Heaven Hill knows how to release great limited-release whiskeys. Their Beer Barrel small keg bottles are beloved. Their annual autumn Parker’s Heritage releases are some of the most sought-after collector bottles in the game. Even their Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond releases have folks lining up to this day. Now, Heaven Hill has added another major limited release to their arsenal for whiskey lovers to swoon over, the very first Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17-Year-Old Barrel Proof Bourbon.
The Heritage Collection is going to serve as the yearly spring drop that counterpoints Heaven Hill’s very popular fall Parker’s Heritage drops. Basically, we’re looking at one-of-a-kind bottles from the deep reaches of the Heaven Hill warehouses. The whiskeys are expertly built to bring a sense of classic bourbon to the table while maintaining the feel of an ultra-rare release.
The thing is with these rare one-offs is that they never run cheap. This bottle has an MSRP of $274.99. That’s already pretty steep. Add in that getting a bottle at that price is nearly impossible (with the secondary market snagging up allocations from liquor stores) and you have a whiskey that’s going to cost a lot, whichever way you slice it.
Instead of just reviewing this bottle and leaving it at that, we’ll also give our two cents on whether this is actually worth tracking down and dropping serious coin on. Let’s get into it.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
The base of the spirit is Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash of 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and a mere ten percent rye. This particular whiskey is built from several barrels from four warehouse campuses in the Bardstown area. In this case, three different ages were pulled with 17 years being the youngest. The whiskey is made from 28 percent 20-year-old barrels, 44 percent 19-year-old barrels, and 28 percent 17-year-old barrels. Once those barrels are vatted, the bourbon goes into the bottle as-is, without any cutting or fussing.
The Bottle:
The whiskey comes in a snazzy box with a soft blue and gold theme. That color scheme matches the long-neck bottle inside. Overall, the presentation is very subtle and classy, which will help this one really catch anyone’s eye from across the bar.
Tasting Notes:
The age is apparent from the first nose with old glove leather next to a soft hint of cobweb-draped cellar beams leading towards a dark and thick cherry syrup that’s laced with cinnamon, clove, and allspice. The nose then grows with an almost cherry-maple syrup with a buttery base pushing it toward a toffee creaminess. The palate leans into those spices with a winter-spice-laced chewy (almost wet) fistful of tobacco leaves jammed into an old cedar box. The mid-palate bursts with spiced cherry crumble with baked brown sugar and nutmeg nuts, creating a velvety texture. The finish carries the spice from that mid-palate towards a sweet finish that feels like a marrying of toffee syrup and cherrywood tobacco with that dry cedar tobacco box echoing on the far backend.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty goddamn delicious. I think “silky” is a good adjective here. This is a bold whiskey but it’s so soft and nuanced that it drinks like soft-yet-warm-silk. I know “smooth” elicits eye rolls from the whiskey nerds, but this is shockingly easy to drink for such and old and deeply flavored whiskey. A home run for folks who appreciate that quality.
Ranking:
98/100 — This is nearly perfect, especially if you’re looking for a pure classic bourbon with everything both heightened and refined. It’s not taking bourbon anywhere new, but it is helping to prove the beauty that can be found in these older barrels of whiskey.
Is It Worth The Price?
If you’re a collector (and can find this at MSRP), then 100 percent yes. That said, the ship may have already sailed on getting this at MSRP. I really can’t see spending $500, $1,000, or more on this unless you’re a seasoned collector. Or money is no object.
If you’re looking for something to show off on your bar cart and actually drink, I’d also say yes. This is truly good juice. Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond would be a good parallel if you can’t find this but want something in the same general vibe/price range.
We are at the tail end of the second season of TruTv’s Fast Foodies, and so far it’s been a blast — thanks to the onscreen chemistry between the three chefs tasked with re-creating and reimagining each celebrity guest’s favorite fast food dishes. Kristen Kish, Jeremy Ford, and Justin Sutherland are great in their roles and really make this show work. The Top Chef and Iron Chef alums have on-screen chemistry that is virtually unparalleled in the culinary tv space.
Part of what makes the trio so fun to watch — aside from their interactions with guests like Reggie Watts, Natasha Leggero, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Baron Davis — is the noticeable friendship and mutual respect between them, and that infectious chemistry was on full display when I sat down with the trio over Zoom to talk about the challenges of season two and get their takes on who is doing it right and wrong in the fast food space.
Dive into the discussion below, and be sure to catch new episodes of Fast Foodies every Thursday night on TruTv.
TruTv
How has season two of Fast Foodies differed for you personally? What is new about this season?
Kristen: I think from my perspective the greatest thing is, obviously, it still has all of the charm and comedy of the original, hence why season one did so well, but I think from a chef’s perspective, we’ve gotten as collectively as a group of three, more involved cooking. We were given a little bit more time and that allows a bit more creativity to be showcased.
The first go-around we tried to do everything from start to finish and in season two we had pockets of time where we could do longer process items and really explain it on camera which helped to open up how we are able to cook. I think the food is going to be intensified.
Justin: You’re definitely going to see higher-level food from all three of us and I think the interactions between us have been more genuine. The first season we had all known each other but had not worked that intimately with one another. The getting to know you awkward phase was out of the way and I think the three of us have great chemistry and you’re going to notice that off the bat, our real-life friendship shows through.
Jeremy: I think with anything, the first go-around is always that you learn from what you can and can’t achieve within that time frame. It’s a long day of shooting but there is a lot to be done with breaks, lunches, everyone doing their own thing but I think overall we’ve gotten better at it, more efficient, like Kristin was saying we upped the level a little bit. I know this season I went to the farmer’s market a lot more and tried to utilize what was around Cali, so I think that I had a lot more fun.
I know you all have pretty extensive professional culinary backgrounds — what’s your individual relationship with fast food? Is it something you only ate when growing up? Do you still eat it a lot, or is it something you tend to avoid?
Kristen: I certainly grew up eating it, I grew up in Michigan and McDonald’s, Burger Kings, Arby’s, and Wendy’s were essentially on every other street corner, and we frequented them as a family sometimes. Oftentimes during road trips, like driving from Michigan to Disney World and you’d hit every KFC, that was one of my favorites. But the relationship is nostalgia-based for me, I don’t indulge in it every day now, however, let’s be honest, what’s the big difference between fried chicken from KFC, outside of the quality of course, or going to a restaurant and completely gorging myself on fried chicken and other fried items? So I still eat fast food, but probably just higher quality now because you know, the chef world is so vast!
Justin: My parents were health freaks growing up so I didn’t get a lot of fast food as a young child but from my older teenage to college years, being poor and needing to eat effectively, that was when I had the most fast food. It’s definitely nostalgia, I enjoy it now but I definitely don’t indulge as often. But I’m not going to lie and say I don’t lie my late-night Taco Bell runs every once in a while. I’ll take a Beef and Cheddar any day still.
Jeremy: For me, I’m the opposite of these two because I have three daughters and fast food is very much a current part of our diet. I have a four-year-old that literally won’t eat sometimes unless it’s chicken fingers from McDonalds. I’m trying to break that habit because it’s an awful one, but she is the pickiest eater and for us, we want her to be healthy because when you’re a kid it’s the only time you can be carefree over what your diet is.
So I’m stuck in the middle, do I take it from her and feed her something else when she gets hungry, or do I let her enjoy this little gap in life when you have no opinion of yourself?
TruTv
You guys have cooked for a lot of foodies, a lot of celebrities, who would you love to cook for?
Kristen: That’s a big question there are so many amazing people both living and past that would be amazing to cook for. My go-to is always Mr. and Mrs. Obama, that would be epic. But honestly, because we are who we are and we’re chefs by profession, and this is just our life, honestly, and not to sound super cheesy, but just being able to cook for anyone that actually appreciates something, regardless of your celebrity status, is the main reason we do what we do.
So everyone and anyone… including Mr. and Mrs. Obama.
Justin: I would agree with Kristen, starting up when we first started getting accolades as a chef, I think there were people I thought I really wanted to cook for but now that I’ve cooked for a lot of people… I did get to cook for Obama when he was a senator on the campaign trail — I think nowadays we’ve cooked for so many people that I think it’s all truly about the appreciation, whether it’s Joe Schmoe off the street or some famous celebrity.
I just like cooking for people that enjoy it.
Jeremy: For me, I think there is a guy and gal named Mr. and Mrs. Rubenstine and they have dined at Stubborn Seed, I think we’re at 170 visits now, to me that’s a celebrity because that’s the guy and gal that help pay my rent, hep pay my staff, keep food on the table at my home. That guy and that gal and those individuals that continuously support the restaurant, those are my celebrities, those are the people I see and get giddy inside like “yes, 178!”
You mentioned earlier how a lot of fast food for you is steeped in nostalgia, and I imagine for a lot of people you cook for it’s the same. In your experience on the show so far, what fast food restaurant is the hardest to recreate, and which shows the biggest room for improvement? Sometimes our memories are the greatest spice, and something we think we love might actually taste terrible.
Kristen: The hardest one was the whole Schlotzkys thing because it’s fast food but it’s also not and there is a lot of technique that comes with recreating portions of that item… but yeah, some items are slightly more disappointing compared to others because you thought they were bigger and more robust as a child, but at the end of the day it’s the flavor profile and it’s what it does to transform you back to having that as a child.
Justin: I think as an overall brand, McDonald’s is probably the hardest to truly replicate because it’s been around for so long with the same flavors, it’s so simple, yet so unique. Nothing tastes like McDonald’s. They have their tried and true recipes and they’re crazy simple, but it’s extremely hard to replicate.
Jeremy: They’re all really difficult, to be honest. What they come up with in these labs and the places they come up with these recipes, it’s really hard to find the texture to some of these things, that’s what I find really hard. Kris has a really good way of mashing meat paste and it literally tastes like Taco Bell.
Kristen: Stop!
Jeremy: So it’s like those weird things, like ‘oh a potato masher actually emulsifies fatty oil back into the meat creating a paste,” and even if you’re a chef, that isn’t stuff you learn, those are textural things that are practiced like hundreds of hundreds of times between multiple people and you’re trying to figure it out in 45 minutes.
Justin, I wanted to ask what do you think McDonald’s secret is, is it a touch of sugar?
Justin: We definitely know its sugar, from the added sugar in the ketchup to the French fries to their own secret recipe of Coke that only McDonald’s gets. And it’s probably whatever mystery meat is in those patties. But it’s every element. The slice of cheese, the little onion, the pickles, the ketchup, everything is so uniquely Mcdonald’s. You couldn’t go pick up cheese, onions, pickles, beef, and even an identical bun, and make it taste like McDonald’s.s Whatever their lab-created ingredients are… and a lot of sugar.
Kristen: All of our copycats were certainly light years beyond better, even if we tried really hard to make it shitty.
Kristen could you walk us through your meat paste mashing magic?
Kristen: Oh fuck off!
That’s your brand now!
Kristen: It clearly is. It’s just one of those potato mashers, the ones that are better are the ones that are more like waffle patterns, not the ones that are coils, or one-piece metal. You just literally keep all the fat in there and just mash it and mash it and mash it. Similar to how you’d take a spatula at the beginning of making tacos at home, and you use the edge of the spatula to break up the chunks of meat. The potato masher does it for you and just completely obliterates the strands of protein and incorporates the fat back in.
TruTv
What was this season’s biggest challenge for your personally?
Kristen: I think and I’m sure both Justin and Jeremy will agree, I think when we film these shows we’re very fortunate and incredibly lucky to be doing what we do for our jobs, for sure. That being said, we’re removed from our restaurants, we’re removed from our daily responsibility, and removed from our families and those that we love for weeks at a time.
It’s not about the food, the food is not hard, what makes it difficult is the mental state and for me personally it was a long run, it was cooking and cooking and cooking for lots of hours of the day and sometimes you hit a mental roadblock. While having the gratitude, you’re also allowed to have feelings and I think that was more difficult this time around given that the world was more opened up, whereas in the first season we were three people doing a really cool thing while no one else was doing anything.
Justin: When we filmed season one it was mid pandemic, our restaurants were closed, the world was shut down, so we came from sitting at home super excited. Not that we weren’t super excited this time around, but doing it while the world was moving around, while our restaurants were operating, while we had other responsibilities other than making the show made it a bit more distracting. Our minds had to be in multiple places at once. But you know, such is life, definitely not complaining. I love what I do and we’re lucky to be able to continue this show, but there was a difference.
Kristen: I think the three of us felt that way because we are three people that truly pour everything into what we’re doing, so when you pour 1000% into one thing or into 100 things you’re bound to have to hold your head on straight for a minute.
Jeremy: My thing is always missing my daughter. I’m super close with them so on week two or three I start turning Into a cry baby and start losing it randomly. I have a one-year-old, a four-year-old, and a fourteen-year-old and the fourteen-year-old needs me right now so when you’re gone for that long you feel bad, you miss them, they call you, and it’s hard.
For me it’s just missing my family, my restaurant I know is going to do great because I have great staff and they’re amazing, so I don’t really worry too much about the restaurant, it’s more the girlies.
Kristen: In a non-covid world I highly doubt we’d have this conversation because everyone would be able to fly their family in and have them on set and do all the fun stuff together. Circumstances with Covid were definitely the catalyst of a lot of challenges.
What fast food dishes do you legitimately admire? Doesn’t have to be something you eat all the time, but who in fast food is thriving right now?
Kristen: I think the changing of the guard of what fast food actually means and how people operate within the fast food world. Obviously, Danny Meyer and Shake Shack is a pioneer in a lot of different things. What he did to revolutionize what fast food could look like, not just from an employee standpoint, but the quality of food standpoint, while still delivering you quite literally fast food is huge, and the price point is relatively in line with other fast food in some respects.
What he and Shake Shack did in reinvigorating the fast food model is huge.
Justin: I’m always impressed with Arby’s ability to continually change and innovate and they’re always trying something new with different meats and different sandwiches and really trying to elevate their game compared to just burger and fry places.
Jeremy: I really like what Chipotle is doing, buying properly sourced proteins and they have a really good tofu thing, but I think from a health standpoint they buy great ingredients. It’s very quick service, it’s very delicious, I’ve never had a bad meal there and every time I go there are 22 people in front of me. I think Chipotle has definitely found a nice niche.
TruTv
What’s your favorite fast food guilty pleasure? I’m talking the trashiest stuff, airport food, road trip indulgences, the stuff you don’t want people to know, but you’re going to tell us right now.
Kristen: Oh I will admit every garbage food that I ever eat. I’m not above any of it and I fully enjoy most of it. Every fast food chain you can possibly imagine well with the exception of the bad ones… less food wise more viewpoints and standpoints on the world… but I digress!
Jeremy: We don’t fuck with Chick-fil-A!
Kristen: No we do not, I love KFC!
Justin: That’s what I was going to say. I don’t feel like it’s a guilty pleasure or something I have to hide from, between Taco Bell and KFC I love them both. I don’t indulge in them every day, but you shouldn’t indulge in things you love every day. But the gravy from KFC, I will pour that on absolutely anything and will dip anything in it.
And I do have a secret or not-so-secret love for Taco Bell, I just try and only eat it under certain circumstances or uh… certain… conditions.
Jeremy: I’m driving a lot because we opened up a restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens and it’s two hours. So I’ve been loving those grab-and-go egg salad sandwiches from 7 Eleven.
Justin: Gross Jeremy, you are gross!
Jeremy: I know. I get a bag of Doritos with it and a really big Coca-Cola, that’s my jam right now.
Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are hitting the road again as She & Him this summer. The pair have announced that they will embark on the Melt Away Tour: A Tribute To Brian Wilson, beginning this June.
Although She & Him have toured several times in recent years, including an eight-city holiday tour last year, the “Melt Away Tour” marks the duo’s first tour of non-holiday material since 2013. Although Ward and Deschanel have become well known for their collaborative holiday tunes and covers, particularly with their albums A Very She & Him Christmas and Christmas Party, fans will be elated to hear songs from their albums of original material, including Volume One, Volume Two, and Volume Three. As the name of the tour suggests, fans can also expect to hear covers of Beach Boys and Brian Wilson songs throughout the set.
Tickets will be available through a fan presale beginning tomorrow. General on-sale begins Friday, April 1.
Check out the list of dates below.
06/13 — Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
06/14 — Salt Lake City @ TBD
06/16 — Forest Grove, OR @ Grand Lodge Hotel and Property
06/17 — Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle
06/18 — Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
06/20 — Jacksonville, OR @ TBD
06/22 — Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
06/23 — Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
06/24 — San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s
06/25 — Los Angeles, CA @ TBD
09/09 — Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts
One of the finest urban festivals in the world, Montreal Jazz Festival is back for its 42nd year with one of its best lineups ever. The Downtown Montreal celebration will be showcasing over 350 global artists in programming which is mostly free and includes jazz, rock, hip-hop, and so much more. That’s right: two thirds of the programming at MTL Jazz is free to the public in an incredible effort from the Canadian government’s dedication to the arts and longtime sponsors in TD Bank and Rio Tinto.
This year’s lineup is led by The Roots, Tash Sultana, Robert Glasper, Ludovico Einaudi, Kamasi Washington, Pink Martini, Woodkid, and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. It’s a testament to how not only jazz music will be on display in Montreal’s outdoor stages and indoor venues from June 30th to July 9th.
The diversely-minded lineup also features highlights in the multi-talented Masego, New Orleans trumpet player Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, vocalist Gregory Porter, rapper Joey Badass, Brazilian muse Bebel Gilberto, the British jazz-hop of Alfa Mist, singer/violinist Sudan Archives, a nu-jazz collaboration set from Pino Palladino and Blake Mills featuring Sam Gendel and Abe Rounds, plus so much more. This is truly a bucket list-type of festival experience for any music lover that we can’t recommend enough.
Ticketed concerts at Montreal Jazz festival go on sale starting Friday, April 1 at 10 a.m. here. Check out the lineup below.
After the staggering and unexpected loss of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins last weekend, at age 50, the band has understandably decided to cancel all their upcoming planned performances and tour dates. News first broke regarding Hawkins’ untimely death via the Foo Fighters’ own statement, but an outpouring of support following the news has included tributes from the likes of Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, and so many more in the music community who were touched by this incredible man.
While the band begins to mourn and process the loss of their colleague and friend, it makes sense that trying to continue on tour without him would be too difficult. They officially updated fans today on the status of their live shows, sharing the following statement: “It is with great sadness that Foo Fighters confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins. We’re sorry for and share in the disappointment that we won’t be seeing one another as planned. Instead, let’s take this time to grieve, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we’ve made together. With Love, Foo Fighters.”
A while back rumors began to surface that PlayStation was planning a service option for subscribers that could compete with Xbox’s Game Pass. For years, Sony has had a service similar to Game Pass called PlayStation Now that lacked the depth and features that have made so many players opt to go with Game Pass instead. It also has confused players with PlayStation’s main service, PlayStation Plus, which gives access to most online features and monthly free games.
On Tuesday, PlayStation announced in a blog post its plans to rework both services to make them one. Starting in June, we’ll see the results of what PlayStation has been planning. As of right now what we know is that players will be able to access multiple tiers of PlayStation Plus. These tiers offer different rewards with the biggest appeal being a deeper library of games for players to choose from, just like Game Pass. What each tier offers and is priced at is as follows:
Adds a catalog of up to 400* of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.
Price:
United States: $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
Adds up to 340* additional games, including:
PS3 games available via cloud streaming
A catalog of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations
Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets** where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles, and PC.***
Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.
Price:
United States: $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
While not an exact replica of Game Pass, this does feel like a decent attempt by PlayStation to try and compete with Xbox’s service, but it has some downsides that we couldn’t help but notice. For starters, the price difference is massive in terms of what PlayStation is offering compared to Xbox. This might not matter in the long run, especially if players jump on early, but it’s not going to be pulling away any Xbox diehards anytime soon.
As always, what will really decide the success of this “new” PlayStation service is the library of games itself. PlayStation has a deep library of classic games to pull from and that enough is going to draw players in. However, one of the biggest appeals of being a Game Pass member is getting to play brand new games at launch through the service. PlayStation has been pretty adamant that it doesn’t plan to do that, via Gameindustry.biz.
“[In terms of] putting our own games into this service, or any of our services, upon their release… as you well know, this is not a road that we’ve gone down in the past. And it’s not a road that we’re going to go down with this new service. We feel if we were to do that with the games that we make at PlayStation Studios, that virtuous cycle will be broken. The level of investment that we need to make in our studios would not be possible, and we think the knock-on effect on the quality of the games that we make would not be something that gamers want.”
It seems unlikely we will be getting brand new games on PlayStation Plus at the day of launch, at least not Sony developed titles anyway, and this is going to be another big difference for some fans. This doesn’t mean first-party titles will never be on the service, the blog post announcing this already confirmed that games like Marvel’s Spider Man: Miles Morales, Returnal, and God of War will all be on it day one. What it does mean though is when God of War: Ragnarok comes out that will be only available as a $60 to $70 purchase. For some players, that might not be enough to justify the price increase.
Last week, Billboardannounced they were partnering with Afro Nation on the new US Afrobeats Songs chart, which “ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.” The inaugural edition of the chart launched today and dominating the top spots are some big names not traditionally/primarily associated with Afrobeats music.
Three of the top five spots on the April 2-dated chart are occupied by songs featuring Ed Sheeran or Justin Bieber: CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” is No. 1, Fireboy DML and Sheeran’s “Peru” is No. 2, Wizkid’s Bieber- and Tems-featuring “Peru” is No. 3, Omah Lay’s Bieber-featuring “Attention” is No. 4, and Tems’ “Free Mind” is No. 5.
This week’s top 5 on the inaugural U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart:
Looking at the full top 50, Tems is the clear leader overall with eight entries, followed by Wizkid’s six, Burna Boy’s five, Rema’s four, and Davido’s three.
When the chart was announced last week, Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London, and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika said, “The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people. There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a US chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”
Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard‘s SVP of Charts and Development, added, “Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart. As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Trimming the song down to a brief two minutes, in order to make it work as a segment on The Kelly Clarkson show, Kelly was backed up by a full band and two additional vocalists for the groove-laden cult favorite, turning the chorus’ high notes into a vocal trill that Kacey doesn’t quite have the chops to pull off in her version. Then of course there’s the ad libs that Kelly loves to throw into any song she’s performing. Check out the cover above and look out for more covers from Kelly, she’s constantly finding new ones.
Dereck Lively II will head to Duke next year as the latest star recruit to play his college ball in Durham, NC, leading the nation’s top class in Jon Scheyer’s first year as the Blue Devils’ head coach.
Lively and the class of 2022 will head to Duke coming off, at minimum, a Final Four berth and potentially a championship in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season at the helm. This could lead to a whole lot of pressure being placed on that class to uphold a standard of excellence, but you wouldn’t know it speaking to Lively. The 7’1 center has an air of calm about him that is beyond his years, a steadying influence that figures to be a welcome presence in the Blue Devils’ locker room.
The nation’s top-ranked recruit is in Chicago this week for the McDonald’s All-American Game on Tuesday night, and was recently named the Morgan Wootten Boy’s Player of the Year — Kiki Rice, who is headed to UCLA next year, earned those honors on the girl’s side. Lively spoke with Dime from Chicago on Monday about the experience at the All-American Game, getting some early reps with fellow Duke commit Dariq Whitehead, the influences on his game, and what he plans to work on this summer to be ready to lead the Blue Devils on another deep run in March.
What’s the week been like so far in Chicago getting to be around some of the best players in the country?
It’s really exciting to being able to be recognized as one of these top players and something that I really never expected myself to be gifted. And being able to be with all these top talent and all the top players, it’s just feels great to be a part of and to be accepted.
Does it provide a little extra motivation seeing all of these players and the skill that’s out there, and knowing that these are friends but also competitors that you’re going to see for years down the line in college and then hopefully on into the pros?
Well, I could say that even before McDonald’s, I’ve been playing against most of these players for a long period of time. So being able to be in a position to watch each other rise and grow as players, it’s really enjoyable. And I know that as each player continues to go on their journey, there’s going to be a great time to have companions and friends that are going through the same thing I am.
One of those is you get to play this week with your future Duke teammate Dariq Whitehead. What’s it like to get some early reps with him and continue to get to know him better on and off the court ahead of when you guys are gonna get to Durham next year?
Well, me and Dariq’s relationship has always been good, even before I committed to Duke, and ever since is just continuously growing. So every time we’re able to play around each other or even be at the same event, we just try to have a good time and just try to stay in contact. So to know that we just started building relationship and the chemistry we have now, I can only imagine we’re going to do at Duke.
I’m sure you’ve kept an eye on on Duke’s Final Four run. Does that just add to your excitement to get to Durham next year and try to follow that up?
It definitely does. Being able to have such a great team that is already at Duke just kind of paved the way for us to follow in their footsteps. It’s something that’s really enjoyable, and I’m excited for.
And to be named the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year and join some of the elite names that have earned that honor what does that mean to you and being able to carry that legacy forward?
Well, being able to be gifted such an amazing award was something that I really never expected. I’m really grateful for being given this amazing award, knowing that all the past players that have come before me who have gotten this have gone on to do amazing things in the future. It only makes me think about what I can do.
Who are the players that you’ve looked to and tried to pull things from to add to your game as you’ve gone along in your young career so far?
Well, being 7-foot, I would start to look at the bigs, such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mo Bamba, but as I was trying to bring my game outside of the three point line, you start to look at players such as Kevin Durant to watch his footwork, to watch his timing, to watch Jayson Tatum and Brandon Ingram and other players who are very tall and use their length perfectly on the floor.
On defense — I talked about this with on the Onyeka Okongwu when he was coming into the draft — he said as a defender, he felt that being a big man his whole career and not being somebody that had a late growth spurt who suddenly found themselves becoming a center was advantageous because he’d always been down there and it was more natural to him to be a rim protector. Is that something that you feel is an advantage in your game, having the natural instincts that you feel you have on the defensive end?
Well, being able to be a big man my entire life has really taught me how to play defense. Ranging from working on my timing, waiting for the ball to leave their hand before I go block a shot, and even footwork. Being able to take those skills that I’ve been using my entire basketball career and use them outside the paint is something that I’ve definitely thought about and been using this entire time.
Definitely. As you look ahead to this offseason and get ready to go off to Duke and play at the college level, what are the things that you’re focusing on in your work this summer — you just mentioned trying to expand your range — but what are the things that you’ll be focused on to be ready for the college level?
Really focusing on the little things. Footwork, timing, making sure that I have my foul shot in the right tempo in the right time, making sure that I have my ball handling as well. Really just trying to refine my game so that all aspects of it is prepared for the level that Duke is playing on.
As we cycle through the long list of celebrities who are speaking up about Will Smith’s Oscar slap, more and more actors and Hollywood legends are commenting on the most “can’t look away” moment in Hollywood. Next up is a take from Jim Carrey!
The Ace Ventura actor appeared on CBS this morning to chat with Gayle King, presumably to promote his upcoming feature film Sonic The Hedgehog 2 which hits theaters next week (yeah, they made a second one) but of course, the Oscars came up. When asked about the slap, Carrey wasn’t pleased with the situation, particularly the audience giving Smith a standing ovation when he won the Best Actor award.
Carrey said he was “sickened by the standing ovation. Hollywood is just spineless en masse and it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore.” Carrey also implied that Smith should have been arrested for the ordeal.
The actor then bemoaned that the moment overshadowed a lot of other winners of the night. “I wish him the best, I really do,” he continued. “I don’t have anything against Will Smith. He’s done great things. But that was not a good moment. It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment.”
He added, “A lot of people worked really hard to get to that place. And to have their moment in the sun, to get their award for the really hard work they did, it is no mean feat to go through all the stuff you have to go through when you are nominated for an Oscar. It’s a gauntlet of devotion you have to do. It was such a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.”
Between this and Tiffany Haddish calling the moment “beautiful,” it seems that many actors are divided on the situation, and there will probably be at least three dozen more comments on the whole thing.
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