WEBVTT - The BroadCast: 6/8/2018 ~ Draft Pod - Sifting Through Some B1G10 Names 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:05.360 So many mocks coming out this time of year, and 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:09.360 recently the seventy Sixers associated with a handful of prospects 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:13.040 hailing from the Big Ten conference. To sit through some 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:15.560 of those names, we're gonna bring in Brandon Quinn. He 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:19.560 covers the Michigan State Spartans and University of Michigan Wolverines. 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:22.680 For the athletic detroits that chat in just a moment. 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:24.640 We do this every episode. We're gonna do it again. 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.320 This will be no difference. To subscribe to the podcast, 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:29.640 we remind you you can head to a couple of 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:35.320 different places iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, type in Sixers podcast Network. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.919 You can also go to SoundCloud dot com, backslash sixers 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:42.159 and that will take you to our feed. There are 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:45.720 a handful of quality and intriguing players coming out of 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.320 the Big Ten who just might be available for the 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.360 seventy Sixers around any one of the six spots they 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.280 pick at in the draft, should the Sixers ultimately hold 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.240 on to those slots, and to give us some insights 0:00:57.280 --> 0:00:59.440 on what some of these Big Ten guys we're doing 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:03.120 this past year, we're gonna welcome in a little slice 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:06.319 of Delaware County who has since migrated out to the 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:11.880 Great Midwest. Brandon Quinn from the Athletic Detroit's did to 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:14.920 talk to you man. What's going on, Brian. It's great 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.920 to hear your voice again, my friend. Well, we have 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:22.119 to subject on some people to it. Unfortunately, they draw 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:26.120 the short straw and your time is now. I felt 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:30.520 like they're handful of guys, nominally from Michigan and Michigan State, 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:32.440 the two teams that you cover, but also the Big 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:35.000 Ten that are being linked with the Sixers in all 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:37.399 the mock drafts that have been coming out as of late. 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.040 And we're going to dive into that in a few minutes. 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.119 But you've been doing some really good reporting on another 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:46.319 story that I found pretty interesting, John Beeline and the 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:52.040 connection to the Detroit Pistons head coaching position story bee Line, 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.760 longtime head coach at Michigan. Just how close was that 0:01:56.000 --> 0:02:00.240 possibility from what you were reporting on It was so 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:05.600 originally it was, you know, pretty pretty off the grid. 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.040 You know, John was just kind of executing this thing 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:10.600 by himself and no one really knew it was even happening. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:16.480 And then it was reported on Thursday, like around June 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:19.799 one or something like that. And that he had had 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:23.160 met with the Pistons, He had had an actual interview 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.600 with the Pistons, And it was one of these very 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:31.920 interesting situations in observing how people accept and listen to 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:35.000 the news cycle because you know, as an outsider here, 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:37.200 I have no emotions in it. It's you know, I'm covering. 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:39.960 It's a coach at Michigan. I covered Michigan, so I'm 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.160 in it and all this stuff. But at Michigan where 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:46.040 John is now like reaching this legendary level, you know, 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.639 two National Championship Games, appearances, all time winning as coach, 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.800 the reaction was, you know, this isn't real. He's not 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:59.080 going anywhere. This is fake news. This is it's a 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:02.440 non story, and like, I hate to break it to 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:04.640 people out here, but I mean it was very real. 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:08.400 There was a very real interest on both sides. It 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.200 never got to the point of an offer. But John 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.600 withdrew his own name. He was not told to withdraw, 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:18.160 you know, he backed out basically in the eleventh hour. 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.480 I think the Pistons are going to wrap this thing 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.520 up within the next day or two. Dwane Casey being 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.079 probably the front runner, but yeah, he took his own 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:31.200 name out and for various reasons that I've been told, 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:34.840 But it was very legitimate and it would have been 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:39.000 fascinating to see his style. But at sixty five years 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:40.760 old to go be a first year NBA coach, I mean, 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:42.440 it would have a would have made a for a 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.240 heck of a story for sure, But no, it was 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.160 it was legit, for sure. Both sides were very intrigued 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:49.360 with the other. You probably have a better sense of this, 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:51.840 but he seems like he's the type of guy that 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:56.840 is respected amongst all coaching circles, let alone college. Also 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:58.680 with the guys at the NBA level. I'm trying to think. 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:01.480 I think Brett Brown even had him in for a 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.560 visit during Sixers training camp a few years back. It 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.680 seems like he's got connections and a lot of respect 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:11.080 at all levels. Yeah, it's fairly common, and they at 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.320 all levels is kind of the key because John, you know, 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.440 John's coaching climb has gone from he started at high school, 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:19.520 then went n AIA, then went Division two, then went 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:22.520 Division one, low major, then mid major, then high major. 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:26.680 Like he's been everywhere basically except the NBA. But yeah, no, 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:30.960 he's highly respected. And the interesting thing with to get 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.440 a little like inside Baseball into the coaching search here, 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:37.840 the Pistons reached out to John before Ed Stefansky came 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:41.760 on as senior advisor here, so like the wheels were 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:45.720 in motion, and then Ed Stefansky came aboard to kind 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.400 of oversee this this coaching search and the restructuring of 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.240 the front office. And he was intrigued with John bee Line, 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:53.400 because everyone's intrigued with John bee Line. You know, he 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:58.719 has this very this very defined reputation in the game 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.520 as someone who developed players, who sees the game at 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:07.119 a different level, who is creative, adaptable, inventive. So that's 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:10.520 kind of the the the onus for a lot of 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:13.960 the interest in him and why I think everyone was 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.039 so fascinated with what it would look like if he 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:20.320 did it. But maybe we'll never know. He is staying 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:24.719 in ann Arbor. So as we look at the upcoming draft, 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:27.640 whether it's guys that John Beeline has coached or Tom 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:32.039 Izzo has coached, or other coaches throughout the Big Ten Conference, 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:34.799 are there handful players that you put on the Brandon 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.680 Quinn big board for the Big Ten heading into the draft? 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:43.320 Is likely prospects to hear their names called on June twenty. First, well, 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.920 I mean the two teams that I cover, UM had 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.240 a number of guys on the fence that ended up withdrawing. 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:52.920 I think they made the right call at being troubles 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:56.360 Matthews for Michigan, Nick Ward from Michigan State. But yeah, 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:02.039 between UM, Moe Wagner at Michigan who is probably a 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:05.200 late first round guy, UM, and then obviously at Michigan 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:08.720 State to two lottery picks Miles Bridges, who I imagine 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.719 Sixers fans are getting more and more familiar with, and 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:15.920 Jaren Jackson, who I think will be a top five guy. Um. 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:19.000 You know that the pro prospects that I had the 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:22.000 ability to watch up close and personal this year, Uh, 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.600 we're pretty great, um for a league that really doesn't 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:30.919 produce that many UM, you know, surefire NBA guys anymore. 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:34.599 It's it's very The Big Ten is certainly a league 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:39.400 that you know, they lack kind of the influx of 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.120 all Americans McDonald, All Americans every year, you know, the 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:47.880 one and done guys. It's Arizona, Duke, Kentucky blah blah blah. 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.040 The Big Tenders isn't getting them anymore. But there were 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.760 guys that a guy cans to see. Kevin Herder is 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:55.800 someone I was always fascinated with and to kind of 0:06:55.839 --> 0:07:02.400 see him really blossom from you know, a good freshman, 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:04.120 like not a great freshman in the Big Ten, a 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.240 good freshman in the Big Ten to a guy who 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:11.320 they're talking about mid first round is fascinating and it shows. 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:13.240 I think he's a he's a five tool player. He's 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:17.000 can really do a lot of good things. But you know, 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.320 that's probably it for the first round. Is that the 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:25.840 three guys that I cover and Hurderum, I would think, 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:32.119 But um, you know Kieta Bates Up really interesting player 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.520 who I actually really like as an NBDA guy. I 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:38.280 think he's got some old school game in him. Um 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:40.440 that I don't know how how much how great it 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.640 looks on film, but I just he's just one of 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:44.360 those guys that you watch and I'm like, that dude 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:46.720 knows how to play basketball. And I would put him 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:49.200 on my team if I were a coach. Um. And 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.760 then Tony Carr, who you guys are obviously familiar with, 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:55.120 the Philly guy, Penn State guy, Um, he can get buckets. 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:57.760 I think it's probably h I think He's a very 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.760 draftable player, and I would affect him to be a 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:04.640 mid late second round guy, probably along with Justin Jackson, 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.200 another Maryland guy who is kind of one of these 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:15.040 long life, interesting modern bigs who probably needs some work 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.120 and some weight, but he's got all the pieces. That 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:22.120 is certainly attractive. You mentioned Jaren Jackson probably going to 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:24.160 be off the board by the time the Sixers go 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.600 at ten should they stay there. So give me the 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:29.920 slug to borrow some newspaper pilin. It's not actually talking 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.200 about slugging Miles Bridges, but what's the slug on Miles 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.040 Bridges from what you've seen over the last two years 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:40.920 on Miles not Jared correct. Yeah, So Miles is a 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.319 guy who is very interesting in that I'm still after 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:48.320 watching him for two years, I'm not positive what heat 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:53.280 is in the NBA. I'm not sure if he is 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:58.360 kind of more of the the wing guy or maybe 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.600 a three and D kind of a four man, you know, 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:05.679 undersized four Draymond ish guy with maybe a little bit 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.680 of a better three point shot. Um. You know, what 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:14.880 Miles has going for him is absolute athleticism. Um. You know, 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:18.120 I'm sure people have seen all the highlights of what 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.600 he's done. He is six to seven, he has a 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:25.400 pro ready body. He's a pro ready athlete. Um. He 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.559 can you know, he can attack. He is one of 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:33.079 these guys who attacks the rim with violence. Um. He plays, 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:36.640 he plays above the rim um and just kind of 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:42.240 is very strong, very powerful. Um. But he's only a 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:47.079 good shooter. And I do think like for him to 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:48.960 be a great NBA player, he fright needs to be 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.800 a great shooter. If he were a great shooter, I 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.800 think he could be like I see shades of Vince Carter. Right. 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:59.800 He's not there yet, but you know, I'm talking this 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.040 feeling of the ceiling, of the ceiling, right, if he 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:05.040 became an elite shooter, that would kind of be. But 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.760 I'm talking that level of athleticism, right, And he's got 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:10.680 those shoulders and those arms, and he can he can 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:14.680 do those kinds of things. So but at the same time, 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.720 there's questions of his position. There are questions certainly about 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.200 his ball handling. You know, he's never really done that 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:25.160 much off the bounce. He didn't really do stuff in 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:30.160 ball screens at Michigan State. Only late in his sophomore year. 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:32.480 Did you even see kind of clear out stuff for 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.120 him to do, and he had some success in it. 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.600 I just wish I'd seen a lot more. So. He's 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:39.000 one of these guys who, if you make that your 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:41.480 list your pros and cons, I think by the end 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:45.400 of it they might end on the same line. You know, 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:47.880 you can keep going back and forth on him. But 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:50.439 he's a fascinating clay. He's a very He's a good, 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.920 good young man, you know, always pleasant to deal with. 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:58.720 Was really good with the media, really good with the fans. 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:00.600 You know, he came back. A lot of NBA guys 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:02.520 I talked to were really high on the fact that 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:04.800 he stayed another year because he wanted to develop more. 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:07.320 They said that showed a lot about his character. And 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.320 I agree. He's from Flint, you know, he's a hard dude. 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:13.560 But yeah, I mean, I think it's a very interesting 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.240 NBA prospect for sure. What were some of the items 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.000 and you referenced sounded like a few of them, But 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:19.800 what were some of the items as best that you 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:21.640 can remember that we're on the to do list for 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:27.240 him developmentally season one to season two, well, it was 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:31.240 become more of a better three point shooter, even though 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:34.079 he shot like over thirty five percent as a freshman, 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.679 and I've actually thought, like, you know, that's an easy 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.480 number to mess up the wrong way. You know, if 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:41.959 if you go out and you want to become a 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:47.120 if you want to take more threes, almost as a byproduct, 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:49.959 your percentage is probably gone to drop, you know, unless 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:53.000 you're a pretty high level shooter. But he basically stayed 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:55.600 in the same area, but more so as a freshman, 0:11:55.640 --> 0:12:00.520 he played as a four, and then Tommy Zoe brought 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.439 in Jaren Jackson junior, and then Michigan State also has 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:08.719 Nick Wards, so m both intentionally and by necessity, Um, 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.000 he went more to the three and played a little 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.320 bit more as a perimeter guy, which a lot of 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:18.079 NBA guys wanted to see. Um, that was the biggest thing. 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:20.160 You know. He wanted to show more in ball handling, 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:22.920 wanted to show more decision making, probably needed to be 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:25.760 a better passer with the ball in his hands. Um, 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.320 you know, these he just kind of needed to show 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.680 himself as more of a well rounded athlete as opposed 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:34.080 to a guy who can put up spot threes and 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:38.400 dunk the ball. But he's he's a good rebounder. I 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:41.520 probably wish he would have been a better offensive rebounder 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:48.480 at times, but he's got a good motor, plays hard played. 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.079 You know, did everything that that Tom Zoe asked of him, 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.439 and it was a lot. But yeah, I mean in 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:56.880 terms of improving those things year over year, those were 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:00.080 the goals, and I would say, you know, did okay. 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.720 I don't think anyone last year who would watched Miles 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:08.280 Bridges said he's going to play himself into the top six, right, 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:12.040 because just to the type of player he is. The 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:15.000 only guys who are top five, six, seven picks now 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:20.280 are these unicorns, right, guys like Jaren Jackson. Miles Bridges 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.319 I did not think was going to play himself up 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.640 that much higher. What I said, I said, the goal 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.320 for him is going to stay, be to stay in 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:31.560 the lottery, because all that really happens sometimes in your 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.760 second year is you just get dissected more and more. 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.800 But to his credit, for a guy who's not overly 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.800 long and not overly big, he stayed where he is. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:43.439 You know, most people have him in that ten to 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.760 fifteen range. So that's that's pretty good. It's it's I 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.959 think that's as hard to do as playing yourself up 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:53.080 sometimes we see the type of physical attributes that he has. 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:55.680 What if people said about him and what have you 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.000 observed defensively with what he brings to the court, because 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.960 depending on how you slicier statistics and what you like 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:05.240 to look at, his numbers there have graded out pretty 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:09.040 well too. Yeah, he's strong enough to guard a guy 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.440 with some size. That's why, you know. I think he 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:14.040 could probably play a little bit as an undersized four 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:18.560 in the league. And he is athletic enough and moves 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:23.440 laterally well enough to to stay with someone on the 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.960 perimeter if he's guarding someone a little bit smaller, so 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:31.520 he can go multiple positions, which people like. And yeah, 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.040 I don't see defense being an issue. I don't. I 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.200 can't imagine anyone not drafting him because of defense or 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:39.880 or dinging him because of defense. I think he's a 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:41.760 guy who could probably play in a little bit higher 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.520 level and might end I could certainly see him being 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:49.440 someone who gets to the league and sees how playing 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.800 time is allotted and realizes, you know, what he needs 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:55.680 to do to get on the floor, and maybe specializing 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.760 in that a little bit more so. Yeah, I think 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.240 all those things. He certainly is a good defensive player 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:02.800 who probably has a potential to be a really good 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.720 defensive player. You mentioned earlier, the type of guy that 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.800 he is dealing with the media well and handling himself, 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:12.160 good with teammates. Any anecdotes that jump out in your 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.640 mind just from covering him that stand out to portray 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:18.120 the type of person and character he might have. Yeah, 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:22.120 the one interesting thing was in the beginning of last year. 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:28.680 This past season, Michigan State basically made him available for 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:32.560 every media request that you could imagine. He had. One 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:35.360 of my colleagues, Brian Hamilton from the athletics, spent that 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:37.920 entire day with him, going to class and doing this 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:39.920 and that and the other thing. He did every single 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:43.280 TV shoot, he did, every magazine shoot, he did every interview, 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.560 He did literally every last thing, to the point where 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.720 kind of as a you know, observer of all of this. 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:53.320 You know, at one point I pulled someone aside within 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:57.080 the program and I said, he's either going to burn 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.080 out or start to resent this. I have to imagine, 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:02.760 you know, it's kind of human nature, and I've seen 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:08.000 it happen to other guys. And the one the guy 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:10.240 looked at me and just said, you know, he hasn't 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:13.560 mentioned it. He hasn't said it once that you know, 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.320 I'm not doing this today, right, I'm not talking to 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:18.880 this guy. I'm not doing this radio interview. I'm not 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.960 doing this press conference. He hadn't said it once. Like 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:24.840 he did everything that Michigan State asked him to do 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.040 in terms of being, you know, the basically the face 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.160 of the program, the ambassador of the place. You know 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.920 that is not named Tom Is though you know, he 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:34.960 fulfilled everything that they wanted. And then later in the 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:38.800 year and people remember he was named in that Yahoo 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:44.680 report with that the whole what players received a couple 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:48.280 of dollars from agents, whether it was you know, in 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.560 his case literally a couple of dollars versus you know, 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.360 guys getting fifty k and things like that. So he 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.400 was named in that, and it was in season, and 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:00.760 it was amid all this other stuff happening at Michigan State, 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.280 which is a whole other story, but there were distractions 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:05.360 all over the place. Then he gets named in this 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:10.200 story him and his mother that his mother received a 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.840 meal was bought for her by an agent, and whatever 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:17.000 it was, it was something pretty minor, but if true, 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.320 it was an NCAA violation and any game that he 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:24.120 played would be vacated. And it was a very very 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.240 serious story at a time for a team that was, 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:28.600 you know, on the path to a potential one seat 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.320 in the nca torn and Dana to being a two. 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.159 And I thought then again, I said, okay, well this 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:36.399 is it. This is gonna be the one where he 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.520 finally snaps and says, you know, this is a bunch 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:41.080 of bs. I didn't sign up for this. When I 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.920 came back, and then Dada, and he handled it as 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.359 well as you could hope for anyone to do it. 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:51.120 He's the next game after the report dropped, Michigan State 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:56.119 decided to play him, and they filed a paperwork with 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:58.480 the NCAA and he was cleared and it was all good. 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:02.680 But he sat in that locker room and answered every 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.040 question that we had and we peppered him for ten minutes, 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:10.000 and he sat there and he handled it without rolling 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:14.080 his eyes, without snapping at anyone. He actually did better 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.040 than Tom Izzo did that day because Tom got a 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.240 couple of questions that he got fired up, and then 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:22.600 his player sat there and uh ten fifteen minutes, answered 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:27.000 every question and did did really really well and he's 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.199 just a you know, he's a pretty cool customer. And um, 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:32.240 I think he gets it. I think he understands fame. 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:34.720 I think he understands his place in the world and 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:38.879 knows how much is writing on him, both, you know, 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:41.199 in terms of his own professional career and what it 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:46.480 means to his family and Flint and you know, a 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.320 lot of people who look up to him. He's been 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:53.479 a very well known player basically since early high school. 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:56.560 He was on list. He was on you know, YouTube 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.679 videos dunking over people and stuff at a very young age. 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.560 Like he knows what the spotlight looks like and he 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:06.720 has always handled it really well. Now, I could make 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:12.159 a really corny and bad reference about the Delaware Valley 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.719 like the following, which are the bridges do you prefer? 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.720 The Walt Whitman or the Ben Franklin. But I won't 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:22.240 do that, and instead I'll just ask you simply on 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:24.760 the surface, I would say the better question would be 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.600 the mccale bridges or the Miles Bridges would be the 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:32.240 more which bridge do you prefer? But I thank you 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:34.359 for that. You took care of my next part of 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:38.040 the phrase for me. Um oh, I'm sorry, no, no, no, 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.879 I like that. That's good. Even in the passing of 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:43.920 a few years and a geographical divide, there's still some 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.080 chemistry and flow, which I like. I like that. Um. 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:49.880 So yeah, before we talk about a particular team, which 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:52.720 you can probably guess, I'll ask you to put in 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.600 context for in just a second, but simply skill level 0:19:56.720 --> 0:20:01.240 overall package as an NBA prospect, Miles or McHale, who 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:07.840 you saw in the championship game while covering at Michigan. Yeah, um, 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:15.840 it's it's hard. Um. I feel like McHale is probably 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:20.600 he's longer, right, I don't have the measurements, but he 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:26.160 to me, he seems longer. UM and maybe a little 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:29.600 bit of a higher skill set. Um. You know, he 0:20:29.640 --> 0:20:34.680 was one of the best outside shooting wings UM, probably 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:38.440 in all of college basketball last year. Um. You know. 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.240 I think he's more of a volume shooter, and I 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:43.879 think that probably projects him a little bit more to 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:48.560 the league than Miles UM and I think Bridges, I 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.480 think Mark. I can't lose the last things. I think McHale, Um, 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.359 it's probably just a little bit of a higher level athlete. 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:57.440 I think he's probably a little bit more efficient um 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:01.040 at a little higher skilled. You then say that he 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:03.959 talking about McHale would then be a better fit for 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:07.320 the seventy six ers, or does when you take that 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:10.120 context into account, has that change your opinion at all? 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:13.080 I think if McHale's there at ten and the Sixers 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:15.640 don't take them, they are crazy. He looked pretty good 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:18.120 this passion. It really is amazing just watching how far 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:21.560 he came. I'm sure you probably kept tabs on him 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:25.960 from AFAR even doing the work covering Michigan State and Michigan, 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:29.560 but just the strides that he made, it's really interesting 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:34.040 that it seems like overtime on the surface that Jay 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:37.439 Wright and his coaching staff never made the deliberate attempt 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:42.080 to get NBA prospects, just guys that were solid players 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:44.640 who could develop over three or four years. But now 0:21:44.840 --> 0:21:48.000 here it's a situation where they've got four guys in 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:50.800 the draft. Yeah. And you know, I kind of say 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:56.800 Villanova and Jay Wright are basically Michigan with John Beeline 0:21:58.000 --> 0:22:00.760 in a very close way. It's almost like I'm watching 0:22:00.760 --> 0:22:02.600 that Villanova team last year. I'm like, this is a 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:04.480 this is a John Beeline team that you just but 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:07.760 you drop a hemy in it, like their their level 0:22:07.800 --> 0:22:10.360 of talent. You know, with Devicenzo coming off the bench, 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:12.080 you're just like, well, this is just stupid. You know, 0:22:12.160 --> 0:22:15.240 they're so good. Um, and yeah, I mean it is 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:18.080 in his player development, which is you know John Beline's 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:20.639 Forte as well. Like there's a lot of parallels, except 0:22:20.680 --> 0:22:23.159 it's just you know, Jay is young. Jay's got a 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:28.159 little Hollywood. Um, it's a it's a fascinating thing that 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:30.480