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Men's Basketball

NCAA Looking To Allow Summer Basketball Exhibitions Starting in 2024, John Calipari Selected to Help

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NCAA

Gonzaga-Tennessee, Duke-Houston, Arkansas-Texas: these are three top-12 preseason exhibitions that happened in college basketball this year. Yet, there was very little publicity and two were not even televised – Gonzaga-Tennessee being the exception and could only be watched via a $10 charitable pay-per-view.

Why is that?

As the rules currently state, Division I programs are allowed to have two preseason games that do not count and it is up to each program how they wish to use the two games. However, if a school chooses to play a fellow Division 1 program, the scrimmage must be closed to the public. In addition, no media are allowed and the two schools are not supposed to publicize the results.

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Recently, exceptions have been made for charity. Citing that closed scrimmages can be played in front of fans and/or televised as long as the proceeds go to charity (i.e., Arkansas-Texas (played in front of fans), Gonzaga-Tennessee ($10 Pay-Per-View)).

Yet, even when these games are televised, college basketball is forced to battle other sports and leagues (i.e., NFL, college football, MLB) for viewership, from the start of the season up until early February.

The only time this is not the case is during summer foreign trips – playing lower division or foreign opponents – which teams are only allowed to take every four years.

The NCAA is looking to fix this and knock out two birds with one stone.

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On Wednesday, the NCAA announced they had established working groups to examine “competition opportunities in the summer” for men’s and women’s college basketball.

Each group is composed of administrators, student-athletes, and coaches, with Kentucky’s John Calipari a part of the men’s group.

These groups will begin meeting in December with the purpose of presenting their recommendations to the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees in June 2023. If the Oversight Committees elect to move forward, there could be college basketball every summer, starting in 2024 instead of just every four years.

Back in October, Calipari made his pitch for the idea.

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“Why not play games in Rupp Arena against good teams, maybe teams that won’t schedule you but now they’ll play you in a summer game… Have it televised on SEC Network.” Calipari said in a conversation with Kyle Tucker of The Athletic.

“We need to be doing stuff in the summer to bring light to college basketball, like spring football… protect the sport.”

Imagine if a top-10 or another unique exhibition could be televised in the middle of July, with only the MLB to compete with. This would help smaller schools bring in more revenue and bring more attention to college basketball as a whole.

More can be read about the initiative and the working groups here.

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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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Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Following 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”.

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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.

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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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Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

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Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.
Jordan Prather | IMAGN

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.

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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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Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky.
UF Athletics

Another 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. 

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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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