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KSR Today: Roster carousel continues, Spring practice wraps up

On3 imageby:Tyler Thompson•04/13/22•

MrsTylerKSR

On3 image
Photo: Steve Satushek, Getty Images

Stay or Go Season is never fun, but this year may take the cake. From the abrupt and depressing end to the season to the uncertainty regarding Oscar Tshiebwe‘s NIL situation and now the conflicting reports regarding Shaedon Sharpe, keeping up with next year’s roster is a more tiresome task than usual, especially given the unease around the fanbase. Tuesday was a newsy day, so let’s catch you up before moving on with what will likely be another busy one.

Jacob Toppin: Testing the Waters

We’ll start with the simplest piece of news. Junior forward Jacob Toppin declared for the NBA Draft but is maintaining his eligibility. “Testing the waters” can be a triggering phrase for many in the BBN these days, but it sounds as though Toppin will use the evaluation process to gather feedback from the NBA on how to improve his game and become a legit pro prospect next year.

Shaedon Sharpe: Not yet?

Early on Tuesday, Travis Branham of 247 Sports reported that freshman Shaedon Sharpe will soon announce he is testing the NBA Draft waters. As the day went on, Sharpe’s mentor shot down that report by telling Kyle Tucker and Adam Zagoria that nothing has been decided and Sharpe is still on Kentucky’s campus. So…not yet.

Oscar Tshiebwe: Met with Mitch (McConnell)

There was a meeting involving Kentucky Basketball and a Mitch this week, but not the one you might expect. According to our own Matt Jones, Oscar Tshiebwe met with Mitch McConnell, along with Joe and Kelly Craft, to push for new federal legislation regarding foreign student-athletes and name, image, and likeness (NIL). As we’ve discussed ad nauseam, the work to eliminate (or get around) the restrictions set forth by Oscar’s student visa is ongoing and there have been some promising developments that could lead to his return next season; however, a new law at the federal level is desperately needed to ensure foreign student-athletes have equal NIL rights.

Oscar was back on the ministry circuit last night, speaking at Highview Baptist Church East in Louisville. He told Dominique Yates his decision is coming “very soon.” This morning, he’s speaking at the 54th Annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast.

Just as I hit “publish” on this post, Dontaie Allen announced he is taking his talents to Bowling Green, committing to Western Kentucky:

For more details on who’s staying and who’s going and what the sources are saying to Jack Pilgrim, I encourage you to check out the latest edition of the Roster Tracker. We’ve been updating that beast almost daily.

Mark Stoops wraps up Spring Practice

The Kentucky Football team will hold its 15th and final practice of the spring today, after which Mark Stoops and a few early enrollees will chat with the media to tie a bow on a productive month. We’ll bring you all of their remarks around lunchtime.

Yesterday, we heard from incoming freshmen Dane Key, Kiyaunta Goodwin, and Grant Bingham. Check out our coverage by clicking the football tab and the complete videos below.

Freshman WR Dane Key

Freshman OL Kiyaunta Goodwin

Freshman OL Grant Bingham

Kentucky Softball run-ruled Louisville

Beating Louisville is fun. Dominating them to the point the mercy rule is used is even better. The No. 8 Softball Cats beat the Cards 9-0 in only five innings in Louisville last night, with Stephanie Schoonover throwing a no-hitter. Schoonover threw just 66 pitches in the game and struck out four batters without allowing a hit. It was her fifth win of the season.

Kentucky is now 28-9 and turns its sights to one of the most anticipated series of the season this weekend at No. 6 Arkansas. The winner of the series will take at least a share of the SEC lead at the end of the weekend.

Baseball blows out Bellarmine

The baseball team brought on the mercy rule as well in their 11-1, seven-inning win over Bellarmine. Ryan Ritter hit a three-run home run and John Thrasher had a two-run single to give Kentucky its 20th win of the season. The Cats had six runs in the fifth inning alone. From here, Kentucky heads to Missouri for a pivotal SEC series. First pitch on Thursday is set for 8:00 p.m. EST with the game being shown on ESPNU.

Unfortunately, the baseball team got some bad news yesterday, too. Right-hand pitcher Darren Williams is out for the season with a partially torn UCL. Get well soon, Darren.

The original Rupp Arena floor has a new life

The renovations at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center continue, as Drew Franklin showed us last week. Yesterday, a fan sent us this photo of the original Rupp floor (which was repainted a few times) being mounted on a wall of a new area leading into the concourse.

Now just stay away from it with those Central Bank stickers.

Abby Steiner is the National and SEC Women’s Runner of the Week (again)

In news that won’t surprise you, Abby Steiner is bringing home more hardware following her historic performance in the Joe May Invitational at LSU last weekend. After running the fifth-fastest 100-meter dash in NCAA history (10.92 seconds) and the second-fastest 200-meter (22.38 seconds) in UK Track & Field history, Steiner was named Women’s Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association yesterday. It’s the fourth time this season Steiner has received the honor. She was also named SEC Women’s Runner of the Week for the third time this season. After watching the clip of her 100m run, it’s easy to see why.

Nets, Timberwolves Advance in NBA Play-In Tournament

It was an exciting night in the NBA Play-In Tournament, with the Nets beating the Cavs to earn the 7th seed in the East and the Timberwolves beating the Clippers to earn the 7th seed in the West. The fact that the Timberwolves were able to advance on such an off-night from Karl-Anthony Towns is impressive. Towns fouled out midway through the fourth quarter with only 11 points on 3-11 shooting. In the first half, he was 0-7 for two points, a historically bad line for KAT. That wasn’t even the weirdest thing that happened. A fan was escorted out after attempting to glue herself to the floor:

Tonight, the Play-In Tournament continues with (10) Charlotte vs. (9) Atlanta and (10) San Antonio vs. (9) New Orleans. The action starts at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

RIP Gilbert Gottfried

2022 has not been kind to the comedy world. Yesterday, we lost another legend, Gilbert Gottfried, at the age of 67 to type II myotonic dystrophy. From his iconic turn as Iago the parrot in Aladdin to his regular appearances on Howard Stern’s radio show and most recent bits on “Last Week Tonight,” Gottfried always made me laugh. Rest In Peace.

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2025-01-26