KSR Today: Basketball/football visitors and prepping for Baton Rouge

Good morning, folks. It’s going to be a busy few days here at the KSR headquarters. From basketball and football visitors to the Bat ‘Cats taking on the Super Regionals, there is plenty to talk about as we inch closer to the weekend.

For starters, a handful of us will make our way to Kroger Field for the third football camp of the summer to check out some of the young prospects the program has invited to Lexington. That starts this morning and runs through the early afternoon, so expect to see some notes coming later in the day from that.

But that’s hardly all of the news we need to discuss this morning…

Jordan Burks delays decision

Three-star class of 2023 small forward Jordan Burks was expected to make his college decision during Wednesday’s live edition of the Paper Route podcast with I Am Athlete. However, it was announced at the beginning of the live stream that Burks, who took an official visit to UK earlier this week, would not make his decision during the show and will instead wait to make his announcement on Monday, June 12.

Burks would eventually come on the podcast and noted that his “dream school” growing up was Kentucky. “That’s all you seen when you turned the TV on, at my age,” Burks said. “So it was like, I want to play for (John) Calipari. I want to be a blue blood.”

The wait for more offseason additions continues. The expectation remains that Burks will still ultimately choose the ‘Cats

Two basketball recruits arrive on campus

It’s not all semi-bad news though. Thursday is shaping up to be an important day for the 2023-24 Kentucky men’s basketball roster. We already know that Somto Cyril, the 2024 four-star center primed to reclassify, is expected to arrive on Kentucky’s campus today. He won’t be alone. Kyle Tucker is reporting that 2023 shooting guard Joey Hart will also begin his visit to Kentucky on Thursday.

Reporting from last week indicated that Hart would visit Lexington eventually, we just didn’t have a date at the time. But now that we do, it’s certainly no coincidence that the former Central Florida commit will visit at the same time as Cyril. Hart took an unofficial visit to Indiana earlier this week. Texas and Rutgers are also among the schools reportedly interested.

While neither player currently holds an offer from the Wildcats, expect that to change come this weekend.

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Calipari, Barnhart converge on Capitol Hill

This week, college coaches, athletic directors, and collectives from across the country are converging on Capitol Hill in order to push forward name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation. Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari and athletic director Mitch Barnhart are just two of the members from the SEC’s delegation that made the trip to Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, Calipari and Barnhart, along with Kentucky softball head coach Rachel Lawson, met with federal lawmakers to discuss NIL legislation. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Alabama football head coach Nick Saban are leading the effort to create NIL uniformity across all schools and conferences.

The goal is for these coaches and administrators to better educate lawmakers on the truths of NIL at the college level and how it can make a positive impact on student-athletes and the schools as a whole. Calipari, Barnhart, and Lawson met with the likes of Congressman Hal Rogers and Congressman James Comer’s Chief of Staff Caroline Cash during their initial stop in the nation’s capital.

Bat ‘Cats prep for Baton Rouge

Ahead of this weekend’s Super Regional in Baton Rouge against No. 5 LSU, No. 12 Kentucky baseball head coach Nick Mingione and a few Wildcats spoke with reporters on Wednesday to preview the Tigers. The Wildcats actually depart for the Bayou later this afternoon.

Earlier in the season, Kentucky and LSU met in Baton Rogue for a three-game regular-season series in which the Tigers won two of three. Outside of the first game though, the ‘Cats had more than enough opportunities to steal the series on the road but ran into some hiccups along the way. How will Mingione prepare his squad for the second edition of this series? Allow him to explain…

No. 12 Kentucky @ No. 5 LSU | Baton Rouge Super Regional

Game 1: Saturday, June 10 | 3:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Game 2: Sunday, June 11 | TBD
Game 3: Monday, June 12 | TBD *If necessary

Kentucky “confident” and “hungry” heading into Super Regional vs. LSU
Looking Back at Kentucky Baseball’s Series With LSU Earlier This Season

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Kentucky football official visits begin Friday

The time has finally arrived. Kentucky football will host its first big stretch of official visitors this coming weekend (June 9-11) with plenty of big names making the trip to Lexington. All three of the Wildcats’ current commits from the 2024 class will be in attendance to aid in recruiting pitches as UK will look to build upon its slow-developing group.

By KSR’s count, a dozen rising high school seniors will be in town this weekend, including six four-star recruits, four three-stars, and a pair of unranked prospects. There will be some serious talent roaming across UK’s campus in the coming days — and possibly some surprise visitors that we won’t know about until they arrive. Don’t be surprised if a commitment or two pops during/following the weekend.

Click the link here to see who will be on campus this weekend.

Murray’s triple-double helps Nuggets take Game 3 of NBA Finals

After the Miami Heat shocked the Denver Nuggets by pulling off the road upset in Game 2, the latter returned the favor during Wednesday night’s Game 3. The Nuggets cruised to a 109-94 victory to take a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. Nikola Jokic recorded his 10th triple-double of the postseason in the Denver win with 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists. He was aided by his partner-in-crime Jamal Murray, who also dropped a triple-double consisting of 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in over 44 minutes played.

Get this, it was the first time EVER in NBA history that two players dropped 30-point triple-doubles. Not just in an NBA Finals game, but in any sort of NBA game throughout its 70-plus years of history. That’s… pretty crazy.

The score was tied at 24-24 after the first quarter, but it was all Nuggets from then on as they led by as many as 21 points. Bam Adebayo contributed 22 points and 17 rebounds but Miami shot just 37 percent from the floor as a team. Tyler Herro was sidelined once again for the Heat as he continues to recover from his broken hand.

Want to win some Pappy?

Eastern Little League is hosting a raffle drawing for your chance at the most sought-after bourbon in the world! The raffle drawing takes place this Saturday at 2:30 pm and tickets are just $100. Included in this collection is 1 bottle of every expression from the Pappy Van Winkle Line:

Old Rip Van Winkle 10 yr.

Van Winkle Lot B 12 yr.

Pappy Van Winkle 15 yr.

Pappy Van Winkle 20 yr.

Pappy Van Winkle 23 yr. 

Make sure you enter now as there are only 400 raffle tickets available. You can watch the raffle drawing on the Eastern Little League Facebook page (@EASTERLITTLELEAGUE). Support the Little League experience as they provide a safe and supportive baseball environment for all participants, at all levels of play.

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