It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Holy crap, I don't know who the hell we think we are.
Get off our show, idiot. The kids are playing or tail off.
The countries are screwing it up. Gold Play Inner Murals, Brother, gold
Play Inner Murals. They're supposed to be mature adults, but they're really not.
Who's the kid here? Who's the kid here? Are you kidding me?
Now? Here's Nick Coffee. All right, let's get it started here
on a Friday afternoon coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk
seven ninety. Nick Coffee. That's me the company man, mister John Alden
alongside, And so we take you up till six o'clock, gets you set
for the weekend. We've got spring game for Louisville in about four hours.
Exciting, no doubt about that. And there's a lot of other things we're
we're gonna get into today, but I do want to start with again a
reminder to sign up to become a member of the Thornton's Refreshing Awards program,
because today with my membership, I got two of these. John, You
see this. This is a prime hydration drink. I do see that.
Have you had one before? I haven't. I've always wanted to try one,
and I say that about a lot of things, and I just haven't
done it. So you, but that's what makes you. You stick with
what you do like you don't. You don't need to veer off, you
don't need to mix it up. You are content just being you, sticking
with what you like what you do. Is that fair to say? That?
Is fair? Like you? You're chilling right, So do you have
like a drink of choice? I love Power Raid or Datorade because honestly,
like I've never I've never seen you with a drink. I definitely drink coffee.
That's yeah, so much now that you say that, that's I was
trying to think of, Like, okay, like I usually drink a lot
of water, or usually i'll start the show, or at least I'll be
finishing one of these drinks when I start the show. That's like the white
Monster energy drink, which I love. But yeah, I guess now that
I think of it. When I consider when I think of you drinking something,
it is that white cup and it's got coffee in the classic. But
you drink, you drink like soda. I try not to, but I
do enjoy good Coca cola. Pets, say, any of them you have,
you don't have like a preference. You're just kind of whatever. Give
me all of them. Okay, yeah, So I to me, if
I'm gonna have a soft drink, which you know, I do drink them
from time to time. To me, it's really just like I have a
preference, Like I like Sprite, I love diet coke. I can do
Coca cola if it's like a fountain drink somewhere, but that's rare because usually
if I'm out eating, we're not at a fast food place. We're eating
it like you know, a sitting down restaurant, and I'm gonna get a
beer, but Coca cola in a can is too rich for me. Like
straight coca CoA, it's good, but man, I can just taste like
the thick syrup, so you know. But what I was getting at is,
whenever I crave a soft drink, it's really the carbonation, Like that's
what I that's the kick, right, the bite that you get on the
sprite or a diet coke, Like that's that's really what I what. I
crave the belch fuel. That's never heard that, but that's exactly what it
is. That's what the carbonation is. Does that Did you make that up?
Or is that a change? I promise I just made that up.
Okay, well that's exactly. You're taking credit for something like that, but
I did. It's exactly. That's because carbonation is what makes you belch like
that, right, I mean, that's that's how it works. So but
I'm trying not to drink as much of the energy drinks because you know,
I'm just one of those suckers that would see zero calory zero, you know,
on the can, and that just made me think like it was good
for me and it's not. You know, I can't. I won't claim
to know the benefits or the harmful impact of drinking energy drinks, but I
just know if I was drinking one in the morning when I get up before
I go to the gym, and then I would drink one before the show,
I just feel confident in saying that that can't be good for me.
So I wanted to mix it up. I drink a lot of water,
but sometimes that just becomes you know, too plain. So my wife's been
on this big Prime hydration drink kick, and sure enough I tried them a
couple of days ago and I'm I'm I'm loving them. I got this lemonade
one here, I got a fruit punch in the fridge. And because I
was a member of the Thornton's Refreshman Awards program, that means I got two
for five dollars. So I mean again, we can do a whole show
laying out the benefits of being a member of the Thornton's Refreshman Awards program.
So if you haven't signed up yet, you're just a lost cause, is
what you are. And I hope you get help. I hope you work
it out. I hope, I hope you get on the right path.
That's what I hope for you. I also hope you got to stick with
us for these next three hours because we're gonna get your set for the weekend,
have some fun. You can take us with you wherever you go.
Listen live on the iHeart Radio ab listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com.
We've got a couple of guests going to join us today. Actually,
we've got one that is RSVP for his appearance, and that's mister Jeff Greer.
He will join us at four thirty. Big weekend coming up for Racing
Louisville as they've got their big game tomorrow. You would know this better than
I. You played soccer. When I say game, people know what I
mean and don't judge me, right the soccer like I feel like most people,
Yes, but your face is telling me that I need to say match.
That's the Okay, Okay, that's what I need. I needed that
on a stancher. I needed that on a st answer because everybody knows what
I mean, but I'm saying game. But I got that. That's the
one thing I can easily fix because I don't know anything about soccer newsflash,
I never will, but I can at least know that they don't call it
a game. It's the pitch instead of a field. So that's but like,
is that is that like that? That's all around? Like everybody says
pitch, Like yes, I thought pitch was like the like so when you
were playing your high school soccer at Bullet Eese High School, your team called
it the pitch. No, but like it's colloquially. I don't even know
why I try to use that word because it's so hard to say. Colloquially,
it's colloquially known as a pitch. But the americanized version is us calling
it a field. Well, I'm American. Same with same with calling it
a game, Yes, of a match. So but I feel like,
and I could be wrong here, what the hell do I know about soccer?
But calling it a game and not a match is more of like,
damn, you really are a dumb ass. Calling it a field and not
a pitch is not as bad. They're on equal playing. Feel when you
played the game and you didn't call it that, Like, why does it
Matt like you? I don't feel like anybody made I mean, at least
in high school, nobody made fun of you for calling one a game or
a vice. First, let's be real, Bullet County is not exactly a
grassroots spot for soccer internationally, So you know, we right like we can
like everybody playing it even competitively, probably during those days was still learning on
the go. I mean, yeah, I mean, I'm sure that's not
the case. But look, we didn't even have we got we got a
girls soccer team at my high school. I believe my junior year. So
when I was they had a tough time getting enough players to play initially when
I was in school, and both girls and boys played on the same team,
which made it kind of weird. That is interesting because there wasn't you
know. Soccer is insanely popular and we have become a soccer city. You
look at the success of Lou City and Racing lou and the amount of people
that show up. They've sold like almost twelve thousand tickets. I think it
is for tomorrow. So anyways, we're gonna have Jeff on and I'll get
my terminology in check before then, but they've got I'm pretty sure the Brom
squad coming out for the game. Jack Harlow's gonna be with him. I
mean, only Jeff Greer could pull that off, right Harlow, Brom,
maybe even Pat Kelsey, Like if they're there at the game, I mean,
it's Jeff Greer working his magic, doing his thing, because that's what
he does. But we'll talk to him at four thirty, and then we
may chat with doctor Eric McElroy at in the five o'clock hour. He's a
busy man, obviously, you know, he's got a lot more important things
to do than to chop it up with us. But I hope we can
get him for at least a few minutes because it works out perfectly because with
the addition of Ali Khalifa yesterday, which by the way, I went and
watch Remember how I kept saying, John, like, how the hell do
these stats make any sense? Yes, well, I watched some film.
I was in the film room looking over my man Ali, and I mean,
he's probably gonna win the Wooden Award. I mean, this guy,
even with the red shirt. I'm not quite sure he's going red shirt.
But that's something I'll explain later. He I mean, i'd say that's the
plan, but I have a theory as to as to the Khalifa situation that
might make it make a little more sense. But anyway, I mean I
didn't say which year he'd win the wood and a Ward, John could you
know, could be twenty twenty six, could be twenty twenty seven. That's
true, so we'll see. But I at least now fully understand why the
stat line was what it was. You know, his three point percentage and
his field goal percentage were you know, rather similar in the thirties. You
know why, because he only shoots. The reason which is, you know,
is interesting, but I just in all seriousness, I do need to
I do need to get this out there and just let everybody know Mark Pope
did not want his own player to come to Kentucky for b way. There's
no way. There's no way Mark Pope wanted Ali Khalifah. There's just no
way, which throughout the question that I wasn't going to get a direct answer
to at that time yesterday, but it was sort of a wait and see
to get said answer. And that is like Eric Kentucky fans, like are
they going to be able to deal with the fact that the guy that they
have who may be a great coach and have great success, but like he's
not going to move the needle and he's not going to recruit in any way
close to how Calipari did, because honestly, nobody did. Nobody does.
That's not a knock on Pope, that's just the reality of the situation.
But they really gave me my answer once once you know, Ali Khalifa did
in fact pick Louisville over a Kentucky and they just there's no they truly don't
believe there's an entire scenario. And and there's no way in there's no way
it's possible that this guy would not pick Kentucky over like he The only reason
he's at Louisville is because Kentucky and Mark Pope didn't want him, which you
know when things happen like that, and it's not I mean, let's be
real, the guy probably won't play this year, but it was a guy
who was considering Louisville, Kentucky or returning to BYU. And I've been told
he was strongly considering and Kentucky wanted him. Like anybody claiming that Kentucky did
not want him is lying or they're just uninformed, and they just refuse to
believe that Kentucky could ever lose a recruit to Louisville under any circumstance. And
here's what, here's something. Mark Pope is going to lose recruits to a
lot of programs because he's not Cali Perry, and he's gonna lose some recruits
to Pat Kelsey. And that's really again not even a criticism. It's just
like you got to wake up and realize that this is a new era and
you guys may be good, but you're gonna lose a lot of recruits because
Mark Pope cannot sell anything like John call Perry can. He didn't have the
resume. You know, he's going about it a different way. And again
it doesn't mean it won't work out. But like each day, I'm reminded
how their life has completely been turned upside down. And maybe that's not even
the right way to describe it, because it may be great eventually, but
like they're going from like anybody, not Calipari is different, because Calipari is
unique, but Pope is just a completely different planet, to be honest with
you, So, just for what it's worth sarcasm, part of this conversation
over ended. Now Kentucky wanted him now was he a priority? No,
but he wasn't the priority for Louisville either, to be honest with you,
They're not even going to play him this year, and he was interested,
And honest, Mamood, I never even thought of this until you know it,
I didn't. I didn't think of it. I've read about it that
he's closely connected to Ali Khalifa because both are from Egypt. And you know,
there's not a lot of basketball players that have played this level of basketball
from Egypt, and you know, Honest is one of them, and Honest
is a I'm assuming he still is a great guy. But when he was
here, I mean, he was just he really loved Louisville. You know,
he had a good experience here, had a lot of friends, was
very social, just enjoyed being a part of the Louisville community and playing for
Rick Patino. And it's been confirmed that like he really urged Ali to strongly
consider Louisville and told him it would be great for him. And I actually
think that's what put him over the edge. For those wondering, is this
some kind of like way for Khalifa to stick it to Pope, No,
Louisville had interest, and sure enough, I think Ali Khalifa knew that Honest
Mamood, somebody that he is at least somewhat friendly with and talks to,
played at Louisville, and Honest apparently really sold Louisville to this young man and
he visited and he decided to commit here. But again, it's just,
you know, two sides of it here. I'll give you so one.
Ali looked really good at BYU in highlights when he was playing and he was
healthy mostly with you know, in highlights only show the good stuff, but
he's a really good passer. The stats showed that he can shoot it,
you know, even if it is highlights. The amount of threes that he
made in highlights for a seven footer stands out because most seven footers don't drain
threes. But also he looked good because Mark Pope runs a very I mean
Mark Pope's offense I think is going to be fun to watch. In fact,
it's very similar to what Pat Kelsey's going to do. And that's why
Khalifa is a fit for Pat Kelsey. Although he does have to work on
strength, conditioning, being in better shape and obviously getting healthy, he's working
on his knee. He's going to rehabit. I don't believe it's a surgery.
I don't know that for sure, but I think it's more of just
like getting in shape and getting you know, rehabbing that knee injury that he's
had, which I don't know the specifics of it, and that's why they
expect him to sit this year. But Kelsey runs a five out offense,
not full time, but you know, it's something that he does which is
rare and Ali Khalifa is quite literally the perfect guy for that because he's a
seven footer who can step away and maybe the best passer on the floor for
both teams in any game. It's just that's how good his vision is,
and that's really what his strength is, despite you know, being able to
shoot, which is you know, a good asset to have as a seven
foot big. He's a really good passer. But you know, I don't
think Kentucky fans were like sad that this guy committed the Louisville or over Kentucky
because they weren't clamoring for him. But it is just, you know,
I guess typical just for them to just not be able to accept in any
way that there's any scenario any recruit would ever pick Louisville over Kentucky and that
world is over for you, because you know, there's no games to be
played, right. And look, clearly Kentucky's had bragging rights on the court
for quite some time now. But the one thing they won more I mean,
I mean, the one thing they were super successful at is getting recruits,
right. I mean, even in years when they stunk and went to
the n I T or didn't make the n I t or you know,
got an eight seed and you know, or lost in the tournament early to
Saint Peter's in Oakland. They always had an elite recruiting class, and at
the end of the day, that really didn't mean a whole lot anymore.
Right, Like teams with great recruiting classes, that's cool. But if that
great recruiting class that's freshman is not joining a program that is welcoming in really
good transfers and maybe a good cast that's gonna stick around, I'm not sure
that class means anything. So timing is on your side where recruiting rankings don't
mean as much anymore, and you're clearly not going to dominate the recruiting rankings.
But I would just get used to the fact that, like when it
comes to pursuing players with other schools, like you're gonna lose more so than
you ever have. I mean, our prope's probably gonna take some guys that
you would never even believe could could could sniff the floor there. But he
plays a different style, he has a different you know, vision for what
Kentucky's gonna be. And it may all work out, but each day I'm
telling you, it's just a it's just a they're good. They're like Louisville
was awful for two years. So not only is it brand new, it's
clearly going to be better than what we had because it was awful, but
they're going to go through this adjustment phase and have to be reminded of what
they once had. And that's cal Perry who you know. I'm sure it's
not a coincidence that every recruit or every transfer that Kentucky is in on so
is Arkansas. And you know, some of that may be just because both
teams are looking for players, because let's be real, those three schools,
Like that's one thing that you know, the whole connection here's wild because of
Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville. But also all three teams need to fill an
entire roster. And I'm not sure you'll find many other programs out there that
are in a similar spot that these three have been in, all for different
reasons. I guess, to be honest with you, Kentucky's and Arkansas are
kind of similar where the returning players for Kentucky there weren't many of them because
a lot of them are going pro or out of eligibility, and then the
others have since decided to transfer, whereas Arkansas lost some transfers and I don't
think they had a freshman class coming in, and I think they had a
lot of guys that were graduating. So either way, it'll be it'll be
fun to watch these next few weeks because I think in the next two to
three weeks you're really going to start to see some things kind of settle down
to where they'll still be guys available, but a lot of the you know,
a lot of the you know, the musical chairs. Essentially, I
think we'll kind of come to an end, not fully, but you know,
slow down, I guess is the better way to describe it. Well,
speaking of Arkansas, let's talk about it on the other side, because
you know, Kitty Payne taking the associated head coach head coaching position at Arkansas
for Caliperry, it got a reaction I I guess wasn't surprised by. But
you know, there was some people, I guess kind of in shock.
And I can't tell if their shock was why would cal bring this guy in?
He was an awful coach at at Louisville, which which is true and
I think on the Louisville side, I don't, I mean, I can't.
You know, are a Loisll fan surprised that Kenny would do that.
I didn't think he would be away from the game. I mean, yeah,
he's gonna be paid regardless if he works or not. But I would
assume, you know, he's not just gonna Kenny's in the kind of spot
to where if he takes off, he probably won't get back in at a
good at a good gig, if that makes sense. He's not ever gonna
be a head coach, and I'm sure he wouldn't want to be. But
like, Kenny's in a spot where he's an assistant, a valuable one for
Cali Perry for many years, had a couple of years in the NBA.
But if he were to take a year or two off and just kind of
chill while he's still being paid, you know, it'd be tougher to get
back in at that point, especially at his age. So I thought he'd
be quick to work, and I thought it'd be for Cali Perry, and
it is, but I just at that time when Kenny was fired, I
assumed to be at Kentucky. Well, now it's at Arkansas. But there's
a couple of things I want to mention and then we'll move on because I
don't, I really, you know, in all honesty, I get a
little PTSD talking about Kenny Payne because that was that was a very awful time
for all of us. Doesn't it feel like a different like realm now that
that's not even it feels like a different planet, John, It's it's and
it feels like it was ten years ago, it really does. It feels
like it was ten years ago that he was the coach. Reality. Yeah,
and it's it's gonna be. It's gonna be one of those things where
we'll go years down the line and think about it and then kind of for
for maybe a millisecond, think like did that that really happen? You know
what I mean? Like, because it'll be there's no redeeming memory at all.
There's not a single thing from that era of the Kenny of the Kenny
Payne era for two years, there's nothing to take from it that would do
anything other than make you sad. So trust me, I'm not I don't
want to, you know, but but it is a newsworthy thing to discuss
the fact that he is the coach and what other options he had, which
I found that to be interesting too, So we'll talk about that and Josh
Hurd, we'll let you hear what he had to say. He was asked,
I don't know where this was, but he spoke, Uh, it
might have been following last night's Louisville and IL event. I'll get clarification on
where it was. But Ken Taylor of wk Y our partners over there,
WKA why he caught up with her and just got his comments on Kenny getting
a job. And we'll let you hear what Josh had to say, and
you won't be able to see it because you know, this is not a
visual medium here, this is this is radio. But the difference in Josh
heard now compared to what he looked like two months ago, I mean,
my man is shining and in no offense to Kenny, but like it's got
to just be because that's over. Not that Kenny was ruining his life,
but like Josh is the guy who hired him, and Louisvill basketball was in
a spot that like hopefully they'll never ever be close to again. All right,
So we got a load of things to get into today for the next
two hours and forty minutes here we'll give you some things to expect in the
spring game. Also, I would like to to talk about what's happening at
Duke. Have you seen this John John the transfer portal. John Sharre didn't
have a team, which I'm curious if that comes like the norm. Again,
these dudes are just gonna leave because they can. And lastly, I
mean lastly, as far as what I'm mentioning that we're going to get to
the rest of the way here, because this is something we're gonna get to
pretty quickly. Is the current visit from j Q. I guess that's his
nickname, Quaintance. He's on campus. I guess he actually got here late
last night, so his visit's going on today, and you know, who
knows what's going to happen. But the vibes seem good and his father liked
slashed favorite of whatever you call it on X He liked a tweet that I
can't I can't help it it it. It made me have for a brief
moment actually think Louisville could get this guy. And that makes me excited.
So stick with us. It's Friday, we're having fun. It's Coffee and
Company. Feel about Thornton's Here on Sports Talk seven ninety Coffee and Company on
a Friday afternoon. We are a fuel about Thornton's. If you want to
give us a call, you can do that. Five two, five seven,
one seventy nine hundred is the number. And uh, last night Arkansas.
I don't think there was a lot of reporting on this, this you
know, being in the works, But then again, it wouldn't be something
that would be like a big I mean really the only I guess juiciness if
you will, probably not the right way to describe it, but Kenny Payne
being hired by Caliper at Arkansas, it is probably something that's only going to
get a big reaction from Louisville fans and maybe Kentucky fans. I guess,
like John, you're an outsider. I like to check in with you to
kind of get your reaction of things, because it's not in any way based
off of being a big blue bozo or a you know, die hard card
like that. To me, that's like, okay, yeah, I saw
that coming. What did you think. I feel like most outsiders, I
agree with you aren't really they wouldn't see that as a big deal. But
I mean he was a great assistant under Calipari at one point, and that's
kind of the expected move. I feel like, yeah, Now, what
I did find to be kind of a head scratcher is that Canucky wanted Kenny
Payne, not when Cal's there, like Mark Pope. That is weird.
So to me, it would have been such a force. But apparently Mark
Pope was willing to do it. And here's the reason why, and this
makes sense. There are how many NBA players currently from Kentucky that played for
Caliperry countless. I mean, it's insane, and we've known that for quite
some time, right, Like it's it's actually been a I think over I
think now that he'd been there as long as he was fourteen years, the
last two years, it did become kind of a thing to where the growing
amount of NBA players with the lack of success, specifically in the last like
eight years and only one title, Like it was really a it was a
two way thing, right, Like, damn Kentucky, man, they're an
NBA factory. The other side is why don't they win at a higher level?
Right? But there's a lot of them, and seeing how many they
had in the All Star Game this year, where like they broke their own
record by like four players. It's crazy. That is something that will always
benefit you, always benefit you to keep those guys engaged. Kids growing up
that are highly regarded recruits. They see these stars in the NBA, they
know where they went to school. And if these guys are on Instagram,
Twitter, whatever, TikTok, I don't know, whatever else is the new
cool thing on social media. If they're representing Kentucky and like claiming that that's
still part of their brand, which a lot of them do, then that
helps you. And Mark Coop can't do that. It is Mark Pope ever
put anybody in NBA. And again that's not to say he stinks, but
it's just a different situation and that matters. Now guys want to go to
the NBA. They want to be paid too, So Kenny Payne is believed
to be the ultimate relationship guy with all of them. Right like when Kenny
was there, I do think we've learned and I think, well, I've
learned Kenny was not this ace recruiter. I'm not saying he was a bad
recruiter, but Kenny's role in recruiting was not you know, he recruited,
but he also recruited at Kentucky and there were other really good assistants that recruited
as well. So Kenny was the guy, and I guess maybe this could
be considered part of recruiting, but he wasn't boots on the ground guy all
over the country, you know, just being the ultimates put it this way,
Kenny's not a salesman by any means. Good god, Like, that's
one of the things that there's no way to sound there's no way to say
this without sounding mean. And one of our callers, it might have been
Jerry who'd said it at one point during you know, the end of the
Kenny Paine era when we were just you know, in pain, no pun
intended. Who could have interviewed Kenny Payne face to face and said I want
to hire this guy straight up. That sounds mean, but honestly you heard
him when he was here. Like, who could have interviewed Kenny Payne and
thought he was the guy that could could take on this job in any way.
In fact, he had jobs that he could have, you know,
he had in fact, he had the Mississippi's day job. I've actually learned
learned this since since his era ended here the job was essentially his and they
interviewed him and then said Nope, can't do that. So that's recruiting too,
meaning like selling. So he's the guy that connects with players. Families
trust him and it's not a you know, once they're into Kentucky, then
Kenny becomes their guy really like an uncle father figure. So I think the
strategy there was clearly to try to keep some level of connection. Because there's
no doubt about it. Cal is going to pick up the phone and call
these former players and tell them to come to Arkansas as soon as they can
so it can be public that they're cow guys now those they're still gonna love
Kentucky because they went there, but it's going to be a competition and Cal
will win that every time as long as he's coaching at Arkansas. I doubt
he'll tell them to never wear blue again, but he will make it will
be a calculated effort to make sure these stars in the NBA that played for
him at Kentucky that their affiliation is more so to him than Kentucky and Kenny
being there at Kentucky could have help that, but Kenny didn't want to do
it. He wanted to go to Arkansas. So that's what he's doing.
But I find that to be odd that that. You know, again,
I just explained why that would work, but in a way Pope wanting to
do that knowing he has no relationship with Kenny, knowing that Kenny. I
mean, I'm so past the point of people trying to act like I was
manufacturing non existent awfulness to kind of, you know, clearly state what was
happening with him as the coach, and he's awful in every aspect. He's
still to my in my to my in my opinion, I mean, he's
one of the worst, if not the worst hires in college basketball history.
And I think he's the only coach that has ever been fired from a prominent
job and never did the whole statement thing thanking people. I mean, the
last time we heard Kenny Payne talk, he blamed it on everybody else,
including the fans. So I think Mark Pope wanting to hire him or at
least being well, I'll put it this way, Pope was not guy because
he's dude. He's he's trying to build a roster like like Kelsey is,
so you know, he doesn't exactly have a whole lot of time to be
traveling to meet with Coman. I think his his staff's coming together, but
I would imagine a lot of his staffing the hires, which we'll get to
some of those names later. I don't know them off the top of my
head, but I know they've made some hires. These are probably it's probably
guys either following him that have worked for him. I know one of them,
Mark Fox, is a guy who he worked for. So it's probably
all done through you know, phone call, zoom, that kind of stuff.
So it was actually other coaches at Kentucky. And if this is out
the trust me. I'm not. I'm not acting like I've got insider BB
and information. But the person who shared it with me, maybe they haven't
put it out yet, and if they have, been cool, but I
don't want to put it out there and then you know them say hey,
why did you say that? But other people who coach other sports at Kentucky
pursued Kenny Payne to come and work from our Pope and wanted it to work.
But Pope and Pope was open to it, and again I think it's
because of that, but I'm there's there's there's a part of me that absolutely
believes that that's kind of like a sign of fear for Pope, like these
guys are gonna be probably against him because he's now the guy, and it's
crazy and sad that it's that way. I know they're always gonna love Kentucky
and BB into an extent meeting these players, but Cal's their guy, and
Cal feels a certain way about Kentucky, so I think it's gonna be almost
impossible for them to not feel a little bit that way as well. They're
not gonna be petty like Cal. But I just I think Pope wanting to
do that again, it makes sense, but then again, it's almost to
me like a desperation thing where you're gonna Fiel one of your paid staffers,
probably the highest paid coach you have on your staff, that you don't know
at all, and there's no evidence that he's ever ever done any actual basketball
coaching. That to me just seems off. And Orlando Antigua, I don't
know if he'll end up going with Cal now, probably not, but he
wanted to stay and Pope won't. It is not want it does not want
to keep him. So you know, Kenny Payne being in Arkansas, I
don't really have. I mean, I'm not surprised at all. It doesn't
do you know, it's it's I expected him to get back in quickly,
as I mentioned earlier, and the most likely option, the the most likely
landing spot was going to be with Caliperry, and that's where he is.
It's just not at Kentucky, which is you know where I think I thought
he would be. Now here's Josh Shurt. He was asked by Kent Taylor
of w OK why this was Actually this was earlier this afternoon, and uh,
you know Josh being all class like he is, this is what he
had to say. I think it's a great Uh it's doing Actually is it
coming through? Could you hear I could hear it, but it might have
been just one headphone him. He had some tremns doing that thing again.
Here's what we're gonna do while I fix this sound so it works. Go
to im if you if you follow Kent Taylor, you've seen it Kent Taylor
TV. If you follow me on Twitter, I just I just posted I
just retweeted it, and I'm gonna tell you this, Josh heard looks like
a different human being than he did a few months ago, which, obviously,
you know, is to be expected because even though he wasn't the guy
out there, you know, coaching the program and leading it is, as
it's falling apart like that, that couldn't be fun for anybody, right,
So in a way it's it's to be expected. But I'm thinking about I
wouldn't do this and posted because you know, personal appearance isn't something that should
ever really be you know, I mean, I would never want people to,
you know, give thoughts an analysis on my personal opinion or I never
want people to give thoughts on my personal appearance because you know, that wouldn't
be a good look for me. There there's not a whole lot that could
work out well if that's what people are discussing how I look. I'm not
a very good looking person. But Josh just looked defeated, tired, exhausted.
It's not about, you know, did he look like a handsome guy
or a bad looking guy. But he looks refreshed. He looks honestly ten
years younger. So if you haven't checked it out. Go see it,
but here's the sound. I think it's a great opportunity for him. He
had some tremendous, tremendous success working with Coach Cow and wish Kenny nothing but
the best and hope that they have that same success in Fayetteville, just as
long as they're not playing Louisville. So Kenny's off to Arkansas and Arkansas.
It is funny though to see a lot of the Arkansas which, by the
way, like we're Louisville fans, like we're kind of all in with Arkansas,
right, Like maybe that ended because Kenny's there, I don't know,
But Arkansas fans and Louisville fans, I'm sure you've seen it online. John,
we're uniting, like we are. We're united here to just go after
Kentucky fans. So their media that are you know, oh wow, great
player, developer, elite this and that, And I'm like, well,
you know, he made you know, we need to stop talking about Kenny
because I'll just get I'll just get carried away. But you know, Kenny
at Kentucky was a valuable asset in regards to I think he was somebody Cow
would listen to, maybe more than other coaches that have been on his staff.
But I kind of feel like we'll never really know what his true impact
was because it's cale didn't like things didn't fall apart when Kenny left. I
mean they might they lost to some teams in the tournament that they shouldn't have,
but like that kind of always happened, and I don't think you could
equate those losses to Kenny not being on the bench. But him You know,
when people think of him in college basketball that aren't Kentucky fans, they're
going to think of his time as the head coach at Louisville and he'll be
remembered as one of the worst head coaches of all time. All right,
quick break, we'll come back here on the other side, keep this thing
rolling along. Give you some some things to keep in mind for tonight's spring
game. If you can't make it out there to Cardinal Stadium, it will
be on the ACC network. But also I want to I want to talk
about j Q. I think that's what people are calling him, but he
is, you know, ja An Acquaintance or Jadan Quaintance, the top ten
player who's visiting as we speak you know, he's posting all kinds of stuff
on his Instagram story and everybody's like screenshotting it and sharing it, and I
just love that we're this excited. It means nothing. He posted a picture
that he's here. That's not an indication of anything, but people are losing
their mind over it, and I love it. But I'm telling you,
there's a tweet that his dad liked that. You know, you never really
know what liking a tweet can mean. He can almost be like, hey,
I saw this, You're not slick, or it could be like an
agreement, or it could be an accidental like you never know, but I'll
talk about that coming up here next right here on Sportsbok seven ninety. When
I walked in earlier about an hour ago, it wasn't sunny and it's not
super warm, but hey, it looks like it's actually going to son.
Looks like it's gonna come out around six o'clock according to this app that's on
my phone that shows me the weather. I believe it's from the Weather Channel,
but hey, it's in the sixties at least that's what it shows here.
And we've had many many spring games where weather couldn't be worse. So
this this, you know, this will do. And I know there's probably
people in fact, I know there are people out there already. I'm sure
they're tail getting. I know the alley is open. So Jeff Brom is
known for spring games to be competitive meeting where he's gonna put the ones versus
the ones. He's not going to you know, put the first string offense
in the first string defense against the second string offense and defense. That's what
Bobby Patrino used to do, which really just made it an absolute ass whip
and which honestly, if you know your spring games score being crazy dominant,
could just lead to people talking about maybe that you're going to be better than
they thought. So you know, this is not to downplay the event,
because it is an awesome event for fans, and it's a good chance for
you know, Jeff Brom to see his guys. I know they practice and
and and they actually scrimmage. I think some scrimmage situations in practice during the
spring. But you know, this is a chance to see what guys will
do when the lights are on. Right, it's not going to be a
full house like it hopefully will be when they play in the fall. But
you know, score didn't matter, right, I mean, it's I think
now the real intrigue as far as what you're gonna take from the spring game,
as far as your you know, football stuff, your your team,
is just to see some of the guys who transferred in that you've never seen
play before because you know they played for schools that you would never watch,
right and you know, maybe seeing some development from some guys that are back
after you know, maybe a red shirt year or maybe stepping into a starting
role after being second string or third string years prior. So it's look,
football vibes are are great. Jeff Brom won ten games in his first season.
He once again put together a really good class in the portal. I
would not be shocked if there's a couple of big additions that they add now
that the spring portal has opened. So exciting times, no doubt. And
the season ended obviously in disappointing fashion with just three straight losses. And we'll
never know, but I'll go back to what I said in late November when
this happened. I think the Kentucky loss, I guess it was more so
in December, you know, because the ACC Championship Game and whatnot. But
had they just not lost to Kentucky, you know, nothing would have really
changed, I don't think, right like, they still wouldn't have been if
they would have just held on and beat Kentucky, you know, barely,
and they still ended up getting the same result in Charlotte and the ACC Championship
game, that would not have impacted the committee's decision. I don't think.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that Florida State could have you know, I
just don't think Florida State was ever going to get in in one of those
four spots because of their situation with their quarterback getting hurt. And although it
sucks, it's not ideal. I actually don't fault the committee for what they
did because again, it's unfair, right, and it sucks all the way
around. However, Florida State was not one of the four best teams without
their quarterback. So again, back back to Louisville, I just think if
they'd lost to if they had they not lost to Kentucky and then they had
the obvious loss to to Florida State in that ACC Championship game, and then
the USC loss. Let's just say that played out the exact way it did,
there'd still be people disappointed, but it wouldn't have been the same level
because the Kentucky loss just one they shouldn't have happened. But in the end,
Jeff Brown in year one, one ten games, beat a top fifteen
team and went to the AEC Championship game. And that was in his first
year. So expectations I think are really high going into year number two for
brom and the schedule, you know, it sets up to where they could.
You know they're gonna have a tougher schedule, no doubt, just because
last year was unique in regards to the just I mean, they didn't have
to play Clemson, they didn't have to play Florida State, they didn't play
North Carolina like we know, they were gifted a schedule. Now it ended
up actually not being as weak as is I think we'll be expected to be
because there were some teams that were better than we thought. But next year,
you know, I don't see why they can't be the same type of
team as far as wins and losses. I mean, their first three games
Austin p Jacksonville State, Georgia Tech, then they go to Notre Dame,
which will be a huge game. Obviously, SMU that's a team that they
can and should beat. But Su, you know, we'll see. I
think they're a team that will probably be pretty competitive as soon as they get
in the league. But then they've got Virginia, a team that they are
better than Miami at home. They beat them at Miami last year. I
don't know why they can't beat him at home this year. Boston College that
should be a dub. Clemson at Clemson. That's gonna be tough, even
though they're clearly not what they once were. Stanford at Stanford. Stanford lost
to I think two FCS teams last year, Pittsburgh, I mean, that
was the embarrassing loss. There should be revenge on their mind. And then
of course Kentucky at the end of the year. Lexington revenge on Louisll's mind
in that one too. So you know, before I could give you any
type of real record that I expect for Louisville next year, it'll depend on
how the roster finalizes, and you know, with some spots open and some
really good players out there, I mean I think they could go. I
mean at running back, they're in on some of the better guys that are
in the portal and I think the receiver spot looks pretty good, but I
know they're still looking at some guys at that position. I know they want
more depth up front. I think every coach always wants to make sure he
has as much depth upfront as possible. So you know, I I think
at times we not take Jeff Brown for granted, but we were in a
stagnant spot with Sadderfield. I don't think we're ever going to be god awful,
but the ceiling was not high with him, and with Jeff the ceiling
I think is. I mean, the playoff is expanded to twelve and I'm
not sure if you're gonna win a national championship or really I'm not sure if
you're going to make the playoff, But like, you could have done it
last year, and I just don't see why you can't build off that and
maybe have the same type of season they could potentially put you in the twelve
team playoff. And the nonsense about transferred portal guys for Louisville that really ended
up being exactly that nonsense. They lost players, trust me. But you
know here's what I here's perception matters. Unfortunately. I mean, if you
don't follow Louisville closely, and you're not like into the Louisville websites like the
message boards, and you're not following people who cover Louisville closely, you may
just see the twenty four to seven sports guys and the On three guys throw
out Louisville losing four, losing five to the portal, and you may not
know that like that ended up being completely nonsense. I mean, the dude
who put that out on Sunday, Pete Nacho's at On three, he was
one of four. Only one of the four guys he said they were going
to the portal actually ended up in the portal. And the Brandon Marcelo again,
like he completely botched that and has since deleted and apologized to fans on
Twitter and called je Broms so like you know they are. Let me give
you some some context here. I know we got to get to Breakjohn and
I just want to share these numbers really quickly because right now, if you
look at the most Transfer portal entries this spring, Louisville has five. That's
not a whole lot. Colorado has sixteen, Houston has thirteen, Illinois has
ten, Indiana has nine, Georgia Tech has eight, UCF has seven,
and then Michigan, Miami, Arkansas all have six, and then both Louisville
and Texas have five. So you know, Louisville didn't. Is not wrapping
up spring here in a situation to where oh wow, they got gutted,
Not at all. I think there's one guy they lost that they would have
loved to have kept, and the other guy they lost. I don't think
they wanted him to leave, but I think they're fine with him leaving,
and that's Penny Boone. I think they like Lolay and wanted him to be
around, but like, the guy's never healthy. And look, they may
have guys that hit the portal next week after they play in the spring game,
but I'd be shocked if it's somebody that you expected to have a big
role this year. So hopefully they get a big crowd out there tonight at
Cardinal Stadium. I talked about weather, but John, are you hearing that
thunder? Is it thunder or is it like this? Oh, it's gonna
be the air show, That's what it is. I'm sitting here thinking like
we're about to have like a massive store. We heard it. That's exactly
what it is. They're practicing for the air show, Yes, exactly,
all right, quick break, we'll come back here on the other side with
our second hour, two more to go. It's a Friday coffee and company.
Philbud Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety