KSR Today: Hunter Dickinson Decision Day

Good morning, folks! Hunter Dickinson Day has finally arrived. The Michigan All-American transfer will make his decision at some point today, which On3’s Joe Tipton first reported late Wednesday night. The 7-foot-1 center is down to a finalists group of Kentucky, Kansas, Villanova, and Maryland after recently visiting all four schools. Dickinson has done a refreshingly impressive job of keeping his recruitment a secret, and no one truly has any idea of which way he’s leaning — even as we’re now under 24 hours away from an announcement.

However, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him not pick Kentucky. KSR’s Matt Jones tweeted on Wednesday that “things aren’t looking great” for the Wildcats’ chances of landing the prized big man, citing a lack of guaranteed NIL money from UK as a possible reason why. Jack Pilgrim expanded on that idea even more over at KSBoard, which you should totally sign up for as I shamelessly plug it away.

Either way, we’ll the Dickinson saga will be coming to an end very soon.

Take advantage of our KSR+ Launch Special and join the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR+ Message Board.

Now let’s dive into the rest of today’s news and notes.

Calipari adding a member to his staff

Not only is Kentucky’s roster still in flux for next season, but so is the coaching staff. Head coach John Calipari has a spot to fill on his bench and it appears that he’s found his man. KSR’s Jack Pilgrim reports that Calipari is expected to hire longtime coaching veteran John Welch, the father of graduate assistant and former walk-on Riley Welch, to his staff.

Told John Welch will be in charge of game planning and workouts, one of five on-court positions on Calipari's staff.

Addresses a recent area of concern within the program: scouting. A pretty significant hire — almost two decades of NBA coaching experience. https://t.co/qwxjBNFi8q

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) May 4, 2023

The native of Portland, Maine will take one of five on-court positions going into the 2023-24 season, in charge of game planning and workouts. His addition comes alongside the departure of assistant video director Andrew Ortelli, who is set to take a new position at Temple, Pilgrim also reported.

Welch was in Lexington interviewing for the position last weekend. An official announcement is expected in the near future.

Welch has worked alongside the likes of legendary basketball figures Jerry Tarkanian, Jerry West, Hubie Brown, and George Karl across his 34-year coaching career. Now, he’s set to take his talents to Lexington, joining Calipari’s coaching staff at Kentucky.

Must-listen KSR podcasts

Need something to tide you over between now and whenever Hunter Dickinson makes his announcement today? How about over 70 minutes of nothing but a conversation on the matter?

Jack Pilgrim was joined by Shawn Smith of Go Big Blue Country for episode 256 of the Sources Say Podcast on Wednesday afternoon, specifically to talk about Hunter Dickinson’s imminent decision and the aforementioned coaching staff updates.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

You can find all past and future episodes of the show by subscribing to the official Sources Say Podcast feed on iTunes right here. Not on iTunes listener? You can also subscribe to the show on Spotify.

---

But we also need to talk some football. Nick Roush and Adam Luckett have a special episode of 11 Personnel for your viewing/listening pleasure as Kentucky radio legend Tom Leach joined the program for Wednesday’s show.

The Voice of the Wildcats talks about the eventful Kentucky football offseason and what it means for 2023. When Leach isn’t at UK games, he’s handicapping the horses. He’ll provide some of his expertise ahead of the biggest horse racing weekend of the year at Churchill Downs.

You can stream the audio online through Spotify and get the podcast sent directly to your phone by subscribing to 11 Personnel on Apple Podcasts.

While we’re talking football, make sure to check out Luckett’s updated Transfer Portal Tracker for Kentucky here. There’s plenty to keep up with as the Wildcats have been incredibly active in the portal during the offseason so far.

Kentucky reaches out to NDSU transfer

According to 24/7 High School Hoops, North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson has heard from Kentucky, among several other programs. Nelson is a 6-foot-11, 235-pound power forward who has gradually improved his production throughout his three years with the Bison. The North Dakota native put his name into the transfer portal earlier this week and will have at least two more years of college eligibility remaining.

Along with Kentucky, Nelson has also heard from the likes of Gonzaga, Kansas, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Houston, St. John’s, LSU, Central Florida, Miami (FL), Florida State, Villanova, Nebraska, Georgetown, Cal, and Baylor. On3 ranks him as the 6th best available prospect in the portal.

His best season came in 2022-23 as a junior when Nelson started all 30 games for the Bison, averaging 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 30.7 minutes per outing. He shot a career-high 52.1 percent from the field (and 60.2 percent on two-pointers), as well, on his way to making the All-Summit League First Team and Summit All-Defense Team.

Masai Russell remains on The Bowerman Watch List

Kentucky track & field hurdler Masai Russell is one of 10 collegiate track & field athletes named to the Pre-Conference Championships edition of The Bowerman Watchlist, collegiate track & field’s highest honor which takes into consideration both the indoor and outdoor seasons. This is Russell’s fifth career appearance on the Watch List. 

.@masai_russell remains on @thebowerman watch list entering the SEC Championships! ✨ #UKTF #HurdleUhttps://t.co/zQx1kkkhNu

— UK Track & Field (@KentuckyTrack) May 3, 2023

The graduate student from Potomac, Maryland, won the Michael Johnson Invitational 100 hurdles in 12.50, second only this year to her CR 12.36 at the Texas Relays (the previous record was 12.39 by 2013 The Bowerman winner Brianna Rollins). She has also run 55.39 in the 400 hurdles (third on the seasonal list) and carried the baton on Kentucky’s 42.81 4×100 team (second on the seasonal list). Indoors she was runner-up in the NCAA Indoor 60 hurdles, matching her PR of 7.75 which was a CR when she first ran as fast in January. 

Russell is the eighth UK female athlete to make the watch list since the award began in 2009 and the first since Abby Steiner, who won the award last year.

To have Kentucky Wildcats news sent straight to your inbox, sign up for the KSR Newsletter.