KSR Today: 'Cats racking up medals in Paris Olympics

ZGeogheganKSR

Photo of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone by Kirby Lee | USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, folks! These Olympic Games just keep getting better and better. I find myself more immersed this summer than I ever have been (the United States leading the medal count sure does help). I’m cheering just as hard during Women’s Water Polo as I am during Men’s Basketball. My American pride is showing.

Thursday was filled with wins and medals for Team USA and Kentucky alums — what does Friday have in store for us?

Go, Syd, Go! (and more Olympic ‘Cats)

And go she did. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone continues to hold the title of the fastest woman alive. She completely dusted the competition in the Women’s 400m Hurdle on Thursday, setting another World Record with a time of 50.37 seconds. It marks the sixth time since 2021 that she’s broken her own World Record. She’s also the first woman in history to repeat as an Olympic gold medalist in the 400m hurdles.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who was a 2018 SEC and NCAA champion at Kentucky, has now won three gold medals at the Olympics. She’s fast.

There’s NO catching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone!

She adds ANOTHER 400m hurdles gold medal and WORLD RECORD to her collection. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/RJ7reApKfV
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

Shortly after her win, another Kentucky alum, Daniel Roberts, locked up a silver medal in the 110m hurdles. This is the first career medal for Roberts in his second Olympic games appearance. An NCAA Runner-Up in 2019 at UK, he was able to secure silver on Thursday by three one-thousandths (.003) of a second with a time of 13.09 seconds.

Lastly, earlier this morning, Masai Russell, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, and Devynne Charlton (volunteer assistant) all secured spots in the Women’s 100m Hurdles final set for Saturday afternoon. The three Wildcats qualified out of the semifinals and now makeup nearly half of the entire field in the finals. Camacho-Quinn, ranked No. 1 in the world, set the World Record in this event (12.26) back in Tokyo in 2021.

2. Camacho-Quinn – 12.35 seconds
4. Russell – 12.42 seconds
7. Charlton – 12.5 seconds

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Team USA steals win from Jokic, Serbia

Team USA should not be one away from a gold medal. Team USA should have lost to Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday. Team USA was down for the large majority of the game, trailed by as many as 17 points, and was down double-digits entering the fourth quarter. But Team USA has LeBron James and Steph Curry — Serbia does not.

The Americans put together one of the more impressive late-game comebacks you’ll ever see against the Serbians, mounting its run in the final three minutes to steal a spot in Saturday’s championship right out from underneath Nikola Jokic (a three-time NBA MVP), Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Serbia. Team USA ultimately won 95-91 and will face host France with a gold medal on the line in what is a repeat of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics championship.

36-year-old Curry led the way with 36 points on 9-14 shooting from deep while 39-year-old James (who defended Jokic in the fourth quarter) recorded a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. We also have to mention Joel Embiid, who was vital to America’s comeback efforts down the stretch.

As for the trio of former Wildcats, Devin Booker finished with six points and one assist as his lone three-pointer early in the fourth quarter helped kickstart Team USA’s incredible comeback. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis added four points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal while Bam Adebayo recorded just one assist.

I know he's not remotely one of the storylines right now, but it feels notable that Devin Booker is closing this game alongside four MVPs. Says a lot about how much respect he's earned from Steve Kerr and these superstars.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) August 8, 2024

It’ll be USA vs. France (and Victor Wembanyama) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST for the title of world champion.

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Alexis Holmes fighting for gold

Another former Wildcat can pick up a medal today when Alexis Holmes looks to run the fastest quarter-mile. Holmes will race for a gold medal in the Women’s 400m final this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST. Ranked No. 7 in the world, she’s the lone American in the final round and will go up against a tough field.

The 24-year-old Holmes placed second in the semifinal heat on Wednesday with a time of 50 seconds flat — seventh-fastest overall out of the three heats. She’ll need to hit under 50 seconds for a chance to medal. If she does, she’ll bring some hardware into another medal opportunity on Saturday in the Women’s 4x400m Relay.

Updates from Brad White’s unit

It was defense day at the Joe Craft Football Training Center on Thursday as defensive coordinator Brad White stepped up to the microphone and answered questions from reporters. In particular, White spoke on how this group of Wildcats has done a tremendous job of holding themselves to a high standard. This defensive unit has a chance to be special in 2024.

KSR also had conversations with co-defensive coordinator Chris Collins and defensive players Keeshawn Silver, Alex Afari Jr., Kristian Story, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, and JQ Hardaway. You can hear everything they had to say below. The season-opener is right around the corner…

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Mark Pope Mic’d Up

These videos are always fun. Mark Pope is the latest Kentucky men’s basketball player/coach to receive the Mic’d Up treatment during a recent practice session. It gives us an interesting inside look at what Pope is actually like as a coach behind closed doors. We’ve got nearly six minutes worth of content to comb through, as well.

My favorite part? Pope’s small, individual conversations with his players throughout the video. But a close second is how he closes the huddle once practice is over with. This is a must-watch.

Will Levis names his all-time Kentucky MBB starting 5

Will Levis, QB1 for the Tennessee Titans, was having a little bit of fun ahead of his sophomore season during an interview with CBS Sports. Evan Washburn asked the burning question we’ve all been desperate to know the answer to: what is Levis’ all-time starting five for Kentucky men’s basketball?

I’m not sure what I was expecting from him, but Levis put together a dangerous group of hoopers.