WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Tommy Lloyd 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.880 Everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast. 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:11.280 I'm your host ESPN and Arizona Cardinals broadcaster Dave Pash. Well, 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.000 as we've done from time to time over the first 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:17.320 year and a half of this podcast, we step outside 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:21.240 the Cardinals and the National Football League to talk primarily 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:26.520 college basketball where Arizona Wildcats head basketball coach Tommy Lloyd. 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:29.880 Tommy's in his second year as the head coach of Arizona. 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.160 He was the APE Coach of the Year last year. 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:36.080 He is the third ever to be named coach of 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:39.280 the Year in his first season as a head coach. 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:41.680 He was a Gonzaga as an assistant for twenty years 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:44.800 before taking over for Sean Miller in Tucson a year ago. 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:48.000 He led the Wildcats to a Pac twelve regular season 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:51.319 and conference tournament title and a number one seed had 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.280 a trip to the Sweet sixteen. Arizona currently is fifth 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.280 in the country and just one loss on the season. 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:01.920 We'll talk with Tommy about Arizona basketball twenty twenty three. 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:05.679 We'll also talk about his experience at Gonzaga, how working 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:08.800 with Mark Few and building a culture there prepared him 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.800 for the job with the Wildcats. We'll also ask him 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:15.000 about the first time he met Hall of Famer and 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:18.560 my partner on ESPN broadcast, Bill Walton. He and I 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.800 had breakfasens a small cafe, and the first thing is 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:25.320 he wants hot water with his eleven and then he 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:27.800 wants to order a Brita. He had this argument with 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.200 the Wakers evening. I want a small brito and we're 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:32.160 not going to waste any food here. We'll talk a 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.319 little football with Tommy. We'll talk pickleball as well with 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.280 Tommy Lloyd, and much more coming up. We are presented 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.720 by bet mgm, an official sports betting partner of the 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.440 Arizona Cardinals, and by Hila River Resorts and Casinos. The 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:48.160 bet MGM Touchdown Boost Token is here increase your payout 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.520 with every Cardinal's touchdown. You'll receive an extra ten percent 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.560 boost off every Cardinal's touchdown, and your boost can be 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.520 used on the following week's game only at bet mgm, 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:00.360 the King of Sports Books, an official partner of the 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:04.280 Arizona Cardinals. Visit betmgm dot com for terms and conditions. 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:07.080 Twenty one years of age or older to wager Arizona only. 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:11.720 All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Please 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:15.480 gamble responsibly. Gambling problem called one eight hundred. Next step, 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.640 all right, time for our conversation now with Arizona basketball 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:24.799 coach Tommy Lloyd. So, Tommy, I've had on a lot 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:30.320 of number of guests, wide variety of guests, not just Cardinals, 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.799 even though this is primarily a football podcast. I had 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:39.160 Bobby Hurley on recently, Mark Jackson, Damian Lillard, mcel bridges. So, 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:43.440 first of all, do you have an NFL team? Are 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.799 you an NFL fan? I'm sure probably this time of 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.320 year you're not paying a ton of attention to it, 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:52.120 But how much of the NFL do you like and watch? Well, 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:54.760 first off, all those names you mentioned are much bigger 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:59.200 basketball guys than me, So geez, quite an a steamed group. 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:01.840 But uh, yeah, I know I love football. I mean 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:05.000 I grew up. My wife's frustrated me sometimes that I 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:06.799 did grow up. I told her I was raising the 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.440 Church of the NFL, and you know, just had two 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:11.680 services at ten and one every Sunday because I grew up, 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.400 you know, in the Northwest. So I mean, man, I 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:16.960 loved it, and I grew up I was a huge 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.320 Rams fan. I was just forever the Rams, I mean 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:25.560 from Pat Hayden, h you know, Wendell Tyler, Nolan Cromwell, 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:29.400 you know, then then on Eric Dickerson, Jim Everett. Man. 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:32.000 I love those guys. So that was my team, and 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:33.960 then kind of grew out of it, became a little 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:36.480 bit more local and and you know, got starting to 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.000 following the Seahawks a little bit. And uh yeah, I 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:41.120 went to a few games over the years, and even 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:43.640 snuck up to a Cardinals game this year. I got 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:46.360 up there and and it was a pretty cool experience. 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.600 Which one was it was it the win I hope 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.840 against New Orleans or was it one of the laws? 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.440 It wasn't. It wasn't New Orleans until my gosh, and 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:56.680 and and I had to get out of there, started 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.480 to get back to introduce something. Oh who was it 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:02.480 against U early season game or mid October game? I 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.200 have to look at the schedule and here and racked 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.960 my brain. But uh, but it was. It was a 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:11.640 cool experience. And you know, I hadn't been in that dome. Well, actually, 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:13.960 I'm sorry, I've been in that dome for you know, 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:15.680 they have a recruit him in there for high school 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.359 called Section seventh, which is really cool. I mean, this 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:20.600 group puts on this event in there, and they bring 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:22.480 teams from all over the country, high school teams, and 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.320 they literally put like twenty basketball courts on the on 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.039 the floor, on the on the football floor there, and uh, 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:31.560 and it's pretty cool in the dome. But but then, 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:33.120 the only other time I was in there was twenty 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:39.040 seventeen in the Final four when Gonzaga lost in North Carolina. Yeah, finally, Yeah, 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.240 that was an unbelievable game, unbelievable tournament. Probably felt a 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:45.640 lot different right watching a football game there as opposed 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:49.720 to watching a basketball game. Yeah, that's the stadium, no question, 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.400 But it's so big. It's so big, you know, and 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.200 you know, playing in those domes and basketball it's almost 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:58.440 like a surreal experience because you go out there and 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.640 it's it's like it's like, is this hum of this 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:04.000 noise you're you're in You're like when the crowd yells 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:05.960 and doesn't get to you for a second, you know. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.440 So it's a kind of a bizarre feeling. Speaking of Gonzaga, 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:15.120 I'm sure most people are aware of your history being 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:17.159 a Gonzaga for as long as you were from two 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.160 thousand and two twenty one. And I know you've been 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.880 asked this a lot, but maybe in this setting you 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:24.920 can elaborate a little bit more since we have time. 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.760 But how how similar is your approach been to building 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:34.520 Arizona basketball to what Mark feud did? Obviously you're a 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.360 big part of that, with getting Gonzaga to being a 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:42.400 national power every single year. Well, there's probably a lot 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:46.120 of similarities, and probably so many that I don't even realize, 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:48.520 you know how many there are, and just how we 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.400 conduct ourselves and you know, obviously, I mean I learned 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.360 a lot by observing and being a part of it. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.440 And one of the great experiences of my young coaching 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.400 career was, you know, Fewey gave me the opper to 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.560 contribute and to be a part of it, you know. 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.000 And I wasn't a bystander. I mean you were. You 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.240 were thrown in the middle of it. And then and 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:09.479 if you said something, you better be able to back 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:11.960 it up. And if you brought an idea to the table, 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:14.880 you better be able to argue for it. And uh, 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:16.839 you know, and if it works or didn't work, you know, 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.280 he didn't always hold it against there and so then 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.839 you get confidence to come back with the next idea. 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.400 But I'm sure there's a ton of similarities, you know. 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:28.080 And uh, you know that being said, you know, I 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.600 honestly don't watch them that much, you know. I mean 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:32.360 obviously as we're busy doing our own thing and when 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:35.080 I catch them on TV, because I love those guys 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:37.599 or you know, over the time, but like I don't, 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:39.280 I try not to go out of my way because 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:40.520 what I don't want to do is I don't want 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.719 to compare what we're doing to what they're doing because 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:47.680 both programs are have different players and you know, and 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.440 and I think as a as a coach, you have 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.240 to be authentic to your team and take your team 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.719 on its own journey. And I got to be running 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:57.880 things you know that I think are going to work 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.359 for Arizona basketball, and I say, oh, hey, I saw that, 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.080 you know, Gonzaga ran this or this other team ran, 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.160 and maybe we could do it too, you know. So 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.359 I kind of, especially last year, I really kind of 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:11.640 just stayed one hundred percent focused on our own team, 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:16.640 and I think that helped me kind of eventually help 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.720 us kind of create our own identity. You mentioned last 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.480 year obviously, you win the Pac twelve, you win the 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.200 Pac twelve tournament, you're a number one seed, You win 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:27.600 a p Coach of the Year, only the third ever 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:30.440 to do it in his first season as a head coach. 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:33.400 Why do you think that you guys had as much 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:38.040 success as you did last year? I know that most 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.960 people outside of your building probably did not see that coming. 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:44.360 I think you guys were picked fourth preseason last year 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.640 in the conference, and you guys were at the top 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:48.960 of the standings, on top of the rankings, I should say, 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.440 nationally for a good part of the year. Yeah, I mean, 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:54.320 I think I'll add to that. I mean, I don't 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.920 think we saw it coming, But I also don't think 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.920 we said any limitations on ourselves. I mean one started happening, 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:03.640 like we embraced it and we were like, hey, let's 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.800 be a great team, and we're on this journey day 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.520 to day, game the game, Um, you know, and I 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:11.960 just think last year it was it was just kind 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:14.480 of a collision of a lot of things happening at 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:17.600 the right time. You know, they had a few younger players. 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:19.760 You know that that kind of stayed over, you know, 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.800 from from the Shawn's last team you know, Ben Matter 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:26.680 and Christian Coloco, Dave and Terry to Zoous develop Skirt Crista. 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:28.800 I mean, who are who were good players, but they 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:31.960 were young and and but but they got from experience 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:33.560 because you know, they kind of they had a really 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.000 young team the year before, so they got to play 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.680 and they got to kind of experience and struggle, and 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:40.240 so they had a little bit of an idea what 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:43.320 college basketball is about. And then I came in and 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:45.960 so they were kind of ready to blossom, and we 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.880 really poured into them that offseason. I mean like we 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:52.200 we really went like, you know, hey, we're gonna hammer 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:55.000 home player development because you know, I'm fighting to build 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:58.600 a culture and establish how I'm hoping our program will be. 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.760 And I want our program to be about great kids 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.800 who worked hard and want to get better. And so 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.280 I really wanted to establish that that first year. And 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:11.800 and man, it's just you know, everyone got significantly better 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:14.560 and that was huge. And then we were able to 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:18.080 recruit a few key pieces that really really fit well, 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.199 you know, justin Tire who had a great season, a 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:25.160 Pella Larson who had a great season, you know, and 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.640 so everything just kind of kind of came together, and 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:30.520 then I think you put on top of that that 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.600 team didn't get to play in the NCAA Tournament because 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:38.120 the Arizona had self imposed a postseason band, you know, 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:41.840 I think would have been with two thousand and twenty 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:44.000 twenty one season, so they weren't allowed to go to 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:47.719 the postseason. So they were hungry, and I think all 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.800 those things kind of came together and it was kind 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.400 of just a really cool deal and it was a 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:58.080 ton of fun and I enjoyed that experience immensually, and 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:00.560 I feel like we're kind of in the middle of 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.480 our own journey similar this year. You know, I don't 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:05.120 know how it's going to turn out, but it's kind 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:06.840 of playing out and it has a real good feel 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:10.319 to it. Tommy, you said my favorite word, and that's culture. 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:13.680 And you had that at Gonzaga, you were able to 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:17.400 establish it early at Arizona. You think about the New 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.560 England Patriots. You know, if you're a player and you 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:24.960 go there, there's a culture. There was here with the Cardinals. 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:28.840 It seemed like the middle of last season, a culture building, 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:31.160 and then the team didn't play well down the stretch, 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.360 lost early in the playoffs, and then this year with 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:36.560 all the injuries, especially to you know, the starting quarterback 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:38.640 Kyler Murray, it just never got going. And here the 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:42.400 Cardinals are just four wins on the season. How do 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:48.200 you establish a culture and hold guys accountable? Especially these days, 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.480 it feels like the more college coaches I talked to, 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:54.000 whether it's college basketball, college football, it's a lot harder 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.880 to do that. I just had the Sugar Bowl and 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:59.880 Alabama and meeting with Nick Saban and listening to coach 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:04.679 Saban detail how the players basically are in charge of 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:07.640 the culture, but that still stems from the coach. The 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:11.040 coach obviously sets that standard first. So what's the key 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.080 in your mind to that? I mean, I think the 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.080 biggest thing is you have to treat people really well, 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.640 and if you say something, you got to try to 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:22.560 do it, and you know they're just has to be 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:26.320 that accountability. And then then what coach Saban is right 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:28.640 one hundred pers and agree with them, is you have 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:32.920 to have your players authentically want to contribute to the culture. 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:37.440 For one just might be in great people to really 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.120 enjoying their teammate successes. I mean, I always tell our 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:43.679 guys when we get to a point where you can 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:46.880 put your teammate success above your own individual success. Now 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:48.920 we're getting somewhere, you know. And then that doesn't mean 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:51.280 you don't want to be successful yourself. But like, you know, 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:53.199 in the game of basketball, you're gonna have good games, 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:54.880 you're gonna have bad games, and you know this guy 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.600 is gonna get hot on that certain day. Can you 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:01.000 enjoy that when your teammate has that moment in the sun? 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.280 And uh, And because I think if you do, it 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:06.440 creates good karma, good culture, and then what comes around 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:09.920 goes around. And uh, you know, I mean, I mean, 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:12.320 I don't have a cookbook for it. You know, I'm 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:14.760 still learning myself to be honest with you. But like, 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:16.599 but but the biggest thing I think we try to 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:18.400 do and then I try to do, is I just 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:20.080 try to I try to treat guys good. I let 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:23.240 them know I love them and and and part of 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.160 loving him is me want them to be good. So 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:26.559 in order for them to be good, I got to 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:30.160 push them, you know a little bit. And then and 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.280 then I and then I just I want them to 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.000 fall in love with this place so they want to 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.720 contribute to it. And I think when you do that, 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:41.560 you start kind of you kind of you know, creates 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:43.800 its own momentum a little bit, and it does become 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.199 kind of a player driven, you know, player driven deal 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.320 where the coach has some influence too, for sure, but 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:52.240 but better Yeah, and then it's fun. It's fun to 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:53.600 be a part of that every single day. I mean, 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:55.959 I actually I actually love that part of it. Well, 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.720 you guys have won seventh straight. You got wins over Tennessee, 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:02.440 Indiana and then over the weekend Arizona State. You mentioned 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:05.040 Ben Mathurin, who's having a great year with the Pacers, 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.080 certainly part of the Rookie of the Year discussion. You 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:11.600 lose him, you lose Coloco, yet you guys are still 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:13.960 number five in the country. Do you feel like you 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:17.839 have a good sense of what the identity of this 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:22.199 year's team is and is it similar to last year's team. Well, 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.160 they're probably going to be some similarities, for sure, just 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.000 just in how we play, how we want to move 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.280 the ball, maybe some of the you know, defensive schemes 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.000 and stuff like that. But but you know, I mean, 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:33.400 I think you'd be quite honest, and I mean I 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:36.480 piled our guys this, so it's not a surprising obviously 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.360 we have some talented, good players, but I don't think 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:42.040 we have the same ceiling we had last year. But 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:44.600 but that doesn't mean we can't be as good or better, 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:48.079 you know, And and basketball it's literally comes down to 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:49.560 just trying to find a way to win the next 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.600 game and not not getting too far ahead of yourself 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:53.880 and what do you got to do to win the 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.240 next game? And I think as long as we could 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:59.880 stay you know, in that path and locked in on that, 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.400 you know, I also think our team has a pretty 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:04.960 high floor, you know. I mean, I think consistently we 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.480 can play pretty well because we have guys that play 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.959 with great effort and they play together. And I think 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.640 we have a pretty solid scheme. So you know, I mean, 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:15.880 do we have a been matter and that can go 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.880 catch lobs about the rim or a coloco. No, But 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.680 you know, Umar Bottlo's doing it his own way. Jis 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:25.400 Tabellis has gotten better, Kurt Cresa has gotten better. Um 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.960 you know, Pella Larson's just rock solid. And and so 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:30.800 you know that we bring in a transfer like Courtney 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:33.479 Rainey who has experience and is hungry to be successful. 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:35.840 So I think we got a good mix of guys 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.440 and hey, on any given night, I feel like we 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:40.680 can play with anybody. You know. No, now that doesn't 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:42.760 mean we can't get beat by a lot of teams either, 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.600 but uh, but but all in all, I like where 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:47.960 we're at, and you know, but Dave, you know you're 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.200 around coaches enough. I like where we're at. But Thursday night, 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:53.200 you know, after our game, I might not I might 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:55.800 not have that same feeling for a little bit. So 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.080 you're always fighting, fighting to win the next one. Well, 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:01.600 I'm sure Arizona hands that are listening want to know 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.160 what it's like to coach kurk Cresa. First, I just 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:06.320 love the story and we tell it Bill and I 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:09.160 tell it probably every broadcast. But the fact that he 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:13.320 wears number twenty five his first name, Kerr is on 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.720 the back of his jersey because his dad was a 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:19.800 huge Steve Kerr fan, so he wears the same number 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:23.000 kur Cresa does that Steve Kerr did. But the fact 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:24.880 that Kirk Crease's dad didn't know that he actually played 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.800 at Arizona is the thing I find most interesting about. 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:29.480 There's a huge Kirk Creasa man, but he didn't know 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.920 he played in Arizona he's got a big personality. What's 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:34.640 it like to be around him? What's it like to 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:38.240 coach him? Well, it's awesome. I mean, you know, I 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.040 get asked that question a lot, and I tell he 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.760 was It's easy to coach him because he's really competitive. 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:48.480 He's got he's got an incredible spirit and energy, and 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.800 he wants to win. And when I tell him something, 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:54.680 for the most party does it. You know, So coaching him, 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:56.920 you know, is not bad. Now you just have to harness, 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.200 you know, some of the extras that come with it. 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.120 And but he's maturing, and you know, I mean, he'd 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:07.040 had a couple of technical fouls, you know, in a 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:08.560 couple of games in our own I just told him, 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.160 knock it off, right, we don't need that, you know. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:12.800 And one of them, you know, he thought his teammate 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:14.720 got bound. He was sticking up his teammate and all 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:18.640 this stuff. And you know, the Tennessee game, he had 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:20.240 one on the bench. He was on the bench. We 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.480 I think we'd made a big play and he kind 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:24.040 of got a little too far from the bench and 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.440 they teat him up. So you know, he bet he 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.240 got great spirit, great energy. He's fun to be around. 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.320 Every day. And you know, I mean, I'm sure you 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.760 know fans on the other teams that he drives crazy. 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:37.280 If he was on their team, they would love him 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:41.080 as much as we do. You talked about earlier to 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:45.640 bellas his improvement. Ballo and Creasa. Here's three guys part 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:49.560 of the core of your team, and they're players from overseas. 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:54.920 And it's remarkable over the last two decades how many players. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.120 I mean, you think of the NBA, the two time 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:04.320 reigning MVP, uh nicolea yokich, Uh, you think of Jannis Luca, 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:07.879 there's so many. Basketball now is as much about the 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:11.600 players that are from outside of the United States as 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:13.639 those that are born in American And you were a 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:17.000 big part of that at Gonzaga and at Arizona. When 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.399 do you remember that changing and why do you think 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:24.920 that you in particular have been really successful identifying players 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:29.320 outside the United States that can play well. I mean, 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:33.840 the game has definitely become global, and you know, I 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:36.480 think you can on a trace it back to the 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:40.320 Dream Team in ninety two. Um, you know, they kind 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:43.320 of made basketball burst on the scene, and you know 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.399 you're there. Now that's all over the world, and you know, 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:50.000 in China, it's in Africa, they're seeing this dream team 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.440 because they were just a phenom, you know. And then 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:55.919 you know Europe and then there's all these big guys 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:57.800 that you know, and the rest of the world's playing 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.760 football are soccer, and there's these all these big guys 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:04.120 that like, wet, we need something else, and so they 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.520 kind of got exposed to a sport where maybe they 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:10.119 could be successful and and they just you know, more 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.240 so more guys started playing it. I think that's kind 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:14.879 of what happened. And then you know, when we're sitting 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.240 up there in little old Gonzega, you know, back in 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:19.760 the day, and when I was young, in my twenties, 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:23.359 and I'd love traveling, and i'd actually, you know, played 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:26.480 very low level overseas a little bit when I was 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:30.040 done with college, and I remember some member of coach 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:32.800 few just said, hey, you know, maybe you could help 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:36.040 us out and identify some you know, international players, you know, 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.880 because you know, you're you're in the five oh nine 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:41.680 up there in eastern Washington. I mean, it's a great 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:45.840 place for high school basketball, very good coaches, but but 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:49.080 not my great individual talent players. You know, there's just 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:52.560 Division one ball players, you know, every school. So we 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:54.800 had to think outside the box. So it's the old deal, 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.919 like you know, uh, necessity the mother of invention, you know, 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.720 so you have to kind of think different to be different. 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:04.919 And so we started I started spending a bunch of 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.560 time over there, and it really opened up my eyes 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.040 to you know, not only hey, can we go over 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:15.320 here maybe maybe get better players that can really you know, 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.639 accentuate the talent on our team. Then then maybe if 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:21.560 we just recruit all American kids, you know, we get 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:24.040 we're fishing in other waters or others weren't fishing. But 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:27.480 then almost as important for me, it's just started showing 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.760 me another way at playing and the game is being 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:32.439 coached different, you know, because all those kids that grew 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:33.879 up in America, you know, when you grew up in 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:36.880 high school basketball, you know, you're probably at some point 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:39.720 you're you played on the line up the line defense. 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:42.920 You know, your your coach taught you Bobby Knight's motion offense. 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:47.040 Then you learned flex offense, you know. And in Europe 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:48.600 they were doing a little bit of that, but they 0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:51.080 were doing this thing with these ball screens and movements, 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:54.000 and they just they just didn't have the same restrictions 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:56.800 or limitations. Maybe that all of the American kids have 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:59.840