Speaker 1: The seventy Sixers definitely had their eyes on the target
Speaker 1: in the first round of this year's draft, and they
Speaker 1: got him Batistible out of Washington. I think you guys
Speaker 1: understand athlete that dru did who he didn't do a
Speaker 1: lot of workouts for the draft. I will guarantee he
Speaker 1: will turn heads and you guys, is the first thing
Speaker 1: that he's on the floor, they will say, wow, I
Speaker 1: didn't know it was like that. Then in the second round,
Speaker 1: the club grabbed another veteran prospect, Mariel shaff He's made
Speaker 1: a great jumps in the last two years. Now he's
Speaker 1: gonna have more time to put into it is what
Speaker 1: he can do the next couple of years. We talked
Speaker 1: to two coaches of the Sixers two draft picks on
Speaker 1: this episode of the broadcast A busy Draft night, it
Speaker 1: was for the seventy sixers. They entered the evening with
Speaker 1: five picks, ended it with two, but no doubt they
Speaker 1: believe in the guys. They got Latistival at the twentieth
Speaker 1: slot and Mariel Shayak at pick number fifty four and
Speaker 1: Brian Sell hope you are doing great. Thank you as
Speaker 1: always for checking out the podcast. We're gonna speak with
Speaker 1: Will Conroy, a former NBA player who also played at
Speaker 1: the University of Washington and he coached Thible there the
Speaker 1: last four years as an assistant, and also Steve Prome,
Speaker 1: the head coach at Iowa State who had Mariol Shayak
Speaker 1: in his program last season. Before we get started, some
Speaker 1: reminders that to find our podcast, you can go to
Speaker 1: just about any podcasting platform that's out there, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, tune in, spreaker, type in Sixers
Speaker 1: Podcast Network and that will take you to our feed.
Speaker 1: And please do subscribe if you have not yet done so. Already.
Speaker 1: Conversations with Will Conroy and Steve prom coming up, But
Speaker 1: first I wanted to play back some sound from draft
Speaker 1: night or what became early the next day, Draft morning,
Speaker 1: going from Thursday, June twentieth into Friday, June twenty. It
Speaker 1: was a long night for general manager Elton Brand and
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers, just because they had to wait for
Speaker 1: the trade call with the Boston Celtics to be finalized
Speaker 1: before they could formally announce that they had acquired Matisse
Speaker 1: Thybal with the twentieth overall pick. The Sixers also got
Speaker 1: Mariel Shayak, a guy who they had in for a
Speaker 1: workout at the start of the pre draft period. So
Speaker 1: here's Elton brand the night of the draft talking about
Speaker 1: the seventy sixers two acquisitions Thible and Shayok Matisse. Eventually
Speaker 1: he's going to take time, but I see him cracking
Speaker 1: that that front end of our rotation. Mariol He's definitely
Speaker 1: gonna be part of our organization. We look forward to him,
Speaker 1: you know, being a part of us. They're they're young,
Speaker 1: they're talented, so I feel good about it. Both Thible
Speaker 1: and Shaok do seem to have some parallel traits and characteristics.
Speaker 1: Three in D veteran college players, high character guys. Certainly
Speaker 1: Thiable well known for his defense. The National Defensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year last season in his final go round
Speaker 1: at Washington, led the country with one hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: six steals. He had in top ten individual defensive rating
Speaker 1: in Division one NC DOUBLEA. So Thible he is ready
Speaker 1: for this next step. It has been quite the journey
Speaker 1: for him, and he reflected on that upon his arrival
Speaker 1: at the training complex last Friday. It might feel even
Speaker 1: more like a dream now, like walking through the facility,
Speaker 1: and it's crazy to say because you, I mean, you
Speaker 1: always imagine, you dream of being in this position, but
Speaker 1: to actually be there is pretty surreal. Thible and the
Speaker 1: limited time that we were around him here in Camden
Speaker 1: last week, he just always seemed to be smiling, amazing
Speaker 1: kid with great perspective and a skill set that the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers really like. You could say the same about
Speaker 1: Mariel Shayok as well. He started his college career at
Speaker 1: UVA under Tony Bennett. He then transferred in two seventeen,
Speaker 1: sat out that season while with Iowa State, got on
Speaker 1: the court last year and had a breakout season. So
Speaker 1: here's shayoksly after arriving at the Sixers facility, playing for
Speaker 1: Uba and I was stay was definitely a blessing. Playing
Speaker 1: under two great coaches and great programs. I was able
Speaker 1: to learn and hopefully I can use those both of
Speaker 1: those experience and take into the next level. Between Shayak
Speaker 1: and Thible seventy six ers field, they've got a couple
Speaker 1: of players who might be able to compete for spots
Speaker 1: in the rotation. That can certainly be said for the
Speaker 1: number twenty pick Thible. Why don't we bring on right now.
Speaker 1: A guy who coached him all four years at Washington
Speaker 1: between two coaching staffs, Lorenzo Romar, first for thibles freshman
Speaker 1: and sophomore seasons and then most recently Mike Hopkins for
Speaker 1: Thible's junior and senior campaigns. His name is Will Conroy.
Speaker 1: He was an all time great playing at Washington. He
Speaker 1: then was in the pros in the NBA overseas, had
Speaker 1: a front office stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he
Speaker 1: is now an assistant coach with Washington. All right, Will
Speaker 1: Money tell us about Matisse. What I'll say is off
Speaker 1: the court, you are getting a guy who is if
Speaker 1: if you're looking for a guy that you will be
Speaker 1: okay to date your daughter, that will be Matief Kinder.
Speaker 1: There's no higher praise than now. I mean, he is
Speaker 1: honorable as they come. I've never seen him seat a
Speaker 1: line and down and back. Even if he doesn't get
Speaker 1: the time, if you would like him to get, he
Speaker 1: just rather do it right, you know, every single time,
Speaker 1: than to try to cheat it. And that's who he is.
Speaker 1: He's a He's a stand up guy for things that's right.
Speaker 1: He doesn't hesitate to speak his mind. If if he
Speaker 1: doesn't think guys are doing the right things. He's a giver.
Speaker 1: He wants to see everyone around him do well. And
Speaker 1: he's just an unbelievable kid. It really seems in the
Speaker 1: little time that we've gotten to be around him here
Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, he has the complete package from an intangible standpoint,
Speaker 1: from a skill set standpoint. And I'm sure you guys
Speaker 1: noticed this two in Washington. To me, the first thing
Speaker 1: that jumps out to me is the guy never stops smiling.
Speaker 1: He is smiling all the time. Oh yeah, he's appreciative man.
Speaker 1: He is, you know from Tis. He's you know, he
Speaker 1: came in here. The guy played center in high school.
Speaker 1: He's a center at Eastside Catholic High School. And you know,
Speaker 1: we took him here. You know, he he kind of
Speaker 1: didn't understand what we wanted from him. He didn't understand.
Speaker 1: And when he first got here, I told Hi about Simitis.
Speaker 1: At some point, you could be the best defensive player
Speaker 1: in the country, and he kind of fought it. He
Speaker 1: kind of fought us on it. You know, he kind
Speaker 1: of wanted to score. He did. The position for him
Speaker 1: was raw, like playing the guard was raw. So he
Speaker 1: would go too fast sometimes or go too slow. He's
Speaker 1: just trying to figure it out. But what we knew
Speaker 1: is if it ever clicked, then the world would see
Speaker 1: what we saw. And by middle of his sophomore year,
Speaker 1: you know, he really starts backing those steels up and
Speaker 1: he started having fun playing defense. Junior year took off
Speaker 1: playing defense and see her. You're obviously everybody found out
Speaker 1: about him, so it was a pretty big time to
Speaker 1: watch his maturation and the kids just that's why he's
Speaker 1: always smiling. He's like he almost like, I can't believe
Speaker 1: all this has happened for me totally. And it was
Speaker 1: just a really neat moment to see him and his
Speaker 1: father embrace when they got to the seventy sixers training
Speaker 1: complex and his dad had the same vibe about him.
Speaker 1: He just looked around and was like, Wow, I cannot
Speaker 1: believe that this dream finally came to fruition. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's no doubt the seventy sixers targeted Matisse because of
Speaker 1: his defensive capabilities. Elton Brand called him the best wing
Speaker 1: in the draft. I wanted to ask you two prompt
Speaker 1: questions about the defense with Matisse, going back to what
Speaker 1: you just said, you had the vantage point of seeing
Speaker 1: him for his entire career at Washington. What initially did
Speaker 1: you guys see in him that led you to believe
Speaker 1: that he could evolve the way he did defensively, and
Speaker 1: then how did you ultimately sell him on and how
Speaker 1: did you make playing that side of the floor fun
Speaker 1: for him something that he could buy into well? Amatically,
Speaker 1: he his athleticism jumps off the charts. He's talking about
Speaker 1: a guy who was agile as anyone in the draft,
Speaker 1: could jump as high as anyone probably beside Zion in
Speaker 1: the draft. And his instincts are ridiculous. I mean, you
Speaker 1: talk about a cornerback that can cut off one side
Speaker 1: of the field. Literally, Teams would not run their offense
Speaker 1: if it had if he was on the side of
Speaker 1: the zone, they would not run their off They would
Speaker 1: not additiate office that way. And you knew it was
Speaker 1: bad when that practice he was he was still the
Speaker 1: ball from the our backup point guard who's playing with
Speaker 1: him all year. So you start to see that stuff
Speaker 1: and you're like, man, that's not normal. And then for me,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm having a chance to play me around
Speaker 1: some of the top athletes of the world playing in
Speaker 1: the pros. When I start to see some of his
Speaker 1: athletic ability, I was like, man, that dude was one
Speaker 1: of the most athletic people in the world, not just
Speaker 1: not just basketball. And then our track coach came from Texas,
Speaker 1: I mean, our strength coach came from Texas and he
Speaker 1: was working with track at at Tech at Texas. And
Speaker 1: then when he said this, and I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I thought I was I knew I wasn't crazy. The
Speaker 1: track coach says, if I trained Matisse for a month,
Speaker 1: he can win it too. Cathalan, No, really, he said,
Speaker 1: he is in that percentage of athlete in the world.
Speaker 1: Amazing because over here, you guys understand athlete that you're
Speaker 1: getting like because he hasn't. We didn't. He didn't do
Speaker 1: a lot of workouts for the draft. I will guarantee
Speaker 1: he will turn heads and you guys is first thing
Speaker 1: that he's on the floor, they will say, wow, I
Speaker 1: didn't know it was like that. It's interesting. Was there
Speaker 1: are a couple of things that were going on here
Speaker 1: in the run to the draft. Not only like you said,
Speaker 1: did Matisse not do a ton of workouts for the
Speaker 1: fans here in Philadelphia. They also didn't have a ton
Speaker 1: of opportunities to see you guys the Huskies play over
Speaker 1: the past couple of years because the time zone difference
Speaker 1: and all that. So I think that has added to
Speaker 1: the intrigue surrounding Matisse's profile as well his instincts. How
Speaker 1: did you fine tune those over the course of his
Speaker 1: time with the team? Defensively? You know what, you don't
Speaker 1: really get a chance to fine tune them. What you
Speaker 1: do as you watch film with him and you and
Speaker 1: you let him see like, uh, because he's so good
Speaker 1: at it and he creates so much havoc that you know,
Speaker 1: he takes chances, and when you take chances, sometimes he
Speaker 1: can hurt the He can hurt us in a in
Speaker 1: a position where he can put us in a position.
Speaker 1: But it got to a point, to be honest with you,
Speaker 1: it got to a point where we were just like,
Speaker 1: let Matisse be Matis and then we all just cover
Speaker 1: for it. You know, you don't you don't try to
Speaker 1: put a bottle cap on that. It's something that Brett
Speaker 1: Brown with the seventy six ers, he talked about this
Speaker 1: past season with a guy like Jimmy Butler. Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: roles within the defense, but sometimes when you have someone
Speaker 1: who's got the gifts and the sense and the anticipation,
Speaker 1: you just let them run their own course to a
Speaker 1: certain degree, and like you said, cover ground where you
Speaker 1: need to cover ground, there's no question. And he's got
Speaker 1: the speed and the agility to do it. I mean,
Speaker 1: the guy. Another thing that we had, we have a
Speaker 1: mild test, and this is another. There's another thing. We
Speaker 1: had a mild test now and that's a mild test.
Speaker 1: The guards have to make it in five thirty. The
Speaker 1: bigs have to make it in five thirty five. That's
Speaker 1: our that's our season opener to telephone. Guys have been
Speaker 1: working out over the guys are in fake I made
Speaker 1: the mile in five. My fastest time was five fifteen.
Speaker 1: Nate Robinson was five, like thirteen, five twelve. Okay, we
Speaker 1: kind of helped. I think maybe one guy broke the record,
Speaker 1: which was like five or nine. Latisse made the mile
Speaker 1: in four fifty five. Wow, that's outrageous. Four fifty five.
Speaker 1: And as he finished, the guy just walked off like
Speaker 1: he didn't bend over. He just walked off like Hoodo
Speaker 1: was kind of tough. That's incredible. I mean, he does
Speaker 1: seem it again, This is just first impressions on this end,
Speaker 1: like a guy who really can't be phased by much.
Speaker 1: Obviously everything that he's gone through on the personal side
Speaker 1: of things, he seems to have a great maturity about him,
Speaker 1: someone who can persist in persevere. We heard from his
Speaker 1: father the day he was introduced with the seventy six
Speaker 1: ers after the draft, and his dad said that their
Speaker 1: family has this acronym GDI goddamn individual, which is to mean,
Speaker 1: you know, they raised matis to try and be this
Speaker 1: independent person, someone who can be proactive and find his
Speaker 1: own way. That seems like it's carried through in a
Speaker 1: bunch of different aspects of his life. No, there's no
Speaker 1: question he is a He is a guy who's not
Speaker 1: going to follow the trend if he doesn't feel like
Speaker 1: if he doesn't feel like it's been official to him,
Speaker 1: he's just not his way. You know, He's just gonna
Speaker 1: do what he believes is writ in his heart. He's
Speaker 1: just gonna do that. And uh, you know, his dad
Speaker 1: always said he's his mother's child and she was a
Speaker 1: supergiver and she just wanted everybody around her to be great.
Speaker 1: And dad always says that's that's that's his mother's child.
Speaker 1: He said, yeah, he said the exact same thing when
Speaker 1: we sat down with him. Um, tell me about the
Speaker 1: transition that Matisse made along with the rest of the
Speaker 1: team when you guys went from the defensive system you
Speaker 1: ran under coach Romar to what coach Hopkins implemented with
Speaker 1: the zone. Well, and this is I'm glad you asked
Speaker 1: this question everyone before the draft, I took somebody calls
Speaker 1: from NBA teams. They said, do you think you can
Speaker 1: guard at the NBA level? And I said, well, Matisse
Speaker 1: played man and man. His first two years, he led
Speaker 1: the team in steals both years, right played man to man.
Speaker 1: It's second year he led the conference and steals playing
Speaker 1: manda man. You know, the only person that beat him
Speaker 1: his freshman year, I believe was Gary Payton GP two. So, uh,
Speaker 1: the zone just gave him a home. You know. The
Speaker 1: zone just put him in a home where he can
Speaker 1: kind of just sit back and read eyes. So that's
Speaker 1: when you've seen his numbers just double up. You know,
Speaker 1: a man and man you're more responsible for a guy. Um,
Speaker 1: the zone just kind of gave him a home to
Speaker 1: just like really rereak havoc. Everyone focuses on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the game for Matisse, understandably so given what
Speaker 1: he did. What were your impressions of him as far
Speaker 1: as his offensive development of the last four years, Well,
Speaker 1: it's great for Matis. That's an NBA game has transitioned
Speaker 1: into you know, if you're not if you're not listen,
Speaker 1: Let's say, and you guys in this case of Bench
Speaker 1: Simmons or Joel and be someone who's gonna have the
Speaker 1: ball in their hands, you know the majority of the game. Uh,
Speaker 1: you want guys who can make an open shot, who
Speaker 1: can drive a close out, who can make a right
Speaker 1: decision with the ball, and a guy who can guard
Speaker 1: the game. The NBA has just transitioned that way. So
Speaker 1: as an NBA start transitioning that where I thought Matistes
Speaker 1: would be a gold product for any team, and that's
Speaker 1: he can do that. He can make open shots, he
Speaker 1: can drive the clothes out and finish above the rim,
Speaker 1: and then he can guard. He can switch one through three,
Speaker 1: one through four in the in the NBA game, So
Speaker 1: you know, if you can see guys like Trevor Reza
Speaker 1: who aren't really close to Matisses is a six nine,
Speaker 1: six eight like Trevor, but I mean he's got a
Speaker 1: seven one wingspan with a forty one is vertical at
Speaker 1: six six, So not a bad profile to have, not
Speaker 1: at all. And you're a guy who you not only
Speaker 1: had a terrific career playing for Washington, you were in
Speaker 1: the pros in the NBA and the G League overseas.
Speaker 1: You had some time in the front office within the
Speaker 1: league as well. What did you learn over the chorus
Speaker 1: and what do you continue to learn over the course
Speaker 1: of your current basketball about what makes a prospect the
Speaker 1: college level, What sets a prospect of the college level
Speaker 1: to have a solid, a good, great pro career. Well,
Speaker 1: you kind of see what you look for is you
Speaker 1: look for um, you look for fit. You know, either
Speaker 1: you're gonna be either the NBA team like you as
Speaker 1: a star. Uh. You know, usually those guys are guys
Speaker 1: who that thing is kind of decided when they were
Speaker 1: juniors and seniors in high school. You know, they start saying, well,
Speaker 1: this guy is gonna be a franchise of an NBA team.
Speaker 1: But then you have those guys who developed out of nowhere,
Speaker 1: you know, and and really can help a team. And
Speaker 1: when I've seen that with Matiss I've seen his how
Speaker 1: he progressed. I said that dude's gonna be an NBA
Speaker 1: basketball player. And then as the years went on and
Speaker 1: got further and further, that dude was gonna be an
Speaker 1: NBA for a long time. You know, actually, as the
Speaker 1: skills start to refine, you start to say, now I
Speaker 1: can really see where he can he can stand. And
Speaker 1: obviously the NBA game has transitioned into a more of
Speaker 1: a one guy has the ball, another guy's option be
Speaker 1: than that option. See guy seeing the guy are very
Speaker 1: instrumental on how you win, because you know, they have
Speaker 1: to be able to make open shots to keep the
Speaker 1: defense honest. And he can do that. And he can,
Speaker 1: like I said, he can play defense on the other end.
Speaker 1: So when you start to see that, he becomes gold
Speaker 1: to teams. And that's why I knew he'd be he'd
Speaker 1: be a solid pick draft pick. Seventy Sixers said going
Speaker 1: into the draft they were looking for a mature college
Speaker 1: prospect to acquire in the draft this year. How do
Speaker 1: you think Mattise having been in college a starter for
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty five games for you guys, how
Speaker 1: do you think that will benefit him? And also the
Speaker 1: seventy sixers. I think, um, it'll really been benefit the
Speaker 1: seventy six ers. Obviously, I'm a real familiar with you
Speaker 1: guys just personnel. M Tony Rotten was there who was
Speaker 1: like a brother of mine, a little brother of mine,
Speaker 1: and they still a legend in Philadelphia. Tony Roten is
Speaker 1: you know, and and I spent some time with a
Speaker 1: lot of time with Markuel Folds, So I've been familiar
Speaker 1: with you guys as a personnel for the last few years,
Speaker 1: maybe five or six years, So I know he can
Speaker 1: do what you need him to do. I know you
Speaker 1: guys made a good player out of Robert Covington, and
Speaker 1: I thought Covington was a really solid defensively. But Matise
Speaker 1: can actually like turnheads defensively. It's actually becomes laughable for
Speaker 1: things that he does. Some high praise from one of
Speaker 1: Matistible's assistant coaches in college, someone who's involved in breaking
Speaker 1: him in to the Huskies from his freshman year. Will Conroy,
Speaker 1: a former NBA player and also player at Washington as well,
Speaker 1: appreciate him taking a few moments to talk about Matisse
Speaker 1: On the podcast, we'll hear from Steve Prome about Mariel
Speaker 1: shack in just a second, but wanted to hit you
Speaker 1: with this reminder. Registration currently opened for seventy six ers
Speaker 1: Camps presented by Rothman Orthopedics empowered by EESF. Go to
Speaker 1: seventy six ers Camps dot com for all the information.
Speaker 1: One week, two week, three week, and four week session
Speaker 1: at registration opportunities are available right now. You can take
Speaker 1: video tours of the dorm rooms at the various facilities
Speaker 1: that seventy sixers Camps are being held at throughout the
Speaker 1: Delaware Valley. There's such a great track record for success
Speaker 1: and even more important enjoyments for campers at seventy sixers Camps.
Speaker 1: Go to seventy sixers Camps dot com to learn more.
Speaker 1: It's seventy Sixers Camps presented by Rothmann Orthopedics empowered by EESF.
Speaker 1: Mariol Shock acquired by the seventy Sixers with the fifty
Speaker 1: fourth pick in last Thursday's draft. Let's hear from the
Speaker 1: guy who coached him last year at Iowa State when
Speaker 1: he broke out for a ridiculously efficient and impressive season.
Speaker 1: Steve prom Is, the head coach of the Cyclones. I
Speaker 1: think you're getting a great, great person, great family, great character,
Speaker 1: extremely hard work or fun to be around. And he's
Speaker 1: an everyday guy, you know, humble going cool, but he
Speaker 1: his best quality. I think he's just he's he's a
Speaker 1: phenomenal worker and he's going to be great for the
Speaker 1: culture there. How did you first connect with Mario? How
Speaker 1: did he first come on your radar? You know, obviously
Speaker 1: had three great years of Virginia, obviously great great respect
Speaker 1: for Virginia and Tony Bennett's one of the elite coaches
Speaker 1: in the country. But I think Mario, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of got to a point there was like, you know,
Speaker 1: how do I kind of take the next step to
Speaker 1: get seen a little bit more and and and play
Speaker 1: at a different pace offensively, And so he kind of
Speaker 1: bet on himself, and you know, after three years, we
Speaker 1: actually played him in the Sweet sixteen in two thousand
Speaker 1: and sixteen. M and his Virginia team ended up getting
Speaker 1: beating the Elite eight. But he had won a couple
Speaker 1: of ye championships, he had you know, been to Elite eight,
Speaker 1: and so he decided to transfer, and we jumped on
Speaker 1: him right away and thought maybe he would go to Providence.
Speaker 1: We were a little nervous about that, but there's a rule,
Speaker 1: you know, he had rich had signed with Marquette, and
Speaker 1: there's a rule you can double up in the Big East.
Speaker 1: Once you signed with the big EAT school, you can't
Speaker 1: sign with another one. And so he had a really
Speaker 1: good relationship with it Cooley. But you know, we were
Speaker 1: able to really recruit him hard and get him here
Speaker 1: and he ended up visiting here, and then he ended
Speaker 1: up visiting Liberty, which Richard McKay's there who coached him
Speaker 1: at Virginia, you know, for a while as an assistant,
Speaker 1: and we got him and you know, he sat out
Speaker 1: and had a tremendous sit out year and then opposite
Speaker 1: a terrific, terrific's eating year for us. So what goes
Speaker 1: on behind the scenes during that red shirt transfer year
Speaker 1: which was two thousand and seventeen, two and eighteen, that
Speaker 1: prepared him to make at least on the superficial stat
Speaker 1: page the type of jump that he did, because the
Speaker 1: numbers last year with you guys who are outstanding. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, there's a stat and I don't have an
Speaker 1: in front of me, but I think since in two
Speaker 1: thousand and nine two ten, only eight players have had
Speaker 1: a stat line of this efficiency level eighteen and a
Speaker 1: half points, forty eight from the field, thirty eight from
Speaker 1: thirty eighty eight from line. Only eight players in ten
Speaker 1: twenty ten. So that's a phenomenal feed in itself. But
Speaker 1: you know, it's ten to fifty here right now on
Speaker 1: a Wednesday. And if Maria was in school here right
Speaker 1: now still, and the gym light was on and there
Speaker 1: was a ball bouncing, you could bet your last time
Speaker 1: it was probably gonna be male satof out there. Uh,
Speaker 1: And that's how he used to sit out here. He
Speaker 1: got in the gym, I thought he really improved just
Speaker 1: three point shot a three point percentage one up six
Speaker 1: or seven points, and percentage wise, he worked on you know,
Speaker 1: pick and roll offense, being able to come off ball screens,
Speaker 1: and he's, uh, you know, he's got a he's got
Speaker 1: a good you know, obviously he's he's a good looking kid.
Speaker 1: From his upper body is there's well put together, and
Speaker 1: he's got great length. But he just put a lot
Speaker 1: of time in the gym of getting better and really
Speaker 1: you know, increasing his skill level and his seething ability,
Speaker 1: and they really paid off for him as a senior.
Speaker 1: Did you see him as an NBA prospect when you
Speaker 1: put eyes on him. I thought he was going to
Speaker 1: be a really good player for US. I actually have
Speaker 1: a coach here, coach hops US, a head coach Alabama
Speaker 1: when I was in school there that used to stuff
Speaker 1: with the jazz before he got here, and he was
Speaker 1: we went back. He actually had a rite up on
Speaker 1: Mario because he had scouted him at Virginia, and so
Speaker 1: I think he was a guy we thought, you know,
Speaker 1: because of his size, because of his ability to shoot
Speaker 1: the basketball and having great length defensively, that he would
Speaker 1: he would have a chance, you know, he would put
Speaker 1: himself in some conversation and then going in the senior year,
Speaker 1: the way he competed, the way he played, being a
Speaker 1: you know, MVP of the of the the Big Twelfth Tournament,
Speaker 1: you know, winning a conference tournament championship, getting us back
Speaker 1: to the NCAA's I think he got himself. If we
Speaker 1: really don't have a bad two or two two three,
Speaker 1: had a bad two three reach stretch in February. If
Speaker 1: we don't have that stretch, he has a legit chance
Speaker 1: to be a Big Twelfth Player of the Year. Putting
Speaker 1: up tremendous numbers last year, Mariel Shack across the board
Speaker 1: when you see the dynamics with him and how he
Speaker 1: fit in with his teammates. What's it like for a
Speaker 1: guy who comes in after three years at one school,
Speaker 1: Then the expectations probably were somewhere on the higher level,
Speaker 1: I would assume for him going into his season with
Speaker 1: you guys, How did he go about fitting in with teammates?
Speaker 1: What type of teammate was he? I thought he was
Speaker 1: a great teammate, you know. I think he still stays
Speaker 1: in touch with the majority of these guys right now.
Speaker 1: I think you can tell when guys get drafted, how
Speaker 1: excited these guys talking to them, how excited they were
Speaker 1: for him. But I think Mariel was really selfless. He
Speaker 1: put the work in. These guys I think respected his
Speaker 1: work ethic, his attention to detail, his character. So a
Speaker 1: lot of guys really looked up to him. He's a
Speaker 1: fifth year guy, you know, he's fifth yearth senior, came
Speaker 1: out here with a lot of his success, a lot
Speaker 1: of experience, and I think that really helped our program
Speaker 1: last year get back to where we needed to be.
Speaker 1: He seems to really be a prideful guy as well.
Speaker 1: When he came into the seventy six Ers for a
Speaker 1: pre draft work out and we spoke with him. He
Speaker 1: referenced being from Ottawa and being one of the first
Speaker 1: Ottawans to make it into the NBA. Did you get
Speaker 1: that vibe from him as well? The pride factor takes
Speaker 1: him a long way. Yeah. I think a lot of
Speaker 1: those guys, you know, we've had great success with Canadian
Speaker 1: kids here, you know, here in the last couple of
Speaker 1: years and then back when Fred Hoyburg was here, and
Speaker 1: I think they all take a lot of pride and
Speaker 1: everybody who takes a lot of pride and represent their
Speaker 1: country with its USA, Canada, whichever it may be. And
Speaker 1: so yeah, I think, you know, being from Ottawa, I
Speaker 1: think he takes a lot of pride in that. And
Speaker 1: I think his family does too. And he's got a
Speaker 1: great family, and I know they're really really excited for him.
Speaker 1: You mentioned earlier seeing a potential fit for mary All
Speaker 1: in your system at Iowa State. For some seventy six
Speaker 1: Ers fans, even myself, who might not always see you
Speaker 1: guys play on television throughout the year, what did you
Speaker 1: think made the match work well? Specific to what you
Speaker 1: guys do on offense and defense, well, I just think offensively,
Speaker 1: his ability of space to floor with his shooting ability.
Speaker 1: You know, we play I think we were ninth in
Speaker 1: the country last year, and offensive efficiency. We were number
Speaker 1: one in our league in assistant turnover ratio last year.
Speaker 1: You know, we've been one of the top offensive teams
Speaker 1: over the last several years. And so just the spacing concepts,
Speaker 1: I think he'll be familiar with a lot of the
Speaker 1: spacing concepts. You know, some things offensively that you guys
Speaker 1: do that I think his learning curve will be he'll
Speaker 1: be able to handle all the learning curve that he's
Speaker 1: got to change and adapt to at the NBA level.
Speaker 1: But you know, space to floor give those guys a
Speaker 1: lot of freedom to make plays in space, make plays
Speaker 1: off pick and roll. Our biggest thing was, you know,
Speaker 1: how good can we share the ball and move the ball?
Speaker 1: And when we moved the ball well, and the ball
Speaker 1: really was hopping around the floor. We were really a tough,
Speaker 1: tough cover and a tough car because we put some
Speaker 1: other really good primer guys out there as well, you know.
Speaker 1: But and then Mario and defensive, I think the one
Speaker 1: thing he brings with his size is he can also
Speaker 1: are bound for you both offensively and defensively on both ends,
Speaker 1: and that was big for us. He had, he had
Speaker 1: a cup, you know, some some big rebounding games for
Speaker 1: us as well. I would stayed under your watch putting
Speaker 1: a handful of players into the NBA. What have you
Speaker 1: found to be some of the keys to creating an
Speaker 1: atmosphere within a program to help prepare guys for that
Speaker 1: next step professionally. If that next step professionally is the
Speaker 1: NBA or somewhere else, well, I just think it's you know, character,
Speaker 1: having great character and have a great work ethic, and
Speaker 1: then being humble in the process. I think those are
Speaker 1: the three biggest things. And if you look at the
Speaker 1: guys that are in the NBA area and having success
Speaker 1: first right now, you know George Niang with the Utah Jazz,
Speaker 1: Monte Morris with Vernuggets, just to name a couple. You know,
Speaker 1: we've got a couple in Oklahoma City, Deante Burton and
Speaker 1: Avil Nader. And then and then as long as playing
Speaker 1: Summer League with the Calves, he was with the Utah
Speaker 1: Jazz on a two way last year. Those guys work
Speaker 1: ethic and their everyday ability to compete and get better
Speaker 1: was as good as I've been around. Matt Thomas played
Speaker 1: from the season Valencia, Spain in the highest level over
Speaker 1: They're having a great, great run. Those guys, their character
Speaker 1: and their work ethic was off the charts, and I
Speaker 1: think that's what's given Mariel a chance to get drafted
Speaker 1: and put himself in a position where hopefully you can
Speaker 1: help the Sixers, you know, you get get to the
Speaker 1: conference finals or even further than that next year. Some
Speaker 1: of these guys too, they have had some seasoned experience
Speaker 1: playing in the college game. From your standpoint as a
Speaker 1: college coach, one thing the seventy sixers were looking at
Speaker 1: bringing in prospects this year who might be able to
Speaker 1: fill a role jump in right away for an NBA
Speaker 1: team that's trying to compete for a championship. What's your
Speaker 1: view on how the accumulation of time reps at the
Speaker 1: NCAA level can affect the transition of a player to
Speaker 1: the pros, let's say the NBA, because that does seem
Speaker 1: to be the type of profile of a player the
Speaker 1: seventy Sixers were searching for. Yeah, I think a great
Speaker 1: game you know for Marial is now you know, you
Speaker 1: really gets shoot he didn't have to. He was a
Speaker 1: fifth yer year graduate end is three year already and
Speaker 1: he was taking some classes senior year. But now it's
Speaker 1: all basketball, and I think for a guy like him,
Speaker 1: that's terrific to where he can get in. He can
Speaker 1: watch films, the coaches, he can talk with him, he
Speaker 1: can get in with the workout guys. He can get
Speaker 1: his extra shots and really get in there and learn
Speaker 1: and get better. Um, you know, I'm excited to see
Speaker 1: kind of you know, he's made great jumps in the
Speaker 1: last two years. Now now he's gonna have more time
Speaker 1: to put into it. Is what he can do the
Speaker 1: next couple of years. Obviously with you know, coach Brown
Speaker 1: and his system and the people that they've got, you know,
Speaker 1: to push him. I think he's kind of really good
Speaker 1: home and a great thing about is you want these
Speaker 1: guys in places that they love hoops. And the first
Speaker 1: time I ever went to an NBA game, I was
Speaker 1: a young kid. I went to watch the Hawks and
Speaker 1: Sixers back with Irving and Tony and Billy Cunningham. I
Speaker 1: grew up a diehard Sixers fan because I've lived in
Speaker 1: Northern Virginia and so I'm excited for him. So tell
Speaker 1: me a little bit more about that. How did you
Speaker 1: make the Sixers connection there? If it was Northern Virginia?
Speaker 1: Is that not Bullets country or Wizards country for what
Speaker 1: it would be now? Or yeah, back back back when
Speaker 1: I was growing up as bullets, right, you know, yeah, bullets. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, as a couple of you know, Philly to
Speaker 1: the Northern Virginia's not far uh. And man, I just
Speaker 1: grew up. I was just doctor Jay this, doctor Jay that.
Speaker 1: And you know, we went to Philly. Uh, I'll never forget.
Speaker 1: My dad's surprised. And we went to Philadelphia to you know,
Speaker 1: see the Liberty Battle and all the sites of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: And he said, hey, I got your tickets. We're going
Speaker 1: to spectrums and you go to the spectrum and we're
Speaker 1: gonna watch the Sixers tonight. And I swear I still
Speaker 1: know the score. I think we won in overtime one
Speaker 1: twenty to one thirteen. I think it was. And this
Speaker 1: was it had to be years ago. I had to
Speaker 1: be nine, ten years old, I think. But but it's
Speaker 1: you know, back you know, it was Mo Cheeks and
Speaker 1: Tony and Cunningham and Moses Malone and Irving and you know,
Speaker 1: I have a RONI and all those guys, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously Billy Cunningham's coach, you know, but h man, it
Speaker 1: was that was a lot of fun. And you know,
Speaker 1: and my dad liked the Celtics, so you know, back
Speaker 1: then it was you know, the six or Celtics trying
Speaker 1: to fight, you know, fight that battle. But Philly is
Speaker 1: a great sports down. I am a diehardwashing Redskins fan,
Speaker 1: so I don't like the Eagles, but um but I do,
Speaker 1: I do. I do pull for the Sixers. That is
Speaker 1: so great. An early instance of perhaps youthful rebellions. Son
Speaker 1: loves the seventy sixers. Dad a fan of the Boston Celtics.
Speaker 1: That's terrific. Steve Prome, head coach Iowa State had Mariol
Speaker 1: shayok last season. Thanks so much for sharing a few
Speaker 1: stories and continue success with what you've got going on
Speaker 1: out there at AIMS. Thanks and good luck this year
Speaker 1: to you guys. How about that Steve Prome, Iowa State
Speaker 1: head coach, a seventy sixers guy. We love it. I
Speaker 1: love that he took a few moments to talk. Same
Speaker 1: to be said for Will Conroy, assistant coach at Washington
Speaker 1: for the stories shared about n T Stybel. Thank you
Speaker 1: for listening to this episode of the podcast. Well, what
Speaker 1: do we got coming up in the immediate days ahead?
Speaker 1: Something My gut just tells me that at around six
Speaker 1: o'clock on June thirtieth, there's going to be a lot
Speaker 1: of increased interest in what's going on in the NBA
Speaker 1: and things become official on July the sixth, That is
Speaker 1: when we will be able to talk about it. But
Speaker 1: also next week, late next week, Summer League underway. Seventy
Speaker 1: six ers first game on the Summer League docket is
Speaker 1: going to be on Friday at three thirty pm Eastern
Speaker 1: versus Milwaukee Bucks. Follow our social channels. We have you
Speaker 1: updates coming in from Vegas. All right, talk to you
Speaker 1: next time here on the broadcast Seal s