KSR Today: La Familia vs. The Ville in TBT, a big Saturday at Peach Jam

Good morning, folks! It’s a Saturday in the middle of July, but we have a big sports day ahead of us here at KSR headquarters. Today’s main event is the start of this year’s The Basketball Tournament for La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team. After a Final Four finish in 2024 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2025, the former Wildcats will look to make an even deeper run in 2026 — with a $2 million grand prize on the line. But a rival stands in the way of making it happen. The Ville, Louisville’s alumni team, will take on La Familia in a best-of-three series. Game One is today at noon ET (FOX) in Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are still available if you’re looking to make a last-minute appearance. The last time La Familia and The Ville played in 2024, it ended with a near brawl on the court and one giant loogie. What ridiculous future memories will the 2026 edition bring? La Familia has six UK alums on the roster, although one of them (Archie Goodwin) will not play in Game One later today. However, he’s expected to be in action for Game Two on Monday. Don’t sleep on the non-UK alums, either. They’ll play important roles in helping come out on top. Below is the finalized roster. Let’s go cheer on some former ‘Cats. NamePositionHeightCollegeWillie Cauley-SteinCenter7’0″KentuckyAndrew HarrisonPoint Guard6’6″KentuckyKahlil WhitneySmall Forward6’7″KentuckyArchie Goodwin*Guard6’5″KentuckyDeAndre LigginsShooting Guard6’6″KentuckyMarcus LeePower Forward6’11”Kentucky / CalJames Mainor-BellGuard6’0″Talladega CollegeSean McNeilGuard6’4″West Virginia / Ohio StateChris CoffeyForward6’7″Georgetown College (KY)Darryl MorsellGuard6’2″Maryland / Marquette* Not available for Game 1 Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content. Tournament day at Peach Jam Mark Pope and Mo Williams spent most of their Friday scouting their top high school targets. A Kentucky coach or two will be back in the gym on Saturday to do it all again as the Peach Jam tournament gets underway. The top eight Peach Jam teams have advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals. A handful of Kentucky targets will be fighting for a championship. Here are the names in the winner’s bracket that the Big Blue Nation needs to know: Kentucky commit Ryan Hampton (Nightrydas), Lewis Uvwo (Nightrydas), Cayden Daughtry (Florida Rebels), and Beckham Black (AB Elite). Of the four quarterfinal matchups, one could argue Nightyrdas vs. AB Elite is the one to watch. Hampton and Lewis going up against Black will be great basketball viewing for Kentucky fans. They’ll go head-to-head at 1:30 p.m. ET, with the winner moving on to the semifinals later in the night at 7:30 p.m. ET. The championship game has been set for Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. Below is the complete bracket. If you aren’t in North Augusta, you can still watch the game through a (FREE!) livestream via Nike’s website. KSR’s top takeaways from Friday at Peach Jam KSR’s top takeaways from Thursday at Peach Jam KSR’s top takeaways from our first day at Peach Jam Scheduling news for MBB KSR’s Jack Pilgrim reported on Friday that Kentucky has added another opponent to the 2026-27 schedule. The Wildcats will play Appalachian State this season for just the second time ever. UK won the first back on December 20, 2008, a 93-69 victory at Freedom Hall in Louisville. App State finished 19-13 overall and 11-7 in the Sun Belt in 2025-26. A date for this matchup will be announced at a later time. But wait, there’s more! Travis Ford, the new head coach of the Little Rock Trojans, will bring his team back to Lexington for a preseason battle. Little Rock went 12-20 last season and 9-11 in the OVC for a seventh-place finish in league play. Ford, a Madisonville native who was twice named All-SEC (1993, 1994) at Kentucky, made head coaching stops at Campbellsville, Eastern Kentucky, UMass, Oklahoma State, and Saint Louis before taking the job with the Trojans this offseason. He boasts an all-time coaching record of 491-366. You need to see these practice highlights If you require some Milan Momcilovic three-pointers and Malachi Moreno dunks, then you can thank Mark Pope for posting a handful of clips showing just that following Friday morning’s practice. The video below shows Momcilovic knocking down a variety of catch-and-shoot triples (and even blocking a shot at the rim!) followed by a couple of ferocious Moreno slams. The third shot from Momcilovic was especially fun. CBS Sports’ Blake Brockermeyer ranked the top ten offensive lines going into the 2026 season. Kentucky not only made that list but is in the top three, coming in third behind Georgia and Ohio State. That will be music to Kenny Minchey‘s ears. Brockermeyer gave out plenty of praise to left tackle Lance Heard and center Coleton Price. He also expects returning piece Malachi Wood to take the starting job at right tackle. Elsewhere, Brockermeyer has Tegra Tshabola penciled in at left guard with Alabama transfer Olaus Alinen filling in at right guard. The depth admittedly concerns him a bit, but overall, he believes new offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich has something special brewing with Kentucky’s Big Blue Wall. Joe Exotic is now at the federal prison in Lexington Remember Joe Exotic? The man of “Tiger King” fame who helped millions of people find entertainment during the pandemic shutdown? Well, he’s living in Lexington now. Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado is serving 22 years in prison for several charges, including conspiracy to commit murder for hire and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act. He had been doing his time in Fort Worth, Texas, but a Facebook post on his official page revealed a transfer to Lexington, Kentucky. His new address, he says, is at Lexington’s Federal Medical Center on Leestown Road. World Cup 3rd place game The championship is set for Sunday, but today will decide the third-place finisher in the 2026 World Cup. It’ll be France vs. England this afternoon in Miami at 5:00 p.m. ET on FOX. With La Familia vs. The Ville leading into it, your sports schedule won’t be light today. Let’s have a great day, BBN.