This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez sound Fox Sports
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R, TWU SA and iHeartRadio Station. Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to
I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera.
He's Jacobs Aus. You've got a guy e in today? He right,
Yeah, George, Jeff, Jeff, Jeff, Jeffy, Jeff, one
of the kids. Uh, hey, welcome to Monday. I was out
of town. Anything happened, Yeah, I got one. What happened?
They stole my daughter's car Friday night. Man, you're over one day or
she's over one all? Right? Of all you know, of all the
gin joints in all the world, right, nobody in our family, extended
family that I can think of, outside of my cousins on the dark Side,
have ever had a car. Store could have been the cousins from the
dark side that you could have been one of them? Right, So,
yeah, you got a car graduated Thursday night. I got a car stolen
on Friday night. It's called the real world. She goes, she calls
it was one of those dad, was she and I knew it was one
of those dad, I'm about to tell you something bad kind of dads,
and that I think somebody stole my car, and you what like what she
goes, Well, the car's gone and it looks like the window is on
the sidewalk. Oh, so that's how that was left. That's what you're
that's that's right. Of course I take the car to leave the window.
Well, there's that. And so the car was and the car was gone,
it got stolen. So what's the process now, Well I went and
met the cops there and they said, you know, it's a it's a
it's it's a Hundai Sonata. So the car that they said, it's very
easy to steal. And they said, those cars, it's not going to
a chop chop like you take a Mercedes or Lexes or whatever. They said,
if summer's probably got a joy riding in it, and we'll find a
park somewhere in a few days. But it's been a few days and we
haven't they haven't located. Let's take a road trip to the guy. But
they said it's very common that that, uh, these cars get taken somebody
rides around them for a few days, they don't get caught. They park
it somewhere and then they go get another one from somewhere. And so they
they said, we could expect to find it, but it was Friday night
and we're here it's Monday, and and no sign of its apeb out for
what color? So it's a it's a red twenty twelve Hyundai Sonata. It's
a sedan. The first three letters of the license plate are five to five
eight. I think she was pissed that she didn't get a new car for
graduation, So that's what she did. Know. She wouldn't gone through the
trouble of taking the window up. She just would have gone and parked it
somewhere, true, right, she would have gone and put it in Lakeside
Lake or Kennedy Lake or something, you know. And the whole psycho thing
right where the car falls into that was a lot of trouble to get that
window out. Old, I don't know what you used to do that.
Yeah, no, these guys are experts. They but they did. They
get something that basically grabbed the window and yanked it out. And then they
said, once in a Hundai, once you get in a hun day.
It's very easy to TikTok that they're able to put tape on the on the
window and just slide it down and you could get in the car. No,
but it was the back window, yeah, back of the of the
well no, no, you're right. I mean, yeah, maybe they
could. I don't know. But anyway, it's gone. And we had
that fun to deal with on a on a Friday. You have a reward,
let's go almost I'll go the whole The whole process is funny because they
come and ask the questions stuff. Then you have to sign a thing.
You don't have to signything. They asked me if I would be willing to
prosecute it found out who got and I said sure. They said, okay,
well you have to sign this thing. Basically had to sign a thing
and said I did not make the car disappear. You know, the car
was actually stolen. I didn't. You know, I didn't planet or do
something to do something with it, you know, for monetary reasons or whatever.
I just swear under oath that I did not. I'm not the one
that got rid of the car, So sir, I'm bad at picking and
I'm not bad at Steely. My car, yeah, good at Steel.
Never had you never had those before, brand new experience. I can see
it. I can see that. Well. Okay, what also happened in
the sports work? Well, there was a little basketball game on Saturday.
Yeah, I didn't watch it. I monitored on the on the channel on
the ESPN dot com thing u. They were never really in it until maybe
four four points down. They got four points down in the second Well,
they were in it. I mean, it was, it was, but
it was twenty six or thirty thirty two all I think or thirty all.
I mean, it was a back and forth game. It was, it
was, it was. It was a great game. And then they hit
They went on a like an eleven oh run, and then you know,
Arizona kept it, you know, within distance, but then it got away
from them early in the second half. They got down by I think eighteen,
and then you thought, okay, you know this is this is getting
ugly. And then all of a sudden they come roaring back. Yeah,
got it to four. So that was good, you know that they that
they that it wasn't you know, and then they just couldn't they just couldn't
get over the top. I mean they were down, you know, down
five or whatever, when you know they get a nan one, you know
as as a buzzer. You watched you that's the whole thing. Actually watched
with a with a bunch of bunch of people and on Saturday, and it
was it was it was a good game. It was Look, it was
very simple and and I think Tommy Lloyd uh said this in his press conference.
It was kind of a pick your poison kind of game. They they
were, they were, you know, sagging down on Zach Edy and these
two guys went off. You know, I was reading Pat forty, you
know, from Sports Illustrated, but I guess he was at the game because
they did. He did a game story and he basically it was basically what
what Fairley Dickinson did last year. They sagged on Edie, didn't let him
beat them, and the two guys that killed Arizona couldn't make a shot,
and that's how they lost to Fairly Dickinson. Well, on this particular day
against Arizona, they were they were Sam Decker and and and Frank Kaminski and
they made every and and that's and that's stuff. Stuff happens, you know,
if those guys don't, you know, I think I think one of
them was a career high and one was like point short of a career high
or something like that. Those guys don't shoot come back for fifty to three
pctice. Those guys don't have career days. It's a game, and Arizona
possibly wins, but they did. And that's, you know, that's what
happens. You just kind of go okay that you we weren't gonna let him
beat us, and you guys beat us. So there, and I've seen
on all over Facebook and Twitter. Well they want him again, they want
him again. Be careful, be careful what you wish for. This is
a long season. You know, you'll find your place, yeah, you
know. And then the other thing that appease that appease me. I guess
something might be the word. And you have said this on the show before,
Jay, Well, they got this one out of the way. It's
good to lose now, then this nome. This hasn't This has nothing to
do with losing now or later. You lost, Let's move on. This
is not going to prevent another loss down the road. It's just what happens.
You know, don't let this hang don't let you don't like to be
a hangover. Go to Alabama, go play Alabama on Wednesday and and and
get back to business. And that's how Tommy Lloyd will hand sure. Yeah,
you know, he doesn't care about the rankings and stuff. And you
know, actually he said it before the Wisconsin game. He said, if
we lose to Wisconsin, we can still have a spectacular year. He said,
you know, Okay, So they lost to They lost to Purdue in
what was not a neutral site, just like Alabama game up the up the
road in Phoenix on Wednesday, just a neutral site for Alabama, just like
Vegas, probably right exactly. So it was it was a good game.
Look and and you know the national media, you know, all said it
was. It was a great game. It was worthy of two teams that
looked like they're really good and you know, we're gonna see them later.
And these are two teams that can make long runs in the NCAA tournament.
Yeah, no, great, And that's what you that's what you look for.
And in November, December, January and all that, you know enough
to the was the sale do all? But you play these games to measure
where you're at right to get it corrected, and then not that it solved
his problems because he had a lot of first run losses too, But at
least you know where you're at once you need to improve on and the strategies
you'll use. Right, they've played them, so now if they have to
play them again, you think, you know, you rethink, you rethink
how you do it. You recalibrate and move on. And and what December
was it? December seventh and fifteen sixteenth, sixteen sixteenth, they were the
better team. They were the better team. I don't know if you noticed
this. On Wisconsin two weeks on the nineteenth, the guard getting thinks his
name is car guard guard. He said the same things on December eighth,
Arizona was better than us. Yes, I found that striking because every day
is to see every game is the season, and who knows what's gonna happen
tomorrow, right, you know, and and look and for looks for the
looks of it, of it. What they didn't get blown out? You
know, they looked like they were gonna get blown out, and then they
didn't. So people can't say, well, you know, they blow them
out, so they're really now you know, it's two teams who went at
it, and and sure you know, so it was it. Look they're
they're two really good teams. That these two guys went off and if you
know, somebody plays Arizona and Caleb Blood and kind of Boswell go off because
they're trying to you know, Johnson out of the battle or whatever. How
did how did Bolo fair? He did fine? He did okay, you
know he got something, he got some of his but he you know,
he was under his averages on everything. But look what the funny part was
when they went out for the jump and they were standing next to each other,
he looks, he looks small, and I'm like, wait a minute,
bollows seven feet. He looked more than four four inches tip the ball
is not seven foot or eat He's like seven five or seven six. But
he and bollow physically too, I'm talking about the mask. He just looked
a lot smaller than Eatie. But you know, look he's got an automatic
shot. He's got the little little inside jump hook that he's gonna make every
time because he's just throwing the ball down into the basket. And he made
a bunch of those. Well this will this will gauge from Bolo's point how
much he has to improve right and the next level of their the playpole.
If he does get to the next level, I'm not saying he will or
not are much better than the guy that he just played. And and we'll
wearballo. You know was uh was good on Edie and against Edie was on
running the floor. He you know, he had a couple a couple of
fast break dunks on on you know, Lley oops on you know, cutting,
uh, picking rolls and stuff like that, you know, on things
that required movement and footwork. You know, uh, he did, he
did very well. But once the ball got downloaded Edie, he was pretty
automatic and the Cats were trying to keep that from happening. And because of
that, that's why these two guards went off. And that's my full blown
evaluation of the game. It was a good game. Both teams looked like
top five teams and uh, okay, let's you know, maybe maybe we'll
see you later. Well, I was always driving back for my destination yesterday.
I was great to see Tucson was still around the world. Did not
end in Tucson, it didn't, And I went home and I'll still have
to pay my mortgage next month. It was you know, it was it
was. It was a worthy game, I mean, as one versus you
know, even when Arizona got got way behind it, you stayed with.
As soon as they got behind by eighteen, they went on a quick run
and uh and so it wasn't like they were behind that much for a long
time. And and the next thing you knew, it was four points.
Because you know why those guys missed a bunch of shots. The two guys
from all a sudden, they went cold, and they were cold the rest
of that, the rest of the game. But Arizona just can't get over
there. Yeah, couldn't make enough shots down. We'll get over there.
As we all know that the tournament is all about matchups things like that,
Let's realize also that Purdue was just one of the many good teams out there.
Houston, Kansas, all these teams are gonna be good. They're going
to provide different type of matchups for Arizona there. And I think it makes
the fans realize we're not as good as we think we are. I don't
and my thirty five years of government team they never are. Look in ninety
seven they won with a team that no one ever thought, ever thought.
They went on this run of the ages and they won the year. A
year later, when they were even better, they get crushed. Right,
You never know, you never know, right, right, Yeah, So
I think, okay, and it looks like the girls girls man, well
man, yeah, well then I turned that on and they were up thirty
four. When I turned I forgot they were playing. And I'm sitting there,
I'm watching, I'm watching the Sunday night game, and I see a
tweet come across with a scorn. I'm like, what the hell is going
on over there? And I shut it on. So you you, you
leave them on the sidelines, and you leave them ault you forget about them
all completely exactly that kind of happened. Actually, they were out of sight,
out of mind. Right, I don't have to go. But but
man, that was you know, hell, it was showing good for them,
no good for them, I mean, you know, maybe a sign
of you know, Arizona's maybe better than I've been saying that. I've been
thinking, well, they get, right, game they need to get,
they get, but maybe a s U is just not good, pretty bad.
Yeah, they haven't a coach in her second year. So who knows
what's what's happening over there, you know, getting players and whatnot. But
that you know, they're a thirty thirty nine point win over as you that
was well, good for them, good for them. The NFL season well,
well the weekend was fairly good for the good We got beat on one
game last night. What else? What else is going on? I think
that's it? Right. A signing day is when Wednesday he has a press
conference tomorrow or wednes or Wednesday. Jed does have a Wednesday for the for
the new class coming in. Yeah, and they're still about a week or
so more than a week away from the from the football game. That'll pick
up any more now, right, Yeah? Yep? And then the Arizona
Bowl Game two comes here coming up on thirtieth, thirtieth, which is Friday,
next Friday, right, No, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Yeah,
Saturday. So that's cool and whatever else, anybody, We're going to
take our break. Now, we let's say who we have. I think
it's be a fun show, really fun show erin Torres. Uh, he's
got the tours on Arizona. But he's a national college sports guy. Fox
Sports he's a good friend of the show. He'll be on he's you know,
he follows Arizona with his tours on Arizona Podcasting website here in in Arizona.
And then Josh Passner who's now a basketball analyst with ESPANO. I've seen
him on the film ESPN Okay back on ESPN doing college basketball analysis halftime shows
now. But then he made a prediction saying that he thought Arizona would be
to Purdue. Not that that's a shock now, yeah shock Josh from from
Arizona, Arizona. Yeah, no, so Josh, he'll uh, he'll
be joining us so erin Torres here in about ten minutes, five minutes,
and then Josh Pastor in the second hour. So stick around for all that,
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schedule your free evaluation today. Steve Rivera and Jacob Salaz they have their eye
on the ball on Tucson's sports stage. Chat Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey,
welcome back to winning the bout here at Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm
Steve RIVERA. He's Jacob Zewis down the phone. We have Aaron Torres from
torrezon Arizona. Aaron, how you doing. Yeah, guys, I'm doing
very well. How are you guys doing. We're doing well. Thank you.
It's been a minute since you've been on. But a lot of things
have happened at Arizona with the basketball and football programs. Let's start with the
football team. I'm sure you're not surprised that Fish could you follow it pretty
closely from your end, has done a fantastic job and in still kind of
riding the wave to the elibible. I mean, I'm not surprised that the
team was improved. I thought they would be. But you know, if
you had told me they would, they'd be a nine win team. And
what was it about six straight wins to end the regular season something like that,
Like I certainly couldn't have predicted that. I think it was one of
the best stories in college football. And I think, you know, listen,
we're moving on to a twelve team playoff era, but especially in this
four team playoff era, I think we get so focused on who's gonna win
the national championship and all that that we forget about great stories like Arizona team
that I think the Vegas over under win total was like five and a half.
You know, I think most people thought getting to a bowl game was
kind of the ceiling of this season. Now you look at where we are,
nine win team. I think they're very well built as they head into
the Big twelve next year. And you know, I just I can't believe
how impressed I am with that down the Church, especially because by the way,
you're beating quality opponents as you are, uh you know, uh go
through that win streak. It's not as though you're playing bad teams, whether
it's uh, you know, in Oregon State of whoever. You're beating good
team after good team after good team. It was incredible to see and uh
and so yeah and so yeah, and excited Aaron this jagon Zaws being you
know, being the you know, the long time to son and that's watched
this program, you know for decades. You know, we were kept waiting
during the season for this to kind of like crumble at some point, right
they you know, they they had that great game against the USC you thought
maybe they could have won or now here comes Washington State their rank. We
just kept waiting for this thing to kind of not collapse, but to kind
of get back to reality, well context, because it always happened, because
that's what always happened Arizona. Well, you know, was there any you
know, did you have that feeling at all that at some point they're not
going to keep beating these teams. Then they just kept winning winning, They've
got this winning streak now headed into the head into the ball game. They
beat a bunch of ranked teams, they beat Oregon State, they beat UCLA,
you beat the crap out of Utah. I mean, at some point
I thought, okay, this has got to stop, and it never did.
Yeah. No, so I agree one hundred percent of you guys.
And I don't have the history that you guys do following the program, but
you know, like you beat you beat Washington State awesome, even the Oregon
State game was great. And I had a buddy at that point say I
think we're winning out and he is an Arizona fan. I said, okay,
buddy, you know, like like just enjoy you know, enjoy that.
Obviously at that time, you were what five and three then, yeah,
five and three with the Oregon State win because at the time UCLA was
playing good football. At the time Utah, you knew the quarterback was hurt,
but there their Utah. They've been in the plast of the Pac twelve
the last two or three years, so that was kind of my thought too,
was that at some point they have to have a letdown and listen.
I don't think the Colorado game was the best effort that they have had,
you know, in the Jetfish era, but you find a way to win
to close. Like I said on a six game winning streak that for of
the teams you played were ranked time. It was just unbelievable. But the
answer your guys question, I actually agree one hundred percent is I was of
the belief that at some point they'll lose a game. They'll finish seven and
five, maybe eight and more. Good for them, I know they kept
winning. And now obviously you're writing some momentum into the the album be so
I'm sure you followed it, you know, close close enough to answer this
question, who would you say would be the team MVP to this point?
I mean, is there an answer? Be side no fida, I mean,
I mean serious question. I'll ask you, Steve, is there an
answer besides Noah Fafida, I think if this if he's one A, which
I won't argue. Uh, the guy he throws the ball to a lot
is one B. And that's yeah team and both both have you know,
with one there's not the other, right. Uh. But on defense to
you guys, yeah, Jacob Monu, Uh, you know with what the
defense did because they you know, they we thought the offense would be good
after last year. You know, you have to when you talk about overall,
how did they get to where they got to? If the defense doesn't
make the leap that it made, I don't know that we're talking about nine
wins. That's and that's a great point. And that's a great point,
you know because even in the beginning. You know, so I host radio
from seven to or eight to eleven Pacific time, and I bring it up
because a lot of those Arizona games were on while I was on air,
and you know the history of jet fish at Arizona, and you remember back
to last year when the offense was really rolling, and it really wasn't until
two or three, three games into that stretch that I started to realizing by
a second, now it isn't the offense just putting up forty five points and
they're winning every game forty five to forty two. It was the defense that
has been improved as well. And so you know, I don't know and
I know that they went very heavy in the portal last year. I'm not
a smart enough guy to know scheme and what they did printly and all that,
but that was something even as an outsider, that stood out absolutely.
Guys, as you sit there and you know, you know about je Fish's
background, you know how good the offense was last year, by the way,
but to actually see that defense improve, Listen, it was a complete
football team by the end of the year. I give them so much credit.
And I agree is that it wasn't just Feeda. It wasn't just the
offense, but Fida obviously the team took off when he took over. But
I just bring it up because it really was a complete team effort in getting
to that nine and three regular season. That's one more thing. So again,
try not to get over the skis too much here. You know,
I agree, You've got a lot of long yeah, and I'll say this
too really quick, guys, And I know you want to switch gears and
talk without talk to basketball. But I bring it up because one thing I
will say, and I kind of mentioned in passion, I think this team
is very nicely built to have an immediate success in the Big Twelve when they
go next year. Is that, you know. And I was talking to
a Colorado fan about it because Colorado is bringing in a lot of little guys
and I think they have a chance to be pretty good next year. Blah
blah blah blah. But you look at the Big Twelve. I mean,
listen, Texas wins it. Oklahoma's the only team to beat Texas, and
so basically your two best teams are leaving. I don't see a reason why
Utah and Arizona aren't in that league competing at the top of the league next
year. So I know it's about this year. I know you want to
close out in style. I know you want to enjoy the moment. But
I don't think this is a blash in the pan, I guess, is
what I'm trying to say. I do think this is the sea. Well
that's exactly where I was going. And you spoke to our seeds, you
spoke to our thieves because because to me, Eric, you know, Arizona
is going to the Big Twelve. There's no USC there's no Oregon, there's
no Washington over there. And you know, I mean, Arizona's been behind
those guys historically and was always going to be behind those guys. There isn't
one of those. You know, when I look at the Big Twelve,
I see Utah and I see Oklahoma State, and that's really all I see.
That's kind of what keep Arizona and Arizone can compete with those guys.
They just beat the living hell out of Utah. So I'm in ic Arizona
having a better chance to compete in the Big Twelve than they've had to compete
in the packball. And that's kind of where I'm having with those guys.
I agree with one thousand percent, guys. And I'll say this too,
and I don't want to keep switching gears on you guys, but you know,
as somebody who was hoping to get out for a basketball game this winter,
you know the basketball is just going to be so improved too. And
so again, I don't want to keep jumping all around here, but I
just bring it up because I totally agree with where the football team is going
and I think it's only going to help basketball so much because the bottom line
is is that obviously you've had so many marquee games to this point in basketball,
but at the same time, but at the same time, it's like
once you get to January, okay, UCLA is kind of down, you
see. Is it quite where we thought they were gonna be? And so
why I bring it up is because is because, like I just think it's
gonna I think it's gonna benefit football for the opposite reason that it's gonna benefit
basketball. Basketball, that conference is on the rise. Rising tide raises all
ships. But then football, the conference is trying to figure itself out.
And I think Utah and Arizona football are going to help that league and you're
gonna be able to compete right away. But then I think it's gonna help
basketball too, just from an interest standpoint and all that kod of stuff,
no question. And I think the team the people that benefit the most are
the fans who get to see the Kansas, the Bayers, the Houston's,
all you know that quality basketball on a regular basis come in And same for
them because as huge as Arizona goes to see on the road games. Okay,
let's let's talk more basketball now. Uh. I think it's a blip.
You know, Aaron, you know I'm a journalist. I'm a fair
weather, not a fair weather. I'm an even keel guy. The loss
is going to be fine, It's not a big deal. But there are
other teams across the country there They are good, you know, Purdue,
the Kansas is, the Houston's Arizona's. I hope people don't listen to me
in DUCSA, but they got to get off the high horse. They're not
the best team in the country right now. I think you could make the
argument they are. You know what I would say is I think a group
is starting to form. They did not play their best effort less on on
Saturday against Purdue. I think we can all agree on that. But I
don't see a team that Arizona at its best camp eat. I say that
as a Yukon alone. I think Yukon is very good this year. I've
seen Kansas in person this year. I think they're very good this year.
But even the Purdue game, I mean, it was close for what the
first eight nine minutes, and then Arizona just started making uncharacteristic mistakes in what
was obviously a very hostile environment. So I you know, is are they
the definitive number one? There's them and a gap. No, I think
it's about five teams. I think Arizona's right there. I think for News
right there. I think Kansas is right there. I think Marquette is actually
very good. Yukon maybe as well. But I think they're right there.
I think the focus has to be continue to get better. And you know,
don't have a low in Pact twelve play either, because I think that's
part of it too, is you're going to be facing inferior competition and it's
kind of on Arizona to kind of keep keep that sword sharpened, if you
will. So I don't know how to how to best say it, but
I really do like this team. I'm not that worried after Saturday, as
you said, even Steven, not too high, not too low, even
keeled. You don't want to get too low after that one. But I'm
not worried in the bigger picture at all about this team. Yeah. No,
and you know, when the game on Saturday, you know, because
we've been saying all lot, we don't know what their flaws are. You
know, we know that they're going to show and there are some and they're
going to show. Did you see anything that you can consider flaws on this
team on Saturday Arizona. No, you know, listen, I think have
to answer your question. No, I thought they were uncased. So the
thing that stood out to me, honestly, guys, you know, it's
funny. We just talked about the defense on the football side. Arizona's defense
in basketball has been very good too. Like that's what I think goes underrated
is everybody knows Tommy Lloyd is the offensive savant and the beautiful basketball that he
brought from Gonzaga. This was a top fifteen either ten or fifteen field goal
percentage defense coming into that Purdue game. And you can't sit there and say,
well, it was just Zach Edie. We didn't have an answer for
the best player in college basketball. No, it was the guards, and
I think it was Lawyer and Britain Smith combined for nine three squinters. I
could be mistaken on that, but I believe it was nine. And so
I just think when you look at that whole situation, that to me was
the surprising part is I don't think there's any glaring weakness. I think three
points shooting to me was the issue coming in. It hasn't been an issue
so far, but I just thought it was uncharacteristic. One from a turnover
standpoint, but two definitely from a defensive standpoint as well, because that was
just a situation where I felt like with the Arizona Wildcat, I was going
to get a great defensive effort one way or the other, and bluntly,
it just wasn't a great defensive effort and that was as big of a reason
as any why they didn't went on Saturday. So you've seen some teams and
you kind of mentioned this sort of you've seen some teams to this point,
Kansas and some of the others. Arizona's right right up there with them.
So you're saying five teams. I agree with you. Five six teams.
Yeah, I think so. And you know, the one thing, and
I've been very in on this for a while, is that, you know,
when we get into February, I think that, you know, the
national narrative always becomes well, this year is as wide open as any other
one. If you look at it, it's either basically since two thousand and
seven, there's only been so that's you know whatever, fifteen tournaments. At
this point, eleven of the fifteen tournaments have been won by a number one
seed. Iron three of them have been one. The three of the four
that weren't won by a number one seed was Yukon, where they had the
best player pretty much in every single tournament. Last year they were the best
team. They just struggled in the middle of the year. They were eleven
and zero non league play. And so I bring it up because I think
every year we try to make it into a thing about, oh, it's
so wide open, and it's really not. There's usually by the end of
the year about four or five teams, maybe one or two less, maybe
one or two more that can realistically win the thing. And I think Arizona,
you know, barring something that I either haven't seen yet or injuries,
which obviously nobody hopes for, I think Arizona's going to be in that mix,
not only now, but also as the season wears on into February into
March. And I think that's where you want to be. Is Tommy Wood
said after the Predu game. They were never going undefeated. There was never
a scenario where they were finishing this regular season undefeated MISSUS college basketball. There's
too many good teams, but you want to be in that small group.
And I do a lot of these radio interview guys over the course of a
week, and there's a lot of fan bases that I don't think. I
think they know they're out in that small group. I think Arizona is,
and I think they will be going forward. Totally agree with you, Totally
agree with you. We've got to disagree with what's up with that, But
that's good. We don't disagree. But you're making so now you're just making
making your your listeners, mad I don't want to make your listeners, man.
I agree. I appreciate you validating over the skis thoughts on Arizona.
Thank you. Yeah, listen, we're all fans. You got I mean,
listen, you gotta, you gotta you know, you gotta go overboard
sometimes we all get we we all we all have those moments. And and
by the way, I think just Arizona fans have fun, man, like
you know, after everything the football program has been through, you know,
have some fun. And then also I think it's the opposite to you know,
we can't let Steve get too low after one loss in basketball, and
it sounds like he's ready to just become a Sun that will fan a team.
So you know, not too not too long. You break it up
to you break you break it up. We gotta leave you, gotta gona
go. Thanks man, We'll talk to you soon. Thanks, all right,
I appreciate you. It's funny. It's funny. I'm not I was
just being realistic, you know, because that I think never good. It's
never good to lose or whatever, but it's always gets you kind of recalibrated.
For the other thing, Aaron said, the Arizona fans have fun.
We don't have don't know how God you still we're We're like the country music
song, right, We're men and eggs all the time, very much.
I posted. If it's not the internet, we gotta watch the game.
People are against the rep. You know what, if you didn't have peacock
and couldn't watch a game, that's on you. That's on you. Okay,
everybody can get peacock. That was on you. So anyways, all
right, let's take let's take our break real quick. We'll be right back.
This report is sponsored by Lows Fox Sports fourteen fifty am Classic from the
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today at the Arizona Bowl dot com. Steve Ravera and Shaken Salez they have
their eye on the ball on Tucson's Sports They yet Fox Sports fourteen fifty streaming
live. I mean I heard radio whom, Hey, welcome back to wy
about here in Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivero, he's Jacobs as
got a guy eat in today. You have twelve minutes if anybody wants to
call, maybe talking about the basketball game that you saw or didn't see on
Saturday. So no big deal, Arison will be fine. Yeah, yeah,
you know, I mean we know Arizona fans, right, they lose
their minds on, you know, with any loss, regardless of who it
is. I mean, if they'd a lost to Duke at Duke, people
would be gone, what the hell? Right? As Aaron Troyer said,
they're a good team, and they're one of those teams, right, They're
one of those They're the tough they're without questions, the tough five. They're
one of those teams that's going to be in the in the in the conversation,
assuming they don't you know, fall apart during the conference season or whatever.
They're one of those teams that all season long, they're gonna be considered
as a team that you have to consider for the Okay, so so I
didn't see the game, as I I said before, I was out watching
some of the other some of the games. Yeah, yeah, let's get
hi. You're on there and I on the ball. How's it going today,
Bryant? How you doing? You know, after meeting your sister yesterday
was terrible. She had that bad limp still from that bb gunshot. I
felt so sorry for Come on, Brian, she didn't even limp that day.
She just cried alone. Yeah, I just want I just want to
bring up about the basketball team. You know, you know, win or
lose that game. You know, we're eight and one. No one thought
we'd be eight and one at this time. Also, to what worries me
about the basketball team is not what the next two games, it's what comes
afterwards in the conference. This conference is not that good, right Yeah,
And you know, and I just worried, like what happens to Gonzaga about
they played this great pre conference schedule and you turn around and you play your
conference and all of a sudden you lose that edge. No, as you
were saying that, that's the first thing that came into mind, was the
Gonzaga team be where they have to schedule like this because the conference isn't good
enough to get them where they need to go. And we saw this.
You know, people our age will know this. The Vegas team of nineteen
ninety one or whatever it was ninety when they won that when they didn't win
the tournament, they didn't have enough teams to play against, and then when
they did play against the teams, they lost. You don't remember that.
So no, totally, I totally agree with you. But so far,
so good. They're playing good teams. They'll be fine. The one thing
that I, like I said, was where I was going with this.
I didn't watch the game, but the bench apparently didn't show up or what
happened with the bench. It's just, you know, it's like we just
we just couldn't get over the hump in that game. It's just one of
those things that happened. Those two guys shot light out and that killed us.
But otherwise, you know, I thought we played a good game.
You know, they are very good team. You know we are a very
good team. But they just happened to beat us. No, I thought
I didn't feel like the bench did noticeably bad anything. I mean, in
fact, that during that run when they got back in the game in the
second half. Coylin Boswell was on the bench the whole time. I don't
think the bench did did did terribly. I thought Crevious was a little you
could tell he was a little overmatched. Look, Zach Edi is like twelve
years older than Thanks, so that showlayer right, that show, but it
didn't show on Ballow. You know, I'm not say Babo fought him evenly,
because you know, Edi got his points, Edie got his points and
stuff. But you know, Babow wasn't overmatched, completely overmatched. So no,
I didn't know. It was just they lost because those two guys,
those two guards couldn't miss. If they shoot their average, the game win,
and they didn't. You know what, I'm looking forward to the game
Wednesday night. It's gonna be a it's gonna be a long night driving up
there. Are you going, Oh yeah, yeah, No, it's gonna
You're gonna kill home at two or three in the morning at least. Yeah,
but I'm tired. I don't care. Well, can you can I
follow you? Dry you driving, I'll be in the back seat writing my
story. Yeah, that sounds fine, all right, Broy, Thanks a
bunch, right, Okay, man, it's gonna be fu Wednesday. It's
gonna be a lot of fun. So it's Saturday. Florida Atlantic is pretty
good. Right, makes a good point, you know, you know the
Pact will that's shaping up to be a league. Yeah, actually bring Arizona
down. You know, they can get to the end of that and really
not know much about themselves. Sure, you know, unless they beat the
hell out The one thing that Arizona cannot afford to happen to them, it's
the same thing that happened to him in twenty fourteen, somebody crucial getting it's
hurt. It's even if it's somebody wherever, because they're all there are a
whole of their parts, you know there every part is important. Every piece
well, well they have a lot of parts, right, each part matter.
Sure, right, it's not like you can lose this spoke would still
be as good as you were. Yeah, they don't good, but yeah,
they don't want to lose any of those guys. So no, that
that would be key, you know. And you have to think back to
the Brandon Ashley injury and what that did to that team. So no,
those are the kinds of things. But you know, you're just gonna play
the games. And you know, Tommy's not gonna sit there and say,
hey, our league sucks and we got to you know, do this,
this and this. But you know their league might suck and and and and
you know, but you know what Tommy's coming from, Gonzaga. Tommy's had
to deal with that in the past. Sure, So you know, look,
he's way smarter than any of us on all this stuff, and he's
just gonna he's just gonna go about it. Play the games, go one
at a time, and try and get them better every you know, every
single game. Let's take this call. Higher on the AAR and I on
the ball. Yes, gentlemen, how are you? I say that loosely
but cautiously. Okay, go ahead. First of all, I think Arizona's
depth is going to be the Even if God forbid something happened to some one
of the key players, they still have a lot of young men that can
fill avoid and are anxious to play in anxious to play teamvolved. This is
a long season. Teams get hurt, players get hurt. Things happen throughout
the whole n C Double A. And I think at the end of The
people in Tucson are to be very proud of these young men and very grateful
that they have the opportunity to see a class actor step on the court every
time. I think we panic so much and try to micro manage things that
we have no control over. Yeah, no, I agree with you.
Is this the evil or good? Rick? Because you're sensible today. I
didn't. I didn't. I didn't have my lunch. Yes, your sugar
levels. Hey, let me let me ask you. Let me ask you
something. Because you and Jay have been here forever. You're a little older
than Jay. How good is this team compared to others you've seen football wise?
Football wise, I go back, Wow, Larry Smith's teams in the
middle eighties. You had hang on a second. Of course, Dick told
me had And I tell you I really loved Dick because you know what,
He took men that, young men that and he molded them not only to
good athletes, and he put a lot of players in the NFL, but
he put on a pretty good show for Arizona. A lot of people didn't
like that. He didn't pass a lot, but he put a lot of
good players out there. And I think this town ows Dick told me a
great sense of appreciate for all he did. Yeah, yeah, no,
I agree with you. I think a lot of people would agree with you.
That's all. And then you go back to Jim Young. Now,
now I'm going back in the early seventies. But you had Jim Young,
and you know what, he had some pretty decent The WHACK at the time
was a pretty decent conference. It wasn't anything that's going to win national championships,
but they were a decent conference. And so uh. And I think
the fan base was much more loyal during the sixties, seventies and eighties than
the nineties than they have been in the two thousands. I think we have
too many transplants that don't pay attention to what's going on. Yeah, I
won't disagree that. Okay, Rick, have you have your lunch? Hey,
Hey, Merry Christmas. If I don't talk to you, guys,
Merry Christmas. Huh, thank you? Thank you? All right, guys.
Bye? What were we talking about before? Rick? The injuries blah
blah blah, just you know, just the ankst that that the Arizona fans
have, you know, and we're talking to about how the league is that
you know, they've just got to guard against, as he said, the
league bringing him down so that you know, when they when they get to
term time. But you know, to me, that's probably one of the
things that I think Tommy does better than totally totally great. He manages the
environment around the totally what's in front of him and kind of keeps them zeroed
in, you know, on this this piece of it. Sure, and
he doesn't look ahead. He's not looking at head right here and saying,
damn, what are we gonna do when we start going to the league playing
where you know, and and all the teams sucks thinking that at all?
I think about, we got to beat Alabama. If he's if he's if
he's thinking about it, he should not showing it. I honestly believe he's
not even thinking about it, because if because if he was real quick,
real quick, Yeah, let's take this high around there and I on the
ball. Yeah, this is uh, this is Jeff, Hey, Jeff,
we've got about him. We got about a minute. Okay, okay,
what his name out here? All? Were you what you were talking
about? But why wasn't that Boso didn't play a whole lot that game?
Well, he came out at a portion of the of the game in the
second half, and they went on a run. So I think Tommy just
decided not to change the lineup. He hadn't because they were doing so well.
Oh he played a ton, but he just during that run in the
second half, he was out of the game. And then and they and
they did that. That's all. It wasn't like he was anything happened or
anything like that. He just he'd been substituted for and they went nuts and
they and Tommy just left the lineup as it was. That's all, okay,
correct, okay, thanks, thanks, And he hadn't been having a
good game, right, he hadn't shut the ball. Well, I didn't
think he was playing particularly Portland put it that way when when they got behind
in that stretches because they weren't you know, they weren't scoring, they weren't
playing defensive. You know, they fell behind by you know, by a
bunch because they weren't playing very well. And I didn't There wasn't anybody that
I thought that guy played like crap. And that's why they love so two
names that I saw or you know, in the negative Twitter and Facebook was
that was that Pella didn't have a good game. He looked back. He
had a bunch of he had he had a bunch of key turning. Okay,
and then and then Boswell didn't shoot the ball, palace struggle. But
you know what were you saying? Pella was really struggling compared to the game
he had before. Sure, right, sure, but that's the problem with
that's the thing. He had this game up here and think, okay,
now play like that every game. That's a problem. Yeah, no,
that's the problem because you see that game and they say, Okay, that's
how you should play. Yeah, no, he doesn't play. It doesn't
work that way. He had he had turnover. You know, even though
I have a bad show every now again, there were two or three of
those lazy half half halst passes that they made. But it turned into into
yeah, it doesn't life doesn't work that way. You can't do that.
Yeah, okay, all right, let's take a break. Word to come
back. Big news, big breaking news, so stick around for that.
We'll be right back. This report game sponsored by Boost Infinite, Fox Sports
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