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Louisville Cardinals Lead College Basketball In Total Cost of “Guarantee Game” Losses

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© Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Former Kentucky basketball assistant coach, Kenny Payne, has had an abysmal start to his head coaching career. In his first year as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, his alma mater, Payne is sitting on a nauseating 3-21 record.

To make matters worse, four of the 21 losses came with a high expense. Louisville paid four teams $85,000 dollars each, to come into the KFC Yum! Center and hand the Cardinals a loss.

These games are often referred to as “buy games” or “guarantee games”. This is when a high-major program schedules an “easy” matchup versus a mid to low -major program, paying for the associated expenses. These games are big opportunities for smaller programs, as they help fund their athletic budgets for the full season.

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However, Louisville lost each of their “buy games” this season, all on their home court: Appalachian State, Bellarmine, Lipscomb, and Wright State. These four losses were part of a 0-9 start to the season for the Cardinals.

According to On3, Louisville has spent the most money spent on lost buy games in college basketball this season, losing all four games at a total expense of $340,000. This also surpasses Georgia, who spent $310,000 in 2021-22, and Nebraska’s $300,000 in 2019-20.

For reference, Louisville spent almost $100,000 more than the second-highest amount in lost guarantee games this year, ahead of California, who spent $245,000 on such games.

Many people probably envisioned coach Payne setting and breaking records during his time at Louisville, but it’s likely this isn’t what they had in mind.

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BB Recruiting

Transfer Portal Target “Willing To Do Whatever” To Help Kentucky Win A Title

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There is mutual interest between Kentucky and transfer guard BJ Freeman, who says "will do whatever" to help Kentucky win another title.
MARK HOFFMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s transfer portal season and now that the season is over and players begin to make their decisions, the Kentucky staff is starting to evaluate some players in the transfer portal and reach out to them. The player Kentucky has reached out to most recently is BJ Freeman, a 6-6 guard for the Milwaukee Panthers.

It’s safe to say the interest is mutual.

“Kentucky is a historic program. You can’t play for anyone better than Coach Cal,” Freeman said recently in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio. “Pro-wise, guard-wise, the success he’s had, it doesn’t get any better than that. I feel like my game can carry on and play his play style. If I love it there and we continue this process, maybe I could be one of the next Kentucky greats and Kentucky pros.”

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Known for his scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game last season, 16th in the nation, Freeman wants it to be known that he is doing whatever it takes to help Kentucky win.

“People underestimate my passing because they see me score the ball so well,” he said. “Being able to get my teammates involved and seeing my teammates score the ball gives me more joy than having myself score. That’s a big thing that I want to show coaches. I’m really versatile. I can also initiate the offense. I’m willing to do whatever to win and put another banner up there at Kentucky.

While Kentucky has contacted Freeman, no details of a visit have been set. He expects that to change over the next few days as he communicates with Kentucky assistant Chuck Martin.

“We should continue to talk today; we’re going to keep building the relationship and see if I can come down there and take a visit,” he said. “We’re just going to stay in touch, keep communicating to make the process go a little bit faster, and keep things going. It’s really about building a relationship.”

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While Kentucky sounds to be in a really good spot for Freeman, Arkansas is also pursuing his services. However, there have been rumors that Eric Musselman wants out of Arkansas and is showing interest in other jobs, which could change things. That said, what is Freeman looking for in a school?

“I’m big on family vibes and brotherhood. That’s exactly what Kentucky is based on,” he said. “I love everybody. I love bringing joy and putting smiles on people’s faces. I’m looking for a program that’s going to embrace me, a fanbase that’s going to embrace me through my ups and downs. I want them to still believe in me through down moments too.”

Freeman is not on any NBA Draft Boards and after talking to his mother, has decided he will not go through the draft process. Instead, he wants to make his decision on where he will play his last season of college basketball in about “three weeks”.

“I’m more than willing to contribute and be one of those key factors to bring another championship to the state of Kentucky. I want the state to be happy for me and proud of me. That’s my big goal with them. You guys are going to embrace me. You guys are going to love me and I can’t wait to get the process going. [I’m going to] come visit the campus and see what it’s all about.”

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Freeman’s comments come off very eager. If Kentucky truly wants Freeman, it sounds like they are the favorite.

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Men's Basketball

Adou Thiero Enters Transfer Portal, Keeps Options Open

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© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky’s first domino of the off-season has fallen. Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw. He has entered his name in the NBA Draft as well, while not ruling out a return to Kentucky, according to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.

A big hit to Kentucky’s upcoming roster, as Thiero’s upside and growth will be missed. In the 2023-24 season, Thiero averaged 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while missing 7 games due to injury. The 6-8 wing brought physicalness that Kentucky desperately needed this season, and something Calipari has been stressing for this upcoming season. Calipari harped on him numerous times this season, saying “He’s gotten so much better.”

Thiero has jumped in mock drafts all season, and his potential is sky high. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony even had Thiero going 27th in the 2025 NBA Draft. Now, he will get to add to his potential elsewhere.

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Now, Kentucky will look to find a good replacement for him as more things start happening throughout the off-season. Calipari is continuing to meet with players to discuss their future plans throughout the week.

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Men's Basketball

John Calipari Highlights Changes for Next Season

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John Calipari draws up a play at Kentucky's season opener. Said he made a "tweak".
UK Athletics

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.

Many Kentucky fans have referred to this quote over the last few days, expressing a desire for a change from John Calipari. However, Calipari will be back on the sidelines for the Kentucky Wildcats next season for his 16th season, confirmed by Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.

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On Monday, John Calipari went on his season-ending radio show, giving his first comments to fans since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last Thursday. It was easy to see why is a good recruiter, as he said all the right things.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place.

“We’ve got to evaluate everything,” Calipari said. Here are some changes that have been outlined.

Getting Back to “Grinding”

Kentucky basketball offseason has often consisted of international trips to the Bahamas, or Canada last season, but not this year. Calipari emphasized a desire to get back to what his early Kentucky teams were characterized by, defense and physicality.

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“What about in the summers, instead of the Bahmas or Toronto, we’re grinding,” Calipari proposed. “We’ve got to get back to where we’ve been defensively and with physicality. Your defense steadies you.”

Those trips are good for team bonding and chemistry, but it’s clear that time can be used better for getting into the weight room and instilling defensive principles. Calipari did note that he does not want to take a step back on offense.

Getting Older

Calipari is the coach who made the “one-and-done” approach popular, relying heavily on elite freshmen. However, with college basketball getting older, he has expressed a willingness to get older.

“We’re relying on freshmen too much. In those kinds of games, you better have some vets,” Calipari said of his takeaway from Oakland. “For us, we need to get older.”

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It should be noted that Calipari relied on transfers in 2022 and 2023, albeit most not being the elite transfers, but more supporting pieces (i.e. CJ Fredrick) and developmental players (i.e. Jacob Toppin). That said, two transfers have been the leading scorer for Kentucky in three straight seasons, Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves.

Calipari is looking more for a middle ground between young talent and transfers. “I like the combination of both. We just got to get the right transfers.”

Program Changes

When you are winning, you have more freedom, but when you have just one NCAA Tournament win in the last four seasons, you’re not going to have that luxury. This was not publicly said by Calipari, but more oversight will come as a result of his meeting with Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect 1-2 staff changes and likely a support staff change. One of the staff changes should be filled with a defensive mind, and the support staff should be (suggestion) filled with someone in a general manager-type role. There will also be some operation changes such as having a more definitive practice schedule, rather than getting a text the day before/of, and some changes with the NIL model.

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