Problem solving is one thing that Brooke Bultema says she loves to do. Same with communicating with other people.
    Those skills should be valuable when the Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati) junior eventually joins the University of Kentucky volleyball team to play for coach Craig Skinner.
    Bultema, a middle blocker, says her biggest on-court strength is her speed.
    “I feel like I am pretty fast and that is something that is very helpful in my game,” Bultema said. “That is unique about me. I have the opportunity to play six rotations this season in tournaments. You do not see a lot of middle blockers playing defense in the back row. I have also really improved my passing.”
    The 6-3 Bultema had other options when she committed to UK. Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois, Penn State and Purdue had either offered or were close to offering when she picked Kentucky.
    Kentucky’s national championship didn’t hurt her feelings about UK but she says even without the title she would have still picked the Cats.
    “That is an incredible achievement but my choice was about the people,” she said. “I have learned from high school and club season that it is about community and what I thrive in. I saw that at Kentucky and know I can thrive with those people.”
    Bultema says former teammates playing in college tell her how much they miss the high school spirit but she liked what she saw at UK.

    “I learned that (spirit) is so alive at Kentucky. As soon as you step foot in that state you see UK flags, stickers or shirts. That is the first indicator it is a special place,” she said. “I started to get to know the coaches when I was in like eighth grade. I went to a couple of camps.
    “Coach Skinner tells you about his philosophies and what he believes. It just all connected so well with me and fit me and my personality. At the camp you got to work directly with the coaches who gave us tips and ran us through actual drills they do in practice. I just loved it.”
    Even though she lives in Cincinnati, she didn’t “start connecting” to UK until she considered Kentucky for college.
    “I actually have a friend who is a Kentucky fan. My mom knows somebody who just bleeds blue and talks Kentucky all the time,” Bultema said.
    Bultema started playing club volleyball at age 11 but she also played basketball and tennis. She said “juggling all that” was too much.
    “It got to be overwhelming and I just loved volleyball, so I just went with it, and then fell even more in love with it. I have never looked back,” she said. “When I started playing I was pretty awkward. I had not yet fully grown into my body. It took time.
    “When I was 12 to 14 when I grew the most. I had to relearn muscle memory. I didn’t have much power on the ball. Fortunately I gained that with training.”
    She says her approach jump is now 10 feet, 3 inches and she is working to make it higher. Her father is 6-8 and mother is 6-0 and she also has a 6-7 brother who plays basketball at Wheaton College in Illinois.
    Bultema was invited to the USA Volleyball National Training Development Program this summer that brings together some of the nation’s top players and coaches.
    “It’s a very special opportunity and I appreciate being part of it,” she said. “Any chance you have to improve your game, you want to do it.”

     Playing lacrosse for three years (seventh grade through freshman) might have had a significant impact on Kentucky freshman offensive lineman Jager Burton’s football career.
    “Playing was fun and just something to do to help keep me in shape,” Burton said. “Once I got to high school I realized I needed to focus on football to do my best but lacrosse was so much fun and I really enjoyed it.”
    Was he a bully on the field?
    “Yeah, I got a lot of penalties. It is like hockey on cleats and not ice,” he laughed and said. “It can get really physical.”
    Burton said playing lacrosse helped him with his change of direction and learning how to read people’s hip movements.
    “You always look at the hip or shoulders and can tell where to go and lacrosse is a lot like that because you have to be able to read which way you take your stick,” Burton said.
    “Playing lacrosse really helped me change direction. Like sticking your toe in the ground and breaking a different way and all that. It definitely helped and made me a better football player.”

     Former UK star Devin Booker will go straight from the NBA Finals to playing in the Olympics with Team USA and isn’t worried about the short break he’ll have between the Finals and Olympics.
    “Next thing smoking. I'll be there. But obviously not my main focus right now,” Booker said before the NBA Finals started and before Team USA lost its first exhibition game to Nigeria when it was outscored 60-30 from 3-point range.
    He’s reached out to the Team USA coaches but also told them he’s glad he’s in the Finals and not at Team USA practice.

     “I would love to be there with the guys and I'll be there soon,” Booker said.
    The Phoenix Suns star said playing in the Olympics was a lift-time goal of his.
    “I think it's the most prestigious event that basketball can find. So to be a part of representing your country I think brings you to a whole 'nother stratosphere,” Booker said. “Just thinking of the guys that have come before us and represented our country, and I don't think there's anything better than winning a gold medal.”

     Setter Madison Lilley not only led Kentucky to a national volleyball championship, the first in school history, but was also the national player of the year last season.
    Could Alli Stumler be a legitimate contender for national player of the year for UK during the upcoming season? She had 26 kills on 51 total attacks — a .471 hitting percentage — in UK’s 3-1 win over Texas in the national title game and was spectacular during the entire NCAA Tournament.
    ESPN/ACC Network analyst Katie George, an All-American setter at Louisville, thinks Stumler can be a legitimate player of the year candidate on what should be another outstanding UK team.

    “She is so much fun to watch and she makes it look so effortless which is so impressive,” George said. “No moment seems too big for her.
    “She had some ups and downs during the season but it never fazes her. She just comes back time and time again.”
    George does think it will be a major adjustment not having Lilley for the first time to set up her play.
    “You get so confident when you can anticipate and guarantee the consistency from your setter. That’s all about building relationships. The new setter is not going to be Madison Lilley, so I hope Alli Stumler steps into a leadership role and brings along her new setter and I think she will,” George said.

     North Laurel's Reed Sheppard led the state in scoring last year as a sophomore at 30 points per game and has created a statewide buzz among UK fans with his play. The junior knew fans across the state were hoping he would get a scholarship offer from Kentucky and he finally did last week after John Calipari and his entire staff watched him play in Birmingham.
    “I try not to pay too much attention to it. But it is all over social media,” Reed Sheppard said. “Even if I try not to see it, I see some. I see some say Kentucky needs to offer and when is Kentucky going to offer. I try not to think about what they are all saying and just enjoy what is going on.”
    “But it is pretty cool knowing everybody is rooting for me to get an offer. It is definitely something to be thankful for.”
    Reed Sheppard now has 11 offers, including one he got from Indiana after the UK offer came. He had noted before that Louisville, Gonzaga, Virginia and Clemson were also recruiting him heavily.
    “Every offer is special and unique. I am thankful for these opportunities and all the offers I have,” he said. “But this one (Kentucky) is extremely special to me. This one means a lot. Growing up in Kentucky, everybody’s childhood dream is to play at the University of Kentucky. My mom and dad played there. It’s just really cool to have this opportunity and I am thankful for it.”

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     “I am an empty nester. He is gone for about 20 days (playing AAU basketball). We visited Ohio State. Visited Arizona State where Joel Justus offered. South Carolina offered. After Peach Jam he should have about 15 offers,” UK football recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow on his 6-9 1/2 nephew John McCreary, a junior forward/center.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “I couldn’t be prouder of Devin. Obviously, what he’s doing on the court in the NBA Finals right now makes me smile, but who he has become as a person and as a leader, amazing stuff,” John Calipari on Devin Booker being named the Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award.

Quote of the Week 3:

     “You just got to sit there and just reflect. When I watch the playoffs now, I just sit there and reflect on what we could have done better, or what we did wrong,” Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo after making the NBA Finals last year but being ousted in the first round this season.

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     Kentucky track and field is certainly going to be well represented at the Tokyo Olympics.
    Former Cats Sydney McLaughlin (400-meter hurdles) and Keni Harrison (100-meter hurdles) are both potential gold-medal winners for Team USA. Other former Cats competing for Team USA will be Daniel Roberts, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Javianne Oliver (USA).
    Leah Nugent made the Jamaican team while Dwight St. Hillaire will represent Trinidad and Tobago with Megan Moss running for the Bahamas.
    Harrison, a former NCAA champion at UK and current world’s record holder in her event, is proud to be part of a strong Kentucky contingent headed to Tokyo.
    “It shows the program is on fire, shows that coach (Edrick) Floreal did a great job recruiting and saw talent in all of us … so many of us,” she said.
    “It just shows the amount of talent Kentucky had and we can finally continue to put Kentucky on the map. Just so great to see.”

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     Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow asked new offensive coordinator Liam Coen the question UK football fans have wanted answered for several years.
    “How are we going to get the tight ends the ball?” Marrow asked Coen during their joint appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio.
    Of course, Marrow also coaches the tight ends who have not been a major part of UK’s passing attack since coach Mark Stoops arrived at Kentucky.
    “The tight ends in this system have always naturally gotten a lot of targets,” Coen said about his time with the Los Angeles Rams’ offense. “There’s ways that we can game plan, specifically in the red zone or third down matchups, for tight ends to be able to get them on linebackers or on safeties if we can; so really just naturally, those guys get touches they need.”
    Coen said there was no reason for the tight ends not to be an “asset” this season and said there is a lot more they can do than what UK did in spring practice.
    “Some things we’ve talked about, (we will) really take to the next level from what we installed this spring,” Coen said. “I’m excited about that group and I think we need to have that group play really well for us to be successful, which I know they will.”

     Bam Adebayo says his one year at Kentucky is a big reason he’s part of the U.S. Olympic team.
    “It showed me how to be held accountable,” Adebayo said about UK during a USA Basketball teleconference “That was the biggest thing coach Cal (John Calipari) emphasized in practice and games. You’ll always be held accountable because at the end of the day, you all are on the floor. You are responsible. And you all have got to get the job done.
    “Accountability is the biggest thing I took from Kentucky. It got me this far because I take a lot of (responsibility) for certain things that happen on the court or how we’re playing.”
    Adebayo said he’s used to rigorous offseason workouts so he’s ready for the Olympic grind that starts later this month.
    “That’s one thing I do in the offseason. I put my body through the wringer so I can be prepared for whatever task I have at hand,” he said.
    Several former UK players are working out against Team USA to prepare it for the Olympics and Gonzaga coach Mark Few has liked what he has seen from them.
    He cited how easy Keldon Johnson is to coach and how “quickly he picks up on things” daily.

     "He’s a quick learner and just so solid. Good feel for the game. Good size. Good finisher,” Few said before Johnson was selected to stay with Team USA through the pre-Olympic exhibition games.
    The Gonzaga coached called Immanuel Quickley a “bolt of energy” and joy to have on the team he’s coaching.
    “I guess I would describe it as youthful exuberance,” Few said. “His decision-making has been just rock solid.”
    Same with PJ Washington.
    “So willing and so ready. And just gives great effort. One of those forwards who can do a lot of things,” Few said.
    Tyler Herro, Adebayo’s teammate with the Miami Heat, is also on the team practicing against the Olympic team. He knows what a great experience it is for him and Adebayo both.
    "I think I can, obviously, take a lot from it. And Bam is obviously Bam. I just think the whole Olympic Team is filled with obviously great players that are very well accomplished in this league and I think that I can just take away really anything from any of those guys where I can just pick their brain and just soak in as much as I can throughout the week,” Herro said.