Men's Basketball
Karl-Anthony Towns Rediscovering Joy After Mother’s Passing
Published
3 years agoon
Speaking to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, former Wildcat Karl Anthony recalled one particular morning, very early this season.
“There was this one morning I walked into the practice facility. I’m usually one of the first ones there before trainers and anyone gets there. I walked in and found myself smiling in the weight room, happy to be here, happy to be in the gym this early, happy to see everybody come to work and get to practice.”
“That’s a different feeling than I’ve had in a long time,” Towns said.
This newfound happiness is important as Towns has endured a lot in the past two years, losing his mother and six other family members to COVID-19 in 2020.
From the loss and grieving, Towns suffered a “disconnect in the relationship” between himself and basketball. Through the maturity of his hardships and the support of his family and teammates, Towns acknowledged, “This season brought me closer to basketball.”
His play on the court has shown it, averaging 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists en route to what will be the second All-NBA selection of his career.
Since being drafted by Minnesota in 2016, the Timberwolves have only made one playoff appearance.
This season, in large part to Towns and his play the Timberwolves won their play-in game against the Los Angeles Clippers and will look to make a deep playoff run.
With a rediscovered joy and the “best guardian angel and family support anybody could ask for,” as Karl Towns Sr. puts it, Towns and Timberwolves will tip-off against the 2-seed Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET on ESPN.
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Men's Basketball
CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment
In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.
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Published
2 days agoon
April 23, 2025Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.
Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):
“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.
With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.
Losing One of Our Own
That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.
Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.
So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.
Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.
Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.
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The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.
While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.
Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.
Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.
Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.
Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.
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Men's Basketball
Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky
Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.
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Published
3 days agoon
April 22, 2025Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.
A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.
At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.
In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.
Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.
Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.
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