His son, Trent, used to “travel everywhere” playing football when he was young.
“He started playing contact football at age 4. You were not supposed to start until you were 5 but he was bigger than most kids and we snuck him there, which was probably one of the silliest things I ever did,” Dondi said. “He played football and was a middle linebacker, quarterback or tailback up until the sixth grade and then told me he loved basketball more and would rather spend time in the gym getting better. It has been basketball ever since.”
It was a wise decision. He scored 3,707 points, fifth most in state history, his five seasons at Harlan County and averaged 29.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as a senior when he led Harlan County to the state championship game.
He originally signed with South Carolina — he was not offered a scholarship by then UK coach John Calipari — but after Mark Pope was hired at Kentucky, Trent Noah decommitted from the Gamecocks and a few days later signed with UK. He was the first UK basketball signee from Harlan County since Dick Parsons (1958-61) and only the fourth overall — Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones (1945-49), Rudy Yessin (1943-44), and Henry Farmer (1911-1913).
Dondi said it was impossible to put into words how stressful the 48 hours after his son’s decision to decommit from South Carolina were. Schools could not reach out to him until he had his release from South Carolina. However, once Pope and Kentucky reached out, Trent Noah quickly said yes to the offer.
“Obviously Kentucky could not contact us. We were on pins and needles after he made the decision (not to attend South Carolina). He walked out on a limb of faith and didn’t know what would happen,” Dondi said. “When the phone rang the first time (with a scholarship offer), it brought a lot of relief. It was not UK that called first but that gave us hope and then obviously the home run call came from UK.
“Coach Pope called Trent the first time in between a couple of speaking engagements. The next day all the UK coaches, me and his mom and him all got on a Zoom call together and it took Trent about a half-second to accept the scholarship offer.”
Dondi likely would have said yes just as quick based on his childhood.
“I was born in 1970 and was a coal miner’s son. There was a coal operator who lived here and about once a week he would tell six or seven of us kids who lived nearby that (UK All-American) Kyle Macy would be at his house. He would fly players in on his helicopter and us kids would be screaming,” Dondi said.
“The players would swim and play ball, load up and go back to Lexington.”Former UK coach Joe B. Hall even visited Harlan County.
“I went through grade school thinking the B in his name stood for basketball because that’s what he would tell us and all us kids believed it,” Dondi said.
Trent wanted to believe he would get a chance to play at Kentucky when he emerged as one of the state’s best players. He was a four-star prospect with almost 20 offers and a top 100 player nationally.
How did not having an offer from Calipari impact him?
“That’s a good question. I think it made that chip a little bigger on his shoulder that he never heard from Calipari,” Dondi said. “To be honest, I think it motivated him a little bit more. He didn’t pout. He kept working and believing things would work out the way it should and it eventually did.”
The UK signee’s father thinks Pope’s offense suits his son perfectly but also believes he will show he’s more than just a prolific 3-point shooter.
“As a dad, I would probably say his basketball IQ and his leadership are sort of underrated,” Dondi, an assistant basketball coach at Harlan County the last two years, said. “When we were trying to get to Lexington (to play in the state tournament), Trent talked about getting everybody to buy in and contribute. He wanted to change the offense to get more people involved. He knew if he got 30 points and we did not get out of the region, he would not have accomplished anything.”
Trent never backed away from a challenge. His father said it was obvious early his eye-hand coordination was exceptional.
“Before he was 2 years old somebody in the family bought him a scooter for Christmas,” Dondi said. “My wife said put it up because she was afraid he would get hurt. He found it and even though he was not even 2 he could ride it. I said if he could do that he could ride a bicycle, so I got him one and he took off riding it everywhere when he was 2. That’s the same eye-hand coordination that helps him so much with his passing now.”
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Kentucky associate coach Vince Marrow often talks with UK defensive line coach Anwar Stewart as well as defensive coordinator Brad White about the NFL draft possibilities for Deone Walker.
The 6-6, 348-pound Walker had 55 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 quarterback sacks during his sophomore season in 2023.
“He can go anywhere from one to 12 in the draft,” Marrow said. “He’s a very unique talent. He is a big guy who can move. He won’t have no off the field stuff. He’s a very nice guy off the field.
“I told (NFL) scouts he could be the first pick (in the 2025 NFL draft). It is up to Deone. He had (shoulder) surgery in the offseason. I know Stew is really going to drive him hard. That’s why I see him going so high (in the draft). He’s a definite high first-round pick.”
Early 2025 mock drafts certainly back up what Marrow and the UK coaches believe.
ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid put Walker 19th in his recent mock draft.
“Interior defenders who are 6-6 and 348 pounds almost never move as well as Walker, who is nimble-footed for his size. He collected 7.5 sacks last season, and 30 of his 39 pressures came while aligned as a defensive tackle. Walker has quick hands and a wide array of moves as a pass-rusher, but his pad level has to improve,” Reid wrote.
Randall Brown of Fantasy Pros has Walker 10th in his mock draft because of his lateral movement and size.
“His length presents mismatches on the interior as he can split double teams and win in one-on-one matchups. Last season, he had 51 pressures, leading all interior defensive linemen. He could do that and a whole lot more this season,” Brown wrote.
CBS Sports analyst Josh Edwards, who covers Kentucky football, is even higher on Walker and put him fourth in his 2025 mock draft.
“If he can play with consistency and show his effectiveness as a pass rusher, then it will be hard to keep him from being one of the top 10 prospects taken,” Edwards said. “I just want to see consistent use of pass rush moves.
“In the NFL, everyone is big so you can not just win with power and strength. An interior defender that could be taken as highly as Deone is projected must be able to apply a pass rush consistently.
“When he locks in mentally, he can take over the game but there are other moments when he blends in. If he can continue to present himself as a supreme talent in the SEC, then he will have an opportunity to be taken early.”
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Kentucky coach Mark Pope continues to make believers not only out of recruits but also the UK fan base.
Jack Bradley, a 1961 University of Kentucky graduate, knows he is “one of the few blue bleeders still alive” who watched the Fabulous Five at UK play in person. However, he’s “pumped” about what Pope is doing.
“I’ll admit to being a little nervous when Mark Pope was announced as UK’s new coach. I remember the 1996 team and Mark as a player, but was not really aware of his coaching ability,” Bradley said. “On reflection, I have complete confidence in Mitch Barnhart and the introduction of Mark to the Big Blue turnout at Rupp went a long way to bringing me on board.
“What we have seen Mark accomplish in the short time since that introduction has caused me to be sitting on pins and needles waiting for the Cats to take to the court this fall.”
Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almoner, who averaged 16.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, obviously is just as bullish on Pope. Here is what the 6-7 Almoner told Adam Zagoria of ZAGSBlog after signing with Kentucky:
“It was always a dream of mine. Growing up, I had a picture of the (Kentucky) logo in front of my bed as a goal. It’s just crazy to think that I’ve achieved that goal, but the job definitely isn’t finished. I have many more goals to accomplish, but achieving a big one like this means a lot. I will bring my shooting ability, toughness, willingness to work, and winning attitude to this program, just to name a few.”
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Kentucky baseball went from unranked going into the season to sharing the Southeastern Conference title with Tennessee and being ranked as high as No. 2 nationally this season.
Kentucky coach Nick Mingione admits he thought going into the season that “we had a chance to be good” because of the returning players he had. Kentucky went 22-8 in SEC play and 39-12 overall.
“I was a little surprised we were not a top 25 preseason team,” Mingione said. “You don’t know how guys in the transfer portal will be.
“I did not think we could win the league because of the difficulty of the league but I knew we had a bunch of guys back who were good strong pieces. Then you bring all these guys in (from the transfer portal) trying to build something and you just don’t know for sure how it will all work out.
“It was clear to me that guys who came back were super hungry. Guys who had been in our program got better, the transfers fit well and this is what you have.”
Kentucky will be the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament because Tennessee has the tiebreaker edge over UK and Western Division winner Arkansas gets the No. 2 seed despite finishing behind the Vols and UK.
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Alvin Brooks II spent two years at Kentucky on coach Billy Gillispie’s staff over 15 years ago and now his son, Alvin Brooks III, has joined Mark Pope’s first staff at UK.
Brooks II has a lot of terrific memories from his time as director of basketball operations from 2007-2009 but one of his favorite ones involves legendary UK basketball equipment manager Bill Keightley.
Keightley worked for coaches Adolph Rupp, Joe Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, Gillispie and Calipari during his 48 years at UK before his passing in 2008.
“Al’s first day there he went with me for a picture and there was Mr. Keightley’s daughter,” Brooks II, now the head coach at Lamar, said. “She said, ‘My dad used to talk about your dad.’
“They took a picture together in front of Mr. Keightley’s image. That was really nice.”
The former Kentucky assistant said he appreciated Keightley for a lot of reasons.
“My first year there I talked to him all the time. He would give me history lessons on Kentucky basketball. But he was also a great talent evaluator,” Brooks II said. “He really was Mr. Kentucky and a genuine treasure. He’s someone I’ll never forget. He meant a lot to me.”
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Quote of the Week: “Pitching was not as dominant across the league as it has been. A lot of teams have been struggling with the bullpen and in the SEC Tournament or NCAA Tournament, if they can keep a game close they can beat anyone,” former two-time World Series champion Doug Flynn on UK baseball.
Quote of the Week 2: “It’s one thing competing against somebody that you don’t know. It’s another thing competing against your brother. If you’ve done that in the backyard, it usually gets ugly because you love each other so much. I anticipate there’ll be some of that flavor in this,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope on John Calipari and Arkansas playing in Rupp Arena next season.
Quote of the Week 3: “He is a sneaky candidate to look out for. If the Wildcats do not add another two-guard in the portal, then expect to see him work his way into a starting line-up. At 6-foot-4, he can drill shots, get downhill and get very vertical on his attack,” 247Sports national analyst Brandon Jenkins on UK freshman Collin Chandler.
