WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.680 The world of college basketball crown and national champ. Last night, 2 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:07.879 Florida Gators their third title in the two thousands, which 3 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:11.800 puts them second behind the Yukon Huskies. Our next guest 4 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:15.400 is our college basketball north Star and our life north 5 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:19.519 Star for honest, Ken Pomeroy on a Tuesday Kenpalm dot com. 6 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.519 How are we doing, Buddy, doing great? 7 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:26.960 Fans? Just kind of reflecting on the season that was. 8 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.559 In my position, it always goes by pretty quickly. I 9 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:32.039 know for other people in the game they think it 10 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.200 takes forever, but for me, it just flies by. 11 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:37.960 So when we last spoke, you had escaped the chili 12 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:41.119 cold weather of Salt Lake in exchange for I believe Calgary. 13 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:43.119 Is that where you were when we last spoke? 14 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:45.079 That's correct? 15 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:47.359 And where do we find you now? Ken? Where's your location? 16 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:50.200 Still in Calgary? 17 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.719 Still in Calgary? Who spends that much time? Do you 18 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:55.439 want to tell us what you're doing? Or no? 19 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:03.039 It's not that exciting. I mean I can, I can. 20 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.400 I can work you through the back, working through the 21 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:07.719 thought process if you want. 22 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:08.519 Yes, I want all of it. 23 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:10.640 Ken, We've got four hours of radio to do, so 24 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:11.760 build the space, sir. 25 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.959 Well, I so here's the deal. I'm as you know, 26 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:22.079 I'm kind of self employed, you know, work on my own, 27 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:25.079 can work remotely in cases where I'm not self employed, 28 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:29.719 and it's just really productive for me to like get 29 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:36.280 away from you know, distractions and stuff at home. And 30 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.079 you know, my life situation allows me to do that. 31 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:46.319 So so that's mostly the uh that supposedly logic look. 32 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:47.959 Good for you. I'm not judging. I wish I had 33 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:48.799 that type of freedom. 34 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:50.799 I'm very jealous of my friends that are in the 35 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:52.920 same position you are, where they can be like I'm 36 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:55.159 just going to Bali for ten days because I can 37 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:58.319 work from there. So hey, look, Calgary's beautiful. I have 38 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:01.040 a brother in law from Calgary. He and my sister 39 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:03.640 were married up there. So I'm not judging. I just 40 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:06.239 for me, Ken, if I had the opportunity to get away, 41 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:09.000 I think I would choose a beach. 42 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:10.360 That's that's just me. 43 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:15.280 Yeah, And I mean I'm not I'm not judging you either. 44 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:20.520 Spots like I get how people why people would want 45 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.120 to go to a beach, and I can appreciate that, 46 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:26.879 but the beach is not my my lifestyle, So okay, 47 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:27.360 there you go. 48 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:29.719 Hey, Tomato, Tomato. Ken, let's move on. 49 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:33.719 Are we judging the Houston Cougars for that collapse. Let's 50 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.479 start in a vacuum, then we'll pan back. And I 51 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:39.479 was actually thinking about you when Houston went up twelve, 52 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:42.840 because I believe with your metrics, this is the best 53 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:46.240 defensive basketball team in college basketball. And not to be 54 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:49.800 redundant there, but I watched them snatch souls from Big 55 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:52.319 twelve teams this year, and when they went up twelve, Ken, 56 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:53.520 I thought, that's curtains. 57 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:54.960 So what do you make. 58 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.120 Let's start with a Houston side of how they collapse 59 00:02:58.199 --> 00:02:58.840 down the stretch. 60 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:03.560 Yeah, I thought so too. I thought the walls were 61 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:06.520 closing in on Florida, and you know, Florida had dodged 62 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.599 a few bullets to get to the championship game. And 63 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:12.680 then I thought this was it for them. Like you say, 64 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:14.759 it seemed like Houston was, you know, it was on 65 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.879 a mission after closing out that dude game. The way 66 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:21.400 they did, they're pretty much fire and also under especially defensively. 67 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:25.080 The way they kind of figured out how to, you know, 68 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.000 eventually take Walter Clayton out of the game. I mean, 69 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:31.919 that was that was the one thing that you didn't 70 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:34.599 really think was possible, and they had done it up 71 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:36.840 to that point. So at that point, yeah, I thought 72 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.000 that the game was over. And there were a couple 73 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:40.960 of things that went against some One was that both 74 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:42.960 they're big man ended up getting four fouls, you know, 75 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:45.840 shortly after taking that lead, and so they had to 76 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.800 play small for a little bit, and some of that 77 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.080 you know, length that has propelled them to having the 78 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:55.120 number one rated defense was on the bench, and Florida 79 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:58.319 was able to get me a little bit of flow offensively. 80 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:00.840 That was the main thing. But the other thing was, 81 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:04.400 like Houston's offense was pretty brutal all night. I mean, 82 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:07.159 you got to give obviously credit to Florida's defense, but really, 83 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.199 you know, you go back to even the Duke game, 84 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:14.680 and Houston's offense was not great. Now, they did make threes, 85 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:18.040 and that kind of you know, covered up what was 86 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:19.920 an awful two point shooting night for them against too. 87 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.920 They only made thirty three percent of their twos against Duke. 88 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.800 They only made forty one percent against Florida, and it's 89 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.879 just hard to overcome that. And that's been the that 90 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:33.199 was the story for Houston all season long. You can 91 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:36.519 look at their profile. Almost everything is good or acceptable 92 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.560 except the two point shooting, which was just absolutely dreadful, 93 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.439 and it was, you know, kind of a minor miracle 94 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:42.680 they were able to go as far as they did. 95 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:47.000 They ultimately finished the season ranked two ninety six and 96 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:50.160 two point percent. So in some way, it's an incredible 97 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:52.399 coaching job Makelvin Sampson to get to the last game 98 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:53.759 of the season with that kind of number. 99 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.279 So a lot of attention today on poor Emmanuel Sharp, 100 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:01.720 who is a really really good player and is a junior, 101 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:05.680 and we'll get to what Houston has coming back next year. 102 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:07.279 I want to talk some Big twelve in a moment. 103 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.680 I mean the way too early top twenty five stuff 104 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.879 that Borsello wrote for ESPN dot com today. He has 105 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:15.519 Houston has won as a result to who they could 106 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.560 potentially return, and then a grip of transfers. 107 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:19.920 So we'll get to that in a moment. 108 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:24.399 And look, my sincere hope for Emmanuel Sharp is that 109 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:26.959 he comes back as a senior and has an opportunity 110 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.639 to kind of redeem himself because they're not there without him. 111 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:35.560 He was the main point of attack defenseman on Walter 112 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:37.879 Clayton junior. He was the guy that was tasked with 113 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:40.800 guarding potentially the best league guard in the tournament and 114 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:44.319 the final foremost outstanding player, and Clayton Junior did not 115 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.360 get his first point until about fourteen thirty seven left 116 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.399 in the game and didn't hit his first three until 117 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:52.639 there was three minutes left. I mean, I thought Sharp 118 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:55.160 did a really good job on him, and he had 119 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.360 a good solid tournament, but down the stretch, back to 120 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.680 back turnovers, and I don't know what exactly the deal 121 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:03.959 was when I went back and watched the replay Canada, 122 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:07.480 the final play where Sharp rose up and then it 123 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.279 was a really good contest by Walter Clayton Junior that 124 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:12.319 caused him to simply have to drop the ball or 125 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.480 else it would have been a travel. When you watch 126 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.000 the action on the strong side, it was a misdirect 127 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:18.279 and a ball screen for LJ. 128 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:18.800 Cryer. 129 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.879 But Emmanuel Sharp just either ran out of time or 130 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.759 wasn't patient enough. And I'm not saying it's all on him, 131 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:28.600 but what do you make of four straight possessions to 132 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.639 finish the game for Houston where they didn't even get 133 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:33.879 a shot, Like that's wild to me. 134 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:41.959 Yeah, that is unbelievable. Yeah, for a team that you know, generally, 135 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.519 like the one thing you could say about Houston was that, 136 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:48.560 you know, they they wouldn't panic. You know, they they're 137 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:52.560 a very experienced team and they're going to at least 138 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:58.199 execute properly. They have their limitations offensively, and we you know, 139 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:02.920 alluded to that, but certainly, yeah, you watch that final play. 140 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.040 I mean it's a little it's a little reminiscent of 141 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.120 like the I mean, this is for the real olds 142 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:11.399 out there, but you know, the eighty three title game. 143 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:13.519 There are people making all these comparisons to that game, 144 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.199 and you know, Anti State's final possession in that game 145 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:20.079 was similar in the sense that it was like just 146 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:24.439 terribly executed. Ultimately it turned out to work in that situation. 147 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:27.319 But yeah, you already watched that last possession for Houston, 148 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.120 and it's like people are sort of like trying to 149 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:33.720 that screens but not really committed to it, and so 150 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:36.720 obviously nobody's getting open and then yeah, Manuel Strips is 151 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:40.879 kind of left with a choice there, and in the 152 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:43.279 moment he made it. Really that choice. To me, I 153 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:45.279 think you had the you know, in the moment, you 154 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:48.079 just have to like let that thing fly, throw your 155 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.199 leg out do something draw some contact. Of course the 156 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:55.680 official to make a call, but yeah, overall, the execution 157 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:57.959 down the stretch by Houston was pretty dreadful. 158 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.279 Now to your earlier point, you know, you can't talk 159 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.519 about these things without acknowledging both sides of the coin. 160 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:09.040 What did Florid to do can to turn it on 161 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.160 in the second half defensively after going down by twelve, 162 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:15.600 because even going into locker room, I just had this 163 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:17.879 sense like Houston's a better team, this is this is 164 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.920 their time. Were there specific adjustments that Todd Golden made 165 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:24.240 in the locker room at halftime or in the second 166 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:26.319 half that caused so much chaos for Houston? 167 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:31.439 Yeah, I don't know they were necessarily specific adjustment. I 168 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:35.759 mean the first half they actually were fine defensively, like 169 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:40.360 they you know, Houston wasn't scoring at will on them, 170 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:43.120 they were getting a few offensive rebounds, and I think 171 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:47.399 that's where Porta clean some things up in the second half, 172 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:52.840 really preventing more offensive rebounds and also taking care of 173 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.440 the ball offensively to prevent Houston from you know, operating 174 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.240 against you know, not a set defense when they did 175 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:02.799 get the ball. But I think that's the one thing 176 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:06.360 that you know, I was really kind of impressed with 177 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:08.440 with Florida in the end. You look at the box 178 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:10.039 score and I think you will see Houston at fifteen 179 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:12.679 offensive rebounds and they're like, wow, that's you know, that's 180 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:14.320 a great game for Houston. But actually there were so 181 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:17.759 many missshots that in the end it was a Poppinsove 182 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:20.480 rebounding crecent of thirty two percent, which is below Houston 183 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.960 season average. So so you know, preventing those second chance 184 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:30.039 points certainly helped. Houston had a you know, miserable day shooting, 185 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.759 and you could put together I mean, I hate to 186 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:34.840 say it, but you know, just among us a private 187 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:36.519 company here, I mean my little us, and you could 188 00:09:36.519 --> 00:09:39.799 put together a highlight reel for him in that game 189 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:43.120 with just some incredibly misshots, I mean just missing everything 190 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.480 multiple times. You know, that was an issue as well. 191 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:49.360 And I don't like Florida, you know, maybe sped up 192 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:51.600 Houston a little bit, but man, a lot of it 193 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:55.399 is just like Houston, you know, not coming to play 194 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:57.759 when it came to the three point shot. And you know, 195 00:09:57.799 --> 00:10:00.600 as we mentioned, they they're really deficient on two and 196 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.519 where they've been able to overcome that is by having 197 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:06.639 guys like Sharp and ljre Cryer and who's in him? You know, 198 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.080 make some threes and that just didn't happen last night. 199 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:11.840 Todd Golden, at the age of thirty nine, becomes the 200 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.840 youngest head coach to win a national championship since Jim 201 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:17.720 Valvano in eighty three when he was thirty seven years old. 202 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.240 And if you didn't know any better, and you were 203 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.799 watching the postgame celebration, you would have said, why are 204 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:25.360 they interviewing the team manager? I mean, he looks like 205 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:27.720 a kid, and he's got his hat on backwards and 206 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:30.600 he's enjoying the moment. How has he been able to 207 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:32.559 do this after a brief stop I think it was 208 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:35.519 San Francisco and just in a few short years, how 209 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:39.080 have they been able to build Florida into a national champ. 210 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:43.480 Well, it's they've just done a brilliant job of creating 211 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.519 a roster. You know, they've been able to get some 212 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.799 useful transfers, and you know, he ended up building a 213 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:53.559 team like we saw but Houston, like we saw with Auburn, 214 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:58.240 that's a very experienced team and you know it had 215 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:02.720 like champion should experience some extent, you know, Elijah Martin 216 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.720 really playing a key role for this team coming over 217 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:10.120 from Florida Atlantic. In addition, you know, they had you know, 218 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:13.879 more front court depth probably than than you know, any 219 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:16.519 Power Conference team, and they just hit on these guys 220 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.039 like you know, some of these guys I think people 221 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.000 became familiar with in the tournament. You know, Thomas Howe 222 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.639 for one, I mean he comes off the bench for 223 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:27.279 this team, and you know he'd be starting for probably 224 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:30.519 most SEC teams, but for this team, he comes off 225 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.240 the bench. And that's just a you know, a statement 226 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:35.360 on how much depth this team has upfront and how 227 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.799 they were you know, able to kind of exploit that 228 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.759 against Houston, and Houston you know, got into foul trouble 229 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:43.000 up front, they didn't have guys they could go through 230 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:44.559 and they had to go ahead and play small. Florida 231 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:46.600 really didn't have to do that over the course of 232 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:48.519 the season. So it was really a you know, a 233 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:53.679 great job in building a roster and just a phenomenal run. 234 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:57.440 You know, I don't know, I don't know what else 235 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:00.000 to say about it. It was you have to be impressed. 236 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:02.120 I mean, I remember when Golden took the Floorida top 237 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:05.279 and I mean I had heard through you know, second 238 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:08.759 hand channels that he wasn't even like, yeah, he's a 239 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:10.720 little hasn't it taken? He wasn't sure like if that 240 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:14.840 was the jump that he wanted to make. And I mean, 241 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:17.360 obviously I think he made the right decision. Aloy, he 242 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:19.720 worked through the math and realized, yeah, you can actually 243 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.639 have a lot of stress in Florida. You proved it 244 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:23.360 pretty quickly here. 245 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:26.919 I know you're not a scout, but you are a 246 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.840 basketball guy that watches these games all year long. And 247 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.039 it's you know, it's so interesting, Ken, because watching this 248 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:38.039 tournament really my whole life. There are so many great 249 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:44.519 individual tournament performances or even seasons by guards and players 250 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:48.720 that turn out to just be excellent college players and 251 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:50.840 they just don't have the size or the speed or 252 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:52.440 the strength to get it done of the pros. And 253 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:55.200 we have local examples of that. The number one example 254 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:59.120 might be Jimmer, who was an incredible college player and 255 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.000 that ride was so fun. I don't care if you 256 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:03.879 don't like byu. Jim Ormania was a real thing that 257 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:07.120 was really cool, and he was incredible to watch in college. 258 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.039 And I could name a grip of player. Randolph Schilders 259 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:11.759 we could go on and on and on, and I 260 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:14.440 don't know where I'm at with Walter Clayton Junior as 261 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:19.000 a pro. But after watching Just the Stones to take 262 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.799 and make big shots I was reading today, I think 263 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.159 it was Gaivoni that compared him to Ben Gordon, who 264 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:27.639 turned out to be a combo scoring guard in the 265 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.120 pros with a long career, including the sixth Man of 266 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.559 the Year after a really really good career at Yukon. 267 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.200 But what do you think Walter Clayton Junior did for 268 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:38.679 his pro prospects? And do you think he's a long 269 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:39.720 term NBA guy? 270 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:44.519 Yeah, that's a great question. A lot of what you 271 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:50.200 were saying I would echo, like, I'm not totally sure either. 272 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:55.840 He's obviously a very good college player. He has some 273 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:00.200 some vertical athleticism, you know, the tricky He's a little 274 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:04.480 on the older side, so you know, kind of the 275 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:08.399 challenge I think of modern day you know, evaluation of 276 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:11.440 these players in the draft is that so many of 277 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.639 them are, you know, a little bit older than they 278 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:18.159 than they were five to ten years ago. So I 279 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.480 don't know. I mean, I think I'm probably a little 280 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:28.080 more negative on him than maybe the consensuses I think 281 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:33.120 there's certainly the opportunity though, Like clearly, you know you 282 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:35.360 couldn't help but watch him through this tournament, and it's 283 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.559 not like Florida had an easy path, Like they had 284 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:40.200 a very difficult path, and they were constantly in these 285 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:42.919 very challenging games, and he would make play after play. 286 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.799 You know, he's a very good shooter. There's some questions 287 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.919 I think on the on the defensive end that you know, 288 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:52.799 if he could answer those, that would really enhance the stock. 289 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.240 But you know, teams are going to obviously be focusing 290 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:57.559 on that and put them through the ringer on that 291 00:14:57.639 --> 00:14:59.720 over the coming weeks. 292 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:03.399 Before we get some local storylines. Let's remove ourselves from 293 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.279 the vacuum of the National Championship game and pan back 294 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.600 a little bit because I have not been able to 295 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:14.120 talk to you since we saw, Like if Houston's collapse 296 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:17.679 was an eight out of ten, Duke's collapse was a 297 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.879 ten out of ten against the Houston Cougars. 298 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:21.960 And Sion James is. 299 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.440 A really good player, and I'm not piling on any 300 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.840 of these young men. I think if you're John Shier, 301 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.159 you have to realize that your guy is paining down 302 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.399 his leg every time he's trying to inbound the ball 303 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:35.840 on the baseline and figure something else out. I mean, 304 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:38.360 you know, nine to zero run over the course of 305 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.399 what the final forty seconds. I've heard a lot of 306 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:43.480 people pile on Cooper, which I think is unfair. 307 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:44.360 I thought that over the. 308 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:47.600 Back call was atrocious. He hit their only bucket of 309 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:49.600 the final I think nine minutes. It's wild that they 310 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.919 went nine minutes without a bucket. Proctor couldn't get it going. 311 00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:55.039 I like the Konk Nipple kid. I wondered if they 312 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:57.600 should have kind of allowed him to inbound the basketball, 313 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:01.960 but their inability to sim please handle pressure to the 314 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.000 point of just getting the ball in bounds. Just like 315 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.639 Houston and Emmanuel Sharp will remember the loss from last night. 316 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:11.759 Zion James and the Duke Blue Devils are gonna wear 317 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:13.399 that one for a long long time. 318 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:16.000 That felt like it's stung. How did you digest that one? 319 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:21.440 Oh? No question? I mean yeah, I mean this Duke 320 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:25.600 team was kind of poised to, uh, you know, etch 321 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:29.200 themselves among some of the great team in college basketball history. 322 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:31.840 And in order to complete that, you have to, you know, 323 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.360 you have to win it all. And they were trying 324 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.879 to do that. I mean, yeah, to blow, you know 325 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.799 blow the kind of lead they had against a team 326 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.080 that you know, wh I was that Houston's offensively challenged. 327 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:46.559 Obviously they can make some three yasons. That was partly 328 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:49.279 what they did. They come from behind. But you know, 329 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:52.519 it really seemed to me like Duke was there came 330 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.120 a point there, I don't know, eight nine minutes ago 331 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:58.480 where Duke got kind of tentative. You know, like if 332 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:00.679 you watch like the Albam why You game, Like when 333 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.799 Alabama got ahead, they just kept playing right, they just 334 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:06.319 kept chucking up threes, and Duke when they got ahead, 335 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:09.240 really got tentative. They started passing on open threes. You know, 336 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:14.079 Flag did that at least once, and you know Cnipple 337 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:16.279 did it once, and I think Procter did it once. 338 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.119 And you go back and watch those possessions and you 339 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:21.640 know they look kind of they look kind of nice. 340 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.799 On one hand, like all these guys are being so unselfish, 341 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:25.720 you know, they're making the extra pass, but then they 342 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.240 keep making the extra pass, and then Cooper Flag would 343 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:30.039 get it and have to like you know, throw up 344 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:32.680 a turn around you know, shot from the elbow, which 345 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:35.160 like if anybody can make it, he can, but those 346 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.039 are difficult shots and they weren't falling, and to me, 347 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.440 that's where the avalanche kind of started. Obviously, not being 348 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.799 able to get the ball in bounds is is an issue, 349 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:46.039 and I don't know what I don't know what John 350 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.839 Shires feeling. You know, remember that like football player, but 351 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:50.799 he was running. It seemed like you know last year 352 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.160 or two where everybody would line up on the baseline 353 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:56.000 and you know, run down the court and then cut 354 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:59.720 back like Duke was trying to, like, you know, have 355 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:03.319 everybody come to the base line. And Houston was pretty 356 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:08.519 easily able to defend that. So that was the issue. 357 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:10.240 And then you also bring up the Cooper flag fowl, 358 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:13.319 which you know, we shouldn't we shouldn't forget. People just 359 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.960 kind of like dismissed that. But that game was so 360 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:18.079 physical over the last two minutes and they kind of 361 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:19.720 call that foul on Cooper flag And if you actually 362 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:21.880 be good back and watch the replay of that, Juwan 363 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:24.079 Roberts is the one boxing him out when the whistle blows. 364 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:26.480 Like Juwan roberts instinct is that he thinks the fouls 365 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:29.160 on him and he's kind of like it's kind of 366 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:30.519 like throwing up his arms like why are you humming 367 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:32.359 the whistle? And yeah, it was actually on couper flag, 368 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:34.559 and so you know, if they don't call that bal 369 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:37.000 he Houston still probably has the ball and has a 370 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:40.400 chance to win. But that obviously made things a little 371 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.000 bit easier for for Houston to pull it out. So yeah, 372 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:46.680 that was, you know, a wild game, and I think, yeah, 373 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:48.559 one that's gonna it's gonna hurt for a long time 374 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:49.119 to do seams. 375 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.720 The Auburn loss to Florida wasn't as epic of a collapse, 376 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:57.720 but it kind of felt like in a way, Auburn 377 00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:00.519 also allowed Florida to steal that one from them. Like 378 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.599 my takeaways from these games in the final four is 379 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:06.680 credit the team certainly that stayed in the fight and 380 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:08.960 found a way to win, but every team that won 381 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:10.839 seemed to get a little bit of a gift from 382 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:14.480 their opponent. They went away from Johnny Broom, who had 383 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:17.599 thirteen points with sixteen minutes left and had I think 384 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:20.319 two points the rest of the way, and it felt 385 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:24.000 like he was their one clear advantage, not just getting 386 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:27.480 buckets but also creating space for his teammates and Florida 387 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:31.200 again comes back they were down and they outscore Auburn 388 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:33.079 forty one to twenty seven in the second half. What 389 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:35.160 do you make of the way the Auburn Tigers went out. 390 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:40.599 Yeah, I just thought Broom was he was so banged 391 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:44.279 up heading into that game, and I don't think people 392 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:49.440 really realized how bad the elbow was. He was able 393 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:53.480 to work through it and you know, be reasonably productive, 394 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.759 but I mean, overall, one of his least productive games 395 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:04.039 this season. And you know, ultimately, like Auburn's constructed a 396 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:08.559 little bit different than Florida or Florida's you know, They've 397 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:10.279 got Walter Clayton, but they got a lot of other 398 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:15.240 like guys that can contribute, you know, and in high 399 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:18.480 volume if they need it. Auburn really doesn't have that, 400 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:21.240 Like they they play through Jannipery, which the night room 401 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:25.880