WEBVTT

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It's time for coffee and company fueled
by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.

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Now here's Nick Coffee all right,
hour number two here on a Thursday

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afternoon coffee and company fueled but Thornton's
here on Sports Talk seven ninety. You

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make sure you give the hot honey
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gone. I don't know for sure
if they're like going to disappear and never

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come back, but I do know
they've given us some great items here and

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there over the years, and they
don't last forever, so delicious stuff,

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and we appreciate our friends over at
Thornton's, all right. So for those

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that are, you know, maybe
just jumping in the car starting their day

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today because you know they have work, they've got other things, priorities.

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They can't keep up with it as
much as you know others. Kentucky has

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now been turned down by Scott Drew. That happened earlier today, and I

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think it's just exactly what he stated
that he's his faith, his family and

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it's just he can't leave Baylor.
And then here is the latest with Danny

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Hurley, who again I guess Kentucky
fans just feel like it's always going to

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be alive unless he gives them some
formal rejection of no, I don't want

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to come to Kentucky, leave me
alone. Matt Norlander about two thirty this

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afternoon reports that a source tells him
that there is zero percent chance Dan Hurley

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will leave you Kon for Kentucky.
Says it's not happening. Hurley is going

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to stay in stores with a deserved
big pay bump coming for him plus his

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staff. So that's also another rejection. I guess that really is not a

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bad look on Kentucky. The guy
just went back to back titles and he's

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not leaving. I mean, he's
in a very good spot on top of

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the world, is gonna get a
lot of money, but he's this timing's

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not there for him to move on
from Yukon right now. And when Louisville

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was rejected by Dusty May and Louisville
was rejected by Josh Shirts, which they

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kind of weren't because he couldn't really
take the job. And obviously Scott Drew

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wasn't gonna leave for Louisville, and
clearly he didn't leave over Kentucky. So

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getting rejected it sucks, especially if
you've really got your sites as a fan

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set on one guy that you want
to be the coach. But it happens,

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and Kentucky fans, you know,
throw in shade at Louisville for being

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rejected by Scott Drew or you know, getting the taste of their own medicine.

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I suppose because I feel one thousand
percent certain that until maybe last night,

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maybe not even until it happened today, Kentucky fans did not think there

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was a chance that Scott Drew would
not take the job. And here's what's

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silly. The he wasn't really offer
the job. Nobody's been off with the

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job. That is just a desperate
attempt to try to make it as if

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you were never rejected. When you
like, we're even if you have very

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little intelligence like me, you're insulting
what little intelligence I have to act as

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if Scott Drew did not have the
job to say that he was asked to

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consider it and then let them know
that is an offer. That is him

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deciding if he wants to take the
job or not. Like it's so am

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I wrong? John, Like it's
so silly they just don't want to feel

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like they've been rejected. Yeah,
and I get it, and ads do

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that because again, I think there's
some there's some legitimacy to the brand taking

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a hit if you keep swinging and
missing, especially for a place like Kentucky.

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I felt the way I felt that
way about Louisville. However, if

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you got turned down, you got
turned down. I mean back to the

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Norlander tweet here, I didn't even
see the second part of it. It

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says one source close to Hurley on
Kentucky, they could offer twenty million a

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year and he wouldn't go. Says
here that Hurley, the National Coach of

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the Year, has the perfect job
for him, has this top staff in

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the country and running the best program
in the sport always seems so far fetch

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as is so yeah, that's that's
that's you know. And earlier today,

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whenever it was official that Scott Drew
was staying at Baylor and not coming to

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Kentucky, and the initial pivot was
to, okay, well, now you

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now you got to make Danny Hurley
say no. Well, how can he

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say no if you're not offering in
the job, right, Like, which

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is it? If you're gonna ask
him to consider it, and then he

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says he considered it and doesn't want
it. Does that mean he told you

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no? Like you got to make
him say no? To me? It's

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entering the list of things we say
in sports that are just really stupid,

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like a win is a win?
What are some other ones? I feel

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like there's some college basketball ones.
I'm just I'm just blanking on. Either

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way, the god to make him
say no is something that really is.

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Nobody has to say no. They
can ignore you. Actually, in the

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comparison I made earlier, if Mark
Robbie, let's just say, you know,

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in a different world, I was
single and Margot Robbie that was that

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was who I was setting my sights
on, you know, along with the

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other millions and millions of men on
this planet. And I have no access

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to her, right like I don't
have a I don't have any way of

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reaching out to her, contacting her. But you know what that means.

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She hadn't told me no yet,
had told me no. So it's still

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alive. It's not dead yet.
I mean, like to think about how

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ridiculous that is. So I'm convinced
that no matter what Danny Hurley says,

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there'll be some from the Kentucky side
that simply say, yeah, you know,

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he hadn't said no yet. It's
just it's just wild. To me.

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It's wild. So now they shift
their attention to Billy Donovan, and

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maybe he does want to get back
in the game at a place like Kentucky.

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When I say the game, I
mean the college game. However,

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you know, I've always felt like
it would be it would be a surprise

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to see him want to walk away
from the Maybe that's changed. But even

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if he does want to come to
Kentucky, he's not going to bail in

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the Bulls. And if they end
up surviving the play in round next week

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and end up getting to the first
round in a seven game series, you're

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talking about waiting till the end of
April potentially for him to take over.

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And I actually think the more success
that he would have with the Bulls would

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make him more inclined to stay in
Chicago and be their coach. So anyways,

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real quick, I want update you
guys on some Pat Kelsey news.

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I mean it's not really Pat Kelsey
news, but it's news about his staff.

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And I love this because I advocated
for this, not to pack Kelsey

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or anything like that, but there's
nobody more deserving to represent the Louisville basketball

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program, in my opinion, in
some former fashion on the staff in some

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role than Peyton Siva. And Peyton
Siva has accepted the alumni relations slash player

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development position that was reported by Tas
Spaulding at cardinalsports dot Com. And I'm

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so happy for Peyton because if there's
anybody that can sell the true experience of

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being a Louisville basketball player, the
highs the lows, it's Peyton Siva.

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I mean, he was here for
four years and won a national championship.

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He understands why we're this crazy,
and he's felt the love that you get

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when you are a part of something
special here at Louisville and it makes him

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probably and I'm not going to speak
for him, but it makes him understand

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why that he was you know,
he's beloved here. So very happy for

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Peyton. He'll be perfect for that
role. And it's not just about selling

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like you know, recruits who are
visiting on a you know who recruits aren

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on campus for a visit. Wich. I'm not even sure he'd be allowed

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to do that with the NSAA rules
and whatnot. But you know, when

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there's guys with the team that are
really struggling after a few games, or

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maybe let's just say after a year, you know they felt, you know,

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the heat that comes with being a
player at a place like this when

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things aren't going well. But Peyton
is the one guy that can tell you,

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hey, if you stick with it, it'll all work out. I

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mean, you never know if you're
gonna win anctional championship like he did.

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But Peyton accomplished the ultimate goal here
at Louisville, and you know he's a

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legend for that. But also he's
a great human being. I don't say

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that about many people because honestly,
I don't know a lot of these people

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that well. I know Peyton.
He's a great man. He's made Louisville

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his home. He's raising his family
here, he's opened up his own business

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here. His wife patients, she's
a Louisville native, and Louisville the last

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couple of years, I mean,
think about how bad it was, right,

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I mean just awful. He was
still always around the program, always

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encouraging those players, and nobody better
for that role. And I'm happy,

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happy for him. Also, we'll
get into some of these visitors that are

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going to be not only at Louisville
this weekend, but more visits in line

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for Pat Kelsey, and we'll see
what happens. Right I know they've only

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got three additions to the roster right
now, and they got a lot more

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to fill, but man, they're
in the mix with so many good players.

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I have a feeling that he could
put together on paper pretty damn good

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roster in year one, which I
mean that was always the goal. How

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realistic it was and I don't know, but I just I feel like they're

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in a really good spot here,
which is great because that's how you were

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going to have to build this team
given the circumstances, and the bar is

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so low for success when it comes
to year one, at least I think.

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But when I say the bar is
low, I don't mean he can

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win. He can win ten games
and you know, surpass Kenny, or

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you can win fifteen games and he
will have won more games than Kenny in

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one year. But I think if
he puts together a roster that features good

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players from the mid major level that
have you know, produced good, good

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stat lines, you know, good
averages, I should say good numbers,

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very productive, and they were for
good teams. Maybe not great teams,

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but good teams at that level.
I mean, I think that's a good

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recipe. You never really know,
right, It's a crapshoot when you have

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this many transfers to ad you really
know, you never really know how it's

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all going to work out. But
I mean, I haven't no problem in

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saying that if the roster ends up
being what we hope it is. And

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that's not to say they're gonna go
out there and get the best players in

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the country, but if they add
high caliber transfers, and again your view

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of high caliber transfers may be different
than mine, I don't mean going and

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getting you know, the best player
in the portal, which, by the

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way, who is the best player
in the portal? That's why ask Kevin

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Sweeney that earlier, because I get
the sense that like the portal right now

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is a little underwhelming as far as
like big names. But maybe that's just

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because I don't know. Let me
pull it up here the athletic Here is

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their current rankings in the portal.
Tucker Derees is going to West Virginia with

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his father, Drake, who took
the job. John L. Davis,

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Robbie Avila, Great Ozebor, Utah
State, PJ. Haggerty. So yeah,

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I mean it's not to say these
players aren't aren't, you know,

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great, But I think here's what
I think is happening. Because this is

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still relatively new. I want to
see what you think about this, John,

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because the portal is relatively a new
thing when it comes to college basketball.

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Just like Nil, there's still some
adjustments, and I think a big

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adjustment that has been made is understanding
that now you don't just need innile money

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to go get players, you need
good in ile money to keep players.

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And I think there's probably been some
adjustments made, some resources available to make

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it to where guys will stay and
not into the portal. I mean that

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makes sense, right, Yeah,
that's fair. And one thing that's been

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interesting to see, especially from I
guess the national perspective, is the amount

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of guys from the Purdue roster that
have jumped in transfer portal Mason Gillis.

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But these guys played Mason Gillis did. Ethan Morton I think played a little

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bit, But Mason Gillis got a
decent amount of playing time. I can't

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think if he started or if he
was there six min off the bench,

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But maybe that's the case. Maybe
he just wants to find a place where

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you can get a starting role.
Yeah, be the same for Ethan Morton

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or Inil money. Yeah, I
just I think I don't think Purdue,

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even though they are a Big ten
school, I don't think they bring in

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a ton of Anisle money. And
really they're so unique they don't. I

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mean, I don't want to say
weird, because clearly what they're doing is

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working, but yeah, I mean
it could just be also the I mean,

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I could see Matt Paynter being a
straight shooter and telling those guys,

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look, I'm probably going to try
to go get somebody at your position and

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it will probably mean an even lesser
role for you, you know what I

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mean. Yeah, did they have
a good freshman class coming into You know,

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they have a few good guys from
the state of Indiana. Come.

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I think Miles Colvin, unless he's
already on the roster. They have so

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many guys from in state try to
keep up with the amount that are current.

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That doesn't surprise me. But I
didn't really think about that a whole

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lot until the tournament or I guess
the championship game earlier this week, whenever

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they mentioned just how many on that
roster, like everybody who had a big

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role on that team other than Eady
was from Indiana. It was from Indiana,

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all right. So a new name
to monitor here in the portal is

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one that is a big addition.
Whoever gets him, and pun is intended,

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So Arizona trans for omar Ballow is
going to be taking visits to Indiana,

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Louisville, and Kansas State. He's
also apparently going to visit North Carolina.

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In Florida, he averaged thirteen points, ten boards, and a block

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and a half essentially last season,
one of the top players in the portal.

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You know, that's some stiff competition
there for Louisville, and I guess

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really for Indiana too, if you
consider you know, Jerome Tang, I

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mean, he's I don't know what
resources they have for nil, but I

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could see him being a really good
guy on the recruiting trail because I'd want

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to play for him. And then
Florida, you know Todd Golden, He's

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he's got some momentum right now,
no doubt, and yeah, I mean

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those are That's one of those gets
that like if Louisville doesn't get him,

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I'm not going to say, damn
pat Kelsey, You're already swinging and missing,

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because again, like you know,
sometimes you're going to lose players in

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a recruiting battle, and it doesn't
mean you did anything wrong, right like

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if you if when Rick Patino was
here, and even Mac to an extent,

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you know, Mack had a chance
to get a really good class the

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year I guess prior to maybe it's
the year after his twenty twenty class or

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twenty nineteen class, which featured you
know, Sam Williamson, and on paper

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that class was top ten. Didn't
really play out that way, but David

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Johnson up being a pro. But
nonetheless, what I'm getting at is,

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I think the next year he was
in on a handful of guys and you

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know, one of them went to
Kentucky, one of them went to Kansas,

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one of them went to Duke,
one of them went to North Carolina.

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These are all guys that they felt
really good about. And if that's

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who you're swimming in the waters with, that's who you are competing with,

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you're gonna lose a lot more you're
gonna win. So I'd love for Louisville

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to get this guy. And I
have confidence in Pat Kelsey and his sales

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approach and the resources that he can
use to to entice this young man to

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come to Louisville. And one thing
Louisville can do that really nobody else can.

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And I don't know if it's gonna
be it could be something viewed as

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a week as a negative thing for
players, but they can sell minutes right

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now, there's nobody, there's nobody
competing, you know, doesn't mean they're

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not going to get other players to
you know, give you some depth.

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And obviously I think Pat Kelsey is
a guy that's never going to tell anybody

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that they're going to automatically get this
or that. But I mean, I

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think that's that's some level of or
you could you know, if you're a

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guy that really wants to be a
part of a winning team and you want

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to succeed, you don't just want
to get numbers and money, You want

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to win. If you know you're
visiting and there's only four guys on the

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team, like they could make it
to where you feel like, okay,

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you know, I'd consider it,
but man, I don't even know what

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we're going to have, you know, so we'll see. But I just

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it's nice to see Louisville in the
mix with guys like this. And he'll

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visit Indiana first, that'll be I
think this weekend or early next week,

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and then he will visit Louisville right
after that. So or maybe that Mother

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Bears Pizza will get to him just
like mackenziem could be and he won't even

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come down to the little it could
be. I mean, that's got to

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be. It's got to be what
Woodson's thinking, right, because he'll visit

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April fourteenth of the sixteenth at Indiana, and then he'll leave there to come

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to Louisville on the sixteenth and visit
until the eighteenth. So like maybe you

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know, when he's right before they
head out of town, they make that

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stop at Mother Bear's Pizza in Bloomington
and he he gets the phone out letting

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everybody know Tang Kelsey, Hubert Davis, Todd Golden appreciate it. But I

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can't not play in Indiana because the
Mother Bear's Pizza. How about the free

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pub we're giving Mother Bears? I
need to sponsor them or they need sponsored

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me exactly. They need to throw
the bag at you, my man.

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I'll guess them up. So did
you listen to much of John cal Perry

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last night? I saw one quote
and it probably wasn't one of his better

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ones, but it was. It
was a quote. I guess he was

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just holding court and saying things that
like nobody would believe. But yet he

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can say it, and it's kind
of just cal be and Cal. And

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there's not many that can do that, man. I mean, Rick Patino

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could do it. Cal can do
it. I'm sure there's others that can.

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I mean Dan Hurley maybe now,
but he's not really one to just

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say a whole lot of things.
But like, you know, Cal saying

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that he didn't want it to get
out because he didn't want to steal the

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spotlight from the national championship game.
Not a chance in hell that's true.

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That happened anyway. But Cal could
say it, and it's just Calby and

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Cal. You know Collin Arkansas blue
blood. I have absolute respect for Arkansas

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as a program. I've said it
many times. Eric Musselman reminded the world

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of college basketball that that is a
big time program with big time potential that

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has had some great success. They
just were kind of asleep for a long

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time. But they're not a blue
blood. And then one of the things

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I want to get to really quickly
here that I the reason I'm talking about

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Arkansas here is because the guest that's
going to join us next JC Hoops aka

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mister Jackson Collier, who covers Arkansas
for the Rivals Network. I just want

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to get his thoughts on, you
know, sort of the vibe in Fayetteville.

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As you know, I think they
have more excitement for basketball than they've

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ever had. It seems like that's
probably an exaggeration, but still, However,

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the Arkansas athletic director, I believe
was the athletic director, not the

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president. I mean, I did
hear this one. There were a couple

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of very blatant self owns that really
made me, it almost kind of made

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me like cringe a little bit and
feel bad for them because it's something that

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you say feeling as if it is
it is a big deal, but it

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actually like makes you look bad.
And that is the you know, he

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came out whenever they whenever they I
guess started the press conference and said y'all

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know we're not playing Kentucky tonight,
right, insinuating that Kentucky brings that kind

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of a crowd and that that that
would be like that's maybe that's not a

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cell phone, but it's just it's
Adam insult your own fan base in a

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way exactly. And then another one
is mentioning, you know, the the

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tournament success like to elite eights sweet
sixteen Kentucky. Nothing. I mean,

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I don't know if that I don't
know if that was exactly the wording of

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it, but some level of like
you know what Arkansas has done lately to

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kind of gas up the fact that
they have had some success lately, which

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they have. But again, you
know, the coach that you're claiming has

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failed at Kentucky because Arkansas's better is
the guy you just hired. Like what

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are we doing here? You know
what I mean? Like does that make

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sense? Like that's that's a cell
phone? Is it not? Yes?

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And there was no reason to say
either one of those. And to be

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clear, I'm not saying cell phone
like your phone. I'm saying self phone

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like you own. You actually didn't
realize it, but you made yourself look

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foolish. There trying to rib someone
else and instead it was you know,

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not that way. All right,
quick break again. We'll talk to mister

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J. C. Hoops coming up
here on the other side and keep this

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thing rolling along, and who knows, maybe in the next hour and a

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half we'll have some more updates with
this Kentucky coaching search. Quick time out,

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00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:37.400
don't go anywhere, give it lock
right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

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This isn't me trolling or you know, trying to laugh at the pain,

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because I get it. But I
would say a lot of Kentucky fans

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yesterday that was weird for them to
see John Calipari. It was weird for

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anybody, even if you don't care
about Kentucky, because it's just was not

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something you would have expected to see. I mean, the last time he

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was in a color close to that
shade was that U mess many many years

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ago. But I also think even
if you wanted Caliperi to move on and

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you wanted the two sides to part
ways because you are aware that Kentucky needed

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a fresh start and all that stuff, still like seeing him being cal doing

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col stuff and just kind of owning
a room, you know, such a

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commanding presence. I mean, he's
a larger than live figure within the sports

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world, especially college basketball, and
now he's doing that somewhere else. So

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like, even if you wanted a
fresh start, which that's understandable, I'm

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sure yesterday was at the very least
weird, but also, like I get

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it if it kind of made you
sad and you probably thought to yourself,

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like, man, did we did
we do the right thing here? I

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think it needed to happen. I
think that was quite clear. But either

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way, like he's now coaching somebody
else and you're gonna have to play against

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him, and I get it.
That's that's weird for Kentucky fans, no

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doubt. All right. Now,
joining us from the Arkansas side of things

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is Jackson call here, JC hoops
on Twitter. How are we doing,

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00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:10.960
Welcome to the show. Appreciate your
time, man, absolutely, thanks for

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having me on. I'm always looking
forward to you know, I keep up

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with your stuff. I listen to
your show. Thank you. Lee.

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When we were talking Arkansas, Louisville, Eric Musselman, Louisville potentially ever since

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I guess that was dating back to
January. Yeah, it's been closely following

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the show ever since then and really
enjoyed it and really thankfully you have me

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on. Well, let's start with
you know, a month ago, right,

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it looked like Eric Musselman wanted out, and I think you were well

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aware with your sources that it was
just clear he was trying to get out,

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and there were some landing spots that
maybe he was hopeful to land and

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it didn't happen, and then sure
enough SMU they fired their coach and we

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all know that the dominoes then fell
and Musco's to USC Arkansas has an opening.

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I mean, I guess let's go
back to last week. When did

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you get the sense that the Calip
Perry Arkansas stuff was not just internet nonsense,

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that there was really an effort to
get him and he had some interest.

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Because I'll admit it to you,
even Sunday night, I just had

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a hard time thinking that it was
real until you know, those that cover

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the sport at the highest level were
starting to say, yeah, this is

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happening. So I actually had some
sources reach out to me. I believe

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it was early Saturday, like before
noon Saturday, and to be honest with

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00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:29.960
you, I laughed them off the
phone. I did not understandable, and

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00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:33.680
these are credible sources, but I
you know, Arkansas was going through a

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really kind of weird coaching search looking
like it was straightforward after musselm left,

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00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:41.880
looking Oh, it's going to be
Chris Beard for sure, and then oh,

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well, if it's not Chris Beard, then it's going to be Jerome

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Tang, and those didn't materialize.
Arkansas fans are in panic mode, and

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then I get texts from like two
or three reliable sources saying, oh,

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you should keep an eye out on
Calipari. And I didn't think anything of

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00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:03.160
it until you know, I guess
afternoon, probably around three thirty ish Eastern

348
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time, I had a couple of
really reliable people start telling me, Hey,

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especially from the Kentucky side of things, They're reaching out saying, hey,

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you know, there's something to keep
an eye on. I think it

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00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:18.680
might be happening. And then sure
enough, I think that's when all kind

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00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:22.720
of a hell brocluse, so to
speak, was later that night. Yeah,

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I mean, did the how far
along were the I guess negotiations or

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conversations with Chris Beard and Andreerom Tang
because I learned about it during the Louisville

355
00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:37.480
search and it is happening as we
speak now to where you know, there's

356
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:41.000
a lot of just a fear of
it being public that you were turned down.

357
00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:44.359
Therefore, they claimed the offer was
never made, Like really, it's

358
00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:45.839
just it's a silly way to kind
of make it look as if you really

359
00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.400
didn't want the guy who didn't want
you. But was the initial site set

360
00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:53.599
on Chris Beard for sure? Yeah. So, I mean, you know,

361
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yesterday whenever they had the Calipari introductory
press conference and introduction in general,

362
00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:02.839
you know, Hunter, you're a
check with the comment, oh, this

363
00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:06.640
job is only offered to one person
and he's sitting next to me. I

364
00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:10.519
think that statement is athletic director speak. I think it's up for debate.

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00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:17.079
I'm fairly certain that they did offer
Chris Beard, and it was from my

366
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:22.960
understanding of the situation, Uh,
they gave Chris Beard a very generous offer

367
00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:29.440
to which he was very near to
accepting, uh, and then all miscountered,

368
00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:33.839
and that that was kind of that
it was kind of the mentality where

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00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:37.599
Ole miss gave Chris Beard everything he
could want, so there was no need

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00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:44.200
to necessarily move. Kind of the
same thing with Jerome Tang. There's more

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00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:48.720
debate I think on whether or not
Tang was actually offered the job. I

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00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:52.079
don't know for sure if he was
actually offered the job, but I do

373
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know, uh it's it seems like
the language in his new deal that he's

374
00:24:56.039 --> 00:25:02.039
gotten ever since or whenever he agreed
to come back to Kansas State, there's

375
00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:07.480
now language in his new contract with
a simulation about the university president not being

376
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:12.039
able to step in on a player. That makes sense because I know that

377
00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.599
was a big that was a big
factor and why he wanted to get out

378
00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.039
of Manhattan, Kansas. I know
that was that was a big contingency for

379
00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:22.519
him. So that makes sense.
And here's what I think happens. I

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00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:26.160
think you've got the schools saying if
they didn't have a contract in front of

381
00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:29.680
them to sign and it wasn't an
offer. But right now, like the

382
00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:32.839
Kentucky side of things, we're hearing
that, you know, Scott Drew has

383
00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:36.240
been told to he was told to
consider the job and then let them know

384
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:38.079
that's an offer. I mean,
if he considers it and he says he

385
00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:41.400
wants it, then he's taking the
job. Like it's so silly, but

386
00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:42.799
I get it, you know,
I know big brands in the sport like

387
00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:45.400
this, you know, you want
to make sure you cover your ear end

388
00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:48.799
as best you can in regards to
you know, the you know where you

389
00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:52.480
stand in the pecking order in the
hierarchy of of college basketball. So let

390
00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:57.400
me ask you, this is because
of the Again, I think it's now

391
00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:02.079
normal for schools to not get first
guy. But Cali Perry is a larger

392
00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:04.319
than my figure. He's a super
accomplished coach. Obviously, he hasn't had

393
00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:07.519
great success in the tournament lately,
but still even when he had early exits,

394
00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:11.359
he had some good teams along the
way. Is because Cali Perry was

395
00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.960
so random and out of nowhere?
Is that? Is that? Is that

396
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.160
a big factor and why there seems
to be more excitement in Fayetteville for basketball

397
00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:23.000
than there has ever been. I
think I think there's a lot of reasons.

398
00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.839
I think that's definitely one of them. He wasn't a candidate necessarily,

399
00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:32.319
like just kind of totally nowhere,
like you said, so there was no

400
00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:34.519
real like you know how, when
there is a candidate, there will be

401
00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:38.400
a lot of online discourse and trade
over whether they're qualified or not. There

402
00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:41.160
was none of that with Cali Perry, So there was no time for the

403
00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:45.599
fan base to like have that discourse
and be like, well, you know,

404
00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:48.640
actually I overthink this and I don't
think he's that great of a candidate,

405
00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.319
or oh well, now that I've
thought more on it, I think

406
00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:56.119
Chris Jansen be a solid candidate,
which you know, Chris Jans and Darryl

407
00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.400
Walker at U ALR are two names
that were floated the morning of I think

408
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:04.720
that Sunday, So the expectation setting
also was kind of there to help with

409
00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:08.279
the excitement. But on top of
all of that, I think you just

410
00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:15.759
have one of the premier names in
sport, and I think that carries a

411
00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:18.559
ton of weight. Oh yeah,
he's a larger than life figure within college

412
00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:22.160
basketball, And to be honest,
man, there's not many of those left

413
00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:26.400
absolutely. I mean I think,
honestly, if you look at the sport

414
00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:30.079
right now, uh you look at
we're losing you a little bit. I

415
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.359
don't know if it's a connection thing
the you there. Can you hear me?

416
00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:37.039
Yeah, it's I don't know if
we can hear you, but it's

417
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:41.279
like you're coming through a little bit
uh fuzzy. I don't know what it

418
00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:45.000
is is better now at all,
it's much better now, much better.

419
00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:49.400
Oh cool, sorry about that?
Oh good? H But I think if

420
00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:53.119
you look at the sport as it
is right this second, there are a

421
00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:57.759
handful of coaches who are larger than
life figures. I think you have your

422
00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:02.920
John calipiir, you have your Rick
Bettina, who's still going off of his

423
00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:07.279
long tenured success. I think Dan
Hurley is even kind of in that conversation

424
00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:11.039
right now, but really outside of
that, I don't I don't know if

425
00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:15.799
you have any Yeah, I'm I'm
with you. I think there's a there's

426
00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:18.440
a new era. I think that
is kind of forming as far as guys

427
00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:22.880
that are potentially going to be the
next wave of that tier. You know.

428
00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:23.799
Actually, I think Muslim is one
of them. He's not your coach

429
00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:26.240
anymore, but I think he was
he was on path to do that.

430
00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:30.720
Obviously. Chris Beard is someone that
has had some momentum, and obviously he'd

431
00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:33.680
still be at Texas if it weren't
for the obvious situation that led to him

432
00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:37.799
being fired. Hurley clearly has cemented
himself as a guy. I mean,

433
00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.559
not many coaches, regardless if they're
active or not, have two titles uh

434
00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:42.640
so, yeah, I mean Nate
Oh, It's another guy that that has

435
00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:45.480
went for the mid major route,
and I think this year's breakthrough to get

436
00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:48.200
to the Final four kind of puts
him in that upper echelon of guys that

437
00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.279
are kind of the new you know, the new elite tier of college basketball

438
00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:55.839
coaches. And you know Cal He's
he's still there too. He's part of

439
00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:59.079
the old guard, but he's also
still currently active and and and for the

440
00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:03.400
most part, still sixful. What
do you make of the Kentucky Arkansas fans

441
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.000
going back and forth, Because I'll
say this, I'm all in on the

442
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.599
Hogs now, always have been,
actually, because I've always been a low

443
00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:11.119
key fan because I have family that
lives in Fayetteville, and I'm somebody that

444
00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:15.279
is a college basketball dork, Like
I'm aware of what Arkansas basketball was in

445
00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:19.279
the nineties and how Musk got hired
and really reminded the college basketball world what

446
00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:23.680
Arkansas can be as a basketball program. But you know, Kentucky fans and

447
00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:27.839
Arkansas fans, they're both humongous fan
bases. They both care about basketball in

448
00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:32.599
a major way, and it's good
for college basketball that this could be a

449
00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:37.000
really legitimately heated rivalry and I'm ready
for But what are your early impressions of

450
00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:41.000
the back and forth from the Big
Blue Nation, Because obviously that's something I

451
00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:42.720
deal with every day here in Louisville
as a Louisville fan. But man,

452
00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:48.039
there's a lot of them. They're
everywhere. You know. It's really interesting

453
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:52.599
because the conversation so far, it
seems like Kentucky fans can't make up their

454
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:57.240
mind. There were so many of
them who wanted Caliperry to leave, and

455
00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:02.079
then there were so many of them
who were convinced that they pushed Cali Perry

456
00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:07.839
out. But now that you know
he's at Arkansas and they're seeing him in

457
00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:12.559
razorback red and Arkansas fans are excited. There's kind of like inconsistency in how

458
00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:18.880
Kentucky fans feel, right, It's
like they're going through an actual grieving process

459
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:22.559
because he was so successful for so
long, even though the last few years

460
00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:27.920
have not been great. You know, I still think that they are not

461
00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:33.559
thrilled, especially considering it was in
conference he left for a conference opponent,

462
00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:37.440
a conference rival, a long time
conference rival dating back to the nineties,

463
00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:41.039
who and you know, Arkansas had
kind of even had cal Perry's number under

464
00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:47.359
Erg Musselman up until this year.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the trip

465
00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:49.480
to Fayetteville for Kentucky and vice versa. When they come to Lexington, it's

466
00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:52.680
going to be it's gonna be a
big time, no doubt about it.

467
00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:55.640
All Right, So what do you
think has what do you think led to

468
00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:59.599
Arkansas sort of having I think kind
of a lull. I mean, obviously

469
00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:03.759
they had some success here and there, but before Musselman there was what three

470
00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:08.039
coaches there. Obviously Stan Heath was
there for a little while, Pelfrey and

471
00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:11.799
then I know that Mike Anderson was
there, and you know, he had

472
00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:15.880
a decent run, but really never
fully broke through. You know, are

473
00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:19.440
you surprised as as a guy who's
follow at Arkansas probably your whole life,

474
00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:22.839
Like, you know, it just
surprised me that they stayed down that long.

475
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:26.440
Again, it wasn't like it was
terrible, but when you know they

476
00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:29.920
could they have the resources to be
really, really good, and it just

477
00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:32.160
surprised me. You know, honestly, I'd never I didn't really think about

478
00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:33.119
him in the hierarchy of the sport
for a long time. And then when

479
00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:36.559
Musk got there and you could see
what he was able to do. And

480
00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:38.000
now Cal I don't see him doing
anything different. I mean, he's gonna

481
00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.599
get good players and probably went at
a high level, and it just seemed

482
00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.000
as if for a long stretch there
they were just kind of not irrelevant,

483
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:48.920
but just kind of in a lull. Yeah, And it's one of those

484
00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:52.640
things where you know, Nolan left, and it was kind of a bad

485
00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:55.759
situation how Nolan left. I was
very young when that happened, but I

486
00:31:55.799 --> 00:32:00.880
remember hearing stories and doing my own
research recently, Uh, you know,

487
00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:04.640
just trying to figure out what the
heck went wrong. But you know,

488
00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:07.319
so that was kind of a a
tash feet and then I think it boiled

489
00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:14.200
down to a wrong hire to succeed
Nolan Richardson. Uh. The lore around

490
00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:20.359
uh Fayetteville is that there were three
candidates to replace Nolan Richardson that Frank Broyle's

491
00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:27.880
had and those candidates were Stan Heath, Mike Anderson, and Bill Self.

492
00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:32.960
Now he chose Stan Heath coming off
of a date appearance in his first his

493
00:32:34.119 --> 00:32:36.839
first season ever as a head coach
at Kent State, went to an Elite

494
00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:40.680
eight. Bill Self wanted the job
and you know, this is all kind

495
00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:44.839
of hearsay, so I'm not saying
this as fact, but as what I've

496
00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:49.519
been told from people older than me
who were involved in the situation. Essentially,

497
00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:52.720
the thinking was Bill Self really wanted
the job, was going to take

498
00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:55.079
the job. Frank Broyle said,
Okay, the job is yours. I

499
00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:58.880
just need you to do a formal
interview. Bill Self didn't want to do

500
00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:01.799
that. Frank Broyle's past saw them. Then Frank Broyles wasn't gonna hire somebody

501
00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:07.119
from Nolan in staff given how things
ended with Nolan, so he hired stan

502
00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:12.960
Heath. Then you know, stan
Heath had a massive rebuild. They lost

503
00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:16.640
Al Jefferson, they lost Andre Gudala, uh, who were most related to

504
00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:22.759
come to Arkansas. Jefferson went straight
prodald transfer to Arizona and uh then you

505
00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:28.880
know he finally rebuilds and gets to
two straight into Double A tournaments and I

506
00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:31.519
don't think he ever won an NT
Double A tournament game. So the next

507
00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:35.960
hire is supposed to be an up
and comer. Uh, well, they

508
00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:37.759
were like down on their fifth or
sixth option and this kind of got rehashed.

509
00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:42.440
Recently, almost hired John Calipari after
San Heath, he chose to say

510
00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:45.799
in Memphis, Uh, there were
other options in there as well, ended

511
00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:51.960
up hiring Dana Altman left after a
day. So there's all these like random

512
00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:55.799
circumstances that led to different coaches.
Like if you just interviewed beer Bill self

513
00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:59.240
or you just give him the job, then he's there and we're not even

514
00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:02.400
having this conversation right now because he
could even still be sure at Arkansas.

515
00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:07.319
Who knows how that works out.
Or you know, if circumstances are different

516
00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:09.639
and Kyle didn't have the returning team
he had in Memphis, he's the head

517
00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:14.119
coach at Arkansas, or Dana Altman
already took the job, but instead it

518
00:34:14.239 --> 00:34:17.079
was John Pelfrey, who did not
have a strong tenure. The hire Mike

519
00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:21.960
Anderson, and Mike Anderson had a
difficult job because the program was in such

520
00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:27.239
a mess. There are issues with
eligibility, academics, all this sort of

521
00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:30.719
stuff. He came in righted the
ship and to his credit, you know,

522
00:34:30.840 --> 00:34:35.840
he brought a level of respectability back
to the program. It was consistent.

523
00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:39.159
He made I think his final four
years, made three NTAA tournament appearances.

524
00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:44.480
Put some guys in the NBA,
but ultimately just wasn't to the level

525
00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.760
that the athletics apartment wanted or Yeah, is it safe to say that he

526
00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:51.079
injected some life back in the program, and then when when Musk took over,

527
00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:52.719
really he was thriving, and I
guess now, I guess cal could

528
00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:57.840
even take it to the next level
exactly. It's one of those things where

529
00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:01.320
you know it was Nolan was a
historic Hall of fame coach, bad hire

530
00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:05.840
bad higher, and then it's been
like a stepping ever since then. Mike

531
00:35:05.880 --> 00:35:09.199
Anderson carried the torch for a little
bit to hire somebody like Eric Mosselman,

532
00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:13.440
who carried the torch for a little
bit so that Arkansas could hire another Hall

533
00:35:13.480 --> 00:35:15.599
of Fame coach. It's the third
Hall of Fame coach come through Arkansas.

534
00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:20.719
Yeah, I mean, it's still
just surprising how it all came about.

535
00:35:20.800 --> 00:35:23.119
The Kentucky coach never usually walks away, but you know he is going to

536
00:35:23.159 --> 00:35:27.000
a place that cares about basketball in
a major way, and clearly they've got

537
00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:30.239
the resources to compensate him for that. So I can't wait to see.

538
00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:31.519
I know, we just ended the
college basketball season, but seeing how the

539
00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:37.119
roster comes together for Arkansas and just
seeing what kind of momentum they have heading

540
00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:39.000
into year one of the Calipery era
will be will be something to see,

541
00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:43.159
no doubt. But we appreciate the
Tom Jackson, keep up the great work.

542
00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:45.880
It's been great connecting with you,
and I'll be following along my man.

543
00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:49.880
Absolutely, Thank you so much for
having me on. Looking forward to

544
00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:52.159
keep listening to y'all on the radio, and then also keeping up with the

545
00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:57.960
Louisville Cardinals moving forward. Really like
the Pat Kelsey hire and looking forward to

546
00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:00.800
seeing what he can do over there. Good stuff you brother. Again.

547
00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:04.719
Always always good to catch up with
folks who you meet along the way during

548
00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:07.000
you know, whatever it is you
call this sports media radio whatever, just

549
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:09.639
you know, maybe be in a
loudmouth, but he does great work.

550
00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:13.880
If you guys want to follow him
on Twitter, he is at Jackson Collier,

551
00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:17.480
JC hoops is the name, does
great job. We got a quick

552
00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:20.480
segment here on the other side to
wrap at the four o'clock hour, and

553
00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:22.800
then we're gonna keep this thing rolling
along. It is Coffee and Company.

554
00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:27.559
We are field by Thornton's on Sports
Talk seven ninety so we do have some

555
00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:34.320
updated news on the on the Kentucky
coaching search, and I you know,

556
00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:38.280
there could be a scenario where they're
not really going all in on. I

557
00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:49.599
mean, Billy Donovan has already rejected
Mitch Barnhart twice, and I mean he's

558
00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:55.280
probably worth pursuing, but it's not
really realistic to pursue him given the fact

559
00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:58.360
that, like, you got to
wait, and if you wait and then

560
00:36:58.360 --> 00:37:00.719
he says no, like it's a
bad look. Look, it's a wasted

561
00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:05.199
time. So Dan Hurley, despite
what others say, has said no,

562
00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:10.920
and Scott Drew said no, Natoates
has said no. And now John Rosstein

563
00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:15.800
and twenty four seven Sports are reporting
that Mark Pope at BYU as a candidate,

564
00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:19.360
which he's a good coach. BYU
is a good team this year.

565
00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:21.239
They got bounced early in the tournament, but you know, he was a

566
00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:22.360
good He had a good team this
year and they were pretty good last year

567
00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:29.320
too, I believe. So we
shall see. But I mean, if

568
00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:32.880
that's the case, if that's who
ends up at Kentucky, I think what

569
00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:38.679
it will not only do for us
locally, but really in college basketball specifically,

570
00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:44.840
It'll just let people know that the
days of going and taking good coaches

571
00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:52.280
that are in great situations, it's
just not likely anymore. And that doesn't

572
00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:55.800
mean that your program isn't good and
it can't succeed at the highest levels that

573
00:37:55.840 --> 00:38:00.960
it is, it has succeeded at
before. It's just, you know,

574
00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:07.159
coaches are content more so than than
you know, than then. I guess

575
00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:09.280
we realize, and maybe that's always
been the case, but we do have

576
00:38:09.320 --> 00:38:12.760
I mean, let's be honest with
you, before Rick Patino, and even

577
00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:15.079
after Patino with Mac, when Mack
was in his first couple of years,

578
00:38:15.079 --> 00:38:20.039
I mean Louisville for certain, in
Kentucky clearly, I mean, other than

579
00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:23.320
Billy g they've never had an unsuccessful
coach. So with that said, I

580
00:38:23.320 --> 00:38:30.159
think we viewed ourselves, not foolishly, but like we can we can get

581
00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:34.159
anybody, because anybody who's ever coached
here, you know, you know,

582
00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:37.079
Louisville obviously hired Kenny Payne, that
didn't work out, the end of Mac

583
00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:42.239
didn't work out. But I think
we had reason to feel like any coach

584
00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:45.599
would want to come here for the
obvious reasons, but also it's been proven

585
00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:46.840
that if you can coach, you
will win at a high level here.

586
00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:52.079
But that's not I don't think that's
that. I mean, Dan Hurley just

587
00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:54.440
won two national championships. He didn't
need Kentucky to do it, you know

588
00:38:54.480 --> 00:39:01.079
what I mean? Like, I
just think that would be a statement about

589
00:39:01.119 --> 00:39:07.360
where college basketball coaching is as far
as the profession and the new landscape of

590
00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:12.719
that field, meaning college coaching is
just totally different than what it used to

591
00:39:12.719 --> 00:39:15.239
be. I'm sure it'll be looked
at as Wow, these two blue bloods

592
00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:19.679
really had to take it on the
chin and realize they're not what they once

593
00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:21.920
were. And I get that that
would be the message by some, but

594
00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:25.360
I just think more than anything,
again, I don't think that at any

595
00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:30.719
point Louisville or Kentucky at this point, like throughout the searches, Louisvill's is

596
00:39:30.760 --> 00:39:34.239
over, Kentucky's is still going on. I don't think there's been a rejection

597
00:39:34.360 --> 00:39:37.400
that is like damn, he couldn't
get him. I know, the FAU

598
00:39:37.480 --> 00:39:39.920
coach not picking Louisville is a bad
look because of just that alone, it's

599
00:39:39.960 --> 00:39:45.119
the FAU coach, but also he
didn't want to take on what comes with

600
00:39:45.159 --> 00:39:50.519
this job. So same thing with
these guys that have turned out Kentucky.

601
00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:55.280
Dan't Hurley doesn't need Kentucky. He's
rolling. Scott Drew he didn't need Kentucky

602
00:39:55.320 --> 00:39:58.800
either. Obviously his situation is a
little different, just because I do think

603
00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:01.159
it's more so based off of like
personal preference and family and all that stuff.

604
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:04.519
But we'll see. I just have
a I mean, I have a

605
00:40:04.519 --> 00:40:07.880
hard time seeing that Mark Pope would
be the guy. But A had a

606
00:40:07.880 --> 00:40:10.320
hard time seeing Louisville hiring Josh Schertzer
or Pat Kelsey, to be honest with

607
00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:14.519
you, not because I think they're
terrible coaches, but just because that is

608
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:17.119
not well put it this way.
They've never hired a guy like that before.

609
00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:21.800
So we shall see one more hour
to go. Stick with us right

610
00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:23.679
here, Coffee and Company, Filbuth
Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety