Keith Elkins

Cisco Bryant was a wide receiver at Kentucky from 1982-85. He’s also a UK football parent. His son Ty is a starter at defensive back for the Wildcats. In this conversation, Cisco talks about his UK career and teammates, playing in the SEC for coach Jerry Claiborne, and his role as a parent and coach.

Sean Woods is a member of the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame, and is one of four players who are known as the Unforgettables. Woods, John Pelphrey, Richie Farmer and Deron Feldhaus were at Kentucky in the late 1980s when there was a coaching change and a probation period, but they all decided to stay at UK for their entire college careers. They eventually led the team to an NCAA regional final in 1992, the first year that Kentucky was allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament following probation. Woods is still UK’s all-time leader in assists per game at 5.3. He has been a head coach in college at Morehead State, Mississippi Valley State and Southern University for a total of 14 seasons. He played in high school at Indianapolis Cathedral, and was named to the Indiana All-Star team for the games against the Kentucky All-Stars in 1988. In addition to the Unforgettables and their decisions to stay at UK, we talked about his coaching career, and Indiana high school basketball in general, includin

Kenny Walker earned All-American honors in basketball at the University of Kentucky. He is the second leading all-time scorer in men’s basketball with 2,080 points, behind only Dan Issel who had 2,138. A native of Roberta, Georgia (2020 population: 813), Kenny was a McDonald’s All-American in high school before coming to UK in 1982. He is a member of the charter class of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. He was the fifth overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, and played in the NBA for the Knicks and the Washington Bullets. He also played professionally in Spain, Italy and Japan. We talked about his coming to UK from Roberta, his development into a college star and some of the teammates who were a big part of his success, as well as his relationships with coaches Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton and later in the NBA, Rick Pitino. His professional experience, both in the NBA and internationally, are also part of the conversation.

Leroy Byrd, listed at five-feet-five, but as he says, “no more than five-three,” played basketball for the University of Kentucky and UNLV after finishing a high school career in which he earned state and regional honors while leading Bryan Station to the Sweet Sixteen. He later played professionally for the Harlem Magicians and in the World Basketball League. Known as “Baby Magic,” Byrd contributed to his team’s offense with scoring and assists and disrupted opponents with ball-hawking defense.In this interview, he talks about getting his start in basketball, his confidence and motivation to succeed, his high school and college coaches (Bobby Barlow at Bryan Station, Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV, Joe B. Hall and Eddie Sutton at Kentucky), and some of his keys to success in a tall player’s sport.Byrd will be inducted into the Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame September 23rd.

Dennis Johnson is a former All-American and all-SEC defensive end at Kentucky. He played in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers, and today is in his ninth season as head football coach at Woodford County High School, where his teams have a combined 24-3 record over the last two years. He was named Kentucky’s Mr. Football for 1997, and was also a star in basketball and track and field at Harrodsburg High School. He was the USA Today National High School Defensive Player of the Year in 1997. In this interview, he recalls his early start — a really early start — in football (he was on the high school varsity roster when he was in the second grade), his recruitment to UK, which had to beat out Notre Dame for his signature, playing defense on Kentucky teams coached by offensive-minded Hal Mumme, his NFL teammates with the Arizona Cardinals, and his success as a high school coach.

In celebration of Opening Day in Cincinnati we present this conversation between Keith Elkins and Reds play-by-play announcer John Sadak. The two discuss his long and varied sportscasting career which now includes calling the action for professional baseball's oldest franchise.

In the mid-1990s, Brooks Downing was the sports information director for men’s basketball at the University of Kentucky, where he worked closely with coaches Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith during a run that included two national championships. Today, he’s a sports entrepreneur, the founder and president of bdG Sports, a marketing and event management company that has established a strong presence in college basketball and professional golf with events across the U.S. and in the Bahamas. He’s a UK graduate and a Lexington native.

Cameron Mills was a member of two national championship teams at Kentucky. He began his college career as a walk-on, but became a key contributor with his outstanding shooting. He still holds the UK record for three-point field goal percentage for a season (53.2, 42-79 in 1996-97). As of this season, he realized a long-term goal in his broadcasting career, joining the UK Sports Network radio team on the basketball pregame show. This conversation covers his development as a player, which was guided early by his father, former Wildcat Terry Mills, as well as his experience at UK. Coach Rick Pitino delivered an unexpected type of motivational message in their first conversation after Cameron joined the team, but success and championships followed under Pitino and Tubby Smith. Mills’ faith has always been an important part of his life, and today he continues to bring that message to a wide range of audiences through Cameron Mills Ministries. His dedication to his broadcasting career — with many high school ga

COVID-related decisions, changes in technology, the introduction of new sports activities — that’s just a small sample of the endless variety of challenges Julian Tackett has faced in his 12-plus years as commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and 39 years overall with the KHSAA. In this conversation with Keith Elkins, he talks about those issues, as well as his background, which was influenced by his work with sports figures such as former University of Kentucky football coach Jerry Claiborne, longtime UK sports information director Russell Rice, and former Transylvania basketball coach Don Lane, among many others.

This week on the WUKY SportsPage Keith Elkins chats with new UK Athletics Hall of Famer Derek Bryant who played baseball for the Big Blue and then a successful career in Major League Baseball.