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Happy Saturday, Big Blue Nation!
It’s always great to start the day with good news and that is exactly what we will do. Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats scored big yesterday when two football commits dropped on Friday evening.
Three star defensive back Jay Ward and JUCO defensive lineman Taures Payne both made it official. The 2019 class is off to a solid start!
Tweets of the Day
3 examples of how kids made the right choice going to Kentucky vs going to Duke.
— Ky Sports Insiders (@KySportInsiders) June 23, 2018
SGA and Duval
Bam and Bolden
KAT and Okafor
We do what we do to win championships. But it's also about nights like these. Take a few minutes and watch this and see why. To see a young man and his family's dreams come true, it makes us work a little harder and dream a little bigger. #DreamBig #NBADraft #WhoWantsToBeNext pic.twitter.com/1sNNDyp30F
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 22, 2018
.@KevKnox getting that New York slice #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/imOPbYBbnI
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 22, 2018
Jarred Vanderbilt's mom still repping Big Blue. pic.twitter.com/4OcrQMnsPb
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) June 22, 2018
Quickies
Former UK punter comes out as gay | Lexington Herald Leader- Landon Foster was a good punter while he was at Kentucky. He’s a grad student at Vanderbilt and he decided to come out as gay by penning at article for Outsports. Foster asked for advice and received support from Mitch Barnhart.
It’s a great read and I highly recommend it.
First train stop on Sunday | Coachcal.com- John Calipari is inviting fans to meet and greet with the 2018/2019 Wildcats at 7:00 PM on Sunday in Midway. And yes, Ashton Hagans and Reid Travis will be there.
Odds for Knox and SGA as NBA ROY | Courier-Journal- Knox is 15/1 and SGA is 40/1. I think both guys are in pretty good situations for them personally and I wouldn’t be surprised if either of them shines next season. DeAndre Ayton is the favorite at 13/5.
Will John Calipari’s run of lottery picks end? | Lexington Herald Leader- Calipari has had a player selected in the lottery in nine straight drafts and 19 overall. With no current Wildcats projected in the lottery, that could change. Something tells me Cal won’t have to sweat this much.
Akoy Agau returns to Louisville | Courier-Journal- After being run out of Louisville, stopping at Georgetown and SMU along the way, former Cardinal big man returns to the fold. Agau brings a whopping 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game to the Cards’ less than stellar roster. L’s Up!
New information emerges in Jameis Winston accusations | ESPN- The Bucs QB is being accused of groping an Uber driver and the NFL has suspended him for the first three games of the season. The story has been that Winston was never alone with the driver and had witnesses proving his innocence. But someone that was there that night, a former Vanderbilt football player serving a 15 year sentence for rape, and he claims Winston was the last one in the Uber and he was indeed alone with the driver.
Draft grades for each team | CBS- CBS likes the Clippers picking SGA but the rest of their draft earned them a C-. Same thing goes for the Knicks: the Knox pick was good but the questionable decision to draft Mitchell Robinson earned them a C- as well.
Arkansas advances to championship game | USA Today- In a stunner, the Razorbacks knock number one seed Florida out of the College World Series and advance to the championship game. They will face the winner of Oregon State and Mississippi State.
Jurassic World looks to win the weekend | Deadline- The newest dinosaur run amok sequel will beat out Incredibles 2 for the weekend box office. I took my son to see it last night and we had a blast. It’s a fun way to turn off your brain for two-plus hours.