This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez sound Fox Sports
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R TWU SA at iHeartRadio Station. A good afternoon, Welcome behind the Ball
here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm your host, Jay Gonzalez. My
partner, Steve Rivera has another day off. He's off to Vegas for his
sixtieth birthday, which kind of makes me feel old because I've known him since
he was a young man. But he's he's taken a couple of days off.
He will be back on Monday. I've got one or intern wan and
here to work the board for his first time. We broke Ryan in yesterday
one, we're breaking in today. Then I've got one of my old friends,
and I mean old, not in a like year old, just that
we've known each other for a really long time. But Dave Silver, former
keag On sportscaster, has been working at the U of A, been a
fundraise over there for a lot of year. Has been in Tucson for forty
some years, right, forty plus, yeah, forty plus here, So
Dave here, uh, he and I go way back. He's seen a
lot of the things that I've seen in u A athletics. Continue to just
be involved, right, no stuff, be pitch titching to what's going on.
So Dave, welcome, thank you for being here today. It's great
to be here. I'm glad. Of course. I've known both you guys
for a long time, so it's good to be here to kind of fill
in for Steve on his big birthday weekend. I've had one of those myself.
Yeah, a few years ago. Yeah, so I know what that's
like. Yeah, I'm you know, I'm headed for I'm signing up for
Medicare this this exactly? I can tell I give you some tips. But
I was joking with Dave. He sent me a photo of him for for
our social media, and I said, there's no gray hair in this photo,
so what the heck's going on now? I got to send that one
out to you. So that was back in the k Gun years. And
guy Ashley, who I just saw a couple of days ago, in fact,
is a great photographer and near the end of my time there, he
took off. He took a lot of pictures of us. Yeah, it
was it was terrific. So that's one I'm I really like, but I
do have much more dark Yeah, well you look good. You look good,
and you know what, no no reason we can't look young in our
photos, right, no matter what. So but again, thanks Dave for
being here. You know, we'll we'll go through a lot of stuff,
a lot of things happening. It's been a busy day already here. Arizona
baseball already played. They played at ten o'clock this morning, so they're done.
They they're at Utah. They unfortunately got beat six to one. The
Utah picture through a complete game and it was a really fast game, barely
lasted about two and a half hours, and but the Arizona got beat.
It's a big series because Utah is not one game behind them in the in
the standing. So we're gonna get chip on chip hail on sometime next week
because then they got Oregon State coming in for their last last series of the
regular season. But you know, Arizona baseball has been, you know,
the way we described it, kind of under the radar, got off to
not a great start, they had a losing record. Then when on this
winning streak and now they're the first place in the league. That's kind of
how I've been viewing it too, just as a as a fan. There
was a moment in time where they were really not playing well at all,
right, having a big, long losing streak, and then all of a
sudden they turned it around and had a big, long winning streak. So
I'm happy for Chip, you know, you and I again, we've known
him for a long time and have him do well here is only good.
And you know, it's really kind of a fun time of year when those
playoffs roll around. If they're at high corvid Field, it's been a good
advantage for them, So they're gonna probably get a regional I would assume,
really well, that was part one of the conversations that they that they were
having. That the that the the announcmers were having was that somebody put out
a mock bracket and had no PAC twelve teams hosting. No, and really
like and they're they're and they and they're saying like, wait a minute,
how do you not have even the PAC twelve champion, yeah, hosting?
How do you do that? And there were like eight SEC teams or something
like that, right, which is per usual, and that that happens.
It seems. It seems it happens more in baseball and softball and anything else
that somehow the SEC gets all this love. I'm sorry, you know,
you put Arizona in the SEC. You know, they maybe they don't win
it, maybe they're not the best team in there, and they like as
you said, they had struggle as the beginning of the year. But they're
a top two or three team over there, and so you can't tell me
that they shouldn't be hosting if they're the champions. I mean, they're ranked
in the top twenty five, and so that's gonna be something that's gonna probably
at least be you know, on their resume. I can't imagine them at
least not getting the first weekend of games here, especially the way High Corbett
Field can draw fans and the time of year it's nice and warm and people
it looks good on TV. So I'd be surprised if they don't. Well,
I wouldn't because really, because I'm not because I don't think they deserve
it, just because we've seen it. I mean, there was that one
a few years ago, and this is the one that blew my mind and
I lost my mind on social media when a five hundred team Florida got in
and Arizona did not. When Arizona, you know, finished like fourth in
the league or something like that and they didn't get in, but a five
hundred Florida team did, and it was like, what what are we doing?
But I'll wait to get pissed off until it happens. They have to
go to missisi Regional and then they were super Regional the last time they were
the last time they were in the World Series, they they they they didn't
host and then they had to go play a Super Regional somewhere else and I
think it was it was Mississippi State. Yeah, and that's they went to
the They went to the College Road Series that year. So anyways, good
luck to Chuck Cecil. So anyways, a couple of great guests today,
continuing the conversation that that my guest host yesterday Adam Gonzalez my son talking about
NBA players playing in the NFL, NFL players playing in the NBA. When
that guy then came up earlier in the week with Austin Rivers saying he could
put he could pick thirty guys from the NBA who could play in the NFL
right now, And then he said, but you can't find thirty guys in
the NFL who could play in the NBA. That's been a topic of conversation
across all the talk shows and TV shows and whatnot, and we've not been
you know, we're one of them. We had the conversation yesterday. But
first person I thought of when that conversation came up was Calvin E. Font
And you know as well know Calvin came in as a basketball recruit, highly
rated rap back. Well, all of Loot's recruits were highly rated, right,
but he came in to play for Lout wound up playing on the football
team. Was one of the best players and a star on the ninety eight
team, had everything to do with that team that went twelve and one.
So he did both. So I invited him on the show. He couldn't
come on until today, but he will be on today in about in about
ten minutes, ten to fifteen minutes. But we'll have that conversation. Yeah,
it's a good subject. There's always been that kind of story, like,
oh, Lebron could be a great tight end. You know, things
right that I just don't know about these NBA guys if they could really take
the physical I hate the word physicality, but that word, right, and
that part of football, I don't know. I don't know how many hits
they could take. Well, and that's been that's the people who disagree with
that, who don't think that could happen, is that's exactly what they say.
Say. Okay, whoever it is, whether it's Lebron any other big
guy who comes in, and when you think of that, you think mostly
you're talking guys who are tight ends or received wide receivers, right, because
as we were talking about yesterday, guys in the NBA are all big.
They're all big guys, they're sick, you know, and they're really good.
Ones are six seven, six eight. Well that's huge for an NFL
player, those guys. You know, they don't have six seven and six
eight guys running around all over the place. And but saying that, those
guys they may be able to take a few hits, but three four games
into the season, they're the hell's beat out of them there and they're on
the sidelines. I mean, you know, historically there have been some pretty
good baseball basketball combinations. I mean, going back all way back to like
Dave de Busher for the New York Knicks. Right, he pitched, Yeah,
and he played for the Knicks and one couple NBA titles. Yeah,
but the football basketball, I'm not sure. Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates,
Right, Antonio Gates played He didn't even play college football. He played college
basketball. Then, you know, guys at the Hall of Fame tight end.
But that's kind of it, right, Tony was great. Yeah,
and Tony was I mean, he was a better football player than basketball player.
But he was a really good basketball player. But again, what what
what's tony six six, six sixty seven? Right? You can't be much
bigger than that and play in the NFL. Right, I was gonna say,
I think, you know, when they're younger, maybe that happens a
little more often, but when they really do get to the higher levels,
it's tough. It's tough. Mean you you know you really want to get
banged around like that. Yeah. Well, the guy that I brought up
yesterday, and you know, we all kind of nodded our heads on and
that was Remember Fendyanobun came here, big guy, you know, he he
you know, he was okay guy in basketball? He wasn't you know,
I don't think he even never was a starter or anything. But I remember
seeing him on the court for the first time. He said, why is
that guy here? And is he not at Arizona Stadium? Why is he
not playing football? He ended up getting drafted by the Rams, six round
pick of the Rams. Had a cup of coffee with the Rams. But
you know it didn't didn't last a whole long time. But that's the one
guy you know who from Arizona who did both. Now Calvin didn't never,
didn't play pro football, but you know, he was a full back.
They didn't have fullbacks anymore. It's not a position that exists exactly, and
it really doesn't exist anymore today. But you know, he was one guy.
But you know, Fendy from a physical standpoint, I mean, try
and think of another guy who was as physically imposing as him. By that,
by that, I mean just thick, physical, looked like a guy
that you wouldn't want to run into, right, because we talked about you
know, DeAndre Ayton a physical specimen, but not physical specimen in from a
football standpoint, right, just for a seven footer, the guy was built
like you know, you know, brick. You know what, Fendy looked
like a tight end when he walked on the floor. Think about Zach Randolph
when he was at Michigan State in that infamous moment when Gilbert Arenez ran into
him at the final four. Yeah, that was kind of a football move.
And Zach is probably six eleven seventy five pounds, right, So I
don't know, I don't see him being able to even get on a football
field, right, too big, too big, too tall, big,
and he's not going to have the feet for you know, to get by
a cornerback or whatever. And then the whole you know they talk about,
you know, basketball players that you know you can't put your hands on them,
right, Well, that's that's what they do in the NFL. And
being able to figure that out. A guest on Dan Patrick, and I
still again cannot think of his name, but he's the guy that often fills
in for for Danny. He played football at Princeton. I don't know if
you the guy that I'm talking about, and he does some he does some
radio radio play by play, but he said his comment was I could see
an NFL guy playing in the NFL, but he's gonna need like two years
to get ready for that. If you're telling me you're gonna drop him in,
you know, basketball season's gonna end and they're gonna go to an NFL
camp, I'm gonna say, no, way, not one. There's not
one guy in the NFL who could deal with the physicality. And by that
he meant, you know, the hands and the grabbing and the and the
movements and all the things that go the techniques that go in with being a
receiver or being a defensive lineman or an offensive lineman or whatever. He say,
None of those guys would know how to do that. And there's some
skill to that that you start learning when you play Pop Warner. I can
see. Maybe you know, Dion was probably a good basketball player, probably
in high school. I'm sure he played everything. Kenny Lofton, you know,
did the crossover to baseball from basketball. But okay, Kenny Lofton's good.
He would have had to play running back. Oh yeah, right.
He was six two six one. You know, he was five tens.
He was five ten, he was five eleven. I remember that we made
a big deal about the fact he could dunk and he wasn't six foot Okay,
five eleven and you looked at him and you thought, Okay, he's
a good physical looking kid for basketball, but put a football uniform on him.
You know, I don't know if he could be a good running back
because I just don't know that he'd be powerful in that right, right,
you know, it's it's a good it's a good theory, and there just
aren't that many people who've done it, like Kelvin would be a good,
good person to talk to about how he did it, right. I mean
Bo Jackson, Okay, the ultimate right incredible football player, but he had
he played baseball. I don't know that Bo Jackson can be a you know,
a guard or forward in the NBA one because he'll just knock people over
and fall out in five minutes. Right he was two, he's too,
he was too he was what a what a body he had on him when
he was in his prime. Yeah. Anyways, all right, so we
went went along waves with that conversation. Uh, our second guest today,
we're bringing in a Kevin guy. Uh. We know him in Tucson as
a He and his wife Kathy owned the Tucson Sugar Skulls. But on the
other side of it. He's the coach of the Arizona Rattlers up in Phoenix.
The rat and the Sugar Sculls play tomorrow here in Tucson. So I
thought i'd bring him in and we'll just talk about this game coming up tomorrow.
Uh, they're trying to make this a great rivalry. Arizona's beating him
a couple of times, so I know Kevin doesn't like that. I mean,
he loves his team to win, the team that he owns to win,
but not when they're playing Rattlers. It's an interesting comedy. You know,
we made a lot of big you know, there's a lot of stuff
made about it when the team was first formed. Right then, we're kind
of past that. Now he's the coach of the Rattlers. They're coming in
and they've got they've got this game coming up tomorrow. With that, neither
neither team off to a great start. The Sugars calls are one and four.
They're trying to get off the schneid a little bit. The Rattlers in
an uncharacteristic three and three, so that they're you know there, It's kind
of like the league is caught up right. The league has expanded they got
a lot of new teams, and some of those new teams are pretty good.
Yeah, they're pretty good. So we'll talk to Kevin about this game
coming up, and then you and I we're gonna have a conversation about Steve
Kerr, who's in town for a very special location today. But we'll get
to that after the break. So let's go and take our break. We're
we can get calviny fun on the phone. We'll kick this subject around a
little bit more and then just get some of his thoughts on he's a basketball
coach, he's still a football guy. Calvin's got a lot of knowledge,
so we'll pick his brain on a lot of different things. But we'll continue
this NBA NFL conversations. Let's go and take our break, and we're right
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eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Stage. Chef Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming
live. I mean, iHeartRadio. Who welcome back to on the Ball here
on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Ja Gonzalez, your host for today.
My partner Steve Rivera's out of town today. He'll be back on Monday.
But I've got my more than able guest co host Dave Silver, former sports
director at Kagan, joining us. And a special guest on the phone,
Calvin Ephon, former Arizona football and basketball player and want to be part of
the conversation that we've been having about this. Guys who can plain in the
NBA, in the NFL. But Calvin, thanks for being here today.
We do appreciate it. Oh Man, appreciate appreciate you guys having me off.
All right, So Calvin, I'm gonna just go right into this.
I don't know if you saw the comment that Austin Rivers made on Monday.
There's been a lot of commerce mender Tusay, a lot of conversation about it
this week on every talk show in America, including ours. He said that
you can put thirty he could put thirty, pick thirty NBA players and put
them in the NFL right now, and they can play, but you can't
say the same thing about putting NFL players in the NBA. I immediately thought
of you when I heard that, because you did both at Arizona. You
did both very well. You're part of that arguably the best Arizona football team
ever in ninety eight win twelve and one. But you played both. So,
first of all, just give me your first thoughts on Austin Rivers saying
that. Well, I thought the football players were being a little sensitive on
that, because you know, I'm pretty sure they know Austin is right.
You know, the type of athletes that play basketball is just ridiculous, especially
the guys that have a little size on them, a little weight on them.
The more are smaller guys, you know, probably have a little bit
on the skinny guys that have a little bit of trouble. But you know,
the guys that are bill solid, I think they'll be perfectly fine out
there. A lot of people over the years have talked about Lebron could have
been a great tight end and the NFL. But he's six He's six' eight.
I mean that might be a little big, did you think, I
mean, what do you think about let's say, let's use Lebron as the
model for that. Mhmm, well, well, you know, the first
thing I think about is Grunk, right right, And and Grunk is about
sixty six at least, so I think that I think Brunk could definitely do
it, maybe more of a tight end than a receiver. But yeah,
man, I mean you just look at guys like Grunk and Antonio Gates.
I mean the Gates is like sixty six as well. Think about Tony Gunzalez.
Me and him was recruited real heavy by U of A, and we
both was thinking of coming here together, but he decided on Cow. But
but you know, when I think about it, yeah, man, Lebron,
I think he would have been the perfect guy as well. You know,
you know I was thinking about too. And I don't remember exactly how
far he went in his career, but Nick Foles was a very good basketball
player. He used to around McHale Center a lot, so there was a
and I don't think he ever played maybe you know, in high school.
I would assume he was a good football basketball combo. Oh, yes he
was. I actually saw that Brandy Fitton a couple of times, and I
saw this tall guy over there shooting shots, and I'm like, they got
a new recruiting And then I walked right over to him and I said,
wait a minute, that's me. And he went over there working out with
with like four or five little kids about they was in between twelve and fifteen,
and I think he was like big brother in him or something. But
he was over there man, swishing and dunking. I was like, he
definitely could have played some college ball somewhere. Remember Craig Bergman, right,
that's a name from I don't know, it's probably before you was late eighties,
all right, quarterback and you know, came off the bench, so
there were there was a little of that going on here. Oh yeah,
I got You know what I did, guys, I made the list of
who I saw was some of the guys from the bath I mean from football
that could play basket basketball and from football that could play uh basketball, that
could play football. So I came up with Jeremy mcda that's my number one.
That's because we played on the inn. When I went to football,
we played on an Inner Mules team together, and I have to admit he
was the m v P of the team. I get that guy. Man
was a ridiculous athlete. Jeremy McDaniel. What was what was his game?
What was he a great shooter? What? What did he what was he
good at? Slasher? He was? He was a slasher man. I
mean, I'm talking about ridiculous athlete. I mean, if you know anything
about him, he jump out the gym, just just a guy that got
to the bucket, would dunk on you had the mid range shot. Just
just a total athlete and ridiculously competitive. Right, and I got Nick Foses
on my list for sure. A name you got. Guys might not remember.
What about Peter Hansen? Oh yeah, he was like six eight right
the exactly, but you know, he was a walk onto the team and
he found he found a role as a field goal block, right field goal
intimidator, I'll say exactly. He's still coaching. I want to say,
he's been coaching like at Stanford another big programs through the years. He's had
a nice long career. Oh in the NFL, he's with the Denver Broncos
linebacker coach. Oh wow, okay, good for him. You know you
brought that up. I mean that again that you know that Washington game up
there, You know that you guys came back and and and one. At
the last second year, he he he blocked one, and then I think
he intimidated one, right exactly. Man, huge, huge man that was.
That was one of our sayings. Man, every walk one got to
feel like they a star player and they can get it done. And he
was a guy that got it done for us in a major way in that
game, right right, Okay, I got o j O j our team.
Right well, he was he was with He played with the he played
with the ninety the He walked on and played with the basketball team as a
walk on for a while, right exactly. He was there for a while.
Right there. I think I think he ends up, you know,
Coach asked him to move on because I think he was holding up Jason Terry
a little bit, right. A man can't let you disturb him, you
know. But other guys I got on the list. The name you guys
may not know, Jeff Nado. Okay, I remember the receiver. Yes,
yes, he was a receiver. A world class high jumper. Okay,
he high jumped for the track team. He was a seven foot high
jumper. Wow. And when I tell you he jumped, he was only
about five ten, but he jumped out the gym. Wow. Okay,
I'm telling you who else? Richard Richard Dice. Okay, Richard Dice was
a real good high school player and we used to have some wars over there
in the rec center after basketball season when I was a football player, we
some wars with some of those guys, and Richard was a guy that sometimes
gave us problem. He would be He would be a mean dude on the
court, is what I would think, because he was just sort of a
not take any crap from anybody kind of guy. Yea intimidator. Yes,
yes. My last guy is t mac okay, Yeah, yeah, I
mean you see the things that he do with forfeit to throw that ball up
in there. You see what he do. I mean, So, I
mean he longed like six' five, so he has the lens. He
kind of reminds me of Michael Dixon as far as size is concerned and everything
like that. Have you seen him play basketball? Yeah him, Yes,
I saw some of his high school famis wow. Well, and I guess
like he's like a not I don't want to say world class, but he's
like a top He would be a top collegiate volleyball player if he was playing
volleyball, right, yes, don't surprise me at all. And I'm gonna
give you quick names. On basketball, I think Ben Davis could have been
a great defensive tackle. Michael Dickson bringing that name up again. I think
he could have been a world class wide receiver because he's one of the strongest
guys to play at Arizona as far as basketball is concerned, and he had
one of the highest repetitions in the NBA as far as bench press concern of
one eighty All right, okay, Danley Johnson linebacks DANLEYE. Johnson, Okay,
Jason Terry defensive back. He loved football. He had a complete Arizona
uniform helmet, so I shouldn't be telling that, but he had a complete
uniform and he used to word every game when we played, he would be
full uniform like he was in the game. And Ben Matherin wide receiver dB.
And Hassan Adams athlete, Oh Hassan who could jump the gym? Yeah
yeah, yeah, man. You know, we we had some great athletes
around Arizona that could could have played both sports at any time. Okay,
Now the question around that is could those guys and and tell me about your
first six bears with it? Could those guys take ahead? Uh? All
the guys that I named, yes, sir, Yes, sir, yes
sir, and could give him out all the games that I can name.
And you know, when I went back out, I hadn't played football for
two and a half years. I came you know, my basketball scot So
it was two years I couldn't play football. And then when I finally got
out there, you know now, the only big hit I remember taking with
chester Burn at Okay chester Burn that he knocked He knocked me out one dad
practice. He got me, He got me. Uh, you know when
I first got back out there from football. But I needed that to get
back aclimated to you know how it was. But no, I think all
the guys that I named, I think they physical enough to get it done.
Yeah. Interesting. Interesting? How about Lance Briggs? Would you think
he could have? Did he have much of a basketball skill? Man?
Bridge just got so big so fast, he got so big. I can't
I can't really give Briggs that when I can't give him that he got.
I'm gonna tell you some guy, a guy that had some athleticism that you
wouldn't believe was a great dunker. Frank Middleton. Oh wow, I get
in front of that. Wow three. Yeah. Yeah, but his arms
were his arms were really long. And when I tell you, Frank would
almost turn the ram down. They had to tell him to McHale in the
summertime, like no duncan and mchel Yeah, Frank was a great athlete,
man, I can tell you from personal experience, and you know, unfortunately
he passed away a couple of years ago. But Julius Holt was a heck
of a basketball player and a football player. Yeah, from the UFA back
in the in the eighties. He was a lefty and we would play with
him pickup games and he would plow into you. But he was a really
good athlete. Well he was a nose tackle, right, yeah, but
he could. He's like, I see that. I remember seeing them when
he was younger. Yeah. We he wasn't as big for sure when he
was younger in his football playing days. Yeah. Yeah, we're talking to
Calviny fund form Arizona player. I'm gonna call you an NBA, NFL expert,
Callvin, because that was some great stuff for some of these guys.
But a great part of the conversation. You know, did you I mean,
did you feel like when you went to football. I mean you said
a minute ago that it took you some time to get used to it,
but you became one of the more physical players on that ninety eighteen largely because
of the position you played. You sort of got into it. I'm guessing,
yeah, yeah, no, I you know, I was a football
player growing up. Middle school was when I first actually started playing. I
played my seventh eight grade year. I missed my ninth grade year. And
then because I was thought I was gonna be a complete basketball player, and
a guy on the football team started that I played against in middle school.
He started acting like he was a better player, and I had to go
shut him up. But I had to go shut him up. You know,
that's my boy, right, ended up playing at New Mexico as well,
New Mexico State. My my, my, my teammate in the backfield,
Keela McNeil. But anyway, no, you know, my I was
always aggressive foot as far as basketball was concerned. Was a defender. He
was a lot you know, was into the defensive game, the physical game
of it. So when I went to football, it won a real big
change for me. Honestly, Uh, you know, I was kind of
ready for it. I was excited about the opportunity. Uh So chester Burnett
did give me a big hit, but I was I was he he gave
me that hit because I had you know, no disrespect to none of those
guys. But Coach Tomy put me against the first defense on the scout team
and I ran four touchdowns in a row against them on gold line, and
and so Coach Tomy send me back down with the first string offense. And
then chester Burnett kind of had an issue with me and he caught me in
a drill and you know, he got me. That's great. Well,
Calvin, you were one of you one of the great ones on that ninety
eight team that still stands out as you know, one of the funnest times,
if not the funnest time as a fan for for football. So we
had a couple of minutes. Let's talk a little bit about the things that
are going on right now. Uh, transfer portal wise, guys getting recruited
both football and basketball. You see what's going on. Your thoughts on what
Tommy's doing basketball wise, the guys that he's that he's lining up for this
team next year, waiting to see what happens with Caleb Love. Yeah,
I love. I love the guys that he's bringing in, mostly from mid
majors. Uh. Those guys seem to be a little hungry and and and
want to prove themselves. So I think those those two guys is a great
fit. Then the big guy from Tennessee, I believe, just another big,
physical guy. You getting ready to go into the Big twelve. You
gotta have guys that are ready to be physical to play in that conference.
So I thought he did a good job of mixing in some veterans with also
some physical guys that you were going to need to add to the guys that
we have coming back. But I'm excited about this group like I am every
year. I'm not a guy that really worries about the NIL. I think
things are going to shake out the way they shake out. And then as
a coach, you got to put your team together. That's just what it
is. Yeah, and and and you got to do it every year.
Same thing on the football side, right Brent Brennan's out there trying to gather
up some guys to fill in for guys who have left, he's bringing some
guys in as well. Yeah, and you know what, and what we're
gonna find out about all the coaches in America that's coaching is can you coach?
And you coach? Because now you're gonna get guys that gonna you're gonna
need for the immediate season. And they're just coming in from transferring and they're
coming in at the spring ball, they're coming in at the summer, and
you're gonna have to get those guys up to speed for you to have a
successful season. So hey, it comes down to having a great coaching staff.
I actually have faith in this coaching staff. I know these guys.
I've had success with these guys in the past. Before they left, you
of aane went off and had their different successes. Now they're backs, they're
like family. I'm excited for them to see what they can do with the
talent that they have coming back from this team and the talent that they're bringing
in. And then we're gonna we'll see t mac dunk on a few people
this season. Right, seems like Brent has had pretty good success keeping the
guys here. There was so much talk about all these guys, Oh they're
gonna go with Jed Fish to Washington and only just you know, a couple
of guys went, and that was it. So good news, I guess
as far as keeping the roster together and bringing in, you know, some
talent here and there from elsewhere, well, you know what, that's great
news. But I'm gonna give more credit to the guys that stayed the fefeedo
the t Max than my news. Those guys are great leaders, guys want
to play with them, guys that have had success with those guys, so
they're a little bit they're believing in those guys because those guys stuck around,
and that that had something to do also with Brennan because for some reason,
those guys feel a little faith in him, and he has some history with
Polynesians, coming from Arizona and being at San Jose State. He's a coach
Tony understudy, So I don't have no problem with him with him taking over
here because one thing that I do know is he's gonna love on those guys
and he's gonna be more concerned with them becoming great men, which in turns
end up making them great football players. Well said, Well call Calvin,
thank you so much. Appreciate you doing this with us on a Friday.
Well, you'll will be able to pick you up postgame shows when basketball rolls
around again. Or do you football or basketball or both both? Okay,
So on that other station on twelve ninety, don't mind mentioning those guys working
with David Kelly over there. So you do some good work and we appreciate
you joining us today. Oh, no problem, I appreciate you guy brought
all right, there you go. Thank you. Calviny Fun one of the
great ones. You know. I've told this. I know we got to
go to break. I've told the story a million times going into that ninety
nine season. Right after the twelve and one ninety eight season, preseason,
I was having a conversation with somebody who you and I know really well,
but I'm not going to out him on this, and I asked him the
week before these I said, how are these guys gonna do? Because we
were all excited about this, saying they were gonna play Penn State and over
he says, and you just looked at me with a just a really serious
as he goes, this team needs a leader. Calviny Fun is gone and
there's not another calvany fun on this team. Dick Tomy loved him. Yeah,
I mean he called my warrior. I always remember that from those ninety
ninety eight season that you know, as you mentioned, you know, the
best year. It was amazing. That whole team was just loaded with talents
and he was a big part in that. And that team did not have
what he brought and that team went six and six. Ultimately was the start
of Dick's downfall here. You know, a year later he was gone.
So unbelievable, Yeah, unfortunate. Anyways, all right, let's take our
break word and come back. We'll love to take your calls on any of
that. Five to two zero four one six seventy four to forty again five
two zero four one six seventy four, forty I've got Dave Silver in the
house, so we'll take u. Well, listen to whatever you got to
say. And well, we've got a couple of things else to cover,
so we'll be right back. Arizona men's basketball fan, you know, it's
been successful for nearly forty years. Now. Take a look back at the
Loudolsen era in my new book, Lessons from Loot. It was a labor
of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches and friends to
give insight to the coach and the man who led them, competed against them,
and inspired them. Twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's
beloved coach. Lessons from lut is an insight to how he built the program
into another national powerhouse. What one email me at Steve dot RIVERA ninety five
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two zero seven forty eight or Picture Rockspooling dot Com, Jicks Rocks, Doolingting
and Plumbing, Stringy Live Money, iHeartRadio WAF. This is I on the
Ball with Steve Rivera and Jacob Salez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Welcome back
to Balling on Fox Sports fourteen fifty Im Jacobszalez your host for the day.
Uh, Steve's out on a brief vacation celebrating his birthday, but I've got
a great guest's host sitting in with me. David Silver, who's been been
in this time for forty some long time, nineteen eighty three nineteen eighty three,
so forty one years, kag On Sports sports director for pretty much all
of those years, pretty much eighty five I think it started. So I
worked with Ed Sorenson for a couple of years and that was a good learning
experience to learn from him. And at the time we had the football contract,
so he was doing the color commentary on the games. And then when
he left, I got to do it for a couple of years and did
Larry Smith show, and then we lost the contracts and that was the end
of that. But it was a great way to break into Tucson. An
amazing time for the u of A sports especially right a really an amazing growth
period for you know, when Arizona Sports became, you know, got into
the mainstream and they got into the Pac ten and it and it grew up
and you know with you know Larry Smith and Loud Olsen, you know Dick
Tomy, you know Jerry Kendall at the time, you know one up in
National Baseball Championships and all that stuff. Yeah, you've seen all the stuff
that that Steve and I talk about here all the time, and a lot
of history, some good, some not so good, right, but you
know that's the way history is. There's going to be some highlights and the
things that just didn't work out. But you know, getting a chance to
cover those early early loot oles and teams was unbelievable. And it's funny because
we've all I mean, I was. You know, when you're in the
media, you don't necessarily get super close to these guys, you know,
but with the way social media evolved and say the last ten years, you
sort of can reconnect and they, oh yeah they do remember you, yes,
like like the Pete Williams of the world, Nay Smith, and we
know we're like friends again exactly after all these years ago. So some of
the guys I was able to stay close with, you know, either just
because they would come back to town for camps, like you know, the
Richard Jefferson's and Luke Walton would come back and Jason Terry you just mentioned,
he would come back in and I remember when Bill Walton was here. It
was a real treat just to kind of see him, you know, I'm
gonna want to help Luke with his camp. Yeah. Well one of those
guys that you and I I think we can both consider our close friends with
Steve Kerr, right, And you mentioned that you were an event to where
he was getting an honorary doctor today, Todd tell us a little bit about
about reigning into Steve today. Yeah, it was great. So I went
back to campus about noon today and we had a little ceremony at the student
union for Steve and his mother Anne, both getting honorary doctorates later tonight at
Arizona Stadium with the big graduation ceremonies, commencement ceremonies, and Steve was there,
his mother, his brother, his niece, some family that was there
as well. And Steve was great. He had a chance to talk to
everybody. There are a couple of players there, Reggie Geary showed up,
and Matt Mulbach was there. Scott Thompson, the old assistant coach was there
as well, and a number of faculty members, the deans from the different
colleges that are going to be doing the award awards tonight. So Steve's is
going to be in humanities, and he was greeted by the Dean of Humanity's
ap durand he's from France and I think Anne Kerr, his mom, can
speak French fluently. So they had some good conversations. So Steve's gonna get
that. And he already has a real degree from the UK that he got
an interdisciplinary Studies I believe they called it in those years. He got that
when he left in nineteen eighty eight, I guess it was. And then
his mother, Anne has been a scholar for years, still teaches. She's
about to turn ninety, wow, and she's still teaching at UCLA a couple
classes and so her specialty is Middle East and North African studies, which we
had in the college that I worked with in the College of Social Behavioral Sciences.
So she had a chance to meet with our dean, Lori Poloni Staddinger
and had some conversations. And then tonight, like I said, they're going
to get there. I guess they get hooded or some type that's getting hooded.
Yeah, So Steve will be doctor, they'll both be doctor Currz and
then Steve heads to Las Vegas UH in July to get the Olympic team put
together, which will be you know, an unbelievable team with Lebron and Kevin
Durant and Steph I'm sure headlining things. So it's gonna be it's gonna be
a fun summer for him too. Well, you know, Steve, even
though you know he's he's always been, you know, he's known here as
the athlete and all those kinds of things, always you know, the smart
guy, right oftentimes the smartest guy in the room. And I think maybe
because he you know, was a basketball player and all that kind of people
don't give him the credit for how smart he is. We've seen him.
You know, he takes you know, stances in you know, political stances
and those kinds of things, particularly as he relates to gun control, and
and he's always presenting those things in a in a in a way what that
you know, articulately, that's not the word I want to you, just
sort of in a way that you kind of understand where he's coming from.
And he brings you into this and says, this is what I'm thinking,
and I want you to know what I'm thinking and what what this means to
you. Right He talks to you in a that you go, Okay,
you know this guy's he's not trying to be the smartest guy in the room,
but guess what he generally is. There was a school shooting. I
can't remember what year, there's been so many in the last five years,
and it was right in the middle of a I believe the playoffs, right,
and he just sat down at the podium and said, I'm not talking
about basketballah, and he went off for like ten minutes yep, and memorable.
It was a memorable And that's really where humanities comes into play. A
lot of people aren't really sure maybe sometimes what humanities is. But when the
Dean went up today and spoke about he laid it out clearly, and it
was like, that's Steve to a t, right. So, I mean,
there's a lot of things, a lot of elements in his personality that
are perfect for this, for this on, you know. And then when
you think of Steve Current, you think of Okay, if you think of
the University of Arizona. Let's say you're not from here, but you know
the University of Arizona, He's probably if you say, okay, name five
people affiliated with the University of Arizona, He's going to be in that five.
Yes, for pretty much anybody. Yes, right, don't you think,
Oh for sure? And he's and he's not afraid to mention it.
I mean he when they start talking about who his biggest influences are, Loot's
always on that. You know, there's Phil Jackson, and there's you know,
uh, Greg Popovich, and Loot's right there, and Steve is you
know Steve. You know, Steve is a legend here, There's no doubt
about it. And he's been very generous to the school, to athletics and
uh, you know, he's who knows what he's gonna do. He always
used to joke about replacing Loot, but he's kind of he's done his own
things, right, I said, Steve, next time I see you,
we'll we'll get together in Springfield, Mass Is that coming? You know,
he'll be in the Hall of Fame whenever he's done, whenever he feels like
going back to broadcasting or whatever he wants to do. Once he got five
or six NBA championships as a player, three more as a coach, I
mean, you know, the there's not many and then the category exactly exactly,
he's racked him up. And you know, he's been part of some
unbelievable teams that those Bulls teams are legendary, and playing with Jordan and playing
with David Robinson, the whole group, and through it all, Dave,
and this is what, you know, the appreciation you have through it all,
He's just been a regular guy exactly right, don't. I mean,
just a regular guy. You can go up, you could talk to him.
You know, I've seen him a couple of times at events and we
stop and we talk and he chat. We've had him on the show and
you know, he'll come on the show and and you just you're just having
a conversation with you know, the guy that you're having a beer with.
And that's that's he's never gotten caught up in who he is, because he's
a guy who could get caught up in who he is. And he's you
know, he's he's a big timer and a lot of respects. But yet
he walks in the room and you can just chat with him. Very mature,
and he was mature when he was eighteen. When he was here,
he was a kid, and he was you could just tell he was he
was. He was poised and comfortable talking with people. Even even today.
I mean, I know that that the U of A has gone and worked.
I want to say it with the Warriors in their facility in San Francisco,
because he and Tommy were talking today at the at the events, so
you can tell there's a relationship there. And it was great, it really
was. It was funny. We were outside and students were walking by,
and there's a lot of people on campus obviously for commencements and all different ceremonies,
and I don't think anybody realized it was Curve talking. He's talking talking.
People started walking by a bear down about that for life and he's i
mean right in the middle of his speech, which was totally impromptu. But
it was really cute how he handled very cool, you know. Again,
took a lot of pictures, and I'm sure as people open up their social
media tonight, right, you'll start seeing some yeah one really good guys.
Well, I'm actually going to the commencement. As it turns out, my
daughter Steve, who graduated in decend I'll wave to him from the upper deck
right. And my daughter who graduated in December, she decided she wants to
be a part of the big stadium ceremony because they don't do that at admits
at midyear. So a friend of hers is also graduating and say, oh,
let's go together. And then like, okay, now the parents got
to go, right. I was going to a movie, so this is
a little more important. I was going dinner in the movie, and I
had to put on the red shirt what I got on now? And I
got to go to the commencement. You got some buddies going out to Yeah,
I got some friends and family over there. Yea, our guy Adam,
I'm sure he was going to be there. Yeah, he's going to
be there. Yeah, we've got I think we've got three or four of
them, and Elise our interns. Yeah, our interns who decided I'm gonna
graduate. I'm not coming back. So we've been saying goodbye one by one
over the over the last couple of weeks. But I mean I had one
son come here and graduate, and I don't think he did well. I
know he did not go through the big Arizona Stadium ceremony. He did the
smaller one with his college with I mean, there's so many moments that they
can celebrate, that's the one he picked. Yeah, well I had one.
Okay, my oldest Adam. We did. The cool thing about is
again to my horn't tell in the story, but you know, we catch
up with him after the ceremony. We're over by McKay said, let's meet
by killing me by mckill and that's Wing told he'd been hired full time by
the by the u of A, which was a very cool thing for the
whole deal. But then my second daughter got her degree, but it was
during the COVID year, so her you know, her her school, you
know, for her college was by Zoom, and then there wasn't a stadium
one so she didn't even get one. And then I think I think that
had something to do with Rachel saying I want I want to be a part
of this because her sister didn't get to get to do it. And then,
like I said, she graduated in December and they don't have one,
so she's decided I was gonna do it. Was really lucky. As I
was working for the College of Social Behavioral Sciences the last know, maybe three
or four years, I got to read names, which was that's got to
be nerve wracking, very nerve wrecking. I was proud of myself, honestly
to get through some of the names because you seriously have about ten seconds to
look at the name and spit it out right, and sometimes you're not quite
sure. You'll give little eye contact of the student to just go give me,
give me the name before it. It was really a thrill, honestly,
what a cool thing. Was really fun because it's such a big moment
for the kids, right and I wanted to name the parents. I wanted
to make sure that they didn't mess it up. Yeah it's you, you
know, Yeah, have it for posterity. I've sat through a couple of
those, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to do that because we will
come say, okay, I don't know who you got that name right exactly
why they got that name right, and you think, well, maybe was
it right or wasn't it right, And when you get that dirty look after
they're walking by, Oh I just messed that one for sure, for sure?
You know. Well, congratulations to all the parents who have who have
sons and daughters and graduating from from the u of A this weekend. It's
a big event. You can tell. The restaurants are full, the hotels
are full, the traffic is as busy as it is all heck, but
you know, it's a good time and this is one of the great times
for for Tucson to have to get these kids out there and get them out
into the world. And then everybody goes away and then they go home.
This weekend, it'll be empty. It's great. Everybody goes home and we
can get back into the restaurants. Okay, we're at the top of the
hour. We're gonna go ahead and take our break. Juan is here to
go through breaking news. There's all kinds of stuff going on as always,
so we'll get to that, and then we're gonna have Kevin Guy, the
head coach of the Arizona Rattlers, owner of the Tucson Sugar Skulls, and
their two teams are meeting up tomorrow at the arena, So stick around for
all that. We'll be right back