Page 2, The Estill County Tribune, May 29, 2019

by Larry Vaught FormerKentuckybas-ketball player and assis-tantcoachReggieHansonhaskeptupwithcollegeathleticssincegettingoutof coaching in 2014 andhasremain“invested” incollegebasketball. He’salsoseenthehighnumberofDivisionIath-letes transferring eachyearandhowthenumbercontinuestogrow. That was part of theinspirationforwritinghisbook, “10 Life Lessons:LearnedasaStudent-Ath-lete.” “Playersgetoutofcol-lege in four or five years andtheyarestillnotreadyforreallife,”saidHanson,whoscored1,167pointsduringhisUKcareerfrom1987-91 before laterspending seven seasonsoncoachTubbySmith’sUKstaff. “All the things theylearninathleticsdonotal-waystransitiontoreallifefor different reasons. The moreIsawthat,themoreIfeltIneededtowritethisbooktohelpyoungpeopleunderstand that collegecantranslatetoreallife.” Heknewhehadtobeabletowritewhatwouldrelate to college and/orhigh school students to“grab their attention” sohecouldhelpthem. “ItookmyexperiencesatUKasaplayerforRickPitinothelastthreeyearsandhoweachexperiencetranslated to real life,”Hansonsaid. That’s why the bookhas 10 lessons/chaptersandeachisareallifeex-periencethatHansonhadwherehecouldshowhowthattranslatedtoreallife.Thechaptersincludeper-severance,overcomingad-versity,leadership,mentaltoughness, organizationand time management,preparation, trustingtheprocess,personalauthor-ity, sacrifice, communica-

tion,disciplineandmore. “Igivesomefunnysto-ries to things that hap-penedtometomakethebook more interesting,”Hanson, who briefly played intheNBAandthensevenyearsinJapanasaplayerandcoach,said. His book is also forcoachesbecausehefeelstheyneedtohavingmore“teaching sessions” withplayeraboutreallife. “Why not talk abouthow scouting reportstransitiontothebusinessworld when you are do-ingapresentation.Ifyoudonotdotherightscout,youlosethegame.Ifyoudon’t get the presenta-tionright,youmightloseyour job,” Hanson said.“I am not putting blameon coaches. Most are onashortleashandhavetodevelopplayers,succeedandwingames.Ijustwanttobringbackareminderabouthowaretheydoingwith helping players getreadyforreallife.” Hansongotoutofcoach-ingin2014andtriedsev-eral jobs in thebusinessworld before finding one heenjoys—he’samanag-eratDillards,asuccessfulretailchaininTampa. “So many differentpeoplereachedouttomeafterIgotoutofcoachingbecausetheyunderstoodinthecorporateworldyouhavetodevelopskillswithyouremployeesjustalikeacoachdoeswithhisplay-ers,”Hansonsaid. Hanson says his bookis geared to help showwhatcollegeathleteswillgothroughanditcanhelphigh school students asmuch,ormaybemore. “For high school kids,it might be an even bet-ter read because it willhelpthemknowwhattobepreparedforincollege.Most have no clue whattheywillbegoingthrough.IknowIdidn’t.Thisbookwillhelpgivethemalegupbutitreallywillhelpany-bodywhojustwantssomelifelessonstheycanuse,”Hansonsaid. “Thepeoplewhohaveboughtitsofarhavegivenmenothingbutgreatfeed-back.It’saneasyreadbutyou’llgetalotoutofit.” Actor Josh Hopkins first metHansonwhenhewasa Lexington high schoolstudentandHansonwas

Reggie Hanson Hopes His New Book Helps Prepare Athletes For Real Lifeplaying at UK. The twohaveremainedfriendsandHansonsaidtheactorwasone of the first people to buythebook. “WhenIsawhewasre-leasingabookIknewIhadtoreaditandI’msogladIdid,”Hopkins,oneofthestar’softhecurrentABC-TVshow“WhiskeyCava-lier,” said. “It should bemustreadingforstudent-athletesinhighschoolorcollege and the lessonsareeasilyrelatabletositu-ationsintheprofessionalworldweatheritbesportorotherwise.It’sashortreadwithexcellentadviceandReggiehasawelcom-ingvoicethatmanagestoteach without seemingpreachy. “HealsothrowsinthesesidestorieswherehegivesexamplesfromhislifeandcareerandthereissomefantasticbehindthescenesinfothatanyCatfanwouldlovetolearnaboutthateraofUKbasketball.” Hanson hopes to setupabooksigningtourinKentuckysoon.Untilthen,HansonsuggestsgoingtoAmazon.com, type inhisnameandinformationonthebookwillappear.

Justin Rogers Whatdidgettingaver-balcommitmentlastweekfrom Michigan linemanJustin Rogers, the 10th-ratedplayer in the2020recruitingclassbyRivals.com, mean for KentuckyandcoachMarkStoops? “Itoffersalotofcred-ibility to the coachingstaff on the recruitingtrail,” 247Sports recruit-ing writer Josh Edwardssaid.“Whenaplayerthatcouldhavegoneanywherechoosestoplayoutofstateforaprogram,otherstakenotice. “Since Rogers’ an-nouncement, there hasbeenalotofsocialmediainteractionfromKentuckytargets.Itisasmallerclassexpectedthisyearsoitwillbeinterestingtoseehowthe coaching staff handles thenumbers.” Edwards knows Ken-tucky’s10-winseason isresonating with recruitsandRogers’commitmentshows a whole new na-tionallevelofrespectforStoopsandhisprogram. “Rogers’ relationshipwith(UKfreshman)Mar-

quan McCall can not beunderstatedinhisrecruit-ment.Itwasnotlongagothat legacy recruits likeZack Martin, Russ Yeast,NickMartinandZekeCor-rell were committing tootherprograms,”Edwardssaid. “The aesthetic oflandingaMichiganrecruitoverMichiganandMichi-ganStatebuildsrespect-ability.” Rogers’ mother, JoyaTownsel,toldtheDetroitFreePressthatshe“likedGeorgia”best.Shealsosaiditwaseasytounderstandwhyhedidnotpickhome-state Michigan. She saidother schools “reachedout”tohersonmorethanMichigandid. “I think that’s whereschools go wrong, whenthey don’t reach out tothesekidsandshowthey’rereallyinterestedinthem.Ibelievethatplayedapart.Justinusedtoalwaysgoupthereandvisitandwatchtheirgames,”shetoldtheDetroitnewspaper. Thebiggestshockwasthatshealsosaidshenev-erspoketoMichigancoachJimHarbaughoranyoneon his staff. Kentucky re-cruitingcoordinatorVinceMarrowemphasizescon-stantlythevalueofbuild-ingrelationshipswithpar-entsandfamilymembers.

Zack Thompson KentuckyjuniorpitcherZack Thompson earnedsecond-team all-South-eastern Conference hon-ors and is also a semifinal-ist fortheGoldenSpikesAward and Dick HowserTrophy, which are bothgiven to the nation’s topplayer. Thompsonhadasensa-tionalseasonforayoungKentucky baseball teamthatwaytoooftenhadtodependonhimtogettheonlywininathree-gameSEC series. He went 6-2with a 2.40 earned runaverage in 14 starts. Hethrewaworkhorse90in-ningsandstruckout130— he ranked 11th na-tionallywith13strikeoutpernineinnings—whilewalkingjust34andgivingup59hits. But get this — in SECplay he was 5-1 with a2.27ERAandstruckout93in67inningsandhadtwocomplete-gamewins(Georgia,Florida),ararity

inconferenceplay. He’sonly the14thUKpitcher to have 200 ca-reer strikeouts and fin-ishedwith268,thirdbestinschoolhistory.His130strikeouts were a singleseasonrecordforasouth-paw. Mostexpecthimtobeatop20pickinnextmonth’sMajor League BaseballDraft.SeveralscoutshavetoldmehewastheSEC’sbestpitcherandtheybe-lievehecouldendupbe-ingatop10pickwhichisprettyamazingconsider-ingUKdidnotevenmakethe12-teamSECTourna-mentthisseason.

Ky. Connections Connectionsofallkindcan make a differencewhenitcomestotheNFLdraftjustlikeitdidforUKoffensive lineman George Asafo-AdjeiwhentheNewYorkGiantspickedhimintheseventhroundearlierthismonth. Turns out that Giantsoffensive line coach HalHunter’ssonworksintheKentucky football office andtoldhisfatheraboutAsafo-Adjei’s work ethicandcharacter. “Hetalkedaboutwhataqualityguyhewas.Hewas probably the mostrespectedguyon theof-fensivesideoftheball.Hetalkedabouthowhecom-petedwithJoshAllenonaday-to-daybasis.Hetalkedabouthischaracter,workethicandhistoughness,”Hal Hunter said aboutwhathissontoldhimafterAsafo-Adjei. “You watchhimontapeandseethathehasalotofathleticismandpower.Hehasalotoftoughnessandplaysinthebestfootballconferenceinthecountry.” NewYorkgeneralman-agerDaveGettlemantoldmediamemberstheteamhadtheUKlinemangrad-edhigherthanaseventh-roundpickbuthadsomeconcernsabouttechnicalissues. “Heisarookieandyouhavetotellhimtodosome-thingonceandhegoesonanddoesitrightthenexttime.Hepickeduptheof-fensemuchquickerthanIthoughthewasgoingto,”

HuntersaidaboutAsafo-Adjei.“Whenyoucompareour offense to their offense, wehavealotmorevolumetoitwithalotofthethingsthatweweredoing. “Weneedtocontinuetoworkwithhimtechnicallytogethimuptospeedbutyouhavetolikeeverythingabouthim.” HunterlikedthatAsafo-AdjeiverballycommittedtoUKearlyandkepthiswordevenwhenhegotof-fersfrombiggerschools.TheGiants likedhowhestucktohiscommitment. Asafo-Adjei will get achance to compete withthird-year pro ChadWheeler for the startingrighttackleposition.ProFootballFocushadWheel-er ranked as one of theworsttackles intheNFLlastseason.Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week:“Iwantthemtokeepdis-respecting us because itdrivesus.Wedon’tlookforthemtomotivateusbutitjustmakesmemad.Itre-allydoes,”Kentuckyfoot-ballrecruitingcoordinatorVinceMarrowonthelackofrespectforUKin2019preseasonpolls. Quote of the Week 2: “Hehasgoodsizebutis not the most athleticguyintheworld.Hewillhavetoimprovehisball-handlingandshootingtomakeanimpactlongterm.He will also have to getalittlestronger.Hemostlikely won’t be anythingmorethanaroleplayer.Hewillhavealotofdevelop-ingtodo,”USATodayNBAdraftcapsuleonKentuckysophomoreP.J.Washing-ton. Quote of the Week 3: “Youdon’tworkthishardtotrytoestablishyourselfandbuildsometrustandcredibility and then upandjustgiveitupandletsomebodyelsewalkintoitandleaveit.That’sjustnothowIroll;that’snowhowI’mbuilt.…Ihopethisismylastcollegecoachingjob.I’vegotplentyleftinthetank,”BrucePearl,theSEC’s third highest paidandthird-longesttenuredcoach, on staying at Au-burn.

Former Kentucky player and assistant coach Reg-gie Hanson has written a book based on life lessons he learned through athletics he thinks will help both college and high school athletes.

Zack Thompson set a single-season strikeout record with 130 and is expected to be at least a top 20 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. (UK Athletics Photo)