Kentucky
Roundtable: Brandon Garrison's Return
Brandon Garrison’s return for a second season with Kentucky was announced last week, and that was a significant development in terms of gaining an understanding of what next year’s team might look like.
The 6’10 soon to be junior averaged 17.3 minutes, 5.9 points (50.9% FG), 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game for the Wildcats in the 2024-25 season.
Justin Rowland: I’ve always liked Brandon Garrison a lot as a prospect. He’s capable of doing so many things well on the offensive end of the court. Defensively, he looks lost sometimes and that has to improve in order for him to play a lot more minutes next season. Fortunately for Kentucky there are enough frontcourt pieces that they can hope for a Garrison breakout while having contingency plans lined up. My question is this: Garrison is a high usage player. When he’s on the court he’s in the middle of the action. He’s orchestrating a lot of the ball movement and he’s very active and involved. When he was good, he was really good and easy to think of as a great prospect. When he was off, he was definitely off, and those moments need to become fewer and farther between. We have to acknowledge that for a lot of the season Kentucky was much better in terms of +/- when Amari Williams played compared to Garrison. Having said all that, Garrison is a good piece to return because of the upside, the experience, and the versatility it gives the frontcourt. If he’s solid, that’s a plus. If he’s good or really good, and that’s possible, it raises the team’s ceiling a lot.
Jeff Drummond: The return of Brandon Garrison comes as something of a pleasant surprise. A lot of people around the program were sensing that he might be moving on at the end of the season. I think that’s why Mark Pope went out of his way to talk about how much of a “special player” Garrison could be in the future. His pitch must have worked. It’s always good to have experience and continuity back with a team. And it won’t force Malachi Moreno to be forced into heavy minutes before he’s ready. Garrison is offensively skilled but needs to bring more to the table on the glass and defensively in Year 2. I think he’s got the potential to be a really well-rounded player on both ends of the floor.
David Sisk: It is great for everyone involved that Brandon Garrison is returning for year two at Kentucky. He needs stability and development. It’s much better for him to stay and trust the coaches than to go to the third place in three years. Sometimes I think his biggest needs are emotionally. It’s always better to get that from individuals you know and trust. We also get the opportunity to see what year two of player development looks like under Mark Pope. A team also needs quality depth in the SEC. At worst, Garrison brings that. At best, those flashes that he showed last season in certain games can turn into consistent difference making play for a team that could end up going deep into March.
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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