KSR Today: Preparing for Georgia AND Big Blue Madness

Good morning, folks! We’re nearing that time of the year where the football and basketball seasons cross paths. Personally, it’s my favorite time of the year. It’s also the busiest of the year for us sport media folks, so it feels like there is even more to talk about than usual.

We’ve got Big Blue Madness on Friday and a road matchup against No. 1 Georgia on Saturday. Let’s talk about it, shall we?

Knocking on Georgia’s door

We’re now a little over 48 hours from Kentucky’s biggest game of the 2021 season. Beating down No. 1 Georgia is going to take a special effort on both sides of the football for the ‘Cats.

But Kentucky has been knocking on the door to beat the Bulldogs the last few years. The contests have been tight when you look at the final scores and UK typically plays Georgia well in terms of limiting the Bulldog offense.

If any year would be the year to flip the script, it would be 2021. Kentucky’s defense has hardly skipped a beat compared to the last few seasons, but the offense has seen a necessary uptick in creativity. The ‘Cats have the blueprint to beat UGA, now it’s time to execute.

Kentucky is following a familiar blueprint to knock down Mark Stoops' final door in the SEC East: Georgia. https://t.co/qsxP0x2Kvt

— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) October 13, 2021

Shaedon Sharpe early enrollee?

Nothing has been officially confirmed, but it’s beginning to sound like Kentucky commit Shaedon Sharpe is going to enroll at Kentucky during the second semester of the 2021-22 season. Travis Branham of 247Sports broke the news.

While this news doesn’t mean that Sharpe would be eligible to play in the upcoming 2021-22 season, it does mean he would be able to practice with the team long before the rest of his freshman peers while having more time to adapt to the college game. Getting Sharpe on campus months in advance will be a huge advantage in his development and gives him an upper hand once he eventually makes his college debut.

That’s even if he makes his college debut. There is the possibility this situation ends up mirroring that of Hamidou Diallo from 2017, who declared for the NBA Draft after spending one semester at Kentucky and not playing a single game. Ultimately, he returned to Lexington the following season, but Sharpe is a potential top 10 draft pick. It’s something to keep an eye on.

There’s a reason they play basketball…

We all love our Kentucky Basketball Wildcats, mainly because they play/coach basketball at an elite level.

Matt Jones getting a tattoo???

It’s going to take Kentucky scoring exactly 19 points against Georgia this weekend, but it’s possible.

Four field goals and a touchdown are what Ryan Lemond predicted would be Kentucky’s offensive points on Saturday. Obviously, scoring 19 points is about as random of a number that you can think of for a football game. Matt Jones wasn’t buying what Ryan was selling though, and told Mr. Lemond that he’d get a tattoo if the ‘Cats land on exactly 19 when the clock hits 0:00 on Saturday.

Keep in mind, the bet doesn’t specify if Kentucky has to win or not.

Big Blue Madness visitors

The excitement around football has caused a bit of a lapse in relevant basketball news, but that took a big turn on Wednesday. The likes of Reed Sheppard, D.J. Wagner, Mackenzie Mgbako, and Skyy Clark will all reportedly be in attendance for Big Blue Madness on Friday, and more names will surely surface between now and Friday night.

We’ll have more on that throughout the next two days.

New Sources Say is out

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim is joined by Shawn Smith of Go Big Blue Country for episode 121 of the Sources Say Podcast to discuss Kentucky’s Pro Day and open practice events this week, along with providing some recruiting updates for 2022 and 2023.

KAT inducted into his high school’s HOF

I could spend hours upon hours rattling off reasons why Karl-Anthony Towns is one of my all-time favorite basketball players–not just at Kentucky, but ever. Example No. 483 was what happened on Tuesday night at his high school alma mater, St. Joseph High School (NJ).

Towns, who graduated from St. Joseph in 2014 before establishing himself as a future No. 1 NBA Draft pick during his lone season at Kentucky, was recently inducted into his former high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame and will soon have his No. 44 jersey retired.

Today, @KarlTowns was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at his alma mater, St. Joseph High School in New Jersey. His number will be retired soon 👏 pic.twitter.com/qafT1xAJM6

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 12, 2021

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That’s all I’ve got for you on this Thursday morning. We’ve got Matt Jones and the crew coming up in an hour. KSR will be LIVE from Kentucky Branded’s Big Blue Madness Kickoff in Lexington for a two-hour remote broadcast of today’s show. Stop by Kentucky Branded’s Fayette Mall Plaza location for exclusive deals on UK gear and giveaways throughout the show. Stick around after and wave as we drive off to Athens to follow the Cats’ undefeated football season. Go ‘Cats.