WEBVTT - UMBC Head Coach Ryan Odom on All-Time #16 Seed Over #1 UVA Take Down, Program Building 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.960 Hey, welcome in. I'm Doug Godlie and uh this is 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:17.599 the first ever on the road right literally on the 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:25.960 interstate UH between Asheville, North Carolina and uh Harrisburg, Virginia. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:29.160 And what you're going to hear over the next hour 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:34.320 or so is a podcast with Ryan Odum. Now, Uh, Ryan, 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:36.960 I know each other a little bit. My brother and 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.600 Ryan are are good friends. But it's if you're listening 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.760 to this and you're a fan and you're like, well, 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:45.279 they really seems like they know each other. Like it's 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:49.840 called uh in in uh Hebrew its mish book, which 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.600 is like family, my family by choice in basketball. It 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:55.920 it totally makes sense if you're a hoop guy, right, 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.560 his dad was a coach, high school coach, became a system, 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:04.000 became big time college head coach. And my dad was 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.360 high school coach, became a college since became a college 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.080 head coach and college assistant, then an AU coach. Whatever. 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:14.440 It's basketball family, and there's some interesting ties that behind there. 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:20.080 Um And ultimately, obviously what we led up to is 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:26.080 uh the greatest upset in the history of college basketball. 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.399 And you're gonna be, I think, fascinated by it. But 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:34.199 it's his own personal journey and remarkably, like I set 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:39.600 this up to my brother Greg, who does deserve producing credit, 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:45.360 and you know I wanted to. I don't want to 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:47.360 do it right now as we get into champion Week, 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:50.000 into the n c A tournament, and it's just timely 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:52.960 and perfect and enjoyable. And Virginia is still the defending 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:56.840 national champion, is of that. But but when we set 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.360 it up, he was the one seed, and I was like, 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.360 all right, you know they're gonna win their tournament and 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:03.320 then we'll get him. And it's like so they just 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.960 maybe were upset by the eight seed, and then it 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:08.919 became even more timely, more perfect, and I thought to myself, 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:15.280 you want to you know, it's just it's just too emotional, 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.639 it's too hard. You know, these coaches they lose a game, 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:19.840 they bury themselves in a bunker for a month and 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:22.800 good luck in them out of it. And I texted 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:26.680 Ryan day after they lost two days like he, man, 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:28.080 if you know what he's like, now we're doing it. 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.399 How about we doing Monday? And then Monday didn't work 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.400 and out Tuesday. So this is dropping on a Wednesday 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:37.720 of Championship week, and I know you will enjoy it. 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:40.079 It's it's impossible not too because he's just a delightful 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:43.880 human being. UM I do have to promote the fact 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.080 that when there are lit me of other all ball 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:52.120 podcasts that are amazing, amazing from Tremaine Davis who was 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:56.760 awarded the State at three and just recently was uh 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:02.280 the ceremonial captain a Super Bowl. There's a two part 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:04.520 with Ja Billis. You can dig through and find just 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:06.840 you know where you searched out this podcast. There's Scott 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:12.640 Brooks podcast, there's uh NATO's podcasts. I mean, there's so 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:16.840 many good ones and uh it's it's interesting, Like I 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:18.600 kind of started doing this as a bit of a 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.640 passion project, just like catching up with friends or people 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.480 that I'm fascinated by in the sport that I love. 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.840 There's also a teachersmans Ottawa one about his life background 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:32.040 which is not really basketball, but his personal story is 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.359 so good and so interesting, you know, selling drugs and 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:39.640 Oklahoma's city as a teenager, uh into making it to 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.520 the NFL and becoming a pro bowler. Kind of cool, 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.720 like we got them all in here. Just download the cowalog. 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:47.720 Also can listen to Dug album show daily three to 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.120 six Eastern Cault their Pacific. But this thing is is 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.880 growing leaps and bounds, and guys like Ryan on the 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:56.400 reason why, they just they have time to tell their 0:03:56.400 --> 0:04:00.240 story to share with you Dan Munson's podcast and of 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:04.120 course um Son of Don an other coach's son was 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.200 the head coach at Gonzago and they made that initial 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.360 Elite eight run that was like a month ago. You 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.200 can download that. But that's a two partter and every 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:14.520 bit of it is good and every the honesty and 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.360 it is amazing, amazing. You know, sometimes you get a 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.880 guy like you know, there's more to the story, and 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:24.480 most of the guys that we've had, they've just talked 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:27.200 and told their story. It's an organic conversation. Um, I'm 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.120 trying to do that on the radio. Obviously there's some 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:32.599 more time constraints and there's some other uh, there's some 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.480 other parts to it. I should also point out the 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:38.400 Andrew Boga two partner, there's some language issues sometimes not 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.240 that he doesn't speak English, in terms of our cursing 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:43.040 a little bit. It's a little bit more rife, a 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.520 little bit more real than some of the others. So 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:47.920 download those are great list of doug Out the show 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:52.919 three six Eastern Fox Sports Radio. I heart radio. App Um, 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:58.320 I've I've lived this basketball journey now for I think 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.520 eighty three was the first time I re umber right 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:06.279 and we talked about that pot Um. I remember final four's. 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:08.400 I've gone to final fours. I didn't play in the 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.120 final four. I wish I did know people. I was 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:12.200 like you playing a big coach, like, no, that was 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.279 that was not me. Now you play with that with 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:19.040 with Tony Allen. Now that was John Lucas that we 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:22.760 lost the leading. So maybe I'll do a pod next 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:27.000 next week on the n c A Tournament. My memories 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:31.159 of playing in it. I kept done something that but 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:37.680 the sixteen one, you know, it had never happened before, 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:43.800 and statistics will tell you that ultimately was gonna happen. 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:51.160 But logic to me, you said, might not have happened 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:56.560 because low major is like a bad word that's used 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.880 traditionally in recruiting. And I've been coaching that low major 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:06.320 because somehow it just feels different than mid maker. But 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:11.560 the low majors, the true one bid leagues, those are 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:16.120 being rated by the mid and high majors. Your cruity, kid, 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.240 you think he's a little bit better of mid major 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.800 minus or maybe even a mid major mid major plus. 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:26.520 And you get him, and he's so good that everybody 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:30.320 takes notice. And so at au coach or an assistant 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.200 coach in college somehow finds a way to the family, 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:37.160 to the connector and they transfer up right. I mean, 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:42.239 Cleveland State's program was raided. San Jose State has been rated. Um. 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:44.680 You go across the country and there's lots of these kids, 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:49.679 like I mean, look at Division three programs are losing 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:56.360 players to the Division one programs. Um. So I always 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:00.280 I thought recently that because guys are transferring up from 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:05.520 the lower levels, I'm sure what happened now, It's important 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:07.919 to point out that Virginia did have a major injury 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:10.720 to DeAndre Hunter and that changed and not just in 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.400 terms of their go to guy, but also he allowed 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:17.080 them to play smaller and more for out one end. 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:22.800 But that didn't if you go back and watch that game, 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:29.800 didn't feel that much like enough just it and it 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:33.320 was because it was an asking by UNBC got out 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:37.520 of hand in the end. Anyway, Ryan Oldtom his son 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.880 of the great coach and kind of legendary coach, right 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:45.720 in college basketball. His personal story has been told many 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:50.000 times over and um, he's come out the other side. 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:52.880 He had a great year. They won the league this 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.760 year at U NBC, but obviously fell short in the conference. 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.600 Certain if you're known for one thing and known for 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.720 pulling off arguably the right US upset the history college basketball, 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:03.840 they didn't have. Bet there's a lot more to him. 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:08.000 I think you enjoyed this conversation. Here's the head coach 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:15.800 of Maryland Baltimore County Rhino. Yeah, college basketball was crazy, 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:18.160 right obviously, and I want to get to what happened 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:22.080 most recently and then what you're probably most known for. 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.320 But I don't want to start like when you were born. 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:29.840 Were both sons of coaches, But I think it was 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.040 right in the window of your dad going from being 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.360 a high school coach to a college assistance. That is 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.839 that accurate exactly? Yeah, yeah, Night. I was born in 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:44.160 seventy four and my father was the head coach at 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:49.240 Durham High School, and uh, you know, back then, John 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:51.800 Lucas was playing in a rival high school. There was 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:55.240 all kinds of good players around there. Got Marshall Ashford 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.280 played for him, who ended up going on to Virginia 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:03.960 Tech to be a really good guard. But yeah, he uh, 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.680 he started in in Goldsboro. That's where he was born 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.760 and raised. And so his father was a car dealer 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.800 and so the his dad was a car dealer. His 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:16.000 dad was a car dealery and the car dealership in 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:19.760 uh in Goldsborough maybe the Cadillac. I have no idea 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.199 what it was, but um, you know, he would work 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.720 there every summer and so the you know, the thought was, hey, 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.160 he's gonna take it over one day. That's just gonna 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:32.559 what's gonna be what happens. And so, um, he went 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.560 to play basketball for a guy named Jerry Steele at 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.600 high Point excuse me, Guildford. He'll kill me for saying 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:43.240 high Point. He at Guildford College, and uh, you know, 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:46.120 Jerry Steele is a great player in White Forest, one 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.160 of the best big guys in the sixties, back when 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:51.920 they went to the Final four and played Billy Packer 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:57.080 and that crew, and uh, they were very close in age. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:00.720 So Jerry just graduated from Wake. It was just coming 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.240 into Guildford and so that was kind of his first 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:07.160 connection into the basketball world was through through Jerry Steel. 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:12.160 Jerry played for Bonds McKinny, and you know he mentor 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.160 dad Dad played football as well. He played uh basketball, 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:20.120 he played baseball all like Guildford you know, in college 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:24.440 and just love sports. So he ends up after graduating 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.120 from college going home to Goldsborough and coaches at his 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:30.440 high school. And he graduated from Goldsboro High School. They're 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:32.720 a couple of years my brother Lane, who you know 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.240 is born there at the time in Goldsboro, and then 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.000 move on to to He moves on and gets offered 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.240 the Durham High job. That's where I'm born in seventy four, 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.480 and so he was very fortunate and that he got 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.600 to know at that point m Vic Bubis was the 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:52.960 head coach at Duke. Chuck Daly was an assistant, Hubie 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:56.800 Brown was an assistant. I mean it was the who's 0:10:56.800 --> 0:10:59.360 who on that staff, you know at that point. And 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:02.040 so he would go over there, you know, almost daily 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.640 to watch the practices and do all that. And so 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:09.679 his connection and and initial entree in college basketball was 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:14.080 through they introduced him to GARF and so he would 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:17.200 take he was kind of the first Southern guy to 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.839 go up to five Star basketball camp and you know, 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:22.680 he literally would drive the bus up and all the 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:25.960 local players in the in in North Carolina would go 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.959 up there with him and uh, you know, spend a 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:31.079 week or two and go to the camp. And say, 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:33.960 he became obviously really close with you know, all the 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:38.160 coaching characters of of that time, Patino's and you know 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.880 obviously Garf and for Tella, and he met all those 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.920 guys and has remained close with them for years. Um. 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.440 But I wouldn't be coaching if it wasn't for him 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:53.280 coaching at Darren High and you know, them connecting into Garf. 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:59.800 Amazing my dad. Uh so my grandpa wasn't accounting, yeah, 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:06.559 in New York, and he's a very successful account and Um, 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:10.520 he became a car dealer because he would take over 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:12.800 parts of people's businesses because you need to look at 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.520 the books. It's bad shape because they don't know what 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.400 they don't know what they're doing. And you know, with 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:22.000 his accounting background, he took over a car dealership on 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.880 Long Island. My dad was like thirteen and moved death 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:29.200 Long Island and he became the most successful car dealer 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:31.520 on Long Island because he was the first to start 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:37.000 leasing and he was leasing two soldiers who were coming 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:41.280 back from you know, any sort of battle whatever he had. 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:45.599 He had connections uh within like the v A and 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:47.000 they would you know, get off the boat and have 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:52.440 a brand new Catalec for him, and and uh anyway, 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.680 it kind of similarly. Like so my dad his first 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:59.600 job was at Fairlawn High School in New Jersey, and 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:05.640 I believe the previous coach was HUGHB. Brown and yeah, 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:09.520 and then my dad he had this mere curial journey 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.120 where he was like he was the head coach at 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:17.600 Colorado Springs High School, at Death Valley High School, at 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.560 i'll think of it in the second somewhere out in 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:28.200 western Pennsylvania. Uh, close to where Jerry Lucas grew up. Yeah, anyway, 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.360 it's it's just it's it's interesting kind of the similarity. 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.480 So your dad goes to Wake as an assistant, you're 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:38.640 like two years old. Yeah, So, so your earliest memories 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:42.280 of basketball were more in a college gym or in 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.920 a high school gym? Like what are your earliest memories? 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:49.920 Definitely college? Yeah, yeah, definitely college. I mean I remember 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:53.160 Wake a little bit. Um they had because my brother 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:55.560 was you know, brother six seven years older than me 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:58.199 or whatever, and and so at halftime, they always had 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:01.319 this thank called the Dribbling Beacons, and so Lane was 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:03.960 a part of the dribble and deacon. So I sort 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:08.680 of remember that. UM. And then you know, he left there, 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.640 you know, and and became the head coach at East Carolina, 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:14.840 and so we moved down to Greenville and and I 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:18.600 definitely remember that being there. I remember summer camps, you know, 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.080 going to his camp, and he would always have great 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.720 college counselors. I remember James Worthy came, you know one 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.960 it was probably his after his junior sophomore year or 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.240 something was when he broke his leg and he was 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:36.840 out for basically the summer at the camp. No no, no, no, 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.720 I think it was he had some sort of surgery 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.360 over the summer, and so I just remember him being 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.720 at the camp with this huge cast on. I don't 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:48.320 know how he worked camp with the cast on, but 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:52.520 he did. UM. And then you know, Dad left there 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.240 after three years and then you know, went up to 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:57.480 Virginia and and that was kind of an odd thing, 0:14:57.520 --> 0:14:58.920 you know, because he was a head coach at East 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.440 Carolina and then he went you know after three quick 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:03.720 years too. And again they weren't terrible when you see 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:08.640 they were they were okay, um, and he went to 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.760 be an assistant for Terry Holland. Well they were number 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:12.200 one of the country at that point. That was when 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.840 Ralph was still there, Ralph's senior year. You know, they 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:18.920 were picked to win the whole thing. Um, okay, so 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:22.680 let's let's let's let's let's start there. Okay, So your 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.120 how old this time this is? I'm probably I'm going 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.400 into I'm going into the third, third or fourth grade 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:33.080 at that point, like like eight years old. Yeah, south 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.280 and for and like you and I know, and I 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.040 think a lot of people listening, but there's some people 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.680 who don't know, like Ralph Sampson was like three time 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:44.520 player that year, seven foot four, Yeah, like crazy skill, 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:48.160 crazy skill. Remember this isn't a time when the a 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:53.440 c C has worthy and Jordan's right and like everybody 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.960 has NC stated just one nationally one championship like the 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:59.800 league is and he's the best of all. Okay, So 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:03.400 eight year old Ryan Odom, what do you remember about 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:06.680 like the first you're looking up at Ralph Sampson. Yeah, 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:09.320 I mean just just shock. You know, I've never never 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.240 seen a guy that's all number one and to see 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.160 the things that he was able to do on the 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.080 basketball court. I mean, it's what you see all these 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.880 guys nowadays. And obviously they've taken it to another level 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.080 in terms of how they play with the ball, you know, 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.320 in terms of their skill level. But back then, when 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:27.640 you had big guys, it was all around the rim. 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:29.920 You know, it was hook shots, and he certainly had 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.920 all that. Those donks layups and and they would they 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.920 would get to the free throw. But you know, his 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.000 ability to shoot and dribble and do the things that 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:40.920 he could do on a court, it was amazing. But 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:43.520 I remember the times where he wasn't playing, you know, 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.480 and and I'm at the practice because we literally lived. 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.440 You've been to Charlottesville and where the you know, U 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:53.520 Haul was. There's a brand you've never I'm actually gonna 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:56.600 go there tomorrow. Oh my gosh, you got I have 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:01.680 a day off. Yeah, it's just we'll back. I apologized 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:05.320 interrupt your stories. Okay. So the first high major to 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:11.000 offer me, yeah, it was Jeff Jones and Virginia j Okay, 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.840 So so when he was there that when he offered me, 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:21.800 Harold Dean was his point guard and and I loved 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.960 Harold Dean, because Harold Dean had like the most he 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:30.000 and Jim Jackson had the most ripped arms. Yeah right, 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:34.840 I was like, those guys are badasses. And so I remember, 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.560 like remember they used to they used to send out, 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:41.200 you know, all the mailing stuff whatever, and so I, 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.919 you know, like Virginia coach Jones offered me a scholarship 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.560 and um, and I was still a junior in high 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:53.040 school and at the time it was mostly mid majors 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.400 and you know, some tepid interests from some other schools. 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.560 It was Virginia first, and then Lon Kerger Florida off me. 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:02.359 But Virginia semis so I had got all this stuff 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.400 and it was the first it was the only school 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.480 that when they sent all this information, I just poured 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:09.920 over it and I was just fascinated by the campus 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:13.000 and the beauty of the campus and everything. And I 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:17.200 became like I became this likelar Um Bobby really was 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:21.200 my idol. Yeah, And I didn't know, but I still 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:22.840 to this day, I've never been to Cameron. I don't 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:24.920 know anything about I don't know anything about Duke really 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.240 is a university. But Virginia I know everything about the 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:30.760 buildings and the architecture, like I was super into it. 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.480 Fascinating stuff. Yeah, yeah, but they remember, they remember the 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:37.440 old arena was a dump, like a complete remember, and 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:40.720 like why do they play there? Fox Sports Radio has 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.680 the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:47.080 of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.680 within the I Heart Radio app. Search f s R 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:56.040 to listen live. Um. Anyway, so it's it's fascinating event. Okay, 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:59.240 So you lived close to the live close. Yes, there's 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:03.240 a bridge leads you know, from one little neighborhood over 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:07.960 into where the old arena you hall was, and now 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:10.280 they've since torn it down. They've torn down new hall 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.680 they floated it a year ago, but the new arenas 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.720 right beside that, and so literally I would get home. 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:19.800 We left two doors down from the Hollands, and so 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:23.040 I grew up with you know, you know, Coach Holland 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.680 and Mrs Holland and their daughters and Michael and Kate 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:31.280 Uh Jim Laranago was an assistant at the time. So Jay, 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:33.480 you know, and I grew up together. Like that was 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.760 kind of the staff at the time, and the kids, 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:41.359 h Jay and John John's Jay's younger brother. Um and 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:43.800 so we had a blast together traveling around, you know, 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:46.840 watching the final fours and n c A tournaments and 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.720 just all these different, you know, experiences that we all 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:53.320 had together growing up. Was really cool. And Coach Holland 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:55.680 made it like a true family. But when I would 0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:57.639 get home from school every day, I would get on 0:19:57.640 --> 0:20:00.760 my bike and I would ride across the bridge. Sometimes 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:04.679 I would walk, um and uh, I would go to 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:07.600 the practices and you know, literally you think about the 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:09.520 practices and the guys that were in the gym at 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:12.560 the time, and then you had Ralph Sampson, You had 0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:16.800 Rick Carlile, you had Othel Wilson, you know, who was 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:19.480 an amazing guard and one of the best in in 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:21.680 the a SEC at that time. You had Ricky Stokes. 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:26.399 You know, it was incredible to watch. Um, you know, 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.480 you can keep keep going with all the players there. 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:38.320 When did you first started absorbed the actual basketball? It 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:40.560 was probably then, yeah, I mean it was it was, 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:44.120 you know, as after we'd been there, you know, three 0:20:44.200 --> 0:20:46.080 or four years. You know, all of a sudden, I'm 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.000 twelve years old and and like I'm working out hard 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:53.119 over there, and um, you know around the team. You 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:56.200 know about when Brian Stiff and John Protty and those 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:59.480 guys came in. Um, yeah, I mean that was about 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:05.040 the time. Huh these are these are good players. Yeah, 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:08.520 I used to try to copy, like I forgot like 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:11.800 John Chardy was. I forgot like man, he was a stud. 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:15.400 Yeah he's good. He was just a tough dud too. 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:18.879 Mean he well that's the that's the thing. And you 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.480 know I have I've been eleven year old son and 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:25.520 you know, like and he's he's like he's the world's 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:30.120 nicest kid. Yeah, he's just nice. And I'll never forget 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:32.919 like he was. I've always I've tried to play him 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:36.280 up a lot with eleven to playing like when you 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:40.080 get to play thirteens, Like there's just there's just a difference. 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:43.280 There's a you know, the kids that have post puberty. 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:47.760 It's just really hard to fit in there. Um. And 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:50.000 and he's he'll he's like me, he'll be sure late. 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:57.080 Um I'm still waiting. So when his his first time 0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:01.399 playing like AU basketball, I starting coaching this like fourth 0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:06.639 grade B team, um, and I had him playing on it. 0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:08.800 And he's like in third grade and he's young third grader. 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:11.680 So instead of just like letting him play like he 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:14.359 just he couldn't dribble his left hand his left handed, 0:22:14.359 --> 0:22:17.879 so oil him ribble right. And then we find the 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:20.640 other chem's point guard. I would make we find out 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:22.720 his right left handed, make him go the other way 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:26.680 the whole game. That's it simplified. And I just want 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:29.439 you to guard him the entire game, you know, and 0:22:29.520 --> 0:22:31.399 just every time he gets the ball, make him go 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:34.359 to his left handies right hand. And so we're playing 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:37.119 a team and his fourth graders, and he's really frustrating, 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:39.960 this kid, and he's doing a great job and nobody's 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:41.639 looking and at the free tow line, the kid just 0:22:41.720 --> 0:22:44.400 turns and elbows him right in the head. He goes 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:49.439 down to the ground. He's crying at basketball. Don't have 0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:54.600 to play day. And I said, your men, I say 0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:57.920 to it now, I said, I said, Hayes, listen, bro, 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:02.920 if you want play this thing, you gotta be you 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:05.800 gotta be tougher than a two dollar steak. That's right, 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:10.560 you gotta and and and the if if we go through, 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.680 we track the guys that have made it as backup 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:17.760 point guards in the NBA, the guys that we all 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:21.520 respect as the great college point guards, like all of 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:24.159 them they have one thing in coom. Some of them 0:23:24.160 --> 0:23:27.320 are stores, some of them are facilitators. Some of them 0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:30.240 are black, some of them are white. Yeah, they were mixed. 0:23:30.560 --> 0:23:33.720 They are all the toughest dudes on the batto or 0:23:34.240 --> 0:23:37.320 you will ever find. It's just that the nature of 0:23:37.440 --> 0:23:40.200