WEBVTT - KJ Live - Ben Johnson 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:10.320 This is kJ Live with Chris Johnson. Allen and Chris 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.680 is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:20.720 entertainment in a strain. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now too, 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:24.680 then kJ Live Today's guest show the show is the 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:27.680 head coach of the Minnesota Golden Golfers of the Big 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:32.640 Ten Conference men's basketball. Let's welcome Ben Johnson to the show. Coach, 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.080 what's good? Not much? Man? What's going on? Shot man? 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:38.960 I mean anything and everything. I can imagine that you 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:43.680 have had a pretty busy off season with recruiting and 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.159 things of that nature. Can just talk a little bit 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:50.000 about what your first off season has looked like as 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:53.199 a head basketball coach in the visual one left, I 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.160 can tell you this, it's a lot more enjoyable than 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.640 about a year ago. Uh, when I first got the job, 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:03.240 and you're trying to navigate everything and build a whole 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.399 roster from the ground up and staff and you know, 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.280 figure out your exactly you know, philosophy and how you 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:13.680 wanna you know, start this program from day one. So 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:17.319 I'm unfortunate, you know, we we had a really good 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.480 group that uh, you know, we had on the on 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.240 the team this year and and fund kids that built it. 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.320 And we've got a lot of kids returning that were 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:28.000 a big piece of what we were trying to do 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.200 and the foundation we're trying to lay. And we're fortunate 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.800 enough to get some some four key high school kids, UM, 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:36.399 and so we didn't have to jump in the portal 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:39.240 and get a crazy amount of guys like last year. 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:41.920 But we're able to definitely add a couple of pieces 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:47.360 with with Dawston Garcia and Tar Samuel's who's who's from Dartmouth, UM, 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:51.000 just to kind of add some veteran leadership, UM and 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:53.760 some older bodies to our to our roster. And so 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:56.560 right now, UM, you know, we just finished up with 0:01:56.800 --> 0:01:59.120 with the spring semester, so our guys are on break 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.280 right now. UM. Then we'll we'll look forward to getting 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:04.800 kicked in gear here for summer in about two weeks. 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:10.440 You brought up last year the challenges with not only 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.760 inheriting a program that being a first year coach, but 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:18.480 inherited program that lost around nine ten guys. Just talk 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:23.920 to us about how challenging that was and the methods 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.840 in your process that you went about to fill that 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:29.720 roster with a quality roster that would be able to 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.760 compete in the Big Ten. Yeah. So you know, when 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.840 I first took the job over, um, you know, I 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:37.800 knew it was the first year of the Portals, So 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.160 there were gonna be kids that we're gonna make decisions 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:42.840 based off that. They were gonna test it because it 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.320 was new, something exciting. I totally understood it with a 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:48.080 coaching change, you know, I also get that piece of it. 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.800 They didn't know me, I didn't know them, they didn't 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.639 owe me anything. Um, A kind of end of the 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.440 year tough and so there are a lot of decisions 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.080 that you know, I just had to assume we're going 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:01.000 to be made. And when I met with the team, 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:02.880 you know, my biggest thing was to get a feel 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:04.560 for them and for them to get a feel for me, 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:07.200 to figure out if if this relationship was gonna work. 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:11.280 I wanted to make sure that from day one I 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.280 was able to lay a foundation, um that I was 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:16.880 comfortable with and the one that was gonna be able to, 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:21.000 through wins and losses, be sustainable and set the tone 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.079 for years to come. And so um, you know, after 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.520 about a couple of weeks in and meeting with guys, 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:30.280 and guys making decision. I ended up keeping one player. Um, 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:32.799 so it was from the from the whole crew, the 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.400 whole crew. There was there was one kid that stayed 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.880 and um Isaiah and and and to his credit, um, 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:41.960 you know, it was a cruiting process. I mean it 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.040 was about a two or three week deal where you know, 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.720 I was meeting with him daily and working them out. UM. 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:49.240 But he he decided to stay two feet in and 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:53.760 and the kid was playing really good basketball. UM. Was 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:58.000 was confident, was energetic, was was kind of really embracing 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:01.839 the change. And no lie the first week, I think 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.680 the first day in the summer school towards a c 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:09.240 L and so we legitimately put a team on the 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:13.120 floor with no players that had that had really played, 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:17.960 UM minus Eric Curry who decided to come back midsummer. Now, 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:19.880 Eric was a kid I recruited out of high school 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:24.200 that had a really really bright future and just had 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:28.240 battled injuries. And Eric was playing on one foot um 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.040 you know, the year before and and he got the 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.800 bug to come back and play. So I had Eric, 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:37.080 and then I recruited Peyton Willis, and Peyton I recruited 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:38.839 out of high school. He had you know, kind of 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:40.920 been at a couple of schools in Minnesota being one 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:43.320 of them. Uh, those are the only two players that 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:47.000 had ever played high major basketball. Everybody else that we 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:49.560 took or we added was either a freshman or somebody 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.760 that came from Division two um or a low major 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:56.000 a mid major level. And so just kind of the 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.880 challenge of making sure I got it right with the 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.080 players that were in our locker room that was gonna 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:05.120 be huge. Again your first year, when you're when you're 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:08.120 that heavy into the portal, you don't know the type 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.919 of talent that you're gonna get that's that's gonna translate 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.760 to to like Big ten success, right, You don't know 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:17.640 if you're gonna get that all lead type players. So 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:20.400 I just say, Okay, we gotta get the talent, but 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:22.640 more importantly, we gotta get guys that we can lose with. 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.000 We gotta get guys that we want to go to 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:28.200 battle with every single day and practice. They're gonna fit 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.279 the culture, They're gonna set the tone. That's gonna be 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:32.919 examples on and off the floor that are gonna be 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.120 able to be coachable, that are gonna be able to 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.400 show our fan base, you know, the type of basketball 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:40.640 that we're gonna play, the type of program that we're 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:44.560 gonna be offensively, defensively and yet still be competitive. And 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:46.640 so that was kind of challenge. But to get it 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:48.640 right with the with the right DNA, with the right 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:50.840 makeup was huge. I think we did that and we 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.280 we definitely set the tone and the foundation for years 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:57.839 to come. Yeah, it's establishing culture. Year one is the page. 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.320 It's like playing seeds and the page it's diver ends 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:02.919 later on down the line because you got recruits and 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.560 other people that are watching this, watching the energy, watching 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:07.839 the home games, looking at the crowd, seeing how engaged 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:12.360 wins and losses sometimes become secondary. We all want to win, coach, 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:15.679 don't make no mistake, but if you lose a certain weight, 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:20.120 it's encouraging versus losing another ways, you know, getting blown out. 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:24.560 Every dog gone night. I December one, I want to 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:28.960 talk about this seventy five sixty five at Michigan. Would 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.119 you say that that was one of your biggest wins 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:36.840 of your first year? Yeah, I would say without a doubt. Um, 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:40.800 you know, it was a game that that I'll never 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.960 forget for a lot of reasons. Um, you know, one. 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:49.680 We haven't won at Michigan and traditionally very often, and 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:52.240 and so to win there, to win against the team 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:53.800 that I have a ton of respect for a program 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.039 I have a ton of respect for. Jawan does a 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.720 great job. You know, they have a ton of talent. 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:02.120 For are guys to be able to battle that environment. 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:07.480 Our first true Big ten road game was was phenomenal. Um, 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.960 you know, you never know, uh, you know, how guys 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.239 are gonna respond, especially guys that are new to the 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.400 big tent um, and and for them to respond the 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:19.400 way they did and for guys to step up and 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:22.920 play the way they did with special I hadn't really 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:25.880 thought about this. So after the game, um, you know, 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.280 coach sent me a text and he just was, you know, 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:33.400 saying congrats and and I hadn't even processed that, like 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.920 this was my first Big ten win. And he was like, man, congrats. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.440 I always remember where I was the first team, first 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.000 time I won my first Big ten game. It's your 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.840 first Big ten road game. On top of that, and 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:46.960 and then I started process like, you know what, day, 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:49.440 He's right, it's kind of cool, you know, to be 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:53.600 able to win at a traditional powerhouse, you know, a 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.560 national brand like Michigan against again a program of the 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.160 team that I really respect. Um, you know, it was 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:01.560 great for our guys just to see them, you know, happy, 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.960 and then the locker room and and celebrating. I mean, 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:06.120 you know, as a as a player, like those are 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.200 special moments. And it goes back to your point when 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:11.160 you when you have a team of guys that you 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:14.960 can lose with with the right type of character. Dudes, 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:17.440 when you win games like that and that bus ride, 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:22.120 in that plane ride, there's nothing like it. The sweet satisfaction. Uh, 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:26.680 winning at Michigan, I liken it to us winning at Arizona. Uh. 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.280 You know, going into these you know these dog fights 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:32.240 where it's you know, the odds just insurmountable, it seems, 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:34.120 and it's gonna take your best game because hey, you 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.600 can't hear as much. You can't hear each other. So 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.280 now it's definitie can't hear coach, so we gotta just 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.600 look at the board and be just signed language like 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.200 a So you know, all those factors kind of covered 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:45.680 to play in those type of games, and so it 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:47.800 makes the w at the end of it, at the 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:50.400 end of the fight that much sweeter. When I was 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.520 looking doing some background research on your coach. I saw that, 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.440 you know, you're from the state of Minnesota. But the 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.680 thing that stood out not only were you all stay 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:03.120 in basketball? Okay, you was top twenty in football or state? 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:07.640 Is that? Did I read that right? Or what? Yeah? Yeah? No, 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:12.280 I uh I had I had a little football in me. Okay, 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.959 what position? So I went to Dealings South of High School, 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:18.719 which is normally like a traditional football army basketball kind 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:22.520 of power. Um, so we didn't have the numbers with football. 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:24.559 So the best part about is back then, man, you 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.520 got to play everything. So you was a wide receiver, 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.679 you were. I was a cornerback. I was a kick return. 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.320 I was a punt return. I was a kickoff. I 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:37.520 was still go protect like we we did everything. Um, 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.800 and so uh you know I would I would definitely 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.680 could admit that football probably was my first like love, 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.319 like there's nothing like high school high school football, uh 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.720 you know, and and and definitely enjoyed the times of playing. 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:54.319 But then I quickly realized as I was becoming a 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:58.240 recruitable athlete that I don't know if I loved the 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:01.840 lifting weights year round, the seven on seven, you can't 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.240 just go to a to a field and play pick 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.760 up football. Um, you know the practice, you know, five days, 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.480 only played one day a week, and so my decision 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.160 kind of became a little bit easier. And then, um, 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.000 on top of it, you know college football, you've got 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:18.040 some big boys. Man. Yeah, nobody loves to get hit. 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:21.360 So um ended up sticking with basketball on that one. 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:25.840 And you chose Northwestern out of high school? What made 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:28.560 you decide to go to Northwestern outside of you know, 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.960 obviously one of the greatest academic institutions, but what about 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.360 the program the school made you decide to choose there? 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.640 So um, you know, I was recruited by Kevin O'Neill 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:43.880 KYO so KO and KO and and then his assistant 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:47.640 Brian Gregory were the two guys that recruited me. So Printon, 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:52.240 she's not actually the head coach at South Florida, got it? 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:56.160 So um, so b g recruited me and those guys 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:59.440 wrong me since my sophomore year, and just the relationship 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.160 that developed with Ko, um, you know, it was really strong. 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.240 He was a lot like my high school coach, State 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:07.800 Dorson was now all my staff, just kind of a 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:12.800 no nonsense, tough, hard nose, and that's kind of what 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:16.000 I was used to. Selfishly, I knew I was gonna 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:17.640 be able to play right away as a true freshman. 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:19.600 I was one of the kids I was just used 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:21.360 to playing. Man. I wanted to be on the court, 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.200 and you know, knowing that i'd be able to start 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.400 and big b B be a big pieces as a 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:30.560 true freshman was intriguing. And we had a young court. 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:32.480 We were the youngest team in the country. We had 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:34.760 some really talented freshman in my class. There were six 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:36.920 of us that I really thought down the line we 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.120 could be really good. And it was in the big tent, 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.040 and it was not too far from home, and so 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:45.320 kind of all those opportunities. But really the relationship I 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.760 had with with Ko probably put it over the top. 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.319 And what made you decide to transfer back to Minnesota. 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:56.920 So after my freshman year, um so b g left 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.080 before I even got there, and he went to Michigan 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:03.439 State with Is. I would kind of hurt KO left 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.560 and went with Van Gundy to the next And now 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:09.040 I'm looking around and I loved my teammates and I 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.680 have great relationships, but I'm like, dang, you know, the 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.040 two big pieces of what I came here just took off, 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:19.040 and you know, it kind of made me think, um, 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:21.600 you know, all right, I gotta I gotta reevaluate and 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:25.560 coach Karbody end up coming from from the Princeton's system, 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:28.720 and I love Coach Karbody. I think, Um, I learned 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:30.679 a lot from it, but it just kind of wasn't me. 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.880 And at the end of the day, and um, you know, 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.480 after my sophomore ended up making a decision to transfer 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:39.120 back home and playing for coach Musson. Now, did you 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:43.959 have league aspirations or professional basketball aspirations at this time? 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.920 I did, you know? After my my freshman year, Um, 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.080 you know, I just sit down with with Ko and 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:53.240 and UM, I was fortunately I had a pretty solid 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.000 freshman year, and so there were some teams that were intrigued. 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:59.120 And at that time, you know, um, when you're young, 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:00.760 as you know, if you're kind of on the radar, 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.520 you're in a good position. And so, UM, you know 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:08.040 I was excited looking forward to that. Um. As I 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.480 got older, UM and started to play more, you become 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:14.280 a little bit more realistic and like, uh, you know, 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.439 the dreams always there, but you get older and you realize, 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:20.040 you know what I'm good, but I don't know if 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.480 I'm that good, right, And so the dream never faded, 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:25.760 but I think reality quickly hit me that I better 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.360 get my butt into coaching if I wanted to stay 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.240 around the game. Um. And so that's kind of when 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:33.040 I when I made the move to the other side 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.840 and decided to try to to help the young guys 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:38.120 that were that were more talented me get to that 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.560 get to that level. I'll tell you what, though, coaches, 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:44.400 it takes a level of maturity and forceight to to 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.720 stop chasing the dream, if you will. Sometimes it's hoopers. 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.480 We kind of you know, well, we'll chase that character forever, 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:53.880 and you know, you'll miss out on a lot of life, 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:56.640 miss out on a lot of opportunities. And so it's 0:13:56.679 --> 0:14:01.200 important to recognize where you are and be real self evaluation. 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:03.480 Did you have somebody in your life at that time 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:05.640 that kept it real with you or did you kind 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:07.760 of just make this decision where you you were kind 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:09.560 of operating on your own and you saw what time 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.079 it was and was like, look, I'm gonna do the 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.000 coaching thing. Yeah, you know, I'm pretty I'm pretty. I 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:16.120 tried to find myself on being self aware. I think 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:19.280 your point, I think that's huge and anything you do 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.880 and we all have ego, and I think that's healthy. 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:25.800 But then you also got to be smart. And you know, 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.360 one of my one of my good friends is J. B. Bickerstaff, 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.280 and so he was actually an assistant. He was a 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.480 directive operations my last year at Minnesota, and I knew 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:38.000 he was getting into coaching. Part of it was he 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:39.920 had some injury so he was forced into get in 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:42.000 there a little bit earlier. Um, I knew he was 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.520 gonna get into coaching, and just the way he talked 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:46.360 about it and the way we would kind of talk 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.720 about it. I had kind of always noticed high school 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.120 something I wanted to do. And then I think I 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:54.640 just realized, like, Okay, I'm young, I don't have a 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:57.360 ton of responsibilities right now. I can start from the 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.000 bottom up. I can take my time. I don't have pressure. 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.720 Was of a wife for a family. Um, you know, 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:05.920 as you know the beginning stages, you're not making money. Um, 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:07.960 you you're you could live wherever you want to and 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.760 it it didn't matter. So I said, you know what, 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.360 like let's do it. And it was it was one 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.280 of those things where You're always gonna miss playing, you 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:17.600 know it, like you could be fifty years old, right, 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.880 You're always gonna miss playing. That's never gonna go. So 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:22.760 I said, why would I live a feeling that's never 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:25.720 gonna leave me prevent me from diving in early and 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:27.440 getting the head start on what I want to do. 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.120 And so, um, it was a hard decision, but I 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.000 know it was the right one for me, and I 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:33.880 was able to get in the coach and bug and 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:36.720 dive in at a young age. Fox Sports Radio has 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.680 the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:42.960 of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.680 within the I Heart Radio app search f s R 0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:48.920 to listen live. And and your first stop as a 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:54.240 grad assistant was with University Dayton and then ut Pan American, Yeah, 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:57.520 Northern Iowa with Ben Jacobson to Nebraska with ten miles. 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:02.000 Just if you could take and I know this might 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.040 be a little much, but take each stop that you 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.520 had and tell me something that you learned that made 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.080 you better as a coach from each stop or the 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.720 man that you might have been mentored under. What I was, 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.520 I was very fortunate. Um, I worked under unbelievable people 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:21.920 that gave me a lot of responsibility and and you 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:24.960 not know, like that's not that's not rare. You know, 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:29.400 sometimes guys that look like us can easily get pigeonholed 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:32.720 or you're not giving freedom to to coach or the 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.120 learner to grow. And I didn't have any of that. 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.520 I was lucky. So I got my first job as 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.440 a g A for Brian Gregory. He was head coach 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:45.000 at Dayton at the time, and so he got me 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:48.240 into coaching. And you know on that staff was Reggie 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:56.080 rankin scout scouting, yeah, with Golden State, Billy Schmidt who 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:58.720 is now with with coach Donovan with the Chicago Bulls, 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:03.280 by Buyer, who was a long time NBA assistant coach. 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.440 I had an unbelievable tree. You know, those are guys. 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.480 Billy was at Northwestern, Bible was a Northwestern, and Big 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.200 was a Northwestern. So those were guys that all knew me. 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:14.920 I knew them, um, so it was a great fit. 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:19.360 You know. I learned like unbelievable work ethic from from 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:23.359 my stop at Dayton um to understand and respect to grind. 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.400 It was old school. I learned the right way from 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.440 b g On just how you operate every single day, 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:35.760 how everything matters, the details matter, how perception is reality. Um. 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.760 You know, he really kind of molded and gave me 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:42.240 a good understanding at the early age of like, you know, 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.760 you start from the bottom up and you you work 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.359 with no ego, no expectation, and it's all about the 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:51.560 program and the players. I was fortunately after one year 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:53.600 to get on with Tom Schubert at what used to 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:55.680 be U T p A which now I think Real 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:58.959 Grand for two years and it was the funnest I've 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:05.280 ever had. And we were we were the lowest. It 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:09.399 was independent Division one basketball, so it was like it was, 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:12.399 you know, you're not even in the league. So we 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:15.520 made up to our guys this fake lead that we're 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:19.000 in there with all these other independence I mean, I'm 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:24.679 years sold, making eighteen thousand dollars. Um. I'm in charge 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.000 of designing our gear, like legitimately the logos we're gonna 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.440 have on our practice uniforms, on T shirts, on our hoodies. 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.560 I'm designing the colors of our gear. I'm ordering our shoes, 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:40.119 I'm doing film deck to deck um. Um. You know, 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:44.120 recruiting all the time, which for the first year guy, 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.480 the freedom to recruit. I mean that was everything to me. Um. 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.960 I'm able to have a skill group and individual and 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:53.280 do actually do on the court, coaching and be in 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.480 charge of the perimeters at twenty five years old, I'm 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.760 able to make decisions and calls, and the head coach 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.280 me that, and so Tim shoot with that. I'm forever 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:06.520 grateful man Um. And you're able to make mistakes. I 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:08.399 think that's the best part. Like I was at this 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:12.560 in a situation where again everybody wants to win, is competitive, 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.959 but you're at a level where everybody's growing. All right, 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.879 the A D S young, your s I D s young. 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:22.760 These people at the scorers table are all first your graduates. 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.080 The whole stat like everybody in the department is young. 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:28.640 You're all growing together. And you know, there's nothing like 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.639 you're getting on the six am flight. You're connecting in 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.280 Houston to get to Salt Lake City. And we didn't 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.480 even have we couldn't afford the charter vans, so you're 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.600 driving the fifteen passenger buses. So I got one bus 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.359 another since and coaches got another. We weren't licensed to 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:47.639 drive those things. We're going to drive those things, you know, 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:50.800 getting it done, get it done, coach, And this is 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:52.800 after you got up at four thirty, so like you're 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.440 trying not to fall asleep as you'r you know, hits 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.040 mid afternoon. But man, all those things were awesome. And 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:01.639 then you're recruiting kid were all they wanted was a 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:06.120 chance of Division one. So you're recruiting kids that were hungry, 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:08.760 that just were there for all the right reasons. Like 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:11.840 it was just pure and you know, the valleys an 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.840 unbelievable place. Love living there. It's eighty five degrees every day, 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.440 it's sunny at eight in the morning. Um, it was awesome. 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.200 So I'm there for two years. Um that I'm fortunate 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.640 enough to get on with Ben Jacobson in Northern Iowa 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:29.160 and that really kind of changed the landscape for me. Um, 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:33.320 you know, phenomenal coach. We went to the Sweet sixteen. 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:36.119 Remember I remember that. I remember that was number one 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:42.920 in the Countryman, this shot you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.320 that was you know, we won an unbelieva amount of 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:48.640 games about four years. We went to the tournament twice, 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.800 won the league twice, won the league tournament twice. But 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:55.080 to experience that Sweet sixteen was the first taste of 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:57.520 like the big stage, Like it's different. As you know, 0:20:57.720 --> 0:20:59.800 you walk out like the first round games are cool. 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:02.720 You start getting that sweet sixteen of leade eight, the 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:07.120 lights hit a little bit different. Get hot, coach, you're 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.960 living on press row. It's a little bit different faces 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:13.359 on press rows. You start getting there, and and to 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:15.199 get a taste of that at a young age, it 0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:17.240 was like, man, this is what I want to be. 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:19.520 This I knew, you know what, this is the right choice. 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:21.800 You get that bug, this is what I want to 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.080 get back. You get that thirst. I need to get 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:27.719 back to this point. And um, you know, from there, 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:29.480 I was able to get on with Tim Miles at 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:31.320 Nebraska and that was my first He gave me my 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:35.000 first opportunity at a Power five job, and that was 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:37.679 you know, I was on cloud nine, you know, to 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:40.119 be able to be and I think it was at 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:43.560 that time one years old as a Power five assistant 0:21:43.560 --> 0:21:46.919 coach in the Big ten. Um, I was awesome and 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:49.199 worked with a guy that I had known. You know, 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:51.480 Tim was a Division two coach in Minnesota when I 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:54.280 was in high school. He recruited my high school starting 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:57.120 point guard. So I've known coach Miles forever. And then 0:21:57.160 --> 0:21:59.920 when I was at pan Am, he was a since 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:02.119 he was the head coach at North Dakota State, so 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:05.520 they were also independent. So we were battling each other 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:08.240 for those two years as independence. So I knew. I 0:22:08.320 --> 0:22:12.000 knew what Miles was about. Phenomenal coach. I knew offensively, 0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:14.359 he was gonna challenge me, and he was gonna teach 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:16.760 a different style of different brand that was new to me. 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:19.320 It was excited about it. Was there with him for 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:21.320 a year and they will never forget Man, this is 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:23.560 just the type of guy. Is um. I me at 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:26.840 my house in the spring and Tubby had just gotten 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:28.840 let go, and he calls me and says, hey, man, 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:31.840 you know I don't want you to go, but I 0:22:31.920 --> 0:22:34.520 also want to be you know, true to you. You 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:37.159 gotta you gotta start thinking about trying to get on 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.440 at Minnesota with this new coach. And I'm like, man, 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:42.719 you know, and it ain't too many coaches that are 0:22:42.760 --> 0:22:45.800 gonna do that. You know, He's just trying to build Nebraska. 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:48.280 I was. I was in there in the fight with 0:22:48.359 --> 0:22:50.239 him and he's telling me, look, man, I don't want 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:52.080 to lose you, but like you might have a really 0:22:52.080 --> 0:22:55.399 good opportunity to go home and being assistant for the 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:58.600 program that you played at. And I didn't know Richard 0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:01.800 at all. Um. I think Richard was looking looking for 0:23:01.800 --> 0:23:05.360 a local dude. You know we met at the final four. Uh, 0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:07.000 you know, got a chance to meet with him for 0:23:07.000 --> 0:23:10.719 the first time. The true chest was his dad was. 0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:12.760 That was what moving was in the National Championship Game. 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:15.040 So I meet with him in Atlanta. We talked, We 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:17.480 have a really good conversation. He's like, look, man, I 0:23:17.520 --> 0:23:19.680 think I want to hire you, but you gotta meet 0:23:19.720 --> 0:23:22.919 my dad. And I'm like, all right, great. You know 0:23:22.960 --> 0:23:24.959 how is this gonna go? You hear everything all these 0:23:25.000 --> 0:23:28.120 rumors about you know, coach p and and this and that. 0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:31.960 So you know his dad plays in the name champihip game. 0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:33.880 They went it. Richard gets me called. He goes, hey, 0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:36.200 I need you to fly down to Miami to meet 0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:39.000 with my dad at his house. And I'm like, all right, cool. 0:23:39.359 --> 0:23:40.800 So I don't know what to expect. You don't know 0:23:40.840 --> 0:23:43.160 how that goes. I go fully sooner it's just gonna 0:23:43.160 --> 0:23:46.240 be you know what conversation of meeting and he calls 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:48.400 me just says, hey, man, just how wide Like it's 0:23:48.400 --> 0:23:50.359 gonna be easy. He's on cloud nine. He just won 0:23:50.400 --> 0:23:53.320 a national championship. So you know, I flow down there 0:23:53.359 --> 0:23:55.280 for a day and a half and met with Rick 0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:59.920 and at his house and could have been a better guy. 0:24:00.280 --> 0:24:02.840 I mean, we sating there and talked to old school basketball, 0:24:02.920 --> 0:24:07.119 We talked from a mashburn, We talked NBA Kentucky. You know, 0:24:07.200 --> 0:24:10.680 he talked about Louisville, he talked about Minnesota and explained 0:24:10.760 --> 0:24:14.199 Richard and kinda style of play and this and that, 0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:16.639 and it was pretty cool. So was it sitting with 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:19.919 Richard for five years and then went with coach Steele 0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:23.640 at Xavier for the last three and was fortunate enough 0:24:23.640 --> 0:24:26.520 to get this job here at Minnesota. So it's very rare. 0:24:26.560 --> 0:24:30.040 I'm a guy that I've seen the program from a 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:33.480 young kid growing up, so watching it, to being recruited 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.280 to it, to playing for it, to being an assistant 0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:39.320 and now to be a head coach. I understand the position, 0:24:39.359 --> 0:24:42.399 I mean and and blessed, but it doesn't happen that often. Man, No, 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:45.240 it doesn't. And you definitely are in a unique position. 0:24:46.320 --> 0:24:50.439 Why do you feel that kind of focusing on the 0:24:50.520 --> 0:24:54.400 local talent, local recruits and making sure that they stay home. 0:24:54.440 --> 0:24:58.600 Why is that important to build your program? I think 0:24:58.640 --> 0:25:02.040 if you look across the country, but especially in the 0:25:02.040 --> 0:25:06.280 big ten, the programs that are able to sustain success 0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:09.160 the ones that we're striving to be. If you look 0:25:09.200 --> 0:25:12.320 at their rosters, it's a lot of in state or 0:25:12.440 --> 0:25:15.720 regional local talent. I think there's a different sense of 0:25:15.800 --> 0:25:19.760 pride um, there's a different sense of ownership, um of 0:25:19.880 --> 0:25:22.359 buying with local kids. And I don't care where you're at, 0:25:22.359 --> 0:25:24.399 you could be at U c l A, U s C. 0:25:24.600 --> 0:25:27.400 I mean those guys in l A. They grow up 0:25:27.440 --> 0:25:30.240 watching you know, you would think if the program is good, 0:25:30.720 --> 0:25:32.600 they're really good U c l A teams. So like 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:34.879 U c l A should mean more to an l 0:25:34.920 --> 0:25:37.640 A kid or a Southern California kid than a kid 0:25:37.680 --> 0:25:40.840 from Tampa, Florida. Right, you see it all the time. 0:25:40.880 --> 0:25:42.640 You've got a family member that maybe you went there. 0:25:43.440 --> 0:25:45.080 And then on top of that, we have really good 0:25:45.160 --> 0:25:48.080 high school coaches, we have really good high school basketball. 0:25:48.160 --> 0:25:51.440 You have really good talent, and talent that's good enough 0:25:51.480 --> 0:25:54.959 and it's proven to help you win on the biggest 0:25:54.960 --> 0:25:57.760 scale in the biggest arena. And so whenever you can 0:25:57.800 --> 0:25:59.920 get it's a lot easier to get a kid that's 0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:01.520 enough that can help you move that you know, twenty 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:03.359 minutes away, and if I got to hop on a 0:26:03.400 --> 0:26:07.080 flight and connect the dots and meet people and go 0:26:07.119 --> 0:26:09.920 out of area or just go deep further in the region. 0:26:10.080 --> 0:26:12.560 So I think whatever program you're at, you know, you 0:26:12.560 --> 0:26:14.480 gotta do a really good job in your backyard to 0:26:14.520 --> 0:26:16.919 get those kids that are local that can help you, 0:26:17.359 --> 0:26:19.119 and and do a really good job in the in 0:26:19.160 --> 0:26:23.640 the community that you're at to build those relationships. Absolutely. Uh. 0:26:23.760 --> 0:26:26.480 When you look at U c. L A twenty something 0:26:26.560 --> 0:26:29.080 years ago, our national championship team which we won in 0:26:29.160 --> 0:26:32.760 ninety five, we had probably one guy that wasn't from 0:26:32.920 --> 0:26:36.000 l A on that on two Cameron Dollar from Georgia. 0:26:36.040 --> 0:26:38.439 I can want go from Houston, Texas, but you know 0:26:38.520 --> 0:26:41.040 ten guys that are l A bound and it and 0:26:41.040 --> 0:26:44.320 it does something with the fans because these fans have 0:26:44.440 --> 0:26:47.520 been watching us. We're watching us through our our high 0:26:47.560 --> 0:26:50.200 school and the youth career, and there's like this level 0:26:50.280 --> 0:26:53.399 of allegiance and you know these guys and so you 0:26:53.480 --> 0:26:57.399 just have this loyalty. Is that am I hitting that on? 0:26:58.080 --> 0:27:00.600 I mean and think about too, like those hands grew 0:27:00.680 --> 0:27:04.480 up reading about you, right, and so they followed your 0:27:04.680 --> 0:27:08.880 career all the way from maybe even junior high and 0:27:09.040 --> 0:27:11.520 especially if you have you know, we have a lot 0:27:11.560 --> 0:27:15.359 of former players who who's kids I either recruited that 0:27:15.440 --> 0:27:17.320 played for me when I was an assistant with The 0:27:17.320 --> 0:27:19.199 other cool thing you saw now is like you have 0:27:19.320 --> 0:27:21.639 some lineage. You know, I coached a Mirror Coffee and 0:27:21.640 --> 0:27:25.119 recruited a Miror Coffee. His dad played at Minnesota. So 0:27:25.160 --> 0:27:28.600 now you have fans and boosters and season ticket holders 0:27:28.640 --> 0:27:31.639 who watched dad. Now they're watching the Mirrors. Now you 0:27:31.720 --> 0:27:35.119 have that buy in, you have that lineage, and so um, 0:27:35.200 --> 0:27:38.239 that part is cool. But without of doubt, you know, 0:27:38.400 --> 0:27:40.920 that's what fans do. Fan fans. They want to win 0:27:40.960 --> 0:27:42.119 at the end of the day. So I could have 0:27:42.160 --> 0:27:43.960 a team for the kids from Alaska we win in 0:27:44.080 --> 0:27:46.320 can matter, but uh, you know what I mean. But 0:27:46.359 --> 0:27:49.280 at the same time, it's sweeter for them when they 0:27:49.320 --> 0:27:53.000 feel connected to the team because it's oh man, that's 0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:54.480 that's so and so that I used to watch in 0:27:54.520 --> 0:27:56.879 high school or when you know, my family grew up 0:27:57.119 --> 0:27:59.239 you know, knowing and reading and hearing about that name 0:27:59.320 --> 0:28:02.359 or that's Mr Basketball. You know, brain Carrington. Oh Man, 0:28:02.400 --> 0:28:05.160 I get to continue to watch him grow and become 0:28:05.200 --> 0:28:07.760 an end and play for our state school. I think 0:28:07.800 --> 0:28:11.439 that's powerful. It is powerful. It's just that with the 0:28:11.480 --> 0:28:14.280 transfer port portal, the n I L and this game 0:28:14.320 --> 0:28:18.199 notoriety of the transfer portal, it seems like coaches like 0:28:18.280 --> 0:28:21.360 yourself are in a conundrum. They have a choice to make. 0:28:21.440 --> 0:28:24.040 Do you go and try to get older quick because 0:28:24.040 --> 0:28:26.200 everybody's doing it and we're trying to win and we're 0:28:26.200 --> 0:28:27.800 trying to you know because because because you got to 0:28:27.800 --> 0:28:31.400 compete against everybody that's doing it, or do you keep 0:28:31.440 --> 0:28:33.480 in mind that, hey, we can still have to develop 0:28:33.520 --> 0:28:36.119 some young guys. We still gotta keep our ties into 0:28:36.160 --> 0:28:39.600 the local community, the grassroots aspect. We can't just go 0:28:39.800 --> 0:28:43.360 top heavy with portal guys. How do you what side 0:28:43.520 --> 0:28:49.000 of the equation do you land? Yeah, that's a great question. Um, 0:28:49.000 --> 0:28:53.240 it's a tough balance because I believe that you do 0:28:53.360 --> 0:28:58.000 you wanna you wanna develop a program from the high 0:28:58.040 --> 0:29:01.320 school stages. Um, you know, you put time in recruiting 0:29:01.360 --> 0:29:03.880 those kids. Hopefully they're with you for extended period of time. 0:29:04.240 --> 0:29:07.120 You're invested in them, you're able to develop them the 0:29:07.200 --> 0:29:10.640 right way at the same time, though, the leagues are 0:29:10.640 --> 0:29:13.080 forever changing, and you might be forced to do more 0:29:13.120 --> 0:29:17.840 portal because if you can't stay old and everybody else is, 0:29:17.920 --> 0:29:19.960 that could be right. So they might force your hand, 0:29:20.000 --> 0:29:22.480 Like you might not want to the old league is 0:29:22.480 --> 0:29:26.360 staying old, you don't have the timeline to pay fan 0:29:26.440 --> 0:29:27.960 base and a d I'm gonna take a couple of 0:29:28.000 --> 0:29:30.240 years to develop these guys. They don't want to hear that, 0:29:30.320 --> 0:29:33.240 you know what I mean. So if the league is 0:29:33.240 --> 0:29:35.800 going old, it might force your hand to go older 0:29:35.840 --> 0:29:37.920 more than you want. I think we're gonna try to 0:29:37.960 --> 0:29:39.840 have a balance, you know, I don't want to do 0:29:39.920 --> 0:29:42.040 portal where every year we're trying to go in there 0:29:42.040 --> 0:29:44.720 and get three or four kids. But I'm also realistic 0:29:44.720 --> 0:29:47.600 and knowing you know, the likelihood of us getting one 0:29:47.680 --> 0:29:50.880 or two every year, it's probably real, and so you're 0:29:50.920 --> 0:29:53.200 trying to navigate that. But at the same time, it's 0:29:53.240 --> 0:29:55.880 it's not losing focus on At the end of the day, 0:29:55.920 --> 0:29:59.200 we want to build from the high school ranks on up, 0:30:00.080 --> 0:30:01.880 and we want to be able to use that. The 0:30:01.960 --> 0:30:04.520 also benefit of the portal is we have a lot 0:30:04.560 --> 0:30:06.920 of kids that Okay, maybe you don't get them on 0:30:06.960 --> 0:30:09.080 the first time that are from Minnesota or that a 0:30:09.080 --> 0:30:11.840 good pleasure recruited. Well, maybe you can use the portal 0:30:11.920 --> 0:30:13.880 and if they end up going in there, you you 0:30:13.880 --> 0:30:15.880 get them on the back end. Yeah. So there's a 0:30:15.920 --> 0:30:17.960 lot of ways to do it. Um. I just think 0:30:18.000 --> 0:30:19.560 each coach is just up to kind of what their 0:30:19.560 --> 0:30:21.920 philosophy is. Yeah. I found it funny. I was watching 0:30:22.360 --> 0:30:24.840 one of your older press conferences and you describe the 0:30:24.880 --> 0:30:28.120 way that you pay attention to the portal as a sickness. Uh, 0:30:28.200 --> 0:30:30.080 you have me rolling on that because he and you 0:30:30.120 --> 0:30:32.120 said you got guys dedicated to it, and you know 0:30:32.160 --> 0:30:34.000 you might be on the recruit you might have a 0:30:34.080 --> 0:30:36.120 visit or something, the staff meeting, and you might get 0:30:36.200 --> 0:30:38.440 hit on your phone like yo, so sos in the 0:30:38.480 --> 0:30:41.200 portal and you gotta respond. But that's that's sort of 0:30:41.200 --> 0:30:45.600 the new reality for college coaches and nowadays with with 0:30:45.680 --> 0:30:49.000 the new transfer portal and all this availability, you gotta basically, 0:30:49.000 --> 0:30:51.320 it's it's the wild wild West, and you gotta jump 0:30:51.400 --> 0:30:55.240 on things asap. Hunh. You do because it's it's it's 0:30:55.280 --> 0:30:59.280 speed dating. You know, it's it's recruiting on steroids. You know, 0:30:59.440 --> 0:31:01.280 you you don't you're not. You don't have the leucture 0:31:01.320 --> 0:31:03.960 of having a process of okay, you know, we'll be 0:31:03.960 --> 0:31:06.160 able to get to know him and and court them 0:31:06.160 --> 0:31:08.720 a little bit. Like No, you gotta These kids want 0:31:08.720 --> 0:31:10.800 to be recruited right away. They want to feel the 0:31:10.880 --> 0:31:13.080 love right away. Then the minute they're in the portal 0:31:13.120 --> 0:31:16.240 that they're gonna have you know, five programs already talking 0:31:16.240 --> 0:31:18.720 about official visit dates. You know. Part of that is 0:31:18.760 --> 0:31:21.080 because when kids go on to portal, there's not a 0:31:21.160 --> 0:31:23.880 lot of guesswork because you can quickly go on Synergy 0:31:24.240 --> 0:31:27.000 and they have stats that back up what they've done. There. 0:31:27.040 --> 0:31:29.959 There's equity, so you know what you're gonna get, so 0:31:30.040 --> 0:31:32.320 you can you can already say, look, let's get this 0:31:32.360 --> 0:31:34.800 kid on campus. We know what he is, he fits, 0:31:35.200 --> 0:31:37.920 there's here's his numbers, here's the data that backs it up. 0:31:38.160 --> 0:31:40.680 This is a no brainer. There's less risk, so you 0:31:40.800 --> 0:31:42.800 gotta be quick on it. You gotta have. That's why 0:31:42.840 --> 0:31:45.560 it's kind of that sickness. The kids like trying to 0:31:45.560 --> 0:31:47.959 hear the talk earlier. They want to know coach might 0:31:48.000 --> 0:31:49.760 come to campus or not. You know, some of these 0:31:49.800 --> 0:31:52.520 kids have already been recruited there over that which is 0:31:52.520 --> 0:31:54.400 a good thing. They're ready to get down to the 0:31:54.480 --> 0:31:56.960 nitty gritty. They're ready to get down to the the 0:31:57.120 --> 0:31:58.680 nuts and boats and they want to see the place. 0:31:58.720 --> 0:32:02.840 So yeah, you gotta be on it. And I've had guys. Honestly, 0:32:03.480 --> 0:32:07.080 it would be a week courtship, which is is rare. 0:32:07.360 --> 0:32:09.840 But like they might know, boom this, I hit it 0:32:09.880 --> 0:32:11.520 off with this coach. They have a need for me. 0:32:11.800 --> 0:32:14.440 Let's get it done. So again, you're you're sped up 0:32:14.440 --> 0:32:16.640 because you don't have the luxury of having time on 0:32:16.760 --> 0:32:21.680 your side. No, wow, was that a right roller? Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:32:21.720 --> 0:32:23.760 I can hear. I hear it, I hear I hear 0:32:23.800 --> 0:32:27.480 the grab. Yeah, I know exactly. I used to have 0:32:27.520 --> 0:32:29.360 a right while when I was when I was a youngster. 0:32:29.760 --> 0:32:31.640 He ended up passing away. But I grew up with 0:32:31.760 --> 0:32:34.960 right so yeah, I know what's up. Beautiful dogs man, 0:32:35.040 --> 0:32:40.320 beautiful beasts. Um. Staying on sort of these new developments 0:32:40.320 --> 0:32:43.280 in college basketball. The n i L has been in 0:32:43.280 --> 0:32:46.160 the news as of late. Coach Nick Saban, coach Jim 0:32:46.200 --> 0:32:49.160 bow Fisher kind of had award words. Um. We've seen 0:32:49.480 --> 0:32:52.200 n i L deals done all over the country. University 0:32:52.240 --> 0:32:55.560 of Miami, Kansas state. I even saw university specific got 0:32:55.600 --> 0:32:57.880 a guy off a n I L twenty five tho dollars. 0:32:58.840 --> 0:33:00.400 What are your thoughts on the n I L and 0:33:00.520 --> 0:33:05.920 how much do you use that in your recruiting present day? 0:33:07.480 --> 0:33:10.360 You know it it. It's one of those things where 0:33:10.360 --> 0:33:14.320 if you don't figure it out in your own individual way, 0:33:14.960 --> 0:33:17.880 you're gonna be left behind. UM. I really think it 0:33:18.160 --> 0:33:20.720 comes down to each coach gonna navigate it differently. I 0:33:20.760 --> 0:33:22.400 don't know if there's a right way or a wrong 0:33:22.440 --> 0:33:25.080 way to do it. I just feel like you gotta 0:33:25.120 --> 0:33:27.840 be comfortable as a coach with here's how I'm gonna 0:33:27.920 --> 0:33:30.520 handle and I'm either gonna be Some guys might go 0:33:30.720 --> 0:33:34.080 all in and might say, look, I want to get 0:33:34.160 --> 0:33:37.280 guys crazy deals and and and be able to go 0:33:37.440 --> 0:33:40.040 down that route. Other guys might say, I don't want 0:33:40.040 --> 0:33:41.560 to touch it, I don't want to deal with it. 0:33:41.720 --> 0:33:43.600 Other guys might say I want to deal with it, 0:33:43.720 --> 0:33:45.760 but I want to get everybody kind of the same 0:33:45.880 --> 0:33:48.600 so my locker room, I'm not having to also deal 0:33:48.680 --> 0:33:52.320 with a salary differential amongst my guys. And that's where 0:33:52.320 --> 0:33:56.440 I kind of I lay where I'm realistic and who 0:33:56.520 --> 0:33:58.240 we are right now where we are as a program, 0:33:58.280 --> 0:34:00.840 who I am as a coach, Um, I'm not as 0:34:00.920 --> 0:34:04.520 veteran as a John Calipari, right, Mick Cronin guys that 0:34:04.600 --> 0:34:07.200 have done it. And if our Hall of Fame type 0:34:07.240 --> 0:34:11.600 guys that are able to maybe have a different salary 0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:13.600 because of who they are, they can handle that type 0:34:13.640 --> 0:34:16.120 of locker room, it's it's more accepted. I gotta know, 0:34:16.200 --> 0:34:19.040 as a younger coach, I gotta focus on the things 0:34:19.200 --> 0:34:21.759 that are gonna help us and help our program, and 0:34:21.840 --> 0:34:24.560 I can't have a bunch of outside distractions and we're 0:34:24.640 --> 0:34:27.040 just not built like that. So for me, in an 0:34:27.120 --> 0:34:30.000 ideal world, UM, I love all our guys that kind 0:34:30.000 --> 0:34:32.040 of be on an even play field. You know. That's 0:34:32.040 --> 0:34:35.000 where kind of everybody talks about the collective um, which 0:34:35.000 --> 0:34:36.359 I think could be a good thing. You know, if 0:34:36.360 --> 0:34:38.719 you're able to get a collective where you know, I'm 0:34:38.800 --> 0:34:42.960 all for guys being able to use name, image, likeness 0:34:43.040 --> 0:34:45.200 to generate money. I I completely get it. I think 0:34:45.239 --> 0:34:47.360 it's fair. I want to help our guys do that. 0:34:48.000 --> 0:34:50.000 At the same time, you know, I don't want to 0:34:50.040 --> 0:34:52.640 locker room when one guy is making you know, X 0:34:52.680 --> 0:34:54.600 amount of money and another guy is, and then I 0:34:54.680 --> 0:34:56.560 got a new guy that hasn't even played a minute 0:34:56.640 --> 0:34:59.360 my program getting money, and I've got a guy that 0:34:59.600 --> 0:35:02.640 has been tributed it and has played and is getting 0:35:02.920 --> 0:35:05.640 either a little or nothing. Right to me, that's not 0:35:06.080 --> 0:35:09.320 I'm not balancing that. I think so much to college basketball, 0:35:09.320 --> 0:35:11.320 you have to win your locker room. And if you 0:35:11.440 --> 0:35:14.239 can't win your locker room, you can win. But I 0:35:14.320 --> 0:35:16.920 think you have a ceiling and and I don't want 0:35:16.960 --> 0:35:18.760 to have to worry about that. So I'm gonna navigated 0:35:18.800 --> 0:35:22.000 probably a little bit different and and find the guys 0:35:22.120 --> 0:35:24.279 that understand that. And I think at the end of 0:35:24.280 --> 0:35:26.200 the day, no matter where you go, I don't care 0:35:26.239 --> 0:35:28.800 if you have a big deal or not. If that 0:35:29.120 --> 0:35:32.720 takes precedence over winning and getting better as a player, 0:35:33.400 --> 0:35:36.160 well then you've got more problems than than you think. 0:35:36.520 --> 0:35:38.480 And at the end of the day, every coach want 0:35:38.560 --> 0:35:41.840 guys to be there for something bigger than an n 0:35:41.880 --> 0:35:43.960 I L deal or bigger than money that they have. 0:35:44.080 --> 0:35:46.320 They want to be there to get better, to improve, 0:35:46.440 --> 0:35:49.680 and to win. Yeah, I mean, you know it's sort 0:35:49.719 --> 0:35:51.880 of old school versus new school. Now, coach, we have 0:35:52.120 --> 0:35:55.200 that old school way of Hey, guys are getting better. 0:35:55.280 --> 0:35:57.080 We need to win a championship with getting our degree, 0:35:57.840 --> 0:35:59.359 and then there's a new school. I'm trying to get 0:35:59.400 --> 0:36:03.880 paid coach. Um. But one of the biggest unintended consequences 0:36:03.880 --> 0:36:05.480 that I that I've I've heard you talk about and 0:36:05.480 --> 0:36:07.759 you talked about it right here is the locker room. 0:36:07.880 --> 0:36:10.279 What happens when the guy that you just got on 0:36:10.360 --> 0:36:12.200 the n i L deal comes in and you've got 0:36:12.280 --> 0:36:16.000 a guy for your contributor, blood, sweat and tears for 0:36:16.080 --> 0:36:20.120 the program, fan favorite, not getting nothing. It's the dynamics 0:36:20.160 --> 0:36:22.440 between the players. Now you have sort of a pro dynamic. 0:36:22.719 --> 0:36:24.920 And and my question to you is, and this is 0:36:24.920 --> 0:36:26.320 the last one in the n i L when you 0:36:26.440 --> 0:36:28.279 have if if you were a coach and you had 0:36:28.360 --> 0:36:31.520 that dynamic in your program the University Minnesota sort of 0:36:31.560 --> 0:36:33.959 the salary cap nature of guy the best guys getting 0:36:34.040 --> 0:36:36.960 n i LS. Do you take more of the pro 0:36:37.640 --> 0:36:40.400 would you take more of a pro approach and coaching 0:36:40.480 --> 0:36:42.480 these guys or do you stay true to your guns 0:36:42.560 --> 0:36:45.399 and and you know they either buying in or it's 0:36:45.480 --> 0:36:48.920 not gonna work. Yeah, I think you gotta have a 0:36:49.000 --> 0:36:51.560 little bit of balance, Um, But I also think you know, 0:36:51.640 --> 0:36:55.319 I'm all about having to talk early. Um, guy's got 0:36:55.440 --> 0:37:00.480 to know. Look, if if with much as given, much 0:37:00.480 --> 0:37:03.839 as expected, right, And I'm all for guys getting their 0:37:03.920 --> 0:37:06.759 money and getting deals, but they also understand that there's 0:37:06.800 --> 0:37:09.399 gonna come with a certain amount of price and it's 0:37:09.400 --> 0:37:11.120 not put on me. It's been going to be put 0:37:11.200 --> 0:37:14.160 on like the general public. If there's a dollar amount 0:37:14.200 --> 0:37:16.920 attached to your name and it's public, we all know 0:37:18.239 --> 0:37:21.960 you got to produce. And if you don't, that's where 0:37:22.000 --> 0:37:25.960 you worry about. These aren't professional athletes. These are college athletes, 0:37:26.560 --> 0:37:30.520 but we're putting them in a professional forum. And so 0:37:30.719 --> 0:37:34.759 now what happens if you're the beat writer or you're 0:37:34.880 --> 0:37:37.320 the columnist, or you're the fan, and you know a 0:37:37.480 --> 0:37:40.840 dollar amount that's pretty high is on a player and 0:37:40.920 --> 0:37:43.800 their production isn't where it needs to be. How is 0:37:43.880 --> 0:37:46.239 that now being handled? I need to have that talk 0:37:46.320 --> 0:37:48.800 with that player and say, look, man, I'm gonna protect 0:37:48.840 --> 0:37:52.000 you as much as I can, but this with with 0:37:52.239 --> 0:37:55.200 that with money, money changes a lot of things, and 0:37:55.480 --> 0:37:58.040 and and we're gonna have to work together to navigate 0:37:58.239 --> 0:38:00.239 through good and bad. And as you know, there's so 0:38:00.280 --> 0:38:02.880 many presures in college basketball as is with social media, 0:38:03.440 --> 0:38:06.240 take take the money out of it, which just social 0:38:06.360 --> 0:38:10.279 media right with how it is in today's day and age. Um. 0:38:10.880 --> 0:38:13.000 That's why I think Dion Sanders made a great point. 0:38:13.800 --> 0:38:17.480 He talked about if we're gonna go this route, we 0:38:17.840 --> 0:38:22.600 better hire men or people male or female that know 0:38:22.800 --> 0:38:26.400 how to handle what all is about to come with money. 0:38:27.080 --> 0:38:30.680 Once you bring large amounts of money, the mentality in 0:38:30.760 --> 0:38:35.239 the mindset of everything changes. We better have staffs in 0:38:35.360 --> 0:38:38.839 at let departments that are equipped to handle and help 0:38:39.239 --> 0:38:42.400 these young men and young women navigate this new world. 0:38:42.680 --> 0:38:44.480 You know, we can't expect that we can give them 0:38:44.480 --> 0:38:46.800 all this and there's not gonna be some side effects 0:38:46.840 --> 0:38:49.040 to it. And I think there's a lot of truth 0:38:49.120 --> 0:38:53.640 to that. Support is mando in these situations for the athletes, 0:38:53.719 --> 0:38:55.600 especially when you when you're seeing large sums of money, 0:38:55.640 --> 0:39:00.040 like financial literacy and money management. I think me of 0:39:00.160 --> 0:39:02.600 like some of the responsibilities should be on the college 0:39:02.640 --> 0:39:05.279 athletic department to offer the resources. Now, whether or not 0:39:05.360 --> 0:39:07.279 the athlete uses them or not, that's on them, but 0:39:07.360 --> 0:39:11.160 at least to offer those resources would be great. Fox 0:39:11.239 --> 0:39:14.320 Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. 0:39:14.680 --> 0:39:17.520 Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot 0:39:17.640 --> 0:39:20.600 com and within the I Heart Radio app search f 0:39:20.960 --> 0:39:24.360 s R to listen live. Last thing, I was talking 0:39:24.920 --> 0:39:28.959 months ago to ESPN's College Basketball and on the Shan 0:39:29.040 --> 0:39:31.360 Farnham and he and I asked him that a similar 0:39:31.440 --> 0:39:33.440 question I asked you, coach, which is, I asked him, 0:39:33.480 --> 0:39:37.800 would he cover guys differently if there's the dollar amount 0:39:37.880 --> 0:39:40.560 associating if this guy now is a paid for professional athlete. 0:39:40.600 --> 0:39:43.080 He said yeah, He said, yeah, he's gonna he have 0:39:43.200 --> 0:39:45.399 to cover them differently because now the dynamic is different. 0:39:45.440 --> 0:39:48.239 And I found that. I found that very interesting. Um, 0:39:48.800 --> 0:39:53.000 let's move on and kind of talk about the prospects 0:39:53.040 --> 0:39:56.160 for next season. Uh, you're coming off the heels of 0:39:57.160 --> 0:39:59.960 a in my opinion, a very good first year third 0:40:00.000 --> 0:40:02.920 teen in seventeen, which the record is deceiving. You started 0:40:03.000 --> 0:40:06.120 ten one. Uh, you you filled in the roster nine 0:40:06.160 --> 0:40:08.719 ten guys. Now fast forward a year, you got a 0:40:08.760 --> 0:40:10.600 full year under your built, You went through the the 0:40:10.960 --> 0:40:14.720 the the gauntlet of the Big Ten Conference. You picked 0:40:14.800 --> 0:40:17.600 up some recruits, got some transfers out of the port 0:40:17.680 --> 0:40:22.440 or what or your season goals realistically for the Minnesota 0:40:22.480 --> 0:40:26.080 Golden Golfers. Coming into next year. I couldn't be more 0:40:26.120 --> 0:40:30.120 excited about in year two the guys that we have 0:40:30.960 --> 0:40:33.440 in our locker room. You know, I think we hit 0:40:33.480 --> 0:40:35.759 a home run with the four high school kids that 0:40:35.840 --> 0:40:40.480 we took. Um. I think they all bring a talent 0:40:40.680 --> 0:40:43.320 level that you need as you know, uh in the 0:40:43.400 --> 0:40:47.480 big tent. They bring the physicality, they bring the athleticism, 0:40:47.760 --> 0:40:50.600 which is what we needed to size the measurables. We're 0:40:50.640 --> 0:40:54.759 able to get a couple of key transfers um that 0:40:55.120 --> 0:40:56.920 all fit what we're trying to do, and then we 0:40:57.000 --> 0:40:59.600 have kids returning that that we're trying to do. So 0:41:00.400 --> 0:41:02.560 we're gonna have death Like this past year, we just 0:41:02.680 --> 0:41:05.080 didn't have a bunch of depth. Um. You know, I 0:41:05.160 --> 0:41:07.560 only was able to play about six seven guys tops. 0:41:07.640 --> 0:41:09.960 Really this year we're gonna be you know about too 0:41:10.000 --> 0:41:12.480 deep at every spot. So that's gonna help with practice. 0:41:13.120 --> 0:41:15.640 You know, if you can have competitive practices, it's that 0:41:15.800 --> 0:41:19.560 iron shop from is iron. Everybody gets better those competitive 0:41:19.640 --> 0:41:23.160 juices start flowing, you're able to to to develop as 0:41:23.200 --> 0:41:26.680 a team. Um, So that's gonna be exciting, you know. 0:41:26.719 --> 0:41:30.160 I think the challenge for us is to not lose 0:41:30.200 --> 0:41:34.120 focus on the big picture, I think it's obviously everyone's 0:41:34.120 --> 0:41:36.200 going to make the Instant double A tournament, to try 0:41:36.239 --> 0:41:38.279 to win a Big ten championship, to try to make 0:41:39.280 --> 0:41:42.160 a second third, fourth weekend in the instan double A tournament. 0:41:42.600 --> 0:41:44.759 So the question is how do you do that? To me, 0:41:45.040 --> 0:41:48.640 it's not worrying about that, that's the obvious. It's being 0:41:48.840 --> 0:41:52.080 built into the everyday grind, right, how do we get 0:41:52.200 --> 0:41:55.520 better today knowing that, like some days are always gonna 0:41:55.520 --> 0:41:58.279 be great, you might not always get all the way better, 0:41:58.640 --> 0:42:00.480 but then you gotta be able to respond on and 0:42:00.600 --> 0:42:02.840 come back the next day. So you're not doing this 0:42:03.520 --> 0:42:06.480 or you're not plateau and you're slowly getting better. So 0:42:06.640 --> 0:42:10.120 that's the challenge. Man. I take a lot of pride, 0:42:10.160 --> 0:42:12.400 and I'll watch the Miami Heat a lot. I do 0:42:12.520 --> 0:42:15.400 a deep dive into's just how they go about. You 0:42:15.480 --> 0:42:18.440 look at the Heat, you look at the Spurs, you 0:42:18.520 --> 0:42:23.440 look at Mike Thomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sometimes it's methodical, 0:42:24.239 --> 0:42:29.080 it seems boring, it seems basic, elementary, But those programs 0:42:29.200 --> 0:42:32.640 do it every single day consistently, and I think that's 0:42:32.640 --> 0:42:35.839 the reason why you see them always contending for championships 0:42:36.120 --> 0:42:37.759 or going for on the playoffs, and that's what we 0:42:37.800 --> 0:42:40.920 try to do. We try to do the the boring stuff, 0:42:41.000 --> 0:42:44.160 the monotonous stuff, the fundamental stuff that can every single 0:42:44.280 --> 0:42:46.920 day to get a little bit better each day. And 0:42:47.040 --> 0:42:49.319 I just tell like that that's our only going if 0:42:49.400 --> 0:42:51.600 we if we can blow it out and get better 0:42:52.040 --> 0:42:55.120 individually as a team a little by little every single day, 0:42:55.160 --> 0:42:58.120 and not get bored with that process, then we'll have 0:42:58.200 --> 0:43:00.480 a chance to have a fun season. If we get 0:43:00.560 --> 0:43:02.920 caught up and looking too far down the road, or 0:43:03.080 --> 0:43:05.800 trying to win the Big Ten in the summer, or 0:43:05.920 --> 0:43:08.880 just getting consumed with like the pressures of that of 0:43:09.040 --> 0:43:12.239 making the tournament, I think it delays installs you being 0:43:12.239 --> 0:43:14.200 able to get better as a program versus if you 0:43:14.280 --> 0:43:16.920 just worry about the day to day and and get 0:43:17.000 --> 0:43:20.720 better today and maximize him today. Tell me about Jamison Battle. 0:43:20.800 --> 0:43:23.279 I I saw, you know, he's a six seven wing. 0:43:23.480 --> 0:43:25.680 I watched a little bit of him, but as a 0:43:25.760 --> 0:43:30.120 coach coaching him up where some of his best attributes 0:43:30.120 --> 0:43:33.600 and are they enough? You know, the Big Ten player 0:43:33.640 --> 0:43:38.400 of the year next year. You don't have to answer that, coach, Uh. 0:43:38.840 --> 0:43:41.319 You know, it's interesting man um when you looked at James. 0:43:41.400 --> 0:43:45.080 I've known Jen was since high school. Um, when you 0:43:45.280 --> 0:43:49.160 look at guys in the portal and you see the 0:43:49.239 --> 0:43:53.400 numbers like Jamison average sixteen at g DUB, which is, 0:43:53.560 --> 0:43:56.719 in my opinion, a really good league. Very rarely do 0:43:56.840 --> 0:44:00.640 those numbers and stats transfer, especially when you're going upper level, 0:44:01.480 --> 0:44:06.480 and Jamison's circumstance, they transferred, and and that is rare. 0:44:06.680 --> 0:44:09.520 And what I come to find out about him is 0:44:09.680 --> 0:44:16.319 he's a warrior, um competitive is all get out. One 0:44:16.400 --> 0:44:20.000 of the best tough shot makers I've been around. And 0:44:20.120 --> 0:44:22.839 I think that's a skill. Like his ability to make 0:44:22.920 --> 0:44:27.840 contested tough threes and twos is off the charts. And 0:44:27.920 --> 0:44:30.320 if he's gonna be an NBA player, I think that 0:44:30.719 --> 0:44:32.200 is gonna be one of the things that helps him 0:44:32.200 --> 0:44:34.200 be an NBA player, because to me, that's what the 0:44:34.320 --> 0:44:36.920 NBA is. You gotta have guys. If you're a score, 0:44:37.920 --> 0:44:39.719 you know you know how good I mean, defenses are 0:44:39.920 --> 0:44:42.080 obviously really good, like you have to make shots to 0:44:42.160 --> 0:44:47.200 score versus really good defense maker. And that's where he is. 0:44:47.280 --> 0:44:50.920 He's a tough shot maker. And so now his challenge is, um, 0:44:51.440 --> 0:44:53.480 you know, he played a lot of four for US 0:44:54.160 --> 0:44:56.600 now he's gonna play the four quote the four and 0:44:56.719 --> 0:44:59.680 the three to be able to make that transition, to 0:44:59.800 --> 0:45:02.680 be able to make the transition not only offensively, but defensively, 0:45:02.760 --> 0:45:05.520 which he took great strides in. He's done a really 0:45:05.560 --> 0:45:07.839 good job with his body physically, he's in the best 0:45:07.880 --> 0:45:11.160 shape of his life. But he's got an ug believable attitude. 0:45:11.440 --> 0:45:14.439 He wants it all in the right ways. Uh. He's 0:45:14.480 --> 0:45:17.800 a team first guy through and through. Um, he's a 0:45:17.840 --> 0:45:20.560 guy that you want nothing but the best for and 0:45:20.680 --> 0:45:23.160 you want him to reach all of his individual and 0:45:23.239 --> 0:45:26.040 team goes because he's just he earns it and he 0:45:26.120 --> 0:45:29.120 works for it every single day. Yeah, when you guys 0:45:29.160 --> 0:45:32.040 start working out for summer workouts, So we will start. 0:45:32.680 --> 0:45:35.640 Guys will get here June five. We'll kind of give 0:45:35.680 --> 0:45:38.320 him that first week to do some physical testing and 0:45:38.719 --> 0:45:41.839 they start class on that Monday. Um, they'll do all 0:45:42.160 --> 0:45:46.640 you know stuff that's non regulated and then we'll start 0:45:46.800 --> 0:45:49.279 that that next that next week, I leave on the 0:45:49.400 --> 0:45:53.840 twelfth or thirteen? Is it? Is it so you're on 0:45:53.960 --> 0:45:55.560 the court with them a lot in this summer or 0:45:55.640 --> 0:45:57.600 is that we can get yea, so we can get 0:45:57.719 --> 0:46:02.320 eight hours a week between basketball and strengthen conditioning. So 0:46:03.200 --> 0:46:06.360 we'll do um, you know, kind of like many stuff 0:46:06.400 --> 0:46:07.800 up with him on the court, in the in the 0:46:08.200 --> 0:46:09.800 and the allowed time that we're allowed to have on 0:46:09.880 --> 0:46:12.680 them have with him. And now it's you know, kind 0:46:12.680 --> 0:46:15.400 of the balance. You know, it's old school. Back when 0:46:15.440 --> 0:46:17.080 I when I'm my freshman year, we weren't you know, 0:46:17.239 --> 0:46:19.279 when I was playing, we weren't allowed to you didn't 0:46:19.320 --> 0:46:22.120 see coaches, you know. So now it's that balance of 0:46:22.920 --> 0:46:24.600 as a coach, you want to be greedy, but I 0:46:24.640 --> 0:46:27.600 also don't want the summer to feel like January, you know, 0:46:27.840 --> 0:46:30.360 because at some point I don't want our guys to 0:46:30.520 --> 0:46:34.440 hit that wall and now in January when we need 0:46:34.560 --> 0:46:38.439 them their shot because we've been grinding crazy hearts since 0:46:38.480 --> 0:46:41.400 August or since June or since July. And so it's 0:46:41.440 --> 0:46:43.320 kind of having that balance. So we'll mix up, you know, 0:46:43.480 --> 0:46:46.239 making a competitive summer will probably play a lot. Uh. 0:46:46.360 --> 0:46:48.359 Let these guys get going up and down. We'll work 0:46:48.400 --> 0:46:51.040 on some skill stuff, but keep it loose, but just 0:46:51.200 --> 0:46:53.520 developed that work ethic and that love for being in 0:46:53.560 --> 0:46:55.600 the gym. To me, that's the biggest thing. If we can, 0:46:56.040 --> 0:47:00.359 especially with the new kids. Uh, freshman and transfers really 0:47:00.480 --> 0:47:03.320 established the culture of the work of love to be 0:47:03.440 --> 0:47:05.359 in the gym and putting in extra that I think 0:47:05.440 --> 0:47:07.920 it's a it's a success. Do you have it so 0:47:08.520 --> 0:47:10.400 with this time that you're able to get in the 0:47:10.480 --> 0:47:12.920 gym in the summer, especially with the new guys and 0:47:13.000 --> 0:47:15.480 the transfers. Is it something and this is kind of 0:47:15.520 --> 0:47:17.840 a strategic type of question, is it something that you 0:47:18.000 --> 0:47:21.320 might want to look to implement or lay the foundation 0:47:21.640 --> 0:47:26.200 of offensively and defensively, maybe not full you know, going 0:47:26.280 --> 0:47:27.960 all the way one hunted, but to kind of some 0:47:28.040 --> 0:47:31.719 principles and this is what we do here. Yeah, no, exactly. 0:47:31.880 --> 0:47:34.360 So you know, I don't know if we'll do a 0:47:34.440 --> 0:47:36.840 bunch of like close out drills and stuff like that, 0:47:37.000 --> 0:47:39.120 but you know, you definitely you want to give them 0:47:39.160 --> 0:47:42.200 a sense of like, okay, fellas, Defensively, here's kind of 0:47:42.239 --> 0:47:47.080 our core main principles UM. And then offensively, this is 0:47:47.120 --> 0:47:49.040 how we're gonna play. This is how we're gonna play 0:47:49.040 --> 0:47:51.640 in transition, off makes off mrs, and then in a 0:47:51.680 --> 0:47:54.279 half court. I'm big on I want to teach these 0:47:54.320 --> 0:47:56.440 guys basketball. I'm not a guy that wants to come 0:47:56.480 --> 0:47:59.520 down and hammer out a set every single time, like 0:47:59.640 --> 0:48:02.719 just how my brain thinks and operate. So teaching them 0:48:02.760 --> 0:48:05.000 how do we call it flow? How to play and flow? 0:48:05.440 --> 0:48:08.279 Teach them on how to space and play that's the 0:48:08.360 --> 0:48:11.880 fun part um to to kind of play with that freedom. 0:48:11.960 --> 0:48:13.600 But I do I do think you learned that through 0:48:13.640 --> 0:48:15.600 a lot of up and down four or four or 0:48:15.640 --> 0:48:18.279 five on five. But teaching them you know, how to 0:48:18.360 --> 0:48:21.440 play in space and and we'll do a ton of that. Um, 0:48:21.840 --> 0:48:24.239 both on both sides of the ball. No, that's that's 0:48:24.360 --> 0:48:26.920 that's great. Those are the best, not the best, but 0:48:27.120 --> 0:48:28.759 one of the best methods. I feel like, you know, 0:48:28.800 --> 0:48:32.160 because guys earlier you get them in there and you 0:48:32.280 --> 0:48:34.120 lock it in, you know. Then you come you get 0:48:34.120 --> 0:48:37.480 around fall in October and you know we're already up 0:48:37.520 --> 0:48:40.520 to speed. Uh, coach, one more question then I then 0:48:40.560 --> 0:48:42.920 I'll let you go. UM. I wanted to talk to 0:48:43.000 --> 0:48:47.239 you briefly, just get a comment briefly about just the 0:48:47.840 --> 0:48:51.319 George Floyd situation in the state of Minnesota and if 0:48:51.440 --> 0:48:56.560 if you feel any responsibility as an African American person 0:48:56.640 --> 0:48:59.480 of color and high profile position in that state, is 0:48:59.480 --> 0:49:03.000 there any possibility for you that you feel to to 0:49:03.480 --> 0:49:07.200 speak out or is it something that you let you know, 0:49:07.600 --> 0:49:10.080 the nick kind of run its course, I just wanted 0:49:10.080 --> 0:49:12.960 to get your thoughts on that. Yeah, and also another 0:49:13.040 --> 0:49:17.240 really good question. Um, I feel it's like my responsibility 0:49:18.600 --> 0:49:21.360 because I want to flip the narrative. I mean, obviously 0:49:22.080 --> 0:49:26.280 it hits home with me different because in the credit 0:49:26.440 --> 0:49:28.680 area that I grew up in, I got a you know, 0:49:28.719 --> 0:49:33.440 a sister that lives blocks away from where it happened. Um, 0:49:34.600 --> 0:49:37.960 it could have you know, I'm a minority. I deal 0:49:38.040 --> 0:49:41.520 with those same feelings that all of us deal um 0:49:42.280 --> 0:49:45.200 at certain times in our life. But at the same time, 0:49:45.600 --> 0:49:47.279 I want to be a voice because I want to 0:49:47.880 --> 0:49:50.799 let everybody know I don't care what nationality you are, 0:49:51.040 --> 0:49:54.400 what race you are, where you grew up. If you 0:49:54.520 --> 0:49:58.440 see social injustice, you should say something about it. Hopefully, 0:49:58.920 --> 0:50:00.960 you know we start to rail guy, is that we 0:50:01.120 --> 0:50:03.920 are all are a lot more similar than different at 0:50:03.960 --> 0:50:05.680 the end of the day, and that if we're going 0:50:05.719 --> 0:50:09.239 to change this, that we all, when there is injustice 0:50:09.280 --> 0:50:13.040 and inequality, are brave enough to speak on it and 0:50:13.120 --> 0:50:15.840 to be a voice for people who might not have 0:50:16.080 --> 0:50:19.239 that voice, and to show strength when it's hard to 0:50:19.280 --> 0:50:23.000 show strength. You know, for my players, I want them 0:50:23.040 --> 0:50:25.680 to know it's important for them to see me fight 0:50:25.800 --> 0:50:28.000 the fight because they need to know that I am 0:50:28.120 --> 0:50:30.640 just like them. You know, we talked about that. Like 0:50:31.320 --> 0:50:34.000 I said, Fellas, you know, when you get pulled over, 0:50:34.080 --> 0:50:37.920 I I have the same feelings and anxiety that you 0:50:38.040 --> 0:50:43.759 might have um circumstances I've been through you might go through. 0:50:43.800 --> 0:50:46.439 We can relate on that note, but like you also 0:50:46.520 --> 0:50:49.200 need to understand that it comes down to just being 0:50:49.239 --> 0:50:51.520 a good person. You know what, I think we kind 0:50:51.520 --> 0:50:55.000 of lose cited that we all want to categorize stuff, 0:50:55.040 --> 0:50:57.520 which I get and and and sometimes it needs to 0:50:57.560 --> 0:51:00.040 be categorized because if it if it happens to a 0:51:00.120 --> 0:51:02.200 certain demographic, a lot like it needs to be addressed. 0:51:02.640 --> 0:51:04.920 But also at the end of the day, if you're 0:51:04.960 --> 0:51:07.400 a good person, none of that stuff should matter. It 0:51:07.400 --> 0:51:09.880 should just matter because you know it ain't right. And 0:51:10.239 --> 0:51:12.560 I think just trying to get our team and community 0:51:12.640 --> 0:51:15.880 to understand, you know, we can change it, but we 0:51:15.960 --> 0:51:18.520 all have to almost approach it from that standpoint of 0:51:19.080 --> 0:51:21.800 if you're a good person, this is what you do. 0:51:22.120 --> 0:51:24.440 You know, I don't care what the situation is if 0:51:24.480 --> 0:51:26.640 it deals with the female, it deals with the gay 0:51:26.719 --> 0:51:29.960 lesbian community, if it deals with a different you know, nationality, 0:51:30.000 --> 0:51:34.520 different demographic, you know, different financial situation. Like good people 0:51:34.640 --> 0:51:36.719 help good people. When you see something that's that's right 0:51:37.440 --> 0:51:39.600 and you applaud it, when you see something that's wrong, 0:51:40.200 --> 0:51:42.200 you stand up for it, and um, you know, that's 0:51:42.200 --> 0:51:44.160 all I try to do. And you know, thankfully, I 0:51:44.239 --> 0:51:46.840 am in a position where I do have a voice, 0:51:47.480 --> 0:51:50.680 and I've just told anybody that will listen, you know, 0:51:50.760 --> 0:51:52.440 I am here to help. I think that's one thing 0:51:52.520 --> 0:51:55.800 that's cool about being in my position is you know, 0:51:56.960 --> 0:51:59.920 I've gotten here because people have helped me. I didn't 0:52:00.000 --> 0:52:02.680 get here on my own, and I wouldn't have gotten 0:52:02.719 --> 0:52:05.800 here on my own. Somebody saw something in me and 0:52:05.960 --> 0:52:08.440 pushed me to to get to where I am, and 0:52:08.560 --> 0:52:10.920 somebody opened the door for me. So now that I'm 0:52:10.960 --> 0:52:13.920 in this position, I want to be able to help 0:52:14.000 --> 0:52:16.320 the next person, whether it's one of my former players, 0:52:16.719 --> 0:52:18.600 whether it's maybe somebody in the community that I don't know. 0:52:19.080 --> 0:52:20.920 But if I can be that voice and I can 0:52:21.000 --> 0:52:24.800 help somebody and navigate a situation, or help somebody achieve 0:52:24.840 --> 0:52:27.759 a certain goal, or be a voice for you know, 0:52:28.320 --> 0:52:30.800 a different organization. UM, you know, I want to be 0:52:30.840 --> 0:52:32.400 able to do that because I think it's important when 0:52:32.400 --> 0:52:35.640 you're in a position that that that has you know, power, 0:52:36.640 --> 0:52:39.520 big time, big time stuff. Coach will let you go 0:52:39.600 --> 0:52:42.040 on that note, I appreciate you taking the time out 0:52:42.080 --> 0:52:44.960 from your busy schedule today and best of luck this 0:52:45.080 --> 0:52:48.239 year to the Gophers. I I appreciate it, man. I 0:52:48.360 --> 0:52:51.120 love your show, love what you're doing, and I appreciate 0:52:51.200 --> 0:52:54.120 you having a Midwest guy on man. Yes, sir, thank 0:52:54.160 --> 0:52:57.160 you so much, ladies and gentlemen. Coach Ben Johnson