Connect with us

Men's Basketball

NBA Cats Shined Over the Weekend

Published

on

© Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kentucky has more players than in any other school in the country, and many of them are performing at a high level. Over the weekend, three Wildcats put up career-high types of performances.

Let’s take a look!

De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk Combine for 87 Points

On Friday night, Kentucky fans got a chance to see what both former Kentucky basketball stars, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, could do on the court together as teammates again.

Advertisement

The two were teammates during the 2016-2017 season as they helped led Kentucky to an Elite Eight appearance. This past summer, Monk was a free agent and made the decision to sign with the Sacramento Kings, one reason was due to the relationship and bond he built with Fox in their one season at Kentucky.

This season the Kings have had a slight emergence. With a 34-25 record, the Kings have the third-best record in the Western Conference and are looking for their first playoff appearance since 2006.

On Saturday, the Kings picked up a big win against the Los Angeles Clippers in large part to Fox and Monk who combined to score 87 points in a double-overtime win. With a final score of 176-175, the game finished as the second-highest-scoring game in NBA History.

Without much defense, Fox neared a career-high as he scored 42 points and he was three points away, meanwhile, Monk set a new career-high at 45 points. The most impressive part is that Monk scored 30 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods, including a game-tying three to send it to overtime, which was set up by none other than Fox.

Advertisement

Julius Randle Ties Career High

Julius Randle has taken his game to levels that some fans never expected. An all-star this season, the lucky lefty picked up right where he left off before the NBA All-Star Break. In his first game back, Randle and the Knicks traveled to Washington to play a playoff-caliber Wizards team, who are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament.

Playing 36 minutes on Friday night, Randle tied his career high of 46 points, 16-29 from the field, 7-14 from 3-point range, with two rebounds and two assists in the 115-109 Knicks win.

The Knicks, led by Randle, are sitting at 34-27 in the Eastern Conference, securing a 6 seed if the playoffs started today.

If the Knicks with Randle, and the supporting cast that includes high-level guards like Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett amongst others, continue to play how they’ve been playing so far this year, New York could make a deep playoff run come April.

Advertisement

Men's Basketball

How a Call with Mark Pope Led Denzel Aberdeen to Kentucky

After winning a national title at Florida, Denzel Aberdeen committed to Kentucky without ever visiting campus—thanks to a revealing three-hour call with head coach Mark Pope.

Published

on

Chet White | UK Athletics

As a junior, Denzel Aberdeen was a key part of Florida’s national title run. But a certain phone conversation convinced him to leave his home state and head north to Lexington in hopes of experiencing that feeling once again.

He had never set foot in Lexington before deciding to become a Kentucky Wildcat — and he didn’t need to. All it took was one phone call — three hours long, on Easter Sunday — with head coach Mark Pope to convince him that he belonged in blue and white.

“Our phone call lasted about three hours, to be honest,” Aberdeen said, meeting with the media in Lexington for the first time earlier this week. “A lot of it was just getting to know me and getting to know the school, the university, getting to know him (Pope), how their style was, a lot of film. Once I saw that, I was like this looks like a great guy to play for.”

Advertisement

The two went on to discuss Aberdeen’s role at Kentucky in more depth, including how Pope envisions him fitting into Kentucky’s new system — a system that, according to Aberdeen, is very similar, if not better than the one he just left.

“We had a lot of great players at Florida, especially the tall bigs. Bigs that love to run there, and we have just as much here; our bigs love to run, they play defense, and they play at a fast pace. So I think the things that we’ve got here are just as good, or even better,” Aberdeen said.

Averaging 7.7 points and nearly 20 minutes per game off the bench for the Gators last year, it’s clear to see what Aberdeen brings to the team: experience, versatility, calmness in the backcourt, and championship pedigree. Pope’s phone conversation with Aberdeen wasn’t just impactful on the court — it also speaks volumes to what he is doing off the court in pursuit of the goal he laid out in his introductory press conference: to hang banners.

This phone call wasn’t just about Denzel Aberdeen. It was a glimpse into Pope’s player-first, transparent coaching approach, which could define his era at Kentucky — and potentially make this season a special one, with Aberdeen playing another key role in a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Advertisement

“I know the goal is to win No. 9,” he said. “I know the fans want that, we want that, all the staff and coaches want that. That pushes us. We know what we gotta do when we come here and put on that Kentucky jersey. Just playing for the University of Kentucky is a big thing. Being here is a blessing, and I can’t look back.”

Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

La Familia’s Lexington Regional Bracket Revealed

Published

on

Israel Schill | KY Insider

Kentucky’s alumni team, La Familia, has officially unveiled the bracket for The Basketball Tournament’s (TBT) Lexington Regional.

The No. 1 seeded alumni will face off against Stroh’s Squad (Bowling Green) in the opening round on Friday, July 18 with a late 9:00 p.m. ET tip time.

The Lexington Regional will take place at Memorial Coliseum from July 18-22, where Kentucky will host a plethora of teams looking to grab some gold.

Advertisement

Familiar teams, such as Eberlein Drive, who former Wildcat Archie Goodwin used to play for and who have been around since the beginning of TBT, will lead the bottom of the bracket. In the second round, Big Blue Nation may see a way-too-early SEC matchup, technically, with the Auburn Tigers’ alumni team, War Ready.

The name is definitely fitting, obviously a play on Auburn’s “War Eagle” call, but as a whole defines the type of play that the TBT unleashes against every competitor.

When asked about who the “alpha dog” will be on this year’s team, someone who is going to be ready to go to war, general manager Twany Beckham admitted he emphasized finding guys like that during the offseason.

“That was one thing, you know when we lost last year, I feel like that Ohio State team, I’m not gonna say punked us because our guys played extremely hard,” said Beckham before head coach Sean Woods budded in and said “they were more physical.”

Advertisement

“When I sat down after the season was over last year I sad to myself, ‘I want nine to 10 dogs’, and I think we did that with this roster,” Beckham added.

The winner of the Lexington Regional will play the winner of the Louisville Regional in the quarterfinals on Monday, July 28, at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, the team also announced recently.

Below is the entire bracket for the 2025 tournament:

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Top Guard Prospect Taylen Kinney Takes Official Visit to Kentucky

Perhaps the most highly touted guard in the 2026-27 class, Taylen Kinney has begun his visit to Kentucky – Mark Pope is on the clock.

Published

on

Taylen Kinney takes his official visit to Kentucky.
USA TODAY NETWORK

Directly following his involvement with Mark Pope and Jasper Johnson at the USA U19 basketball camp, Taylen Kinney has taken an official visit to Kentucky.

One of the top guards in the nation, Kinney is a native of Newport, Kentucky. As a result, naturally, both Louisville and Kentucky are in strong pursuit — among pulls on both sides, one potential advantage Kentucky has over their in-state rivals is Kinney’s extensive past ties to the aforementioned Jasper Johnson.

The two blue bloods manned the backcourt together for the Overtime Elite RWE team during the 2024-25 season. With Johnson being the first to pull the trigger in taking on the blue and white, the onus is on Kinney to potentially rekindle the duo’s dominant guard play in a new setting.

Advertisement

Given Jasper’s potential for multiple years in Lexington, the likelihood that he could impact Kinney’s recruitment is all the more tangible.

The 6-foot-2 floor general stayed firmly put in the 2026-27 class, despite rumors of a reclassification, ranking atop national lists across the board as arguably the best available at his position. And while a timetable for Kinney’s ultimate decision hasn’t yet shaken out, it’s clear that the blue and red rivals each hold a powerful stake in his recruitment.

Regardless of the rumors, if Mark Pope gets a guy on campus, there’s a solid shot the Cats can capitalize on a commitment. When one battle ends for Kentucky’s staff, the next begins — if nothing else, it’s clear that the team has already started working towards as solid a roster next season as they put together for the one that’s about to begin.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending