During his playing career at Kentucky there was one thing Jared Prickett normally did well — rebound.
     The former West Virginia Mr. Basketball played in 143 games from 1992-97 for coach Rick Pitino and had 998 points, 777 rebounds, 274 assists and 187 steals. He played on UK’s 1993 and 1997 Final Four teams and was on the 1996 national championship team even though he played just five games because of knee issues.
     During one game in 1994, Prickett had 20 rebounds — a Rupp Arena record for a Kentucky player that Oscar Tshiebwe matched this season.
     Prickett now lives in Ashland — his wife’s hometown — where he coaches a sixth-grade basketball team and is also the assistant coach on the high school team favored to win another regional title.
     Prickett has watched what Tshiebwe has done this season on the boards and has been impressed. He is averaging 16.3 points, 14.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game – all team highs. He's hitting 66.7 percent from the field – also best on the team (he's second on the team with 13 steals). He has eight double-doubles in 10 games.
     “He is as good as anybody Kentucky has ever had and maybe as good nationally as you can find,” Prickett said. “He is as good as you get. I had a knack for the ball but he’s amazing.
     “It’s not like he is getting 20 rebounds in one game. He’s getting almost 20 rebounds every game. He is so big and so strong around the basket and just has a true knack for the ball. It’s exciting and a lot of fun to watch him play.”
     Prickett doesn’t think Tshiebwe has found any secrets to rebounding or unique ways to succeed.
     “I just think that is kind of what he does. He does it the entire game. There is no off button where he is out on the perimeter. When that ball is shot, he’s going to the basket. Most of the time he is around the basket anyway and he just goes and gets the ball,” Prickett said.
     “Now he can really read the ball coming off the basket as well. But to be as big as he is and as athletic as he is helps out a little bit too. He has some special physical gifts.”
     Sometimes former players don’t always appreciate what current players do or enjoy watching games. Prickett says he “loves” what Tshiebwe does.
     “He is one of the most fun players that I have watched in a long time. I appreciate the true work he is doing down low,” Prickett said. “I think the Kentucky fans absolutely love him for what he does because he is out there working so hard and Kentucky basketball fans appreciate that. I think he has a really bright future ahead of him.”
     Rebounders are not normally the most popular player on a team, but he

Former UK player Jared Prickett believes Oscar Tshiebwe might be the best rebounder Kentucky has ever had. (Vicky Graff Photo)

excites fans. Prickett says it reminds him of the way former NBA all-star Dennis Rodman became so popular with his rebounding prowess.
     “Not only is he rebounding, but he's getting points. He is not getting 18 or 20 rebounds and four points. He’s getting 18 rebounds and 20 points or 18 and 18. It’s impressive what he is doing. I really like and and enjoy it and it’s easy to see that fans do,” Prickett said.
     Opposing teams obviously are paying more and more attention to Tshiebwe. Southeastern Conference teams will also have bigger, more physical players to counter Tshiebwe than most non-conference opponents did. However, Prickett doesn’t think that will diminish Tshiebwe’s productivity.
     “He completely outworks people. He is strong enough to do that and strong enough to man up with just about anybody. I think he can continue doing what he has been doing,” Prickett said. “Or at least I hope he can because it is really fun to see.”

     Last week’s “Kentucky United for Tornado Relief” telethon put together by UK Athletics and WLEX-TV raised over $4 million to benefit victims of the tornadoes that devastated much of Western Kentucky.
     Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari has helped organize other charity telethons and was a driving force behind this one. He was especially proud that some of his former players, including many not from Kentucky, donated to help others.
     “My guess is when it’s said and done, 25 of them will have given money, and it’s probably a quarter million dollars or more,” Calipari said after the telethon. “I think right now – I didn’t look at the list – but I think it’s about 16 or 17 right now.
     “But others have hit me, ‘I’m absolutely in.’ It’s going to end up being 25. And some of them may do it. You know, Jamal (Murray) wasn’t even from this country and he’s like, ‘I’m a part of Kentucky. That’s part of who I am.’”
     Several anonymous donors matched funds pledged to the telethon. Calipari said the total devastation in western Kentucky made everyone contemplate what could have happened if the tornado hit their hometown.
     “I think that’s why people said, ‘Let’s help. Let’s do this.’ The people that, the matching donors, I just can’t thank them enough. If they want recognition, they will be, but most of them don’t. They don’t,” Calipari said.
     Every UK head coach who was in Lexington for the telethon volunteered his or her time — along with athletes even though it was exam week — to take telephone calls that continued even after the event went off the air.
     Softball coach Rachel Lawson considered herself lucky to be helping by answering calls to take donations during the telethon.
     “I’m grateful for the chance to help in any way,” Lawson said. “So many people need help and this is one small way that myself and other coaches and athletes can help.”
     On Saturday, Kentucky football players Will Levis, Wan’Dale Robinson, Josh Paschal and Chris Rodriguez signed autographs at KSBar in Lexington.
     Levis, UK’s quarterback, posted on Twitter that $20,000 was raised for tornado relief.
     On Sunday, Calipari and former UK players Jack Givens and Darius Miller along with Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman were in

Kentucky football players Wan'Dale Robinson, Josh Paschal, Chris Rodriguez and Will Levis raised $20,000 for tornado relief a few days after a UK Athletics telethon raised $4 million. (Twitter Photo)

western Kentucky helping deliver 10,000 pairs of shoes provided by Manny Olhome and Samaritans Feet for tornado survivors.
     Calipari said he would have liked to have brought his team with him to western Kentucky but did not because of COVID concerns.

     After one season at Purdue, Kyle Macy wanted to transfer and immediately he thought Kentucky — a school that recruited him in high school — would be the right place for him.
     “I never told Kentucky no. They just wanted an answer before I had my mind made up and they went ahead and took Truman Clayton, so I went to Purdue,” Macy said.
     Transfers were treated a bit differently then. Kentucky coach Joe Hall didn’t wine and dine Macy to get him. Instead, Macy had to come to Hall’s home in Lexington.
     “We talked for a good hour and 55 minutes. Joe was so stoic. He never cracked a smile,” Macy said. “We just talked back and forth and I pitched myself to him. Finally he looked at me and said he guessed we could give it a try.”
     Macy had to sit out the 1976-77 season when UK lost to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament East Region final. It was a tough year for him.

     “When I transferred I had to decide if I wanted to go junior college and play or transfer to a school like Kentucky and sit a year (transfers were not eligible to play then without sitting out a year),” Macy said. “As hard as it was, I chose to sit out a year.
     “I had played basketball since I could walk and was always in the gym with my father. That year sitting out was tough but it was the best thing for me. I probably weighed 155 or 160 (pounds) when I got to Kentucky. I had never been in a weight room.
     “The first time I walked in the weight room there was (UK All-American defensive lineman) Art Still. He was probably doing about 540 (pounds) in the clean and his shoulders looked four feet wide. I thought, ‘I am in the wrong place.’ But I got bigger and stronger and it paid off.”
     Macy was the starting point guard on UK’s 1978 national championship team and became one of the most popular Kentucky players ever.

     Kentucky coach Mark Stoops did not want to lose defensive coordinator Brad White when his name was mentioned with other jobs, including being part of new LSU coach Brian Kelly’s staff.
     “We as an organization did not want to lose Brad. He is a quality, quality man and a great football coach. He's a terrific -- he's a great person, great coach. Very selfless, and he does a terrific job in all areas,” Stoops said.
     White came to UK from the NFL and has helped put together solid defenses at UK while producing players capable of playing in the NFL. Stoops said White deserves more overall credit for what he does.
     “He recruits at a high level, and maybe not getting all the credit, but recruiting all those defensive guys, evaluating those guys, does a terrific job. Really wants to fly under the radar,” Stoops said.
     The UK coach pointed out how White decided he would donate his Citrus

Bowl bonus to the tornado relief fun even before he turned down lucrative offers — and didn’t want anyone to know he was doing that.
     “I was like, ‘Brad, if that helps motivate people to maybe give some more,’ then he understood that, and he's like, ‘That's a good idea,’” Stoops said. “We do that at my fundraiser in the summer, kind of like matching and pushing people and motivating people to give, and that's the only reason he even brought it up.”
     While Stoops is glad to have offensive coordinator Liam Coen and White both back, he wished nothing but the best for former UK co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall on his new job as head coach at Troy.
     “He recruited all the way through (signing day) and helped us through with some of these guys, including Kobi (Albert) and some guys, and that shows the class that John has and who he is, but he's moving on to a head coaching job, and we wish him well,” the UK head coach said.

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     One of the marquee signees for Kentucky last week was Nashville five-star receiver Barion Brown. On3 has him rated as the 14th best player in the country and No. 2 overall receiver. He's the highest rated receiver ever to sign with the Wildcats.
     He picked UK over Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas A&M, Michigan, Penn State, Florida State and Michigan.
     So just how good is Brown? I asked Joe Spears who covers prep sports for the Tennessean (@joe_spears7 on Twitter)
     “Barion is one of the most talented high school players I’ve ever seen anywhere. He’s easily the fastest football player in the state and also dominates during the track season,” Spears said.
     “You can’t teach that sort of speed. When he has the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to score at any time. This year his receiving stats weren’t great as his team was working in a younger quarterback but if he gets to work with a quarterback that can consistently get him the ball, I could see him having a breakout season as early as next year.”
     But Brown is about more than just pure speed.
     “The cuts Barion can make when he has the ball in his hands, it’s stuff you typically only see in video games,” Spears said. “The kid is special and Kentucky fans should be excited about seeing him play.”
     Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said on national signing day that Brown is “extremely explosive” and hopes he can help the Cats next season.
     complete package that we need,” Stoops said.

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     “Recruiting is personal. Anybody who says it’s not, they’re not working at it. When you spend years building relationships, and years, and time away from family and doing things to build those relationships to get those kids, it’s competitive and you want to land them,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops on recruiting relationships.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “They can't judge themselves by what's happening for them offensively because you end up being in the tank half the time because you're only going to make half the shots. The other half you're in the tank,” Kentucky coach John Calipari on telling his players not to worry about how many shots they miss/make.

Quote of the Week 3:

     "I don't think we were disciplined enough to finish games. We had a couple guys who just didn't buy in, and that was the effect of it. We couldn't finish games because people weren't buying in,” Jacob Toppin on why UK basketball could not win close games last year.