Kentucky
Mark Pope answers four controversial questions ahead of Kentucky vs. Ohio State
You never know what a press conference will look like walking into one, certainly under Mark Pope. Sometimes it’s loaded with team- or player- or event-focused questions, other times you’ll get big-picture updates about the trajectory of the Kentucky basketball program with recruiting and coaching and roster-building philosophies. Shoot, Pope used the platform last week to share his first idea to fix college basketball, something John Calipari did for 15 years in Lexington.
His pre-Ohio State presser was a mixed bag of topics going down a number of paths, ranging from the rivalry win over Louisville to the team’s upcoming trip to New York City and everything in between. Among the in between? A couple of hot takes and controversies here locally and with the sport overall, maybe a basic stance or two on the normal day-to-day leading a program.
Let’s run through a few of them and share his responses as we gear up for the Buckeyes in the Big Apple.
Do you believe in a universal basketball?
Ah, yes, Steven Peake’s pride and joy. KSR’s video extraordinaire finally got to ask Pope about the lack of basketball uniformity plaguing the sport and how teams shoot worse with certain balls than others. His stance? All programs and events need to use the same ball — or use the same one they play with in the NCAA Tournament, at minimum. No reason to spend all year getting used to one only to toss it aside in win-or-go-home situations. He did a whole feature complaining about the Wilson Evo NXT and how it has ruined the sport we know and love.
Pope’s take? He likes the chaos.
“Now you’re trying to get me in trouble! You’re going to have all of the ball companies bartering for the one that is gonna be named the universal ball,” he said. “I don’t know, that’s way above my pay grade. I like it, I like using the different balls because it gives all of the fans and everybody something to talk about and conspiracy theorize about. That helps the game of sports.”
There you have it, folks. The basketball conspiracy theories are good for the game. His words, not ours.
Is L’s down an acceptable celebration?
How do you balance a good old-fashioned postgame celebration that highlights a rivalry victory vs. respecting your opponents as a gracious winner? In other words, is L’s down good or bad in Pope’s eyes and where do you draw the line?
The Kentucky head coach compared it to brotherly love, winning a backyard brawl and bragging about it to your friends and family. It doesn’t come from a place of disrespect, Pope going above and beyond to really drive that point home.
“I don’t actually know the answer to that question. I think that our guys love competing, our fanbase loves competing, I think we love that game and I think Louisville loves that game,” he said. “It’s where your emotions are at their highest. It’s kind of like a backyard brawl, that’s what it is. It’s like, when you go in the backyard and you play one on one with your brother, it just hits different. There’s no way around it, it just hits different. I do a poor job of monitoring what’s out in the the world of media, but my instinct is that we have a really good tone with Louisville. I think Pat (Kelsey) is doing an unbelievable job there. Two of the kids on that team (Noah Waterman and Aly Khalifa), I love from the bottom of my heart. We’ve shared fights and tears and wins and celebrations, and I get to be at Kentucky right now because of what those two kids did for me. I think Louisville probably feels that from us, I think that they do.”
It wasn’t kicking the Cardinals while they were down or rubbing it in. Instead, it was a back-and-forth heavyweight battle that saw the Wildcats take a firm lead and Pat Kelsey’s group chip and claw its way back in respectable fashion. When you win a hard-fought battle like that, you earn the right to celebrate.
Pope was just fine with all of it — just as Kelsey would have been had Louisville won and celebrated.
“Pete Carroll always talks about how much he loves great opponents, because that’s what actually gives his teams the chance to go perform the game of football in a spectacular way. I feel the same way,” Pope said. “I hope that people feel like there’s no lack of deep respect for Louisville and the history there and the program and what Pat’s doing, what those players are doing. I thought they came and battled like crazy, and they they performed really well. So all of that’s true. And also, when you beat your brother, that kind of backyard relationship, you walk into the house and you tell everybody about it too. I mean, that’s part of the joy of it, and I don’t think that’s disrespectful. I think it’s the way it is. …
“I did feel like there was a healthy amount of respect and a whole load of intensity and fight. I feel like it was a pretty good balance.”
Should fans stand or sit inside Rupp Arena?
It’s been a hot topic since Kentucky’s win over Louisville on Saturday, fans bickering over their right to sit at games vs. those pushing for a rowdier home environment wanting everyone to stand. Law enforcement (embarrassingly) got involved at Rupp Arena as one sitting fan asked another standing fan to sit — words I never thought I’d type when talking about a sporting event, especially Cats vs. Cards.
But here we are, in the middle of controversy, Pope asked for his take on sitting vs. standing inside of Rupp freaking Arena.
In typical Mark Pope fashion, though, he gave a pretty good answer that pushed both sides to get back on track with what actually matters: Kentucky having the best home environment in college basketball.
“Let’s do this — I can tell this is gonna get me in a whole lot of trouble. You’re gonna hate me for this, but I’m gonna tell you, man, I just hope everybody comes in that arena and has an incredible experience,” Pope said. “It’s really — I can’t tell you how important it is to us. It’s important to our staff, it’s important to our players, that people come into this arena, this incredible, one of a kind, sacred building known as Rupp Arena. They’re with their moms and dads and their parents and their frat brothers and sorority sisters and their children, and they come in that gym and they have an experience that they will never forget.
“That’s what that building has done for the last 50 years, 60 years. Now it’s our turn to continue in that building, to serve BBN in that way. That’s really important to us, so I hope we keep doing it.”
How important are academics at Kentucky?
How about something less spicy, a little more big-picture about the importance of academics for his student-athletics? It is finals week, after all — ’tis the season.
In short, life is bigger than basketball for all of these guys. They’re expected to perform in the classroom just as well as they perform on the court.
“We have so many different guys on different pathways academically. We’ve got a bunch of grad guys, undergrads, freshmen. It’s a really important part of the experience, right? You’re here to do well and do well in class, and that’s really important to us,” Pope said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to learn and grow and prepare yourself for a future that’s going to come outside of basketball. Since the beginning of time, a great professional basketball career is 10 years and an insanely long professional basketball career is 20 years. We’ve got a whole lot of life after that where you should be doing something great.
“We talk to our guys all the time, if you live a great life, then playing in the NBA is going to be like the sixth or seventh or eighth or ninth coolest thing you do in your life. There are a lot of numbers before those. Doing well in school and building networks and building relationships and gaining education, it’s about living a great life. Our guys take it seriously.”
Kentucky
Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say
MUHLENBERG, Ky. (WFIE) – Kentucky officials says there are multiple people injured in a three-car accident on Western Kentucky Parkway.
According to a post made by the Central City Fire Department, three vehicles were involved in a crash between the 64 and 65 mile markers eastbound of the parkway.
They say both the eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at this time. The closure should last around 3 hours.
Two people were extricated from a vehicle. Four adults and three juveniles are being taken to the hospital. No update has been given on their conditions.
They say a mass casualty incident was declared, and Ohio County Fire and EMS were called to the scene due to the number of patients.
We will update you when we learn more.
Copyright 2025 WFIE. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
2027 top in-state prospect talks about his Kentucky unofficial visit on Tuesday
Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in the 2026 class have hit a current rough patch, but things are looking promising in the 2027 class, as the staff has already casted a very wide net in the class, with a number of top targets in the fold. As they’re continuing to pursue mostly national targets, a local star is now on the staff’s radar.
2027 in-state guard Braxton Keathley, one of the state’s top prospects even regardless of class, took an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Tuesday for the game against NC Central. Keathley is native of Martin County, KY, and has took the state by storm as he has really stuffed the stat sheet. Just recently, he dropped a triple-double of 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds last weekend.
The Kentucky staff has certainly seemed to take notice really quickly. He’s also getting plenty of other interest, too, including having frequent contact with Louisville, LSU, Purdue, South Carolina, and Florida State, plus offers from Eastern Kentucky, UT Martin, Ohio, and Bowling Green, among others. Keathley sat down with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to talk about his recent visit to Kentucky. What were his impressions of the staff? He shared a conversation he had with them before Tuesday’s game. He also had some interactions with others, too.
“They really talked about how well I scored it and how they’ve been hearing about me for a long time,” Keathley said of his conversation with the Kentucky staff. “One of the (Kentucky) assistants mentioned he had a coaching friend tell them that they better jump on me quick cause I was really good. I had several fans come up to me and take pictures. Jack Givens welcomed me and talked to me for a little bit and said he’s highly impressed with my game and plans on coming to a game soon. A couple of other UK players came up, they were really nice and said they been keeping up with me.”
As a Kentucky kid, Keathley says he been a fan of the Wildcats since he was little, even getting to train with Tyrese Maxey this summer, and he also had some great things to say about what he saw from fellow Kentucky natives and current Wildcats Trent Noah, Jasper Johnson, and Malachi Moreno. “I looked up to players like Tyler Herro, SGA, Tyrese Maxey, Devin Booker, Malik Monk and Reed Sheppard. I got lucky that I got to train with Maxey for a week in August,” Keathley said. “I saw Trent Noah last night having great energy and keeping a smile on his face during warmups. You could tell he loved every minute wearing that Kentucky uniform. He cares and it shows. I saw Jasper and Moreno warming up hard. The one thing about it, and my dad always told me, it’s a different place. You got to be special to play there and be willing to accept everything that comes with wearing that jersey.”
Interestingly enough, Keathley’s dad coached former Kentucky greats Anthony Epps and Wayne Turner after their time at Kentucky, so Keathley has a family history of being around all that comes with the passion of Kentucky basketball. What did Keathley’s dad learn about the two former Wildcats he got the privilege to coach? “He said they carried a chip on their shoulder and were great leaders always humble but tough. and I have to do the same.” Now, for Keathley, it’s about climbing the ranks nationally. “A couple (recruiting services) don’t have me ranked yet and that’s ok. I’m going to walk in the gym every night and know I outworked you and I’m going to outplay you,” he said. “I’m going to compete like every game is a championship. I’m going to to play with the same passion that the fans have. I’m always all in there’s no going back or in-between.”
Keathley has so much passion for his community in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, and he has plans of doing big things at Martin County. He also shared a message Trent Noah’s dad had for him during their interaction at Tuesday’s Kentucky game. “Something he said that really stuck out. ‘Us mountain people have got to stick together.’ He’s right, Eastern Kentucky has great people and basketball players. Kentucky basketball as whole, we got to stick together through the highs and lows. That’s what we do.”
That’s a great message from a parent of a current Wildcat who was in his shoes before, being a fellow native of that part of the state. The Kentucky staff is certainly going to keep an eye on him as he continues the impressive run he is on so far this season, because he just continues to catch more and more people’s attention with his play.
Kentucky
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com
Dec. 10 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican serving a House district in Kentucky, introduced legislation for the United States to pull out of NATO.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, posted on X that she would be a co-sponsor of the Not a Trusted Organization Act, or NATO Act. Utah Republican Mike Lee introduced the same legislation in the Senate earlier this year.
“NATO is a Cold War relic,” Massie said in a statement Tuesday. “We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries.
“NATO was created to counter the Soviet Union, which collapsed over 30 years ago. Since then, U.S. participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk U.S. involvement in foreign wars.”
He added: “Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against. America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense.”
NATO was founded in 1949 by 12 members as a military alliance involving European nations, as well as the U.S. and Canada in North America. There are now 32 members, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.
The NATO Act would prevent the use of U.S. taxpayer funds for NATO’s common budgets, including its civil budget, military budget and the Security Investment Program.
Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty allows nations to opt out.
“After the Treaty has been in force for 20 years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation,” the treaty reads.
During the last NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, President Donald Trump told reporters he agrees with NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense treaty.
“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”
Article 5 was invoked for the first time after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, leading to NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.
The Kentucky Republican, who calls himself a “fiscal hawk” and a “constitutional conservative,” has been at odds with Trump on several issues, including fiscal spending, foreign policy/war powers, government surveillance and transparency.
Trump has also been critical of NATO.
During his 2016 election campaign, Trump called the alliance “obsolete.”
He urged nations to spend at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defense needs by 2035.
In June, NATO allies agreed to a new defense spending guideline to invest 5% of GDP annually in defense and security by 2035.
Five nations were above 3% in 2024: Poland at 4.12%, Estonia at 3.43%, U.S. at 3.38%, Latvia at 3.15% and Greece at 3.08%. In last is Spain with 1.28% though Iceland has no armed forces and Sweden wasn’t listed.
Some Republican senators want stronger involvement in the alliance, including Joni Ernst of Iowa and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
For passage, a House majority is needed, but 60 of 100 votes in the Senate to break the filibuster and then a majority vote. Trump could also veto the bill.
-
Alaska6 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Politics1 week agoTrump rips Somali community as federal agents reportedly eye Minnesota enforcement sweep
-
Ohio1 week ago
Who do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
Texas6 days agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
News1 week agoTrump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US
-
World1 week agoHonduras election council member accuses colleague of ‘intimidation’
-
Washington3 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa5 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire