Kentucky
Rajon Rondo, former Kentucky basketball star and Louisville native, reportedly arrested
LEXINGTON — Former Kentucky basketball star Rajon Rondo reportedly was arrested Sunday in Indiana.
According to WDRB, Rondo was booked on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, drug paraphernalia and marijuana. WDRB cited court records and a spokesman for the Indiana State Police. Per WDRB’s report, Rondo was stopped for a traffic violation in Jackson County, Indiana. The officer who stopped Rondo reportedly smelled marijuana, which led to a search of his vehicle. In conducting the search, the officer located a gun, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, ISP spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wheeles told WDRB Monday night.
Sunday’s reported arrest is Rondo’s latest legal issue in recent years.
In May 2022, he reportedly pulled a gun on his family during an argument at their Louisville home. The mother of Rondo’s children, Ashley Bachelor, was granted an emergency protective order against him after the incident. One month later, a judge dismissed the EPO.
Born in Louisville in 1986, Rondo was a standout at Eastern High, averaging 27.9 points, 10 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game as a junior. Rondo concluded his prep career at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
Rondo had two stellar seasons with the Wildcats. In 2004-05, he earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors after recording 87 steals — a single-season mark that still stands — for a club that went 28-6 overall, captured the SEC’s regular-season title and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Rondo followed that up in 2005-06 by leading the team in assists (167), total rebounds (209), points scored (380) and steals (69) as a sophomore, landing on the All-SEC second team as the Wildcats finished 22-13.
Rondo went on to become the No. 21 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He played 16 years (2006-07 to 2021-22) in the NBA, winning titles with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — only the second player to win rings with the league’s two most historic franchises.
He was a four-time NBA All-Star (2010 through 2013), a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree and was part of the All-NBA third-team in 2012.
Rondo led the NBA in assists on three occasions (2011-12, 2012-13 and 2015-16), one of just 10 players in league history to top the regular-season leaderboard in that department three or more times. Among that illustrious group are six Hall of Famers (Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Oscar Robertson and John Stockton), two more future Hall of Famers (Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook) and Kevin Porter, who ranks 14th in NBA history in career assists per game at 8.06, two spots ahead of Rondo (7.92).
Rondo also led the NBA in steals per game (2.3) during the 2009-10 regular season.
Last September, Rondo was one of six inductees in the UK Athletics Hall of Fame’s 2023 class..
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.
The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.
Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.
Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.
“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”
While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.
“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.
“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”
New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.
And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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