It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety
Holy crap, I don't know who the hell we think when we are get
off our show, idiot, the kids are playing or turn off. The
countries are screwing it up. Gold Play Inner Murals, Brother, gold Play
Inn Murals. They're supposed to be mature adults, but they're really not.
Who's the kid here? Who's the kid here? Are you kidding me?
Now? Here's Nick Coffee. As a radio host here in the Louisville market,
a sports station, we talk about a lot of things outside of sports.
But I just want to say I've been very, very, very fortunate
in the last few weeks to be able to get things rolling at three o'clock
and we're just kind of hopping on the bus of chaos, if that makes
sense. I feel like we've had a lot of shows in the last couple
of weeks, last few weeks, John, where we're we're just getting it
started, where the day is already kind of maybe chaos in the right word,
but oh, it's the right word. We got some things going on,
right, things have been going on since I mean, it's almost like
the off season around here is more active than the regular season. It is
in What's crazy, Nobody believes me when I say it, and I've said
it many times. You have the spring, definitely parts of the summer.
It's not as if like it's hard to do a show, because I mean
I would never you know, I can talk and I actually like the idea
of when things are slow and there's not a lot going on that I can
go in a different direction that people like if I said, hey, join
us on Tuesday. We're gonna talk about, you know, the fight my
wife and I got into last night, Like that's not like that wouldn't be
a good lead in because this is a sport show, damn it. That's
the kind of response you would get from people. But you know, I
guess it's manipulating, right, Like you wouldn't think you'd be interested, but
you might find it entertaining interested. And if it's you laughing at me,
then that's fine. So I like it whenever you've got things, you know,
when you're not so focused on games and reacting to a season, and
that's a great part of it, right. But for Louisville basketball, I
mean, we've had two seasons where there really was no ride, if you
know what I'm saying. So when you have like coaching searches, transfer portal
stuff, I mean that's where you get the real chaos. And social media
specifically has let this become its own crazy world. And as we started the
show yesterday, it was just official, just you know, twenty minutes prior
that John Calipari was gone, he was done. He was letting everybody know
he was leaving. And I thought today that by the time this show started,
we may know who Kentucky's coaches. And I still think all signs point
to Scott Drew. But I'm also willing to say that I wouldn't be like
completely stunned if he didn't take the job. If he didn't have the relationship
with Barnhart, I don't think he would take it. But I think that
like Barnhart's got to be somebody that one is going to pay him a lot
of money. There's no doubt about it. He's going to get paid in
a major way, more money than Baylor would ever pay him. But also
like he would be willing to kind of ease him in in a way that
really he probably wouldn't do with any other coach because they already have a relationship.
And what I mean by that is Billy Gillespie. I heard a story
it might have been from uh, might have been from Tom Leach. This
was actually about a month ago, and I'm not even really sure how it
came about because at that time there was really no belief that cal was for
sure gone. But Tom Leach not on his show, but like on a
podcast. I saw a video clip where he was discussing how on the plane
ride from Texas to Kentucky when Billy Gillespie was hired, by the way,
I missed the hell out of that guy. Life was a lot better for
me as a Louisville fan when Billy Gillespie was coaching Kentucky better days. Better
days, no doubt. But he was trying to, really, I guess,
get through to Billy Clyde that this is not your typical job, Like
this is not and you would think before offering the job, and you know,
him agreeing to take the job, that would be a discussion. But
it sounds like Billy Gillespie just kind of didn't really want to, You just
didn't really care, didn't want to, didn't think anything of it, Like
didn't want to hear anything about how this could be a process because of you
know, this is different than Texas Tech. So I think Barnehard'll be able
to do that with with this guy, Scott Drew. And let's be real,
like it's I talked about this yesterday. If you are in fact going
to work for your friend, that's weird to me, Like I wouldn't want
if it's a close friend of mine, and I don't know how close they
are. But I like working with people that I don't know outside of work
Initially. What I mean by that is I like getting to know people through
work and then becoming you know, lifelong friends with him. I mean,
that's a huge part of my life. But I think the initial part of
like going to work with or work for it can be a little awkward,
but there's also the benefit of it. And this is what I didn't really
think about yesterday, and that he's got his back, like you know,
like Mitch will have. And Mitch's I think, always been loyal to every
coach and sometimes to a fault, and he showed some loyalty to Cal which
maybe loyalty isn't the right word because he was just doing his job and probably
you know, biting his tongue and acting like they were cordial and friendly.
Whenever Cal clearly didn't match that same energy. And then Cal was, you
know, trying to leave. And Cal has I guess told people behind the
scenes for a while this article if you haven't read it in The Athletic from
Kyle Tucker and Sham's Cherania. I mean, it's really well done. It's
a very long piece, but it's well done. And you know, Cal
has I guess been telling people for a while that he really regrets not leaving
for UCLA in twenty nineteen, and then he should have done it then.
So you know, I think Scott Drew's going to be the guy. But
I'm just willing to And it's not like I'm hoping and praying that they don't
get him because I'm scared. He's a good coach. He is somebody that
all things considered, you would understand why he's in the mix for the job.
Louisville wanted him, no no doubt about it. But I'm also like,
of all the names that are being discussed, I want it to be
Scott Drew. We talked about it a lot yesterday because he'll probably win,
and he may win at a really high level. But I've also seen enough
evidence to where he's had some really talented teams that don't do well in the
tournament. You know, not to say that that would happen if he's in
Lexington, but you know, it's not like I got to. Danny Hurley
scares the hell out of me, because Danny Hurley's is a monster. I
mean, he's I mean right now. Not only does he have the most
momentum, as I talked about yesterday, when it comes to their national championship
run, or I should say runs they've had the last couple of years.
They're on a big run that included two titles. The way in which they
do it is not based on once in a lifetime scenarios. It's just a
system that I think is in place to be running like a well oiled,
oiled machine for quite some time. Do you hear that you try to do
the bullet County oll? No? No, no, no, this is
what happens. I try. I'm so much in my head about doing it
that I just can't I can't speak. I said, Oh, because if
I was really just if I was just shooting the you know what, if
me and my Bullet County brother and John here were just talking, I'd say,
you know, it's a well old machine. We would say that ol
oiled machine. Which now I'm just overdoing it and it sounds weird. But
Dan Hurly scares me. Scott Drew he could be good there, but I
don't think he's as good as Cali Perry. If I'm being honest with you,
I mean, I just I just don't. And there's really not a
whole lot to dispute that in my opinion. Maybe lately he's done better,
but like he doesn't. I mean, Kentuck Cala Perry's own this rivalry,
make no mistake about it. And we've had some satisfaction along the way with
seeing some of the embarrassing things that have happened, Like they're lost to Saint
Peter's, they're lost to Oakland, but he's dominated Louisville. Maybe Drew does
the same thing, but I'm not, like he's not somebody that I'm like,
really that worried about. I would worry about Dan Hurley because Dan Hurley's
the kind of coach that I'll put it this way, Pat Kelsey. Let's
say he starts crushing it and within five six years, Lowell is a bona
fide Top fifteen caliber team. Every year, a couple of deep runs in
the tournament. Maybe you get to a Final four once, and that'd be
great. Dan Hurley's the kind of guy that would make that look like nothing,
because I think he is that good as a coach. And this is
something that I know Kentucky fans. I know they think this, and I
know they believe this. But what are they gonna do? This isn't even
a criticism. If Scott Drew's your guy, you can see he's got a
championship on his resume. He's recruited really, really well at Baylor of all
places. He's a good coach. He is deserving to be in the mix
for this job, no doubt, and if he gets the job, he'll
be deserving of it. But he doesn't give you the element that has made
Kentucky at their very best. Rick Patino, John Caliperi larger than life figures
within the world of college basketball at a larger than life job, perfect dynamic.
Can you look, you can't go, you can't go find these guys
on the Street, but Scott Drew doesn't do any of that. Scott Drew
is boring. He has you know, I think, OKSR this morning they
were talking about his lack of swagger, and I mean, I don't think
I don't think there's lack of I don't think he has any and he's fine
with that. Like I'm never gonna act like the I mean, he seems
like a very genuinely great guy, which that'd be the one downside. I
want to dislike the Kentucky coach. I don't know if I'm gonna dislike sCOD
Drew. He seems like a really likable guy. And everybody who I know
that has at least had any encounter with him, rather be covering him or
interviewing him or maybe knowing him, has spoke highly of him as a human
being. I'll find some reason to like him, though, because that's just
how this works. But I have some level of satisfaction knowing that this dude,
if it's Scott Drew, he's not gonna be He's not gonna be Kentucky
call or Patino Cow or Kentucky Patino. And look, he may still win
a bunch of championships, and that still would be, you know, something
I don't want to see as a Louisville fan. But that matters, and
they know it matters to now if they're winning at a high level, they're
gonna love this guy. They may, you know, they may, they
may do something as a fan base to kind of get him to show some
personality and maybe you know, unbutton his shirt from the tip top of the
shirt, you know what I'm saying, Like, maybe you know, maybe
let his hair down a little bit, if you know what I'm saying,
and maybe that maybe it'll all work out. Maybe maybe this fan base they
can they can help him kind of grow and develop some swagger as they say.
But I'm making sense John here. I don't want them to have a
guy that wins a whole lot but also has this dominant, commanding presence as
just you know, a larger than life figure. There's no scenario Scott drews
that guy. Yeah, that's that's fair. And I was thinking about other
coaches they may have had that are kind of lord of the Scott Drew personality,
and I feel like Tubby Smith, maybe not to the exact same extent
as Scott Drew Manfield. My voice is really struggling right now. But great,
I feel I feel like Scott Drew and Tubby Smith are on that same
level in terms of person great great people, great coaches. Honestly, I
mean Tubby, you know, his run at Kentucky is is just different because
it's not I mean, didn't it had the one title in his first year
and then from then on he had some other, you know, good teams.
I mean, he never he never missed the tournament. You know,
they didn't lose to teams like some of the teams that Kentucky's lost to in
the Calipari area. But obviously they didn't have the accomplishments either, but Tubby,
like Kentucky got stale. With Tubby, they weren't irrelevant, they weren't
not good. But that's why I think having that brand and that commanding presence
is a big deal, especially at a place like Kentucky, because you need
that and I think when you don't have that for a certain amount of time,
it starts to, you know, I think, diminish the brand.
And if look if if they are winning national championships every you know, six
seven years or something, or maybe even more frequent than that, and they're
going to a bunch of final fours. Then you know, what are you
gonna do. The guy's winning, that's what he's supposed to do. But
if you are a four seed at worst every year, you make a Final
four once in five years, a Sweet sixteen and Elite eight loss in the
second round, maybe another Elite eight, who would say that that's like a
failure. I mean, I guess Kentucky some of the Kentucky fans may,
but like, that's not bad by any means. It's better than what you've
done recently. But is that going to make it to where Kentucky is still
viewed as Like one of the reasons why Kentucky had such a commanding, dominant
presence within how the college basketball sport was covered is because of Caliperry and because
of Ricketino when he was there. And I just don't don't think you're gonna
get that with Drew. But it doesn't matter if he wins at a really
high level. But if he becomes you know, just the top fifteen,
top twenty annually caliber team without a big push to a title here and there,
Like I think that's where they they're going. They're gonna be good,
but it won't be anything like what they had in the early years of cow,
which, to be fair to everybody involved, that's not fair to ask
of anyone. And for those thinking, and I'm already seeing on the text
line, well who is that guy, I'll give you an example somebody who
has I think a very similar resume, but he didn't have the title,
and I know everybody loves the title and the title the titles matter, right
Like Scot Drew has the title. He's one of not many active coaches that
have won a national championship, and recruits at are really high levels. So
I mean, maybe the resumes aren't that similar. But if I'm just going
to tell you what I've seen from these two coaches from start to finish,
as far as what I've seen in their career, this guy's been at Baylor
as long as I I mean, I was he a head coach else before?
I think he was? Was he he was he at Valpraiso Maybe I
think he was, But either way, his work at Baylor is phenomenal.
But again, when you really get down to what makes his overall tenure super
impressive is because he did it at Baylor one season at Valpo by the way,
that was it. Yeah, So you know this isn't like, you
know, I'm not dumping on the guy, but I think Bruce Pearl is
a really really good coach as well. And I think Bruce Pearl has that
presence, has that you know, he's not Calie's not Patino who is though,
but like he's somebody that I think would really fit it to where you're
gonna get more like he's a figure within the sport. Scott Drew is not
and doesn't want to be. However, that doesn't mean he's not viewed as
a really good coach. And I know some people are thinking, like,
what's this idiot talking about? Who cares about any of that stuff? I
just want to win fair enough. But I'm telling you these things matter.
They do. So I get the sense that Kentucky fans, and I'm only
basing it off of you know what I see here and there on Twitter and
listening to KSR here and there in the last couple of days, like I
think they're willing to just acknowledge that it is going to be Scott Drew and
there they think, you know, anybody that looks as this as a potentially
bad hire is just out of their mind, which I would never claim it's
a bad higher. And I think I've overstated in the first fifteen minutes here
how much like he's a good coach and he should be in the mix,
and if he gets the job, it's a very understandable higher and it may
work out really well. But I think even Nate Oates, who does not
have the resume right, he's still relatively new to the high level of college
basketball. That's a guy that I think is more so trending in the right
direction at the right time. And I don't know if he has like a
like his personality is not similar to what you see from Patino or cow,
but he's somebody that you know, it's almost like his his his prickishness,
if that makes sense. Kind of it stands out. Is that a word
thing I made that I know what I mean? Yeah, you know,
he just kind of has the present of somebody who would coach at a Kentucky
like school, yeah, oh yeah, and you know he would kind of
quietly be their guy. You know, they would watch the coach on the
sideline winning at a high level and feel like he does it. He represents
the fan base in a major way, and with Scott Drew him representing anybody
would be a good thing because he seems to be a very good man.
But this is entertainment, man, this is sports. This isn't you know.
You don't get scholarships and win championships based off your character. And you
know that's not to say you should be a bad person with bad character,
but you know what I mean. So we'll get into the whole flight tracker
stuff that I can't tell if there was really a plane in the air,
if there was, clearly Scott Drew wasn't on it, and if not,
why would they send somebody to fly to Kentucky to talk to him without him
being a part of it? Like I you know, I don't know,
And I'm convinced a lot of this stuff really shows and exposes that none of
us really know what's going on. Happened with the Louisville search, and I
think it's already happened a little bit here. And have you heard the story
about the uh about the restaurant? No? All right, So I'm gonna
do my best to get all the specifics of this to share it for those
who are not, you know, locked on their phone all day tracking this
stuff, which look, I'm sure a lot of you are, but some
of you probably can't because you're working or doing whatever it may be. But
Scott Drew whenever there were tweets coming out that he was on a plane on
his way to Lexington because there was a flight tracker update that showed a plane
leaving Waco, Texas to come to Lexington, which, let's be real,
that's not a coincidence, that's not I mean, that's that's the most that'd
be the most random flight ever on a day like this. But Scott Drew
I saw that and posted a picture of him eating in a Mexican restaurant in
Waco with I guess one of the big financial boosters or something from from you
know, he shouted out the guy who I don't know who it is,
but it's somebody that he went to get lunch with one on one. And
maybe he does it because he's, you know, assaulted the Earth kind of
guy, or maybe you know, he's trying to continue to have these relationships
with people who donate money to help him be successful. Well I'm kind of
I'm starting to call BS on it. Somebody claims they called the restaurant when
they figured out what restaurant it was, and told the lady who answered the
phone that I need you to tell Scott Drew that he needs to come to
Kentucky. And you know, apparently this lady, according to the guy who
told the story, and I would play the there's a clip of it,
and maybe we can maybe we can do some editing here because he cusses where
I can't play it. But he shares the story of telling her that,
and she had no clue who you're talking about, didn't knowho Scott Drew was.
And apparently she said, is somebody named Scott here? And he said
yeah, And the waitress handed the phone to him and he said hello.
And the fan said, coach, we need you to come to Kentucky.
And he laughed and said who is this? He said, I'm a Kentucky
fan. He said, all, well, that's pretty impressive and then hung
up the phone, like that's what coaching searches do to people, and I'm
one of them. You're so consumed and intoxicated with like the matt like the
unknown, that people just believe that and it could be true, but does
not sound realistic. Not to me, it doesn't. I mean that could
have happened, but also, like you know, I could easily see that
just being somebody taking advantage of what these coaching searches do to people, and
they just run with it. And that's why people started sharing like six thousand
shares on Facebook of Bob Huggins in a Louisville pullover, you know, from
buck Crack Sports. And who would think that an outlet named buck Crack Sports
would have real sources, But six thousand people shared it and they believed it,
Like that's what this stuff does to us. Like Billy Donovan, he
was in alecting yesterday. No, he wasn't. He was coaching the Bulls.
They played the Knicks. Like people just believe anything, and I'm not
trust me. This isn't a rivalry thing. We did the same thing as
Louisvill fans and I kind of love the chaos that comes with all of this.
But one thing I want to do before we get to our first break.
Right before we started the show, Dan Hurley was on with Colin Cowhart.
I don't know if people know that or not, and he addressed you
know, the rumor mill and I think if Kentucky fans were holding out hope
that like Dan Hurley was going to take the job and they were gonna throw
too much money at him, I'm gonna take him at his word with this
answer. This was again earlier this afternoon on Sports Talk seven ninety Dan Hurley
on with Colin Cowhart. You feel like Yukon, but you don't want schools
to take advantage of that, Right, You've got a big market if you
wanted to leave is would you ever have to What happens if somebody comes up
and just brings up a Brinks truck and then you have to go to your
boss and say, Okay, they gave me a zillion dollars. I like
what I make. Where are you on that? Because Dan, for the
next five years you're gonna hit fifty offers. How do you kind of reconcile
with the fact that you love where you're at, but you may have somebody
double what you're worth. Where are you on that? What do you do
with that? Yeah, it's flattering. I've come a long way since,
you know, being a high school coach fifteen years ago, and you know,
havn't had to kind of work my way up the ladder in the business
as a coach, the way coaches did it, you know, back a
long time ago. You know, it's certainly flattering, But I've got a
long career of turning down jobs or more money to stay in places that uh,
you know that I was happy and that fit me, and that you
know, provide me the resources to at that level achieve the things you want
to achieve. And I mean right now, and you can you know my
relationship with day Ben and what the place means to us. You know,
the opportunity to go for for for a three peat right now is it's the
only thing that is obviously on anyone's mind here. So I just can't see
that being a thing. I mean, that's not a Kentucky fans, shut
the hell up, leave me alone on Twitter. I'm not going to Kentucky.
But that I mean that that I think explains why he's like, he's
not interested. And you know, I know a lot of people hear that
and will say, well until twelve million a year. I you know,
I don't. I don't know if if if I mean if he would if
he would need that kind of money and he would turn it down. I
mean, I guess you could say you went out and got a guy that
is phenomenal, but I just at some point you've got to understand a guy
really isn't interested, even if you throw an insane amount of money where you
would just okay, this is for example. Clearly Danny Hurley would be a
better higher than Scott Drew right now, just because Danny Hurley's on top of
the world. However, there is something about hiring a guy who just truly
wants to be there, who also has a national championship on his resume,
who is a good coach and elite recruiter. Actually, so if Hurley turns
it down at ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and you got him at
fourteen, he'd probably still crush it. But you know, I think Scott
Drew, if he does take the job, we'll enter it with a little
bit of a different approach than Danny Hurley. But either way, Danny Hurley's
better. And I don't want him to go to Kentucky, and I don't
believe you will, and I don't think anybody truly believes that. Honestly,
even Kentucky fans, to be fair, like, I know they want him
to be the coach. I've not heard any Kentucky fan claiming that, like
he's going to be the guy. He'll never turn us down because we're Kentucky.
Colin Coward said something really quick there, and now we got to go
to break about you're gonna get fifty job offers. At what point does Connecticut
get respect to where they don't come for their coach because Connecticut and they have
six championships since nineteen ninety nine, you know what I'm saying, Like when
when when Patino was crushing it at Louisville and cal Honestly until recently, nobody
was coming for those coaches because why would they leave? Why can't they say
that about Yukon. I guess it's got to because of money. But I
think Yukon will find whatever money in that state. I mean they may they
may charge a state tax to a residence to make sure that this man is
taking care of financially. All right, don't go anywhere, hang out with
us right here on Sports Talk seven ninety that's right, Coffee and Company rolling
along here on a Wednesday afternoon. We are fueled by Thorntons. Make sure
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you haven't already, and if you want to join us on the show,
you can five O two five seven seventy nine hundred is the number. And
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five O two sixty five three zero seven ninety. We will get to some
Louisville stuff coming up here shortly, as Pat Kelsey has officially hired the coaches
from Charleston that we've discussed. I guess it was just a formality with the
press release, but we can get into that. And also there are some
visits scheduled this weekend. So thirteen scholarships to Phil when he took over,
he's already filled three of them, ten more to go, and there's a
couple of visitors that are going to be here that would be big additions,
no doubt. But if you are just now joining us, obviously the circus,
I don't even mean that as an insult. I got to find a
better word to describe it, because it's just it's been fun to follow the
I mean the Baylor fans coming at Kentucky right now, because you know,
they're letting him know, you're not taking our coach. We've got God on
our side, which I don't know if you think that's a factor in this,
but there that Baylor fans are claiming that that's why he won't leave.
And then you've got Arkansas fans who are just over the moon because they got
Caliperi and it didn't take long man. And we'll see what he says in
his press conference tonight. But in the article that I referenced earlier from The
Athletic, it was by Shampscherandia and Kyle Tucker. I mean, he's he's
already taken some shots, and you know, he's comfortable now letting it be
known that he tried to leave in twenty nineteen, but he could do it,
and he should have. And he's now acknowledging there'll be some nil support
already kind of built in, whereas at Kentucky he didn't have that. Now,
I don't know if he didn't have that because of bridges he burned with
certain donors and whatnot, But either way, I mean, I don't think
this is going to be a real friendly thing between the two sides. With
Cali Perry now in Fayetteville, and maybe that does something to the emotions of
Kentucky fans who want to remember like the good years of Caliperry. But at
the end of the day, this is entertainment, this is the sports,
and I would love for things to get superheated and contentious between the two.
All right, let's go to the phone line five two, five seven,
one seventy nine hundred. That is the number. Let's welcome in, Alex,
Alex. What's happening? Hey, buddy, is this the Alex?
Is this is this the Alex? I think it is. Yes, it
is. What's happening. Brother. As a somebody who's on all the razorback
fan pages and everything on all social media's, I can definitely say that Arkansas
fans are like over the moon as if Hunter cure Check, you know,
made the greatest hire in Arkansas history. For sure, And uh, for
me, I just I'm not I'm excited. It's definitely gonna be something that's
a historic moment in college basketball to go down forever. But if I'm going
to back up a truckload of money, I just don't think Cal is the
guy that I would want in there. But it's exciting. I think he's
gonna bring in some good players. But but yeah, for sure, the
Arkansas fan base is just over the moon. Let me ask you this,
Alex as a as a Arkansas fan, and I can't confirm he is an
Arkansas fan. You were at the game when Kentucky and Arkansas played earlier this
season, and it was a great game, an exciting finish. Yeah,
what if I would have told you then that this would happen? Must to
usc Caliperry leaving lexingon to go to Faateeville, Because it's one of those things
that I seeing the actual press release with the picture of him with a photoshopped
like you know, Arkansas maroon read whatever it is, like, it still
doesn't seem real. No, And if you would have said that to me
then I'd have the same kind of icky feeling that I do now. Just
it doesn't look right, doesn't feel right? Is it? More so because
that like it just it's been a while since he really had like some big
time momentum, like or you feel like maybe you're getting a guy that clearly
is a legend, but maybe you're getting him at the wrong time. Well,
it's Kentucky's coach, not Arkansas's coach. Yeah, fair enough. I
like that response. That's I like that. Yeah. Now do you know
many of Arkansas fans see it that way? No, I think they think
we hired you know, Nick Saban to coach football. Got it, you
know, But if you go back to that Kentucky Arkansas game, that was
one of the worst, That was maybe Mussa's worst team that he's put on
the court, and they just about stunt cows an overtime score and you know,
there's no defense at all in that game. Oh, Arkansas had like
eighty five points with ten minutes left. It was wild. What do you
think happened with Musk Because I'm a huge fan of his. I think I've
told you that many times, and I wish Louisville would have would have would
have went after him. And I mean, I know you're not currently living
in Fayetteville, but like, what what? How did it go? How
did it get so weird and bad quickly? Because within just a year's time,
he went from being I think a guy that was like the rising starr
in college basketball, bringing Fayetteville back. I mean, the Razorbacks became a
relevant program again, and people forgot like they used to be a big time
program back in the nineties, and then within a year's time, like it
was quite clear he just wanted to leave, and it didn't really seem like
Arkansas the administration was worried about stopping him from leaving US. There's Arkansas insiders
that were basically came out in January and they've got receipts on social media saying
Muscle ones out. I think he is a West Coast guy's mother's there and
you know she's not gonna be around forever. And as far as the season
goes, I had no idea, but it seemed like there was you know,
there was definitely issues in the locker room. I think he got a
bunch of good independent players that he just couldn't scheme together to play well with
each other, and they couldn't most Okay, if you look at all muslimens
his his teams have never been big, splash, offensive teams that are gonna
shoot you out of the gym. There are always teams that are to be
played the toughest defense you've ever seen, and they did not have that at
all last year, and they were not shooting people out of the gym,
So I don't know if it's a personnel thing. I know there was rumors
of beat between players, blah blah blah, but I couldn't tell you for
sure. Yeah, I think I think. You know, anytime you rely
heavily on the portal, I mean, and you should this day and age,
you just you run a risk at times where maybe the pieces just don't
quite fit together. Because you're right, His teams that are their best are
just dogs, defensively long athletic, and they're just at times gonna you know,
they're gonna stop you in on offense, they'll just at times make plays
because they got better athletes than you. But yeah, I was. It
was crazy. If you told me a year ago that that that this whole
scenario from top to bottom would have played out the way that it did,
I would have I would have never believed it. But Alex, I need
to do something for me cause Cal's gonna talk tonight at I think seven Eastern,
and I'm sure you're gonna maybe listen to the whole thing or maybe find
clips of it. I need to know, like, does he does your
mind change a little bit about this? Because he's a really good talker man
like he's one of the best that can just start spewing whatever. It'll probably
be nonsense, but it seems like the majority of the fan base has already
eaten out of eating out the palm of his hand. I feel like after
he talks tonight, it's gonna be like the you're gonna want to wish you
were back in Arkansas. Yeah, yeah, which in this so it's I
don't know what they offered these other coaches that they talked to, but for
sure, if you'd asked me the day Musk left, you know, if
if Caliperry would have been a good hire, I would have thought no.
But it seemed like the longer the search went, and we have zero scholarship
athletes at the University of Arkansas right now, we have no incoming freshman.
Uh so it was getting pretty dark in Fateville. And I think Hunter since
that, and I think that's maybe when he started talking to Tyson there.
I don't know how it went, but the night that it kind of broke,
uh, you know, I think it was it was probably the best
thing Hunter Yurchik could have done. At that point. He looks like a
he looks like a rock star now because he pulled off something that a lot
of people. If you'd have said even just a week ago, they would
have said, there's no way possible. So Alex, I appreciate you calling
in. Good at talk to you, brother, let me know, keep
me up there. I want to I want to see how you're how you're
feeling about cal after this press conference. Okay, hopefully we'll see a brand
new Calfary. Maybe he's reinvigorated and ready to heurge something to Kentucky. Thanks
brother, I appreciate it. Yeah, that's it's my buddy, Alex.
He's a he's a big time Razorbacks fan. And when he said that like
it was, it was when he said a lot of things. There was
a really good conversation. But and it's good to hear perspective from that side
of it. But he said he's Kentucky's coach, He's not Arkansas's coach.
I felt that. That makes sense, Like I felt that, And I
know there probably were I don't know, maybe not. I can't speak for
anybody, And it was so long ago, but like when Rick Patino came
to Louisville, I'm sure if the internet was if the internet was then what
it is if the internet was was alive like it is now back then,
as far as just people being able to share opinions at any moment with their
phones and social media and all that, I think there probably would have been
Louisville fans initially that were like, oh, this feels gross, this is
weird. I don't like this. And that's a different level because it's a
rival, but still like Arkansas, Arkansas fans hated Calipari in Kentucky understandably so,
like they care about basketball as much as anybody in that league outside of
Kentucky. So I'm sure though after a while you realize, wait a second,
we're getting like an elite coach, Like we're gonna be back. And
that's what happened with Louisvill. Rick Petino gave you that, and Calipari is
gonna give them that as far as just an instant boost and notoriety, and
heck, the fact that this played out the way it did is already giving
them a lot of attention. And then if he comes in there and he
starts putting together a big roster, and you know, he gets a lot
of transfers. I mean, they're gonna they're gonna benefit from it, no
doubt. I remember, in fact, I was in the car with my
dad. I was how old was I then Rick Patino got hired, I
believe in like, let me see here. I think it was in two
thousand, because I think two thousand and one was his first action, like
the two thousand and two thousand and one was his first season at Louisville.
Yeah, it's like he's right around two thousand. I think I was in
like six grade. I remember being in the car with my dad and they
were talking about it on the radio that Patino was coming Louisville, And I
remember asking my dad like what really like and and you know he said he
just gave me an answer like yeah. And I didn't get a sense from
his demeanor or the way he said it like if that he was he felt
good about it or not. And then sure enough I was like is this
good? And he was like yeah, and you know he was right.
So we're so obsessed with these college teams that we care so much. I
mean, it's just crazy. What this does to his college sports is amazing
and there's nothing like it, man, And I find the differences in the
college game with things like this, coaching searches and fan bases, message boards,
flight trackers, you know, celebrities who are fans of certain schools getting
in the weeds with internet trolls because they care so much. Like there's something
insanely awesome about that element of college sports. That's just you know, they're
making a lot of money. Now it's there's free agency season with the portal,
Like it really isn't pure, but I think the way people are so
passionate about it, it does give a level of purity that, like,
you know, makes it special. But maybe I'm just you know, trying
to romanticize something that I deeply care about that people don't care about. But
if you're listening to this show, would imagine you care in a major way.
All right, let's get to a quick time out. We'll come back
on the other side. We'll get to the text line, get back to
your phone calls, and also the updates to the staff for Pat Kelsey will
give you the specifics on that. No surprise. Again, it's names that
we've talked about since he was hired as far as you know, knowing they
were probably going to follow him and then We'll also keep you updated on the
list of visitors. I wouldn't be shocked by the time we get to this
weekend there's another visitor too added. But you know the job, the task
at hand now for Pat Kelsey is filling out this roster. And it sounds
like this weekend could be a big weekend. And get that. You know,
not done because you've got a lot of work to do, but a
big step in that process. So stick with us again at his Coffee and
Company. We are feel about Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
It could get repetitive. But if you played Chris Stapleton every time we came
back from a commercial break, I think I'd I think I'd be fine with
it. I don't even know this song, but it's great. Hits.
It hits because because it's him, he's great. We did have somebody earlier
on the on the text line whenever I was discussing how Cad Drew is a
nice man and a good coach, recruits at at an elite level and he
is an accomplished coach, Like can't I can't sit here and act like Kentucky's
hiring a guy that is not great if they hire him, if that's who
it ends up being, and if you consider just like the realistic pool like,
there's really no I don't think there should be a whole lot of criticism
towards it. But the one thing that I like is knowing that this is
not a guy that's going to be you know, he'll be a good villain
in a way, but at the same time, like you know, he
isn't cal and he isn't Patino. And I mentioned those guys specifically because I
feel Queen Kentucky was at its very best. It was when those two guys
were there. Now, I know, obviously way back in the day,
but I mean I can't I can't discuss Adolph Rupp and Joby Hall. I
mean that was long before I was even thought of. So Scott Drew's kind
of a boring guy, but that there's nothing wrong with that. I mean,
I'm probably a boring guy in the eyes of most. But somebody asked
me if this is a text the camm in said, nigg, are you
basically saying that Scott Drew has low t I'm not saying he does. It
is not I won't speak on that, but I do know that if he
does have low T. In fact, I may. I guess I will,
because they're you know, they're a client, they're a partner, and
any business I can give them will be good. It probably would be good
for their brand if they have the Kentucky basketball coach seeking treatment for low T.
But I don't need him having good tea. I need him having low
T if he's the Kentucky coach. But either way, because of my love
for the Louisville Men's Clinic, I'll pass. I'll pass the information along to
Scott Drew if he needs it, because loile Mence Clinic can help you when
it comes to low testosterone, a rectil edis function. I mean, it
could be weight loss. They've got programs they can help you lose weight.
Maybe it's hair restoration. Just think about things that could help you become a
healthier and happier man. And a lot of men, you know, they're
tough guys, they don't need help. They're fine. They're manly men,
fair enough. But also you know, regardless of how much you are a
manly man, you can get hit with a rectilus function or low testosterone,
not because of anything that you've done wrong. It's just life, So do
something about it. And I know there are many that have listened to this
and just thought, yeah, whatever, whatever, whatever, whatever. Well
you may not even realize how much happier and healthier you could be. That
was me. I mean I knew, like, hey, something's just not
adding up here. And I knew we had a great relationship already with the
fine folks at the Little Men's Clinic, So I thought, well, you
know, might as well give them a call, talk to them, kind
of tell them of some symptoms that I have, maybe something that I've noticed.
And they checked my levels for testosterone and I was low, and now
I'm not, and I feel amazing. In fact, I got some numbers
to brag on. I mean, this is not me bragging on me.
It's about me bragging on the fine friends that I have over there at the
Little Men's Clinic. So I went and got you know what, not only
just like a check up at the doctor, but were they like, do
you like your b and I that kind of stuff. You know what I'm
talking about, right, John? Like your vitals? Yeah? Well no,
no, no, like you're like your percentage of body fat that kind
of stuff. Oh, your body mass. Yeah, that kind of stuff.
And you know, sure enough, I ended up having like, for
example, my body fat mass. And this is not to like say that
I'm like shredded, because I'm not. But in January, my body fat
mass was like fifty something. Now it's forty. My muscle mass was around
like sixty. Now it's seventy eight. So that's from no longer having low
testosterone because of the testosterone treatment that I'm doing. But I'm also just doing
the same workouts. I'm doing the same like. It's not like I'm in
the gym every day, you know, crushing it for two hours. I'm
just trying to exercise to be healthy, and now that my testosterone is where
it should be, I'm seeing the benefits of that. I'm not kid you,
there could be you would never even You may never even know until you
go get it looked at. So go check him out Lola Men's Clinic dot
com. That's the website. Five O two four four four four thousand is
the number. So coming up here at four h five, We're going to
talk to our man, mister Kent Spencer from WHAS eleven and get his thoughts
on the wild last few days we've had here as Kentucky has lost their coach
and it's probably not something that they're sad about. He's going to Arkansas and
now it looks as if they're going to go higher Scott Drew. We'll see,
but real quick before we get to our top of the hour break,
here the updates to Pat Kelsey's staff. Brian Clohman his right hand man,
a guy that's been with him for every step of the way at both Charleston
and Winthrop. He's going to be your top assistant. I don't know if
there's I don't think there's any title as far as associate head coach or anything
like that, but he's he's he's the right hand man, a guy that's
been with him every step of the way since he's been a head coach.
Ronnie Hamilton is a guy that was announced earlier that well, it was reported
earlier this week, made official today. He was an assistant at LSU for
the last two seasons. So he's the only staffer that has been added.
It was not somebody that worked with Pat Kelsey previously, and I'm still learning
a little bit about him. He actually played at Duke, but not basketball
football kind of wild, but he helped with some big recruiting classes for ole
Miss when he was there prior to going to LSU. And then Thomas Carr
is a is a new staffer who I think was just only on the staff
with Kelsey for maybe one year, but very much involved in the AAU circuit
prior to this was a prep school coach. I think Word of God Academy.
You know, he's he's been on the Adida circuit. This is a
guy that has been a part of some of the bigger AAU programs on the
a on the Adida circuit, which is goodnsidering. Louisville in fact is an
Adidas school. But Freddie DeLeon I think that's his name, Frankie Deleone,
the transfer from Tennessee, former top fifty guard who's in the portal. That's
the connection here. Thomas Carr was that Word of God for a while before
two years ago before he got to Charleston, and that is where Deleone,
the transfer from Tennessee, played its prep ball. So that's the connection.
I'm not sure if that means Thorval was going to get him, but that
is I think why that I think there's some people in the recruiting world predicting
that he ends up he ends up coming to LOUISVI, which would be great,
really talented guard who just couldn't get on the floor last year at Tennessee
because you know, they had some really really good players. And then Eli
Foy is going to be the strengthening editioning coach. He was the director of
sports performance at Charleston for three seasons with Kelsey, and apparently he had previously
worked at Arizona, and I don't know if he was like the personal trainer,
but he's a guy who during the one year that DeAndre eight and was
at Arizona and when DeAndre eighton was getting prepared to go to the NBA,
like this was this guy that worked him out. And he apparently has a
pretty good reputation in that world of you know, strength and conditioning. So
these are all names we've talked about, I guess outside of the of the
newest, which was Ronnie Hamilton. That's the name that I probably haven't mentioned
in the last couple of days, but it did. It did get out
by I think Jeff Goodman. Then he was going to be joining Kelsey so
slowly but surely the staff's coming together and then they'll be putting the roster together
here soon, and we'll talk about this in the four o'clock hour. The
visitors expected this weekend, which I feel like this, well, I guess
Fats visited and then of course, you know, committed, but like this
is the first time that like he's hosting a trio of visitors, which is
exciting. Right, don't go anywhere. We got two hours left, and
who knows, maybe some big news breaks in these next couple of hours.
Keep it locked right here. Coffee and Company. Phil Beth Thorton's on Sports
Talk seven ninety