After starting from scratch with an entire roster overhaul this offseason, Mark Pope may have brought in an underrated squad.

Pope’s first transfer commitment at Kentucky was Drexel big man Amari Williams and that may very well end up paying dividends.

CBS Sports lists the duo of Williams and fellow big man Brandon Garrison as a top-eight big man duo in college basketball.

“Mark Pope’s sharp offensive system requires big men who can pass the rock. That’s a huge piece of Williams’ game. The fifth-year senior out of Drexel gives Pope a smart dribble handoff hub who can whip backdoor dimes or spray it out to Kentucky’s cavalry of 3-point shooters. Garrison can also do a bunch of those things, too. Williams is the vet. Garrison is the young, rising sophomore. Together, Kentucky should be able to have 40 minutes of a real playmaking big man on the floor who also has plenty of defensive chops. Williams’ durability is a real question. He only played 30+ minutes twice last season, so Garrison is clearly poised to play early and often. Don’t be surprised if this is close to a 50-50 split.”

Alongside that big man duo is Andrew Carr, a presumed starter for Mark Pope’s Wildcats. Last season at Wake Forest, Carr averaged 13.5 points and shot 37.5% from three.

247 Sports predicts that Carr will start for Pope and will be at the epicenter of Kentucky’s new-look offense.

“Carr was so good last year for Wake Forest. The 6-foot-10, 220-pound big man is a fantastic play-finisher. He can stretch the floor (37% from downtown) or kill you on the block. Carr rated in the 92nd percentile nationally in post-up efficiency, per Synergy last year. Yes, Kentucky wants to shoot 3s, but you can’t hide a small guard on Carr and expect to get away with it. He’s just too polished offensively, and Carr will chip in defensively as a useful secondary rim protector. Carr also makes his free throws at a high clip and could even get some minutes at the 5 in closing lineups. There’s so much lineup versatility on this Kentucky roster, and Carr is at the epicenter of all of it.”

The Kentucky Wildcats may very well boast one of the top big men rotations from the 4 and 5 positions in the SEC.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18 — While most students at Woodford County High School started their first day of school, junior Preston Graham had an excused absence – for good reason. Graham traded the classroom for a meeting room as he joined the Kentucky Board of Education’s first planning session of the school year.

“My job is to represent all of the students, be the student voice that is so crucial to making the best policy decisions possible,” Graham said.

Throughout this school year, Graham will offer insight to the board with his unique, student-minded perspective.

Board member Holly Bloodworth said, “It really gives us an opportunity to hear firsthand information from a student, ‘how might this impact you in your placement? What are other students saying about this?’”

Graham is just the fourth student to take this representative role, and he’s the first from central Kentucky to do so.

“I’m pretty much a board member in every way except voting on policy,” Graham said of his duties. “They don’t necessarily let a 16-year-old vote on decisions that could affect the entirety of the state.”

When Graham speaks, however, the board listens.

“One big surprise was just how much the board is looking to me for advice,” he shared. “They truly care about this position and they’re truly trying to get the most out of this position just like I am.”
Bloodworth added, “When our student representative talks, we all stop, we listen, because we want that to inform what we are doing.”

Sure, Graham skipped his first day of school to be here today, missing classes like AP Calculus and Literature. However, he hopes his position on the board can ultimately lead to positive change for his current classmates and future students.

“I want to help as many people I can in any way that I can,” Graham said, “whether that be through creating new policy, changing old policy, amending it, or just providing my insight.”

“I look at him and I know why I’m on this board of education,” said Bloodworth. “It’s because I want to make education better for students like him.”

Graham goes back to class on Friday, but he will serve out his term on the board through June 30, 2025.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – As a section of the Kentucky River is currently closed to boat traffic because debris falling from a bridge, federal government statistics show one in 10 bridges in Franklin County are deemed in poor condition.

The Federal Highway Administration sets the standards for bridge inspections by scoring a bridge’s deck, its superstructure which is the main part of the bridge, and its supporting substructure.

Statistics show 7.4% of Kentucky’s bridges received a poor rating with Bracken County (18.4%) have the highest percentage.

Counties in southern and eastern Kentucky round out the list: Harlan County, 15.9%; Wayne County, 15.8%; McCreary County, 15,4%; Elliott County, 15,1%; Clay County, 14.4%; Pike County, 13.6%; Leslie County, 13.4%; and Martin County, 12.9%.

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