Speaker 1: Historic day, the introduction of Alex Jensen, the seventeenth head
Speaker 1: coach of the Utah men's basketball program. Our next guest
Speaker 1: is well qualified to talk about the hire.
Speaker 2: He worked with him at the Jazz.
Speaker 1: Smithy also knows the bio arrhythms of the University of Utah.
Speaker 1: Richard Smith on a Monday afternoon, Smitty, Happy Monday, sir,
Speaker 1: how are you, Spence.
Speaker 3: We're doing good. I appreciate you having me on. It's
Speaker 3: fun to be able to be on with you on
Speaker 3: a day when one of my good friends is getting
Speaker 3: introduced as the head coach of the University of Utah.
Speaker 3: It's a great day for him, but even better day
Speaker 3: probably for the university.
Speaker 1: So let's dig into it, Smitty, as I referenced, you
Speaker 1: spent a number of years with the Utah Jazz forty
Speaker 1: in total, and I believe nine of those you were
Speaker 1: a coworker with Alex Jensen, who was the lead assistant
Speaker 1: under Quinn Snyder, and then Alex spent one year with
Speaker 1: Will Hardy before.
Speaker 2: Heading down to Dallas. What do we need to know?
Speaker 1: What should we know about al Alex Jensen, the coach
Speaker 1: and the person somebody who work closely with him. What
Speaker 1: would you say to our community about the what what
Speaker 1: they should know about their new head coach.
Speaker 3: Well, first of all, I've known Alex ever since he
Speaker 3: was a player after you for for Rickmy Jerris, and
Speaker 3: of course then he went to played overseas for a
Speaker 3: number of years, and then when he came back and
Speaker 3: got into coaching, he actually was working with Coachman Jerifs
Speaker 3: at Saint Louis University and then uh and then ended
Speaker 3: up going to the G League and being an NBA
Speaker 3: G League Coach of the Year while he was there,
Speaker 3: before he got to the Jazz and he's he's not
Speaker 3: only got a great basketball resume, but he's got all
Speaker 3: of obviously his roots, uh, you know here in the
Speaker 3: state of Utah. He's uh, he's a Centerville guy, Wumont grad,
Speaker 3: University of Utah grad, all all whack player. He's just
Speaker 3: a he's a solid guy. He's a solid basketball guy.
Speaker 3: He's a guy who's going to get into the homes
Speaker 3: of a lot of a lot of recruits, especially in
Speaker 3: the western region of the United States. And I think
Speaker 3: that's probably one of the main things that the University
Speaker 3: of Utah needs right now is someone who's you know,
Speaker 3: as you're looking at what what BUYU has been able
Speaker 3: to do the last couple of years with Mark Pope
Speaker 3: and now with Kevin Young in their recruiting base, and
Speaker 3: with all of this nil stuff going on, you know,
Speaker 3: one of the things that the University of Utah probably
Speaker 3: has has fallen behind on is just the ability to
Speaker 3: recruit the players they need to compete uh at a
Speaker 3: conference like the Big Twelve and and and hopefully for
Speaker 3: them and be able to get themselves back in the
Speaker 3: national stage at some point. And I think Alex Jensen
Speaker 3: has all the credentials and all the back background to
Speaker 3: be able to be able to do that.
Speaker 4: UH.
Speaker 3: And that's been the I think the big crux of
Speaker 3: what the US issues have been for the men's basketball
Speaker 3: program in recent years.
Speaker 2: So a lot of good stuff there, Smidia.
Speaker 1: I wonder how you would characterize because we've been talking
Speaker 1: about reasonable expectations right away for Alex And this is
Speaker 1: a question as we sit here on Saint Patrick's Day.
Speaker 1: It's difficult to fully answer because there are a number
Speaker 1: of months before the start of next year and we
Speaker 1: have no idea who's going to play for Alex. We
Speaker 1: don't know how many of these young men that are
Speaker 1: on the roster now will come back. We don't know
Speaker 1: who's going to bring in transferport or recruiting, what have you.
Speaker 1: But from your perspective, as somebody has been around this
Speaker 1: game for decades and decades, what would you say to
Speaker 1: the community about what a reasonable expectation is year one
Speaker 1: as Alex's the head coach.
Speaker 3: Well, you'll see a team that's going to be steeped
Speaker 3: in the fundamentals. That's what that's what he grew up
Speaker 3: on playing for coach mcgarritt's and then when he you know,
Speaker 3: in his coaching career, when he was in the G League,
Speaker 3: he was not only the G League Coach of the Year,
Speaker 3: but he also they had the best defensive team in
Speaker 3: the G League. And so, uh you combine that with
Speaker 3: then his his work with Quinn Snyder and the Jazz
Speaker 3: and and when they had the Mitchell Golbayer teams. Uh,
Speaker 3: you know, those teams really got after they were top
Speaker 3: five defensive teams for a number of years. And so
Speaker 3: you're gonna see a team that that works hard, team
Speaker 3: that has all the defensive fundamentals in place. The thing
Speaker 3: that they're going to have to you know, solve is
Speaker 3: the issue of getting talent, and and that's really what
Speaker 3: it is. Craig Smith, you know, is a terrific coach.
Speaker 3: You know, he had he had hard working teams at
Speaker 3: you and his four years there. He obviously showed before
Speaker 3: that his ability to be able to win games at
Speaker 3: Utah State and the previous schools he was at. He
Speaker 3: just didn't have the horses, uh, you know, to be
Speaker 3: able to compete, you know, at the big twelfth level
Speaker 3: at the way that they wanted him to. Uh. That's
Speaker 3: what Alex's biggest deal is going to have to be
Speaker 3: is to surround himself with a group of people, coaches,
Speaker 3: nil people the keep on your staff that can help
Speaker 3: you to get the players that you need to be
Speaker 3: able to compete. The coaching will be there, the basketball
Speaker 3: component will be present. They're gonna just going to have
Speaker 3: to be able to get the players they need who
Speaker 3: have the talent and the skill level to be able
Speaker 3: to play and be able to, you know, to to
Speaker 3: win at that level. Once they get the personnel in place,
Speaker 3: then you'll be able to see a team that's making
Speaker 3: progress and a team that's going to have the chance
Speaker 3: to have a lot of success.
Speaker 1: From your vantage point, s Bindy, I've been talking about
Speaker 1: this today with our guests, and you know a lot
Speaker 1: of people here at the Huntsman Center. Whatever part of
Speaker 1: the ecosystem you kind of exist in with the University
Speaker 1: of Utah, if you're a former player, if you're an alum,
Speaker 1: if you're a current student, if you are a booster,
Speaker 1: if you're a season ticket holder, or if you just
Speaker 1: go to games, or if you cover games like we
Speaker 1: do on the media side, it feels like this has
Speaker 1: been a decision for Mark Harlan that has been wildly
Speaker 1: you know, widely, i should say, and consistently applauded as
Speaker 1: the right move.
Speaker 2: Does it feel that way to you?
Speaker 1: I mean, this is a basketball community that's badly in
Speaker 1: need of some sort of shot of life, and it
Speaker 1: kind of feels like the Alex Jensen news has been
Speaker 1: a little bit of that shot.
Speaker 2: Then maybe this community needs.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, I again, he's a guy that everybody in
Speaker 3: the community knows, they know of his background. He's not
Speaker 3: a guy who's coming in, you know, from the outside
Speaker 3: that who's trying to ingratiate himself with the fan base
Speaker 3: or or get people to know who he is. Everybody
Speaker 3: knows Alex He's a homegrown guy, you know. But at
Speaker 3: the same time, sometimes those things also come, you know,
Speaker 3: with their own set of circumstances that you, as the individual,
Speaker 3: you'll have to overcome. You know, people know what he's about,
Speaker 3: they know what kind of a coach, what kind of
Speaker 3: personality he has, they know how he's approached his career,
Speaker 3: you know, all along, and so there's not a getting
Speaker 3: to know you period with him in that regard. What
Speaker 3: it's going to take is the patience of the Utah
Speaker 3: fan base to understand that you don't just do this overnight.
Speaker 3: You have to have the players. And I know I'm
Speaker 3: being redundant and saying that, but that's that's the one
Speaker 3: issue that the you has had is being able to
Speaker 3: get those guys at that level. You see all the
Speaker 3: excitement that's been created in provo, you know, with the
Speaker 3: recruiting that the players they had. Mark Polpe did a
Speaker 3: terrific job parlaid that into, you know, even a bigger
Speaker 3: time job at a blue blood like Kentucky. They got
Speaker 3: Kevin Young to come from the NBA. Kevin Young is
Speaker 3: installed his own offense down there, in his own program,
Speaker 3: in the in the eyes of running it like an
Speaker 3: NBA type program. You know, Alex is going to have
Speaker 3: to compete with that, and in order to do that,
Speaker 3: he's going to be able to have He's going to
Speaker 3: have the opportunity to get the kind of players who
Speaker 3: can come in and do that. I mean, b y
Speaker 3: U doesn't just go out and get the number one
Speaker 3: so called rated recruit out of high school who's from Boston,
Speaker 3: Massachusetts and have them happen to come to Provo Utah
Speaker 3: like that doesn't just happen. That's something that's embedded in
Speaker 3: how they're approaching the job that they're doing down there,
Speaker 3: and he and Alex and his staff at the you
Speaker 3: is going to have to look at it with that
Speaker 3: kind of mindset to be able to figure out how
Speaker 3: they can go about creating that kind of excitement in
Speaker 3: their program to want to have players around the country
Speaker 3: who want to look at Utah and want to come
Speaker 3: and be part of the history and the fabric that
Speaker 3: Utah basketball has been for so long in this community.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you, Smitty and Richard Smith is with
Speaker 1: us forty years with the Jazz front office, nine of
Speaker 1: those years spent working with Alex Jensen. A lot of
Speaker 1: conversation about what Alex's staff is.
Speaker 2: Going to look like. And I'm old enough to remember when.
Speaker 1: Jerry Sloane had two assistant coaches and Don Magic Finger
Speaker 1: Sparks was the trainer and TC and away we go
Speaker 1: and we're good.
Speaker 2: That's all we need.
Speaker 1: Well, now there is a traveling party where the coaches
Speaker 1: take up an entire wing of the plane. It's a
Speaker 1: different day and age. And I've said before and I
Speaker 1: have no problem saying this. I know that youth fans
Speaker 1: might get in their feelings about whether or not they
Speaker 1: should copy what Byu has done.
Speaker 2: Well, I think they should.
Speaker 1: And Kevin's staff is comprised of former NBA and g
Speaker 1: Lee coaches on the bench. It's comprised of former NBA
Speaker 1: people in their strength and conditioning office. It's comprised of
Speaker 1: a nutritionist that followed Kevin from the Phoenix Suns. And
Speaker 1: there are a lot of conversations about Andre Miller, who's
Speaker 1: coaching the g League right now. Uh, there's some other
Speaker 1: names out there, but generally speakings maydy, what sort of
Speaker 1: staff would you like to see Alex around himself with
Speaker 1: to give him the best chance to make this.
Speaker 3: Thing right, Well, he's gonna he's gonna be able to
Speaker 3: get the kind of people he wants to be able
Speaker 3: to work with him and have the same mindset in
Speaker 3: the same vision that he has. The really thing that
Speaker 3: the thing it boils.
Speaker 4: Down to, uh Spence is as simplistic as it sounds,
Speaker 4: and much to my cagrin because I don't like saying this,
Speaker 4: but you have to in this day and age.
Speaker 3: In college basketball, you have to have the financial backing
Speaker 3: in your ni L and your your your approach to
Speaker 3: be able to to get players from a financial standpoint.
Speaker 3: That's the reality of what it is now. I don't
Speaker 3: think that's going to be sustainable myself personally. As a
Speaker 3: side note, I think that's going to have to change
Speaker 3: at some point in the near future. I don't think
Speaker 3: college basketball can keep going down that road. But at
Speaker 3: the current time, that's what the lay of the land is.
Speaker 3: So if you don't have the money and you don't
Speaker 3: have the resources to be able to attract kids, because
Speaker 3: that's how kids are coming up now, whether we like
Speaker 3: it or not. The kids who are sophomores, juniors going
Speaker 3: into the senior year of high school now they're looking
Speaker 3: at programs and saying, how can that program benefit me
Speaker 3: as an individual? Can it help me with my skills
Speaker 3: set and my talent get to a possible next level,
Speaker 3: which would be playing professionally. And also while I'm doing that,
Speaker 3: what are they going to do for me personally in
Speaker 3: terms of financial rewards? And so that's just the reality
Speaker 3: of it. And so unless the U has that platform
Speaker 3: to operate from and then they have a staff that
Speaker 3: that shows that they can help you to progress, they
Speaker 3: can help you to improve your ability to be able
Speaker 3: to continue playing and and maybe get a career out
Speaker 3: of this sport. Uh, then you're going to have a
Speaker 3: hard time. You're gonna be always swimming upstream. And that's
Speaker 3: that's what the that's what he's going to be dealing
Speaker 3: with now. So I would assume, and I don't know this.
Speaker 3: Alex and I have texted back and forth since you
Speaker 3: got the job, but we haven't talked personally. But he's, uh,
Speaker 3: he's gonna have I'm sure he took the job, uh
Speaker 3: with the knowledge that I'm going to have those kinds
Speaker 3: that kind of support and those kinds of resources to
Speaker 3: help me to get on that that kind of a
Speaker 3: playing field. And then from there we can take it,
Speaker 3: you know, to where we need to in terms of
Speaker 3: the basketball stuff. But that but the recruiting, getting eyes
Speaker 3: on your program, and getting interest in your program from
Speaker 3: players like that and from players in the transfer portal,
Speaker 3: all that stuff. You're going to have to attract them
Speaker 3: by the money that you have available and also the
Speaker 3: staff that you have around you to help those individuals
Speaker 3: feel like they can come and improve and get themselves
Speaker 3: into a better situation, you know, in their lives going forward.
Speaker 3: That's what he's going to have to be dealing with
Speaker 3: coming up in the near future.
Speaker 1: I know you actually just kind of answered what I'm
Speaker 1: about to ask you again, but I do want to
Speaker 1: elaborate on it because I feel like Alex taking the
Speaker 1: job Smithy is an indicator that things are good financially
Speaker 1: economically and the state of you know, the athletic department
Speaker 1: and what Mark Carlin and whoever else promised Alex that
Speaker 1: they would allocate towards his success. Do you read it
Speaker 1: the same way? Because I've been told by more than
Speaker 1: a few people that Dallas liked Alex and they wanted
Speaker 1: Alex to stay, and Alex and Natalie enjoyed living in Dallas, Like,
Speaker 1: I don't think this was a desperation job grab from
Speaker 1: a guy who had a job that he liked an
Speaker 1: awful lot. So the fact that he simply just took
Speaker 1: the job, doesn't that indicate to you that the promises
Speaker 1: that were made are you know, in place as far
Speaker 1: as the economic viability of where this program.
Speaker 3: Is, well, I would think so. I would think he
Speaker 3: wouldn't go into a job where he thought that it's
Speaker 3: going to be really an uphill climb for him and
Speaker 3: that he's going to have a hard time, you know,
Speaker 3: getting to any kind of a level of success. So
Speaker 3: that would that would seem to be you know, part
Speaker 3: and parcel with with the decision to take the offer
Speaker 3: that the University of Utage gave him. I do think
Speaker 3: that that, you know, the rich history of the of
Speaker 3: the program, you know, he's going to have to have
Speaker 3: people who have some kind of a profile around them
Speaker 3: or present that to prospective recruits in a way that
Speaker 3: they feel like that's enticing and that's exciting for them.
Speaker 3: And I would not be surprised if he was leaning
Speaker 3: on the Rick mcgerryus years in some way, whether that's
Speaker 3: bringing back players, former players, who are in the business
Speaker 3: you mentioned and Andre Miller, guys who can get you know,
Speaker 3: high school kids to at least look at the program
Speaker 3: and sit down and talk to them or that kind
Speaker 3: of thing. But also setting up a program where kids
Speaker 3: feel like again, you know, whether you know Utah fans
Speaker 3: want to admit it or not, BYU has gotten ahead
Speaker 3: of the curve on setting up what they have and
Speaker 3: so they've attracted and look, there's kids who are going
Speaker 3: to look at that program and say, hey, they can
Speaker 3: help me a lot by by how they've got it
Speaker 3: set up and how they're approaching their program and their
Speaker 3: skill development work and all those kinds of things. But
Speaker 3: you also have to play into the factor that these
Speaker 3: kids are also designed to go to a school. You know,
Speaker 3: that's a church related school that's in a small town.
Speaker 3: It's a college town in Provo. And you know, sometimes
Speaker 3: that works for you and sometimes that works against you. Now,
Speaker 3: the University of Utah is in a bigger city. It's
Speaker 3: a public school, it's got fifteen thousand seats, it's got
Speaker 3: a historic venue that they play in. They've got a
Speaker 3: rich tradition. You know, alex Is I would think is
Speaker 3: going to look to lean on all of those kinds
Speaker 3: of things that he can sell to recruits and the
Speaker 3: fact that they're right down the street literally from an
Speaker 3: NBA team, and that recruits, you know, should be looking
Speaker 3: at that it's an opportunity to come play in a
Speaker 3: setting where they can get not only the personal and
Speaker 3: career development that they might be looking for, but also
Speaker 3: be able to make connections and do the things that
Speaker 3: you do within a program to try and help you
Speaker 3: as an individual for when you're playing days are over.
Speaker 3: And so I would think that those are some of
Speaker 3: the main things that he'll be leaning on to try
Speaker 3: and sell as he tries to figure out how to
Speaker 3: go about the recruiting.
Speaker 1: Game on the BYU side of things, and I agree,
Speaker 1: you can get salty that maybe BYU was ahead of
Speaker 1: the curve on this stuff, but it doesn't look it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter what level.
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 1: For years and years and years, I've heard front offices
Speaker 1: openly talk about copycat formulas to try to figure out
Speaker 1: what one team is doing really well, how can we
Speaker 1: get some of that. So complain about BYU figuring it out
Speaker 1: all you want, but they seem to be ahead of
Speaker 1: the curve with a couple of different things, and as
Speaker 1: you articulated earlier, very well, it's been a good run
Speaker 1: for them and doesn't look like it's ending anytime soon now.
Speaker 1: I know some BYU fans were upset with the sixth seed,
Speaker 1: because if you know, if it's a day that ends
Speaker 1: with why BYU fans are upset about something.
Speaker 2: Whether it's the CFP rankings or their sixth seed.
Speaker 1: I think you embrace the seed personally because of the
Speaker 1: location as opposed to being a five seed out.
Speaker 2: East or something. They're in Denver, but they.
Speaker 1: Get a VCU team, smitty coach by Ryan Odom, that
Speaker 1: has veteran guys. They have four seniors in their starting lineup.
Speaker 1: Three of those seniors or fifth year guys. One of
Speaker 1: them is a seventh year guy. They have two players
Speaker 1: two transfers on their roster that have experienced Elite eights.
Speaker 1: They have the A ten Player of the Year. They
Speaker 1: played a Utah State who's a good guard. They've got
Speaker 1: good guard play three players six' ten in the. Rotation
Speaker 1: LIKE byu is a three point five point, favorite, right
Speaker 1: and so this is not an easy, matchup but at
Speaker 1: least It's denver.
Speaker 2: And the LOCATION i think is.
Speaker 1: Good even maybe the seed not you know WHAT byu
Speaker 1: fans were hoping. For but what do you make of
Speaker 1: this matchup That kevin's up against first round and IS
Speaker 1: byu built maybe advance you, know for the first time
Speaker 1: since The jimmer fordet, years, RIGHT i mean that's the
Speaker 1: last time they advanced out in a round of thirty.
Speaker 3: Two, well this is a tough MATCH i. THINK i
Speaker 3: think this is one of the tougher matchups in the
Speaker 3: whole first round of THE ncaa. Tournament and then AND byu,
Speaker 3: fans fans in the state Of utah general don't FOLLOW
Speaker 3: bcu very, much and that's to be. Expected but let
Speaker 3: me tell you they are a very good. Team anybody
Speaker 3: who was paying attention to When Ryan odam was up
Speaker 3: At Utah state and the teams that they had there
Speaker 3: the couple of years he was. There they're very well,
Speaker 3: Coached they're very. Disciplined he's got a veteran. Group they
Speaker 3: are very good. Team and you, know for, me the
Speaker 3: whole game is going to hinge like it, did like
Speaker 3: we saw in The big twelve tournament last week FOR.
Speaker 3: Byu they had one night where they hit eighteen threes
Speaker 3: and they looked really, good and then the next night
Speaker 3: they were into a buzz saw defensively in one of
Speaker 3: the best teams in the country in my, opinion In,
Speaker 3: houston and they couldn't get those same look and they
Speaker 3: couldn't get the same, rhythm they couldn't get the same,
Speaker 3: feel and you saw what happened to. Them and so that,
Speaker 3: game to, me is Going thursday is going to boil
Speaker 3: down to WHETHER byu can't create the looks that they
Speaker 3: want and then have them in some kind of a
Speaker 3: rhythm where they feel comfortable taking. Them and they're going
Speaker 3: to have to make you, know twelve, thirteen fourteen threes
Speaker 3: to be able to win that, game because if they,
Speaker 3: don't they're going to struggle BECAUSE vcu is really good
Speaker 3: AND vcu is going to come after. Them and IF
Speaker 3: byu thinks that just the seating, thing you, know should
Speaker 3: get them by into a next round or, something they're fooling.
Speaker 3: Themselves they're going to have to come ready to go
Speaker 3: and really really have to grind. Out in The houston
Speaker 3: game may be a help to, them they may look
Speaker 3: at that and you, know be coming back with their
Speaker 3: tail between their legs, saying, well they really showed us
Speaker 3: you know what we need to do to get better
Speaker 3: and better At, Hurry otherwise it's going to be a
Speaker 3: very short appearance in THE ncaa. Term so that's going
Speaker 3: to be for me one of the more interesting, games
Speaker 3: not just BECAUSE i have, a you, know a rooting
Speaker 3: interest for the local, team but it's going to be
Speaker 3: a very good contest between two very well coached. Teams
Speaker 3: AND i want.
Speaker 1: To be, Clear i'm not SAYING vcu Is, houston not
Speaker 1: even kind. Of When i've Watched houston this, Year i've
Speaker 1: found myself feeling sympathy for who they're playing. AGAINST i,
Speaker 1: mean that's their brand of physicality and defensive, intensity BUT
Speaker 1: vcu plays with a similar defensive, intensity and they don't
Speaker 1: extend the pressure full court oftentimes the way That houston
Speaker 1: tends to.
Speaker 2: Do BUT smiddi one of the many.
Speaker 1: Things one of the hats you wore over The Utah
Speaker 1: jazz is you did a lot of, scouting AND i
Speaker 1: can see why pro scouts like Yegor. Demon it's obvious
Speaker 1: because of his measurables and his. Vision his ball handling
Speaker 1: ability is passing LIKE i get. It but more often than,
Speaker 1: not it was the The Iowa state game And ames
Speaker 1: and then The houston game recently two examples Of Kevin
Speaker 1: young Pulling demon For Dallan, hall who's simply a tougher.
Speaker 1: Player he's just not afraid of. Pressure he doesn't cowtail
Speaker 1: to physicality the way That demon seems. To and he's
Speaker 1: a kid and this is his first year of college.
Speaker 1: Hoops i'm not necessarily knocking on him for. It but
Speaker 1: if he can't handle VCU's, Pressure kevin's probably gonna have
Speaker 1: to go with Down. Hall and maybe we see something
Speaker 1: similar AGAINST vcu that we saw Against, houston Because Kapa
Speaker 1: cata was the only athlete that looked like he.
Speaker 2: Belonged on the floor Against.
Speaker 1: Houston so what DOES byu do IF vcu brings some
Speaker 1: of that physicality and pressure and their guardline isn't ready for.
Speaker 1: It because to your, point like if they knock down
Speaker 1: fourteen to fifteen, threes they're gonna. Win but this tournament
Speaker 1: is impossible to predict for a couple of different. Reasons
Speaker 1: first of, all spraying, ankle whatever injury, happens and then
Speaker 1: suddenly a team is. Out second of, all one team
Speaker 1: goes hot from the, outside the other team goes.
Speaker 2: Hold then you get an.
Speaker 1: Upset if B yu is not knocking down threes and
Speaker 1: their guard play isn't necessarily responding against, pressure what do they?
Speaker 2: DO i think it could be a little bit of
Speaker 2: a problem for.
Speaker 3: Them, no you're exactly. Right and then they're going to
Speaker 3: have to figure out a way to be able to
Speaker 3: really man up and really uh react in a positive
Speaker 3: way to the pressure that that they're going to. Feel. Now,
Speaker 3: again maybe The houston game helps them because they Played
Speaker 3: houston twice this year and got and and got run
Speaker 3: out both, times you, know against. Them, Uh so they've
Speaker 3: got all that film to look at and to figure
Speaker 3: out The demon. KID i like him some as a,
Speaker 3: player but he's been so inconsistent in his effort uh
Speaker 3: this year and his his, ability you, know to do
Speaker 3: the things THAT i think he's capable of doing skill
Speaker 3: wise and talent. Wise but he always a lot of
Speaker 3: times he tends to play WHAT i call him second
Speaker 3: gear and and uh and rarely really turned it. On
Speaker 3: because you can see some plays he makes and games
Speaker 3: where you, go, okay that's why everybody likes, him and
Speaker 3: but he doesn't do it for me often. Enough he's
Speaker 3: going to have to come in a game like this and, Say,
Speaker 3: okay this is What i'm here. For this is what
Speaker 3: it's all. About this is WHY i came From. RUSSIA
Speaker 3: i stopped. OFF i was In madrid for a few
Speaker 3: years in their youth academy program At Real. Madrid NOW
Speaker 3: i come To Provo utah to get try and get
Speaker 3: ready for THE. Nba this is where all the eyes
Speaker 3: are on. Me, okay here we, go and this is
Speaker 3: where you find out when guys show, up if guys
Speaker 3: have it in them to be able to do, that
Speaker 3: to be able to, present have a presence in a
Speaker 3: game that makes everybody watch and look at you and, say,
Speaker 3: oh that's the guy who's running the show out. Here
Speaker 3: because as we, know you, know when when you mentioned
Speaker 3: that that you know that coach young, start you took him,
Speaker 3: out puts In Dowllen hall. Whatever that's because at that,
Speaker 3: moment coach feels, LIKE i got to go with the
Speaker 3: guy WHO i know is going to play harder for
Speaker 3: a longer sustained period of. Time that's WHAT i have
Speaker 3: in my. Gut that's what coaching is. About and that's
Speaker 3: what we always used to, Say, spence when you got
Speaker 3: a tight game at the end of the. Game you'd
Speaker 3: set up a play for a particular, player and as
Speaker 3: the players went out on the, floor sometimes the players
Speaker 3: that talk to each other and, go, hey the coach
Speaker 3: wanted us to run this, play but we're gonna run
Speaker 3: the Other we're gonna run in a different. Way and
Speaker 3: why is? That it's because the, players when they're on the,
Speaker 3: floor they know who the real players. Are you can
Speaker 3: fool the fans and sometimes and the broadcasters, whatever but
Speaker 3: the players who are on the, floor they know who
Speaker 3: the real guys. Are and a game like this is
Speaker 3: going to be a big step for someone like Agor
Speaker 3: demon to show people That i'm one of the guys
Speaker 3: you've been hearing about. Me there's some flus talk minus
Speaker 3: talk or, whatever but this is a. Gamer i'm going
Speaker 3: to show you, guys this is WHY i came, here
Speaker 3: and this is this is WHY byu has me. Here
Speaker 3: so that's going to be an interesting thing for me
Speaker 3: to watch Come.
Speaker 1: Thursday, smiddy thank, you my friend for the. Time where
Speaker 1: do we find you these? Days are you back in
Speaker 1: town after your? Travels where are you?
Speaker 2: At?
Speaker 3: No i'm ACTUALLY i spent the last two weeks working
Speaker 3: at the THE atp thousand tennis tournament down In Palm.
Speaker 3: Springs we had a good time down, there and Now
Speaker 3: i'm in. Traveling i'm actually In Las vegas today on
Speaker 3: my Way wednesday up To Saint. George we're going to
Speaker 3: have a little three days of some golf with a
Speaker 3: bunch of my buddies down, there and then we'll be
Speaker 3: back in Sul. It we'll be back in the studio
Speaker 3: and next week span you'll have to spend a whole
Speaker 3: hour listening to my. Dribble, WELL i.
Speaker 1: Cannot wait for. It i've said it, Before i'll say it.
Speaker 1: Again it is good to Be Richard. Smith so enjoy your,
Speaker 1: travels thank you for the, time and we'll see you next, Week, Okay.
Speaker 3: Hi, spence appreciate you. Man.
Speaker 1: Hi Richard smith forty years with The Utah, jazz including
Speaker 1: nine working side by side With Alex.
Speaker 2: Jensen