KSR Today: Rhyne Howard returns to Lexington; NBA trade deadline day
Good morning, folks! It’s Thursday, which means another lull in Kentucky men’s basketball news. The Wildcats are coming off a demoralizing 88-73 loss to Arkansas at Rupp Arena on Tuesday and will prepare for a Saturday afternoon road matchup against Georgia (noon EST on ESPN).
Now just 1-7 in Quad 1 opportunities, Kentucky is running out of chances to improve its NCAA Tournament resume. UK is already trending in the wrong direction following Tuesday’s poor result, but with five Quad 1 opponents left on the schedule, there is still some time to turn things around. The only question is, can they?
Actually, there are a few more questions that need to be asked — seven in total, to be exact. Tyler Thompson helped us answer those in her “7 Questions facing Kentucky with 7 Regular-Season Games Left” post from yesterday, which you can check out here. I wouldn’t say it’s time to slam the panic button just yet, but both hands are certainly hovering over it.
Now let’s dive into the other big talking points for today.
Kentucky WBB looks to upset Alabama in front of Rhyne Howard
Get your tickets now if you haven’t already. When Kentucky women’s basketball (10-12; 2-8 SEC) hosts Alabama (17-6; 6-4) tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST inside Memorial Coliseum, the Wildcats will do so as Rhyne Howard makes her first return to Lexington since setting all the records as a WNBA rookie this past season.
Kentucky WBB has performed well over its last two games, spanking Missouri by 23 points at the end of January before playing No. 1 South Carolina incredibly well until the fourth quarter. Alabama will be another tough challenge for Kyra Elzy’s group, but not one that they can’t overcome, especially with arguably the program’s best player in the building cheering them on from the sidelines.
KSR’s Grant Grubbs will have a full game preview coming to the site later this morning.
NBA trade deadline day
The NBA trade deadline is at 3:00 p.m. EST today, and all hell has already broken loose.
Jarred Vanderbilt got the ball rolling with NBA trade news on Wednesday night after he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team deal that included Russell Westbrook heading to the Utah Jazz (where he’s likely to be bought out) and D’Angelo Russell going back to the Lakers. Vando will link up once again with his former Kentucky teammate, Wenyen Gabriel, and now gets to play alongside one of the best forwards in the entire league, Anthony Davis.
Things really got interesting once news broke around 1:00 a.m. this morning that the Phoenix Suns were trading for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, who will now pair next to Devin Booker to create one of the most talented duos in all of basketball.
Don’t be surprised if more former Wildcats are on the move by the end of today’s deadline.
Kentucky baseball/softball held Media Day
It’s almost that time of year already. On Wednesday, Kentucky baseball and softball held its annual Media Day ahead of the 2023 season, which begins for baseball next Friday and for softball this Friday. KSR had boots on the ground for Media Day and we’ll be bringing plenty of preview content over the coming days/week to get you ready for what’s in store on the diamond.
Stay tuned.
Vanderbilt downs Tennessee on a buzzer-beater
I just so happened to fire up the ESPN app last night with under 10 seconds left in a Nashville battle between nearby rivals Vanderbilt and No. 6 Tennessee — and boy was I treated to an exciting finish.
UT’s 29-year veteran Santiago Vescovi went to the free throw line with roughly eight seconds left in regulation and the Volunteers up by two. He clanked the front end of a one-and-one, which allowed Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse to call a timeout with about four seconds left and draw up a potential game-winning play — which he did to perfection.
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4 Wildcats headed to NFL Combine
Now that the all-star circuit is complete, the next big event during the pre-draft cycle will take place in the last week of February in Indianapolis. The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine will have 319 prospects in town from Feb. 28-March 6 for team interviews, athletic testing, full medical examinations, and media interviews in preparation for the 2023 NFL Draft from April 27-29.
Four Kentucky players were on the invite list. Will Levis, Tashawn Manning, Chris Rodriguez Jr., and Carrington Valentine will all be present for the event, where KSR will join them to bring you all up-to-date coverage.
Some podcasts for your consumption
Need something to help get you through the day? Why not immerse yourself in the many podcasts that KSR released on Wednesday. We’ve got brand new editions of Sources Say, 11 Personnel, and Know Her Name all out there for your listening pleasure.
You can listen to all of the episodes on Spotify and iTunes through the KSR podcast feeds, or you can watch the video versions below on our YouTube channel. Enjoy!
Sources Say
11 Personnel (Chris Rodriguez joins the show)
Know Her Name: Maddie Scherr makes an appearance
Vernon Hatton is Kentucky’s 2023 SEC Legend
Every year at the SEC Tournament, the league recognizes one “SEC Basketball Legend” from all 14 member schools in a ceremony at each school’s first game of the tournament. The tradition of recognizing past greats began in 1999 and returns to the conference tournament in 2023 after a three-year pause from the event.
This year, the committee selected 2005 UK Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Vernon Hatton as the Kentucky Wildcats’ 2023 SEC Basketball Legends honoree. A product of Lexington, Kentucky, Hatton was a member of the 1958 national championship team coached by Adolph Rupp, and as a senior guard, he averaged a team-best 17.1 points per game and scored a game-high 30 in the championship game against Seattle.
Hatton’s trophy cabinet includes All-SEC First Team, All-America First Team by Converse Yearbook, All-America First Team by the Helms Foundation, 1958 Final Four All-Tournament Team, and the NCAA All-Regional Team.
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