John Maldaner

My passions include my wife (#1), Doberman dogs, horses, RKBA, helping others smile, and Kentucky basketball and football. #BBN #R2NG (FOTP)

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@ClintDarden @RuppToNoGood @RodzillaKY @jcooley112891 @joe__archive @BigBlueBud I can arrange that!

[Buddy 🏀😼 @BigBlueBud]

If Branham had never put out a Crystal Ball for Nikola to Kentucky (which he quickly rescinded) then we’d all be watching this practice content, hype for the team that came together after a streak of recruiting wins (I am anyways.)

Manufactured whiff. Nik’s just a 🍒on🔝

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@BigBlueBud If we get him — fine. If we don’t — also fine. Let’s ride!

[KSR @KSRonX]

Freshman guard Mason Williams has big goals for his time as a Wildcat.

"I wanna be the hardest worker to ever come to Kentucky."

➡️ https://t.co/qVnImAeZIP

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@gman5180 Wouldn’t even go into the state if not for the beauty of far southern Illinois. As far from Obama’s monstrosity as possible and be in the state.

[MeManBoy @MeManBoy0]

UK is still the clear favorite for Nikola Kusturica. I'd be surprised if he ends up anywhere else. This recruitment is almost identical to Milan's. Agents doing agent things. Michigan is the closest to UK, but still not super close....and getting a kid like this cleared to enroll at UM is not an easy task. In the end, UK should win this recruitment.

Here's the thing w/ Kusturica and a potential Michicgan fit. He isn't coming from a traditional high school. He's been at FC Barcelona's youth academy. That means his academic record is whatever arrangement Barcelona has for their elite athletes.... probably an online school or some kind of international curriculum stitched together around his training and game schedule.

Two different hoops he has to clear.

First is the NCAA Eligibility Center. They review his Serbian/Spanish school records against the 16 core course requirement. That's the same for every school and almost certainly not going to be an issues. This is the exact requirements these programs focus on meeting.

Second is Michigan's own admissions office. And this is where it gets interesting and concerning for Kusturica.... Michigan reviews international transcripts independently and they can reject a kid even if the NCAA already cleared him. They've done it before.

Terrence Shannon Jr. in 2022 from Texas Tech.... blocked. Went to Illinois and dropped 31 on Michigan in a blowout. Caleb Love in 2023 from UNC.... blocked. Went to Arizona and averaged 18 a game. Johnell Davis in 2024 from FAU.... blocked. He was the reigning AAC Player of the Year and was supposed to follow Dusty May from FAU to Ann Arbor. Couldn't get in. Went to Arkansas. Nojel Eastern from Purdue in 2020.... blocked. Papa Kante in 2023 was a four star incoming freshman big man.... quietly cut loose for academic issues before he ever enrolled.

Franz Wagner got in because he came from a German Gymnasium which is basically the gold standard of European high school education. Super traditional, super rigorous. Easy for Michigan to evaluate.

Kusturica is the opposite. He's been training with a pro academy his whole teenage years. That non-traditional academic background is exactly what Michigan's admissions office has historically been skeptical of.

Kentucky on the other hand has cleared many international kids through admissions without issues. The SEC just handles this better. So does Gonzaga. So does Duke.

So when people talk about why Kentucky has an edge with Kusturica it's not just NIL money. It's also which admissions office can actually get him enrolled before August.

Michigan can't reliably do that. Kentucky has done it multiple times. This is going to be a major concern that Kusturica and his agent much think about...and the reason I expect him to enroll at UK.

[MeManBoy @MeManBoy0]

As I mentioned earlier.....Pope played pro at Efes Pilsen in Istanbul in 1996-97 right after he got drafted. That club is now called Anadolu Efes. Then in 2023-25 Derek Willis, another Kentucky guy, played at the same club for two seasons before he left for Paris last summer.

Two Kentucky guys at the same Turkish club thirty years apart. That's helpful

Here's where it gets even more helpful. The captain at Anadolu Efes right now is Shane Larkin. Larkin was teammates with Derek Willis the last two seasons. And Larkin is repped by Nick Lotsos.... who is also Kusturica's agent.

So the chain is.... Pope played at Efes. Willis played at Efes. Willis and Larkin were teammates. Larkin and Kusturica share an agent.

That picture of Pope in Turkey last week scouting.... he was standing next to Derek Willis. That wasn't random. That was Pope walking into Anadolu Efes with a Kentucky guy who was just on their roster a year ago.

Pope is walking around Istanbul like he knows everybody because he kind of does.

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@ClintDarden Wishing you the best recovery!

[MeManBoy @MeManBoy0]

This team is BIG and LONG

- Zyon Hawthorne: 6-2, 165
- Jerone Morton: 6-4, 190
- Braydon Hawthorne: 6-8, 195
- Kam Williams: 6-7, 210
- Mason Williams: 6-3, 210
- Zoom Diallo: 6-6, 195
- Trent Noah: 6-5, 225
- Alex Wilkins: 6-6, 170
- Franck Kepnang: 7-0, 275 (!!!)
- Ousmane N'Diaye: 7-0, 215
- Justin McBride: 6-8, 250
- Milan Momcilovic: 6-9, 220
- Malachi Moreno: 7-0, 245
- Reece Potter: 7-1, 235

[Tres Terrell @TerrellTres]

It sounds like Mark Pope didn’t “whiff” on Rob Wright this summer, but more like UK was just a resting place for him to buy time to work out a deal to return back to BYU.

“I just wanted to come back to BYU. That was my mindset the whole time.”

📹: BYU Basketball

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

Norm! 😂😂

[Norm Macdonald Joke of the Day @NormSNLJokes]

Famed anthropologist Mary Leakey died this Monday, at the age of eighty-three.

Leakey was buried near her home, where she will rest in peace.

Until some nosy anthropologist digs her up in a couple of years.

[Matt Sakcilovic BBN @MattSakR2NG]

I feel like people don’t talk enough about the beauty in applying Cauchy’s Residue Theorem when integrating using the Contour method

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@MattSakR2NG My wife and I were just discussing that.

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

I’m good with this…

[Jordan Cooley @jcooley112891]

Are we sure the new AD isn’t Will Steins dad?🤔

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@TGCasino_ @FanlyGridiron Where’s Karl Malone or Lambeer when you need them?

[Pat Sajak @patsajak]

Update on life…

[Buddy 🏀😼 @BigBlueBud]

The energy just seems crazy good with this group, does it not? 👀 #BBN

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@MikeBales Yeah that hap

[John Maldaner @pbiffdukes]

@VinnysCorner1 No.