WEBVTT

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This is I on the Ball with
Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports

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fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services
and Sure Your Most Prized Possessions kat z

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R two, SAG and iHeartRadio Station. Hey, good afternoon, everybody.

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Welcome to I on the Ball Hero
Fox Watch fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera,

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you're Jagan's also got Henry in today. Today is Wednesday. It is

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Wednesday, Wednesday, another hot day
out there. But besides of earth and

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should be nice, put together a
decent show for you, A good show

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maybe, in fact, I think
so. Well, we'll see if we

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could pull this off. We're gonna
talk about Jerry West, right right,

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Jerry West, the legend. The
logo passed away this morning or maybe last

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night, but the news got out
this morning. Two legends in the last

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couple of three weeks. Yeah,
you know, it's funny because you know,

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I've all, I mean, I've
said many times I've didn't grow up

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a huge NB fan. You know, I was a college basketball fan but

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really didn't follow the NBA. But
you know, when a guy like Jerry

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West goes, you know, it's
it's beyond basketball, right, we're talking

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about a legend, not just in
basketball, but in in sports, in

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American sports. I haven't seen TV. I've been at in my other office,

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and I'm sure they're doing some nice
tributes to him, kind of like

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you know when people like like Walton
and right and then these guys go,

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I mean, you know, Hall
of Famers, beloved, beloved the players.

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Yeah. Well, you know,
he was a frequent guest on The

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Dan Patrick Show, and Dan Patrick
lost it a couple of times. I

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mean, right during the show.
First of all, the news came out

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while they were on the air,
so you know, he was talking and

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then he he he saw the news
and so immediately went into it and he

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choked up there quite a bit.
And then there was one they played a

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clip. There was a clip from
with the tenth an of Verse Street of

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The Dan Patrick Show. Jerry West
came in with a cake that made it

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made to look like the Dan Patrick
logo. So they played that. At

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the end of that, Dan Patrick
choked up for like a minute, couldn't

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say anything. They just they just
kept the camera on him. You tell,

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he was cheering up in the whole
bit, and it took a while

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for him to gather himself, and
you know a number of times, you

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know, he had to kind of
pause for a second and regather himself so

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you could tell him and a lot
to him, right right right. I

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remember him a couple of times.
We're gonna have Mark Wicker from the retired

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now from the Orange Canon Register,
one of the great columnists in the West

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Coast. We'll see what he says
about it. I think he probably covered

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him a time or two when the
Lakers in the West. Yeah, if

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you've done anything with sports in southern
California, whether you were a coach,

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a player, a member of the
news media, you know, Jerry West

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was a part of whatever you did
because he was such a such a figure

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again, you know, not just
as a as an NBA guy, but

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you know just in you know,
sports in general in that in that region.

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Yeah, And I saw him a
few times at the NBA games that

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covered back in the day. He
and Larry Bird and guys like that.

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And we're gonna have Corey Williams at
the four o'clock hour. And I'm sure

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Corey ran into him too in his
media exploits here. But he was one

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of those dudes that kind of like
Loot too many. Here you go and

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you see him and you think,
can I go up to him? You

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know, one of those dudes that
larger than life and stately and very very

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is very approachable, but you don't
know if you're good or not. One

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of those guys that walks in the
room and he changes the room, right,

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No, Jerry West walks in the
room. You know that Jerry West

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just walked in the room. I
did that with him, doctor j.

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You know, guys that you grew
up watching him because you don't believe that

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they're real. You know, I'm
sure like kids today with Lebron or whoever,

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like Michael Jordan stuff. No,
and you know, and and and

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again it's it's you know, it's
our age that we're starting to see,

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you know, people like that from
from our time. Uh, they're they're

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you know, they're aging. You
know, we're losing them, you know,

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and guys like that you mentioned doctor
j Uh. You know, at

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a PAC twoff tournament two or three
years ago, and maybe even longer ago

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than that, my son and I, you know, we were both working

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and we're walking in the hallway and
coming the other way. Here comes doctor

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J and I'm like, this is
doctor j This is that guy. Almost

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like if Michael Jordan was walking down
down the hallway and we stopped him,

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got a picture with him. But
then I looked him and said, he's

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old. Yeah, just a couple
of years. Yeah, yeah, you

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know he's gotten old. And he's
one of those guys that you know,

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uh you know he he he How
much stronger is a guy like that can

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be around? But you know,
when a guy like Jerry West goes,

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it's there aren't there aren't a lot
of people in his stratosphere, uh,

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in any sport, right, When
when somebody like that goes, it's kind

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of like a huge deal and you
start to start to realize how I'm mortal.

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Everybody is, you know, with
a guy like that, you know,

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he's just one of those guys.
And I think I said this on

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a on a on a text to
to some friends. I said, he's

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one of those legends that you thought
would never die, right, he might

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always be around, right, No, you're exactly right there. They're bigger

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than life. Uh, mountain men, kind of mountain men, uh,

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like the Waltons. Even though he
was he was slowed by I think lout

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you know you think that, Yeah, if you lived in Tucson, you

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thought Lout would always be here.
I mean, we could talk about people

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like that all the time. God, there's so many. But you know

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what I mean when you're talking about
guys like you know, you know in

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my okay for me, right,
then one that I know has got to

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be coming up in the next several
years, Sandy Kofax, Right, except

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that guy looks better than I do, so I you know, every time

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you see him, he still looks
great. But you know, Sandy Kofax

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is a guy that you know,
you know, he takes me back to

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my youth. He's he's sort of
my Jerry West because he still continues to

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be around baseball. He's around the
Dodgers. You know, during spring training

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you see you know, he's at
games and he worked with the Dodgers.

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You see him all the time.
Sandy Colfax is a guy that at some

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point I don't know, but Steve
he quit playing baseball in nineteen sixty six.

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Yeah, right, so fifty years
ago. It's funny you bring that

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up. Almost sixty years ago.
Mine would be Johnny Bench, Yeah,

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Johnny Bench, and you know Joe
Morgan's already passed, right, and Pete

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Rose and those guys, so they
have to be in their seventieslady seventies,

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mid seventies. Well, Sandy Colfax
was a rookie in nineteen fifty five.

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I'm looking up. I'm looking up
to see how olday he's eighty eight years

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old? Right, eighty eight?
Yeah, I bet you can still get

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a fastball pass me and Jerry West. It was eighty six or eighty six,

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eighty six, so you know,
but there's you know, those guys

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that and again, you know,
yes, do I remember Jerry West as

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a player. Of course I do, because how could you not if you

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were any kind of a sports fan. But I wasn't like a huge Lakers

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fan or anything like that. But
yet Jerry West was still a big part

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of my growing up when it came
to basketball. Again. The logo,

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right, he was the logo.
And you think of all that, and

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you go, you know, you
realize how mortal, you know, we

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all are, and and and you
know these guys are starting to go,

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you know, yeah, no,
no, of course I know a lot

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of them have already gone. We
could we could go through a long list

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of English sport that you know,
guys that were just like icons and us

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growing up as kids. And that
would be in the slate sixties seventies that

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I can remember, right, And
when we were kids, right, we

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were collecting, right, we were
collecting cards and things, you know,

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or we were we were painting our
helmets or football helmets, you know,

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like I had a football hamlet with
Johnny United number nineteen on it, and

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you know, as a little kid, and stuff like that. And and

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these are guys that that whatever impact
they had, they had some kind of

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an impact on us growing up.
And and you know when a guy like

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that goes, you go, all
right, you know who are some of

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the other guys like that? Yeah? Right, So we'll talk a lot

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about him and basketball with Mark and
you know, just about today's the state

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of the world with n I L
and things like that. He's been retired

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for a couple of years now covered
southern Arizona, Southern California, us c

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U C l A with some some
big events in column and then again Corey

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Williams on the other side talking about
his summer camp and talking more about basketball.

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We wanted to talk about basketball yesterday. Uh, Now, I forget

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what we were talking about before.
We wanted oh because of because of the

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college, of the Hurley coming back, and just what the landscape of college

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basketball. It's kind of just it's
just what it is. Is. It

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was just a big wave and it
hit and nothing happened, and nothing happened

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right back where we were. Now
they're same J. J. Redick is

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going to be the coach. Yeah, right, so did you ever he

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wouldn't have anything about Dallas, the
Dallas episodes when Bobby went to sleep and

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he was it was all a dream. Last ten days have been a dreaming

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college basketball. Nothing happened, right, Yeah, there was all this activity

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and then we ended up in the
same place that we were, right interesting

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stuff like that. So now you
know, and and I don't know,

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I mean, I'd love to hear
what Corey Williams has to say about you

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know what if he left, how
does that? What are we left with

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it now that he didn't? You
know? Are we are we in the

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same place? Is you know,
is dan her you know, is Yukon

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the favorite again? Or does somebody
else look like they've got guys because like

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you know, like everybody else,
you know, he's had to go get

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some more guys. You don't get
some more players, you know, he

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lost some guys to the draft and
whatnot. So you wonder, Okay,

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how good is Connecticut going to be
next year? And are they the prohibited

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favorite like we all think that.
Yeah, I don't know if they will

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be. I think Alabama has picked
on something. There's gonna be so many

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good teams next year again, you
know, and then we'll in March we'll

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see the same same games. Right, So okay, I mean there were

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a bunch last year, right,
I remember in the middle we thought how

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many teams can win this thing?
Right? There was one those one of

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and are especially after the first two
months. Uh then you see and then

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you see obviously Purdue. They go
to Purdue and get beaten and then produced

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pretty good as they were Yukon of
course, uh Bama played well. I

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mean, all the same all the
same teams eventually find their way. North

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Carolina was not the North Carolina the
previous year. And you know all the

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blue bloods you say blue bloods,
all the blue bloods did you on in

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there? Don't take it out of
context. Don't take me out of context.

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Just the laundry list. That's all
the way. I don't know,

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Steve, win me another title there
from one day ago they got from who

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that from more? Uh fan plus
one thousand plus one, so ten to

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one if you want to get them
at ten to one, because you'll never

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get that again, do it now, Jay ten bucks, you get your

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one hundred and ten. All right? I just found my I just found

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my picture of Julia serving you did
okay? Cool the twenty eighteen that at

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tournament. And then my brother sent
me he got a picture with him the

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year before his played at CAL.
I think I don't remember. I don't

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think I think his kid played at
Cal. Okay. But but it's old

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man, Yeah, it's old right
there. Yeah yeah, and still could

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probably do a little thing of the
back, So you guess he can still

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done back back. I don't know
how to be twenty years ago or so.

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Mike, Grandma and I did a
story on him at the teams of

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the TCC, I guess making an
appearance and you sat down with him and

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he was just such an intelligent,
well spoken guy, not like I am

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right now. But do you think
I'm talking to my to doctor j Yeah,

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you know him and that guy and
Rod Carew was kind of special to

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me. And guys, yeah,
guys that used to say that, you

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know, yeah, that's another name, you know, and so you know,

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I mean these again, we're you
know, we're aging, so obviously

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they're aging, right right. No, no, No, there was something

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that popped in my feed today somebody
who was like thirty two and I'm thinking

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he's thirty two and I'm holy crap. When I was covering the team,

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he was like twelve. Yeah,
I mean, it was like, holy

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moly, where's the time go?
Honestly, where does it go? No?

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It does? It goes fast?
And then again, I mean like,

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look, the last time I saw
Jerry West probably would have been on

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Dan Patrick's show. Yeah, I
thought that guy's you know, he still

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looks young. He's gonna be around
for a while, and and uh,

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you know, and didn't say what
he died. I haven't seen I haven't

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looked it up and seen that.
I mean, I didn't even heard that

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he was posted death or anything like
that. Nobody's really talking about that stuff

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anymore. You just hear that they
passed. It's like oja, when he

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passed, no one knew what he
had and then he just died, and

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then you realize he has he had
cancer. That's the same as a Bill.

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We knew that he was ill,
but none of what he was what

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he was I did not know he
was ill, Oh Bill, Yeah,

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Oh you didn't know. I just
thought he went dark because he hated what

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was going on with the with the
league, with the PAC twelve. So

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I you know, I I get
I should have known, right, but

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I just didn't put it together.
I guess what I'm saying. By the

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00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:05.639
way, we're gonna try to get
the rucks, you know, the next

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day or so, right, Yeah, I gotta get it. Reached out

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to him, don't I. Yeah, the hill work to do. I

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00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.240
keep forgetting. I'm busy, Jet, I'm busy. So you're old and

213
00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:18.039
you're forgetting. Okay, I'm old
and I'm forgetting. But yeah, so

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anyway, it's again just one of
just one of those guys, one of

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those guys that and I don't know
who the other ones are, right,

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00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:30.200
they don't come to mind. I
mentioned Sandy goofex. But you know guys

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that just uh, you know,
we're a big part of of you know,

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00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:37.480
of what we did as kids.
Well, I think I think the

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00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.679
dude he ran for office and they
part of Garvey Holds Garby Steve Garvey,

220
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:46.120
so that's way older. That's why. Yeah, he's way younger than Yeah,

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00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:50.919
I mean Steve Garvey was playing base
baseball into the sixty seventy. Can

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00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:54.320
he run for office in San Diego? I think there's yeah, a big

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turn. Well, it's kind of
like Pete Rose to me and Peter Rose

224
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to me was my like fan of
Steve Garby is much older than me.

225
00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:07.200
He's seventy. Yeah, he's got
me by ten years. All over ten

226
00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.200
years. Pete Rose is about the
same age, all that all that era

227
00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:13.639
to me. But you know,
for some when Pete Rose, uh,

228
00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:16.480
you know, leaves, he'll be
one of those guys, yeah, right

229
00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:20.679
for for better or worse. Why
he's famous and all that stuff. But

230
00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:26.039
he's one of those legendary baseball guy
that has been a part of baseball,

231
00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:30.480
you know, good and bad.
You know. For Jerry West was sixty

232
00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:33.720
years right, he got he got
into the NBA in the sixties. You

233
00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:37.159
know, Pete Rose the same thing. You know, he's you know in

234
00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.559
the sixties and as I mentioned,
you know, Sandy Kofax started playing Major

235
00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:43.279
League Baseball in the fifties. You
know another guy that probably you followed back

236
00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:48.279
in the day was Lee Trevino.
Oh yeah, you know golfing one.

237
00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:52.039
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you
know Lee Trevino because he's you know,

238
00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:56.360
my dad and Lee were like doppelgangers. Oh well yeah, yeah, yea

239
00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:00.519
yeah. Let's go. We gotta
go, right, So you take our

240
00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.720
breakword and come back. We're going
to talk to Mark Wicker, Southern California

241
00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:09.080
Newsgroup and Orange County Register, a
columnist former. I guess you're saying retired,

242
00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.720
Yeah, but I'm sure we just
get his thoughts on you know,

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00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:16.519
Jerry West and his presence in Southern
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at. This is I on the
Ball with Steve Rivera and Jacobzalez on Fox

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00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:34.240
Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome
back to Eying the bout here on Fox

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00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:38.160
Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Vera. You're Jiggins, Austin Nonofolia. Mark.

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00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.720
We get from the Orange califormia of
the Orange kind of register. Now

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00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:47.079
retired, still writing though, Mark, How are you good? Pee?

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00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:52.000
How you doing fine? Thank you? I'm assuming having been in southern California

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00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:55.319
for a long time, Mark that
you ran into Jerry West of time or

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00:20:55.359 --> 00:21:00.160
two. Yes, I did doctor
him on the phone a lot in recent

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00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:06.799
years, and yeah, he was
it's hard to believe, you know,

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00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:08.200
that he's not going to be around, even though he's eighty six, and

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00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:12.200
you know he was. I've not
seen him lately, but he was always

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00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:17.720
looked. He was always a picture
of health and looked great. I was

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00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:19.400
shocked to see that he had passed
away this morning. You know, Mark,

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00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:22.240
we were talking about him. He's
one of those guys and there's few

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00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:29.200
of them, right that, whatever
sport you're a fan of, you still

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00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:33.680
know him. You know who he
was, who he is, and you've

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00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:37.960
known him for a really long time. And there's not a lot of guys

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00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:42.279
like that, right who cross you
know, who cross everything? And they

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00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.960
did it for a long time.
And he's sixty years really, you know,

335
00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:48.759
being connected to basketball, I can't
think of anybody else that comes to

336
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.839
mind today. I know there are
guys, but just one of those guys

337
00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:55.759
in that, especially you being in
southern California, he had to have such

338
00:21:55.799 --> 00:22:00.119
a presence. Yeah, any time
he came to a college game, the

339
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.160
scout, or any time he was
in public, everybody kind of gravitated toward

340
00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:07.240
him and always Yeah, they point
at him, and there's very west.

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00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:10.839
It must be a big kid,
it must be a big deal for him

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00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:14.359
to be here. And he was
always that way. He wasn't really that

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00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:18.920
visible around the Lakers when he was
running the show, because he basically liked

344
00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.599
to stay in the background, but
you know, he was behind the scenes.

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00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:26.880
You could talk to him and he
would give you a lot of especially

346
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:30.359
off the record. He was very
direct in his opinions and very opinionated.

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00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.599
And his judge of talent, I
mean, as a judge of talent,

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00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.599
I'm not sure anybody's been any better. I mean, I don't know how

349
00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:41.240
many people thought Kobe Bryant coming out
of high school was going to be one

350
00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:45.279
of the all time great NBA players, But Jerry always did and he was

351
00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.279
rewarded for that, so you know, I mean, it's the lessons that

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00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:53.079
he taught others. I mean,
I don't know how many people could duplicate

353
00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:57.319
what he'd done, but he definitely
was a person that people gravitated toward and

354
00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.880
wanted to find out things from.
In the end, he was no longer

355
00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.160
with the Lakers, Right, didn't
he jump ship to another the Tlippers?

356
00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.519
Right? The Clippers, and I
think he took some heat for that,

357
00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:11.240
obviously, but it kind of shows
the state of the Lakers right now.

358
00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:15.160
Well, he went to the Warriors, he was there for a while during

359
00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:19.640
their their years and was an advisor
to uh Bob Myers and to the ownership

360
00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:23.839
there, and then he was with
the Clippers and advised their their front office

361
00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:27.720
and Steve Baumber as well. Uh
Lately, I don't think he was really

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00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:33.480
that connected to to the Clippers or
anything else. Apparently is apparently he was

363
00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:37.359
having some help challenge in the last
few months, which I wasn't aware of.

364
00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:41.200
But yeah, he uh you know, But I think at at heart

365
00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:44.000
he was always a Laker. When
the Lakers were doing well, he was

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00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.400
he was not happy even though he
wasn't working for them anymore. And of

367
00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:52.079
course when Mitch Kupchak was there,
they were still very close. So uh

368
00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:53.880
he you know, I don't think
he played for a team as long as

369
00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:56.759
he did and have as much to
do with the Lakers as he did without

370
00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:00.920
with without being part of their team. In your mind, do you remember

371
00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:06.680
actually watching him play, watching play
on TV and noticing him as being that

372
00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:11.119
good. This is one of the
things that I hope people get the impression

373
00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.680
from all these tributes and obituaries that
you're going to read and hear the next

374
00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:19.279
two days, is that dis for
a player he was, I mean to

375
00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:22.559
score that many points. He never
had an opportunity to shoot a three pointer

376
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.599
in the pros or in college.
He was a great rebounder. He was

377
00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.599
a great assist man. He led
the league in assists one year. He

378
00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:34.119
was a tremendous defensive player, and
he was taller than he was ever given

379
00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:37.759
credit for. He was listed at
being sixty three, but as he said

380
00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:41.400
later, I was actually sixty four
and a half. And he was had

381
00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:44.759
long arms and was a tremendous defensive
player. He liked the block shots.

382
00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:48.319
They didn't keep block shots most of
the career. That most of the time

383
00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:52.039
that he played, he was just
an all round player. He was at

384
00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:56.759
his best year in the playoffs.
In nineteen seventy one. They played a

385
00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:03.200
series against the Baltimore Bullets, which
was actually a Western Conference final and eligend

386
00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:07.519
Baylor was hurt and Jerry West average
forty six points a game in those games,

387
00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:11.279
and the Lakers win the series,
which is still a record for a

388
00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:15.799
series, and he was unstoppable.
I mean, he was the MVP in

389
00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:19.920
nineteen sixty nine of the Finals,
even though the Lakers didn't win. So

390
00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:23.480
all of that sets in. You
know, you hear a lot of people

391
00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:27.519
talk about who the best player is. People talk about how there's never been

392
00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:33.000
a back court like Luca Donsige and
Kyrie Irving. I think we really lose

393
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:37.839
sight of the guys who played before, like Oscar Robertson and Jerry West and

394
00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:41.279
Rick Berry and even before that,
George Mike and and does. I mean,

395
00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:45.599
it would be nice if people really
realized just how special he was.

396
00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:48.640
I don't think you can compile a
list of the ten best NBA players of

397
00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:53.039
all time without putting him in.
How did this North Carolina kid you end

398
00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:59.119
up in LA and who was able
to do what you did? Well,

399
00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:03.599
it's kind of a long time I
ended up. I was I was hired

400
00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.960
in Dallas for a year and a
half in the late seventies by a guy

401
00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:11.440
who had worked in Charlotte before.
He was editor in Dallas, and he

402
00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:15.799
hired me, and then then I
got a job in Philadelphia. After that,

403
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.000
I was there for eight years,
and then I came out to Darrenge

404
00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:25.440
County in nineteen eighty seven. But
I was really intrigued with southern California by

405
00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:26.880
the trips that we had made.
I was there for the Olympics in eighty

406
00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:32.480
four, and really for the first
time, really it got a chance to

407
00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:36.640
see what the area was like over
a sustained period of time, and you

408
00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:37.920
know, I started thinking that it
would be a nice place to go if

409
00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:41.240
I ever had the opportunity. And
then it came along in nineteen eighty seven,

410
00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:45.319
and it's a long way from home, but it's you know, it's

411
00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:48.640
a nice place to be. So
the reason I was going there, and

412
00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.480
I thought it was way before because
I gotten Tucson at that same time.

413
00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:56.319
Do you remember the first time you
spoke to Jerry Weston And you've met and

414
00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:00.079
been done on all these things too, So I'm sure he wasn't until a

415
00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:07.000
dating but it must have been cool. Probably shortly after I came out here.

416
00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:08.759
You know, he was hanging around
the Laker you know, he would

417
00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:15.000
be at a certain Laker practices and
game not often, and I would.

418
00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:18.440
I'm sure I talked to him at
some point during eighty seven eighty eight,

419
00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:21.640
somewhere in there that was during when
showtime was just coming to an end,

420
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:26.240
and you know, and then periodically, but he wasn't really that visible,

421
00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:30.759
you know, he was you know, he didn't really like to be at

422
00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:37.240
the games, especially the finals games, because he would be so been out

423
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:40.000
of shape over whether they would win
or not. Sometimes they would just leave

424
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:42.960
the arena and drive around without the
radio on while the game was going on.

425
00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:48.839
And he was very intense and that
way, and so he and he

426
00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:52.440
didn't really want any of the acclaim
when they did win. I don't ever

427
00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:56.440
remember him being part of a celebration
or anything. Although I do remember after

428
00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:00.599
the Lakers were swept one time by
San Antonio that he was in the hallway

429
00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:03.160
and he talked quite a while about
where the team was and all that.

430
00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:08.559
So he really wasn't he was very
good in one on one conversations that he

431
00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:12.200
really didn't, you know, go
out and quote unquote meet the press very

432
00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:15.400
often. Yeah, I mean,
that's it. And that was the thing.

433
00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.079
I mean that that that that's almost
white. People were so intrigued by

434
00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:22.720
him, right because he wasn't trying
to grab the spotlight. He he was

435
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:26.599
seeming like I let Steve and I
have been telling the last couple of days

436
00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:30.200
about you know, guys were just
regular guys but in big positions, and

437
00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:34.119
and it seemed like he just didn't
I mean not that he wasn't, not

438
00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:37.799
that he was uncomfortable with it,
but just that he preferred to just kind

439
00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:40.640
of be a regular guy and be
in the background and that kind of thing.

440
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.440
Yeah, he didn't want he didn't
want that much credit for what was

441
00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:47.319
going on. And you you had
a lot of people like the Bus family

442
00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:49.440
and all of that were happy to
be in that situation. Plus you had

443
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:53.880
players who were very charismatic and his
George being one of the open So you

444
00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:57.599
know, I just don't think he
was that outgoing as far as that goes.

445
00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:03.839
But uh uh, I think everybody. I think everybody was curious about

446
00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:07.400
him because they wanted to figure out
how he had such a such good feel

447
00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.039
for identifying talent and for drafting players. You remember the one year in nineteen

448
00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:17.319
eighty two he drafted James Worthy number
one, and there was a lot of

449
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:19.039
controversy out here and then about you
know, you should have taken to but

450
00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:22.000
Dominique Wilkins, you should have taken
Isaiah Thomas, you should have done this,

451
00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:26.640
you should have done that, and
he stood by that and I think

452
00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:33.160
was justified. You know, from
the championships that they won. He was

453
00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.599
able to look at a player,
it would taken only a few minutes to

454
00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:37.920
figure out whether a player was really
the real thing or not, and whether

455
00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.920
you could win with him, you
know, I mean, he had a

456
00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:44.799
real good sense of what players had
ability and what players you could really win

457
00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:48.640
with. Yeah, no question.
We hadn't talked to you about mister Bill

458
00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:52.480
Walton too, did I don't know
if you wrote a tribute, but I'm

459
00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:56.519
sure you talked to him numerous times
too. Yeah. I wrote something on

460
00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:00.920
my I have a substack newsletter called
The Morning After that all of you people

461
00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:04.359
out there are invited to watch and
subscribe to because it's free. But anyway,

462
00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:08.079
thanks for thanks for letting me get
that. Yeah. He died on

463
00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:11.359
Memorial Day, which is not that
long ago, and I was thinking this

464
00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:14.160
morning. I mean, it's just
hard to believe that he was. He's

465
00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:18.039
gone too, because he had cancer. But I don't think he made that

466
00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:22.079
very public either. And you know, he'd added seventy one and you know,

467
00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:27.519
which not that old when you're around
as long as I've been so he

468
00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:32.319
Yeah, that was a shock too, because for a different reason because you

469
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:33.680
know, we all knew Bill Walk
we all got to kick out of him

470
00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:37.640
and knew what kind of an attitude
he had. He was so joyful,

471
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.519
and he loved life so much,
and he loved basketball so much and went

472
00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:45.759
through so much. I mean,
his life was full of pain and disappointment

473
00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:51.839
and really to the point where he
contemplated, you know, suicide and things

474
00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:56.920
like that because he was a bad
shape. But you know, I both

475
00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:59.920
those guys are are going to leave
a hole, and it's it's it's really

476
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:03.640
hard to imagine both of them leaving
in such a short period of time.

477
00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:07.559
Well, and again, there are
those guys that you know, you know

478
00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:10.880
us who as we were growing up, those are the guys that you know,

479
00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:15.599
we followed, we collected their football
cards or baseball cards or basketball cards

480
00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:18.559
or whatever. And then you know, we're finding out that you know,

481
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.920
they're they're human, right. Uh. You know, I made the comment

482
00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:23.759
that Jerry West was one of those
guys who you thought would always be around

483
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.759
because he was such a legend and
that you know, this would never happen,

484
00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:30.960
and it does, and it does, and it will. And there's

485
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:33.440
more guys like that, you know, getting to that age right now.

486
00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:37.559
Yeah, both those guys are you
know, have a lot in common in

487
00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:42.400
terms of they really didn't hide their
personalities very much. Toman Walton was right

488
00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:45.440
out there with the things he liked
to do and and you know once and

489
00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:48.680
of course that all changed when he
when he got out of his stutter and

490
00:31:48.839 --> 00:31:52.640
was able to speak clearly, his
personality change and we all got to know

491
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:57.079
him a lot better than we did
before. Uh and and I remember John

492
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:02.880
Wood' said he's not sure that was
good or not, but you know,

493
00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:07.240
and uh yeah, Jerry West is
the same way. He was very candid

494
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:10.319
about the fact that he had depressions
sometimes, he had anxieties, he had

495
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:14.680
moments of doubt and all those things, and he had it. He had

496
00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:17.160
a tough time growing up too.
So you know, it's these are the

497
00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:21.480
two guys that that were religions and
what they did, but they also weren't

498
00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:24.000
afraid to show you their human side. So you're still writing, but let's

499
00:32:24.119 --> 00:32:29.559
talk real quick about the state of
college athletics right now. I'm sure five

500
00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:34.640
years ago you never thought this would
happen. What's point on l I never

501
00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:38.200
did, and I don't, you
know, it's it's it's sad, but

502
00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:40.799
I guess it's inevitable. You know, all these years we said that the

503
00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:45.720
college players should get paid, and
uh, you know, it's kind of

504
00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:47.640
like Vandora's box. You know,
you didn't really know what the consequences of

505
00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:50.799
that would be. Like, you
know, it's kind of like be careful

506
00:32:50.839 --> 00:32:53.759
what you wished for. But I
think that at some point, and you

507
00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:57.960
know, we're going through a very
difficult period right now, I think at

508
00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:01.599
some point, all the kind all
the you know, the teams that should

509
00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:05.519
be playing in the so called big
leagues will be playing in the big leagues,

510
00:33:05.559 --> 00:33:09.240
and hopefully they'll be split into divisions
that will kind of resemble the PAC

511
00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:13.799
twelve we used to have in the
other conferences, and it'll be almost like

512
00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:16.519
the way it used to be.
But I'm really hopeful that at some point

513
00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:22.440
they can put some parameters on the
portal when you can go, how many

514
00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:25.839
people can go, and all those
things. And also probably a salary cap

515
00:33:25.960 --> 00:33:30.200
is coming down to fight too,
And I don't know how easily that's going

516
00:33:30.279 --> 00:33:34.480
to be the enforced but you know, I think that we have a very

517
00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:37.720
unsettled time, but I think at
some point down the road it will be

518
00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:43.559
rectified, and we might not like
what it looks like, but at least

519
00:33:43.640 --> 00:33:46.240
I think that the thing that the
thing that I was most concerned about over

520
00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:50.440
the years and most critical about,
is that, you know, college players

521
00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:53.440
were being asked to do twice as
many things as orgular students, and even

522
00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:58.160
though they were getting scholarships, they
really deserved a piece of the pie.

523
00:33:58.359 --> 00:34:00.000
And they're going to get a piece
of the now, and they're getting it,

524
00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:04.200
and I think overall that that will
be known as a good thing.

525
00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:07.159
Yeah. Complete, Well, Mark, we appreciate your time. Thanks,

526
00:34:07.320 --> 00:34:10.719
Thanks a bunch. Okay, I
appreciate it. Good luck. Thank you.

527
00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:16.079
Mark Wicker, formerly the Orange County
Register Stike. I thought he would

528
00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:20.079
have been here, been there before
that, because that's when I met him,

529
00:34:20.199 --> 00:34:22.440
you know, in the eighty seven
eighty seven, eighty eight time frame,

530
00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:25.719
when I was in sports. He
was already like a big deal to

531
00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:28.840
me. You know, Oh he's
at the Orange Country Register. That's one

532
00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:31.559
of the you know, and at
that time that sports section was considered really

533
00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:36.760
the best one in southern California,
you know better than you know people better

534
00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:39.719
than the La Times and though so
it was kind of like, that's Mark

535
00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:43.119
Wicker. He's a big dude.
Yeah, but he had just got there

536
00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:45.239
right right, there had been a
few places. Yeah, good old boy,

537
00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:46.840
he's a good boy. Yeah,
he's a great guy. Yeah,

538
00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:51.800
I've been a great friendly guy.
Again one of those guys from me as

539
00:34:52.039 --> 00:34:55.320
some scrubby little Tucson sports writer.
You know, he gave me the time

540
00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:59.400
of day. I was appreciated that. Yeah, good dude. Okay,

541
00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:00.880
let's go and come back and then
we'll talk. Baby, take some calls,

542
00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:02.840
right five, two zero, four, one, six, seventy four,

543
00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:05.880
forty if you want to give us
a call. If you're an Arizona

544
00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:08.519
men's basketball fan, you know it's
been successful for nearly forty years. Now.

545
00:35:08.679 --> 00:35:12.199
Take a look back at the Ludolsen
era. In my new book,

546
00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:14.920
Lessons from Loot, it was a
labor of love through the eyes of twenty

547
00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:17.639
five former players, coaches, and
friends to give insight to the coach and

548
00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:22.039
the man who led them, competed
against them, and inspired them. Twenty

549
00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:25.639
five chapters for his twenty five years
as Arizona's beloved coach. Lessons from Lut

550
00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:30.679
is an insight to how he built
the program into a national powerhouse. Want

551
00:35:30.760 --> 00:35:36.360
one Email me at Steve dot RIVERA
ninety five at gmail dot com. Hi,

552
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562
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563
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564
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that's right for you learn how at
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565
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secure. Is it hot in here
or is it just me? Honey?

566
00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:44.760
I always think you're hot, but
it's June and we all know it's going

567
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doesn't have to be hot in our house.

568
00:36:46.920 --> 00:36:51.000
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569
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570
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571
00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:10.840
dot com breaking down all the exes. And oh, it's Steve Lavera and

572
00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:17.360
Jayden Sammis. This is I Am
a book on Fox Sports fourteenth. Hey,

573
00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:20.719
welcome back to Whying the Ball here
on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm

574
00:37:20.760 --> 00:37:23.599
Steve, He's Jay Henry with us
today. We have fifteen minutes. If

575
00:37:23.639 --> 00:37:27.679
you'd like to call us, please
do five two o four one six seventy

576
00:37:27.719 --> 00:37:30.840
four forty. If you have a
Jerry West memory, that'd be great.

577
00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:32.960
If you met him at some point, that'd be cool. Yeah, give

578
00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:37.719
us give his quick call. Yeah, good, tomorrk Quicker get some background

579
00:37:37.800 --> 00:37:42.079
in his time there, yeh good
stuff. Yeah yeah, and again he

580
00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:45.639
mentioned he's got a substack newsletter that
he does, so if you ever be

581
00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:47.239
you familiar with that, yeah,
I am. I know a couple of

582
00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:52.400
people who who uh you know blogs
or yeah, put stuff up on there

583
00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:57.440
and a lot of different stuff,
uh, you know, just people putting

584
00:37:57.440 --> 00:37:59.320
their thoughts up there. And if
you know somebody and you want to,

585
00:37:59.719 --> 00:38:01.400
yeah, it's like having a conversation
with him, right, they just talk

586
00:38:01.440 --> 00:38:06.519
about whatever's on their mind, and
it's some of that stuff is very cool.

587
00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:12.719
Okay again five two four, one
sixty four forty uh, and we'll

588
00:38:12.760 --> 00:38:15.280
take your call obviously. Uh.
And then we have Corey Williams on the

589
00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:22.480
other side with more basketball things going
on today. His camp has started and

590
00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:24.639
we'll talk about that. And maybe
I think he may have met him a

591
00:38:24.719 --> 00:38:28.639
time or two when he was in
college. Actually, well when he was

592
00:38:28.920 --> 00:38:34.159
being scouted back at the Desert Classic
back in the mid nineties. That's how

593
00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:39.199
I remember seeing Jerry West. Okay, what else, anything else? What

594
00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:43.920
do you got? Well? I
was just I was just reaching out to

595
00:38:44.559 --> 00:38:50.320
yov about this graphics that went up
about a total attendance leader in the Pact

596
00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:52.960
twelve, and I just got confirmation
that In fact, the jov did lead

597
00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:57.639
in total attendance. Is that who
it was? And they say, according

598
00:38:57.679 --> 00:39:01.800
to Matt, it's a third straight
year. So you'd kind of when you

599
00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:06.840
add them all up, right,
basketball, because first of all, Aerzone

600
00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:08.960
had a decent year attendance wise in
football. But you know, yeah,

601
00:39:09.159 --> 00:39:13.079
Washington you got you know, they
have some of these large stadiums. Oregon

602
00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:15.920
State fills up at stadium. But
you know when you got basketball and you're

603
00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:22.400
getting wards from one thousand, five
hundred, you know every game you're getting

604
00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:25.000
seven or eight thousand in basketball.
I think they lead in baseball attendance as

605
00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:29.000
well, softball as well. It's
always full. So when you add up

606
00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:32.559
all those all those sports and get
that kind of attendance for the long haul,

607
00:39:32.760 --> 00:39:35.920
yeah, I guess it makes sense. And here's the kicker. It

608
00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:39.800
could get better, much better because
football could take it another run consistently.

609
00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:45.440
Uh ten seven thousand, ten thousand, how much you think could not to

610
00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:50.199
fill because that real estic is not
gonna fill up. But no, I

611
00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:57.400
mean they they they should be able
to average in the high forties at I

612
00:39:57.440 --> 00:40:00.760
think it's a little over fifty.
Now they change some of the seeding especially

613
00:40:00.760 --> 00:40:05.000
if they win some games, big
games, you can get forty six.

614
00:40:05.039 --> 00:40:07.559
You're in Tucson, Arizona, and
you can get you get high forties.

615
00:40:07.639 --> 00:40:12.119
You have aage forty seven. I
feel like forty seven is a magic number

616
00:40:12.159 --> 00:40:15.599
because forty six is still kind of
mid forties. Forty seven is kind of

617
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:19.800
high forties. Right. It's like
when you turn twenty six, you're still

618
00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:22.320
in your mid twenties. You turn
twenty seven, you're pushing thirty. Right.

619
00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:25.639
It's a similar kind of thing like
aty year. Oh I know,

620
00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:30.000
but yeah, I mean, you
know, football can get up there where

621
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:31.800
they're you know, getting in the
into the high forties. Then an occasional,

622
00:40:32.039 --> 00:40:35.239
you know, in a big game, they'll get you know, fifty

623
00:40:35.360 --> 00:40:38.920
or whatever. Yeah, And if
they do that on top of the attendance

624
00:40:38.960 --> 00:40:43.199
that they're getting at the other sports, because they are really they lead in

625
00:40:43.440 --> 00:40:47.599
in basketball attendants both men's and women's. They lead in baseball attendance, and

626
00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:52.800
I think they lead in softball attendance. And that's that's you know, when

627
00:40:52.840 --> 00:40:54.679
you add all those things up,
it does make sense that that that that

628
00:40:54.800 --> 00:41:00.159
Arizona's got that because you know,
Washington probably averages what six seven thousand in

629
00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:05.480
basketball, even though they've got seventy
thousand set football stadium. You know,

630
00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:09.000
even if they fill that up,
if you've got twenty dates of basketball and

631
00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:13.760
you're getting eight thousand a game,
whereas Arizona's got twenty dates and then getting

632
00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:19.360
fourteen thousand a game, you know
that that's where you make it up,

633
00:41:19.719 --> 00:41:22.039
right, right, No, that's
good. That's a nice little price there.

634
00:41:22.199 --> 00:41:24.239
Yeah. So I don't think they
get anything for it, but that's

635
00:41:24.360 --> 00:41:29.280
good. You know what it's it's
what it's bragging rights. But it also

636
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:31.079
you know, it helps with stuff. You know, if you're trying to

637
00:41:31.119 --> 00:41:35.039
recruit a baseball player, dude,
we get you know, people come to

638
00:41:35.039 --> 00:41:37.400
watch our games, right and they
get beer. Yeah. If you don't

639
00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:39.079
and if you didn't already know that, well you probably already knew that,

640
00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:42.880
Yeah, because you've shut up to
a March matter, you know, to

641
00:41:43.039 --> 00:41:45.159
a red Blue game r whatever.
Yeah. Well, I mean when you

642
00:41:45.239 --> 00:41:49.280
think about the Red Blue game,
right that sells out every year and you're

643
00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:52.840
a recruit that comes to that game, you go, holy hell, you

644
00:41:52.920 --> 00:41:55.480
know, right, So it's it's
one of those things that that that helps

645
00:41:55.519 --> 00:42:01.199
a lot. Yeah, So why
are you transferring because I'm stupid. I

646
00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:04.239
want to get some played there.
Yeah, well I get yeah, I

647
00:42:04.239 --> 00:42:06.079
don't get to play. Yeah.
You know, well that's one of the

648
00:42:06.159 --> 00:42:08.360
questions I wanted to ask Bran Brandon
yesterday. And you know, we obviously

649
00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:12.320
try to pack a lot in there, but you know, you got to

650
00:42:12.440 --> 00:42:15.800
wonder. I know coaches don't like
the transfer port for the most part,

651
00:42:16.119 --> 00:42:21.239
right, they hate having to go
re recruiting players, But you also wonder

652
00:42:21.960 --> 00:42:24.679
how many coaches kind of are maybe
in the middle of that, because while

653
00:42:24.719 --> 00:42:30.639
on the one hand they're losing players, how many of those players that are

654
00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:34.320
leaving or players that they kind of
want them to leave? Oh, right,

655
00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:38.320
question? And now they get to
turn over a scholarship or a spot

656
00:42:38.400 --> 00:42:43.960
on the roster that they recruited,
a player that didn't turn out to be

657
00:42:44.079 --> 00:42:45.840
the player that thought they were going
to be, and he gives them an

658
00:42:45.880 --> 00:42:50.280
opportunity to go fill that hole.
So it's not always all bad. No,

659
00:42:50.440 --> 00:42:52.199
no, no, no, you're
exactly right. We've seen coaches do

660
00:42:52.320 --> 00:42:54.599
that, not force them out.
But you know, if you want to

661
00:42:54.639 --> 00:42:57.920
go, you know where to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no,

662
00:42:58.039 --> 00:43:02.280
you could mention the people who left. Let's just maybe play hypothetical.

663
00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:07.519
Uh, Philippe, who I thought
was going to be a fantastic star this

664
00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:10.039
year, was not. He didn't
have an opportunity, or he wasn't good

665
00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:15.280
enough or whatever. So you can
say, Okay, you might be better

666
00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:20.320
off somewhere else, and then I
go get a guy that I think can

667
00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:22.719
help me. He's proven right and
can do the job right, right,

668
00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:24.239
right, So there's got to be
you know well, and then come in

669
00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:28.920
between the other one. Moroscus.
Moroscus, Yeah, another guy who you

670
00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:34.400
think fantastic potential, we've seen it, but wasn't good enough on the defensive

671
00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:37.000
end. There was a reason he
wasn't on the core correct, correct,

672
00:43:37.079 --> 00:43:40.440
especially when you know they were really
having trouble shooting the ball right because he

673
00:43:40.440 --> 00:43:44.280
could shoot it, because he could
shoot right, and he did shoot it.

674
00:43:44.960 --> 00:43:49.920
It was a running joke at at
our table that if Moroscus touches the

675
00:43:49.960 --> 00:43:52.159
ball, it's going out, it's
going up right, Yeah, And do

676
00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:55.239
you think that's not a bad thing? No, because he could get shots.

677
00:43:55.360 --> 00:44:00.480
But but again, but he had
to do other stuff with the October

678
00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:07.559
the stadium tilted way. You had
no problems getting on the offensive. I

679
00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:09.199
had hard time going back the other
way. But you know, but you

680
00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:15.360
do you wonder again, in general, I can see why they don't like

681
00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:19.119
it because they do lose good players, right. You know, there were

682
00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:22.360
some guys that were in Arizona that
are not Washington that I know Brand Brandon

683
00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:25.039
would have loved to have, particularly
you know, the running back and a

684
00:44:25.159 --> 00:44:29.079
couple of guys. But on the
flip side, there may have been some

685
00:44:29.159 --> 00:44:31.880
guys that left that Brent Branton said, God, you know, okay,

686
00:44:31.960 --> 00:44:36.199
this is an opportunity for us to
get a better player spot. And you

687
00:44:36.280 --> 00:44:38.639
also want your guys, your guys
that you think that would fit in with

688
00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:45.519
your your mentality, your structure,
your your and it talks about culture.

689
00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:49.079
Everyone has culture. It just depends
what that culture is. You want your

690
00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:51.719
guys, and you want people who
like you say all the time, if

691
00:44:51.760 --> 00:44:53.199
you don't want to be here,
didn't you know where the door is,

692
00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:55.840
don't be here? Yeah, then
don't be here, right, So I

693
00:44:55.960 --> 00:45:00.119
don't know. I I in fact, we're gonna I'm gonna have to be

694
00:45:00.199 --> 00:45:01.440
sure. I asked him that at
the first press conference, we get him

695
00:45:01.440 --> 00:45:06.159
in and let me see because one
of our listeners, uh, mister Bill

696
00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:10.280
send me something. He said,
Hi, you're on the air, and

697
00:45:10.360 --> 00:45:14.480
ye on the ball. Hey,
Jay and Steve, how you doing.

698
00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:19.039
Howard looks a little down, sounds
a little down. Hell yeah, I

699
00:45:19.159 --> 00:45:22.199
got I got some sort of a
cold or something. What's going on?

700
00:45:22.639 --> 00:45:24.679
And I don't get sick. Oh
anyway, I'll just away in on Jerry

701
00:45:24.719 --> 00:45:31.360
West to one story. He was
the early sixties or sixty five. I

702
00:45:31.480 --> 00:45:35.320
told you I went to a funeral, right. That was my uncle,

703
00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:39.159
Jim. He's five years younger than
Jerry West. He played him one on

704
00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:45.559
one in the mid sixties and Jim, I don't know if you let him

705
00:45:45.559 --> 00:45:47.400
about. My uncle was pretty good
basketball. I don't know the real first

706
00:45:47.519 --> 00:45:52.599
end story, but he won one
game out of the three. There you

707
00:45:52.679 --> 00:45:58.000
go. Yeah, the bragging rights, right well, yeah, and I

708
00:45:58.079 --> 00:46:04.239
actually saw him. It might have
been righty before Steve came. When Penny

709
00:46:04.280 --> 00:46:10.639
Hardaway we played Memphis, Penny Hardaway
up at you know you were here in

710
00:46:10.760 --> 00:46:16.639
Phoenix, yeah and Phoenix right yeah. Yeah. And Jerry West is a

711
00:46:16.719 --> 00:46:22.679
scout then you know who he was
with. He was with dun Levy Senior.

712
00:46:22.320 --> 00:46:24.800
Yeah. Yeah, those are the
good old days. Yeah, those

713
00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:27.559
are the good days. Well,
you know what I mean. He popped

714
00:46:27.599 --> 00:46:29.800
in here a few times, right, they were looking at they were looking

715
00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:32.079
at guys. And you again,
you noticed him when you walked in the

716
00:46:32.159 --> 00:46:37.519
building. You just did. There's
Jerry West right, hey, and I

717
00:46:37.599 --> 00:46:43.719
looked it up. Pete Roses eighty
three, you know that right? That

718
00:46:43.920 --> 00:46:51.400
was quick? Man? He really
seven six years older than Steve's guy,

719
00:46:51.480 --> 00:46:54.239
Johnny Bench and my guy, Knowen
Ryan, whoa, whoa. Yeah,

720
00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:58.119
we'll get an old Howard. How
old are you? Howard? Well,

721
00:46:58.199 --> 00:47:01.079
how old are you? Howard?
I'm see I always think of my I'm

722
00:47:01.159 --> 00:47:06.000
right between you and Jay. Then
you just turned fifty nine, Steve sixty

723
00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:10.480
sixty sixteen. Yeah, oh yeah, well, yeah, I know.

724
00:47:10.599 --> 00:47:15.400
I'm two years older than you and
Jay and I turned our birthdays in August,

725
00:47:15.599 --> 00:47:20.119
right, coming out? Man?
Anyway, Wait, what's the lifetime

726
00:47:20.239 --> 00:47:22.599
ban? When you die? Is
Pete Rose gonna be put in the Hall

727
00:47:22.599 --> 00:47:27.320
of Fame? That's a good question. I don't know. Probably not,

728
00:47:27.760 --> 00:47:30.639
I bet not, Yeah, because
Joe Jackson needs to get in there before

729
00:47:30.719 --> 00:47:34.840
him, because he batted good in
the World Series. You had a third

730
00:47:35.159 --> 00:47:39.320
education, Howard, Go get that
cold kidding out. Okay, we'll see

731
00:47:39.360 --> 00:47:43.760
you guys like, thanks for calling. How did you recognize his voice?

732
00:47:43.800 --> 00:47:46.199
I didn't know it was it because
because it's tone, it's his towerstone.

733
00:47:47.480 --> 00:47:51.159
He's like, I was gonna think, oh, we got a new call.

734
00:47:52.920 --> 00:47:54.840
By the way, who are we
going with this? Before he called?

735
00:47:54.960 --> 00:47:59.159
Uh? Oh, the Bill said
something to me earlier. Uh,

736
00:48:00.280 --> 00:48:02.519
And he said, have we talked
about this? Did you see the articles

737
00:48:02.800 --> 00:48:09.320
out quoting on three analysts that Arizona
ranked nineteenth in the transfer portal and Washington

738
00:48:09.920 --> 00:48:15.239
was not ranked at all? Wow? Oh, so, for whatever that's

739
00:48:15.280 --> 00:48:19.440
worth, we know, right,
because you know, show up in there

740
00:48:19.679 --> 00:48:23.280
they turn into the kid that we
always talking about, the defensive end number

741
00:48:23.320 --> 00:48:29.480
one, Lewis Holmes, who all
these accolades and then you can't play.

742
00:48:29.559 --> 00:48:31.360
I remember why. I remember the
first time I saw him, and it

743
00:48:31.440 --> 00:48:35.360
was before and I saw him and
I saw him in person? Right,

744
00:48:35.519 --> 00:48:38.320
is your airport got here? You
want to talk about the poster child for

745
00:48:38.400 --> 00:48:45.079
an airport and airport guy And I'm
like, damn, just Arizona never has

746
00:48:45.159 --> 00:48:49.119
that guy on his team. He
sort of the Justin Flow thing that you

747
00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:52.400
know, And I'm like, holy
hell. And then yeah, and then

748
00:48:52.440 --> 00:48:58.280
he didn't turn out to be a
good player. Yeah, yeah, Chris

749
00:48:59.280 --> 00:49:01.199
was just ruled up. Yeah,
I didn't think why why would he play?

750
00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:04.679
I mean, honestly, he's gonna
give him another rest or another day

751
00:49:04.719 --> 00:49:07.800
or two. Yeah, then they
don't need the game. They parbaty losing

752
00:49:07.840 --> 00:49:12.679
will. The Mavericks are pretty pretty
solid favorites for the game tonight. They're

753
00:49:12.719 --> 00:49:15.840
giving three. They're giving three,
but their money line is minus one forty

754
00:49:15.880 --> 00:49:20.599
eight. It's almost tempting to go
take the late. The Celtics at plus

755
00:49:20.679 --> 00:49:23.599
one twenty four. Oh no,
no, you know what I call that?

756
00:49:24.119 --> 00:49:28.599
You want to call that not because
I want you to win. That's

757
00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:30.800
called dead money. Becau Dallas is
gonna win tonight, you think so?

758
00:49:30.880 --> 00:49:35.679
Oh yeah, okay, yeah yeah, keep your five bucks in your over

759
00:49:35.760 --> 00:49:38.320
under two fourteen and a half.
Oh, I don't know what. I

760
00:49:38.360 --> 00:49:40.960
took the under. I took the
last game and I hit it. It

761
00:49:42.039 --> 00:49:46.239
was nice. Don't keep It's a
that's a coin flip always right, because

762
00:49:46.280 --> 00:49:49.760
you just you just flip a goin
says half of you're gonna be right,

763
00:49:49.800 --> 00:49:53.480
half you're gonna be wrong. And
I don't know, but I feel like

764
00:49:53.599 --> 00:49:57.800
I've got I'm not like that.
It like I do something on the game.

765
00:50:00.599 --> 00:50:04.440
Have you been with us two three
months? Only a month? How

766
00:50:04.519 --> 00:50:13.760
many interest do you think he's happen? Right? But it's better you don't

767
00:50:13.760 --> 00:50:17.280
say anything, Andy, just saying, just saying, But now you know,

768
00:50:19.320 --> 00:50:22.199
you know again I'm interested in the
you know, in the finals.

769
00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:24.280
I watched a little of the Stanley
Cup game the other night. You know,

770
00:50:24.400 --> 00:50:30.920
I don't watch I don't either,
but the urgency that these guys play

771
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:36.559
with in the finals is spectacular.
Watching these guys just go at it,

772
00:50:37.320 --> 00:50:39.559
uh, giving it everything that they
have when you know, after a long

773
00:50:39.679 --> 00:50:44.840
season where sometimes they clearly don't,
and you see how you see how they

774
00:50:44.880 --> 00:50:46.840
play with the sense of urgency with
it their so called hair on fire.

775
00:50:47.239 --> 00:50:50.679
Yeah, it's it's fun to watch. No, I'm not gonna go sit

776
00:50:50.760 --> 00:50:52.480
down at the next game, turn
it on and watch the whole game.

777
00:50:52.920 --> 00:50:54.920
But I was sitting there doing some
work and I was, you know,

778
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:58.760
looking for something to put on in
the background, and the game was on,

779
00:50:58.880 --> 00:51:00.400
and it was late in the game
and it was a close game,

780
00:51:00.480 --> 00:51:05.960
and I and I watched it and
it was very cool. Okay, we're

781
00:51:05.960 --> 00:51:08.920
about a minute left with this segment. We can't take any more. Calls,

782
00:51:08.960 --> 00:51:13.679
but thank you her for calling in
giving this your Jerry Jerry West.

783
00:51:14.079 --> 00:51:15.320
We're gonna breaking news here at the
top of the hour. We've got Corey

784
00:51:15.360 --> 00:51:20.599
Williams who's gonna join us and see
if he's got some thoughts on both on

785
00:51:20.719 --> 00:51:23.079
Jerry West and then just college basketball
in general. He's a college basketball analyst

786
00:51:23.159 --> 00:51:29.440
for ESPN. What does you think
of the Hurley situation? But Bill Plashki

787
00:51:29.599 --> 00:51:34.800
was on Dan Patrick this morning.
He shredded the Lakers for for the for

788
00:51:34.920 --> 00:51:37.639
letting her to get away or for
not being able to hire her. I'm

789
00:51:37.719 --> 00:51:43.760
just saying that this, yeah,
and but just saying that if you're the

790
00:51:43.840 --> 00:51:47.079
Lakers, this is a disaster for
you that he goes it's the Lakers.

791
00:51:47.440 --> 00:51:52.039
How do you how do how do
you as the Lakers? Not How does

792
00:51:52.079 --> 00:51:54.480
a guy like Hurley say no to
you? How bad are you run?

793
00:51:54.960 --> 00:51:58.880
Let's also say this because pass from
l A or he's in LA, he's

794
00:51:58.880 --> 00:52:00.440
been there forever. Everybody only probably
thinks that, you know, they're the

795
00:52:00.480 --> 00:52:05.079
shiny object. And how could you
dare turn us down? Yeah? Well

796
00:52:05.119 --> 00:52:07.840
then okay, dared turn us down
and this is what we are. Maybe

797
00:52:07.920 --> 00:52:08.639
so, but the way he put
he said, Look, he said,

798
00:52:08.719 --> 00:52:13.880
Dan Hurley came to La, took
a look around, took a look look

799
00:52:13.880 --> 00:52:17.480
around the organization, and said no
thanks and left. That's how I say

800
00:52:17.519 --> 00:52:21.400
when I go dancing, you want
to dance with me? How can you

801
00:52:21.599 --> 00:52:25.920
dare turn me down? Because she
observed the situation is that you were wearing

802
00:52:27.039 --> 00:52:31.400
man. But he shud, I'd
love to. I didn't. I haven't

803
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:34.840
read his column, but I'm sure
it's a I'm sure it's the killer.

804
00:52:34.880 --> 00:52:36.920
All right, Okay, let's take
a break. We're going to come back

805
00:52:37.360 --> 00:52:39.039
Henry with a breaking news, and
then we'll have Corey Wood stick around.