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KSR Today: Cheering on Saint Peter's to the Final Four

Zack Geogheganby:Zack Geoghegan•03/27/22•

ZGeogheganKSR

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Photo by Tim Nwachukwu | Getty Images

Good morning, folks! We’re all going to make today a great day because we’re all going to collectively cheer for a basketball team with a Peacock mascot to reach the Final Four. Agreed? Agreed.

Let’s dive right into Sunday’s top news and notes.

Final Four is halfway set

Elite 8: Day One results
No. 2 Villanova 50, No. 5 Houston 44
No. 2 Duke 78, No. 4 Arkansas 69

The longer Duke survives, the longer our worst fears continue to keep us all up at night.

Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement tour has gone about as perfectly as it could have through the 2022 NCAA Tournament so far. Duke took care of 4-seed Arkansas on Saturday night (because Gonzaga once again couldn’t get the job done against a good team) and will return to the Final Four where either opponent will create a storybook ending for the Hall of Fame coach.

Either Duke takes on North Carolina for the first time in the Final Four, or 15-seed Saint Peter’s sets up the most intense battle of David and Goliath we’ve ever seen in college basketball. Regardless, it’ll make for some terrific #content.

Also, Villanova won, because that’s just what Jay Wright does in the postseason now. Nova is a ridiculous 20-3 in the NCAA Tournament since 2016, including two national championships. Remember how John Calipari owned 2010-15? Well, Jay Wright has owned the stretch of years since then — in dominant fashion, truly.

Here’s what’s on tap for today’s Elite 8 games. Remember, go Peacocks!

Elite 8: Day Two
2:20 PM EST (CBS): No. 10 Miami (FL) vs. No. 1 Kansas
5:05 PM EST (CBS): No. 15 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 8 North Carolina

Football commit on the way?

This weekend has been big for Kentucky Football in terms of recruiting. With spring practice in full swing, the coaching staff has brought in droves of big-name prospects to watch the team and tour the campus. Recruits have been posting pictures from their visit left and right, and it appears that good times were had all-around. But one recruit, in particular, enjoyed his visit enough to make a trip back before the weekend could even end.

Class of 2023 6-foot-2 cornerback Cameron Calhoun of Winton Woods High School up in Cincinnati (which has produced other UK players such as Mike Edwards and Chris Oats) was in Lexington two times over the last three days. But even more notably, he tweeted during his second visit to Kentucky that he would make his announcement this coming week on March 31 at noon EST.

Hmmm…

Calhoun’s Winton Woods teammate, Jermaine Mathews, was also in Lexington for a visit and could very well become a Wildcat in the near future, as well. Get those dice ready, BBN.

Calipari offers under-the-radar ’22 guard

John Calipari has a new offer out in 2022 guard Adou Thiero, one of the fastest-rising (and growing) prospects in the senior class.

Thiero, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Leetsdale, PA, earned an offer from Kentucky following an in-person visit from Calipari this weekend.

Calipari went to watch Thiero play in the Pennsylvania Class 4A title game on Thursday, where the standout guard finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Quaker Valley. He finished his senior season averaging 23.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, ending his career with 1,624 total points. As a shooter, he knocked down 52% of his shots, 29% of his 3-pointers and 77% of his free throws this season.

Kentucky joins the likes of Duquesne and UC Santa Barbara to extend offers, with Thiero also receiving interest from Cincinnati, Indiana, Marquette, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, among others. The unranked guard has grown ten inches since the start of high school, jumping from 5-7 to 6-5 between his freshman and senior seasons.

Thiero is the son of Almamy Thiero, who played for John Calipari at Memphis from 2002-05.

Skyy Clark to Louisville?

Kenny Payne is making a push for former Kentucky basketball commitment Skyy Clark.

Sources tell KSR that the new Louisville head coach has extended an offer to the five-star guard, joining a list of over 20 schools to do so. Contact began shortly after Payne was hired at Louisville last week. Tennessee was the first school to extend an offer, a source tells KSR, with a long list of other schools also in line fighting to sign the top uncommitted guard in the class of 2022.

WBB picks up late ’22 commit

On Saturday morning, Kennedy Cambridge, a class of 2022 5-foot-8 combo guard out of Nashville, TN, announced her commitment to the Wildcats. Cambridge, who plays for the Ensworth School, marks the fifth member to join the incoming recruiting class, the first full group brought in under head coach Kyra Elzy.

She comes from an impressive basketball family, as her brother Devan plays for Auburn and sister Jordyn for Vanderbilt. Her younger sister, Jaloni, also plays for Ensworth and is considered a five-star class of 2024 recruit by ESPN.

Cambridge was down to Auburn and Ole Miss before choosing Kentucky.

Cambridge will join the likes of Tionna Herron (TX), Saniah Tyler (MO), Amiya Jenkins (KY), and Cassidy Rowe (KY) as freshmen on the 2022-23 roster. On Friday, news broke that starters Dre’Una Edwards, Jazmine Massengill, and Treasure Hunt all put their name in the transfer portal.

Baseball/Softball closing out weekend series

Both the Kentucky Baseball and Softball teams have split the first two games of their respective weekend series.

Starting with Baseball, the Bat ‘Cats earned an impressive victory over a No. 17 Georgia squad on Saturday after the Bulldogs took round one on Friday. The five-run comeback victory marked the first SEC dub of the season for Kentucky, which will now have a chance to win the series on Sunday. First pitch is slated for noon EST on the SEC Network at Kentucky Proud Park.

As for Softball, No. 8 Kentucky flipped its wins, cruising to an eight-run walk-off win over No. 18 Auburn on Friday before the Tigers stole a 6-3 victory in game two on Saturday. UK is just 2-3 in conference play after having to take on a top-five ranked Alabama squad to begin the SEC schedule, but the ‘Cats will have a chance to win the series outright on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network+ at John Cropp Stadium.

Uh oh, Penny…

Memphis has been hit with seven NCAA violations, including four Level I and two Level II violations. The violations include lack of institutional control, head coach responsibility and failure to monitor.

According to documents obtained by The Commercial Appeal, Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway “failed to demonstrate that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance within the men’s basketball program.” Hardaway himself was involved in at least one Level I violation and two Level II infractions.

The notice of allegations also notes former assistant coach Mike Miller destroyed evidence during his time at Memphis, wiping a computer hard drive prior to investigation.

In the NOA, Allegations 1, 2, 3 and 7 were considered Level I violations, with Allegations 4 and 6 being Level II. Allegation 5’s level was redacted from the report.

Among the details of the Allegations:

  • Memphis “violated NCAA responsibility to cooperate legislation” and “obstructed both the NCAA enforcement and CCU investigations on multiple occasions”
  • The school “failed to affirmatively report instances of noncompliance to the Association in a timely manner” and “failed to disclose and provide access to all electronic devices”
  • Penny Hardaway “violated head coach responsibility legislation when he failed to demonstrate that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance”
  • Memphis “failed to establish a culture of compliance in the men’s basketball program” under Hardaway
  • “A member of the Institution’s compliance staff acknowledged that the compliance procedures in place at the time of the violations were inadequate and that the violations may not have occurred had an adequate structure been in place to create a culture of compliance”
  • “The Institution failed to timely detect and stop the violations. In addition, failure to monitor was found against the Institution”
  • Memphis “displayed a lack of institutional control”
  • “The Institution has a pattern of noncompliance within the sport program involved” and “displayed intentional, willful or blatant disregard for the NCAA constitution and bylaws”

Not Good!

That’s all the news and notes I’ve got for you this morning. Make sure to settle yourself in front of the TV for some afternoon basketball. And as one last reminder… Go Peacocks!

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2025-04-05