As the college offers continue to increase, Lyon County junior guard Travis Perry says he has gotten more comfortable with the recruiting process.
     “At the beginning it was kind of a shock that all this is really happening,” said Perry. “As a kid, you want to talk to coaches. Then you get a taste of it and it is kind of shocking and nerve-wracking.
     “As the process goes along you start treasuring it more. You are grateful for it and humble and realize how blessed you are just getting to talk to all these great basketball minds.
     You are hanging out with coaches and everybody on campus wants to talk to and take pictures with. Then you realize you can spend the day with them or call them whenever you want. People are so starstruck with coaches that I just get to meet. When I went to Michigan, people took pictures of us on the golf course.
     “So I wouldn’t say I am totally comfortable with all this. I am just trying not to get caught up in it but definitely you enjoy it.”
     Perry has a scholarship offer from Kentucky coach John Calipari along with offers from Michigan, Purdue, Bradley, Cincinnati, Creighton, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Orleans, Ohio State, Mississippi, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. He attended Big Blue Madness last weekend along with several UK commits and others with scholarship offers.
     Perry had been to a UK practice a week earlier. He took a visit to Vanderbilt before his family went to Gatlinburg for a few days. On the way home he texted Calipari to see if he could come watch practice.
     “They are extremely athletic. That’s one thing you really notice when you watch practice. Daimion (Collins) is always above the rim. So are Oscar (Tshiebwe) and Jacob (Toppin). There are always 10 guys going full speed. It was pretty impressive,” Perry said.

     The “minor” knee surgery that all-American Oscar Tshiebwe had last week is not expected to impact his play this season according to coach John Calipari.
     Tshiebwe was the unanimous national player of the year last season when he was a double-double machine. His rebounding numbers were phenomenal and he showcased his versatility all season.
     Yet assistant coach Chin Coleman says Tshiebwe has to be better this year than he was during his national player of the year season.
     “That is the challenge. You can’t rest on what he did last year. It is a different year and different challenges,” Coleman said. “We have to see how much we can get out of him and how much more we can add value to his game.
     “He could be a better overall player and yet his numbers not as great as they were last year.”
     How would that work?
     “We want to make him a better player and that does not mean averaging 20 (points) and 20 (rebounds). Make him a more efficient shooter, better ball handler. Make his assists to turnover ratio better,” Coleman said.
     “There are things we can do to help him get better, make him even a better all-around player. And Oscar gets that. He wants to be better and knows it is about more than scoring when it comes to being a better player.”

     SEC Network/ESPN announcer Tom Hart has watched Kentucky football play the last two weeks — he also worked Big Blue Madness — and he’s convinced Dane Key and Barion Brown are “two of the best” freshman receivers in the Southeastern Conference.
     “And if you are two of the best in the SEC, then you are also two of the best in the nation,” Hart said. “Since day one (coach) Mark Stoops has said his first priority was building lines on both sides that could withstand the physical play of the SEC and put a team in position to win.
     “Slowly but surely they put those big dudes up front, then came the running backs and quarterbacks good enough to win. But the one thing on his Christmas list was a breakaway wide receiver. As good as Lynn Bowden was, he was a different kind of receiver. Mark knew the game was changing and he needed guys who could make plays downfield.
     “I remember more than one conversation with him talking about how he had to find guys who could stretch the defense and that would take Kentucky to a different level.”
     Brown and Key are doing that. Brown has also been a game-changer with his kickoff returns and Key had what would have been a very memorable game-winning touchdown catch at Ole Miss if a penalty had not negated it. Still, he had a 55-yard touchdown catch against Florida. Brown has receptions of 38, 70 and 51 yards to go with a 100-yard kickoff return.
     “These two guys are going to be really good for a long time together,” Hart said. “I know they have helped make an impact on Will Levis’ future earning and draft potential because they have let him showcase what he can do.”
     Brown had a career-high seven catches against Mississippi State — he also had an 80-yard punt return touchdown nullified by a penalty — and now has 24 catches for 350 yards and two scores this season. Key had 20 catches for 322 yards and three touchdowns.

     Quarterback Will Levis now has 37 touchdown passes — sixth most ever at UK — in 1 1/2 seasons at Kentucky and has thrown for 4,462 yards — eighth most in UK history.
     He was 17 of 23 for 230 yards and one score in last week’s comeback win over Mississippi State — he was 9-for-9 on third down passes for 194 yards — despite briefly having to leave the game to have his left shoulder checked after taking a big hit. He had also missed the previous game with a foot injury.
     “Will is just that type of guy that you want to go to war with. Everybody rallies around that guy,” offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey said. “To see Will take that hit and come running back out was inspirational. He is just that kind of guy. But he’s not just like on Saturday. He’s like that every day. He has a tough mindset.”
     Kentucky coach Mark Stoops understood why trainers wanted an X-ray to make sure nothing was wrong with Levis.
     “I knew if nothing was broken, that guy would be back,” Stoops said.

     SEC Network analyst Jordan Rogers, a former SEC quarterback, called Levis a “warrior” for how he directs the UK offense knowing he’s going to get hit a lot.
     “It wasn’t pretty but when they needed it, he made huge throws,” Rogers said after the game. “He proved a lot tonight.”
     Now Kentucky has a week off before playing at unbeaten Tennessee, which knocked off Alabama 52-49 Saturday.
     “If (NFL) scouts have any questions about Will Levis, they will get to see him after a bye week go to Knoxville and take on probably the nation’s No. 3 team. It will be a big opportunity for Levis but he sure has shown he’s ready for it,” SEC Network announcer Tom Hart said.
     Levis certainly has a fan in former UK quarterback Tim Couch. He joined Hart and Rogers on the SEC Network during the Mississippi State win.
     "I would take that guy over everyone in the country,” Couch, a former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, said.it’s over, this college thing is over, this gets real real.

     John Schlarman obviously had a huge impact on the University of Kentucky football program first as a player and then as the offensive line coach who built the Big Blue Wall before his death at age 45 during the 2020 season after a two-year battle with cancer.
     However, Schlarman’s legacy at Troy University where he coached from 2007-2012 is just as solid. Thanks to a gift from West Virginia coach Neal Brown and his wife, Brooke, the offensive line meeting room at Troy now has Schlarman’s name. Brown coached with Schlarman at Troy and then the two came to UK together to work for coach Mark Stoops when he got the Kentucky job.
     Current Troy coach Jon Sumrall, a former UK player and defensive coach, noted that Schlarman impacted so many lives by the way he lived his life.
     "He inspired me by his attitude, toughness and love for others, and his legacy will live on with Troy Football forever,” Sumrall said.
     After being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma in the summer of 2018, Schlarman continued to coach and did not miss a game despite undergoing chemotherapy until the final two contests in 2020 before his passing.
     Schlarman helped the Trojans win

     Louisville coach Kenny Payne has a unique approach to sharing his playing/coaching experiences in college and the NBA with his players.
     “I can be delusional and be selfish and say, ‘Guys, you’re playing basketball; it’s just a game.’ That’s not reality,” the first-year Louisville head coach said during the ACC Media Days.
     “I’ve got a bunch of kids that are on my team that are fighting for their lives, where the experience is to tell them that they are fighting for their lives. Delusional is it’s just a game. You don’t really have to go to class. You don’t really have to pour 150 percent in. That’s not reality.
     “Reality is whatever happens from 18 to 23 is going to last these young men for the rest of their lives. Don’t live with regret. Pour 150 percent in, and whatever happens, you can live with. But if you pour 75 percent in and your life doesn’t turn out the way you’re going to live with that pain.”
     Payne said he was close at times to living with the pain of not always giving 150 percent but has been able to help people by putting others first.
     “I want them to know that I care, I love them, and I’m coaching them out of love,” Payne said. “There has to be a fear of failure to know exactly what you’re facing in this world, because when it’s over, this college thing is over, this gets real real.

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     “I look forward to working with a professional like Tom Leach and I’m excited to share my passion for Kentucky basketball with the Big Blue Nation on my hometown team’s network,” former UK all-American Jack Givens after officially being named UK Radio Network basketball analyst.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “I am a Kentucky girl. I am just somebody who is ready to play ball. I love having fun with my friends. I never get too serious. On the court, I want to produce. I have a lot to give,” how Kentucky junior guard Maddie Scherr, an Oregon transfer, described herself.

Quote of the Week 3:

     “It is astounding what he has built in his 10 years on campus. It proves coaches need time to build championship programs and he was given that opportunity,” ESPN/SEC Network announcer Tom Hart on Kentucky coach Mark Stoops.