4-Point Play: Brandon Garrison buys his mom a BMW
We may be in the dog days of summer, but that doesn’t mean Kentucky basketball is slowing down anytime soon. With practices ramping up, draft leftovers and NBA Summer League coming and recruiting about to hit its peak, there is plenty to talk about here in July.
We’ll touch on a little bit of everything tonight on 4-Point Play.
This is why NIL can be awesome
Right when you think NIL has spun college sports out of control, a new story pops up to help you remember why it was necessary to begin with — this one coming right out of the Joe Craft Center.
Oklahoma State transfer Brandon Garrison is finding his footing in Lexington as a prized addition for Pope this offseason. In the meantime, the former McDonald’s All-American is taking care of the one who help put him in this position to begin with: Momma.
Garrison shared on social media he was able to purchase his mother, Toni Lewis, a new BMW this summer after making the move to Kentucky.
“Blessed!!! Nothing but God man…” the Wildcat big man wrote on Instagram. “Blessed to be able to put my ma behind new wheels man.”
“Thank you SO MUCH SON. I can’t stop crying! Tears of joy. All that we have been through,” she responded. “Not having a place to stay when we were younger, barely food to feed you all. Working a low end job. Putting miles making a way to get you to tournaments and college visits in my (old) Nissan. But I did it because I knew the gift God gave you is a blessing.”
Enjoy the new ride, Ma!
Rob Dillingham to wear No. 4 in Minnesota
The Timberwolves posted a photoshopped image of Rob Dillingham rocking a No. 4 jersey in Minnesota shortly after the draft. Now, Mr. Shift himself has confirmed that will be his number of choice as a rookie in the Twin Cities, sharing his new uniform on his Instagram story.
“Man words can’t even describe this s***,” he said. “Thank you God, I won’t let you down.”
Then the Wolves posted his new locker and nameplate upon Dillingham’s arrival to make it official.
Monte Morris signed with the Phoenix Suns coming off a season averaging 15.1 minutes per game in Minnesota. Mike Conley is set to turn 37 by the time the regular season starts coming off a season playing 28.9 minutes per contest. Dillingham may have been drafted as a franchise cornerstone of the future alongside Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, but he’s also there to make an impact now, likely as the top playmaker and go-to scorer off the bench.
President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly made that abundantly clear upon drafting the former Wildcat.
“Yeah, he’s gonna play. He’s gonna play. Again, we were pretty aggressive and we gave up a pretty valuable asset,” Connelly said. “He’s a guy from day one that is going to be given an opportunity. Obviously he’s got to earn to keep that opportunity, but we traded for him to play right away.”
When can you see the former Kentucky star in action with his new team? You won’t have to wait long, Dillingham making his debut with the Timberwolves when the NBA 2K25 Summer League takes place from July 12-22.
Check out his schedule:
- Fri. 7/12 vs. New Orleans at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2
- Sun. 7/14 vs. Indiana at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
- Tue. 7/16 vs. Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
- Thu. 7/18 vs. Houston at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN
Who wins, Blue or White?
It was Kentucky’s Takeover Day on SEC Network, the conference affiliate running through some of the best moments for UK Athletics in the 2023-24 academic year. While replaying the Wildcats’ biggest wins in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and gymnastics, they asked fans who would win in a head-to-head battle between some of the best MBB stars to come through Lexington.
On the blue team, it’s De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. On the white team, it’s John Wall, Devin Booker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The winner? It has to be the blue squad, right? We’ve already seen Davis and Cousins team up in the NBA, forming one of the league’s most dominant frontcourts in history with the New Orleans Pelicans before injuries derailed the latter’s career. Combine that one-two punch with Fox’s speed, Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring and playmaking and Murray’s shooting? An unstoppable five-man group.
Give me March Madness experience
Kentucky’s 12-man roster has played a combined zero minutes of college basketball together. There are veterans — seven super seniors, to be exact — but only two with experience at Rupp Arena as walk-ons in Walker Horn and Grant Darbyshire. I guess you could throw Travis Perry and Trent Noah in that category thanks to their Sweet 16 runs in high school, as well.
Needless to say, it’s a stretch no matter how you spin it. And Jaxson Robinson is the only player anyone on the coaching staff has coached ahead of their fresh starts in Lexington. Everyone is taking on this new challenge together.
One thing you can’t take away from this group, though? Its postseason experience, essentially all of the vets taking a stab at March Madness at some point in their respective careers. In fact, for all that has been said about their lack of experience together as a unit, Kentucky actually enters the season ranked second in the SEC in total NCAA Tournament minutes played with 580.
Coming off a run to the Final Four, Alabama is the only school ahead of Mark Pope’s group on the list with 750 combined minutes.
Big Blue Nation is hoping for more postseason experience itself going into 2024-25 — it’s been a minute since we’ve racked those up, after all.
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