Kentucky
Players to watch in Kentucky vs. Alabama
There are five remaining games this season that will determine if the Kentucky Wildcats will be in a position to win the SEC regular-season championship: Two matchups each against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers, plus a home game vs. the Auburn Tigers, will play a major role in who takes home the crown.
The first of those five games is Saturday against No. 4 Alabama, who has the potential to be the most electric team in college basketball. The Crimson Tide have become a heavyweight in recruiting, with three McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster this season to go with several former highly-touted transfers. Their recruiting has led to some really talented teams in recent seasons.
This season, Alabama is averaging 89.5 points per game, 45 rebounds per game, and is shooting 47.1% from the floor.
This is a veteran Crimson Tide team, one that played in the Final Four in 2024. They’re coming off a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday night, but this is the SEC. The Crimson Tide will come ready to play Saturday afternoon. Just as we saw in recent games vs. Florida and Mississippi State, Kentucky needs to be ready to win a shootout.
Let’s look at who to keep an eye on this Saturday afternoon.
Players to Watch
1. #1 Mark Sears 6’1’ 190 lbs. Gr. Guard Muscle Shoals, Ala. Ohio Transfer
18.6 pts, 3.1 rebs, 77 ast.-42 TO, 40.8 FG%, 35.3 3-PT FG%, 82.9 FT%, 32.6 mpg
A Second-Team All-American by the AP, Sporting News, and USBWA in 2024, Sears is one of the best returning players in the country this season. He was the 2024 West Region Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament, earning him a spot on the Wooden Award Ballot.
Sears was also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation’s best point guard. His 21.5 points per game were 11th in the country, while his 43.6 3-point field goal percentage ranked No. 6. That scoring average went up to 24.2 points per NCAA Tournament game, and Sears also shot 45.5% from 3-point range. His season was so impressive that Sears became the first NCAA player in 31 years with 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists, and 95 3-pointers in a single season.
Sears has 10 games with 20+ points this season, including four straight, with three of those being the first three games in SEC play. His 27-point games, two of them, have come in wins against Creighton and Texas A&M. Sears also has 10 games with five+ assists, including 10 assists against Oklahoma. From beyond the arc, Sears has five games with four or more 3-pointers. He’s played 30+ minutes in 14 games this season.
Coming off a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday night, the Wildcats better be ready for Sears to come out ready to rock. This is a big-game performer, and Kentucky will be thrown the kitchen sink from Sears on Saturday afternoon.
2. #4 Grant Nelson 6’11” 230 lbs. Gr. Forward Devils Lake, N.D. North Dakota State Transfer
12 pts/gm., 8.6 rebs, 22 blk, 53.2 FG%, 25% 3-PT FG, 62.9 FT%, 26.9 mpg
Nelson was terrific for Alabama in the NCAA Tournament last year, being named to the West Region All-Tournament Team. Against North Carolina in the Sweet 16, Nelson had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks in an 89-87 win. That was the first time since Kevin Love in 2008 for UCLA that a player had 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, and five+ blocks in a Sweet 16 game or later, and Nelson was the difference in a back-and-forth game in Los Angeles.
Nelson already has four double-doubles this season, including a 23-point, 10-rebound performance at his home state North Dakota. He has three 20-point games this season and six games with double-digit rebounds. With three 30+ minute games this season, Nelson played 40 minutes in Alabama’s win over Houston at the Players Era Festival. Nelson had 13 points and 10 rebounds in that game.
3. #0 Labaron Philon 6’4” 177 lbs. Fr. Guard Mobile, Ala.
11.4 pts, 3.7 rebs, 21 stl, 48.7 FG%, 26.8 3-PT FG%, 67.4 FT%, 23.9 mpg
Philon played his final season of high school basketball in Missouri, but he was prolific for the previous three years at Baker High School in Mobile. Scoring over 2,300 points, Philon was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama in 2023 after averaging 35 points per game that season. Philon comes to Tuscaloosa as the No. 30 recruit by ESPN and the No. 5 point guard, according to On3.
Philon started the season with nine double-digit scoring games in non-conference play. He also has six games this season with five+ assists. SEC play has clearly been an adjustment for Philon, who has scored below 10 points in each of his last three games while shooting just 6-25 from the field.
Still, Philon is a capable scorer and distributor of the basketball. The Wildcats must account for him throughout 40 minutes on Saturday.
4. #2 Aden Holloway 6’1’ 180 lbs. So. Guard Charlotte, N.C. Auburn Transfer
11.1 pts, 1.8 rebs, 47.9 FG%, 39.4 3-PT FG%, 81% FT, 20.9 mpg
Yes, you read that correctly. Holloway transferred to Alabama from Auburn. Holloway is a McDonald’s All-American from 2023, one of three to join Alabama this season, where he was a 5-star recruit and ranked No. 21 overall by ESPN and the No. 6 point guard. He was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team in 2024, a season where he made 52 3-pointers.
Holloway has scored in double-digits in each of his last six games. But this is an elite 3-point shooter, and that’s what concerns me going into this matchup. Holloway has six games with three or more 3-pointers. He made five threes against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and he followed that up with eight 3-pointers in Alabama’s final non-conference game against South Dakota State. In that game, Holloway took 19 attempts from 3-point range.
Holloway will make threes and keep shooting if they don’t go in. Kentucky must be relentless in their defensive game plan against Holloway.
5. #35 Derrion Reid 6’8” 220 lbs. Fr. Forward Grovetown, Ga.
8.1 pts, 3.4 rebs, 45.7 FG%, 28.1 3-PT FG%, 53.1 FT%, 17.5 mpg
Reid is the second of three McDonald’s All-Americans to join the Crimson Tide program this season. He’s the fourth-highest recruit in program history, and Reid was ranked as the No. 11 recruit by ESPN in the Class of 2024 while being named to the Naismith All-American Honorable Mention team.
In his first season in Tuscaloosa, Reid has scored double-digit points six times and has played 20+ minutes five times. Reid has also pulled down five+ rebounds three times.
6. #11 Clifford Omoruyi 6’11” 250 lbs. Gr. Center Benin City, Nigeria Rutgers Transfer
7.1 pts, 6.1 rebs, 74.6 FG%, 65.9 FT%, 17.9 mpg
Omoruyi brings an extensive pedigree to Tuscaloosa after spending the first four seasons of his career at Rutgers, where he was a two-time All-Big Ten Defensive Team member and two-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. A finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award in 2023 — given to the nation’s best center — Omoruyi finished his Rutgers career with 1,251 points and ranked fourth in program history with 933 rebounds and a 54.8 field-goal percentage and ranked sixth with 221 blocks.
In his first season with the Crimson Tide, Omoruyi has five games with double-digit points and two games with double-digit rebounds. Every game Omoruyi has taken at least one shot, he’s shot 50% or better from the field. He’s played 20+ minutes four times this season.
7. #15 Jarin Stevenson 6’11” 215 lbs. So. Forward Chapel Hill, N.C.
4.9 pts, 3.6 rebs, 35.6 FG%, 22% 3-PT FG, 55.3 FT%, 17.5 mpg
Stevenson broke out with five 3-pointers in Alabama’s Elite Eight win over Clemson last year, sending the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four in program history. Before reclassifying to the class of 2023 from the Class of 2024, Stevenson was a 5-star recruit and No. 1 power forward, according to ESPN. He was the No. 41 player in the class of 2023, according to ESPN, but he was clearly ready for the March Madness stage with his performance against Clemson.
The 2023 Gatorade Players of the Year in North Carolina, both of Stevenson’s parents played college basketball. His father, Jarod, played professionally in South Korea for 20 years.
This season, Stevenson has earned a solid spot in the rotation. He’s played 20+ minutes in every SEC game for the Crimson Tide this season, including a season-high 26 minutes against Ole Miss on Tuesday night. Stevenson is also an emerging shot blocker, with multiple blocks in four of his last five games.
8. #10 Mouhamed Dioubate 6’7” 215 lbs. So. Forward Queens, N.Y.
4.5 pts, 5 rebs/gm., 51% FG, 3-10 3-PT FG, 70.6 FT%, 13.6 mpg
Dioubate is in his second season with the Crimson Tide, and he’s increased his scoring by over 1.5 points per game and has more than doubled his rebounding average. With 10 points in two games at the Players Era Festival, Dioubate has become a greater contributor in Alabama’s biggest games this season.
One of those games at the Players Era Festival saw Dioubate post a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds, a game where he also played 28 minutes. Dioubate has played double-digit minutes in each of Alabama’s last three games.
9. #22 Aiden Sherrell 6’10” 240 lbs. Fr. Forward Detroit, Mich.
2.5 pts, 2.7 rebs, 37.2 FG%, 4-21 3-PT FG, 6-14 FT, 7.5 mpg
Sherrell is the third of three McDonald’s All-Americans to join Alabama this season. ESPN ranked Sherrell as the No. 4 center (No. 21 overall) in the Class of 2024. He’s played sparingly this season, but he does have six games with double-digit minutes with a season-high 17. Sherrell’s season-highs are seven points and nine rebounds, and he twice pulled down seven rebounds. One of those games with seven rebounds was a win over Creighton.
Head Coach: Nate Oats (6th season)
Oats has quickly become one of the best coaches in the country, leading the Crimson Tide to the 2024 Final Four in addition to two SEC Regular-Season and Tournament titles. He also was the 2021 SEC Coach of the Year.
Prior to Tuscaloosa, Oats spent four seasons at Buffalo, where he led the Bulls to three NCAA Tournaments and the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2018. The Bulls would win another NCAA Tournament game in 2019, and Oats was the MAC Coach of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.
Keys to the Game
1. Rebounding: Texas A&M served as a good precursor to Alabama on Saturday. The Crimson Tide are third in the country with 45 rebounds per game. Kentucky is 14th at 40.9 rebounds per game, and they will need to match the Crimson Tide’s relentlessness on the glass Saturday afternoon.
2. Make Alabama Settle for 3s: The Crimson Tide are shooting just 32% from beyond the arc. They have some capable shooters from 3-point range, but Kentucky is best at making the Crimson Tide beat them from beyond the arc. The Wildcats can’t let Alabama get easy shots in what is going to be a high-scoring game.
3. Championship Mentality: Kentucky has the opportunity to establish itself as an early front-runner in the SEC regular-season title race. If the Wildcats can win this game, they will be 4-1 in the SEC and put themselves on the inside track with a cushion ahead of other big matchups. But Alabama also knows what’s at stake and will be playing this game like it’s an SEC Championship. Kentucky must match that mentality in order to come out of Rupp with a win.
Score Prediction: Kentucky 109 – Alabama 103
There will be a lot of points scored in this game. These are two of the best offenses in the country. Alabama scored just 64 points on Tuesday night in their loss to Ole Miss, so they will be ready to fire on offense Saturday afternoon. So too will the Wildcats, and I believe they will outscore the Crimson Tide for another win against an AP top-10 team this season.
COVINGTON, KY. – The mayor of Covington will likely have a lot more power by 2029 – and a higher paycheck.
Those changes are among several that city commissioners will consider in the coming weeks as local committee members reconfigure how government and day-to-day operations in Northern Kentucky’s largest city should run.
For the first time in about a century, the city is moving away from a city manager-run form of government to what’s known as a strong mayor system. It’s part of an overhaul voters approved last fall. The changes will go into effect in 2029.
Here’s what you need to know about the government changes:
Why is the Covington government changing?
About 61% of voters cast a ballot in favor of the changes that include a strong mayor system.
That style of government gives the mayor direct authority over city departments, staff and the general day-to-day running of the city.
It also eliminates the position of city manager, who has traditionally had those responsibilities and acted as a buffer between elected officials and city staff.
The Committee on Form of Government Transition was created after the election to hash out the changes. Roughly 30 to 40 people applied to be on the committee. Nine voting members and seven non-voting members were selected from that pool.
Since January, the committee has met three times a month, conducted surveys, hosted two in-person forums, and solicited online and mail-in feedback about the process.
What will change?
Last week, Committee Administrator Sebastian Torres presented the group’s first recommendations to Covington city commissioners at a caucus meeting. They include:
- A 185% increase in the mayor’s salary from $33,395.58 annually to a maximum of $95,335.76.
- A 33% pay decrease for city commissioners from $26,680.73 annually to a maximum of $17,787.15.
- Six city commissioners instead of four.
Torres told The Enquirer the proposed pay rates were primarily based on two factors: comparative data from other Kentucky cities and the expected workload change for elected officials.
“Currently, the mayor is working 50-plus hours a week,” he said. “If we’re going to encourage anyone, who’s frankly not retired … to run for this position … the position is going to need to have a (market rate) full-time salary attached to it.”
A higher salary will be necessary when the city no longer has a city manager and the mayor takes on additional duties, Torres said.
Other similarly sized cities in Kentucky, like Florence and Georgetown, pay their mayors salaries in the same range, according to data collected by the committee.
Meanwhile, Torres said, the workload for commissioners will decrease because they will no longer have to vote on issues like employment contracts.
The committee is recommending a larger county commission based on the data, surveys of residents and in-person comments, Torres said. He provided copies of the surveys which reflect that preference.
What’s next?
In the coming weeks, commissioners could approve, deny, or ask for changes to the committee’s recommendations.
They’ll do that for the first time at the city council meeting at 6 p.m. May 13 at city hall.
If commissioners approve the recommendations as-is, they’ll consider them again in a second reading, which could happen as soon as May 27.
Meanwhile, the committee will keep working on other government change details.
“Now we’re going to turn our attention to the city government structure, how we do things, and look for opportunities to kind of reshape how the government is, in itself, a body, (and) how we get our work done,” Torres said.
Committee meetings are open to the public and include a public comment period. The committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at city hall, with more information on the Covington city website.
In Mark Pope’s first two seasons as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, he has largely built his rosters through the transfer portal rather than recruiting. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t looking to add top high school players going forward.
The Wildcats coaching staff has been in contact with multiple highly rated recruits in the 2026 class. One of the more recent names to pop up is Jalen Montonati, who has spoken with assistant coach Alvin Brooks III.
Montonati is a 6’7″, 175 lb small forward out of Oklahoma. He is currently rated four stars, and is the number 24 overall player in the 2026 class according to 247Sports. Some outlets have him as a top 20 player.
A number of programs have already made offers to Montonati, including Kansas, Houston, Arkansas, and the Tennessee Volunteers. Kentucky hasn’t officially made an offer yet, but that could be coming.
Visit UKWildcatsWire for continuing coverage of recruiting, and follow @UKWildcatsWire on X for more Kentucky sports news.
A former Kentucky superintendent was sentenced May 7 at the federal courthouse in Owensboro on charges related to sexual exploitation of children.
U.S. District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Matthew D. Constant, the former Owensboro Public Schools superintendent, to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime supervised release for:
- Two counts of online enticement of a minor
- Three counts of receipt of child pornography
- Two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
- Two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor
Court records state Constant “knowingly received child pornography” on or about Dec. 3, 2019. The nine charges span events from that day until April 26, 2023.
Constant, who served as superintendent in Owensboro from 2020 to May 2023, was arrested by Kentucky State Police in July 2023 after KSP received a tip about an inappropriate relationship between the school administrator and a student.
Owenboro’s Board of Education voted unanimously in June 2023 to suspend Constant without pay, then began to terminate his contract “for conduct unbecoming of a superintendent,” according to the Owensboro Times.
While criminal charges had not yet been filed in June 2023, the school board told the Owensboro Times it had been informed by police that Constant “did engage in a relationship with an adult-aged student enrolled in another school district.”
A grand jury indicted Constant in August 2024 on charges related to three separate minors. The case was quickly sealed under state law.
Court records show it was unsealed within a week, while Constant was being held in the Henderson County Detention Center. On Aug. 22, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to a court order.
Due a protective order brought forward by U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, many of the details of the case remain under seal.
Constant withdrew his guilty plea on Feb. 11, instead pleading guilty to all counts. He did not enter a plea agreement, according to court records.
A sentencing memorandum filed May 5 and written by his attorney, Bryce L. Caldwell, states: “Mr. Constant makes no excuses for his actions and fully accepts the consequences of his catastrophic, illegal choices.”
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter, with a focus on the health and safety of athletes. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.
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