Rundown: A Summer League Herro and Two More Kentucky Football Commitments

On Monday, July 1st, Several former Wildcats shined in the NBA summer league and Kentucky Football picked up two significant recruits

The month is July and we are still making our journey through Sports No Man’s Land, with basketball a distant memory and football still nearly two months away. Even though the actual on-field or on-court action reached a screeching halt back in March, happenings around the Big Blue Nation have yet to slow down for even a moment. Yesterday, we saw some of our former Cats debut in the NBA Summer League (Tyler Herro put on a show) and Mark Stoops, Vince Marrow, and co. pick up two highly sought after Kentucky Football recruits. Here’s the Wildcat Rundown for July 2nd, 2019.

Let’s not work harder than we should and dive right in.

Tyler Herro Erupts for Five 3’s in NBA Debut

The 2019 NBA Draft’s 13th pick, our very own Tyler “A Bucket” Herro showed NBA executives exactly why he belongs in the NBA in his first Summer League game, finishing with a stat line of 18 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Tyler oozed his typical confidence and looked totally comfortable in his first taste of NBA action. The 6’6 guard poured in five threes–assuring scouts that he is, in fact, a natural born shooter. But that’s not all. Tyler played competitive defense and flashed some untapped passing upside by finding fellow three-point assassins off the dribble. Tyler has a long, bright professional basketball career ahead of him and last night served as a beacon of what might come this next season in Miami. With former starting shooting guard Josh Richardson being shipped out to Philadelphia, Herro could find himself filling a major role on a playoff aspiring club in just his rookie season.

Check out the highlights:

GO WENYEN !

The five-three-pointer outburst from Herro and his overall fantastic performance wasn’t the most impressive outing from a former Cat last night. Wenyen Gabriel had perhaps the greatest night of his basketball playing career, especially at the professional level. In late night summer league action against the Golden State Warriors rec club, Gabriel notched 22 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist. That’s a career day for the beloved former Wildcat. There is no one who doubted Wenyen at the

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next level more than myself, but likewise, there’s no one rooting harder for Wenyen to succeed. Dating back to his days in the gaudy checkerboard, Gabriel played with a perpetual smile and was a generous, cordial, and strikingly friendly dude off the court. For someone who hasn’t had the easiest life and has struggled mightily just to get a chance to shine the NBA summer league, I couldn’t be happier. I hope this is the start of an extended string of success and good fortune on the basketball court for Wenyen.

Here are his best moments from Monday night:

Top-100 Defensive End Samuel Anaele Picks Kentucky

Kentucky football recruiting is on an absolute tear. The YAHTZEE dice are scorching! Yesterday, Kentucky football added two monster recruits to what is already a historic class. The higher regarded of the two is defensive linemen Samuel Aneale who recently flipped from Miami (the U take the L) to the Wildcats. According to Rivals.com, Anaele checks in as a four-star and the 96th ranked prospect overall. That’s not your typical Kentucky Football pickup. But then again, the entire past calendar year has been anything but “typical Kentucky football.” I’m not a football analyzing savant, but this guy looks like a future nightmare on our defensive line. Awesome addition to the Stoops Troops. Go put his name in your Google search bar and be impressed.

4-Star Wide Receiver Kalil Branham Picks UK over Michigan

Kalil Branham, an elite receiver out of Michigan pulled off his own Quentin Tarantino impression, cutting together a masterpiece of a commitment video:

I don’t really understand how Branham is an elite football player. He wears an undeniable baby face and talks like a future priest. His commitment video is exceptional but it feels like he enlisted his choir team to help produce it. It’s definitely not a knock against the guy but I’m curious to see if his game reflects his personality. Something tells me Lynn Bowden’s expletive-ridden rap playlists aren’t the reason Branham picked Kentucky over others. Either way, I’m hoping Kalil will unleash some cutthroat plays from the wideout position for years to come. Maybe he’s like Edward Norton from Primal Fear where he’s religiously devout and innocent off the field, but he’s a total maniac on the football field. Whatever he is, it looks like the moniker “elite pass catcher” applies, so I’m excited to see him get to work in blue.

Enes Kanter Signs With the Celtics

After Portland tried to rush Kanter into a decision (only giving him 6 minutes to decide on his future, apparently), likely due to the near-complete deal for Portland to acquire Miami Heat big man Hassan Whiteside, Enes decided to forgo a future in the pacific northwest for one in the bitter-cold northeast. Boston, in desperate need of a quality center, brought the UnderKanter on board for pennies on the dollar compared to what most starting-caliber bigs are going for these days. Kanter will certainly fit right in with the tough-minded and unforgiving nature of the city and Celtics fans will have a blast rooting for them. After all, they turned Aron Baynes into a social media cult.

To find an extended analysis of Kanter’s move from Portland to Boston and all the underlying factors, look below:

That’s all I have for today, drop any comments or questions you have below and I’m sure to answer them. At some point this week, we’re planning on doing a mailbag so fire away on Twitter, FaceBook, or in the comments section below any questions you have. We will respond to every question asked! Thanks for reading!