By LARRY VAUGHT
It’s not hard for Octavious Oxendine to describe what it is like to play for Kentucky coach Mark Stoops.
“I feel like it’s a blessing just cause you don’t get that many coaches that’s actually player led like he says he is. In and out of everything we do is definitely player-led from the workouts to the play calling to what we just feel comfortable in what we want to do,” said the senior defensive lineman from North Hardin High School.
“He just lets it come down to us. It trickles right down the tree. Goes to our position coaches to the DCs, OCs, then honestly just us. Whatever we want to do is definitely a lot player led.”
Kentucky hopes Oxendine will be a more vital part of its defense this year. He was emerging as a big-time player in 2021 when he started three of six games before a knee injury ended his season. Last year he lost weight to improve his mobility but had only 22 tackles in 13 games, including seven starts. He worked during the offseason to increase his weight and is back to around 285 pounds.
Oxendine wants to be a more consistent player this season but also be part of a more consistent defensive unit even though statistically Kentucky was one of the better defenses in the Southeastern Conference last year.
“That consistency is something we need to get back to,” he said at SEC Media Days in Nashville. “In past years our pass rush was definitely consistent. We had good guys like Josh Allen, Boogie Watson. JJ Weaver came back for another year. We’ve always been good at pass rushing and we need to get back to that. I feel one thing we’ve been focused on is our pass rush.”
Kentucky’s schedule is a bit more difficult this year as the Cats play at two-time defending national champion Georgia and also host Alabama. The Cats also play at Mississippi State, South Carolina and Louisville.
“You’re going to play the best all the time, so you might as well just set up a schedule like that just to get your feet wet and see what the road is going to feel like, to see what the path is going to feel like,” Oxendine said. “We’ll have a couple good games before we head into SEC play, so we’ll definitely see how we’re going to play during the SEC-type games.”
Kentucky is undefeated against in-state rival Louisville during Oxendine’s career and he wants to keep it that way.
“I definitely say it’s one of the best rivalries in college football just because red, blue, right down the street from each other. No NFL team. When you come to Kentucky, that’s one thing about my family, we’re military, so moved from Fort Polk, Louisiana., to Radcliff, Kentucky, right outside Fort Knox,” Oxendine said.
“When we first moved, it was a big thing for us to pick Louisville or Kentucky. We actually picked Louisville, which is crazy I’m at Kentucky. It’s just a big rivalry. I feel like everybody in the States knows about it. It’s a game everybody always wants to be at, and there’s a lot of energy behind it.”
Oxendine also wants to instill a business-like work ethic in teammates and be someone for younger teammates to see who understands the value of the work Stoops and his staff demand.
“Punch the clock every morning you wake up. That’s something coach Stoops is always big on us: every morning, just punch the clock. There’s nothing else for you to do. We’re there to play football and academics,” Oxendine said.
“Every morning you shouldn’t have no excuse. If you wake up ready to go, you should be okay. I feel that’s something my teammates should take from me. Just the mentality, whenever you wake up in the morning, always get better. Just get one percent better, that’s all you have to do, One percent better than the next man.”
Freshman guard Rob Dillingham was a top 15 national recruit and considered one of the top offensive players in his recruiting class. However, in UK’s four games in Canada he averaged just 5.5 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting a team-low 31 percent from the field. He was also eighth in minutes played.
However, Kentucky assistant coach Bruiser Flint noted that Dillingham took and missed some difficult shots which was not a surprise in his first collegiate action.
“One thing about small guys — because I was one myself — when you’re used to getting to the basket, you have to take what they’re giving you sometimes,” Flint said on the UK Radio Network.
“We’ve been telling him, ‘Hey, shoot the pull-up.’ It’s a little bit different — the size, the strength of the guys, they’re on him a little bit — but we’ve said, ‘If you’re open on the pull-up, shoot the pull-up.’ Because he shoots that. That’s probably his best shot.”
Flint said the coaches knew he was pressing a bit and offered advice to encourage him.
“We just told him, ‘Don’t worry about it. We know you’re missing a lot of shots. Don’t get frustrated,’” Flint said.
Dillingham did not get frustrated by his shooting or playing time in Toronto when UK went 4-0 and won the GLOBL Jam over Germany, Africa and Canada. Instead, he said the freedom coach John Calipari gives players makes it easier to play.
“It’s way easier because a lot of people don’t have a rope, so it’s like you play scared, and you’re scared of coming out of the game,” Dillingham said. “Playing with coach Cal, he gives you confidence to just play however you play, and whoever’s playing the best is going to play. So it’s definitely easy playing for him.”
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops talked about how lucky he has been to keep defensive coordinator Brad During SEC Football Media Days last week in Nashville. White has helped make UK one of the better defenses in the SEC annually and UK is expecting another solid defensive unit this year led by All-American defensive lineman Deone Walker.
Stoops admitted White has had plenty of chances to leave Kentucky.
“I know this, the coaching profession knows what he’s doing. My phone doesn’t stop ringing about him in the offseason,” Stoops said during an appearance with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on their radio show. “And to Brad’s credit, he’s always just been extremely loyal.
“I think he really likes the situation he’s in in Lexington and has worked extremely hard and just does a remarkable job year in and year out. I’m very grateful. I think he really likes the situation. I love having him.”
He also praised new running backs and special teams coordinator Jay Boulware.
“Offensively, I gotta get back on track and I also needed to make a big push in the special teams area and that’s where hiring Jay Boulware comes in,” Stoops said. “Jay was as important to me.
“I knew Jay from his time working in Oklahoma. He worked at Texas. He’s been around and I knew him personally, and it was very important for me to get Jay back and to improve on the special team side.”
Long-time Harrodsburg High School football coach Alvis Johnson recently passed away at age 76 after a distinguished career as a coach, teacher and administrator.
Johnson sent several players to play at UK, including his sons Dennis and Derrick Johnson along with Craig Yeast. He also had five players go on to NFL careers.
“Coach is always in our prayers. He lived a phenomenal life and affected so many lives with his discipline, tough love or just straight love,” said Yeast. “Coach Johnson was our high school history teacher, our head football coach, our athletics director, our head track coach.
“But the more important aspect that affected all of us was his faith in God. He was a deacon in the church and remains a deacon at Centennial Baptist Church.”
Yeast, one of the former players who was a pallbearer at Johnson’s funeral, is now the head football coach at Mercer County and his Titans play their game at Alvis Johnson Field, the same field Yeast played on when he played for Johnson.
“There will never be another man like Alvis Jonson. We can only strive to be as close to the type of man as he is,” Yeast said. “I love that man. I love Mrs. (Rosetta) Johnson.. There was a time in my life if not for them I do not know if I would have made it to college and be where I am today.
“Coach Johnson is a man of faith and then a coach. He is a great individual, a man who loves God. We are all part of his family. He loves us all unconditionally and that will never change.”
Former Kentucky quarterback Derrick Ramsey, who led UK to a 10-win season in 1977, came to Harrodsburg for Johnson’s visitation and funeral.
“Alvis Johnson was a special man who meant a lot to me,” Ramsey said. “He was just very, very unique and touched more lives than I am sure he ever realized and he was a good friend to me.”
CBSSports.com writer Kyle Boone is already projecting who might be the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and believe at least six players at this point could potentially be the No. 1 overall selection.
That’s why he has already picked his top four contenders for the No. 1 draft spot three months before the season even starts.
Two of his top four choices are Kentucky players — freshmen Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner. The other two in his top four are G League Ignite players Matas Bezels and Ron Holland, a former UK recruit.
Edwards was the No. 3 player in the 2023 recruiting class and top rated player at his position.
“It’s not a stretch to consider him a threat to be No. 1, but if you’re making the bull case with him it’s that he has already shown a ton of ability as a downhill creator and scorer with room to grow into a potential star,” Boone wrote.
Bone believes Wagner definitely projects as a top five pick even if the conbo guard doesn’t have the elite positional size
“Of the four prospects mentioned in this bunch, I think he’s least likely to be the top pick,” Bone wrote about Wagner. “But his scoring and defensive toughness brings winning to the table, and players who can facilitate and score the way he can bring real value to the table.”
See Bone’s full story at https://www.cbssports.com/
Quote of the Week: “Really not trying to overreact, but this team reminds me of an old-school team of his. Every guy, 1 through 5, can catch, rip through and get to the basket. No idea what it means for the season. But those have always been his best teams,” FOX Sports national radio host Aaron Torres after watching Kentucky basketball win four games in Canada.
Quote of the Week 2: “Probably stay true to yourself. Make sure that outside noises aren’t dictating what you want to do and influence your decisions. Make sure what you’re doing is what you want to do. I know that you can’t get down too far on a loss and your team is going to help you get through it pretty much. The stronger y’all are off the court, the better you’ll be on the court,” Cason Wallace to HoopsHype.com on the best advice he got from John Calipari at Kentucky.
Quote of the Week 3: “I think anybody that knows what they’re getting into when they get in this league — but at the end of the day it’s football. Their past experiences and talents, it says in the Bible, ‘Your gift will make room for you and bring you in front of great men,’ and they’ve obviously been given a great gift and opportunity to play this game,” Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz on what he tells transfers about the level of play in the SEC.