When Mark Pope announced that he would be taking questions directly from BBN, we all knew things could get interesting. But honestly, it turned out pretty good; you had some honest questions and some good answers. Sure, there were sarcastic questions that just were never going to be answered, but Pope did address the GM situation. While it wasn’t the answer a lot of people hoped for, at least there is now a clear hierarchy within the basketball front office. Let’s break it down.
Kentucky
FINAL: Florida Gators Dominate Kentucky, 48-20, Behind Baugh’s Record-Tying Night
GAINESVILLE, Fla.– It may have been quarterback DJ Lagway with the big expectations for Saturday’s game against the Kentucky Wildcats, but it was fellow freshman Jadan Baugh and the defense who stole the show in the Florida Gators’ 48-20 win, which snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.
Baugh, who started in place for an injured Montrell Johnson Jr., rushed for five touchdowns, which tied Tim Tebow and Trey Burton for the most in program history. He finished with 106 yards on 22 carries.
He also became the first UF true freshman to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game since Burton’s five against Kentucky in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Florida defense consistently held the Wildcats in check with seven total turnovers forced with four coming on fourth-down stops, including one on the goal line.
Colorado transfer Cormani McClain, who saw his first snaps of the season after Jason Marshall Jr. went down with an injury, recorded his first-career interception on a 29-yard pick-six to seal the victory. He was one of three Gators to record an interception on the night, which matched the team’s total from the previous season.
In his second-career start, DJ Lagway managed to throw for 259 yards on only 7 of 14 passing and added 46 more on the ground. He consistently hit transfer Elijhah Badger on deep passes with the former Arizona State star recording 148 yards on three catches.
A 40-yard pass from Lagway to Eugene Wilson III on the game’s first drive set up a 29-yard field goal by Trey Smack. Two drives later, a 22-yard run from Lagway set up another Smack field goal, this time from 33 yards out, to put the Gators up 6-0 early in the second quarter.
However, Florida’s red zone struggles to push the ball across the goal line, combined with a trick play from Kentucky, nearly lost the Gators its lead.
The Wildcats only needed three plays, all of which were runs, to go 39 yards, and a flea-flicker from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown from 45 yards out put Kentucky on the board with 12:05 left in the second quarter. However, a missed extra point kept the game tied at 6-6.
Lagway, who had seen his fire fade away following a strong start, got a much-needed spark with a 50-yard pass to Badger to put Florida on the 7-yard line. From there, Baugh, broke out with his first-career touchdown on the game’s next play.
Saturday’s game also marked the first time in program history that a true freshman started at quarterback and running back in the same game.
Florida’s defense quickly got in on the action with a interception by Trikweze Bridges to give the Gators the ball on its own 46-yard line, but the Wildcats answered and then some with an interception by Kristian Story, who returned the ball 63 yards to the 11-yard line.
The Gators got the last laugh, though.
Facing fourth-and-one from its own 2-yard line, Florida stood strong and got a stop to keep the Wildcats out of the end zone and the Gators in the lead. A 27-yard rush from Baugh combined with a 58-yard catch from Badger set up a 10-yard score for Baugh.
Baugh added a one-yard score on the ensuing drive after Devin Moore returned an interception 52 yards, but Kentucky answered after Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to make it a 27-13 game heading into halftime.
The Gators’ 24 points in the second quarter were the most in a single quarter in Billy Napier’s tenure. However, middle-eight struggles continued for the Gators.
Kentucky opened the third quarter with a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a short touchdown run by Gavin Wimsatt. Florida’s comfortable 21-point lead quickly turned into an uncomfortable 7-point lead.
Baugh and Lagway, however, continued their roles as young contributors in the Gator offense. Lagway hit Chimere Dike for two receptions totaling 67 yards, and Baugh finished the drive with his fourth score of the evening.
Additionally, the Gator defense would bounce-back with back-to-back fourth-down stops in their own territory, Jadan Baugh added his fifth score and McClain returned an interception 29 yards to seal the win.
The Gators will have a week off with its second bye of the season before turning its attention to arguably its toughest stretch of the season with four-straight matchups against ranked teams, the first two coming against two teams in playoff contention.
Florida faces Georgia on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville with kickoff at 3:30 p.m.
Warm and humid weather for Preakness Stakes this weekend
The second race of the Triple Crown is May 16 in Laurel, Maryland. Conditions at Preakness Stakes are expected to be warmer with humidity. There could be a spotty thunderstorm after the race.
Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby. He won’t be at the Preakness. And that’s becoming a familiar story.
This marks the second straight year and the third time in five years that the Derby winner has decided not to compete in the Preakness Stakes despite having a healthy horse. The reason is almost always the same: two weeks isn’t enough time.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux made the call quickly after Golden Tempo’s dramatic last-to-first Derby victory on May 2.
“Golden gave us the race of a lifetime,” DeVaux said in a statement. “We believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort.”
DeVaux and Golden Tempo are focused on the June 6 Belmont Stakes instead.
The pattern is pretty clear.
From 1997 to 2018, every Kentucky Derby winner ran the Preakness, keeping the Triple Crown path intact. That streak ended with Country House, who won the Derby on the disqualification of Maximum Security, was scratched from the Preakness. The sport has been wrestling with the question ever since. Maryland’s racing leaders have considered moving the Preakness one week later, from the third Saturday in May to the fourth, though no change has been made.
Of the 14 horses entered in the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, just three made the trip from Churchill Downs. None of them won the Derby. One nearly caused the biggest upset in recent memory.
Ocelli (Post 2, 6-1)
The most intriguing Derby returnee. Ocelli finished third at 70-1 odds on May 2, giving trainer Whit Beckman and jockey Tyler Gaffalione a surprise ticket to Laurel Park. He was the lone maiden in the Derby field and remains a maiden heading into Saturday. Nobody expected him to be here.
Incredibolt (post 12, 5-1)
The morning-line co-favorite among Derby runners. Incredibolt finished sixth at Churchill Downs and trainer Riley Mott moved quickly to point him to Laurel Park. Jockey Jaime Torres won the 2024 Preakness aboard Seize the Grey. The connections believe the 1 3/16-mile distance suits Incredibolt better than the Derby’s mile and a quarter.
Robusta (Post 4, 30-1)
The longest shot of the Derby trio is Robusta, who finished 14th of the 14 in the Derby. The question with any horse coming back this quickly after a tough Derby is how much the race took out of him. At 30-1, it seems the market has answered that question.
COVINGTON, Ky. (WKRC) – A Northern Kentucky man is in jail, accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl who’d been reported missing.
Matthew Wade, 40, faces charges, including sexual abuse, unlawful transaction with a minor and assault.
Covington Police say they found the teen at Wade’s home on Highway Avenue on Monday. According to the police report, he was knowingly hiding her, knew she was missing and had cut her ankle monitor off.
Investigators say the teen was given alcohol, marijuana and magic mushrooms.
The girl told police wade slapped her and choked her.
Officers also say they found guns in the home.
Mark Pope has confirmed that no official GM position will exist for at least this season, and most likely won’t exist going forward. Why? Because he has the responsibilities spread out across 4 different people, and believes that is the best way forward.
“In this ever-changing college basketball dynamic, everybody is trying a different solution. For us, instead of hiring a singular GM, we’ve gone with a more comprehensive general management team approach. We have four members of the team. Keegan Brown is a data analysis and roster construction expert who’s worked in both college and the NBA. Nick Robinson is our salary cap strategy and management specialist. Kevin Sergent is our compliance officer, and he deals with all of our contracts and legal language. Kim Shelton is our JMI liaison, and she does all of our NIL contracts that deal with corporate sponsorships. That’s our four-person general management team.”
But who is each one of these people, and what makes them qualified?
Who’s doing what in the Kentucky basketball front office?
Well, Keegan Brown has been a video coordinator in the G-League. That essentially means he would go and watch all the videos on league opponents and potential prospects, and come up with data-backed scouting reports for the coaching and front office teams. Pope has worked with Brown at BYU, so there is some familiarity there.
Nick Robinson also worked with Mark Pope in Provo, being an assistant coach from 2019 to 2024 and following Pope to Lexington. He has been on staff all 3 seasons now, and is being tasked with handing out Kentucky’s money and setting a budget for each player.
Kevin Sergent is not new to Kentucky; he has been in Lexington since 2020. But this is his first time handling compliance on his own; his official title is Senior Associate AD for Athletic Compliance. He handles all the rules, applying for waivers, basically making sure the entire staff is doing everything the right way.
Kim Shelton is a UK alum who was more known for soccer than anything else. She was part of the very first Kentucky women’s soccer team and is a former CEO of Lexington Sporting Club. She worked for Kentucky when Commonwealth was renamed as Kroger Field, and played a role in setting up naming rights for Kentucky Proud Park. Right now, she is kind of the bridge between Kentucky and JMI, specifically handling BBNIL Suite.
If you don’t remember what BBNIL suite is, it’s essentially the opt-in program where student athletes agree to only work with deals through JMI. They find offers, broker deals, and help athletes make money. It is, of course, optional, but if players decline, they will not be able to use the University of Kentucky logos in their NIL marketing.
Trent Noah is probably the most successful NIL athlete who opted out. The Kentucky native is handling his own NIL, and by the amount of ads and cardboard cutouts I see littered around the state, he seems to be doing pretty well.
Seeing JMI integrated again into Kentucky Basketball is probably going to make some of you uneasy, and I get that. But everyone who has worked with them who has officially gone on the record says they are a pleasure to work with.
And that’s how Mark Pope wants it done. There is a theory out there that he wants a GM, but JMI won’t let him. Considering he has chosen 2 of the 4 people personally, I highly doubt that’s true.
What do you think of his explanation, and what do you think of how he is handling the GM role?
-
New York59 minutes agoFlag With Swastika and Star of David Flown on N.Y.U. Building, Police Say
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour agoEarly morning Montebello fire leaves resident critically injured
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoWhat big announcement at DPSCD Hall of Fame Gala could mean for Detroit students
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoCasting shade on shadows: S.F. supervisor seeks to bar using shadows to block new housing
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami residents sue over land for Trump presidential library
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoBoston has a secret society built on opium money in ‘The Society’
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver weather: Nearing record highs again