is backed by the wiker brand. With
over fifty years of experience, Wikerd agents have guided thousands
of buyers and sellers through every fashion of home ownership.

(39:26):
Don't settle for good, go for great work with a
Wikerd agent. Each Wikerd franchised office is independently owned and operated.

Speaker 9 (39:33):
Hey is your.

Speaker 4 (39:34):
Favorite big blue football team goes hunting for trophies This season,
UK Federal Credit Union already has one in the back.
Thanks to our dedicated team and the positive feedback from
independent surveys of our members, we won Forbes Best in
State Credit Union for twenty twenty four.

Speaker 9 (39:47):
Exceptional service and credible rates and.

Speaker 4 (39:49):
Convenient locations are just the few of the skills that
we'll be using on the our grid iron to help
us earn your vote and make UKFCU back to back
champions in twenty twenty five. It's UK Federal Credit Union,
the official cre you need the University of Kentucky membership
eligibility required federally insured by ncuas.

Speaker 25 (40:06):
There's no better way to pregame than with a Bengals
Cony Kid from Skyline. It has everything you need to
build and serve twenty four delicious cheese conys, so everyone
gets to make their cony's just the way they like them.
Skyline's new Bengals Cony Kits are perfect for tailgating, watch parties,
or any fun gathering.

Speaker 9 (40:23):
It's time to cony up, Bengals Nation.

Speaker 25 (40:25):
Call ahead to order your Bengals Cony Kit today at participating.

Speaker 9 (40:28):
Locations while supplies last.

Speaker 25 (40:30):
Skyline, the official Chili of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (40:42):
Welcome back to Clark's Pumping Shop BB and Radio.

Speaker 5 (40:45):
We appreciate Jeff Decorro joining us here tonight to chat
a little football and basketball and it is a crossover season.
And we had a chance to visit with some of
the Kentucky women's basketball players during their media day last week,
and I had a chance to catch up with Clara Strack,
who transferred to the program after being at Virginia Tech
or freshman year, she played behind Elizabeth Kittley, the All

(41:07):
American and do everything for Virginia Tech.

Speaker 1 (41:11):
Really.

Speaker 5 (41:11):
Kittley was a star alongside Georgia Amore on that team
and Clara got to play behind her and had a
big NCAA tournament last year after the injury to Kittley.
So we have a chance to sit down with Clara Strack,
and here is that interview with one of Kentucky's in
new faces.

Speaker 1 (41:29):
Clara.

Speaker 5 (41:29):
First of all, has it been settling into Lexington and
now have you enjoyed it so far?

Speaker 27 (41:34):
Yeah, it's been really great. I didn't really know what
to expect coming here.

Speaker 12 (41:37):
I've never been to Lexington, let alone.

Speaker 27 (41:39):
I don't think i've a room been in Kentucky before.
But it's a really great area and I really enjoy it.

Speaker 12 (41:43):
I think that there's lot to zoo and I have fun.

Speaker 5 (41:46):
Obviously a lot of time spent getting ready for the season.
But have you had a chance to get out and
sort of explore the area any Yeah, a little bit.

Speaker 27 (41:54):
I would say this summer we did a lot different things.

Speaker 12 (41:57):
We went down town a little bit. It's fine.

Speaker 5 (41:59):
Mecath coach mentioned that you had a strong run in
the NCAA Tournament filling in for Elizabeth Kittley. How much
did that confidence build for you going into this offseason.

Speaker 27 (42:08):
Yeah, I would say that was really important for my
confidence level. I think that seeing like what I could
do last year, like especially like in that high pressure
situation like that, I think that helped a lot with
my confidence and it really like pushed me into this year.
And I think it also made me realize like.

Speaker 12 (42:25):
Like who I can be and like how I can be.

Speaker 27 (42:28):
And I think that that really like almost motivated me
to work even harder than I have before to really
get ready for this year.

Speaker 5 (42:35):
What's been your focus in the off season and now
preseason camp.

Speaker 1 (42:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 27 (42:39):
I think we're really trying to expand my game right now.
Obviously last year I was really like inside like and stuff,
So I think we're trying to expand out and.

Speaker 12 (42:48):
Just add more to my game.

Speaker 5 (42:50):
Talking with Clara Strack and coach also mentioned that you
were able to learn behind Elizabeth Kittley. What was it
like being behind an All American and seeing how she
did things?

Speaker 27 (42:58):
Yeah, it was incredible. I mean, and she's an incredible
basketball player. Obviously she's super competitive, Like she has a
great mindset, I think playing against it for so long, like,
she taught me so many things like not only like
obviously like skills like basketball wise, but she taught me
a lot about like just how to like carry myself
and how to think.

Speaker 12 (43:18):
And I think that was really important.

Speaker 5 (43:19):
A lot of new faces in this brand new program
for you, how important was the off season just to
build chemistry with a new group.

Speaker 12 (43:25):
Yeah, it was so important.

Speaker 27 (43:27):
Obviously we're like all brand new with each other, Like
there's only like a few who I've ever played with before.
But I think we did a really great job builing chemistry.
I think all of the girls here are amazing and
we all get along really well.

Speaker 12 (43:38):
So I think chemistry is not gonna be a problem.

Speaker 5 (43:40):
Coach Brooks and his coaching style. What is it he
demands out of his post players.

Speaker 27 (43:45):
I'd say physicality. You gotta be physical, especially in this conference,
Like it's gonna be a lot. You got to be
able to rebound basketball big I'm rebounding, and then honestly
just like being able to do like more than just
like just go down low, Like you've got to like
be versatile to everything.

Speaker 5 (44:03):
So I've heard you already talk a little bit about
how he can put a tall lineup out there with
Amelia Hassett playing at the two. How fun is it
for you to stand there and see how tall this
team can really get.

Speaker 12 (44:12):
Yeah, it's it's super fun.

Speaker 27 (44:13):
I think that's really something that's gonna be hard for
other teams to match up against.

Speaker 5 (44:17):
So I'm really fun chatting with Clara Strack and obviously
with Coach Hicks. How much has she been able to
help you and work with you as well? I know
she invests a lot in post players.

Speaker 27 (44:26):
Yeah, Coaches is amazing. Since I got here last year,
she's done a lot for me. She's always talking to
me on the sidelines, always talking to me through everything
that I might have a question with the practice.

Speaker 12 (44:37):
So she's really great.

Speaker 5 (44:38):
What's it like to play with Georgia Amore and the
way she is on the on the court.

Speaker 27 (44:42):
George's an amazing person to play with.

Speaker 12 (44:45):
Super fun.

Speaker 27 (44:46):
I had like was so like thankful to get last
year with her, and I'm so excited this year too
to be with her and honestly be out with her
like more and more because I think now like we're
getting a lot of reps together. She's obviously a super
talented basketball player, which is also just like a fun
personality to have around and have around on a team.
So I think when you play with someone who's so
fun and so like like good at basketball, like, it's

(45:09):
just it helps everyone else to so it helps.

Speaker 12 (45:11):
Me be better.

Speaker 5 (45:12):
Includation is obviously passionate about their basketball. What have you
seen from that since you've been on campus.

Speaker 27 (45:18):
Yeah, yeah, they definitely are passionate. I think that's really
a cool thing to have a cool experience to have
to build a fan base with fans who are so
passionate about basketball.

Speaker 5 (45:30):
Finally, Clara, obviously the ACC's loaded with talented teams. But
what excites you the most about competing in the SEC
this year?

Speaker 27 (45:36):
Yeah, I Seein's got the best of the best. I
think it's super exciting. Like you don't have like an
easy game, like every game is you're gonna have to
come out and you're gonna have to be like on
your best like day, Like I think that's really exciting time.

Speaker 5 (45:49):
Yeah, of course, And that was our conversation with Clara
Strack from Media Day. We also had a chance to
catch up with Lexi Blue, and here's our conversation with Lexi.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
Lexi.

Speaker 5 (46:01):
First of all, what's it been like settling into Lexington and.

Speaker 9 (46:04):
Learning the area.

Speaker 27 (46:05):
It's been really fun, obviously, just exploring a little bit
and trying to figure out the food spots, trying to
figure out where my classes are, everything like that.

Speaker 12 (46:13):
So just taking everything day by day.

Speaker 5 (46:15):
I heard you mentioned one particular restaurant. Sounds like you
already have a favorite.

Speaker 27 (46:19):
I do postera gage sponsored me.

Speaker 12 (46:23):
I love past garage.

Speaker 5 (46:25):
What did you know about Kentucky or Lexington before you
came here?

Speaker 27 (46:29):
Not much, to be honest, So coming here was definitely
a whirlwind and just trying to get everything, you know, situated.
But it's been really fun and I've had a lot
of people help me along the way.

Speaker 1 (46:37):
What has the off season been like for you?

Speaker 5 (46:39):
Thinking that you were going somewhere else and then coach
calls you and you end up coming to Kentucky instead.

Speaker 27 (46:44):
I mean, I think the people were the main thing
that drove me to my commitment anyways, and throughout my
recruiting process, so that really has stayed the same. So
it's just a different place. And I think Lexington is
pretty cool. My name fits, so I had a plus
with that, So it's been really good.

Speaker 5 (46:58):
How often do you get teased about the fact that
Lexi blue and Lexington with the blue?

Speaker 9 (47:02):
How often does that come up?

Speaker 27 (47:03):
I wouldn't say I get teased by get free, So
I'm happy about that.

Speaker 5 (47:09):
What's the off season been like? Just from a growth
standpoint and trying to adjust to this level?

Speaker 27 (47:13):
I think just for me taking everything day by day
and trying to take you know, the mistakes I make
one day and not making it the next day.

Speaker 12 (47:19):
That's the biggest thing.

Speaker 27 (47:20):
And just continue to trust the process. Freshman year is
never easy. I'm sure anyone can tell you that, so
I know it's not going to be easy, So going
with that, just relying on people that I know have
my best interests and love me and want me to
be great.

Speaker 5 (47:31):
Working alongside players like Georgia Amore and learning from her.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
What's that been like?

Speaker 5 (47:36):
Just the way she knows the game and what coach
Brooks expects.

Speaker 27 (47:39):
Yeah, I think Georgia has been a really good tool
in just helping me and allowing me to, you know,
learn the little things. Obviously she's an experienced player, so
just taking those little things and applying it.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
Last thing for you, what do you think?

Speaker 5 (47:51):
What would you say Big Blue Nations should be most
excited about when they see this team take the floor.

Speaker 27 (47:56):
I think just our length is a big thing, and
also that we're going to try our best to control
our energy, effort, an attitude. That's what coach Books wants
from us, and that's what he says pretty much every
day in the huddle is those are the things that
we control. So while there may be ups and downs,
just know that we're trying our best out there and
that's really our goal is to win and.

Speaker 12 (48:12):
Also just represent ourselves in a way that is appropriate.

Speaker 5 (48:15):
Lexi, thanks, thank you, and again that was Lexi Blue.
The Wildcats will be in action this Friday in the
Blue Wide Event at Historic Memorial Coliseum. They'll open the
regular season November fourth, that's a Monday night, a five
o'clock tip off. Usc Upstate is in town to take
on the Wildcats at Historic Memorial Coliseum. We'll take a break.

(48:35):
One final segment to go here on Clark's Puppet Shop.
BBN Radio. This is the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 28 (48:41):
BBN game Day. It's your weekly look inside UK Athletics
Saturdays at nine am on l e X eighteen and
stations across the state. Check Ukathletics dot com slash UK
Sports Network for stations and times in your area.

Speaker 9 (48:54):
BBN game Day.

Speaker 24 (48:56):
What keeps you going?

Speaker 20 (48:58):
You're a love for the game, your team of victory.
At ar eacherth Apedics, our goal is to keep you
paying free so your body can keep going. There's no
time for discomfort in your joints or ligaments caused by
an injury. Aar Eacher of the Pedic providers specialize in
treatment plans from non surgical and surgical options, so your
care is entirely centered around you. Visit ARH dot org

(49:20):
slash ORTHO define an orthopedic provider near you. ARH more
For Appalachia.

Speaker 3 (49:25):
Hey Wildcat Fans, Little Caesars, the home of Hot and
Ready Pizza, invites you to try our world famous Crazy
Bread with Crazy Sauce, Caesar Wins Italian cheese bread, and
our new cookie Old Browning dessert at Little Caesar's. We
begin each day with dough made fresh from scratch, fresh
never frozen cheese, and the tasty is topping. Little Caesars

(49:48):
is also a proud partner of UK Athletics and an
enthusiastic member of Big Blue Nation.

Speaker 9 (49:53):
So go Cat Pizza Pizza.

Speaker 7 (49:56):
The SEC is more than the Southeastern Conference. It's the
Saturday the electrifying Conference, the Sunday Elite Conference, the stadium
erupting Conference, the stunning eyeballs Conference, the superbly entertaining Conference,
the storied enduring Conference, and more often than not, the
see you later everyone else Conference. This is the SEC

(50:20):
where it just means more.

Speaker 14 (50:26):
This is Coke zero sugar. Could I be the best
coke ever?

Speaker 24 (50:30):
Try and taste with your ears. Here those bubbles, imagine
them tingling on your top. Fuzzy deliciousness.

Speaker 14 (50:39):
Listen to that cascading liquid, a mouthwatering waterfall, irresistably tasty,
zero sugar, crisp, refreshing and ice gold.

Speaker 24 (50:51):
Is coke zero sugar the best coke effort? Try and
decide you've.

Speaker 29 (50:55):
Heard the term buy local? How about play local? When
you play keys and other games from the Kentucky Lottery,
your dollars are going directly to fund scholarships and grants
for Kentucky students.

Speaker 30 (51:06):
Play keynot anywhere Kentucky lottery is sold, convenience stores, bars,
on your laptop or on your mobile device. Visit Kylottery
dot com to play Keno online, or go to your
favorite Kentucky lottery retailer.

Speaker 29 (51:19):
Please play local, have fun, and help Kentucky students too.
Play responsibly. Remember it's just a game.

Speaker 28 (51:27):
BBN Game Day h your weekly look inside UK Athletics
Saturdays at nine am on l e X eighteen and
stations across the state. Check Ukathletics dot com, Slash UK
Sports Network for stations and times in your area.

Speaker 9 (51:40):
BBN Game Day.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
Final seven to Clark's puppet Shop. BBN Radio.

Speaker 5 (51:52):
Want to make sure to subscribe to the Behind Kentucky
Baseball podcast, hosted by Darren Williams and myself. It's available
for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and the official
UK Athletics app. Recently, we had a chance to sit
down with Robert Hogan and Simon Gregorson. Hogan a member
of the College World Series run last year. Gregorson pitched

(52:12):
for Indiana State last year against Kentucky and the regionals.
He's now a member of the Wildcats baseball team. And
here's a bit of our conversation with Robert Hogan and
Simon gregorson.

Speaker 31 (52:23):
The Robert Hogan Bobby Spins. What's it like back now
as the big veteran. You know, you've been through this once.
Everybody in the building can know what you do and
what you can do at this level. What's been year two?
Like so far, it's been fantastic. Honestly, I love it.

Speaker 16 (52:42):
Especially I got some like familiar faces now with Cole
Hage and my boy Simon over here, Like having them
here is awesome, And it's something where being here, like
I actually know what we're doing, what's going on, what
the team is supposed to look like. And being able
to kind of be that veteran and know everything that's

(53:03):
supposed to happen, it like makes me more comfortable and
helps me teach the freshmen and kind of bring them
up to speed. And I think the freshmen have kind
of accepted everything that everyone said and they've done a great.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
Job so far this year. And I just I think
it's so fun.

Speaker 31 (53:19):
A lot of raven on the freshmen. That's a lot
of so far about with our guests.

Speaker 1 (53:24):
That's right, that's right.

Speaker 5 (53:25):
Yeah, we're gonna have to get these young guys on
at some point. Speaking of what you just talked about,
kind of building off that, Robert. Obviously, when you're playing
in college over a career, guys come and go, they graduate,
or they transfer. But this is a unique case where
a lot of the guys that you fought alongside last
year and battled with either graduated or were drafted and

(53:46):
now a lot of new faces. So to that point,
having some of these guys that you're you have known
for a long time coming in here, how much did
that help to have some friendly faces in the locker room?

Speaker 16 (53:57):
It helps a lot, honestly, especially in Simo. Geez, we've
known each other for what seven years now at least
at least and same with age, and it's something that
like we just kind of go back to our roots,
you know. And I know having Simo here is going
to help push me. I mean, he likes to spend
the ball and I like to spend the ball. So
we're gonna see you can spend it the best, Simon

(54:18):
for you. I mean, coming into a brand new program,
new staff, new surroundings. But having a guy like Hogan
in the locker room, how much did that help you
settle into a new environment.

Speaker 32 (54:28):
Oh, I think it was more of you know that
you have a job, you know that he's competing for
the same job as you. You know that he's very good,
You know that you know you're trying to be the
best version of you. It's a lot nicer to be
able to kind of look at him and be able
to compete with him because you know that he's going
to give you your absolute best. Because you've known this

(54:49):
guy for so long, you know that he is an
extreme competitor, and I like to think that him and
I compete at a very similar level. So being able
to have a lot of those guys in law b room,
they compete extremely well and are extremely aggressive, it's really
it's really simple to kind of be able to get
behind that and compete with them.

Speaker 1 (55:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 31 (55:11):
Some of my first question for you is, before we
get into your relationship with Rob or Uk at all,
let's take it back to last May Man. Your Indiana
State team had an unbelievable season, unbelievable past two seasons,
and me and Darren were on the call that regional
final game where you slung the rock. You had an incredible,

(55:35):
very impressive outing in front of eight thousand people that
did not want you to have a get outing at
the time. What was what was the KPP regional atmosphere
like for a visiting player?

Speaker 32 (55:47):
Intimidating to say the least. The fans here doing an
amazing job of letting the players know that they have
their backs and that they aren't straying away from them.
I'm fortunate enough to have met a few fans here.
I've actually played here at least once in the past

(56:08):
for two years that I played for Indiana State, so
I did have a little bit of familiar faces in
the crowd. But really, when when I was jogging in
from the outfield bullpen and just seeing everybody just erupt
knowing that I'm I'm coming into a dogfight, like I'm
I'm I'm here to battle. They are here to battle,

(56:29):
and the fans are not on my side. And I
always like to talk about all the all the kids
in the background that like to jump up allen scream.
I think that that's awesome, whether you're facing it or
whether that you know whether they're on your side or
not like being able to see you know, from from

(56:50):
kids to adults to grandparents. Uh, the fans really do
a great job here, and it's intimidating and it's extremely fun.

Speaker 5 (56:59):
So when you were in the transfer portal and getting recruited,
obviously you can see the facilities, you can talk to
the coaches, but pitching in that environment and the and
the takeaways you took from that, how much did that
weigh on the decision when you decided on Kentucky.

Speaker 32 (57:16):
Absolutely. When when I was kind of getting down and
making a decision, you know, they they had asked me
if if they wanted me to, you know, come here,
come on a visit. Rob and I were going back
and forth. We were really kind of chatting it up
to be able to be like, you know, is is
this for real?

Speaker 5 (57:34):
You can hear the rest of that conversation by subscribing
to Behind Kentucky Baseball wherever you get your podcasts. And
we appreciate you joining us here tonight on Clark's Pumping
Shop BBN Radio. That's it for us special thanks to
Jeff Picorol for being with us. It's the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
Entucky Kentucky. You've been listening to Clark's Pump and Shop.
Big Blue Nation Radio on the UK Sports Network. Big
Blue Nation Radio is a presentation of the UK Sports
Network powered by JMI Sports