The final four matchups between Yukon and Alabama, NC State and Purdue. We're
going to talk more about him throughout. But some breaking news in the last
hour or so. Arkansas's job opened up yesterday, officially as Eric Musselman leaving
Arkansas to take over at USC and the names that emerged as the most likely
candidates for the Arkansas job were Chris Beard, Jerome Tang, and Will Wade,
names that you guys heard us talk about quite a bit. In fact,
I'm sure a lot of fans talked about those guys extensively throughout Louisville situation.
But Pat Kelsey is the guy, and after one week on the job,
I think he's done a good job of getting fans excited, engaging with
them, certainly done a good job of helping raise money for the collective.
It'll take quite some time before we figure out, Okay, was this a
great decision? Was it a bad decision? But the honeymoon is still in
full effect and will be for quite some time, and the fact that it's
something new is exciting. So you know, obviously I think very highly of
Eric Mulselman, Jerome Tang, Chris Beard, Will Wade, but that just
wasn't the direction louisll was going to go in. And we'll see. I
mean, Pat Kelsey, he's got a good resume. The question just comes
down to this, and obviously there's a lot of different you know, there's
there's layers to this this this move right, what kind of style is he
going to play? You know, how good of a recruiter can he be?
But really what it comes down to, it's not that complicated. He's
got a formula that worked at Winthrop and at college at Charleston, and now
you just have to wonder if it's going to work at this level. And
I think it's you know, it's probably not a real uh, there's not
a whole lot to take from it just yet. But I think just him
clearly knowing that Louisvill's got some resources with a big fan base that has has
always really cared about basketball, but now they're more desperate than they've ever been
to just not be terrible. And I think they're showing that with their wallet.
If you're keeping up with the amount of money the collective is raised.
So you know, I think which you were probably gunning for here if you
were Josh Heard, is that when you do go to the mid major level,
it's not just somebody that you know is adjusting and trying to bring the
success they've had at the mid major level up to the higher level, but
somebody that truly understands, Hey, I'm now on it. It's a different
world for me here, right, I can I can really use all these
tools that are available available at a higher level and hopefully knock it out of
the park. But anyways, with Chris Beard being the top target he is
now I guess informed according to Jeff Goodman Arkansas that he is staying put in
oxyfrordh and Arkansas is a better job. And I think Musclelmen reminded everybody that
they actually have a huge fan base that cares about basketball. They just weren't
relevant for a long long time. I mean the nineties when they had Richardson
they were I mean, they were great, and since then, I mean
they had some years where they made the tournament, but they never really had
a I mean did they just seem to kind of exist without any real success
and must change that with his you know, four or five years though,
however long it was, I mean to Elite eight, so sweet sixteen and
brought in some elite recruits. So, you know, I think Arkansas is
a good job, better job than I even realized before Eric Musselman got there.
But with Chris Beard, I don't know if we have the official details
or if it's public. I haven't seen any report that gives any info as
to why he's decided to stay. He did, I guess put out a
tweet on social media that says, Hotty Toddy, great times ahead in Oxford.
We are just getting started. So look, maybe he is just comfortable
where he is with ole Miss and realizes, you know, they were the
ones who I mean, maybe I'm being a little foolish here to think that
a coach really would be loyal to a program that gave him an opportunity.
And Chris Beard coached in the National Championship Game at Texas Tech not that long
ago. We all know what happened in Austin, Texas, and I think
it was pretty obvious that at the time ole Miss hired him, no other
Power six program was going to do that, just given what was in the
details of his arrest. Even though charges were dropped, I mean, it's
still something that a lot of schools. I think, in fact, most
schools would have hesitated to do well. Ole Miss. They have an athletic
director that's a former college basketball player himself, and he got it done.
And one of the things that I learned throughout Louisville situation is when you're looking
at potential candidates, and I never believed for a second that Louisville would consider
Chris Beard. But you know, maybe I was. You know, there's
chance I could have been wrong. I mean I wasn't they didn't consider him,
But I went through and tried to find what's this guy's buyout, like
what is you know, and because sometimes you don't get that information if it's
a private school and ole Miss is not one. However, there's I don't
know if it's some shady stuff like we had going on here at u of
L with Ramsey and Jurich. But you remember the foundation, Dave, where
you know, I don't really know what was going on with the foundation,
but I know it seemed to have unlimited money. We called it their ATM
machine. Yeah, so I don't know if they've got the same situation going
down at ol Miss. But what Lane Kiffin is there? Okay? Yeah,
it's true. Yeah, but technically the eye out and like the it's
somehow tied into that foundation. So people have filed open records request to try
to get it. But there could be a scenario where Chris Beard has a
buyout that is like unbelievably high. Because you have to keep in mind when
ole Miss gave him that job, I mean he might at that time he
might have thought he never could get a job like that. And ole Miss
isn't a great job. But it's in the sec they have resources, they
can pay top top dollar. This could have been a loyalty thing, but
it could have been an nil thing. Yeah, ole Miss may have more
resources there to get players, and you've got Lane Kiffin. Yeah. And
with Arkansas, I mean they could go now to Jeram Tang if they want,
they could go to Will Wade, who is also another guy that I
think a lot of schools would hesitate to hire. Wasn't it interesting that the
NIT Championship game featured two guys on Louisville shortlist? Oh yeah, I mean,
and here's the thing, Josh Shurtz was offered the Louisville job. I
mean like that, I'm not bringing that up to try to, you know,
continue to talk about the search and how the optics weren't great. I
mean, it's still the truth, but it is because if he would have
told I mean, could he have told Louisville the same thing he told Saint
Louis which is, yeah, i'll sign him random and I'll be your guy.
But I got to finish with the n I T. Because if that's
the case, would we just be sitting here knowing that he's going to be
the coach, but yet he's still coaching in the n I T. Would
he already have results in the portal? I mean, there's no scenario he
could still be coaching in the n I T and recruiting for Louisville in the
portals. So I was surprised that he jumped at Saint Louis, Yeah,
because normally that's the progression, right Indiana State to a Saint Louis, to
an Arkansas to a Louisville. Correct, he could have skipped that step probably
this year. Oh yeah, And I'm curious if you know, if he
didn't take Saint Louis and he decided he was going to wait it out and
see if a bigger opportunity came his way, which would have been a good
idea. Yeah, because again Arkansas, I mean, I don't know if
they would have gone in that direction, but there's been some hard jobs have
opened up since that I think are clearly better than better than Saint Louis.
So that n I game, you know, and nobody wants to be in
the n I T, right like if you are a program of any of
the power conferences. I guess it kind of depends on who you are,
I suppose, But like Seton Hall, you know, they won the n
I T, and I'm sure they're happy about that, but that's not I
mean that the next year that you never want to be back to back in
it appearances, right like, that means that you're clearly still not getting it
done. And I think it's not like going to the Weed Eater Bowl,
which keeps your job in college football exactly. So with all that said,
it was a really good game last night. I mean worst star for good
basketball, Nick Coffee, That's true. That is true. You have to
watch Indiana State to get it. Yeah, and the game being at Hinkle
was kind of cool. I mean I actually went to Hinkle for the first
time earlier this season, and yes, I was seeking out actual good college
basketball games to go watch, Dave, because we weren't getting any of them.
You know, did you yet the restroom there? I did, so
you had a Hank Hinkle tinkle. That's right, little Hinkle tinkle. So
yeah, you know, it's probably not the cool thing to do, but
I will admit I enjoyed watching some in I T action last night and actually
throughout the tournament. I mean, I'm a nerd for basketball as it is,
but yeah, I enjoyed the Uh. I enjoyed the n I T.
And in fact, I remember years ago when David Paget was here for
the long season. Uh, your your your colleague, I guess my colleague
too, and I'm sure you're a part of it as well. I'm just
gonna blame it all on on Venetti, but it's probably you two. You
guys used to give me a real hard time when I would call or Tony
did for sure what I would call him DP. It's what he goes by,
you got. Tony would mock me DPP. Well, you guys are
big buds. Well, I remember whenever he was here during the n I
T and they won a few games before getting bounced by I believe Mississippi State.
It was just a weird feeling overall because you know, Tom and Rick
effectively fired like right before the season started. Paget didn't do a terrible job
by any means, but then again, you know, we didn't make the
tournament, and that's always a considered a you know, they might essentially a
Virginia went away from getting an extension for David Padget. Oh, trust me,
that's there's no doubt about it. And not only that, I mean,
it wasn't just any Virginia win. You got to think about what they
had to do to win it with that Danadell goof that led to I mean,
I'm pretty sure the scenario that played out for Virginia in that game is
the only way they could have won, which is wild to think about.
And you're right, Dave, I think you know, had that they won
that that's the number, that's a number one seed. I think they're clearly
in the tournament. Sometimes there's just a god thing. Nick Coffee, Yep.
Not sure if he's paying attention to anything but Notre Dame basketball, but
I like to think that was a god thing. Yeah, And here we
are Pain wasn't and we've had I guess technically since David Paget coach David padget
I mean you went mac Pegee's Payne and now Kelsey. This is the fourth
coach since since David Padgett was here, which wasn't really that long ago.
In the grand scheme of things, after Denny and Rick and fifty years or
something like that, you've got this And I think we all knew what we
had as Louisville fans. And I don't know everybody listening is, but you
know, I'm certainly a Louisville fan. I mean, you knew you had
a very rare and special thing going with your coaching, you know, profile
essentially for what fifty years roughly with again with Denny and Rick, and I
think we knew whoever took over and whatever comes next, like we just need
to be prepared that it's not going to be the same and there's no scenario
we're going to bring in a guy. I mean with Denny, you knew
pretty early in his tenure that you had one of the best coaches, and
even throughout some of his down years, I mean you always knew, Hey,
this guy is one of the elite, and maybe till the last you
know, four or five years, I think people still considered him a good
coach and he actually had some good teams towards the end. Obviously not the
very last season, but you know, you knew you had a guy capable
of being elite, and with Rick mean he entered the job here at Louisville
being a rock star in college basketball before at Kentucky and then a failed stint
in the NBA, and it took him a while to get to a final
four here. Oh yeah, absolutely. I remember the the two thousand and
five final four with Taekwondine and Garcia. Yeah, those guys. I remember
the year prior to that, they had a really good team, but they
got they got bounced in the second round. I think it was and I
remember just the game. It might have been Xavior, but I just remember
hearing noise that I you know, that I hadn't heard before from you know,
fans for family members of mine, even you know, going to games
even that year with my father and whatnot, where people still felt like we
were in a great position to have somebody like Rick Patino, but they were
starting to think, okay, well, you know what, like we hired
a guy that like we expected to be in the Final four within maybe a
couple of years or something, which maybe that was unrealistic. But you got
to keep in mind when Rick left Kentucky, I mean he was he was
the man in college basketball. And uh, speaking of Rick, is there
any truth to the story floating around today that Rick has been tampering with the
portal? Yeah? That was fake. I saw that as well. Yeah,
in I mean it wouldn't right, but I did. The guy's the
the Twitter account that that put that out there. If you look at the
bio, uh, it's got a link and if you click on the link,
I think it takes you to some like porn side or something. So
it's yes, and that's right. I mean with Twitter, I don't know
how how often you're on the the cesspool, the toxic wasteland model Twitter.
Yeah, but it's never been harder to determine what is real and what is
not. And and you know, since Celon Musk took over and changed up
some things, and it's now I guess called X. I mean, it's
still a it's still a an active spot for you know, sports information news
and that kind of stuff. But man, it's like every week there's some
type of and I mean, I I now get how people fall for some
of this stuff because you can buy the blue check that makes it look like
you are if you know, an official, uh you know, you know,
a credentialed media member whatever, and then you can put some weird,
you know, some professional headshot and people will just not even click on your
profile. They'll see the check and they'll see what you tweet about and just
assume that it's real. So yeah, sometimes timing is everything. You look
at Indiana, who was kind of in the dumps there for a while and
still kind of on the outside of the dumps, but Calvin Samson gets hit
because he texted players, now, you can do that all you want.
So true. Rick Patino could now recruit Brian Bowen the way he was trying
to do it with Adidas. Same thing with Will Wade, who, of
course was one of those guys that's in that documentary that HBO did that that
you know, played the clips from those phone calls with Sean Miller and Will
Wade talking to Christian Dawkins and you know, mentioning a strong ass offer those
kind of things. Will Wade has a show cause, but he I mean
it's almost I feel like in a way, the kids can now call you,
do you have a strong ass offer for me? Yeah? Exactly.
That could just be a standard like that could be just the you know,
that's the SAO. Yeah. So when he did it at the time,
it was not legal, so therefore he's still being punished. But I think
if you are a school that wants to hire someone like Will Wade, who
is a winner, and what he's accused of doing is now something that you
have to be doing or you're not going to get players. It's not like
Baylor and Murder. Yeah exactly, So you know with that, I'm just
I think usually if you want to go hire a coach that has a show
cause. And we learned this throughout the louisvill search because there were some fans
that thought he should get a real look. You know, he wouldn't be
able to be out on the road recruiting because of that show cause. I
think you would have to position, you know, you have to basically make
your pitch to the NCAA on why they should let you hire this guy with
his show cause. So the juice may not be worth the squeeze given that
process. But then again, wouldn't shock me if a school like Arkansas was
willing to do it, because again, the guy was good at doing it
when it wasn't allowed, and now you need somebody that's really good at doing
it, and that is, you know, arranging for players to be paid
right to go to your school. So we'll see who Arkansas ends up with.
But I would say they're probably going to shift their attention to Jerome Tang
or Will Wade, who I think both those coaches could do a good job
there in Fayetteville. Jerome Tang was either going to be a coach or go
to NASA. What that's that's such a Dave Jennings joke. But it's such
I'm here for the Dave Jennings jokes. In fact, whenever I see the
astronauts back in the day, supposed to dranked haang okay, And that is
a whole new meaning, has a whole new meaning. Now what's great about
the day that what's good about the Dave Jennings one liners is that some of
them kind of you know, go over go over the head of someone like
myself. But then the but those who get it's more of a generational thing
for you, it's not an intelligence thing. Well, let me tell you
this. When I would listen to the Joby and Denny Show when I was
fresh out of you know, fresh out of high school in my college years,
and I would listen, was one of my favorite parts of the show
was the very, the very subtle Dave Jennings one liners that clearly Joe and
Denny had no clue what the hell you just said? They didn't this in
a while, Denny after about two minutes would go, I just got that
one, David. That was great. I mean they would they would just
you know, kind of hold court tell stories, which is what made the
show great. The were great characters, some of them. I remember Ronnie
on a bucket. Ronnie on the bucket actually sat on a bucket so as
transistor radio could pick us up. But the the the quarterback of the show
was the one, the only Dave Jenny. Well. It made it made
it work, and it's such a blessing to have done that for seven years.
It was incredible. It has to. I mean you if you had
a front row seat to hear the stories and just get to know those two
guys. Where was Denny? I know Denny had had property. Was it
at Montana? Yeah, it's flew into Idaho Falls. It's in Idaho actually
pretty close though to West Yellowstone, Montana. So we go out there and
I'm thinking, Okay, first night dinner, we're going to West Yellowstone,
Montana. We're going to have like an Elk Burger or something like that,
Chinese at General Sala's Chicken. Not what you were expecting, right, No,
you're probably thinking they're they're going to give you right like some Beisenberger.
Maybe they'll go they get they'll get a piece, they get a fish from
a fresh river. Yeah. But the first experience ever fishing with them was
at Denny's house. So I'm driving up and there's Joe b fishing and Denny's
out there. I'm like, oh, this is intimidating. These guys are
fishermen, they've had TV shows. So as I walk up, Joe casts
and it gets stuck in the tree behind him. I said, all right,
I'll fit right in with these guys. Yeah. That was That was
a legendary show, and uh I just missed it. I was hired a
little bit after it had come to an end. But when I first got
introduced to sports talk radio on this station that I'm very fortunate to be able
to yap my trap on each day it was it was the joe By and
Denny Show with the trio Denny, Joe and Dave, and then in the
afternoon it was Adam Neft and Tony Vannetti. You believe how long ago that's
been. Does it seem like it was forty years ago? Or does it
seem like it was just the other day. It seems like it goes about
twenty years ago. Yeah, it does. Yeah. Anytime I go to
the Texas Roadhouse, in the one that's over there off Vater Loop, there
is a there's a picture of Joe and Denny in like a plaque during their
run, and it always reminds me of that. And there was one that
used to hang up in the old studio there too, of those two guys,
And man, how fun was it whenever the twenty twelve Final four was
going on. I mean just that there's no way those guys really ever thought
about when First of all, there's no way they ever thought they'd do a
radio show together. Whenever they were, you know, coaching against each other
and and you know, competitors, right, but for them to be on
the radio together having a show while Louisville and Kentucky played in the final four.
I mean that. I mean not to be corny, but that gives
me goosebumps even thinking about it. One of the awkward things was, so
we'd have selection Sunday. So you think, okay, Monday is going to
be a big darn deal on the show, right, the two coaches breaking
it down. Bring Jerry Jones in he watching these guys play. But that
was Repperina Sweet sixteen time. So every Monday after Selection Sunday we're live from
the Reperena food court talking about how school basketball the day after Selection Sunday.
Yeah, not good timing, no, but Joe loved that event, speaking
of it and speaking of that event, that that event led to one of
my as a Louisville fan. Obviously it led to one of my favorite I
guess you know, painful moments for the rival Kentucky because whenever they did have
a big let down after winning that championship in twenty twelve, or if they
were in the n I T right, well, they couldn't host it Rupperena
because of that tournament. So therefore they ended up having to go and play
at Robert Morris and we all know how that worked out. My favorite phone
call of all time was this guy calling after they lost to Vanderbilt and Rapperena
and he called it in and said, guys, that was that was a
tough one last night. Yeah, yes, it was, Yes, it
was. You know. We was driving home after losing that game. Came
and really say that losing that game to Vanderbilt, and my kids was in
the back seat and my little daughter said, Daddy, I don't think I
can do school tomorrow. And he said, you know what, guys,
I couldn't make them go. What was the response from Joe and demmy?
Uh? Laughter. Yeah, I mean, now that I think about it,
that, you know those two guys, of course, their knowledge of
basketball, the stories they could share sometimes they would just be unfiltered, and
you could tell they probably don't they probably lost a little bit awareness here that
they're on the radio. But man, the callers, I mean it was.
It was a cast of characters from all over. Yeah. Very entertaining,
no doubt. All right, So let's get to a quick break we'll
come back here on the other side. And again I've been mentioning it throughout,
but we haven't really got into it, and I'm probably over selling it
as far as this tease. But there is a transfer from Tennessee that I
think there's a connection here to the new Pat Kelsey staff that I would I'd
be shocked if this guy doesn't end up strongly considering Louis and ended up and
ended up probably coming here. So we'll get to that in a lot more.
Keep it rolling along. Coffee and Company, PHILBYU Thorton's on Sports Talk
seven ninety Timmy, everybody, great job, nex stuff. We have some
man thirteen new players on this roster right now. They have three new editions
too, that followed Pat Kelsey from Charleston and then obviously the big addition earlier
this week when they landed James Madison transfer Fats, which I'm curious if that's
gonna stick. He goes by Fats. But his name is Terrence Edwards Junior.
Is he fat or does he play pool? He's he's very piano,
he's very thin. Ah, so it's an eye or anything. I would
I would guess right, because I mean even if somebody is really big,
would they go by Fats Because again that I think what you just said slim
like, that's the most like. There's probably a lot of big dudes that
have just gone by slim and it's you know, it's clearly kind of a
joke. He's so thin. When he sticks out his tongue, he looks
like a zipper. I would. That's there's no doubt. Whatever he has
an interview wherever it may be in Louisville, fans are getting to know him
in some capacity, somebody's got to ask. Maybe it's me. I don't
know, but somebody needs to figure out how that name because that's hopefully is
that something he rolls well, it's college athletics probably does good stuff. Again,
that's the Dave Jennings humor. That that you know, if you're familiar
with this station and and and have been over the years, you were well
aware of it. And it's it's it's it's refreshing to have it back here
ninety nine to noon on the other one. That's right, Hey, forty
wha sing go all right? So I think right now there's only two Louisville
players that have transferred out via the portal that have found their new home.
Earlier this week, Sky Clark committed to u c l A, heading back
home. He's actually from LA. And then yesterday Brandon Huntley Hatfield decided to
UH to commit to NC State, So uh some momentum for Kevin Keats that
is not due to this magical run, but Hutley Hatfield, despite the awful
season that we just experienced, in fact two of them, he really turned
into a good player in the last you know, the last couple of months
of the season. It didn't didn't really equate too much as far as wins,
but you know, I get why he's one a fresh start, but
it also is better. It sucks to know that you're gonna have to go
up against him next year, and clearly NC State. We'll see if they
can carry momentum into next year with this magical run that they're on. But
you know, he's one of those guys that again I think we'll all kind
of understand. Hey, I get it, anybody wanting to leave it makes
sense. But he may be one that at his new school puts up some
big numbers and you feel like, man, I wish we could have done
something to keep that guy around. What about the quick point guard that came
on at Tyler Johnson. Yes, so he his timing Dave told me that
he was not coming back. So he's the he's the last guy that entered
the portal. Whenever Pat Kelsey was hired, I think it was by by
maybe he was hired officially Wednesday or no, it was Thursday, and then
by Friday, everybody had hit the portal other than Tyler Johnson. And I
think that was a good sign because I think, you know, he was
truly wanting to even if he just wanted to put his name out there to
see who calls, check the market for himself on nil, the thought I'd
do that, yeah, so but he didn't do that. So therefore I
thought, Okay, he must really want to stay Louisville. And then he's
going to get to know Pat Kelsey. They're gonna have a conversation. And
then he met him, I think his family came to town Taylors that is,
and then he hit the portal. So that tells me he's probably not
going to come back. But well, if you're used to Kenny Payin's approach,
his way of doing things, Pat Kelsey is quite a bit different.
Oh yeah, that's a I mean talk about a complete night and day difference.
Yep. And those are the two guys that I think, just from
a talent standpoint, Johnson and hat Huntley Hatfield, I think those were the
two that would have really given you a good boost to start off with with
guys that, you know, despite not being a part of good team,
certainly some good, good players. But I think it's going to be an
entirely new roster here, and that alone is exciting, but it also leaves
you having no clue whatsoever as far as how it'll how it'll look, meaning
the roster, and you know how it'll all come together. So the names
that we've talked about here and there throughout the week, the Toledo transfer,
whose name again I just continue to forget. Dante Maddox Junior is his name,
and he's considering Louisville as well as Kansas, UH, Providence and a
few others including Creighton, So you know, Louisville is believed to be in
good shape with him. That was the flight that Pat Kelsey took on Wednesday
out of here to go visit this young man in Toledos, So you know
he'd be if you can within a week's time add Dante Maddox Junior and Fat
Fats. I mean, that would be a heck of a week and it'd
be a great star. But again, there's a lot more spots to fill.
So one name that you're probably somewhat familiar with, maybe not not a
guy who's been a star, but he has been in college basketball, it
feels like for quite some time. That is Shaquille Moore. So he started
his career at n C State, I believe, and then most recently played
at Mississippi State, and he's kind of been a career, you know,
ten point per game kind of guy. And look, that's not somebody that
I think you'd be pursuing if you if you, you know, let's say
you had one scholarship and you really needed a guy that has produced a lot
throughout his career, that obviously wouldn't be wouldn't be this guy. But you
need everybody, right you don't have any I mean, you don't even have
enough guys on the roster right now to field to feel the starting lineup.
So you know, I just hope fans are aware that there's gonna be some
dudes in the portal that not only are you not familiar with, you're gonna
look at where they played. You're gonna look at their numbers, and you're
gonna think to yourself, what are we doing here? Well, I would
just advise you they need bodies, they don't mean And where Louisville I think
could be in a little bit of a tough spot is that you know,
if you're if you're building the core here, you can sell Louisville and I
owe money. And oh, by the way, like you're you're not competing
yet now, I think you're probably gonna hear Pat Kelsey tell everybody that,
hey, you got to earn you're playing time, all that kind of stuff
that coaches say. But as of right now, if these guys are looking
at rosters in place from the schools that are pursuing them, there's no competition
right now. Right so you could walk into a big role right out of
the gate. And I think that is something that you'd want to be able
to sell when you're when you're a head coach. But then when you get
to maybe the last four spots, maybe even the the last three to four
spots, you know those are guys. You know that that's a specify.
You're probably looking for bench guys, guys that could, you know, help
you get through practice, maybe come in if somebody's in foul trouble. And
players that are in the portal, I'd say ninety five percent of them are
specifically looking for a bigger role or honoring with the recruiting calendar when it comes
to high school players. So there's a few guys that are available because of
these coaching changes. In fact, there's McDonald's All American that just asked to
be released from his letter of intent at USC because of the coaching change there.
And I believe the report so that Louisville's one of the mini schools that
has, you know, tried to get involved. But am I am I
am I just falling too much for this tournament run where it's all older dudes
who've transferred. I'm just I'm just starting to wonder if the Anisle investment is
worth going with a freshman anymore. I mean, there's there's the occasional guy
like a Reed Chepper who was phenomenal and Rob Dillingham, And it's not to
say that you're not going to have talented freshmen that can make an impact.
But when it comes to building your roster and wanting somebody, you know,
I just don't think coaches right now are thinking long term development. This guy
in three years will be a really serviceable player. Well that's just not the
game anymore. So. Well, if he's been around for three years and
he's still with you, people are going to say why you're still here?
Yeah, exactly when somebody offer you more money exactly. So you know,
I think you're always going to see programs recruit the high school level, but
the days of having five, four even high school signees, I just don't
think you're going to see that very often. Prime example, look at Kentucky
versus Oakland, no doubt. I mean that's a bunch of freshmen and two
in a receding airline. Yeah exactly. I mean you could have told me
that Golkie was, you know, four years older than me, and I
don't believe you. I'm thirty five. I mean like it's it's and I
think everybody, myself included, was just intoxicated by the insanity of that game.
And I was super excited that Kentucky once again was losing to a team
of that caliber. But I watched gold Key last night Dave in the college
three point shootout. Oh I miss that. He's he's got a really weird
looking shot. I mean it's not like it comes out of his hand in
a in a in a weird release or weird form, but like he's got
to it's almost like his his build up to take a shot. It's like,
you know, like an old man. Uh huh, because old probably
got issues. Yeah, so yeah, I if you are Pat Kelsey and
there's a really talented freshman or two that's available that you like, I mean,
you got enough scholarships to where I think it would be worth it this
time around. But you know, that's one thing that we're going to learn
about Pat Kelsey, and Pat Kelsey is going to learn about himself actually,
because at Charleston you're just building your roster differently, right like you're when you're
when you are there at that level of the mid major, your biggest challenge
is if you have a really good player, try to make sure he has
nil compensation so he doesn't hit the portal and go to a higher level.
And you're also knowing that when you are in the portal going to grab guys,
you're probably not going to get up, Like for example, if you're
a second team all bigies performed and you hit the portal, you're not looking
to go to the Colonial Athletic Association. You're looking to probably go to a
similar league that you're already in and get more money or maybe a bigger role.
Do you think if Scotty Davenport had to do it again, he would
have stayed Division two. It's a great question because right now, I mean
Bellerman was safe there, they could win a national championship, and now the
College of Charleston's of the world are looking at the Bellarman's of the world for
players. Yes, and I think you could make the case. And I'm
sure there are other schools that are in similar situations, but I mean Bellerman's
right here in town. I'm very familiar with them, and there's three hundred
and sixty something Division one teams. Bellaman has to be in that tier of
teams that are going to hurt the most from this, right I would think
so absolutely. You know, Scotty's a great coach and he always I think,
you know, for the most part, even when he has really good
teams. It's been guys that you know, obviously are good basketball players,
but they are you know, they care about academics more than the average player,
right, And Scotty has always had a good system in place, and
he's I should I wouldn't say he's recruited the same type of player, but
you know, I'm not spinning my wheels here because I'm just afraid of saying
a bunch of white dudes, because we all know Scotty usually has a bunch
of white dudes. But it's guys who are, you know, not positionless,
but can stretch the floor and shoot it. And you know, Scotty's
a great coach. And I feel for him because, Dave you, I
think, to answer your question, I would say if he did regret it,
I would understand because as good of a coach as he is, the
way the game is now played with the portal, I mean, it's I
think it makes it very very hard to see them having I mean before the
portal existed. In his second year in Division one, when they weren't eligible
for the tournament for that stupid ass rule, he won his league. I
wonder how long he does this because you're seeing Shayzewski, Roy Williams, you
name the coach in this system, in this environment, they're like, you
know, imut, I'm out, this isn't the way that I want to
do things. And yeah, Scotty maybe getting there, I don't know,
not speaking for him. Yeah, And I think it's these coaches have these
crazy contracts. And I'm not referring to Scotty specifically here, although I'm sure
he has a good contract and is compensated well because he deserves it. But
you know, coaches they have, I mean, it's insane. We just
paid Kenny Payne eight million dollars to not work. Knny Payne will make more
money next season to not coach the team than Louis was going to pay the
guy that is coaching the team. Yeah, and the buyouts are just crazy.
So I don't have any sympathy for them, but I will acknowledge that
these adjustments have really changed what the job is. And I mean, I
think that's why you saw Roy Williams walk away. I mean, coach k
I don't know if he ever admitted that that was a reason, but if
it is, it wouldn't shock anybody. Jay Wright was pretty upfront about it
like, yeah, this, you know this is so again, I Scotty
could recruit, have guys around for four years, compete for final fours and
national titles, and now Louisville looks at Toledo players, Toledo looks at bellerman
YEP, no doubt about it. And you know what's what I think makes
it really impressive for what Scotty's been able to do. And I think you
can throw Pat Kelsey in here as well, for both his time at Winthrop
and at Charleston. But when you are recruiting in that level, there's countless
players that are viewed as that caliber. Right when you're talking Power six,
it's a smaller group because there just aren't as many, you know, good
players that are for Star, three star even But when you recruit at the
mid major, these are guys that don't have a star next to their name
and probably have a handful of Division one offers, so it's a big pull.
It's harder to evaluate because they don't play on these circuits as much.
So therefore, I think if you do have good success at that level,
you're a really good recruiter. But it's not because of rankings. It's not
because you got a blue Chripper to give you a commit It's because you were
able to evaluate guys that you know can fit exactly what you want to do
and make it work. And that I think is nobody thinks of a good
recruiter when nobody thinks of that when they consider who is and who isn't a
good recruiter. But that's a big part of it. So yeah, if
anybody, anybody wanted to walk away, I mean I would, I would
understand because to be honest with you, it isn't the same job that you've
done for you know, for years probably, And in fact, when I
watched the teams play, I don't really notice any difference in the sport other
than occasionally realizing, wait a second, didn't I see that guy playing for
another team last year? But other than that, when in there between the
lines, whether it be football or basketball, I think the product of the
sport is still in good shape. At least for me, I'm gonna always
watch it, but everything else outside of it, like we have free agency
season in college sports, and I think from you know, from my standpoint
as somebody who has a sports talk show, it definitely helps with content,
but it also makes it a little bit harder to keep up with well.
And the days of growing old with the players, so to speak, those
are gone. Yep. We had somebody call in a couple of days ago
that really, you know, Mintion, they it really hit a note with
me because I'm thinking, you know, I'm just so worried about Louisville getting
back to life and you know, being successful. But that twenty thirteen team
that was really special, that went on a great run, not just in
that championship season, but the build up to that, that type of team,
that won't happen anymore, right, Nope, I just don't. I
can't see a scenario where it does. You get the two star Russ Smith,
whose days for four years WINJI a national title, he would have been
long gone, probably for bigger money yep. And by his junior year.
And not only that, but Russ was strongly considering I mean, he was
kind of had one foot out the door yep when he was a freshman.
But one of the things I think that that kept him from doing it was
that he didn't want to sit out. At that time, you had to
sit and I think a lot of guys never transferred because the thought of sitting
out at that age, they probably never sat out a year without playing basketball,
and you know, can we it's crazy? Can we do that again?
Can we have one transfer where you don't sit, but after that you
have to sit if you transfer again? They tried and it became a thing,
and there were a few guys that were sitting out at the beginning of
this year because of the NC double A and they went to court. There
was some kind of injunction and those guys were able to were able to play.
So I mean, I think if you if, if it became a
if it became the norm where five six years it was quite clear that that's
the new world. You get one opportunity to just up and leave. I
think it would. It would make this thing a lot less hectic. But
now it's an absolute free for all and you're seeing guys transfer. I mean,
Hayley Van let's transfer and for back to back seasons. I mean,
so so yeah, it's changed a whole lot when it comes to didn't live
up to expectations at two schools, very well said, couldn't have said it
better. Actually, all right, we got to get to a quick break.
We'll come back on the other side, keep this thing rolling along.
We're going to talk to Aaron Torres, a Fox Sports Radio who is live
in Phoenix for the Final Four. We'll talk a block hour, but again
we are going to talk some Final Four with someone who is actually there for
the Final Four in Phoenix. That's Aaron Torres, the voice you here on
Fox Sports Radio, one of the weekend hosts right here on s Well,
he doesn't work for us, but he works for Fox Sports Radio, which
of course you hear on on Sports Talk seven ninety one. More name I
want to throw out there to you guys as far as the transfer portal,
and this one's fun to say. Freddie de Leon he is a Tennessee transfer.
Did not do much for the Balls in his freshman season. Was a
top fifty recruit, but you know, Tennessee was loaded. They ended up
getting guys back that I don't think they were expecting to get back whenever he
initially committed to them. But yeah, I didn't play much at all,
but talented certainly. And there's a connection here. So Thomas Carr, one
of the assistant coaches for Pat Kelsey at Charleston. He is like the other
assistant's going to be following him to Louisville. Well, he was only there
for I believe two seasons at Charleston. Prior to that, he was the
coach at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is
where mister Deleone played his prep ball. So we could have Fats and Freddy.
Yes, that's good. Could be a backcourd duo of Fats and Freddy.
I am Freddie Dillonredd I mean, and now you shall remove your blouse.
That's just a fun name to say, Freddie Delly. Hopefully he can
play a little ball too. So is there something Dave, that you used
to feel like you were really solid at or a strength that you've just lost,
because I'm telling you, for years, I felt like I was in
the upper tier of remembering names. And I don't mean just like random people,
but like I've always used to be really good at that. Now I'm
awful. I mean, I'll meet someone and you know, you know,
maybe it's a zoom call for a client or something like that, or just
you know, somebody that I've read about for twenty minutes in an article because
they may transfer Louisville and I'll just completely blank on names. Tony and I
would have someone on the show that's been like five times, and Tony text
me, what's this guy's name? Again, I'm like, I don't know,
Let's go with buddy. What's funny is that there's no doubt if you
listen to that show, you know these guys would tell that's real. That's
a real story. Now. The one thing I can't do anymore that I
was really good at for a long time was math in my head. Okay,
so quickly I'm multiplying, dividing, addy some tracking, and now I'm
wait a minute, Hold on a second, crap, where's my calculator?
Was it a reoccurring thing or was it? Was it just one time it
happened? And these two guys never let you guys live it down. But
the Kent you'd get a mixed up Kent Taylor, Kent Spencer. I don't
remember getting them mixed up. That was pretty good with them. Sometimes it
was clients, which isn't a good look. No, I remember Kent Spencer.
He's on with us each week here and I love love houses. Their
real good. He looked the same since I saw him fifteen years ago for
the first time, I feel like, yeah, you know, what,
are we rare in this market to have guys that are the sports you know,
anchors, reporters, really the guys who run the sports department for the
local TV stations here. I mean you see some people come and go that
are the younger up and coming, you know, talent in that industry.
But our our our TV stations here in town dr B LK, y h
AS eleven anchors have been there forever. I mean they've been there forever.
And I back in the day it used to be if you were in a
mid market like Louille wanted to be top twenty, right, gets a Chicago
and Philadelphia something like that. Once people get here, they tend to stay.
Yeah, it happens in the media too, in the radio. That
makes me feel good because you know, this is my home, lived here,
my wife, and to know that others who aren't from here, with
really no connection, they end up here for work and they make it their
home too. Yep. But I was thinking about it. You know,
the the and there's not a lot of hot competition that's angry. Everyone's friends
with each other. You know. The ratings game is just what it is.
That was so my buddy Dan Coob, who was a former sports reporter
for LKY. He ended up going back to Philadelphia where he's from and doing
the same kind of gig. And I remember when he and I got to
know each other. We were at I think I might have been a basketball
media day and he acknowledged that after being here for about a year. He
said, I can't believe how friendly everybody is with each other, and they
work together like or they compete against each other, and there you think they
all work together. So yeah, but that's if that does make us rare,
I'd say it's for good reason. All right, We'll take a quick
time out, come back, finish strong here, final hour of the week,
getting you set for the weekend, the final four good stuff. So
again, coffee and company, that's us. We are fueled by Thornton's right
here on Sports Talk seven ninety