KSR Today: UK at SEC Media Days, Peach Jam, and Reed vs. Rob

Good morning, folks! We’ve got a fun day in the works for you all. For starters, we finally get to hear from Kentucky football at SEC Media Days down in Dallas, TX (where Nick Roush is covering things in the most ridiculous way possible). Today is the final day of Media Days, and the SEC quite literally saved the best for last.

Head coach Mark Stoops will be joined by Marques Cox, D’Eryk Jackson, and Deone Walker as Kentucky’s representatives. Stoops is set to go on the SEC Network at 3:35 p.m. EST but will first meet with the local media (Roush’s blue cowboy hat included) around 1:30 p.m. EST. The Wildcats are the very last group to go today, so stay tuned for plenty of updates coming this afternoon.

10:35 AM EST		Coach Sam Pittman
12:05 AM EST		Coach Mike Elko
2:05 PM EST		Coach Hugh Freeze
3:25 PM EST		Coach Mark Stoops

If you’ve missed any of Nick or Adam Luckett’s SEC Media Days content from their time in Dallas so far, we’ve got you covered. There has been plenty to talk about…

• KSR’s Preseason All-SEC Teams
• Luckett’s Ballot: SEC Order of Finish
• Kentucky Football 2024 Roster Updates in Preseason Media Guide
• SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is focused on current members amid grant of rights lawsuits in ACC
• Nick Saban: Texas is “not gonna run the SEC”
• SEC will not have easy button available to solve problems facing college athletics
• Shane Beamer Confirms that Nobody Believes in South Carolina
• Ole Miss is looking to avoid rat poison heading into hyped up season
• ‘Brock’s not a slider’: Georgia players are excited face Kentucky’s new quarterback
• Tennessee is ready for return on investment as Nico Iamaleava takes over
• Missouri star Brady Cook is big fan of Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan
• Eli Drinkwitz Incorrectly States Missouri Avoids the Noise
• Carson Beck excited to see Brock Vandagriff shine at Kentucky
• SEC could finally shift to 9-game schedule model in 2026
• Kentucky is Flying Under the Radar at SEC Media Days, just what Mark Stoops wants
• ‘I sweat a lot’: Kalen DeBoer feels at home but the Alabama pressure cooker always lingers

I mean, just look at Roush’s hat. A true showman.

SEC Media Days MVP two years running pic.twitter.com/RMG3KN71cK

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) July 18, 2024

Nick and Adam have also been going live every night with fresh episodes of 11 Personnel. They went live on Radio Row yesterday to preview what’s to come with Kentucky for today.

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KSR is on the road to Peach Jam

As you’re reading this, KSR’s Jack Pilgrim and Jacob Polacheck are en route to North Augusta, SC to cover another important recruiting stretch for Mark Pope. The Nike EYBL Peach Jam tournament began last week but really heats up this weekend. KSR’s Brandon Ramsey has been on location since Sunday, providing constant updates over on KSBoard.

College coaches won’t be able to attend until tomorrow, but Jack and Jacob will use today to grab as many of Kentucky’s top targets as they can for interviews and scoop before following Pope and his staff around the rest of the weekend. The primetime games will be streamed on NBA TV, as well, if you have any interest in watching. AJ Dbyantsa and Tyran Stokes will suit up for the Oakland Soldiers at 10:30 a.m. EST, by the way.

Here are some 2025 recruits the guys will be watching over the next few days:

• AJ Dybantsa: 6-foot-8 forward from Utah Prep (UT) – No. 1 overall
• Cameron Boozer: 6-foot-9 forward from Christopher Columbus (FL) – No. 2 overall
• Jasper Johnson: 6-foot-4 guard from Link Academy (MO) – No. 11 overall
• Chris Cenac: 6-foot-10 forward from Link Academy (MO) – No. 14 overall
• Brayden Burries: 6-foot-4 guard from Eleanor Roosevelt (CA) – No. 15 overall
• Trey McKenney: 6-foot-4 guard from St. Mary’s (MI) – No. 16 overall
• Cayden Boozer: 6-foot-3 guard from Christopher Columbus (FL) – No. 17 overall
• Tounde Yessoufou: 6-foot-6 forward from St. Joseph (CA) – No. 19 overall
• Acaden Lewis: 6-foot-3 guard from Sidwell Friends (MD) – No. 40 overall

UK vs. La Familia practice highlights!

Ahead of Friday night’s The Basketball Tournament opener for La Familia (Kentucky’s alumni team), the current edition of the Wildcats took their shot at the older Wildcats in a 5-on-5 practice setting inside Rupp Arena. UK Sports Video dropped a two-minute video of highlights from the practice, with Pope‘s squad wearing white and Tyler Ulis‘ squad sporting blue.

There is almost too much to dissect in such a short amount of time. Kentucky sure does look fun, though.

La Familia came on KSR yesterday

Speaking of La Familia, the entire team came on KSR yesterday to talk about The Basketball Tournament and do some reminiscing on their times in Lexington.

If you missed the show, you can click the link here to catch up on everything the Kentucky alums had to say. Ulis, Willie Cauley-Stein, James Young, and the Harrison twins were among yesterday’s guests.

La Familia takes on the 305 Ballers this Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST inside Rupp. Tickets are still on sale at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets where a portion of the sales will go towards Kentucky’s NIL efforts. All games will be streamed live on Fox Sports.

Cody Fueger joined Sources Say

Still need more to satisfy your basketball itch? How about a 30-minute conversation with assistant coach Cody Fueger, who joined Jack and Shawn Smith yesterday for a new episode of Sources Say? Fueger breaks down what the team looks like so far, the staff’s approach to their playstyle and recruiting, and so much more.

This is a must-watch/listen for all of the Big Blue Nation.

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Reed Sheppard vs. Rob Dillingham TONIGHT

Kentucky’s lottery picks will go head-to-head for the first time in the NBA later tonight in Las Vegas for Summer League. Reed Sheppard and the Houston Rockets tipoff against Rob Dillingham and the Minnesota Timberwolves at 11:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Sheppard has been lighting up Summer League throughout his first three games, posting per-game averages of 20 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and three steals in 32.8 minutes on shooting splits of 49/38.5/77.8. Meanwhile, through three games of his own, Dillingham is averaging 9.3 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per contest on splits of 27.8/25/83.3.

Isaac Sowells decision day

This afternoon at 5:00 p.m. EST, three-star IOL Isaac Sowells will make his college decision on Instagram Live. The Louisville Male product will choose between three schools: Kentucky, NC State, and South Carolina. That being said, this is a battle between the Wildcats and the Wolfpack.

Unfortunately, it does not appear that Kentucky’s hot recruiting stretch will continue. Sowells is trending toward picking NC State over the home-state team. But even if that ends up being the case, Kentucky had an excellent June and July, currently sitting on the 21st-ranked class in the country with 17 commits on board.