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Speaker 1: Hi, what up. Welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlieb and you

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Speaker 1: are listening to All Ball and I feel like this

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Speaker 1: is the beginning of the summer series. Last year we

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Speaker 1: had uh Scott Brooks for two episodes, Jay Bills for

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Speaker 1: two episodes, and um, you know, summer without a ton

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Speaker 1: of things changing during the off season really gives us

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Speaker 1: usually a greater chance to delve into people's lives, and

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Speaker 1: we'll continue to do so. So if there's somebody you'd

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Speaker 1: like me to have a conversation with in college, pro,

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Speaker 1: high school basketball, international ball. I have some friends who

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Speaker 1: have already committed to joining us. Hey, man, just give

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Speaker 1: me a call. Let me know when UM hit me up.

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Speaker 1: At Gottlieb Show is the Twitter handle, and of course

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Speaker 1: at gotlip show is also the I G handle. I

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Speaker 1: don't know if it's a handle on I G or

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Speaker 1: not anyway, and I'm told I have to tell you.

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Speaker 1: You can listen to Doug Gottlieb Show daily on Fox

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Speaker 1: Sports Radio from three to six Eastern or twelve three Pacific.

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Speaker 1: You can listen, you can download that podcast, or you

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Speaker 1: can listen on the I Heart Radio app or on

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Speaker 1: your Fox Sports Radio affiliate. We're also on Sirius x M.

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Speaker 1: I think one is two oh three and the other

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Speaker 1: one is to seventeen to seventeen. I know is the one.

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Speaker 1: It's like the Dan Patrick station. That's the station that

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Speaker 1: we're on, not the Fox Sports radio station anyway. Um,

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Speaker 1: we're like a couple of days removed now from the

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook Chris Paul trade. We did talk about it

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Speaker 1: on last week's All Ball, kind of the immediate reaction,

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Speaker 1: and now that I've had a chance to catch my breath,

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Speaker 1: I I do sincerely believe that the Rockets they got

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Speaker 1: a better athlete, a guy who's closer to his prime,

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Speaker 1: and I do think there's a little bit of immediate bump.

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Speaker 1: On the other hand, you have a lame duck head coach,

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Speaker 1: a player who is challenging the coach. I didn't say

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook is not coachable, but he challenges you. And

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Speaker 1: while Harden and Westbrook are better friends and have been

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Speaker 1: longtime friends opposed to Chris Paul and James Harden, which

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Speaker 1: was kind of like a an arranged marriage, they're both

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Speaker 1: people that have been through multiple marriages, both coaches and

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Speaker 1: players alike, and so ultimately I don't see it ending

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Speaker 1: in a championship. I feel like this is part of

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Speaker 1: the undue pressure put on by Tilman Furtida that he

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Speaker 1: wants to win, and he wants to win now, and

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Speaker 1: he doesn't have the patience to see it kind of

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Speaker 1: quietly and smartly evolved as the Warriors fell apart um.

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Speaker 1: And look, it's fair to say the rest of the

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Speaker 1: West has gotten better. I think the Jazz have gotten

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Speaker 1: much better. I love the Grant acquisition for the for

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Speaker 1: the Denver Nuggets, gives them the ability to play small.

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Speaker 1: Um he's and say so athlete. He he adds a

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Speaker 1: ton of value there. And I even like what Portland has. Portland,

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Speaker 1: you know, smartly you added a rim protector, shop blocker,

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Speaker 1: and you give because they'll eventually have a couple of centers.

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Speaker 1: You give the possibility of moving somebody here at midyear

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Speaker 1: if you think you can add one piece. And so

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Speaker 1: I look around. I like the Clippers and the Lakers

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Speaker 1: are pronounced lee better. Did the Rockets get that much better? No? Yes,

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Speaker 1: you take Oklahoma City out of any sort of playoff contention.

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Speaker 1: I'll also say this, I think Sam Presty did a

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Speaker 1: great job. This apparently was the plan for next year.

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Speaker 1: If it didn't work this year, they were gonna blow

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Speaker 1: it up next year. And Paul George walked in and said, hey,

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Speaker 1: I'm out, and so they spent up the process. Look

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Speaker 1: at the number of picks he got returned. I would

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Speaker 1: expect him to somehow try and get Chris Paul off

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Speaker 1: the books. They'll probably take on some something on the

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Speaker 1: books to this year and we'll see how many of

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Speaker 1: those draft picks they can maintain. This is the way

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Speaker 1: of the NBA. Olclohoma City has known this for years,

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Speaker 1: that that signing a free agent is really really hard,

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Speaker 1: that you have to trade for guys, you have to

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Speaker 1: draft guys, and for the life of their franchise, this

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Speaker 1: is how they'll have to succeed is to find ways

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Speaker 1: to draft guys, trade for guys, and keep guys as

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Speaker 1: happy as they can as long as they can. And

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Speaker 1: now they're in rebuild mode. It's a it's a life cycle.

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Speaker 1: It's a you'd much rather be bad, to be really

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Speaker 1: really good than to be mediocre and to be super expensive,

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Speaker 1: especially in that market, And so I actually kind of

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Speaker 1: understand it. I don't think though the Rockets have that

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Speaker 1: they've gotten away from fit. Fit is everything in this world.

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Speaker 1: How you fit with your spouse, how you fit with

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Speaker 1: your neighborhood, how you fit with how how your kids

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Speaker 1: fit with how they're educated. When you go and play

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Speaker 1: in college, it's not necessarily about the school. It's about

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Speaker 1: fit right role, yes, but also are you a guy

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Speaker 1: that plays better when you play faster your point guard,

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Speaker 1: the places the ball in your hands. I look at

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Speaker 1: this and I'm like Harden and Westbrook worked eight years

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Speaker 1: ago because in the fourth quarter, hard was the point guard,

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Speaker 1: Westbrook was the off guard, and he was a great cutter.

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Speaker 1: But since then they've both beencome ball dominant guys, and

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Speaker 1: that that genie is hard to put back in the bottle.

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Speaker 1: And so I understand that the Chris Paul and James

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Speaker 1: Harden relationship probably had to end. They weren't getting along,

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Speaker 1: they didn't see eye to I and I think Paul

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Speaker 1: had to play ball screen offense, and they couldn't do

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Speaker 1: that when James Harden's on the court, and Paul struggled

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Speaker 1: to play with James Harden or to get by his

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Speaker 1: man on a one on one basis, and Westbrook will not.

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Speaker 1: But lame duck coach New assistant coaches, guy who's shown

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Speaker 1: to be tough to coach and a low percentage, high

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Speaker 1: volume three point shooter with the highest volume three point

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Speaker 1: shooting team in the the league. I don't I don't see

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Speaker 1: it ultimately ending up in a championship in Houston, which

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Speaker 1: is what they say they're all about. Be sure to

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Speaker 1: catch live editions of The Doug dot Leap Show weekdays

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Speaker 1: in noon eastern three pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio

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Speaker 1: and the I Heart Radio app. All right, let me

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Speaker 1: let me take you to the East really quickly, because

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Speaker 1: I do think it's fascinating the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets

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Speaker 1: are a team that if you look on paper, I

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Speaker 1: mean last year they were like the Clip. They were

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Speaker 1: the Clippers of the East. Everybody loved their culture. People

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Speaker 1: like their coach, Guys cheered for each other. They were

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Speaker 1: fun team. And I'll tell how many people took notice.

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant even quotas saying, like Sean Mark, he committed

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Speaker 1: to Shawn Marks before they even said like, hey, do

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Speaker 1: you want to? He was he was in so apparently

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Speaker 1: told Sean Marks, I love watching you play. You're never

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Speaker 1: out of a game. You guys played for each other.

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Speaker 1: YadA YadA, YadA, but stick with me. Okay. So Kyrie

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Speaker 1: Irving is going to a franchise that emphasized scoring point guards,

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Speaker 1: had a great culture, had a young coach to who

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Speaker 1: everybody believed in, and seemed to only be a star

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Speaker 1: away from taking the next step. Doesn't that feel like Boston?

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Speaker 1: Kevin Durant is going to a place that the team

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Speaker 1: seems to play with great joy, great passion, play for

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Speaker 1: each other. Granted much more many more ball screens than

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Speaker 1: the Warrior, but doesn't it feel like both of these

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Speaker 1: guys have been down this road before. Remember the Warriors

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Speaker 1: had this unbelievable culture and playing with joy before Kevin

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Speaker 1: and got there. And Sean Marx has even said, hey,

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Speaker 1: we gotta change some of the way we play because

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Speaker 1: we haven't had these types of guys before. Oh yeah,

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Speaker 1: by the way, Then you factor in that Kyrie is

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Speaker 1: going to try and prove that he is a leader

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Speaker 1: in the first year where you don't have Kevin Durant.

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Speaker 1: That could either help him and hurt Durant. What if

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Speaker 1: they have a great season without Durant and Durant comes

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Speaker 1: back and they're not as good or that what if

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Speaker 1: Kyrie can't win and he needs Kevin Durant to help

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Speaker 1: him win. How does Zego handle that? Am I willing

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Speaker 1: to believe that guys can learn from their past mistakes?

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Speaker 1: Of course? Of course that's how we watched film, right,

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Speaker 1: So you can learn from the past mistakes and not

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Speaker 1: make future ones. On the other hand, and maybe most importantly,

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Speaker 1: what's past this president president right? And in the past,

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Speaker 1: both these guys have joined great franchises that have had

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Speaker 1: success without them. Remember the the Celtics went to the

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Speaker 1: Eastern Conference Finals two consecutive years, both without Kyrie Irving,

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Speaker 1: and the Warriors had won a title, went to one

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Speaker 1: seventy three games, and they won two titles. It wasn't

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Speaker 1: like Katie enjoyed that experience. So what what leads you

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Speaker 1: to believe that this will be any different? Fascinating social experiment?

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Speaker 1: Isn't it? Really? Really is? Really is? Um? We got

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Speaker 1: a lot of good stuff upcoming. I want to I

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Speaker 1: want to in weeks to come discuss kind of the

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Speaker 1: college landscape and the weird place we're in college basketball,

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Speaker 1: where there's a lot of there's a ton of talent,

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Speaker 1: and there's guys that have been passed over by the NBA.

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Speaker 1: There's still good college but our art is college basketball

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Speaker 1: gonna get swept up by people thinking the G League

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Speaker 1: is the new minor league system, Or how does the

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Speaker 1: new NBA draft rules which we think are going to

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Speaker 1: go into effect in a couple of years, how does

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Speaker 1: that affect the college landscape. Plus, we also preview some

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Speaker 1: of the teams we like, and we'll continue to bring

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Speaker 1: you great personalities and unbelievable stories like this one. If

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Speaker 1: you're of my age, slightly younger, slightly over, you remember

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Speaker 1: Khalide l a meane star point guard, grew up in Minneapolis,

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Speaker 1: played a Yukon second round pick of the Bulls. Then

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Speaker 1: what happened to him? Now he's doing some college basketball

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Speaker 1: on TV, works with kids as well. His path is fascinating.

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Speaker 1: His championship run or his championship game which he looks

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Speaker 1: at looks at the camera and mouths to it, we

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Speaker 1: shocked the world is among the ten greatest kind of

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Speaker 1: postgame celebrations in Final four history. Let's catch up with

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Speaker 1: Khalida al Amine, his journey, his championship and his pro career. Afterwards,

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Speaker 1: we'll join my now by Khalid el Amine, and I

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Speaker 1: want to get to your days a yukon your days

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Speaker 1: in the NBA, your travels overseas, and and talk about

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Speaker 1: your your your broadcasting career. But let's let's start. Okay,

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Speaker 1: you originally from Minneapolis North High School. I remember I

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Speaker 1: saw you play in Vegas against Greedy Daniels. Um. Let's say,

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Speaker 1: I can't remember what high school gym was. You two

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Speaker 1: were the best two best high school player and you

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Speaker 1: destroyed Greedy Dance. I was like this, dude, is um

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Speaker 1: when you grew up? You grew up playing what was

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Speaker 1: the what was the first park that was your spot

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Speaker 1: where you first learned to be a basketball player? Well,

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Speaker 1: it was a few parts, Doug. Actually, Um. It was

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Speaker 1: a North Commons Park, which is about five blocks UH

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Speaker 1: from my home, and we had another park called Harrison Park,

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Speaker 1: which is about three blocks in the other direction. And

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Speaker 1: so I was always playing outside. I was always always

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Speaker 1: affiliated with UH outgoing basketball. That's what we did back then,

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Speaker 1: you know, in the early nineties, was clay outside, you know,

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Speaker 1: and and so you know on the black top is

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Speaker 1: what your hold your skills. You know, you're competitive out there.

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Speaker 1: You have guys talking crash. It's just up and brought

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Speaker 1: up with me and and all of that experience helped

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Speaker 1: me become the man that I am today. But the

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Speaker 1: ultimate twitter that I was that's the Robbinsdale area right

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Speaker 1: of Minneapolis. Is that my my getting money? It's a no,

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Speaker 1: it didn't any Apolisits right before you get to Robbinsdale.

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Speaker 1: It's not too far away from Robbinsdale. You know, Uh,

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Speaker 1: Minnesota and Minneapolis and the connected city that's around there.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's a real uh close type of city

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Speaker 1: or neighborhoods. You have a lot of cities that's white

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Speaker 1: next to each other as you drive through three minutes

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Speaker 1: and you're already in another city. Uh, it's a lot

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Speaker 1: of cities right there together, mixed in together. But um, yeah,

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Speaker 1: Robinsdale has some good hoop. But Minneapolis is where is that?

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Speaker 1: You know? And and when you were a kid do

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Speaker 1: you was you? I think maybe you're in high school?

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Speaker 1: You had that Sam Jacobson team, Uh that had that

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Speaker 1: had Bobby Jackson. They had a squad that went to

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Speaker 1: the final four. Obviously the stuff was that was that

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Speaker 1: your squad growing Were you like, were you a you

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Speaker 1: guy growing up? Or did you like somebody else? Come on,

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Speaker 1: I was I was marooning gold all the way. Do

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Speaker 1: you know my family, my father, he brought our family

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Speaker 1: from Chicago, UM to Minneapolis in the seventies. Uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: my whole family from Chicago has set me. I was

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Speaker 1: the only child, howcorn in Minneapolis, so I'm I was

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Speaker 1: born and raised here and um, you know, it's a

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Speaker 1: great city. Coming up, it wasn't known as a basketball state,

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Speaker 1: so to speak. You know, I had to get my

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Speaker 1: name from U or late eighties. Um coming out of

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Speaker 1: Minnesota was very highly talented. I think, you know, being

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Speaker 1: able to score the ball, being able to put the

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Speaker 1: ball in the whole um sort of different spots on

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Speaker 1: the court in different ways really helped me UM nationally

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Speaker 1: and uh you know, I'm thankful for all the big

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Speaker 1: time players that came before me from Minneapolis. And uh

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Speaker 1: you know we will all meet at the y m

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Speaker 1: c A will have open gym um every night of

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Speaker 1: the week, uh from seven to about eleven. And um,

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Speaker 1: you know I would just like a sponge there. I

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Speaker 1: was just this guy playing with the older hoe and

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Speaker 1: I think that's where I home feels. I was able

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Speaker 1: to you know, see different late and when it was

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Speaker 1: very important because there was so many guys and the

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Speaker 1: gym back then, does that you know, if you happen

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Speaker 1: to move, you might not see the court again that night,

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Speaker 1: or it will be a few games before you get

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Speaker 1: back on. So uh, priding itself on winning and being

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Speaker 1: smart was always a part of my game and that's

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Speaker 1: what raised me. And I'm glad I had the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to win like I did because it was instilled in

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Speaker 1: the early Yeah. Yeah, it is interesting now how they

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Speaker 1: the guys played kids play so many games with their

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Speaker 1: AU teams that there isn't the same kind of punishment

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Speaker 1: of of losing. All right, So why did you go

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Speaker 1: to UK because Minnesota was on probation right, Well, well,

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Speaker 1: well yes that is one of the reasons. And yes,

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Speaker 1: you're right. Coming up, I was a big you guy. Um.

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Speaker 1: Of course all the Minnesota teams Vikings, Similars or Twins

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Speaker 1: back then. But yes, I definitely love to you and

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Speaker 1: I would committed to you as an underclassman. Coach Clem

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Speaker 1: Hassan's um. You know, I watched him coach they're growing up,

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Speaker 1: and you know, I was in awe of him. What

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Speaker 1: I happened he came to see me play. I got

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Speaker 1: to meet him. You know, it's a little bit star struck.

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Speaker 1: And the deal was where I wanted to go, and

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Speaker 1: and it seemed like, you know, that was gonna be

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Speaker 1: my home. I committed to them, like I said, as

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Speaker 1: an underclassman, and um, you know, as my time went

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Speaker 1: on through high school, I was able to go out

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Speaker 1: to the A b c D camp and play in

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Speaker 1: the national camp. Um with the Kobe Bryant's, the Lamar

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Speaker 1: Oldham Um, you know, all the highly challenged, all the

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Speaker 1: best players in the country, and I one top underclassman.

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Speaker 1: I was able to wind top underclassmen there. Uh as

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Speaker 1: going as going going into my sophomore year, and so

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Speaker 1: I had a teammate Rock Lloyd. Uh he's a big

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Speaker 1: time New York City guy. Yep. Romell Lloyd yep, And um,

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Speaker 1: he was on my same team at a b c D.

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Speaker 1: And so you know, we've got to play with each other,

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Speaker 1: got to know each other a little bit during that week,

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Speaker 1: and his point guard for the uh New York City Gutows,

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Speaker 1: had got hurt during the camp, so he kind of

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Speaker 1: asked me to sit a in for him out in Vegas.

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Speaker 1: So I had the opportunity to think of it does

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Speaker 1: a care for Minneapolis. Minnesota had an opportunity to go

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Speaker 1: on the on the summer circuit with a New York

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Speaker 1: City team that was unheard of back in so Um.

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Speaker 1: You know, I was always I was all in, you know.

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Speaker 1: When he asked me, asked my parents, and they were

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Speaker 1: okay with it. So I had the opportunity to travel

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Speaker 1: with them and and to become, you know, a New

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Speaker 1: Yorker because I was always a hip hop New York

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Speaker 1: hip hop guy coming up. You know, anyway you like

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Speaker 1: New York hip hop, West Coast was so much better.

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Speaker 1: I used to remember we used to we used to

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Speaker 1: go back some my my dad was a New Yorker.

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Speaker 1: He grew up in the Bronx, and we used to

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Speaker 1: go back every summer and he would, you know, I'd

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Speaker 1: go to I'd play at all the different places that

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Speaker 1: he played at. He like when I was in high school,

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Speaker 1: to get you to sit there and wait all day,

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Speaker 1: or he tried to get me in a game or whatever.

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Speaker 1: And I just remember we put on a hot nineties

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Speaker 1: seven and I wouldn't know any of the music, and

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Speaker 1: I could. I didn't like. I just did like East

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Speaker 1: Coast hip hop when I was a kid such a

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Speaker 1: different style than what I was, what I was used to,

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Speaker 1: all right. So so so when you're in high school,

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Speaker 1: was was Minnesota on probation then or was it not

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Speaker 1: coming up? Coming up my my senior year? Uh is

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Speaker 1: when everything broke when one of the former recruits kind

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Speaker 1: of you know, spilled the beams so to speak. And

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Speaker 1: and then that next year would have been my freshman

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Speaker 1: year coming in that they would have been on probation.

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Speaker 1: So you know, around that time, a little bit before

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Speaker 1: that time, I decided I wanted to, you know, de

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Speaker 1: commit from Minnesota. I wanted to take my visits because

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Speaker 1: you know, like I said, I was traveling with the Galchos.

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Speaker 1: And then that next summer I had got to play

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Speaker 1: with the Long Island Panthers, which Lamorrow old them um

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Speaker 1: kareem uh uh myself. Um. So we had some big

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Speaker 1: time New York guys on that team, and I was

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Speaker 1: just seeing their recruiting classes. How you know, I used

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Speaker 1: to the room was Lamar and he was getting recruited

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Speaker 1: by everybody. Doug, I mean Fisher, Steve Fisher from Michigan

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Speaker 1: back then, was called me uh. Tarkanian was calling up

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Speaker 1: every every school that you could imagine was recruiting him,

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Speaker 1: and I was kind of getting you know, a little

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Speaker 1: bit coldy, like wow, I was, I got courted like

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Speaker 1: that a little bit, you know, I was, I would

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Speaker 1: have waited, do I could have take you know, took

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Speaker 1: some visits and got to enjoy the recruiting process. So

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Speaker 1: as a junior, I'm going into my senior year. I

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Speaker 1: committed and I was able to take some visits and

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Speaker 1: I went to Kansas, I went to Georgetown, I took

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Speaker 1: an official visit to Minnesota, and then I went to

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Speaker 1: Yuka and went to Connecticut, and um so, um, I was.

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Speaker 1: I was looking at the teams, Uh, Doug, and I

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Speaker 1: had to realize that, you know, Minnesota, they had the

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Speaker 1: great run the year before, but my freshman year, all

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Speaker 1: those guys that was went to the they were graduating,

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Speaker 1: they were leaving. You know, they were upper classmen. So

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Speaker 1: we we weren't going to be the same team, so

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Speaker 1: to speak. So and I was, I wanted to win, Doug,

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Speaker 1: And um, I just wanted, you know, to have the

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Speaker 1: best opportunity to win a championship because that's what I

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Speaker 1: wanted to do. And um, you know, I visited Kansas

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Speaker 1: visited Minnesota, went to George Town, and I really felt

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Speaker 1: that I was going to go to Kansas Doug and Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, I took that last visit to Connecticut. I

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Speaker 1: got to play with the guys, and uh, I just

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Speaker 1: fell in love. You know, it's like a legend around

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Speaker 1: Connecticut that you know when I played with them on

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Speaker 1: my visit, I was like directing some of the upperclassmen,

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Speaker 1: tell them to go there to what do what to do,

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Speaker 1: or tell them what to do and it was just

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Speaker 1: a match man in heaven and so um, visiting Connecticut

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Speaker 1: and having the opportunity to play with the team just

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Speaker 1: really sealed it from me. And I just knew I

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Speaker 1: wanted to go to Connecticut from that visit. All Right,

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Speaker 1: see show up on campus and uh Rip was there,

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Speaker 1: but he was, you know, like he wasn't superstar Rip

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Speaker 1: Hamilton's yet they had a big white dude, Jake Bosco, Right,

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00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,520
Speaker 1: you and Albi Albert Morning were like the two star

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Speaker 1: freshmen that that showed up. Um. And then you know,

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Speaker 1: Ricky Moore's like a junior, but he'd never really been

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Speaker 1: like the guy. Uh because they had they had they

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Speaker 1: had Ron Cheffer when he was a freshman. He played,

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Speaker 1: he started as a sophomore, but they weren't great and

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Speaker 1: so he got what what was that? What was the dynamic?

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Speaker 1: Like when you show up and Ricky has kind of

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Speaker 1: been waiting his whole career to be the guy and

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Speaker 1: you come in and now he's got to play kind

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Speaker 1: of off the ball. Yeah. But but but that's the

376
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Speaker 1: thing about Connecticut done. You know, Conneticut was always a

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Speaker 1: school where they played mortrop point guards at the same

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Speaker 1: time because as you mentioned, Jaron Shuffler played with h

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Speaker 1: Kevin Olly and Ray Allen and then Ricky Moore came

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Speaker 1: in and and so he had got a little bit

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Speaker 1: of Darron Cheffer Ricky Moore and you know, Ricky Moore

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Speaker 1: was a big time player before he had a shoulder injury. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know the season prior to me coming in, Doug,

384
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Speaker 1: you know, he was decentive stopper, we all know that,

385
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Speaker 1: but he was putting the ball in the basket at

386
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Speaker 1: that time, and so, um, he was a big time player.

387
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Speaker 1: And me coming onto the dude was like, hey, you know,

388
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Speaker 1: we have two uh lead guards on the court and

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Speaker 1: the past that's what two ms back then to win

390
00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:04,919
Speaker 1: and we were just Uh, compatible with each other. You know,

391
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Speaker 1: we were able to play over with each other's strength

392
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Speaker 1: in each other's businesses, and uh we just worked out,

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Speaker 1: well what did you do for fun in stores? Connecticut? Well,

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Speaker 1: and you know it was a college town, and uh,

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Speaker 1: you know I was able to, like I said, to

396
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Speaker 1: come on the scene. And you know you had with

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Speaker 1: you more, you had ripped that uh Kevin Freeman who

398
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Speaker 1: has been there a year before. They shold me, you know,

399
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Speaker 1: they showed me the places where um, you know rocket

400
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,919
Speaker 1: and you know other than that man in college cher

401
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,440
Speaker 1: could door anyway, or you're in your study hall or

402
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,680
Speaker 1: you're at practice only it wasn't really much to do

403
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Speaker 1: in stores, but it was a great college town. We

404
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,280
Speaker 1: had a great time and we made it fun. Um

405
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,400
Speaker 1: let's go to the championship season. Um. So, like, look,

406
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Speaker 1: your your first year, you guys were I mean, your

407
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Speaker 1: first couple of years, you guys are legit, right, you're legit.

408
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Speaker 1: But your sophomore year, uh to you rips back as

409
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Speaker 1: a junior you mentioned Kevin Freeman, who's just a monster

410
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Speaker 1: on the boards Voscool's back album Warnings Back. So, I

411
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Speaker 1: mean the great thing was you have all these guys

412
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Speaker 1: back from from the previous years. You had no freshman,

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Speaker 1: no incoming class at all, just all dudes that were back.

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Speaker 1: What do you remember about that about that team? Like

415
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:23,919
Speaker 1: when did you when did you know, like, hey, we

416
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Speaker 1: could win the whole thing. Well, it was actually during

417
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Speaker 1: that summer, going into my sophomore season, we took a

418
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Speaker 1: trip to Europe um for a couple of weeks. We

419
00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,919
Speaker 1: went to uh, we went to England. He has the

420
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Speaker 1: opportunity to play just a couple of professional teams in England,

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Speaker 1: and then we flew to Israel and we got to

422
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Speaker 1: play a couple of professional teams from Israel. We played Maccabi,

423
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Speaker 1: we played another big time team, oh than Israel. Also,

424
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Speaker 1: so that summer, Rip was hurt with a thigh injury. Uh,

425
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Speaker 1: he couldn't travel with us on. You know, I took

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Speaker 1: us a minus with out there, and that allowed our

427
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,439
Speaker 1: role players to come on and to get significant minutes

428
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,280
Speaker 1: and really show who they were and Albert Morning was

429
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,240
Speaker 1: lightened up. Back to those two weeks of games, Uh,

430
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,920
Speaker 1: Edmund Saunders showed he was a beast. Rosch and mel

431
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:18,639
Speaker 1: Jones who really accepted Yes, Rosa mel Jones, I respect

432
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,080
Speaker 1: him so much because it was his senior year, Doug,

433
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,600
Speaker 1: and he was supposed to go for the gold. It

434
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,520
Speaker 1: was his last chance to really show the NBA scouts

435
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,760
Speaker 1: who he was. And when I came on the scene,

436
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:30,760
Speaker 1: he saw the type of players that I was, the

437
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,040
Speaker 1: type of leader that I was, and he took the

438
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,680
Speaker 1: motion was so much character. I just love that guy

439
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,240
Speaker 1: to death because any other guy who wanted to transfer,

440
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:41,520
Speaker 1: especially this day and age, they would have transferred, they

441
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,160
Speaker 1: would have got out of there because they weren't getting

442
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,240
Speaker 1: the minutes that they were supposed to have gotten. But

443
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,439
Speaker 1: he respected the game and I just love him for that.

444
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,960
Speaker 1: And the role players got an opportunity to really step

445
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,520
Speaker 1: up and show their work to the team. And after

446
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,480
Speaker 1: that trip, we we said to ourselves, Wow, we can

447
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,919
Speaker 1: be really good. And the guys prepared for the season,

448
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,000
Speaker 1: uh like man like none other. You know, every workout

449
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,399
Speaker 1: we were competing against each other every trill. We wanted

450
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,760
Speaker 1: to win and we just wanted to see the next

451
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 1: guy do well. And so that's what we we're special

452
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,359
Speaker 1: about that team. All right, give me your your calho

453
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,879
Speaker 1: What what's what was Calhoun like to you as a

454
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: guy who came in and he gave you the ball

455
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,240
Speaker 1: right away. Like what when I when I say, Jim Calhoun,

456
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,880
Speaker 1: give me story that encapsulates what he's like to you. Uh,

457
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,719
Speaker 1: he was a beast and and I don't know if

458
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,760
Speaker 1: I should use this or not, but one time I

459
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,720
Speaker 1: was a freshman and it was right before the Big

460
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,760
Speaker 1: East Tournament, and um, you know, they had the coaches meeting.

461
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,560
Speaker 1: They go up to New York prior to the Big

462
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,680
Speaker 1: East Tournament. They had their meeting, and then they come

463
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,840
Speaker 1: back and I can remember he went up there and

464
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:48,520
Speaker 1: came back and we had a practice right before we

465
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 1: were leaving. He was like, you know, you know I

466
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,800
Speaker 1: was at the coach meeting and explaining what was going on,

467
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,199
Speaker 1: and he was like, you know, they're good guys, but

468
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,760
Speaker 1: I wanted I want to kick their And I know

469
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:02,919
Speaker 1: we we both know. He used a different word than that.

470
00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:04,680
Speaker 1: You can it's a it's a pod. You can say

471
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,280
Speaker 1: if you said he wanted to kick their ass like that,

472
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: that's that's what he said. He wanted to. He I

473
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:15,919
Speaker 1: hate all those motherfucker's and that competitiveness. You know, you

474
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,159
Speaker 1: had to reach that. But the new pro respectful for

475
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,840
Speaker 1: East Coast that he went up against but he wanted

476
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,520
Speaker 1: to win and thats just that since the urgency really

477
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,000
Speaker 1: rubbed up on him. So when you say coach got's

478
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,680
Speaker 1: the beast. He's a genius and he's also just one

479
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,760
Speaker 1: of the most competitive people that I know. Yeah, yeah,

480
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,679
Speaker 1: here's okay. So my mom grew up in Connecticut and

481
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,160
Speaker 1: when we go up to Connecticut, like I remember her

482
00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:42,120
Speaker 1: because Yukon didn't used to It wasn't a now it's

483
00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:43,840
Speaker 1: a good school. It wasn't a good school when she

484
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:46,840
Speaker 1: when she was growing up. So she was super super

485
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 1: down on it. And they started recruiting me when they

486
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,080
Speaker 1: when they when they took Ricky, Ricky was like out

487
00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,480
Speaker 1: of Atlanta, right, So they took Ricky that that that year.

488
00:24:56,119 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: And it's funny you say about the multiple point guards. So, um,

489
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,640
Speaker 1: Kevin Ollie's from you know, Crunshaw High School, l A.

490
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 1: So they were recruiting me and my dad to talk

491
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:10,119
Speaker 1: to Kevin Ali who he coached against an Au. And

492
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 1: Kevin was around and he was like, what's what's Calhoun

493
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,920
Speaker 1: like And he's like, it's they play fast, they're always good.

494
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,560
Speaker 1: You'll play around pros. He's like, but he's gonna bring

495
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:22,560
Speaker 1: another point guard in every year, So if you want to,

496
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,119
Speaker 1: because remember when we played, they used to give you

497
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,640
Speaker 1: like two years to your junior year. Then they would

498
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,760
Speaker 1: bring another guy to compete with you. And if you couldn't, like,

499
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,200
Speaker 1: if you couldn't beat out a freshman when you're a junior,

500
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:34,879
Speaker 1: like then you weren't good enough anyway. You just had

501
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,359
Speaker 1: to figure it out. And he's like and how they

502
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,280
Speaker 1: were like Calhoun doesn't play, he doesn't he doesn't care

503
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 1: at all, and he's just gonna bring another point. So

504
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,880
Speaker 1: as long as you don't care about being recruited over

505
00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,680
Speaker 1: because he's gonna challenge you every day, you'll be all right.

506
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,159
Speaker 1: So I wasn't really that into that. And then my

507
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,960
Speaker 1: mom just couldn't get over she went to Syracuse. She

508
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:55,880
Speaker 1: she just thought it was like a She used to say,

509
00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:57,720
Speaker 1: it's like other place, like a juco, Like you don't

510
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,560
Speaker 1: want to go there anyway. So he calls me, actually,

511
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,240
Speaker 1: actually coach Hobbs called me, and I get back from

512
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,200
Speaker 1: I get back from abc D and my my junior year,

513
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:09,960
Speaker 1: going to my junior I wasn't very good at ABC

514
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:11,960
Speaker 1: I was okay, and an I going to my senior

515
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 1: I was I blew up at ABCD, I played really well,

516
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,919
Speaker 1: and so Hobbs calls me. He says, look one off

517
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,880
Speaker 1: your scholarship and I'll put you out with Coach Calhoun. Now, look,

518
00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,840
Speaker 1: I'm from southern California and everyone seems and I always

519
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,840
Speaker 1: feel like California people don't have an accent. And I

520
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,200
Speaker 1: had never really heard a Boston accent before. And so

521
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,360
Speaker 1: he comes on. He starts talking and and not only

522
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:33,760
Speaker 1: does he have, as you know, a Boston accent, but

523
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 1: Coach Calhoun speaks really really fast like he talks and honest,

524
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,480
Speaker 1: why its tactick out together about that. But you come

525
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,880
Speaker 1: out of a point out you come to visit. I'm like, okay,

526
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 1: coach cool, Yes, okay, coach. And then he puts back on.

527
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 1: Coach habs back on, and I was like, Coach, I

528
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,439
Speaker 1: actually don't know what he said. He's like, well, he's

529
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,320
Speaker 1: just offering a scholarship. You want to come out and

530
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,440
Speaker 1: take a visit. So I didn't even I didn't even

531
00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 1: visit um, but I always I've told I've told him

532
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,920
Speaker 1: that to this day, that that I didn't actually understand

533
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,520
Speaker 1: him on the phone call, but I was. I did

534
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,359
Speaker 1: set up a visit and then Ricky committed I think

535
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,600
Speaker 1: earlier than than I ever ever visited. But here's what

536
00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,440
Speaker 1: I loved about him. He was a lot like Eddie

537
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,560
Speaker 1: Sutton in that um he kind of manipulated. I felt

538
00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 1: like he'd manipulate the media where he'd tell the media,

539
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 1: you go and see one of the Yukon practice and

540
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,119
Speaker 1: he got like, oh, I wish it. He would not

541
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,200
Speaker 1: even good. His fucking guys suck and and then so

542
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,800
Speaker 1: people in the local media would start to write negative

543
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,440
Speaker 1: things about him, like about the and then he would

544
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:36,920
Speaker 1: tell the players like, see, the media doesn't believe in you.

545
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 1: I believe in you. What's the matter with these media guys? Right?

546
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,359
Speaker 1: And then and then he would he would always he

547
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 1: would sub a dude out before the first TV time out.

548
00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,080
Speaker 1: Somebody make a mistake, like Edmond Saunders, who I gotta

549
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,320
Speaker 1: get your best Edmond Saunders story. At some point in time,

550
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,719
Speaker 1: Edmond Saunders would he'd make a mistake and he'd we

551
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,000
Speaker 1: would when I was covering him at ESPN, somebody make

552
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,280
Speaker 1: a mistake and we'd have bets on media row who

553
00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:01,680
Speaker 1: he was going to take out first, And he would

554
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,560
Speaker 1: come almost out to mid court and hook that motherfucker

555
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,720
Speaker 1: out for making a mistake like he was. But his

556
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 1: he like guys accepted it like like you go sit

557
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:13,359
Speaker 1: for a second, then he puts you back in and

558
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,879
Speaker 1: everybody else got the message and he played hard. What

559
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:19,199
Speaker 1: was it like to actually play for him? It was

560
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,920
Speaker 1: it was great, um, you know, coming up and and

561
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,600
Speaker 1: being a point guard. Um, I just had the relationship

562
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:28,600
Speaker 1: with every head coach. You know, I wanted to have

563
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 1: a great relationship because I felt, you know, the point

564
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,240
Speaker 1: guard is the extension of the coach on the court.

565
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,560
Speaker 1: So I was always in this offense peaking his brain. Um,

566
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 1: you know, and the story going around how you know,

567
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,560
Speaker 1: most of the players were actimidated a little bit of

568
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 1: coach Calhoun because of his presence, because of the way

569
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 1: he speaking, is the way his character is. You know.

570
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,800
Speaker 1: For me, I didn't even see that. I just saw

571
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:52,920
Speaker 1: that he was the head coach, and I knew I

572
00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 1: had to have a great relationship. I had to know

573
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,120
Speaker 1: what he's thinking, man, and he has to trust me.

574
00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:00,320
Speaker 1: So I was always in his office, I'm picking his brain,

575
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 1: and you know we were able to to you know,

576
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,280
Speaker 1: have a great relationship, a great rapport, and he trusted

577
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,000
Speaker 1: me on the court at least I think he did

578
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,360
Speaker 1: trusted me most times. So, um, you know, having the

579
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,640
Speaker 1: opportunity to play for him, and and just knew his history,

580
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:16,440
Speaker 1: you know, because I'm a student of the game. I

581
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 1: went him from Northeastern and and and then he came

582
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,600
Speaker 1: to Connecticut and how he turned it around. So I

583
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,440
Speaker 1: was a big fan of his already. And you know,

584
00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,240
Speaker 1: having an opportunity, um to run his one of his clubs,

585
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:31,880
Speaker 1: and wanting to win and wanting to do the best.

586
00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 1: We just wear a great match together and he really

587
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 1: bring up the best of me on the court and

588
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,280
Speaker 1: off the court. Uh. All right, let's get to the

589
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:44,040
Speaker 1: tournament run. So you guys are uh, one of the

590
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:45,920
Speaker 1: top two or three teams in the country, and I

591
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,520
Speaker 1: know it goes down as an upset and you run around.

592
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,760
Speaker 1: We'll get to the game itself in a second. But

593
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,160
Speaker 1: you guys were legit. You did get shipped out West,

594
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,520
Speaker 1: but you're the number one seed and you played. Do

595
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,600
Speaker 1: you remember the Texas San Antonio game at all? Yes,

596
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:04,720
Speaker 1: tell me about it. It was. It was, you know,

597
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 1: one of the the better first round games, um, you

598
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,440
Speaker 1: know for us being the uh the year before we

599
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,600
Speaker 1: had played Fairley Diggerson, and they gave us a run

600
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:18,760
Speaker 1: for our money. They they steered us, you know, they

601
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,640
Speaker 1: played us down. Damn they took the wire. Elijah Allen

602
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:23,680
Speaker 1: went off for forty one point. So we knew that

603
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,960
Speaker 1: first game we couldn't play around. So we all got

604
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,680
Speaker 1: out in the built the atmosphere earlier. Everybody got out there,

605
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:31,600
Speaker 1: got their shots that we wanted to be prepared and

606
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,360
Speaker 1: wanted to go into this game and and wanted to

607
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,680
Speaker 1: set it, you know, really set the tone for the tournament.

608
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 1: And um, we did just that. And we had a

609
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,360
Speaker 1: great practice prior the dud before and we were ready

610
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,720
Speaker 1: to do. You know, Coach came in, there's here this

611
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,080
Speaker 1: pregame talk, you know about this is our time, and

612
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,080
Speaker 1: you know, guys really responded to that, and that game

613
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,360
Speaker 1: really set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

614
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,160
Speaker 1: Here we're playing our a basketball. Let's go ahead and

615
00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 1: show the country who we really are. And let's make

616
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 1: that next up the East eight to the final four.

617
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,840
Speaker 1: All right, if you remember the second round, who'd you

618
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:14,840
Speaker 1: play New Mexico. Um, they had Kenny Oh. Should he

619
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,080
Speaker 1: be tough now because he'd be like a small ball five. Now,

620
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:21,200
Speaker 1: shoot shootoot, I'll think I'll think of it in the second.

621
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:23,280
Speaker 1: But he was he was a great he was a

622
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,760
Speaker 1: big time player, um um, you know for them, and

623
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,160
Speaker 1: they had a couple other guys who could play. And

624
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,200
Speaker 1: so you know that ninth you know, we gotta get

625
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:34,960
Speaker 1: out and really jump on these guys and set the

626
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,959
Speaker 1: tone on these guys, you know. So um, I can

627
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 1: just remember Um coming into that game. We were all

628
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:48,239
Speaker 1: so ready to play Kenny Thomas, Kenny Thomas, and I

629
00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:52,400
Speaker 1: was I just can't remember Um coming. And we went

630
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:57,720
Speaker 1: on to zero run to start the game. And so

631
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,520
Speaker 1: I don't think if we're up seventeen, team is going

632
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:03,880
Speaker 1: to come back if we're up seventeen on them. So um,

633
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:06,080
Speaker 1: you know, like I said, it was just an extension

634
00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,920
Speaker 1: of that first game of us playing at our a

635
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,720
Speaker 1: level and continuing that and then it was just a

636
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,080
Speaker 1: greatful form and that we were on the high after that.

637
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,920
Speaker 1: Then you played what Iowa, I believe so the sweet

638
00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:21,960
Speaker 1: as you play Iowa, did you go home? Did you

639
00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,560
Speaker 1: did you guys go home? In between, I'm still I

640
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:27,760
Speaker 1: don't even remember that. I can't tell you the true

641
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 1: Um I would I would say no, but I don't

642
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:36,560
Speaker 1: remember it was it was twenty years ago a little

643
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: bit more so I can't really remember. But okay, So

644
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:43,320
Speaker 1: here's I guess my question is this, like, look, Calhoun

645
00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,120
Speaker 1: had done so many things, but he hadn't gotten to

646
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 1: a final four, right, And so was what did you guys?

647
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,720
Speaker 1: Did you guys feel any of that? Was there any time?

648
00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,120
Speaker 1: I mean obviously the media would ask, but how how

649
00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,040
Speaker 1: was he during as you're playing in tournament games? Is

650
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,680
Speaker 1: he the same? Was he tight? Like he was always

651
00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 1: the same to me personally. That's the genius about him,

652
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 1: Like you never really saw him nervous, or if he was,

653
00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:14,960
Speaker 1: he never showed it. He prepared the same way. He

654
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 1: made sure that we were prepared. But his demeanor, the

655
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,520
Speaker 1: way that he talked was it never changed. It never faltered.

656
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:27,400
Speaker 1: And and that Exart's confidence in me as the point

657
00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 1: guard of the team too, for him to see him

658
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:33,280
Speaker 1: have so much confidence, and you know, whatever he said,

659
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,160
Speaker 1: I took it and ran with it. I thought it

660
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,920
Speaker 1: was the truth for me. So I just I just

661
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,000
Speaker 1: felt him, you know. And and I can always remember

662
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:44,520
Speaker 1: when he would come into the room or or the

663
00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,080
Speaker 1: gym for practice or we have a meeting whatever, you know,

664
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,280
Speaker 1: so I could tell what type of mood that he

665
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:51,680
Speaker 1: was in from the first ten seconds when he walked

666
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:53,920
Speaker 1: in the room. He was all business, Doug, I was

667
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,560
Speaker 1: all business. You know. If he had a little couple

668
00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 1: of jokes, then I knew that the mood was a

669
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:00,440
Speaker 1: little bit lighter. And I can read lacked, and I,

670
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,720
Speaker 1: you know, be myself at times, but he was always on.

671
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,760
Speaker 1: And you know, he really instills that the confidence, uh

672
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,400
Speaker 1: that I carried to this day that be sure yourself,

673
00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 1: You've been working you you are prepared for this situation,

674
00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:15,959
Speaker 1: not gonna make the most of it. And and that's

675
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 1: what I love about him. So, uh, what what was

676
00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:24,160
Speaker 1: ripped like? Like RiPP became this unbelievable shooter. I mean

677
00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 1: basically a lot of it just all floppy, right, just

678
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:29,719
Speaker 1: reading screens, you know, coming off of down screens and

679
00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 1: you know, all the different just moving without the basketball.

680
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,600
Speaker 1: What what was? It was incredible? Does I'm sorry to

681
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:40,200
Speaker 1: cut you off. It's just incredible. And like you said,

682
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,680
Speaker 1: coming off those screens. He's the one who taught me

683
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 1: um how to play off the screen. He told me

684
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,719
Speaker 1: how important that was to play off the ball and

685
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,880
Speaker 1: to get easy budgets. And I think I instilled some

686
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:56,640
Speaker 1: of that into my game. Um after playing him. Uh,

687
00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:58,680
Speaker 1: you know, it moves important, you know, when you're off

688
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:02,239
Speaker 1: the ball to make great cut, to keep moving and

689
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:04,200
Speaker 1: to use those screens because that's what they get done

690
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,399
Speaker 1: for all. He had this move Doug where he would

691
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,360
Speaker 1: use the screen. He would come off a downspring. The

692
00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,400
Speaker 1: big guy would come to him the screen and he

693
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:13,759
Speaker 1: would come off of it and he knew how to

694
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,319
Speaker 1: and he's coming off the screen and he and he's

695
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,360
Speaker 1: going to curl the screen right and his defender is

696
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:23,200
Speaker 1: right on back of him. You know they're playing the

697
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,719
Speaker 1: correct way. They're going to trail the screen okay and

698
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,960
Speaker 1: follow him. But as he was brushed off of his

699
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:33,799
Speaker 1: our big man fossil, he would off the big man

700
00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:36,840
Speaker 1: and kind of I don't want to I want to

701
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,120
Speaker 1: say torpedale aund him. And while he does that, he

702
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:45,640
Speaker 1: is swinging. He is pushing the big man into the defender.

703
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,760
Speaker 1: So it's just like he's making sure that Jakie screening

704
00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:52,680
Speaker 1: his man. And he would come off every downscreen, every

705
00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 1: curl spring so wide open that he helped get the

706
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,440
Speaker 1: ball because you know, the guy said, such streat screens

707
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,600
Speaker 1: for him and he used it so well. You know,

708
00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:03,880
Speaker 1: I put that into my game. And he was just

709
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,279
Speaker 1: such an lethal wove and he was open every time

710
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,840
Speaker 1: he he came up a screen. He was he was

711
00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:14,200
Speaker 1: pretty special. Um, he was special. He was special. Here,

712
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,000
Speaker 1: I've seen it in A B C D. Uh. My

713
00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:20,480
Speaker 1: junior year, we were on the same team. Actually I didn't,

714
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:22,359
Speaker 1: you know, tell you about that. I didn't have a chance,

715
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:26,319
Speaker 1: but rich Rip Hamilton's and Kevin Freeman we all were

716
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,200
Speaker 1: on the same A B C D team. But Kevin

717
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,200
Speaker 1: end up getting hurt um during during the camp. But

718
00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 1: we were on the same team and we went undefeated,

719
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,640
Speaker 1: and I think he was rated maybe the fourth or

720
00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:41,200
Speaker 1: sixth best player and that was maybe the ninth attempt,

721
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:44,080
Speaker 1: so we definitely was a successful camp for us. But

722
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,200
Speaker 1: that was our first meeting with each other, and um,

723
00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:49,239
Speaker 1: you know, I'm so happy I had the opportunity to

724
00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:52,880
Speaker 1: play with him because he's he's special. Okay, so you guys,

725
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:57,640
Speaker 1: you get past the Sweet sixteen and now you're playing, um,

726
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:02,120
Speaker 1: you're playing Gonzaga to go to the Final four. And

727
00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,880
Speaker 1: this was a good Zagger team in Santangelo was nice,

728
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:09,880
Speaker 1: but like I can't imagine you guys from Yukon playing

729
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,759
Speaker 1: the Big East. You guys won the Big East tournament, right,

730
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:16,560
Speaker 1: you smashed I think you smashed St. John's in the championship, right,

731
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,399
Speaker 1: but you you're like your close game with Seton Hall

732
00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:22,840
Speaker 1: not and then you smash Syracuse, you smash St. John's.

733
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:24,879
Speaker 1: You get all the way. You're in the Elite eight.

734
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,000
Speaker 1: Elite eight. What do you remember about the Gonzaga game?

735
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,000
Speaker 1: I mean that was the over, That was the over

736
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,759
Speaker 1: the hump game, you know, feute, I don't know what

737
00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:38,440
Speaker 1: two or three teams have Coach Calhoun, teams have priorly

738
00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,080
Speaker 1: gotten to that point, but they didn't, you know, get

739
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,440
Speaker 1: past that point. And we were there the year before.

740
00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:47,000
Speaker 1: So this is the this is the game where we

741
00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:51,360
Speaker 1: had to show ourselves. And you know, unfortunately for me,

742
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,560
Speaker 1: I didn't have a great game. But as a team,

743
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,040
Speaker 1: we played like a team. You know, we had our

744
00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:00,560
Speaker 1: ups and downs during the game. Uh IgA was a

745
00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:04,319
Speaker 1: tough minded team. They had tough players, tough defenders, and

746
00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:07,160
Speaker 1: they were a team. So um, we had to play

747
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,960
Speaker 1: our best team game for us to win, and and

748
00:38:10,239 --> 00:38:13,919
Speaker 1: down the stretch, guys made plays here and there, made

749
00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,120
Speaker 1: free throws and we were able to sneak out of there.

750
00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:19,719
Speaker 1: But it was a total team effort. And uh, if

751
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:23,440
Speaker 1: we hadn't gone told Eure up that summer, we might

752
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,759
Speaker 1: not have won. There were such a we were so

753
00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:30,960
Speaker 1: together that that was what ultimately gave us the upper

754
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:33,880
Speaker 1: hand against Gonzaga. Yeah, what's interesting is, you know Calhoun's

755
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:37,480
Speaker 1: teams always played so fast, and yet that game especially

756
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:39,560
Speaker 1: you had to play, you know, Gonzaga slowed you down.

757
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:42,400
Speaker 1: Ohio State really kind of slowed you down, you know.

758
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,200
Speaker 1: So the ward winning Nasal champions you had to win

759
00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:46,280
Speaker 1: two games in the sixties, which is not his style.

760
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,400
Speaker 1: He liked to get up and down and press and

761
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:50,719
Speaker 1: really run, and they kind of took you out of it,

762
00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:52,520
Speaker 1: and you still found a way to win. Okay, so

763
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:55,680
Speaker 1: you go and go ahead. No, I'm just saying that's

764
00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:58,240
Speaker 1: just one of his greatness. We could play multiple ways.

765
00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,560
Speaker 1: We just yes, we would love to play get up

766
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:03,000
Speaker 1: and down and make it a fast paced game, but

767
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,920
Speaker 1: we could play the slowdown half court game because we

768
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:07,960
Speaker 1: had such high i q s, you know, And that

769
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,840
Speaker 1: went from having two point guards on the court and

770
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:14,560
Speaker 1: and having a great shooter and having role guys who

771
00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:16,919
Speaker 1: didn't care if they didn't score. They wanted to get

772
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,400
Speaker 1: the other guys open. And when you have selfless guys

773
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:23,520
Speaker 1: like that, your team is going to be successful. You

774
00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:26,960
Speaker 1: go to the Final four, it's in St. Pete and

775
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:30,600
Speaker 1: you take on Ohio State. They got Scooney pen and

776
00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:32,960
Speaker 1: Michael Read. They got a good little squad there, Kane

777
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:37,319
Speaker 1: Johnson the big center. Uh. Other than playing in front

778
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:39,879
Speaker 1: of fifty people, do you remember that about that one?

779
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,720
Speaker 1: I do remember that. That's the atmosphere of the Final

780
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,560
Speaker 1: four finally being you know, being the front Connecticut team

781
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,840
Speaker 1: to make it there. But that wasn't We weren't satisfied

782
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,120
Speaker 1: with that. We wanted to win. You know, we've gotten there.

783
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:55,680
Speaker 1: We were you know, we we kind of got the

784
00:39:55,719 --> 00:39:58,120
Speaker 1: monkeys off the off our back, so to speak. But

785
00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:00,359
Speaker 1: we want to the country. We were there to win

786
00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,839
Speaker 1: and playing against Ohio Faith, they were just another team

787
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:06,040
Speaker 1: that that was in our way, and we knew they

788
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 1: had great players. Like you said, as you mentioned, we

789
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:11,440
Speaker 1: thought that we were a better team and we kind

790
00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:14,399
Speaker 1: of hung our hats on that the whole season. We

791
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:16,880
Speaker 1: were we are the better team. They have good players,

792
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:19,480
Speaker 1: but we are in a better team, so we um

793
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,439
Speaker 1: I think that game I think we slowed ourselves down.

794
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:24,200
Speaker 1: You know, the first half we played great, we played

795
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:25,960
Speaker 1: great team bar in the second half, we kind of

796
00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:29,000
Speaker 1: got a little bit individual and kind of make plays

797
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,160
Speaker 1: too much individually. And that's the reason why they were

798
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,960
Speaker 1: able to hang close with us when they came down

799
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,920
Speaker 1: the stretch. You know, we always came back true to

800
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:39,080
Speaker 1: who we were and we were able to pull that out.

801
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:40,960
Speaker 1: All right, she get ready for the that Astra Championship game,

802
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,759
Speaker 1: and again on paper in our in our era. The

803
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:48,920
Speaker 1: next year's team for Duke had an unbelievable roster, right

804
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:53,600
Speaker 1: but in terms of like highly tattered recruits, Batti Brand

805
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:55,759
Speaker 1: and even Chrick Chris Burgers like number one big guy

806
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 1: in the country, Trajan Lane and Corey mcgetty, Chris Caro,

807
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:01,800
Speaker 1: well Nate James Mon Demzowski's from New Mexico. He was

808
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:05,960
Speaker 1: McDonald's all American, William Avery, like, damn dude. They they

809
00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:10,520
Speaker 1: had just dudes. Um, so you're you're sitting your hotel

810
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:14,200
Speaker 1: room in Tampa, what was the prep like for for

811
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:19,160
Speaker 1: the National Championship game? You know that, um that film

812
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,400
Speaker 1: session or that Scott report before the Duke game. You know,

813
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,440
Speaker 1: coach Calhoun told us, you know, before the game, he said,

814
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:29,240
Speaker 1: and he's never said this to us before. Of course,

815
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,160
Speaker 1: he said, um, you know you're gonna be You're playing

816
00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:35,880
Speaker 1: the team tomorrow that's better than you. And he's never

817
00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:38,719
Speaker 1: said that to us before. And so of course that

818
00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:41,759
Speaker 1: got our attention right away. And so we just had

819
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:48,200
Speaker 1: some focus coming into that game. And I can remember us.

820
00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:51,600
Speaker 1: You know, we had planned the double Eldon every time

821
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,040
Speaker 1: he got the ball on the block, and we did

822
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:58,759
Speaker 1: it in fight. We practiced that type of defense every day,

823
00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:01,799
Speaker 1: and we we ever doubled on the block. So we

824
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,600
Speaker 1: were all locked in laser focus, and uh, we weren't

825
00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:07,840
Speaker 1: able to make the plays to be the better team.

826
00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,000
Speaker 1: And like you said, they had players they should have

827
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:14,200
Speaker 1: beat up on paper, they should have beat us. You know,

828
00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:16,360
Speaker 1: when the team is locked in and the team wants

829
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:18,839
Speaker 1: to compete and show who they are, anything can happen.

830
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:21,160
Speaker 1: And that's why basketball such a great sport. As you know,

831
00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:24,520
Speaker 1: he he used to tell people that he thought the

832
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,640
Speaker 1: Duke guys were a little soft. He thought like, look,

833
00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:29,400
Speaker 1: we got city kids, we got we got kids, we

834
00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:33,480
Speaker 1: got fighters. He and his Calhoun would always say like,

835
00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:36,440
Speaker 1: hey and his, I can't do his accent, but he

836
00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:37,960
Speaker 1: would say, like, you know, if you go anywhere in

837
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:40,440
Speaker 1: the country, no one in the city, no one in

838
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,560
Speaker 1: the city will ever wear a duke shirt. All right. Now,

839
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:45,520
Speaker 1: you go to suburbs that were duke stuff, you go

840
00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:47,319
Speaker 1: the city, they don't wear duke stuff. And he's like,

841
00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:49,960
Speaker 1: and that's why we will we beat them. It's because

842
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,480
Speaker 1: we got city kids. We got just dudes that are tougher. Um,

843
00:42:53,719 --> 00:42:55,080
Speaker 1: do you think that was some of it, that you

844
00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:56,799
Speaker 1: guys were just a little tough, a little nasty. Now

845
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't believe that, because you still have

846
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,279
Speaker 1: to play the game, and those guys could play. So

847
00:43:03,520 --> 00:43:05,759
Speaker 1: I just thought that, like I said before, we were

848
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,600
Speaker 1: just the better team, you know, from one through twenty

849
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,279
Speaker 1: over one through ten, however many players played that game,

850
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:16,399
Speaker 1: we had we were the more deep team, and we

851
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:19,880
Speaker 1: were just a better team that night. And um, you know, uh,

852
00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:21,880
Speaker 1: we just thought coming into the game that gave us

853
00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:23,799
Speaker 1: a little bit more motivation. They said that we were

854
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:26,280
Speaker 1: going to lose by ten points, where the ten point underdog,

855
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,600
Speaker 1: and come on, we felt that that was ridiculous. So

856
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:30,439
Speaker 1: we had a you know, we played with a little

857
00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 1: bit of a chip on our shoulder, so that really

858
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:35,040
Speaker 1: helped us out to it. Yeah, no, I'm listening. They

859
00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:37,640
Speaker 1: went sixteen and oh in a C C play and

860
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,759
Speaker 1: they won the SEC tournament. They only lost. I remember that.

861
00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:42,440
Speaker 1: I remember the game they lost. We were watching it

862
00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:44,960
Speaker 1: and they were playing the Great Laska Shootout right since

863
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,520
Speaker 1: they Melvin Levitt made a dunk at the buzzer. Oh man,

864
00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:53,960
Speaker 1: that is that was kind of like a that was

865
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,400
Speaker 1: you know, that was like unbelievable. You know that they

866
00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:59,000
Speaker 1: actually lost, but you know, I think that gave us

867
00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:01,400
Speaker 1: some of the teams in the country, you know, the

868
00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:06,440
Speaker 1: the confidence like, oh okay, they are human and we

869
00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:09,000
Speaker 1: ran up and we ran into We felt like they

870
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:10,799
Speaker 1: were human. So we wanted to go out and prove

871
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:14,120
Speaker 1: everybody that hey, we belong here and we can win.

872
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:17,920
Speaker 1: When when the buzzer sounds, you're famous for yelling run around.

873
00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:20,160
Speaker 1: We was we shocked the world, all right? Then we

874
00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:23,680
Speaker 1: said we shocked the world. Yes, yes, yes, I kind

875
00:44:23,680 --> 00:44:25,479
Speaker 1: of said that. I said that in the pre game,

876
00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:28,120
Speaker 1: and I does. I honestly can say I don't know

877
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:31,080
Speaker 1: where that came from, because, uh, well, men coach down

878
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:33,759
Speaker 1: who were being interviewed and they said something to me

879
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:36,640
Speaker 1: and I answered the question, but I said at the end,

880
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:39,440
Speaker 1: you know, we're playing to shock the world tonight. And uh,

881
00:44:39,719 --> 00:44:41,640
Speaker 1: to this day, I don't know where that came from.

882
00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:44,359
Speaker 1: And then, like you said, when the buzzer sounded and

883
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:46,080
Speaker 1: we had one, and I went over to the desk

884
00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:49,719
Speaker 1: and said it like it was just so much in

885
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:54,400
Speaker 1: trintal And and and you know, joy coming out, and

886
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:58,160
Speaker 1: like I said, it was just it was just if

887
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:04,560
Speaker 1: or anything. It just came out and it was the slogan.

888
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:07,839
Speaker 1: You know, it's been the slogan every since. And uh,

889
00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:10,480
Speaker 1: you know, I'm just happy that we had the opportunity

890
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,840
Speaker 1: to get it done and to win for the University

891
00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:17,120
Speaker 1: of Connecticut and Coach Calhoun, why why didn't you go pro?

892
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:22,640
Speaker 1: After that game? You know, personally, I just felt like

893
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:26,280
Speaker 1: I wasn't ready, um, you know, my game. I felt

894
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 1: like I needed to polish it up a little bit.

895
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:32,000
Speaker 1: You know. I felt like, uh, you know, another year

896
00:45:32,040 --> 00:45:36,040
Speaker 1: of school would have done me great. Um. And you know,

897
00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:40,680
Speaker 1: just looking at the you know, the draft or you know,

898
00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:44,960
Speaker 1: I wasn't expected to go very high. So you know,

899
00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:48,520
Speaker 1: I kinda just okay, took that in stride and said

900
00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:51,840
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get better next year, and um, you know,

901
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:53,759
Speaker 1: I'll see what happens next year. And so that's the

902
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:56,759
Speaker 1: route that I took. Maybe it wasn't the right move

903
00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,719
Speaker 1: in in in some people's book, but for me, I

904
00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:02,520
Speaker 1: was comfortable with it. No, I'm just I'm I'm just

905
00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,400
Speaker 1: I'm wondering because Miles Simon's one of my closest friends,

906
00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:09,600
Speaker 1: and he came back after winning the m op and

907
00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:12,640
Speaker 1: you know he went in the second round. Um, and

908
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:14,479
Speaker 1: he probably would might have gone in the first round.

909
00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:17,520
Speaker 1: He doesn't necessarily, I don't know if he has many regrets.

910
00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:19,400
Speaker 1: We should be pointed out like that year was a

911
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:22,799
Speaker 1: nasty year in the draft, like right, like what would

912
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:25,760
Speaker 1: have been your sophomore year? Elton Brand went one, Stevie

913
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:29,680
Speaker 1: Franchise went to Baron Davis win three, right, lamar Odo

914
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:33,880
Speaker 1: went four while he's Zerbiak went five, Rip seven, Uh,

915
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:36,879
Speaker 1: Sean Mary went nine. Jason the Jet Jason Terry went

916
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,880
Speaker 1: ten like that was right. Mono Jenobli I think was

917
00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:42,960
Speaker 1: the last but one of the last players of the draft.

918
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:47,040
Speaker 1: Um Andre Miller went eighth like that that was a

919
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:51,800
Speaker 1: but I think Lewis was that draft. Okay, so uh

920
00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:53,840
Speaker 1: William Avery. No, he wasn't the last pick he but

921
00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:55,600
Speaker 1: he he was the last one in the green room.

922
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:59,680
Speaker 1: That's what happened with Charlotte. But dude, William Avery went fourteen?

923
00:46:59,719 --> 00:47:03,400
Speaker 1: How did that happened? Oh yeah, and some you know,

924
00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:06,640
Speaker 1: I've heard a lot of you know, people tell me

925
00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:09,600
Speaker 1: that after where I would have gone to the Minnesota Timberwolves,

926
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:13,960
Speaker 1: Kaleini went to the Timberwolves. Yes, yes, and so you know,

927
00:47:14,239 --> 00:47:17,320
Speaker 1: I'm happy for him that he got the opportunity. Um,

928
00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:21,279
Speaker 1: you don't his dream out and um, you know, for me,

929
00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:23,879
Speaker 1: I made the decision with it, and like I said,

930
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:26,560
Speaker 1: I'm comfortable with it. And it is what it was?

931
00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:28,920
Speaker 1: What's it like to try and what to go back? Like?

932
00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:31,560
Speaker 1: Is there do you do? You guys think you weren't.

933
00:47:31,719 --> 00:47:33,439
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a bunch of things. You lost rip,

934
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:36,040
Speaker 1: you lost great players, there's some other stuff going on.

935
00:47:36,600 --> 00:47:39,480
Speaker 1: But was the let down the next year because it's

936
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:41,440
Speaker 1: just hard to relive it, to to live up to

937
00:47:41,560 --> 00:47:44,640
Speaker 1: to the expectations. Is it was it because you're you're

938
00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:48,439
Speaker 1: you're you weren't fully back in school emotionally? Why why

939
00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:50,880
Speaker 1: did you guys have a disappointed next season? Well? I

940
00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:53,760
Speaker 1: think you know, we didn't have the type of season,

941
00:47:54,160 --> 00:47:57,600
Speaker 1: the great season that we were all hoping for or

942
00:47:57,800 --> 00:48:00,239
Speaker 1: that we all were yoused to, you know, coming off

943
00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:03,479
Speaker 1: of you know, a thirty four and two season. Wow,

944
00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,960
Speaker 1: come on now, you know, um, you know and so

945
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:10,440
Speaker 1: and you know, we didn't have those same type of players.

946
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:15,840
Speaker 1: Losing Richard Hamilton's uh was a big blow, uh to

947
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:19,520
Speaker 1: our team, Losing Rosa melt Jones, the leader of our team,

948
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:22,680
Speaker 1: you know, losing Ricky Moore and all these guys, you know,

949
00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:26,439
Speaker 1: uh yeah, so those are big shoes to feel, Doug

950
00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:29,840
Speaker 1: and you know, um, and we're feeling them with guys

951
00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:32,400
Speaker 1: that that's just doing it for the first time. And

952
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:34,759
Speaker 1: not to mention when we got to the tournament, you know,

953
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:39,120
Speaker 1: I got hurt on some freaky spin move that I've

954
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,560
Speaker 1: done a million times that I don't still don't know

955
00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:43,360
Speaker 1: to this day how I got hurt. How I sprang

956
00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:46,160
Speaker 1: my ankle doing a spin move, and so, you know,

957
00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:49,000
Speaker 1: it's just all those things accumulated and and we were

958
00:48:49,120 --> 00:48:51,560
Speaker 1: you know, we were put out by Tennessee and the

959
00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:53,880
Speaker 1: I don't know around thirty two or whatever it was.

960
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:57,680
Speaker 1: So you know, all those things multiple multiplied was the

961
00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:01,120
Speaker 1: reason that we didn't have a successful tournament run. Um,

962
00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:04,439
Speaker 1: but it was still a successful season of my junior year.

963
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:06,759
Speaker 1: And uh, you know I learned a lot from it

964
00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:10,279
Speaker 1: and the guys did too. So you walk into Calhoun's

965
00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:12,560
Speaker 1: office afterwards? Is that how you how did you decide

966
00:49:12,640 --> 00:49:19,120
Speaker 1: to leave to go pro? Well? Um, I was kind

967
00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:23,800
Speaker 1: of nervous to go into his office and uh because

968
00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:26,560
Speaker 1: I knew, you know, it was a lot of talk

969
00:49:26,640 --> 00:49:29,880
Speaker 1: going on, and um, he would have wanted me to stay.

970
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:31,759
Speaker 1: And if if he would have told me to stay,

971
00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:34,719
Speaker 1: I would have. But I was ready. I think I

972
00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:37,920
Speaker 1: was ready to go. Um, you know, it was just

973
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:41,359
Speaker 1: time for me too, for a new challenge. And so, uh,

974
00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:44,239
Speaker 1: you know I had my parents make the phone call

975
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:46,359
Speaker 1: to him or Max. Actually I think my parents came

976
00:49:46,360 --> 00:49:49,160
Speaker 1: out and talked to him and told him and uh,

977
00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:50,600
Speaker 1: and then I had to meet him when I had

978
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:52,160
Speaker 1: to suffer him up first and then I had to

979
00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:54,799
Speaker 1: meet him. The meeting with him, and uh, you know

980
00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:56,879
Speaker 1: that's how we decided that, you know, it was time

981
00:49:56,920 --> 00:49:59,319
Speaker 1: for me to move on, and and we did. You know,

982
00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:02,279
Speaker 1: I had a good camp in Chicago. Um, you know,

983
00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:03,960
Speaker 1: I went thirty four. I would like to have going

984
00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:07,239
Speaker 1: first round, but you know, I had the opportunities to play,

985
00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,400
Speaker 1: and a lot of first round players, lottery players, they

986
00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:11,239
Speaker 1: don't get an opportunity to play right away. You know,

987
00:50:11,640 --> 00:50:14,120
Speaker 1: it depends on the team where they go. And I

988
00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:17,120
Speaker 1: had an opportunity. I started four team games. I made

989
00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:19,320
Speaker 1: the Rookie All Star Game. So I get away, You're

990
00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:21,440
Speaker 1: you're going You're going too fast there college, Okay, So

991
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:24,200
Speaker 1: hold on, hold up, dude, Wait wait, wait, so your

992
00:50:24,719 --> 00:50:28,520
Speaker 1: your family, hold on. Your family moved from Chicago to Minneapolis.

993
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:32,920
Speaker 1: You're were roughly the same age, right, like I finished

994
00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:35,799
Speaker 1: in two thousand, you're a little bit younger than me. Like,

995
00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:38,319
Speaker 1: and I know Mike was gone and the Bulls weren't

996
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:40,920
Speaker 1: very good, But what's it like, what's it like to

997
00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:43,319
Speaker 1: walk into that locker room and you see Bulls in

998
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:46,560
Speaker 1: the front and el Amine on the back. Oh man,

999
00:50:47,280 --> 00:50:51,440
Speaker 1: it's a dream come true. And uh, it's unbelievable actually,

1000
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:55,520
Speaker 1: And conceive the facility to see the bird Oh Center

1001
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:59,440
Speaker 1: where m J laced up and went to practice every day,

1002
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,279
Speaker 1: and and you know, and to see the pros that

1003
00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:04,879
Speaker 1: were still there when I was coming up. I saw

1004
00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:08,239
Speaker 1: Tony Coo coaches working out. Wilper Dou was there, you know,

1005
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:12,720
Speaker 1: and the the legendary uh you know, stripped conditioning coaches

1006
00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:15,799
Speaker 1: that they had, and it was just a dream come

1007
00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:20,480
Speaker 1: from and I wanted that uh uh you know, to

1008
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:24,000
Speaker 1: be forever, you know, but unfortunately, you know, it is

1009
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:27,759
Speaker 1: a business, and you know, I'm just happy I had

1010
00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:31,239
Speaker 1: the opportunity, uh to reach my goal and to play

1011
00:51:31,239 --> 00:51:33,319
Speaker 1: as many games as I did. You know, I learned

1012
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:35,800
Speaker 1: a lot about being a professional from being in the

1013
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:40,960
Speaker 1: NBA and then helped me my career after Chicago. Now

1014
00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:43,799
Speaker 1: did they did they like officially did they cut you? Like?

1015
00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:46,839
Speaker 1: How did it? How did it end? Yeah? Well it

1016
00:51:46,920 --> 00:51:50,960
Speaker 1: was you know, I think it was fifty one games

1017
00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:54,360
Speaker 1: maybe into the season and uh, you know before the

1018
00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:57,279
Speaker 1: before the morning or around I don't know who we

1019
00:51:57,280 --> 00:52:01,359
Speaker 1: were playing. I was the Cross called me and had

1020
00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:03,759
Speaker 1: a long talk and you know he told me that

1021
00:52:04,320 --> 00:52:05,880
Speaker 1: you know, they were going to wave me, they were

1022
00:52:05,880 --> 00:52:08,400
Speaker 1: gonna let me go. Um, but he told me no,

1023
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,680
Speaker 1: gave me some expiring words motivation for me to use

1024
00:52:11,800 --> 00:52:15,560
Speaker 1: and um, you know and we we we part of

1025
00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:19,799
Speaker 1: ways and that's the business. You know. It's uh, one

1026
00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:22,120
Speaker 1: day you're there and you know, one day you might

1027
00:52:22,120 --> 00:52:24,400
Speaker 1: not be there. And so you know this game that

1028
00:52:24,440 --> 00:52:27,719
Speaker 1: we told it's not always fair, but you know you

1029
00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:29,520
Speaker 1: have to be strong and you have to be willing

1030
00:52:29,560 --> 00:52:32,959
Speaker 1: to go through those type of uh downs in order

1031
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:36,240
Speaker 1: for you to you have them. Man, that was definitely

1032
00:52:36,280 --> 00:52:38,080
Speaker 1: what a big time down or dug. It was my

1033
00:52:38,520 --> 00:52:40,680
Speaker 1: uh my dream. I was playing in Chicago, had so

1034
00:52:40,760 --> 00:52:46,319
Speaker 1: much family there who had the opportunity to see me play. Um. Uh,

1035
00:52:46,400 --> 00:52:48,759
Speaker 1: Like I said, I left every minute of it, but

1036
00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:50,480
Speaker 1: I understood it was a business and it was just

1037
00:52:50,480 --> 00:52:54,319
Speaker 1: time for me to move on. What was I mean? Like, look, dude,

1038
00:52:54,320 --> 00:52:56,080
Speaker 1: you did the whole thing. You did the cb A thing.

1039
00:52:56,760 --> 00:53:00,920
Speaker 1: You played in Germany, you played in Israel, you played

1040
00:53:00,920 --> 00:53:03,960
Speaker 1: in Turkey, you played a bunch in Turkey, you played

1041
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:10,280
Speaker 1: in Lithuania. Uh, you know you played everywhere Ukraine. Craziest experience,

1042
00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:15,360
Speaker 1: craziest story you could tell somebody, Oh wow, the craziest

1043
00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:17,799
Speaker 1: story is wherever we were in Irel we were in

1044
00:53:17,840 --> 00:53:21,880
Speaker 1: Turkey and um, you know it was unfortunately, you know,

1045
00:53:21,920 --> 00:53:26,720
Speaker 1: a suicide bomber had decided he wanted they wanted to strike.

1046
00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:30,399
Speaker 1: Um not so far away from where we were, uh,

1047
00:53:30,480 --> 00:53:34,640
Speaker 1: you know, new kilometers miles away, and um, you know

1048
00:53:34,719 --> 00:53:38,600
Speaker 1: both times actually we heard the explosion. It was so loud,

1049
00:53:38,800 --> 00:53:42,440
Speaker 1: was like an earthquake almost, And so that was the craziest,

1050
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:47,160
Speaker 1: most serious part about being injured or being overseas was

1051
00:53:47,239 --> 00:53:51,840
Speaker 1: our experience with that, and you know, it was something

1052
00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:55,960
Speaker 1: that we lived with as a family. You know, we

1053
00:53:55,960 --> 00:53:58,399
Speaker 1: were scared for a while, but you know, we kind

1054
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:01,799
Speaker 1: of got over it after while and we had to

1055
00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:04,600
Speaker 1: move on because you know, in this day and the life,

1056
00:54:04,719 --> 00:54:07,279
Speaker 1: and so we were able to do that. We're able

1057
00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:10,080
Speaker 1: to regroup and uh, you know, we went on and

1058
00:54:10,120 --> 00:54:14,560
Speaker 1: have had a terrific season in those those years. Um,

1059
00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:19,480
Speaker 1: if if you could give the younger you some advice, like, hey, Khalid,

1060
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:23,880
Speaker 1: you're sixteen, you're north high school. If you here's some

1061
00:54:23,920 --> 00:54:27,160
Speaker 1: advice that that you could use now that you're you know,

1062
00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:31,600
Speaker 1: you're forty and you played seventeen years professional basketball, what

1063
00:54:31,640 --> 00:54:37,400
Speaker 1: would it be? I would say, No, I wouldn't be more. Um,

1064
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:41,200
Speaker 1: I would take that. You know, my eating habits more serious.

1065
00:54:41,239 --> 00:54:43,640
Speaker 1: You know I was. I was a young kid who

1066
00:54:43,640 --> 00:54:46,120
Speaker 1: thought he could eat anything because I was in the

1067
00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:48,640
Speaker 1: gym and every day and we all know it doesn't

1068
00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:51,080
Speaker 1: matter how many you know how much time he's spending

1069
00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:53,880
Speaker 1: the gym. If you're eating habits are not like you know,

1070
00:54:54,440 --> 00:54:56,239
Speaker 1: you're you're still gonna look the same and you're still

1071
00:54:56,239 --> 00:54:58,640
Speaker 1: gonna be the same. So I would take my eating

1072
00:54:58,680 --> 00:55:01,440
Speaker 1: habits a little bit more here years than I did.

1073
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:04,160
Speaker 1: And um, you know because later in my career I

1074
00:55:04,239 --> 00:55:07,160
Speaker 1: was able to uh, you know, to understand the things

1075
00:55:07,160 --> 00:55:10,040
Speaker 1: that I that I needed to eat and you know,

1076
00:55:10,080 --> 00:55:12,680
Speaker 1: and I was able to play you know, over sixteen

1077
00:55:12,719 --> 00:55:16,239
Speaker 1: years or substionally. So UM, I would That's what I

1078
00:55:16,239 --> 00:55:21,320
Speaker 1: would sell the younger uh elmine. And also you know, um,

1079
00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:23,520
Speaker 1: you know, being in the n b A, you have

1080
00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:25,760
Speaker 1: to respect that. And you know that's the best players

1081
00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:27,920
Speaker 1: in the world, So you have to respect that. And

1082
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,440
Speaker 1: so spending as much time in the gym if that

1083
00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:32,640
Speaker 1: has to be the number one thing, and so any

1084
00:55:32,680 --> 00:55:35,799
Speaker 1: young player coming up, that's what they should be concentrating on.

1085
00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:39,000
Speaker 1: And um, that's what I would tell the young elmin

1086
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:42,400
Speaker 1: to eat right and to put as much time h

1087
00:55:42,719 --> 00:55:46,319
Speaker 1: into the gym that needs to be. Um, you at

1088
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:50,919
Speaker 1: peace your piece with your career. Oh, I'm definitely am.

1089
00:55:51,560 --> 00:55:53,560
Speaker 1: I definitely AM. I wouldn't have liked to stay in

1090
00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:56,799
Speaker 1: the NBA longer of course. Um, you know that's a

1091
00:55:56,840 --> 00:56:00,120
Speaker 1: no brainer. But I had an opportunity to try. Was

1092
00:56:00,200 --> 00:56:07,040
Speaker 1: the world doug By playing basketball. It's pretty cool. The best,

1093
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:09,839
Speaker 1: coolest place, coolest place that you live, Like there's one

1094
00:56:09,840 --> 00:56:13,319
Speaker 1: place just living, coolest place. Wow. It's been so many

1095
00:56:13,360 --> 00:56:17,400
Speaker 1: and you know, I love Istanbul, I love televise, you know,

1096
00:56:17,440 --> 00:56:19,799
Speaker 1: I love Croatia every place that I have been, So

1097
00:56:20,239 --> 00:56:22,839
Speaker 1: every place that I've been has been great. And then

1098
00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:27,719
Speaker 1: that's the beautiful city, you know, beautiful people. Um. You know,

1099
00:56:27,880 --> 00:56:31,839
Speaker 1: so I would say, we're beware that I have been

1100
00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:35,120
Speaker 1: and just been unbelievable. All right, last thing you mentioned

1101
00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:38,120
Speaker 1: how you change your diet. But you do love food,

1102
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:41,200
Speaker 1: favorite thing you ate overseas, so you're like, man, this

1103
00:56:41,239 --> 00:56:44,680
Speaker 1: is my favorite thing. See that. The food and Turkey

1104
00:56:44,719 --> 00:56:48,200
Speaker 1: is unbelievable. Man, with the seasonings. You know they love

1105
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:54,880
Speaker 1: the barbecue. Um, the Turkish food is unbelievable. I love it. Um.

1106
00:56:55,239 --> 00:56:59,080
Speaker 1: You know an anyone dish, anyone dish, well, I like

1107
00:56:59,200 --> 00:57:02,160
Speaker 1: the diner cup job. You know it's a it's a

1108
00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:06,719
Speaker 1: little bit of a spicy um um meat read me

1109
00:57:07,239 --> 00:57:09,920
Speaker 1: beef of course, and they grill it. But it's just

1110
00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:13,960
Speaker 1: just the flavor that it has and it's just unbelievable. Man.

1111
00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:16,080
Speaker 1: You have to try and I can't explain that. My

1112
00:57:16,440 --> 00:57:18,720
Speaker 1: explanation wouldn't give it justice. You just have to try

1113
00:57:18,720 --> 00:57:21,960
Speaker 1: to get Donna kebab right. When you when you go

1114
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:24,760
Speaker 1: into gymstand now, now you you have your own camp,

1115
00:57:25,160 --> 00:57:29,440
Speaker 1: you're doing broadcasting. Um when when when you walk in,

1116
00:57:29,640 --> 00:57:33,040
Speaker 1: Like I had a buddy Minds producer, he's only twenty eight.

1117
00:57:33,040 --> 00:57:34,800
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I'm having clidelman and I'm so

1118
00:57:34,880 --> 00:57:37,440
Speaker 1: excited and he's like, I've heard that name wherever I

1119
00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:40,320
Speaker 1: heard it. How do you feel when when you walk

1120
00:57:40,360 --> 00:57:43,680
Speaker 1: into a gym, especially now like an au gim? What

1121
00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:45,760
Speaker 1: what's it feel like for people to know who you

1122
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,640
Speaker 1: are and all you've done? Oh? Man, it's fantastic. Every

1123
00:57:49,680 --> 00:57:55,840
Speaker 1: time I walk into a gym up team people come

1124
00:57:55,880 --> 00:57:58,480
Speaker 1: to me, tell me they to watch me, to respect

1125
00:57:58,480 --> 00:58:00,880
Speaker 1: me as a player. They you know, can I talk

1126
00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:03,160
Speaker 1: to their son? Uh? You know a lot of a

1127
00:58:03,160 --> 00:58:05,680
Speaker 1: lot of people understand that I'm training now and they

1128
00:58:05,760 --> 00:58:07,160
Speaker 1: get my number. They want me to get in the

1129
00:58:07,200 --> 00:58:09,880
Speaker 1: gym with their with their son or their you know whatever.

1130
00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:13,280
Speaker 1: So it's always been loved though It's always been like that.

1131
00:58:13,360 --> 00:58:16,320
Speaker 1: I guess I've I've been a player of the people,

1132
00:58:16,480 --> 00:58:19,520
Speaker 1: so to speak. Doug. You know, I'm only five nine

1133
00:58:19,520 --> 00:58:22,200
Speaker 1: and three quarters. You know, most of my career I

1134
00:58:22,560 --> 00:58:24,680
Speaker 1: be on the chubbier side, you know. So I'm like

1135
00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:29,360
Speaker 1: the average Joe of professional basketball or college basketball. So

1136
00:58:29,400 --> 00:58:32,240
Speaker 1: I think the average person really, um, you know, they

1137
00:58:32,480 --> 00:58:35,440
Speaker 1: have this bond with me, you know, And so I

1138
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:37,720
Speaker 1: think that's why I have the reception that I have

1139
00:58:37,880 --> 00:58:40,400
Speaker 1: every time I step into a gym that everybody, you know,

1140
00:58:40,440 --> 00:58:42,400
Speaker 1: they give me respect, they give me love, they show

1141
00:58:42,480 --> 00:58:44,520
Speaker 1: me love, and uh, you know, they want to know

1142
00:58:44,520 --> 00:58:47,160
Speaker 1: what I'm doing now. So you know, I'm very thankful

1143
00:58:47,240 --> 00:58:50,280
Speaker 1: for that, you know, being able to be recognized, um,

1144
00:58:50,440 --> 00:58:52,720
Speaker 1: for the you know, the the hard work that I

1145
00:58:52,720 --> 00:58:55,680
Speaker 1: put into the game. And it's just fantastic to be

1146
00:58:55,760 --> 00:58:58,040
Speaker 1: remembered for your hard work, because that's all we want

1147
00:58:58,080 --> 00:59:00,040
Speaker 1: to do. We want to live, leave a leg to

1148
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:02,760
Speaker 1: see for our sales. And for someone to recognize you

1149
00:59:03,200 --> 00:59:05,360
Speaker 1: as a great player or a type of player that

1150
00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:07,840
Speaker 1: they looked up to, Uh, it means the world. And

1151
00:59:08,120 --> 00:59:10,720
Speaker 1: I'm thankful for Yeah. And You're a winner, right, and

1152
00:59:10,880 --> 00:59:14,360
Speaker 1: that's that's the big thing is you're You're hey, Khali Man,

1153
00:59:14,640 --> 00:59:16,560
Speaker 1: I love catching up with this. This is so great.

1154
00:59:17,160 --> 00:59:19,840
Speaker 1: We'll catch up some here offline and talking about other stuff.

1155
00:59:19,880 --> 00:59:21,440
Speaker 1: But thanks so much for spending time with us in

1156
00:59:21,480 --> 00:59:24,520
Speaker 1: the All Ball Podcast. Oh yeah, Doug, I'm tuning in

1157
00:59:24,640 --> 00:59:26,840
Speaker 1: to you man. I appreciate it and I can't wait

1158
00:59:26,920 --> 00:59:29,240
Speaker 1: to hear your next big thing. Be sure to catch

1159
00:59:29,320 --> 00:59:31,840
Speaker 1: live edition so the Doug dot Leaps Show weekdays in

1160
00:59:31,920 --> 00:59:35,720
Speaker 1: noon eastern three pm Pacific. All right, my thanks to

1161
00:59:35,760 --> 00:59:37,920
Speaker 1: Kalid l I mean, thank you for downloading the All

1162
00:59:38,000 --> 00:59:40,120
Speaker 1: Ball Podcast. Don't be afraid to retweet it, send it

1163
00:59:40,200 --> 00:59:43,520
Speaker 1: to a friend, Download, subscribe, subscribe and rate it. Make

1164
00:59:43,520 --> 00:59:45,200
Speaker 1: sure you tune into the Doug Gotlap Show three to

1165
00:59:45,240 --> 00:59:48,480
Speaker 1: six eastern twelve three Pacific, everyday Fox Sports Radio I

1166
00:59:48,560 --> 00:59:52,600
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. You can download every show as well. Thank

1167
00:59:52,680 --> 00:59:56,640
Speaker 1: you so much for listening. I'm Doug Gottleiban. This is

1168
00:59:56,680 --> 00:59:57,040
Speaker 1: All Ball