WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:08.640 It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine 2 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:24.960 day. Now here's Nick Coffee. All right, here we go hour number 3 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:29.320 two. Coffee and Company. We are fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk 4 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:32.119 seven ninety. My name is Nick Coffee, the company man John Alongside. 5 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:35.920 Today a big Monday, a lot to react to, not just the fact 6 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:39.960 that we've got a national championship game this evening, and of course you know 7 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:44.159 Final Four to recap. As you know, we now just have two teams 8 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:48.640 left. The women's Final Four was phenomenal. I can't think of. I 9 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:54.640 mean, there's no scenario there's ever been more eyeballs on women's college basketball than 10 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:59.560 really this year and especially the postseason. And I think there's a lot of 11 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:04.120 men like myself that was never against women's college basketball. I just I don't 12 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.640 seek it out, you know what I mean. It's not something that is 13 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:11.680 in any way appointment viewing unless I've got some invested interest, like you know, 14 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.200 Louisville playing, because obviously I want Jeff Wall's team to do well and 15 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:19.640 I'm a louis A fan. But even that, I'm not gonna lie to 16 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:21.799 you and fake it like I'm watching every game, you know what I mean, 17 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:23.480 I keep up with it, but it's not you know, it's not 18 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:27.439 appointment viewing in most instances. I have no problem admitting that the women's postseason, 19 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.120 once you got to like the Elite Eight, it was I mean I 20 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:34.719 didn't watch every second of it, but on Friday I watched both Final four 21 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:38.799 games. They were phenomenal. Obviously the Monday Elite Eight game with I mean, 22 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.840 both those games were great, but of course the Iowa L Shue game 23 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:47.879 and in the championship yesterday. I mean, there's never been this much attention 24 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.040 on the women's game, and I love it. It's good, it's great. 25 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:57.120 But despite all that, something happened last night that led to kind of 26 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:00.959 all of that stuff I just mentioned. You know, we love college basketball 27 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:04.560 around around you know, around the clock, right, It's something we do 28 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:08.240 every I mean, there's no market that loves college basketball more than we do. 29 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:10.840 I'll be a liar to say we talk about it every single day on 30 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:15.479 this show in great detail, but I bet we talk about it more than 31 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:20.280 you hear other places. So you know this is where it all ends, 32 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.319 right, Like we put the finishing touches on another season of college hoops tonight. 33 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:28.159 But the most talked about thing is not that. It's that John Calipari 34 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:31.599 is leaving Lexington to go to Fayetteville, Arkansas after a fifteen year run. 35 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:38.039 I believe it was fourteen year run at Kentucky. He's walking away in Arkansas. 36 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:47.639 They have saved Kentucky and John Calipery. It was playing out very publicly 37 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:54.039 how just stale the marriage had become. A divorce was needed, but divorce 38 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:59.719 is expensive. Divorce is far from an easy thing to go through, especially 39 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.879 if you've been together a long time in life without one another would be weird, 40 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:07.120 and you got kids involved, which I guess the kids are like the 41 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:12.800 fans. So there was really no easy exit strategy. And I know money 42 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.400 could have been there, like it would have been possible to fire John Caliperry 43 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:22.520 and pay thirty three million, but it was far from like practical, I 44 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:27.280 mean, And that would also make it to where when you fire a guy 45 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.680 and you pay that much money for him to not do the job, people 46 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:31.479 can bring up, well, hey, we can get anybody to come in 47 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.280 and beat Oakland. We can get anybody to come in and beat Saint Peter's. 48 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.560 Well, you're right, but you know, CALLI Perry as much as 49 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:39.439 we want to make fun of him, and I'm sure you guys will make 50 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:43.719 fun of him now too, because he's going to be really an enemy and 51 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.120 I think he's going to jab you by the way. I don't think there's 52 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.280 a scenario he gets to the press conference without some little dig at Kentucky. 53 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.360 When I say the press conference, I mean when he's introduced in Fayetteville, 54 00:03:53.039 --> 00:04:00.439 So I mean he still is a huge name in sports, not just college 55 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:05.439 basketball, and that you know that holds weight. It's a two way street, 56 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:09.759 though, because you know Cala Perry's also at a place that everybody when 57 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.759 you think of Kentucky, you think of college basketball. So moving on from 58 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:17.399 him and paying him to go away and paying him not to coach whoever comes 59 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.120 in and takes over. If they are like an n I T team in 60 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:23.720 year one or maybe in the year two, they're a you know, sweet 61 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:28.839 sixteen team at best, that that would that would be disastrous for Kentucky in 62 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:30.680 the PR world because they paid it got thirty three million not to be there, 63 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:34.920 and who knows, maybe they'd keep losing to Saint Peter's in Oakland caliber 64 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:39.360 teams. But they'd still be relevant, they'd still be good, they'd still 65 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:43.480 bring in the number one class like every single year. So I get why 66 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:45.800 they didn't make a move as much as it just seemed like, what are 67 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.480 we doing here? This just is so like, this is so played out. 68 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:53.399 It was it was just unpracticed. It just was you needed something like 69 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:57.120 this to happen. And I thought Texas last year when they fired Chris Beard 70 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.040 and Rodney Terry was the interim and at that point, you know, you 71 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.920 know Caliperry, I mean at the time that job was open. I mean 72 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.199 I think he'd lost to South Carolina about like twenty or something at home, 73 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:13.199 who was terrible. They got murdered by Alabama last year on the road, 74 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:15.240 like they hit a stretch where like the noise was as loud as it's ever 75 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:18.560 been about Cali Perry just completely being lost and not, you know, not 76 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:25.319 needing to be the guy anymore. And then he ended up rallying getting a 77 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:27.959 decent seedy what were they six seed last year or something like that, I 78 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.480 think five or six. Yeah, and then they lost to Kansas State in 79 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:32.759 the second round. But that wasn't, you know, like an embarrassing loss. 80 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:35.240 I mean, it's never going to be looked at as a good season 81 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:39.519 for Kentucky to lose in that round. But he did just enough to kind 82 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:44.439 of like rally from the lowest of low last year. And then also Texas 83 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:47.079 decided to hire Rodney Terry full time, and Texas was a job he would 84 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:49.160 have taken. I mean, Travis Brandam of twenty four seven Sports, I 85 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.399 remember this report specifically because I felik it kind of just got lost in the 86 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.879 shuffle. The report was that if Texas was interested, he would go, 87 00:05:57.319 --> 00:05:59.759 and Texas is the kind of school that can pay a lot of money to 88 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.600 where he would walk away from his contract at Kentucky because he'd be paid very 89 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:10.480 handsomely at Texas. Well. Now, Arkansas surprisingly ended up being the lifeline 90 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:15.000 because Cali Perry is not going to go to a place that has no level 91 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:18.439 of success. He's not going to go somewhere on the cheap. So he's 92 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:24.120 making or at least he's gonna make eight to nine million a year. He's 93 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:27.319 gonna have a whole lot of money for nil and apparently he's going to have 94 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:31.120 some incentives that aren't on the salary, but if he wins big, he 95 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:36.720 will be rewarded big with you know, you know bonuses essentially, So Arkansas 96 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:42.519 being the school to save Kentucky was not what anybody would have expected. But 97 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:48.680 in a week's time Mus leaves, Jerome Tang turns down Arkansas, Chris Beard 98 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:57.959 turns down Arkansas, and then I guess this relationship with Cali Perry and who 99 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:03.279 is it the yeah, the the guy who is make sure I get this, 100 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:11.920 the guy who owns Tyson Chicken. Apparently his name is let's see here, 101 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.839 Well, never mind, I love barstool sports genuinely, like I'm a 102 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:17.920 stooling and I want to talk I never talk about it a whole lot on 103 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:20.439 here because I know a lot of people aren't whatever. I'm not trying to 104 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:26.560 influence anybody, and their articles are like far from like well crafted capital J 105 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.439 columns, right, but sometimes they just throw stuff in an article that like 106 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:35.839 there's you can't like dissect it. So anyways, there's some relationship that Calipari 107 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:43.959 has with I guess the CEO of Tyson Chicken, and that led to I 108 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:46.680 guess this whole thing getting a little bit of a spark and then it sure 109 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.800 enough rather quickly actually ended up happening. So for those who's not joining us, 110 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:57.160 apparently there was a meeting schedule. This is from This is from KSR. 111 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.839 There was a meeting that Calipari was set to happen, set to h 112 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:03.560 to have with his team that is now no longer happening for reasons I don't 113 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:07.040 I don't know. I don't know if they they were gonna have a team 114 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.759 meeting this afternoon with Caliperry, but now it's not happening. That is what 115 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:16.519 KSR reported a couple of hours ago. And if you missed the video that 116 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:18.720 we played earlier, it's I mean, you can't see the video. This 117 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.199 is radio. But Caliperry on Richmond Road, which, by the way, 118 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:24.120 everybody's jumping all over the text line to tell me, yes, Richmond Road 119 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:28.120 is a very very highly trafficked road in Lexington with a lot of his ability, 120 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:35.240 Caliperry walking his dog down Richmond Road on a Wednesday or I'm sorry, 121 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:39.360 Monday afternoon, right before he's set to probably get on a plane and fly 122 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:43.480 to Fayettville, Arkansas, to call the hogs woo pig suiye like that's intentional, 123 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:48.399 that's personal, and it's silly that it that it got to this. 124 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:54.399 But he feels betrayed by Kentucky because they stopped worshiping him, you know, 125 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.000 whenever he wasn't giving them great results. Which that's just man, that's that's 126 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.720 the game, man, and that's what this is. But he I think 127 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:07.559 he's going to be so energized at Arkansas to win, but it won't be 128 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:13.200 because you know, he just is happy to have another opportunity somewhere. He'll 129 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.759 want to win to rub it in Kentucky's face. That's just how this guy 130 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:20.639 appears to be wired. But here is the sound as a w k Y 131 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:26.200 T asked him if he had any comment as he's walking his dog. Hey, 132 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:31.600 coach, you guys thinking right now, you will saying I'm good, 133 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:37.519 come on, Paul, come on, my dog, my dog is walking 134 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:43.080 me. Come on. I mean that's one of those things that you kind 135 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.240 of sit back and think, like, is that is that really happening? 136 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:48.679 He won wanted that to happen, of course, Like there's no other way. 137 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:52.120 I mean, there's no scenario. He interrupted him the moment he said 138 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:56.600 something to him, and he's like the dog's name? What Paul? Love? 139 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:00.679 How that's the dog's name? Paul? What? Did never met a 140 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:03.639 dog named Paul? Did he say? Paul? Come on, Paul, 141 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:11.080 Hey, coach, you right now you will say I'm good? Come on? 142 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:15.960 It does sound like Paul, doesn't it. It's very close. Even 143 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.360 if whether whether that's his name or not, it sounds like it. I 144 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:22.480 feel like it could be. There's no way he named his dog Paul, 145 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:26.759 right. Maybe it's Palmer, but he's saying, paum, let's see, 146 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:33.840 hey, coach, you got things right now? You will saying I'm good. 147 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.039 Come on. I feel like there's an amend you be right. I 148 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:45.039 think you're on. Let's see. I just googled what are John Caliperry's dogs 149 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.200 named? And I got an article here from Tyler Thompson at k s R. 150 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:54.559 Who I think I may have. I think, yeah, Palmer, 151 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.679 look yeah, which which makes more sense? Yeah? Paul. Paul would 152 00:10:56.679 --> 00:11:01.320 be a very odd dog name. There's some like human names that I hear 153 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:03.559 of an animal having, and I'm like, you know what, that's kind 154 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:07.200 of perfect. Paul would not be one. No, not for a dog 155 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:11.679 had a buddy? Who who had who's a big cat guy, not a 156 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:13.240 UK guy, but like you know, he had cats, cat dude, 157 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:16.840 and he had his oldest cat. His name was Walter, and I thought 158 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:18.960 that was amazing. That is a great cat name. Walter is a phenomenal 159 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.519 cat name. So shout out to my buddy Daniel who had a cat named 160 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:26.279 Walter. Not sure if he's still with us, but you know, hopefully 161 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:31.840 he is. It was a long time ago, all right, So we'll 162 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:35.919 get back into the I guess, you know, the specific the search because 163 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.720 again, this doesn't really feel like a search because there's mean they're not searching 164 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.960 to figure out who might be a good fit. That's what Louisville did. 165 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.559 That's what they had to do this time around. They weren't gonna go after 166 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:50.320 a big name. They didn't offer a big name. I mean, I 167 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:52.879 know they I guess touched base with Scott Drew, but I feel comfortable in 168 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:56.000 saying they never really I mean, it never got to the point where they 169 00:11:56.039 --> 00:12:01.840 were courting him in a way like I don't even know if he and let's 170 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.679 be honest, like the levels to the to this as far as back and 171 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:09.279 forth, the communication, especially during the season. I mean, it's not 172 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.320 as if anybody probably had an all like a piece of paper in front of 173 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:13.320 him to sign to say that they were going to take the job. But 174 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:18.039 of everybody they talked to, Dusty May, Josh Shirts, Pat Kelsey. 175 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:22.240 You know, clearly the stages were much the level of it was much higher 176 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:24.759 than than Drew. And it's because Drew was coaching still, and you know 177 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:28.360 Drew wasn't interested. So you know, Josh Hurt had to go search, 178 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:35.200 literally and find somebody that he felt like could really check the boxes that really 179 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.879 need to be checked to get this thing turned around. But also, you 180 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:39.360 know a guy that can coach a little ball and win, and Pat Kelsey 181 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:43.039 has And I heard a little bit of his interview with Jim Rome earlier today, 182 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.720 and I think it's the it's it's the I'm a huge Jim Roan fan 183 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:50.960 myself. It's what really got me interested in sports radio and still love ROMI 184 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.799 And I could hear Pat Kelsey in the interview like he you know, he 185 00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:58.759 listens. He listened to Rome too, probably growing up or maybe not growing 186 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:01.200 up, but you know, like it wasn't just like he was on a 187 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:05.279 random radio interview with somebody. He clearly knows the Jim Rome show, which 188 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.519 most people do. Jim Rome is one of the more notable people that have 189 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:11.879 ever done sports radio. But you know, he's he's a guy that I 190 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:16.440 think is more so what we needed than we ever realized, and we're kind 191 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.399 of seeing it. Which, hey, that's a tip of the cap to 192 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:20.399 Josh Heard. As far as I guess really knowing this guy was going to 193 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:26.120 check again those boxes that maybe you don't think about, but they are really 194 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:30.679 important. What's most important is winning and we all know that, so you 195 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.279 know, that was a little different. With Mitch Barnhardt. He's probably like 196 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:37.799 the guys who he is going to be considering for this job and potentially offering 197 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:41.000 the job, he's really familiar with, I would say, And this isn't 198 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.120 a shot at Josh Heard. He's new to this world, right, He's 199 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:48.000 been an athletic director full time for what two years now. Mitch Barnhart's been 200 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:54.240 doing this a long time, so he knows Jay Wright, he knows probably 201 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:58.759 knows Billy Donovan because he's offered in the job twice already. He knows Nat 202 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:03.399 Oates, I'm sure to some extent, and he's really good friends and I 203 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:07.360 mean it like not just like Hey, they're casual acquaintances. Scott Drew Mitch 204 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:16.159 Barnhardt are personal friends. The other name is who you say, Hurley? 205 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:18.639 Yeah, Hurley. I don't know if they have a relationship at all. 206 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:22.320 And with Hurley, he's a wild card to me because I don't he's you 207 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:26.120 know, he's still relatively new at Yukon, and you know, he seems 208 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:33.399 to be in a perfect spot. But maybe he could use this to elevate 209 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:35.679 to an even bigger job. But again, Yukon, I mean, I 210 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:41.480 know, Kentucky, you know, is historically one of the best programs ever 211 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:46.559 with the amount of championships they have, and they have a huge fan base 212 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:52.159 all that stuff, But like Yukon, doing what they've done since nineteen ninety 213 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:56.240 nine, they're not going to ever move the needle nationally, least they haven't. 214 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.279 But like if they win a title tonight, there's no debate about who's 215 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.559 been the best program overall in the last twenty five years. It's not even 216 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:09.679 close. So obviously Kentucky probably has more money. In fact, they do, 217 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:13.159 and they're probably looking to spend more than they ever thought they would because 218 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.039 any coaching change prior to two days ago that they thought about having to make 219 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:22.559 was going to be a very costly one at their expense to get rid of 220 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:24.279 Cow. Well they didn't. They didn't do They don't have to do that 221 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:26.720 now. So here in you know, the ten million dollar buyof for nat 222 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:28.159 Oh, it's like that probably didn't scare them off because they're looking at that 223 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:33.519 as a big discount compared to the overall you know, cost of doing business 224 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:39.080 to make a change. Because Arkansas saved him, So it's a win win 225 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:46.519 for everybody. But I would say if there's one maybe not this is one 226 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.559 person, but I guess one layer to this that is like bitch Barnhardt has 227 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.960 to be relieved to be done with cal and has to feel as if Arkansas 228 00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:00.279 saved his ass, but he also has to be pissed that he did the 229 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:03.480 whole TV thing with Cali Perry made it look like they liked each other, 230 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:10.559 really kind of stuck his neck out there and defended Cal And. I think 231 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.279 a lot of us view that as well. That's just an athletic director doing 232 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:15.120 his job, doing some damage control, right. The coach works for him, 233 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.120 and the coach is being criticized. So if there's one person that's going 234 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:22.919 to talk, you know, positively about the coach, to try to get 235 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:26.039 everybody to rally around him. It would be the ad Well, this has 236 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:27.879 been such a noted thing that the two or not friends, they don't have 237 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:30.240 a relationship together, that like it was gonna be hard to a lot of 238 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:33.960 people. But I can, at least, I guess appreciate the effort that 239 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.360 he tried to do that. Well, he did it and then he got 240 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:41.879 completely burned because cali Peri wanted out. So I'm sure Barnhardt is relieved in 241 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:45.879 a way, but he's probably feeling not only every thought he had about cali 242 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:52.279 Peri is accurate, but probably thinking even less about him as a person than 243 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:55.600 he did before. Because this, again, it's business right, and again 244 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:59.320 it's a good thing overall. But if Mitch knew that cali Peri was trying 245 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:00.399 to get out, I guess he wouldn't, right, You wouldn't tell your 246 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:03.480 boss that unless you knew for sure you were gone. But to know that 247 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:07.039 Ohio State was interested in him, and he was interested in them, but 248 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:10.519 he wanted to wait until after the season because he felt like he was going 249 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.559 to have a deep tournament run. I mean That makes it even more clear 250 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:15.920 that this dude wanted to win big because he wants to add to his legacy. 251 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.240 And he could have won a lot of games in the postseason this year, 252 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:22.599 could have been in the final four, I think, but he didn't 253 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:25.039 want to do it to try to win you guys back as a fan base 254 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:26.680 so you all would love him again. He wanted to win big, rub 255 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.559 it in your face, and then leave town. That's exactly what he wanted 256 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.640 to do. And that speaks to just how he's just. He hates Kentucky 257 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:37.160 and hates a strong word. And I shouldn't say that because I don't mean 258 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:40.200 I don't. It's be impossible for him to look back on his time there 259 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:42.039 and feel like he was all bad. Clearly he had. He won a 260 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:45.359 national championship there. He didn't do that anywhere else. He put a ton 261 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.559 of guys in the NBA like they were you know, they were in the 262 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.440 limelight in a major way. He was in the limelight. And it's because 263 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:59.680 Kentucky. But overall, he's so bitter about everything right now that I'm sure 264 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:02.240 the good stuff is not gonna you know, the good stuff's probably not gonna 265 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:07.519 be in his mind until later in life for him. So I'm sure Kentucky 266 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:10.960 fans are sad to know that he feels that way and he didn't just want 267 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:11.880 to like walk away and say, hey, you know, this was a 268 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:17.079 great run. You know I'm gonna do something different, but it's still a 269 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:19.160 good thing for everybody. All right, quick break, we'll come back on 270 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.880 the other side. Keep this thing rolling along, and we'll give you the 271 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:26.440 latest on the transfer portal for Pat Kelsey, because obviously with a lot of 272 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:30.240 scholarships to fill, they're active. There's a lot of guys that they're pursuing, 273 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:33.240 and they've already got another visits set up with one of the guys we've 274 00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:36.160 talked about quite a bit. So we'll get to that on the other side, 275 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:37.680 and a lot more it is Coffee and Company we are feel about Thorton's 276 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:41.640 right here on Sports Talk seven ninety all right, before we dive back in 277 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:48.240 and you know, resume where the show has been up to this point, 278 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:51.519 which is a lot of talk about the big change. Kentucky gonna have a 279 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:53.279 new coach, just like Louisville Calipari head to Arkansas, and then of course 280 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:56.519 I want to get into the national championship matchups not as well. But let 281 00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:00.759 me once again tell you about my friends at the Louisville Men's Clinic because they've 282 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.400 been around for over ten years and I know it's something they're really proud of 283 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.160 because again, there were others that tried to do the same thing, copy 284 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:10.799 what they're doing, and they didn't do it very well. Because they're not 285 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:14.839 around anymore. And Louisvillman's Clinic there's not a whole lot of gimmicky, flashy 286 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:17.880 stuff about their marketing. They're quite clear on what they do and that has 287 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:21.519 helped men with a variety of services. If it's a rectiled as function, 288 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:26.319 low testosteron, prone's disease, weight loss therapy, hair restoration are just you 289 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:27.440 know, four or five of them, many things they can do to help 290 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:33.480 you. So I think help is something that at times men are afraid to 291 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:37.599 seek. Right, it makes you feel weak, you're not a man if 292 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:42.720 you need help with you know ed or low testosterone, and it's nothing, 293 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:47.839 it's probably nothing anybody would ever want to have, but it's life. Doesn't 294 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.960 mean you're weak, didn't mean you're less of a man, and you should 295 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.400 do something about it because you'll be happier and healthier. In fact, I 296 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:59.880 would imagine, you know, if it's a rectiledis function, your partner will 297 00:19:59.880 --> 00:20:02.359 be a lot happier. You know, it'll be It'll be a good thing 298 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:04.759 for everybody involved. And I can tell you somebody, I can tell you 299 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:10.759 as somebody that had low testosterone without even really knowing what that meant. The 300 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:18.039 biggest boost for me is just you know, energized mental clarity and of course, 301 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:19.480 you know, feeling better after my workouts and that kind of stuff. 302 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:23.160 So you know, I can you know, for those who who still kind 303 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.440 of think that this is like just something I'm paid to say, I mean, 304 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:30.839 it's it's not just that it's something I use and it's really helped me. 305 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:33.599 But if you are somebody that feels like you've just added some flab around 306 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:37.880 your midsection and you don't really know why, right, your diet has not 307 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:40.960 changed much, you still are active when you can be, and you just 308 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:44.079 you know, can't really understand why you're not getting results from the gym. 309 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:48.480 It could be low testosterone and man, boobs, it happens, right, 310 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:56.759 and low testosterone is a huge factor in that. And that you know that 311 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:59.440 could you you know that heck, there could be somebody listening that just wants 312 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:00.559 to get rid of that specific issue. Well you can. I mean, 313 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:03.319 there's I guess there's no proof that that's going to completely eliminate it. But 314 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:07.759 I can tell you firsthand, I'm doing the same kind of stuff I've been 315 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:10.839 doing for a long time as far as the amount of exercise I want to 316 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:14.039 do each week. I don't follow a strict diet, but I am mindful 317 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:18.200 of what I eat, and I'm now, you know, buying new clothes 318 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.279 again because the others are just you know, they're too big, like my 319 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:23.680 pants and stuff. So I can't tell you enough how much they've helped me, 320 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:26.279 and let them they should let you, should let him help you. 321 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:29.920 FABO two four four four four thousand is the number again. FABO two four 322 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.640 four four four thousand. Louis Men's Clinic dot com is the website, all 323 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:36.920 right. So, uh, Pat Kelsey, as you could expect, Uh, 324 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:38.759 he's got a lot of a lot of spots to fill on this roster. 325 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:41.000 And so far, I mean, bringing the two players he's bringing away 326 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:45.039 them from Charleston. I think both those guys as I've mentioned, will fit 327 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:47.480 nicely here. I don't know what their role is going to be specifically, 328 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:52.000 but they've got the young big who had a really good freshman season was actually 329 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:56.400 a pretty good recruit for the level of Charleston uh and then Rain Smith is 330 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.279 the shooter, so you know, I think James Scott and Rain Smith were 331 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:03.240 two good additions from Charleston to come to Louisville with Kelsey. And then obviously 332 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:08.799 the big git thus far was landing James Madison transfer who happens to be the 333 00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:12.000 Sun Belt Player of the Year, Terrence Edwards Junior who goes by FATS, 334 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:19.440 and there are I shouldn't say countless because I don't think Louisville's literally been in 335 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.680 contact with every player that's in the portal, but they've been in contact with 336 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:26.720 a lot of them, which is not surprising because again, they've got spots 337 00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:30.160 to fill. They've got a good sales pitch. I would imagine with NIL 338 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:37.200 we all know how how the NIL is. The inn ile world is super 339 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:41.599 important and Louisville, I mean, I think one of the best things we've 340 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:45.000 seen since Pat Kelsey's been on the job is just the fact that he was 341 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.000 able to energize people and motivate them, and it didn't take a whole lot. 342 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.640 I mean, I mean, I think he was being very genuine, 343 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:55.039 But it wasn't as if he did some crazy thing you've never seen a coach 344 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:57.200 do before. As far as trying to get people to understand the value of 345 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.359 nil and helping out in that department, you know, sure enough they were 346 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:03.119 they were. I mean, within a week's time they've raised over half of 347 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:07.880 a million dollars just from fans donating money to the FABO two circle. And 348 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.119 once they get to a million, which they'll be there at some point, 349 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.680 it's gonna be matched by Rick Kiever, who is, of course part of 350 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:18.079 the He owns Glow Brands, which for those who aren't familiar, that's Planet 351 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:21.359 Fitness, Suntan City, and I think Buff's Buff City Soap. I think 352 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:26.920 it's the name of the other company that's that's in that that's partnered in some 353 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:33.319 way. So having that nil money when you are trying to fill your roster 354 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:37.400 is a good thing to have. And you know, Kelsey can't can't sell 355 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:40.359 these guys that he's been to the Final four a bunch of times and won 356 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:45.039 a title. But I think when you don't have that resume, you can 357 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:48.039 still sell it. You've been successful for where you've been and that you're gonna 358 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:51.559 you know, you're gonna win here. We're gonna win. That's what we 359 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:56.559 do. That's that's the culture that I have put together and and and and 360 00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:59.359 you know instilled since I was at Winthrop and Charleston and all that. So 361 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:03.039 I'm I just can't. I'm not going to be able to. I mean, 362 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:04.759 it's it's damn near impossible to know. I mean, first of all, 363 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:07.079 you can follow it, you can track it. Jody Dimlinks does a 364 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:11.200 great job on his site, Cardinaluthorty dot com. But I'm just going to 365 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:15.960 keep you updated on things that look to be I guess developing into where you 366 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.119 could get a commitment. Because just mentioning a dude who's got twenty schools that 367 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:22.319 he's hearing from in Louisville being one of them, I mean not to say 368 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:25.839 that's information that nobody would care about, but like, I just don't think 369 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:29.440 that's good for radio. So the guy we have talked about quite a bit 370 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:33.240 as Dante Maddox, the Toledo transfer. Pat Kelsey went and saw him in 371 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:37.200 Toledo last week and now he is going to take an official visit to Louisville 372 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:41.400 this weekend, so that's a good sign. And again, this is somebody 373 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:48.079 that has some big time suitors. Creighton, Michigan, Xavier, Illinois, 374 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:52.319 Kansas, TCU, and Oklahoma. Those are the other schools he's considering. 375 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:55.119 And you know, again, Louisville is going to get a visit, and 376 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:57.759 I believe it'll be the first visit he's taken since hitting the portal, so 377 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:03.119 i'd say they look to be in good shape. Illinois Xavier, I think, 378 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:06.440 are also expected to get a visit from him after he visits Louisville. 379 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:11.599 But it would be awesome if he could maybe not take those trips because he's 380 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.839 so impressed with what he sees at Louisville. So fingers crossed. But yeah, 381 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:15.720 I mean there'll be other names too, Like, for example, there's 382 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:22.039 an Ohio State transfer that is in the portal, Roddy Gale Junior. He's 383 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:25.839 heard from a lot of schools, including Louisville. Averaged about thirteen and a 384 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:29.599 half points a game last year, So it's exciting that you're gonna have all 385 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:32.559 new players and it's gonna be such a you know, it's one thing to 386 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:34.200 have a new era with a new coach. But everything is going to be 387 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:40.559 brand new, and that alone can be exciting. But until we get the 388 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:42.559 actual roster man, it's going to be a lot of names. There's gonna 389 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:45.279 be a lot of names thrown out there and discussed and it you know, 390 00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:48.680 there's a good you know, there's a good chance that it doesn't turn into 391 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:52.319 anything, not because again they can't recruit. But I mean, the portal 392 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:56.640 is is insane. I mean, have you seen the number of players that 393 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:59.039 are in the portal right now? John, I haven't seen the number, 394 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:03.599 but I'm sure now that the tournament is basically over outside of the championship, 395 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:07.279 I'm sure it's massive. Listen to this. The numbers is from Front Office 396 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:10.599 Sports. The number of Division one men's basketball players in the transfer portal is 397 00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:15.680 expected to top two thousand, which is nearly half of the country. Do 398 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:18.519 we remember how many I know there was a bunch in the portal last year, 399 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:22.519 but do we remember how many of those stayed with their original school. 400 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:25.680 I mean after they hit the portal and they went back. I going in 401 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:30.759 the portal doesn't mean that you have to leave. I feel like that was 402 00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:34.000 rare for someone to then rejoin their program. I mean, it happens, 403 00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:37.279 but you know, sometimes it's testing the market, right, Yeah, Like 404 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:41.079 it's almost it's kind of like whether you go into the draft, you can 405 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:42.559 test the wars and take your name on saving exact portal. Yeah, so 406 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:45.039 in the portal you want to see who'd be interested in what they could potentially 407 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:51.319 provide. And what that does is it leaves you in a really tough spot 408 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:56.920 as a coach because you can't technically control the money that is available to these 409 00:26:56.920 --> 00:27:00.640 players, because you know you can't pay them, and you can't really be 410 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:03.880 involved, although I'm sure coaches are involved to an extent as far as who's 411 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.599 helping in that department, because you're gonna want to make sure you tell them 412 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:11.319 thank you because it's money you need to go get these players. But it 413 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:15.319 leaves you in a standstill, Right, this guy's testing the market. Do 414 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:18.319 I go try to recruit to replace him? Or do I like what do 415 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:21.480 I do? Here? Like, it's the players have all the power right 416 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:25.680 now, which is crazy because of how different it was just five years ago, 417 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:29.119 where players had no power at all, couldn't do anything, couldn't go 418 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:33.599 get a job, and make money, couldn't transfer without sitting out. I 419 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:38.880 mean, they could be ruled ineligible just because somebody refused to talk to the 420 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.119 in c doublea that no longer is a part of college basketball. Like it's 421 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:45.039 just they went from having no power to where now they can they run the 422 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:48.680 sport. And I'm not saying that act like that's a bad thing. I 423 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:49.839 mean, I'm sure it's not a good thing in the eyes of a lot 424 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:56.039 of people. But that is the biggest difference in the sport is that players 425 00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.079 have all the power now. So I'll give you an example of somebody that 426 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:03.960 came back. Ugo remember him, Yes, So he hit the portal last 427 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:08.920 year for Kentucky and Yukon wanted him, and he's from up there at least 428 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.519 he played some of his prep ball up there, and he would have other 429 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:17.680 offers. But here's here's what he learned. This other school could probably give 430 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:19.799 me a bigger role and they can give me an al money, but they 431 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.359 ain't got the money that Kentucky has. So he went back, you know 432 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:25.079 what I mean, Like he tested the market to see what you know, 433 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:30.279 and he realized, if my decision is based you know, heavily on the 434 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:36.400 financial situation. I'm probably not going to get a better situation unless I kind 435 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:38.160 of prove it as a college player, And at that point he didn't proven 436 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:41.920 anything, and he kind of still has him, to be honest with you, 437 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:45.720 But yeah, the portal is you know, I don't see it as 438 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:49.799 a Actually I'm not even really considered is it a net positive or is it 439 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:53.519 a is it hurting the sport? Because I'm somebody that loves college basketball so 440 00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:56.400 much, there's not much they could do to make me not love it, 441 00:28:56.440 --> 00:29:02.440 you know what I mean. Like, so it's different. But what am 442 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:06.119 I gonna do? Not be obsessed with the support with the sport. I've 443 00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:08.559 been obsessed with my whole life. It feels like if it's a net negative 444 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:15.759 for anybody or any programs, it's the smaller program that lose all their I 445 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.039 mean, I'm not speaking for him by any means. Maybe he doesn't see 446 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:22.000 it that way. He's such a positive guy that is always seeing things glass 447 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:25.279 half full and such a motivator. But no, there's no doubt about it. 448 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:29.839 I mean, you're you could have a good player at Bellerman and they 449 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:33.559 may leave. They may leave to not go to the highest level. But 450 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:37.119 they may leave to go to I don't know, Charleston or something like that, 451 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.880 right, And the level of transfer that you can bring in, I 452 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:47.279 mean, you're bringing up the best D two players and that's not a bad 453 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:49.480 way to do it, honestly, Like, that's actually I think what you're 454 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:52.920 gonna and you're seeing it now. And I'm a nerd for this stuff. 455 00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:56.200 But again, verbalcommits dot Com is the website that I think if you're somebody 456 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:00.160 that wants to nerd out the way I do about looking at everybody that in 457 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.440 the portal, you know what level they're coming from, that kind of stuff. 458 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:06.240 Verbal commits dot Com is the best resource for it because they have a 459 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.920 database that shows you every day everybody that hit the portal, what school they 460 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:11.400 came from, their stats and all that kind of stuff. So if you 461 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.319 go to verbal commits dot Com you click on transfers they've got They've got an 462 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:18.400 entire database where you can look it up, and there's a lot of D 463 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:22.000 one schools like, for example, this is this is probably not a great 464 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:26.119 example, but IUPUI. They are historically traditionally one of the worst Division one 465 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:32.200 teams in college basketball, so they lose guys to the portal. But they're 466 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:36.839 not losing dudes who averaged you know, thirteen to fourteen a game. They're 467 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:40.279 losing dudes who averaged you know, four points a game and are going down. 468 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:44.920 Well, I just looked at the additions made to IUPUI, which again 469 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:48.079 they think, but they're now like because of the ever changing roster flux, 470 00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:52.000 they're now going and getting a bunch of dudes from the D two level. 471 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:56.799 And when you're that low of a D one level, getting a dude who 472 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:59.519 was an All American that was a D two, make no mistake about it, 473 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:03.039 that's a big get for you. That's a big get like you should. 474 00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:07.240 I mean, heck, there's there's examples, and I can't think of 475 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:08.519 any off the top of my head right now, but I mean there are 476 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:12.279 guys who have ended up climbing the ladder in college. Like for example, 477 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:17.599 that's a really good example because this is a guy who is local Someway. 478 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:21.599 He's from the state of Kentucky, Darren Boyd. So Darren Boyd is from 479 00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:26.039 Caldwell County High School in Kentucky, and he was a good high school player, 480 00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:29.640 put up a ton of points. But it's a small school out in 481 00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:34.000 the state of Kentucky. He went to Georgetown College for one year and he 482 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:37.920 red shirted that year. I don't know if it was grades or what it 483 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:41.119 was. So this is a guy who was an NAI player who red shirted 484 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:45.279 and did not play college basketball. After he just left high school. Well, 485 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:49.680 you know, he transferred to Lipscomb and he ended up being a phenomenal 486 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:53.799 player for three years there. I mean he just finished up his junior season 487 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:59.640 was all a Sun averaged eighteen points a game. I mean, he was 488 00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:01.839 really good. When lips Can beat Louisville two years ago and Kenny's first year, 489 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:05.359 this kid was on that team and I think he had big, big 490 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:07.519 numbers in that game. Well, now he's in the portal and he's being 491 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:12.880 pursued by like a lot of high mid major schools. In fact, he's 492 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:15.480 going to visit Chris mac and Charleston on Thursday, and I think they got 493 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:17.000 a good chance of landing. I mean, again, that's a this is 494 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:21.240 somebody that started his career at the NAI level. So it's not ideal, 495 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:23.599 but like you can go get good players from there that could really fit. 496 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:27.559 Well, it's just harder to really know if that you know, if they're 497 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:30.920 going to make that make that jump or not. And we've already had some 498 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:32.480 people on the text line kind of asking like, Hey, a lot of 499 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:36.359 these guys that that Pat Kelsey's in on from the portal, why is he 500 00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:39.039 only going after mid major transfers? Well, would you want to go after 501 00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:43.759 a dude who put up eighteen at a place like Toledo or you know, 502 00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:47.480 seventeen at a place like James Madison, Or do you want to go get 503 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:52.720 a guy who averaged eight at Ohio State or something, or you know eleven 504 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:55.920 in a you know, in a in a a minorish role at Georgetown. 505 00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:00.799 So I mean, I don't I think if you look at I mean, 506 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:04.599 heck, tonight, who's Yukon's best guard? You can think of his name? 507 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:08.880 Her? What's his name? He's gonna drive me crazy because he's easily 508 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:14.279 their best player. As far as why can't we think of his name? 509 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:17.000 Have I thrown you off and put you on the spot because I know you 510 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:22.640 know who this guy is. No, Stephencastle is the best drop draft prospect. 511 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:24.799 He's a freshman. Newton is their best player. He started his career 512 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:30.839 at I think East Carolina and he was good at East Carolina, but you 513 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:35.920 know, he wasn't great. But here he is playing at a higher level, 514 00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:37.240 playing with better talent around him, and he's great. He's been a 515 00:33:37.319 --> 00:33:39.799 great player for Yukon. Yeah, let me just make sure I've got these 516 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:45.799 numbers. Great. Yeah, So he played his first three seasons at East 517 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:50.640 Carolina and he did breakthrough in his last year. They're averaging about seventeen. 518 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:53.000 But you know, now he's averaging fifteen points a game for a team that's 519 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:59.920 about to win their second consecutive national championship. So don't be afraid to embrace 520 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:04.000 somebody that is a lower level if they've been productive or if they fit with 521 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:07.000 what a coach really values. All right, quick break, we'll come back 522 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:09.199 and wrap at the four o'clock hour. It's coffee and company. Feel about 523 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:14.719 Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety All right, welcome back, Coffee 524 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:17.079 and Company. Final segment here in the four o'clock hour. Appreciate you hanging 525 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:22.800 out with us as we continue to, you know, talk about the big 526 00:34:22.840 --> 00:34:27.000 news news that I think the way it kind of came out of nowhere is 527 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:34.199 it's kind of led to it being I don't know the thought of Kentucky's basketball 528 00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:39.320 coach leaving kind of randomly to go to a school that is in the same 529 00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:43.679 conference. I mean, it's like, wait a second, what, no 530 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:49.719 way really, But then maybe within like a second of considering the entire situation 531 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:53.639 from every angle, it's a good thing for everybody involved, it really is. 532 00:34:55.400 --> 00:34:59.800 But Arkansas fans it looks like a lot of them are having to, 533 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.920 you know, scrub some stuff off of their social media accounts because Kyl was 534 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:07.519 like a villain in the sec right, Like he was a guy that you 535 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:14.199 know, probably every opposing team hated him and hates a strong word obviously, 536 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:17.480 but there was an Arkansas which, by the way, this whole last forty 537 00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:21.519 eight hours or so, I guess twenty four hours roughly, has has really 538 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:24.559 introduced me to the world that is Arkansas fans on Twitter, And uh, 539 00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:35.239 there there's this guy who says, conversation with my wife me, we just 540 00:35:35.320 --> 00:35:40.280 hired the best basketball coach in the country. And then the wife says, 541 00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:45.159 this guy, I thought you hated him. His response, don't you ever 542 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:47.840 talk about my coach like that again? And that's how it works, right, 543 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:51.840 he's he's if he's not your guy, you probably hate him. And 544 00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:58.400 if he's you know, if he's your guy, you're gonna embrace him. 545 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:05.719 And that's what really means the connection with Kentucky and Cal just a perfect fit 546 00:36:06.039 --> 00:36:10.159 early on, because he's arrogant, he's in your face, he's cocky, 547 00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:15.880 he's smug. You know, he says things that a lot of coaches wouldn't 548 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:20.360 say, even though it's kind of true, right, like, you know, 549 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:27.440 it's Kentucky, we eat first, it's Kentucky the gold standard. You 550 00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:30.679 know, at one point he he and this is whenever he could say this 551 00:36:30.719 --> 00:36:35.079 stuff and it didn't catch your attention, like, wow, I can't believe 552 00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:37.920 he said it because it was just Cal being you know, the arrogant Cal. 553 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:40.719 I mean he said, look, we'll come to your town, will 554 00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:45.480 beat your team, We'll take your players. Like those are things he would 555 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:47.639 say publicly, like in interviews and in press conferences. And it was just 556 00:36:47.719 --> 00:36:50.800 because at the time, like I think all that was true. He was 557 00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:53.960 getting any player he wanted, and you know, he could he could tell 558 00:36:54.000 --> 00:37:00.239 everybody that it's the super Bowl when they show up, but when they do 559 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:05.960 win, you know, he was very very he was very much a good 560 00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:10.800 fit until you know, things weren't as good anymore. And I think the 561 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:15.320 the I mean, I hate calling it betrayal because that's silly, but I 562 00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:22.440 think that's the way he felt. He felt betrayed by Matt Jones and a 563 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:24.039 lot of the fans who were critical. For the first time, the level 564 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:30.119 of criticism was louder than it had ever been because you know, they had 565 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:35.679 that drought, right. I mean, they went from first year rock Star 566 00:37:35.800 --> 00:37:38.480 team they got, you know, fell short in the Elite eight, to 567 00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:44.840 West Virginia with John wall Cousins, next year final four team with Brandon Knight, 568 00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:47.960 Terrence Jones, those guys. They had some rocky stretches during that season, 569 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:51.039 but still I think they were like a four seat and they beat some 570 00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:53.519 really good teams along the way to get to the Final four before losing to 571 00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:58.320 Kimba Walker in the Yukon team. Next year, they won a national championship. 572 00:37:59.440 --> 00:38:04.559 In the year after that, they weren't good n I T but they 573 00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:07.559 probably make the tournament if Neurlans domeel doesn't get hurt. And clearly they weren't 574 00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:13.039 good, but they weren't like god awful, And even if it's true or 575 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:15.639 not, you could at least give a legitimate excuse as their best player, 576 00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:20.440 best you know, best recruit guy to get hurt. And then the year 577 00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:24.000 after that things got a little rough. In fourteen, they were not that 578 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:25.719 good. They were an eight seed, but you know what, they made 579 00:38:25.719 --> 00:38:30.760 it all the way to the National Championship Game. Fifteen. Best team I 580 00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:35.000 can think of, I think I think I've ever watched in college basketball is 581 00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:37.400 that twenty fifteen Kentucky team. So in that run, in that era, 582 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:43.480 he was top, Like he could say those things and like nobody could say 583 00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:46.639 he was wrong, and maybe other coaches wouldn't say it and just be that 584 00:38:46.920 --> 00:38:51.199 be that arrogant, and there'd be a little more of a humble approach to 585 00:38:51.239 --> 00:38:53.639 it. But then again, like that's not col Nobody would ever claim that's 586 00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:59.960 how he's gone about anything. And then I guess in sixteen they lost Indian 587 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:01.960 team. That team should have been better, but they lost in to Indiana 588 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:07.920 in the round of thirty two. And then eighteen and nineteen was it back 589 00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:14.320 to back Elite eights or seventeen and eighteen, Yeah, seventeen and eighteen they 590 00:39:14.320 --> 00:39:20.280 were seventeen was the year they lost to Carolina on the buzzer beater. Good 591 00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:24.719 team Monk and Fox eighteen lost in the sweet sixteen to Kansas State, a 592 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:29.440 team they shouldn't have lost to. Nineteen was when they lost to Auburn in 593 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:32.159 the Elite eight, another game they shouldn't have lost. And then twenty they 594 00:39:32.199 --> 00:39:36.920 were actually playing really good basketball at the end and nobody had a tournament, 595 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:39.320 so there's no result. And then from then on, I mean, they 596 00:39:39.320 --> 00:39:43.159 were awful in twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, major bounce back, 597 00:39:43.239 --> 00:39:47.960 but they lose to Saint Peter's. Twenty twenty three kind of a down year 598 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:51.920 overall because they brought back the national Player of the Year but got a six 599 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:52.920 seed, lost in the round of thirty two. And then this year, 600 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:55.400 you know, they were good enough to get a three seed. At times 601 00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:59.000 they looked like a team that could really win the national championship, but they 602 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:02.920 lost to Oakland. So like a vast, vast difference in his first five 603 00:40:04.039 --> 00:40:09.480 six years compared to the last five six years. And I guess he because 604 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:13.360 he did win a title, and because of all the great success they had 605 00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:15.440 early on, I think he failed. You know, I'm not doctor Phil 606 00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:19.760 here, I'm not a psychiatrist. But I think he felt a level of 607 00:40:19.760 --> 00:40:23.599 betrayal because of how good the early years were. I don't think he ever 608 00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:27.679 felt like there would be deserved criticism towards him, and he you know, 609 00:40:27.800 --> 00:40:30.320 and when I say betrayal, it's just because how loyalty is such a thing 610 00:40:30.360 --> 00:40:32.639 to him. It's you know, not to say he's like a mobster or 611 00:40:32.679 --> 00:40:37.280 anything like that, but like loyalty is is everything. And I guess because 612 00:40:37.320 --> 00:40:40.400 the fans were critical and some started questioning if he was the right guy, 613 00:40:42.480 --> 00:40:45.719 it's it's something that he never dealt with the right way, and like it 614 00:40:45.800 --> 00:40:51.480 consumed him. And now I think he's fueled to go win at a high 615 00:40:51.519 --> 00:40:52.360 level at Arkansas. I don't know if it's going to happen or not. 616 00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:57.760 But what's kind of sad is that I truly believe his motivation at Arkansas is 617 00:40:57.800 --> 00:41:00.639 to win. But it's because he wants to stick it and can Lucky's face. 618 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:05.719 It's just that dynamic to me, is it's unhealthy to be honest with 619 00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:07.800 you. All Right, we got another hour to go. We'll finish strong 620 00:41:08.559 --> 00:41:14.239 National Championship game tonight. Bittersweet for me because you know, should be a 621 00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:17.000 great game, But it means college troops is gonna be over all right, 622 00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:21.599 don't go anywhere, keep it locked right here on Sports Talk seven ninety