WEBVTT - KJ Live – Sean Farnham 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:09.840 This is k J Live with Chris john Silis and 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:13.600 Chris is having conversations with influencers in the sports world 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:20.920 and entertainment industry. Now here's Chris Johnson. What's happening? You're 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.200 now tuned in the k J Live. Today's guests on 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:29.720 they shows is my man ESPN college basketball analyst Shawn 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:32.760 for him, my former teammate, a good friend of mine, Sean, 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.440 What is happening my man? Not much, man, Congratulations first 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:39.159 and foremost to all the success that you're having. UH. 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.320 Just so proud of you, Uh, you know, taking ownership 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.520 and content. I know it's a big thing for your family. Uh, 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.680 to see Josiah doing his thing on t NT. Uh, 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.080 to seeing your dad continue to rule the NBA the 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.680 way that he has for so many years, get that 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.160 ring with the Bucks. Love all of it. But you know, 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.600 as as you've always blazed, Chris, your own trail, and 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:02.320 I know we're probably talking about your trail at some 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:05.800 point down during this conversation, but absolutely you always blazed 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:09.600 your own trail, and now you're taking ownership in your content. Uh, 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.039 and you're becoming a great content creator and giving a 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:16.120 great platform for people, uh to intersect not just with basketball, 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:20.120 but with the culture around the game of basketball and 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.640 the entertainment aspect of it. I mean, it's just so 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.080 in your fact. It's just your fast line, man, and 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:28.240 I'm so proud of you and what what you're building here. Man. Man, 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:32.160 I appreciate it. Man. Look watching guys like you during 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.080 the college basketball season all for the last twenty years, Sean, 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:36.920 I mean, it's just been inspiration. I've been knocking at 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.520 the door. I've been knocking at the door. I've been 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:42.360 knocking at the door. I've been knocking at the door. 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:44.360 I finally got a little break. I'm very blessed and 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:46.600 proud to be here. But man, this is about you. 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.720 I want to talk about you, Sean. Yeah, I'm mentioning 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:51.840 a twenty year career. I've always wanted to kind of 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.880 find out the story, the background of how you got 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:57.440 involved in broadcasting, because I thought you were gonna go 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.960 down the coaching route or thee or even trying to 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.440 a pro. I thought that, you know, honestly, I thought 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:05.280 that you might have had an opportunity to play overseas. 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:08.160 Talk about what made you get into the broadcasting game. 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.240 UM as a as a youngster. So I mean I 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:12.760 think too. To go back to your point, like, I 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:16.720 had one contract offer overseas, it was in Budapest, Hungary, um, 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:20.079 and I had that opportunity to go over there. I 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:23.400 looked at it, um And then at the same time, though, 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:25.480 I got offered an assistant coaching job at Peppernine, like 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:31.680 right away. So you're like Budapest, Malibu, Budapest, Malibu, Boom 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:38.880 or Budapest. I chose the boot over Budapest. Uh So yeah, 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.200 look it was that was an easy decision. But to 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.040 go back to your port about broadcasting, UM, you know, 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.959 look it it kind of started, uh in there's in 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:48.720 the strangers of ways and you know this, like it 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.320 just sometimes things doors open up, you don't you don't 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.600 even expect to open up. But I remember, uh, and 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.320 you can attest to this. I was goofy. I've always 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.480 been a little goofy. When I was playing at U 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:00.200 c l A. I was a guy that, you know, 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:04.120 after after pregame food, like I just go down and 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:05.880 I just started like throwing up shots in the gym. 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:07.280 I mean, let's be honest, I wasn't gonna get a 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:09.040 lot of shots during the games. So I was gonna 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.679 get my shots up when there was nobody else in 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.800 Polly Pavilion. And one time Bill McDonald was there and 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:17.240 Billy Mack was sitting there and I was like, yeah, dude, 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.959 you've got the easiest job in the world. And he goes, well, 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:21.600 why would you say that? He said, how how would 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:23.760 you do? The night's open and we're playing Arizona State 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:26.399 and I was like, oh, I do this. I said, oh, 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:28.480 I grabbed the microphone and I was like, hey, DUTs 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.880 tonight and Polly Pavilion, it's Arizona State. Sound Devil's taken 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:32.919 on u C l A. And while the focus could 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.920 be on Veal Laser or Batiste, the youngster out of 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.400 Northern California, Eddie House could cause a lot of problems 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:41.560 for the Bruins today. And I didn't know, but the 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:43.880 microphone was open to the truck, and in the truck 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:47.000 was the coordinating producer at the time of Fox Sports West. 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:51.600 So he comes down, he's like, who was that? And 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:53.400 I'm sure I was like, you know, doing hook shots 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:55.320 from half quarter or something, try to drop kick it 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:57.920 in from the stands or something. And he's like, he's 0:03:57.960 --> 0:03:59.360 that guy. So he calls me over and goes, hey, 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:00.960 do you want to do some TV stuff? And so 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:03.680 my final two years and this was after you graduated, 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:05.320 but my final two years at u c l A. 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:08.520 I did the Farming Files on the U c l 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:11.280 A Sports magazine show. And it was a weekly program 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.320 back in the day with Fox Sports West. And what 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.760 it did was it got me really comfortable with the camera. 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:18.440 Like I never looked at the camera as something like, 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:20.159 oh my gosh, there could be a million people on 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:22.120 the other side of this thing. I looked at it 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.279 as if you and I are having a conversation right now. 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.240 And and a lot of that was the people that 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:28.920 I worked with. Billy mack Is is the ultimate mentor 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:32.880 of just enjoying uh and having fun and embracing the 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:37.680 opportunity to call sports yeah and uh. Because of that relationship, 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:39.240 you know, I mean some of the things that it was, 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:40.920 like where do we hang out on Bruin Walk and 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:42.440 you know the wall that we used to sit on 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:45.400 outside the Bruin Walking with the taco bell over to 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:49.240 the to the right hand side of it. Uh, you know, 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:51.400 we did things like that. I interviewed laugh and was like, 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:53.000 how come I don't play a little bit more like 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:54.679 I mean, let's be honest. I know I'm not great, 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:56.679 but I could I could get a little bit more burned. 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.240 But you didn't ask Lab that, did you ask Lab? 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:02.120 I did, Yeah I did, But what do you say? 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:04.520 He said? Come on, we got seven pros on my team. 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:07.040 And I was like, yeah, this good point. Um highs 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.200 and lows, EPs and flows is how it goes. Um. 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:11.160 But you know, one of the things that that I 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.640 learned though, was that you can be yourself. You can 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:17.080 be authentic. You don't have to be you know, stiff, rigid, 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:20.080 like Hi everybody, I'm Tom Brokaw. You know, like you 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.440 could actually be, you know, just just yourself. And especially 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.240 in the in the the sports medium, you can really 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.440 allow your personality to come through and connect with people 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.560 on the other side. And so that kind of was 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.120 what drew me to it. And then you know, through 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:36.400 my coaching stuff, like I really did, like to your point, 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:37.919 I thought I was gonna be a college coach. I 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.080 really did, uh And I was lucky to be on 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:44.040 a staff that was really really good at at Pepper nine. 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:47.599 But unfortunately after my first season, uh St bon venture 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:49.880 opened up really really late. So it was after the 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:52.279 final four and the coaching carousel had already kind of 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:57.440 slowed down, and Jan van Bredakoff made the decision UH 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:00.360 to go to Saint Bonaventure, and he to me if 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:02.840 I wanted to go with him. But I had just 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:08.200 gotten engaged and my wife, my fiance, had two years 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:09.560 left at U c l A as a part of 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.400 the soccer program. And this is before face time, and 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.279 this is before all the ways you could connect now, 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.080 like then you had no way of connecting outside of 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:20.040 your phone emails, as you know, Like we were just 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.280 we didn't even know what emails were, Like we're like sure, okay, 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.120 like at U c l A. Dott E du good, 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.040 this is my email? Never checking it? Yeah, never checking it. 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.720 Never never supposed it was awesome. It was good days. 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:35.200 But I made the decision at that point in time 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:37.040 that I knew that if I left, there's no way 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:40.400 that relationship would ever last. And so I called up 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:42.000 the same people that I was doing the work for 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:43.919 for free when I was at U c l A. 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:45.400 And I said, hey, listen, not for two years I 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:47.880 was part of this show. Any chance you give me 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:51.920 an opportunity to get paid and they did, and uh 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.039 that that's kind of how it started. It started with 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.559 high school sports. It started making two hundred and fifty 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.920 dollars an appearance. I wasn't making a lot of my 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:01.839 me I had to get a full time job outside 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:04.599 of it. But it was all part of the process. 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.400 Uh that has led me now to the last twelve 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:10.200 years being at ESPN and and enjoying every step of 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:13.120 that journey along the way. Yeah, I will say that 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:16.040 even early on man back at U c l A, 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:18.720 I could tell that you were destined to do this, 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.400 like whether it was on the team bus, whether it 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:23.320 was in the locker room, whether it's in the dorms 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:27.800 where but no, you would you would break into your mode. 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:29.640 You would break into your mode where you have an 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.800 imaginary microphone and you'd like started interviewing me, or you'd 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:34.680 be doing some stuff. Well, Chris, stop talk about you know, 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:37.720 I'd like Sean shuts, you know, like far Hough, like dude, 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:40.000 chill out. Because we weren't in the mood for it. 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.200 But you and I said to me when I was 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:45.200 at but I'll tell you what. But I'll tell you 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.480 what You and Tony Lufman Tony Lufman, who has worked 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:51.400 you know, has a major media presence. You guys are 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.520 to me with the two most natural television people I 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.840 had seen in my era that I've been around. I 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:58.480 was just like, you know, just in general, so that 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:00.920 just I saw it back. But you know, it's it's 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:07.400 amazing that that you gave up coaching for love. That 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:09.560 was that's a that's a major move. So she was 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:11.800 to I don't want to get too personal, but it 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.640 was good, but it was it was that So it 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:17.880 was she was that important to you at that like 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:20.360 look and the crazy part about it is, you know, 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.440 like I was really really young. I mean I got engaged, 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:26.160 um at twenty two. We got married when I was 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:30.800 twenty four, and uh, you know, like you didn't. I 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:32.760 always always joke I said, listen, if if you know 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:34.440 you've got a lottery pick, you don't sign them to 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:38.840 a ten day, you know you're gonna try to You're 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.040 gonna try to sign them to a long term contract. 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:45.000 And um, you know, super Max, there's there's highs and 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.720 lows in any relationship. Um, anybody that's been married, anybody 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.280 has been in a serious relationship that you guys, everybody 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.360 knows that. But we're closing in on twenty years of 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:59.280 marriage and it's it's you know, got three amazing kids, 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.520 and they're not a day that I go by that 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:03.440 I'm not like, you know what, like I should have 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.800 gone and stuck into coaching. I should have continued down 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:08.920 that path. Now, there's no doubt in my mind that 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:11.959 had I stayed on that path, um that I that 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.560 I would have probably been a head coach already probably somewhere. 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:16.520 I love the game. I love coaching the game. I 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:18.400 love studying the game. I think that's what helped me 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.360 in the broadcasting world is that I look at as 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:23.280 if I'm still coaching. I make scouting reports for every 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:27.920 single team that I cover. Um, I watch film to 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:30.040 a point where my wife's like, can you please get 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.600 off a Synergy, which is a great website that has 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.280 all of the games from all over the world. I've 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.560 I've gotten during COVID. I got really into watching European 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.800 basketball uh C s A k C C s k 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.440 A over in Moscow as well. I think if they're 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:46.440 innovative as far as what they're doing on their offense, 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:48.600 I steal a lot of that stuff for the coaching stuff. 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:52.880 I still do, but I've never looked back on it 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:57.720 because she has been my biggest supporter, she has been 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.600 my biggest challenger. She has been a person I have 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.760 fought with more than anyone in the world. And and 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.240 people hear that and they go like that's a negative, 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:08.760 and I'm like, no, it's the best part of our relationship. 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:13.680 I mean, we're both insanely competitive, um, but that that 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.480 fight is what keeps our lives fresh and allows us 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.800 to keep moving forward and be the parents that we 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.280 are to our kids and and hopefully watch our kids 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:24.800 on their journey find their own paths to success. And 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.040 I know you know that as well being a father, 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.080 uh that you know a lot of times you have 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:30.839 a vision when you have a kid, what what their 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:33.400 path is going to be? UM. But the reality is it, 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:37.160 it's their story, it's their journey, UM. And whatever I 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:39.240 can do to kind of foster that and help that, uh, 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.319 that that's what I'm gonna do. And that's what we 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.719 have connected as a couple. Extremely well. Wow, man, I 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:46.720 think it sounds like you guys did it the right way. 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:49.520 I think as far as you know, fatherhood and pushing 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:53.480 your kids towards their passion, you know, from my son, 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:56.079 I let him kind of just pick basketball. You know, 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:58.200 I didn't really force feed it. I didn't force feed 0:10:58.200 --> 0:10:59.760 it to him. You know, he was he was a 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.080 base ball guy first and then kind of was not 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:04.240 really basketball, but then started to pick it up and 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:06.679 started to love it and got the bug and then 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.680 got knee deep in it. But I told him he's 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:11.680 in the crypto all type of stuff. Whatever he does. 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:13.719 I told him, whatever he does, if he decided to 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:17.760 quit and play basket and not play another uh quarter 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.240 of basketball, another minute of basketball, I still support whatever 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.160 he was, you know, with the same page. You've got 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.320 a cent right, Like I mean, there's no there's no 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.160 half hard. So whatever your passion is, I think a 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:29.880 lot of a lot of things. And I see a 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.280 lot of other kids now obviously because I've got young kids, 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:34.440 and it's funny to me that they kind of just 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:36.360 go through the motions. A lot of young kids go 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:39.160 through the motions and things, and like I tell my son, 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:42.000 like so like basketball for my son, my oldest son, 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:45.520 he he likes it, he plays it, but he doesn't 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:47.959 love it. Now, if you go to his YouTube channel 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:49.760 and check out his video game stuff that he doesn't 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:54.559 call of duty. He's absolutely insane and he loves and 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.040 he's becoming a content creator and that for him and 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:00.640 and and I see the way that his his eyes 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:02.800 light up, and I see that passion and the editing 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:04.960 and the sound and listen to musical no no, no no, no, 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:07.000 Dad that I can't put that song here because this 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.000 song needs to go here because the beat hits this. 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:11.800 And I'm like, these are traits that are going to 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:13.520 bode well for him in the future, because he wants 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:15.360 to get into film and television and be a producer 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.199 and director. And I'm like, you know what, Like, if 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.720 that's your passion, like, yeah, invest more of your time 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:22.880 in that than basketball. And sometimes people look at me 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:24.559 and they're like, how are you not pushing your kid 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:26.880 to play basketball? And I'm like, because I've played the game, 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.480 I understand what it takes. First of all, to play 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.880 at the level in which we did, you have to 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:36.040 be really, really really good to be a guy like 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:40.319 you who was an outstanding score even at the college level. 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:43.160 You know, to be a guy like Baron or Matt 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:48.040 or Earl or Jason or Dan or Jerome, like people 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.560 have no idea and then to go to that next 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.599 level and be those other guys at the Janice Is 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:57.480 and the Luca Dot like, like you're talking about so 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:01.720 exceptional to get to that level that if you invest 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:05.040 time in it and you lose the opportunities that might 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.040 open up, or your passion or what your true passions 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:09.000 are because you're chasing a dream that you think others 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:12.160 expect you to do, then you lose the essence of 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:15.240 what is life. And if coming out of COVID nineteen 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:17.280 in particular, and I've had this conversation with all three 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.720 of my kids, if coming out of COVID nineteen, you're 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.960 not focused on your passion, like I'm really concerned about you. 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.160 If you think you have to be somebody that you're 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.000 not out of COVID nineteen after being locked in, not 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.880 going to school, not having friends, not having social life, 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:36.840 missing homecomings, homecoming dances, proms, all those things, none of 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.760 that matters. Just be happy with you the first answer 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.959 to the secret of life. And Chris, you know, I'm 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:45.280 a real positive, trying to be motivational guy a lot, 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:47.959 but the thing that I've learned in my life is 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:50.280 for ultimate happiness, you have to be able to answer 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:55.520 one question, who am I? Who am I? If you 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:58.960 know who you are, like everything else falls into place. 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:01.800 But if you wrong to be somebody else because you 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:03.400 think society wants you to be. And I think I 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.040 struggled with this that you see your life. Yeah, I 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.240 struggled with this big time as a freshman, as a sophomore, 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:14.920 coming to the that locker room with those guys. I fail. Man. Alright, Sean, 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:16.839 let me touch on that. It's it's I think that's 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.800 one of the most difficult things for for us, especially 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.960 just an understanding of self and and grasping who you 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.240 are and who you can project to be. I was 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.000 confused a lot growing up, just because you know my 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.400 upbringing and you know, living split. My parents were divorced, 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:34.360 so I'm living my dad and bell Air and I'm 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.480 living with my mom in South Central and so you know, 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:37.960 I have to act a certain way over here and 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:39.320 have to act a certain way over there. And so 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:40.680 by the time I got to U c l A, 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.560 I kind of you know, you know, you're you're on 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:45.720 the basketball team, and you know everybody's looking at you. 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:47.000 Everybody wants to be a part of you, so you 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.360 don't know how to really I personally, I didn't know 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.160 how to act, so it was always kind of backfired. 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.560 I'd start just being Stanny local or some crazy variation 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:58.520 of really who Chris really was? Like Sean, you see 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:00.920 you know that your two sides. Did you know there 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:06.760 was like there was Chris when making you're making me 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:09.200 something like that. But no. But so what I'm saying 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:11.480 is what I'm saying, is it took me. I'm I'm 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.520 about to be whatever, I'm about to be old next 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:17.920 month my birthday, but it took me thirty thirty five 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.920 years and I'm and I haven't mastered it to grasp 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.120 what you're talking about, of understanding who I am and 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:27.320 really being comfortable with projecting that out here. And it's 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:29.000 even comfortable in your own skin. It comes through and 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.120 television whatever we're doing, especially media stuff, It's like the 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.680 best people are the ones that are themselves and aren't 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:36.760 trying to be some version of a TV guy, you 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:39.520 know what I'm saying. And so, and for me personally, 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.120 that's been the struggle. How did you reach achieved that 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.040 level of comfort, especially in front of the camera. I mean, 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:47.840 I know you have the experience, But what do you 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:52.200 is there something like Chris like honestly, like, I mean, 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:58.040 I tried so hard, uh to fit in, too hard 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:00.400 to fit in. I was a try hard Like I 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.000 think that's what the kids, the young kids would say. 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.720 I was a try hard. I tried so hard to 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:09.600 fit in. Um to the dynamics of our team, right. 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.640 And you know I was raised differently, like I mean, 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.680 like we're all raised differently. We all have different journeys, 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.200 in different paths right to get there. Um. But I 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:20.640 really was like, Okay, So I didn't listen to a 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:22.160 lot of rap music before I came to U C 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:25.040 l A. I. I didn't know who d MX was 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:26.480 until I sat in the locker room for the first 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:29.720 time and I was like WHOA, Like this is uh 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:31.760 you know there there was there was. I was a 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.320 country music guy and I was from a really small 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:36.640 town in the East Bay, and and all of a sudden, 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:39.240 now I'm in this locker room with national champions like yourself, 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:44.520 like Toby, like JR. Henderson, uh, Cam Bob Chuck like 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:46.920 I mean that was that was an incredible group in 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.040 ninety seven of guys that had rings. And then you 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:55.080 add in the mix Gilani McCoy, Brandon Lloyd, Oklahoma UM 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:57.000 and I was the only freshman, so I didn't have 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:00.440 really anybody that I could look to to kind of 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.960 balance out, like how do I assimilate into this group? 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:06.000 And I was lost, and I started doing things that 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.560 I've never done before. Like I didn't drink in high school. 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:12.040 I started drinking a lot when I was feel like, 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:17.600 you didn't drink around me. The first the first time 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:20.600 I went out, it was the that Sunday before school started, 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:25.760 and y'all took us out and and I went sideways, 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:27.480 and then I was like, well, this is fun. And 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.960 then I realized also the power of I played basketball 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:31.720 at U c l A. I'm part of this fraternity, 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:34.119 Like I didn't have to go through an initiation, because 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.600 the initiation was being a member of that team, and 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:38.600 the status in which you guys all had on that 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:43.280 campus was unique. And so I started deviating from from 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:47.840 things that were innately me. And it wasn't until probably 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.560 my junior year, and and then a couple that with 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:53.520 the time that my entire life, I played every minute 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:55.280 of every basketball game that I ever wanted to play, 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.320 and I end up playing nine games in thirty minutes 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.560 as a freshman, and and then that dropped to nine 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:07.000 games in eighteen minutes as a softmore, and I was like, 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:09.920 I mean I was lost. I mean I was lost. 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:15.879 I I did not know how, um to change my 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:19.560 place on the team. I did not know how to positively. 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.399 I felt like I had no positive impact whatsoever and 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:25.560 the success that we had as a group, um, and 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.960 I felt that I was losing my identity because for 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.600 so long in life, when you're an athlete, and Chris 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:35.439 you know this, that you identify with your sport, like 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:37.760 your sport becomes who you are when you get to 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:41.679 that level. And for me, I was like, Basketball's my sport, 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:44.480 but I'm not even playing, Like how can that be 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.120 my sport? How can that be my identity? And there 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:49.760 there was a time in particular where I hit rock bottom. 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.960 And I have no problem telling you telling this story 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.520 because I think it's important that people understand. We went 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:59.720 down to Madison's after a game, UH and I ended 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:03.800 up taking a lot of shots, probably about thirteen, and 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:08.040 I went back to my my room, UH and I 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:10.520 threw up all night long and probably had alcohol poisoning 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:14.239 UH and was emotionally distraught. My girlfriend came over at 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:16.199 the time and she was like, what is wrong with you? 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.080 And I'm like, I'm a disappointment to my parents, I'm 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.200 a disappointment to my teammates. Uh, you know, I'm a joke. 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:24.280 And That's how I felt. And it was kind of 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:27.399 that was the rock bottom moment where I had to 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.800 pull myself back up out of that, because there's two 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:31.679 ways I could have gone there. I could have spiraled 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:33.520 out of control and just continue down that that that 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:37.000 path um or I could kind of stand up amount 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.159 two feet and start to identify maybe something that I 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:42.720 could do to help the team. Uh. And more importantly, 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:45.040 that my value in life had nothing to do with basketball, 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:47.040 and my value of what I could bring to the 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:50.159 table was a lot larger, uh than U c l 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:52.560 A Basketball. Although U c l A Basketball clearly has 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:54.399 opened up so many doors of opportunity for me. I 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.800 don't want to diminish that, but my life was bigger 0:19:56.840 --> 0:20:01.439 than that. And Sean, that's a very mature or perspective 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:03.920 to have at that time in your life. It sounds like, 0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:07.760 you know, like a It's an occurring theme and a 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:09.680 lot of my interviews I asked people about mental health 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.560 challenges and what happens when they're at their lowest point 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:14.879 as an athlete. How do they pull themselves up? I 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:18.960 asked you this question. Was there someone that helped that 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:22.200 helped you get out of that funk, someone that helped 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.280 you gave you some tools on how to cope and 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:26.720 gave you this information, or did you do some soul 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.080 searching and kind of figured this thing out on your own. 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:32.159 I would say it was my wife, Um, you know, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.560 she we were dating at the time, and and she 0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:36.240 she stood up. I would say it was my dad. 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:38.760 My dad was incredibly hard on me as a child. 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.680 Um you know, I you know, would score thirty six 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:44.119 points in high school game of Dallas aub but I 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:45.439 missed too many free throws and have to come home 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:46.879 and make two under three throws before I could go 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:48.920 to bed. I couldn't go out with the guys and 0:20:48.920 --> 0:20:50.879 and party or go to the movies or whatever. And 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:54.480 that was just h That was my upbring. But my dad. 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:56.560 I remember one time, I you know, I actually walked 0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:58.479 into office after my sophomore year and I told laugh 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:02.560 I was transferring and that I was gonna leave, and 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:05.440 we walked up to UH. I walked out of there. 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.240 I walked up to the administration building. I grabbed my 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:11.240 transcripts so I could have that. Lab said he would 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:14.919 grant my waiver. UH. As we walked back towards the 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:17.399 dorms where I was staying for a c session of 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:20.600 summer school, my dad turned around and goes, let me 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:22.560 ask you this, take basketball out of the equation. You 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:25.440 want to leave this. And I was looking back over 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:27.560 U c l AS campus right there between the Tennis 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:29.560 Center and Drake Stadium, and you know exactly where I'm 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:35.000 looking at, and I'm like, no, i don't want to 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:37.000 leave this. We I'm gonna go Colorado State, like I mean, 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:39.200 it was good. I was probably gonna transfer like Colorado State. 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:40.840 And I'm like, I'm gonna leave U c l A 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:44.080 for Colorado State, like no offense to Colorado State. But 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:46.600 it is not U c l A. So we walked 0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:49.520 back down the hill right away, and I walked into 0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:52.280 LABS office and I said, listen, I said, I'm gonna 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:55.159 I'm not transferring. I can't do that. I'm not a 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:57.440 I'm not a quitter. I'm not gonna walk away. I'm 0:21:57.480 --> 0:22:00.960 a fighter. Uh, and I'm gonna figure something out. And 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:04.280 and inevitably I did. I changed every aspect of how 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:07.480 I played UM and I tried to find a role 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:09.600 that nobody else really wanted to do on the team. 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:12.800 And that's how I ended up getting my my mean, 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:16.159 my my small role on the team. And and and 0:22:16.200 --> 0:22:18.240 it's so funny because you know this, Chris, like people 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:21.000 are farmm starting that's a joke. I'll be the first 0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:25.200 one to tell you it was. No, I'll be Chris. 0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:27.720 I'm honest. We're a note. How many games in a 0:22:27.800 --> 0:22:30.320 row did we win with you starting? We never lost 0:22:30.320 --> 0:22:32.680 three the season game that I started. That's what I'm saying. 0:22:32.720 --> 0:22:35.040 We're underfading. We start find him as the starter. Bro, 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:38.240 give me a brea. But but but the reality of 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:40.040 it is is when you have Jerome movies, so Daniel 0:22:40.080 --> 0:22:42.480 Zerk Matt Bonds on the team, there's no way Sean 0:22:42.520 --> 0:22:45.080 Farm should be starting. So I understand why people on 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:48.160 the outside would look at that. Now from my perspective, 0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:50.360 and I got this great conversation, like Earl came over 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:52.600 one time to my my duplex when I first got married, 0:22:52.920 --> 0:22:54.359 and he has he goes, do you have the Maryland 0:22:54.440 --> 0:22:56.040 game that we played in the n C Double A 0:22:56.080 --> 0:23:00.840 Tournament when we absolutely blitzed Maryland, and so we put 0:23:00.880 --> 0:23:02.840 it in Earl's got sixteen and says zero turn over, 0:23:02.880 --> 0:23:05.480 seventeen points and throwing lobs from like three quarters court. 0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:09.960 Geron's catchy first slapping the backboard, I mean, straight off 0:23:10.000 --> 0:23:12.320 of like a four month suspension. I mean it was. 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:15.760 It was just silly. And I said to Earl's we're 0:23:15.760 --> 0:23:18.520 watching again, I'm like, you never ran the offense where 0:23:18.560 --> 0:23:20.440 I could get a shot, and he goes, that's because 0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:22.720 I knew that you would ball reversal without even looking 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:25.320 for your shot. You would set the best back screen 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:27.160 that gave me the best opportunity to get the lab 0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:29.040 but also kept the timing right so that when you 0:23:29.119 --> 0:23:32.480 ball reversal to me, I could hit Dan Jerome or 0:23:32.560 --> 0:23:34.440 Matt on the block and let them go to work. 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:36.920 And we were good. And I kind of thought about that, 0:23:36.920 --> 0:23:39.680 and I was like, well, then every change I made 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:41.399 in my game was worth it, because that's what I 0:23:41.440 --> 0:23:43.080 was really trying to do. Because when you have a 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:46.199 team that has Campono and Matt and and Earl and 0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:49.760 all those guys, Billy Knight, uh you didn't need Sean 0:23:49.800 --> 0:23:52.000 farn Ray young. You didn't need Sean Varna to shoot 0:23:52.000 --> 0:23:54.159 the ball. In fact, it was a detriment and probably 0:23:54.200 --> 0:23:56.880 a bad shot if I shot it. And so what 0:23:56.920 --> 0:23:58.720 I needed to do was try to play defense, try 0:23:58.760 --> 0:24:01.720 to rebound, try to add some toughness. Uh and said 0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:04.560 good spines, and and I found that. But I had 0:24:04.600 --> 0:24:06.040 to change my body because when I came in to 0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:07.560 u c l A, you know, I was six six. 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:13.359 I went seriously, and then by the time I was done, 0:24:13.720 --> 0:24:18.920 I was six six tot when I left U c L. 0:24:19.200 --> 0:24:21.560 When my senior year, I was too forty five. But 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:25.640 I spent I lifted every day. I lifted. On game day, 0:24:25.640 --> 0:24:27.879 I would go to the Wooden Center. I was eating 0:24:27.920 --> 0:24:29.480 as much as I possibly could. When we went to 0:24:29.520 --> 0:24:31.680 training table, I grabbed like four or five chicken breasts 0:24:31.680 --> 0:24:33.640 and just start eating like as much as I could, 0:24:33.680 --> 0:24:36.000 because I knew the only way I could contribute is 0:24:36.040 --> 0:24:39.040 if I got stronger. And that's that was what I did. 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:41.679 And so my shot went to hell. Um. I couldn't 0:24:41.680 --> 0:24:43.840 shoot it hardly at all because I was too strong, 0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:46.919 like my neck and everything was too tight. Um. But 0:24:47.040 --> 0:24:48.800 it was it was what allowed me to get out 0:24:48.800 --> 0:24:50.520 there and they have the opportunity to play and and 0:24:50.560 --> 0:24:52.680 really enjoy my final two seasons at u c L. 0:24:52.720 --> 0:24:55.480 A Yeah, I mean it was a great time and 0:24:55.600 --> 0:24:58.800 you you did as proud bro. The undefeated during the 0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:02.639 regular season is something that it resonates to me this day. UM. 0:25:02.680 --> 0:25:05.280 I guess moving forward to to u c L. A 0:25:05.440 --> 0:25:08.760 present day, let's touch on some stuff going on in 0:25:08.840 --> 0:25:11.440 college basketball and what we're doing right now. Let's staying 0:25:11.440 --> 0:25:15.800 in Westwood preseason number one or number two, depending on 0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:19.199 which Paul kim Palm has the number seven. Do you 0:25:19.280 --> 0:25:24.160 think that do you think that the Bruins can win 0:25:24.240 --> 0:25:28.600 the national championship this year? I do? I do, um, 0:25:28.640 --> 0:25:30.520 And I actually was just at practice the other day. 0:25:31.119 --> 0:25:34.800 I really like this team. Um. I think that There's 0:25:34.800 --> 0:25:36.679 a couple of things that stood out to me, and 0:25:36.720 --> 0:25:38.119 it was the practice I was at was kind of 0:25:38.160 --> 0:25:40.200 a lighter practice because they've gone hard the day before, 0:25:40.560 --> 0:25:42.960 so you didn't get to even see a lot of 0:25:43.000 --> 0:25:45.600 what I anticipate. But I would say that let's start 0:25:45.600 --> 0:25:47.560 with just Miles Johnson, Like a lot of people would go, Okay, 0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:49.719 let's start with Johnny Gusse. I'm gonna start with Miles Johnson. 0:25:49.880 --> 0:25:52.080 Here's what I'm gonna start with Miles Johnson. He is 0:25:52.119 --> 0:25:57.360 an elite level defensive big elites in the game. Obviously 0:25:57.359 --> 0:25:59.399 it's blocked shots in the Big Ten, he was All 0:25:59.400 --> 0:26:01.639 defensive player pick. But when you have you see I 0:26:01.680 --> 0:26:04.640 didn't have a rim protector, and when you have a 0:26:04.720 --> 0:26:08.600 rim protector, you also have a rim alterer. Right, So, like, 0:26:08.760 --> 0:26:10.800 it's not just the block shots, it's how many shots 0:26:10.840 --> 0:26:13.080 is he able to alter? And then what does that 0:26:13.119 --> 0:26:16.000 allow you to do innately out on the perimeter. Well, 0:26:16.080 --> 0:26:18.040 it allows you to pressure and extend out a little 0:26:18.040 --> 0:26:21.160 bit more because now you have protection behind you. Um. 0:26:21.200 --> 0:26:23.720 And so guys like Tiger Campbell that at times can 0:26:23.720 --> 0:26:26.119 struggle a little bit with his on ball defense, I 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:28.120 think he's gonna be able to extend out a little bit. 0:26:28.200 --> 0:26:31.720 And when I equate it to this, like, no matter 0:26:31.760 --> 0:26:33.560 how good you are as a team, and U c. 0:26:33.720 --> 0:26:35.479 L A Was really really good last year and I 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:37.400 was lucky enough to be at that game against Gonzaga, 0:26:37.720 --> 0:26:42.119 uh covering it for espn UM. But if you allow 0:26:42.640 --> 0:26:45.639 the quarterback to have time in the pocket, right, and 0:26:45.680 --> 0:26:49.640 you're not pressuring the ball because you don't have necessarily 0:26:49.640 --> 0:26:53.359 the back line support. The quarterback is gonna eventually find 0:26:53.480 --> 0:26:56.280 somebody open. They're eventually gonna start to find their rhythm. 0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:59.360 At the offensive end, if you have a rim protector 0:26:59.400 --> 0:27:01.520 and you know what, you're protected from the backside, and 0:27:01.560 --> 0:27:04.399 you pressure the ball and you don't allow the person 0:27:04.440 --> 0:27:07.119 with the ball to be comfortable, you start to become 0:27:07.160 --> 0:27:12.040 disruptive just with that very small change and shift. And 0:27:12.080 --> 0:27:14.080 so I think defensively for u c l A, they're 0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:15.320 going to be able to press more. And I think 0:27:15.320 --> 0:27:16.960 part of the reason you can presh the more is 0:27:17.000 --> 0:27:19.879 also Peyton Watson. He is an athlete that U c 0:27:20.000 --> 0:27:22.120 l A did not have on their roster a year ago. 0:27:22.359 --> 0:27:25.280 They didn't have an athlete of his caliber. And even 0:27:25.359 --> 0:27:29.000 watching how smooth he glides out on the floor, I mean, look, 0:27:29.040 --> 0:27:31.199 he's gonna be a top ten pick in the NBA Draft. 0:27:31.320 --> 0:27:34.280 Probably he's gonna be in Westwood for a very short 0:27:34.280 --> 0:27:36.639 period of time. But when you couple that with the 0:27:36.680 --> 0:27:40.520 return of Johnny Jusang and Heinie Hawkes and Cody Riley, 0:27:41.040 --> 0:27:43.160 uh and that Jalen Clark, who has gotten a lot 0:27:43.240 --> 0:27:46.639 lot better from where he was a season ago. I 0:27:46.680 --> 0:27:48.720 think that this team is all the bit of number 0:27:48.760 --> 0:27:51.240 two in the country, easily could be number one in 0:27:51.280 --> 0:27:53.680 the country. Um, it's it's the highest. You know, we 0:27:53.680 --> 0:27:55.080 have been number one in the country U c l 0:27:55.119 --> 0:27:57.720 A since the seventies, which is kind of remarkable to 0:27:57.760 --> 0:27:59.479 think of preseason number one U c l A had 0:27:59.560 --> 0:28:03.760 not and season number one seven we were nine were 0:28:03.840 --> 0:28:06.879 preseason number one? Right? No? Not according to that life Department. 0:28:06.880 --> 0:28:09.439 I asked that question two days ago. I guess Sports 0:28:09.440 --> 0:28:11.359 Illustrating might have had so then it might have been 0:28:11.640 --> 0:28:14.000 had number one, But no, but that a p or 0:28:14.080 --> 0:28:15.600 U s A to Day or the coaches post. So 0:28:15.600 --> 0:28:17.600 I I, okay, I'll take that. I'll take that. I'll 0:28:17.640 --> 0:28:20.680 test it. Okay, But as you know, it's not where 0:28:20.680 --> 0:28:22.560 you start, it is where you finish. And you want 0:28:22.560 --> 0:28:24.439 to play in that last game. I mean, look like 0:28:24.480 --> 0:28:26.720 I was talking to Josh Passner the other day for 0:28:26.760 --> 0:28:28.919 a thing for cancer, uh and Josh and I were 0:28:28.920 --> 0:28:30.560 doing a zoom and he talked about ninety seven. I 0:28:30.600 --> 0:28:32.440 was like, well, who beat your butts twice that year? 0:28:32.760 --> 0:28:36.280 We did, but guess what he played in the last 0:28:36.320 --> 0:28:39.560 game of the year and we did not? Right, Um, 0:28:39.600 --> 0:28:41.560 and so they get the Natty and they get the ring. 0:28:41.960 --> 0:28:43.400 Uh So I think for U. C. L A, Yes, 0:28:43.480 --> 0:28:46.520 they have all the pieces there that will allow them 0:28:46.560 --> 0:28:48.280 to get there. I think the big thing for me 0:28:48.360 --> 0:28:51.720 is is the hunger still there. Are they satisfied with 0:28:51.760 --> 0:28:54.240 the run last year? Are they believing in the hype 0:28:54.240 --> 0:28:56.280 of what they were able to accomplish or do they 0:28:56.360 --> 0:28:58.880 understand that there are still more for them to accomplish 0:28:58.920 --> 0:29:01.840 and that they can accompt push it because the pieces 0:29:01.840 --> 0:29:04.480 are there for mccronin and and for all the naysayers 0:29:04.480 --> 0:29:07.560 of Mick and I understand that when he came from Cincinnati, 0:29:07.640 --> 0:29:10.240 the doubters and everything like that. When when you watch 0:29:10.320 --> 0:29:12.760 the way that offense executed in the n C Double 0:29:12.800 --> 0:29:16.200 A Tournament run, that was high level offense, that was unselfish, 0:29:16.240 --> 0:29:20.120 great basketball mixed in with a defensive presence, and I 0:29:20.120 --> 0:29:23.040 think that it's voting really well for him now. But 0:29:23.120 --> 0:29:25.400 also moving forward, when you look at the quality of 0:29:25.400 --> 0:29:27.600 recruits that he and his staff has been able to 0:29:27.600 --> 0:29:30.320 continue to go out in the level of athleticism upticking 0:29:30.480 --> 0:29:33.360 every single year in Westwood means that this program is 0:29:33.400 --> 0:29:35.520 back and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon 0:29:36.640 --> 0:29:41.720 do you think staying with you? Do you think the 0:29:41.760 --> 0:29:45.560 new Jordan brand deal will have anything to do And Sean, 0:29:45.600 --> 0:29:47.840 I asked you this because you remember when we were 0:29:47.920 --> 0:29:51.160 schools players and how we felt about shoes and what 0:29:51.200 --> 0:29:53.600 was on our feet. But do you think the George 0:29:53.640 --> 0:29:55.480 Bread deal. These guys are in Nikes now, do you 0:29:55.480 --> 0:29:58.000 think this will change anything as far as their motivation 0:29:58.040 --> 0:30:00.200 to play compete? Because here's my thing about you. Like 0:30:00.240 --> 0:30:02.920 playing Devil's Advocate. Some say they got lucky last year. 0:30:02.960 --> 0:30:04.760 Some say they went they got hot at the right time. 0:30:04.800 --> 0:30:07.360 They had lost three straight going into the tournament, lost 0:30:07.360 --> 0:30:11.080 to Oregon State in the Pac ten twelve tournament. Got lucky, 0:30:11.120 --> 0:30:13.680 They said they got lucky against Michigan Alabama. I mean 0:30:13.720 --> 0:30:15.560 all the type of all type of games. So playing 0:30:15.560 --> 0:30:18.959 Devil's Advocate, So do you think this year, okay, this 0:30:19.000 --> 0:30:20.840 team with that experience, they're gonna build off of that. 0:30:20.880 --> 0:30:22.560 They got the new Jordan Brand deal. There feeling good 0:30:22.600 --> 0:30:25.000 about themselves, They're looking good. You think you think that 0:30:25.040 --> 0:30:26.600 I have something to do with it? Seane, I hope 0:30:26.640 --> 0:30:29.320 that's not a stupid question. No, no, no, I mean, look, 0:30:29.360 --> 0:30:31.360 we cared about shoes like half the time we got 0:30:31.360 --> 0:30:34.240 the Reeboks are fresh my freshman year, we were throwing 0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:37.800 them back at the Reebok rep going like this is crap. Uh. 0:30:37.880 --> 0:30:40.200 You know. Then we finally got Ai to give us 0:30:40.360 --> 0:30:44.640 issues and those those were unbelief I think I still have. 0:30:44.680 --> 0:30:46.400 Those were the only cool ones. Those were the only 0:30:46.400 --> 0:30:49.960 comfortable rebox I've ever warned to be. He was unbelievable. Um. 0:30:50.040 --> 0:30:53.480 And then we switched to Adidas UM and the use 0:30:53.640 --> 0:30:55.880 was okay, Like they were okay, but they weren't who 0:30:55.880 --> 0:30:57.760 they are now. They're better now than they were when 0:30:57.800 --> 0:30:59.600 we when we were rocking them in the basketball world. 0:30:59.760 --> 0:31:02.080 But we always wanted to be Nike. We I mean 0:31:02.160 --> 0:31:03.720 Barren at one point in time, I think he wore 0:31:03.800 --> 0:31:05.720 Nikes and then just covered it up with tape. He 0:31:05.760 --> 0:31:09.840 covered the Sqush camera Dollar to the I don't think 0:31:09.840 --> 0:31:13.360 you were there. That was the year before Dollar was 0:31:13.400 --> 0:31:17.960 doing that all year. Yeah, So I mean, you know, like, yes, 0:31:18.040 --> 0:31:21.080 it matters. And I think also more importantly, when you 0:31:21.120 --> 0:31:23.360 look at the recruiting circuits, where are the recruiting circuits 0:31:23.360 --> 0:31:25.920 And we can kind of try to minimize minimize the 0:31:26.600 --> 0:31:30.240 recruiting aspect of the college game, but under Armer really 0:31:30.280 --> 0:31:32.920 wasn't bringing a lot of high level recruits to Westwood. 0:31:33.160 --> 0:31:35.920 Is There's some, but not a lot. Uh. The E 0:31:36.120 --> 0:31:38.960 Y B L is the best circuit on the club scene. 0:31:38.960 --> 0:31:41.840 It is, it has been, and it will continue to be. UM. 0:31:41.960 --> 0:31:44.680 And there is a a stage now with the with 0:31:44.720 --> 0:31:46.960 the Jordan brand and the number of few schools across 0:31:47.000 --> 0:31:49.880 the country that actually have the Jordan brand UM that 0:31:50.080 --> 0:31:53.480 it allows the name of U c l A associated 0:31:53.520 --> 0:31:57.400 with the name of Michael Jordan's UM to just be 0:31:57.520 --> 0:32:00.400 a perfect marriage for basketball in particular. And I think 0:32:00.400 --> 0:32:02.480 they've done a really good job of trying to capitalize 0:32:02.480 --> 0:32:05.000 on that already. I think they will continue to do 0:32:05.000 --> 0:32:07.760 a good job capitalizing on it, uh and recruiting at 0:32:07.800 --> 0:32:09.600 a really really high level. It's kind of cool, right 0:32:09.640 --> 0:32:13.120 like some of the some of today's youngsters, they want 0:32:13.160 --> 0:32:16.160 to feel what's what's the what's the trend? What is cool? Right? 0:32:16.200 --> 0:32:18.720 Like they go on Twitter, they see what's trending? You know, 0:32:18.760 --> 0:32:21.080 you go to Instagram and you you flip over to 0:32:21.200 --> 0:32:23.000 like the little spyglass thing and what do you see? 0:32:23.040 --> 0:32:26.760 What's trending? What's new? UM and the Jordan brand with 0:32:26.840 --> 0:32:29.200 U c l A is new. I think our athletic director, 0:32:29.240 --> 0:32:33.800 Martin Jarmond has been absolutely phenomenal. Even in a global pandemic, 0:32:33.840 --> 0:32:35.840 he was able to create a buzz and an energy 0:32:36.160 --> 0:32:38.000 that we haven't seen out of the athletic department in 0:32:38.040 --> 0:32:40.160 a long long time. Uh. And I think that that 0:32:40.200 --> 0:32:43.520 will pay dividends not just for men's basketball, but for 0:32:43.560 --> 0:32:48.000 the athletic athletic department overall. Staying in the Pack twelve, 0:32:48.160 --> 0:32:50.480 I want to just get your take on the top 0:32:50.640 --> 0:32:54.120 three teams that you think are going to be, uh, 0:32:54.240 --> 0:32:56.600 basically the three highest seeds come tournament time that are 0:32:56.600 --> 0:32:58.440 coming out of the pack twelve. Well, I think the 0:32:58.960 --> 0:33:00.840 organized I don't think there's an doubt of that. I mean, 0:33:01.160 --> 0:33:03.360 you know Dana Altman as well as I do. H 0:33:03.560 --> 0:33:06.440 Dana Altman. He just sits there every preseason media pool. 0:33:06.640 --> 0:33:08.960 He has like his bucket, like his little his little bowl, 0:33:09.160 --> 0:33:11.040 and he's got his like wooden spoon, and he's just 0:33:11.120 --> 0:33:17.440 like really really only got two first place folks. Keep key, 0:33:17.520 --> 0:33:20.920 I'm just gonna keep stirring, keep stirring. And then all 0:33:20.920 --> 0:33:23.360 of a sudden, January middle of January hits and we're like, 0:33:23.600 --> 0:33:26.800 man Oregan is really really good. You know, it's like, 0:33:27.160 --> 0:33:30.040 no kidding, they're really really good. I think Gary Air 0:33:30.200 --> 0:33:33.560 the transfer from Syracuse, harm In the transfer from Oklahoma. 0:33:33.800 --> 0:33:37.280 These guys can really score. Uh. And I know obviously 0:33:37.320 --> 0:33:40.680 we saw Chris Duarte in the NBA his his debut, 0:33:40.760 --> 0:33:43.200 he had over twenty uh in his debut. I mean, 0:33:43.600 --> 0:33:47.000 he's he's a beast. Uh And they will miss him, 0:33:47.040 --> 0:33:50.600 but they they got will Rich. Will Rich, my kids, 0:33:50.720 --> 0:33:54.560 Lefty and I spent I spend time with him up there. 0:33:55.760 --> 0:33:57.480 I think it's a deep team. I think this is 0:33:57.520 --> 0:33:59.760 a team that's certainly gonna be preseason like you know, 0:33:59.880 --> 0:34:03.080 like in my rankings preseason, they're right outside the top ten, 0:34:03.840 --> 0:34:06.000 but I could easily see them getting into the top 0:34:06.040 --> 0:34:08.000 ten by the end of the season, just because I 0:34:08.000 --> 0:34:10.319 think Dana Altman is that elite of a coach too, 0:34:10.800 --> 0:34:12.960 like and I think a lot of his his philosophy 0:34:13.040 --> 0:34:15.640 of of roster turnover. And we talked about this every 0:34:15.719 --> 0:34:17.319 year with Oregon. We're like, oh my gosh, so much 0:34:17.400 --> 0:34:21.319 roster turnover. He was a junior college coach all you know, 0:34:21.360 --> 0:34:24.759 how to turnover at the Jukes. How he's mastered that 0:34:25.080 --> 0:34:28.040 art man of mession guys year in year out. I 0:34:28.080 --> 0:34:30.280 witnessed it. As you know, my son was a walk 0:34:30.320 --> 0:34:33.400 on for four years. Up there want three pack twelve 0:34:33.480 --> 0:34:35.480 championships or something like, they got three rings. I don't 0:34:35.480 --> 0:34:37.759 know if he says he got more than me, but 0:34:37.800 --> 0:34:39.640 I don't know. Have to look at which pack twelver 0:34:39.680 --> 0:34:42.760 he won. But anyway, dude, it would shock me. Every 0:34:42.800 --> 0:34:44.919 single year. I'd be like, Oh, no way, he's gonna 0:34:44.960 --> 0:34:46.759 make this work. You know, no way he's making these 0:34:46.760 --> 0:34:50.239 guys work. And then come last five games in the season, man, 0:34:50.239 --> 0:34:52.839 and dude start bawling out. So who do you think though, 0:34:53.600 --> 0:34:55.440 So for that next kind of tier he got, we got? 0:34:55.480 --> 0:35:01.880 You said, obviously it smashed it smashed up my. I 0:35:01.920 --> 0:35:04.280 think this vote's wealth of the conference that we start 0:35:04.360 --> 0:35:06.360 a year with maybe six or seven teams that I 0:35:06.400 --> 0:35:08.520 think can make the n C Double A tournament. Uh, 0:35:08.560 --> 0:35:10.400 As you know, Chris, it hasn't been that way for 0:35:10.440 --> 0:35:12.080 a long part. But I think a lot of the 0:35:12.120 --> 0:35:14.080 expectation comes off of what was a great n C 0:35:14.160 --> 0:35:16.600 Double A tournament for so many teams. But to your 0:35:16.600 --> 0:35:17.960 point on u c l A, u c l A 0:35:18.000 --> 0:35:20.479 got hot at the right time, Oregon State wouldn't even 0:35:20.480 --> 0:35:22.480 made the tournament and they got all the way to 0:35:22.520 --> 0:35:26.160 the Elite eight. So I think that that's great, But 0:35:26.280 --> 0:35:27.799 now you've got to follow it up with a good 0:35:27.840 --> 0:35:30.160 November and a good December to kind of set the 0:35:30.200 --> 0:35:33.680 tone going into conference play again this year. I think 0:35:33.680 --> 0:35:35.279 it's three teams that that are gonna be in the 0:35:35.320 --> 0:35:39.560 next group. One is Tommy Lloyd in Arizona. I think 0:35:39.560 --> 0:35:41.480 that that's a group that a lot of people want 0:35:41.480 --> 0:35:44.759 to dismiss right away because he's a new coach. He's 0:35:44.760 --> 0:35:48.040 an assistant coach that's taking over as a head coach. Uh, 0:35:48.080 --> 0:35:50.200 They've done a good job getting some grad transfers in 0:35:50.239 --> 0:35:53.360 the guys that they have back pretty good. Uh. Matherin 0:35:53.520 --> 0:35:58.880 Is is awesome. I love his Bellis to Beyllis is 0:35:58.920 --> 0:36:00.680 great as well. So you have have two guys that 0:36:00.680 --> 0:36:03.560 are double digit scores coming back, that have experience and 0:36:03.600 --> 0:36:06.040 are going to be better than they were a year ago. 0:36:06.440 --> 0:36:08.440 And I had a coach tell me that Tommy Lloyd 0:36:08.480 --> 0:36:11.000 has the best resume of an assistant coach to take 0:36:11.080 --> 0:36:14.279 over a Power five conference job since Roy Williams. You 0:36:14.320 --> 0:36:16.920 think about Roy Williams and Carolina, he had everything. I mean, 0:36:16.920 --> 0:36:19.920 he had the National Championship and everything. Tommy only blacks 0:36:19.920 --> 0:36:23.000 the National Championship. Everything that he did again, Zaga was 0:36:23.080 --> 0:36:25.319 elite and at a very very high level. He's a 0:36:25.320 --> 0:36:29.560 great recruiter. He's all about relationships, I think, and he's 0:36:29.600 --> 0:36:32.759 a he's a detail oriented coach. He's gonna let offensively, 0:36:32.800 --> 0:36:36.480 They're gonna play very free and flowing a very European 0:36:36.600 --> 0:36:39.040 field to the offense. I think that's gonna that's gonna 0:36:39.080 --> 0:36:42.040 appease the fan base in Tucson. But I don't think 0:36:42.080 --> 0:36:43.839 the Wildcats are going anywhere. I mean, I think they're 0:36:43.880 --> 0:36:46.200 in that mix of three, four and five. I think, 0:36:46.520 --> 0:36:48.800 you know, any NFL doesn't get the respect that I 0:36:48.840 --> 0:36:52.759 think he desperately deserves. Um. And here's why I say that, 0:36:52.760 --> 0:36:55.439 because you know as well as anybody. I mean, we 0:36:55.440 --> 0:36:58.719 we face some really good sc teams. When Grandville Blue 0:36:58.800 --> 0:37:02.120 and Ultra Pon you claim at see Calabrini, I mean, 0:37:02.200 --> 0:37:05.560 those are those were squads. But there's been a long 0:37:05.600 --> 0:37:08.680 stretch of USC basketball where they've really kind of been 0:37:08.719 --> 0:37:11.880 in and out of even being relevant. And now they 0:37:11.920 --> 0:37:14.000 have no well, by the way, almost no home environment 0:37:14.040 --> 0:37:16.560 whatsoever except for like one or two games per year. 0:37:16.600 --> 0:37:18.640 Which is a shame because the fans should come out 0:37:18.680 --> 0:37:21.440 and support Andy and what they have been able to 0:37:21.480 --> 0:37:25.120 build there. But they've recruited at a really, really high level. 0:37:25.280 --> 0:37:27.600 I think Isaiah Mobile coming back obviously it's huge. I 0:37:27.600 --> 0:37:29.960 would anticipate that he is a little bit more assertive, 0:37:30.680 --> 0:37:33.439 uh than he has been in the past. You've got 0:37:33.480 --> 0:37:36.759 four four others top five guys back, you get a 0:37:36.760 --> 0:37:39.920 transfer in Boogie Ellis from Memphis. I think USC is 0:37:39.960 --> 0:37:42.120 gonna be right there. Again, they're gonna be a different team. 0:37:42.120 --> 0:37:44.120 I don't think they're gonna be as focused on the 0:37:44.120 --> 0:37:46.560 interior obviously with Evan Mobile, who had a great debut 0:37:46.640 --> 0:37:49.000 as well in the NBA. UM, But I do think 0:37:49.120 --> 0:37:51.239 s He's gonna be right there. And then I think 0:37:51.239 --> 0:37:55.080 the one team that is Matt overly being disrespected right 0:37:55.080 --> 0:37:57.960 now is the place where you stole the ball from 0:37:57.960 --> 0:37:59.719 Baron Davis and hit the game when he shot. That's 0:37:59.719 --> 0:38:03.279 why to Washington State. Yeah, I think I think Kyle 0:38:03.320 --> 0:38:07.720 Smith is Smith Baby. He is. He is really good 0:38:07.760 --> 0:38:11.000 as a coach. He plays clear strengths, He lets his 0:38:11.080 --> 0:38:15.200 guards have just amazing amount of freedom. Um. And I 0:38:15.200 --> 0:38:17.680 think you look at like noelh williams. Uh. You look 0:38:17.680 --> 0:38:21.759 at Tyrell Roberts, the transfer from u C. S d Uh, 0:38:21.800 --> 0:38:25.080 and then you you have f A albo Ghidi, who 0:38:25.160 --> 0:38:27.399 I think is gonna have another tremendous year. I think 0:38:27.600 --> 0:38:29.640 Washington State could be the best defensive team in the 0:38:29.640 --> 0:38:32.399 Pac twelve this year, and if the best defensive team, 0:38:32.440 --> 0:38:33.719 they make the n C Double A tournament for the 0:38:33.719 --> 0:38:36.359 first time since two thousand and eight. Sean back when 0:38:36.360 --> 0:38:40.239 we played Washington State wasn't necessarily the toughest place in 0:38:40.280 --> 0:38:42.839 the world to play. Now given this wasn't the same 0:38:42.880 --> 0:38:45.719 time at the same time because it is Pullman, But 0:38:45.760 --> 0:38:48.360 given this season, with the return of fans and the 0:38:48.400 --> 0:38:51.360 return of these sort of you know, home court advantage 0:38:51.440 --> 0:38:53.640 environments that you're gonna have, do you think you know 0:38:53.680 --> 0:38:56.319 a Washington State could create that type of atmosphere because 0:38:56.320 --> 0:38:58.080 I think that's the one thing that's just lacking for 0:38:58.160 --> 0:39:00.920 Kyle Smith up there, is that sphere to get it. Really, 0:39:01.200 --> 0:39:03.200 given what's going on in their football program right now 0:39:03.280 --> 0:39:06.160 with Rolovich, their coach being fired, and all of that 0:39:06.200 --> 0:39:08.920 situation the up evil there, I think that the sports 0:39:08.920 --> 0:39:12.080 fans in that general vicinity will be looking uh to 0:39:12.239 --> 0:39:14.160 support Washington State, So I think that you will have 0:39:14.200 --> 0:39:17.279 good environments, in particular on those Saturday games. I do 0:39:17.400 --> 0:39:19.680 worry about those Tuesday night games because a lot of 0:39:19.719 --> 0:39:23.799 their fans aren't necessarily there. They drive in from Spokane, 0:39:24.040 --> 0:39:26.560 they drive in from court A Lane. Uh, they drive 0:39:26.640 --> 0:39:29.400 out from outside of Pullman to get there. So some 0:39:29.400 --> 0:39:31.520 of those Thursday night games may not have that great feel. 0:39:31.760 --> 0:39:34.319 But I would anticipate that their Saturday games should be 0:39:34.480 --> 0:39:38.279 should be really good, especially since the conference is really good. 0:39:38.760 --> 0:39:40.879 Because you know, I mentioned those five, but we don't 0:39:40.880 --> 0:39:43.359 even mentioned Bobby Hurley at Arizona State, who I think 0:39:43.440 --> 0:39:45.000 is gonna have much more of the team kind of 0:39:45.040 --> 0:39:47.960 that that works for him. Uh. This year, I think 0:39:47.960 --> 0:39:50.680 Mary and Jackson that transfer from Toledo is gonna be 0:39:50.719 --> 0:39:53.160 really important for them. An average about eighteen points per 0:39:53.239 --> 0:39:55.960 game for them a year ago. Uh, you got Luther 0:39:56.040 --> 0:39:59.000 Mohammed to transfer from Ohio State. He's now eligible to play, 0:39:59.320 --> 0:40:02.400 So I think you're gonna have some experienced guys. Uh. 0:40:02.440 --> 0:40:04.920 They're gonna work well with Bagley, who who returned to 0:40:04.960 --> 0:40:07.600 campus after testing the draft waters. I think Tad will 0:40:07.719 --> 0:40:09.440 best recruiting class in the pack Swell this year. I 0:40:09.440 --> 0:40:12.359 went to Colorado, so I think that's he's He's done 0:40:12.360 --> 0:40:15.000 a tremendous job coaching there as well. Uh, and they 0:40:15.080 --> 0:40:17.440 got Evan Baddy back. But I do think that they 0:40:17.440 --> 0:40:20.000 miss McKinley right too much. And that's why I don't 0:40:20.040 --> 0:40:23.040 have Colorado and that upper upper tier of the conference, 0:40:23.280 --> 0:40:25.920 just because I thought McKinley right was so valuable for 0:40:25.960 --> 0:40:27.600 what they wanted to do and find the success that 0:40:27.640 --> 0:40:30.439 they had. He was huge. Do you think Bagley has 0:40:30.480 --> 0:40:33.719 the highest NBA ceiling in the Pac twelve? And if 0:40:33.719 --> 0:40:36.560 you do, if you don't, what player do you think? 0:40:36.680 --> 0:40:41.279 Does I think it's Peyton Watson? I mean I think 0:40:41.400 --> 0:40:43.560 I think Peton Watson has that upside. I think he 0:40:43.600 --> 0:40:47.279 needs to gain strength obviously, like he's he's very wiry. Um. 0:40:47.400 --> 0:40:48.960 That doesn't mean that did you what did you see 0:40:48.960 --> 0:40:51.000 your practice? What did you say your practice far up? 0:40:51.040 --> 0:40:53.040 Because that's a that's a that's a big time statement. 0:40:53.080 --> 0:40:54.800 But what did you see in practice that made you 0:40:54.800 --> 0:40:58.960 feel satility? I saw more versatility than I expected. I 0:40:58.960 --> 0:41:00.719 would not be surprised that if he's at the point 0:41:00.719 --> 0:41:04.200 guard position at times this year for U C l Ah, 0:41:04.360 --> 0:41:06.480 that's how that's how smooth he is with the ball 0:41:06.520 --> 0:41:08.279 in his hands. I think he's really good. And on 0:41:08.360 --> 0:41:12.839 ball screen situations, Uh, he shot it better than I anticipated. Um. 0:41:12.880 --> 0:41:14.799 And then around the room the rim, I mean he's 0:41:14.960 --> 0:41:18.600 he's he can elevate, finish. I mean, I think you know. 0:41:18.680 --> 0:41:20.880 Now the question for me is Canny can he defend 0:41:20.880 --> 0:41:22.839 his position? Again, I was at a practice where there 0:41:22.880 --> 0:41:24.960 wasn't a lot of defense. Everything was offensive minded at 0:41:24.960 --> 0:41:28.120 the practice. Um, but can he defend his position at 0:41:28.160 --> 0:41:31.120 a high level? If he can, then I think he 0:41:31.200 --> 0:41:34.839 becomes that guy. Bagley's interesting to me. I think, Look, 0:41:34.920 --> 0:41:37.759 last year's team was so disjointed down there last year 0:41:37.800 --> 0:41:41.640 with with Josh Christopher, Remmy Martin, Alonso Verge. All of 0:41:41.640 --> 0:41:44.400 them are gone. You know, Christopher goes to the league, 0:41:44.600 --> 0:41:46.759 the other two transfer out, Remy Martin ends up going 0:41:46.800 --> 0:41:48.920 to Kansas, Alonso Verge I believe is that Nebraska if 0:41:48.960 --> 0:41:52.560 I'm if I remember correctly, Um, but the ball would 0:41:52.560 --> 0:41:56.000 stick in those guys hands. And Bagley, you know, who's 0:41:56.120 --> 0:41:58.200 very limited in the number of games in which he played. 0:41:58.480 --> 0:42:00.319 We don't really know what it's gonna be like with 0:42:00.400 --> 0:42:03.000 him maybe becoming the focal point of the offense. Like 0:42:03.080 --> 0:42:05.400 now even he's number one. And you know this, Chris, 0:42:05.760 --> 0:42:07.480 like you go back to your years. You know your 0:42:07.480 --> 0:42:08.880 early years at U c l A. You are on 0:42:08.880 --> 0:42:11.359 the scouting report, there's no doubt about it. But then 0:42:11.400 --> 0:42:13.759 when you look at your senior year, then you were 0:42:13.760 --> 0:42:17.440 defended way differently because you're gonna drop twenty on their 0:42:17.480 --> 0:42:20.279 heads if they didn't defend you the right way, right. Uh. 0:42:20.280 --> 0:42:24.440 And we've been bolos. But like you know, you you 0:42:24.440 --> 0:42:27.520 you look at Bagley and now you're the guy that 0:42:27.560 --> 0:42:30.080 they're not worried about necessarily the quality of guards that 0:42:30.080 --> 0:42:31.839 they had a year ago because on paper those three 0:42:31.840 --> 0:42:34.440 guards were really really good. Now they're looking at you, 0:42:34.560 --> 0:42:37.920 so how do you score? Um? With that becoming the 0:42:37.920 --> 0:42:40.640 focal point? Are you able to score? Uh? And what 0:42:40.800 --> 0:42:42.600 is your efficiency? Right now? He can shoot the ball 0:42:42.640 --> 0:42:44.600 really well from the outside, so I think he's gonna 0:42:44.600 --> 0:42:46.640 be able to stretch the floor a little bit. But 0:42:46.840 --> 0:42:47.960 I do want to see what he can do with 0:42:47.960 --> 0:42:49.960 his back to the basket. Can he be a physical presence? 0:42:50.480 --> 0:42:53.319 Can he be like an Evan Mobley type player that 0:42:53.400 --> 0:42:56.040 has incredible feel that when they do double team him 0:42:56.120 --> 0:42:57.960 that he's able to pass the ball out of that 0:42:58.040 --> 0:43:00.719 double team and be willing to sack her by shots 0:43:00.760 --> 0:43:02.719 for the betterment of the team. And I think that 0:43:02.760 --> 0:43:05.640 would help elevate his stock at that next level, because 0:43:05.640 --> 0:43:08.200 when you're talking about a Marcus Bagley in the NBA 0:43:08.200 --> 0:43:10.279 and Chris you know this, he's a role player. He's 0:43:10.280 --> 0:43:12.400 not a star. He's a role player. And that's not 0:43:12.440 --> 0:43:14.279 a negative. And people take that as a negative all 0:43:14.280 --> 0:43:17.120 the time when I say that, But the league is 0:43:17.239 --> 0:43:19.760 full of role players. The league is not full of stars. 0:43:20.200 --> 0:43:24.680 Stars are few and far between at the next level. Yeah, yeah, 0:43:25.080 --> 0:43:27.719 what do you think is the last question in the 0:43:27.760 --> 0:43:29.680 pack twelve? Where's the toughest place to get a win? 0:43:29.800 --> 0:43:35.320 In the pack twelve? This this Arizona. Arizona still still 0:43:35.800 --> 0:43:38.760 just because the fans, I mean McHale Center is rocking 0:43:38.800 --> 0:43:41.200 at all times. My hopes would be that u c 0:43:41.400 --> 0:43:43.759 l A, coming off their final four would get back 0:43:43.760 --> 0:43:46.040 to what it was when you and I were playing. 0:43:46.320 --> 0:43:48.920 I mean you and I, like I tell people this 0:43:48.960 --> 0:43:51.280 all the time. We were fortunate. It didn't matter really 0:43:51.320 --> 0:43:53.680 who we're playing with the exception and maybe like one 0:43:53.800 --> 0:43:58.920 or two of those December right before Christmas games out, Yeah, 0:43:59.080 --> 0:44:01.880 it was sold out. Like every game in our conference 0:44:02.040 --> 0:44:04.799 was sold out. We had John Wooden behind our bench, 0:44:04.920 --> 0:44:08.160 and everything was rocking every single time. Uh, and it 0:44:08.160 --> 0:44:10.520 didn't matter who you played. And I hope for u 0:44:10.560 --> 0:44:12.400 c l A, coming off of what was such a 0:44:12.400 --> 0:44:15.160 successful season that that's the type of atmosphere that they have. 0:44:15.239 --> 0:44:19.640 I hope for across the conference that in college basketball 0:44:19.680 --> 0:44:21.480 and in general. And I saw this last week. I 0:44:21.480 --> 0:44:26.360 went to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness and twenty people 0:44:26.400 --> 0:44:31.040 came for the practice for their Midnight Manners and Chris, 0:44:31.480 --> 0:44:33.279 it felt so good to be there because for a 0:44:33.360 --> 0:44:35.760 year this was this was my backdrop for for calling 0:44:35.800 --> 0:44:38.160 games and and working in studio is out of my 0:44:38.200 --> 0:44:40.880 son's bedroom. Um. And to be back in front of 0:44:40.880 --> 0:44:43.359 twenty thousand and feel that energy was great. And I 0:44:43.400 --> 0:44:46.440 hope the college basketball fans, like we've seen in football, uh, 0:44:46.520 --> 0:44:49.359 come back out and support these kids, these young men 0:44:49.480 --> 0:44:53.640 and women. The women's game is in incredible shape as well, UM, 0:44:54.239 --> 0:44:57.239 that that they really support and and buy back into 0:44:57.280 --> 0:45:00.200 this the school's spirit. Because when the school spirit there, 0:45:00.239 --> 0:45:02.840 everything starts to become better around campus, Like your academics 0:45:03.000 --> 0:45:05.120 pick up, you know, people walking around campus, they got 0:45:05.200 --> 0:45:07.480 a smile on their face. Uh. And and coming out 0:45:07.480 --> 0:45:10.040 of the zombie year of disconnect, I hope we re 0:45:10.120 --> 0:45:13.440 engage and people start connecting again. Yeah. It's very important, man, 0:45:13.480 --> 0:45:17.520 And especially in college sports, the fan experience, the presence 0:45:17.600 --> 0:45:20.439 of fans, the you know, their energy is something that 0:45:20.440 --> 0:45:22.640 that you really do feed off of, and it creates 0:45:22.800 --> 0:45:25.359 a tough to win environment. I'll never forget the first 0:45:25.400 --> 0:45:27.920 time played at Old Matt Court up in Oregon and 0:45:27.960 --> 0:45:29.600 we go up there, We go up there and think 0:45:29.640 --> 0:45:30.920 we're gonna get a win. Man. I go in there 0:45:31.040 --> 0:45:34.239 is the loudest place I had ever been in my life. Dude, 0:45:34.239 --> 0:45:37.200 they made it so difficult. I would love to see that, 0:45:37.280 --> 0:45:41.320 you know, old school college basketball environment return UM this year. 0:45:41.360 --> 0:45:46.280 But staying in the SEC, you mentioned Kentucky UM Alabama 0:45:46.840 --> 0:45:49.359 is a team Nadoates has done a great job down there. 0:45:49.960 --> 0:45:53.600 Uh got Jaden Shackle for a kid I coached. Uh 0:45:53.640 --> 0:45:57.040 in a you he's coming back to that team. Talk 0:45:57.080 --> 0:45:59.960 about the Crimson Tide and the SEC. Who do you 0:46:00.080 --> 0:46:02.800 have as you're kind of that first tier, top three 0:46:03.360 --> 0:46:05.560 sort of teams coming out at that conference. I think 0:46:05.560 --> 0:46:08.319 it's really interesting because I think when you look, we 0:46:08.320 --> 0:46:10.239 always want to start. Let's start with Kentucky, right, because 0:46:10.239 --> 0:46:12.320 you talk about the SEC starts with Kentucky, right. I 0:46:12.320 --> 0:46:13.640 mean that's talking about u c l A. You talked 0:46:13.640 --> 0:46:15.440 about you know, Pat well, have you talked about u 0:46:15.440 --> 0:46:18.520 c l A. Regardless of whether the Ruins are good? Um, 0:46:18.560 --> 0:46:21.319 I think Kentucky is gonna be really really good this year. Uh. 0:46:21.360 --> 0:46:23.319 And the reason why? And look I just saw them 0:46:23.360 --> 0:46:25.799 in person. Um. And so again, sometimes you get a 0:46:25.800 --> 0:46:28.200 snapshot of something, but you get a two thousand points scorer, 0:46:28.239 --> 0:46:31.120 and Kellen Grady from Davidson right, a very good shooter 0:46:31.280 --> 0:46:33.920 thirty eight percent from beyond the arc. C. J. Frederick 0:46:34.160 --> 0:46:37.080 from Iowa shot forty seven percent, forty eight percent last 0:46:37.120 --> 0:46:39.400 year for the Hawkeyes. He's he's now part of that. 0:46:39.520 --> 0:46:41.400 So they're gonna be able to stretch the floor. And 0:46:41.440 --> 0:46:44.719 then you bring in a guard like Tay Tay Washington, who, 0:46:44.760 --> 0:46:46.560 by the way, just got to deal with Porsche. So 0:46:46.680 --> 0:46:49.320 good for you. And I read that. I read that today. 0:46:49.400 --> 0:46:53.160 I just read that. Man, I wish we had and 0:46:53.280 --> 0:46:59.799 I l when we were in college. Oh my good. 0:46:59.840 --> 0:47:02.600 It's but then you've got Oscar Shebway as well. I mean, 0:47:02.719 --> 0:47:04.440 so you have a good mixture of freshman, but you 0:47:04.480 --> 0:47:06.800 also have some older players. And I think the Calipari 0:47:06.920 --> 0:47:09.480 teams that have more often have not had success are 0:47:09.480 --> 0:47:12.759 those guys that have the older teams. Right. That's it's 0:47:12.800 --> 0:47:15.279 not just the young kids, it's the guys that have 0:47:15.440 --> 0:47:19.040 that experience. And I think that this group is hungry, 0:47:19.080 --> 0:47:21.680 and I felt there's a connectivity, and Chris, you know this. 0:47:21.800 --> 0:47:23.680 Sometimes it doesn't take long. You could walk into a 0:47:23.680 --> 0:47:26.000 practice right now, Chris, because you're playing background in your 0:47:26.040 --> 0:47:28.680 coaching background, and you can sit down and look at 0:47:28.680 --> 0:47:31.720 a team and go I'm not going write down anything. 0:47:31.760 --> 0:47:33.279 I just want to see how they interact for like 0:47:33.320 --> 0:47:36.360 five and ten minutes. And if five ten minutes, you 0:47:36.400 --> 0:47:39.239 can go, okay, this has a chance to be good. 0:47:39.520 --> 0:47:42.319 Just based on that, like the are they connected? Do 0:47:42.360 --> 0:47:45.080 they do they genuinely like being around each other when 0:47:45.080 --> 0:47:47.279 they're out on the floor. Doesn't again, you know this 0:47:47.320 --> 0:47:49.399 as much as I do. Off the floor, you don't 0:47:49.400 --> 0:47:51.399 have to like your teammates. You could just you could 0:47:51.520 --> 0:47:53.840 really dislike a lot of your teammates. But when you 0:47:53.880 --> 0:47:56.360 go between those lines, all of that stuff goes away, 0:47:56.360 --> 0:47:58.880 and how do you connect while you're there? And I 0:47:58.920 --> 0:48:00.719 saw that with Kentucky when I was there, and I 0:48:00.760 --> 0:48:02.960 was really impressed with coach cal and his staff and 0:48:03.000 --> 0:48:04.960 what they've been able to do. So I like Kentucky. 0:48:05.120 --> 0:48:07.759 They would be the clubhouse leaders for me. I think 0:48:07.800 --> 0:48:10.440 a team that that maybe we're not talking enough about. 0:48:10.440 --> 0:48:14.239 His Tennessee in the SEC. I think Rick Barnes first 0:48:14.280 --> 0:48:15.680 and foremost all he does go to the n c 0:48:15.800 --> 0:48:18.560 l A tournament. I mean he changed the voles program 0:48:18.560 --> 0:48:22.719 and the expectation level. John Folkelston folkus in his back, Uh, 0:48:22.840 --> 0:48:26.440 Josiah Jordan James's back, Victor Bailey is back. Uh, Santiago 0:48:26.800 --> 0:48:29.040 vasco Via is back. And oh, by the way, then 0:48:29.080 --> 0:48:32.840 you add in four top one recruits. So very similar 0:48:32.840 --> 0:48:35.279 to what I was just talking about with Kentucky. Now 0:48:35.400 --> 0:48:38.160 you you got, you got like Kennedy Chandler. Uh. I 0:48:38.239 --> 0:48:40.040 think that is one of the top point guards in 0:48:40.040 --> 0:48:43.439 the country. He's good, he's good. Now you open up 0:48:43.440 --> 0:48:45.480 your offense a little bit, and I think that defensively, 0:48:45.480 --> 0:48:47.719 I don't worry about Tennessee. But offensively, there were so 0:48:47.719 --> 0:48:50.200 many inconsistencies last year, and I think a lot of 0:48:50.200 --> 0:48:52.680 that was with like Keian Johnson and James Springer they 0:48:52.680 --> 0:48:54.920 didn't have that summer. The same thing with Kentucky, the 0:48:54.960 --> 0:48:57.080 same thing with Duke. When you don't have that summer 0:48:57.480 --> 0:49:00.239 to learn what the expectation, what that bar is, and 0:49:00.320 --> 0:49:02.319 what you need to meet on a daily basis to 0:49:02.360 --> 0:49:04.879 be a competitor at the SEC packed well any level 0:49:04.920 --> 0:49:07.399 in the major Division one level, and you lose that. 0:49:08.200 --> 0:49:09.759 Now all of a sudden, you're you're you're kind of 0:49:09.760 --> 0:49:11.680 trying to play catch up the entire year. And that's 0:49:11.680 --> 0:49:13.239 why I think a lot of the freshman didn't show 0:49:13.280 --> 0:49:16.239 out last year. It wasn't because they weren't immensely talented, 0:49:16.719 --> 0:49:18.360 if they didn't have the same kind of time that 0:49:18.440 --> 0:49:20.919 everybody else had. I think if Jalen Johnson from Duke 0:49:20.960 --> 0:49:23.600 would have had the entire summer with Kay, he wouldn't 0:49:23.640 --> 0:49:25.520 have had the issues that he had early. And I 0:49:25.520 --> 0:49:28.080 think it would have benefited Duke all year long. UM, 0:49:28.160 --> 0:49:30.120 but that wasn't the case. So I think Tennessee is 0:49:30.120 --> 0:49:32.239 gonna benefit from that. Uh. And then I think you 0:49:32.320 --> 0:49:35.760 get to the Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, the A's triple A, 0:49:35.840 --> 0:49:40.400 triple A rated SEC this year, Eric, you're putting you 0:49:42.719 --> 0:49:44.720 They're all in the top twenty for me. By the way, 0:49:44.800 --> 0:49:47.319 in my preseason poll that I did, I put all 0:49:47.360 --> 0:49:49.319 three of those teams in the top twenty for me. 0:49:50.000 --> 0:49:52.799 Uh And the reason why I did that is that, 0:49:52.840 --> 0:49:56.480 first of all, Eric Musselman, I will believe in until like, 0:49:56.840 --> 0:50:00.520 until he proves me wrong. Right like he he goes 0:50:00.520 --> 0:50:03.239 out and he gets transfers every year and get Chris 0:50:03.239 --> 0:50:06.520 likes from Miami this year, right average, almost sixteen points 0:50:06.520 --> 0:50:08.440 a game for the U. Now, all of a sudden, 0:50:08.480 --> 0:50:10.399 he's coming in and the Muss bus seems like it's 0:50:10.440 --> 0:50:12.360 loaded back up again with a couple of transfers with 0:50:12.440 --> 0:50:15.040 South Dakota, Little Rock. And these are the type of 0:50:15.080 --> 0:50:16.400 guys that have a little bit of a chip on 0:50:16.440 --> 0:50:19.280 their shoulder, a little bit of like that nobody, nobody 0:50:19.280 --> 0:50:21.600 gave me the respect I deserve, and must is kind 0:50:21.640 --> 0:50:23.919 of that that coach. He's like, you know, nobody gives 0:50:23.960 --> 0:50:27.000 me the respect I deserve. And so I expect Arkansas 0:50:27.080 --> 0:50:29.600 to play free. I expect them to play fast. They 0:50:29.640 --> 0:50:32.239 will miss Moses Moody in particular early, but I do 0:50:32.320 --> 0:50:34.799 think that they can overcome that late. I think when 0:50:34.800 --> 0:50:36.879 you look at Alabama, it is about their guards. It's 0:50:36.880 --> 0:50:42.479 about Javien Quiverly. It's about Shackleford, like you mentioned, Uh, 0:50:42.560 --> 0:50:45.759 you know, they they've got guys that can flat out 0:50:45.760 --> 0:50:48.719 go at the guard position, and that NATO's plays this 0:50:48.880 --> 0:50:52.040 unique style as you know Chris, where he gives ultimate 0:50:52.080 --> 0:50:55.839 freedom to the offense, and sometimes people see that as 0:50:55.880 --> 0:50:59.120 if he doesn't care about the defensive end. My concern 0:50:59.200 --> 0:51:02.200 with Alabama's an out their guards, it's their interior. Uh. 0:51:02.280 --> 0:51:05.480 I think they're they're going to miss Herb Jones as 0:51:05.560 --> 0:51:08.279 much as many any maybe any player has missed in 0:51:08.320 --> 0:51:11.279 the country. The guy was in the defensive Player and 0:51:11.400 --> 0:51:13.759 Offense and n m v P last year in the SEC. 0:51:14.120 --> 0:51:17.440 Only two other players have ever done that, Tyler Ulis 0:51:18.000 --> 0:51:21.680 and Anthony Davis, and both were tremendous college basketball players. 0:51:21.680 --> 0:51:23.400 And so when you lose the guy that's willing to 0:51:23.440 --> 0:51:25.520 take charges, you lose the guy that can be your 0:51:25.520 --> 0:51:28.200 point forward. Uh, you lose the guy that that is, 0:51:28.360 --> 0:51:29.960 you know, the heart and soul in the heartbeat of 0:51:29.960 --> 0:51:33.280 your defense. That's a huge hole that you've got to fix. 0:51:33.719 --> 0:51:36.920 And then Jordan Brunners gone, Alex Rees has gone. So 0:51:37.120 --> 0:51:39.960 you now the guys even beside him and behind him 0:51:39.960 --> 0:51:42.680 are gone. You need to stack back up with your interior. 0:51:43.280 --> 0:51:46.799 And don't forget Josh Primo is gone to oh yeah, 0:51:46.840 --> 0:51:49.799 and John Petty and Petty. He was a lottery pick. 0:51:49.920 --> 0:51:52.560 Is funny man. Herb Jones. At first, I had been 0:51:52.600 --> 0:51:55.560 howling Coach town was on my show. So he had 0:51:55.640 --> 0:51:58.000 him doing a breakdown in u c l A, Alabama 0:51:58.040 --> 0:51:59.880 because they had played him a few times. So he's in, 0:52:00.080 --> 0:52:02.560 he's he's in in a van headed to n I 0:52:02.600 --> 0:52:04.839 T practice. He's going live with me, but he's just 0:52:04.880 --> 0:52:08.040 talking about Herb Jones. Chris. You just gotta see like 0:52:08.080 --> 0:52:10.919 he was raving about Herb Jones and it turned out, 0:52:11.040 --> 0:52:13.040 you know, Herb Jones a big time player. But I 0:52:13.080 --> 0:52:14.880 need to know about Auburn Mack every year. You know, 0:52:14.920 --> 0:52:16.920 I see coach. I see Bruce Parl with his shirt off, 0:52:16.960 --> 0:52:19.120 Bruce Pearl doing his thing out there. I love him 0:52:19.160 --> 0:52:21.879 as a coach of character and and typically he knows 0:52:21.920 --> 0:52:24.560 how to get him some really good guards. What about 0:52:24.880 --> 0:52:28.600 this iteration of the Arburn Tigers this season, Well, I 0:52:28.600 --> 0:52:31.680 think Jabari Smith is an All SEC first team caliber player. 0:52:32.320 --> 0:52:34.759 You're talking about a number five recruit and Paul being 0:52:34.800 --> 0:52:37.880 Carter's ESPN one hundred. I think he brings that freshman 0:52:37.920 --> 0:52:39.839 power in and then I think you look at, Okay, 0:52:39.840 --> 0:52:41.840 who else did they get. Well, they got Katie Johnson 0:52:42.239 --> 0:52:44.080 that average fourteen points a game at Georgia. They got 0:52:44.120 --> 0:52:47.200 Walker Kessler, who I think his numbers don't indicate what 0:52:47.320 --> 0:52:49.480 his value is and what it will be for Auburn 0:52:49.520 --> 0:52:51.719 this year, the big man from North Carolina just because 0:52:51.760 --> 0:52:54.319 they were splitting so much time there. Uh, you got 0:52:54.400 --> 0:52:57.440 Jasper the transfer from Charleston an average sixteen points. They 0:52:57.520 --> 0:53:00.920 got scores to go with Jabari Smith. And there's one 0:53:00.960 --> 0:53:03.919 thing about Bruce Pearl like you can't keep Auburn down, 0:53:04.440 --> 0:53:07.440 like and that team for the struggles. And if you 0:53:07.440 --> 0:53:10.080 look at the record of thirteen and fourteen last year, right, 0:53:11.040 --> 0:53:13.640 like how much of that was without Shariff Cooper almost 0:53:13.719 --> 0:53:17.240 all of it. Had Shariff Cooper been given his eligibility 0:53:17.480 --> 0:53:20.760 like he should have before the start of the season, 0:53:21.480 --> 0:53:23.760 that's whole season would have been different for Bruce Pearl. 0:53:24.160 --> 0:53:26.359 The whole year would have been different. Uh. And let's 0:53:26.360 --> 0:53:30.440 not forget about Flannagan being back, Williams being back, Cambridge 0:53:30.560 --> 0:53:33.439 being back. You've got experience, You've got guys that can 0:53:33.520 --> 0:53:36.000 that can score. I think Bruce Pearl's team is a 0:53:36.000 --> 0:53:38.759 top again Top twenty team. I think there are a 0:53:38.840 --> 0:53:42.760 fringe Sweet sixteen caliber team. All of it will depend, Chris, 0:53:43.120 --> 0:53:45.600 on the chemistry of this group, how quickly they can 0:53:45.640 --> 0:53:49.400 come together. And that's usually where Bruce Pearl thrives. So 0:53:49.520 --> 0:53:52.680 if that's where he thrives, then we go, Okay, they're 0:53:52.680 --> 0:53:54.560 gonna be pretty darn good again. And I think that's 0:53:54.600 --> 0:53:58.480 probably what we're gonna see. Mississippi State has as uh 0:53:58.600 --> 0:54:01.560 iverson Mullin are coming back, and they picked up a 0:54:01.560 --> 0:54:05.359 really good transfer. Uh. What do you think about North 0:54:05.400 --> 0:54:10.640 Carolina on that door, Chris, let me tell you. I 0:54:10.640 --> 0:54:15.360 think this team is gonna be really good. Um. I 0:54:15.480 --> 0:54:18.319 love this. This is Ben Hallet's type of team. They're 0:54:18.320 --> 0:54:20.400 gonna be in the tournament. Um. And I think I 0:54:20.480 --> 0:54:22.440 have them just outside my top twenty five at the 0:54:22.480 --> 0:54:25.080 start of the season, but again, wouldn't surprise me if 0:54:25.080 --> 0:54:27.319 they play their way up there, because this is a 0:54:27.360 --> 0:54:30.480 Ben Hellen team that has toughness experience, in particular at 0:54:30.480 --> 0:54:36.000 the guard position. Um, they have depth. Um, and this 0:54:36.080 --> 0:54:38.799 is like Ben is at his best. Like, I mean, 0:54:38.840 --> 0:54:40.000 you go back to some of those u c l 0:54:40.040 --> 0:54:41.560 A teams. And it's easy to fall in love with 0:54:41.600 --> 0:54:45.760 the Westbrook Love teams, right, but the farmer A Follow teams, 0:54:46.520 --> 0:54:49.359 those were grinders of teams. Man. They was like going 0:54:49.400 --> 0:54:53.160 to the office every single game and Ben, as u 0:54:53.160 --> 0:54:54.880 c l A fans, we'd lose our mind because they 0:54:54.960 --> 0:54:56.600 go on like a twelve oh run and he would 0:54:56.600 --> 0:54:58.920 call time out and I'm like, why are we stopping 0:54:58.920 --> 0:55:02.040 our own run? But for him, it was about setting 0:55:02.080 --> 0:55:05.239 up his defense and making sure that they tightened those 0:55:05.280 --> 0:55:08.279 bolts and that there wasn't even in their success, they 0:55:08.320 --> 0:55:11.759 weren't feeling too comfortable or too confident, right that they 0:55:11.800 --> 0:55:14.520 got away or deviated from the system. And I think 0:55:14.560 --> 0:55:16.640 that this is a team for Ben Holland that has 0:55:16.719 --> 0:55:19.480 that same kind of makeup. Uh so and and and 0:55:19.520 --> 0:55:22.759 as you look at the trajectory of Ben's programs overall, 0:55:23.239 --> 0:55:27.279 you know, I think and everywhere he's coached in year three, 0:55:27.400 --> 0:55:29.200 whether it was Northern Arizona, whether it was Pitt, whether 0:55:29.200 --> 0:55:31.160 it was u c l A, everything got better, right, 0:55:31.520 --> 0:55:34.239 They won the conference championship. The SEC has been a 0:55:34.280 --> 0:55:37.040 little bit of a different like travel for him, and 0:55:37.120 --> 0:55:39.600 a little bit of a different journey. It hasn't come 0:55:39.640 --> 0:55:43.759 as quick um. I think it could come this year. 0:55:43.800 --> 0:55:46.560 I don't think that necessarily they win the SEC, but 0:55:46.600 --> 0:55:49.520 I think being relevant on the scene, being able to 0:55:49.520 --> 0:55:51.520 then go out and recruit at a higher level and 0:55:51.560 --> 0:55:53.319 continue to get the kind of players that worked for 0:55:53.360 --> 0:55:55.399 Ben I think is there in front of them. There's 0:55:55.400 --> 0:55:57.360 certainly a tournament team. I think they're a team that 0:55:57.400 --> 0:56:00.640 can advance in the tournament. UM and getting a fringe 0:56:00.680 --> 0:56:03.480 top twenty five caliber team. For me, you don't forget 0:56:03.520 --> 0:56:06.360 about Rocket Watts as well. He's you know, he's dynamic, 0:56:06.560 --> 0:56:11.399 dynamics core um. Conference realignment, Like, I want to talk 0:56:11.440 --> 0:56:14.399 about the Big twelve as a conference, but I also 0:56:14.400 --> 0:56:16.160 want to talk about, since we're in the middle of 0:56:16.200 --> 0:56:19.120 talking about the SEC, the fact that Texas in Oklahoma 0:56:19.480 --> 0:56:22.200 are headed to the SEC. What what are your thoughts 0:56:22.239 --> 0:56:26.239 about how the conference conference realignment has effected is going 0:56:26.280 --> 0:56:28.560 to affect college basketball And do you think it's a 0:56:28.600 --> 0:56:33.280 good idea? And is this the end of traditional geographical 0:56:33.600 --> 0:56:36.359 like big time rivalries as we know that that end 0:56:36.400 --> 0:56:39.000 happened a long time ago. Chris h. In my opinion, 0:56:39.040 --> 0:56:42.840 I mean, this is just this is the necessary uh 0:56:43.120 --> 0:56:47.800 consequences of the failure to keep the Big East intact. 0:56:48.440 --> 0:56:50.279 I mean even on the West coast. You know it. 0:56:50.520 --> 0:56:55.360 I know it, man, you can't Syracuse. We were watching 0:56:55.400 --> 0:56:59.560 on Big Monday, you know, all day Big Monday, Super Tuesday, 0:57:00.040 --> 0:57:05.000 Georgetown versus Villanova. We were like, cannot wait to see this, 0:57:05.120 --> 0:57:09.759 you know. And and then Realignment came and it destroyed it. 0:57:10.120 --> 0:57:12.240 It destroyed it. And the thing that makes me happy, 0:57:12.520 --> 0:57:15.160 happier amongst everything else that's happened the last couple years, 0:57:15.280 --> 0:57:19.360 is that Realignment also came to refixing, and Yukon and 0:57:19.360 --> 0:57:21.880 and Danny Hurley are in the Big East once again. 0:57:22.120 --> 0:57:24.760 That's their rightful home. You know, it's tough to sell 0:57:24.800 --> 0:57:28.000 people in stores Connecticut, like, oh, we got to Lane 0:57:28.000 --> 0:57:31.720 and Tulsa coming in this week and they're like huh, 0:57:32.280 --> 0:57:34.120 like you know, and then and then when you're trying 0:57:34.160 --> 0:57:36.200 to recruit, which Yukon has always done really well, that 0:57:36.240 --> 0:57:40.960 geographical footprint all the way down to Philly, Like, you 0:57:41.000 --> 0:57:43.920 can't really recruit that footprint because you're never playing those teams. 0:57:44.200 --> 0:57:47.880 You're not playing in that footprint at all. And that's 0:57:47.920 --> 0:57:50.600 that's kind of fixed it, right, Like that the Yukon 0:57:50.720 --> 0:57:53.240 going back fixes it. But all of these moves that 0:57:53.280 --> 0:57:55.640 have been made in realignment has been to the detriment 0:57:55.680 --> 0:57:59.160 of college basketball has been made for money. It has 0:57:59.200 --> 0:58:03.520 been made for callge football. Period. That's it. Otherwise a 0:58:03.520 --> 0:58:07.120 lot of these realignments they wouldn't have happened. West Virginia 0:58:07.280 --> 0:58:09.240 now playing in the conference that they're gonna have to 0:58:09.360 --> 0:58:11.720 you know, play b y U. Like, that's a that's 0:58:11.720 --> 0:58:14.000 a pretty big landscape that we're looking at for for 0:58:14.080 --> 0:58:17.120 a totality of a conference. Um, and that's the future 0:58:17.120 --> 0:58:19.520 of the Big Twelve. Now. I think the Big Twelve 0:58:19.560 --> 0:58:21.280 is in good position. I think that the teams that 0:58:21.320 --> 0:58:26.120 they brought in helped them not only in football but 0:58:26.240 --> 0:58:28.720 also in basketball. I think in particular, you look at 0:58:28.760 --> 0:58:31.720 like Cincinnati b y U is really good with Mark 0:58:31.760 --> 0:58:34.280 Cope year in a year out. I think obviously Houston 0:58:34.560 --> 0:58:36.520 coming off their Final four run, this is this is 0:58:36.520 --> 0:58:38.640 going to help them build momentum and be able to recruit. 0:58:39.320 --> 0:58:42.120 But I think losing your brands of Oklahoma and Texas, 0:58:42.400 --> 0:58:44.360 you know, it just means more has been the same 0:58:44.480 --> 0:58:46.920 for the SEC. It just means more money for the 0:58:47.000 --> 0:58:50.320 SEC too. I mean they are already cashing checks for 0:58:50.360 --> 0:58:52.439 like upwards of almost fifty million dollars a year because 0:58:52.440 --> 0:58:54.920 their television rights, the SEC network and the success that 0:58:54.920 --> 0:58:57.200 that has had, which I think has shown out in 0:58:57.320 --> 0:59:01.040 the increased level of successes across their athletic departments. It's 0:59:01.040 --> 0:59:03.200 not just obviously in football we focus a lot on that, 0:59:03.600 --> 0:59:06.320 but basketball in recent years has gone from a a 0:59:06.920 --> 0:59:09.200 you know three team at max into the n C 0:59:09.280 --> 0:59:11.320 doub A Tournament. And now the expetation is six seven 0:59:11.440 --> 0:59:13.880 could be the very best conference in college at basketball 0:59:13.880 --> 0:59:16.720 this upcoming season. And then on the women's side there 0:59:16.720 --> 0:59:18.800 as dominant as they've ever been. And you see the 0:59:18.840 --> 0:59:21.800 contract that don Stanley just got seven seven years. I 0:59:21.800 --> 0:59:26.680 think two point four was the contract. Deservedly so did 0:59:26.680 --> 0:59:29.640 she get that contract. But that's a contract we have 0:59:29.800 --> 0:59:32.360 not seen in women's sports, and so I think it 0:59:32.440 --> 0:59:35.360 elevates the conference even more from that perspective, and they 0:59:35.360 --> 0:59:37.480 can do that based on the money and the revenue 0:59:37.520 --> 0:59:40.120 that they're bringing in Texas and Oklahoma will allow that 0:59:40.160 --> 0:59:43.600 to even increase that much more. Yeah, that's but just 0:59:43.720 --> 0:59:47.400 to not have that old school rivalry no more in 0:59:47.440 --> 0:59:49.480 a Big twelve, that's a good part That's the one 0:59:49.520 --> 0:59:51.120 good part about this one is we still have the 0:59:51.120 --> 0:59:54.120 Red River Shootout game for football, Like we'll still see 0:59:54.160 --> 0:59:57.800 Oklahoma versus Texas at the Continent SEC, but it's in 0:59:57.800 --> 1:00:04.480 the SEC landscape versus big twelve plus school guy. Look, 1:00:05.360 --> 1:00:06.560 but the way that it was, I wish the n 1:00:06.560 --> 1:00:08.760 C Double A tournament used to do, which used to 1:00:08.760 --> 1:00:12.480 have regions West, Region, you know, Midwest, South, you know whatever. 1:00:13.120 --> 1:00:16.360 I actually like that even though nine we got screwed 1:00:16.760 --> 1:00:18.560 and sent to the Midwest region when we won the 1:00:18.560 --> 1:00:21.600 PAC twelfth Conference about like four games, um, and then 1:00:21.760 --> 1:00:24.000 won fourteen straight games, we should have at least been 1:00:24.040 --> 1:00:26.400 the two in the West region. We weren't, uh, and 1:00:26.440 --> 1:00:30.200 we went to the Midwest. But nevertheless, like I love 1:00:30.240 --> 1:00:32.480 the old format too, So I'm a traditionalist as well. 1:00:33.200 --> 1:00:36.640 I think times continue to change in college athletics, UM. 1:00:36.640 --> 1:00:38.280 And I think that when you look at n I 1:00:38.520 --> 1:00:40.760 L and the transfer portal and all of those things, Chris, 1:00:40.960 --> 1:00:44.280 so much of this is changing and evolving, uh and there, 1:00:44.560 --> 1:00:47.080 and while we are losing things, we are also gaining things. 1:00:47.080 --> 1:00:51.040 We're gaining voices, we're gaining empowerment amongst the athletes. Things 1:00:51.080 --> 1:00:54.560 that you know, quietly we discussed twenty thirty years ago. However, 1:00:54.600 --> 1:00:56.560 many years ago it was now that we were playing 1:00:56.560 --> 1:00:59.080 at U c l A. Um. You know, Gosh, I 1:00:59.120 --> 1:01:00.720 wish I could do this. Sorry, I wish I could 1:01:00.720 --> 1:01:02.720 get that car. I wish I could. You know. Now, 1:01:03.000 --> 1:01:06.320 these are things that are actually tangible and real, uh, 1:01:06.520 --> 1:01:08.760 for these these student athletes. And I think it's a 1:01:08.760 --> 1:01:10.800 good thing. And I don't think it's hurting the athletic departments. 1:01:10.800 --> 1:01:12.840 Anybody who thought that this was like a doomsday scenario 1:01:12.920 --> 1:01:15.439 and N I L it's not. The kids are fine, 1:01:15.480 --> 1:01:18.000 the programs are fine. Let's keep going. So there has 1:01:18.040 --> 1:01:20.800 been some positives in these change there are some negatives 1:01:20.800 --> 1:01:23.360 there as well, though, I like as far as the 1:01:23.440 --> 1:01:25.160 n ILS concerned, I like what U c l A 1:01:25.320 --> 1:01:29.640 came out and did. And I guess Jermond enlisted their 1:01:29.680 --> 1:01:32.920 marketing and branding department to work directly with the athletes, 1:01:32.960 --> 1:01:35.160 so they're gonna be allowing the use of logos and 1:01:35.640 --> 1:01:38.000 U c l A letterhead and stuff. I think that's such. 1:01:38.040 --> 1:01:40.720 That's one of the biggest developments that I've heard in 1:01:40.760 --> 1:01:42.400 the inn, in the whole N I L game. But 1:01:42.440 --> 1:01:45.240 staying on the N I L Um, we look when 1:01:45.280 --> 1:01:47.919 you look at the situation that happened when in Oklahoma 1:01:48.440 --> 1:01:51.720 where in college football, where Spencer Rattler, he has the 1:01:51.760 --> 1:01:54.560 big deals this and that doesn't play well. They're throwing 1:01:54.640 --> 1:01:56.880 Caleb Johnson and then Caleb doesn't even get the time, 1:01:58.120 --> 1:02:00.040 Caleb Williams, it doesn't even get the interview after in 1:02:00.120 --> 1:02:02.880 the game. What's What's I mean? Is this a case 1:02:02.920 --> 1:02:05.480 of you know, the coaches still kind of having this 1:02:05.640 --> 1:02:08.919 anequated way not coming up to speed, or is just 1:02:08.920 --> 1:02:12.040 just some BS going on in University of Oklahoma. I 1:02:12.080 --> 1:02:13.880 don't think it's either one, Chris, I think it is 1:02:13.920 --> 1:02:17.120 a byproduct. Would be careful what you wish for. I 1:02:17.560 --> 1:02:20.480 said this with Derrick King, a quarterback to Miami. Now 1:02:20.480 --> 1:02:23.440 he's unfortunately injured and out for the rest of the year. Um, 1:02:23.720 --> 1:02:26.520 but you know, struggled in game one against Alabama. You 1:02:26.560 --> 1:02:30.880 get a pass there because why Alabama, right button? Game 1:02:30.880 --> 1:02:33.840 two against app State, he didn't throw a touchdown. He 1:02:34.000 --> 1:02:37.000 threw for eight yards against app State and they had 1:02:37.040 --> 1:02:38.600 to win on the last second field goal and won 1:02:38.640 --> 1:02:43.160 by two against Appay. And you're you're Miami and you're 1:02:43.200 --> 1:02:46.360 Derrek King and you're making eight hundred thousand dollars in 1:02:46.520 --> 1:02:48.280 n I l s that have already been announced. You're 1:02:48.280 --> 1:02:50.920 almost a million dollar man. Well guess what if you 1:02:50.960 --> 1:02:54.760 want that money, then when I'm covering college sports this year, 1:02:55.040 --> 1:02:56.840 I'm going to cover you as if I was covering 1:02:56.880 --> 1:03:00.959 the NBA. You're making you're pros. So now you open 1:03:01.040 --> 1:03:03.040 yourself up to more criticism. And I think when you 1:03:03.040 --> 1:03:07.000 look at he's got his his gear, his swag, he's 1:03:07.040 --> 1:03:10.000 making a million dollars, and everybody's like, this is our dude, 1:03:10.200 --> 1:03:14.000 Highsman trophy candidate. He's the man, And all of a 1:03:14.000 --> 1:03:17.080 sudden you slip up the fans. And this is I 1:03:17.080 --> 1:03:20.200 think what happened in Oklahoma. The fans are less inclined 1:03:20.600 --> 1:03:25.640 to give you that student athlete pass. Working their jobs, 1:03:25.800 --> 1:03:28.960 they're not making a million dollars there. You know, the 1:03:29.000 --> 1:03:31.480 other students in the students section, they're not making a 1:03:31.520 --> 1:03:35.120 million dollars. You are. And when you get that kind 1:03:35.120 --> 1:03:38.480 of money and you get you want this, the expectations 1:03:38.560 --> 1:03:41.920 then naturally increase. So if you fail to meet what 1:03:42.000 --> 1:03:44.600 the expectations are, and all of a sudden, you're Texas 1:03:44.640 --> 1:03:46.120 and you're getting the doors blown off and they put 1:03:46.160 --> 1:03:50.080 in Caleb Williams, and he goes in and wins the game. Now, 1:03:50.960 --> 1:03:54.400 now we start going, okay, wait, hold on, how much 1:03:54.440 --> 1:03:56.560 money is this kid making on name image and likeness? 1:03:56.640 --> 1:03:59.160 And then the businesses and the corporations that have invested 1:03:59.160 --> 1:04:02.680 money into you start going did we put a performance 1:04:02.680 --> 1:04:04.960 clause in this? And a lot of them didn't. That 1:04:05.000 --> 1:04:08.800 will probably change moving forward. But this is this is 1:04:08.840 --> 1:04:11.080 a byproduct of name, image and likeness. There's a lot 1:04:11.120 --> 1:04:12.720 of positives to name image and like this, and I 1:04:13.240 --> 1:04:16.439 favor I'm in favor of all of it. But when 1:04:16.520 --> 1:04:18.880 you start announcing how much money you're making in your 1:04:18.880 --> 1:04:21.120 own brand of clothes and all this other stuff, Chris, 1:04:22.280 --> 1:04:25.280 it changes the landscape. It changes how people view you 1:04:25.360 --> 1:04:28.720 on the outside. And us as broadcasters, I think, have 1:04:28.840 --> 1:04:32.160 to be cognitive and aware of how that has evolved 1:04:32.200 --> 1:04:35.720 and changed from even a year ago to twenty years 1:04:35.760 --> 1:04:38.720 ago when we were there, Like if if you struggle 1:04:38.800 --> 1:04:41.560 for three games, no one was really I mean, they 1:04:41.600 --> 1:04:43.640 might be like, oh, Chris needs to step up, but 1:04:43.680 --> 1:04:47.520 they weren't like badgering you, you know what I'm saying. Like, 1:04:47.600 --> 1:04:50.560 but if you were making a million dollars at U 1:04:50.600 --> 1:04:54.840 C L a and you started struggling, you'd start hearing 1:04:54.840 --> 1:04:57.400 a lot more chatter, especially in an age now that 1:04:57.440 --> 1:05:01.040 has social media and Instagram. Will Everything that these athletes 1:05:01.080 --> 1:05:04.120 are doing is brand recognition, brand value. Be careful of 1:05:04.320 --> 1:05:07.439 what your brand is because if your brand gets too 1:05:07.520 --> 1:05:09.880 large in a lot of these cases and I think 1:05:09.880 --> 1:05:12.200 we're having, we're gonna have an accordion effect here. Name 1:05:12.240 --> 1:05:14.680 engine like this comes in, people want to get on board. 1:05:15.040 --> 1:05:19.520 The brands are expanding too quick, meaning that you've gotta 1:05:19.720 --> 1:05:22.960 you've gotta realize kind of what your limitations are and 1:05:23.160 --> 1:05:26.240 how far you want this thing to really go while 1:05:26.320 --> 1:05:28.400 keeping your focus on what you're doing on the field 1:05:28.680 --> 1:05:31.040 or on the court. And I think that this a 1:05:31.080 --> 1:05:32.520 lot of what we're seeing right now is is a 1:05:32.520 --> 1:05:34.480 little bit of a backlash to the name image. And 1:05:34.480 --> 1:05:40.160 like this aspect great point about how college athletes that 1:05:40.240 --> 1:05:43.840 will be getting paid will be getting covered by the media. 1:05:43.880 --> 1:05:46.800 I think that's a tremendous point. And I'll be interested 1:05:46.800 --> 1:05:49.600 to see if like these local papers, the local you 1:05:49.600 --> 1:05:53.320 know College Norman, Oklahoma, the Norman, Oklahoma, you know, the 1:05:53.360 --> 1:05:56.120 Press Telegram. I wonder if there's gonna be some articles 1:05:56.160 --> 1:05:59.480 written with more of a direct sort of slant against 1:05:59.600 --> 1:06:02.400 you know they do pros because that's always been the thing. Hey, 1:06:02.400 --> 1:06:04.280 these kids are college will take it easy on them, 1:06:04.320 --> 1:06:06.240 and you know they're just college kids. But now it's like, wait, 1:06:06.280 --> 1:06:08.080 I mean, these guys are getting paid. So I think 1:06:08.080 --> 1:06:11.440 the sympathy aspect and the empathy of like, oh he's 1:06:11.480 --> 1:06:13.160 a college kid, that's gonna go out the window. This 1:06:13.240 --> 1:06:16.160 guy's a pro nowadays. It's a great point about that. 1:06:16.200 --> 1:06:17.760 But but we're in the Big twelve and I want 1:06:17.760 --> 1:06:19.919 to know just you're I got you on my show. 1:06:19.960 --> 1:06:22.600 I want to know who is going to win the conference. 1:06:22.720 --> 1:06:25.440 You got have Texas, I have Texas, Kansas and Baylor. 1:06:25.600 --> 1:06:32.200 Who wins the conference? Texas Texas conference members through defendant champion? 1:06:33.800 --> 1:06:38.720 Kansas got Remy Martin. How okay, how Baylor lost everybody? 1:06:38.760 --> 1:06:42.640 Their card played like they lost Mitchell t Butler. They're 1:06:42.640 --> 1:06:45.680 all gone, all right, So I you you lose all 1:06:45.720 --> 1:06:49.160 three of those guys. That's like Toldy Bailey, Chris Johnson 1:06:49.160 --> 1:06:54.439 and jar those guys are colde. Those guys were code man, 1:06:54.680 --> 1:06:58.000 I'll tell you what. Then you put in Vital as well, 1:06:58.400 --> 1:07:01.080 Mark Vital who was really there blue guy, and they 1:07:01.520 --> 1:07:04.280 the Swiss Army knife of what they did, I think 1:07:04.320 --> 1:07:06.680 Texas is gonna win it. And while they lost a 1:07:06.680 --> 1:07:10.360 ton as well, Matt Coleman, Jericho Sam's, Kai Jones, Greg Brown, 1:07:10.840 --> 1:07:14.480 the transfer portal, nobody benefited more than Chris Beard. So 1:07:14.760 --> 1:07:17.200 you go in the off season and and you know, 1:07:17.240 --> 1:07:20.040 no offense, the shock is smart, but Chris Beard is 1:07:20.800 --> 1:07:25.160 ridiculously high level coach, he really is. And you bring 1:07:25.240 --> 1:07:27.880 him into Texas. He's now back home where he wants 1:07:27.960 --> 1:07:30.920 to be. You throw in a Christian Bishop from Creighton. 1:07:31.240 --> 1:07:33.200 You throw in a dev and ask you for Kentucky. 1:07:33.400 --> 1:07:36.040 You're throwing a train Mitchell from you Mask, You're throwing 1:07:36.040 --> 1:07:38.720 a Timmy Allen from Utah. And then you go out 1:07:38.760 --> 1:07:41.880 and you get Marcus Carr from Minnesota, whose average twenty 1:07:41.880 --> 1:07:45.920 three points a game in the Big Tent. If Chris 1:07:45.960 --> 1:07:48.520 Beard can get them to compete the way he wants 1:07:48.560 --> 1:07:51.080 at the defensive end of the floor, and by the way, 1:07:51.120 --> 1:07:53.880 you still have Andrew Jones, you still have Courtney Rahem 1:07:53.960 --> 1:07:57.040 and you get that defense to work. Fine. You don't 1:07:57.040 --> 1:07:59.440 have to worry about offense. Because all of those guys 1:07:59.440 --> 1:08:02.640 I just told to about all average like between twelve 1:08:02.720 --> 1:08:06.360 and twenty three points a game last year. So offense 1:08:06.400 --> 1:08:08.880 isn't gonna be the issue. It's can they defend? Can 1:08:08.880 --> 1:08:11.160 they bring that? Chris me your toughness. I haven't seen 1:08:11.160 --> 1:08:14.120 a team yet at Texas Tech that didn't eventually get there, 1:08:14.160 --> 1:08:16.040 even if they started off a little slow. And I 1:08:16.040 --> 1:08:18.360 think Texas could take some losses early because maybe they 1:08:18.360 --> 1:08:20.840 don't have that toughness right away. But Chris, I believe 1:08:20.840 --> 1:08:22.439 that over the course of the season they're going to 1:08:22.479 --> 1:08:25.360 get there. I think Texas is final four good. Um, 1:08:25.400 --> 1:08:29.000 I think Kansas is close to being final for good. 1:08:30.000 --> 1:08:33.719 And again you saw an uptick in recruiting again for 1:08:33.720 --> 1:08:36.200 for Bill self, where you know, in the last couple 1:08:36.240 --> 1:08:39.640 of years, because of the allegations that were surrounding that program, 1:08:39.760 --> 1:08:42.800 they weren't getting those top one hundred kids. They got 1:08:42.840 --> 1:08:45.200 one this year. Uh. And I think you add that 1:08:45.280 --> 1:08:47.439 to the mix of of getting a guy that's has 1:08:47.479 --> 1:08:50.639 experienced as Remy Martin. You get David McCormick back, your 1:08:50.640 --> 1:08:54.360 big man, you got Jalen Wilson back, you got uh, 1:08:54.479 --> 1:08:57.920 you know, you got Christian Brown Brown back, You've got 1:08:58.000 --> 1:09:00.360 You've got multiple guys back that can really we fill 1:09:00.360 --> 1:09:03.040 out that roster for Bill self, and at twenty one 1:09:03.080 --> 1:09:05.000 and nine a year ago, I don't see any reason 1:09:05.000 --> 1:09:06.479 why they're not gonna be right back in the mix 1:09:06.520 --> 1:09:09.120 inside the Big twelve. I think Baylor is going to 1:09:09.160 --> 1:09:11.240 be good. They've got their best recruiting class they've ever 1:09:11.280 --> 1:09:14.200 had um, but I think they just lost so much 1:09:14.240 --> 1:09:16.400 from a year ago. And I do believe that there's 1:09:16.439 --> 1:09:19.200 always a championship hangover. I mean, you know it better 1:09:19.240 --> 1:09:22.080 than I know it, but there is a championship hangover. 1:09:22.280 --> 1:09:24.760 And when you have climbed that mountaintop. And and I 1:09:24.760 --> 1:09:26.479 get this discussion with my ten year old, you know, 1:09:26.479 --> 1:09:28.160 if you think the Bucks are gonna win the NBA 1:09:28.200 --> 1:09:30.679 title again? And I said, no, I don't. And I said, 1:09:30.720 --> 1:09:32.240 and the reason why I don't think the Bucks will 1:09:32.240 --> 1:09:33.960 win the championship is not because they're not good enough 1:09:34.000 --> 1:09:36.400 to win the championship. Chris, you know they are. But 1:09:36.479 --> 1:09:39.800 it is just really really hard to do it in 1:09:39.840 --> 1:09:44.040 consecutive seasons, is not. It's not even you can't even 1:09:44.040 --> 1:09:47.479 say it's not easy. I mean it's not even like common. 1:09:47.760 --> 1:09:50.320 It's not a commonplace to see that happen. And so 1:09:50.400 --> 1:09:52.040 for Baylor, I do think they take a little bit 1:09:52.080 --> 1:09:54.040 of a step back in conference play this year. But 1:09:54.080 --> 1:09:56.200 I think this is a conference of change right now 1:09:56.960 --> 1:10:00.280 because of Oklahoma and Texas leaving, because of what they 1:10:00.320 --> 1:10:02.840 have coming in. I'm you know, big Twelt media. They 1:10:02.880 --> 1:10:05.639 just took place yesterday. Uh And Scott Drew said, listen, 1:10:05.640 --> 1:10:07.600 even with Oklahoma and Texas, if we just added in 1:10:07.640 --> 1:10:09.519 the teams that we had from last year, we still 1:10:09.520 --> 1:10:11.960 would have been the number number one ranked conference in 1:10:12.000 --> 1:10:15.800 college basketball according to Ken Pop. And that's true, but 1:10:15.840 --> 1:10:17.599 that's also based on a Houston team that went all 1:10:17.600 --> 1:10:19.600 the way to the Final four, you know, And and 1:10:19.600 --> 1:10:21.639 I don't know if Calvin Sampson's teams are always going 1:10:21.680 --> 1:10:24.759 to get there. So as this conference changes, as Texas 1:10:24.760 --> 1:10:27.600 and Oklahoma leave, and Porter Moser obviously now with Oklahoma 1:10:27.800 --> 1:10:30.120 got a ton of transfers in there, I think it's 1:10:30.120 --> 1:10:31.920 gonna be interesting to see how that molds throughout the 1:10:31.960 --> 1:10:35.200 course of the year. Um. I think it's going to 1:10:35.200 --> 1:10:38.839 be interesting as those two teams exit, how this conference 1:10:38.880 --> 1:10:43.080 tries to pivot without completely ignoring Texas and Oklahoma until 1:10:43.120 --> 1:10:47.599 they're actually in the SEC to that of also welcoming 1:10:47.640 --> 1:10:51.120 in and highlighting and trying to lift up those teams 1:10:51.160 --> 1:10:56.479 that are coming from the American UCF Cincinnati, Houston, UH, 1:10:56.520 --> 1:10:59.360 and then b YU. How they're trying to lift those 1:10:59.360 --> 1:11:01.920 programs up so that on day one when they come in, 1:11:02.400 --> 1:11:04.320 they're already at a high level. I think it's gonna 1:11:04.360 --> 1:11:07.240 be very interesting how the Conference office handles that and 1:11:07.320 --> 1:11:10.840 handles the promotion of these teams as the season goes along. 1:11:11.760 --> 1:11:15.960 I don't think we're given Remy Martin enough credit. Uh. 1:11:15.960 --> 1:11:17.680 And I'm not just saying that because I'm biased and 1:11:17.680 --> 1:11:20.840 I've watched him since he was seventh eighth grade. I 1:11:20.920 --> 1:11:23.360 just really what I saw out of him in Arizona State. 1:11:23.400 --> 1:11:25.920 He's a big time gamer type player. I think he 1:11:25.960 --> 1:11:28.920 goes to the Big Twelve, put him and surround him 1:11:28.960 --> 1:11:30.960 with them guys that they got to Kansas, and I 1:11:31.000 --> 1:11:34.280 think Kansas comes out of the Big Twelve is champions. 1:11:34.320 --> 1:11:37.519 I'm but bait into your point. Certainly him only concerned 1:11:37.520 --> 1:11:40.920 the Remy as his turnovers, Chris, and that's always been 1:11:40.960 --> 1:11:43.240 That's always been his thing, true. And it's not even 1:11:43.280 --> 1:11:45.720 just the turnovers. It's like the timeliness of some of 1:11:45.720 --> 1:11:49.480 those turnovers. Like I was doing the game in Shanghai, 1:11:49.560 --> 1:11:53.679 China when they played Colorado in twenty nine and they 1:11:53.720 --> 1:11:57.240 had stormed back and they looked like they were about 1:11:57.240 --> 1:11:59.599 to win the game. And they're driving down the floor. 1:11:59.600 --> 1:12:02.200 I think they had of one point lead, and Remy 1:12:02.400 --> 1:12:04.840 drives down the middle of the paint and decides to 1:12:04.880 --> 1:12:07.000 throw behind the back pass to a guy cutting on 1:12:07.040 --> 1:12:10.080 the right hand side, and he gets picked off, goes 1:12:10.120 --> 1:12:13.040 down the other end three pointer, get a stop on 1:12:13.080 --> 1:12:15.360 the next possession, go back down another three pointer, and 1:12:15.360 --> 1:12:17.400 the game was over and Colorado got out of there 1:12:17.400 --> 1:12:19.760 with a win. And it's like, you don't want to say, hey, 1:12:19.800 --> 1:12:21.760 there's there's only one play that costs the game, because 1:12:21.760 --> 1:12:24.040 he's you and I both know that's never the case. Um, 1:12:24.080 --> 1:12:27.519 But there's certainly there are momentum backbreaking plays, uh and 1:12:27.560 --> 1:12:30.559 their self inflicted wounds and so far, I think for Remy, 1:12:30.600 --> 1:12:33.760 the biggest key for me this upcoming season is the 1:12:33.760 --> 1:12:35.720 talent level in which he will have around him at 1:12:35.800 --> 1:12:38.559 Kansas is exceeds the talent level that he had around 1:12:38.640 --> 1:12:42.920 him at Arizona State. Is he capable and willing to 1:12:43.160 --> 1:12:47.479 defer under control? I know he's willing to defer, but 1:12:47.560 --> 1:12:50.640 he is he willing to defer under control and composure. 1:12:50.680 --> 1:12:53.080 That's necessary of a player that has the experience that 1:12:53.120 --> 1:12:56.000 he has, the skill set that he has uh in 1:12:56.080 --> 1:12:57.840 the environment that he's now going to be playing in, 1:12:57.960 --> 1:13:00.360 because as you know, Alan field House is one of 1:13:00.360 --> 1:13:03.439 the most spectacular venues, if not the most spectacular venue 1:13:03.640 --> 1:13:06.439 in all of college basketball, that now becomes his home court. 1:13:06.760 --> 1:13:10.440 Handling that, handling it under the microscope with the expectations, 1:13:10.439 --> 1:13:12.880 and again, I think Kansas is Final four good. I 1:13:12.880 --> 1:13:14.519 think there's two teams in the Big twelve that can 1:13:14.560 --> 1:13:16.679 make it make a run for a national championship this year. 1:13:16.920 --> 1:13:21.080 It's Texas and it's Kansas. I agree, And I mean 1:13:21.080 --> 1:13:23.120 I won't count Baylor out to your point about the 1:13:23.720 --> 1:13:27.479 national championship hangover, Absolutely it does exist. But I think 1:13:27.479 --> 1:13:30.240 when you look at a team that's down there in Waco, 1:13:30.360 --> 1:13:33.080 concerning this iteration of that team in that program, and 1:13:33.160 --> 1:13:35.280 how Scott Drew has his guys locked in in that 1:13:35.400 --> 1:13:37.960 culture down there, I wouldn't be surprised to see them 1:13:38.000 --> 1:13:40.720 guys with Ken Joe and Meyer and all that make 1:13:40.800 --> 1:13:43.240 it back to the Final four. I'm just saying I 1:13:43.400 --> 1:13:47.479 was so thoroughly blown away impressed by Baylor last year. 1:13:47.800 --> 1:13:50.080 I don't know if I've ever seen dudes out there 1:13:50.120 --> 1:13:54.160 that were not only garden but just helping and recovering slides, 1:13:54.600 --> 1:13:58.479 the defensive ridiculousness in their athleticism, and then just they're 1:13:58.520 --> 1:14:01.360 just gangster. They were just so gangster on the boards 1:14:01.400 --> 1:14:03.080 on the because you're like this and you know this 1:14:03.200 --> 1:14:08.000 watching your dad broadcast. Marcus a legend in so many 1:14:08.000 --> 1:14:12.439 different ways. But his broadcast with with the Bucks, what 1:14:12.560 --> 1:14:14.400 Scott drew And this is the best thing I can 1:14:14.439 --> 1:14:17.720 say is they're running NBA rotations on the defensive end 1:14:17.760 --> 1:14:23.200 of the floor with the college enthusiasm and a football 1:14:23.320 --> 1:14:26.639 level of toughness. That's what Baylor was at the defensive 1:14:26.760 --> 1:14:28.840 end of the floor last year, and that is such 1:14:28.880 --> 1:14:32.559 a rare, rare thing to find. If they can, if 1:14:32.600 --> 1:14:34.760 they can stir that pot and bring it back this year, 1:14:35.000 --> 1:14:38.680 then yeah, they can get there. But I until I 1:14:38.720 --> 1:14:40.800 see it, Chris, I'm I'm gonna be I'm gonna wait 1:14:40.840 --> 1:14:43.680 and see how they look. But last year's team was 1:14:43.920 --> 1:14:48.919 NBA rotations with a college enthusiasm and a football toughness, 1:14:49.200 --> 1:14:53.639 and absolutely that was unbelievable. I wanted to get your 1:14:53.640 --> 1:14:55.920 thoughts on a couple more conferences the Big Ten in 1:14:55.920 --> 1:14:58.160 the A c C and there's just a couple more teams. 1:14:58.680 --> 1:15:02.400 UH Big is looking good this year. Pretty a decently 1:15:02.479 --> 1:15:06.559 deep conference, Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana. Of those you know 1:15:06.720 --> 1:15:10.240 four or five teams, who do you think is the 1:15:10.280 --> 1:15:14.000 Big Ten champion that comes up to perdue produce the 1:15:14.000 --> 1:15:17.679 best team in the conference, because because they got everybody back, 1:15:17.880 --> 1:15:21.120 they got everybody back. Um, and I think Zach Eady 1:15:21.280 --> 1:15:23.559 is going to have a tremendous year. I think UH 1:15:23.680 --> 1:15:25.599 coach Payter might even go to that double big line 1:15:25.640 --> 1:15:27.920 up with him and Trevin Williams uh and you go 1:15:28.120 --> 1:15:29.960 to double big. But Zach Ety, for those of you 1:15:29.960 --> 1:15:31.960 don't know, seven foot four. Last year he got fouls 1:15:32.000 --> 1:15:33.840 just by posting up because guys ran into his elbow 1:15:33.840 --> 1:15:35.320 and they're like, no, it's contact of the head, that's 1:15:35.320 --> 1:15:37.320 a foul, and he's like, so they have to teach 1:15:37.400 --> 1:15:39.080 him how to post up. He had a literally post 1:15:39.160 --> 1:15:42.880 up like this and theis tucked yes, and I'm like 1:15:42.960 --> 1:15:47.599 what that's doing? You know? And internationally he got great 1:15:47.640 --> 1:15:50.400 experience this year. In the FIBA nineteen over Latvia, he 1:15:50.840 --> 1:15:54.439 averaged about sixteen points in fifteen rebounds per game. I 1:15:54.439 --> 1:15:56.479 think that confidence in being a go to guy for 1:15:57.200 --> 1:16:00.679 in that uh with Lavia, I think is gonna bode 1:16:00.680 --> 1:16:03.000 well for him and expanding out his game this year. 1:16:03.080 --> 1:16:05.439 And I think Matt Painter has just consistently been that 1:16:05.520 --> 1:16:08.080 coach inside the big tent that every year we don't 1:16:08.080 --> 1:16:09.880 talk about him and then we look and they're like, wait, 1:16:09.960 --> 1:16:12.360 the thirteen and six like they were thirteen and six 1:16:12.479 --> 1:16:15.320 last year in the Big Ten, that had almost every 1:16:15.360 --> 1:16:17.479 team ranked at least at one point in time during 1:16:17.479 --> 1:16:18.880 the course of the season, and for a majority of 1:16:18.880 --> 1:16:20.639 the year, they had so many teams in the poll. 1:16:20.840 --> 1:16:23.439 It's all we were talking about in ESPN. We never 1:16:23.520 --> 1:16:26.400 talked about Perdue and they had a better record than 1:16:26.479 --> 1:16:29.000 half the teams that we were talking about inside conference play, 1:16:29.040 --> 1:16:31.280 and they were beating him UM, and so I think 1:16:31.280 --> 1:16:33.240 that I think they're right there. I think what Jowan 1:16:33.360 --> 1:16:37.960 Howard is doing at Michigan UM is just amazing and 1:16:38.000 --> 1:16:41.479 the fact that people continually come back and want him 1:16:41.479 --> 1:16:43.519 to coach at the next level and he continues to 1:16:43.680 --> 1:16:45.920 just turn away those offers because he's happy with where 1:16:45.960 --> 1:16:48.840 he's at a Michigan I think boats really, really well 1:16:48.880 --> 1:16:52.320 for them. Caleb Houston is going to be absolutely phenomenal. 1:16:52.360 --> 1:16:54.719 He's a top five pick. I think next year's NBA draft. 1:16:54.760 --> 1:16:57.559 He's a freshman. You put him with Hunter Dickinson, who's 1:16:57.560 --> 1:17:01.680 back Eli Brooks. Yes, you have to worry about replacing, 1:17:02.240 --> 1:17:04.519 whether it's Mike Smith and just the steady hand that 1:17:04.600 --> 1:17:08.080 he had, or Franz Wagner uh and the versatility that 1:17:08.120 --> 1:17:10.640 he showed in the athleticism that he played with, or 1:17:10.640 --> 1:17:13.360 even Isaiah Livers. I mean, those are those are guys 1:17:13.439 --> 1:17:16.800 now that that are not easily replaceable. But I think 1:17:16.840 --> 1:17:19.479 with the recruiting that he has done at Michigan, the 1:17:19.520 --> 1:17:23.800 culture that he has built up at Michigan, UH, I 1:17:23.880 --> 1:17:27.720 really truly believe that the Wolverines are gonna be right there. 1:17:27.760 --> 1:17:30.200 I think perduing in Michigan are the two top teams 1:17:30.200 --> 1:17:33.400 in that conference. And I think Indiana under coach Woodson 1:17:33.439 --> 1:17:37.599 again another another alum coming home to his program um 1:17:37.640 --> 1:17:39.439 and I think, following in the same likeness of what 1:17:39.479 --> 1:17:42.280 we've seen from Juwan Howard being an NBA guy, I 1:17:42.280 --> 1:17:45.880 think it's really gonna help Trace Jackson Davis, who I 1:17:45.880 --> 1:17:48.720 think is one of the best players in college basketball 1:17:49.000 --> 1:17:51.360 and I think the one thing I've I've been concerned 1:17:51.360 --> 1:17:54.880 about the times with Trace has been his inability to 1:17:55.000 --> 1:17:57.519 have his motor running at all times, Like he kind 1:17:57.520 --> 1:18:00.240 of picks and chooses his spots a certain game where 1:18:00.280 --> 1:18:02.040 you're like, oh my gosh, this guy's an All American, 1:18:02.280 --> 1:18:04.720 And then there's other games you're watching me like did 1:18:05.240 --> 1:18:07.439 did he get out of bed today? I think, what 1:18:07.560 --> 1:18:08.840 do you get that out of him? I think, what 1:18:08.960 --> 1:18:12.120 do you get at what he's done? A great He's 1:18:12.120 --> 1:18:13.880 done a great job too. I think he signed a 1:18:13.920 --> 1:18:16.920 couple of guys added to that to what's going on 1:18:17.040 --> 1:18:21.120 over there? Um, what about Illinois with with Coburn and 1:18:21.400 --> 1:18:25.080 Carbello and Brad Underwood back, do you think they have 1:18:25.080 --> 1:18:28.160 a shotter? They do because Coburn is gonna be the 1:18:28.160 --> 1:18:29.960 best big man in the country. I mean, at least 1:18:30.000 --> 1:18:33.200 the most physically dominating presence in college basketball. He may 1:18:33.200 --> 1:18:35.000 not end up being the best big man in the country, 1:18:35.040 --> 1:18:38.040 but he has the most physically dominating big in the country. Uh. 1:18:38.160 --> 1:18:40.200 Kabello has got to get a little bit smoother with 1:18:40.200 --> 1:18:42.000 the basketball, and he's gotta be able to shoot the ball. 1:18:42.000 --> 1:18:44.880 He really struggled from beyond the arc last year. Um, 1:18:44.920 --> 1:18:48.519 I think Adam Miller leaving and transferring out hurts them 1:18:48.560 --> 1:18:50.920 a little bit because I think his his role would 1:18:50.920 --> 1:18:55.040 have improved this year. But Brad Underwood is one of 1:18:55.040 --> 1:18:59.080 those coaches that's really firing. And sometimes we we missed 1:18:59.080 --> 1:19:00.840 con Screw like a are head coach and go oh 1:19:00.920 --> 1:19:04.720 like he's mean, Like oh, he's he's tough on his guys, 1:19:04.720 --> 1:19:08.759 Like it's not really overly tough on his guys. Um, 1:19:09.240 --> 1:19:13.320 I think he he just demands and I think accountability 1:19:13.479 --> 1:19:16.360 is one thing that you cannot lack. Like I have 1:19:16.439 --> 1:19:20.920 Illinois on my preseason poll at number sixteen in the country. 1:19:21.280 --> 1:19:23.600 So they lose Adam Miller, that goes to l s U. 1:19:23.960 --> 1:19:25.679 So I mean Adam Miller is going through a complete 1:19:25.680 --> 1:19:28.600 culture change of like defending and toughness in Illinois to 1:19:29.000 --> 1:19:31.439 will wait just like shoot it up, my man, shoot 1:19:31.479 --> 1:19:35.679 it up. Um. But Io is gonna be a huge loss. 1:19:35.760 --> 1:19:37.840 Io made so many great plays. So how do you 1:19:37.880 --> 1:19:40.760 make up for the loss of Iota assuming well, when 1:19:40.800 --> 1:19:43.920 you get a transfer like Alfonso Plumber from Utah. Um 1:19:43.960 --> 1:19:45.880 a streaky shooter as we've seen, but a guy that 1:19:45.920 --> 1:19:47.680 when he came into Polly Pavilion in the first five 1:19:47.680 --> 1:19:49.240 minutes of that game last year, he thought he was 1:19:49.280 --> 1:19:52.679 gonna go for a hundred because he just knocked down everything. 1:19:52.920 --> 1:19:55.880 You've got a couple of top one recruits, uh in 1:19:55.920 --> 1:19:58.639 the Lendez and Goodie uh, And so I think that 1:19:58.680 --> 1:20:01.679 there's there's pieces of fund him. But for me, it's 1:20:01.960 --> 1:20:05.519 starting from the inside out kofe. Cockburn and the level 1:20:05.520 --> 1:20:07.880 of frustration I think we saw in the n Double Tournament, 1:20:07.880 --> 1:20:09.280 in particular, when he didn't get the ball in a 1:20:09.280 --> 1:20:12.599 couple of possessions in their loss. He was so mad 1:20:13.160 --> 1:20:15.880 that there's two things that need to happen. One is 1:20:16.320 --> 1:20:18.600 Illinois does have to play inside out. They need to 1:20:18.640 --> 1:20:20.360 feed him as often as they can to keep him 1:20:20.360 --> 1:20:24.120 engaged in the game. Two is he has to better 1:20:24.160 --> 1:20:28.920 control his emotions and find ways to manufacture points at times. 1:20:29.080 --> 1:20:31.439 So if they're not getting you the ball, instead of 1:20:31.479 --> 1:20:33.479 standing up and being frustrated and just going to the 1:20:33.560 --> 1:20:36.200 other end, go grabbing offense, amount of dunking on someone's 1:20:36.200 --> 1:20:37.720 head and then turn around at the teammates and be 1:20:37.760 --> 1:20:41.080 like feed me, you know, uh, find a more positive 1:20:41.120 --> 1:20:42.920 way of doing that. And I think that that's part 1:20:42.920 --> 1:20:45.000 of the maturation process for him, and I think that 1:20:45.040 --> 1:20:47.040 he will get there and he will do it. Uh. 1:20:47.040 --> 1:20:48.760 And I think the X factor on this team is 1:20:48.800 --> 1:20:51.200 Trent Frasier. I think Trent Fraser is a guy that 1:20:51.240 --> 1:20:53.439 we don't talk a lot about, but when he plays well, 1:20:53.520 --> 1:20:57.280 Illinois finds success. And he's been through the ringer now 1:20:57.280 --> 1:21:00.120 a couple of times. He knows what the expectation level us. 1:21:00.400 --> 1:21:02.200 I think he's gonna be really, really good. And I 1:21:02.280 --> 1:21:04.439 tell you another team inside the Big Ten to think about, 1:21:04.520 --> 1:21:07.400 Chris is Maryland. I think turge has got a really 1:21:07.400 --> 1:21:11.519 good team. Uh. Alla's back. Uh, Scott is back. They 1:21:11.640 --> 1:21:14.439 got six transfers, including Fats Russell that came in from 1:21:14.520 --> 1:21:16.800 Rhode Island. We know he can score the ball. Uh. 1:21:16.840 --> 1:21:19.599 They got the other big from Georgetown that just came 1:21:19.600 --> 1:21:22.479 in that played for Patrick Ewing. I think that this 1:21:22.560 --> 1:21:24.479 is a team in Maryland that could be a top 1:21:24.520 --> 1:21:26.880 four finisher inside the Big Ten this year. And they 1:21:26.920 --> 1:21:28.920 add Danny by the way, they also add Danny Manning 1:21:28.960 --> 1:21:31.599 to the assistant coach and staff. Uh formerly the head 1:21:31.600 --> 1:21:33.960 coach of Wake Forest was my colleague last year at ESPN. 1:21:34.160 --> 1:21:36.479 But he does great work with bigs and and I 1:21:36.520 --> 1:21:39.120 think that's really gonna help out the Maryland Terrapints this year. 1:21:39.840 --> 1:21:43.040 A quick aside about college coaches coming and going with 1:21:43.080 --> 1:21:46.280 the NBA experience. We saw two coaches leave. Jason Hart 1:21:46.439 --> 1:21:49.040 from USC, Kenny Payne left Kentucky over a year ago. 1:21:49.320 --> 1:21:52.080 Do you think those type of losses, and you speak 1:21:52.160 --> 1:21:55.160 to Danny Manning's edition, you think those losses affect the 1:21:55.200 --> 1:21:58.320 program as much as an addition could affect the program. 1:21:58.520 --> 1:22:00.320 For sure. I think Jay Hart, you know him as 1:22:00.360 --> 1:22:02.639 well as as anybody, Chris. I mean we've we've known 1:22:02.960 --> 1:22:07.360 Jason for over twenty years now. Just a tremendous recruiter. 1:22:07.600 --> 1:22:10.320 I mean, really a tremendous recruiter. But besides that, he's 1:22:10.320 --> 1:22:13.160 a tremendous coach. Um. And I think this is a 1:22:13.200 --> 1:22:14.640 problem in our game. I'm gonna take this to a 1:22:14.640 --> 1:22:17.840 different different levels if you're okay with it. Of course, 1:22:18.000 --> 1:22:21.599 I'm tired of black assistant coaches being named great recruiters. 1:22:22.640 --> 1:22:25.960 I'm tired of it. I see it, Well, he's a recruiter, 1:22:26.000 --> 1:22:27.960 he's a recruiter. He's a recruiter. Let me ask you this, 1:22:28.000 --> 1:22:30.760 media members or fan bases that labeled people recruiters, how 1:22:30.760 --> 1:22:34.160 many practices do you go to? How many practices do 1:22:34.200 --> 1:22:36.160 you go to? Have you ever sat down and talk 1:22:36.240 --> 1:22:38.280 to xs and os with any of them or do 1:22:38.320 --> 1:22:40.240 you just look at them like, Oh, they're just recruiters. 1:22:40.240 --> 1:22:42.920 They're just recruiters because we like to put people in boxes. Unfortunately, 1:22:43.000 --> 1:22:46.840 that's what our society has done. Correct And Jason Hart 1:22:46.840 --> 1:22:48.240 should have been a head coach of the Division one 1:22:48.280 --> 1:22:51.559 level five years ago. In my opinion, five years ago, 1:22:51.560 --> 1:22:53.960 should have been a head coach in Division one. He 1:22:54.000 --> 1:22:57.040 thought he was ready five years ago. There's multiple Chris, 1:22:57.080 --> 1:23:00.400 There's been multiple jobs in the West Coast Conference that 1:23:00.439 --> 1:23:03.840 have come available, and Jason Hart is here in l 1:23:03.880 --> 1:23:07.320 A with great recruiting ties to everybody just because you 1:23:07.320 --> 1:23:09.000 have a great recruiting cause. But what what does it 1:23:09.040 --> 1:23:10.920 take to be a great recruiter? You know people you 1:23:11.000 --> 1:23:13.960 say Laugh was a great recruiter, Lab was a great recruiter. 1:23:14.520 --> 1:23:16.320 What made Laugh a great recruiter is the same thing 1:23:16.320 --> 1:23:17.880 that makes Jason Hard a great recruiter, which is the 1:23:17.880 --> 1:23:19.839 same thing makes a lot of great recruiters great recruiters. 1:23:20.760 --> 1:23:24.840 They know how to communicate, they build relationships, they earned 1:23:24.880 --> 1:23:28.880 the players trust. What makes a great head coach Chris, 1:23:28.880 --> 1:23:31.680 somebody that you can trust, somebody that you believe in. 1:23:32.520 --> 1:23:34.960 You know, Um, when I look at it and I 1:23:35.000 --> 1:23:37.559 say this all the time, like add this quote, we 1:23:37.640 --> 1:23:39.960 can have I can have the best offense in the 1:23:39.960 --> 1:23:43.040 world on paper, but if my players don't believe in me, 1:23:44.320 --> 1:23:46.000 and they don't trust me, and they don't go out 1:23:46.000 --> 1:23:47.920 and execute it the way that I needed to be executed, 1:23:48.160 --> 1:23:51.600 we will never be successful. I can have the simplest 1:23:51.680 --> 1:23:55.240 offense on paper, that's like the most basic, like sixth 1:23:55.280 --> 1:24:00.280 grade quality offense, but they believe the trust me and 1:24:00.320 --> 1:24:03.320 they run it like every single time to perfection with 1:24:03.360 --> 1:24:06.840 all effort. We're gonna find way more shots and we 1:24:06.880 --> 1:24:08.680 are that are gonna be good shots, and we are 1:24:08.680 --> 1:24:11.080 gonna win more games than we're going to win if 1:24:11.120 --> 1:24:13.000 I changed it up and they didn't have any trust 1:24:13.040 --> 1:24:16.600 or any belief in me. Everything in life is about relationships. 1:24:16.640 --> 1:24:19.320 Everything in life is about trust. You and I have 1:24:19.600 --> 1:24:24.040 a relationship, and while we don't see each other often, Chris, 1:24:24.680 --> 1:24:28.400 you know as much as anybody that if you needed something, 1:24:29.000 --> 1:24:32.000 I'm a phone call away and I'm there. If Matt 1:24:32.040 --> 1:24:34.800 Barnes needs me for anything, I'm there. When we had 1:24:34.840 --> 1:24:37.840 the the Amad Aubrey run. How many of our teammates 1:24:37.840 --> 1:24:41.120 showed up and partook in that event to support Matt 1:24:41.400 --> 1:24:44.200 for an unbelievably great cause, right, one that we needed 1:24:44.200 --> 1:24:47.400 to draw more attention to. There was. I mean, there's 1:24:47.600 --> 1:24:49.080 there are guys that even play with us that were 1:24:49.080 --> 1:24:52.920 showing up. You know, Gilanni my son's making videos for 1:24:52.960 --> 1:24:55.680 Gilanni because he's looking back at old footage laughing at 1:24:55.720 --> 1:24:57.519 some of the media questions that they had, and and 1:24:57.600 --> 1:25:01.200 Lannie's is dunking on people. You know, your enthusiasm thing 1:25:01.280 --> 1:25:06.439 over the top of it. The relationship we have, right 1:25:07.360 --> 1:25:10.800 that's that's the relationship that we have, and relationships is 1:25:10.840 --> 1:25:15.160 the quintessential aspect of society and our community. And when 1:25:15.160 --> 1:25:17.679 we have a failure in community, and this goes beyond sports, 1:25:17.680 --> 1:25:20.439 when we have a failure in community, it's because we 1:25:20.520 --> 1:25:26.000 are no longer either willing to have genuine conversation, authentic conversation, 1:25:26.200 --> 1:25:30.360 or we're unwilling to listen. And the disconnect happens from 1:25:30.360 --> 1:25:35.360 our leaders, from ourselves, from our social activists, from our teachers, 1:25:35.640 --> 1:25:39.000 from our coaches, it doesn't from the police, it doesn't matter. 1:25:39.040 --> 1:25:42.080 It can go on all aspects. When communication, and the 1:25:42.160 --> 1:25:45.600 relationship is broken down, you cannot find success. And to 1:25:45.680 --> 1:25:48.360 bring it full circle back to Jason Hart, my belief 1:25:48.360 --> 1:25:50.080 fervently in Jason Hart is I think he's gonna do 1:25:50.120 --> 1:25:51.360 a great job in the league. I don't think we'rever 1:25:51.360 --> 1:25:53.960 gonna see him in college basketball again. I think eventually 1:25:54.000 --> 1:25:56.040 he's gonna be on someone else's staff at the at 1:25:56.080 --> 1:25:58.320 the next level, and then eventually become a head coach, 1:25:58.360 --> 1:26:00.519 maybe in the NBA. I think Miles sign And is 1:26:00.560 --> 1:26:02.280 another guy that I thought, for the last couple of 1:26:02.320 --> 1:26:05.080 years should have been more in line to get a 1:26:05.120 --> 1:26:09.240 college job. I think our guy, Earl Watson clearly could 1:26:09.240 --> 1:26:11.920 be an excellent college basketball coach. And I know obviously 1:26:12.000 --> 1:26:13.400 U C l A was in the picture for him 1:26:13.400 --> 1:26:14.720 for a while and all of us that were former 1:26:14.760 --> 1:26:17.280 alumni would have loved to see him have the opportunity 1:26:17.280 --> 1:26:19.760 to take that job. But there have certainly been other 1:26:19.840 --> 1:26:22.080 jobs that have opened up in the college landscape. Well, 1:26:22.120 --> 1:26:25.040 Earl would have gone in and crushed it. Um And 1:26:25.200 --> 1:26:27.800 I think that we need to continue to evolve in 1:26:27.880 --> 1:26:31.479 the conversation and in the dialogue of why do we 1:26:31.560 --> 1:26:34.680 put boxes on people? Why do we why do we 1:26:34.720 --> 1:26:37.599 limit what people can do because they're really good at 1:26:37.600 --> 1:26:40.200 one aspect. Because you're really good at one aspect of 1:26:40.240 --> 1:26:42.240 your job doesn't mean you can't do another aspect of 1:26:42.280 --> 1:26:45.200 your job. Um, and I see that too frequently happen 1:26:45.479 --> 1:26:48.120 happening across the college landscape. I'm really happy for a 1:26:48.120 --> 1:26:50.360 guy like Stan Johnson to get the job at l 1:26:50.479 --> 1:26:53.280 m U. I think he's doing great things with that program. 1:26:53.320 --> 1:26:54.760 I think they're gonna be a lot better in the 1:26:54.880 --> 1:26:57.200 w c C this year. But he's a guy that 1:26:57.240 --> 1:26:59.559 was an assistant coach that was seen as a recruiter 1:26:59.640 --> 1:27:01.439 for a long period of time that now you're seeing 1:27:01.479 --> 1:27:03.760 him in the head coaching role and he's thriving in 1:27:03.800 --> 1:27:06.360 the relationship and the building and the changing of a 1:27:06.439 --> 1:27:09.360 culture of a program that really has been non existence 1:27:09.520 --> 1:27:12.519 since the passing of Hank Gathers. Now he's done an 1:27:12.560 --> 1:27:14.839 amazing job, and I think a lot of it, Sean 1:27:15.080 --> 1:27:19.040 is uh, just old ways of doing things. So putting 1:27:19.080 --> 1:27:21.920 people in boxes are based in stereotypes, and so now 1:27:22.040 --> 1:27:25.840 the stereotype of maybe a black assistant coaches. You know, 1:27:25.920 --> 1:27:28.960 he's not necessarily the sharpest guy with X and os, 1:27:29.000 --> 1:27:31.360 but he can go into the Homes, talk to the 1:27:31.360 --> 1:27:35.040 black mom, the black father built that relationship, make it 1:27:35.080 --> 1:27:39.520 easy and cool for the white head coach to come in, etcetera. 1:27:40.120 --> 1:27:42.360 And so a lot, a lot of it. I won't 1:27:42.360 --> 1:27:45.040 say true, but that role had to be played for 1:27:45.080 --> 1:27:47.400 a long time by a lot of coaches back in 1:27:47.439 --> 1:27:49.559 the seven Black Coaches in the seventies and eighties, where 1:27:49.600 --> 1:27:53.080 you couldn't necessarily get the respect as a X and 1:27:53.160 --> 1:27:55.200 OS guy, so you had they had to create that 1:27:55.320 --> 1:27:58.000 niche of being a recruiter, you know what I'm saying. 1:27:58.000 --> 1:28:00.320 And so it's and we are breaking out it. We 1:28:00.439 --> 1:28:02.400 are breaking out of it, Chris. It's not like we're 1:28:02.439 --> 1:28:04.720 still stuck in the seventies. And look, I equined it 1:28:04.760 --> 1:28:08.000 to the similar thing being a black quarterback, right, I 1:28:08.040 --> 1:28:10.080 mean there we was like the Doug Williams of the world, 1:28:10.120 --> 1:28:13.600 the Randall Cunningham's, the Warren Moons of the world. It happened. 1:28:14.000 --> 1:28:16.920 But look at the NFL now, Look at Levard Jackson, 1:28:17.200 --> 1:28:20.479 look at Patrick Mahomes, look across the landscape and say 1:28:20.720 --> 1:28:25.120 Kyler Murray and how he's turned you know, everything up 1:28:25.120 --> 1:28:26.960 on its end. And I think Trey Lance is gonna 1:28:27.000 --> 1:28:29.840 be great for our Niners. Too, um, you know, so, 1:28:29.960 --> 1:28:34.000 I mean, I I Russell Wilson obviously has been unbelievably great. 1:28:34.080 --> 1:28:36.360 So the list goes on and on. But now it's 1:28:36.360 --> 1:28:39.040 that that has been that ceiling has been broken, and 1:28:39.200 --> 1:28:42.639 people now understand that those old way of thinking we've 1:28:42.680 --> 1:28:44.960 we've got to evolve and we've got to change. And 1:28:45.000 --> 1:28:47.360 I think we're getting there in college basketball. I think 1:28:47.400 --> 1:28:49.720 we still need to do more in that regard. And 1:28:49.760 --> 1:28:52.040 I think Jason, to me is just one of those guys, 1:28:52.640 --> 1:28:54.559 as is a Miles Simon, who I think would have 1:28:54.560 --> 1:28:56.960 loved to come back to the college game. I thought 1:28:57.360 --> 1:29:00.160 that they were no brainer highers the last couple of years. 1:29:00.280 --> 1:29:03.280 Uh And, and for whatever reason, one reason or another, 1:29:03.640 --> 1:29:06.040 they weren't given that opportunity. And I think that the 1:29:06.160 --> 1:29:08.320 NBA will benefit from it and the college game will 1:29:08.360 --> 1:29:11.679 hurt from it. But I do think that the Juwan 1:29:11.800 --> 1:29:14.000 Howards of the world and the Mike Woodson's of the 1:29:14.040 --> 1:29:17.200 world that are coming into the game helped the college 1:29:17.200 --> 1:29:20.519 game as well. Uh And I think the college game 1:29:20.520 --> 1:29:23.000 needs to become more forward thinking. You know, it's not 1:29:23.320 --> 1:29:27.719 okay one four high or flex offense or just basic motion. 1:29:28.800 --> 1:29:30.679 Like I will tell you I spent most of COVID 1:29:30.680 --> 1:29:33.599 sitting in a hotel room in Bristol, Connecticut when I 1:29:33.640 --> 1:29:35.519 was able to travel, and I would jump on and 1:29:35.560 --> 1:29:38.599 I've watched, as I mentioned earlier, the European basketball and 1:29:38.640 --> 1:29:41.160 their offense and the way they run in the space scene, 1:29:41.240 --> 1:29:44.000 and the innovation that I see in the European game 1:29:44.040 --> 1:29:47.240 and even even in the Russian professional leagues far out 1:29:47.439 --> 1:29:49.960 exceeds what we see even in the NBA level here. 1:29:50.000 --> 1:29:51.920 I think the NBA is getting closer and closer to 1:29:52.040 --> 1:29:55.040 it because they need to and they have the talent 1:29:55.080 --> 1:29:57.080 that can do it. But I think what made Gonzaga 1:29:57.200 --> 1:29:59.600 so elite last year was that they didn't run an 1:29:59.640 --> 1:30:03.479 offense us that we see. They they ran an offense 1:30:03.600 --> 1:30:07.200 off of read, making read and reacting to what the 1:30:07.240 --> 1:30:11.040 defense was giving and making cuts that were not scripted. 1:30:11.360 --> 1:30:14.920 You know, and and I and I equated too, like 1:30:15.520 --> 1:30:18.160 you know the other night Cole Beasley from the Bills 1:30:18.280 --> 1:30:19.880 and the Monday night game against the Titans. It was 1:30:19.920 --> 1:30:22.879 a big play and the Titans went to his own coverage, 1:30:23.200 --> 1:30:25.559 and had Cole Beasley ran his entire route, he would 1:30:25.560 --> 1:30:28.360 have ran into the next defensive player and it would 1:30:28.360 --> 1:30:31.120 have been a problem for Josh Allen. Instead, he sat 1:30:31.200 --> 1:30:33.920 in the gap because there was a hole and he 1:30:34.000 --> 1:30:36.600 knew as he trusted his quarterback would find him. And 1:30:36.640 --> 1:30:38.400 I think a lot of times in college basketball, we 1:30:38.479 --> 1:30:41.160 run from point A to point B because that's what 1:30:41.200 --> 1:30:43.679 the offense tells us to do. Meanwhile, there's a gap, 1:30:44.160 --> 1:30:46.200 and if you settle in that gap just for a second, 1:30:46.600 --> 1:30:49.439 you might have a dunk and it might be the 1:30:49.479 --> 1:30:51.200 best play, the best shot you're gonna find in that 1:30:51.320 --> 1:30:54.240 entire possession. I think the European basketball leagues do that 1:30:54.280 --> 1:30:57.280 better than US um and it's more free flowing and 1:30:57.360 --> 1:30:59.920 to steal Steve Lavin line, it's like a ballet fred Astaire, 1:31:00.160 --> 1:31:03.519 you know, uh, nimble on their toes just reading cross 1:31:04.120 --> 1:31:08.840 being from me, No, it is the the European I've 1:31:08.840 --> 1:31:11.200 always I was always fascinated when I when I played overseas, 1:31:11.560 --> 1:31:13.840 I played in the Russian League, and how many points 1:31:13.880 --> 1:31:17.680 they'd score, But how much movement was involved, how much 1:31:17.720 --> 1:31:21.120 misdirection was involved, how much double actions. You know, there's 1:31:21.120 --> 1:31:24.040 all this action going on, like we run, we run, 1:31:24.040 --> 1:31:26.200 there'll be strong side pickpick and roll, and then weak 1:31:26.240 --> 1:31:29.760 side action going on simultaneously, where we had to worry 1:31:29.760 --> 1:31:32.120 about garden, so nobody could just stay in help and 1:31:32.160 --> 1:31:34.880 you got movement, movement, cut spain, action, all types of 1:31:34.880 --> 1:31:38.000 stuff that's like it's it's almost like mind boggling. But 1:31:38.000 --> 1:31:39.920 when you sit down and you watch it, you're like, why, yeah, 1:31:40.000 --> 1:31:42.120 let me break out of my traditional ways of thinking 1:31:42.120 --> 1:31:45.439 and drawing up plays and actually have some ingenuity here 1:31:45.439 --> 1:31:48.839 and some creativity and do some different type things. And 1:31:48.880 --> 1:31:50.719 I think we see a lot of that going on 1:31:50.720 --> 1:31:53.719 on the European game. Hopefully that gets more into American 1:31:53.760 --> 1:31:57.800 offenses because I think it's first frinkling and the good 1:31:57.800 --> 1:32:02.040 guys adding little touches of it. Um. Coach K one 1:32:02.040 --> 1:32:05.080 of the you know, arguably the greatest, one of the 1:32:05.080 --> 1:32:07.759 greatest college basketball coaches of all time. It's this last season, 1:32:07.880 --> 1:32:10.120 although we're not supposed to call it his last season. 1:32:10.280 --> 1:32:12.200 According to Coach K, he said, don't use the L 1:32:12.320 --> 1:32:15.559 word in describing this year. John shi are taking over. 1:32:15.600 --> 1:32:18.040 He's got some big time recruits, got a solid team. 1:32:18.080 --> 1:32:22.880 Talk about what you envisioned Duke looking like in in 1:32:22.880 --> 1:32:25.400 this Coach K swan song in the A C. C. 1:32:26.400 --> 1:32:28.000 Let me just tell I mean, look, Chris, you and 1:32:28.040 --> 1:32:30.960 I were both there. I believe it was Coach Wooden's 1:32:31.040 --> 1:32:33.799 final coaches clinic and it was Jim Herrick's final season 1:32:33.800 --> 1:32:36.280 at U c l A. There was November of nine. 1:32:37.640 --> 1:32:39.800 I believe it's the final coaching clinic that that John 1:32:39.800 --> 1:32:42.960 Wooden did at U c l A. And I still 1:32:43.000 --> 1:32:45.320 look back on that and goes he we we participated 1:32:45.360 --> 1:32:46.760 as a team. Right, there's all the coaches and we 1:32:46.800 --> 1:32:49.519 participated the team and Coach Wooden ran us through basically 1:32:49.560 --> 1:32:53.519 essentially what a practice was, um, you know, and it 1:32:53.640 --> 1:32:57.560 was an amazing experience to to have coach talk basketball 1:32:57.600 --> 1:33:00.840 to us, teach us the game. In all my years 1:33:00.880 --> 1:33:04.120 of broadcasting, I would say that Coach k is the 1:33:04.200 --> 1:33:07.879 closest thing I've seen to John Wooden in that regard. 1:33:08.720 --> 1:33:13.000 Just an excellent coach and teacher of it. And to me, 1:33:13.200 --> 1:33:15.760 I think it's gonna mean so much to the game 1:33:15.800 --> 1:33:20.559 of college basketball to have him continue to be there. 1:33:20.560 --> 1:33:23.559 This year, we can celebrate him, We can celebrate all 1:33:23.600 --> 1:33:25.680 that he has brought to the game, the number of 1:33:25.680 --> 1:33:29.360 players and lives that he has touched, But most importantly 1:33:29.400 --> 1:33:31.840 for the college basketball game, I I hope that Duke 1:33:31.880 --> 1:33:34.799 has the type of season that is worthy of being 1:33:35.080 --> 1:33:37.760 a final season four coach K. I think last year 1:33:37.760 --> 1:33:40.000 really wore on a lot of coaches. As I mentioned earlier, 1:33:40.160 --> 1:33:42.120 I had a ton of coaches tell me that, Hey, 1:33:42.240 --> 1:33:44.400 it is tough to go through that process that they 1:33:44.439 --> 1:33:48.720 went through last year. But I believe that this Duke 1:33:48.800 --> 1:33:51.040 team is gonna be really strong. I think when you 1:33:51.080 --> 1:33:54.200 look going forward for the Duke program, I think John 1:33:54.240 --> 1:33:59.920 Shire has a very difficult task ahead of him. Recruiting 1:34:00.320 --> 1:34:04.160 initially will be high because it's Duke, but then it's 1:34:04.200 --> 1:34:08.120 going to become not Coach Ka's program anymore. It's going 1:34:08.200 --> 1:34:12.040 to be his program, and his level of successful determine 1:34:12.080 --> 1:34:14.120 whether or not they can continue to recruit at the 1:34:14.200 --> 1:34:17.920 level in which we've seen Duke do. Here's my question. Okay, 1:34:18.160 --> 1:34:20.320 so I've heard that. I've heard that whole thing about 1:34:20.320 --> 1:34:23.320 the transition between Shire and coach K and it made 1:34:23.360 --> 1:34:27.920 me think about when John Wooden won ten and twelve years, 1:34:28.320 --> 1:34:32.040 then retires in seventy, and then Jane Bartow takes over. 1:34:32.080 --> 1:34:34.840 He goes like fifty and eight, gets fired, and then 1:34:34.880 --> 1:34:37.240 Larry Farmer comes in, and then Larry Brown comes in, 1:34:37.560 --> 1:34:40.920 and then we go through this whole thing of coaching turnarounds. 1:34:40.920 --> 1:34:44.600 Nothing is ever good enough. Even we win in national championship, 1:34:44.640 --> 1:34:46.360 get back to the mountaintop coach here, it gets fired 1:34:46.360 --> 1:34:49.120 two years later or the year after. You know, we 1:34:49.120 --> 1:34:51.000 we got rid of a national challenge when he coach 1:34:51.080 --> 1:34:57.280 literally sent it backs literally the next year. Okay, I 1:34:57.280 --> 1:34:59.639 I'm not sold on the fact that Duke's gonna struggle. 1:34:59.680 --> 1:35:02.880 There had to be some hangover. There'll be hangover. The 1:35:02.960 --> 1:35:05.400 brand is too big nowadays, the brand is too big. 1:35:06.040 --> 1:35:08.880 But John John will have to come in and have 1:35:09.120 --> 1:35:11.679 some success. He doesn't need to be at a national 1:35:11.760 --> 1:35:15.200 championship level of success right away. But is the program 1:35:15.200 --> 1:35:17.800 going to be stabilized and continue to have success? Are 1:35:17.800 --> 1:35:19.640 they gonna be in the hunt in the a c C. 1:35:20.760 --> 1:35:25.400 You know, Tony Bennett uh and Leonard Hamilton's have changed 1:35:25.400 --> 1:35:30.479 the landscape of the a c C. They have They 1:35:30.560 --> 1:35:33.479 win every year. We start off and go, Hiy Duke 1:35:33.560 --> 1:35:36.280 North Carolina, Hubert Davis, all right, he's taking over for 1:35:36.439 --> 1:35:38.600 Roy Williams. How's that gonna go? You know? And we're like, 1:35:38.640 --> 1:35:40.800 all right now John Shire is gonna take over for Dukes. 1:35:40.800 --> 1:35:43.840 So it's a it's a big change with two traditional 1:35:43.920 --> 1:35:46.760 powers that are not just traditional powers in the SEC, 1:35:46.880 --> 1:35:50.320 but traditional powers in college basketball. And then couple that 1:35:50.360 --> 1:35:54.040 with the fact that realistically Virginia and Florida State have 1:35:54.200 --> 1:35:56.880 won more conference championships than either one of those two 1:35:56.920 --> 1:36:00.800 schools in recent years. Um I I think, to me, 1:36:01.439 --> 1:36:04.360 that's what That's what I would be concerned about long term. 1:36:04.400 --> 1:36:06.320 Does it open up the door of opportunities, especially for 1:36:06.320 --> 1:36:09.240 a coach like Leonard Hamilton's by the way, who Devin Vassell, 1:36:10.040 --> 1:36:13.519 uh Patrick Williams, Scottie Barnes. I mean, year in a 1:36:13.600 --> 1:36:18.080 year out, he's getting top five people, um to to 1:36:18.160 --> 1:36:21.400 play and have the success that they're had not even starting. 1:36:21.520 --> 1:36:26.320 They're not even starting either, and they're fine with it. 1:36:26.560 --> 1:36:29.000 But that's the connectivity. Leonard Hamilton's one of the great 1:36:29.040 --> 1:36:30.920 teachers that we have in the game. He's one of 1:36:30.960 --> 1:36:33.800 the great teachers that we have in the game. And 1:36:33.920 --> 1:36:37.040 he is maybe the most disrespected head coach in the country. 1:36:37.160 --> 1:36:38.680 Nobody ever talks about him as being one of the 1:36:38.720 --> 1:36:40.600 best coaches in college basketball. He is one of the 1:36:40.600 --> 1:36:43.840 best coaches in college basketball period. Look at the resume, folks, 1:36:44.080 --> 1:36:48.040 read the resume. Look at what he's accomplished. He's amazing 1:36:48.840 --> 1:36:50.439 part him. I played him as a senior he was 1:36:50.479 --> 1:36:52.280 coaching at the University of Miami and the tournament. I 1:36:52.320 --> 1:36:54.920 don't know if you remember that, but we we beat him, 1:36:54.920 --> 1:36:57.240 but I played my worst game. And then my dad 1:36:57.360 --> 1:36:59.640 told me he used to be at Kentucky back in 1:36:59.680 --> 1:37:01.240 the day with Joe B. Hall. I don't know if 1:37:01.240 --> 1:37:04.240 Peter was that either, But Leonard Hamilton's got his starting 1:37:04.400 --> 1:37:07.839 University of Kentucky, so he's got the pedigree. It's crazy 1:37:07.880 --> 1:37:10.880 how disrespected he is. But the team in the a 1:37:10.960 --> 1:37:12.760 CEC that I want to see, I think he's gonna 1:37:12.800 --> 1:37:16.400 Buddy Beeheim and the Orange Man. I'm curious to see 1:37:17.000 --> 1:37:19.599 how they performed this season. I love Buddy, I love 1:37:19.640 --> 1:37:22.400 what he's able to bring to that team. UM. North 1:37:22.400 --> 1:37:25.599 Carolina Hubert Davis is gonna be really interesting as far 1:37:25.640 --> 1:37:28.120 as how that's gonna look. He's come out and said 1:37:28.120 --> 1:37:30.479 a few things and so I don't know about and 1:37:30.479 --> 1:37:32.120 then you have the uncertainty of really what's going on 1:37:32.240 --> 1:37:35.599 with Chris mac and the whole Dino Gaudio situation. That's rough. 1:37:35.880 --> 1:37:39.280 That's a situation out there, not a great situation. UM, 1:37:39.560 --> 1:37:43.160 just to have distractions and we know distractions, Chris like, 1:37:43.200 --> 1:37:45.479 distractions are never good for a program. They're never good, 1:37:46.720 --> 1:37:51.559 And yeah, it is. It's really hard. Um. I think 1:37:51.600 --> 1:37:53.200 when you look at the a CEC this year, I think, 1:37:53.240 --> 1:37:57.600 you know, we're we're at a tipping point really in 1:37:57.640 --> 1:38:00.320 that conference with k stepping you know, stepping Awa after 1:38:00.320 --> 1:38:02.240 the end of this year, and Roy Williams just stepping 1:38:02.240 --> 1:38:05.360 down in the spring of last year. Um. And then 1:38:05.840 --> 1:38:07.840 the fact that the question does have to be asked, 1:38:07.880 --> 1:38:12.000 how many more seasons will Jim behind go? Yeah. I 1:38:12.360 --> 1:38:14.479 don't think that coach Beheim will be the guy that 1:38:14.520 --> 1:38:18.639 announces before the year starts that he's leaving. I think 1:38:18.680 --> 1:38:20.320 he'll be one of those guys the season ends and 1:38:20.360 --> 1:38:23.240 he'll hold a press conference and be like, hey, you 1:38:23.280 --> 1:38:27.920 know what, this has been a great run. I'm out. Um, yeah, 1:38:28.000 --> 1:38:31.040 I'm out, and you will never see me again. Um. 1:38:31.080 --> 1:38:33.000 And I think that that could be what he ends 1:38:33.080 --> 1:38:35.240 up doing eventually. But it means that the a c 1:38:35.400 --> 1:38:39.599 C has a lot of turnover in legendary coaches, iconic coaches, 1:38:39.680 --> 1:38:41.439 coaches that have meant so much to the game for 1:38:41.479 --> 1:38:44.479 such a long period of time. I think syracusan n 1:38:44.479 --> 1:38:46.240 C Double A Tournament team. I think they're a round 1:38:46.240 --> 1:38:49.240 of thirty two potentially, you know, depend upon matchups. Obviously 1:38:49.280 --> 1:38:51.720 after that you could maybe make a Sweet sixteen, but 1:38:51.840 --> 1:38:54.360 certainly a round of thirty two tab team. This year, 1:38:55.200 --> 1:38:57.640 I think that Florida State again will we will not 1:38:57.680 --> 1:39:00.360 talk about them in the nonconference, we will not talk 1:39:00.400 --> 1:39:02.720 about them in the preseason poll, and then at the 1:39:02.760 --> 1:39:05.439 end of the season we'll be like, Wow, Florida State 1:39:05.600 --> 1:39:07.320 is up by a half a game going into the 1:39:07.360 --> 1:39:10.680 final weekend of a c C play um And I 1:39:10.680 --> 1:39:12.479 think that's just the way it's going to be. I 1:39:12.479 --> 1:39:14.360 think Virginia is gonna be better this year. I think 1:39:14.439 --> 1:39:16.960 Kia Clark, another kid from southern California that's had a 1:39:17.000 --> 1:39:21.400 tremendous career at Virginia. He like it's it's funny because 1:39:22.520 --> 1:39:25.080 you look at Virginia's program, it's been built on Southern 1:39:25.080 --> 1:39:29.800 California guards. Uh. Kia Clark obviously the latest, but really 1:39:29.960 --> 1:39:32.719 Virginia got bounced in their step and going with London 1:39:32.760 --> 1:39:35.960 Parentice and London parents, a kid that played at Crespy 1:39:36.040 --> 1:39:38.519 High School in southern California. I coached on the club 1:39:38.600 --> 1:39:41.880 circuit for the pump and run teams back in the day. Um, 1:39:42.080 --> 1:39:45.240 but he he went out there, and I think that 1:39:45.320 --> 1:39:47.679 he you know, he really changed the kind of like 1:39:48.000 --> 1:39:52.160 the idea of Virginia became cool. And Tony Bennett's kind 1:39:52.160 --> 1:39:54.120 of a cool coach, even though he runs this weird 1:39:54.160 --> 1:39:56.960 system that really limits the number of shots, and you know, 1:39:57.000 --> 1:39:59.559 they really control the offense and they slow it down, 1:39:59.600 --> 1:40:01.960 and they ask you to pay pack line defense and 1:40:02.040 --> 1:40:03.760 people don't even know what pack line defense is, but 1:40:03.800 --> 1:40:07.599 they're scared of it anyways. Uh and and but yet 1:40:07.600 --> 1:40:10.600 they're still cool and they're getting top one recruits, and 1:40:10.640 --> 1:40:12.400 I think he's going to So I think as we 1:40:12.520 --> 1:40:15.840 evolve here and we see them moving on of some 1:40:15.880 --> 1:40:18.519 of the legendary coaches that have have ruled the college 1:40:18.800 --> 1:40:21.799 basketball landscape for the better part of thirty and forty years, 1:40:22.400 --> 1:40:24.439 I think we're gonna start looking at who are the 1:40:24.479 --> 1:40:28.120 next coaches that are going to become the iconic faces, 1:40:28.240 --> 1:40:30.120 you know, even a guy like Izzo who's been around 1:40:30.120 --> 1:40:32.280 the game as long as he has. You know, I'm 1:40:32.280 --> 1:40:36.439 not saying that he's gonna retire anytime soon, but you know, 1:40:37.560 --> 1:40:40.240 we need young coaches to start coming in and being 1:40:40.240 --> 1:40:42.559 those guys. And I think guys like Mark Few, even 1:40:42.560 --> 1:40:44.280 though he's been around for twenty years, he's in that 1:40:44.400 --> 1:40:47.120 He's in that likeness. Um. I think that you look 1:40:47.160 --> 1:40:49.400 at a guy like Tony Bennett, I think Tony Bennett 1:40:49.439 --> 1:40:51.800 is gonna be one of those coaches that is coming 1:40:51.840 --> 1:40:54.040 in that likeness. I think if we can keep the 1:40:54.160 --> 1:40:57.639 NBA away from Jowan Howard, Jowan Howard easily becomes part 1:40:57.720 --> 1:41:00.400 of that that new kind of coach that we're looking 1:41:00.439 --> 1:41:02.960 at and going like, hey, wait, hold on, Chris Beard. 1:41:03.160 --> 1:41:05.559 As I mentioned earlier, I think he deserves to be 1:41:05.640 --> 1:41:10.679 in that conversation right now as becoming the Scott Drew Well, 1:41:11.000 --> 1:41:14.120 there's a lot of coaches. We as a television entity, 1:41:14.160 --> 1:41:17.799 we as ESPN, we as Fox Sports, we as CBS Sports, 1:41:17.800 --> 1:41:21.439 we as you know, whatever stadium, whatever you're calling your 1:41:21.479 --> 1:41:24.800 games on, wherever you watch your college sports. We need 1:41:24.840 --> 1:41:28.200 to start shifting our focus away. And this is not 1:41:28.240 --> 1:41:31.040 in a disrespectful manner, but we need to start elevating 1:41:31.120 --> 1:41:32.880 up some of the younger coaches as much as we 1:41:32.920 --> 1:41:35.920 do uh the iconic coaches, because we cannot lose those 1:41:36.040 --> 1:41:38.479 iconic coaches and all of a sudden lose our identity 1:41:38.760 --> 1:41:41.679 as a sport. No, and we're getting to that page, 1:41:41.960 --> 1:41:43.760 right another one of those young guys who I mean 1:41:43.760 --> 1:41:46.760 like the younger coaches, but he is. He's clearly a 1:41:46.800 --> 1:41:49.240 face of our sport and will continue to be a 1:41:49.240 --> 1:41:51.280 face of our sport just because it looks like Jos 1:41:51.320 --> 1:41:54.120 Clooney and great inn as suit a basketball Hall of 1:41:54.120 --> 1:41:56.519 Famer j Right, get it, don't get it, don't get 1:41:56.520 --> 1:42:00.200 it twisted? Okay, amazing, but but no, but you're right on. 1:42:00.479 --> 1:42:03.360 We are at that point in life where you know 1:42:03.439 --> 1:42:05.919 we're ushering in. We see it every in all facets 1:42:05.920 --> 1:42:08.559 of American life and generations where the oh, out with 1:42:08.640 --> 1:42:10.720 the old, in with the new. And so now you 1:42:10.800 --> 1:42:13.400 have a lot of young coaches that are set up 1:42:13.840 --> 1:42:17.280 right now to sort of assent to that throne that 1:42:17.520 --> 1:42:20.640 is being vacated by the Bay Hives, by Roy Williams, 1:42:20.680 --> 1:42:25.519 by coach k Those are some pretty big titans Kentucky 1:42:25.560 --> 1:42:29.160 as well. And it's just crazy. It's crazy to think 1:42:29.400 --> 1:42:31.800 that we're gonna get to that point. But who do 1:42:31.800 --> 1:42:34.040 you so? And and staying on coaches because I wanted 1:42:34.080 --> 1:42:35.720 to get your take, and then I have one more 1:42:35.800 --> 1:42:38.640 question for you after that. There's been a lot of 1:42:38.680 --> 1:42:42.880 coaching turnover five over fifty new hires this year. What 1:42:42.920 --> 1:42:46.719 do you think is the most impactful coaching higher maybe 1:42:46.760 --> 1:42:49.800 one or two if you have a couple, uh, in 1:42:49.880 --> 1:42:54.200 the in college basketball, I would say Chris Bearded Texas 1:42:54.240 --> 1:42:57.000 is the most impactful. Uh. He's gonna do for Texas 1:42:57.040 --> 1:43:01.320 basketball what everybody hopes Steve Sarkasian can do for their 1:43:01.360 --> 1:43:03.760 football program. Uh. And the reason why I say that 1:43:03.800 --> 1:43:07.000 because you've got a brand new facility coming online, that 1:43:07.000 --> 1:43:11.000 that Shaka had done a tremendous job fundraising and and 1:43:11.320 --> 1:43:13.760 creating the buzz enough and basketball that they actually cared 1:43:13.760 --> 1:43:17.559 about basketball Texas. But I think that Chris Beard is 1:43:17.640 --> 1:43:21.080 by far set up to have a run that is 1:43:21.160 --> 1:43:23.960 bill self like inside the big twelve. I think he 1:43:24.000 --> 1:43:27.519 gave be that dominant and that good um, and I 1:43:27.520 --> 1:43:30.120 think he's going to make it cool to be a 1:43:30.160 --> 1:43:32.559 Texas Longhorn basketball player. I think he's gonna put guys 1:43:32.560 --> 1:43:34.720 in the league as he already has. When he was 1:43:34.760 --> 1:43:36.560 at Texas Tech, I mean he went to lubb It, 1:43:37.280 --> 1:43:39.000 love it, Chris. I don't know if you've ever been 1:43:39.080 --> 1:43:42.559 to lubb It. I have, I have, But he took 1:43:42.640 --> 1:43:45.880 Texas Tech basketball and took them to a final four. 1:43:46.280 --> 1:43:48.320 Like that is final game, right, They were in the 1:43:48.320 --> 1:43:53.519 final game, right, It's incredible. So to me, I look 1:43:53.560 --> 1:43:56.800 at that and I go, yeah, he's he's the guy. 1:43:57.080 --> 1:43:59.560 Like I think he's the guy. I think he's the 1:43:59.600 --> 1:44:01.439 guy's gonna be able to get done. I think the 1:44:01.439 --> 1:44:03.479 other one that's gonna surprise people we talked about is 1:44:03.479 --> 1:44:07.960 Tommy Lloyd. I think Tommy Lloyd is going to be outstanding. 1:44:08.040 --> 1:44:11.360 I think Arizona is going It may not happen right away, 1:44:11.439 --> 1:44:14.240 meaning this year, but look, within forty eight hours of 1:44:14.320 --> 1:44:15.840 him taking the job, he got the best big man 1:44:15.880 --> 1:44:17.760 in all of the state of Arizona to commit in 1:44:17.840 --> 1:44:20.120 forty eight hours of taking the job. He will be fine. 1:44:20.960 --> 1:44:23.040 He will continue, he will recruit at a high level. 1:44:23.080 --> 1:44:25.880 He will use the transfer market as they did. By 1:44:25.880 --> 1:44:27.240 the way, I think he was a very He was 1:44:27.280 --> 1:44:30.120 a very big part of the transfer portal. Before the 1:44:30.160 --> 1:44:33.200 transfportal was the transfer portal at Gonzaga. And you look 1:44:33.200 --> 1:44:35.519 at the guys that transferred into Gonzaga, whether it was 1:44:35.520 --> 1:44:38.879 a Nigel Williams Goss, whether it was a Jonathan Williams, 1:44:38.960 --> 1:44:43.639 you know, the third from Missouri, UH Bank tenually got 1:44:43.680 --> 1:44:46.760 guys that not only came in and played, but that 1:44:46.880 --> 1:44:50.400 fit their sister Andrew Nemhard from Florida, you know, I mean, 1:44:50.400 --> 1:44:53.120 how important was his role down the stretch last year UM, 1:44:53.320 --> 1:44:55.960 and even that gameing against West Virginia when Jalen Suggs 1:44:55.960 --> 1:44:58.200 went out with an injury. UM. And then he's also 1:44:58.240 --> 1:45:01.160 a great international recruiter. He's a great domestic recruiter. He's 1:45:01.000 --> 1:45:03.719 he's and I think he's gonna play a very friendly 1:45:03.960 --> 1:45:06.600 offensive style. And I think when to me, to have 1:45:06.640 --> 1:45:10.479 a great coaching higher, it needs to be a perfect marriage, Chris. 1:45:10.800 --> 1:45:15.880 It needs to have the facilities, the fans support the conference, 1:45:16.600 --> 1:45:18.240 and then you need to be the right person for 1:45:18.280 --> 1:45:23.160 that job. And Tommy Lloyd is the right person in Arizona. 1:45:23.439 --> 1:45:26.040 I think when you look at the tradition of that program, 1:45:26.080 --> 1:45:28.920 it is it is always the PAC twelve is always 1:45:28.920 --> 1:45:30.960 at its best when Arizona and u c l A 1:45:30.960 --> 1:45:34.040 are at its best. And that's no disrespect to Oregon. 1:45:34.160 --> 1:45:36.120 Organ has entered the fray because Dana Altman is that 1:45:36.160 --> 1:45:39.439 good of a coach, But historically speaking, when Arizona is 1:45:39.479 --> 1:45:41.679 great and U c l A is great, everybody else 1:45:41.680 --> 1:45:44.799 gets lifted up in the conference, and I think Arizona 1:45:44.840 --> 1:45:47.880 will be back there within three years. Yeah. For me, 1:45:47.960 --> 1:45:50.800 I'll be interested to see how Kevin Krueger does out 1:45:50.800 --> 1:45:53.040 at U n l v UM. He got his dad, 1:45:53.439 --> 1:45:55.960 He brought his dad on staff. You know, Bryce Hamilton's 1:45:56.000 --> 1:45:58.280 coming back. He's been a part of that. You know, 1:45:58.360 --> 1:46:00.960 talk to me, Sean, talk to his dad. Uh, you know, 1:46:01.520 --> 1:46:03.519 we will be around the Athletic Department of Ton. But 1:46:03.640 --> 1:46:06.360 he he his dad made sure that he had the 1:46:06.439 --> 1:46:09.439 right assistance around him to support him in his early stages, 1:46:10.360 --> 1:46:13.000 his infancy of being a head coach. And I think 1:46:13.000 --> 1:46:15.559 that the big thing for a younger head coach is 1:46:15.640 --> 1:46:19.479 to know your deficiencies. Like sometimes you're so insecure because 1:46:19.520 --> 1:46:21.600 you don't want your deficiencies to be discovered, that you 1:46:21.680 --> 1:46:26.400 hire people that that basically allow those deficiencies to continue, 1:46:26.479 --> 1:46:28.559 and then that that permeates through the program and it 1:46:28.600 --> 1:46:32.200 becomes a problem. With success. You need to have people 1:46:32.520 --> 1:46:35.280 that are not yes men, that are willing to stand 1:46:35.320 --> 1:46:37.519 up and say in meetings, not maybe in front of 1:46:37.560 --> 1:46:39.880 the team, but in meetings no, no, no, Kevin, you 1:46:39.920 --> 1:46:41.960 don't know. No, that's not how this is. Let me 1:46:41.960 --> 1:46:44.320 tell you how trust me, this is how it's not. 1:46:44.439 --> 1:46:46.839 Let me show you and then actually show like flotage 1:46:46.840 --> 1:46:49.360 your tangible effort, things from the past that show how 1:46:49.400 --> 1:46:51.479 it works, and then okay, yeah, cool, now I can 1:46:51.520 --> 1:46:53.840 go do this. I think Kevin's gonna be great. I 1:46:53.880 --> 1:46:56.439 think when you look at you and l V, the 1:46:56.479 --> 1:46:58.200 goal for you and l V is to catch San 1:46:58.240 --> 1:47:01.599 Diego State because Brian Dutcher's been unbelievable. I wout at 1:47:01.600 --> 1:47:04.040 fifty three and seven in the last two seasons. Um, 1:47:04.120 --> 1:47:07.280 So I think for U and LV, it's it's always been. 1:47:07.320 --> 1:47:09.360 They've always had talent. They've always had They've had one 1:47:09.360 --> 1:47:11.439 and done guys. In recent years under Dave Rice, they 1:47:11.520 --> 1:47:13.479 they got Steven Zimerman who was a one and done guy. 1:47:13.520 --> 1:47:16.720 Maybe shouldn't have been, but he was. Um, you can 1:47:16.760 --> 1:47:19.439 go get talent to want to play at the Thomas 1:47:19.479 --> 1:47:21.400 and Mac. You can get talent, especially in I L. 1:47:21.439 --> 1:47:23.680 Now all those kids got Finley toyotas. That's a new 1:47:23.720 --> 1:47:25.240 deal that they got to Every player on the team 1:47:25.240 --> 1:47:29.600 got Finley yoted. Good for them. Go see my guy Ed, 1:47:29.680 --> 1:47:34.840 He'll take care of you. Um, you know I think that, Uh, 1:47:34.960 --> 1:47:37.200 I think when you think about you and LV the 1:47:37.360 --> 1:47:39.800 upside is there and Kevin will be interesting there. I 1:47:39.880 --> 1:47:43.160 think Porter Moser is also a very interesting higher at Oklahoma. 1:47:43.520 --> 1:47:46.679 You're talking about a guy Um and I I talked 1:47:46.720 --> 1:47:49.160 to to Porter at the Coaches Versus Cancer event I 1:47:49.680 --> 1:47:51.800 do in Vegas for Lon Krueger and when I when 1:47:51.800 --> 1:47:54.000 I had my conversation with him and said, hey, Um, 1:47:54.040 --> 1:47:56.160 you know, why did you make the move? And he goes. 1:47:56.200 --> 1:47:59.720 I think it's so hard to be Gonzaga today. Like 1:47:59.760 --> 1:48:02.519 if Mark Few was just starting out, I don't think 1:48:02.600 --> 1:48:06.400 Mark Few could be Gonzaga what Gonzaga is now starting 1:48:06.479 --> 1:48:09.800 Gonzaga in this climate that we live in college basketball, 1:48:10.240 --> 1:48:12.680 it would be too difficult to do. But because he 1:48:12.720 --> 1:48:15.679 had a twenty year head start on all these dramatic 1:48:15.760 --> 1:48:18.720 changes that we're seeing, they're basically the Duke of the 1:48:18.720 --> 1:48:21.840 West Coast right now. They're a small school, they're in 1:48:21.880 --> 1:48:23.680 a little obviously, they're in a small conference, not the 1:48:23.720 --> 1:48:26.960 A c C. But the brand has become so big 1:48:27.360 --> 1:48:30.439 that they can recruit the number one overall prospect in 1:48:30.479 --> 1:48:34.599 the country chat Home Grom to go there versus having 1:48:34.680 --> 1:48:39.519 him go to a Kansas, Kentucky, a Duke Carolina because 1:48:39.520 --> 1:48:42.280 it's an established brand. I think for Loyal in Chicago, 1:48:42.320 --> 1:48:44.320 it was gonna be really hard for Porter to sustain 1:48:44.400 --> 1:48:48.800 that with conference affiliation, um with the landscape changing the 1:48:48.800 --> 1:48:51.559 way that it was. Now he goes to Oklahoma. Can 1:48:51.600 --> 1:48:54.640 he get Oklahoma to a Final four? So now you 1:48:54.720 --> 1:48:56.960 have this change from Lon Krueger, who is a Hall 1:48:57.000 --> 1:49:01.799 of Fame coach, unbelievable winner everywhere. He's gone to Porter Moser, 1:49:01.880 --> 1:49:04.400 who's who's already established himself as one of the better 1:49:04.400 --> 1:49:07.040 young coaches in the country at the head coaching level. 1:49:07.280 --> 1:49:09.120 And now you're taking over on co Homer program. But 1:49:09.160 --> 1:49:10.880 by the way, is also gonna be leading the Big 1:49:10.880 --> 1:49:15.200 Twelve joining the SEC. So now you're recruiting landscape in 1:49:15.200 --> 1:49:17.960 the geographical footprint that you can go recruit after has 1:49:18.040 --> 1:49:20.680 also changed in a very short period of time, a 1:49:20.720 --> 1:49:23.479 lot of changing parts. Can he weather that storm of 1:49:23.520 --> 1:49:26.760 the changing parts and established who he is with his 1:49:26.840 --> 1:49:29.719 identity that he had at Loyal in Chicago with better players, 1:49:29.760 --> 1:49:33.559 Because if he can, I mean it is, it's gonna 1:49:33.600 --> 1:49:37.280 be really really good for him as well those games. 1:49:37.439 --> 1:49:39.920 Think about what we're talking about here too, So now 1:49:39.920 --> 1:49:42.920 we're talking about an SEC that would have Chris Beard, 1:49:43.120 --> 1:49:49.040 Porter Moser, John Calipari, Bruce Pearl, Ben Holland, Eric Musselman, 1:49:50.360 --> 1:49:52.520 Frank Martin. By the way, that also took South Carolina 1:49:52.600 --> 1:49:55.360 to a Final four. I mean that conference, Mike White, 1:49:55.640 --> 1:49:59.280 that conference is stacked, Kermit Davis. I mean it is 1:49:59.320 --> 1:50:03.080 stacked with eyes that can just flat out coach. Uh. 1:50:03.080 --> 1:50:05.640 And I think that that's gonna be incredible when it 1:50:05.680 --> 1:50:07.599 all comes together for what that basketball league is gonna 1:50:07.600 --> 1:50:15.200 look like. Absolutely, you talked about, uh, your coaches first Cancer, 1:50:15.240 --> 1:50:18.080 your involvement with coaches first Cancer. I'd like to hear 1:50:18.080 --> 1:50:22.160 about why that's such an important thing for you and 1:50:22.920 --> 1:50:25.800 just talk about your involvement with that organization. So Chris, 1:50:25.840 --> 1:50:29.040 my father in law passed away in twenty eighteen of cancer. Uh. 1:50:29.080 --> 1:50:31.680 And he had fought for fourteen years and he was 1:50:31.720 --> 1:50:34.000 given six years to live when he when he found 1:50:34.040 --> 1:50:36.679 out that he had cancer. And instead of just waving 1:50:36.680 --> 1:50:39.920 the white flag and saying, hey, you know what, six years, okay, fine, whatever, 1:50:40.320 --> 1:50:42.400 he fought every day for his grandchildren. He just wanted 1:50:42.439 --> 1:50:44.479 to see more spend more time with his grandchildren. So 1:50:44.520 --> 1:50:47.559 he signed up for every single trial that was out there. 1:50:47.560 --> 1:50:52.000 He ended up going through seven different trials of medical advancement, 1:50:52.400 --> 1:50:56.160 and he helped fill out notebooks worth of like Okay, 1:50:56.160 --> 1:50:58.320 this work, this didn't work, this work, this didn't work, 1:50:58.680 --> 1:51:00.720 And there are some things that were really well and 1:51:00.880 --> 1:51:03.000 they gave him great quality a life for a year, 1:51:03.080 --> 1:51:04.040 a year and a half, and then all of a 1:51:04.040 --> 1:51:05.800 sudden the cancer would come back and we'd have to 1:51:05.840 --> 1:51:10.000 Joe go to another trial or whatever it was UM 1:51:10.120 --> 1:51:13.000 until he passed away November eighteen. And as I was 1:51:13.080 --> 1:51:15.639 going through this process, I met Lon Krueger in Las 1:51:15.760 --> 1:51:18.479 Vegas at at an event that his his team was 1:51:18.479 --> 1:51:20.800 playing in at at the MGM Grand and met this 1:51:20.800 --> 1:51:22.800 guy by the name of d J. Allen, who runs 1:51:22.880 --> 1:51:25.920 Lon Krueger's event in Las Vegas for Coaches Versus Cancer. Goes, Hey, 1:51:26.760 --> 1:51:28.360 I'd love to have you become part of this thing, 1:51:28.960 --> 1:51:31.040 and I've been now part of it for seven years. 1:51:31.720 --> 1:51:33.360 I host the event with j. T. The Brick, who 1:51:33.360 --> 1:51:36.240 does a great job on Mad Dog Sports Radio UM 1:51:36.360 --> 1:51:39.320 and he and I have hosted the event for seven years. 1:51:39.360 --> 1:51:42.479 It raises over a million dollars a year every single year. 1:51:42.520 --> 1:51:44.320 I think this year we did one point five even 1:51:44.320 --> 1:51:47.559 in coming out of the pandemic, which was incredible. UM. 1:51:47.760 --> 1:51:50.200 And it's it's golf, and it's a lot of coaches, 1:51:50.400 --> 1:51:54.240 and it's it's fighting cancer and the reason why. And 1:51:54.280 --> 1:51:56.760 I did the Tennessee One this year to which our 1:51:56.800 --> 1:51:59.320 goal was FO sixty five thousand, and we raised five 1:51:59.520 --> 1:52:02.800 dred thousand. And I I did panel yesterday with the 1:52:02.840 --> 1:52:06.840 aspens UH Society UH talking about health and why it's 1:52:06.880 --> 1:52:10.800 important and how disproportionately it affects. Cancer affects different parts 1:52:10.800 --> 1:52:14.160 of society and some of the things that systemically we 1:52:14.200 --> 1:52:17.599 have done in our in our cities that actually promote 1:52:17.600 --> 1:52:22.719 cancer to happen adversely in more a lower, lower income areas, 1:52:23.120 --> 1:52:25.800 minority areas, Chris UH at a much higher rate than 1:52:25.840 --> 1:52:27.720 what we see in other areas. But it affects all 1:52:27.760 --> 1:52:29.920 of us. It's not this isn't a race issue. It's 1:52:29.960 --> 1:52:32.920 it's a it's a humanity issue. UM. And I don't 1:52:32.920 --> 1:52:36.360 know anybody that hasn't had anybody that's been affected by cancer, 1:52:37.080 --> 1:52:39.519 anybody that hasn't lost a friend, a loved one, to 1:52:39.640 --> 1:52:42.639 colleague at work. Uh. You know. And and during COVID nineteen, 1:52:42.640 --> 1:52:44.240 part of one of the things that maybe upset me 1:52:44.280 --> 1:52:47.960 the most. And I get COVID is real. I'm baxed, like, 1:52:48.360 --> 1:52:52.639 I'm not saying COVID's not real. But what didn't happen 1:52:52.720 --> 1:52:55.200 last year was the talking that one point nine million 1:52:55.240 --> 1:52:57.080 people in America was gonna be told that they had 1:52:57.080 --> 1:52:59.200 cancer for the very first time. One point nine million, 1:52:59.600 --> 1:53:02.320 you have cancer, and you're hearing that for the first time. 1:53:03.520 --> 1:53:05.920 What we are not talking about is because we shut 1:53:05.960 --> 1:53:08.439 down early some of the hospitals and some of the 1:53:08.479 --> 1:53:11.000 procedures that could go on that early detection. Chris is 1:53:11.040 --> 1:53:14.560 gone in a lot of areas, and so people missed appointments, 1:53:14.560 --> 1:53:16.679 they missed the opportunity to going and get their scans. 1:53:16.920 --> 1:53:18.479 So now all of a sudden, the cancer that would 1:53:18.479 --> 1:53:21.000 have been very treatable now they're picking up and they're 1:53:21.000 --> 1:53:24.360 gonna be in you know, stage four, stage three, and 1:53:24.400 --> 1:53:26.640 the fight is gonna be that much harder. There's an 1:53:26.760 --> 1:53:30.120 estimated seven hundred thousand Americans that will die this year 1:53:31.160 --> 1:53:34.360 to cancer, seven hundred thousand, and that number is likely 1:53:34.400 --> 1:53:37.240 to increase over the next two years to upwards of 1:53:37.280 --> 1:53:41.320 almost a million if we don't get back to this 1:53:41.400 --> 1:53:44.360 early detection and getting the word out there that hospitals 1:53:44.360 --> 1:53:45.880 because some people are scared to go to hospitals now 1:53:45.880 --> 1:53:49.320 because of COVID, right, so you have to get pre screened, 1:53:49.400 --> 1:53:52.200 you have to get early detection. Look at the icon 1:53:52.280 --> 1:53:55.200 that is Dick Vital. You know, Dicky v has spent 1:53:55.240 --> 1:53:57.200 a majority of his life fighting with the V Foundation. 1:53:57.200 --> 1:53:58.880 And I'm part of the the Foundation as well, Coaches 1:53:58.960 --> 1:54:01.040 Versus Cancer. I'm I'm on the national Council, so I'm 1:54:01.040 --> 1:54:03.800 more involved over there. But he has fought his entire 1:54:03.880 --> 1:54:08.960 life with Coaches Versus with the V Foundation and spreading 1:54:09.000 --> 1:54:12.760 Jimmy V's message. And here's Dick Vital now starting chemotherapy 1:54:13.080 --> 1:54:16.679 for the next six months. And here's the guy that's 1:54:16.680 --> 1:54:18.760 meant as much to the game of college basketball as 1:54:18.840 --> 1:54:21.639 any coach or any player. He has promoted the game 1:54:21.680 --> 1:54:26.200 of basketball better than anyone else, and he's been an 1:54:26.240 --> 1:54:29.200 advocate for it. And now it's affecting him, and it's 1:54:29.240 --> 1:54:32.320 affecting all of us. And we need to be aware, 1:54:32.680 --> 1:54:38.480 and we need to have genuine discussions about health, diet, exercise, 1:54:38.840 --> 1:54:42.720 and things we can do that can prevent some cancers 1:54:42.720 --> 1:54:44.440 from happening. We're not going to prevent all of it, 1:54:44.640 --> 1:54:46.360 but we can prevent some of it. And then we 1:54:46.400 --> 1:54:48.800 need to continue to look at these trial meds and 1:54:48.840 --> 1:54:52.080 seeing that how much advancements actually have been made. The 1:54:52.120 --> 1:54:54.400 most precious thing we have in life, Chris, is time. 1:54:55.600 --> 1:54:59.160 What we do with our time matters, and for me, uh, 1:54:59.280 --> 1:55:02.120 there's nothing more than I do outside of being a father. 1:55:03.320 --> 1:55:06.240 Then give my time to the fight against cancer. That 1:55:06.320 --> 1:55:09.200 means more to me. And when I have the opportunity 1:55:09.200 --> 1:55:11.080 to speak on it, I speak on it. When I 1:55:11.120 --> 1:55:13.440 have the opportunity helps someone fundraise for it, I will 1:55:13.440 --> 1:55:16.120 fundraise until I can't do it. I am not afraid 1:55:16.120 --> 1:55:18.320 to cry in front of public about the loss of 1:55:18.360 --> 1:55:21.200 my father in law. I'm not afraid to cry when 1:55:21.240 --> 1:55:24.080 I hear someone share their story about cancer because I 1:55:24.120 --> 1:55:27.080 know very well that it very easily can be me. 1:55:27.680 --> 1:55:30.960 Could be my wife, could be my kids, could be 1:55:31.000 --> 1:55:35.400 my father, could be, my mom, my sister, my niece. Um, 1:55:35.480 --> 1:55:39.720 it could be you, and I'd be devastated. I'd be devastated. 1:55:40.040 --> 1:55:44.360 So I get emotional about it because the time we 1:55:44.440 --> 1:55:47.760 have together, Chris, that's the best thing in life. And 1:55:47.800 --> 1:55:50.840 I'm not willing to stop finding and sacrificing my time. 1:55:51.000 --> 1:55:53.080 If I can take my time to help create more 1:55:53.120 --> 1:55:55.360 time for a family member or to get us closer 1:55:55.920 --> 1:55:58.080 uh to to a cure for some of these things. 1:55:58.400 --> 1:56:00.640 Then I will roll up my sleeves and I will 1:56:00.640 --> 1:56:03.360 do all that I can uh to make sure that 1:56:03.520 --> 1:56:06.440 I'm doing my part. And I'm grateful for the people 1:56:06.480 --> 1:56:08.600 in the support base I have around me, the doors 1:56:08.920 --> 1:56:12.240 Natalie Morrison at the American Cancer Society UH and coaches 1:56:12.320 --> 1:56:14.680 versus cancer Lon Krueger in particular, who has brought me 1:56:14.720 --> 1:56:17.680 on to be an advocate and a voice. And I 1:56:17.720 --> 1:56:20.640 plan on the platform I have is good. Like look, 1:56:20.680 --> 1:56:24.840 I'm not I'm not Dick Vitale, I'm not j billis uh, 1:56:24.960 --> 1:56:27.400 you know, but I have a good platform. And if 1:56:27.400 --> 1:56:30.320 I can use my platform and whatever stature I have 1:56:30.480 --> 1:56:33.320 that I've gained in twenty years of broadcasting in this business, 1:56:33.880 --> 1:56:37.480 UH to to help the fight against cancer and be 1:56:37.520 --> 1:56:39.360 there for people that are in the fight against cancer 1:56:39.400 --> 1:56:41.080 and know that they're not alone and know that they've 1:56:41.080 --> 1:56:43.800 got an army of people praying for them uh and 1:56:44.080 --> 1:56:46.440 supporting them, then, by God, that's what I'm willing to do. 1:56:46.920 --> 1:56:49.360 And again, outside of being a parent, that's all that 1:56:49.400 --> 1:56:54.080 matters to me. Man. We're definitely sending our prayers or 1:56:54.200 --> 1:56:58.160 Dickey v Um. Well, you definitely empathize with everyone out 1:56:58.160 --> 1:57:01.560 there that has suffered or law people to cancer. I 1:57:01.600 --> 1:57:03.600 know I have. You have lots of very close people 1:57:03.680 --> 1:57:06.760 and we and that's the one thing about the American experiences, 1:57:06.760 --> 1:57:09.200 and it seems like everybody I know, we've all have 1:57:09.360 --> 1:57:11.400 dealt with cancer or something and we gotta come together 1:57:11.440 --> 1:57:13.280 on a Chris, We've gotta come together. We're gonna have 1:57:13.280 --> 1:57:16.280 a real conversations. And what is our website? You have 1:57:16.360 --> 1:57:18.040 a website, you have a place where people can go 1:57:18.160 --> 1:57:21.480 and donat or well, I think obviously American Cancer Society 1:57:21.600 --> 1:57:23.960 is is a global entity that is involved in so 1:57:24.040 --> 1:57:26.040 much Coaches Versus Cancer. You can just go to typing 1:57:26.080 --> 1:57:28.200 Coaches Versus Cancer and Google and find out that the 1:57:28.200 --> 1:57:29.680 events and if you want to partake in some of 1:57:29.720 --> 1:57:31.480 the events that we have. We have fundraisers that are 1:57:31.520 --> 1:57:34.840 really expensive for big corporations mainly, and then we have 1:57:34.920 --> 1:57:37.760 some other other ones where we can do fund grassroots 1:57:37.760 --> 1:57:40.760 fundraising efforts. I've done high school basketball tournaments where in 1:57:40.840 --> 1:57:43.720 one weekend we've raised thirteen thousand to twenty three thousand 1:57:43.760 --> 1:57:46.920 dollars UH and given all of that to Coaches Versus 1:57:46.960 --> 1:57:51.240 cancer UM, and I think what I left with those experiences, 1:57:51.280 --> 1:57:53.960 and I ran a couple of them UM with my 1:57:54.000 --> 1:57:56.520 club team that I was coaching before I joined b 1:57:56.600 --> 1:57:59.680 T I had. I had a spinoff team from West 1:57:59.680 --> 1:58:02.400 Coast Lead, and I started these tournaments and I called 1:58:02.520 --> 1:58:04.480 Brian Silver's like, hey, Ryan, I need some teams. He 1:58:04.560 --> 1:58:06.160 brought all of his teams. I brought b T I. 1:58:06.160 --> 1:58:08.560 I had competent magic. We're all there. Like all these guys, 1:58:08.560 --> 1:58:11.080 they want to do good and the players. What I 1:58:11.080 --> 1:58:13.880 did was I mandated that when they were done with 1:58:13.880 --> 1:58:17.640 the tournament that they had to hear about cancer and 1:58:17.640 --> 1:58:20.960 how it's affecting people. And every tournament bracket was named 1:58:21.000 --> 1:58:24.080 after someone who is actually still fighting cancer or had 1:58:24.120 --> 1:58:27.040 been passed away of cancer, that was tied to someone 1:58:27.120 --> 1:58:30.680 directly to the event, And so when you looked at 1:58:30.680 --> 1:58:33.200 your bracket, you had a picture of somebody and their 1:58:33.280 --> 1:58:36.880 bio of their fight against cancer. And so it humanized 1:58:36.920 --> 1:58:38.960 this thing, and these kids started to realize that this 1:58:39.040 --> 1:58:41.320 was not the normal tournament. They weren't down at that 1:58:41.520 --> 1:58:44.840 with O G. P uh. You know, they weren't playing 1:58:44.840 --> 1:58:47.280 at the map, they weren't just you know, just playing 1:58:47.280 --> 1:58:49.160 in a normal tournament. They were playing in something that 1:58:49.160 --> 1:58:53.840 actually didn't matter more, and we made announcements, we had fundraisers, 1:58:53.880 --> 1:58:56.240 we had things that we were giving away, and it 1:58:56.280 --> 1:58:58.000 was a remarkable thing to be part of for a 1:58:58.000 --> 1:58:59.640 couple of years and COVID kind of shut it down. 1:58:59.640 --> 1:59:01.680 We're gonna try to bring it back this upcoming summer 1:59:02.000 --> 1:59:03.480 as like an end of summer, and I want to 1:59:03.520 --> 1:59:05.240 kind of do it as like an l A championship 1:59:05.320 --> 1:59:07.040 for the club circuit and see if I can get 1:59:07.040 --> 1:59:09.000 television involved in it. I want to get why not. 1:59:09.400 --> 1:59:11.040 I want to get Ryan Silver's team. I want to 1:59:11.040 --> 1:59:12.840 get the Compton Magic, and I want the top tier 1:59:12.880 --> 1:59:16.320 bt I team at all three age groups to go 1:59:16.360 --> 1:59:18.560 against each other and be like, who's the biggest and 1:59:18.560 --> 1:59:22.000 the baddest in Southern California because all those programs have 1:59:22.040 --> 1:59:24.280 great teams. And if we can do something like that 1:59:24.320 --> 1:59:27.280 and raise money to fight cancer, uh and get exposure, 1:59:27.280 --> 1:59:30.000 whether it's on Valley's Sports in Los Angeles, whether it's 1:59:30.000 --> 1:59:32.760 on stadium, whether it's on something like that, that's what 1:59:32.800 --> 1:59:34.880 my that's my focus for this upcoming years to try 1:59:34.880 --> 1:59:37.920 to develop something like that. After the July period is done, 1:59:37.960 --> 1:59:40.600 after the live period is done, is bring those teams 1:59:40.600 --> 1:59:43.000 together and then eventually what I want to do is 1:59:43.040 --> 1:59:45.840 expand it to the entire state of California and get 1:59:45.840 --> 1:59:48.760 the Oakland Soldiers involved in and have you know I 1:59:48.760 --> 1:59:50.720 played for the Soldiers growing up. I love to have 1:59:50.800 --> 1:59:53.200 the soldiers come down, uh and be part of it 1:59:53.240 --> 1:59:56.400 as well, and have like a California Club Championship post 1:59:56.480 --> 1:59:58.840 the live period and get it on television. I think 1:59:58.880 --> 2:00:01.760 people would watch it first and foremost. But I know 2:00:01.840 --> 2:00:03.720 we'd raised a lot of really good money as well 2:00:04.160 --> 2:00:06.920 in the fight against cancer. Man, let me let me 2:00:06.920 --> 2:00:09.720 know what if you need anything from me or how 2:00:09.760 --> 2:00:13.280 I can help you, always man, make that happen, because 2:00:13.720 --> 2:00:16.000 you know that that sounds like amazing cause and I 2:00:16.000 --> 2:00:18.360 want to I want to definitely raise the awareness, dude, 2:00:18.360 --> 2:00:22.080 and actually make a difference in someone's life. Sean Farnum, 2:00:22.120 --> 2:00:25.000 It's been two hours that we have been sitting on 2:00:25.040 --> 2:00:27.880 this Dog All podcast and were probably gonna go for 2:00:27.920 --> 2:00:29.840 another two hours. Bro. We didn't even get into any 2:00:29.880 --> 2:00:35.800 of the great stories that but that'll be talk. Yeah 2:00:36.080 --> 2:00:38.720 maybe that's Chris also is like, what's that We're out 2:00:38.720 --> 2:00:40.520 of time? We're out of time I'm sorry. We're gonna 2:00:40.520 --> 2:00:42.680 go okay, guys, thank you for joining the show today. 2:00:44.040 --> 2:00:47.200 No man, we'll save that part two. Man. Uh hey man. 2:00:47.240 --> 2:00:49.280 Today it's been amazing. Thank you for your wealth of 2:00:49.560 --> 2:00:52.360 information and knowledge and your candidate, the way you talk 2:00:52.400 --> 2:00:56.320 about things, your passion, your intensity, bro, it's it's definitely inspirational. 2:00:56.360 --> 2:00:59.560 Sean and uh man, I appreciate you coming on kJ Live. 2:01:00.000 --> 2:01:02.280 No problem, Chris. Anytime you need me ruined for life, 2:01:02.320 --> 2:01:05.200 teammate for life, friend for live, family for life, um, 2:01:05.440 --> 2:01:07.400 and any time I can help you out you let 2:01:07.400 --> 2:01:10.160 me know. So proud of you, so proud of your family, um, 2:01:10.200 --> 2:01:11.960 and so proud of what you're what you're doing, Man, 2:01:12.040 --> 2:01:14.480 keep plazing your own trail, plays your own path and 2:01:14.480 --> 2:01:17.280 and and know who you are and believe and trust 2:01:17.280 --> 2:01:18.720 in who you are as a person, Chris, because you're 2:01:18.720 --> 2:01:20.960 a good person. Thank you, my man.