WEBVTT - EPISODE 15: The mild, mild West 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:07.000 Welcome to this League Uncut in the world of twenty 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.680 four hour NBA news. Just do you lose Chris Haines, 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:16.959 It's go time, Mark Stein, It's show time shuklaka Chris 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:21.119 Haynes and Mark Stein. This lig uncut is underway, and 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:27.320 then fire. This should be a good one. Let's do it. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:31.240 Let's make sure we have another good one, Chris Haynes, 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:35.280 Mark Stein here with you or another edition of this 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.480 League Uncut. But I gotta be honest right off the bat, 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:42.479 mister Haynes, I'm not in the best of moods. I'm annoyed. 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:46.960 I actually wanted to ask you a question. Am I 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:51.519 too old to use the adjective mid? Am? I? Can 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:53.080 I get away with that? Or am I too old? 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:55.400 Should I not use that? My kids would say I 0:00:55.440 --> 0:01:01.880 am and they would laugh in my face. Huh. I 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:04.959 will say this, THI. If there's anybody that could get 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.679 away with it, I think it would be you. I 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:10.000 would give you the pass. The reason I'm asking is 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.280 because this is the most mid Western conference I have 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:17.560 ever seen in my life. Now, as we're recording this, 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:22.760 the Lakers are trying to claw their way back to 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:27.080 five hundred for the first time since last season when 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.720 they were twenty four and twenty four. They're down four 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:32.200 to the Knicks with eight minutes and change to go. 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.360 But I just keep looking at these standings. The one 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.680 thing we used to be able to count on was 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.200 the Denver Nuggets. Now they've lost three in a row. 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.319 You look at this West, the Nuggets are the only 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:49.400 team we're almost seventy games into this season, the Nuggets 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:53.720 are the only team on pace to win fifty games 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:58.280 in the West. Now Sacramento and Memphis they're on pace 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:02.640 for forty nine point six wins, So we can we 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:04.920 can draft them in if we really want to. But 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:08.840 either team, either one of those teams loses their next game, 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:10.840 they're off the fifty win pain. I mean, I just 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.680 we're so used to since Michael Jordan's second retirement in Chicago, 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:20.040 we're so used to seeing quality in the West, and 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.359 it's just, you know, again, I'm if the Lakers get 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:26.679 back to five hundred, I'm sure Laker fans are excited, 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.519 and you know they've been doing with doing this lately 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.560 without Lebron, so you got to give them props for that. 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.640 But but I just this isn't a Laker thing. I 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:38.520 just look at these Western Conference standings and it's just 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:43.080 enough already, it's just so much mediocrity. It's really to me, 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:48.440 it is a season unlike any other. Well, look, let 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:50.480 me go to the other route a little bit. Let 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:52.680 me go to the other route. Can we look at 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:57.239 this and say that the Western Conference just has parody? 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.880 Because I think you can make the argument that. Let 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:04.120 me see, I'm looking at these East teams, the top 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:09.480 six Milwaukee, Boston, Philly, Cleveland, Brooklyn, New York, and you 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:14.800 look at the top six as a right now, Denver, Sacramento, Memphis, Phoenix, Clippers, 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:22.000 Golden State. If I had to pick between both conferences 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:28.000 top six, I think I'm still going with the West. Well, 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.160 then I'm going to counter you and say I look 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:35.880 at the East and I've been I've been a Denver 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.360 defender all season long. And this has gotten especially heated 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:44.760 lately because the MVP stuff has turned into a Yoki 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:47.840 versus mb thing. And I want to apologize because I 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:49.640 thought we did a great pot on this last week 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:51.560 talking a lot about the Philly side of it. But 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:57.119 even we we we didn't say it again. Yeah yeah, yeah, 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.480 I did, see I did see a couple of people tweak, 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.280 and they're right. Janis should be right there. This should 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:04.360 be a three man race. But this MVP thing has 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.720 gotten so crazy that it's like it's just become yokas 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.400 versus and be. But the reason I was bringing that 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:12.840 up is again, I have been a Denver defender all 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:17.640 season long. But to me, the three title favorites right now, 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:21.279 this is gonna drop on March thirteenth, this pod. They're 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.160 in the East, I mean Milwaukee, Boston, or Philly. I 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:28.839 would pick those. I would pick whoever survives that, you know, 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:34.280 that three sided steel cage match, like whoever comes out 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.760 of the East. I think obviously depending on health when 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:38.680 the playoffs come and where we are in June, but 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.080 you know you're probably gonna see one of those. The 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.960 East champion is probably going to be the favorite, I think. 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:49.280 I think the only way that's not the case is 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.359 if it's Phoenix that comes out of the West and 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:55.640 by then they're absolutely rolling with Durant, Yeah they're rolling, 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.400 and possibly the Lakers if the Lakers get up out 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:03.080 the West and they're rolling, potentially rolling with Lebron James. 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:05.560 But no, if you if you limited to just the 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.520 top three in each conference. No, it's the Eastern Conference 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.760 head over heels above the Western Conference where you mentioned Milwaukee, 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:19.039 Boston and Philadelphia like there, there's no that that top 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:22.919 three right there that they're they're pretty much carrying the conference. 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.560 Then Cleveland Cavaliers there right there under there. But no, 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:27.880 I mean, look, I think with the Western conver let 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:29.480 me come to the defense for the Western Conference. I 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:31.400 think it's just a lot of parody. These are really 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.559 good teams. They're stacked up against each other, that beating 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:38.599 up one another, and it's going to be you know, Denver, 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.440 I you know, I don't I don't see Denver, you know, 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:44.960 losing the grip on that number one seed. But everybody 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.840 else's it's pretty much right there. And it's going to 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:50.200 be good basketball. And I think it's gonna be compelling 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.320 to see how the the alignment shakes shakes up. I 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.520 think we you say, you look at who's in the 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.599 play in field on the Western Conference, Minnesota to Dallas 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.640 Lakers in Utah as a right now, h and and 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:08.799 you know, really Utah at the tenth spot they're tied 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:12.960 with New Orleans and OKC. I mean we just don't 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:14.919 know where this is going to play, how this is 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:16.960 going to play out in Portland right there, there are 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:23.440 two games behind the final playoff markers. So I like it. 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:25.200 I like it. I think it's periody. I still think 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:28.200 it's good teams the West has. The West has about 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:32.880 three teams that you talk about Phoenix, Clippers. No, probably 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:37.760 four teams because they're you know, they're all these teams Memphis, Phoenix, 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.120 and Golden State and the Lakers. Those are four teams 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.640 right there, and then you can probably throw in Minnesota. 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:48.920 Five teams that are waiting for guys to get healthy. 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.200 They're waiting to get hold so you just really don't 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.880 know what you have right now. Those are five teams 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.960 right there that could easily be in the top four 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:02.719 if they're healthy, but they're waiting for guys. They're playing 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.840 that waiting game. So that I know that's a frustration, 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:09.040 frustrated feeling for those teams, But it's the NBA, so 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.840 always played these games, and injuries are a part of it, 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.760 for sure. I guess it's for me if if more 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:18.000 of these teams were trending in the right direction, I 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:20.080 guess I could accept the parody thing. Because that's been 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:23.360 the word all season long. Parody. This is incredible parody. 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.040 And it's not just you who said it. I mean 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:28.200 literally all season long, that has been an NBA buzzword. 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:34.320 But the Sacramento Kings undeniable Cinderella season. But underneath Sacramento, 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:39.760 Memphis is absolutely soaked in chaos right now because not 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.560 just the jaw situation, but they don't have Steven Adams. 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:46.160 They've already lost Clark for this season. The Suns don't 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:48.640 even know if they're gonna see Durant. Before the start 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:52.240 of the playoffs, the Clippers were rolling before they brought 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:57.560 Russell Westbrook in and it is not. They have bounced 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.520 back a little bit here lately with a few wins, 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:03.520 but clearly the Clippers are still almost seventy games in 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:07.480 the season, still trying to find themselves. The Warriors, who's 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:11.560 calling card on all these playoff runs? Four championships in 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:14.960 eight years. The Warriors calling card was that they always 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:17.560 won at least one road game. And I think it's 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:21.360 twenty seven or twenty eight consecutive series. It's whatever it is, 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.200 twenty seven or twenty eight, it's an NBA record. This season, 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:27.160 they cannot win a road game, no matter what they try, 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.720 no matter what they do, no matter who's in uniform. 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:33.640 The Warriors seven and twenty six on the road. Minnesota, 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:36.559 no Towns, a five hundred season. They were supposed to 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:40.240 be great in the regular season. The Dallas Mavericks, the 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:44.560 Kyrie Irving trade to this point has not worked out. Monday, 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:48.920 Luca Dontech will miss his second consecutive game due to injury. 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:53.160 Kyrie Irving is questionable. Wouldn't surprise me if Kyrie isn't 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:55.160 able to play the sense I'm getting, I don't think 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.880 the Mavericks fear that it's a long term issue that 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:00.840 I don't think they see it as a potential long 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.640 term issue with Kyrie. But is he gonna be able 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.400 to play Monday night? I'm not so sure about that. 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.920 The Lakers have certainly picked things up here even without Lebron. 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:12.560 Props to them. No Zion in New Orleans. I mean, 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:14.880 I could just go on and on and on, and 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.000 it's uh, yeah, I forgot about New Orleans, you know. 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.360 And look Portland. I mean, Dame is having the season 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.960 of his life and nothing, you know, it seems like 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.760 he's getting less help than he ever has and he's 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:31.520 he's having a turn back the clock season. It's just one, 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:34.960 you know one. You know, Utah and Oklahoma City have 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.680 been inspiring, nice, very nice stories. Utah season is still 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.040 absolutely incredible that there's still a five hundred team after 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:46.680 all the talent that they've traded away. But man, to me, 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.920 if you're not talking about Sacramento right now, it's hard 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:56.200 to find an uplifting story in the West. The Keys 0:09:56.440 --> 0:10:00.439 and I had the will urge or encouraged people, please 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.720 go check out the story I did on the Sacramento Kings. 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.559 I published it Friday morning for Bleacher Reports, so please 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:10.360 go check that out. But you know, I got candidate 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.599 quotes from Mike Brown, got Mike Brown to call and 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.400 give me a call, got Deer and Fox to give 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:18.079 me a call, and I got some real candidate quotes 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:22.120 on just what led to the Sacramental Kings all of 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.320 a sudden becoming the NBA's I'm calling it the NBA's 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:28.400 new Cinderella team. It used to be the Memphis Grizzlies. 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.599 The Sacramento Kings have taken on that mantle as it 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:34.240 right now. They're a fun team. The high you know, 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:37.880 they lead the league point score per game. They play 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.960 a great game. This is Mike Brown just reinventing himself. 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:45.960 He's known as a defensive coach. Now he's leading the 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:48.160 ball club that just has one of the most exciting 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.920 offenses in the league. And so it's pretty fun to watch. 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:54.360 But I take you behind the scenes on you know, 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:58.800 the culture Mike Brown has implemented. And he told he talked, 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.760 He told me about how he had to who had 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.760 to attack the culture. It wasn't about trading players trying 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:07.679 to get yeah, it was there was no culture. And 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:10.240 I would say, you know, there's just there's always there's 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.760 been a bad stigma over the last sixteen years with 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.120 the Keys as far as being a team that is 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:25.079 UM just always a revolving door of coaches, front office, 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:30.040 and you know they begin, you know, conjuring a reputation 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:37.160 of a team that players try to avoid, agents try 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:40.800 to avoid sending their players there. And you know, it's 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:43.520 it's been bad. It's been really bad. And and Mike 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:46.959 Brown told me about a dinner meeting he had with 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:52.640 his team the night before training camp, open about how 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:59.520 he UM brought into play accountability contracts, basically assigning roles 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.800 to every everybody and given players their roles in front 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.080 of it everybody else. And so he said, you didn't 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.800 have to sign that contract, he said, but if you 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:14.160 signed it, you're making an oath to your teammates, to 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.520 the coaching staff that you will try to do play 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.920 this role to the best of your ability, and you 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:23.240 won't cause any problems because if you do, that's when 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.839 your teammates are going to get on you because they're 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.480 making the same vale too, that they're going to do 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:32.640 their role. And what happens is what has happened is 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.680 it has created accountability within the locker room now where 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:39.560 guys can say things. So if a player is stepping 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.679 out of bounced, you know, stepping outside of his lane, 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.079 you know, it's opened up the door where players can 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:48.240 go up to other players and not in a controversial 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.000 manner and be like, hey, let's remember this is what 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.360 we need to do. Let's stick with this. And for 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.319 the most part, it's worked. It's worked. And darre and 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:58.679 Fox talked about how he felt like he was going 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.800 to be traded a few years ago and he didn't 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:03.480 he didn't know if he would see a day where 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:07.360 he will be sitting on a roster. You know, Sacramental 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:10.600 Kings number two in the Western Conference standis right now, man, 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:14.360 And so it's some really good behind the scenes stories 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.560 and tales in that story. So I urge you guys 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:21.319 to please go go check it out. Look, I agree 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.040 with everything you said there because you know, as much 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.760 as I like, I have been a Denver defender and 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.400 a Nuggets believer, but I have not been a believer 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:30.920 in the Sacramento team. Like I've been waiting for them 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.880 to drop. I thought it would hurt them at the 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.400 deadline that they were one of the few teams that 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.680 didn't make a move, because I know, as much fun 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:44.280 as Mike Brown is having with this high octane offense, 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.520 the most high octane offense of his coaching career, deep down, 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.000 I don't think Mike Brown has changed that much. I 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:54.160 think he's still defense first in his heart, and I 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:58.360 think he would have loved a Matisse Tible or a 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.559 Mason Plumly for rebounding just if he could have, if 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:06.560 he could have addressed Obviously, Mason Plumley is not like 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:11.280 an interior stopper of a top level, but he does 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.040 make a difference on the boards. Tieble obviously does have 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.400 the ability to be a tremendous stopper on the perimeter. 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:19.480 I mean, and I think there were names that we 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.040 didn't here or didn't get out. I really think the 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.160 Kings wanted to do something to try to upgrade defensively 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:28.240 at the deadline, they weren't able to. And still they've 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:32.360 now moved up basically into this tie for second. With 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:37.720 Memphis entering Monday's play and with everything going on with 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:42.120 the Grizzlies, you would think that Sacramento really has a 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.880 chance now at the number two seed, which I'm you know, 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:48.120 like I say it out loud, and still I still 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:51.320 don't believe it. I mean, it's it's it's impossible in 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:53.960 a lot of what to miss the playoffs for sixteen 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:56.080 years in a row in the NBA, in a league 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.880 that lets sixteen teams in the playoffs, and now one 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:03.040 if you count the playing round like it is just stunning. 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.400 You have to go back, where was Chris Hayes in 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:08.480 two thousand sixs that was the last time the games 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:16.880 went to play OUFFS. I was I was playing. I 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:21.520 was my sophomore year junior playing at Fresno Pacific University. 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:24.840 We get some footage of that season. I would love 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.760 to see, you know what that year? That was the 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.200 year I played the least, So there wouldn't be much 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:33.880 footage of that season you could find. I'm not gonna 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.680 do the stat digging, but for those who want to 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:39.520 find the stats, I think it's on the internet somewhere. 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.760 There were a bear about thirty two games that season. 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.520 I think I played in ten of those games that year, 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:50.600 and I actually hold on. I hate, I hate to 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.240 go inside note, but I'm gonna do it. So when 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.360 when you get a basketball scholarship, people think when you 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.480 get an athletic scholarship, I should say I got a 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.400 basketball scholarship. But when you get us an athletic scholarship, 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.560 I think a lot of people think that scholarship takes 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:09.400 care of you for the whole four years. No, that 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:15.280 is a year to year contract. And so I had 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:21.560 a full scholarship Fresdan Pacific University, full basketball scholarship, and 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.560 my coach wasn't playing me. Clark she Hi. I don't 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.440 know where coach she High is at now. He's still 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.560 coaching somewhere. I believe he's coaching somewhere in Oklahoma, somewhere, 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:36.720 but he didn't to my you know, to his credit, 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:38.600 he did want me to work on my handles. I 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:42.560 was a real athletic six two shooting guard and he 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:44.960 wanted me to play the point guard. And he would 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:47.600 tell me to stay after practice every day and work 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.280 on my handles. And I would do it a little bit. 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.680 But I didn't do it as you know, as much 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.640 as I should have, because I feel like I should 0:16:55.640 --> 0:17:00.200 have been playing anyway, like you're not You're not utilizing me, right, 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.840 and so I didn't work. So anyways, I ended up 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:06.000 playing in ten of our teams thirty or two games. 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:10.400 Then after the year, coach caused me to the office, said, hey, 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.080 we want you back. We think you're a good locker 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:16.320 room guy. We think you still have great potential to 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:18.800 help this team, but based off of the year that 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:24.040 you had, we only can offer you seven thousand dollars scholarship, 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.639 and Fresno Pacific's tuition at that time per year was 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:38.840 about thirty thousand. So I left. I don't know any 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:44.000 of this is good. I left. I left. I transferred 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:48.199 to Fresno State and just finished out my um. I 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:50.920 just went to school, just transfer the Frendal State, finished 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:54.160 out my degree did two two and a half years there, 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:59.199 So you played more as a freshman. Well, my freshman 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:03.600 sophomore year was in college. Okay, so you transferred the FRESI. Yeah, 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:08.199 transferred the Freendsen Pacific. Yes, basketball, and so yeah, that 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:10.800 wasn't happening. So I had to had to take out loans, 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.760 and I was just doing the math and the guys 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.400 he he was recruiting, like two other guys in my position. 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:19.960 I'm like, man, he lowered my scholarship, so there's really 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:22.760 no incentive for him to even attempt to try to 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:26.600 play me. And he's recruiting two other players at my position. 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.120 I'm like, man, I'm off for competition, don't get me wrong, 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.719 but I ain't trying to put myself in debt like 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:35.840 that with all those loans. So I left. So can 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:38.000 we look back seventeen years later and say, did you 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:43.000 make the right decision? Yeah? Yeah, I made the right decision. Yeah. 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:46.120 I mean, shoot, look, I made the right decision. I went. 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.320 You know, at some point, like I wanted to, I 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:52.160 wanted to play professionally somewhere, and it wasn't it wasn't 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:54.760 lining up that wasn't going to happen. You know. I 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:57.320 just wanted to be around basketball as much as I could, 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:01.600 and uh, that was my I had to make an 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:04.080 adult decision right there. I had to make a real 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.840 adult decision, like do I play another year? It didn't 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:14.040 So clarksh, I thank you and no thank you at 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:17.320 the same time. I guess I don't know, like I 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.680 don't know off the praise on whatever, I don't know. 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:23.000 But he was a cool coach. He's Uh, I ain't 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:24.399 got number of love for him, but I haven't seen 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.320 him since then. Maybe he'll listen to this, maybe we'll 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.719 hear from him. He likely will, so you so then 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.760 you He transferred to Fresno State and just as a 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:36.200 finished out college as a regular student finished out. And 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.879 that was so hard, Stean, that was so hard because 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:43.639 when you were an athlete playing in college, like you 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:48.720 have personal like athletic counselors that just like they'll pick 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:51.639 your classes for you, they set up everything for you 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:56.719 and tutor in everything you need. You got it at 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:00.280 your exposal, And so it was hard going to be 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:04.040 a regular student, especially when I know, like I probably 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:07.600 could have walked on that Fresilo State one thing, I 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:10.240 played against Fredom State. When you know Fredo Pacific. We 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:13.040 played Freendom State every year, So that was a cool 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:16.600 experience for me playing against you know, my state school. 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:19.760 But that was a tough transition. Man. It was tough. 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:21.920 It was. It was when I realized, man, I really 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:25.320 gotta like be a man and be a real student 0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:30.480 and just go to class, no preferential treatment, just go. 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:34.320 That was so hard, but I was ready. I was 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:37.680 ready to transition into something else, and I wanted at 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:40.680 that time, I wanted to be a pe teacher slash 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:44.760 um basketball coach because you know, stunt. I don't know 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:47.840 if your pe teachers were like hours growing up, but 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:50.960 all our p P teachers did in high school was 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:54.480 they'll introduce a sport and say we're playing this sport 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:57.399 for four weeks, roll out a ball to you, and 0:20:57.560 --> 0:20:59.680 y'all playing that sport for forty five minutes while he 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:03.040 said down doing whatever. And so I'm like, I can 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:05.399 do that. I could do that. I could roll a 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:08.200 volleyball out it, go do whatever I want to do, 0:21:08.359 --> 0:21:10.720 roll a basketball out, you know. So that's that's what 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:13.359 I wanted to do. But that's a better story. Sty 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:15.920 then I found out coaching I coached for a year 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.399 freshman team. I don't know if you knew that I 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:21.280 coached for a year a freshman basketball team. I think 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:23.240 I didn't do that, but I did not know this. 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:26.840 I did not know this Fresno Pacific story. But I 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:29.720 will say sources have just informed me, And by sources, 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:32.840 I mean I'm going out my sources. Producer Ryan Music 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:36.760 has has obtained this information through something oh what five? 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:40.600 He found out that your coach is the coach that 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:43.000 you named. I didn't catch what was the coach's name, 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:47.920 Clark Sehi. He remains the athletic director at Southwest Baptist 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:52.120 University and only recently just stepped down as basketball coach. 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:59.720 Mm okay, Clark to Ryan, I would have been more impressed, 0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:02.440 right if you would have dug up my status. Hold on, 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:08.760 he did try. Sources say he did try. Online archive 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:13.119 for Fresno Pacific basketball stats only goes back to twenty 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:16.600 eleven twelve, so we cannot obtain Thank god, you cannot 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.600 obtain the Chris Haynes details. Thank god, because because they 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:22.800 used to be online, they were online for the longest 0:22:22.840 --> 0:22:25.480 and I hated it, and I'm like, damn, they were life. 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:29.800 So I mean you're you're still ahead of ninety nine 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:33.360 point nine percent of us who cover the league. Yeah, 0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:35.440 it was a it was a bad years time, bad 0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:38.840 year spears played. I mean there's not I think Chris 0:22:38.960 --> 0:22:42.280 Brussard played at his school. There's not many guys who 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:47.320 stephen A played. Didn't Casey in Chicago? Did he played? 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:49.879 I don't, I don't. He might have played college too, 0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:51.440 but I really don't remember. That's the air that, you know. 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:53.960 I can't remember anything anymore. We're gonna have We're gonna 0:22:53.960 --> 0:22:55.080 have to do that. We're gonna have to We're gonna 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:59.080 have to put together a comprehensive list of of of 0:22:59.280 --> 0:23:03.960 scribes who actually played college ball, because I've got a 0:23:03.960 --> 0:23:07.080 few out there I don't remember. You should be proud, man, 0:23:07.359 --> 0:23:11.160 I mean, you you played two years. You were good 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:13.280 enough as you were good enough JC player to get 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:16.640 a college scholarship. Man, that's I would take it. Yeah, 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:20.600 that was big. I still actually have the copy of 0:23:20.680 --> 0:23:23.600