1
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,960
Speaker 1: Hey, well, welcome in On'm Doug Gottlie. This is all all.

2
00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,720
Speaker 1: We continue with our conversation with Dusty May, who is

3
00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:19,320
Speaker 1: doing an amazing job at Florida Atlantic. UM. Just again,

4
00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,280
Speaker 1: full disclosure, we recorded this one last Sunday, so they

5
00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,000
Speaker 1: had not yet played and beaten in State and sort

6
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,000
Speaker 1: of Miami rival. I know they're in PoCA, but Miami

7
00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,920
Speaker 1: rival Florida International. So that with that is to set

8
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,680
Speaker 1: up up talking more about Dusty May and what led

9
00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,520
Speaker 1: him to f a U and how he has built

10
00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,800
Speaker 1: this program into the premier low mid major whatever our

11
00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,440
Speaker 1: major you because they're really a mid major yet. But

12
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,120
Speaker 1: again I'm not taking shots. That term is based up

13
00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:56,800
Speaker 1: morebon scheduling and uh and how much money is put

14
00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,640
Speaker 1: in the program, level of competition ba blah blah blah blah.

15
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,080
Speaker 1: But Dusty's doing an awesome job. No one would argue.

16
00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,600
Speaker 1: And they're starting to push the envelope obviously confidence to say,

17
00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,960
Speaker 1: you're starting to click creep into the hater of mid major.

18
00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,200
Speaker 1: They're they're in that conversation of you know, if they

19
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,400
Speaker 1: continue at this rate, and obviously if you finish undefeated,

20
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,959
Speaker 1: but even if you lose a game in CUSA. Can

21
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,440
Speaker 1: they get in? Is that large? It's a great conversation.

22
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,600
Speaker 1: But this part of our discussion, he was at Louisiana

23
00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,440
Speaker 1: Tech with Mike White, okay, and we talked about his

24
00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,000
Speaker 1: the entire journey starting as a manager in his home

25
00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,200
Speaker 1: state of Indiana, moving out west to be at usc

26
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,759
Speaker 1: with Henry Bibby, and what brought him to law Tech

27
00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,640
Speaker 1: with Mike White. So in this one you'll hear how

28
00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,679
Speaker 1: he got, how they decided to go to Florida, what

29
00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,400
Speaker 1: that was like at Florida, why he even took the

30
00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,760
Speaker 1: interview at Florida Atlantic, and a crazy story of how

31
00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,840
Speaker 1: his press conference had his entire family there, which nearly

32
00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,240
Speaker 1: did not happen. Plus, I'll share with you, without any question,

33
00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,920
Speaker 1: the most humilian lost in my college career, which was

34
00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,440
Speaker 1: by the way to Florid Atlantic. But they weren't fourteen

35
00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,200
Speaker 1: fifteen and one. They won six games that year. So

36
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:09,760
Speaker 1: we'll get to tell all of that. I hope you

37
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,840
Speaker 1: enjoyed it. Here's part two with Dusty May head coach

38
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:20,440
Speaker 1: of Florid Atlantic. What was what was Mike whit style? Um,

39
00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:22,919
Speaker 1: very very unique where I'll tell you a great coach

40
00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,399
Speaker 1: White story. Um, we were in a whack his first year,

41
00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,440
Speaker 1: and we lose a couple of games two really good teams,

42
00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:31,600
Speaker 1: and then we were picked probably tenth, and Idaho was

43
00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:33,840
Speaker 1: picked ninth. And we have Idaho at home, and we

44
00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,760
Speaker 1: controlled the entire game, and some fluke things happen, it

45
00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:38,160
Speaker 1: goes over time and they beat us. So I think

46
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,200
Speaker 1: we dropped oh and three, oh and four. And I

47
00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:41,920
Speaker 1: walked through the locker and walked into his office and

48
00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,680
Speaker 1: just said, coach, and you don't know this league, I said,

49
00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:46,480
Speaker 1: but that was our best chance at getting one. We

50
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,240
Speaker 1: thought we were gonna be bad. We had all these freshmen,

51
00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,280
Speaker 1: we you know, once again, a whole new team. I said, Coach,

52
00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:52,680
Speaker 1: that might have been our best chance to get when

53
00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:54,400
Speaker 1: we we might be looking down the barrel of an

54
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,280
Speaker 1: oh and eighteen. And I was kind of half joking,

55
00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:58,840
Speaker 1: and he said, hey, we've got five years. Keep working

56
00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:00,760
Speaker 1: these guys. I'll keep getting them or we'll be fine.

57
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:02,640
Speaker 1: And I think we ended up winning nine of our

58
00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,160
Speaker 1: last ten, made the wack championship games. So just his uh,

59
00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,520
Speaker 1: you know, the process words probably overused, but just his

60
00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,520
Speaker 1: ability to keep things in perspective that that's fine. I'm

61
00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:13,640
Speaker 1: not worried about my head coaching record. I'm not worried

62
00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,040
Speaker 1: about what it says on Wiki. Let's just keep doing

63
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,040
Speaker 1: the best we can every single day. And and because

64
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:20,799
Speaker 1: where we ended up at end the year, where I

65
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,200
Speaker 1: think a lot of young coaches, especially first year head coaches,

66
00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,959
Speaker 1: would be panicking and flipping out. So it really helped

67
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,680
Speaker 1: me because we lost our first game in front of

68
00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,200
Speaker 1: fans to lend university a division to school in in

69
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 1: our city. So I think that helped my perspective, just

70
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:39,440
Speaker 1: you know, seeing him go through it. Um, what did

71
00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:41,880
Speaker 1: what did he empower you to do? Because you said

72
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,520
Speaker 1: when you're at UiB it was more you were in

73
00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,080
Speaker 1: the gym because Mike was out doing a ton of

74
00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:48,600
Speaker 1: the recruiting and you had to manage a lot of

75
00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,720
Speaker 1: that stuff for Mike White. Let's let's and at low Tech,

76
00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,280
Speaker 1: what did he have you doing? I think everywhere you

77
00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,640
Speaker 1: have to figure out what your niche can be around,

78
00:03:57,680 --> 00:03:59,480
Speaker 1: especially when you're working with older guys who've been doing

79
00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,760
Speaker 1: a thirty year. You know you gotta be careful to

80
00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:03,720
Speaker 1: step on toes. So coach Davis did the offense, Donny

81
00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,000
Speaker 1: Marsh did the defense. So I just an opportunity to

82
00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,280
Speaker 1: really help was was to be on the floor with

83
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 1: the guys all time a lot teck Coach White gave

84
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,480
Speaker 1: me the defense and and a lot of the skill work. Um,

85
00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,880
Speaker 1: and it really helped me grow because I had worked

86
00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:17,839
Speaker 1: with great defensive coaches and done a lot of stuff.

87
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,640
Speaker 1: But until you teach it, until you have to figure uh,

88
00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,080
Speaker 1: you know, problem solve and figure out solutions, you don't

89
00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,479
Speaker 1: really know it. So um, he he allowed us to

90
00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,840
Speaker 1: grow and teach and coach and and it's so much

91
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:32,880
Speaker 1: more fun when you have input and it's a complete

92
00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,760
Speaker 1: collaboration between the entire staff. So when he said you

93
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,520
Speaker 1: gave the defense, um, what was your philosophy at that

94
00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:42,680
Speaker 1: point time? What did what did you like? What how

95
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:44,800
Speaker 1: did you like to play? Well? We the first week

96
00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,720
Speaker 1: we were all together, Isaac Brown is now which I'll say,

97
00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:48,680
Speaker 1: Derek Jones and myself and Coach White. We walk on

98
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,440
Speaker 1: the floor and he says, Okay, I want to press

99
00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:53,279
Speaker 1: and I want to do this. This is what I

100
00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,440
Speaker 1: wanted to look like. Now let's figure out the details.

101
00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:58,040
Speaker 1: But you've got it, that's what you've got. But this

102
00:04:58,080 --> 00:04:59,600
Speaker 1: is what I want the end game to look like.

103
00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:01,200
Speaker 1: This I want to play. This is how I want

104
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,200
Speaker 1: to do things. So it was it was then it

105
00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:05,400
Speaker 1: was about, you know, figure out the best way for

106
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,000
Speaker 1: us to play with our personnel, how aggressive press, how

107
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,480
Speaker 1: much trapping, how much tempo and so we just kind

108
00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,480
Speaker 1: of evolved into our own style based on what our

109
00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,920
Speaker 1: guys did well. But uh, he empowered us and and

110
00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:20,479
Speaker 1: and you know there's a blessing. Okay, so pressing. Had

111
00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,120
Speaker 1: you had you taught a pressing style previously, well, we

112
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,440
Speaker 1: did a usc We changed defense is a lot Sylvie

113
00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,240
Speaker 1: and and Damon two separate years both and you know,

114
00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,200
Speaker 1: the best opportunity to learn is when you're standing next

115
00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:35,800
Speaker 1: to somebody and you're helping them teach, but you're not

116
00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,480
Speaker 1: teaching it. So it was probably the next best thing.

117
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,360
Speaker 1: So that was the first time when I've ever been

118
00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,359
Speaker 1: thrown into the fire where they said, okay, you have

119
00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,200
Speaker 1: this and this is this is your responsibility to make

120
00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,000
Speaker 1: it work. But you know, we had great defenders, we

121
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,000
Speaker 1: had speed athleticism, and we recruited to that system. And

122
00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,640
Speaker 1: so there was always clarity and who he wanted to

123
00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,640
Speaker 1: sign because we knew exactly what type of player he

124
00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,520
Speaker 1: was looking for. And I think a lot of times,

125
00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:01,800
Speaker 1: head coach, we just want good players. We want it all,

126
00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,320
Speaker 1: and it's hard for assistance because they need to be

127
00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,159
Speaker 1: able to know exactly what you want and who you

128
00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,120
Speaker 1: can coach. So what do you decide? How did you

129
00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,320
Speaker 1: side to press? What was? It was a tempo press

130
00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,760
Speaker 1: that we had h one tempo press, and then we

131
00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:20,640
Speaker 1: just we had a couple of pit bulls up front,

132
00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:22,920
Speaker 1: and we had a couple of six five middle linebackers

133
00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,920
Speaker 1: on the second line. So we just these are the

134
00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,279
Speaker 1: times we're gonna be ultra aggressive, and these are the

135
00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,279
Speaker 1: times were not and and a lot of times it

136
00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,440
Speaker 1: was just our patients and boys would end up and

137
00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:34,200
Speaker 1: we were one of the top teams in the country

138
00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,680
Speaker 1: and defensive efficiency and force and turnovers. It really fit

139
00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,120
Speaker 1: who are guys were, and they embraced the style and

140
00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:44,080
Speaker 1: played a lot of guys. Why don't people all out press?

141
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:45,640
Speaker 1: I mean, I know there are a lot of tempo

142
00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,039
Speaker 1: presses to slow people down more, but we we have

143
00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,520
Speaker 1: very few teams that that speed people up, that want

144
00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,080
Speaker 1: to take chance in the backcourt. Why do you think

145
00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,240
Speaker 1: it is well for us? We tried to press in

146
00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:59,400
Speaker 1: your one and we just decided we don't have a

147
00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,000
Speaker 1: pressing thetality like our guys. Our guys at LOTTEK were

148
00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,200
Speaker 1: foaming at the mouth to press. They wanted to do it,

149
00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,360
Speaker 1: they were bought into it, and uh, we didn't have

150
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,200
Speaker 1: a press sing. We didn't have the speed athleticism. So

151
00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:12,960
Speaker 1: if the guys didn't really really want to do it,

152
00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,680
Speaker 1: and I wasn't convicted, the staff wasn't convicted to do it,

153
00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:17,920
Speaker 1: it wasn't really worth it. So I think it's just

154
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,480
Speaker 1: the it's so hard to score now with the pack

155
00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,480
Speaker 1: line and the length and the size unless you can

156
00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,040
Speaker 1: shoot it from deep, that people don't want to give

157
00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:27,840
Speaker 1: up an easy baskets, the same reason why a lot

158
00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:29,560
Speaker 1: of teams will send three or four guys back, just

159
00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:31,480
Speaker 1: because they feel like if you can just take away

160
00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,040
Speaker 1: easy baskets, the other team is not gonna be able

161
00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:35,840
Speaker 1: to score enough to beat you. And I think that's

162
00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,720
Speaker 1: that's what it is more than anything else. Yeah, I

163
00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,240
Speaker 1: also think there's a certain because everybody presses at the

164
00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,280
Speaker 1: AU level that they feel like guys will break it

165
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,520
Speaker 1: and then you can look really you can look really bad,

166
00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:52,240
Speaker 1: you know. Whereas whereas coaches would prefer hey for in

167
00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,600
Speaker 1: the fifties or in the sixties, I got a chance,

168
00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:56,560
Speaker 1: you know, we can, we can figure out a way

169
00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,360
Speaker 1: to win. Whereas you get down twenty somebody's you know,

170
00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,560
Speaker 1: you get and end up a building looks really bad.

171
00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,040
Speaker 1: Yeah there's nights one looks really good, but there's any

172
00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,000
Speaker 1: one looks really really bad. And that that part coaches

173
00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:11,120
Speaker 1: stay away from. How did when you guys go so

174
00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,440
Speaker 1: you guys go to Florida? Correct? Okay, Um, what was

175
00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:21,760
Speaker 1: that transition like for you in terms of recruiting and

176
00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,400
Speaker 1: now even though you're on the same staff with the

177
00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,680
Speaker 1: same guy, did anything change in terms of your responsibility?

178
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,240
Speaker 1: Responsibilities state pretty much the same across the board, and

179
00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:34,160
Speaker 1: we were all very involved. That was with Darius Nichols,

180
00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:35,720
Speaker 1: who's now the head coach of Rapper and Jordan Mincy

181
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,640
Speaker 1: who was now the head coach of Jacksonville. So we

182
00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,319
Speaker 1: had very we had almost the same responsibilities. But once

183
00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,440
Speaker 1: again it was a complete collaboration. But are probably I'm

184
00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:46,360
Speaker 1: looking back, I think the thing I learned the most

185
00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,920
Speaker 1: was we probably overestimated um and the guys that Florida

186
00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,760
Speaker 1: and underestimated the guys that Conference USA level. Now, obviously

187
00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,440
Speaker 1: there's the elite ones that that there's a there's a

188
00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,480
Speaker 1: big difference in separation between the elite SEC players, But

189
00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,080
Speaker 1: I think a lot of the SEC players take away

190
00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:05,520
Speaker 1: a little bit of size and there's not much difference

191
00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:07,120
Speaker 1: than the guys in our league. I mean, I think

192
00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,320
Speaker 1: you a B has a roster that to compete with

193
00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:14,040
Speaker 1: just about anyone in the SEC physically. So I think

194
00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:16,360
Speaker 1: we went into it thinking, Oh, he's not good enough,

195
00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,160
Speaker 1: he can't play an SEC, he can't play an SEC.

196
00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,760
Speaker 1: In reality, those guys Uh and even either ended up

197
00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,160
Speaker 1: being good SEC players or were more than good enough

198
00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,320
Speaker 1: to play there. I think we just probably overthought it

199
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,319
Speaker 1: early on, instead of having the conviction you're gonna go

200
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,079
Speaker 1: in and get the guys you really like and want

201
00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:33,760
Speaker 1: to coach and and and roll it out with that.

202
00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:35,480
Speaker 1: And I think that's kind of what coach White got

203
00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:40,320
Speaker 1: to after a year two or year three. UM When

204
00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:45,760
Speaker 1: what was the first head coaching job you interviewed for? UM,

205
00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:48,200
Speaker 1: I interviewed. I only interviewed for one other head coaching job.

206
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,040
Speaker 1: I interview you you teach Hattanooga, and in hindsight, it

207
00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,040
Speaker 1: ended up being a courtesy interview. I went to Phoenix

208
00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,440
Speaker 1: for the final four, and I took my at that

209
00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,320
Speaker 1: time fifteen year old son. We landed in Phoenix and

210
00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,040
Speaker 1: got the rental car and drove to the Grand Canyon,

211
00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:04,640
Speaker 1: hiked down one day, stayed in the bunk house at

212
00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,600
Speaker 1: the bottom, hiked out and got to the top. And Uh,

213
00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:09,880
Speaker 1: I got a call and said, can you interview at

214
00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,080
Speaker 1: five pm for the Ute chat anooka job? And I said, well,

215
00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,280
Speaker 1: I literally just stepped out of the Grand Canyon and

216
00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:17,920
Speaker 1: I didn't. I didn't bring a suit, I didn't bring

217
00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,640
Speaker 1: any any interview clothes. I said, but I can tomorrow.

218
00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,240
Speaker 1: What I'll do is I passed a Banana Republic outlet.

219
00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,000
Speaker 1: I'll stop him buy a suit, shoes, And so I

220
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,800
Speaker 1: interviewed the next morning for Chattanooga. And to be honest,

221
00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:31,880
Speaker 1: when this job came open, I wanted to stay at Florida.

222
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,000
Speaker 1: I was extremely happy my kids were in high school.

223
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,959
Speaker 1: I didn't want to move them again. Florida's an unbelievable place,

224
00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:38,600
Speaker 1: and Coach we I said you need to go take

225
00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:40,360
Speaker 1: a look at it. And then when I pulled into Boca,

226
00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,040
Speaker 1: I said, okay, this is we can win here. And

227
00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:44,880
Speaker 1: so that that kind of made the decision for me.

228
00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,920
Speaker 1: But I was. I wasn't eager to get a head

229
00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:48,319
Speaker 1: coaching job at that point. I was so happy. I

230
00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,360
Speaker 1: thought we had to find a four roster whatnot. So

231
00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,520
Speaker 1: um okay, but the so the what did you learn

232
00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,680
Speaker 1: from the u T chat interview that helped you? Or

233
00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,760
Speaker 1: did it help you? With the the interview? And help

234
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,839
Speaker 1: me mensely. I went in buck naked, no note. You know,

235
00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,240
Speaker 1: I'd have the books and the presentations that we all have.

236
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,440
Speaker 1: Is especially when you start in a video room, and

237
00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,000
Speaker 1: you know you have to be organized. So I had

238
00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,160
Speaker 1: all that stuff. I went into the Chattanooga with nothing, no,

239
00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,160
Speaker 1: no preparation other than I just researched the A D

240
00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,600
Speaker 1: and the president and whatnot, and so I just went

241
00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,640
Speaker 1: in and and afterward it was a Parker search. They

242
00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:22,880
Speaker 1: said they were really really impressed with you just being

243
00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,000
Speaker 1: yourself and being vulnerable and just being a normal person.

244
00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:28,959
Speaker 1: And they said, don't change that. Don't They would much

245
00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:31,079
Speaker 1: rather have you be yourself than go in with a

246
00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:32,920
Speaker 1: book and a manual about how you did it here

247
00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:34,960
Speaker 1: and how you did it there. They just want to

248
00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:36,920
Speaker 1: see how you are as a person. So it actually

249
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:40,679
Speaker 1: helped me where I kind of you know, slowed down

250
00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,000
Speaker 1: on all the you know, the packets and the all

251
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,280
Speaker 1: the first ninety days, in the first sixty days, because

252
00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,320
Speaker 1: none of that, you know, none of that matters. So

253
00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:49,920
Speaker 1: even when I got this job, I said all that

254
00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:51,480
Speaker 1: stuff I said I was gonna do, I'm not doing

255
00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,200
Speaker 1: any of that. We have to get a roster and

256
00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,520
Speaker 1: we have to connect with the important people in this community.

257
00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:58,920
Speaker 1: And that's all we did for the first six weeks. Okay,

258
00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,160
Speaker 1: So now you so that so the flori Atlantic, so

259
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,959
Speaker 1: you you go to Boca. Who's who's in the room

260
00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,400
Speaker 1: when you're interviewed. It was board of trustees and then

261
00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,360
Speaker 1: the president and and Brian had been associative force at

262
00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:13,920
Speaker 1: lottech so we had worked hand in hand together. So

263
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,120
Speaker 1: I always felt like, uh, this job. The two finals

264
00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:18,640
Speaker 1: for the A D job where Mike Hill, who's with

265
00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,120
Speaker 1: us of Florida, and Brian White, and so I always

266
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:22,880
Speaker 1: felt like, man, these two guys get it. I might

267
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,200
Speaker 1: have a shot to get that one. Um. So, you know,

268
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:27,679
Speaker 1: in the back of my mind, I always kind of

269
00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,560
Speaker 1: kept this when and I knew I wasn't gonna get

270
00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,959
Speaker 1: a historical really good job. I mean, I'm realistic and

271
00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,160
Speaker 1: self aware so um, it was the Board of Trustees.

272
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,680
Speaker 1: And then it happened quickly. I mean literally. I interviewed

273
00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,160
Speaker 1: with the president of the board, Brian, in the president's office,

274
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,160
Speaker 1: and they brought out a contract and they said, can

275
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,040
Speaker 1: you do the press conference tomorrow? And I said, I

276
00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:54,040
Speaker 1: gotta ask my wife. My kids are in a high school. Okay,

277
00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:56,839
Speaker 1: so what's that. What's the what's the phone call? Like

278
00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,120
Speaker 1: my wife and say, hey, are you good with me

279
00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,000
Speaker 1: doing this? And she said, I love your support you.

280
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:04,840
Speaker 1: You're gonna make the best decisions for us. I trust you.

281
00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,200
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just like, just leave me out of

282
00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:11,120
Speaker 1: you just decide. I'm good with whatever. And so um,

283
00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,719
Speaker 1: then she calls me back and she says, no, we

284
00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:14,440
Speaker 1: can't do it tomorrow. The boys have to be here,

285
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,640
Speaker 1: like they love ball, they've been a part of this,

286
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:18,560
Speaker 1: like they have to be at your press conference. That's

287
00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,440
Speaker 1: not that's not negotiable. So I told Brian, I said, Brian,

288
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,080
Speaker 1: I can't do it tomorrow. Anna said the boys have

289
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:24,880
Speaker 1: to be here, YadA, YadA, YadA, And he said all right.

290
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:26,480
Speaker 1: So he picked up the phone. He called Mike and said, Michae,

291
00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,360
Speaker 1: are you come in to dust these press conference, and

292
00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:30,360
Speaker 1: he said, yeah, why when is it? He said tomorrow morning?

293
00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:32,720
Speaker 1: He said, can you can you bring his his sons

294
00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,880
Speaker 1: with you? So fifteen minutes before the press conference at

295
00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,840
Speaker 1: Tendor eleven a M. I don't remember. Now, the private

296
00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,959
Speaker 1: landing strip is right next to the building we're doing

297
00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:43,760
Speaker 1: the press conference, and and you can see the jet

298
00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,440
Speaker 1: land you can see the zoom over. And and my

299
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,280
Speaker 1: three boys that you know, junior high and an elementary

300
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,480
Speaker 1: in high school get out of a private jet and

301
00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,120
Speaker 1: escorted into a private So is it was? You know,

302
00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:00,040
Speaker 1: it just happened so fast. What's that feeling like to

303
00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,040
Speaker 1: all that work, all that grinding and now you got

304
00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,400
Speaker 1: your own team? Well, even then, I wasn't prepared. I

305
00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,000
Speaker 1: watched all these press conference through the years, Calipari's and

306
00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:12,280
Speaker 1: all these guys who were such magnetic speakers, and I

307
00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,360
Speaker 1: had all these notes and thoughts that I wanted to

308
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,640
Speaker 1: make a you know, a really great first impression on

309
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,560
Speaker 1: press conference, and and I didn't have any of that

310
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,160
Speaker 1: with me because I didn't think any of this was

311
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,720
Speaker 1: gonna go down the way it did. Um and then

312
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,680
Speaker 1: when you get there, you know, they put you in

313
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,760
Speaker 1: a room with with the the current staff, and they

314
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,080
Speaker 1: put you in a room with the players, and you know,

315
00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,960
Speaker 1: you just all I'm thinking about is how do we

316
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,680
Speaker 1: how do we come up with a competitive roster, because

317
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,080
Speaker 1: we felt like we needed to earn respect in year one.

318
00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,240
Speaker 1: So you're balancing the guys you have with with winning,

319
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,640
Speaker 1: and you're getting all these calls to congratulate you for scheduling,

320
00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,760
Speaker 1: because everybody wants to schedule you when you're bad and

321
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,880
Speaker 1: you're in South Florida and you're close to three metropolitan airports.

322
00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,800
Speaker 1: So I literally told everyone they called, I don't We'll

323
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:55,400
Speaker 1: talk in a couple of weeks. As soon as we

324
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,440
Speaker 1: have ten scholarships to fill. As soon as we have

325
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,040
Speaker 1: a roster, we'll play it. But don't call me in

326
00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,840
Speaker 1: about playing. That's the we have to have a roster.

327
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,320
Speaker 1: That's all I'm consumed with. So we spent the next

328
00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,000
Speaker 1: probably four weeks signing ten players we had. We had,

329
00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,800
Speaker 1: I think we had six official visits remaining, and we

330
00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,040
Speaker 1: had zero days to go out recruiting. I borrowed two

331
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,520
Speaker 1: days from the year from the next year so I

332
00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,000
Speaker 1: could go watch a couple of local kids, and we

333
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,320
Speaker 1: end up getting those guys, Thank goodness. But yes, so

334
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,360
Speaker 1: we signed ten or eleven guys with six visits and

335
00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,520
Speaker 1: ended up having a maybe our most talented team before

336
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:31,920
Speaker 1: injuries in year one. It's interesting because you know, you

337
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,440
Speaker 1: had lot tech, you didn't have as many resources, but uh,

338
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,440
Speaker 1: Florida you did. So you have a plan I'm sure

339
00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:41,280
Speaker 1: in place of how you want to do what you

340
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,000
Speaker 1: want to do, but you go to Florid Atlantic and

341
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,920
Speaker 1: there's a different depth of resources. So now you gotta

342
00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,520
Speaker 1: put together practice plan. You gotta put together everything in

343
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,440
Speaker 1: the fall you finally recruited your roster. What was the

344
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,920
Speaker 1: process like of then executing what you wanted to do

345
00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,720
Speaker 1: at Florid Atlanta? Uh, day by day is started with

346
00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,239
Speaker 1: the workouts, just instilling a level of toughness and intensity

347
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,480
Speaker 1: that that we that we work do our everyday work

348
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,280
Speaker 1: in and then just spending out what is what how

349
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,240
Speaker 1: do you how do you instill a culture of toughness?

350
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,240
Speaker 1: Oh wow, that's a great question. Um, you live it

351
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:21,320
Speaker 1: day to day. I mean I know a couple of

352
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,120
Speaker 1: times our guys would pass through the offices and be

353
00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:24,520
Speaker 1: five or six and they say, coach, what are you

354
00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,840
Speaker 1: guys doing in here? Still like yeah, it's spoken, like

355
00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:29,560
Speaker 1: what do you guys doing in the office. So I

356
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,920
Speaker 1: think the staff uh displayed a hard you know, work

357
00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,560
Speaker 1: ethic that and and then every day the intensity and

358
00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:38,840
Speaker 1: every convention and the details that were on the floor

359
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 1: sweating with them and we're we're sucking win and pushing

360
00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:45,680
Speaker 1: and all that. And I can't pinpoint it. I mean,

361
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,840
Speaker 1: you had this conversation yesterday the whole culture term that uh,

362
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,440
Speaker 1: people praise our culture right now, and I say, well,

363
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,320
Speaker 1: we've been saying the same things for thirty years. It's

364
00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:56,600
Speaker 1: these guys are buying into each other, and they're buying

365
00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:58,920
Speaker 1: into sacrifice, and they're buying into all the things that

366
00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,640
Speaker 1: we we preach every year. And so I think it's

367
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,440
Speaker 1: just the living at day to day is more than

368
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:08,160
Speaker 1: anything else. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk

369
00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,960
Speaker 1: lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at

370
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,359
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart

371
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:19,440
Speaker 1: Radio app. Search f s R to listen live. Okay,

372
00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:21,320
Speaker 1: so you got there. You're gonna coach coach the first

373
00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:25,440
Speaker 1: game your high school coach. Great respect to coach coach

374
00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:30,560
Speaker 1: Night Coach Davis, Baby Mike White, your first year because

375
00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:32,680
Speaker 1: your first year you actually, I mean like your first

376
00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,520
Speaker 1: Division one game you beat Central Florida. You know you

377
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,520
Speaker 1: shouldn't be duke? Yeah right, and and and you beat

378
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,800
Speaker 1: doing only that you're as well? Um, but who were

379
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:46,840
Speaker 1: you as a coach? How did you find how do

380
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,360
Speaker 1: you you know, like you kind of find yourself and

381
00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:51,280
Speaker 1: who you want to be when you're standing in front

382
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,320
Speaker 1: of your team. Who were you most like that you

383
00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,720
Speaker 1: had coached with when you first became a head coach?

384
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,879
Speaker 1: Most like coach White? Probably? Um? I coached AU in

385
00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,159
Speaker 1: the summers. Uh when when I decided I was going

386
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,800
Speaker 1: to coach college. I started because Pastor Nack and Shocky

387
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:09,639
Speaker 1: had started coaching AU in the summers and they were

388
00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:11,840
Speaker 1: older than me. So that became part of the way

389
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,600
Speaker 1: to get into the recruiting scene if you wanted to

390
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,040
Speaker 1: get into college coaching. So I coached Shawn May and

391
00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:20,159
Speaker 1: all those guys in AU, and I was a maniacal fool.

392
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,359
Speaker 1: I mean I tried to be little baby Robert Montgomery. Night.

393
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,479
Speaker 1: I was screaming at everyone I was on, you know,

394
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,800
Speaker 1: acting like a buffoon. And I realized after that summer

395
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:30,960
Speaker 1: that wasn't fun for them, and it wasn't fun for me.

396
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,640
Speaker 1: And it's just not who I am. I felt bad

397
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,240
Speaker 1: about the things I said. Afterwards, I was losing sleep

398
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:36,960
Speaker 1: over it, and I wasn't sitting you know, I wasn't

399
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,440
Speaker 1: saying terrible but just so you know, I learned early

400
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,480
Speaker 1: on who I wanted to be. And I think the

401
00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,399
Speaker 1: I know Brad Stevens from Afar, and you know, we

402
00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,439
Speaker 1: grew up each other knowing each other, not we're not friends,

403
00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,439
Speaker 1: but I mean we always do each other. So I

404
00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:53,040
Speaker 1: think he's had as much of an impact with his poise, composure,

405
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,200
Speaker 1: and as anyone in the history of basketball. I think

406
00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:00,240
Speaker 1: so many young coaches went from being raving lunatic and

407
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,240
Speaker 1: having to put on a show and show the crowd

408
00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,560
Speaker 1: that they didn't teach that and they don't like that

409
00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,879
Speaker 1: shot and all this other stuff, where he showed that

410
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,040
Speaker 1: coaches can be poised and composed and still teach and

411
00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:13,359
Speaker 1: be successful without being raving lunatics. So I think that

412
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,040
Speaker 1: had a big impact on me. It's amazing you say that. Okay,

413
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:21,359
Speaker 1: so this is a real story. So, uh, Oklahoma State

414
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:25,040
Speaker 1: fires Sean Sutton and I was I was espn. I

415
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,920
Speaker 1: was pissed. I was pissed, and I was pissed. You know, like, look,

416
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,160
Speaker 1: I know Sean had some personal stuff going on and

417
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,760
Speaker 1: the program wasn't great, and he and I had had

418
00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,639
Speaker 1: you know, you know, because I was at ESPN, I

419
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,600
Speaker 1: felt like I had to Yeah, as his dad had taught,

420
00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:43,439
Speaker 1: I had to be right down the middle, like you know,

421
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,000
Speaker 1: you gotta you gotta be honest with people and some

422
00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,880
Speaker 1: of that stuff. But but I thought two years wasn't

423
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:53,879
Speaker 1: enough time. So uh, Mike Holder, of the athletic director

424
00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,800
Speaker 1: at the time, calls me the day after we talked

425
00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:58,320
Speaker 1: and kind of talked me down off the ledge a

426
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,040
Speaker 1: little bit. Had like your helpless finding and finding a

427
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:07,160
Speaker 1: coach for our alma mater. So you know, I loved

428
00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,480
Speaker 1: Chris Lowry. He interviewed him John Miller, but Seawan didn't

429
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,399
Speaker 1: want to take the job. Was that Xavier, you know,

430
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,399
Speaker 1: there's talk to Jamie might want to take it. Um. Anyway,

431
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:22,200
Speaker 1: they end up hiring Travis Forward. But after the change

432
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,000
Speaker 1: was made, as many A d s do at that level,

433
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,000
Speaker 1: they go out and they watched people coach in the

434
00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,160
Speaker 1: n c A tournament. They watched and coach and I

435
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:34,439
Speaker 1: had met Brad the year before his first year at

436
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,720
Speaker 1: at Butler. They played Valpo and I did the game

437
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,320
Speaker 1: and I spent the afternoon with him. Like this guy

438
00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:44,560
Speaker 1: is incredible, right, Like he's so bright, he's so calm,

439
00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,879
Speaker 1: he's so interesting. He's also interested and interesting. Now he

440
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,000
Speaker 1: asked really good questions and I just I was like, man,

441
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:53,959
Speaker 1: this is really good. So he said, well, I just

442
00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:57,240
Speaker 1: watched Butler coach. He goes and now I don't anything

443
00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:03,400
Speaker 1: about coaching basketball, but man, that guy's sideline demeanor is amazing.

444
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,920
Speaker 1: He's like, that's that's what I want to to run

445
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,199
Speaker 1: my program. And I was like, well, you know, because

446
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,480
Speaker 1: I had coached Sutton. I mean, he wasn't coach Night,

447
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:15,960
Speaker 1: but he would strike the fear of God in your heart,

448
00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:19,480
Speaker 1: Like we were all scared coach coach Sutton out of fear.

449
00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:24,000
Speaker 1: That's we were scared of death right. And whereas John McLeod,

450
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 1: who was God rest his soul, was a wonderful man.

451
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,000
Speaker 1: But I felt like he lacked He had the same

452
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,919
Speaker 1: sort of demeanor as Brad, but he didn't have the

453
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,560
Speaker 1: connectivity of Brad, Like he was super classy at NBA

454
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,199
Speaker 1: style you're talked about with coach Bibbie, where you know

455
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,439
Speaker 1: it was it was he would never embarrass you in

456
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 1: front of the team, but I was my my dad

457
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:48,760
Speaker 1: was again kind of coach night despite disciple, my high

458
00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,560
Speaker 1: school coach. We got got on your ask, So I was.

459
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,840
Speaker 1: I was so used to being motivated that way. Anyway,

460
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,240
Speaker 1: the point that you're making about Brad is completely accurate,

461
00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,440
Speaker 1: that that's what how people want their universe used to

462
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,600
Speaker 1: be represented. More so then then some some other guys.

463
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,000
Speaker 1: Now it has to fit your personality as well, right, yes,

464
00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:12,000
Speaker 1: um so, so now you're you're at floor Atlantic and

465
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: and all all this stuff is going. What did you

466
00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,160
Speaker 1: like about what you were doing initially and what did

467
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 1: you want to change about what you did what you're

468
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,199
Speaker 1: doing initially? Oh man, We we threw a lot at

469
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,520
Speaker 1: the wall and really tried to. In year one, we

470
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,560
Speaker 1: started out, we had a really good roster and our

471
00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,720
Speaker 1: two best players had major knee injuries and was out

472
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,359
Speaker 1: for the year. We brought Zavian Stapleton, he was a

473
00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:34,160
Speaker 1: grad transfer of missis State, and we inhered a really

474
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,159
Speaker 1: good player named Jaylen Ingram, and then we had a

475
00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,119
Speaker 1: kind of a holdover guard that ended up being an

476
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,520
Speaker 1: All League player that maybe averaged three points a game

477
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,800
Speaker 1: as a junior the year before. Just he just flourished

478
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,600
Speaker 1: with confidence in whatever the case. So we love we

479
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,159
Speaker 1: loved our roster early on, and we started off twelve

480
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,040
Speaker 1: and five. We're three and one in the league. I

481
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:54,680
Speaker 1: mean even we started off eight and one, I think

482
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,359
Speaker 1: eight and two before we had some injuries. So then

483
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,159
Speaker 1: after those guys went down, we had a just we

484
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,560
Speaker 1: weren't talented enough and we had just a bunch of

485
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,840
Speaker 1: mismatch pieces. So we started the zone to man and

486
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:09,040
Speaker 1: the man to zone and our our guards we wanted

487
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,320
Speaker 1: to run ball Street offense. Our guards were quick enough

488
00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:12,719
Speaker 1: to get their guys on their hills to get their

489
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,920
Speaker 1: men into ball Street, and so we started. We stole

490
00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,000
Speaker 1: it from the Celtics when had Isaiah Thomas, where they

491
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,480
Speaker 1: throw it to the big, they chase it, get it

492
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,679
Speaker 1: back and now they got a say, bounce ball stream.

493
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:23,240
Speaker 1: So it allowed our guards to have some success and

494
00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,880
Speaker 1: we kind of just we were learning on the fly,

495
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,280
Speaker 1: especially after the injury. So it was the best thing

496
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,159
Speaker 1: for our staff's growth and development because we tried freaking everything. Okay,

497
00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,200
Speaker 1: so what does it look like now? Like? What is

498
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 1: your program that you guys are off this incredible start,

499
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,400
Speaker 1: What does it look like now? What have you changed

500
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 1: and have you. I don't want to stay perfective, but

501
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,280
Speaker 1: obviously off to this incredible start. What's evolved within your

502
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:50,160
Speaker 1: own program during these five years? Um, we've obviously we

503
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 1: we've become much better teachers and communicators. That the COVID

504
00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:55,840
Speaker 1: year was unbelievable for our staff, and we didn't have

505
00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,960
Speaker 1: our guys on four hour zooms every day, but we

506
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,600
Speaker 1: we read, we stud need, we got on coaches zooms,

507
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,639
Speaker 1: and and that was the best sabbatical that that that was.

508
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,240
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously COVID's terrible, but that's scenario was that

509
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,040
Speaker 1: I look at it now, coaches at some point should

510
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,880
Speaker 1: take a sabbatical and just go learn and study and

511
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,919
Speaker 1: and you know, reinvent themselves and figure themselves out. So

512
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:19,159
Speaker 1: it started with COVID, and then we brought in a

513
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,199
Speaker 1: group of of class of four that we're all talented

514
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 1: and they didn't play a lot as freshmen, but they

515
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,959
Speaker 1: were incredibly competitive. They live in the gym, and so

516
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 1: we knew we had a good group of young people.

517
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,520
Speaker 1: Are older guys, uh, they weren't as connected as these guys,

518
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 1: and so we had a few that there were more

519
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,360
Speaker 1: about scoring and all those other things. So these young

520
00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 1: guys got to see what that did to our chemistry

521
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,600
Speaker 1: and our team, and so it really helped them where

522
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,200
Speaker 1: it's not just us talking about sharing the ball and

523
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,399
Speaker 1: all the you know, all the details. They saw at

524
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,320
Speaker 1: firsthand and they believed it. And so I think the

525
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:55,399
Speaker 1: competitive level of our guys, the togetherness that we have

526
00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: a lot of really good players. And I felt guilty

527
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,840
Speaker 1: a lot of games. We're like, man, he played fifteen minutes,

528
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:03,920
Speaker 1: he deserves twenty three or twenty four, but we were

529
00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,399
Speaker 1: chalked up at the cost to winning. So we have

530
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,600
Speaker 1: really good players. We have a staff continuity. Our staff

531
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,120
Speaker 1: does an amazing job with our guys. But uh, it's

532
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 1: the day to day approach and we definitely don't have

533
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,920
Speaker 1: it figured out. We laugh all the time now that

534
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:16,800
Speaker 1: we're having some sis. Wow, it's really nice. So we've

535
00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:18,919
Speaker 1: got to figure it out now. So um, you know,

536
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,680
Speaker 1: we we try to stay ahead of problems. We try

537
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,600
Speaker 1: to figure ourselves out before the other guys do, and uh,

538
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,280
Speaker 1: you know, continue to evolve on on a smaller scale.

539
00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,840
Speaker 1: But it's it's our it's our guys as people. They

540
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,439
Speaker 1: were talented, but we're not ultra talented. We just have

541
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 1: I think the competitiveness level in the in the work

542
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,400
Speaker 1: ethic is what's able allowed us to separate from where

543
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:41,439
Speaker 1: we were. How did you retain them? You played most freshmen.

544
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,520
Speaker 1: If you don't play them, they leave. Well did you

545
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,960
Speaker 1: keep them? We have four that that we we loved

546
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:48,879
Speaker 1: them all, and they just weren't ready to win. So

547
00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:50,880
Speaker 1: we played the older guys because they thought and and

548
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,120
Speaker 1: when you're a place that's never one, winning is important

549
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,680
Speaker 1: because everyone looks at you as as kind of a joke.

550
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,640
Speaker 1: So you have to get respect and credibility in order

551
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,240
Speaker 1: to in order to get into the Orange Bowl class again,

552
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:03,400
Speaker 1: in order to get you know what I mean, like

553
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,320
Speaker 1: all the things that come with building the program. And

554
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,880
Speaker 1: so they didn't play. And after the Converse Tournament, I'm

555
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 1: walking down the stairs. This is our our second year.

556
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,399
Speaker 1: This is the current class of four. They just finished

557
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,680
Speaker 1: their freshman season, and I gave our most talented guy

558
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:20,639
Speaker 1: a d n P. And I'm walking down the stairs.

559
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,400
Speaker 1: The hotels under construction, and I see his mom, his grandma,

560
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,800
Speaker 1: and his aunts and uncles at the bottom of the stairs.

561
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:28,280
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, oh, man, I'm walking into Hornet's nest right now.

562
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,160
Speaker 1: I walked to the bottom stairs. They raise their hands,

563
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,560
Speaker 1: hug me, coach, what a great year. You are gonna

564
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,439
Speaker 1: be so much better next year. We can't wait. And

565
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:38,159
Speaker 1: I said, you know what, he has a chance. And

566
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 1: in another one of those guys the next year, we're

567
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,520
Speaker 1: barely playing him. He's in a funk, and before the game,

568
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,439
Speaker 1: his dad walks down and says, Coach, thank you, And

569
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:47,520
Speaker 1: I was like, huh for what, Like, I'm barely playing him,

570
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,840
Speaker 1: he's shooting. And so at that point, it's like, these

571
00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,439
Speaker 1: guys have the right set of parents and support system,

572
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,120
Speaker 1: they have a real chance to make it through some fires.

573
00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:58,560
Speaker 1: So I think that those were the things that that

574
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,240
Speaker 1: really uh calls us to invest in them. And then

575
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,560
Speaker 1: we have a fifth year player, Covid, fifth year who's

576
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,639
Speaker 1: been with us since day one. That's the hardest worker,

577
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: most consistent guy that I've ever been around. So I

578
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,879
Speaker 1: think those are the things that we've always had a

579
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,399
Speaker 1: model what to look at. And then the work ethic

580
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,200
Speaker 1: is kind of permeated through the rest of the guys.

581
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 1: Did you know that when you recruited these kids that

582
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:19,760
Speaker 1: they had this type of support system? Was that was that?

583
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 1: Did you know it at all? No? To be honest

584
00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 1: that the ore All League player from last year whose

585
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,560
Speaker 1: first team All League player this year. He was, um,

586
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,920
Speaker 1: we recruited him kind of lukewarm. We didn't really need

587
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:34,680
Speaker 1: his position. And uh to Todd Abernathy, who who's who

588
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:36,080
Speaker 1: played at Old Miss and was in missing me he

589
00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: was recruiting Mississippi. Time told his mom and said, hey,

590
00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:40,200
Speaker 1: we just don't have we don't have a scholarship for him.

591
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,000
Speaker 1: We love him, we think he's really good. We just

592
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:43,399
Speaker 1: we don't want to be honest with him. With you

593
00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,719
Speaker 1: guys the best. And about two weeks later we had

594
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,240
Speaker 1: a kid unexpectedly going to the transferport or a starter

595
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,600
Speaker 1: who was average at eleven a game, and may I believe,

596
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,560
Speaker 1: went into the transferportal and literally I was coming out

597
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,959
Speaker 1: of home depot running a pressure washer when he called me,

598
00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,719
Speaker 1: and I called t A right after him. Just said, hey,

599
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,159
Speaker 1: iss as Elijah Martin as he's still out there, and

600
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:03,840
Speaker 1: so let me call his mom real quick and find out.

601
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,240
Speaker 1: We did as zoom the next morning and he committed

602
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,200
Speaker 1: basically on an iPad driving rock campus on a golf

603
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,040
Speaker 1: cart during COVID. Uh. So we knew he had talent,

604
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 1: but no, we did not know that he had the

605
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,119
Speaker 1: character in the support system. And then uh that John L.

606
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:17,879
Speaker 1: Davis who had thirty six the other night against you,

607
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,560
Speaker 1: a bu my assistant and recruited kid from his school.

608
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:22,360
Speaker 1: We went in his junior year and I watched him

609
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 1: in an open gym and just fell in love with

610
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,000
Speaker 1: how tough he was and how competitive and how hard

611
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,840
Speaker 1: he worked and and all those things. And he wanted

612
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,280
Speaker 1: to get out of Gary. He wanted to get away,

613
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,400
Speaker 1: so we thought we had a chance to get him. Um.

614
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,240
Speaker 1: And then Nick Boyd as Freddie Hill's nephew. He's has

615
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,159
Speaker 1: all the intangibles of growing up around the game. And

616
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,400
Speaker 1: then g and carl O Versidos, a local kid who

617
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,160
Speaker 1: you know, we really really wanted him bad as a

618
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 1: six eight post player, versatile post player in our area.

619
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,200
Speaker 1: So the intangibles, no, we didn't know, but we knew

620
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:47,920
Speaker 1: they were really good players, but we had no idea

621
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 1: that they were going to be their energy and and

622
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,640
Speaker 1: and uh, I guess leadership was gonna be as as

623
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:56,320
Speaker 1: contagious as it is now. Did you schedule in because

624
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:58,280
Speaker 1: of the lock Tech lock Tech deal? Like you wanted

625
00:28:58,280 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 1: to pay back to that lock back deal that this

626
00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,280
Speaker 1: you started the year this year with Lynn, right, you

627
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,360
Speaker 1: know them every year. See the first year, uh, it

628
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:07,600
Speaker 1: was already contracted and Lynn was the top five D

629
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:09,240
Speaker 1: two team in the country. So I don't want to

630
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 1: discredit that they weren't really really good. They the guys

631
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 1: would come play Open Jim all summer with our guys

632
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:15,840
Speaker 1: and my oldest son at that time was probably a sophomore,

633
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:17,320
Speaker 1: and he'd walk in and say, Dad, your guys just

634
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,760
Speaker 1: lost to lend again. And so it wasn't as if

635
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,760
Speaker 1: this was a major fluke, like Lynn was really really good.

636
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,640
Speaker 1: But that first game, you know, I'm sitting over there

637
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,240
Speaker 1: and I'm trying to be I guess probably Brad Stevens,

638
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,040
Speaker 1: and I'm not calling time outs, I'm not giving our

639
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,000
Speaker 1: guys any and I'm not helping them at all, I

640
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: don't think. And the next morning, Uh, my wife and

641
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,640
Speaker 1: I go walk on Sundays after Saturday losses, we would

642
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,320
Speaker 1: get up and go walk the beach just to kind

643
00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,640
Speaker 1: of a perspective. We go for a walk and she

644
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:44,479
Speaker 1: just said something like, why would you just sit there

645
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,520
Speaker 1: the whole day? You're your guys needed some help, they

646
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,680
Speaker 1: needed leadership, and you just sat there and I said,

647
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:50,480
Speaker 1: you know what, You're right. So when the next day

648
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,600
Speaker 1: that that later that morning with the staffs, it fell us.

649
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,120
Speaker 1: I was awful yesterday. We're going to figure this out.

650
00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,000
Speaker 1: Let's just stay the course, kind of leaning on what

651
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 1: Coach White went through that first year, and that week

652
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 1: we had our best week to practice and went and

653
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 1: upset a really really good UCF team with tackle falling

654
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 1: those guys. Um, okay, so this year you smack Lynn,

655
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:11,880
Speaker 1: then you lose the old Miss. What did you learn

656
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 1: about your team when you lost Old Miss? Well, we

657
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: we made a bunch of mistakes that were very uncharacteristic

658
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:19,960
Speaker 1: of us. We didn't have our our our our leading

659
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,920
Speaker 1: our second leading scorer, Mike Forrest was was dealing with

660
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,000
Speaker 1: some some other things, so we didn't have him that game,

661
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 1: and we just didn't play well. We we cut it

662
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:28,480
Speaker 1: to four or five in the last couple of minutes,

663
00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,160
Speaker 1: had momentum and we get a technical that that turned

664
00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,320
Speaker 1: into we touched the rim and it turned into like

665
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:36,080
Speaker 1: a seven point possession. So the game was much closer,

666
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,440
Speaker 1: but we just we we made mistakes that we hadn't

667
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,920
Speaker 1: made since those guys were freshmen, and we did a

668
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,640
Speaker 1: bunch of characteristic stuff. And on that trip, if you

669
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:47,719
Speaker 1: know anything about the travel for us, we we so

670
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,720
Speaker 1: we've played Old miss and then we bust to Birmingham

671
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 1: UM because we couldn't get flights home and we couldn't

672
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,880
Speaker 1: get into games because they had a football game. So

673
00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,240
Speaker 1: we we busted Birmingham. We practice at SAM for the

674
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:01,840
Speaker 1: next day and so we had a couple of days

675
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,560
Speaker 1: to really be together, watch film, have great meetings and

676
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:06,960
Speaker 1: and and I think there was one meeting that was

677
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,640
Speaker 1: probably a breakthrough where we all just kind of you know,

678
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:11,560
Speaker 1: this is what we need to do. This is all

679
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,080
Speaker 1: of us, from the bottom to the top, this is

680
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 1: what we need to do. And our guys won't rattle.

681
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 1: They realized we just needed to correct a few things.

682
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 1: Were very talented. And then the day of the Florida game,

683
00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,480
Speaker 1: Mike Force got cleared and then he had twenty that night.

684
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:25,920
Speaker 1: We played really really well. That kind of showed our guys,

685
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,640
Speaker 1: I think, how good we possibly can be. What what

686
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:31,920
Speaker 1: what is that like to bring your club back to

687
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,840
Speaker 1: a place where you had coached your boys who did

688
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,920
Speaker 1: in high school and you get that win. What was

689
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,560
Speaker 1: that for you like? To be personally? Well? It was

690
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 1: look what my son's a walk on the Florida. So

691
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,840
Speaker 1: I hated to see him lose and be miserable, but

692
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:45,920
Speaker 1: I think deep down he was proud. It was just

693
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,120
Speaker 1: really odd, especially with you know a lot of the

694
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,200
Speaker 1: support people are still there that you worked with every

695
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,600
Speaker 1: day and you have great relationships with. So um, you

696
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,200
Speaker 1: know to be honest, and I don't want to be

697
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 1: coached people like I don't get that excited after wins

698
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,560
Speaker 1: and losses. Like after the year, I reflect and say, wow,

699
00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,600
Speaker 1: we were there was special Florida this or that, But

700
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:08,400
Speaker 1: in the moment like okay, what what recruits of text?

701
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,000
Speaker 1: What coaches of the texts? Who do I need to

702
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,920
Speaker 1: get back with? And then it's onto the next game.

703
00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:13,400
Speaker 1: We had a Bryant. I think we played Bryant the

704
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,200
Speaker 1: next the next game, so I would stay an hour

705
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:18,360
Speaker 1: after the game, after I watched re watched the film.

706
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:19,920
Speaker 1: By the time we got back on the bus trip,

707
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,240
Speaker 1: it was all everything turned to Bryant. So um, I

708
00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,040
Speaker 1: wish I could see there's a big celebration or I

709
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:27,920
Speaker 1: was that happy, but no, I think it's awesome for

710
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,760
Speaker 1: my family and all that and our players, but for me,

711
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:35,000
Speaker 1: you know, it is what it is, um, you hadn't

712
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,600
Speaker 1: really played a close game until North Texas, right, like

713
00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,320
Speaker 1: you've been uh and obviously you know you hadn't played

714
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,600
Speaker 1: high majors, you know, after the after Florida game. But

715
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,960
Speaker 1: what what what did you notice about your team when

716
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 1: you played North Texas. Super Pit's a tough place to play.

717
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:54,520
Speaker 1: Grant does a really good job, right and league team,

718
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,480
Speaker 1: so they know you, they know you're really well. But

719
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,200
Speaker 1: what from that meeting? What had changed from the Old

720
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:03,120
Speaker 1: Miss game when you got into a really tight one

721
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,320
Speaker 1: and and from the Florida game we got a really

722
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,120
Speaker 1: tight one against North Texas. I think just we made

723
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:11,000
Speaker 1: so many mistakes that cost us, the controllable mistakes that

724
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:12,800
Speaker 1: cost us the Old Miss game where we didn't make

725
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:14,719
Speaker 1: them beat us. We feel like, you know, they beat us,

726
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:16,840
Speaker 1: they deserve to win. But I think that was eye

727
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,240
Speaker 1: opening that we just made so many airs that were

728
00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 1: easily preventable if we could just tighten up. So I

729
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,600
Speaker 1: think just the focusing on the details more than anything else.

730
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,000
Speaker 1: And and last year we hit a stretch where we

731
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,800
Speaker 1: were we were blowing teams out at home because we

732
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,480
Speaker 1: were shooting really well. We got hot and that's the

733
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,719
Speaker 1: unique thing about this year. We haven't shot at as

734
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 1: well as I think anywhere near we're capable of um.

735
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,120
Speaker 1: But the North Texas game, that the poise of our guys.

736
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:42,520
Speaker 1: You know, we we got down and you get down

737
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:44,640
Speaker 1: eight or nine to North Texas and it's it's as

738
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,720
Speaker 1: daunting as anything in college basketball, and we got one

739
00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:49,239
Speaker 1: to go in and then you could just see our

740
00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:51,480
Speaker 1: guys belief that if we can just get a couple

741
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:53,400
Speaker 1: more stops and then we're going to find a way.

742
00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,720
Speaker 1: So I think it's just the poise and the unflappable

743
00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,000
Speaker 1: approach of our guys that it's it's impressive that there's

744
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,240
Speaker 1: pois as they are in those situations that not very

745
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,600
Speaker 1: many teams can do what they did coming back from

746
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,920
Speaker 1: a deficit late. Now, do you only go on walks

747
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,560
Speaker 1: on the beach after a Saturday loss or you always

748
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 1: going to send it that's your life? Like us? Like

749
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,080
Speaker 1: what am I doing on Sunday? Have Sunday? It's been

750
00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:20,399
Speaker 1: a lot of Sundays off so far this year. Well,

751
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,080
Speaker 1: you just come to the office instead of having to

752
00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:25,000
Speaker 1: go kind of refocus on it's not life or death.

753
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:27,040
Speaker 1: You just go breathe and it puts in a much

754
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,560
Speaker 1: better place on those Sundays. But fortunately we started winning

755
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:33,839
Speaker 1: our Saturday home games. So now that's the only time

756
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:35,200
Speaker 1: I really go to the beach. I'm not I'm not

757
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,120
Speaker 1: a beach guy. When you're spasty as I am, that

758
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,080
Speaker 1: the sun is bad for you. So, uh yeah, that

759
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:41,719
Speaker 1: that was this. We don't go near at frequently, but

760
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:43,160
Speaker 1: that was always a way for us to kind of

761
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 1: for I guess me, to decompress and refocus on Okay,

762
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,560
Speaker 1: now this week isn't is a new week, because you

763
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 1: know it is. When you put so much into it

764
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 1: and you don't do well, it's it's it's shattering. Is

765
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,680
Speaker 1: your son gonna follow your path? That is that the plan?

766
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,560
Speaker 1: Two of them say they're gonna coach one so always

767
00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:01,600
Speaker 1: said from day one he always watches film and he's

768
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:03,440
Speaker 1: obsessed with it. The other was going to go into

769
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,520
Speaker 1: be an agent or be an attorney or something, and

770
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,560
Speaker 1: now he's shifted. He's a walk on for coach Dawkins

771
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,080
Speaker 1: at UCF now, so he's kind of caught the bug.

772
00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,360
Speaker 1: And my youngest is a junior in high school and

773
00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:19,800
Speaker 1: I'm pushing him towards officiating. I actually secretly I always

774
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:22,080
Speaker 1: wanted to ref the game. I've always I've always want,

775
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:23,680
Speaker 1: always wanted to do. I used when I was in

776
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,960
Speaker 1: high school to make money. I used to ref youth games.

777
00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,680
Speaker 1: And and the way the rules were where the clock

778
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:35,680
Speaker 1: ran unless it was a free throw. And so we

779
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,160
Speaker 1: tell these stories all the time, like the kid could

780
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:39,920
Speaker 1: be going up for a layup and the foul was

781
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,680
Speaker 1: on the ground. That's on the grounds, that's on the

782
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:49,279
Speaker 1: floor because the fast gets over fifteen a game. Um

783
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,880
Speaker 1: what what you know? Like sometimes you can be winning

784
00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,640
Speaker 1: and you can say, we gotta fix this thing or

785
00:35:56,880 --> 00:35:59,719
Speaker 1: it's gonna come back to bite us. You you beat

786
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,680
Speaker 1: you a be who's you know, considered the best team

787
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,440
Speaker 1: in the league. You know coming in is there anything

788
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:07,239
Speaker 1: that you have your eye on your club that you

789
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:09,839
Speaker 1: want to clean up as you get deep into conference play.

790
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,840
Speaker 1: I think it's just the complacency that naturally comes from

791
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 1: the attention that you don't normally receive and you start,

792
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:19,560
Speaker 1: it becomes a lot easier to make it about yourself.

793
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,480
Speaker 1: And I know that's one thing I tell myself when

794
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,279
Speaker 1: when things are going poorly or when when you know,

795
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:26,400
Speaker 1: because there's a lot of internal pressures, you know, you

796
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:28,640
Speaker 1: you want to make your president and Adie look smart

797
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,640
Speaker 1: for hire, and you you want to you know, all

798
00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:33,080
Speaker 1: the things that we have as competitive a lot of

799
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:35,880
Speaker 1: us Ralpha Mels as competitors. Uh, you just have to

800
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,560
Speaker 1: remind yourself that it's not about you. And it's the

801
00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:39,320
Speaker 1: same thing now where you get so much tension and

802
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,920
Speaker 1: you see your teammates getting these accolades and Dicky V

803
00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,040
Speaker 1: shouting them out. You just human nature as those other

804
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,439
Speaker 1: twelve guys probably want that to be said about them

805
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:49,279
Speaker 1: and their families to be proud of them, the same

806
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,759
Speaker 1: type of stuff. So it's constantly reminding ourselves what got

807
00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:55,400
Speaker 1: us to this point and we can't change and we

808
00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:57,359
Speaker 1: have to we have to continue to prove and get

809
00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:00,120
Speaker 1: hunger because now we're becoming a big game. We're we

810
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,839
Speaker 1: were always the hunter, and I think now we're transitioning

811
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 1: to being the hunted by a lot of teams. What's it?

812
00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:08,680
Speaker 1: What's it? What does it mean? Or what do you think? Man? Like? Look,

813
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:10,960
Speaker 1: I understand you said we beat Florida. You're just kind

814
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,640
Speaker 1: of onto the next and what about recruits and stuff.

815
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:16,879
Speaker 1: But let's say you wake up this week and there's

816
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,480
Speaker 1: a number by Florida Atlantic's name and that you're ranked

817
00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,920
Speaker 1: that's gotta mean something. Absolutely. And I remember when we

818
00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:26,239
Speaker 1: when we were ranked at low tech and and what

819
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,600
Speaker 1: the community, the fans, the support. If you see our

820
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:32,760
Speaker 1: crowds now compared to the crowds when we got here, Uh,

821
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,839
Speaker 1: you would be amazed. I mean it's it's tenfold. We

822
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,440
Speaker 1: have great home court environment now even without our students.

823
00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:40,359
Speaker 1: I can't wait to have a home game with our

824
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,600
Speaker 1: students on campus. Um. So yeah, I think that number

825
00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,520
Speaker 1: beside your name does so much for a university, for

826
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,279
Speaker 1: the national attention and all that, but it also puts

827
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:52,759
Speaker 1: a bigger target on your back. Uh, and you better

828
00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 1: be up to the challenge. Yeah. Now, the cruelness of

829
00:37:56,640 --> 00:38:01,319
Speaker 1: this thing is, um, you know, cusa trying to get

830
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,439
Speaker 1: trying to get two bids, you know, Like I don't

831
00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:05,840
Speaker 1: I don't know, I don't know what the net numbers

832
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:09,839
Speaker 1: look like once you get through the league. Um. But

833
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,000
Speaker 1: there's now that there's this recent study of they want

834
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,640
Speaker 1: to expand it to nineties. Right, expands the ninety you

835
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,759
Speaker 1: guys will get you guys get two bids. But you've

836
00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:21,319
Speaker 1: been on all sides of it, right, You've been in

837
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,319
Speaker 1: the high level, you've been the mid major in the

838
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,479
Speaker 1: low major level. What do you think about the idea

839
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:28,880
Speaker 1: of expanding it to ninety I do think there's so

840
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:32,399
Speaker 1: many teams now that a slide expansion would be good

841
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:36,600
Speaker 1: for the game. I I'm I'm torn between the cop

842
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,520
Speaker 1: we play a twenty game conference season, and to me,

843
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:42,120
Speaker 1: if you win twenty game conference slate, you should be

844
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:44,040
Speaker 1: in the n c Double A tournament versus s you

845
00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,279
Speaker 1: can hold it together for three and that's just that's

846
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,040
Speaker 1: that's always been me to the core, right, So so

847
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:52,840
Speaker 1: I guess the question though, is this, Like I agree

848
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,880
Speaker 1: with you, I mean, we we diminished the value of

849
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,920
Speaker 1: winning a league camps, especially when you play twenty games, right,

850
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,520
Speaker 1: if you play or you play, you should you know

851
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,080
Speaker 1: as many as you can play everybody twice in some

852
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:07,040
Speaker 1: of these leagues, that that's great. Um, But I kind

853
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,400
Speaker 1: of think it's two different arguments, right to see, should

854
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:14,319
Speaker 1: you expand No, but they should change, like shouldn't be Hey,

855
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:16,279
Speaker 1: if you win your league, you go to the n

856
00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:18,400
Speaker 1: c A tournament, and then you win your tournament, you

857
00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:19,880
Speaker 1: go to the n I t Maybe if you're not

858
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:21,839
Speaker 1: the n c A team like there's gotta be some

859
00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:25,080
Speaker 1: other way of doing it, because I also think that,

860
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:27,560
Speaker 1: and I got to check the numbers on it. Aren't

861
00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:29,600
Speaker 1: you more likely to win an n c A tournament

862
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:32,319
Speaker 1: game if you won your league, like it's better for

863
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:36,120
Speaker 1: the league to put their best team in the tournament? Absolutely? Absolutely.

864
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,680
Speaker 1: I mean just the NBA the seven game series versus

865
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:40,640
Speaker 1: a one game series. I mean it's it's two completely

866
00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:44,680
Speaker 1: different scenarios scenarios, so um yeah, I think the conference

867
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:47,239
Speaker 1: champions should be in the in the tournament. If they

868
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,840
Speaker 1: do expand A ninety, I would think that both should

869
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:51,239
Speaker 1: be in. I don't know how many leagues there are

870
00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:55,560
Speaker 1: now thirty leagues. I guess that would be potentially sixty teams,

871
00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:58,319
Speaker 1: probably in the mid forties, so that's probably half the

872
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,520
Speaker 1: field would be automatic qualifier? Is that a half of

873
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:02,680
Speaker 1: field would be at large? As if you're gonna do it,

874
00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:05,000
Speaker 1: to me, that would make more sense. So every game,

875
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:08,120
Speaker 1: all seasons important, and then the conference Terman's is equally

876
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,319
Speaker 1: as important. All right, last thing, because you're gonna get

877
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:14,160
Speaker 1: this question, as you said, you told me you study

878
00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:17,560
Speaker 1: all these guys. Have you decided how you're gonna handle

879
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:22,240
Speaker 1: all the questions about other jobs. Yes that I'm terribly

880
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,000
Speaker 1: happy here. I love building this program and I absolutely

881
00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:27,839
Speaker 1: love our guys, and if and if they'll turn down

882
00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,759
Speaker 1: the transfer port o, then it's it's hard not to

883
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 1: to share loyalty with those guys. Okay, that's that's that's

884
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:36,799
Speaker 1: that's good. That's that's excellent. Do you do you know

885
00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:39,000
Speaker 1: my history of Floor Atlantic? Do you have any you know?

886
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,600
Speaker 1: I didn't know you had any history here. I don't

887
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:44,320
Speaker 1: have a history there. We had an eighty one game

888
00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:47,799
Speaker 1: non conference home winning streak at Open State. I did

889
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:51,160
Speaker 1: do that, Okay, but boy, here's the here's here's a

890
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:54,160
Speaker 1: story to it. So Brooks Thompson God rest his soul.

891
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:58,040
Speaker 1: Uh Brooks was a manager that you heard his back

892
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:00,680
Speaker 1: playing with the Knicks. So he was the manager he

893
00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:03,440
Speaker 1: wanted to get into coaching. He gave one scattering report,

894
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:07,600
Speaker 1: one sky report. It was Floor Atlantic. So what coach

895
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:09,200
Speaker 1: Sutton used to do, and I don't know if coach

896
00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:11,560
Speaker 1: not ever did the coach Sutt needs to do was

897
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:15,719
Speaker 1: he would do. They weren't really gold, they were basically baselines.

898
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:18,640
Speaker 1: And when you play a Florida Atlantic, he'd ride up

899
00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:21,479
Speaker 1: like you know, eighty points and we score eight points

900
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,279
Speaker 1: a game. They scored fifty points. And you know, they

901
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:25,479
Speaker 1: scored less than fifty points a game. Like, we're gonna

902
00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:28,359
Speaker 1: shoot above fifty, above thirty from three, they're gonna shoot

903
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,239
Speaker 1: below forty blah blah blah blah blah. And it was

904
00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:32,840
Speaker 1: basically like you walk in and you look at the board,

905
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:36,040
Speaker 1: and if you did that, you're good. If you didn't,

906
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,799
Speaker 1: you have practice seven am the next morning. It was

907
00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:42,840
Speaker 1: it was very easy. Teacher so Brooks the night the

908
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:45,359
Speaker 1: day before we had the Star report, and he did

909
00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:49,160
Speaker 1: that like on his own, and it was so exaggerated

910
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:51,719
Speaker 1: like it was. And then he said, this is the

911
00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:55,080
Speaker 1: shittiest team that's ever gonna step on the white white maple.

912
00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,000
Speaker 1: You know, he's like, and you guys think you're any good,

913
00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:00,239
Speaker 1: you're gonna run him out of the gym or gonna

914
00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:02,359
Speaker 1: have practice seven am or whatever. And here's the here's

915
00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,720
Speaker 1: the goals. Like he did it on his own and

916
00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:08,160
Speaker 1: he didn't mean anything by it. Right. So they're running

917
00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:11,040
Speaker 1: and you mentioned flex, so they're running flex, but they

918
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,759
Speaker 1: would just run flex as the lay game, and they're

919
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,920
Speaker 1: playing small. We only had four guards eligible, and we

920
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:19,160
Speaker 1: had Glenn and Alexander the all time land score of

921
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,960
Speaker 1: State of Texas history. We had him sitting out he

922
00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:24,319
Speaker 1: was eligible like the two games later or something like that.

923
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,960
Speaker 1: So they're running flex and then and the shot clock

924
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:30,040
Speaker 1: they go one four flat for whoever are bigs regarding.

925
00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:32,080
Speaker 1: So if you look at if you look at the

926
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:33,840
Speaker 1: you look at the point tolls, I think they have

927
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,120
Speaker 1: one guy with one guy with twenty and like four

928
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:39,640
Speaker 1: was the next highest points. One of the guys on

929
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:43,000
Speaker 1: that plays pick up ball with us a lot, so

930
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:47,040
Speaker 1: so so he can he can attest to this story.

931
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,399
Speaker 1: So it's a it's a one point game. At half time,

932
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,440
Speaker 1: we go in and you know, and I don't know

933
00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:54,399
Speaker 1: what your guy's locker rooms are, but our locker rooms

934
00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:59,440
Speaker 1: like we're arguing with you. Come and coach comes in

935
00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:01,560
Speaker 1: and he's like, you guys go to guards like coach

936
00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:06,040
Speaker 1: man Alice Webber can guard there. He can't guard there,

937
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:08,160
Speaker 1: Like you gotta see he got a six eleven dude,

938
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:11,000
Speaker 1: guarden a six five guard Like, let's just go zone, coach,

939
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,440
Speaker 1: let's just goes, let's just go zone. Yeah, but we're

940
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:18,359
Speaker 1: a college man. She guards man, you know, come cit

941
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,160
Speaker 1: the says like that sounds great coach, but like, we

942
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:25,839
Speaker 1: all see what they're doing. So we started the second

943
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:30,840
Speaker 1: half and we're playing better. Uh, and they surprise trapped

944
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:33,120
Speaker 1: me on an inbound and I try and step through

945
00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:34,560
Speaker 1: and they take the ball from me and they go

946
00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:36,480
Speaker 1: down and lay it that lay it in. So it

947
00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:39,439
Speaker 1: goes from like we're up three to up one. And

948
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:42,320
Speaker 1: I turned to the ref and this is where the

949
00:43:42,360 --> 00:43:45,640
Speaker 1: inner Bob Knight, actually inner Bob Gottlieb comes out and

950
00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:47,520
Speaker 1: I gotta scratch on my face and I go, that's

951
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:52,200
Speaker 1: a fucking foul. I got a t and uh they

952
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,319
Speaker 1: make both three throws. They make a three, and I'm

953
00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:56,520
Speaker 1: out of the game. And so now instead of only

954
00:43:56,719 --> 00:43:59,840
Speaker 1: four guards eligible on the court, we got three. So

955
00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:02,160
Speaker 1: it goes to hell in a headbast We're down like

956
00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:04,839
Speaker 1: seven or nine. We come fighting all the way back

957
00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:08,360
Speaker 1: and we tie the game and there's like a minute

958
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,480
Speaker 1: fifteen to go, and this is forty five second shot

959
00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:14,120
Speaker 1: clock erin and with like five seconds on the clock,

960
00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:17,760
Speaker 1: they throw the ball inside and Alex Weber are center,

961
00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:19,960
Speaker 1: like he kicks it out about so they reset the

962
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,280
Speaker 1: damn clock. We're like, oh my god, we gotta guard again.

963
00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:26,239
Speaker 1: So so we get him. They missed a shot, wasn't

964
00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:29,520
Speaker 1: a good shot. And Joe Atkins are to guard who

965
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,400
Speaker 1: became an All American his senior year. He gets a remount.

966
00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:34,560
Speaker 1: I'm ahead of him. Adrian Peterson is ahead of me.

967
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:38,080
Speaker 1: Is our best player. We're ranked six in the country.

968
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:41,560
Speaker 1: We had we had one in Hawaii. We had just

969
00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:46,200
Speaker 1: beat TCU with um that was a top team. We're

970
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:47,800
Speaker 1: going out to play U c l A out Saturday.

971
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:51,160
Speaker 1: Joe Atkins gets the ball and instead of advanced passing

972
00:44:51,239 --> 00:44:53,839
Speaker 1: to me and he's a very good pass, he brings

973
00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:55,759
Speaker 1: it up himself. And there's like five seconds to go

974
00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:58,840
Speaker 1: in the game, and one of their guys and maybe

975
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:01,360
Speaker 1: this is the guy who's playing pick a ball, trips

976
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:07,279
Speaker 1: at like the the free throw line, their free to line.

977
00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:10,000
Speaker 1: He trips, falls down, and Joe's drilling up the court.

978
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,080
Speaker 1: It dribbles off his foot, and another one of their

979
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,120
Speaker 1: guys is under the basket. They got like one guy back.

980
00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:20,360
Speaker 1: I'm at like mid court. Peterson's down the court and

981
00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:22,759
Speaker 1: he right when he's about to go past the ball,

982
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:25,600
Speaker 1: it hits off the kids foot rolls underneath the basket

983
00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:27,880
Speaker 1: and one of their guys is laying there stands up,

984
00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,680
Speaker 1: catches it, lays it in, they win the game. There's

985
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:33,520
Speaker 1: and they're doing there's a YouTube video that correct yes,

986
00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:35,840
Speaker 1: and there's and then one of their kids does a

987
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:40,000
Speaker 1: cart wheel across the court, like literally literally doing a

988
00:45:40,040 --> 00:45:43,760
Speaker 1: cart wheel across the court. So for forever, the things

989
00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:46,360
Speaker 1: that that my group is known for. And it's interesting

990
00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:48,279
Speaker 1: you talk about your group of four that's stuck together.

991
00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,960
Speaker 1: We had a group of six, but really four or

992
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,560
Speaker 1: five that stuck together up my three years Okama State,

993
00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:57,520
Speaker 1: we're known for. I had my short time backwards in Kansas.

994
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,799
Speaker 1: Uh we lost you in our last home game after

995
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,720
Speaker 1: beating everybody by thirty or forty. And hey how about

996
00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:07,359
Speaker 1: Florida Atlantic And I had eighteen assists in the game.

997
00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:10,440
Speaker 1: Eightighteen assists. Wow, I'm gonna pull that up. But the

998
00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:13,360
Speaker 1: YouTube highlights to day. But I've seen the final play,

999
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,480
Speaker 1: you know, through the years. But I didn't put two

1000
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:18,719
Speaker 1: and two together. And then here's here's an interesting thing

1001
00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:21,840
Speaker 1: about the difference in coaching generations. If I was to

1002
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:25,759
Speaker 1: give you sideline oh B two seconds to go in

1003
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:30,160
Speaker 1: the game, would you have a play? Yes? Have you

1004
00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:34,239
Speaker 1: practiced to play with your team? Yes? Okay, we had

1005
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:37,439
Speaker 1: never practiced. Yeah. Look, and I'll be honestly that coach

1006
00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:40,120
Speaker 1: Don is a great coach, okay, but we didn't like

1007
00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:43,359
Speaker 1: situational ship like we didn't. It was different. He never

1008
00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:44,960
Speaker 1: drew on the book. He never and I'm sure you

1009
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:46,440
Speaker 1: know that's a coach knight, Like they didn't draw on

1010
00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:49,560
Speaker 1: the wayboard. Now Shawn Sutton did the plays and whatever,

1011
00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:53,160
Speaker 1: you know, But it's really interesting on how like it

1012
00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:57,239
Speaker 1: was a decent play and uh it we got a

1013
00:46:57,280 --> 00:46:59,200
Speaker 1: corner three, but it wasn't a good look or whatever.

1014
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:02,440
Speaker 1: But the point is that how much coaching has changed

1015
00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:07,600
Speaker 1: in terms of how the situational coaching is way is

1016
00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:10,400
Speaker 1: coached at a much higher level than it ever was.

1017
00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:12,520
Speaker 1: Everybody's got a t O s, everybody's got a plan,

1018
00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:16,760
Speaker 1: time out, time, score, situation. And I think it's fascinating

1019
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:18,920
Speaker 1: on how that part of the profession has changed. And

1020
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:21,960
Speaker 1: I'm not sure people outside of the basketball world know it. No.

1021
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:24,319
Speaker 1: I mean, even even that play, you have to teach

1022
00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:28,040
Speaker 1: how to execute it versus switching versus not switching. They

1023
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:30,600
Speaker 1: go zone. Even some of your plays have to be

1024
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:32,520
Speaker 1: able to work against man or don't at least get

1025
00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,320
Speaker 1: a good look. So absolutely. I mean, it's it's daunting

1026
00:47:35,360 --> 00:47:38,080
Speaker 1: how many situations you have to be prepared for. When

1027
00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:39,520
Speaker 1: you call it time out, do you put in a

1028
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:41,560
Speaker 1: man play in the zone play or or do you

1029
00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:44,600
Speaker 1: unless we don't know what they're running. I mean, if

1030
00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:46,520
Speaker 1: it's a team that changes every possess like you AB

1031
00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:49,279
Speaker 1: changes defensive every possession, So a lot of times, hey

1032
00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:51,480
Speaker 1: we can run this one against man or zone or

1033
00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:54,080
Speaker 1: hey if if if we get a stop, or if

1034
00:47:54,120 --> 00:47:56,560
Speaker 1: if if they get if their defense is set, we're

1035
00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:58,080
Speaker 1: gonna run this because they're gonna be in this. But

1036
00:47:58,120 --> 00:47:59,920
Speaker 1: if it's in transition and we're gonna flow into this

1037
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,560
Speaker 1: some of there which is too much thinking. But against

1038
00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:05,200
Speaker 1: those teams that changed the defenses so often, you just

1039
00:48:05,239 --> 00:48:06,680
Speaker 1: want to give your guys a plan. It's a lot

1040
00:48:06,719 --> 00:48:10,560
Speaker 1: harder when when teams switch. Uh, I said, last thing,

1041
00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:12,239
Speaker 1: this is the last thing. If I were to tell

1042
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:18,000
Speaker 1: you twenty years ago that this would be where you

1043
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:21,000
Speaker 1: are and all of the ups and downs and the

1044
00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:24,759
Speaker 1: coaching stuff and the moves. Is a life like this?

1045
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:27,000
Speaker 1: Is it worth it? Because it's it is not easy

1046
00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:31,040
Speaker 1: moving your kids around, dealing with different personalities. Recruiting is

1047
00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:33,359
Speaker 1: it a profession? That is worth it for you, because

1048
00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:35,440
Speaker 1: as you said, you can make money doing anything. You

1049
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:37,080
Speaker 1: do this because you love it. Is it worth it?

1050
00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:39,560
Speaker 1: I think so. I absolutely love it every single day,

1051
00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:42,080
Speaker 1: especially when you work with with a great staff that

1052
00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:45,480
Speaker 1: has no egos and everyone's working together at all times.

1053
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:47,440
Speaker 1: And then you coach good dudes. I mean, that's that's

1054
00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:50,120
Speaker 1: the thing too. For whatever reason, good guys have been

1055
00:48:50,120 --> 00:48:52,480
Speaker 1: attracted to us, and we've been attracted to good guys.

1056
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:55,160
Speaker 1: So that helps a lot day to day. That when

1057
00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:57,200
Speaker 1: when you have like minded people and I think this

1058
00:48:57,239 --> 00:48:59,840
Speaker 1: is I guess you're five that we're all pretty like minded.

1059
00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:02,640
Speaker 1: For whatever reason, we've all kind of gravitated towards each other.

1060
00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:05,960
Speaker 1: So without a doubt, And if you would have said

1061
00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:07,520
Speaker 1: twenty five years ago I was doing this, I wouldn't

1062
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:09,279
Speaker 1: have believed you. Twenty years ago, I probably would have

1063
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:13,120
Speaker 1: said that's a that's a possibility, but I wouldn't change anything. Obviously,

1064
00:49:13,160 --> 00:49:15,600
Speaker 1: it's been hard on my family, but they they've loved it.

1065
00:49:15,600 --> 00:49:17,640
Speaker 1: They're a part of it. And having boys who love

1066
00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:20,919
Speaker 1: the game two helps because they're they're your practices there.

1067
00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:23,359
Speaker 1: I've never lived more than three miles from from the gym,

1068
00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:26,000
Speaker 1: so it's always been both one and the same, the

1069
00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:29,640
Speaker 1: family and the and the coaching well continued success and

1070
00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:32,560
Speaker 1: helped your team. I appreciate spend all this time. Right,

1071
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:34,720
Speaker 1: this is instead instead of this, instead of your Sunday

1072
00:49:34,719 --> 00:49:39,320
Speaker 1: morning one, I either play great, they beat you a

1073
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:41,759
Speaker 1: B last night and they beat Charlotte on Thursday. So

1074
00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:47,319
Speaker 1: now the Sunday anxiety kicks in. All right, Well, enjoy

1075
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:49,919
Speaker 1: the enjoy the prep in the grind. Thanks for joining me. Thanks,

1076
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:55,040
Speaker 1: I appreciate you. All right that that that that's a

1077
00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:58,280
Speaker 1: wrap on on part two. That was good, interesting, fascinating stuff.

1078
00:49:58,280 --> 00:50:01,080
Speaker 1: And what I love about it is out You know,

1079
00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:04,160
Speaker 1: I already had known. I called one of Dusty's games

1080
00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:06,640
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago, got to know the program,

1081
00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:09,840
Speaker 1: played with Dusty when we are covering Florida when I

1082
00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:14,279
Speaker 1: was at CBS. So there's always but now you know

1083
00:50:14,719 --> 00:50:17,200
Speaker 1: more about the man, more about his team, more about

1084
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:20,200
Speaker 1: his program, and as they become part of the national

1085
00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:25,120
Speaker 1: basketball consciousness. All ball already gave you the background. If

1086
00:50:25,160 --> 00:50:27,520
Speaker 1: you thought that was good, I'm gonna tease the head

1087
00:50:27,560 --> 00:50:32,240
Speaker 1: our next pots with Shaka Smart. And I'm only gonna

1088
00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:35,799
Speaker 1: say this because I've been doing interviews for a good

1089
00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:40,000
Speaker 1: amount of twenty one years now in the business. We've

1090
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:43,439
Speaker 1: been doing this pod for over four years um. There

1091
00:50:43,480 --> 00:50:46,439
Speaker 1: have been a lot of really good ones. This one

1092
00:50:46,840 --> 00:50:51,960
Speaker 1: I believe is the best in this context. He just

1093
00:50:52,239 --> 00:50:56,560
Speaker 1: was incredibly open about his life and his career and

1094
00:50:57,640 --> 00:51:02,880
Speaker 1: everything he's been through, from being raised as a mom

1095
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:07,080
Speaker 1: with three siblings, single mother in Wisconsin, to why he

1096
00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:11,360
Speaker 1: chose Kenyan College, to why he got into coaching, to

1097
00:51:11,719 --> 00:51:14,600
Speaker 1: all the different coaching moves, to how he met his wife.

1098
00:51:15,239 --> 00:51:18,640
Speaker 1: It's all in there, okay. So if you like these ones,

1099
00:51:19,320 --> 00:51:24,440
Speaker 1: there's zero point zero percent chance you don't love. You

1100
00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:28,400
Speaker 1: don't love the Shaka Smart Pod. And I don't know.

1101
00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:30,719
Speaker 1: I think we'll drop it tomorrow or the next day

1102
00:51:30,800 --> 00:51:34,319
Speaker 1: or whatever. So gobble this one up. It's a little

1103
00:51:34,360 --> 00:51:36,319
Speaker 1: bit of an appartify not that Dusty is not great,

1104
00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:40,880
Speaker 1: but Shock is amazing, amazing, and there's more still to

1105
00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:42,840
Speaker 1: come from that. But my thanks to Dusty May. He

1106
00:51:42,960 --> 00:51:45,319
Speaker 1: was incredible. Like you know, day after a game, last

1107
00:51:45,360 --> 00:51:46,839
Speaker 1: thing you want to do is talk to me, And

1108
00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:50,200
Speaker 1: he was great. His careers wanted to follow. I've and

1109
00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:52,600
Speaker 1: and when you research these guys, you call some of

1110
00:51:52,640 --> 00:51:57,200
Speaker 1: your coaching friends and what's interesting about Dusty, same about Shaka.

1111
00:51:57,520 --> 00:51:59,919
Speaker 1: I am yet to find somebody who doesn't say great dude.

1112
00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:03,160
Speaker 1: Oh you got him on great dude. So thank you

1113
00:52:03,239 --> 00:52:05,600
Speaker 1: Dusty for doing that for us. You're now forlorid Atlantic

1114
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:08,600
Speaker 1: fan for Atlantics now in the family, despite the fact

1115
00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:10,680
Speaker 1: they beat my ass when I was at oaklad mistake.

1116
00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:13,360
Speaker 1: Dor Smart is coming up next one. Remember. Listen to

1117
00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:16,640
Speaker 1: The Doug Gottlib Show daily three to five Eastern time,

1118
00:52:17,239 --> 00:52:19,560
Speaker 1: twelve to two Pacific. You can also download the in

1119
00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,960
Speaker 1: the bonus podcast that's a little bit more raw, uncensored,

1120
00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:25,640
Speaker 1: uh fun kind of look at sports and we got

1121
00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:28,080
Speaker 1: this one. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Doug Gotlic

1122
00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:28,759
Speaker 1: This is all ball