1
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,320
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk college basketball the eyes of the

2
00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,400
Speaker 1: college basketball world on Oxford, Ohio. Tomorrow night, twenty and

3
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,280
Speaker 1: O Miami RedHawks take the national stage for a nine

4
00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:16,000
Speaker 1: o'clock tip. They take on you Mass from the led Hall.

5
00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,239
Speaker 1: It's an ESPNU game. I'm excited to talk with our

6
00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,520
Speaker 1: next guest. Seventeen years as a college basketball coach and

7
00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,040
Speaker 1: analysts with ESPN since I believe nineteen ninety nine. He

8
00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,000
Speaker 1: is the baseball coach at Miami University Middletown, those thunder Hawks,

9
00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,600
Speaker 1: and he is a friend of the show. It's always

10
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:37,239
Speaker 1: a treat to talk hoops with Mark Adams. How are you?

11
00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,199
Speaker 2: You know, Lance, I'm sitting here in cold Oxford, Ohio

12
00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,080
Speaker 2: right now and couldn't be more excited to be here

13
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,880
Speaker 2: though that tomorrow Nice is gonna be electric with Frank

14
00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,320
Speaker 2: Martin and you maass coming anachlurs Frank, those a little

15
00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,240
Speaker 2: bit about upsets and Miami with Travis. I got a

16
00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,160
Speaker 2: chance to talk to coach Steele to day, and you know, Lance,

17
00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,600
Speaker 2: I don't know that I've ever seen a happier team.

18
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,000
Speaker 2: This team is really amazing, just the culture that they have,

19
00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,360
Speaker 2: the looseness, the level of trust, they play with. It's

20
00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:06,520
Speaker 2: really been a fun day for me in Oxford.

21
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,360
Speaker 1: Boy and Mark what a what a fun team to watch.

22
00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,440
Speaker 1: And their offensive numbers, I mean they're startling. You look

23
00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,880
Speaker 1: at it, and those stats just jump off the sheet,

24
00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:16,399
Speaker 1: don't they.

25
00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:21,520
Speaker 2: It's really amazing laps when you look at how efficient

26
00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,560
Speaker 2: this team is. But they're number two in the country

27
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,480
Speaker 2: in scoring offense, they're almost ninety five points a game.

28
00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,840
Speaker 2: And effective field goal percentage which combines two point three

29
00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,520
Speaker 2: point percentage, they're number one in the country. They're number

30
00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 2: one in field goal percentage, they're number three and three

31
00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,760
Speaker 2: point field goal percentage. This team is so well connected

32
00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,880
Speaker 2: offensively and so highly skilled. And you know, we'll get

33
00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,080
Speaker 2: into some of the players too, because I think that

34
00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,520
Speaker 2: they bring such a unique skill set collectively. Because Travis

35
00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,880
Speaker 2: Steele really built this thing the way he wanted to.

36
00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,840
Speaker 2: It was so fascinating talk to him today about his

37
00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,280
Speaker 2: experience at Xavior and what he learned from that experience

38
00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,440
Speaker 2: and when he came to Miami, the lessons learned of

39
00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,360
Speaker 2: being a fired coach, and he and I talked specifically

40
00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,639
Speaker 2: about that today because there's two kinds of coaches, those

41
00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,440
Speaker 2: who have been fired and those who are going to

42
00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,600
Speaker 2: be and I've also been there, by the way, and

43
00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,400
Speaker 2: to hear him talk about what do you want from

44
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,919
Speaker 2: that experience and then the lessons they learned and applied

45
00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,119
Speaker 2: those here at Miami was just fascinating.

46
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,760
Speaker 1: Boy. And among the players, I mean, they've been down

47
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,080
Speaker 1: and they're without Evan Sorrow for the past nine games,

48
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,080
Speaker 1: and you missed the season with the knee, and Dream

49
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,320
Speaker 1: was such a tough, gritty point guard. But may have

50
00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,760
Speaker 1: Pete Souitor has stepped up and has done things in

51
00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:35,320
Speaker 1: all different kinds of ways.

52
00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,240
Speaker 2: You know, Pete Suitor has a superpower. And I've watched

53
00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,040
Speaker 2: him closely, Lance especially, I mean, you know how I prepare,

54
00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,160
Speaker 2: and I really watched this team, study this team, and

55
00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,760
Speaker 2: the thing that strikes me is that while everybody else

56
00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,360
Speaker 2: is kind of on aool dial up, remember old AOL

57
00:02:54,480 --> 00:03:00,600
Speaker 2: dial up. Yes, this guy, this guy offensively is our AI.

58
00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:05,560
Speaker 2: I means mathematically, he takes such optimal shots. You know,

59
00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,960
Speaker 2: he shoots fifty seven percent overall forty six from three.

60
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,440
Speaker 2: He has really good defensive position, and he's second on

61
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,840
Speaker 2: the team in steels. He also does a really good

62
00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:21,200
Speaker 2: job of understanding court geometry, where he sets up as

63
00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,480
Speaker 2: how he gets the spots on the floors opens up

64
00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,200
Speaker 2: space for everybody else. But here's the moon. He is

65
00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:34,200
Speaker 2: the gravitational poll of the Miami offense, where he pulls

66
00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:39,080
Speaker 2: defenders towards him, which then makes the opponent's defense, you know,

67
00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,000
Speaker 2: being not balanced and because they spread the floor so well.

68
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,960
Speaker 2: And then you've got a guy like bran Byers's out

69
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,200
Speaker 2: there that you know, sick fight, can really shoot the

70
00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:49,720
Speaker 2: ball and has learned how to put the ball on

71
00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,760
Speaker 2: the floor. Then you have Luke stal Jacks. He's been

72
00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,119
Speaker 2: as sorr As was a sorry backup, has become such

73
00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,360
Speaker 2: a great point guard. I love the little lefty and

74
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,280
Speaker 2: the leverage that he gets on defenders and how he's

75
00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,240
Speaker 2: been given more runway as a guard and as a

76
00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,200
Speaker 2: starting guard. And now it's like supersonic jet taken off.

77
00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,760
Speaker 2: This offense is really interesting to watch.

78
00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,560
Speaker 1: Tell me a little bit more about Travis in this

79
00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,240
Speaker 1: no desk office.

80
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,239
Speaker 2: You know, he's an interesting cat. You know, he's worked

81
00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:25,360
Speaker 2: for fad Mada. You know, he came up basically from

82
00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,240
Speaker 2: being a student manager if you're Alma moderate Butler, you know,

83
00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,200
Speaker 2: and then has parlayed that into so many different experiences

84
00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,240
Speaker 2: he was with Kelvin Sampson and Indiana. In fact, Ian

85
00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,640
Speaker 2: Kelvin were just talking today and the thing that's this

86
00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,800
Speaker 2: fascining about Travis is that he wants it to be collaborative.

87
00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,280
Speaker 2: He wants input from people. Even today he and I

88
00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,279
Speaker 2: talking together. It wasn't so much as an interview of him,

89
00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,200
Speaker 2: you know, regurgitating information to me. It was more of

90
00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,920
Speaker 2: a sharing of ideas. Even as just a baseball coach

91
00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,560
Speaker 2: Minu Middletown, right, I mean, not the might deal matters

92
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,680
Speaker 2: at all, but he was interested in things and we

93
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:09,760
Speaker 2: were able to talk about how they measure hustle, they

94
00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,320
Speaker 2: measure different things that there's there's ways that they evaluate

95
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:19,080
Speaker 2: their players to give effort and rely on process versus outcomes.

96
00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,920
Speaker 2: He's truly a CEO, but he's not a CEO in

97
00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,239
Speaker 2: an ivory tower. He's a CEO in an office without

98
00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,640
Speaker 2: a guest. He has a conference table in it. His

99
00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,960
Speaker 2: door is always open. And Dan Lewis is a young

100
00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,840
Speaker 2: man that I know. He's a graduate assistant here. Dan

101
00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,760
Speaker 2: played for for Travis over the last couple of years,

102
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,800
Speaker 2: and Dan told me his door is always open and

103
00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,080
Speaker 2: regardless of where you are in the pecking order in

104
00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,039
Speaker 2: the organization. There is no pecking order. When you walk

105
00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,520
Speaker 2: into his office. He is engaged, He is listening. He

106
00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,000
Speaker 2: is always trying to do something to help an individual,

107
00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,640
Speaker 2: or the team or the university get better.

108
00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,640
Speaker 1: Mark Adams checking in. He'll be on a call tomorrow

109
00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,200
Speaker 1: night on ESPN you nine o'clock tip Miami versus U Mask.

110
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,880
Speaker 1: Miami is winning close games. They're winning close games dramatically.

111
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:10,800
Speaker 1: They just continue to find a way.

112
00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know they do. And I think that U.

113
00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,240
Speaker 2: Mass is going to be a really interesting match up.

114
00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,599
Speaker 2: Lance it. Frank Martin knows how to win. South Carolina

115
00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,160
Speaker 2: led him to the final four. They knocked off the

116
00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,880
Speaker 2: number two seed, three seed, four seed, and then eventually

117
00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,720
Speaker 2: lost in a three point game to the number one

118
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,680
Speaker 2: overall seed Gonzaga in the twenty seventeen NCAA Tournament. This

119
00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:31,760
Speaker 2: guy is going to turn this thing into a rock fight. Look,

120
00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,360
Speaker 2: you can't race Ferraris with Miami. It's got to be

121
00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,280
Speaker 2: a tractor pull. And that's what I'm looking for tomorrow night.

122
00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,160
Speaker 2: I'm looking for Frank Martin to bring in the biggest, baddest,

123
00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,400
Speaker 2: you know, tractor that he can find and slow this

124
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,120
Speaker 2: thing down and try to grind it out. There are

125
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,479
Speaker 2: the most physical team in the Mid American Conference, and

126
00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,720
Speaker 2: it's gonna look more like Miami Hockey. It's gonna look

127
00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:54,560
Speaker 2: more like buying the basketball team.

128
00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,479
Speaker 1: I loved in the notes you sent me. The RedHawks

129
00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,720
Speaker 1: are in the anti blue Blood club. They're chasing perfection.

130
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,040
Speaker 1: And there's some really cool stories of teams and programs

131
00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:06,640
Speaker 1: that have chased perfection over the years.

132
00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,720
Speaker 2: You know, here's here's the great thing about about our jobs, right,

133
00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,960
Speaker 2: But first of all, let's go back to Indiana State

134
00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,960
Speaker 2: nineteen seventy nine with Larry Byrd and Bill Hodges and

135
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,160
Speaker 2: that great streak there. Unlv I got a chance to

136
00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,000
Speaker 2: actually coach those guys once upon a time on a

137
00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,000
Speaker 2: summer day in their gym in Las Vegas with Larry

138
00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,040
Speaker 2: Johnson and that's you. And of course they went to

139
00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,240
Speaker 2: you know, lost the Duke in the national championship game

140
00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,000
Speaker 2: in the previous year. They absolutely steam steamrolled Duke and

141
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,160
Speaker 2: then UMass. You know, remember those guys with John Caliparia,

142
00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,720
Speaker 2: Marcus Camby, Saint Jo's Jamiir Nelson, Delonte West with Phill

143
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,720
Speaker 2: mart Telling, Murray State with Steve prom Isaiah Cannon. I

144
00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:47,960
Speaker 2: called their twenty three and oh game, by the way

145
00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:50,800
Speaker 2: during that stretch, and then Wichita State, one of my

146
00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,760
Speaker 2: favorite teams of all time, Fred Danvliet, Greg Marshall. Of

147
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,280
Speaker 2: course that team ended up when the NCAA Tournament they

148
00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:58,960
Speaker 2: were undefeated. I called their thirty three and oh game.

149
00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:01,800
Speaker 2: And then gonz I Get most recently with their run

150
00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:03,880
Speaker 2: to thirty one and oh before they lost to Baylor,

151
00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,160
Speaker 2: and then now Miami at twenty and zero. I mean,

152
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,360
Speaker 2: what a wonderful life, right, I mean, I feel like

153
00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:12,160
Speaker 2: George Bailey on It's a wonderful life. I'm the richest

154
00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,000
Speaker 2: man in town, and I'm the richest man in Oxford,

155
00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:15,280
Speaker 2: Ohio tonight and tomorrow night.

156
00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:17,200
Speaker 1: You know, Mark, another thing that jumped out from the

157
00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,160
Speaker 1: last time I talked with Travis, and you can relate

158
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,720
Speaker 1: this certainly with your background as a coach. He talked

159
00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,240
Speaker 1: about how they have earned his players that know the system,

160
00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,240
Speaker 1: they've earned his trust and the freedom. And he said, Lance,

161
00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,960
Speaker 1: you won't believe this. I don't call a lot of plays.

162
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,560
Speaker 1: I'll call the occasional inbounds play, but he lets them play.

163
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,079
Speaker 1: They gotta love that, you.

164
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,840
Speaker 2: Know, Lance, You and I have talked about this concept

165
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:45,360
Speaker 2: itself and how coaches need to let their players play

166
00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,320
Speaker 2: and to trust them. You know, you and I spoke

167
00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,760
Speaker 2: a couple months ago about I said that I wish

168
00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,480
Speaker 2: every basketball coach could coach baseball, and every baseball coach

169
00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,000
Speaker 2: could coach basketball, because what I learned as a baseball

170
00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,319
Speaker 2: coach is that I can't tell my guys enough that

171
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,080
Speaker 2: I trust them and I believe in them. And you know,

172
00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,640
Speaker 2: I've found a kindred spirit here in Oxford where Tamas

173
00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,760
Speaker 2: really really gets it. He doesn't need to have signals

174
00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,439
Speaker 2: as a third base coach, right you know, you know

175
00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,120
Speaker 2: I need to call it plays. Uh. He can trust

176
00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,360
Speaker 2: his players to make plays. And I think that when

177
00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,200
Speaker 2: it's an internal led team, a player led team, those

178
00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,280
Speaker 2: are the championship level teams when the CEO knows when

179
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:29,440
Speaker 2: and how to get out of the way.

180
00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:32,760
Speaker 1: I'm fired up. I know you're fired up. I can't

181
00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:34,839
Speaker 1: wait till tomorrow night. And uh man, it means a

182
00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,200
Speaker 1: lot you. Uh you carved out some time tonight on

183
00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,240
Speaker 1: the eve of this game. Thank you for checking in.

184
00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:40,680
Speaker 1: Always good here in your voice.

185
00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,079
Speaker 2: I'm thrilled to be here. Lanson. Well, by the way,

186
00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:45,520
Speaker 2: will you be in MILET tomorrow night.

187
00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:47,880
Speaker 1: I will not I will be on the air, unfortunately,

188
00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:50,080
Speaker 1: but I'll be monitoring you on the TV here in

189
00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,880
Speaker 1: the studio. How's that all right, buddy.

190
00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:54,319
Speaker 2: I'll try to get a shout out to you on that.

191
00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,559
Speaker 2: I'll try to make I'll try to make up something

192
00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:00,120
Speaker 2: you like. You're an all American. I bunt.

193
00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,880
Speaker 1: You're the man. Thanks, Mark, all right, take care, Mark Adams,

194
00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,240
Speaker 1: there you go. He's on the call tomorrow night. ESPN.

195
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:13,080
Speaker 1: You Miami and U mass all right, we're uh, we're

196
00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,240
Speaker 1: heading down the stretch of a rapidly moving first hour

197
00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,199
Speaker 1: still ahead the weekend that was for UC and Xavier.

198
00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:20,760
Speaker 1: The thoughts of West Miller and Richard Bettino and more

199
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,800
Speaker 1: are now Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet seven

200
00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:24,960
Speaker 1: hundred WLW