KSR Today powered by Lextran: Early signing period and Stoops wants a collective
Good morning, folks! We’ve got two basketball games on Friday night and a football game on Saturday afternoon. It’s going to be a busy next couple of days at the Kentucky Sports Radio headquarters, which means you’ll want to be glued to the site as often as possible. It’s already been quite the eventful week between the NIL controversy and the early signing period, but plenty more #content is on the way.
Let’s dive right into the news and notes you need to know to get your Thursday rolling.
3 signings down, 1 (2?) more to go
Wednesday kicked off the first day of the early signing period, which lasts one week until Nov. 16. This marks the first opportunity for class of 2023 high school basketball players to sign their national letters of intent with the schools they’ve committed to. Kentucky MBB saw three of its four ’23 commits put ink to paper on Wednesday, beginning with Reed Sheppard at North Laurel High School in London, KY.
KSR was on location for the event. Reed was joined on stage by his parents, Jeff and Stacey, along with his older sister Madison, to sign his NLI in front of friends and family.
Signing with Kentucky a “dream” for Reed Sheppard, but focus is on senior season
Elsewhere, a pair of five-star Kentucky commits, Justin Edwards and Robert Dillingham, both made it official on Wednesday with the ‘Cats and signed their NLIs. That leaves five-star C Aaron Bradshaw as the lone UK commit yet to sign, although he is expected to do so by the end of the early signing period. Maybe he’ll have some company signing alongside him?
It’s tough to predict when five-star guard DJ Wagner will finally drop the ball and announce his college decision, but there is a belief it could happen during the early signing period. As it currently stands, Kentucky is a major frontrunner to land Wagner. Bradshaw and Wagner are close teammates. Perhaps a joint signing is on its way at Camden High School in New Jersey? We shall see.
WBB adds 4-star Jordy Griggs
John Calipari wasn’t the only head basketball coach on campus receiving an NLI. Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kyra Elzy received a signing from four-star guard out of California, Jordy Griggs. Standing at 6-foot-2, Griggs initially committed to Kentucky on Oct. 21 over the likes of Auburn, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, NC State, Clemson, and Virginia Tech, among others. She is currently UK’s lone commit from the ’23 class.
As a junior in 2021-22 at Osborne High School in Marietta, GA, Griggs was named to the region six first team for her averages of 21.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.5 blocks, and 2.3 assists per game. She will join Kentucky in the summer of 2023.
Stoops wants a UK collective ASAP
And he should absolutely get it.
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has been a talked about and touchy subject (more than usual) over the last several days, and the conversation made its way to the SEC Teleconference on Wedneday. Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops was asked about the staff’s approach to NIL and whether it’s been positive for the program or not. Stoops said he’s doing the best he can with the resources he has, but made it clear he needs more.
“It does me no good to whine or cry or complain about anybody else. I can’t control anybody else,” Stoops said. “But I can control our program and we’re doing the very best we can and yes, I think just like most people we need the support. We need more. We need to get this collective rolling or we’re gonna fall way behind in this league because you know and I know the way things are going with some others here in our league.”
Watch the latest Mark Stoops press conference on the KSR YouTube Channel.
If you’re looking for a good sign, though. KSR’s Matt Jones believes that significant NIL change is coming sooner rather than later. Strap in, folks…
UK Men’s Soccer is on to the Sun Belt Conference title
Kentucky men’s soccer (13-0-5, 7-0-3 Sun Belt) kept its undefeated season alive on Wednesday night in Lexington, taking down West Virginia with ease 3-0 in what was the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The top-seeded ‘Cats found goals in the 22nd, 81st, and 83rd minutes to cruise past the four-seeded Mountaineers.
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With the win, Kentucky, which is ranked No. 2 in the country and is one of just two lossless teams in the country, will host seven-seeded James Madison in the Sun Belt title this coming Sunday. The match is scheduled to begin at The Bell Soccer Complex at 1:00 p.m. EST on ESPN+.
Check out a full semifinal recap from KSR’s Katelyn Perkins here.
The KSR YouTube page is BUZZIN’
Are you subscribed to KSR’s YouTube page yet? If not, let me try to convince you real quick. Just on Wednesday alone, we posted interviews from a couple of men’s basketball players, interviews from members of the football team’s defense, Reed Sheppard’s official signing, SEC teleconference updates, Matt Jones’s thoughts on NIL, and even a football podcast!
Seriously, you could spend all day watching our YouTube content. And you absolutely should. Tease yourself first with Wednesday’s interviews from members of the men’s basketball and football teams.
Vanderbilt battling the flu
The Vanderbilt Commodores will be short-handed this Saturday in Lexington. Clark Lea shared with the media this week that there is a bug going around the locker room, adding uncertainty to Saturday’s matchup against Kentucky at Kroger Field.
On Tuesday the Vanderbilt head coach was asked if some players will see action for the first time. After Lea coughed a time or two, he responded.
“We’ll just see how the week goes. We’re dealing with some illness and obviously some guys banged up,” Clark Lea said. “On the whole I think we’ll be holding steady with the guys playing. We’ll look for opportunities to use some guys to finish out (cough).”
Happy Birthday Chris Oats!
Kentucky senior inside linebacker Chris Oats turned 23 years old today. The 6-foot-3 Winton Woods product continues to rehab from his tragic accident years ago, and he’s still on the road to recovery. It certainly hasn’t been easy for Chris, but he always seems to have a smile on his face regardless.
Happy Birthday from the entire Big Blue Nation, Chris!
Skip the traffic this fall and catch the Lextran Game Day Shuttles to Kroger Field! The Game-Day Shuttle routes run through UK’s campus and Downtown Lexington and will take you straight to Kroger Field for only $1! Find more information including pick-up and drop-off locations at LEXTRAN.COM. Go Cats!
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