Kentucky

Kentucky gets early signature win at Champions Classic against Duke | Opinion

Published

2 years ago

November 13, 2024

Kentucky gets early signature win at Champions Classic against Duke | Opinion

ATLANTA — We’re going to have plenty of time, like maybe a decade or two, to talk about Cooper Flagg. And in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Champions Classic, the presumptive No. 1 pick is going to get his first real taste of what the world of sports takes is all about.

That’s how it works when you live up to the hype for 39 minutes but mishandle a ball in a crowd and then dribble it off your foot with the game on the line. Better get used to it.

But Flagg is 17 years old and Duke is still Final Four caliber team. It’s way too soon to start nitpicking.

It is not, however, too early to render a judgment on the other big storyline from a remarkable night of college basketball.

Mark Pope? Yeah, he’s the real deal, too. Just a couple weeks into the college basketball season, he’s already made Kentucky basketball fun again.

It’s been awhile.

“This group is special,” Pope said after Kentucky’s 77-72 victory, giving him a signature win right out of the gates and at a time when there was — and probably still is — some uncertainty about whether he’s up to this mammoth job.

Time will tell. But one thing you can already see: There’s a major vibe shift around Kentucky basketball.

Freed from the tension of John Calipari’s stubbornness, his deteriorating relationship with Kentucky’s administration and his antagonistic posture toward a fan base that cares like no other in sports, Big Blue Nation will not find this kind of basketball difficult to embrace.

It’s beautiful, it’s energetic, and most of all its drama-free.

Yeah, Kentucky needed a change. They got it. And it looks as if they’re really, really going to like it.

Nothing against Calipari, a Hall of Fame coach whose first 10 years there were phenomenal. But the whole operation got stale, it got contentious, and his last four seasons were a slow-motion train wreck that ended with some embarrassing NCAA tournament defeats.

Still, when Calipari left for Arkansas, there were no guarantees about how it would go for Big Blue Nation. After all the big names said no, the initial reaction to Pope was strongly negative.

Despite being part of Kentucky’s 1996 national title team, he was still a coach with no NCAA tournament victories in nine years at Utah Valley and BYU.

Kentucky fans, of course, quickly embraced Pope because there was really no other choice. He wasn’t just one of theirs, he reminded them what that actually meant. For 15 years, the program was about the Calipari brand. From the first moment he got the job, Pope was determined to flip that back around and make Kentucky the star of the show.

That’s a great way to start a honeymoon, but you also have to show it on the floor. And with a roster that Pope pulled together largely from the transfer portal, there was a scenario where Year 1 was basically a write-off.

“Nobody knew each other,” Pope said.

But you can already see that Pope is really good at three things that will serve him well as Kentucky’s coach.

The first is that he is incredibly dialed in to how players interact with each other and feed off each other. He talked, for instance, about the human nature for people to pull away from problems and the intentionality it takes to do the opposite. You saw that Tuesday when Kentucky got down 10 points in the first half and just kept hanging in the game until the experience and physicality of its older players took over in the final minutes

“I felt like it was really special for us,” said senior Andrew Carr, a forward who transferred from Wake Forest and scored 17 points with two huge and-1 finishes in the final minutes. “Not everything was going our way, and coach talks about turning into each other, the people that matter, and the closer we get it’s harder to beat us.”

The second big trait of a Pope team is the offense. It just flows. For years, one of the big frustrations fans had with Calipari is that the ball didn’t move enough, there wasn’t enough spacing and he didn’t emphasize 3-point shooting until his final season. With Pope, that’s not an issue. The ball zips around, guys move off the ball and everyone has the green light to shoot when open. This was the ballgame: Kentucky made 10-of-25 threes to Duke’s 4-of-23.

And the third thing is that Kentucky just plays really, really hard, which it will need to do against most teams. The Wildcats have some good pieces, but they won’t have a huge talent advantage in most of their big games — and they certainly didn’t against a Duke team with multiple future NBA draft picks. That’s arguably the biggest reason why Kentucky’s effort just wore down Duke to the point where Flagg was too exhausted to execute down the stretch after scoring 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 32 minutes.

“Guys went and sat in the locker room (at halftime) and it was constructive,” Pope said. “Guys do most of the fixing before I get in the locker room. It was just sheer resolve and determination. There was a lot of ebb and flow, and the game almost swung away from us, and the guys reeled it in.”

It’s still too early in the college basketball season to draw a whole lot of conclusions about where either Kentucky or Duke is going to end up. But for Pope, a man who arguably has the best but toughest job in college basketball, it was a validating night.

He said after the game that he’d have felt the same way about his team whether they won or lost, and that’s probably true. But beating Duke is no small thing, and the amount of belief and credibility Kentucky will get from this win will have a cascading effect on the fan base, on recruiting and on the confidence of a team that believes it might have something special.

All in all, Big Blue Nation couldn’t have asked for anything more.

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Kentucky

Team Coverage: Severe weather sweeps across Kentucky

Published

6 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Team Coverage: Severe weather sweeps across Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Severe weather across the Commonwealth has led to downed trees, traffic impacts and thousands of power outages.

Extensive coverage will be available on air and on WKYT+, where people can stay updated on the latest storm threats and impacts.

Franklin County Damage

A house fire was caused by lightning striking the attic space above two bedrooms, the Franklin County Fire Department reports.

A child was reportedly awakened by smoke, and alerted the residents to danger. Everyone was able to get out of the home safely before fire crews arrived.

Franklin County house fire(Franklin County Fire Department)

Crews say they were able to contain the fire to the attic, which reduced further damage to the home.

Grant County damage

The Grant County Judge Executive Chuck Dills declared a state of emergency for Grant County due to severe weather damage.

Mason County damage

The Washington Fire Department says crews have been busy with storm damage reports from early morning storms.

The Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill says most of the damage seems to be west of US 68 within or near the Maysville city limits. McNeill says trees and debris are in roads county wide, with several power lines down.

Jessamine County damage

Jessamine County Emergency Management posted on social media that multiple weather-related incidents and power outages Thursday morning have taxed their Emergency service teams

Officials say crews have responded to multiple flooded out roads, downed trees and at least four damaged structures including some commercial occupancies that had collapse of roof or structures.

If you experienced any damage, you are asked to message Jessamine County Emergency Management or submit a damage assessment report.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 7 said KY 1267 at Cushingberry Lane in Jessamine County is closed due to a downed tree on a phone line.

Following severe weather, Ollie’s bargain outlet’s roof partially collapsed in Jessamine County according to emergency management. Emergency management is on the scene handling the situation.

The whole strip mall is closed due to a water leak and potential gas leak.

Show us your photos

Viewers are encouraged to submit any photos and videos of storm damage and impacts to WKYT. People can submit entries below.

Power outages

As of 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, over 4,000 customers in Fayette County are without power, and over 57,000 customers are without power throughout Kentucky, according to Kentucky Power Outages.

In a social media post, Woodford County said it was monitoring outages and was in coordination with utility partners to work to restore power.

The main transmission line that provides power to Falmouth was damaged, leading the city to be without power according to Pendleton County Emergency Management. An LG&E crew is reportedly enroute to fix the problem, but Falmouth will have no power until the damage is repaired.

Road Conditions

Garrard County Emergency Management says several state and county roads are being covered in water due to the weather conditions. They advise for anyone travelling to use extreme caution and be aware of flooded areas.

If encountering a water covered road, turn around and don’t drive through it, Garrard County Emergency Management says. An alternate route is the safest option.

Rolling Acres is closed between Bender Drive and Rancho Drive in Frankfort due to storm damage according to the Frankfort-Franklin County Office of Emergency Management. Utility crews are making preparations for repair onsite.

U.S. 127 Business at mile point 1.4 in Anderson County was closed due to a downed tree, according to KYTC, and Midway Road is closed between Old Frankfort Pike and US 60 in Woodford County.

KYTC reports a downed tree at mile point 3.1 on Bryan Station Road in Fayette County. The road is currently blocked. Information will be provided as updates become available.

Fallen tree Bryan Station Road(Fayette County Superintendent II Jason Soper)

Old Frankfort Pike is also closed between Pisgah Pike and the Fayette County line due to a tree on utility lines, KYTC said.

The Harrodsburg Police Department says that the road at Moberly Road and Scooter Avenue is not drivable due to high water, and barricades are in place to prevent drivers from attempting to cross.

KYTC encouraged drivers to use caution while traveling and watch for roadway hazard, including downed trees, debris and powerlines.

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Kentucky

Drug trafficking investigation lands Paducah man in jail

Published

17 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Drug trafficking investigation lands Paducah man in jail

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jun. 17, 2026 | 10:25 PM
| PADUCAH

A drug trafficking investigation landed a Paducah man behind bars.

The weeks-long investigation by Paducah Police led them to 54-year-old Byrone K. Burns. Burnes was believed to be involved in moving illegal drugs through the area.

An undercover purchase was arranged, and detectives reportedly came away with more than ten grams of methamphetamine. Burns was arrested at his job just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Following his arrest, detectives searched two locations in Paducah connected to Burns. They reportedly seized more than two pounds of marijuana, a hydrocodone pill, several thousand dollars in cash, and items consistent with trafficking.

Burns, who is said to have an extensive criminal history related to drugs and weapons, was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and marijuana, and possession of hydrocodone. He was booked into the McCracken County Regional Jail.

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Kentucky

Kentucky fans can enjoy games at new Walk-On’s, KSR sports bar site

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky fans can enjoy games at new Walk-On’s, KSR sports bar site

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, once labeled by ESPN as the No. 1 sports bar in America, is coming to Lexington, Kentucky.

The new dining establishment will be located at 1030 S. Broadway, in the former Tilted Kilt space, and will use the next-door site of KSBar & Grille, which closed in June, as a game-day location with a Kentucky Sports Radio presence.

The first Walk-On’s location in Kentucky — although its Clarksville, Indiana, location is just minutes from downtown Louisville — will feature at least 50 TVs for fans to watch UK games and other sporting events.

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux will open ahead of the 2026 football season. The new restaurant will be led by business partners Jamie Daniel and KSR founder Matt Jones.

“As a Kentucky native and die-hard Kentucky fan, opening a Walk-On’s here was a long time coming,” Daniel said in a news release. “By partnering with Matt and the KSR community, we’re serving a fan base that lives and breathes Kentucky sports. We believe this creates a destination unlike anything else in the market.”

KSBar opened in Lexington in 2018 and has been a staple for Kentucky sports fans. Jones wants to keep the space alive by opening it for game days and other special events while allowing fans to order from the Walk-On’s scratch-made menu.

“KSBar has always been about bringing Kentucky fans together,” Jones said in the release. “This partnership allows us to preserve that spirit while giving fans access to a bigger experience, a larger menu and the resources of one of the most successful sports bar brands in the country. We’ll still be here on game days, broadcasting KSR live and celebrating Kentucky sports, but now with Walk-On’s helping take the experience to the next level.”

Walk-On’s was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2003 by former LSU basketball walk-ons Brandon Landry and Jack Warner. Since then, the restaurant has opened over 80 locations across the United States with partners like Dak Prescott, Dabo Swinney and co-owner Drew Brees.

Reach sports trending writer Alaina Morris at amorris@gannett.com and follow her on X at @alainammorris.

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