It was Sunday, May 17, the last time the Kentucky Barrels were seen in their Truist Arena home on the Northern Kentucky University campus. For those doing the math at home, that’s exactly 48 days since the first-year Barrels have enjoyed a game at their new/old Northern Kentucky home.
But the Arena Football One league still has three more weeks to go in the regular season, you say, and surely Barrels’ fans will get to catch up with their team before then, right?
Wrong.
The third-place Barrels, the only team in the league to have been scheduled for three separate trips to the West Coast this season, only to be stiffed on a return game by the now-defunct Oregon Lightning, will finish up the season on the road. They’ll be at Duluth, Minnesota for an incomprehensible second trip in a month there to play the fourth-place Monsters again this Sunday.
And this one matters for the 7-3 Barrels, a game-and-a-half ahead of the 5-4 Monsters as teams line up for their postseason playoff positions. And while the Barrels have a mathematical shot at one of the top two spots that will earn a first-round bye in the playoffs, that’s pretty much a longshot as first-place Nashville (9-1) would have to lose its final two games and second-place Albany (8-2) would have to lose one of its two.
Although we’re not sure a bye is the way for the Barrels to go here. Finishing third with a home game the first week of the playoffs after having played just one game in the last four weeks, might be the better way to go.
But after a 69-32 loss to Minnesota, by far their worst showing of the season, the Barrels had better “show up” this time as their coach Cedric Walker said they must if they’re to get back on the winning track.
A first-round home game would give the Barrels a chance to remind Northern Kentuckians they still exist after having been gone so long. One thought to build the home crowd: How about making that game Northern Kentucky High School Football Night and invite the thousand or so Northern Kentucky high school football players and their coaches as guests for the game. And have the well-received meet-up with the fans also include the Northern Kentucky high school football community, as well.
While they’re at it, include the 100 or so Thomas More football players. And turn Truist into a true home field advantage for the team that’s been deprived of one for far too long.
Getting back to basketball
For those of you who thought the Northern Kentucky University basketball program could not get more international after last season, with starters from Perth, Australia, and Hamilton, New Zealand, on the Norse’s far-flung roster, you haven’t seen anything yet. You’ll need a program and a world atlas for this team in the early going.
The Norse, who will introduce the team at a summer practice July 21, will feature an additional two players, both 6-foot-8, from Australia in addition to starting point guard Ethan Elliott from Perth. They are senior transfer Noah Pagotto from Port Macquarie by way of East Texas A&M and junior transfer Will ShorttGabrielius Jokubauskas is a 6-5 freshman from Vilnius, Lithuania, where he played in the National Basketball League there. Patrick Otto Mae is a 6-9 freshman from Talinn, Estonia, by way of New Hampshire’s Tilton Prep.
Another returnee is redshirt sophomore Donovan Rakotonanahary, a 6-6 guard from Antavaro, Madagascar by way of Oak Hill Academy He’s joined by 6-9 redshirt freshman Juanmo Ruiz, from Begijar, Spain and the Under-19 national league there.
With no Northern Kentuckians on the roster, the lone Greater Cincinnati product is 6-4 junior returnee Bryce Darbyshire, from Cincinnati’s Sycamore High School. Another 6-4 returnee is redshirt freshman JJ Apathjang from Salt Lake City’s Judge Memorial High School.
B.J. Davis-Ray, a 6-6 sophomore guard transfer from SMU, is a St. Louis native who starred at JSerra High in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Eric Acker is a 6-3 guard transfer from East New York, NY, who starred at Long Island University and played at LaSalle before heading to NKU.
Another returnee is 6-7 Ryan Tolliver from Northwest Catholic High in Hartford, Conn. He’s joined by newcomer guard, 6-2 Willie Foster from Lima Senior High in Lima, Ohio.
That’s seven international players from Australia, Spain, Madagascar, Estonia and Lithuania. And six U.S. players from Connecticut, Utah, California, New York and two from Ohio.
By comparison, the 2026-2027 NKU women’s basketball team has three international players – from Australia, Israel and Canada – and 11 US players with four Northern Kentuckians among six Greater Cincinnatians.
One more Norse hoops moment
As NKU alum Sam Vinson finishes up his first season for the Kalgoorlie Goldfield Giants in the Australian Semipro league, the 6-5 guard is putting up some decent numbers with team-leading totals of 5.67 assists per game and .47 blocks per game with second-best team averages of 20.13 points and 6.93 rebounds.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X @dweber3440.