Saturday Headlines: Jordan Brand Classic recap Edition

Good morning, BBN!

Is it just me or does it feel like we are kind of ignoring the two incoming freshmen? Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston are both top ten recruits, both are McDonald’s All Americans, and both took part in the Jordan Brand Classic last night.

Wallace had 13 points while Livingston added 14 with solid performances. One of the big issues with John Calipari’s teams the last two seasons was the lack of an athletic guard that can get to the rim anytime he wants. Tyty Washington, Sahvir Wheeler, Davion Mintz and Kellan Grady weren’t those guys. BJ Boston and Devin Askew weren’t those guys. Terrence Clarke could have been that guy but unfortunately he was injured so we were never really able to see Clarke at his full strength.

Cason Wallace is that dude. He has speed and athleticism that we haven’t seen at the guard spot since Tyrese Maxey. Wallace can break down a defense by himself and create his own shot at various spots on the court which is a skill that has been sorely missed.

Chris Livingston is an athletic bull that can also create his own shot. He isn’t afraid to start at the wing, put his head down, and get to the basket. He can play at either the three or the four, but being able to put him at the four would create major match up problems for the defense. We also haven’t seen a player like him maybe since MKG. I’m not saying he is as good as MKG, but he possesses similar skills.

I know John Calipari has spots to fill via the transfer portal, but maybe we need to do a little better of a job realizing what we already have coming in because these players are looking damn good.

Tweets of the Day

Oh did I mention he’s a lockdown defender, too?

Yes and yes.

Day one starter.

Headlines

Tanner LeMaster commits to Kentucky | KSR- Things have been rather quiet on the recruiting trail on the football side of things but the Cats pick up a three star commitment from a tight end from Ohio. Sounds familiar.

Leonard Miller is on campus this weekend | Cats Pause- Miller is a Canadian born prospect (Cal seems to do pretty well getting those guys on campus) and would be a part of the 2022 class. He’s only ranked by On3 because he is an international player but he is considered the best uncommitted player left. He is considering Kentucky, the G League and Arizona. This would be a major get for John Calipari if he can pull it off.

Kentucky is also hosting transfer portal player Antonio Reeves. Reeves is also considering UNC. Reeves averaged 20 points and 3.5 assists per game at Illinois State.

Cats drop game 2 against Missouri | Cats Illustrated- After winning and scoring 15 runs on Thursday, the Cats could muster only four runs on Friday and fell to the Tigers 9-4.

Cats drop a close one in Arkansas | UK Athletics- The eighth ranked UK softball team lost 2-1 at sixth ranked Arkansas. The heavyweight match will continue tonight at 8:00 PM in Fayetteville.

Basketball analyst always thought Shaedon Sharpe was headed to the NBA | Vaught’s Views- Krysten Peek covers basketball for Yahoo! and the Rivals network. Here is what Peek had to say about talking with Sharpe back in October, “Even when I spoke to him in October I was kind of getting the impression his end goal was not to play at Kentucky. His end goal is to be an NBA player and why would he risk injury or his draft stock falling (by staying at Kentucky),” Peek said. “The intrigue of who he could be is more of a positive than anything else right now.”

There is more in the article about how much he actually practiced while at Kentucky and whether or not he wanted to play this past season but was advised otherwise. It’s a messy situation and the likely outcome is really going to set people off considering what we are learning little by little.

But there is still a strong feeling around Kentucky that he is coming back as evidenced with this tweet from Kyle Tucker:

Make of that what you will.

Brandon Ingram leads Pelicans to Playoffs | CBS- That’s a big deal for New Orleans as they’ve not reached the Playoffs in some time. Who needs Zion Williamson? They’ll take on the Suns in the first round.

Trae Young explodes in the second half to clinch Playoff spot for the Hawks | ESPN- Young poured on 35 points and hit ridiculous shot after ridiculous shot to clinch the 8 seed for the Atlanta Hawks. I know he’s become an NBA villain but he is so fun to watch.

Reds lose fourth straight, drop to 2-6 | Redleg Nation- At least they had that split in Atlanta!