Speaker 1: Hey, what abum, Doug Gollie, this is all ball. Well,
Speaker 1: let's get to starting college basketball discussions, right, And it's
Speaker 1: going to be a very very interesting year where you
Speaker 1: have so many players in new places that as much
Speaker 1: as we'd like to say we know who's going to
Speaker 1: be good or who's not going to be good.
Speaker 2: I mean even I've been doing this now for twenty
Speaker 2: one years, and this is, without any question, the most
Speaker 2: difficult year to predict what's going to happen because there's
Speaker 2: so many players that have transferred. And then you know,
Speaker 2: we make this assessment that, well, a kid averages fifteen
Speaker 2: a game one place, he goes to a similar level,
Speaker 2: he's going to average. We have no idea how the
Speaker 2: chemistry of that team works. You take Michigan State, for example.
Speaker 2: On paper, you bring back super talented veteran players and granted,
Speaker 2: you know you lose your shop blocker inside that's going
Speaker 2: to make you different. And you bring in an outstanding
Speaker 2: recruiting class and you think, well, they have depths and
Speaker 2: they have talent, and now they have even more shooting
Speaker 2: and ball handling and athleticism. That looks great, but how
Speaker 2: does that all come together in terms of the chemistry
Speaker 2: because we know the reality how the sport works. You're
Speaker 2: not happy now.
Speaker 1: Very early on, some guys will bail, many will be
Speaker 1: thinking about the portal instead of thinking about winning a
Speaker 1: league title. And granted is those the best. So if
Speaker 1: there's one guy that can find a way to bridge
Speaker 1: the gap between the older players and younger players, Tom
Speaker 1: Izzo's that guy. But it doesn't make it any easier.
Speaker 1: He's just really good at it. I bring that up
Speaker 1: because some teams are trying to do it differently. Pepperdine,
Speaker 1: for example, in the WCC, has tried to build organically
Speaker 1: within Now they do have Ethan Anderson, who's a two
Speaker 1: time transfer. He started at USC actually started for USC
Speaker 1: deep in the ncaachroom when they made their lead eight
Speaker 1: run and then he ends up at Wyoming last year
Speaker 1: that was a disaster. Now he transfers to Pepperdine and
Speaker 1: he'll play with a player named Houston Mallett who's tremendously
Speaker 1: talented and versatile, kind of a one two three score
Speaker 1: And even though they lost Maxwell Lewis to the NBA Draft,
Speaker 1: still a very talented team that for the most part,
Speaker 1: Lorenzo Romar has tried to build from within.
Speaker 2: How does that work right?
Speaker 1: You bring in a kid Nathan Anderson who played a
Speaker 1: ton at USC thought he was going to start him
Speaker 1: at Wyoming, doesn't work out, doesn't even last the entire season.
Speaker 2: Now he's at Pepperdine. Is he all in?
Speaker 3: Is he a fit?
Speaker 2: Can they win?
Speaker 1: Can they Can they get into the top two? Can
Speaker 1: they make it the top three in the West Coast Conference?
Speaker 1: I think these are great questions. More than anything. There's
Speaker 1: a guy who's simply enjoyable to be around, and we
Speaker 1: can we can pick apart the fact that Washington sort
Speaker 1: of started to fall apart at the end of his run.
Speaker 1: Their best basketball that they've had consistently in c was
Speaker 1: when Lorenzo Romar was the head coach. So thought you'd
Speaker 1: appreciate the fact I caught up with him at the
Speaker 1: WCC Media Day and kind of a short preview and
Speaker 1: some thoughts on how he's changed, how the games evolved,
Speaker 1: and how coaching has changed as well. Here's my conversation
Speaker 1: on all Ball with Lorenzo Romar. So, how do you
Speaker 1: like your team?
Speaker 4: I like the prospects of our team, Doug.
Speaker 3: We're finally a little bit older.
Speaker 1: Last couple of years, you keep losing guys the NBA,
Speaker 1: you keep recruiting. Y, we have it.
Speaker 4: We haven't really dipped into the transfer portal. We've kind
Speaker 4: of been going in house raising our kids, so to speak,
Speaker 4: and a couple of them left and went in the
Speaker 4: portal themselves. For the most part, we're finally at a
Speaker 4: point where it's going to pay off, I believe. And
Speaker 4: we have a fifth year senior point guard Ethan Anderson.
Speaker 3: We usually play against those guys.
Speaker 5: Yeah he played see.
Speaker 4: Yeah, finally we have one ourselves and we have a
Speaker 4: little more experience. We're still on the younger side, but
Speaker 4: much more experience.
Speaker 3: So I like that.
Speaker 1: What is that like to have to like re recruit
Speaker 1: your own kids on a yearly basis?
Speaker 3: I would say you.
Speaker 4: Re recruit them the entire year in terms of just
Speaker 4: day in and day out.
Speaker 3: Doug it.
Speaker 4: We haven't had to really talk anyone in the staying.
Speaker 4: There were two that left and they just left right.
Speaker 4: We didn't try to talk him into it. If they
Speaker 4: want to leave, they want to leave. But the other
Speaker 4: is a guy like Houston Malet, who's, you know, all
Speaker 4: conference caliber player. This is going in his third year
Speaker 4: and he hadn't had much success as a team, but
Speaker 4: he's still with us. Javon Porter, who's an NBA guy,
Speaker 4: he's back for another year. Malik Moore, who's gone, you're
Speaker 4: going to see me will make a big jump from
Speaker 4: last year to this year.
Speaker 3: He's back. So our guys have been pretty loyal.
Speaker 4: We haven't really had to sit down with them and say, look,
Speaker 4: please stay.
Speaker 6: The league, which it used to be like three tiers, right,
Speaker 6: and it used to be I felt like Gonzaga, Saint
Speaker 6: Mary's then kind of like BUYU and maybe San Francisco
Speaker 6: for a couple of years, and then the bottom now
Speaker 6: feels like there's two, but everyone.
Speaker 1: Outside of same arias Gonzaga is a lot closer.
Speaker 3: Is that Is that fair? I said, that's totally accurate.
Speaker 4: I think you have to look at the work that
Speaker 4: Gonzaga obviously has done, but then Saint Mary's as well.
Speaker 4: There there are national level team in terms of who
Speaker 4: they can compete against year in and year out, but
Speaker 4: then the rest I think have have closed the gap.
Speaker 4: And in this conference, I think everyone's capable of beating
Speaker 4: anyone and it has happened before, so it's it's very
Speaker 4: competitive and that's what you want in your conference?
Speaker 3: For you?
Speaker 5: Is it still fun?
Speaker 1: You always You're somebody that in my dealings with you,
Speaker 1: You've always really enjoyed your interaction with the players right
Speaker 1: the game itself. But it does feel like there's a
Speaker 1: lot of people whove been around it as long as
Speaker 1: you have that are kind of soured on some of
Speaker 1: those aspects of it.
Speaker 3: What's it like for you, I've soured on some of
Speaker 3: the things. When you talk about.
Speaker 4: Kids can lead whenever they want for any reason, and
Speaker 4: it's not basketball. Sometimes it's more like a professional situation
Speaker 4: where you're a free agent and you're.
Speaker 3: Going where you're going to get paid the most.
Speaker 4: That part is different and it's just taken some adjustment
Speaker 4: to but it, Doug, it does not outweigh the fact
Speaker 4: that what you just said, you get to work with
Speaker 4: these guys and you get to watch them grow, You
Speaker 4: get to be a part of maybe the most pivotal
Speaker 4: time in their lives to help mentor them in the
Speaker 4: game and away from the game.
Speaker 3: It's very rewarding and gratifying.
Speaker 7: For me.
Speaker 4: It's something that if I wouldn't getting paid to do it,
Speaker 4: I'd probably still be doing it with somebody, So I
Speaker 4: just I still enjoy it.
Speaker 5: What are you better at now than you use to?
Speaker 4: Understanding the important things that make you the best that
Speaker 4: you can be? Understanding what those is? What those are?
Speaker 4: I think before, Doug, as younger, you tried to cover
Speaker 4: a lot of things. You tried to be good at everything.
Speaker 4: There's some that are good at everything, but there better
Speaker 4: be a few essential, some core parts of this game
Speaker 4: that you're very good at.
Speaker 5: What do you what do you what do you believe
Speaker 5: your best at? What your your core?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 4: Ultimately I would like to think, uh, putting players in
Speaker 4: a position to show their best side. I would say
Speaker 4: that would be what it is. Yeah, almost to a fault.
Speaker 4: I think sometimes and what I've done, Doug, you know
Speaker 4: me as a head coach. I always say we because
Speaker 4: it's a staff. But if I'm making the final decisions,
Speaker 4: I probably let guys that were young give them too
Speaker 4: much freedom too early because they don't understand how to
Speaker 4: use that freedom. I think when or older, they understand
Speaker 4: it and then they have the ultimate freedom, the ultimate
Speaker 4: green light. I probably err on the bad side, have
Speaker 4: given them too much freedom, and that's something that I've learned.
Speaker 4: I think I'm better at that I think I'm able
Speaker 4: to talk to kids more about what is a good shot,
Speaker 4: what's a bad shot when you're over dribbling early, and
Speaker 4: why it makes a difference.
Speaker 1: What about your style as a coach really kind of
Speaker 1: fit always with this era, even in a previous era, right,
Speaker 1: But have you found yourself evolving and changing in how
Speaker 1: you want to play offensive?
Speaker 3: No, not really.
Speaker 4: I still think we provide a structure, but you can
Speaker 4: go right or left within that structure, and it gives again,
Speaker 4: it gives guys freedom. I would say when you asked
Speaker 4: me a question earlier about things that are different and
Speaker 4: what's really important, I think I've become more disciplined in
Speaker 4: those areas than I was when I was a younger coach,
Speaker 4: but yet still giving guys the freedom.
Speaker 1: How more discipline them away.
Speaker 4: If you loaf, if you don't guard, you got to
Speaker 4: sit out. And before you'd sit down a little bit maybe,
Speaker 4: but now you know, you really sit out and you're
Speaker 4: gonna hear about it. So I'm probably more disciplined in
Speaker 4: that regard.
Speaker 1: But you do it in a confrontational or non confrontational.
Speaker 4: Way, in a very firm way, And it depends on
Speaker 4: how much you resist to where it can become more confrecational.
Speaker 4: But then there comes a point where there's no confrontation
Speaker 4: at all. It's just you look on the side and
Speaker 4: the guy says, I'm in for you.
Speaker 3: That's it. No confrontation, right, there's you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: That's right, sit there, and they mumbled to themselves, Yeah,
Speaker 1: go ahead over there with d're out.
Speaker 5: They figure it out.
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Speaker 7: listen live.
Speaker 1: How do you handle losing? Because not very well? Right,
Speaker 1: But again, you look back and there were a couple
Speaker 1: of years that you dot but not really where you'd lost,
Speaker 1: you know, and you guys would always be honestly better
Speaker 1: in the NCAA tournament than you would sometimes in the league, right,
Speaker 1: make runs and in the Pac ten tournament, but you haven't.
Speaker 1: But when you take a program that was where was
Speaker 1: when you got there, you're gonna lose for a guy
Speaker 1: who's won, and then you know, you play guarantees and
Speaker 1: start a year.
Speaker 5: Those are hard.
Speaker 1: How do you emotionally handle the losing that eventually leads
Speaker 1: to the winning.
Speaker 3: I probably handle it.
Speaker 4: It's tougher as a leader because the buck stops with you,
Speaker 4: sure and everything. I don't care how much you get
Speaker 4: on someone about we didn't do that, or you always
Speaker 4: go back to yourself, what could I have done better?
Speaker 4: But at the same time, as a leader, you got
Speaker 4: to be the one that say tomorrow's a different day
Speaker 4: and we got to continue to get better.
Speaker 3: And as a result of that, I'm not one to
Speaker 3: bury people.
Speaker 4: I'm trying to motivate them to find out how we
Speaker 4: can get better constantly. And you don't want to be
Speaker 4: totally condescending because you lose them. But it's not easy
Speaker 4: to lose. That's when more transfers start to happen. More
Speaker 4: parents are calling wondering why they can't, kids don't play more.
Speaker 4: All of that, everyone has an answer, they can solve
Speaker 4: your issues.
Speaker 3: Just a whole plethora of issues come in.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Houston obviously a really talented kid, right and
Speaker 1: even Ethan. Now Ethan's won some when he was at
Speaker 1: SC didn't win anyone who's at Wyoming last year. But
Speaker 1: I think the hardest thing, especially when you have a
Speaker 1: group like you have, some of these kids that have
Speaker 1: been together. Is that final step, which is winning those games.
Speaker 1: Now you've won to ask the championship. You've been a
Speaker 1: part of all these NCAA termed teams, Sweet sixteen teams.
Speaker 1: How do you teach them to win the games that
Speaker 1: the last couple of years you've been close.
Speaker 5: But you've lost.
Speaker 4: Continue to teach the things we've been teaching. Continue to
Speaker 4: teach those things. These are the essentials, These are the
Speaker 4: non negotiables, and we're gonna stick with those, and then
Speaker 4: you gotta win one.
Speaker 5: What are your not negotiators?
Speaker 4: Again, You're gonna play hard. Bottom line, you're gonna play hard,
Speaker 4: You're gonna share the ball. If you do those things,
Speaker 4: then somehow you gotta win one. So easy, everyone doesn't
Speaker 4: do it. And you're talking about in this day and
Speaker 4: age especially, people want to get to the NBA as
Speaker 4: as soon as possible. They select their schools based on
Speaker 4: what where can I get the most NIO money and
Speaker 4: where can I get to the NBA as quickly as
Speaker 4: I can. So if that's their mindset coming in, you
Speaker 4: got to get them to play as a team. So
Speaker 4: you know that's difficult to do. But once all of
Speaker 4: that starts to happen. Then you gotta win one, and
Speaker 4: then you gotta win two, and then there's buy in.
Speaker 4: People forget you mentioned at the University of Washington, we
Speaker 4: took the program over because they weren't winning, and then
Speaker 4: our first year we didn't win, and then we start
Speaker 4: a conference. Our second year, Doug, we were zering five,
Speaker 4: didn't look like we were going anywhere, and then we
Speaker 4: won one, then we won two, and then we end
Speaker 4: up going to the tournament, and then we didn't look back.
Speaker 4: So you just got to get over the hump, keep
Speaker 4: doing things the right way, and then you win one
Speaker 4: and then you start to believe it.
Speaker 1: Last thing, it's a long year, right, I got the
Speaker 1: forty five day.
Speaker 5: Dude's been practicing a while.
Speaker 1: How do you manage how much you want to get
Speaker 1: in their bodies with the fact that they all have,
Speaker 1: whether it's diagnosed or not, some form of add where
Speaker 1: they can't they can't.
Speaker 5: Focus for law, like, what are you like?
Speaker 1: In terms of grinding them in practice now and as
Speaker 1: a progressor of the.
Speaker 4: Season, continue to continue to explain why you're doing something?
Speaker 4: Why is this so important?
Speaker 5: They want to know the why?
Speaker 4: Yeah, right, when they know the why, this is the
Speaker 4: difference in winning and losing a three point game. And
Speaker 4: if we don't get this down, it's not going to happen.
Speaker 4: You mentioned Useonson, what happened when we were at BYU
Speaker 4: and we had the game won, coach, the same thing.
Speaker 4: We didn't box out. This didn't happen. So we'll show you.
Speaker 4: You continue to point those things out day in and
Speaker 4: day out, and don't look at the big picture at
Speaker 4: that time with them. Just look at that next day
Speaker 4: and try to explain why that day, why that drill
Speaker 4: is so important. Next thing, you look up a month
Speaker 4: that's gone by, and you're ready to start playing.
Speaker 3: A little bit.
Speaker 5: What's the ceiling for this team?
Speaker 4: I think when everyone's healthy, which we are right all
Speaker 4: right right now, if we can get healthy and we
Speaker 4: can embrace that system and win a couple and believe it,
Speaker 4: I think we could we could have a chance to
Speaker 4: play postseason basketball.
Speaker 5: Well, look, I want to catch up again.
Speaker 1: I want to go to the deep dive into all
Speaker 1: the history stuff, all right, chance, But in the meantime,
Speaker 1: it's always great to catch up with you.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me, man appreciate it.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: That's it for this misition of all ball reminded the
Speaker 1: Doug Gotlig shows daily three to five Eastern, twelve to
Speaker 1: two Pacific on your iHeartRadio app, Foxport Trader or Foxport
Speaker 1: Trailer dot Com.
Speaker 2: Stay tuned.
Speaker 1: We got so many more great all balls to come.
Speaker 1: I'm Doug Gottlieb.
Speaker 2: This is All Ball