It is not hard to get coach Rob Stowe to talk about Martez Thrower, his star linebacker at Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, Ga.
    The 6-2, 236-pound Thrower signed with Kentucky in December and has the physical tools that could enable him to play as a true freshman this season.
    “What you are getting at Kentucky is a guy who is physically prepared to be only 18 years old and going against grown men. He runs a 4.6 40 (yard dash). He can squat over 500 pounds, bench press about 350 (pounds). Physically, he is just well put together,” Stowe said. “There are not many 6-2, 236-pound humans that can run a 4.6 like him and have the strength he does.
    “But he is also as humble a person as you will ever meet. He is just a good ole country boy. If you asked him what he does for fun, he would probably say hunting, fishing or riding 4-wheelers. He could care less about the limelight. He was never into going to a lot of camps. Even without COVID, he would not have gone to many summer camps. That’s just not him.”
    What he is about is playing a physical linebacker. He was a “heavy run fitter” for Stowe but also had to play pass technique and rush the passer.
    “He picks things up so well. You tell him something one time and he has got it,” Stowe said. “He is going to be a thumper. In his career here he broke four face masks. I sent (UK assistant coach) Jon Sumrall pictures to prove it.”
    Thrower had 120 tackles, including 92 solo stops and 9.5 tackles for loss, his senior season. He picked UK over Arkansas, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Tennessee and others.
    “Maybe my favorite highlight of him (during his senior season) is kicking off. The kickoff was not real impressive but he makes the tackle and just knocks the stew out of the kid who catches the kick,” Sumrall said.
    That’s one reason Thrower had over 40 Division 1 scholarship offers. Stowe said he had the “big boys” after him and told LSU and Florida State a final no when he signed with Kentucky.
    “He is a special athlete obviously but maybe an even better person,” the high school coach said. “When he left for UK, he did not know about it but the team put together a little party for him. It was really cool they did it and shows what they think of him.”
    Thrower was not passionate about running track but did to help his speed. One meet he forgot his spikes and had to run the 100-meter dash in high top Air Jordan tennis shoes. He ran the event in 11.1 seconds.
    “I sent Sumrall that video. That’s really good in Air Jordans,” Stowe laughed and said. “That’s just who he is. He is the kind of guy who is going to give you max effort but you never know if by his facial expressions. He can have the greatest play and everybody else is going nuts and he’ll look the same as if he made a mistake and I am chewing his tail.
    “He’s just the kind of player you are looking for once in a lifetime. I really think Kentucky got the sleeper of the recruiting class. I have coached a few SEC kids and he’s the best one I’ve had.”
    Even with Thrower’s physical gifts and the quality of high school football in Georgia (Thrower’s school has 300 students but has had three Division I signees the last two years), Stowe knows his former star player is still going to need time to adjust to SEC play.

    “The speed of the game in the SEC will probably catch him by surprise at first. Sumrall and (defensive coordinator Brad) White will do as much as they can to prepare him with Zoom meetings and he set in on some linebacker meetings before he got there,” Stowe said.
    “He is a smart football player with great football savvy and intelligence. I think he will have the opportunity to play early in certain situational packages. The Class A region we play in is the SEC of Georgia high school football. Every week we go against a Division I player. So he knows what playing good competition is all about.”

Coach Rob Stowe believes Georgia linebacker Martez Thrower was the biggest sleeper in the 2021 recruiting class.

     Remember John Calipari mentioning numerous times how much not having a normal offseason hurt his team last season when it went 9-16. Calipari noted how that hurt team bonding and created mental stress for players.
    Obviously, every team in the country had that same issues during COVID last season but maybe that lack of player interaction did take a bigger toll on UK and its new roster than many realized. Sophomore Lance Ware certainly made it sound that way during his media time at UK’s satellite basketball camp at North Laurel High School last week.
    “We didn’t get a chance to do this last year,” Ware said. “My personality, I like being around people. I like having people enjoy their time with me. Being able to see the love, there’s no better feeling.”
    “Last year, when Cal was saying we were missing out on a whole bunch, I really didn’t understand until I got here. I can obviously see what he’s talking about because we’re together.
    “We’re taking these drives two hours, an hour and a half up to these schools. Being able to hang out with each other is great.”

     Gabby Curry says she was “blessed” not only to win a volleyball national championship at Kentucky but also able to do what she did academically.
    “I was able to graduate with my degree in business management in 2 1/2 year and then able to finish my MBA,” Curry said. “It was hard. I was not expecting to be playing volleyball in the spring when I was finishing my MBA. I was expecting the spring to be an open time period.”
    Not that she is complaining because COVID extended the volleyball season and ended with UK winning the national title, the first in school history.
    “I was looking for an internship and God put the right opportunity there at the right time for me,” Curry said. “I got an internship with Boston Scientific. It’s a great company with amazing people. They worked with me and let me start my internship in the spring. I was working about 30 hours a week and playing volleyball and finishing my one class.
    “The spring was very hectic but it was also probably the most fulfilling time of my life. I have never really known what I wanted to do with my life or what my dream career would be. But I can’t wait for all that lies ahead now.”

     The more Sahvir Wheeler talks, the more Kentucky fans love the Georgia transfer who should be a big boost at the point guard position for the Cats this year with his unselfish attitude and leadership.
    “My leadership style, I would describe it as being a servant leader,” Wheeler said during a UK satellite camp last week. “That’s how I am. I always want to put others first and make everyone else’s life easy. Because I know if everyone is satisfied, everyone else is happy, all those things are gonna come back to me.”
    Wheeler said he takes pride in being a leader on and off the court at all times and understands what impact he can have off the court.
    “My biggest thing is instilling confidence in others, empowering guys, making guys feel comfortable and happy, and going out there to perform your best whether it’s in basketball or outside of basketball,” Wheeler added.
    “Being someone you want to hang around when you’re down. Continue to uplift your spirit when you’re getting that confidence. That’s how I would describe my leadership but on the flip side, holding guys accountable when I need to.”
    Wheeler is confident he can “calm everything down” when adversity does hit during the season — something UK could not do most of last season.
    “You are going to face adversity. We are playing in the best league in the country and you are going to get everyone’s best shot and at some point we are going to have a game where we do not make shots,” the Georgia transfer said. “We have to be able to fight through adversity. Me being able to keep guys loose and empower and instill confidence will help.
    “It’s okay to make mistakes. It is okay to learn. There has not been a perfect game yet. We can try to pursue perfection but we still have to stay loose.”

     Laney Frye became just the fourth UK women’s golfer to make the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team after her impressive season where she averaged 73.5 strokes per 18-hole round, the fifth best average ever at UK.
    Frye, a former state high school champion from Lexington Christian Academy, led Kentucky in top 10 finishes, top 20 finishes and rounds of par or better. She set a single-season record with 13 rounds of par or better.
    Maybe her secret to success was naming her putter, an idea she got from her father.
    “My dad always told me to give your putter some extra love and so did (PGA player) Brad Faxon and he’s a great putter,” Frye said. “Mine is named Ricky after (PGA star) Ricky Fowler because he has the purest putting stroke.”
    She’s had other names for her putter before but has had “Ricky” for about a year and a half now.
    “He has his spurts but he is alright most of the time. I like him pretty well,” she said about her putter.
    Frye says her UK teammates have also named their putters and they will ask each other how “Ricky” or the other putters are doing.
    So has “Ricky” made her the best putter on the team?
    “I don’t know. Putting can be so streaky,” Lane said. “Hopefully by the end of my four years (at UK) I can earn that title.”