WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.839 College basketball will crown it's national champ tonight on the 2 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.320 men's side, after the Yukon women got it done over 3 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:10.279 the weekends. Gino rim at twelve and one in national 4 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.919 championship games. That is a mind blowing stat. Houston, Florida 5 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:17.679 tonight six fifty Mountain time on CBS. Florida as of 6 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:21.719 now is a one point five point favorite represented the SEC. 7 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:25.199 Of course, Houston out of the Big twelve and Josh 8 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:27.320 Furlong will join us right out of the gates. And Josh, 9 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.719 if you've been watching Big twelve basketball all year long, 10 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:32.159 you're probably not too surprised to see the Houston Cougar's 11 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:33.600 playing for the national championship. 12 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:34.079 Is that fair? 13 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.000 Yeah? No, I think this is a team that they 14 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.719 play together, They've been consistent, they've been together for a 15 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:43.479 long time, and so you know, they're a tough team 16 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:44.960 to beat. I mean, when I put in my bracket, 17 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:46.640 they're the team that I actually put to win it all. 18 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:48.719 So it wasn't a surprise to me by any means. 19 00:00:49.079 --> 00:00:51.359 You know, Florida's obviously a good team. They've got some length, 20 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:54.280 So I'm really fascinated to kind of see how this works, 21 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:57.799 especially with offense and kind of the defensive prowess that 22 00:00:58.079 --> 00:00:59.960 Houston brings, so it should be a really fun Matt. 23 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:02.960 I mean, the fact that they could even beat Duke 24 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.120 was was pretty remarkable. But love it. So you can't 25 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:08.840 ask for anything more in a in a championship game. 26 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:11.040 Since you brought it up, one more thing here, then 27 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:14.920 we'll get onto the Utah content portion of the interview. Look, man, 28 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.200 I you know, I don't care what level you ever played, uh, 29 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.079 if you ever played you know, competitive sports, uh of 30 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.480 any kind on any level. Their chances are there's a 31 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.959 missed shot that you think about while you're trying to 32 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:31.159 go to bed. There's a game that your team lost 33 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:33.959 that you think about that you that you wonder, uh 34 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:34.319 you know. 35 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:36.120 I should have, would have, could have? What have you. 36 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.640 I don't care what Cooper Flag goes on to do 37 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:40.439 the rest of the way. 38 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:41.879 And I think he's got I'm all in on him. 39 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:42.560 I think he's awesome. 40 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.239 Conka Nipple, the Malawatch kid, Like that's a team full 41 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:49.159 of stars. I don't know, Josh, that you ever quite 42 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.640 forget a loss that Duke, A loss the likes of 43 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:55.879 which Duke suffered to the hands of Houston. That was 44 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:58.400 one of the most epic collapses I think I've ever seen. 45 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:01.319 Oh absolutely. I mean I remember looking at the clock 46 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:03.719 thinking like, there's no way Houston really getting into this, 47 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:07.480 and just little by little it just felt like Duke 48 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.840 was kind of you know, the whole definition of that 49 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.560 around and find out the situation right, Like, I don't 50 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:15.879 know if you could put that on the radio, but 51 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:20.319 I think this was just, you know, a situation where 52 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:23.439 Duke just kind of felt comfortable and obviously they relied 53 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:26.159 a ton on Cooper flag, but he was the only 54 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.000 one that was able to generate anything, and so when 55 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.439 he didn't, you know, they really had nowhere to turn 56 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:33.199 and suddenly you've got a Houston team that got momentum 57 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.199 and it all changed. But like I think if you 58 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:36.639 were to tell me that that was going to happen, 59 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:38.240 especially with like a minute left of the game, I 60 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:40.199 still don't know that I believe you, especially the way 61 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.919 that it did. So definitely one for the ages. But yeah, 62 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:45.400 you have to feel for Duke. I mean, that's going 63 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:46.960 to be one that sticks with you for a very 64 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:48.759 long time, and I don't know that you can shake it, 65 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:50.560 especially with how that went down. 66 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.039 And I don't know what this means for where Cooper 67 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:56.800 Flags had a that. Of course, the conversation over the 68 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.719 past forty eight hours or so have been like, does 69 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:03.719 this motivate him to come back to school? And you know, 70 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:06.000 I kind of roll my eyes at that. But at 71 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:09.240 the same time, he turned eighteen, like three and a 72 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:11.879 half months ago or so. He is a young eighteen 73 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:15.680 year old, and Josh, I cannot imagine what the reaction 74 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:19.639 would be if we're sitting here watching the draft lottery. 75 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:23.280 I think it's May twelfth, if I remember correctly, and 76 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:26.479 Lady Luck shines on the Jazz they grabbed number one overall, 77 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.840 and then Cooper Flag announces he's going back to Duke. 78 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.199 Can you imagine the reaction in this city. 79 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.240 It would be the most like perfect thing that would 80 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:37.159 happen to Utah the one time they finally get the 81 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.599 number one seed and Cooper Flag, the guy that they've 82 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:43.759 been taking for decides to stay in college. I mean, 83 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.879 I think, yeah, I don't even want to know what 84 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:49.520 that would do to people. I mean, I think people 85 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.400 were okay with the Jazz tanking and you know, within reason, 86 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.560 but then to not get somebody like Cooper Flag would 87 00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:59.960 just be devastating, you know, a generational talent. But that's 88 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:01.840 the age of nil now, man. I mean, I think 89 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:03.879 you know, he can obviously go get paid a fairly 90 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.759 great wage at Duke and if he really wants to 91 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.360 get that national championship, you know, good for him. But 92 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:12.120 you know he'd be crazy not to in my opinion. 93 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:13.919 I mean, I think you know, all it takes is 94 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:15.719 an injury to derail things. At least if you're in 95 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:17.519 the NBA, you've derailed it and you're in the NBA, 96 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:21.319 so you know, it would be crazier things would happen, 97 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:23.079 But it would be the Jazz luck to have that 98 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:26.519 happen where they get the number one pick and then 99 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.120 everything goes to crap. 100 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:31.279 Well, let's hope that does not go down, but only 101 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:33.920 time will tell. Josh, let's move over to some Utah stuff, 102 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:36.079 and let's start with a piece of news. 103 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:37.560 It appears to be very positive. 104 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.160 I'm not going to be the radio host that claims 105 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.920 that I was grinding on Fairley Dickinson tape last year. 106 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:46.240 But Terrence Brown was their leading scorer. 107 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.720 He's one of the top scorers in the country, and 108 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.959 he is a rising junior, which means technically he has 109 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.639 three years to play with the grad transfer stuff, and 110 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:59.519 apparently the background is he knows Raphael Chilias, but Utah Lanz, who, 111 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.720 according to No. Three is a four star transfer with 112 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:05.680 a composite ranking of nearly ninety two out of one hundred. 113 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.759 So again, I'm not overly familiar. I've just been reading 114 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.879 about him and watching some highlights. He's a pretty impressive 115 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:13.680 young six to three sophomore. What do you make of 116 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:16.240 this piece of the puzzle that Alex Jensen and his 117 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:17.519 staff were able to dial in. 118 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:20.120 Yeah, I'm not going to pretend to know a ton 119 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:22.439 about you know, Fairleig Dickinson or anything other than their 120 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:25.199 tournament ron a few years back, But I mean, this 121 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:26.879 is a guy that, you know, when you look at 122 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:29.279 what Utah needs to be able to compete, or at 123 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.600 least what they haven't had for the last few years, 124 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.519 it's been guard play, and it's been outside shooters or 125 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:37.240 guys that can be able to create their own shot, 126 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:40.560 and Utah seemingly found that with Terrence Brown. You know, 127 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:43.120 he's a guy that you know, averages about twenty point 128 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.920 six points per game, five point six rebounds, three point 129 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:47.839 two assist. So he seems like he can do it 130 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:50.439 all and is kind of a contributor of the offense 131 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:53.959 more than what Utah's had now. Obviously, you know, how 132 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:56.399 he's able to translate to the Big twelve game will 133 00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:58.920 be the biggest thing. But I mean, when when you're 134 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:00.680 going in there in the first guy that you pull 135 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:03.399 out of the portal, outside of getting Keanuds to withdraw 136 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:07.279 from the portal, this becomes a huge get for Utah 137 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:09.920 just you know, being able to get a guy that 138 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.839 they feel confident in, that can score, that can do 139 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.480 a lot of things at guard play. You know, he's 140 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.360 a combo guard, so you know, I'm curious to see 141 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:19.079 how much he'll have the ball in his hands or 142 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:21.439 if he'll be the guy that they set up. But 143 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.759 I mean, you still need great guard play, and especially 144 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.160 in the Big twelve, you need that. So I think 145 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:28.279 this is Alex Jensen working early to be able to 146 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.240 work on those connections with with Chilias, but also it's 147 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:34.120 being able to address the needs that they've seen in 148 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:36.399 the past and kind of his mindset of he wants 149 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:38.160 this team to be able to run fast, we have 150 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:39.920 some tempo and be able to do that and the 151 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:41.519 best way to do that is with guard played. 152 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:45.079 All right, So that's piece number two of the puzzle. 153 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:49.240 And we're still learning about some of these other players 154 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:51.639 and whether or not, you know, Alex and his staff 155 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:53.160 are trying to get any of them back. So let's 156 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:56.519 move over to some of those pieces of news. 157 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:58.879 And I've got your Twitter feed pulled up. 158 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.639 So wording to an account you retweeted a Running Hoops, 159 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:08.399 Running Hoops podcast, they're reporting the Josh Eilert will not 160 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:12.560 be returning next season. I don't know that this is surprising, 161 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:16.680 although you did join us pretty quickly after the news 162 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:19.720 came down that Craig was out and the rumors were 163 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:21.639 swirling that Alex was going to be in. And you 164 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:24.120 made a really interesting case that essentially, Josh, with two 165 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:26.399 decades a Big twelve experience, might be a guy that 166 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:29.800 Alex looks at. Josh rolled in a studio a few 167 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:31.199 weeks ago, we spent some time together. 168 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.000 Seems like a great guy. Moved his family out here. 169 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:37.879 I believe three children, and this business oftentimes is unkind 170 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:40.600 of family dynamics. So what are your thoughts on the 171 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:43.560 news that you know? And I have no idea if 172 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.240 aj even talked to him, but Josh Eilert will not 173 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:49.560 be returning in any role next year for Utah basketball. 174 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:53.600 Yeah, I mean, I know Alex Jensen was. He was 175 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:55.839 in town last week meeting with the players, meeting with 176 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:57.600 the staff and trying to get his lay of the 177 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:00.360 land on kind of what he could do for the 178 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.720 for the you know, Ever since Chileus is the first 179 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:06.279 one that he hired, there's been a lot more emphasis 180 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:08.879 being place. I'm wanting to get his NBA guys, Guys 181 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:10.639 that he feels like he has a great connection with, 182 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:14.240 guys that have kind of that NBA pedigree, and for 183 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:17.680 whatever reason, Josh Eilert didn't kind of pand them out there. 184 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:20.120 I mean, I think when you know, I made the 185 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:21.920 case that if you're going to bring Josh Eilert on, 186 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.639 it's mostly because of your ability to be able to 187 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:26.680 scout the big twelves and being able to understand what 188 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.879 goes on there. But since those conversations that we had, 189 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:32.399 you know, I've kind of heard that there was a 190 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:35.120 little bit more waffling there, especially with the entire staff. 191 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.559 There's still questions on guys like at David Evans or 192 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:42.519 a low Lease obviously they provide connections to whether it 193 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:46.039 be the AAU circuit or in David Evans's case, where 194 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:48.480 you know, obviously he's coached in the state of Utah, 195 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:51.039 He's got a lot of connections there. He also has 196 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:55.159 a great international recruiting base that he can pull from, 197 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:57.840 and so there's there's still questions remaining about them. I 198 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.639 think the longer this goes on, the less likely becomes. 199 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:03.720 But I wouldn't I wouldn't be surprised if David Evans 200 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:05.720 is the guy that they hold on to, if they 201 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:08.559 hold on to somebody, I think just from the Utah 202 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:12.039 standpoint alone, that gives you, you know, the connections inside 203 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.320 the state, which look, you know, Utah have some good recruiting, 204 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:17.120 but like you also need some guys that can go 205 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:19.159 out there and recruit from other areas, right, and I 206 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.960 think with his ability to recruit outside of the country, yeah, 207 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:26.080 you know, the international circuits, I think that gives you 208 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.240 a leg up. But look, I mean, I think there's 209 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.039 so many different guys that you can go to. I 210 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:33.840 don't know that it's a huge miss if you don't 211 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.240 take any of these guys. But I think you know, 212 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:37.759 these are guys are going to have to fall in 213 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:40.080 line with what the way Alec Jensen wants to do it. 214 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:42.919 And you know, for whatever reason, it seems like Josh 215 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.919 Eiler just wasn't the fit there, whether it was his 216 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.799 own choice or whether it was Alex's. You know, I 217 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:50.799 haven't heard anything but that direction, but you know, you 218 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:52.759 wish him best. He's a good guy. He's he's kind 219 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:54.720 of a no nonsense guy, but also kind of stays 220 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.039 out of the limelight, just happy to kind of work 221 00:09:57.080 --> 00:10:00.000 hard and get a team going forward. So the toughest, 222 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:04.480 but I think Utah or Alex Jensen specifically has an 223 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:05.639 idea of where he wants to go. 224 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:09.639 While we're in the space of talking about Alex's staff, 225 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:12.279 you know, right out of the gates coach Chillius and 226 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:16.080 then about a week later, Wes hired as the GM 227 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:20.519 and it's been quiet since then. Any insight and Alex 228 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:23.919 hopped on Sean Show earlier today and talked about his 229 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.960 desire to have a staff that's maybe a little bit 230 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:29.039 smaller than what we've seen in college basketball as of late, 231 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:31.120 which to me is great. I mean, there's like ten 232 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:34.799 coaches on all these teams now, and so we'll see 233 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:36.639 how this thing kind of takes shape. But do you 234 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.440 have any information on the progress or maybe lack thereof 235 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:40.600 and filling out the staff. 236 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:43.639 Yeah, I know he's definitely been working hard to be 237 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:46.039 able to kind of get his guys. I know that 238 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:49.120 there's an NBA guy that he's still trying to work on, 239 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:53.279 and whether that comes down to the NBA season or 240 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:56.200 some other factors, I'm not entirely sure, but I know 241 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:58.600 he wants, you know, at least one more NBA guy, 242 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:00.879 and then outside of that, he's you know, trying to 243 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:02.799 find some connections to the state of Utah, trying to 244 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.279 find a good connection that will allow you to be 245 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:08.240 able to whether that be recruiting or just being able 246 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:10.840 to kind of have that guy that's been in the 247 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:13.519 state in people's homes or whatever that may be, that 248 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:15.840 that is kind of recognizable that way. So, you know, 249 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.279 he's definitely being intentional with this. This isn't something where 250 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:23.080 he's trying to hire a staff immediately so that they 251 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:25.600 can get going for this next year. He's definitely looking 252 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:29.240 long term, right. I think he's not trying to just 253 00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:31.159 kind of put a band aid over something real quick. 254 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:34.080 As he's dealing with you know, what he's had in Dallas. 255 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:36.559 He's definitely trying to be intentional. I mean, he said 256 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:38.600 as much in his inturgal press conference, right like, he 257 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:40.879 said that he was going to take his time, he 258 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:42.799 was going to do it, and you're definitely seeing that. 259 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.039 I think, you know, he wants people to buy into 260 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:49.519 his process. He wants people that are going to to 261 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.440 maximize kind of his potential, especially if he is going 262 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:54.559 to take that small staff, and I've heard the same thing. 263 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:56.320 I don't think he's going to blow up this staff 264 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:58.840 and make it some massive thing. You still need your 265 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:02.480 directors of operation, you still need, you know, more assistant coaches, 266 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:04.960 you need some other things that way. But I think 267 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:07.360 he really attacked it hard and showed kind of his 268 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.279 hand by getting Raphael Chilius as an assistant coach and 269 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.000 then getting Wes Wilcox as a general manager. He showed 270 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.120 kind of the direction he was going where this is 271 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:17.879 going to be my focus. I'm going to focus on 272 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:20.440 the recruits. I'm going to go from the NBA style 273 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:23.679 and go from there. So I don't I don't know 274 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:26.240 that he feels the need to necessarily get something immediately, 275 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:30.759 especially because he's got those proven guys that are able 276 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:32.039 to kind of be in the system already. 277 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:36.639 We did get some news over the weekend Ezrasar has 278 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:41.360 entered the transfer portal. Of course, Ezra had a lot 279 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.799 of bright moments playing for Craig this year, including the 280 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.639 BYU game here in Salt Lake. And you know, I 281 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:48.679 know he has children elsewhere in the country, I think 282 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:51.200 in the Midwest, so maybe he's looking to get closer 283 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:54.240 to home. He did feel like one of the candidates, 284 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.559 along with Keanu Dawes, who will be back playing for 285 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.960 the youth, so that maybe Alex would take a long 286 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.720 hard look at Maybe they still are. But can you 287 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:04.159 shed some light on this information and whether or not 288 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.759 Ezra is still considering maybe staying here in Salt Lake. 289 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:11.120 Yeah, Utah's definitely still in conversations with Ezra. You know, 290 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:14.320 I think they want him, but I think they're gonna 291 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.519 want him at the right price. I know, only have 292 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:18.759 to say that now in college basketball in college football, 293 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:23.039 which is crazy, but I think, you know, based on 294 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:27.559 his skill set, obviously he had tremendous abilities and tremendous upside, 295 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:30.679 but there's still limiting aspects of his game where he 296 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.240 kind of loses the ball on the post. He's not 297 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:35.840 able to, you know, really shoot outside of maybe ten 298 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.639 fifteen feet. Great guy around the rim, but outside of that, 299 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:42.080 his game is pretty limited. So I think, you know, 300 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:43.759 they want him. They want him to be able to 301 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:47.720 be a complimentary player to probably Keanu Das, especially since 302 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:49.720 Keanu has shown that he can be a bit more 303 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:52.960 of a well rounded player, maybe his upside is a 304 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.039 little bit better. And so if they can get him 305 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:56.480 for the right price, one hundred percent, they're going to 306 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:59.759 take him. But I think at this point, you know 307 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.960 that if the market's not there, Keana is the guy 308 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.159 that they're going to build around. They've clearly made an 309 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:07.919 emphasis that, you know, they wanted to be able to 310 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:10.279 have him as kind of their their focal point of 311 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.919 this team. And so if you can build around Keanu 312 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:14.600 and you can have other players that can kind of 313 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:17.360 work in that system, that helps. And whether Ezra fits 314 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:18.799 in that or not, I you know, I would be 315 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:21.039 surprised if he comes back, just based on everything and 316 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.279 kind of how this roster, you know, even though it's 317 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.840 not a large roster, but how this roster is taking shape, 318 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:30.399 I would be surprised if those are two players that 319 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:32.879 really kind of complement each other in the game. They 320 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:34.960 have kind of a similar skill set outside of Keanu 321 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.480 having a better shooting outside of the post. So, I 322 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.360 you know, I know fans really got to love Ezra. 323 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:42.879 You know, I think he was a great guy that 324 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:47.039 spoke well, he was a great guy that fought for 325 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.480 the team. But I think at this point, unless the 326 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:51.200 price isn't right, you know, I think it's time to 327 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:52.159 move on from. 328 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:55.279 Israel instead of going down the list. One more basketball 329 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:58.159 question then we'll move on. Do you think there are 330 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:02.840 any other play year is currently quote on the roster 331 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.720 in the transfer portal that Alex is talking to trying 332 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:07.799 to get back, whether it's Jake Wahaleen or any of 333 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:09.960 the other players, Yeah. 334 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:11.799 You mentioned it. I mean it's Jake Walleen. He's the 335 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:14.759 guy that I think they really want to see come back. 336 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:18.080 The strikes that he made year over year from you know, 337 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.799 his first year to last year kind of shows where 338 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:23.840 he can go, right. They're excited about that. I know 339 00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:26.440 other in state schools are really pushing hard for him, 340 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:28.600 and so, I you know, this isn't going to be 341 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:30.919 an easy thing. At the end of the day Jake's 342 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:32.759 you know, a's all these players do. He has to 343 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.480 do it's best for him. But I know that they're 344 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:36.559 really interested in him and want to see him develop. 345 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:38.960 But I know a school up north that is is 346 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.120 absolutely pushing hard for him. So whether that comes down 347 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.240 to money or kind of a better fit, whatever that 348 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:46.720 may be, you know, he's going to be a hot 349 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:49.799 commodity at least in this state alone. And you know, 350 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.200 whether Utah gets him or not, you know, it can 351 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:53.879 be a loss, but I don't think it has to be. 352 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.120 They needed more out of him from from an outside 353 00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.799 a shooting perspective, and so if he does come back, 354 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:01.919 I think that's where you'd see them definitely grow and 355 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:04.960 try to push his game because he's got He's got 356 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:06.720 a tremendous subset as well. I mean, he gets into 357 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:08.720 that post, he's able to rebound at the high rate. 358 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:11.279 But they do need more shooting from the outside to 359 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:13.759 make his game translates a little bit better with what 360 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:14.600 Alex wants to do. 361 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:17.200 All right over to the football side of things is 362 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:22.480 there was a scrimmage on Saturday where media was allowed 363 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:26.559 to watch, which doesn't happen often. There was once upon 364 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:28.559 a time where it happened all the time, but of 365 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.440 course things change and people get weird about access, as 366 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.440 we've talked about. So any main takeaways from that scrimmage, 367 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:36.399 anything you've fan should know. 368 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:40.279 Yeah, I mean, I think the big takeaway from from 369 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:42.879 this scrimmage alone is that Devin Dampier's the guy, right. 370 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.360 I mean, I'm not there was any questions, but I 371 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:48.320 think there's a noticeable enough difference between Devin Dampier and 372 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:51.200 the rest of the quarterbacks, and right now that's Isaac 373 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:54.159 Wilson and Bird Fickland. Those two have been the guys 374 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.000 that have been, you know, backing him up. But I 375 00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:59.399 really think a guy like Bird Fickland, who who he 376 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.240 needs to put on a ton of weight, you know, 377 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.240 just size. He's a smaller bodied guy right now, but 378 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.039 he's got one of the best balls that that any 379 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:09.759 of the quarterbacks have. You know, he's starting to make 380 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:13.279 tremendous strides and so you're starting to see Bird kind 381 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.279 of pushing Isaac a little bit. Isaac obviously needs to 382 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.839 rebuild that confidence that he had after kind of just 383 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.279 taking out last year based on having the whole offense 384 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:24.640 on his shoulders and and it just not going well. 385 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.359 But by and large, I mean I think this this team, 386 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.319 it's it's making the right progressions that it needs to 387 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:33.720 make right. I think one of the questions about this 388 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.160 this offense specifically, is that there wasn't really going to 389 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:39.359 be a huge passing game, and you know, there's there 390 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:43.240 is an emphasis more in the run game, as you know, 391 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:45.599 over the last few years they've wanted to push more 392 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:48.799 of the passing. But I think Utah's utilizing this in 393 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:52.240 a very effective way where they're being diverse and how 394 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:55.240 they run the ball and as such, they're being able 395 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:56.559 to use that to be able to open up a 396 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.519 lot of these receivers. And you know, right now, there's 397 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:01.759 not like a standout guy in that wide receiver room 398 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:03.400 that says, Okay, it has to be that guy, you 399 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:05.440 have to throw it to him. It has to be 400 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.599 you know, whoever it is, whether it's Door and Singer 401 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:11.200