It was a late night for Kentucky basketball fans, a familiar feeling at the NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline. What happened last night was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
Hamidou Diallo set a record by waiting until 12:05 am EST, a few minutes past the 11:59 pm EST deadline, to share he was returning to Kentucky back in 2017. The Big Blue Nation stayed up to see what Jaxson Robinson was going to do. Midnight came and went. Nothing happened.
Robinson’s decision was there is no decision. What exactly do we do? How do we feel? What’s going on? Frankly, nobody has a clue. This is bizarre and unprecedented.
Patience is a virtue and the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year is currently testing the BBN’s fortitude. Technically, he’s not required to announce anything, just notify the NBA of his intention. One would think the news will leak out sooner rather than later. Hopefully, the payout is ultimately worth the wait.
Players who Made NBA Draft Decisions
There is one name on the board for the Wildcats. Miami’s Wooga Poplar pulled his name out of NBA Draft consideration. He has a visit to Oregon scheduled for next week. Visits to Kentucky and Arkansas may follow.
Alabama was the biggest winner at the NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline. All-American Mark Sears and Jarin Stevenson announced they’ll be back in Tuscaloosa, likely making the Crimson Tide the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the country.
Former Kentucky Wildcat Ugonna Onyenso is pursuing college opportunities in the transfer portal. Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins will command a huge NIL pricetag as he seeks out a new school. Caleb Love and Hunter Sallis are All-Conference candidates who will return to Arizona and Wake Forest, respectively.
Most of the biggest names are returning to college basketball, but there are still a few who decided to move on to the NBA, Kansas F Johnny Furphy and Dayton G DaRon Holmes.
Breaking Down NBA Draft Decisions with Sources Say
If you couldn’t stay up late to wait for Jaxson Robinson to make a decision, don’t worry. Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith were helping Kentucky fans figure out what the hell was going on well into the wee hours of Thursday morning.
SEC Spring Meetings Make Headlines
The SEC Spring Meetings have provided more eye-opening content than this humble blogger expected. Mark Stoops did the thing where he said he’s transparent about injuries, even though he’s really not, but if it helps us get injury reports, so be it. Mitch Barnhart and Mark Pope were on the set of The Paul Finebaum Show and the latter shared how much he’s enjoyed the roster-building process.
Elsewhere around the league, John Calipari praised Pope, and in much more hilarious fashion, admitted “you can’t do this now with seven freshmen.” The Texas AD fired shots at SEC rivalry games before Texas officially joined the conference. Chris Del Conte can’t help himself. Also, you might see corporate logos coming to college football fields to help pay for the extra money that will soon be flowing straight from schools to players.
Kentucky Football Kickoff Times Incoming!
The SEC Spring Meetings are nearing a conclusion in Miramar Beach, FL. Before the coaches and administrators depart, Greg Sankey is giving fans one more treat. Today at 2:30 pm EST we’ll learn the kickoff times for the first three weeks of SEC football games. We already know the Cats will be on ABC at 3:30 pm EST against South Carolina and at 7 pm against Georgia. The opener against Southern Miss will remain a mystery for just a few more hours. The kickoffs for the entire regular season may be available in late June.
This may be when we finally learn how the SEC Network will stagger start times. Jon Talty reported in March that the network may delay kickoffs 45 minutes to stagger the finishes. What kickoff times were vs. what they would be in this new proposal, that could be unveiled today.
Closing Time in the NBA Playoffs for Dallas
Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves survived to fight another day. Is today their final day of the season? Luka, Kyrie and PJ Washington are looking to close out the Western Conference Finals in game 5, tonight at 8:30 pm EST on TNT. Minnesota is a 4.5-point favorite at home with a total of 209.5. That feels like way too many points.
Kentucky Native Wins a Natty
No. 1 ranked Auburn won its first-ever National Championship in men’s golf and it’s all thanks to a kid from Kentucky. JM Butler, a Louisville Trinity product, sunk the putt that secured a 3-2 victory over Florida State.
“I prepared for this moment my entire life, and I’ve worked extremely hard for this,” Butler said after the win. “All I had to do was get out of my own way and I knew I’d come out on top.”
Update on the $80 Pants
Speculation turned into reality on Wednesday for Scottie Scheffler. Charges against him from the PGA Championship arrest outside of Valhalla Golf Club were officially dropped, closing the case for good. WAVE-3 obtained a statement from the officer in the case who was eager to share just how fed up he is about his infamous $80 pants.
“Yes, the department has us buying freaking $80 pants,” wrote Gillis. “To those concerned, they were indeed ruined. But Scottie, it’s all good. I never would’ve guessed I’d have the most famous pair of pants in the country for a few weeks because of this. Take care and be safe.”
