KSR Today: Happy Easter, BBN!

Good morning, folks! And a very Happy Easter to those who celebrate! How do we think Tyrese Maxey is feeling this morning? Let’s dive right into the news and notes you need to know ahead of a family-filled day.

Maxey explodes for 38 in playoffs

Tyrese Maxey was quite literally unstoppable on Saturday.

The former Kentucky Wildcat turned second-year pro for the Philadelphia 76ers has established himself as the third-most important piece to the puzzle behind MVP candidate Joel Embiid and All-Star James Harden. But someone forgot to remind Maxey of the pecking order in Philly’s opening round game against the Toronto Raptors. The 21-year-old was knifing through the Raptors’ defense like warm butter while pulling up for out-of-range 3-pointers.

In total, Maxey finished with a season-high 38 points (21 in the third quarter), four rebounds, and two assists with zero turnovers in over 38 minutes of action. But more impressively, he shot 14-21 overall from the field, 5-8 from distance, and a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line. With the win in hand in the closing minutes, Sixers’ head coach Doc Rivers gave Maxey a shot to hit the 40-point threshold, but he justttt missed two shots that would have pushed him over the edge.

His response was an instant classic.

Tyrese Maxey on missing the late shot for 40

“they left me in the game I got to shoot it!…. I had to shoot it… Damn it. I suck!”

Mic up Tyrese Maxey forever pic.twitter.com/nIoHzK2Lx0

— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) April 17, 2022

The 76ers have an actual MVP candidate on the roster, but that didn’t stop Philly fans from chanting “Maxey! Maxey! Maxey!” throughout the Wells Fargo Center. What a game for the former ‘Cat.

Elsewhere across the Association, DeMarcus Cousins got ejected. What else is new??? We’ll have a full recap of Saturday’s NBA Playoff action coming very shortly to the site, plus a brief preview of another full slate of games set for today.

CJ Fredrick is BACK

Well, I suppose he never implied he would be leaving, but this is how things go around Kentucky Basketball — everyone is assumed to be leaving unless they specifically clarify otherwise. With that in mind, CJ Fredrick announcing that he will indeed return to Lexington for the 2022-23 season is significant.

The former Iowa transfer missed the entire 2021-22 season with multiple lower leg injuries, but has been cleared to return working out and getting up shots in the gym. He’s a career 46 percent 3-point shooter and an important cog in next year’s roster makeup. Sources tell KSR that the intent is for Fredrick to stick around for both next season and the 2023-24 season.

Back at it, BBN… 22-23🔜😈 pic.twitter.com/N6rJG4t1oG

— Cj Fredrick (@cj_fredrick) April 16, 2022

During his first two years with the Hawkeyes, the native of Cincinnati, OH averaged a combined 8.8 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per contest. He shot 47.9% from the field and 46.6% from three in that span, taking an average of 3.4 3-pointers per game at Iowa.

Easter Softball in Fayetteville

The Kentucky Softball ‘Cats will look to steal a road series against top-10 ranked Arkansas later today.

After dropping game one of the series against the Razorbacks 2-1 on Friday, UK saw the bats heat up to the tune of a 10-7 comeback victory in game two. Sunday’s rubber match will decide an important series winner, with the first pitch scheduled for noon ET down in Fayetteville. It will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+.

Easter Sunday softball sounds eggstrodinary to us! 🐰🐣🥚 #WeAreUK x #BeTheStandard pic.twitter.com/2a3nF5dbs7

— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) April 17, 2022

Emoni Bates hits the portal

Well, I’m not sure many of us can say we’re surprised by this news…

Memphis freshmen Emoni Bates, a former 5-star recruit, told On3‘s Joe Tipton on Saturday that he will transfer away from the Tigers program. The 6-foot-9 small forward averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists during his line season with Memphis, but missed a good chunk of the end of the regular season due to injury, which was clouded with mystery.

Throughout most of his high school career, Bates was widely considered the “can’t-miss” prospect of his class from the time he was a sophomore. The development didn’t keep pace with the hype though, and question marks began to arise surrounding his true talent levels shortly before he reclassified to the class of 2021 and landed with Memphis. At the time, he was just 17 years old, and Bates was always required to play two years of post-high school basketball before making the leap to the NBA Draft.

Do we think Kentucky reaches out? (kidding)

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That’s all the news and notes I have for you on this Easter Sunday morning. Now get out there to enjoy the egg hunts and creepy bunny costumes.