It has long been said that today and tomorrow are the quietest days of the year in the wide world of sports.
That may or may not be true, with Major League Baseball on its annual hiatus for the All-Star break, and looking ahead to the final couple of months of the regular season. Fall sports are getting in gear in preparation for their seasons on both the high school and collegiate levels, and NFL teams will embark on training camp sessions later in the month.
As we’ve often said, here in the beautiful Commonwealth of Kentucky, there is one sports season that never really ends, whether we’re discussing it, watching it, writing about it, or playing it.
That brings us to our leadoff topic for this midweek missive, The Basketball Tournament, which tips off Friday. Eight regions comprised of eight teams will battle for the opportunity to advance to the quarterfinal round in the 11th annual TBT, a tournament that features a winner-take-all grand prize of $1 million.
TBT will be making its debut on the Fox Sports family of networks this season after previously airing exclusively on ESPN. Games not being televised will be available on a TBT live stream. Both the semifinals (August 2) and championship (August 4) will again be played at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Fans in this area will be able to watch their favorite players of the recent past, with alumni participating from Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton and Marshall, and many others.
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LA FAMILIA HOSTS AT RUPP – The Kentucky alumni team opens play at 8 p.m. Friday on FS2 at Rupp Arena against the 305 Ballers, a collection of players based in South Florida.
La Familia, coached by Tyler Ulis and assistant coaches Darius Miller, Jon Hood, and Sean Woods, will be led by Eric Bledsoe, Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Kellen Grady, and Willie Cauley-Stein. Other players on the roster include Nate Sestina, James Young, Brennan Canada, Daniel Orton, and former Xavier power forward Kerem Kanter. The team took an unexpected hit when Reid Travis, Doron Lamb, and Marquis Teague had to withdraw due to unforeseen obligations at the time of their commitment.
The Lexington Regional championship game is next Tuesday at 9 p.m. The UK alums are the number two seed, with the top seed Marshall’s Herd That, a team that has a strong track record in the event, including an appearance in the semifinals last year.
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THE VILLE RETURNS TO FREEDOM HALL – The Louisville alumni appears to have one of the best teams in the entire field, led by Montrezl Harrell, Russ Smith, Chris Jones, Peyton Siva, David Johnson and others. Former Eastern Kentucky forward Nick Mayo and Montgomery County alum Omar Prewitt (William & Mary) are also listed on the roster. The team is coached by Reece Gaines, with Luke Hancock and former Mason County standout Terrence Commodore assisting.
The Ville, the No. 2 seed in the region, opens play Saturday at 2 p.m. against UKnighted, a team made up of primarily former
Bellarmine players. The top seed in the Louisville Regional is Team Diesel, which lists Shaquille O’Neal as its GM/Sponsor. Shaq’s son, Shareef, is a 6-11 small forward playing for Team Diesel.
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NASTY NATI, ZIP ‘EM UP VIE FOR REGION TITLE – An interesting field highlights the Cincinnati Regional, which will be played on the UC campus at Fifth Third Arena for the first time.
The top two seeds feature the Queen City’s crosstown rivals, with Nasty Nati picked as the favorite, and Zip ‘Em Up, the Xavier alumni, is the number two seed. The former Bearcats got past the former Musketeers at the Cintas Center at XU last year, and they appear formidable once again.
Nasty Nati will be led by Jarron Cumberland, Jacob Evans, Tre Scott, Keith Williams, and Mamoudou Diarra, on a deep and talented team. Former Bearcat guard Cashmere Wright is the team’s head coach. They open versus TeamAboutBillions, led by point guard Tyonte Robertson, on Friday at 8 p.m.
Zip ‘Em Up will bring another talented squad to the TBT looking to avenge their loss to the UC alumni last year, if both teams are able to advance to the Tuesday final at 7 p.m.
Head Coach Dee Davis welcomes several former Muskies stalwarts, including Trevon Bluiett, Adam Kunkel, Paul Scruggs, and James Farr to the roster. They begin play on Friday, with a 6 p.m. tip against Takeover BC, a team making its TBT debut.
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FUTURE REDS HIGHLIGHT FUTURES GAME – A pair of the top prospects in the Cincinnati Reds organization, acquitted themselves well in the MLB All-Star Futures Game on Saturday.
Third baseman Cam Collier was named the Larry Doby Award, given to the game’s MVP, after getting the scoring underway with a blast into the AL bullpen to lead off the third inning. The 19-year-old lefthanded hitter, ranked the Reds’ No. 3 prospect by mlb.com, smashed a 94 MPH fastball 409 feet over the fence in right-center field.
Cincinnati’s top prospect, 22-year-old righthander Rhett Lowder, pitched a scoreless and hitless seventh inning in the NL’s 6-1 win.
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REDS OPT FOR FIREBALLER WITH FIRST PICK – In the interest of transparency, this guy was less than thrilled when it was announced that their first pick in the MLB Draft was another pitcher from Wake Forest.
I made it no secret that my choice would’ve been Georgia slugger Charlie Condon, but perhaps that’s why I’m not working in the scouting department or the front office. And after thinking about the selection of right-hander Chase Burns with the second overall pick, perhaps the Reds got it right. You can never have too many good pitchers, and although Condon will likely thrive in Denver after being nabbed by the Rockies with the third pick, drafting baseball players will always be an inexact science.
It may sound cliché, but only time will tell how well the Reds drafted, and you never know about injuries. The Reds received some good grades from the folks who follow this sort of thing closely for their first day picks, which included lefty-hitting high school shortstop Tyson Lewis (51st selection) and the No. 71 pick, LSU right-handed pitcher Luke Holman, in addition to
Burns, who has drawn rave reviews for his talent and poise on the mound. Lewis, 18, was named the Nebraska Player of the Year and led his team to a state title. He’s described as a potential 5-tool player with plus speed.
Rounds 3-10 were held on Monday, and the draft concluded with rounds 11-20 Tuesday, after this was written. The Reds selected an outfielder from Northeastern, Mike Sorota, in the third round, Arkansas second baseman Peyton Stovall in the fourth round, and a southpaw pitcher from Clemson, Tristan Smith, in Round 5.
Rounds 6-10 saw the Reds select Davidson catcher-outfielder Jacob Friend, UC Irvine left fielder Myles Smith, Indiana State pitcher Luke Hayden, East Carolina catcher Ryan McCrystal, and a 17-year-old catcher from Puerto Rico, Yanuel Casiano.
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BAT CATS TAKEN IN MLB DRAFT – Kentucky left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt was the 31st pick of the draft, selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and second baseman Emilien Pitre was picked in the second round (58th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tyler Bell, a UK signee, was selected in the second round (66th overall) by the Rays. Bell is a switch-hitting shortstop from Illinois.
The Bat Cats also saw a recent transfer get picked by Arizona in the tenth round on Monday. Trent Youngblood, a Division III All-American at Transylvania and a graduate of Trinity High School, is the first Transy player to be chosen in the MLB Draft.
First baseman Ryan Nicholson and pitcher Trey Pooser were also 10th round selections. Nicholson, a Louisville native and
Cincinnati transfer, was picked by the Los Angeles Angels, and Pooser, a righty starter at UK, was selected by Tampa Bay.
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HINDS IS RIGHT ON TIME (SO FAR) – It’s a bit of bad timing, but with the All-Star Game and the later rounds of the MLB Draft taking place after this was written on Tuesday morning – we’ll have a recap in Saturday’s column. We will also take a look at the MLB frontrunners at the break, and what it will take for the Cincinnati Reds to make a run at the postseason.
One thing is certain; if surprising rookie right fielder Rece Hinds can continue to produce, this team should be fun to watch. Hinds was the most recent call-up to the Reds in their seemingly never-ending quest to add some pop to the outfield, and he’s given the team more than anyone could have ever expected.
I don’t want to come off as too much of a curmudgeon, but Hinds has had the extremely good fortune of facing the two worst teams in the league, along with their awful pitching staffs during his first six games. Still, the 6-foot-4 Floridian posted historically impressive numbers during his first week in the bigs, and was deservedly named the NL Player of the Week for his efforts.
The lingering question remains, what took the Reds so long to bring Hinds up? It’s true his numbers at Louisville (.216, 13 HR, 41 RBI, but with 126 strikeouts) weren’t exactly eye-popping, but it would also seem the club should’ve known the power potential and athleticism he possesses. After trying the likes of Bubba Thompson, Mike Ford, Nick Martini, Jacob Hurtubise,
Conner Capel, Blake Dunn and Levi Jordan, it appears the answer was in Louisville all the time.
It looks that way for now anyway; it is still to be determined just how consistently he will hit when pitchers begin to adjust and exploit his weaknesses. So far, so good however for the 23-year-old Hinds, who also appears to be a level-headed young man during his interactions with his teammates and the media.
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“I’ve never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.” – former UK basketball player Winston Bennett
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“Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes, and wishes he was certain.” – Mark Twain
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