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Speaker 1: This is Tony Pike, Cincy three sixty about Cincinnati. From Cincinnati.

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Speaker 1: This is ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports station.

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Speaker 2: Here we go the third and final hour of the

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Speaker 2: Thursday edition and then turn the last show of the

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Speaker 2: week for Austin and I as well, Kentucky Basketball twelve

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Speaker 2: thirty tomorrow. So we do not have a show. NC

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Speaker 2: double A tournament action in full swing right now. And

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Speaker 2: our guest to kick off our number three is I

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Speaker 2: think partaking in some of the NC double A tournament

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Speaker 2: action from Bearcat Journal dot com. Yes, Bearcatjournal dot com,

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Speaker 2: not Who's your journal dot com?

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Speaker 1: Malhunjournal dot com right now.

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Speaker 2: Although he's got his Indiana Hoo's your National championship sweatshirt

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Speaker 2: on today, it is Keegan Nicholson.

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Speaker 3: Kegan, how are you doing? I could not be better.

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Speaker 3: This is like Christmas and my birthday wrapped in the one.

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Speaker 4: So I'm very excited. Oh my goodness, what game?

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Speaker 2: Do you have a game that you're most excited for today?

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Speaker 4: On the on the slate, I'm a big kJ power guy.

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Speaker 4: Watched him a lot in.

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Speaker 3: High school when Indiana was recruiting him, of course, and

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Speaker 3: I've picked and to upset Illinois and wow, every bracket

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Speaker 3: I've made so I'm ready for Penance that I think.

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Speaker 1: Okay, you got a long day ahead of you. Are

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Speaker 1: you going to be out there where you're currently set up?

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Speaker 1: I mean, let's just say what it is my old

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Speaker 1: friends at Hollywood Casino, that's where Kegan's at right now.

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Speaker 1: Are you going to be there until tomorrow morning?

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Speaker 4: No?

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Speaker 3: So my lovely wife would look got home for dinner tonight.

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Speaker 4: I have to be six thirty.

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Speaker 2: That's a strong day you got ahead of you, though.

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Speaker 4: At least, yeah, I'm excited. It's gonna be fun there.

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Speaker 2: There's obviously a lot of basketball action going on right now.

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Speaker 2: UC does not make the tournament. They don't have a

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Speaker 2: head coach, and I know at Bearcat Journal, you guys

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Speaker 2: are doing your best to update the coaching boards. But

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Speaker 2: everyone I talked to they circle back to one name

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Speaker 2: in Jared Calhoun. Is it as cut and dry as

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Speaker 2: that for you? Is he the clear number one on

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Speaker 2: this list for the Bearcats?

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Speaker 3: If I had to put my money on it, I

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Speaker 3: wouldn't put my money on anyone else to be the

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Speaker 3: head coach at You see, I don't think it's as

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Speaker 3: cut and dry as a lot of people think from

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Speaker 3: what I've heard, like they're gonna do a full search.

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Speaker 3: It's not just we're going to interview him and if

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Speaker 3: we think it works, it works, and we'll hire him.

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Speaker 3: But I do think that it's kind of a slam

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Speaker 3: dunk in a lay up, like it's he's a grad,

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Speaker 3: he coached under one of your best, probably the best

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Speaker 3: head coach in Cincinti history, So I think it's an

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Speaker 3: easy hire. I do also think that people have to

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Speaker 3: remember if he upsets who is he playing in the

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Speaker 3: first If he beats Villanova and then somehow upsets Arizona,

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Speaker 3: goes to Spee sixty, and how does.

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Speaker 4: That throw a wrench of them? So like, if you're.

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Speaker 3: Cincinnati, do you continue to wait? If you're another school

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Speaker 3: that wants to hire him, do you up the offer?

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Speaker 3: And then it just gets too intriguing. So I think

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Speaker 3: how they fare in the NCAA tournament absolutely plays a

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Speaker 3: factor into it. I also think that's why Josh Shurtz

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Speaker 3: hasn't officially announced his extension with Saint Louis, because he's

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Speaker 3: trying to keep all his options open. So long story short,

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Speaker 3: do I expect him to be the next head coach. Yes,

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Speaker 3: but it's not as cut and dry as like people just.

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Speaker 4: Waiting for an announcement in the next couple of days.

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Speaker 1: Interesting, I did not know he played under John Brandon.

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Speaker 1: Is so what you said?

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Speaker 4: You see his next next question, next question?

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Speaker 2: You know, in a uh, in the hypothetical world in

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Speaker 2: which we're discussing that, for whatever reason, it doesn't play

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Speaker 2: out to be Calhoun. Are there a list of names

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Speaker 2: that do you think that you think are viable options?

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Speaker 2: Because everyone's you know, Dan Hurley is a name, not

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Speaker 2: a viable name. Bob Huggins probably not a viable name

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Speaker 2: at this point. Steve Kerr, you know Mo mentioned the

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Speaker 2: other day Steve or maybe has done in the NBA.

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Speaker 2: Are there viable names? Are there viable names that that

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Speaker 2: that come to mind for you?

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Speaker 3: Eric Martin, Nick Van Exel, Yeah, all those usual suspects. No,

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Speaker 3: from a financial standpoint, like Cincinnati is in the school

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Speaker 3: that's extremely flushed with cash to pay a bunch of buyouts.

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Speaker 3: So like if you look at firing coach Wes Miller

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Speaker 3: and then you look at hiring one of Jered Calhoun

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Speaker 3: or Josh Shirtz, that's eleven million all in to get

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Speaker 3: that done in just buyouts, in terms of firing Wes

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Speaker 3: Miller and paying the other school's buyout. I think Luke

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Speaker 3: Murray is an extremely intriguing name. I've really liked him

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Speaker 3: from the beginning. I think he's coached under some really

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Speaker 3: good head coaches. He went back to back national championships.

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Speaker 3: He's a guy that I think someone's gonna hire and

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Speaker 3: he's gonna kill it like and I think Cincinnati would

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Speaker 3: be in a position to be like, hey, let's hire

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Speaker 3: an assistant coach and not have to pay a buy

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Speaker 3: out being a be in a better financial situation. And

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Speaker 3: I know that Sarah Accuse and Providence in Boston College

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Speaker 3: have been interested in Murray. He's familiar with the area,

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Speaker 3: and I think that his familiarity with the area is

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Speaker 3: probably a red flag because he was an assistant at Xavier.

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Speaker 3: But outside of Calhoun, I really go to Luke Murray.

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Speaker 3: Brian Hodgeton is an interesting name, Eric Olin and also

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Speaker 3: Jeff Linder, an assistant at Texas Tech who was the

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Speaker 3: head coach at Wyoming the last time they went to

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Speaker 3: the tournament. He actually resigned and then joined Brant McCastle

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Speaker 3: in Texas Tech. So there's a few names, but as

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Speaker 3: I said before, if it's not Jared Calhoun, and I

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Speaker 3: would be pretty surprised.

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Speaker 2: You know, I look at the current landscape of college

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Speaker 2: hoops and I wonder, like, what does this now do

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Speaker 2: the waiting game for the current roster, because as soon

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Speaker 2: as the season ends, like we just saw a few

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Speaker 2: minutes ago, Yovon Melisseovich, the forward for Xavier, announced that

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Speaker 2: he's coming back to Xavier. There are a lot of

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Speaker 2: questions about this roster already being in flux, and there

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Speaker 2: are names that could be eligible to come back to

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Speaker 2: this team. But now it's a waiting game, as is

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Speaker 2: the portal. So what does this waiting now do. We

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Speaker 2: saw with Richard Patino last year he got the job

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Speaker 2: a little late, struggled to kind of put together a

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Speaker 2: roster that quick. What does this do for trying to

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Speaker 2: formulate a roster for next year?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think it puts the new head

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Speaker 3: coach in a position to bring a bunch of his

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Speaker 3: guys over. I also think that this whole new era

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Speaker 3: has been to do what's in the best interests of

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Speaker 3: the player and to give them the most options. So

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Speaker 3: a guy like Shawanabia or Gessel James or Keishan Tillery

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Speaker 3: or Tyler McKinley. Since your hair is thinking enter the

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Speaker 3: portal right now, and I definitely think it puts the

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Speaker 3: It puts the new head coach at a disadvantage. I

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Speaker 3: also like, that's why I was so confused by people

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Speaker 3: were being like, they need to wait until eight forl

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Speaker 3: first right fire West Miller, Like, but that puts them

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Speaker 3: at a real big disadvantage. They can go through the

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Speaker 3: entire process and kind of backdate it. I don't know

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Speaker 3: the legally is of how that works, if I'm being

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Speaker 3: completely honest, but like, I wouldn't be surprised if they

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Speaker 3: have an official separation earlier and that and that buyout

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Speaker 3: ends up getting negotiated down, so they kind of separate

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Speaker 3: because Wes is from what I'm seeing like a favorite

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Speaker 3: to get the Charlotte job and also other mid majors

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Speaker 3: in the Carolinas. So I wouldn't be surprised if they

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Speaker 3: both just move on and in the best interest to

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Speaker 3: both parties.

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Speaker 4: But in terms of like player attention, the portal.

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Speaker 3: Is always open basically, like all these people are still

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Speaker 3: looking around. Also, Corey Evans is on a three year

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Speaker 3: contract he's likely to return with whenever Gene comes, so

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Speaker 3: he would have the head start and that's where a

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Speaker 3: situation having a GM like that is a huge plus.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's I was going to go there next, because

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Speaker 2: you know Corey Evans. I feel like going into the year,

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Speaker 2: we talked about Corey Evans almost every other day and

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Speaker 2: then the season started and because of his role, you

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Speaker 2: don't here much, but how important, how impactful is his

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Speaker 2: role now in this process where there is a lot

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Speaker 2: of unknowns about the head coach of the of the program.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean with his ties overseas, he was a

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Speaker 3: pretty big player and actually getting guys like Boba Miller.

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Speaker 3: He was a big player in getting guys like Georgia

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Speaker 3: Ardiguez who didn't play as well, but you can kind

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Speaker 3: of see the potential. But Boba Miller was a cherry

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Speaker 3: on top of the roster, like he was a late addition.

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Speaker 3: So he's very very important. He's very well connected, and

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Speaker 3: he knows how to evaluate talent. I mean, he worked

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Speaker 3: for maybe the most successful NBA organization at the time,

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Speaker 3: in the Oklahoma City Thunder. And then you identify guy

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Speaker 3: like Boba Miller and now he's probably going to be

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Speaker 3: a second round pick in the NBA draft, so he's huge.

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Speaker 3: And I think the growing trend of colleges hiring gms

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Speaker 3: is starting to become the neworm. It's I think Kentucky

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Speaker 3: might have just hired one. I know that was big

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Speaker 3: drama about them not having one, but this kind of

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Speaker 3: scenario is why it's very important. And it's also very

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Speaker 3: interesting that these gms are, I don't want to say

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Speaker 3: bigger than the head coach, but it's getting to the

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Speaker 3: point where they are, Like I think Andrew Luck can

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Speaker 3: hire and fire the head coach of Stanford football, and

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Speaker 3: I think it's trending more in that direction that the

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Speaker 3: gms are going to have that much power over the

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Speaker 3: other direction of their.

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Speaker 4: Just an addition to the ricrud and staff.

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Speaker 2: If you were in one of those roles of the

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Speaker 2: decision making, albeit a GM or head coach, and you

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Speaker 2: look at the members of this team from last year

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Speaker 2: that are eligible to be a member of the team

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Speaker 2: this year, who are some of those core guys that,

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Speaker 2: if you had the opportunity, you would want to make

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Speaker 2: sure are back next year for the Bearcats.

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Speaker 3: The first guy I would look at is Keyshan Hillery.

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Speaker 3: I think he just provides so much stability on both

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Speaker 3: sides of the ball. He came here because of his

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Speaker 3: offensive prowess, but he played very very well defensively. He

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Speaker 3: also provides great leadership, physicality.

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Speaker 4: And a big spark.

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Speaker 3: After that, I'm going to Tyler McKinley to win the

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Speaker 3: fan vote. Get a Cincinnati guy to stay and prove why,

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Speaker 3: like a kind of a Datte Caroleone type of thing.

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Speaker 3: Take pride in your city. Now this that's it's those

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Speaker 3: two no matter who the head coaches. But if you're

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Speaker 3: if if I'm Jared Calhoun and I'm taking a real

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Speaker 3: long look at Seanabayev and I'm saying I'm an offensive

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Speaker 3: coach and I've produced really good offenses for the past

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Speaker 3: five years, I would like to see what I can

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Speaker 3: do with this kid, who, like when he's on, is

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Speaker 3: like a very very dangerous offensive player. I don't think

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Speaker 3: Musafachan is going to be back just because of how

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Speaker 3: much money he's going to very rightfully demand. Like he's

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Speaker 3: one of the best players in the country. When he's

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Speaker 3: on on both sides of the ball, he could get

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Speaker 3: up to three and a half four million dollars and

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Speaker 3: then your first year kind of like how you mentioned

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Speaker 3: with the transfer portal, you're gonna he's not going to

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Speaker 3: want to wait. So I would go to Keishon Taylor

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Speaker 3: and Tyler McKinley, and then I would see if I

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Speaker 3: can get seanabayev On on an affordable deal kind of

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Speaker 3: just hey, stay rooted, stay where you are, and let's

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Speaker 3: play for a really good offensive coach and get the

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Speaker 3: most out of your game.

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Speaker 2: How much of a grace period does a new head

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Speaker 2: coach in today's college basketball world get. I mean, folks

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Speaker 2: in Cincinnati are starving to get back to the tournament.

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Speaker 2: It was tournament or bus this year for west Miller.

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Speaker 2: That's why he's not the coach any longer. When you

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Speaker 2: are in today's NIL world, and from all reports, I

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Speaker 2: would say, you see's competitive in the NIL market from

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Speaker 2: the Big twelve basketball standpoint, What does that do for

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Speaker 2: day one expectations for a head coach coming into a

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Speaker 2: new program.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, in this day and age at a school like

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Speaker 3: Cincinnati that I mean, it's not like a Texas A

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Speaker 3: and m or Ohio State just has money to blow.

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Speaker 3: I give them two years realistically, but there was a

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Speaker 3: lot of talks that Jake Deebler could be in the

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Speaker 3: hot seats, like if he didn't.

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Speaker 4: Make the tournament, he was going to get fired enough

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Speaker 4: to year two, So.

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Speaker 3: I would say two years not making the tournament gets

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Speaker 3: to a third. Like West was in a very very

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Speaker 3: unique situation of making the change over to the Big

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Speaker 3: twelve and came in when like they were battling a

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Speaker 3: lawsuit with the former coach, there was no one on

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Speaker 3: the team, and you kind of understand why he got

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Speaker 3: those five years. Now, Like you're looking at Pat Kelsey

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Speaker 3: taking over at Louisville and they were in rough shape

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Speaker 3: under Kenny Payne.

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Speaker 4: He takes him to the tournament two years in a row.

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Speaker 3: And there's like Brian Hodgson, Like UCF went through a

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Speaker 3: terrible tragedy losing their head coach last year, and then

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Speaker 3: he takes over in year one with the USF and

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Speaker 3: now he's got them winning the AAC and in the tournament.

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Speaker 3: So like, it's definitely difficult to do it, but it

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Speaker 3: seems like there's a lot of head coaches that have

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Speaker 3: figured it out. So it makes sense for a university

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Speaker 3: to have high standards in high demands.

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Speaker 4: So I would say two years.

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Speaker 3: A school like Cincinnati who values basketball over a lot

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Speaker 3: of other schools in terms of like how they fund

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Speaker 3: that roster compared to football. I wouldn't argue with anyone

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Speaker 3: who basically says, hey, if you don't make it year one,

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Speaker 3: like year year two is on the hot set.

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Speaker 2: Your bracket in particular this year, are you one that

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Speaker 2: fills out brackets? I would assume, And if so, who

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Speaker 2: do you got winning at all?

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Speaker 3: I so this year I did one bracket for the

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Speaker 3: first time in probably my entire life, which I kind

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Speaker 3: of hate.

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Speaker 4: I have Michigan winning it all.

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Speaker 3: I love Yaxle and I'm not a Yaxle try to

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Speaker 3: pronounce his last name.

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Speaker 4: But Michigan.

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Speaker 3: I love Michigan Michigan because they gave me hope in

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Speaker 3: that exhibition game.

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Speaker 2: You're like, yeah, I'm surprised I didn't go into the

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Speaker 2: resume for UC beat Michigan in an exhibition but lost

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Speaker 2: to Eastern Michigan in the regular season.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we get a really wide range here in Cincinnati. No,

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Speaker 3: I think Michigan's really good. I think they're well coached.

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Speaker 3: Like teams who dominate the Big Ten. It's hard for

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Speaker 3: me to pick against them, but.

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Speaker 4: I think b Yu I'd end up in the final

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Speaker 4: four too.

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't be surprised if aj De Banta just averages

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Speaker 3: like thirty five points a game.

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Speaker 2: Oh so he's the best player in the tournament. It

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Speaker 2: feels like, yeah, it's got to account for something.

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Speaker 1: I mean, looking at Keegan's bracket here in the Tony

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Speaker 1: Pikes Since sixty Bracket Challenge, he has uh Florida over

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Speaker 1: Yukon in the final four and Michigan over BYU in

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Speaker 1: the final four, with the Wolverines prevailing over the Gators.

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Speaker 2: So it's a little big twelve flare. But discussing very disrespectful,

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Speaker 2: I feel like to the Houston Cougars.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I love aj De Banson.

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Speaker 3: I think he's a fuckast and marches for moments and

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Speaker 3: he's gonna have Arizona Arizona.

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Speaker 2: How do you how do you go against Arizona?

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Speaker 3: I don't They don't have like a sexy name, like,

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Speaker 3: but it's.

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Speaker 1: A Terry Francona. I mean, it's a good way to

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Speaker 1: fill out the bronc. He can also pick Troy over Nebraska.

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Speaker 1: They're getting trounced.

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Speaker 4: Shut up, Austin, I said, you're not allowed to talk

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Speaker 4: about it.

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Speaker 2: If anything, jig and real quick, I know, uh, it's

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Speaker 2: it's different and this is worth square in the middle

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Speaker 2: now of March Madness. Spring ball is just different. It

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Speaker 2: feels like in college football anymore. It doesn't have the

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Speaker 2: same feel that I think it used to have. There's

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Speaker 2: a showcase and not a spring game anymore. But any

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Speaker 2: early indications of of what's been happening at spring ball

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Speaker 2: to take away with with the Bearcats, Yeah, DB's are ball.

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Speaker 4: Hawking a little bit. I'm getting a lot.

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Speaker 3: Of interceptions, and I really like the size that they have.

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Speaker 4: MJ.

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Speaker 3: Cannon is like a huge guy, like I don't know,

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Speaker 3: it's a pretty niche name in terms of the last

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Speaker 3: two years. But if you remember Jordan Robinson, the corner

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Speaker 3: that played kind of sparingly, he looked at him and

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Speaker 3: he was really long and really tall. MJ can and

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Speaker 3: plays that at a safety spot and he has the

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Speaker 3: ability to kind of come down and play that nickel

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Speaker 3: or kat linebacker hybrid dB in the three four and

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Speaker 3: then Jacob Finley has had a great time. Antoine Peak

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Speaker 3: is still punching balls out. I would like to see

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Speaker 3: a little bit more from the quarterback play. I think

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Speaker 3: that there's a little bit of confidence that just needs

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Speaker 3: to be built. What I will say is Brooks Goodman

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Speaker 3: a true freshman. From what I've seen what I'm hearing,

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Speaker 3: he's kind of much further ahead than what zeb Kenzie

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Speaker 3: and Samaje Jones were as true freshmen. Like he has

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Speaker 3: the intangibles, the arm talent, the arm strength, the accuracy

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Speaker 3: to kind of say, Okay, this is a guy that

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Speaker 3: we could see playing football for us in the next

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Speaker 3: couple of years. But yeah, it's an interesting year because

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Speaker 3: I really have no idea. Like I was very confident

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Speaker 3: in this team before the twenty twenty five season.

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Speaker 4: I just thought they had a lot of top of

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Speaker 4: the roster talent.

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Speaker 3: And then the receiving game is going to match well

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Speaker 3: with Brennan Soresby this year, Like, I think they're going

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Speaker 3: to be much better before offensively because of the scheme

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Speaker 3: and who's running it and be like the personnel that

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Speaker 3: they have. But offensively, I just really really don't know.

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Speaker 3: I think they're going to try to run the ball

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Speaker 3: a lot and try to get a bunch of.

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Speaker 4: Turnovers and then maybe if J. C.

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Speaker 3: French or whoever the starting quarterback is can play well enough,

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Speaker 3: they can steal a couple of games.

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Speaker 2: You feel pretty good about an opportunity to repeat in Bloomington.

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Speaker 2: Have you seen any of their spring practices yet?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Josh Hoover's are my Heisman vote? Okay, basically, whoever's

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Speaker 3: playing quarterback for Indiana's gonna win the Highs one.

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Speaker 2: Were you disappointed that Indiana turned down an invitation to

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Speaker 2: the n I.

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Speaker 4: T No, don't play in any postseason? Wow, unbelievable. I

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Speaker 4: got a mouse in my pocket. You don't have to

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Speaker 4: say anything.

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Speaker 1: One day, Indiana basketball will be great again.

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Speaker 4: It's very problematic language there, Austin. I I don't know.

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Speaker 3: I feel like it just comes down to getting Brad

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Speaker 3: Stevens as I'd go.

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Speaker 4: Okay small.

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Speaker 1: I heard he was talking to John Cunningham today about

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Speaker 1: your se. I don't know if that's true.

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Speaker 4: It's a breaking news sounder.

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Speaker 3: I'll throw that on the hot board per fifteen thirty.

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Speaker 2: Yeah that works, Keegan Man, thanks so much for taking

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Speaker 2: time while you're divulging in some March madness.

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Speaker 4: We appreciate you. Absolutely use to one of your callers,

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Speaker 4: Sea Wick. Yeah, see told me.

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Speaker 3: Today that he used to play basketball with you in

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Speaker 3: Western Hills and you would just shoot threes and not

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Speaker 3: getting the paint at all.

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Speaker 4: Still the same. It was kind of disappointing to me.

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Speaker 2: Still the same. I like Sea Witch, same way, the

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Speaker 2: same way I roll every Sunday. Right now, Keegan, what's

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Speaker 2: what's the way for folks to follow along with all

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Speaker 2: your hot board coverage the Bearcats?

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Speaker 3: Follow k nickoson forty two on X and then make

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Speaker 3: sure you subscribe to Barricut Journal seventy five percent off

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Speaker 3: a year, get a four year for thirty five bucks.

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Speaker 4: Money's word.

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Speaker 2: The next couple of days, you heard the man Keegan

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Speaker 2: nickoson if they want to see you, where's yet in Hollywood?

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Speaker 2: Go see Keigan. Hollywood will be until like six o'clock.

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Speaker 2: Go say how for autograph pictures and autogram and betting.

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Speaker 2: I'll give you gambling advice too. Kim good, Thank you man,

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Speaker 2: We appreciate you.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, that is Keegan Nicholson.

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Speaker 2: Let's talk to our guy, Bob Manjean from University of

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Speaker 2: Cincinnati and Novacare that happens next on ESPN fifteen thirty

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Speaker 2: Cincinnati sports station, Crapload.

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Speaker 1: Of Sports In the afternoon, Can I get a hell

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Speaker 1: Yes Loegger today at three oh five on ESPN fifteen

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Speaker 1: thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Football fans