Speaker 1: Hey, welcome man, I'm done Godly, this is all ball,
Speaker 1: all basketball, all the time. Now we're gonna talk to
Speaker 1: them recovering with the July evaluation period, be honest, So
Speaker 1: of course we're gonna reach out to Vegas where everything
Speaker 1: goes down in terms of the last weekend in July EVL.
Speaker 1: The date of this recording is Thursday July. On Wednesday July,
Speaker 1: there was an out. There's a huge like the AU
Speaker 1: Game of the Year, if you will. It was the
Speaker 1: Compton Magic versus Team Takeover, Team Takeover. Of course, you
Speaker 1: can follow them on Twitter at T T O Basketball.
Speaker 1: We'll get some insight into their roster as well into
Speaker 1: the Compton Magic. They're at Compton Underscore Magic Big Game
Speaker 1: at Bishop Gorman. Compton Magic win by two points. Full house,
Speaker 1: packed house for the Las Vegas Fab forty eight, which
Speaker 1: of course my guy Dinos dragonis puts on every year.
Speaker 1: And it's gonna be interesting to see what happens with
Speaker 1: Juli recruiting. There's a lot of July recruiting guys that
Speaker 1: are gloom and doom thinking the n c A is
Speaker 1: gonna just like Lemmings, follow the recommendation of Colin Condoleeza
Speaker 1: Rice and the rest of her committee members. Um, I'm
Speaker 1: not so sure. And as I've stated on previous podcasts,
Speaker 1: they've been all sorts of different incarnations of what the
Speaker 1: summer looks like, and almost without fail, the shoe companies survive.
Speaker 1: The players who have um, who have been evaluated in
Speaker 1: different venues for years, will still be evaluated, and most
Speaker 1: of the same people, at least the good ones, the
Speaker 1: ones that have earned the respect of the AU and
Speaker 1: the basketball community, will still stay around the sport. How
Speaker 1: it actually places how I don't know yet. But before
Speaker 1: you say gloom and doom and make fun of the
Speaker 1: fact that Condoleeza Rice has never stepped inside in AU Gymnasium,
Speaker 1: let alone a big time AU game, I'm with you.
Speaker 1: But let's not go gloom and doom until the actual
Speaker 1: rule comes out and then to see how it actually plays.
Speaker 1: Because the the genius to some of these a you guys,
Speaker 1: some of these people that put put on events is
Speaker 1: they find a way to succeed even when the rules
Speaker 1: are against them, like they're not. They'll they'll find a way.
Speaker 1: There will be games, they will have the best players,
Speaker 1: and the question becomes can they make it more centralized,
Speaker 1: can there can be continued coaching? You know, it's it's
Speaker 1: interesting as we come off of the World Cup and
Speaker 1: how many great basketball players we produce as a country
Speaker 1: and how a few great soccer players we produce as
Speaker 1: a company. Yes, the AU system can run a muck,
Speaker 1: and look, do I think that all guys belong in college?
Speaker 1: Probably not. But the fact is that, however screwed up
Speaker 1: our system of raising young stars in basketball is it
Speaker 1: does seem to work now. It's helped by the fact
Speaker 1: that and I've stated this on a radio show which
Speaker 1: you can hear daily three to sixces from time called
Speaker 1: three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. The I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: appen on our serious XM channel three. UM. Part of
Speaker 1: it is helped out by the best athletes still play
Speaker 1: football and basque football and basketball in high schools and
Speaker 1: in growing up. It's still cooler than playing soccer. So
Speaker 1: I'm not blind to the fact that you have a
Speaker 1: better caliber of athlete. You start with that as the premise.
Speaker 1: And you know a lot of kids now have dads
Speaker 1: or moms or dads and moms that both played. So
Speaker 1: there's a tremendous amount of sports. Basketball like you within
Speaker 1: the household. You know you're you're not playing with the
Speaker 1: same hand of cards that everybody else is playing with.
Speaker 1: Understand that, But the amount of creativity, the amount of games,
Speaker 1: the the level of competition, the diversity of competition is
Speaker 1: so great that we can tinue to pump out far
Speaker 1: and away the greatest percentage of the best basketball players
Speaker 1: on earth. And this is not to diminish the Argentina's
Speaker 1: who have made a not who have made a name
Speaker 1: for themselves in the NBA. Dirk Davitsky as a German um,
Speaker 1: so many of the Yugoslavians, the Serbians, you you know,
Speaker 1: you name it. There have been players from all of
Speaker 1: the Brazilians have made the Spaniards, of course, But the
Speaker 1: truth is that the reason are younger teams are dominating
Speaker 1: is one the leadership of USA Basketball and two we
Speaker 1: do have the best and most diverse group of athletes
Speaker 1: out there. And three, frankly, this screwy system to which
Speaker 1: players bounce some team to team shoot companies always kind
Speaker 1: of seemed to have um something in the game. And
Speaker 1: all these vivid personalities who may or may not be
Speaker 1: funneling money for um somewhere reputable or somewhere of ill
Speaker 1: repute to some of these players, to some of their families,
Speaker 1: to take care of these kids before they get to college,
Speaker 1: before they become professional. However screwy it is. It does
Speaker 1: have a tendency to work. It does. All right, Let's
Speaker 1: talk about the news of the day with the NBA.
Speaker 1: Two things, One Kauai not playing for the USA Basketball
Speaker 1: and two Kevin Durant getting into it with c J
Speaker 1: McCullum on Twitter after sitting down with CJ McCullum and
Speaker 1: appearing on his podcast. And it's interesting because you can
Speaker 1: have if you listen to the podcast. I think it
Speaker 1: speaks really well to Kevin Durant. There's a lack of
Speaker 1: there's nothing for him to be defensive about, but he
Speaker 1: definitely wasn't. He wasn't defensive in it. Now what c
Speaker 1: G I think did which I don't like that people
Speaker 1: in the media have a tendency to do. And I
Speaker 1: think he understands that now when you host a podcast,
Speaker 1: it becomes far different than when you're just on Twitter
Speaker 1: or when you appear as somebody else's guest on the podcast.
Speaker 1: He never mentioned that the words soft. He never mentioned
Speaker 1: the words soft in regards to Kevin Rand. Kevin Rand
Speaker 1: appears in the podcast he didn't turn to him, at
Speaker 1: least apart. I heard. He never said, hey, that decision
Speaker 1: you made to join the Golden State Warriors was soft.
Speaker 1: And then in subsequently on Twitter, he did use the
Speaker 1: soft word, and he also contradicted himself saying, you know,
Speaker 1: he he didn't have a problem with it, but it
Speaker 1: was soft. It was a soft decision. And so look,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of and there's an analogy missed in
Speaker 1: terms of using it when you're not a gang guy.
Speaker 1: I don't know why you use a gang analogy. I
Speaker 1: understand the hey, you got beat up by guys and
Speaker 1: so instead of you know, showing some grittiness and toughness
Speaker 1: and learning how to fight and fighting your way out
Speaker 1: of it. I got the reference. Kevin Durant, I thought
Speaker 1: took the reference a different way. He took the the
Speaker 1: parallel a different way. But I look at this and
Speaker 1: I I'm just kind of blown away by a couple
Speaker 1: of things. One, I think Stage McCullum, who has great
Speaker 1: intentions at heart, has now learned a really hard kind
Speaker 1: of conundrum that many people in this business face, which is,
Speaker 1: if you rip a guy when he's not on your show,
Speaker 1: are you willing to be at least mildly combative when
Speaker 1: he is. And I'm not going to point out other
Speaker 1: radio hosts who came, but a lot of them do.
Speaker 1: They completely lay down. They'll kill a guy, and then
Speaker 1: that same guy will come on and be on their show,
Speaker 1: and one while they're on, and then too. I think
Speaker 1: the worst part is after they've been on, because now
Speaker 1: they feel like they're a friend, they won't ever say
Speaker 1: anything bad about them even when they deserve. Like, my
Speaker 1: whole thing is, you'll hear people appear on this. You'll
Speaker 1: peer people peer on my radio show when I film
Speaker 1: for other rape people with radio show, and you can
Speaker 1: say I'm coming at them. But I just think it's
Speaker 1: unfair to say, like, hey, this this guy's decision was soft.
Speaker 1: Then you have that guy on and you have Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant on and not state your opinion as it being
Speaker 1: soft and why you think it's soft, and allowing him
Speaker 1: during that time to dispute that, now what c J did.
Speaker 1: That that's he's not the only one, and it's really
Speaker 1: really hard, especially when he's just learning in this business.
Speaker 1: He's just starting out The podcast is called the pull
Speaker 1: Up Podcast, right, pull up, jump shot? Get it pull up.
Speaker 1: But like, look, if you're going to go on to
Speaker 1: Twitter and called Kevin Durant's decision to join the Golden
Speaker 1: State Warrior soft, you got to say the same thing
Speaker 1: to Kevin Durant when it is in person. The amazing
Speaker 1: part about Katie joining the Golden State Warriors that no
Speaker 1: one outside of me has mentioned on national radio is
Speaker 1: that it wasn't just that k D needed the Warriors
Speaker 1: to win a championship. The Warriors needed Kevin Durant. We
Speaker 1: all point to seventy three wins, right, that's the big thing. Well,
Speaker 1: he was on a seventy three win team. That seventy
Speaker 1: three win team did not win a championship, And that's
Speaker 1: seventy three win team probably should have lost to the
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City Thunder. That team was not as good as
Speaker 1: their record would tell you. It just wasn't case in point.
Speaker 1: They also were first team to ever lose the three
Speaker 1: games one lead in the NBA Finals. It's just like
Speaker 1: on that same podcast, the Portland Trailblazers were forty and
Speaker 1: thirty three. They were the number three seed, the number
Speaker 1: three seed in the NBA playoffs, and Katie said, y'all
Speaker 1: played like an eighth seed. That's because their record was
Speaker 1: not indicative of just how good they were. Damian Lillard
Speaker 1: played above his level of second half of the year.
Speaker 1: He had an incredible year, and half the teams in
Speaker 1: the West were tanking. You comb find that with so
Speaker 1: many of the injuries, you know, Andre Robertson getting hurt.
Speaker 1: The trade the Jazz went through kind of mid season.
Speaker 1: You know, we we have a tendency to you know,
Speaker 1: the trade the Clippers went through and they trade away
Speaker 1: Blake Griffith, the Lakers. When did you play the Lakers?
Speaker 1: Did you play the Lakers and the older players when
Speaker 1: they had Isaiah Thomas or when they went young late
Speaker 1: in the season. They were trying to win games, you know,
Speaker 1: so like, look, I your regular season record, and I
Speaker 1: understand seventy three wins had never been done before. You
Speaker 1: season record, though, has never been indicative of whether or
Speaker 1: not you're a championship team. Case in Point Eastern Conference,
Speaker 1: who had the best record fifty nine wins the Toronto Raptors.
Speaker 1: They weren't the favorites to get to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1: Neither were the Boston Celtics with fifty five wins or
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia seventy sixers with fifty two wins. So the
Speaker 1: first thing that we have to start with and talking
Speaker 1: about Kevin Durant is the Warriors needed him. They were
Speaker 1: not a perfect team. They did win seventy three games,
Speaker 1: that's because they were a sixty sixty five win team
Speaker 1: that that went for it. They went for the jugular.
Speaker 1: They went for every last win when other teams have
Speaker 1: decided to shut it down. You sub about Harrison Barnes
Speaker 1: and most of their bench, you lost Andrew Bogan as well,
Speaker 1: and you end up adding Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant needed
Speaker 1: the Warriors, needed the space to show just how good
Speaker 1: a player he was. But the Warriors needed Kevin Durad equally.
Speaker 1: Otherwise I'm not sure they win another championship. You can
Speaker 1: dispute that all you want, but you I would think
Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes would get better because you're so early in
Speaker 1: his career. But if you resigned Harrison Barnes, are you
Speaker 1: absolutely gonna win the last two championships? So two years ago,
Speaker 1: you're absolutely gonna win a championship. Like, I don't know
Speaker 1: that The answer is yes against Kyrie Irvan, Kevin Love,
Speaker 1: Lebron James, and that Calve team that they had lost
Speaker 1: to the previous year. I would have liked to seen
Speaker 1: it now. Was Kevin Durant's decisions soft? You know? Yeah,
Speaker 1: everybody likes to claim this is like how everyone likes
Speaker 1: to claim that they grew up super poor. No one's
Speaker 1: ever grown up and said like, no, I really grew
Speaker 1: up comfortable. You you talk about how you grew up
Speaker 1: to somebody else, and it seems that every person on
Speaker 1: earth grew up barefoot, butt naked walking to school and
Speaker 1: a foot of snow walking home from school. It was
Speaker 1: uphill both ways, right, No one ever grew up with money.
Speaker 1: That's like the same thing with the NBA. It's always
Speaker 1: got to be the toughest road. If you have a
Speaker 1: problem with what Kevin Durant did, that's fine, But you
Speaker 1: also should have a problem with what Lebron James did
Speaker 1: when he left and he went to Miami. That was
Speaker 1: Duane Wade and they added Chris Bosh and oh yeah,
Speaker 1: by the way, then later on they added Ray Allen
Speaker 1: Like he joined a stacked team. Why wouldn't you join
Speaker 1: a stack team? And it will be fascinating to see
Speaker 1: how we react to Lebron this year with a team
Speaker 1: that's the opposite of stacked, a team that has a
Speaker 1: bunch of young pieces and kind of the isle of
Speaker 1: misfit toys on the bench. So I don't think it
Speaker 1: was about being soft or being tough. I think it's
Speaker 1: fake toughness to sit there and bash your head in.
Speaker 1: I honestly think he was ready for something new. I've
Speaker 1: said this all along. And he was also ready for space.
Speaker 1: Space so that you couldn't double team him, so he
Speaker 1: could show that he was the best one on one
Speaker 1: scorer in the league, that he had an unstoppable weapon
Speaker 1: and that's his pull up jump shot. And you know
Speaker 1: what the last two NBA Finally he's proven to be
Speaker 1: ready all right. Last night in Las Vegas was uh
Speaker 1: the AU game. Really of the year. Is the champions
Speaker 1: of the Adida's Gauntlet Series and the champions of the
Speaker 1: E Y B Yell. It's a Nike series met up
Speaker 1: and Evan Daniels he has his own podcast. It's really good.
Speaker 1: You can download it, will tweet it out. Uh, Fox
Speaker 1: Sports does it. Of course, Evan Dance called the Sidelines
Speaker 1: Evan Danns joined us on the Doug Gottlieb Show. Um, Look,
Speaker 1: every year there is one of these titanic matchups. They
Speaker 1: used to be back in my day. They used to
Speaker 1: be for the championship of a tournament. That's not the
Speaker 1: way it works. What was the level of intensity for
Speaker 1: this game as opposed to ones that actually decided tournament championships? Honestly, Doug,
Speaker 1: I thought it was one of the better played a
Speaker 1: you were, high school games that I've seen and really
Speaker 1: a long time. It was it was that Bishop Gore
Speaker 1: meaning it was pretty much nearly sold out, UM, and
Speaker 1: so there was a good crowd. But that they're the
Speaker 1: intensity between the two was it was pretty high level.
Speaker 1: And we're talking about two UM programs that won a
Speaker 1: time this year you know at the contin Magic won
Speaker 1: both Fadda's July tournaments, UH team Takeover undefeated in the
Speaker 1: E y b L and then won the Nike Pete
Speaker 1: shamp So it's uh, it was it was a pretty
Speaker 1: competitive affair. You know. I think I thought, here's the
Speaker 1: thing that I thought best last year was Zion Williamson
Speaker 1: against against Lonzo Ball, Right, that was the that was
Speaker 1: the big matchup but but part of it was the
Speaker 1: circus of the balls, whereas this was just about ball
Speaker 1: meaning basketball, right, this was just about two really good
Speaker 1: au teams made up of players are gonna be played
Speaker 1: college basketball. Some guys are risers, some guys have always
Speaker 1: been rated highly. More so than being about the circus,
Speaker 1: this one was more about basketball. Is that is that fair? No,
Speaker 1: no question? And if you looked in the stands, that
Speaker 1: was pretty evident by the college coaches that were there.
Speaker 1: And you know, I talked to a lot of people
Speaker 1: that that were really impressed with the way that game
Speaker 1: went and the coaching in that game and the players.
Speaker 1: I mean, this was there. There was dudes on each team.
Speaker 1: I mean, I have a team takeover and comb the magic.
Speaker 1: All those guys are gonna play at the least the
Speaker 1: major basketball And um that the coaching was really good.
Speaker 1: It was. It was a high level game. And I
Speaker 1: walked away really impressed with the Comple Magic big man,
Speaker 1: the Comble magicans and up winning by a couple in overtime.
Speaker 1: But they're post players. Really, we're the difference, I think.
Speaker 1: And then you know Jered Lucas, he just committed to
Speaker 1: play for my brother and and their staff at at
Speaker 1: Oregon State. Johnny Jusang is a really really good shooter. UM,
Speaker 1: So who who helped themselves the most? You mentioned on
Speaker 1: CONGU course, who has been a been a riser? The Mobili?
Speaker 1: Of course, that's why SC hired their dad, like they've
Speaker 1: been well regarded. Is there any who else on that
Speaker 1: team benefited the most from this game and from their performance?
Speaker 1: UM is that. That's tough because most of those guys
Speaker 1: were already pretty highly touted. I walked away impressed with
Speaker 1: Johnny Jusang. I think over the last year he shirt
Speaker 1: up his shot selection and he's become a more efficient player.
Speaker 1: I noticed the start of that at the U seventeen
Speaker 1: trials in mid June, and I thought in this game, Um,
Speaker 1: he took good shots. He made a number of three pointers,
Speaker 1: he hit a couple of mid range pull ups. I
Speaker 1: thought he was one of the difference makers and and
Speaker 1: just his scoring and and shooting ability. U the other side,
Speaker 1: I mean to Taker had some guys that played really well,
Speaker 1: justin Morrik committed pabil Nova was really good as well.
Speaker 1: Jeremy Roach. I think what's the most impressive player for Takeover.
Speaker 1: He's a two point guard, actually the number one point
Speaker 1: guard in that class. Um, so both sides had some
Speaker 1: guys that certainly helped her stock. Yeah, you mentioned, um,
Speaker 1: you mentioned Justin Moore who's set to go to Villanova.
Speaker 1: That's where he's committed to. Villanova. Is interesting and you
Speaker 1: cover the Big East and part of the Biggiest show
Speaker 1: on Fox Sports one. As they've done unbelievable job winning
Speaker 1: two or three national championships and we've seen Josh Hart
Speaker 1: winning the Summer League MVP. How well regarded they are.
Speaker 1: All four of those guys go in the first round
Speaker 1: of the NBA Draft, but there there's a lot of
Speaker 1: turnover there. Um, I know they're recruiting a little bit
Speaker 1: higher level. This is it's kind of interesting, like how
Speaker 1: do they maintain their culture with so many new faces. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I think that's gonna be um, that's gonna
Speaker 1: be a big factor. But I think obviously what we've
Speaker 1: seen from j right over the last couple of years,
Speaker 1: I think he's uh, he's certainly fit to handle that.
Speaker 1: They're bringing in a really good class from two thousand
Speaker 1: eighteen and two dozen nineteen. They've got a top fifty two,
Speaker 1: top seventy type guys Justin Moore and Eric Dickerson, Eric Dixon.
Speaker 1: But that two thousand eighteen Hall is really good. Javantquin
Speaker 1: Early a five star guys, so crafty and creative. I
Speaker 1: think he comes right in and and you're not gonna
Speaker 1: be able to replace Jalen Brunson. But I think he
Speaker 1: fits how Villanova wants to play. He's got such a
Speaker 1: good feel for the game. He can set guys up.
Speaker 1: I think he'll come in and make an instant impact,
Speaker 1: and guys like Brandon Slater and Cole Swider will help
Speaker 1: them out on the perimeters. Later is a big time
Speaker 1: score at six six. He's got long arms. Uh, he
Speaker 1: can make shots. He's athletic. I mean, they're they're obviously
Speaker 1: lost a lot and most of those guys you're not
Speaker 1: gonna be able to replace Doug as you know, but
Speaker 1: they're bringing in a good recruiting class with solid players.
Speaker 1: Um that really fit in Villanova. All right, Let's let's
Speaker 1: go through a couple of the two thousand nineteens. Okay,
Speaker 1: there's a rising seniors. He's Cole Anthony the best player
Speaker 1: in that class. No, I think James Wiseman is the best. Well,
Speaker 1: it could be the best player. I think James Wiseman
Speaker 1: is the best prospect, and when you go out our
Speaker 1: to our rankings, that's what we're u and and by
Speaker 1: any Evan real quick Evan. By by prospect you mean
Speaker 1: NBA prospect or college, but because because because it's very
Speaker 1: interesting in prospect more so than more, I think he's
Speaker 1: I think he's the best long term prospect. I mean
Speaker 1: he's pushing seven feats, got a seven six wings fan,
Speaker 1: He's mobile, he impacts the game on both ends of
Speaker 1: the court. He's really developing his offensive skill set. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: he's been banged up, and he would have been on
Speaker 1: that use seven teen team that won a gold medal,
Speaker 1: but he got hurt and he's really played July kind
Speaker 1: I'm kind of banged up as well. But I don't
Speaker 1: get me wrong. I think conthing is great. We have
Speaker 1: number two, UM six three explosive athlete, as competitive as
Speaker 1: you'll you'll find. I mean that this kid gets after
Speaker 1: it on both ends of the court as well. I
Speaker 1: think he's more of a combo than he is an
Speaker 1: actual point right now. His mentality is always the score.
Speaker 1: So if I had a knock on him, it would
Speaker 1: be you know, go create for brothers and and and
Speaker 1: he's him as well. He needs to share up his
Speaker 1: shock selection a little um as well. But he's obviously
Speaker 1: very very gifted, very talented, can really score, and he's
Speaker 1: a high level athlete. Am I crazy think? Jene McDaniels
Speaker 1: another another top five guy. You know, he's he's from Washington.
Speaker 1: That's the kind of guy that Mike Hopkins has to get. Right.
Speaker 1: The whole thing in Seattle is if you keep the
Speaker 1: Seattle kids home in Seattle's up. Now you've got a
Speaker 1: chance to win the league. Now you got a chance
Speaker 1: to build something special. Hop did a really good job
Speaker 1: in his first year, especially considering the turnover within the program.
Speaker 1: But doesn't McDaniels become one of those guys that he
Speaker 1: almost has to get? Yeah, Jade McDaniels is a priority
Speaker 1: to recruit for sure. Um, I think it's a tough task,
Speaker 1: not only because he's the uh, you know, elite recruit
Speaker 1: that I think Blue Bloods are starting to sniff around with.
Speaker 1: There's a relationship with San Diego State that goes way
Speaker 1: back with his brother being there. But you're right, I mean,
Speaker 1: Mike Hopkins and his staff have to prioritize him. They
Speaker 1: you know, he's the type of guy that could really
Speaker 1: help them shift that program quickly. And he's and we're
Speaker 1: talking about best players in the class and this kid
Speaker 1: three or four years from now, we're gonna be looking
Speaker 1: back and it's special because he's he's he's made a
Speaker 1: major leap from where he was this time last year
Speaker 1: to now, and his skill set is continuing to develop.
Speaker 1: He's becoming more confident, he's shooting the ball better, he's
Speaker 1: just making aboutments across the board. Uh. It feels like
Speaker 1: Terrise Maxie is taking his game to a higher level
Speaker 1: this summer, whether it's a Team USA or playing a
Speaker 1: U basketball And he feels like he's that's the type
Speaker 1: of guy that Kentucky builds an entire recruiting class round though,
Speaker 1: because because of his style. Apply Ah, he certainly fits that. Yes, Um,
Speaker 1: I think that What I like about Tyrese is he's versatile.
Speaker 1: You can play him as a two guard, you can
Speaker 1: play him in a combo role, you can put the
Speaker 1: ball in his hands and he can go create for others.
Speaker 1: I mean, his biggest strength is his ability to score.
Speaker 1: He does that, um really well. He can get to
Speaker 1: the rim and take contact and finish. He can create
Speaker 1: shocks for himself, pull up from mid range, he can
Speaker 1: make off the catch threes. I think that's an area
Speaker 1: he could still improve. But he's just wired up to
Speaker 1: get uh. Nico Mannion as a kid who he could
Speaker 1: have been two thousand twenty instead of you know, I
Speaker 1: think last week and then he's gonna graduate this year
Speaker 1: a talented point guard from you know, Pinnacle in Arizona.
Speaker 1: There's lots of talk that he could be the guy
Speaker 1: that Sean Miller kind as he tries to rebuild his
Speaker 1: program rebuilds a guy like Nico Mannion. What's your sense?
Speaker 1: I know it's it's still really early in these things now,
Speaker 1: especially with the elite recruits. A lot of these guys
Speaker 1: are deciding late. What's your sens on Nicomanion? I know
Speaker 1: why he moved up his data graduation and graduated eighteens
Speaker 1: in a nineteen and it's not gonna hurt him in
Speaker 1: any way. Um, but is this is this to go
Speaker 1: to Arizona or something else that play? I think there's
Speaker 1: a good chance he could go there. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think it's vim and Duke Villanova is also in the mix.
Speaker 1: And Jay Right. I was out in l A last
Speaker 1: Sunday to see him. Um. But Arizona has done a
Speaker 1: really good job for a long time recruiting him. They've
Speaker 1: made him a priority. I don't know that Sean Miller
Speaker 1: has missed many of his games. He was at the
Speaker 1: same event l A on Sunday. Um Uh, they've They've
Speaker 1: just been after him for so long. I think it
Speaker 1: would be pretty deflating for Sean Miller and his staff
Speaker 1: if they missed out on him, because I think they
Speaker 1: have been the favorite. But anytime Duke comes uh sniffing
Speaker 1: around and jump into the recruitment, it's dangerous. They've still
Speaker 1: got to close it out. Okay, so let me ask you. Okay,
Speaker 1: So there's Cole Anthony and I know that that his
Speaker 1: dad obviously is close with Coach K. There's talk of
Speaker 1: Cole Anthony and Duke. Um can they would they both
Speaker 1: go there? And then I guess the second part to
Speaker 1: that is, uh, Look, Jeff Capel did a great job
Speaker 1: of spearheading a lot of their recruiting. I know Coach
Speaker 1: K still there. They have a really young, active quality staff,
Speaker 1: but it's different when Capel's not their first year sense
Speaker 1: of could Manion and Anthony both go to Duke and
Speaker 1: then has Duke's recruiting will to change at all without
Speaker 1: Jeff Capel. Well, here's the thing. Cole Anthony has made
Speaker 1: it clear that he's not making his college choice for
Speaker 1: a long time. So this is the worst point guard
Speaker 1: class I think I've ever evaluated. It might be the
Speaker 1: worst overall class I've ever evaluated put point guards especially.
Speaker 1: It's bad. So you can't afford to wait around for
Speaker 1: Cole ptil May. You've got to go out and get
Speaker 1: a get one of these big time guys. Um and
Speaker 1: if maybe you can, you know, talk him into playing
Speaker 1: with with the other guy, you get great. But uh,
Speaker 1: I just think that you can't really wait around. Um So,
Speaker 1: I think Duke's going to or has started to prioritize
Speaker 1: nik o'mannon. Would they love to have Cole Anthony? I
Speaker 1: think they definitely would love to have Cole Anthony. With
Speaker 1: those two co exist in the same backward I don't
Speaker 1: know the answer to that. Um So, Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: that's an interesting scenario to see how it all plays out.
Speaker 1: And obviously you mentioned Jeff Capel. Anytime you lose a
Speaker 1: guy of that caliber, that was so good at building
Speaker 1: relationships and um brought a lot of really good recruits
Speaker 1: to the table. I think it's a it's a loss. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Chris Carroroll was was hired in his place, and you
Speaker 1: know Nate James was a guy that went out and
Speaker 1: got Zian Williamson last year. John Shire has has been
Speaker 1: the appointment on a guy like Jayson Tatum. So it's
Speaker 1: not like these other guys haven't gotten players. Um. But
Speaker 1: like I said, anytime you lose somebody at caliber of
Speaker 1: Jeff Capel at hurt, I know you want to go back,
Speaker 1: duck back into the gym mass you really quickly. Zion
Speaker 1: Williamson's like a YouTube sensation, right, a dunking machine, but
Speaker 1: he's a little bit heavy. Um. I mean I think
Speaker 1: I think at his best he'll be he's got a
Speaker 1: chance to be an undersized uh kind of athletic four.
Speaker 1: But you really got to shoot and guard in order
Speaker 1: to do that. And the one thing about coach k
Speaker 1: is you know they away the white flag and they
Speaker 1: played zone last year. What's your sense of of what
Speaker 1: you think we'll see from Zion Williamson they play for
Speaker 1: Duke next season, Well, I think we're going to see
Speaker 1: the electric athlete. I think we're going to see a
Speaker 1: guy that actually has a pretty good feel feel for
Speaker 1: the game and can really pass um. I think when motivated,
Speaker 1: he's a really good rebounder. I think one of the
Speaker 1: things that that caused me to take a step back
Speaker 1: to them last year was he didn't always play hard
Speaker 1: and he was rarely ever in great shape. I think
Speaker 1: the thing that we're going to see from him at
Speaker 1: Duke is one They're gonna get him in shape. Uh
Speaker 1: and too. I'm curious to see what kind of effort
Speaker 1: he gives forth on the court. And he was known
Speaker 1: for those dunks, um and the highlights and transition. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's some other stuff there In terms of this passing,
Speaker 1: I think he does that at a pretty uh at
Speaker 1: a pretty good level. But he's gonna have to improve
Speaker 1: his jump shot and uh last viewing in high school,
Speaker 1: it was a ways away. Having Anniels check out his
Speaker 1: podcast called the Sidelines with Evan Daniels Fox Sports, Fox
Speaker 1: Sports dot Com. Of course a great way to pick
Speaker 1: on just fall him on Twitter. He's got all the information.
Speaker 1: Get back in the gym, get back covering those games,
Speaker 1: plus Team USA. Thanks for joining us. Hey, thanks for
Speaker 1: having me on, Doug. I appreciate it. Man. Alright, let's
Speaker 1: let's continue that conversation about Prep hoops and kind of
Speaker 1: the Lebron takeover. I think it's gonna be fascinating. Guy
Speaker 1: who more than thirty years has covered Southern California AU basketball.
Speaker 1: You know, it's the college scene, frankly as the NBA
Speaker 1: scene just really knows as a great feel for the game.
Speaker 1: You gotta prep hoops dot Com or fall them on
Speaker 1: Twitter at Joel fran Hoops. Joel Francisco joins us here
Speaker 1: in the All Ball podcast. Uh look, you're the perfect
Speaker 1: guy for this because we've seen we've seen the Ball family,
Speaker 1: but we've seen and maybe that was kind of the
Speaker 1: first of its kind. We've seen other big AU teams.
Speaker 1: You go back to, you know, before me, even when
Speaker 1: uh Rich Goldberg would have his team's mid Valley a
Speaker 1: r C. They fly guys in and you know, Jason
Speaker 1: Kidd would suddenly be playing with Southern California players and
Speaker 1: the Tracy McGrady Derek Martin days and then is He
Speaker 1: Washington had his Slam and Jam teams. But Lebron James
Speaker 1: coming to Southern California with two teenage boys. It feels
Speaker 1: like that's gonna forever change the dynamic of AU basketball.
Speaker 1: Am I overselling it? No? I completely I completely agree.
Speaker 1: I believe that we've got a taste of it with
Speaker 1: the Ball family. You know, I had never in the
Speaker 1: thirty years of covering this from when I started doing
Speaker 1: with Tracy Murray and the following that he had all
Speaker 1: the way through you know, these last thirty years, and
Speaker 1: I've never seen anything like the Ball situation. You know,
Speaker 1: going to gyms, it was a circus. And then what
Speaker 1: happened last night, you know with Lebron coming in the gym,
Speaker 1: and I would figure, like, you know, have some hindsight
Speaker 1: and the fact that okay, here comes Lebron Junior. We
Speaker 1: have social media. The gym was packed and they had
Speaker 1: it in the small auxiliary jam and I guess of
Speaker 1: some fan came in started ripping Lebron and it just
Speaker 1: turned into like a mini melee and then they canceled
Speaker 1: the game. And it's like, what are they going to
Speaker 1: do in the future here, you know, like if he
Speaker 1: decides to go to Sierra Canyon Brentwood High School. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm really intrigued to see, you know, from a safety standpoint,
Speaker 1: you know what is going to happen with something, and
Speaker 1: for that matter, it's it's fascinating because there's a lot
Speaker 1: of parts of Lebron which are really interesting. He's done things,
Speaker 1: he's cleared his own path, most of which I like,
Speaker 1: some of I don't. You can. It's in arguable though
Speaker 1: that in terms of being an involved parent, especially in
Speaker 1: comparison to you know, Larry Bird never had a young
Speaker 1: boy in au Michael Jordan had two kids, but he
Speaker 1: was we don't remember him ever kind of being around.
Speaker 1: I called a couple of their high school games and
Speaker 1: he was he was never around. Like he's actually an
Speaker 1: involved parent. He actually uh you know, he knows the
Speaker 1: other kids names. He interacts with the team occasionally, he
Speaker 1: helps coach like it is something and but thing is
Speaker 1: that not only do you have that, but then you
Speaker 1: have the hey, how are you going to keep a
Speaker 1: kid on your team? If Brawnie says, hey, Dad, I
Speaker 1: want him on my team, they decided they want to
Speaker 1: and Lebron James picks the phone says, hey, do you
Speaker 1: want to play with my son? I know, yeah, By
Speaker 1: the way, you're gonna get all the Lebron gear you want. Like,
Speaker 1: no one's gonna say no to that, are they? Oh? No,
Speaker 1: I would think not. I mean him coming to l
Speaker 1: A is going to completely you know, I mean we
Speaker 1: could see another level of I mean we're gonna see
Speaker 1: something different than the balls here. But yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: you know the way kids transfer nowadays, it's it's ridiculous.
Speaker 1: You know, like c IF said something like sixteen thousand
Speaker 1: kids transferred. That was even last year, multiple sports. But
Speaker 1: now with Braun coming in and you know how he
Speaker 1: manages his own NBA teams, Yeah, you could see him.
Speaker 1: You could see you could start crazy these you know,
Speaker 1: all Star AU teams and you know wherever school is,
Speaker 1: Sun ends up at, you know where he's gonna be
Speaker 1: pulling kids from everywhere. Maybe. Yeah, you mentioned all the
Speaker 1: transfers in the CIF, and I know this happens everywhere.
Speaker 1: As a national podcast, I think people are sitting there
Speaker 1: on their heads and saying, yeah, we have lots of
Speaker 1: problems with kids. Uh, it's kind of on steroids here
Speaker 1: in southern California. Do you think the player movement in
Speaker 1: the NBA is the cause of the player movement in
Speaker 1: a U? In high school? Basketball, or do you think
Speaker 1: it's the other way around where kids are always moving
Speaker 1: around a U in high school and now they become
Speaker 1: pros and now so they don't get they don't get
Speaker 1: as tied to a place or two a team as
Speaker 1: they used to which which which is the which is
Speaker 1: the chicken and which is the egg? Um, I would
Speaker 1: say the ladder. I would think since these kids now
Speaker 1: um are playing against each other and they all know
Speaker 1: each other now, then's probably what he's mad. Or teams
Speaker 1: where they're playing in these national based tournaments, they're becoming
Speaker 1: friends and they keep these connections going. They're never in
Speaker 1: college enough to create rivalries, so they just go from
Speaker 1: this a U team sprinkling for the n b A
Speaker 1: and they and like Lavon forming his team in Miami
Speaker 1: and then and it's just escalated from there. And so
Speaker 1: I just I really believe it started with with club
Speaker 1: basketball at a basketball wherever you want to call it,
Speaker 1: with these guys that have become known that you know,
Speaker 1: they've known each other for so long and they become
Speaker 1: friends and they developed these friend steps and now you
Speaker 1: have thout the media and it's created a perfect storm.
Speaker 1: What's your sense of what's going to happen. I know
Speaker 1: that many people in your professional and you, I think
Speaker 1: you tweet out something which is great, which is like, hey,
Speaker 1: the new rules potentially could still have the tournaments, just
Speaker 1: the coaches wouldn't be allowed the tournaments, which would be
Speaker 1: great for you as a professional evaluator that people respect
Speaker 1: for more than thirty years. Like, just because coach K
Speaker 1: can't sit there and have his assistance bird dog a kid,
Speaker 1: doesn't mean that you can't evaluate him. Um. What's your
Speaker 1: any guests as to what what the rules end up
Speaker 1: being for the future of the July recruiting period? Um?
Speaker 1: What I can see somebody mention that, let's say the
Speaker 1: biggest one that each of them would moves to August
Speaker 1: or something. I said, Well, that would be impossible for
Speaker 1: my take because so many schools now including in southern
Speaker 1: California were starting school in August. So I could see
Speaker 1: a lot of these tournaments moving to June while the
Speaker 1: Insuay has their camps whatever in July and have for
Speaker 1: you know, the valuahere like me, the best of both
Speaker 1: work and this is all that June and then it's
Speaker 1: a live And I felt the number one thing for
Speaker 1: me that I've had it with um, you know, restricting
Speaker 1: coaches from coming out. I feel, for me is the
Speaker 1: most important month. I would rather watch the kids play
Speaker 1: for me personally with his high school team, see how
Speaker 1: he leads, see how he carries his team. You know,
Speaker 1: I feel like that's I think I can get a
Speaker 1: greater sense of who this kid is rather than seeing,
Speaker 1: you know, in these multiopol club games you see in July. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you bring up a great point. You know, my brothers,
Speaker 1: you know, is recruited at all the different levels, mostly
Speaker 1: in California, and then of course we're can stay for
Speaker 1: the last four years. And I don't I actually think
Speaker 1: they're working in the opposite way of the of the
Speaker 1: way they should. You should have assistance that are allowed
Speaker 1: to go out as often as they want, right, just
Speaker 1: go out. And and if your job is to evaluate
Speaker 1: and recruited kid, why are we putting limits on it.
Speaker 1: I mean, the fact is that I understand. My dad
Speaker 1: used to tell the stories of of him, you know,
Speaker 1: sleeping over at a kid's house that they were trying
Speaker 1: and sitting on, sitting on a kid that they have, Like, okay,
Speaker 1: that's a little bit overboard, but it's like limiting texts.
Speaker 1: It's like when you couldn't text a kid, Like, look,
Speaker 1: if a kid doesn't want doesn't want you to text him,
Speaker 1: he'll just block you or he'll just delete it. If
Speaker 1: a kid does, if he gets creeped out by a
Speaker 1: guy keep coming to his game, he'll just you'll end
Speaker 1: up wearing the kid out and he'll it'll turn him off.
Speaker 1: I just let us let recruiting assistance do their job.
Speaker 1: You want to restrict head coaches so they're on campus more,
Speaker 1: if you want to make sure that there's always a
Speaker 1: coach on campus, like, that's fine, but this idea that
Speaker 1: somehow you're protecting assistant coaches. All right, maybe August is dark,
Speaker 1: nobody can see, anybody knows. But outside of that, isn't
Speaker 1: it fair to say, like, hey, just let him recruit,
Speaker 1: don't pay your players, don't change their grades, and kind
Speaker 1: of the rest uh just almost a free market sort
Speaker 1: of recruiting system. Yeah, I agree with that too, and
Speaker 1: the fact that I believe that that we implement some
Speaker 1: system like that will cut back on the multiple you know,
Speaker 1: the ridiculous numbers are seeing in kids that are going
Speaker 1: to schools. They're being overrecruited and they end up bouncing
Speaker 1: back to various other schools, you know, through a lower
Speaker 1: level because in hindsight, these coaches don't have a great feel,
Speaker 1: you know, for who they're recruiting. I mean, they get
Speaker 1: such a limited time. There's some games going on until
Speaker 1: Joel am I crazy. But I've always thought, you know,
Speaker 1: we talked about transfers and the reason that players transfer.
Speaker 1: We always believe it's because the kid wants more, the
Speaker 1: parent wants more, and and that's some of it. But
Speaker 1: but a good portion of it is the coach doesn't
Speaker 1: exactly know what he's getting and the player doesn't exactly
Speaker 1: have a great feel of what he's getting into because
Speaker 1: there because we're limiting the relationship and the length and
Speaker 1: the quality of the relationship between who's recruiting and who's
Speaker 1: being recruited. Is that is that a fair? Like? I know,
Speaker 1: that's that's absolutely fair. And the thing is, when I
Speaker 1: talked at two kids at camps, I say, hey, you,
Speaker 1: I think what they missed the point? And I think parents,
Speaker 1: you get caught up in the highest level and it's
Speaker 1: like you need to find the best bit for your kid.
Speaker 1: That's the bottom line, And here's the kid that's getting
Speaker 1: recruited let's say at lm U Pepperdine or whatever. And
Speaker 1: then he goes off in one game and washing and
Speaker 1: ss to the picture. Well I'm going to go to
Speaker 1: Washington now, you know, instead of saying no way, the
Speaker 1: Pepperdine system fits me better, it's you know, as that's
Speaker 1: the kind of situation that get fallen into a right. Uh,
Speaker 1: you've seen a lot of kids for a lot of years.
Speaker 1: Give me the most the kid you've seen this uh
Speaker 1: this spring and summer, that's most impressive to you? Most
Speaker 1: impressive player. Um, I probably have to go out west. Um,
Speaker 1: here's a guy that it's Evan Mowbley, is older brother.
Speaker 1: Isam always going to u SC that the US. He
Speaker 1: hired the dad recently in the spring. Evan mobile for me. Um,
Speaker 1: he's a kid. He's basically a combination. I'm not saying
Speaker 1: he's the next Durrant or Garnett type, but he's kind
Speaker 1: of a combination of the two in terms of he's
Speaker 1: got perimitive skills. He's got I saw Kevin Ronnett in
Speaker 1: high school. He's as quick off the floor, he's got
Speaker 1: in between games, he's got he's got the whole package.
Speaker 1: This is going to be a matter of strength in
Speaker 1: terms of him going forward. But I would be stocked.
Speaker 1: He's not NBA player down the road two or three
Speaker 1: years ago. Cash to Stanley was that young player coming
Speaker 1: up into high school basketball that everyone was talking about.
Speaker 1: He's still very very well regarded, but but but not
Speaker 1: nearly at the level that he was previously. You know,
Speaker 1: he's top twenty to top thirty, maybe top forty nationally.
Speaker 1: What type of impact do you think cash you Stanley?
Speaker 1: Who is that Syrican in which one of the school
Speaker 1: big private schools in southern California. He was originally a
Speaker 1: Harvard West like hey Way that we were talking about
Speaker 1: earlier for people were out of the area. What what
Speaker 1: happened to Kasha Stanley and what type of impact do
Speaker 1: you think will have when he ultimately plays in college? Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, for me, Cashi's family is going to have
Speaker 1: um I think when you see him in the club situation,
Speaker 1: in a wide open game, he's an NBA athlete, There's
Speaker 1: no question about that. But for me, you know, for
Speaker 1: someone that we're doing a long time, and I'm sure
Speaker 1: you would get the same feel for him if you
Speaker 1: watch them actually in the game. He has improved, but
Speaker 1: there's not something he could totally depend on in a
Speaker 1: game when it slows down. His jump shot is still
Speaker 1: needs to get more consistent. Is decision making? You know,
Speaker 1: as every attention all of these can be a point
Speaker 1: guard because everybody needs to be a point guard now.
Speaker 1: And I'm sorry you played the position. It takes a
Speaker 1: certain feel for the game. Could be that to play
Speaker 1: that player. And so I think now so if someone
Speaker 1: just allowing him to be a two guard and work
Speaker 1: on that skill set, then I think he could be
Speaker 1: a very good college player. And I'm probably a pro.
Speaker 1: But right now, for me, he's got some areas he
Speaker 1: really needs to grow in. It's it's gonna be fascinating
Speaker 1: to see if he does go because it was it
Speaker 1: was a little bit too much, uh too soon. There's
Speaker 1: a big guy in southern California. I would I would
Speaker 1: love to have your opinion on kid named Carl Lewis
Speaker 1: at Linwood High School. Six put up some big numbers
Speaker 1: this year, but you know, like, look, we're in the
Speaker 1: age of the big man that doesn't score at the
Speaker 1: low block. We're in the age of you've got to
Speaker 1: be a roller and a finisher at the rim and
Speaker 1: a rim protector or a stretch five. What's the prospects
Speaker 1: like for a kid like Carl Lewis who's a rising jr. UM.
Speaker 1: What you know, Carl Lewis, he has some stuff off
Speaker 1: the court that needs to be taken care of. Um,
Speaker 1: He's he's got a long way to go in terms
Speaker 1: of becoming a bassal player. Yes, he's built like Karl
Speaker 1: Malone and but in terms of you know, it's skill fundamental, Um,
Speaker 1: he hasn't spent a lot of time. You know, he's
Speaker 1: done a lot of this stuff going on, put it
Speaker 1: bluntly and put it violay. In fact that I don't
Speaker 1: think he's really had a lot of time to work
Speaker 1: on those aspects of the game. So for me, massively rated.
Speaker 1: He's one of these guys that you know, played at
Speaker 1: lim Win High School, didn't play against you know, the
Speaker 1: greatest competition In terms episode, there was no one that
Speaker 1: can handle him. But so there's certain areas in his
Speaker 1: game that he really needs UH to take care of,
Speaker 1: as well as some other aspects of his wife, but
Speaker 1: come together before if he's able to play college. In
Speaker 1: my opinion, that's great, great feedback from Joel Francisco has
Speaker 1: been doing this over thirty years. Is a great job
Speaker 1: in southern California. Follow him on Twitter. You got to
Speaker 1: prep hoops. You got to prep hoops dot com. Last
Speaker 1: thing I want to ask you about Kawhi Leonard because
Speaker 1: he look, he was Gateorade Player of the Year, but
Speaker 1: he played MLK in out in Riverside. He was a
Speaker 1: six five six six postman who has become you know,
Speaker 1: a top five by many people's accounts, third best player
Speaker 1: in the NBA. And because he's super super quiet, we
Speaker 1: don't know what to make of him. What's what's your
Speaker 1: assessment as a guy who saw him at his his
Speaker 1: infancy as a player, grow into a star at San
Speaker 1: Diego State, a superstar in the NBA, and now trying
Speaker 1: to we think, manipulate his way back to Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: What's your assessment of kind of the situation, how he's
Speaker 1: handled and what the ultimate end game is um You know,
Speaker 1: watching Kauai in high school, you don't. And to be honest,
Speaker 1: you I never thought he'd reached the level that he's
Speaker 1: at right now. I thought he's I thought he was
Speaker 1: a high major recruit, you know, top fifty national propects
Speaker 1: because length, he's got the biggest hands. But you know something,
Speaker 1: he's always been a no nonsense player, no emotion and
Speaker 1: just go out there and I'm gonna be productive and
Speaker 1: do my job at both ends of the floor. However,
Speaker 1: this year, what's the story that I've heard, I become skeptical,
Speaker 1: you know about okay, where in fact is and I
Speaker 1: don't want to know. Character, you know, character assassinates this guy.
Speaker 1: But I heard he was able to play and he
Speaker 1: chose not to play, And so that for me, that
Speaker 1: brings up red flags with directions who's handling his situations? Now,
Speaker 1: this is not the same kid that I talked to
Speaker 1: in high school and you know, got to know true
Speaker 1: the ac and all that stuff. So I'm kind of
Speaker 1: curious to see, really intrigued to see how he does
Speaker 1: in the Toronto this year and really watch his approach
Speaker 1: to the game. And because we all know what he
Speaker 1: can do on the basketball or I mean arguably what
Speaker 1: the best maybe the best way player in the game today.
Speaker 1: So I'm very intrigued to see what he goes this
Speaker 1: year at Toronto. What about it? What about Dorozen? Like
Speaker 1: I do feel like de Rosen somehow and he was
Speaker 1: bad in in the playoff series against UM against Lebron Javelers,
Speaker 1: he just he wasn't good. He was fantastic in their
Speaker 1: in their first round series, fantastic. I saw him at
Speaker 1: the Garden. This is two years ago, Drop thirty nine
Speaker 1: the Garden. I was like, damn, Demard Rosen. It is
Speaker 1: a but he is the closest. He's got a Kobe
Speaker 1: style of offensive game. Um, it's just you know, now
Speaker 1: there's so much the three point shot is so much
Speaker 1: more important. How do you think his personality will mesh
Speaker 1: with Gregg Popovich? Well, it's gonna be um. Um. To
Speaker 1: be honest with you, I'm excited for him, you know,
Speaker 1: um being in that system because another kind of like
Speaker 1: in a way Kauai where he's quiet, not you know,
Speaker 1: he's not real that assertive personality out there, but he
Speaker 1: just goes about his business, takes care it. So really
Speaker 1: I treat to see how he fits into pop system. Um.
Speaker 1: I think he's going to become you know, it's continued
Speaker 1: to be his efficient self. But like you said, the
Speaker 1: key to his game is which it really hasn't come
Speaker 1: as his three point shot. And he's been very good
Speaker 1: in the mid range area that you're like, he said,
Speaker 1: it's the mid range shot. Is it usable as it
Speaker 1: was you know, ten fifteen years ago. So I'm really
Speaker 1: impreued to see how he takes in the pop system.
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna be fine because I think he's
Speaker 1: a good kid, and I think he wants to you know,
Speaker 1: wants to be taught, and I think it's uh. I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna be turned off to be a good
Speaker 1: situation for I do too. It's weird though that LaMarcus
Speaker 1: Aldrich is a midpost in the low post kind of
Speaker 1: turnaround jump shots score and then you got to Mark
Speaker 1: Rosen was great in the mid range. Like that goes
Speaker 1: counter to everything in two eighteen that the Scots are
Speaker 1: kind of ahead of the curve on, but that's what
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to live with, so it'd be it'll
Speaker 1: be fasting to see and then you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's interesting, you know, I think about Tracy Murray and
Speaker 1: and the volume of threes he shot when you first
Speaker 1: started this business and what he would be now, how
Speaker 1: valuable weapon now he would have to guard better than
Speaker 1: he did then now in order to stay on the floor.
Speaker 1: But it is. It's amazing how even when I came
Speaker 1: up in the mid nineties, we used to criticize big guys,
Speaker 1: stop shooting jump shots and get inside and scored the
Speaker 1: low block, right and everyone and we did, and and
Speaker 1: point guards were told, you know, stop, don't you pull
Speaker 1: up threes, get into that mid range pull up game.
Speaker 1: And now, of course that's disappeared because of analytics and
Speaker 1: the realization that it's smarter to play the other way.
Speaker 1: It's got to be fast for you to have to
Speaker 1: evaluate guys in the in the ever evolving game of basketball.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I mean it was really interesting. You know,
Speaker 1: you austragonis uh, you know who he is, uh, In
Speaker 1: terms of running all these camps. He's one of the
Speaker 1: eight you grewers out for a lot last thirty years.
Speaker 1: He had a Pengas All American camp and in June,
Speaker 1: and there was a plethora of guys in the six eight,
Speaker 1: six nine range. And these guys are falling up and
Speaker 1: and jack and threes and their shot looks good. It's
Speaker 1: almost like, you know, with Lebron. I saw Lebron uh
Speaker 1: freshman software in high school, and he just knew he
Speaker 1: was different. He was kind of a little bit of Magic,
Speaker 1: a little bit of Michael and you know, built like
Speaker 1: a calling, but he wasn't built like carm alone until now.
Speaker 1: But when you watch Kevin Durant, I see these these
Speaker 1: these kids are seeing these types of stars and they're
Speaker 1: implementing those schools for those skills early on in their game.
Speaker 1: And now we're just seeing this game trunch transformed into
Speaker 1: this you know, free and e. But you know something
Speaker 1: that on old school, Um, I'd like to point how
Speaker 1: he still passed to facilitates like you did in high school.
Speaker 1: And I'm still I'm mu, still the big guy getting
Speaker 1: you get your button posts, you know, to be a
Speaker 1: rin protector, you know, fill the lane. And I I'm
Speaker 1: still saying of the bid range game, I think that's
Speaker 1: key for me. That's gonna be key for Alonso. You know,
Speaker 1: Alonzo struggled in the paint area, and if he can
Speaker 1: just implement that and get back going and get stronger,
Speaker 1: his game is going to go to a different level.
Speaker 1: And I think that one was bringing out his shots
Speaker 1: better too, in the marketsistent manner. So I mean, I
Speaker 1: think the mid range game and I still think guys
Speaker 1: could still play in the back, you know, with the
Speaker 1: basta baskets come to maybe I'm to gold school. No,
Speaker 1: I don't, I don't know. I honestly don't think you're wrong.
Speaker 1: I mean, look at look at the NBA Finals, look
Speaker 1: at or look at look at the Golden State Warriors, Like, look,
Speaker 1: do they shoot a ton of three? Is absolutely when
Speaker 1: they needed a bucket, they got the ball to Kevin
Speaker 1: Durant either in the post or a lot of people
Speaker 1: mid range jump shots. You know, like if if if
Speaker 1: the best of the best can make seventy percent of those,
Speaker 1: that you still take it. And I do think that
Speaker 1: I think the Lebron's done or what he's had to do.
Speaker 1: You know, he's been more effective when he's had his
Speaker 1: back to the basket and he can pass. You know,
Speaker 1: that's where do you think about the Olympics teams, That's
Speaker 1: where Ski Lebron at the high post and the facilitated
Speaker 1: you know, using his passing acumen. So I mean, I know,
Speaker 1: I still well, look, I'm fascinated. I mean basketball, it's
Speaker 1: not that basketball has lacked energy in the West Coast,
Speaker 1: but with the Lakers potentially being good um and with
Speaker 1: you know, Lebron and his son bringing attention to AU basketball.
Speaker 1: There's been a ton of talent here obviously with the
Speaker 1: private schools out there recruiting. I think now it'll be
Speaker 1: hyped up and it'll be great for your job, be
Speaker 1: great for us as well. Joel Francisco Falm on Twitter
Speaker 1: at Joel fran Hoops, go to prep hoops dot com.
Speaker 1: He's been a basketball scout for over thirty years. He's
Speaker 1: the SoCal UH scouting coordinator for ESPN. He does an
Speaker 1: amazing job. Joel, thanks so much for joining us here
Speaker 1: on the All Ball Podcast. Appreciate it, Appreciate a lot,
Speaker 1: have a good one. There's just kind of a sense
Speaker 1: of that's what July is about. I mentioned Kaui earlier.
Speaker 1: He's not participating, he's not playing, and he's saying, well,
Speaker 1: I need to transition to Toronto. And I just look,
Speaker 1: I think Toronto did well in the trade I do.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you substitute out to Mark Rosen, who
Speaker 1: I like more than other people like, but you put
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard in there and they got a legit shot,
Speaker 1: make one last push in the East. If not, scrap it,
Speaker 1: start again. Um, but what's you know? Greg Popovitch has
Speaker 1: done nothing but take the high road. It's not like
Speaker 1: they're gonna grind you into the ground when you're playing
Speaker 1: in Vegas, you haven't played all year. I kind of
Speaker 1: feel like he needs that um. But Kawhi Leonard is
Speaker 1: he's beating to his own drum. And for a guy
Speaker 1: who has earned, not been given, earned so much respect
Speaker 1: in NBA circles for playing both ends, steadily improving his
Speaker 1: jump shot, which was he was not a guard, he
Speaker 1: was a center coming up, and the big questions were, um,
Speaker 1: could he ever, you know, be a decent three point shooter?
Speaker 1: And he's become a very good and a good ball handler.
Speaker 1: He's just he's undone some of the great things, some
Speaker 1: of the some of the respect that he's gained, it's
Speaker 1: easy to get. It's not hard to gain it back.
Speaker 1: You get on the floor, you start playing for for Toronto,
Speaker 1: you play the right way, even if you want to
Speaker 1: make your way to the Lakers next year. But I
Speaker 1: just want I'm okay with guys not playing for Pop
Speaker 1: who played the whole year, you know, and or played
Speaker 1: for USA Basketball in the past. But when you're one
Speaker 1: of the best players in the game, you want to
Speaker 1: play nine games this year and you should be fully healthy.
Speaker 1: You pass the physical, go and play, go and play,
Speaker 1: be the try and take the high road the way
Speaker 1: Greg Pop fits just taken the high road. I don't
Speaker 1: think that's a great look. Um. Last thing in regards
Speaker 1: to the NBA, you saw this with Karmelo Anthony who said,
Speaker 1: you know, basically it was a bad fit in Olaoma
Speaker 1: City because he didn't have enough time. All he had
Speaker 1: was training camp in the season. Like what more do
Speaker 1: you need more than training camp in the season? How
Speaker 1: much more time? Like is there some boardroom? Yeah? It
Speaker 1: was there, hoodie mellow workouts that could have that you
Speaker 1: could have transitioned better to Oklahoma City. I'm I respect
Speaker 1: Carmelo Anthony because he was the best three level score
Speaker 1: in the NBA for a good seven or eight years.
Speaker 1: He was an amazing offensive player, but he didn't keep
Speaker 1: himself consistently good enough shape. He wasn't a good teammate.
Speaker 1: And more than anything, you know, as you mature, as
Speaker 1: you get to be an adult, I've said this, there's
Speaker 1: three things that adults do the kids don't do. Adults
Speaker 1: never turned down a nap, right, adults will order vegetables.
Speaker 1: An adults point in when something goes wrong, they say,
Speaker 1: my bad, I made a mistake. Carmelo Anthony has never said,
Speaker 1: you know, look that didn't work in Oklahoma City, and
Speaker 1: it's my fault. I didn't buy in defensively. I struggled
Speaker 1: to buy it offensively. You know, I wasn't willing to
Speaker 1: come off the bench. That's my bad. Even if even
Speaker 1: if it it wasn't all his fault. Taking more blame
Speaker 1: then you should is the smarter path than the more
Speaker 1: mature path. But we've created he's becoming like an Allen
Speaker 1: Iverson where his his NBA career maybe over sooner than
Speaker 1: it should because of his inability to find a Carmelo
Speaker 1: Anthony two point oh. And then as far as the
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant tweets with CJ McCollum, we talked to him
Speaker 1: a little bit earlier. Uh Kevin Durant hash He was
Speaker 1: quote earlier today as saying, let me pull up this quote,
Speaker 1: kind a fascinating quote from from Kevin Durant. He he said,
Speaker 1: here's the quote to Anthony Slader. I know you think
Speaker 1: I'm sensitive, but I'm but just somebody who's tired of
Speaker 1: holding ship in So apparently Kevin Durant he's mad as
Speaker 1: hell and he's not taken anymore. And now when people
Speaker 1: talk trash to him, he's just gonna let it, let it,
Speaker 1: which is great, like we want dudes with no filter. Uh.
Speaker 1: The problem is a lot of the things he's saying
Speaker 1: are going counter to either one things he's done in
Speaker 1: the past and to the way he's handled himself like
Speaker 1: he did have a he did have burner accounts in
Speaker 1: which he defended himself. In the past, he did he
Speaker 1: was the guy who said, oh, everybody wants to go
Speaker 1: to Nixon the Lakers. He didn't agree with that in
Speaker 1: the past, and now he goes to the Warriors. And
Speaker 1: it's it's really interesting some guys, the social media thing.
Speaker 1: People don't rely to your tweets the way that you
Speaker 1: think when you press sent, you may think you're joking.
Speaker 1: You may even do hashtag sarcasm, and it doesn't I'm
Speaker 1: as guilty of that as anybody. But the Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: thing is fascinating. He's kind of finding his way as
Speaker 1: he goes. Meanwhile, he's a two time NBA Finals m
Speaker 1: v P who's fighting with other NBA players or just
Speaker 1: random dudes on Twitter. Is one of the most NBA
Speaker 1: two thousand eighteen things I've ever heard of. It's bizarre.
Speaker 1: It's bizarre. All right, we'll talk more. NBA will wrap
Speaker 1: up the July recruiting period. Also talk some USA basketball
Speaker 1: next week on the All Ball Podcast. Thanks so much
Speaker 1: for listening. Make sure you tell your friends, download, subscribe,
Speaker 1: download and rate it. I'm Doug Gottlieb. Listen to the
Speaker 1: radio show daily twelve to three Pacific time, three to
Speaker 1: six Eastern time. This is all by