Speaker 1: This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network
Speaker 1: search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your podso welcome
Speaker 1: into Coach Check, the official podcast of the Delaware Bluecoats,
Speaker 1: the NBA G League affiliate of the Philadelphia seventy six Ers.
Speaker 1: Coach Check is presented by land Rover Wilmington. Stop by
Speaker 1: their location at forty three ten Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington, Delaware,
Speaker 1: or visit land Rover Wilmington dot com for more information.
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Murphy along with Bluecoats Ambassador of Basketball Joe Richmond,
Speaker 1: and we are pleased to be joined on this episode
Speaker 1: by the head coach of the University of Maryland Eastern
Speaker 1: Shore Where men's basketball program, a former Delaware Blue Coats
Speaker 1: assistant coach himself, Jason crafton Coach crafton Welcome to the show.
Speaker 1: It's great to chat with you again. I know we'll
Speaker 1: get to this in a little bit about how your
Speaker 1: team is not currently playing right now, but how are
Speaker 1: things overall with you? Everything is great, you know, I
Speaker 1: think it's a it's a tough time for everybody, for
Speaker 1: the teams that are playing and also the teams that
Speaker 1: are not playing. I saw some G League teams opting
Speaker 1: out the other day, you know, So this COVID thing
Speaker 1: is affecting everybody in different ways. But we've taken a
Speaker 1: lot of extra time to just continue to push our
Speaker 1: program forward with you know, cultivating and strengthen our relationships
Speaker 1: with our players and two of some things in the community.
Speaker 1: So I'm excited about our guys. They got a three
Speaker 1: point two team GPA this fall, so we were excited
Speaker 1: about that. We're just finding creative ways to stay connected
Speaker 1: with them and keep pushing the program forward. And Joe,
Speaker 1: how are you doing yourself? I mean, it's been a
Speaker 1: little while since we recorded one of these, but we'll
Speaker 1: better way to get back into the swing of things
Speaker 1: than with a coach who is only one season removed
Speaker 1: from his time with the Blue Coats, A great guy
Speaker 1: in coach crafton Man, it's good. It's like an early
Speaker 1: holiday present right here, you know what I mean. It's
Speaker 1: a good time a year and it is the best time.
Speaker 1: And Coach, you look good. Man. It's so good to
Speaker 1: see you, and I'm glad all is well with you. Man.
Speaker 1: Appreciate that. Appreciate that coming from the ambassador of basketball,
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of people say I have a
Speaker 1: lot of energy. You know, Joe Richmond, he takes he
Speaker 1: gets the championship trophy for energy. So I'll just try
Speaker 1: to see if I can keep up with him on
Speaker 1: this on this call from you, coach, the energy is
Speaker 1: unmatched for sure from Joe Richmond. But to our listeners
Speaker 1: out there, real quick, some housekeeping, Thanks for tuning in
Speaker 1: as always, and remember to subscribe to the seventy Sixers
Speaker 1: podcast network if you haven't done so already. Quick rundown,
Speaker 1: we'll get into coach Crafton's current job, will go down memory,
Speaker 1: relaying a little bit about his career at large in
Speaker 1: the coaching space. We'll talk a little bit from there
Speaker 1: about his time with the Blue Coats during that twenty
Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen season, the seventy six ers organization as a whole,
Speaker 1: and a little bit maybe about the G League and
Speaker 1: it's tied of the NBA. Before we have even more
Speaker 1: fun on the show, and we wrap things up with
Speaker 1: our which will be our second ever Big Three draft.
Speaker 1: Will be drafting the best sports rivalries and there's a
Speaker 1: reason for that that we'll get into with the Army
Speaker 1: Navy game coming up. If you listen to the Jared
Speaker 1: brown Ridge episode out there. We drafted the Best Basketball
Speaker 1: Movies with him and that was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna try it out again, and then we'll
Speaker 1: wrap things up at the Buzzer with some final thoughts
Speaker 1: with coach but Coach crafton let's start, I mentioned it already.
Speaker 1: Rewind back to November nineteenth or middle of November, when
Speaker 1: words started officially coming out from the University of Maryland
Speaker 1: Eastern Shore about the athletic programs not competing out of
Speaker 1: an abundance of caution related to COVID ninth team. What
Speaker 1: was the message to your players around that time and
Speaker 1: now the message going forward from here. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: I think we kind of had an idea that it
Speaker 1: was possible. You know, our school was very cautious with
Speaker 1: everything from the start, you know, and taking a lot
Speaker 1: of extra precautions. We canceled our non conference season in September,
Speaker 1: so we were going to definitely try to not have
Speaker 1: as much exposure and just focus on our conference play,
Speaker 1: which I thought was a great idea. You know, we
Speaker 1: could really just kind of hone in and just kind
Speaker 1: of be strategic in our travel and not have to
Speaker 1: get on planes, and the league has split things up
Speaker 1: into divisions, so everything was going to be bus trips
Speaker 1: for us between two and three hours, so you could
Speaker 1: go down and back in the same day. So we
Speaker 1: were really excited about competing in the conference only, which
Speaker 1: is what the Patriot League is doing as well. But
Speaker 1: then as numbers started to spike up in Maryland and
Speaker 1: the dynamics started to change, and you know, you're also
Speaker 1: see and how much these stuff's cost, you know, to
Speaker 1: test the institution through it be in our best interest to,
Speaker 1: you know, to just keep our players safe with one
Speaker 1: of a few programs in a country that had no
Speaker 1: positive COVID testing entire balls, so we were able to
Speaker 1: train and do it safely. And so that was a
Speaker 1: decision that was made and we told our guys, and
Speaker 1: I think our guys have just done a great job
Speaker 1: of being an understanding to, you know, to what we're
Speaker 1: trying to do in terms of keeping them safe and
Speaker 1: putting ourselves in the best position to be able to
Speaker 1: go out next season when there's a vaccine in play,
Speaker 1: and you know, we have some more time to kind
Speaker 1: of just be prepared to go into this and test
Speaker 1: this frequency frequently as we need to do it. I
Speaker 1: like that because I think at this point in time,
Speaker 1: which is a challenge for everybody, As you said, coach,
Speaker 1: no takeaway from the past, but I think your crew
Speaker 1: that you have right now is at an advantage not
Speaker 1: just because of you, but your whole coaching staff to
Speaker 1: teach them how to adjust to this, because you know,
Speaker 1: basketball itself is just a game of adjustments, and this
Speaker 1: is just another adjustment or your players and everybody to
Speaker 1: just have to deal with right now. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: think you know, it gives us an interesting opportunity here
Speaker 1: to find new ways and creative ways to build relationships
Speaker 1: with our players. So you know, just stuff like this
Speaker 1: getting on a zoom call with our guys and try
Speaker 1: to do different social distancing things and having speakers come
Speaker 1: in and speak to them. But I was really really
Speaker 1: excited with everything going on for our guys to get
Speaker 1: at three point two GPA during this time. Just salute
Speaker 1: to those guys. They really locked out in the classroom
Speaker 1: and we're going to carry that progress over as we
Speaker 1: built this program up, you know, from the classroom to
Speaker 1: the court, and we're excited about that. We got some
Speaker 1: great kids. Yes, Yeah, it was your first season this
Speaker 1: past year, and before we get into kind of how
Speaker 1: you arrived at UMS, I want to just talk to
Speaker 1: you about that transition. You go from the Blue Coats
Speaker 1: to being a head coach again at the collegiate level.
Speaker 1: So reflecting on your first season, what was that transition?
Speaker 1: Like I tell you what, it was interesting and not
Speaker 1: a lot of people know. I try to get this
Speaker 1: job over ten years ago with the same athlet director,
Speaker 1: Keith Davidson was an assistant coach at the Naval Academy
Speaker 1: and we stayed in touch, we became great friends, and
Speaker 1: he became a mentor to me. So when it came
Speaker 1: around full circle and the opportunity presented itself, I was
Speaker 1: excited to just get you know, to get back and
Speaker 1: be a head Division one coach. I really enjoyed my
Speaker 1: time with the Blue Coach last year, but the opportunity
Speaker 1: to be a head Division one coach, you know, at
Speaker 1: a place like Mariley Eastern Shore that I think has
Speaker 1: so much potential was exciting to me. So last year
Speaker 1: was a was a hurricane over the year, just taking
Speaker 1: over a situation, you know, and I got the job
Speaker 1: later in the spring, so, you know, getting the staff hired,
Speaker 1: bringing eight new recruits and then trying to infuse a
Speaker 1: tough brand of basketball. You know, it was kind of
Speaker 1: a whirlwind, but our guys they did a great job.
Speaker 1: It was top ten in the first semester and steals
Speaker 1: per game. We finished in the top three or four
Speaker 1: in the league in defense, so we set a stage
Speaker 1: for being an intense defensive program. Now we got to
Speaker 1: just make some strides in terms of making some shots,
Speaker 1: you know, and we feel like we upgraded our roster
Speaker 1: and recruiting and added some shooters. So we're excited about
Speaker 1: the feature. Joe, Joe, real quick, I'm gonna hold you
Speaker 1: there because I do want to follow up with coach
Speaker 1: on that idea of kind of manifesting that or going
Speaker 1: for that job or wanting it at twenty six, because
Speaker 1: I think that is an awesome and interesting story. You
Speaker 1: do have to do a quick read. But I'm coming
Speaker 1: back to that, and it's going to segue us into
Speaker 1: Coach Crafton's coaching career and timeline even further. So there's
Speaker 1: more on the way. But first, Christiana Care as doctors, nurses,
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Speaker 1: Visit Christianacare dot org. So you said it, coach, you
Speaker 1: were seeking out that job, the same job you have
Speaker 1: now at age twenty six. You ended up becoming a
Speaker 1: college head coach at age thirty. What is it about
Speaker 1: out that concept or what do you associate with that
Speaker 1: concept of seeking out a specific vision or goal and
Speaker 1: kind of manifesting where you want to work. I'm a
Speaker 1: man of faith and feel like my career has always
Speaker 1: been guided by by My Lord and saving Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, when we're basketball players, we
Speaker 1: always want to try to be in the NBA, right
Speaker 1: And then you know, so in college, I'm a Division
Speaker 1: two player, and my entire career I still thought it
Speaker 1: was still possible. And today, you know, even though I
Speaker 1: wasn't you know, that level of a player. So I
Speaker 1: knew transition into coaching was something that was going to be,
Speaker 1: you know, for me, and worked out of camps in
Speaker 1: college and you know, it just hustled and grinded. The
Speaker 1: story of how I met Jay Wright is pretty funny.
Speaker 1: When I kind of stalked Jay Wright to I used to,
Speaker 1: you know, work their camps, and I got in good
Speaker 1: with the secretary and she would tell me what recruiting
Speaker 1: events he would be at, and if I had a
Speaker 1: day off from practice or something, I'd find my way
Speaker 1: to be at a recruiting event. I've been a coach, right.
Speaker 1: I'd pay for the coaches packet, you know, for money
Speaker 1: I paid from tutoring on campus, and I'd buy a
Speaker 1: polo from the bookstore. I would be out there like
Speaker 1: I was recruiting. And so that was how to kind
Speaker 1: of how I tried to get myself in the mix
Speaker 1: to get this job. I was twenty six. I flew
Speaker 1: to the MEAC tournament and found my way to get
Speaker 1: a pass, to end up in the media room, to
Speaker 1: bump into the athletic director here, Keith Davidson at that time,
Speaker 1: and try to put my name into to be the
Speaker 1: head coach here. So that that's kind of what that
Speaker 1: journey was like. I just always enjoyed being a part
Speaker 1: of the game, enjoy the competitiveness of the game. But
Speaker 1: more importantly, I really liked just mentoring young men and
Speaker 1: seeing them that progression from them, not just growing as players,
Speaker 1: but growing as men from being a freshman wept behind
Speaker 1: the ears to being a senior graduating getting their degrees,
Speaker 1: going on to play professionally, or or being a professional
Speaker 1: in the real world. So I enjoyed the journey. I
Speaker 1: was kind of going same direction with Matt because, as
Speaker 1: you said, he's a mentor to you. Do you think
Speaker 1: he saw something you had twenty six and say, hey,
Speaker 1: you need a little bit because you still got that
Speaker 1: intensity about your coach. You use that word a lot.
Speaker 1: You got last Steward or You're that was at you know,
Speaker 1: you lose that played for the tense coach and fag
Speaker 1: minto at Cotton State. You know you got a lot
Speaker 1: of that around you and that intensity. So did you
Speaker 1: think he saw that in you then and say, man, listen,
Speaker 1: go keep going, get some of that out of you
Speaker 1: because you still was a player and maybe you at
Speaker 1: that time you've probably been so hard on the players.
Speaker 1: Maybe he saw that in you. Do you think that's
Speaker 1: what it was that say hey, you go get some
Speaker 1: more season and relax and bring that intensity down, kid,
Speaker 1: You know what I mean to be able to you
Speaker 1: can kill? Yeah, I think that you know, at that
Speaker 1: time that was you know, I'm a part of the
Speaker 1: same era as like Shocker Smart Will Weed. You know,
Speaker 1: we kind of came into the game at the same time.
Speaker 1: We were all video coordinators, director of basketball operations, you know,
Speaker 1: at the similar time Jamie and Christian like, I'm a
Speaker 1: part of that young coach's wave that we kind of
Speaker 1: got into Division one early. And so I think I probably,
Speaker 1: I know, I come with a lot of energy. Now
Speaker 1: I can only imagine what I was saying and how
Speaker 1: I was saying it twelve years ago. But I think
Speaker 1: I think I left an impression on him that this
Speaker 1: was a guy to keep on his radar. And you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of advice to a lot of young coaches
Speaker 1: out there. A lot of times when you don't get
Speaker 1: a job, sometimes people get mad they didn't get the job,
Speaker 1: and they don't stay in touch, they don't stay connected.
Speaker 1: You know, I never was disappointed in any job I
Speaker 1: never got. I always stayed connected. So the relationship I
Speaker 1: cultivated with my appoletic director here Keith Davidson lined it
Speaker 1: up so he could see the maturity over the years.
Speaker 1: And now this guy was okay, he was young and
Speaker 1: energetic at twenty six, but now He's a season thirty
Speaker 1: eight year old professional that's got a lot of layers
Speaker 1: of experience, you know, from Villainova to Navy, to the
Speaker 1: G League to being a head Division two coach where
Speaker 1: it was a lot seamless to you know, make that
Speaker 1: decision to bring New York. So we're gonna get more
Speaker 1: into the NBA world in a minute here. But about
Speaker 1: your career and some of those stops you just mentioned
Speaker 1: just for the listener. You were the head coach at
Speaker 1: your alma mater, Nayak College in New York twenty twelve
Speaker 1: through eighteen. You spent the beginning of your career as
Speaker 1: an assistant, as you said, the United States Naval Academy
Speaker 1: in Villanova University. Who are some of your mentors in coaching?
Speaker 1: I mean you worked for with Jay Wright, Billy Lange,
Speaker 1: a name that Sixers fans will know, and countless others. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: first I got to give a shout out to my
Speaker 1: guy coach, Lowry Stewart, my associate coach here. Shout out
Speaker 1: to the noise is what they used to call them
Speaker 1: back at Philly. So far player does a great job
Speaker 1: for our staff and our players here. But a lot
Speaker 1: of mentors. Man, I've been a lot of great coaching.
Speaker 1: You know, Jay Rice will be a future Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1: Two National Championships, three final fours, a ton of guy
Speaker 1: that went to the NBA. Jay really showed me how
Speaker 1: to run a program. He taught me that the details matter.
Speaker 1: And when I say details, like the details and everything
Speaker 1: from the way the logo gets put onto the to
Speaker 1: the jersey, to the you know, to to you know,
Speaker 1: making sure we've got the right bus, to the time
Speaker 1: we eat before a game, to ruming the guys with
Speaker 1: certain partners on the road and switching it up and
Speaker 1: cultivating team chemistry in that regard how we do video,
Speaker 1: when we do video, you know, when we practice, how
Speaker 1: we practice, and all the details that that that that
Speaker 1: make him just an elite coach and one of the
Speaker 1: best in the business. I got in at twenty one
Speaker 1: and he showed me, you know, all those things, and
Speaker 1: when I messed up, he got on me and he
Speaker 1: let me know the way to do it. So I
Speaker 1: lean on him a lot, just for you know, just
Speaker 1: running certain things by him and just and just really
Speaker 1: not even always just conversations, just continue to watch him
Speaker 1: grow as a coach because when I was with him,
Speaker 1: he was super young at that time. You know that
Speaker 1: I saw the energetic, youthful Jay Right. And now I've
Speaker 1: had a chance to watch him blossom and grow in
Speaker 1: his career as well. So it's pretty cool. Billy Lange
Speaker 1: was a guy that that really kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: found me if you would say, you know, like if
Speaker 1: you were recruiting players and find a player. Billy kind
Speaker 1: of found me as a young guy working billing over
Speaker 1: basketball camp and saw something in me. And he was
Speaker 1: the one that kind of presented me to coach Right
Speaker 1: and got me into business. So and he was with
Speaker 1: the Sixers for a while and he helped me come
Speaker 1: on to become a part of that organization. So Billy Lange,
Speaker 1: Jay Right, those are guys that have been really influential
Speaker 1: in my career. And Pickney as well, Joe Jones, guys
Speaker 1: that were former build Over assistance. Those guys have been
Speaker 1: guys that have really stood out and I kind of
Speaker 1: guided my career. It must have been the Villanova polo
Speaker 1: shirt if you had it on at the camps that
Speaker 1: called Billy Lange's attention. But seriously, Joe, Joe Richmond coach
Speaker 1: crafton he worked with, I mean a lot of talent
Speaker 1: into dudes in his career, but Villanova time you're talking
Speaker 1: Kyle Lowry was was on those teams. So that's that's
Speaker 1: incredible right there. Yeah, he has some guys we had Kyle.
Speaker 1: Kyle was a freshman and uh, you know, we showed
Speaker 1: him the ropes of just kind of transitioning into college.
Speaker 1: You know, basketball was never a problem for him. You know,
Speaker 1: he transitioned from you know, coming from Philly, being a
Speaker 1: tough hearted those player. He brought that DNA to our program.
Speaker 1: A lot of what you see in today's Villanova guard,
Speaker 1: you know, stems back from that toughness that came from
Speaker 1: Kyle Lowry. You know, the Randy foy is, the Alan
Speaker 1: Rays that that recruiting class though, they kind of got
Speaker 1: the villanov Guard thing going and I was uh incredibly
Speaker 1: honored to be a part of the you know, builing
Speaker 1: over during those beginning stages and just helping that program
Speaker 1: get going. And uh so, yeah, it was good times.
Speaker 1: And yeah, Kyle teaching Kyle how to you know, take
Speaker 1: care of his academics and all that type of stuff
Speaker 1: was was an interesting journey. But it was cool to
Speaker 1: see him grow a mature as a man. All right, guys,
Speaker 1: let's talk blue Coats and Sixers now a little bit
Speaker 1: because we do have to get to our draft. And
Speaker 1: I know we've already been going a little while now.
Speaker 1: So I mentioned coach, you were on the Bluecoat staff
Speaker 1: two years ago or two seasons ago, twenty eighteen nineteen
Speaker 1: G League season, And I think a name that we
Speaker 1: should talk about that Sixers fans would be excited to
Speaker 1: hear your perspective on is Shake Milton. Because he's a
Speaker 1: guy that it was his rookie year when you were
Speaker 1: on the Blue Coat staff, and I could run down
Speaker 1: the numbers, but I think everyone knows he had a
Speaker 1: really good rookie season on a two way contract with
Speaker 1: the Blue Coats. So what has it been like for
Speaker 1: you to watch Shake Milton step into a bigger role
Speaker 1: as an important piece for the Sixers. Shake and Bake, oh, man,
Speaker 1: you know what. His journey is incredible. Every once in
Speaker 1: a while I hit him up on social media and
Speaker 1: just tell him how proud I am of him. You know,
Speaker 1: I remember in Sixers training camp before the G League started,
Speaker 1: he had like a back issue um and was and
Speaker 1: couldn't work out and I remember him just being on
Speaker 1: the sides. He could only do ball handling drills and
Speaker 1: some spot shooting. But his his he just watched and
Speaker 1: you know, for all young players like to just know,
Speaker 1: like he could barely move for the first few weeks
Speaker 1: of training camp and to see him just watch and
Speaker 1: just be able to put pieces together and um, you know,
Speaker 1: and grass the offense and grass the defensive concepts, so
Speaker 1: that when it was time for him to start playing.
Speaker 1: I mean, he just hit the ground running. He's a
Speaker 1: great kid. He's got a great IQ. He could shoot
Speaker 1: the heck out of the basketball, and uh, he was
Speaker 1: a fun guy to have a part of our team,
Speaker 1: and great personality. He was early to practice, stay late.
Speaker 1: I'm just so proud to see that kid go out
Speaker 1: there take his bumps and then and also recover and
Speaker 1: have and recover and have great games for the Sixers.
Speaker 1: So he's got a bright future. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1: One thing. When I watched you, I had so much
Speaker 1: respect for y'all. Always, you know, I always gravitated to
Speaker 1: org you. I know you were going to come out
Speaker 1: in the community and do some book reading with me
Speaker 1: at the school coach, and it was always you always
Speaker 1: thinking about developing, whether it was in the community, whether
Speaker 1: it's just somebody watching. And I thought that was the
Speaker 1: thing that you bought most to the program for us.
Speaker 1: I just I just watched how you You just had
Speaker 1: a way with the players, whether it was Zaia, whether
Speaker 1: it was Shake, you just had a way. I'm looking,
Speaker 1: I'm listening to you when you said you still had
Speaker 1: that angst to want to play and want to play,
Speaker 1: when you got this kid mentor on your team that says,
Speaker 1: I want to be a pro ball player. When you
Speaker 1: hear that from your players, did you go to them
Speaker 1: and tell them about those stories about the Shake Mill ends,
Speaker 1: the Kyle Lowry's that kind of calm them down and say, hey,
Speaker 1: there's a process to this, because I know that's your thing.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I let them know about that process. I
Speaker 1: let them know that. You know, Kyle Lowry, there was
Speaker 1: about ten point guards ready ahead of him back here.
Speaker 1: You know, back then, Sebastian tell a Fair, you know,
Speaker 1: Sean Livingston, you know a ton of other guys that
Speaker 1: were ready ahead of Kyle Lowry. And you know, he
Speaker 1: was kind of the guy that was like, could he
Speaker 1: really play in the Big East. A lot of people
Speaker 1: didn't see it, you know, but we did. And in
Speaker 1: his journey, how hard he worked to put himself in
Speaker 1: that position. You know, what Shake Milton has done to
Speaker 1: put himself in the position that he's in now to
Speaker 1: be an MBA roster player. You know Zaire and what
Speaker 1: he went through almost dying. I mean I had a
Speaker 1: heart for Zire man that one of the best kids.
Speaker 1: I've ever been around him, you know, in his game,
Speaker 1: you know, and what he went through. So I love
Speaker 1: the journey, I love the process. Shout out to Norvelle
Speaker 1: Pell who came on and spoke to our team on
Speaker 1: a zoom call and just talking about his journey. You know,
Speaker 1: I embraced a guy like Norvelle. I loved his story.
Speaker 1: I'm just a big guy. I love. I love the game,
Speaker 1: but I love the process. I love the story. I
Speaker 1: love connecting with people and whether it's through basketball or
Speaker 1: just through conversation, seeing them, you know, become the best
Speaker 1: version of themselves. So that that's enjoyable for me. We
Speaker 1: do got to get to the draft in a second,
Speaker 1: but more of a broad question about the G League.
Speaker 1: As someone who was recently coached in the G League,
Speaker 1: how would you describe its current relationship and importance for
Speaker 1: that matter to NBA teams. Well, I think it's really important,
Speaker 1: you know. And I loved what the Delaware Bluecoats, the
Speaker 1: way the organization is set up, you know. I think
Speaker 1: it's just got great people, you know, in terms of
Speaker 1: you know, like a guy like Joe Richmond that comes
Speaker 1: around and just brings the community. Like our guys during
Speaker 1: that time they had a chance to not to in
Speaker 1: the NBA, you don't always get that college setting, you know.
Speaker 1: I felt like we had the unique balance of what
Speaker 1: college guys get in terms of being in the community
Speaker 1: and also that NBA player experience. So in terms of, like,
Speaker 1: you know, our guys got a lot of exposure to
Speaker 1: doing things and being around and I think that stuff
Speaker 1: was pretty cool to be able to see them engage
Speaker 1: in that. So I think that the G League is
Speaker 1: really important based off how you use it, you know.
Speaker 1: And I think the Sixers organization uses it as a
Speaker 1: legit developmental ground to not just make the players better
Speaker 1: as basketball players, but to help cultivate them as better people. Joe,
Speaker 1: he's buttering us up a little bit, giving you a
Speaker 1: shout out there, and I'll tell you any anytime, coach,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm available anytime. I'm ready to go. He
Speaker 1: got me ready back. I don't see a lot of
Speaker 1: G League programs do it the way that the Sixers
Speaker 1: one does, and so it's a special experience. So sometimes
Speaker 1: if we talk about the G League as a whole,
Speaker 1: it's tough, like I isolated to that experience, you know,
Speaker 1: even the way management allowed the G League coaches to
Speaker 1: be able to be a part of the NBA staff meetings,
Speaker 1: like we were able to be there, and so our
Speaker 1: guys always got when I see Jared brown Witz talking,
Speaker 1: you know, and I think about the Cam Olivers, and
Speaker 1: I think about the Matt Farrells and all those guys
Speaker 1: that we have, they got an opportunity to feel like
Speaker 1: they were a part of an organization. And I don't
Speaker 1: believe you get that in every G League organization, you know.
Speaker 1: So I think the Blue coach doing a tremendous job
Speaker 1: of player development with the people Connor Johnson, you know,
Speaker 1: Matt Lily, you know, everybody in the organization is just
Speaker 1: around and make him self accessible, like even Matt Murphy,
Speaker 1: Like you don't just do the game and leave like
Speaker 1: you will always around you know, like so people were
Speaker 1: around and you got that sense of family, and that's
Speaker 1: why I think it's a legit culture there that's going
Speaker 1: to continue to push forward. Very true, very true. And
Speaker 1: we are going to get to the draft right now.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be quick, it's gonna be fun. But first,
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Speaker 1: so now the Big Three Draft. It's only our second one.
Speaker 1: Our first one with Jared Brown rich who you just mentioned,
Speaker 1: went quick. I know you might be going off the
Speaker 1: top of your head a little bit more. Coach Joe
Speaker 1: Richmond's got a notepad in front of him, so it's
Speaker 1: probably filled with who he wants in this draft. I
Speaker 1: got it on some notes somewhere around here. But coach,
Speaker 1: you got the first pick, and I think before we
Speaker 1: started recording that I might have tied you up for
Speaker 1: your pick because of the timeliness of it and your background,
Speaker 1: but maybe you'll surprise us. So who are you taking
Speaker 1: Number one overall. It's best sports rivalries. It's our Big
Speaker 1: Three Draft, the Bluecoats Big Three Draft. We'll each get
Speaker 1: three picks in a snake draft format and you're up first.
Speaker 1: I know you think I'm gonna go a certain direction,
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna freestyle. I'm on you right now, and
Speaker 1: I'm gonna take you back to the nineties and I'm
Speaker 1: going to Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. Michael Scottie Pippett,
Speaker 1: Rick Mulhorne. I'm lee with the Last Dance. We got
Speaker 1: that up close and personally with the Last Dance documentary.
Speaker 1: I like that. I like you mix it up a
Speaker 1: little bit. Yeah. Oh man, all right, Joe, I let
Speaker 1: you go second last time. So now I get to
Speaker 1: go second, you go third. You have back to back picks.
Speaker 1: I'm going college level Duke North Carolina college basketball is
Speaker 1: going to be my first pick. You just that atmosphere,
Speaker 1: whether they're playing at UNC or at Duke, the students
Speaker 1: camping out for I think like weeks a week in advance,
Speaker 1: when they get the fans back in there full go.
Speaker 1: That's one of my favorites to watch every year. I'm
Speaker 1: picking Duke UNC. See y'all want to stick with basketball,
Speaker 1: so that's why I'm always the I'm the mature one here,
Speaker 1: so I can kind of reel y'all live. We're gonna
Speaker 1: stick with the nineties. I got one for you, and
Speaker 1: this was the toughest robbery ever. Uh tie your hardy
Speaker 1: Nancy Kerrigan. Oh that one got ugly. Yes there there
Speaker 1: that might not remember, but she pulled the Billy club
Speaker 1: out for that one. That's good because you go you
Speaker 1: you brought in an individual rivalry which are not off
Speaker 1: limits here. And you have another pick as well as
Speaker 1: you send it back down the board, Joe, so you
Speaker 1: can snag your second pick here, okay, and I'm in
Speaker 1: my second pick. I gotta go with it. Y'all know it.
Speaker 1: Eagles Cowboys best robbery in football. That's a good one.
Speaker 1: That was on my list for sure. The passion between
Speaker 1: you got America's team and then for us locally seeing
Speaker 1: the Eagles fans and how they react to it. It's
Speaker 1: always good every single time, no matter how bad the
Speaker 1: NFC East might be this year? Am I right? But
Speaker 1: we'll see. They could be one and twelve, we could
Speaker 1: be oh and ten and oh matter what what we
Speaker 1: play is like, uh, I'm gonna leave one on the
Speaker 1: board with the risk of not getting it back on
Speaker 1: the go around here. But I'm gonna go Baseball Yankees
Speaker 1: Red Sox classic rivalry. I spent my college years in
Speaker 1: the Bronx at Fordham, so I kind of got a
Speaker 1: little taste of the Yankees fans. I went to a
Speaker 1: game a few years ago, not a Yankees Red Sox game,
Speaker 1: but just a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. The
Speaker 1: history between those two teams historic franchises. So I'll take
Speaker 1: the Yankees and the Red Sox and Coach crafton's up again. Now, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm going back and forth with this. I've
Speaker 1: had a chance to be a part of some incredible rivalries,
Speaker 1: but I gotta go Army Navy. You know, I gotta
Speaker 1: go Army Navy. And because that was such a cool rivalry,
Speaker 1: not just in one sport, across the board. I mean
Speaker 1: that just pure hatred that was exhibited was incredible. I mean,
Speaker 1: you could be having a terrible season. If you beat Army,
Speaker 1: you you might as well have won if you had
Speaker 1: been went to the final four. You come back the
Speaker 1: next day and all is forgiven. So the Army Navy robbery,
Speaker 1: not just in football and basketball, just as a whole.
Speaker 1: Incredible atmospheres to being in the college sports. And you
Speaker 1: have another one as well. It's gonna be your final pick, coach.
Speaker 1: But I've never been to Army Navy. Have you mean?
Speaker 1: I'm assuming Coach Crafton's been to the football game. Have
Speaker 1: you Have you been in the football game? No, I
Speaker 1: never went to one. Even when I was in the Navy,
Speaker 1: I never got to go to one. Oh you're in
Speaker 1: a navy shout out, shout out to you, man. I
Speaker 1: was actually commissioned finished as a lieutenant man. Oh, well,
Speaker 1: I'm really absolutely J J J. Good stuff. And I
Speaker 1: think Coach Crafton, you have another chance. It's kind of
Speaker 1: a sleeper pick, and I don't want to steer you anyway.
Speaker 1: But Jamir Nelson the new assistant GM for the Blue
Speaker 1: Coat to Saint Joe's Guy, the Holy War Villanova Saint
Speaker 1: Joe's it's just an option. But you can go wherever
Speaker 1: you want. That That's what was when I said, I've
Speaker 1: been apart a lot of great robberies, that's the Army
Speaker 1: Navy was great. And then that Saint Joe's Villanova Rovalry
Speaker 1: was incredible. You know, I think you know playing that
Speaker 1: game at Saint Joe's playing it at Villanover. I mean
Speaker 1: one time they clipped us man. They had Delonte and
Speaker 1: Jamir and that team was rocking and rolling. You know
Speaker 1: Wolst John Bryant, who a former Sixes assistant. JB was
Speaker 1: on man team. They had a squad man and they
Speaker 1: actually came in and got us one year. We got
Speaker 1: him back the following year. But uh yeah, shout out
Speaker 1: Jamir Nelson. See he's getting some front office work. Great guy,
Speaker 1: heck of a player, small dude man, but will come
Speaker 1: out of nowhere and just give you buckets. That's Saint
Speaker 1: Joe's billing over robbery, the Holy Wars they call it
Speaker 1: was always a great one. So I'll make my last pick,
Speaker 1: and then Joe will make his last pick. Just a
Speaker 1: few minutes left, and then we'll squeeze in one or
Speaker 1: two questions at the buzzer before we wrap things up.
Speaker 1: I will go with you could go Ohio State, Michigan.
Speaker 1: Could go with an NBA rivalry Celtics Lakers six or
Speaker 1: Celtics m Now he just thrown them all out. I'm
Speaker 1: giving you a chance to pick whatever I don't pick,
Speaker 1: I guess Joe, I'll quickly, I'll go with I'll go
Speaker 1: with six or Celtics, just to play to the hometown
Speaker 1: crowd a little bit, and then you finish use up, Joe, Well, coach.
Speaker 1: That took my eyes from the beginning. It was the
Speaker 1: it was Chicago Detroit. But I'm gonna go one more
Speaker 1: individual for me for my ever Sugar Ray letter, Roberto Durant. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm a boxing dude, and the fight this weekend was
Speaker 1: a good fight Spencer Garcia. But when I grew up,
Speaker 1: that's was that was it. That was the fights, That's
Speaker 1: what you wanted to see, and it tore so much,
Speaker 1: specially you want to know mys fight, win the rank, quit,
Speaker 1: what he say, he didn't, what he did, good stuff,
Speaker 1: good stuff. I think that was pretty balanced draft. Um.
Speaker 1: I think we'll throw it up on social media and
Speaker 1: let let any of our Bluecoats fans chime in with
Speaker 1: anything that we we missed or that they would have
Speaker 1: picked themselves quickly at the buzzer. My last question, and
Speaker 1: I'll leave time for Joe, is when you're not around
Speaker 1: the game, coach, what's your favorite hobby. I'm always curious
Speaker 1: what people are watching, what they're they're doing for exercise,
Speaker 1: whatever it might be. So what's your favorite hobby or two?
Speaker 1: I love the weight train. I love to get in
Speaker 1: the gym U Joe might remember in between my workout
Speaker 1: sessions before the game, I would go and sneak a
Speaker 1: little quick lift in the pregame with the guys. I
Speaker 1: love staying as connected to the grind as I possibly can.
Speaker 1: I think that helps me with my player relationships is
Speaker 1: that I'm not afraid to get in the mixed with them.
Speaker 1: So um, lifting, training and reading a good book here
Speaker 1: and there. Good stuff, Joe. Any any final thoughts for coach?
Speaker 1: It was it was a fun conversation and like I said,
Speaker 1: coaches intense. Yeah, he used to work out. I thought
Speaker 1: he was just waiting hopefully, but coach jobs to throw
Speaker 1: him in the game. He get caught up like he
Speaker 1: was with these recruit and go get him a uniform
Speaker 1: or something. But no. My last question is, you know
Speaker 1: recruiting right now and is a challenge. Everything is a
Speaker 1: challenge for college how because I looked at your rosters
Speaker 1: and you've just recruited from so many different places. I
Speaker 1: guess it's from your experience, How does that still work
Speaker 1: for you? I know you picked up six new players
Speaker 1: and things of that nature, but how is it now
Speaker 1: because the players can't play the high schools and not
Speaker 1: playing is there's going to be more of a challenge
Speaker 1: down the road, as you see it, not just for you,
Speaker 1: but for all the college basketball now, Yeah, before we
Speaker 1: hit the buzzer, I think it's really coming down in
Speaker 1: relationships and the relationships over the twenty years of coaching
Speaker 1: and just trying to stay as connected with the high
Speaker 1: school coaches. The air you coaches are big as well,
Speaker 1: but just consistently of being on the phone every single
Speaker 1: day doing zoom calls, watching a lot of big trying
Speaker 1: to stay connected until that time comes. We're able to
Speaker 1: get back on the road in April, so that's all
Speaker 1: we could do right now. Fortunately for us, we don't
Speaker 1: have any seniors, so we got Hopefully we can keep
Speaker 1: this team together and focus on our relationships with our
Speaker 1: guys here and we can focus and focus more on
Speaker 1: recruiting classes down the line. Twenty two, twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1: I pray no no, I pray no tests as positive
Speaker 1: for you guys coaching everyone's day, healthy man, and then
Speaker 1: you have a happy holidays. Thanks so much, Coach, appreciate
Speaker 1: you guys great great being on the show. He is
Speaker 1: former Blue Coats assistant and current University of Maryland Eastern
Speaker 1: shore Head coach Jason Crafton for my partner and Blue
Speaker 1: Coats Ambassador of basketball Joe Richmond. I'm Matt Murphy. Until
Speaker 1: next time, take it or leave it at the coach
Speaker 1: check