This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports
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R two side and I Heeart Radio Station. Good afternoon, everybody, welcome
to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera,
He's Jagens As got our guy Jackson in today. I have two things
to say to you guys. Aren't you don't you wish you Michael Block,
Jaken Zalis oh man? How about that? And aren't you Jason? How
about them Nuggets? Yeah, congrats you guys. They're not over. It's
not over. I wanted to go six. It's pretty much over. I
wanted to go to games. Does that bet does have to hit exactly six
for you to win? No? No, I've already got them to win
the whole West. No, no, no, I know that. But
but yeah, bet that you made on the number of games, yeah,
and has to hit on the number yeah. Yeah, But I have him,
I have him winning the West. Yeah, I know that. I
know that and going to it and winning the championship. Right. So I
went with three game, six game six, game six, to win it
game six, and then to win the West, and then to win the
West and then twin it all. Okay, so you have three bets on
him, yeah, just most recently. Yeah. So how about that Block
guy, that crazy story, right, you know, the club Pro.
He qualifies and now he's like he's on his way. He won two hundred
and thirty thousand dollars. Well I thought two eighty eight. Maybe he's two
eighty eight. Well two hundred and change. Okay, So he's kind of
more than Anything's kind of changed his life because now he gets you're playing the
PGA again next year, right, did you get to play in any others
or just that one? Just that one now, um, because you need
to win. Like he's playing this week, but he's playing in the in
the Charles Schwab Tournament this week, but he's playing on a sponsors exemption.
So he's got it because of all the hoopla he got invited to play this
week. He can play some of those, but in order to get his
PGA Tour card, either has to qualify through the Corn Ferry Tour, which
I don't think he's playing, or he's got to you know, like he's
got to win a tournament. Uh you know, so you win a tournament,
you automatically get your card for I don't know how many years. Yeah,
okay, I think like five years or something like that. But so
he's not officially a PGA Tour card carrying guy, but he's got a chance
to go play again this weekend and and probably from future game makes the money
that kind of thing, so, um, yeah, you know it's it's
a huge opportunity. Guys from Mission via Hoo. I looked up the golf
course that he's the pro app and it's it's, you know, just kind
of a cold course. They're in Mission Via Hoo, and uh, you
know, like the pros that we have at our golf courses here and now
he's you know, made of killing in the PGA. Look I've said before,
you have golf guys on or got from golf women. Um, if
you're you run hot for four days, that's all you need. You just
running out for four days, just like kind of playing poker or playing anything.
If you run hot like my nug it's yeah or whomever. Yeah,
but you know he played well, he had that hole in one that it
was on Belido that's gone viral. He hit it into the hole on the
fly, which that never happens. You know, it's that's a really hard
thing to do. But no, when you when you're when you're on a
charmed life for a week or a day, that I enjoy it. You
got to play with Rory McIlroy, you know, so probably the you know,
one of the maybe top five biggest stars on the tour right now,
played the final round with them. I saw that he his caddy got got
Rory to sign his his caddy bib for him. He's got he wasn't that's
particular right in seventy seventy seventy What do you shoot the last day? Um,
I don't remember, but he he finished the fifteenth place. Yeah,
I know, which is got to make a putt on the last finished and
he hit that barely going in. And now he knows he's playing in the
PGA again next year. Yeah, I mean, how cool is that?
Guy's not gonna sleep for a year, you know, so that you know,
I think I saw some of the stuff, you know he was I
think on Saturday, Um, they were interviewing him while he was walking to
the green on one of the holes. And you know, he sounded really
cool and just seems like a very Downdoorth kind of guy. You know,
you never know, but uh, you know he's uh generated a lot of
conversation and a lot of people are pulling for hims. It's very cool,
Okay, cool cool. And about them Nuggets, they're just playing well,
we'll get to the Boston Celtics or the or the heat in a second.
Um. The Lakers, I know, probably over evaluated the first couple of
series. Um, they are who they are. They're probably fortunate to get
to this point, don't you think. Um, not really, I think
they took advantage of other teams not really being healthy. Well yeah, this
is this is the first like real healthy, you know together teams. They're
a good team. Yeah, they're playing right that this postseason. The Gridgies
are missing to their top guys. UM, Warriors chemistry issues. Um.
And now the Nuggets, who are who've been resting for the back half of
the regular season and they've been clicking all postseason. So um, you know,
the Lakers, they've just been looking a lad in games and not making
the rider judgements. I feel like to capitalize when they've had the moments to
capitalize to close out some of these games. I also think that the analysts
or whomever are overreacting to Lebron playing Lebron's tiredness right right, right, Look,
they're they're just getting out played. They're getting and they're getting be You
know, they can make you look old when they beat you. Without question,
I think they're overbold. He's always still a good player, right,
he's taking shots. He probably shouldn't take those three points sweets what two for
whatever. Yeah, it's a really bad percentage. But I do think his
ankle is like lower bodies, that something's wrong. I feel like because before
you have the ankle injury in the regular season earlier this year, he looked
like a different player in my opinion, But now I think he has an
older player, and he gets playing a lot of minutes and he's asked to
do so much because certain guys in the team aren't able to step up when
they need to step up, Like no Daniel Russell, He's supposed to be
ours writing plant guard, but he's been playing really awful this yeares. So
Lebron has to um take care of the point composition because you know, we
don't have one exclude you know, awesome reasons, of course, but I
think he's asked to do so much, which makes it looks, you know,
make them look bad. Right, Okay, so I you know again,
it's it's once when a team makes you look bad, they're gonna find
sure what what they think. Specifically in the Lebron's cases, they well,
he's old and he's getting tired of He hasn't been old for a lot of
games this year. Right, either you're good or you're not good. He's
still good, he's still got it. Yeah, he's just slower. He's
just slower. Um, So I think too many people over evaluate things.
And then of course Boston, Wow, who probably has the most talent.
We've discussed that. Yeah, the most talented on paper, right, but
you know which doesn't right, And then he continued to to gangbuster this whole
thing. Yeah, hey, they could be they could be the Nuggets.
They can win this Yeah. No, they've done enough now and played well
enough and the way they're dominating, uh, Boston, but certainly they can
win this thing. Match up, it should Yeah, it could go six
or seven either way. The one thing I heard this morning that was very
interesting to me. Damon was with Boston. We knew that right for a
couple of years. He took the job at Georgia Tech midway through the year,
maybe February issue, I think I can't remember when. H No,
after the season Mark Mark and he took over that. So he left Boston
And it was mentioned this today that he was the he was the Jim Roseborough
to the lud Olson, that the guy for the players, He got the
messages to the players, score the cut coach who doesn't really have a whole
lot of personality. It's kind of just kind of straightforward and blah blah blah
that they've kind of detached from the head coach, and Damon was the guy
to connect them too. And we've talked about the importance of that. You
never know, we talked about the importance of that, and that's been missing.
I mean, you never know when when one guy leaves and what he
takes with him, you know, the one that sticks, that sticks in
my mind, that's more you know, more local was you know, you
know, after the great football season arizon I had in ninety they go into
ninety nine and and before the season, Um, you know, I remember
talking to Tom Dundalston, who's the sports information actor. I can tell this
story now because he's not that guy anymore. But we had, you know,
we had a preseason party like we always did, and I said,
Tom, how are they going to do? And he says, this team
needs a leader. He said, so you talked about it before. Calvin
Efon was that leader, and it doesn't have another Calvin Efon. That team
ended a point six and six, right, and there was a disaster from
going to start right right, you know, Yeah, and they didn't have
a guy that you're going into the Penn State game that year that was going
to you know, have high expectations for his teammates. They got blasted by
Penn State and the season basically ended right there. If you want to talk
about that, the school more more timely the basketball team this year? Right?
Who was the leader? Right? Potto can't identify who it was?
No on the court. You might have been two bells on the court.
But but okay, but what else think of those teams after t J McConnell
that, Yeah, no, John, you know, you gotta have a
guy, whether it's a coach or a player that guys looked too, and
who can draw something out of guys? Right? And you know, as
he said, for Loot, it was ros Or you know before that it
was you know, was Ricky bird Song and Kevin o right, uh,
you know, and and then some and sometimes it's players like I said,
you mentioned, you know, guy like Calvin Efon or yeah, you know
you know other guys like that throughout the years on different team. In ninety
seven it was Miles Uh. You know, he wasn't the best guy on
the court, but he was he put those guys gave him a will to
win. Again, what was the big difference between the eighty seven and eighty
eighteen Steve Kerr Not just because he could shoot exactly, but because he was
on the court right, and there were certain things that you know, we're
only acceptable. Well we had uh and I think you've known this from the
guys from the book. Um who got tell me? Tell me? Uh?
God getting old our la guy the musician. We said, he he
won. He played hard for Steve, Steve in addition to Loot, but
he didn't want to disappoint Steve. Right, And you have those guys when
you play. I'm sure you were on a team or two where you know
you don't want to screw up. Yeah, but you also don't want to
disappoint the guy that's leading the way, of course. Yeah, you always
want to you know, not do anything that you shouldn't been doing, going
to make sure that you're contributing to the team, right and not stopping out
a line really and raising enough with other guys right, right, And we've
seen that good end that Well, that's the all important chemistry, and sometimes
chemistry can be without your around one person, dude, one person can bring
chemistry to a team two thousand Trier right, brow had none. The leaders
on that team were not good guy for that all for one right, yeah,
and that and that was as talented a team as as a Sean Miller
add with Lowry markin and and stuff and they and they f right, No,
the importance of all that is very very crucial. We have a good
show today. So a team, we're gonna talk to a coach. You
had a team of talent and probably a leader coach. How do you say
her last name? Tricia? I think it was Tan, just Tan.
Okay, she's with South Point. We're gonna Oscar again though, because but
I think if I recall the time we had her on last year after she
want to stay championship. I think it's Tricia Tam I'll text her just to
get in case. And then Matt, A lot of things have happened over
the weekend of recruiting stuff and again going back to Arizona fans losing their minds
about a month ago, maybe a month and a half ago. And now
look look at the team that Tommy Tommy Layde's gonna put on the floor.
Oh and that's been love to talk. What about where are the guys that
ripped into Tommy about all the recruiting there back in their mom's basements. They
got their big bag of Cheetos out. They're sitting there in their boxer shorts
and they're not saying anything. They're another other sites that we don't want to
talk. They'll come out when they start to lose or they lose again.
And see I told you they didn't go back again, right if they start
because this this this looks like, you know, we were having a conversation,
but not only looks like, you know, very another very good team
kind of built differently, right, Yeah, guys that you think might be
you know, with it with the addition of of the San Diego State kind
of little maybe a little more physical at least one position. Yeah, maybe
they don't have a guy that a big guy that's gonna run the floor like
like a zulus. But you know, they might have a couple of shooters
outside ump of a bunch of tall guys. But we won't know until we
know. But I do like their chances to finish at least in the top
two or three again in the conference. Right. And there were some schedule
needs today that we'll leave for U for Jason during UH breaking during breaking news.
But that's a hell of a schedule that's been put finally, FONT nice
home games for your ticket holding me up? Yeah, okay, cool,
um anything else let you have on your top year. Um, you know,
well let's let's let's throw this one out because we're we're we're keeping it.
We're keeping tabs. On Arizona women's golf, they're trying to finish in
the top eight in their in their UH in the NC Double A tournament,
they've dropped. They started out in eighth place today, but they are now
in tenth place, or two strokes out of eighth place. I still got
a bunch of golf. Let the other other players are between the twelve and
fourteenth holes. But they're six over today, so they've got to turn on
the jets a little bit to get up there into the top eight places,
which in would put them into the uh the final eight with um or the
next the match play that they they have coming next, So they got to
get up there. Um it's Brackett once once they get into the next round.
So they got they gotta step it up there two strokes out behind Pepperdine
and Oklahoma State to get there. I don't know if this is part of
breaking, but I'll just mention the baseball, do you know what seed they
are? They're the eighth seed. So they they got in. They got
they got into the eighth seed. They play a su tomorrow. The situation
that they're in is that they it's a it's a it's a three team round
robin over the next three days. So they play two games because they're the
lowest seed in there, you know, as the eight. See, they
have to win their two games to advance to the bracket, because if they
don't, if they're in a tie with anybody, they lose the tiebreaker because
it's based on your seat. So um, they can't. Uh, they've
got to win two. No, they just play two games. Okay,
They PLAYSU and then Oregon State ten o'clock in the morning. Both days they're
playing up up in Phoenix, and so I'm sure those games are on PAC
twelfth network and so very important that they win both their games. And they've
got ASU first thing tomorrow morning. Okay, let's take the break. All
right, let's go take our break. We'll have Matt Murdeno. We'll talk
about some basketball recruiting and football. There's stuff going on football wise. I
guess you could say it's a pretty good week in for Arizona on both sides.
So let's take our break and get Matt Murdeno in here. For more
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I heard radio WAP. This is I on the Ball with Steve Ribera and
Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to I on
the back Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Ribera, He's Jay Gonzosen.
Now on the phone, we have Matt Morton or goasycats dot com. Fat
and how are you doing great? To yours sad my last name better than
I do. Yeahybody still says lao right there in Lack, Canada, La
chola the corner. Hey, you've been busy. I know you've been busy.
What's up with Arizona had a pretty good weekend. Yeah, I mean
it's uh kind of happened all at the same time. Everything that kind of
felt like he was building up, you know, kind of happened in minutes
a part of each other. But Arizona, that was probably that transfer game,
as everybody has to be in twenty twenty three, and U picked up
two big transfers, one in football, one in basketball. Obviously the basketball
line we're talking about Arizona basketball is probably gonna get more attention right now.
But yeah, just a really good, solid day for Arizona and too quality
pieces to both teams that will I think, you know, factor and so
success for both football and basketball next season. You know, we we've talked
a lot mad about how Arizona fans just panic when you know, you lose
one guy, and we all saw how they lost their minds. You know,
we talked about after the Princeton loss then they didn't get the guy from
from Crayton. But you know, Tommy Lloyd doesn't panic. I mean,
he pretty much had this lined up long ago, didn't he Or did he?
Yeah? I mean that's the thing. When you were talking to people
last month and they were, you know, losing their minds over Arizona and
Tommy Lloyd can't recruit, I was like, it's it's April. If you
remember back to last year, there are two trunks. They added them after
the NBA deadline in June. I mean you have to if you get to
July or August and you're still having these issues and these holes in the roster,
maybe you can talk about panic time he can't recruit. But um,
there's always a plan. I think I think fans forget that that college coaches
always have a plan. They wouldn't be who they are unless they do have
a plan. And the one thing that's been consistent throughout the Tommy load air
is that he just does not panic about recruiting. He has a different approach
than Sean Miller in terms of how he looks at high school prospects, and
he really targets it's a very select group. There's not a lot of offers
going out. Um, they really focus in on a few guys and if
they don't get those guys, they move on to whatever the next plan is
that they're usually pretty happy about. And so, um, you know,
when you're talking about Arizona with Tommy loved with Jack Murphy, international recruit is
always going to be, you know, very relevant to them, and they're
always going to have guys that they feel like they can pull on and pull
across, you know, over from overseas and get them to Arizona. And
um, seems to be the case again. And then there's not the transfer
portal, which um, you know they've been successful with and is always going
to have kind of endless amounts of opportunities to bring in pretty talented players.
And so shaped up pretty well. I think they have a really you know,
all roster at this point. Maybe could be some more movement, no
moving forward, but for right now, it's you know, a pretty productive
offseason. And I think just as much you know, talent on the rosters,
it was rosters. Man, Like, you know, we see Tommy
here, we get it, you're getting press conference and stuff. We kind
of feel like we've gotten to know him. But you talk to recruits and
players that he's in contact with, what what's your sense of sort of what's
his persona, what's his image out there among recruits and coaches, someone that
they can really get along with. I'm someone else they really want to play
for in a lot of cases, and I'm you know, I was talking
to to Carter Bryant, who you know there is their big twenty twenty four
commit and um, you know the people around him and everyone's very comfortable.
I think there's just a comfort level of Tommy Lloyd and they feel like he's
someone that's on their side and somebody that wants him to do well and wants
him to develop, and um, somebody they can just feel like they can
be comfortable around. I think that's the kind of common theme that you hear
when you hear about Arizona's staff and Tommy Lloyd in particular, is just there's
a comfort level there that, um, you know, players really like.
It's a changing game. Um, there's not a ton of players. They're
looking for the guy that's going to be in their face and streaming at them
all the time. They want the guy that's going to be able to coach
them and kind of love them up at times. And so, you know,
I think there's just that that appeal about playing for Tommy Lloyd that he's
again just kind of on their side and there's someone that is going to be
pulling for them no matter what. I think that's really made an impact,
and I think the players that have ticked them really want to play for Tommy
Lloyd. And I think that's become clear when kind of looking at you know,
who they've added and where they've gotten those guys from. It's funny,
Matt, because in the past when they had Sean as the coach, and
you knew this because they'd say, well, I'm going to play for Sean
and felt comfortable, feel like a family, and I like his style of
running up and down to get here, and that didn't happen now you know
what happens. Yeah, I mean, I think the if there's one overarching
team about recruiting it overall in twenty twenty three is that there's so many different
avenue to reach players and the and for players and their families to evaluate coaches
and just different different ways to see what they're doing. And you can take
so many these visits and all those things. If there's just it's more clear
what a coach is about, you know, these days, and I think
players are starting to kind of wise up to that. I think before there
was a lot of just kind of trusting what coaches were telling them, and
then they get on campus and not even at Arizona, just across the country
and see that, oh this is a little bit different than what I was
told as a recruit, where I think now there's a lot more transparency and
um players, there's just a lot less kind of behind the scenes going on
and players kind of understand okay, I can see then. I think for
transfers in particular, that's really the case, and that's really important because they're
approaching it going okay, especially at the level like Arizona recruits at. It's
pretty clear cut. It's Hey, what can you offer me in terms of
an ill money and what's my role going to be? It's pretty clear and
they can figure out everything else later. And yes, so that that short
visit time that you have the coach on campus matters and they want to feel,
you know, confident in their decision that way. But when you look
at transfers, both in football and basketball, it's pretty clear right now,
it's what can you give me in terms of nil and how do us hit?
And those When they get those two things shipped off, you know,
everything else kind of is secondary, but I think it makes it. It
kind of clears up the picture for everybody. And I think coaches feel like
they could be more transparent about the situation. And you see a lot of
coaches are really like recruiting the transfer portal for that reason because they don't have
to you know, wine and dine these these players and you know, bring
up the cookie cakes and everything else for special business. It's more clear cut,
more business like, and I think a lot of coaches respect that.
I think a lot of players are like, ooh, I'm getting the real
kind of transparent what's really going to go on? Because there isn't this whole
recruiting process. It's if these decisions are made in a matter of days and
weeks and sometimes months, but a lot of times just you know, weeks.
Is they're trying to de spid where they're gonna go, and so different
than when they're high school recruits, when those relationships are built over years.
And so I think it's about some more transparency. And I think it's just
kind of that way across the board, not only at Arizona, but other
plays as well. You know, you talk about guys, you know,
why don't you find a place you know where they fit you or what is
the fit is Tommy is what Tommy Lloyd does in terms of his just the
way he just his game. You know what what the UFA does is that
conducive to guys feeling like they can fit in easily, as opposed to say,
there go to some really structured offense or really structured defense or whatever.
Uh is that is that one of the reasons why he can get guys?
I think so. I think that I think there's such there's kind of a
free flowing element to what they do. I think offensively, obviously, there's
a huge appeal of playing a system that's up tempo and uh, you know,
allows you know, players like Pshaw Johnson to do what he does and
playing transition and I'm even you know as you Lois Debellas, they will to
play and transition and doesn't have to necessarily kidgeonhole him into something that he isn't
And so um, I think that is definitely a big appeal for a lot
of players. And I think they're proving you with who they're bringing in that
they can adapt to to what the personnel is. And I think you've seen
that, you know, Kashaw Johnson this way to pick up for Arizona is
kind of a prime example. He's very different from someone like a Julius Tabellas
and what he brings to the game, but he's gonna end up playing the
same position and playing a similar role to what you know Tabella's played at Arizona
D and they're very different players. And so I think that on its own
tells you, Okay, they can adapt to what the skill set is of
the players that they're bringing in, and I think that's built into the system
and to what Tommy Lloyd wants to do. I think there's definitely pillars for
what he wants to do and playing up Temple style and up Temple style is
you know, part of that, and I think that's something that's going to
remain unchanged. He's gonna want to score a bunch of points, but I
think there's different elements to what they do that are going to be kind of
unchanging. But outside of that, there's a lot of flexibility and what you
know, Tommy Lloyd wants to do and what he brings to the floor.
And so I think players see that and notice that. And I've just looked
at players developing and having success. I think development is kind of the other
key part of this whole process for all players, for recruits and transfers,
I think they just want to, hey, how can you get me to
the next level. We've talked about that a lot on the show before the
draining where it's NBA NFL is kind of on the mind for a lot of
these players and recruits, and um, you know, they've seen I think
the progress that Tommy load has been able to make with a lot of different
guys, and I think that's been in a big play of the appeal as
well. So you cover the PAC twelve down more more than you did before.
Okay, Arizona's group is well and fine, what about the rest of
the group. Where does it land among them? Yeah, it's going to
be very interesting. I think you stelt to kind of figure out where everyone
else is going to end up. I think USC is going to be a
very interesting team. Um, They've had a lot of talent, a lot
of younger talent. Um, you know, they bring back one of their
top players, and they're going to be a very interesting team to watch because
they do have a lot of young talent coming in. UCLA is kind of
in the midst of trying to figure out what it's going to do. They
have, you know, a pretty big high school recruiting class, but transfer
wise, they haven't really hit hit hit, hit it big yet and so
um, you know, they could be taking a step back based on just
their rosters. So Oregan has been very active and in voting the ton of
transfers, as you would expect for day all, many kind of always retools
out roster. Washington's brought in a couple of young players. So um,
it's gonna be interesting to see kind of how it all how it all plays
out. But I think Arizona is going to be very much right in the
mix based on what they've done. Um, you know, bringing in Jaden
Bradley from Alabama, who somebody they wanted right when Tommy Wood arrived. I
was kind of their prime target at one point in time and got very close
to bringing him to Arizona. But now they get him the second time around.
I think he's going to be a very valuable piece. And bringing in
more international players, you know, that's kind of a big X factor I
think. So Arizona is where the international player is going to do and how
do they adjust because are they going to be Is there gonna be someone like
as UIs Deblos who's ready to go right away is able to contribute, or
is there going to be someone more like Henry where it's going to take him
some time and maybe see glimpses, but you need to still see that development.
So that's gonna be the thing for Arizona that I think changes. You
know, the success changes kind of on what those guys are able to do.
But so far, I like the makeup of the roster. M probably
going to add another piece here at some point, and um, looks like
they probably need another guard within this rotation. But so far, I mean
it's it feels like it's it's progress and the roster's coming together pretty well.
A quick question to gonna question, you know, move do football after this?
Good? A question about nil? How much of effectored had to play
in for any of the guys here, because we're talking, We talked about
it almost every other day and the importance of Arizona having NIL money. Yeah,
I mean, it's it's part of every decision. I mean, that's
it's it is the top one or two things that ever your recruit and every
player is going to talk a lot right now, it's kind of a given
that you're going to have some kind of NIL package put together. It's what
coaches are talking about a lot across the board. Um, you know,
it's it's no longer about you know what necessarily just about what you can do
for them as a player on the court. It's it's what can you do
for me branding wise and to build my brand into um, you know,
prepare me for the future that way, and to you know, give me
money right now. And so it's part of every decision. I think any
fan of thinks it's not as be naive. Um, every coach in the
country wants more of it, wants it's a bigger ni outpool. Um,
it's just part of the game and it's just part of what goes on.
I mean, the specifics are are difficult these days. I mean, nobody
wants to talk about it necessarily yet and you know, specific dollar amounts that
they're getting and that's still kind of, uh, kind of kept in the
background. But it's it's part of every decision. And the more money you
have, the more more in player going to be for every player and recruit
right now, because it's just kind of part of the whole process, and
um, you know, especially the chance for players. I mean, it's
more clear cut in that sense, and I think you know it'd bean I
used to think that it's not part of the equation. And the more money
you have available, it's just going to be put you in better position for
the players you really want. Football. Well, they've got a couple of
minutes to talk about football. They got the receiver from Colorado who've made a
big splash at their spring game and then walked out to the door the next
day. You know, there's Colorado guys going all over the place. I
guess the question is, you know, the Colorado wasn't very good, but
how good are these players and how good of a guy did uh did Arizona
get in the from there? Yeah, it's really interesting. I mean I
had a lot of comments coming back at me from Colorado fans saying, oh,
well, he was not even that good last year, and you guys
are making too big of a deal about it. But it feels like a
pretty significant pickup to me. He was one of their top two receivers last
year. He was responsible for winning them their only game last year. He
caught a touchdown in overtime on a crazy cat that was very Dorian Singer esque.
You know, he was had a decent amount of yards and decent amount
of catches um. Their offense really struggled last year. They went through a
quarterback rotation and really never settling on any one guy, so they had all
kinds of problems. But he was one of the bright spots to me,
and as he mentioned in the spring game, he really stood out and really
made an impact. And I'm sure there's a lot of fans at that point
going, Okay, this is the guy that everyone you know saw glimpses of
last year and it's only going to springboard him into you know, this next
season. And then, as he mentioned, he kind of walks out the
door the next day and enters the transfer portal. And again part of kind
of college sports in twenty twenty three, you have to imagine that he didn't
just have that game and then the next day to say I'm going to enter
the portal. It was probably building, but the spring spring game gives you
an opportunity to be, you know, on display in showcase their abilities for
all these teams, and you know, it just made a lot of sense
for Arizona. When you lose Duran Singer, you need somebody with some experience.
I know there's been a lot of push for Kevin Green to make an
appearance. And that's kind of the issue of college coaches right now and that
they're facing, is that do you kind of plan for the future and develop
somebody and get some get a younger player some experience and try and develop him,
or do you go for the more sure thing, the more proven thing,
you know, with someone like Montana Alimonius Craig, who's proven that he
can play at this level and has had some success and then showcase what he
did in the spring game. It's a it's a difficult spot to be in,
but I think there was always that clear desire by Arizona to find another
receiver, a third guy to go with t Mac and to go with Jacob
Cowing. Um allows you to maybe move Jacob Cowing back inside into the slot,
the more natural position, and based on kind of what what the situation
was looking like. I don't know that they could have gone a better fit
that was out there, that was available right now. And um, I
think it is an upgrade over everybody else that they have, and now they
move forward and have a really solid, you know, starting unit there with
with the addition. Well, thanks Matt. One thing I've just learned from
that conversation was that I think the Colorado fans are just as bitter as Arizona
fans. It's based everybody's happened. I realized that there were Riveros. They're
all Rivers apparently. Thanks Matt, I appreciate, thank you absolutely. I
guess you know most fans are like that, fans who care like that,
right, Yeah, but it could be realistic to pain in the ass.
I know they are, but what are you gonna do? Right? At
least they're fans. So I was out yesterday with some good group of friends
and they post on Facebook and they they talk to me about the show.
They love the show. We got more people listening than we think we did,
and and people you me know, and he says, you must love
sports. That's ports fan. We went through that guy and he said,
you gotta be you gotta know. I'm telling you, I don't worry about
stuff like you guys. Do you know I don't go home crying engine Yeah,
yeah, but I'm not gonna cry at the Dodgers news or I'm not
gonna the Lakers. I've that was once one more than I was nine years
old, more than one more than you needed to. But you understand,
I'm still come on, it's not that big of a deal. Man.
Okay, let's get out of here for a little bit. We'll take a
break. We're gonna come back. We'll take your calls five two zero,
four one, six seventy four forty. They don't have to topping news,
breaking breaking news from it's Monday. Man. I did take my man's a
man. I think that's the problem, all right, It's Monday. It's
Monday afternoon, so we'll be right back. If you're an Arizona Man's basketball
fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a
look back at the Ludolson era in my new book, Lessons from Loot.
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Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Subscribe now
to the podcast on the iHeart Radio Whip Just Surgery on the Ball. They
welcome back Toying the Ball here on Box Sports fourteen. Cutie, I'm Steve,
he's Jake Man. We have our boy Jason with us. We're back
for the final fourteen minutes. What else? Maybe because of the calls?
Yeah, yeah, five, two zero, four, one, six,
seventy four forty again, you know, I mean, look own up to
it, right, If you're one of those fans losing their minds over the
Arizona basketball recruiting, I'd love to hear what you have to say. Yeah,
Yeah, they're not gonna call him. They're not gonna call Come on,
they're not gonna give us a call. Let us know why you lost
your mind and do you feel better about it now? I try to save
I know that whatever, guess we talk about all the time, we try
to save the names of the people who kind of go crazy at the student
level, Jason, A lot of people talk a lot of crap. No
really, I think for us students, we trust Tommy Lloyd, like like
you guys have mentioned before, like he has shown you know that he can
coach a team, he can produce, get a win obviously, then turn
and play tournament play. We aren't, you know, going where we need
to going out far as we expect them too. But as far as you
know the games most of the most part, you know, he's been able
to produce a good enough team that we can trust him to recruit good players
and produce on the on the court slum yea. Yeah, but there were
a bunch of them, Jay, they were everywhere and they were loud.
Yeah. Yeah, are knew it? I knew it. Faith blah blah
blah. I've lost you know, saying I've lost faith in Tommy. Look,
it's probably the guy who's been married and divorced a few times. I
lost marriage, I lost the faith in my wife. Two years into it,
yeah exactly, Come on, two years into it, he's won sixty
sub games. Yeah again, once again. Would rather be a Sue Miller
exactly. Yeah. But we're not here to tell aboudy Tommy, No,
we're not. I mean, give it a break. We just say.
All we said back then was give this time, you give to stop losing
your mind that he sucks because one guy decided to go somewhere else. The
issue now though, and I've said this, I don't know if I said
it here, but somewhere else. Okay, Al's well, and fine,
now you gotta win. Oh yeah, and guess what. It doesn't matter
about December January pebbruy matters in March. Yeah, but but you know,
but but that's just the thing. That's all you're saying is, even if
you feel like he didn't get a good recruiting class, wait till you see
what happens on the court before he started saying he's a terrible coach or whatever.
And all these people, the ones that bothered me more than anything,
and I said it a bunch of times, I'm gonna repeat myself again,
was the people who were saying he won with with Sean Miller's guy, yea,
yea, And will repeat myself again by saying, and Sean Miller got
fired with Sean Miller's guy. So I know there were other other factors and
Sean Miller being fired, but he didn't win with those guys. Let's also
say this, and I've been wanting to say this watching Miami. Okay,
these are all top DOTCH players are obviously there for a reason. Seven of
them went undrafted. It's a group of put together guys who played with the
sport together. Well, so, talent wins a lot of games, yeah,
but a lot of times it doesn't win a lot of games. How
you play, who had more talent? Princeton, Princeton, I'll give you
cla over the weekend, right, Oh god, we haven't talked about that
and who had better uniforms, But you know, my point is, it's
how you played that day. Well, I'm gonna say that USLA would have
lost by more if they didn't have those nice uniforms. Okay, they don't
guarantee winning. They just guaranteed that you'll play better than if you did.
And that was to me one of the most unbelievable things I've seen in a
long time. You know, we were we were talking about that. I
was actually on the golf course when that happened, and we were talking about
how, you know, how rarely that happens, especially in women's sports.
Were this was after the first loss, saying that how rarely it happens that
a top seed loses in the first round at home. I think it happens
more more often than we than we remember. But they always come back and
win. Right. Yeah, when they lost the second time, you're thinking,
holy emolding to I mean they lost to Liberty and and uh and Grant.
Yeah. One thing you especially don't see it in women's sports because it's
true to form most of the time, right where the top seeds be the
lower season, it happens majority of the more. Think of Yukon, you
think of Baylor, you think of of South Carolina. Now you think of
the Stanford that they just don't lose. You know, they win, they
win championships all the time. They lose to each other, but they don't
lose to you know, they don't lose to Arizona. They don't lose Georgia
Tech, they don't lose to you know. It's so it seems like in
women's sports more predictable as far as stuff like that goes up from UCLA to
lose back to back games at their own place and beyond of the tournament is
crazy, especially for them being this good. Yeah, but again, Arizona
fans, we're bit or may not be the right word, but you know,
the two transfers. Yeah, well you got what you deserve. YadA
YadA, blah blah blah, you left us and enough already. Yeah.
Well, well there was a lot of social media there, that's what you
get kind of kind of comments. I'm like, well, you know,
look, they left for probably the same reason that we're talking about everybody else.
Yeah, and they did get to the tournament. Write money and and
and opportunity and whatnot. Um, you know, so I'm you know,
I'm actually a lot less um unhappy. I don't what the right word is,
but it's like you expect it. Now players are gonna go play where
the money is right, and you know, we just we just got off
the phone with Matt Mordano and you know, whereas the you know, the
amount of money you were getting was a factor because it was under under the
table. But now it's the number one factor about where kid's gonna play.
And now if the money is there, then they'll talk to you about fit
and the coaching and the campus living conditions and are there enough girls or of
guys? Are there you know enough of all these things. But number one
on the list has become money because because in a lot of cases, this
is the only time they're gonna make money playing their sport, right, Janelle
Mionnel is not going to go make you know, one hundred thousand dollars somewhere
playing softball, right, And that's not assuming that she did make that.
But yeah, but I'll just saying that. But I think if if she
got that amount or whatever amount of money she got, she's only gonna make
this for the time she's a college a college softball player. And to your
point, I think last week, and I don't mention your points very often,
she was betting ninth. Is that what you said? She's beting ninth
on a pretty good team. Here, she was betting first. Yeah,
she was the best player on the team. You know, there's the trade
off of being the big the big fish in the small pot or right or
the other way, right, you know, and and again and now these
guys we'll see you know this football season, these three guys who left for
your USC you know, the most most visible as Dorian Singer. You know,
does he does he become a target for Caleb Caleb Williams Or is he
in you know, every every third down or something like that, right,
or is he playing all the time and catching passes and you know, making
the name for himself to get into the NFL. Why did you come to
you? Where did I come? Um? Well, well you're gonna be
a doctor. Yeah, it made the most sense. And they offered me
the most amount of money. Well the money there you go, yeah,
money again, so yeah, there you go. Yeah, I guess I
would be the same way. Yeah, yeah, even at that one.
I mean, you know, and it's a it's a different kind of thing,
right, you know, yeah, but yeah, but you know,
the whole thing. I mean, that's you know, that's the thing that's
a part of a thing that my daughter went through when she was looking for
you know, she didn't want her parish to pay for the bill. Duke
offered a nice living over there, and she did, well, go,
baby, go go. I know she's coming back. Well she well,
she got into the working world for a year. I didn't a startup and
you know it was okay, but her sights were sent on a PhD all
along. She's gonna do that. So she's coming back and she's gonna get
it here Arizona, which is very cool, right when she's home this week?
Cool, all right, Arizona has moved up into a tie for eighth.
Okay in the golf tournament. Uh, there's still at eleven over,
but um so six over for the day. But two of the teams that
we're ahead of them have dropped gone backwards, so there are three strokes out
of seventh place, so they still got some work to you. It looks
like they're gonna have to get into seventh place or I don't know that they're
gonna be able to catch the teams that are. There's three teams tied for
forts that basically takes up that would be the six spots, and those teams
are two over where Texas in him is eight over than Arizona, Pepper DNA,
New Mexico or eleven over. So still hanging on in there there there
players are between the thirteenth and sixteenth hole, so they still got a few
holes left. Dude, maybe catch up. So I got a text about
when Morana was just getting coming on from someone that we both know me more
than you, but he's given you grief. Um so everyone has what it
has. Who's gonna shoot, who's gonna score the points? Who's we don't
know yet. We don't know yet. I think the luth winning they got
last week will probably be one of the shooters. But they'll find ways to
get these guys points. Well, let me suggest that when Tommy Lloyd is
getting guys, he's getting guys who he thinks can score, right, because
that because he runs an offense that puts a bunch of points on the board.
If he doesn't think a guy can shoot the ball, if he doesn't
think a guy can score, why would he go after Yeah, I think
one of the key places is going to be Boswell. Yeah, very efficient
shooting guard shooting you know, if he shoots more, I think that's a
good thing, right, I mean, he's shown that he can shoot.
I mean he made some incredible I was saying incredible even know what I mean,
Like he's very efficient, uh, tough, acrobatic shots. He took
some tough shots, tough times, wasn't afraid to shoot you. He made
some shots in the Pac twelf tournament that that were you know, that were
money. So I think they got a guy in Boswell who can shoot and
he is willing to shoot because remember there were times that people who didn't you
know, people thought Kur shot too much. There were times they didn't think
he's shot enough. Sure, I take the shot. Sure, And then
the final game they wish he would not have and they would have had ball
as well in there instead. Right, Tommy's not gonna get guys who don't
fit into the offense and can do what he needs them to do offense.
I still think that Philippe is gonna be one of one of the good players
and the new little WINNI and guy buy me about all? Please me.
That reminds me of our next guests. Uh stand stand? Yeah? Another
title we had her own last year when they went when they South Points coach,
but four or five in a row, I don't know, bun bunch.
This is her second in a row. Yeah. And then the coach
had her had won three or four. Yeah, right, so something like
that, right, Okay, you know that you're gonna be the boss one
of the busses. Right. What are you gonna cover next year? Um?
So I'm mainly gonna be focused on what and then football? Football,
not basketball? No, um, our main editor will be oh yeah,
yeah, he gets the prime star. It's good to be the bus.
The prime splus should be football. Okay, you're the guy. Yeah,
the top the top rider at the Arizona Daily Star in sports, aside from
the columnists, was the guy who covered you with football. Okay, just
so you know, even even after Arizona got good. Yeah, I mean
when I when I went from football, from basketball to football, sort of
like now you're the main guy. So the citizen there was the basketball before
the football, just telling gotcha, I'm not joking. I'm serious. I
believe you. Yeah, I believe it was just different. It was just
different. You'll have a fun time. Well well, but and part of
it was because the you know, daily paper, afternoon paper, morning paper,
Sunday paper. People wanted the Sunday paper for what was going on in
it on the weekend. Yeah. Yeah, and it's a big deal obviously,
multi big deals. Yeah. And it'll help you moving forward, definitely.
Yeah. Okay, we got about two minutes, no more call,
you can't call anymore. So we're gonna have breaking news. Uh, Tricia's
zand stand and then more chances at another another more calls in the afternoon,
in the after of the first second hour, Um, I were you gonna
call cover the NFL flex stuff? No, you can. Okay, here's
here's a little piece of news that it's come out. So the NFL has
uh is um adjusted their scheduling where they're going to allow two Thursday night games
to be flexed. By that, we mean they can they it might not
be a Thursday, it might not be on the Thursday schedule now, but
with a month's notice, they can move a game to Thursday night, um
and they can do it twice a year, uh in a season. So
there because they can do that on Monday on Sunday night, and they can
also do it on Mondays right now, so now on Thursdays, which is
a little bit different because you know, Thursday Thursday game versus a Sunday game
is a lot different. But they're gonna they're gonna allow that two times during
the year. The NFL can change a Sunday game for Monday game to a
Thursday. That's tough because how do you prepare a month, But they got
to do it a month in advance. They got to go twenty eight days
in advance. So you've got that, you got that amount of time,
but still a change still qui you know you might have some play you know,
and where where people are having some questions about it, is it for
fans. Right, what if you're the fan that's got a trip planned and
you got tickets to the Sunday game, all of a sudden that game gets
moved to Thursday. Also, there was one who Thursday is streamed? Right?
Is it streamed? Yeah? That that's on on Amazon Prime? How
did that go? I mean, because I didn't think they did well with
it. I can't remember. I don't remember seeing a Thursday game streamed.
I never I watched them. You're good. You have what is it on
Amazon? Amazon? Amazon Prime? Yeah? If you watched yeah and I
didn't watch it, Yeah, get Amazon Prime, dude. No free shipping,
sports fan free shipping. You don't need it for sport, for being
a sports We're gonna at something. We're gonna have to We're gonna have some
that's my charm. That's what I'm doing it. I'm gonna have to get
you stop saying that you're not okay, because I've got a couple of quick
questions. We go to break here and then there's a dark spot, like
there's no commercial, there's there's a reason for that. The national takes over
and they kind of feel their their two minutes or whatever, and then we
come back. So people ask why he starts too, Well, that's because
there's there's a two minute a hole in the hole in the radio right right
that they take care of. We're coming back. We're always back. Right
at the top of the hour. Look at your watch or your clock or
your your phone, and when it hits the top of the hour, we're
back. We're back. We'll have breaking news from Jackson. All right,
we'll be right back.