1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,040
Speaker 1: Minutes twenty five from five. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Moegar.

2
00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: This is his favorite type of radio segment. Mike Decursi

3
00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,520
Speaker 1: from the Sporting News Fox Sports bracketologist loves the post

4
00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,000
Speaker 1: Super Bowl segment where he has to catch everybody up

5
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,720
Speaker 1: who has been too busy watching football to watch any

6
00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,000
Speaker 1: college basketball and what's happening in college hoops.

7
00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:20,880
Speaker 2: So I appreciate you doing this as always, Mike, how

8
00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:21,160
Speaker 2: are you?

9
00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:24,680
Speaker 3: I'm great, mo, And I always admire the people who

10
00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,000
Speaker 3: spent their entire weeks breaking down game film, making sure

11
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,600
Speaker 3: they're a top of like what the Patriots are up to,

12
00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,360
Speaker 3: because you can't find two hours to watch a college

13
00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:35,479
Speaker 3: hoops game, right.

14
00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,040
Speaker 1: Well, not when you're doing mock drafts and preparing your

15
00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:40,160
Speaker 1: free agency big board.

16
00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,400
Speaker 4: No, no, it happens.

17
00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,280
Speaker 2: It happened. You've been kind enough to join me.

18
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,720
Speaker 1: For years, we've never started our conversations by talking about

19
00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,160
Speaker 1: the Miami RedHawks, but here we are. You've written about them.

20
00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,720
Speaker 2: You know it's funny we do this.

21
00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,120
Speaker 1: We did this with UC football in twenty twenty one,

22
00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,520
Speaker 1: where there's like preemptive anger. What's going to happen if

23
00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,280
Speaker 1: they win every game? And don't get into the college

24
00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,679
Speaker 1: football playoff. We're doing that with Miami. But I can't

25
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,160
Speaker 1: help but ask if they run the table in the

26
00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,080
Speaker 1: regular season and then stub their toe in Cleveland in

27
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,839
Speaker 1: the MAC Tournament, how are they going to be viewed

28
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:14,520
Speaker 1: by the committee?

29
00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:16,119
Speaker 4: Well, if that.

30
00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,880
Speaker 3: Happens, First of all, it depends on when they stub

31
00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,319
Speaker 3: their toe. It depends a little, at least a little.

32
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,520
Speaker 3: You wouldn't want to do that in the quarters. And

33
00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,319
Speaker 3: given the fact that it'll probably work out that Kenton

34
00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,480
Speaker 3: Ackron would be in the opposite semi so you couldn't

35
00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:33,759
Speaker 3: face either of them.

36
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,320
Speaker 4: If I'm if it turns out the way one would expect,

37
00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,000
Speaker 4: you couldn't face either of them until the final.

38
00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,600
Speaker 3: Then even a semi loss wouldn't look great because there

39
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,640
Speaker 3: are only three really good teams in.

40
00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,000
Speaker 4: The MAC this year. I'm not saying that everybody else

41
00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:49,920
Speaker 4: is awful.

42
00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,440
Speaker 3: But they're not as I As I wrote in my

43
00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,440
Speaker 3: column today, which you can find if you're a if

44
00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,520
Speaker 3: you're a RedHawks fan, you can find it at TSN

45
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,680
Speaker 3: Mike today, the MAC has always been the most balance

46
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,760
Speaker 3: of conferences, and this time it just happens that the

47
00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:12,880
Speaker 3: balance is all at five hundred or below. The excellences

48
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,359
Speaker 3: with Kent and Miami and of course Akron, but the

49
00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,480
Speaker 3: rest kind of not having a great year. So my

50
00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,600
Speaker 3: recommendation would be to win them all at least until

51
00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:26,680
Speaker 3: the final, and then I think that if you lose

52
00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,320
Speaker 3: in the final to Akron or Kent, there's just no

53
00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,600
Speaker 3: way you could say no to them. And for me,

54
00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:33,880
Speaker 3: it would then just be a question of how high

55
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,280
Speaker 3: they get seated, would they have to go through Dayton,

56
00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,240
Speaker 3: that sort of thing. And it's hard to know now

57
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,880
Speaker 3: exactly what the parameters would be for them in that

58
00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,320
Speaker 3: circumstance because you don't know what everybody else is doing

59
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,840
Speaker 3: in that neighborhood. But I would I would think the

60
00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:54,560
Speaker 3: word I used was ridiculous. I think if that in

61
00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,320
Speaker 3: that scenario, the one I presented, they were excluded.

62
00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:00,359
Speaker 2: Yeah.

63
00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,480
Speaker 1: You know, Travis Steel has had an answer, including with

64
00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:04,960
Speaker 1: us a lot of questions about his schedule, and he's

65
00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,760
Speaker 1: you know, look, hey, I've we've tried to schedule everybody.

66
00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,720
Speaker 1: We can't get anybody to play us. And I don't

67
00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,239
Speaker 1: buy that go ahead expand on that go ahead.

68
00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,040
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's that's not that's that's not true. I mean, look, if.

69
00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,480
Speaker 3: You call Duke and Duke says, no, obviously we tried,

70
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,720
Speaker 3: you know, and I'm not I'm.

71
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:23,960
Speaker 4: Not holding this just to Travis.

72
00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,280
Speaker 3: This is the entire mid major operation, with the exception

73
00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,720
Speaker 3: of Akron and a few others. Akron, like you look

74
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:31,679
Speaker 3: at akron schedule a year ago, and John knew he

75
00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,239
Speaker 3: had a stud team. He knew they were going to

76
00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,960
Speaker 3: be really good. John Gross for those who don't know that,

77
00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,640
Speaker 3: he's the coach at Akron. Right when John knew he

78
00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,600
Speaker 3: had a really good team, they played Saint Mary's, they

79
00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:45,800
Speaker 3: played a lot of other teams. What the what the

80
00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,600
Speaker 3: mid majors often do? And again this is not about Travis,

81
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,240
Speaker 3: because I don't think he realized they were going to

82
00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,000
Speaker 3: be this good. I think he thought they would be

83
00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,120
Speaker 3: a mac and tender, not what they are. Okay, So

84
00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,800
Speaker 3: what they often do is say, okay, well we can't

85
00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,760
Speaker 3: get the game against Indiana or Kentucky or whomever, and

86
00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:06,920
Speaker 3: then they just go ahead and do whatever, and then

87
00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:08,960
Speaker 3: they and then they blame it on the system.

88
00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,040
Speaker 4: And that's just like.

89
00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,640
Speaker 3: What I always say is, look, there's a lot of

90
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,680
Speaker 3: teams I can give you right now. Okay, as I'm

91
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,799
Speaker 3: looking at the resume metrics here at. Number thirty five

92
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,279
Speaker 3: is Miami, Okay. Number thirty eight is Santa Clara. Number

93
00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,359
Speaker 3: number forty four is VCU, Number forty five is New Mexico.

94
00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,600
Speaker 3: Number forty nine is San Diego State. Number fifty one

95
00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,919
Speaker 3: is Belmont, Number fifty four is George Mason.

96
00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,200
Speaker 4: Number fifty five is Liberty.

97
00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,359
Speaker 3: They are all top fifty five teams in the resume

98
00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:43,479
Speaker 3: metric average. And did they play one another and help

99
00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:45,800
Speaker 3: enhance their resumes like that? No, you don't want to

100
00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,800
Speaker 3: know why, for the same reason that a lot of

101
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,280
Speaker 3: teams that are in the high major level don't play

102
00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,920
Speaker 3: a lot of other high major teams because they don't

103
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,560
Speaker 3: want to diminish their records and their chances of getting in.

104
00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,839
Speaker 3: So I don't have have any sympathy in that regard.

105
00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,920
Speaker 3: I have a lot of sympathy for, Hey, wow, we're

106
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,760
Speaker 3: really good. I mean, we're winning every game and like,

107
00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,000
Speaker 3: and everybody's dissing that. No, like if it were easy,

108
00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,640
Speaker 3: Like for twenty five years, somebody's had the three hundred

109
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,520
Speaker 3: and forty third schedule, which is what it was the

110
00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,080
Speaker 3: last time I looked at for twenty five years, and

111
00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,560
Speaker 3: none of them came close to going undefeated. So even

112
00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,160
Speaker 3: if you're playing the three hundred and forty third schedule,

113
00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:31,280
Speaker 3: what they're doing is really hard and so hard that

114
00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,680
Speaker 3: no one's even coming close to it. So please don't

115
00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:36,920
Speaker 3: tell me it's a product of this schedule. Does this

116
00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,800
Speaker 3: schedule impact it? Yes, but you still have to go

117
00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:44,520
Speaker 3: out and win every basketball game, and that's astonishingly difficult.

118
00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:48,159
Speaker 1: No question, And from my perspective, a lot of fun

119
00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,239
Speaker 1: to watch that campus community, which that program's been dormant

120
00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:56,919
Speaker 1: for this century, watch that campus community come alive. The

121
00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,640
Speaker 1: season is not going great at the University of Cincinnati,

122
00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,560
Speaker 1: a miracle. How do you anticipate things playing out in Clifton.

123
00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,400
Speaker 3: Boy, it's hard to say, really because you know, you

124
00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:13,000
Speaker 3: know what the buyout details are, and what the disappointment

125
00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,520
Speaker 3: for me is that I know that that West is

126
00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,240
Speaker 3: a very capable coach, but I think there has been

127
00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:24,040
Speaker 3: too much chasing talent and not enough building a program,

128
00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,120
Speaker 3: not enough building a culture, a winning culture. This is

129
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,159
Speaker 3: who we are, this is what we do. It's what

130
00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,440
Speaker 3: Mix succeeded at at a high level early on in

131
00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,960
Speaker 3: a very difficult Big East where they had to make

132
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:42,320
Speaker 3: the transition from I find an American Conference to an

133
00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,839
Speaker 3: excellent Big East, and he had to do that with

134
00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,599
Speaker 3: very few talented players because of the end of the

135
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,400
Speaker 3: Huggins regime. But he set a standard, and I think

136
00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,240
Speaker 3: that's where Wes has missed that they haven't set the

137
00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:56,920
Speaker 3: standard for this is who we're going to be. I

138
00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,640
Speaker 3: never really know what they're going to be now from

139
00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:02,520
Speaker 3: night tonight, but from year to year, I just didn't

140
00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,719
Speaker 3: know exactly what Cincinnati basketball wanted to be. And that's

141
00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,880
Speaker 3: that's the frustrating part about watching.

142
00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,400
Speaker 4: This develop over the last four or five years.

143
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,720
Speaker 1: You know, I talked about the Houston Cougars all the time,

144
00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,320
Speaker 1: and to the annoyance I'm sure of some of my audience,

145
00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,000
Speaker 1: because what I love most about that program is I

146
00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,520
Speaker 1: can close my eyes and I can picture a Houston player.

147
00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,400
Speaker 2: I know what that team is going to look like.

148
00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,240
Speaker 1: And over the last couple of years, they've been more

149
00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,400
Speaker 1: refined offensively than you know what they were when when

150
00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,720
Speaker 1: Kelvin Sampson really started winning there. And I always say, like,

151
00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,160
Speaker 1: I admire what they are able to do in an

152
00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,760
Speaker 1: era where it's increasingly difficult to have a program identity

153
00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,040
Speaker 1: because of all of the roster turnover. So how much

154
00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:46,200
Speaker 1: for a program like you see where you just don't

155
00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,000
Speaker 1: know year and year out what you're going to get?

156
00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,960
Speaker 1: Can you attribute just to the era that we're in

157
00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:52,640
Speaker 1: where year to year you may have a new.

158
00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,640
Speaker 3: Team, but that's everybody, so that that's the universe in

159
00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:02,360
Speaker 3: which you're competing, So you're your struggle within that era

160
00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,080
Speaker 3: is either to do a good enough job of building,

161
00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,400
Speaker 3: like I said, with with what you want to be,

162
00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:14,000
Speaker 3: of retaining the players who fit that and and want

163
00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,640
Speaker 3: to be part of it, and or generating enough funds

164
00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:19,920
Speaker 3: to make sure either of those things happen.

165
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,040
Speaker 4: And I you know, the third part of that is

166
00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,640
Speaker 4: probably the one that's in the least element.

167
00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,200
Speaker 3: Of control for the coach, But the first two are

168
00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,840
Speaker 3: are are very much within your control. Whether it produces

169
00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,320
Speaker 3: victories or not is not, but what you want to

170
00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,280
Speaker 3: be as a team is within your control. And I've

171
00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:43,480
Speaker 3: seen coaches and programs make the mistake of you look

172
00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,800
Speaker 3: at k State, which came in and had the when

173
00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:48,840
Speaker 3: when Jerome Tank took over, they came in and he

174
00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:50,840
Speaker 3: had the elite aid and and I think they got

175
00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,320
Speaker 3: really excited about that about what could happen and they

176
00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:57,319
Speaker 3: went out chasing talent, and they and they forgot about

177
00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,360
Speaker 3: the fact that Marquise Noel stuck around at a program

178
00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,200
Speaker 3: where he wasn't where where the guy who'd recruited him

179
00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,520
Speaker 3: had left, and he could have easily gone out and

180
00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,840
Speaker 3: gone somewhere else and said, okay, i'm you know, I'm I'm,

181
00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,640
Speaker 3: I'm on the market, so to speak. And he's stuck around.

182
00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:19,200
Speaker 3: And they had culture that year, and you'd see that

183
00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:23,120
Speaker 3: at places around the country, even Kansas, a championship team

184
00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,760
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty two, went chasing talent subsequent to that

185
00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:27,600
Speaker 3: and had.

186
00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,599
Speaker 4: Two of the worst years Bill selves.

187
00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,559
Speaker 3: Had, and they went back to saying, Okay, wait a second, Okay,

188
00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:35,559
Speaker 3: we're still gonna get there in Peterson. We can get him,

189
00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,080
Speaker 3: but we're gonna get guys like Melvin Counsel. And they

190
00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,400
Speaker 3: recruited Florrie Ba don't get to build with. And now

191
00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,760
Speaker 3: they have their program again. He's one of the greatest

192
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,400
Speaker 3: coaches of all time, so and he's got one. He's

193
00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,640
Speaker 3: coaching one of the greatest programs of all time. So

194
00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,040
Speaker 3: the path is a little bit easier, but it's still

195
00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,720
Speaker 3: a function of He realized that he had made a

196
00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,400
Speaker 3: mistake in how he was a pro and then went

197
00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,840
Speaker 3: and adopt and readopted the course he followed for years.

198
00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:07,920
Speaker 1: Mike, of course from the Sporting News is with us.

199
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:10,840
Speaker 1: There was a time in mid November I thought Xavier

200
00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,400
Speaker 1: might win between six and eight games.

201
00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:14,679
Speaker 2: They've succeeded that.

202
00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, I mean I watched them, not just against

203
00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,040
Speaker 1: Santa Clara where they got destroyed, but i watch him

204
00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:23,960
Speaker 1: play a game against Lemoyne and I'm going like, what

205
00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,000
Speaker 1: is this? And They've had some games get away from him,

206
00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,480
Speaker 1: some winnable games. It still has felt to me like

207
00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:32,200
Speaker 1: Richard Patino has gotten as much out of that group

208
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,679
Speaker 1: of players as you could ask any coach, what's your

209
00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,320
Speaker 1: assessment if you're one of the Richard Patino eared Xavier

210
00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:38,880
Speaker 1: And that's kind.

211
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,199
Speaker 3: Of exactly what I'm saying, is that Richard has gone

212
00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,880
Speaker 3: about setting a standard even though the talent isn't there

213
00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,280
Speaker 3: to compete at the top of the Big East currently.

214
00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:52,360
Speaker 3: Some of them might develop in that direction, but those

215
00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,560
Speaker 3: who stick around, either as if they're able to become

216
00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,640
Speaker 3: continue to be starters, or if they become program and players,

217
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,840
Speaker 3: they can still say, Okay, here's how you play for

218
00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,920
Speaker 3: this guy. And here's how you succeed to whoever comes

219
00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,040
Speaker 3: in later. And I think that he's done a terrific

220
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,600
Speaker 3: job in his first year. I didn't love the roster construction,

221
00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,440
Speaker 3: but I don't know exactly when you could become a

222
00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:21,800
Speaker 3: coach late. Different programs have different parameters and different challenges,

223
00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:26,520
Speaker 3: and so we both looked at that roster and said

224
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,679
Speaker 3: that does not look good. And when they went on

225
00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:32,800
Speaker 3: the floor, it looked maybe even less good than what

226
00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:36,360
Speaker 3: we'd imagined. And yet they have been highly competitive. I

227
00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,319
Speaker 3: thought they were Saint John's game this past Monday, and

228
00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,079
Speaker 3: I know they did it both times, but I'm not

229
00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:43,160
Speaker 3: sure I watched the first one, but the second one,

230
00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,560
Speaker 3: I was really impressed with how hard they competed in

231
00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,200
Speaker 3: that game. And I think it vodes very well for

232
00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,680
Speaker 3: the future of Xavier basketball when they get back to

233
00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:53,080
Speaker 3: having a higher level of talent.

234
00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,200
Speaker 1: A little bit more than twenty four hours from now,

235
00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,839
Speaker 1: Kentucky could be in first place in the SEC. And

236
00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:03,680
Speaker 1: you know, watching them play at times this year, you

237
00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,640
Speaker 1: talk about a sentence I didn't think i'd be saying

238
00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,160
Speaker 1: in mid February, it's it's that, and give me the

239
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,480
Speaker 1: same thing. Assessment of year two, Mark popea Kentucky with

240
00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:12,440
Speaker 1: the injuries they've had.

241
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, I got really frustrated halfway through the year when

242
00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,440
Speaker 3: or maybe it wasn't even quite halfway in advance of

243
00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,760
Speaker 3: the Indiana and Saint John's wins, when people were totally

244
00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,800
Speaker 3: giving up on them. And and I don't think at

245
00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:32,160
Speaker 3: that point they'd even gotten any play out of Jalen Low.

246
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:34,760
Speaker 3: I don't think he'd even appeared on the floor. And

247
00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,679
Speaker 3: and I just couldn't believe how much criticism there was.

248
00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,120
Speaker 4: And I think some of it.

249
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,520
Speaker 3: From the media comes because they're in they're convenient target.

250
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:45,200
Speaker 4: You criticize Kentucky.

251
00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,880
Speaker 3: And the clicks go click, click, click, And I think

252
00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:49,839
Speaker 3: that was that was a good segment of that.

253
00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,840
Speaker 4: But the fan base, and maybe maybe we amplify.

254
00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,920
Speaker 3: Too much of the of the extremes on a fan

255
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,680
Speaker 3: base when something like that happens, and maybe we don't

256
00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,920
Speaker 3: pay enough attention to what's going on at large in

257
00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:10,680
Speaker 3: that group. But I thought any reaction in that direction

258
00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,360
Speaker 3: was preposterous. I mean, a year ago, he had a

259
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,000
Speaker 3: terrific point guard who started in the final four. Elsewhere,

260
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,320
Speaker 3: of course, Lamont Butler, who was injured two thirds of

261
00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,120
Speaker 3: the way through the season when he was trending toward

262
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,560
Speaker 3: a second team All America season, and they still with that,

263
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,640
Speaker 3: and with losing Jackson Robinson for the year, they still

264
00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,200
Speaker 3: made the Sweet sixteen. And so like, how do you

265
00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:38,160
Speaker 3: what do you think he got stupid in three months?

266
00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:39,960
Speaker 2: I mean, it's not how life works.

267
00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:46,840
Speaker 3: So I've been pleased to see that he has reformulated

268
00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,959
Speaker 3: this group and found a way to be successful. And

269
00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,319
Speaker 3: that's what shows how really gifted he is that without

270
00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,640
Speaker 3: Jalen Lowe, he's found a way to be highly competitive

271
00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:01,360
Speaker 3: in an SEC that's going to send minimum nine teams

272
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,040
Speaker 3: to the NCAA Tournament at maximum eleven.

273
00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,360
Speaker 4: That's pretty good to be first or checking or third

274
00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:08,240
Speaker 4: in that league.

275
00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,480
Speaker 1: You may have heard many believe that college basketball is

276
00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,959
Speaker 1: at a tipping point, that the future of the sport

277
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,320
Speaker 1: is in peril, despite the fact that the encore product

278
00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,680
Speaker 1: has been terrific this year. This year's infusion of talent

279
00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:26,120
Speaker 1: has been unbelievable. I read about the NCAA losing in

280
00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,440
Speaker 1: court with one glaring exception this week on what feels

281
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,440
Speaker 1: like a daily basis. So I'm sure we could talk

282
00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,280
Speaker 1: about this for an hour, But is there is there

283
00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,360
Speaker 1: a common sense, realistic and that might be the right word,

284
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:43,560
Speaker 1: realistic fix for college basketball to I don't know, rein

285
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,280
Speaker 1: in a lot of the chaos that seems to compromise

286
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,040
Speaker 1: a lot of people's relationship with the sport.

287
00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:54,520
Speaker 3: Well, the common sense approach is collective bargaining.

288
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:55,680
Speaker 4: But they don't want to do that.

289
00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,600
Speaker 3: That's why they've spent the last two to three years,

290
00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,560
Speaker 3: however long it's been since Charlie Baker came in in

291
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,240
Speaker 3: court excuse me, in Congress and of course in court

292
00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,520
Speaker 3: from the other direction. But that's why it's been that way,

293
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,840
Speaker 3: because they don't want to go in the collective bargaining direction,

294
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,520
Speaker 3: because they don't understand, or don't seem to want to

295
00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,320
Speaker 3: grasp that it is possible to do that without designating

296
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,040
Speaker 3: the athletes or accepting the athletes or whatever verbias you

297
00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:23,840
Speaker 3: want to use as employees.

298
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,400
Speaker 4: They don't have to be employees for you.

299
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,680
Speaker 3: To collectively bargain with them. And I know this now

300
00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:34,320
Speaker 3: because I was listening to one of the one of

301
00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:39,000
Speaker 3: the men who is trying to organize who's pushing the

302
00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,560
Speaker 3: unions or whatever or whatever you want to call him, association,

303
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,520
Speaker 3: and he brought up the concept of the Screen Actors Guild,

304
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,440
Speaker 3: where like, if you work on.

305
00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:50,440
Speaker 4: A TV show, you work for the TV show.

306
00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,440
Speaker 3: You don't work for the studio that funds or produces

307
00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,200
Speaker 3: that TV show or a movie. What Brad Pitt goes

308
00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,720
Speaker 3: to work on a picture, he works for that picture

309
00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,480
Speaker 3: and so, and it's different as a result, you don't

310
00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,680
Speaker 3: you know that he doesn't get benefits from from I

311
00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,760
Speaker 3: don't know Fox, or or United Artists or whoever's left

312
00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,200
Speaker 3: producing films. He gets, he gets up, he gets a salary,

313
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:16,680
Speaker 3: and there are standards that.

314
00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:18,560
Speaker 4: Have to be met in terms of how he's treated

315
00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:19,120
Speaker 4: and all that.

316
00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,280
Speaker 3: And and his fellow actors have a minimum in terms

317
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,720
Speaker 3: of what they have to make. He's never worried about

318
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:29,200
Speaker 3: the minimum, but they have different situations like that. And

319
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,800
Speaker 3: I think that that can work in athletics. I think

320
00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,600
Speaker 3: it makes perfect sense, and it translates very well, and

321
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,480
Speaker 3: I think that's the one way we can get there.

322
00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,280
Speaker 2: Makes sense to me. I'm not going to be holding

323
00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:45,880
Speaker 2: my breath. We'll see. Can't thank you enough. Always awesome

324
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:47,280
Speaker 2: to have you have a great weekend.

325
00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:49,160
Speaker 4: Man, Thanks so much, my pleasure mode. Thank you.

326
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:50,120
Speaker 2: That's the great.

327
00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,120
Speaker 1: Mike de Corsi from the Sporting News bracketologists for Fox Sports,

328
00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,520
Speaker 1: and you see him on the Big Ten Network. We

329
00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,600
Speaker 1: did not air the Goldhorn during the Mike to Course

330
00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,800
Speaker 1: the interview. I Mike probably would have been okay with it,

331
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:06,440
Speaker 1: but we didn't give him advance warning, and so we

332
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:10,960
Speaker 1: decided to suspend this. The US is destroying in six nothing.

333
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:15,760
Speaker 1: We did score while I was talking to Mike. By

334
00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,399
Speaker 1: the way, Paul questions on this show are a service

335
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,520
Speaker 1: of United Heartland Insurance. Nick Castianos admitted to having a

336
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,560
Speaker 1: beer in the dugout last year when he was with

337
00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:27,600
Speaker 1: the Phillies he got pulled from a game. He was

338
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,280
Speaker 1: mad because they took him out for a defensive replacement.

339
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:33,879
Speaker 1: Apparently Nick Castianis isn't aware of how bad of a

340
00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:36,639
Speaker 1: defensive player he is, so he had a beer in

341
00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:37,200
Speaker 1: the dugout.

342
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:37,800
Speaker 2: I believe.

343
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,240
Speaker 1: I believe that an adult big league ballplayer should be

344
00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:42,920
Speaker 1: allowed to have a beer in the dugout once he's

345
00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:43,880
Speaker 1: been taken out of a game.

346
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:45,199
Speaker 2: Do you agree?

347
00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,800
Speaker 1: Vote now at Moeger thanks to United Heartland Insurance. United

348
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:53,760
Speaker 1: Heartland Insurance the insurance company for you. See what they

349
00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,280
Speaker 1: can do for you and your family at uhi ns

350
00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,560
Speaker 1: dot com. We are way light eight from five ESPN

351
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,280
Speaker 1: fifteen already Cincinnati's boring station.

352
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,760
Speaker 2: Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

353
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,000
Speaker 5: From the uc Health Traffic Center At the uc Health

354
00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,080
Speaker 5: Backneck and Spine Center, spine care is never one size

355
00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:17,120
Speaker 5: fits all, from non surgical treatments to the most complex cases.

356
00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,600
Speaker 5: They've mastered what's best for you. Learn more at UCHealth

357
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,600
Speaker 5: dot com. On eastbound two seventy five, there's an accident

358
00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,720
Speaker 5: off onto the left shoulder after Lublin Madeira Road. A

359
00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,320
Speaker 5: little bit of slow traffic. From Montgomery Road westbound two

360
00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,320
Speaker 5: seventy five an accident on the off ramp to Coal Rain.

361
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,280
Speaker 5: I'm at ezelic with traffic this report