KSR Today: Inching closer to Draft Day, NBA Playoffs are here

Happy Friday, Big Blue Nation! How you feeling this morning? Good? That’s great. We’re happy you’re here and following along with us to close out the week and into the weekend.

College basketball season is over, as is spring football. In-person basketball recruiting events don’t begin till next weekend and beyond, so no ‘Where in the world is John Calipari?’ updates quite yet. Roster decisions and transfer portal updates are coming in hot, but completely random at this point — and most of the clear short-term stay-or-go announcements have been made among those testing the waters or expected to leave. We’ll keep those updates rolling as they come — we have a neat and tidy roster tracker to, uh, track as time marches on. You’ll find all the latest scoop there.

Until then, let’s knock out some news and updates in the world of UK Athletics as we gear up for the weekend.

Will Levis receives invite to NFL Draft

Just two weeks away from the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, we now know that Kentucky quarterback Will Levis will be sitting in the crowd on night one, ready to hear his name called and shake Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand at the iconic Union Station.

Well, officially. That was always the expectation, but he’s now got the paperwork to prove it.

Levis was one of 17 players to receive a draft invite, the first former Kentucky player to attend since Josh Allen was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2019 NFL Draft. He joins Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson among quarterbacks in attendance.

Check out the complete invite list:

• Jordan Addison (USC)
• Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama)
• Brian Branch (Alabama)
• Jalen Carter (Georgia)
• Zay Flowers (Boston College)
• Christian Gonzalez (Oregon)
• Paris Johnson Jr. (Ohio State)
• Will Levis (Kentucky)
• Joey Porter Jr. (Penn State)
• Anthony Richardson (Florida)
• Bijan Robinson (Texas)
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State)
• C.J. Stroud (Ohio State)
• Keion White (Georgia Tech)
• Tyree Wilson (Texas Tech)
• Devon Witherspoon (Illinois)
• Bryce Young (Alabama)

What does it mean? Well, the growing consensus is that he’s about as close to a lock for the top 10 as you can be — all four quarterbacks are. In fact, there’s a chance that entire QB group goes in the top five, especially if the Arizona Cardinals trade out of the No. 3 pick, as expected. As for Levis specifically, momentum is building for a partnership with the Indianapolis Colts at No. 4 overall.

“It seems likely the Colts will leave the first round with their future QB starter even if they stay home at No. 4,” writes ESPN’s Matt Miller. “They need a Day 1 starter from this rookie class, too, and Levis is currently ahead of Anthony Richardson for Indianapolis, according to sources close to the team, because he’s more likely to be able to play right away.”

We’ll find out for certain in two weeks.

UK basketball outspends football on recruiting trail

Would it shock you to learn that John Calipari and the Kentucky men’s basketball staff spent $1,167,817 on recruiting during the 2022 fiscal year? Probably not. Those dollars went toward signing this past roster while also laying the foundation for the Wildcats’ top-ranked recruiting class in 2023, signing DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw, Justin Edwards, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard.

It costs money to recruit at the highest level, that’s obvious. But what if I told you the University of Kentucky was the only SEC school to spend more on basketball recruiting than football, with Mark Stoops and his staff spending $917,657 in that same period.

That’s according to data collected by USA TODAY in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University, courtesy of Ryan Black of The Courier Journal.

Only one other public Power Five school in the nation spent more money on basketball recruiting than football: Iowa. And only one other public school in the SEC hit the million-dollar mark in basketball recruiting during the same period, with Texas A&M dropping $1,059,602. LSU finished third within the conference at $694,071.

Kentucky baseball hits a speed bump

So, about that tough schedule Nick Mingione and the UK baseball team were gearing up for…

Down in Baton Rouge for a weekend series vs. No. 1 LSU, the Wildcats got torched, falling by a final score of 16-6 in just eight innings. Two grand slams for the Tigers, an absurd effort from Perfect Game’s Midseason Pitcher of the Year Paul Skenes (13 strikeouts in six innings), 14-1 start through three innings. Just that kind of night.

The Bat Cats actually outhit the Tigers 9-8 overall and outscored the opposition 5-2 over the last five innings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the slow start. It led to the 10-run loss, now the program’s third consecutive loss dating back to its series at Georgia. UK falls to 27-6 on the year while LSU sits at 28-5.

Kentucky will hope to snap that streak in game two of the series, scheduled to begin Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.

NBA Play-In Tournament concludes

We are just one sleep away from the start of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, but first, a wrap-up of the league’s Play-In Tournament. It’s a chance for teams fighting at the bottom of the playoff standings to compete for a spot in the big dance, seeds seven through ten on each side of the bracket.

In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday to secure the No. 7 seed, kicking the latter to the elimination round against the Oklahoma City Thunder (who beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the 9-10 game on Wednesday). The winner of the Thunder vs. Wolves claims the No. 8 seed.

And then in the East, the Atlanta Hawks claimed the No. 7 seed with a win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, who will now take on the Chicago Bulls (who beat the Toronto Raptors in the 9-10 game) for the No. 8 seed.

Simple enough, right?

Anyway, tonight’s final matchups are loaded with former Kentucky standouts, with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro looking to send the Bulls home at 7 p.m. ET on TNT. Miami is currently favored by 5.5 points.

As for the other matchup tonight, it will be a battle between Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the franchises’ cornerstones and two fan favorites among former Wildcats. The Wolves are favored by 5.5 leading up to the 9:30 p.m. ET matchup on ESPN.

KSR is live at My Old Kentucky Home State Park

Where will you find Matt Jones and the gang this morning for Kentucky Sports Radio? They’ll be at My Old Kentucky Home State Park Golf Course in Bardstown, live from 10 a.m. to noon ET today.

You won’t want to miss it, BBN.