WEBVTT - KJ Live – Etop Udo-Ema 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:10.360 This is kJ Live with Chris Johnson. Allen and Chris 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.680 is having conversations with influencers in the sports world and 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:20.560 entertainment in the strange. Now here's Chris Johnson. We're now 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.800 team in the JJ Ride. I'm your host, Chris Johnson. 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:27.240 Today the anniversary of work Chamber, had you plant game. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:30.560 You have a very special yes in the building, the 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:35.600 founder director and regarded as one of the most influential 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:40.159 men in the history of grassroots basketball. Atop Emma is 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.000 in the building atop what's good man? What up? What up? 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:46.080 What up? I love the introduction. I don't know if 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:48.800 it's all that, but well, I mean, you gotta sometimes 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.520 you gotta keep it real. I heard when I listen 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:52.920 to you talk, I hear you talk a lot about 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:55.640 flowers and giving people flowers, and you need to be 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:57.840 introduced the right way at some point. It's kind of 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.760 like how we as we've gone old there, we think about, 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.880 you know, the accomplishments of ball players that have that 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:05.880 we've you know, watched and been a part of, and 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.800 it doesn't hit you right away how good them dudes 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:10.880 were until kind of like later on down the road. 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:12.640 It's kind of like you man, we start looking at 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:16.479 your track record, brother, all these guys that you don't 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.959 sit to college, and now you're making major headway into 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.920 the league. But first, atop, I wanted to just get 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:27.200 a quick thought on one of the game's most dominant players. 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.720 If we've ever seen Wilt Chamberlain hundred points in the game, 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:34.520 seven one, a triple jumper, a high jumper, do you 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:40.360 think Wilt would have dominated today's game? You know, it's 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:42.800 it's it's really hard to answer that. With the way 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.840 the spacing is in the NBA now, and that would 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:47.600 be my I mean, obviously in his size, I mean, 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.600 he probably might have figured that out, um, but it's 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:53.600 hard to translate it with with the space and he 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:57.160 would have been good obviously, But um, obviously the spacing 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.600 and and driving and the way the game is and 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.080 and be to shoot the three. You know, all those 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.840 things kind of in today's game are a little more 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.800 important than they were back then. So, um, do I 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.080 think you've been as dominant? Probably? I don't know how 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:13.280 it would have looked though, Yeah, I'm not that's a 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:15.520 good question. But so I had the same sort of 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:19.520 questions to and you know, I self, immittedly hadn't gone 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.920 back and watched a ton of Wilke footage from his 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.080 early years at Kansas and then with Globetrotters and then 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:27.440 the first couple of seasons in the league, and which 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:29.360 stood out about the guy. Man. I mean, he was 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:31.880 seven one and he was leading the break. I saw 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:35.040 him doing no look a turnaround jumper. I saw him 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.640 doing Magic Johnson jump in the air, fake fake pass. 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.240 So I'm seeing all this stuff and I'm just kind 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.120 of like, I saw him do like step through, up 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.120 and under. I saw him, and then I really then 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:47.040 they're showing me the videos. Man, all his game was 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:49.680 bank shots, Like he had this one of the sickest 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.640 bank shots in the history of basketball before the skyhook. 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.760 It was the will Like fade away, funny style fade away, 0:02:55.760 --> 0:03:04.640 but it was shot up Taylor bro Hey with no grip. 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.200 I wonder if he taped his ankles with no grip 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:10.760 with the thing flipping up. I mean, come on, man Hey, 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:13.119 but that But listen, when we talk about big men, 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:16.360 and we talked about the evolution of big man, we 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.280 got to talk about Evan Moble and this is a 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:22.119 kid that was in your program since day one. Talk 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.160 about Evan as the front runner for the Rookie of 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:30.519 the Year, his development and what he can be, if 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.240 that that makes any sense at all. What he can be, 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.280 he's already something, but what he can be as far 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:40.160 as upside of potential tone. So, you know, I had 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:44.080 plenty of arguments early on with people about what I 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:48.600 thought he looked like moving forward. Um, people didn't see it. 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:53.280 Um people. Um, I remember, I felt that he's too soft, 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:57.160 people felt too skinny. People thought, I mean, it's whatever 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:01.280 you come up with too, you know, argued the case 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:03.280 that he wasn't gonna be as good as ever as 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.720 we thought he was gonna be. Um. As soon as 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:08.680 he hit the end of his freshman year. In his 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:11.080 sophomore year, I knew exactly what it was, and I 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:14.760 started putting the word out, start telling everybody, all the writers, 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.880 the Paul being cardis the boss's you know. They didn't 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:21.000 mean we saw it because the time, you know, remember 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:24.359 he had had that huge grossburt. He was short, not short, 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:27.080 but eighth grade. Eighth grade was it eighth grade? The 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:29.680 ninth grade? Grade six four? And I don't remember, I 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.080 don't remember if you remember a kid named Ben Todd, 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.960 So we had we had Ben Todd on our team. 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:38.240 And now Ben Todd was already six ten in the 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:40.159 eighth grade and he was a number player in the 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.200 country and everyone was about six four and nobody, you know, 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:47.279 nobody knew who everon was. But um, you know, it's 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:51.600 it's crazy. And how like he got hurt his freshman year, 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:55.880 hurt his foot and after that that we started seeing 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:59.520 some things and and and the first thing that that 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.760 that I he noticed he could always he always is 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:06.800 a shooter. So right now the NBA hasn't seen what 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.080 he used to do, and they will eventually because that 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.880 will come back to him. But you know, he started 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:13.320 off as he was a great jump shooter. He's a 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:17.400 three point shooter. And that's what he did. He shot 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:23.440 and then throw and became explosive. Um that's when, um, 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:25.000 you see all the things that he's had going on 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.840 now because the explosion that one of the beauties of 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:29.440 what he was doing and made it easy for me 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:33.720 to evaluate was the quickness of his jump. And when 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.839 that one of that as a sophomore, his first and 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:39.520 second jump, I thought of Sean Marrion, but he's seven feet, 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:42.960 you know, Sean Marian was was lethal. But his second 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:44.839 jump one of the quickert second jumpers in the NBA. 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:49.400 And you jump like that, no no matter what's your size, 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.200 no matter what it is, you're gonna be have some 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.839 value in the league. And he just jumped so quick. 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:56.840 So he started getting to the the rim. I see how 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:58.560 fast you get to the rim, And I was like, whoa, 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.560 it would just be like boom boom boom. You know, 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:06.200 his quick twitch was crazy quick quick. Yeah, so, oh man, 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:07.920 this is a problem. I got the number one point 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:09.359 in the country, you know what I mean, because I 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:13.640 knew like he had already he had got the size before. 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.320 He was already a great shooter. He already had great 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:19.640 perimeter acumen, you know what I mean, even though he 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:22.120 didn't have to use it, because like when he got big, 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.320 he stopped using it. So you know what happened. He 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:28.400 got big, and his junior year playing for US, he 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:31.720 shot um in the Indenis League. He shot eighty percent 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:35.040 from the floor, dumped everything like they couldn't do it. 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.000 He shot dam an average eighteen and nine shots a game. 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:44.120 So he was crazy. But it was because he like 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:46.159 no one could stop him to the rim, so he 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:48.440 stopped but he stopped doing his perimeter stuff. All he 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:51.120 did was catch and make plays around the rim because 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:53.600 it was that easy for him. What are you attribute 0:06:54.600 --> 0:07:00.720 most ah to his growth and development as as far 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:05.120 as an all around game, I'll tell you simple. It's 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.159 his dad and mom because what they needed to do 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.280 with them is like, you know, his dad wouldn't just 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:12.920 have him doing cones stuff. You know these cone guys. 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.160 His dad would have him playing against grown asks man 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:18.920 in twenty our fitness, both him and his brother. That's 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:20.920 why you see they their I cus or high. They 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.520 know how to play because it's like, you know, their 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.720 development wasn't all just you know, jump in there and 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.720 play do cones. Like they had a whole, well rounded 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:33.520 regiment and they live that regiment seven days a week. 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:37.000 They weren't. They weren't wavering, like they weren't doing it 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:42.120 just for like show. Yeah, I mean like they're really 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.680 out here believing. Once they got to the point, they 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.240 were out here believing where they're going. And you know, 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.600 the kids love the hoop. They both loved the hoop. 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.960 That's another thing too, some people don't like they love 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.520 the hoop. And just because Evan don't talk Evan loves 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:59.200 the hoop. That's what makes this scary because he loves 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:03.160 the hoop in regiment. By the time he gets done, 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.280 I don't know what it's gonna look like. I mean, 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:10.520 he could be it would be a KD be honest, 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:14.600 k D mix, you know what I mean. We I 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:18.120 don't know what the game. It would be anything because 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.440 he's he's got the discipline to work and he loves 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.160 the hoop. Man the k D hold on the k 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:30.040 D the honest comparison, the kgbrid that's a scary animal. 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:33.760 So we're in Vegas, uh for the I believe for 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.199 the no. I was in Vegas for the Summer League 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.880 and I just got a chance to watch um Evan compete. 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:42.040 Oh yeah, so yeah, that's where I saw. I was 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:43.640 trying to figure out what was at the time. But 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.800 but so we were there and we saw Evan. I 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:47.760 watched him. I think what my takeaway was him on 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.320 the defensive end, his ability to guard show. I mean 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:56.120 he could pretty much do anything on perimeters and big yeah, 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.840 he can. He switched one people. It's unbelievable. It's unbel 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.600 and his ability to to to to to to close 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.040 out on shooters and then recovered to the rim make 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:08.360 a play on the ball, as we've seen in the league. Um, 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:10.679 you know, I don't know if it's a surprise. Are 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.600 you surprised at all by how well he's done so quickly, 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.679 how how quickly he's adjusted, or did you kind of 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.760 figure that it wouldn't be a problem. The funny thing 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.440 is this, I didn't know until summer league. So I 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:24.880 went to summer league and I saw the way Cleveland 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:28.280 was utilizing them cold bigger staff and that coaching staff. 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:30.880 They were already used I don't know if you remember, 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.160 they were already using him like they used him now. 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.680 They were using them on the elbows, on the perimeter, 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.560 initiating offense. They were doing a lot of ship with 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:42.600 him in the summer league. And I was like, oh, 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.719 if they play him like this, oh he's about to 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:46.840 Because the thing about like if he could have went 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.400 somewhere else and the coach would have not really believed 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:51.480 in them stuck him on the box, it might have 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.079 not been like this, you know what I mean. It 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:55.040 might have been as fast as this, you know what 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.600 I mean. But confidence, a confidence to develop. No, But 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:00.040 what I will say is this, this is the and 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:04.120 things that everybody underestimated in college. So I don't know 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:07.000 if you saw that earlier the season they start charting 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.880 that stat about um shots that he altered but he 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.040 didn't block or something or whatever that I don't forgot, 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:18.120 But remember like Evan doesn't he's just out there hooping 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:21.520 and bawling. Like defensively, he's really good. Most guys in 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:25.319 the NBA they're not gonna, you know, rush the shooters 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.640 or do the things that he's doing to play defensively. 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.559 The reason Cleveland had a great turnaround too. Obviously, Darris 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:33.080 Garland has been unbelievable. Um, some of the other kids 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.319 have done really well, but I think like with Jared 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:40.520 Allen and and and Evan, defensively they've posed a lot 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:42.640 of problems. People have a hard time. That's there's so 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.000 much length, you know what I mean. And Evan is 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.079 not just trying to block shots. He's going after everything. 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:50.520 Even if you're running the perimeter, he's chasing you. You know, 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:52.920 he's chasing everything. So he don't know no better yet 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.200 like these other dudes who to sit around and don't 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:58.800 play like he's playing. He's trying to chase shooters, he's switching, 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:01.880 he's doing all the things that you know most guys 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:03.880 in the league don't do. Now all of a sudden, 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.440 your team is good. Yeah, And I've seen Cleveland go 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:08.760 big at times when they throw marketing out there. And 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.200 so you have Alan mobile marketing, three seven footers on 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:16.800 the perimeter or garden, everybody covering ground, covering space. Man. 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.439 I mean it's true. I expect Evan. I think he 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:21.280 will be in contention for a Defensive Player of the 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.240 Year at some point. I mean, obviously this year, I 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:25.760 feel like he's gonna he's the front runner for the 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.000 Rookie of the Year. We got to see how that 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.240 vote turns out. But I wanted to talk about another 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:32.520 big that came through your program that is actually playing 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:34.640 well in the league. And I wouldn't say going under 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:37.920 the radar, but nationally kind of flying under the radar 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:41.040 in my opinion. Top On necka down in Atlanta, talked 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:43.560 about Anca Man and what's what he's been doing? So 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.080 funny man, So he I wasn't. I was in Austin. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:52.360 I got I was in Austin UM yesterday and uh 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:55.240 he face times me and one in the morning, right, 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:59.000 and I'm like keep doing because they're playing Boston, you 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.320 know what I mean, something like is he doing? And 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.320 you know, obviously he's been playing well. Man, some people, 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:04.680 you know, I think he gets snuff for that Rising 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:06.480 Stars game. I think you should have been in it. 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:08.080 A lot of people are saying that thing, you should 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.080 have been that game. But that's that's been his mantres. 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.600 We ain't tripping, like we're just we're gonna follow his journey. 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:17.679 And and you know with him, I'm i'm I'm I'm 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:21.559 very involved in his life obviously. Um. But he called 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:23.360 me at one thirty in the morning with some grown 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:28.080 man talk man talking about like real estate, like you know, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:29.960 like the kids, like I think he's twenty years old. 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.120 He might be, but uh, you know, I'm just I'm 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:36.680 very very proud of his evolution and his growth out 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:40.280 and off the court or you know, miss Unfortunately his 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:44.800 father passed away recently, you know, and um, you know 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.200 it's just with those kind of things, you know, kids 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:51.880 dropping down. But um, he is in a very very 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:57.200 comfortable place and on the floor on the team, very 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:01.240 comfortable place. Like so I don't know if you see 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:03.520 like his numbers like whenever, whenever, it depended on his minutes. 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:05.440 His minutes are up, his numbers are up, like they're like, 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:08.120 you know, are not even seventeen seven and three, you know, 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:12.000 seventeen point seven rebounds, three blocks and one thing. I 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:13.800 always like. I talked to him that night. I'm like, hey, man, 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.920 you gotta rebound better. I told him, I said, you 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.040 gotta rebound better because you know, obviously you got to 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:19.920 tell him that team to calor rebounds everything. He goes, yeah, 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.040 tell rebounds on the paint. I said, yeah, but he 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:23.839 go he goes, yeah, told, he goes. But I'm I'm 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:25.800 running all over the place. I'm switching one of five, 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.680 I'm switching screens, I'm playing D. I'm playing crazy D. 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:32.080 He goes half the time, I can't get to the rebound. 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:34.360 So but I'm always on the about the rebounds because 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.800 I said, look, man, I said that rebounds that for 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.360 you is is a money maker. Like that's the one 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.880 that like it's gonna really you is when you try 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:46.839 to re up from this next you know, in year four, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:48.319 when you're trying to get this contract, you know what 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:50.920 I mean. So we talked about it. He's in a 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:53.800 really good place, man, He's comfortable, he knows who he is, 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:55.840 he knows what he's doing. Obviously, we want to expand 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.680 on that, and we will in the summertime. But he's 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:03.120 in a very very very good place. Yes he is. 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:04.840 And and you said it best as far as his 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.600 comfort in his role. When I've watched the Hawks play 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:09.920 and I've watched him in the game, I mean, he 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.080 strikes me as sort of he has a veteran type 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:15.240 demeanor out there, and I think that speaks to him 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.440 embracing his role. Um you know what. Else when he 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:19.960 had this in again, it's just like Evan, him and 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:23.960 Ever both like they're out there and they're both playing defense, 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:28.320 like like defense, Like he knows that that's his calling 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:30.880 card there, so like he takes pride in that, like 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.440 he wants like everyone to think of him like you 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:35.200 know what, Okay, that's a defensive guy. So he takes 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:37.720 pride in d And like you know, he'll tell you sometimes, 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.320 tell something, Tell me I'm tired, man, Like you know, 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.840 my in my in my in my little minutes that 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.760 I'm playing, I'm tired. I'm running around like crazy, you 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.360 know what I mean. So he's really pushing himself defensively, 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:50.960 which I don't believe a lot of guys in the 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:53.520 NBA do. I feel Evan does the same. I feel 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.080 they both do the same um and that's a good 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:59.800 uniqueness about those two young players that are gonna really 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:02.400 give them a chance moving forward because their offensive games 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.520 will evolved as well, you know what I mean. Fox 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:07.680 Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.920 Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.960 com and within the I Heart Radio app search f 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:17.840 s R to listen live. Do you guys confident magic 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:21.480 do things or have like emphasis on defense, or do 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:23.960 you bring in people to kind of show pros or 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:26.880 anything like that when you work with Biggs while they're 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.680 in your program, or is it something because I've noticed 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.600 if you look at, you know, some of your top 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.920 guys right that are either in the NBA or college. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.560 I throw two names out there in college that I 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.520 was about to but go ahead, go ahead, Ariy and 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:43.920 Jalen Clark bas the two I was gonna talk about 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.200 because you're talking, You're you're talking about to arguably two 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.640 of the most underrated players in America and two of 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:54.120 arguably two of like the most impactful players in all 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:58.600 of the country talking about Jalen Clark for a second. 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:01.280 When he came in in u c l A. The 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.600 expectations of him were still kind of in the air. 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:07.400 People didn't really realize the full spectrum, the full scope 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:09.600 of what this kid has the offer. Now we get 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:11.640 to see it. I want to know about his mentality. 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.280 Why is he such a dog? Then he's a dog 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:18.560 and always has been broke? Has he? He? And about 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.960 Jay Rock? Bro about Jay Rock? I ride with Jay Rock. 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:26.680 Let me let me look, man. I had to tell 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:30.000 Mick Cronin. I told Mick, I said, Mick, this guy 0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:34.080 is your type of God. Trust me. When they were 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:37.840 they're recruiting him, kind of you know, it was up 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:39.640 in the air, wasn't so they weren't so sheriff because 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:41.760 remember you know they didn't sign him too late and 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.040 senior year and I but I was pressing him the 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:48.120 whole time, like Jalen and you are matchmate in heaven. 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.840 He's a Cincinnati guy, you know what I'm saying, Hey guy? 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.080 So you know, finally they did their homework and research 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:58.520 and it worked out. And um, I'll tell you this man, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:00.400 and I was talking, I was in error Zona. Two 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.040 weeks ago with Daylyn, me and Dyln were having dinner. Me, 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:05.639 Dalen Ray r V two and his brother Andy were 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.200 at dinner and weird I was talking about how it's 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.359 crazy because on that team they played together. Remember so 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:14.639 I don't know if you know, but that year Van 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:22.120 got hurt at USA basketball. It was his back. Evan 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.919 didn't play in that summer. He played, didn't play at 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.639 all in the summer. So our team we were without 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:34.040 Edam Mobili and without Johnny Jus. So our headliners were Daylyn, Terry, 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:41.159 Jalen Clark, Taboozo Agbo who's that Texas Day And we 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:42.679 had to move a bunch of the young kids up. 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.440 We moved up Dyaling, we moved Dylan Andrews up, he's 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.160 the ninth grader. We moved on U C. L A. Obviously, 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.760 So with my point in telling you that that team 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.800 early when when Evan played the spring, I think we lost. 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:55.760 We were twenty two and one. We only lost one 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.240 game that spring, so we were on track of being 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:00.280 the best team in the country again. Or remember the 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.960 year before was the undisputed year with On Yucca and 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:06.640 Jared Lucas and everybody else. We still had. We had 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.000 most of those players back. We had a lot of 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:11.399 them back. We had him, we had Daal, and we 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.520 had Clark because Clarks on that team. To those guys 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.040 are all back, jusang he was back. Those guys are 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.399 all coming back. So we expected to have the similar 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:23.320 type of year. Evan goes down, Johnny um uh Re 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:28.359 classes goes through Kentucky UM. So we have what we 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:32.160 have now. People don't understand we had an unbelievable run 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:35.440 that summer with those kids, Like we only lost one. 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.080 You know, we lost two games that summer. We lost 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.240 in the Leade eight two team loaded in Virginia and 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:47.200 UM in um Birmingham, and then we lost to Southern 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:51.760 Assault in the championship with Harrison Harrison Ingram because we 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.000 lost to them in the championship by one point. We 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:57.080 had the ball with ten seconds to go, Chabouzo lost 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.600 his shoe. All hate to do is get foul. Are 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:02.320 are the shot we should want that? But what my 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.640 point is this, we were one We were one bad 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:10.320 possession away from winning it from winning it again back 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:13.640 to back without Evan and without Johnny, because they're both. 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.640 That's what I was talking to Dalon about that because 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:22.120 that shows to you how good those two were really were. 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:25.240 So listen, we we go to the championship, we lose 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.480 the championship by one. Then we go to Dino's this 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:31.800 tournament that has other Nike teams, Um Expressions and and Rotary, 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:33.920 and we win that. We blow everybody out in the tournament. 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:37.119 We won that term we blew everybody out like we 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:40.240 played one team. Um, I'm not even say that. I 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:44.240 don't want embarrass them, but um, that had two guys 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:46.359 that are in the NBA right now, one who's a 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:50.120 lottery pick. We wont buy thirty game like that. That's 0:19:50.119 --> 0:19:53.280 how Jalen Clark and j and we only have seven players. 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.520 I had a whip Jalen Clark, and this shows how 0:19:57.560 --> 0:19:59.760 good those two really were. And that's what we talked. 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.080 I can't imagine something like they're playing against the best 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.320 guys in the country and they were supposed role guys 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:09.160 or whatever else, but they're smacking everybody. Yeah, but it's 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.040 but that's that style to those dudes. They have size, 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:14.679 then they play a certain type of game too, as 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:17.919 far as they go hard when you have energy and motor. 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:21.600 And then two couple that with lytticism length like you. 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.480 I mean, that's like, man, you stand out. I mean 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:26.600 the thing that stands up to me about Jalen also 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.040 is when I'm seeing them up so you know, during 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:30.920 the course of the game, you say, like basketball game, 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:34.600