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Today On KSR: Basketball News, Day 2 in Destin, Birthday Fun

Drew Franklinby:Drew Franklin•06/01/22•

DrewFranklinKSR

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(Photo: Getty Images/Westend61)

Good morning! Pardon the mess. We are decorating for Kentucky’s party because the Commonwealth turns 230 years old on this first day of June. Stick around if you want. The cake will be here at noon. Bryan The Intern baked it himself.

In the meantime, there is a lot to recap from the newswire and things to address before the celebration begins. So read through the morning’s topics and then put your windpipe to some of these balloons if you have time. Freddie could use a hand hanging the pinata out back if you’d rather do that.

But first, the rundown:

SEC Spring Meetings continue in Destin

Today is Day 2 of the SEC’s spring conference in Destin, Florida, where the league’s football coaches, basketball coaches, administrators, and other SEC VIP are meeting to address a packed agenda for the future. On the list of talking points for the week are conversations about SEC football scheduling, NIL, the transfer portal deadline, and more.

Yesterday, the most interesting development from the first day in Destin was the seating chart in the football coaches’ conference room at the Sandestin Resort. The stars of the room, Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher, were separated by four chairs in the assigned seating arrangement as they breathed the same air for the first time since their very public feud of a few weeks ago.

No chairs were thrown on Day 1. Saban even said, “I have no problem with Jimbo.”

Mark Stoops was assigned the spot next to newcomer Brian Kelly.

John Calipari sat down with Paul Finebaum

During a break in the action down in Destin, John Calipari found time to sit down with Paul Finebaum for an afternoon conversation on the beach. It was one of only a few media appearances Calipari has made since Kentucky lost to Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament, a crushing defeat unlike anything he’s experienced in his three-plus decades of coaching.

“We were the fifth-seeded team and lost,” Calipari told Finebaum. “I’m still sick over it.”

Calipari also spoke of the current state of his program and reiterated his intentions to meet with Mitch Barnhart about getting Kentucky back to the gold standard. As Calipari sees it, that mission includes things like facility upgrades to attract top-level talent and bringing back the Big Blue Madness campout to fuel preseason excitement.

KSR will share plenty more from Finebaum’s Calipari interview a little later this morning.

Calipari to formally introduce KT Turner as UK’s new assistant soon

While Calipari was soaking up the sun, eating conference room finger foods, and talking to Paul Finebaum on Tuesday, back home in Kentucky there was news spreading about his new assistant coaching hire. Calipari told Finebaum he can’t yet announce the new member of his coaching staff, but reports spread that Oklahoma’s KT Turner is the replacement for Jai Lucas on the bench and on the recruiting trail.

Get to know the new guy whose ties to the state of Texas, Larry Brown, and Mokan Elite AAU made him an attractive option to Calipari. Word is he’s a gym rat too.

Jacob Toppin, Shaedon Sharpe announced their decisions ahead of the deadline

Tonight at midnight is the deadline for the NBA Draft’s early entrants to pull out and return to school, but the two Kentucky prospects on the list made their intentions known last night.

First, Jacob Toppin announced his plans to be back in Lexington for his senior season. “I miss you guys,” Toppin said in a video announcement. “Let’s run it back one more year. Go Big Blue.”

Hours later, Shaedon Sharpe made his big announcement. No surprise, Sharpe will stay in the draft to live out his NBA dreams as (most) everyone expected from the very beginning.

Read Sharpe’s parting words to Big Blue Nation:

Many fans didn’t forget the many times they were told the opposite. “I’ll do whatever the team needs, but 100% I will be at Kentucky to play next season,” Sharpe himself said when he enrolled.

But it’s too early to beat that dead horse. Good luck to Sharpe or whatever. Thanks for the tease.

The team is arriving on campus this week

A big week for Kentucky Basketball news, it’s also time for the new team to report to campus to begin team activities. On Tuesday, two of the new Wildcats moved into their new dorm rooms and one of them, Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves, wore his best shirt for the occasion.

The whole team is expected on campus by the end of the week.

Jerry Tipton to step away from the game

In a shocking development from the world of Kentucky Basketball, longtime beat writer Jerry Tipton is expected to hang up his Herald-Leader notepad for retirement at the end of the month. Pat Forde shared the news.

A joke: With low Rupp Arena attendance, the worst season in history, and the worst loss in history, Tipton is going out on top.

But seriously: Congrats to Jerry, who began covering the team during the 1981-82 season.

Reminder: Next week’s KSR guest host schedule

Monday, June 6: Peter Burns

Tuesday, June 7: Pardon My Take

Wednesday, June 8: Bobby Bones

Thursday, June 9: Tom Hart

Friday, June 10: Bomani Jones

Buc-ee is one of us

Four NFL QBs to play in Capital One’s The Match today

Yes, they’re still doing these. Today’s format is Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers versus Patrick Mahomes/Josh Allen out in Las Vegas. Coverage begins at 6:30 PM tonight on TNT.

Here are the odds, if you’re into that sort of thing:

Brady/Rodgers: -165
Mahomes/Allen: +145

Some better golf starts tomorrow when the PGA’s Memorial Tournament begins up in Ohio. I’m thinking about heading up there for the weekend.

Tune in to KSR at 10 AM

It’s my day to do website stuff so it’s a three-man band for today’s show. Give them your ears and keep your eyeballs here on Kentucky-Sports-Radio-dot-com for a busy day ahead.

We’ll bust that pinata once Freddie gets down from the ladder.

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