KSR Today: Ian Jackson Decision Day, Kentucky-Georgia Preview, and More

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. It is today on this third Monday of January that we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his role in the civil rights movement. Americans celebrate Dr. King’s birthday today with a federal holiday so many of you are off work; although, his actual birthday was yesterday, the 15th, so happy belated actual birthday to Dr. King today on his holiday.

Today we also continue the celebration of Kentucky Basketball’s win over Tennessee in Knoxville, plus more things to know as you recover from a late night following the Bengals. Congratulations to all you Cincinnati fans.

Kentucky players to preview the Georgia game

Later this morning, two players from the Kentucky Men’s Basketball program will speak on behalf of their locker room at Monday’s pre-Georgia game press conference. The players-to-be-named-later will take questions about the team’s response to the win in Knoxville and what are their expectations headed into Tuesday night’s game against Georgia.

Check here on KSR around lunchtime to hear those conversations as the Wildcats get ready to host the ‘Dawgs in Rupp Arena.

John Calipari to hear from Bob in Jamestown tonight

Because it’s a Monday, John Calipari will take a question from Bob in Jamestown tonight on his call-in radio show. The weekly tradition will begin at 6 p.m. on the UK Sports Network when Calipari and Tom Leach sit down for the coach’s show. Tune in for more of Calipari’s thoughts on the win at Tennessee and what’s next in tomorrow night’s game against Georgia.

Calipari at the Hoophall Classic

Up in Springfield, Massachusetts, John Calipari and two of his assistant coaches–Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman–watched some of the best players in high school basketball compete in the famed Hoophall Classic. The Kentucky staff watched Reed Sheppard earn MVP honors in the afternoon before Kentucky target Ian Jackson played Kentucky signee Justin Edwards in the night session.

KSR has Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan on the scene in Springfield to keep you updated, so look for more of their stories to come throughout the day.

Ian Jackson to announce his commitment today

It’s a big day for the aforementioned Ian Jackson and anyone interested in where he will play his college basketball. The second-ranked player in the 2024 On3 Consensus, Jackson plans to announce his final decision this afternoon from the Hoophall Classic. The announcement is expected around 3 pm and it can be seen live on ESPNU with Paul Biancardi.

Jackson is considering Kentucky, North Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, and Oregon, with Kentucky, North Carolina, and Arkansas considered the serious contenders. Get ready for his decision by watching KSR’s YouTube recap of a game Calipari attended in the Bronx in December.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball won its first league game

Kentucky Women’s Basketball snapped a five-game losing streak by winning on the road at Florida on Sunday. Kentucky’s Robyn Benton was the star with a game-high 29 points to lead the Wildcats. She scored 17 of her 29 in the fourth quarter.

Co-starring in the 81-75 win, Kentucky’s Maddie Scherr had 18 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists, and three blocks. Jada Walker scored 19 points, 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter.

More on the game.

Kentucky Cheerleadering finished second in UCA National Competition

Sunday night in Orlando, your University of Kentucky cheerleaders placed second in the Division 1A large coed division at the Universal Cheerleaders Association finals competition. The Wildcats moved from third to second with a Sunday score of 93.1 in the finals, but South Florida’s 93.4 took home the trophy in the end.

C-A-T-S look at the Cats from the University of Kentucky Division IA Cheer Finals! 💙 #UCAnationals pic.twitter.com/qRnwhJRz43

— UCA (@UCAupdates) January 16, 2023

An Alabama basketball player got arrested for murder

A shocking story from elsewhere in the SEC: the day after Alabama drilled LSU by 40 points, junior forward Darius Miles was charged with capital murder in connection with a shooting near campus that killed a young woman. Miles and another man were arrested and booked on Sunday, and Miles’ bio was quickly scrubbed from Alabama Basketball’s website upon his instant dismissal from the team.

Miles played in 53 games in three years for the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide.

KSR is a replay today

You’ll have to wait another 24 hours to celebrate Kentucky’s win over Tennessee with KSR’s radio show. The show is a replay today because iHeart took the day off to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.