Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: So I wasn't aware we were gonna be getting this
Speaker 2: information today, but it is good timing as it's been
Speaker 2: a big topic for a while and it was what
Speaker 2: we were just talking about a moment ago, the ACC
Speaker 2: Coach of the Year National Coach of the Year conversation. Well,
Speaker 2: the ACC Coach of the Year has been decided and
Speaker 2: it was Pat Kelsey who who won, which again shouldn't
Speaker 2: be a real surprise and certainly very very well deserved.
Speaker 2: I mean, you've got I'm trying to see if they've
Speaker 2: got Yeah, here we go.
Speaker 3: I can't.
Speaker 2: I can't see. Okay, the ACC themselves is now releasing it.
Speaker 2: U of L is the first person I saw that
Speaker 2: put out the graphic that announced that Pat Kelse was
Speaker 2: the ACC Coach of the Year. And now they've also
Speaker 2: meant they've let us know that Chucky Hepburn was named
Speaker 2: ACC Defensive Play of the Year and certainly going to
Speaker 2: be a first teamer as well. So certainly well deserved
Speaker 2: for both Chucky and for coach Kelsey. And again I'm
Speaker 2: it looks like the ACC. On the Men's Basketball ACC
Speaker 2: Men's Basketball social media pages, they're currently announcing these winners
Speaker 2: right now. So again Pat Kelsey Coach of the Year,
Speaker 2: player and Rookie of the Year no surprise in the ACC.
Speaker 2: Cooper Flag have a hard time thinking he won't end
Speaker 2: up being the national Player of the Year as well,
Speaker 2: but most improved ended up going to Donald hand Junior
Speaker 2: no clue that is, but plays for Boston College, and
Speaker 2: the sixth Man of the Year is Col's Jeremiah Wilkerson.
Speaker 3: Wilkinson.
Speaker 2: So I don't know if that says more about the
Speaker 2: league just being so whatever, or if it says more
Speaker 2: about me just not paying attention like I mean usually usually,
Speaker 2: I fu's anybody getting any kind of an award in
Speaker 2: the ACC. I feel like I would have some awareness
Speaker 2: of who they are. I don't know who either of
Speaker 2: those guys are. Maybe it's because Kyle's brand new to
Speaker 2: the ACC and Boston College is not new, but they've
Speaker 2: never really mattered. And really that's that's I can tell
Speaker 2: you who's good for who in the ACC as far
Speaker 2: as which teams, But none of these teams were really
Speaker 2: like threats, Like it was nice to have this awesome
Speaker 2: season that we had. I mean again, still doesn't seem
Speaker 2: real to go twenty five and six, and I mean
Speaker 2: just be in this position that we're in. It again
Speaker 2: still doesn't seem real at times. But one thing that,
Speaker 2: you know, it just hit me as I'm realizing, shouldn't
Speaker 2: I know who these guys are? And the answer is yes, Like,
Speaker 2: as someone who does what I do, I should know.
Speaker 2: This is Boston College guy's name again, Donald hann Junior.
Speaker 3: Oh hand yeah, one heck of a job by him, DHJ.
Speaker 2: So it just hit me when I came to the
Speaker 2: realization that I have no clue who either.
Speaker 3: I couldn't even lie to you like, oh yeah, he's
Speaker 3: number on. No clue.
Speaker 2: These guys could walk in and tell me who they
Speaker 2: are and I would just, you know, I would.
Speaker 3: Just have to take their word for it. But there really.
Speaker 2: Wasn't many nights in the ACC this year or where
Speaker 2: I felt like as a fan, and I know I'm
Speaker 2: not the only fan that does this where I'm like, oh,
Speaker 2: they got hair and Goady in the post that notre name.
Speaker 2: It's gonna be a tough night for us, Gonna really
Speaker 2: need you know, such and such to to play, to
Speaker 2: play strong and not get in foul trouble.
Speaker 3: Ben Hansborough's yeah, problem.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like you just because you played a lot of
Speaker 2: teams in this league, because that's really what the league
Speaker 2: was filled with. That just really like if Louisville really
Speaker 2: early on in league play, right, like once they got
Speaker 2: to January and started rolling, and they knocked off Carolina
Speaker 2: and they beat Clemson, and then you know, you started,
Speaker 2: you know, you started to see that a lot of
Speaker 2: the teams that you were gonna play down the line
Speaker 2: were not as good as.
Speaker 3: The teams you've already beaten.
Speaker 2: Right, you still felt like you had some value at
Speaker 2: the time with your wins over Indiana and even West Virginia.
Speaker 2: So Louisville showed early on. It's not just because the
Speaker 2: league's terrible, but Louisville showed early on despite the league
Speaker 2: being down, they look like they're pretty good. So therefore
Speaker 2: it was more more often than not, it was just
Speaker 2: all right, let's take business right, Let's let's just go
Speaker 2: do what we're supposed to do, which is win. And oh,
Speaker 2: by the way, if we win big, we're gonna be
Speaker 2: enjoying it because we no longer take winning it all
Speaker 2: for granted around here because of you know, the previous
Speaker 2: few seasons. So anyways, Louisville a great sendoff of those
Speaker 2: seniors on Saturday, and the postseason will start for them
Speaker 2: on Thursday in the ACC Tournament. In the quarterfinals, they'll
Speaker 2: take on the winner. So it's gonna be tomorrow is
Speaker 2: when it starts. It's gonna be cal And and Virginia
Speaker 2: Tech winner that play stand for on Wednesday win or
Speaker 2: that will play Louisville. So now that you're actually here
Speaker 2: the postseason, in the postseason and you're seeing you know,
Speaker 2: the All Conference awards being announced, I mean, what a
Speaker 2: phenomenal regular season. And in college basketball it'll always be
Speaker 2: the case that teams are remembered mostly for what they
Speaker 2: do in the tournament and you can have a great season,
Speaker 2: like it really shouldn't be that way, you know, the
Speaker 2: more I really give it some thought, compare it to
Speaker 2: I mean, every sport it's it's about what you do
Speaker 2: when it matters, which again is the tournament right when
Speaker 2: you get to the playoffs in the NFL that kind
Speaker 2: of stuff. But because you know, the tournament's just so
Speaker 2: different to where you know, we have resumes and seating
Speaker 2: that's done in a way that you know you don't
Speaker 2: see in the playoffs, right, there's a selection committee that
Speaker 2: decides who's gonna get in, who's gonna get what seed.
Speaker 2: They put sixty eight teams in, which means you know,
Speaker 2: you could you could end up just having the opportunity
Speaker 2: to have your season ended by a fifteen seed.
Speaker 3: As a two seed.
Speaker 2: It's kind of a scary thing if you think about it, because, man,
Speaker 2: your two seed, which means what you had a phenomenal year.
Speaker 2: But if you lose that game, which again you shouldn't
Speaker 2: and if you do, you have nobody to blame it yourself,
Speaker 2: but that loss could ruin everything. I mean, I think
Speaker 2: you'll you'll have fond memories.
Speaker 3: Of the ride.
Speaker 2: But is college basketball fans, we just it's hard to
Speaker 2: look back on a year and view it as all
Speaker 2: that was great, That was awesome, what a fun year,
Speaker 2: great year.
Speaker 3: If it is a real.
Speaker 2: Disappointment in the postseason, like Ucky went thirty eight and
Speaker 2: one made a Final four under no circumstance. Is that
Speaker 2: ever a bad season for anybody, But because they were
Speaker 2: undefeated and clearly were the best team in the country
Speaker 2: and then they lost two games before it all came
Speaker 2: to an end where they could have won the championship.
Speaker 3: The fifteen team. They loved that group, They know how
Speaker 3: good they were.
Speaker 2: They probably don't have like bad memories, but there's always
Speaker 2: going to be a sad and negative connection to that
Speaker 2: team because you fell short. I mean, it doesn't mean
Speaker 2: you didn't love them and that team, but you know
Speaker 2: what I'm saying, Like college basketball, it's just it's it's
Speaker 2: a different level of what you do in the Big
Speaker 2: Dance is not only going to matter more than anything else,
Speaker 2: because again that's the case everywhere, but what makes college
Speaker 2: basketball rare is that it's almost like nothing matters right
Speaker 2: like because you can have a great regular season that accomplished,
Speaker 2: like for example, like Mark Pope. Mark Pope put together
Speaker 2: a season in his debut at Kentucky that I don't
Speaker 2: think anybody would say he did anything. But I mean
Speaker 2: you could find probably people who are complaining about certain
Speaker 2: things and maybe not liking his substitution patterns or something like.
Speaker 3: That, but overall, like the guy won enough.
Speaker 2: I mean, he went twenty one to ten. They're safely
Speaker 2: a three or four seed at worst, and they've got
Speaker 2: a bunch of wins that have value. They beat Duke,
Speaker 2: they beat Louisville, they swept Tennessee, they beat Florida, who
Speaker 2: right now I believe is maybe the best team in
Speaker 2: the SEC. So you know, he did a lot of
Speaker 2: good despite them having ten losses. But if they lose
Speaker 2: in the first round, I mean, I think level headed
Speaker 2: Kentucky fans can say, oh, well, next year will be better.
Speaker 2: And look, I'm not saying that's going to happen, but
Speaker 2: all those great wins that I just mentioned, because look,
Speaker 2: some of the wins they have, you no, mean more
Speaker 2: to you as a fan because of who it is,
Speaker 2: more so than their resume. Right, Like sweeping Tennessee's is
Speaker 2: a great day for Kentucky. Beating your rival Louisville once again,
Speaker 2: it's a little extra special than other games because it's
Speaker 2: the rival. So what I'm trying to say is, like
Speaker 2: if they were to slip up and let's just say
Speaker 2: they're a three seed and they lose to, let's see
Speaker 2: who Lenardi's got them playing, And by the way, I'm
Speaker 2: not saying they will, but like if they lose to Troy,
Speaker 2: who's a fourteen seed, I don't think you're gonna hear
Speaker 2: me in the Kentucky fans talking about, oh, he swept Tennessee,
Speaker 2: he beat Louisville, he beat Duke, because when it actually mattered,
Speaker 2: you fell flat. And again, maybe that's not even good example,
Speaker 2: because I think I'm sure there are people hearing that
Speaker 2: in thinking I'm saying that's gonna happen.
Speaker 3: I'm not. But that was a long winded way of
Speaker 3: me trying.
Speaker 2: To say that college basketball will always be a real
Speaker 2: tricky a tricky thing for your emotions. Because this team
Speaker 2: for Louisville, you know, they had a phenomenal year, and
Speaker 2: who knows what the tournament looks like for them. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think their seed is pretty safe at a six seven,
Speaker 2: I don't think you could be an eight. If you
Speaker 2: did get an eight, he probably means you lose on Thursday.
Speaker 2: I don't think you can get higher than a five,
Speaker 2: even if you beat Duke. To be honest with you,
Speaker 2: which again easier said than done. But we have a
Speaker 2: real rare situation here to where no matter like we
Speaker 2: have such house money, if you will, when it comes
Speaker 2: to the tournament that I don't think there's a scenario
Speaker 2: that could play out wherever they end up in their
Speaker 2: first game if it's a loss, Look that could happen
Speaker 2: to by the way, like who knows who they're going
Speaker 2: to play against, Like you just don't know, But I
Speaker 2: just can't see any scenario. Let's just say worst case
Speaker 2: scenario again, you lose first game and it's a blowout.
Speaker 2: That will not make me feel any differently than I
Speaker 2: feel right now about this team and how phenomenal this
Speaker 2: first season was, how enjoyable it was to come back
Speaker 2: to life again this team, the revival, it's a real
Speaker 2: thing that happened. Pat Kelsey put it in motion, started
Speaker 2: talking about it. Did the Zach Bryan thing where he's
Speaker 2: sharing that song called revival anytime he gets a commitment.
Speaker 2: I mean, that was the clear brand of this debut
Speaker 2: season for him with the program, Right, we're reviving thing.
Speaker 2: It's a revival and it happened, And I don't need
Speaker 2: a tournament to make me feel any different. So what
Speaker 2: I'm getting at is like this is like, just enjoy
Speaker 2: this because moving forward, like if Pat Kelsey does the
Speaker 2: same thing next year, and like let's say they lose
Speaker 2: in the round of sixty four and this year, let's
Speaker 2: say they make the Sweet sixteen. No clue that happens,
Speaker 2: but let's just hypothetically say that that's the situation.
Speaker 3: That plays out.
Speaker 2: We're gonna be a lot more upset next year, just
Speaker 2: because you know, this was such a rare, really a
Speaker 2: once in a lifetime kind of thing as far as
Speaker 2: just being able to enjoy it and everything that comes
Speaker 2: with it because of the circumstance.
Speaker 3: So again, it's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2: And again, if you are just not joining us, maybe
Speaker 2: you just jumped in your car leaving work at five o'clock,
Speaker 2: whatever it may be. Pat Kelsey was named ACC Coach
Speaker 2: of the Year by the ACC. Now will he get
Speaker 2: a national Coach of the Year. Who knows, But he'll
Speaker 2: certainly be in the conversation, and I won't be shocked
Speaker 2: if he does end up winning it, because you know,
Speaker 2: look at the job that he's done this year. It's
Speaker 2: been phenomenal. We got more awards coming in as Chucky Hepburn.
Speaker 3: I love this.
Speaker 2: I love this because I well, never mind, I'm wrong.
Speaker 3: I got it wrong.
Speaker 2: Because I'm reading Jody Demmling's tweet, which I think is incorrect. Yeah,
Speaker 2: because yeah, here we go. Chuckie Hepburn made First Team
Speaker 2: All ACC as you could expect. Terrence Edwards made third
Speaker 2: Team All ACC. So again, I if he's third team,
Speaker 2: then there's probably gonna be no second or third for
Speaker 2: Javon or Rain. And that's not a crime, you know, clearly.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm I'm gonna be a little biased, I suppose,
Speaker 2: but I just think when you look at how good
Speaker 2: Louisville was compared to the rest of the league outside
Speaker 2: of two teams, really, I mean, Louisville was I mean
Speaker 2: todd for second with Clemson, but they had the tiebreaker
Speaker 2: and the only team that was ahead of them was Duke.
Speaker 2: And Louisville had four guys that I think production wise
Speaker 2: and really just their value was I think worthy of
Speaker 2: All ACC. And I would And I know I sound
Speaker 2: like I'm such a homer here, and I guess I am.
Speaker 2: But I feel like giving All ACC honors to a
Speaker 2: guy who put up you know, not as good as
Speaker 2: numbers for a team that was substantially worse, I just
Speaker 2: I don't know, Like I it would be hard for
Speaker 2: me to vote for that person because I feel like
Speaker 2: being a part of one of the better teams should matter.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm hoping that it's the Louisville graphic that
Speaker 2: got it wrong and not Jody, but two tweets that
Speaker 2: came in at like the exact same time. Jody says,
Speaker 2: Louives pack Kelsey named ACC Coach of the Year, chuck you,
Speaker 2: Hepburn named Defensive Player of the Year. Hepburn and Edwards
Speaker 2: both on first team All ACC squad, and the Louisville
Speaker 2: tweet the graphics shows fat and it says third.
Speaker 3: Team All ACC. So I'm not better. I mean I
Speaker 3: kind of am, but you know whatever a tease.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So anyways, congrats to those guys, and you know,
Speaker 2: not that anybody had to worry about it, but like
Speaker 2: these guys aren't going to get like complacent, right, Like
Speaker 2: this is innocent and that's one of the value. There's
Speaker 2: all kinds of I mean, I think there really are
Speaker 2: all kinds of different things that have just factored into
Speaker 2: this being such a rare and special season. And we've
Speaker 2: talked about a lot of them. But one that I
Speaker 2: just don't think you can emphasize and enough is that
Speaker 2: these are grown ups. These are mature men that you know,
Speaker 2: they play their experience and their maturity not only as
Speaker 2: individuals but as players like that's how you were able
Speaker 2: to go eighteen and two, and you know, even though
Speaker 2: it's against the team a lot of teams that aren't
Speaker 2: going to be in the tournament, you didn't have but
Speaker 2: one slip up where you actually lost. Because these guys
Speaker 2: do the little things. They watch film, They know the
Speaker 2: teams they play aren't making the tournament. They know that
Speaker 2: they were really expected to win and expected to sometimes
Speaker 2: win big against a lot of teams they played in,
Speaker 2: played against every night in the league. But they were
Speaker 2: still taking the floor as if it was a big
Speaker 2: game and they could lose because again, I think it's
Speaker 2: a reflection of the guy leading them, but also because
Speaker 2: their maturity, Like I know, we're gonna have some young
Speaker 2: guys on this team next year, and that's exciting, especially
Speaker 2: a guy who's you know, probably gonna be a top
Speaker 2: ten draft pick when it's all said and done. But
Speaker 2: I would hope that Pat Kelsey was able to really
Speaker 2: learn from this that there's you know, you got guys
Speaker 2: that can play. That's really the most important thing. Talent,
Speaker 2: guys that can fit what you want to do, all
Speaker 2: that kind of stuff that matters a lot. But man,
Speaker 2: I selfishly would love to see more guys that are
Speaker 2: you know, that are on the older side, that transfer
Speaker 2: here for one, maybe two years, because I think their
Speaker 2: maturity will make them one appreciate being here a little
Speaker 2: bit more. And you know, I just think it's a
Speaker 2: good recipe. And one of the things Pat Kelsey talked
Speaker 2: about and we got to get a break into a moment,
Speaker 2: one of the things Pat Kelsey talked about on Saturday
Speaker 2: that really really stood out to me was, you know,
Speaker 2: he gets asked the same thing a lot of coaches
Speaker 2: get asked when you're in that situation where you're finishing
Speaker 2: with that league. REP mean, you're you're supposed to win
Speaker 2: a lot of these games that you win, and so
Speaker 2: he'll get questions about the tournament and about seeding and
Speaker 2: all that. And I think what he says is the truth.
Speaker 2: It's what a lot of coaches say, and I'm sure
Speaker 2: a lot of them are telling the truth. But with
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey, I think it's quite obvious that like he
Speaker 2: doesn't think about any game until it's the next game.
Speaker 2: Like it's a corny thing a coach would say, but
Speaker 2: him telling you that the next game, whoever it's against,
Speaker 2: if it's against Duke or if it's against Spaulding, it's
Speaker 2: the most important game in the history of a basketball
Speaker 2: because it's the next one. Like, I think that's truly
Speaker 2: something that they embrace and that's the philosophy that they have,
Speaker 2: you know, So that's that's that's really really important. But
Speaker 2: Pat was asked about something about the future and he said, look,
Speaker 2: I think we're gonna lose every game.
Speaker 3: He said.
Speaker 2: My coaches will will laugh at me when they if
Speaker 2: you ask him this. But and I'm paraphrasing here that
Speaker 2: you know, he looks at film, he looks at everybody
Speaker 2: they play and fears they're going to lose because not
Speaker 2: he's down, not that he's not on his team, but
Speaker 2: he just you know, he's gonna make sure he's well
Speaker 2: aware that if he doesn't do what he needs to
Speaker 2: do with his team and his guys, that this opponent,
Speaker 2: you know, will beat you if you let him. And
Speaker 2: you know, you never take anybody lightly, and that's hard
Speaker 2: to maintain. And we'll see if he can do it.
Speaker 2: You know, if he's here for twenty years and Louisville's
Speaker 2: win in twenty five or more a year, then maybe
Speaker 2: he does get complacent because you know, he's a human being,
Speaker 2: but also like I think he really really really means that,
Speaker 2: and I think that's why he's been able to be
Speaker 2: successful at every level he's been at because he has
Speaker 2: a winning formula.
Speaker 3: He is a leader, and the way he's done it
Speaker 3: has worked.
Speaker 2: And I think the real kicker, as far as you know,
Speaker 2: can it work at a higher level than Charleston and Winthrop.
Speaker 2: I just think there's now things in place to where
Speaker 2: that adjustment period is not going to be what it
Speaker 2: used to be because the things that you know used
Speaker 2: to need, like a larger than life personality, a lot
Speaker 2: of charisma to walk into a living room and recruit
Speaker 2: a young man and have him come and play for you, Like,
Speaker 2: you still need to do those things right, like recruit,
Speaker 2: but money does most of the work right. And if
Speaker 2: these guys approach it like, hey, I'm paid to be here,
Speaker 2: it's a job, you know, you don't really have to
Speaker 2: manage the egos quite as much because even if these
Speaker 2: guys end up not playing the minutes that they want
Speaker 2: to play, they're still getting paid. But anyways, there's a clear,
Speaker 2: comfortable fear that Pat Kelsey has of losing to everybody
Speaker 2: that I think keeps him with an edge that again
Speaker 2: makes him really successful. You always got to have a
Speaker 2: comfortable fear of everything, not to be a philosopher, but
Speaker 2: a comfortable fear of losing everything you have. It'll make
Speaker 2: you live in the moment. It'll make you appreciate what
Speaker 2: you have and not take it for granted. And then
Speaker 2: also it'll also allow you to maintain an edge to
Speaker 2: the you know, maintain the same kind of work havoit
Speaker 2: the work ethic that got you where you are. Anyways,
Speaker 2: it was corny, but I'm just telling I'm just being
Speaker 2: honest with you. I see, I now know why before
Speaker 2: Pat coach to game, all these businesses that had him
Speaker 2: come in and speak, because you know, he's trying to
Speaker 2: revive not just Louisville basketball fans, but this city. Right
Speaker 2: he wants to make an impression on business leaders and
Speaker 2: whatnot in the community. And I mean before he coached
Speaker 2: the game, before he put the roster together, there were
Speaker 2: people like, I heard this guy talk. You have to
Speaker 2: listen to him, like he's he's he's phenomenal. And I
Speaker 2: was like, yeah, I heard his pres commerce. They're like, no,
Speaker 2: it's it's way. It gets way better than that like,
Speaker 2: I'll take your word for it, and sure enough, again,
Speaker 2: this success they've had so far, his leadership, it's the
Speaker 2: it's the root of it.
Speaker 3: All right, quick break will come back.
Speaker 2: On the other side, we'll talk about Scotty Davenport who's
Speaker 2: decided to uh to retire.
Speaker 3: Bittersweet for me.
Speaker 2: And speaking of coach, the ACC has already made a
Speaker 2: couple of highers and we'll see how they work out.
Speaker 2: But I want the ACC to not suck anymore in
Speaker 2: basketball and some of the hires that have been made
Speaker 2: in some of the decisions to retain some of these coaches. Currently,
Speaker 2: I'm not super confident we're going to be back anytime
Speaker 2: soon meeting the ACC.
Speaker 3: Stick around right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven to nine day.
Speaker 2: So last thing here on the Coach of the Year
Speaker 2: conversation for those who missed it. Pat Kelsey earlier within
Speaker 2: the hour actually was named ACC Coach of the Year.
Speaker 3: Not a big.
Speaker 2: Surprise, but the other conference awards are out meeting other
Speaker 2: leagues and in the ACC it was Bruce Pearl, which
Speaker 2: that's a guy who got it won because he did
Speaker 2: a good job. But I feel like you could have
Speaker 2: easily given it to Dennis Gates at Missouri, who went
Speaker 2: winless in the SEC last year. Had he won it
Speaker 2: this year, I don't think anybody would have been surprised.
Speaker 2: But again, Bruce Parl also did a good job. And
Speaker 2: then in the Big Twelve it was Kelvin Sampson, So
Speaker 2: you know, I mean to me, I don't really know
Speaker 2: who the overachiever would have been. And I think more
Speaker 2: than anything Kelvin Samson. Everybody knows it's a great coach.
Speaker 2: But also to see Houston jump up from American Athletic
Speaker 2: Conference previously Conference USA, and they've been good with Samson
Speaker 2: for a while now, even before they got to the
Speaker 2: Big Twelve. This is now their second year in the
Speaker 2: Big Twelve, and this is a league that, let's be honest,
Speaker 2: I mean, for a while, before the SEC exploded like
Speaker 2: it did this year, the Big Twelve for many.
Speaker 3: Years was viewed as the deepest college basketball.
Speaker 2: Conference and they had a title winner from just a
Speaker 2: few years ago, Kansas, who by the way, has been
Speaker 2: really good and this is the like Kansas is still
Speaker 2: safely in the tournament, might make a deep run who knows,
Speaker 2: and yet this is a really down here for them.
Speaker 2: So Kelvin Samson, this probably is not included in the
Speaker 2: criteria that they tell you to consider when you make
Speaker 2: the vote as far as who gets Big TELF Coach
Speaker 2: of the Year. But Samson in his first two years
Speaker 2: winning the league regular season twice with games to spare,
Speaker 2: that's that just out of respect like that guy. Nobody
Speaker 2: should be complaining about him getting it.
Speaker 3: And then the Big East.
Speaker 2: I haven't seen it, but I think it's Rick Patino,
Speaker 2: which makes total sense. So you know, if you don't
Speaker 2: win your conference coach of the year, can you win
Speaker 2: national Coach of the Year? Right? Like will pat get
Speaker 2: it ahead of Shire? Because Shire didn't even get his conference?
Speaker 3: Like you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Like but again, like for example, there is a there's
Speaker 2: an award that the Field of sixty eight gave out
Speaker 2: to the best transfer in college basketball. Well, they gave
Speaker 2: it to Tanjay, the guy Wisconsin who's had a phenomenal
Speaker 2: season for Wisconsin, which I have no issue with that,
Speaker 2: But Chucky was the first team All American and he
Speaker 2: was the only guy that was a first year transfer
Speaker 2: on your All American teams. So if he's your first
Speaker 2: team All American, how would he not be the Transfer
Speaker 2: of the Year. And again it's because you can be
Speaker 2: you know, you can be selective as far as how
Speaker 2: you want to give it out. But I would say
Speaker 2: for national Coach of the Year, the biggest competition for
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey has got to beat Bruce Perl and Rick Patino, right,
Speaker 2: I mean, Rick has got the juice right now. He
Speaker 2: was on with Jimmy Fallon the other night. I mean,
Speaker 2: I feel like Rick is getting more limelight and hype
Speaker 2: than he ever has. I mean, maybe not as as
Speaker 2: much as he was when Louisville won the national championship
Speaker 2: and that kind of stuff, but I mean it just
Speaker 2: seems like, I mean, it's almost crazy to think that
Speaker 2: the hype trained for Patino being what it is now.
Speaker 3: Like go back to.
Speaker 2: Four years ago, even three years ago, before he even
Speaker 2: got the job at St. John's Head, when he first
Speaker 2: before he got hired at IONA.
Speaker 3: Right, like he was show caused. Yeah, the thought of
Speaker 3: he wasn't.
Speaker 2: Actually, by the way, the thought of uh was no,
Speaker 2: like he never even got any trouble. He didn't get
Speaker 2: suspend I mean, or maybe he did get like some
Speaker 2: kind of a suspension, but that whole thing like Rick,
Speaker 2: like Rick, Rick, whatever happened, I guess none of us
Speaker 2: will know deep down the full details of what involvement
Speaker 2: he knew of or you know, knew of anything that
Speaker 2: kind of stuff, and that's not here nor there. Nobody
Speaker 2: cares anymore. But my point is he never left fingerprints,
Speaker 2: even if he was dirty, So they couldn't actually punish
Speaker 2: him because they didn't. They had no way like he
Speaker 2: fought at anyone when it comes to the NCAA. So anyways,
Speaker 2: he just got in trouble for you know, having assistance
Speaker 2: that you can still get in trouble for not running
Speaker 2: your program and not having oversight as far as what
Speaker 2: guys do, But they still don't punish you quite as
Speaker 2: much as you're the god doing it, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 3: So anyways, with Rick, if.
Speaker 2: You'd have said three or four years ago that he'd
Speaker 2: be in this position right now, I would never believe you.
Speaker 2: Not because I didn't think he was going to be
Speaker 2: a good coach, because we know he's a great coach.
Speaker 3: Nobody's ever really questioned that.
Speaker 2: But I mean, he was a guy that, like it
Speaker 2: was hard to not as a human kind of feels
Speaker 2: sad for him because it just kind of felt like
Speaker 2: his reputation was insanely ruined, and like when people bring
Speaker 2: him up, they're going to bring up, you know, jokes
Speaker 2: about Minority Hall, and you know, he'd kind of removed
Speaker 2: himself from the whole Careen Cipher thing as far as
Speaker 2: it being like a national story, like people knew of it,
Speaker 2: but it wasn't like the first thing that came to
Speaker 2: mind for you when you thought of Rick Patino, because
Speaker 2: he was able to kind of put it in the
Speaker 2: past and win it a high level and then sure
Speaker 2: enough you had, you know, the Katina pal situation as
Speaker 2: well as the Brian Bowen thing, and it just kind
Speaker 2: of felt like that was going to be the lasting
Speaker 2: memory of Rick Patino in college basketball for a lot
Speaker 2: of people. And yet here he is. He might win
Speaker 2: national coach of the Year, he might win the national championship.
Speaker 2: I don't know if they will, but can't say I'd
Speaker 2: be shocked if they're they are competing for because we
Speaker 2: know how good the guy leading them is and they're
Speaker 2: a pretty good team. They don't shoot the three as
Speaker 2: well as uh as a lot of teams that you
Speaker 2: would consider to beat title contenders.
Speaker 3: However, Rick Patino, listen to this. This is crazy.
Speaker 2: Rick Patino at Louisville in twenty twelve and in twenty
Speaker 2: thirteen he so the two worst three point shooting teams
Speaker 2: as far as percentage is to ever make the final
Speaker 2: four were Louisville coach Rick Patino teams, which, again, like
Speaker 2: we all know, they had some good shooters. Luke Hancock
Speaker 2: was phenomenal, Russ could get hot. I mean, they had
Speaker 2: guys that they could knock down shots. But Rick has
Speaker 2: won where he embraced the three point line, and it
Speaker 2: was really how he built his teams. And then he's
Speaker 2: also been able to win wherever his teams aren't great shooters,
Speaker 2: because again he's that good of a coach. So I
Speaker 2: would say Bruce Pearl and Ricky p are probably the
Speaker 2: two biggest contenders for Pat Kelsey when it comes to
Speaker 2: national Coach of the Year. But we shall see, all right,
Speaker 2: Scott Davenport is going to retire from Bellarman. That news
Speaker 2: broke over the weekend. I mean a hell of a
Speaker 2: run for Scotti. D a Louisville legend, a self made
Speaker 2: Louisville basketball legend, a guy who I mean really grinded
Speaker 2: his way up from the bottom of, you know, the
Speaker 2: coaching ranks. I mean, I'm pretty sure he started. I
Speaker 2: mean all he went to Iroquois High School. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean he grew up in Louisville, attended Iroquois, and I mean.
Speaker 3: Ended up. I can't think of what.
Speaker 2: I don't know what year he got hired at Ballard,
Speaker 2: but obviously he made a name for himself at Ballard,
Speaker 2: coaching some of the best high school teams we've ever
Speaker 2: seen around here.
Speaker 3: And at that point he was already a legend. Well,
Speaker 3: then he.
Speaker 2: Decides to take a job on the staff with Denny
Speaker 2: Crumb and obviously became one of Denny's top assistants.
Speaker 3: And then Rick.
Speaker 2: Patino decided to keep coach Davenport around. And you know,
Speaker 2: he was one of those assistant coaches on that Final
Speaker 2: fourteen back in two thousand and five.
Speaker 3: So again, the story's already great there.
Speaker 2: Well, then he decides to take over a Division two
Speaker 2: program right here in town, Bellerman, which to my knowledge,
Speaker 2: Bellerman basketball had very little success historically before coach Davenport.
Speaker 3: I mean, I could be wrong.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sure they had some years where they
Speaker 2: were kind of good, but like, I don't really remember here,
Speaker 2: and I followed basketball a lot as a kid, and
Speaker 2: I don't really remember Bellerman ever being mentioned as like
Speaker 2: a team people followed or cared about or was successful.
Speaker 2: And then he got there, and now here we are,
Speaker 2: you know, twenty years roughly removed, and Bellerman is absolutely
Speaker 2: a team around here people care about.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's a part of our basketball culture.
Speaker 2: And it's really because of him, I mean, him leading
Speaker 2: Bellerman and him being such a lovable louivillion that everybody.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know many people, no coach Davenport,
Speaker 2: that don't think the world of him as an individual,
Speaker 2: as a coach, as a teacher. I mean, he's you know,
Speaker 2: he's got a pretty good approval rating here in this
Speaker 2: town for good reason. And he's not He's not a
Speaker 2: young guy, let's be real. So I feel like if
Speaker 2: this guy wasn't everything we thought he was and everything
Speaker 2: we see we know. So because of that, he takes
Speaker 2: over for Bellarman, and people with no connection development, people
Speaker 2: that didn't graduate from there, people that didn't don't have
Speaker 2: kids that go there, they want to support Bellerman because
Speaker 2: coach Davenport is one of us, right, I mean, especially
Speaker 2: Louisville fans, because you know, he gave us a lot
Speaker 2: of great players, including Dewan Wheat back in the nineties,
Speaker 2: and of course he was an assistant here at Louisville
Speaker 2: and he's one of our own. So he got the
Speaker 2: job of Bellerman and I don't need to tell you what.
Speaker 2: You know what he did there. I mean he built them.
Speaker 3: Into being a D two powerhouse.
Speaker 2: And national championship within the first six years on the job.
Speaker 2: I mean a bunch of deep tournament runs, a bunch
Speaker 2: of nearly thirty thirty win seasons that he had during
Speaker 2: his time there, overall four hundred and twenty six and
Speaker 2: one ninety seven. And think about what that number would
Speaker 2: have been had he not had the struggles as they
Speaker 2: made that transition to Division one, which, by the way,
Speaker 2: I mean clearly this year not a good year for Bellerman,
Speaker 2: and you know I hated that this was the last
Speaker 2: year he was coaching. But let's be honest, Scott Davenport,
Speaker 2: I mean even before I.
Speaker 3: Guess, really the last two years while they were.
Speaker 2: In the D one, I guess the initiation phase, right,
Speaker 2: because they could they could compete, but not they couldn't
Speaker 2: play in the touram which is so stupid. But you know,
Speaker 2: they ended up winning their conference in just their second
Speaker 2: season in Division one and couldn't go to the tournament,
Speaker 2: which again that's a different conversation for a different day.
Speaker 2: But I mean, anybody that looks back at five and
Speaker 2: twenty six this year, eight and twenty three last year,
Speaker 2: which again, that's that's tough, that's really tough. Don't ignore
Speaker 2: the first few years before you know, college basketball turned
Speaker 2: into what it turned into. Because anybody that claims this
Speaker 2: is because Scott Davenport couldn't couldn't transition bellermant D one
Speaker 2: is just wrong. They made the decision when this world
Speaker 2: was different, and Bellerman's the kind of program that would
Speaker 2: absolutely get gutted by the portal. I mean, they're not alone,
Speaker 2: but when you're selling Bellerman, you got to sell money
Speaker 2: now because every program has to and Bellerman, I'm sure
Speaker 2: they're trying, and I'm sure they have some level of resource,
Speaker 2: But you know, Coach Davenport, the best case scenario for
Speaker 2: a Coach Davenport team as a team that's been together
Speaker 2: with guys who were veterans that have been around Scotty
Speaker 2: for years. They understand what he wants, they understand what
Speaker 2: he expects, they understand the system. I mean, I remember
Speaker 2: some of his best teams that I watched over the years,
Speaker 2: and then they were so in sync. I mean, you'd
Speaker 2: watch a possession where I feel like there were thirteen
Speaker 2: passes in twenty seconds, the ball never touched the floor.
Speaker 2: They got exactly what they wanted. Man, they were just
Speaker 2: it was like it was like a well oiled machine
Speaker 2: out there to watch these guys offensively, they play so
Speaker 2: hard compete. So again, I would hate for anybody to
Speaker 2: look at just the last couple of years and ignore
Speaker 2: the fact that this guy in his first two years
Speaker 2: as he transitioned to Division one from the Great Lakes
Speaker 2: Valley Conference Division two to the Atlantic Sun and Division one,
Speaker 2: the guy went twenty one in eight in conference play
Speaker 2: in his first two seasons twenty one and eight won
Speaker 2: the conference. And had, you know, things stayed the way
Speaker 2: they were, I think Bellum would be in a different position.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: So I just think there's certain coaches and look, it's
Speaker 2: not to say I think Sott Davoports is a phenomenal coach,
Speaker 2: and I'm I'm probably going a little linkier here than
Speaker 2: I intended. But you know, I wanted to play for
Speaker 2: Scott Davenport so bad when I was a kid, because
Speaker 2: I just I remember going to Denny Crumb's camp when
Speaker 2: I was a kid, well, the Louisville basketball camp. When
Speaker 2: I was a kid, it no longer was the Dnny
Speaker 2: Crumb camp. It was the little basketball camp, but it
Speaker 2: was run by Scott Davenport. And that's when I got
Speaker 2: to know who he was, just because you know, this
Speaker 2: guy's running the Louisville basketball camp, he must be a
Speaker 2: pretty big deal.
Speaker 3: And then I found out are you kidding me?
Speaker 2: He coached my favorite player that he used to pretend
Speaker 2: to be in the driveway when I was a kid
Speaker 2: to want wheat. And then you know, you hear him
Speaker 2: the camps, you hear him talking in coaching, and you know,
Speaker 2: just he's a guy that's hard on you, but he's
Speaker 2: got such good energy.
Speaker 3: It's infectious.
Speaker 2: He's got I mean, like, I love Scott Davenport as
Speaker 2: a as a human, as a coach, and you know,
Speaker 2: I think if you handed him the keys to a
Speaker 2: team that just needed a guy to be the ball coach,
Speaker 2: I think they'd have a lot of success because he's
Speaker 2: a good coach, but as far as running a program,
Speaker 2: maintaining a roster, building a roster, it just kind of
Speaker 2: feels as it. But it's not to say he can't
Speaker 2: do it. It's just that Bellerman's a really tough place
Speaker 2: to do that now. And I don't know this for certain,
Speaker 2: but I would say that if you're Bellerman and you know,
Speaker 2: you see that you've made this jump and things have
Speaker 2: really fallen off the last couple of years, and you
Speaker 2: already have it in place, which they did that Doug
Speaker 2: Scotty's son was going to be the next head coach.
Speaker 2: I mean it's probably and again I'm sure it was
Speaker 2: on coach Davenport's terms, But also I think if you're Bellerman,
Speaker 2: you know the timing here is, Okay, we're still gonna
Speaker 2: honor Doug Davenport, who is deserving of this opportunity to
Speaker 2: take over for his father and see what he can do.
Speaker 2: But you know, like if if Scotty would have gone
Speaker 2: three or four more years, they might have felt a
Speaker 2: need to really get some completely new life in there
Speaker 2: and and start over. But he's stepping down, and now, uh,
Speaker 2: Doug's gonna take over, and who knows what happens, but.
Speaker 3: Clearly he's UH, He's, He's, he's, he's, he's Davenport.
Speaker 2: I mean, I can't say he's gonna be as good
Speaker 2: as his father, because I don't know if that would
Speaker 2: be fair to Doug, But clearly he's He's been around
Speaker 2: his dad as a as a coach for quite some
Speaker 2: time now, and he Doug, if you remember, was a
Speaker 2: staffer on the UH, on the Louisville team that Rick
Speaker 2: Patino won a championship with, ended up spending some time
Speaker 2: on Xavier's staff with Chris Mack. Took a job at
Speaker 2: E K You as an assistant as well, and then
Speaker 2: came back home to work for his old man. And
Speaker 2: here he is now taking over the program. So I
Speaker 2: wish those guys nothing but the best. I know, some
Speaker 2: of those staffers over there from just you know, being
Speaker 2: Louisville guys that grew up here, played basketball, and you know,
Speaker 2: I know if those guys don't have success, and it's
Speaker 2: not a long long term thing, it certainly won't be
Speaker 2: because of effort. Those guys are gonna put everything they
Speaker 2: have into it. And I hope, I hope that it
Speaker 2: works out, Love, Coach Davingport. All right, let's see here.
Speaker 2: Where do we want to go?
Speaker 3: Let's uh, let's take a quick time out. We'll come back.
Speaker 2: Actually, before we do that, let me tell you guys
Speaker 2: at the Little of Men's Clinic, because I have neglected
Speaker 2: my folks at the Lois of Men's Clinic.
Speaker 3: I mean I haven't.
Speaker 2: In fact, I'm gonna go see him later this week,
Speaker 2: but I haven't mentioned him yet today on the show.
Speaker 2: And that's foolishit me. Sometimes Monday's just they're so busy,
Speaker 2: I lose track.
Speaker 3: But Wood visit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, love, Doug, go see doctor Wood later this week.
Speaker 2: Looking forward to seeing doctor Wood. He's I mean he's
Speaker 2: he's the man, and he can help you, like he
Speaker 2: helped me when it comes to a low testosterone. Didn't
Speaker 2: even know what it was. But that's why, without really
Speaker 2: any change in my habits as far as eating and exercise,
Speaker 2: I started getting man boobs, started not getting the same
Speaker 2: results in the gym, and I didn't know why. Just assume, Hey,
Speaker 2: I'm getting older, you know, I guess this is what
Speaker 2: thirty four looks like. And then sure enough, year or
Speaker 2: two goes by and I'm like wait a second, Maybe
Speaker 2: it's not just because I'm getting older, and it wasn't.
Speaker 2: I'm sure that was well, I was getting older, but
Speaker 2: that didn't just automatically mean I was, you know, losing
Speaker 2: my edge in the gym and just being lethargic at
Speaker 2: all times.
Speaker 3: The age ended up.
Speaker 2: Keeping me from getting and producing the u the right
Speaker 2: amount of testosterone needed for somebody in my age. So
Speaker 2: it's a really common thing that people don't even realize.
Speaker 2: So if you feel like you, you know, have lost
Speaker 2: your edge and you just think it's because you're getting
Speaker 2: a little bit older, maybe instead of being twenty five,
Speaker 2: you're not thirty five or whatever.
Speaker 3: I mean, it may not be just the age. It
Speaker 3: could be the age.
Speaker 2: Causing a low t issue, which I can tell you
Speaker 2: now that it's been over a year for me that
Speaker 2: I've been on testosterone treatment.
Speaker 3: I mean it's changed everything about my life.
Speaker 2: I don't I mean, it's like I didn't realize how
Speaker 2: much better I could feel. And it's not just like
Speaker 2: you know, muscle, I mean clearly that that's a factor
Speaker 2: in it, but like just energy, you know, even mental clarity.
Speaker 2: I mean again, I'm not just I'm not just throwing
Speaker 2: stuff out there to make them sound great.
Speaker 3: It's the truth. You can look it up yourself.
Speaker 2: The effects, really, I guess, more than anything, the negative
Speaker 2: effects that you can have by not having testosterone levels
Speaker 2: where they need to be for someone your age. I mean,
Speaker 2: the list is long. So again, doctor Wood is the
Speaker 2: man over the Louile Men's Clinic. Go check him out
Speaker 2: Louis Men's Clinic dot com. Give him a call FABO
Speaker 2: two four four four four thousand. Quick Break will wrap
Speaker 2: it up on the other side right here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: I didn't get to get to it today just because
Speaker 2: you know, mondays are really really busy, But at some
Speaker 2: point I want to talk about the the ACC openings.
Speaker 3: Because there are some jobs that I thought.
Speaker 2: Would open that are not going to open, and then
Speaker 2: one job that I understand why it's open, but I
Speaker 2: didn't expect to open. I didn't expect Kevin Keats to
Speaker 2: be let go, but you could understand why they did
Speaker 2: make that decision. So NC State's a job that is
Speaker 2: good and who they hire. You know, I have an
Speaker 2: interest in just because I need the acc to not
Speaker 2: be what it's been the last few years. And I
Speaker 2: think so far when you look at who Miami has
Speaker 2: hired and who Florida State is hired, doesn't mean I mean,
Speaker 2: those guys may be successful. I just I don't quite understand.
Speaker 3: What the real value.
Speaker 2: I mean, again, maybe it's just an individual thing to
Speaker 2: where they didn't think they would be hiring a young,
Speaker 2: unproven coach who's never been a head coach at any level.
Speaker 2: I mean, Florida State's hiring a guy's never been on
Speaker 2: any type of staff in college basketball and he's thirty
Speaker 2: four years old. So maybe they just it didn't matter
Speaker 2: as far as what they were targeting in regards to
Speaker 2: resume and age and experience.
Speaker 3: They just were so impressed with these two guys.
Speaker 2: Jay Lucas is the guy at Miami, which that was
Speaker 2: reported a couple of weeks ago and ended up happening,
Speaker 2: So you know, maybe it wasn't by design. It's just, man,
Speaker 2: they were so impressed they couldn't not take, you know,
Speaker 2: take take the chance to offer the guy those guys
Speaker 2: the job. But I just think right now, when you're
Speaker 2: a Power five program, the risk is not worth it.
Speaker 3: It may be super successful. You just never know.
Speaker 2: But the risk that you take this day and age
Speaker 2: and hiring somebody who's never been a head coach, never
Speaker 2: been in And it's not even about the experience as
Speaker 2: far as X's and O's. I mean it is, but
Speaker 2: I mean it's also about the fact that like, you
Speaker 2: got to man you gotta lead, you gotta manage people.
Speaker 2: You got to be the you know, you're the guy
Speaker 2: on the line. You're the guy that's responsible for a
Speaker 2: locker room if there's turmoil, You're the guy that's got
Speaker 2: to keep you know, everybody working together and on the
Speaker 2: same page.
Speaker 3: They got it, like they got to believe in you.
Speaker 2: And trust you, and and I just think when you've
Speaker 2: never ever been tasked with that responsibility in this new
Speaker 2: world of you getting new players every year because of
Speaker 2: the portal guys that you know, it's more about money
Speaker 2: than anything else.
Speaker 3: I just you know, maybe it's.
Speaker 2: Super successful with both these guys, but I just think
Speaker 2: the risk is not worth it because you could go
Speaker 2: get a coach who has proven that he can win.
Speaker 3: And yes it's a lower level, but.
Speaker 2: Nowadays guys can bring I believe they're winning formula and
Speaker 2: the likelihood of it. I mean, it's still an unknown,
Speaker 2: but the likelihood of it working at the higher level.
Speaker 2: I just think there's a better chance of it now
Speaker 2: than in the previous world because again, the things that
Speaker 2: you couldn't buy right that you had to have, you know,
Speaker 2: final four appearances and you know, banners and a larger
Speaker 2: than life personality because you know, coaches you know, and
Speaker 2: there's still a value in having that if you're a coach.
Speaker 2: But like, if you don't have that, you can still
Speaker 2: get players because you know what money does most of
Speaker 2: the work now. So if you are a school like
Speaker 2: Florida State and I don't know what they have in
Speaker 2: iol wise, Miami has all the money in the world.
Speaker 2: Like I think Miami is the biggest. I mean again,
Speaker 2: maybe they just love Jie Lucas that much, but he's
Speaker 2: never been Like I just feel like, you can take
Speaker 2: all the resources you have within il go get a
Speaker 2: proven winner like Will Wade and just trust that, Look,
Speaker 2: this guy can do it. All we got to do
Speaker 2: is make sure we are healthy enough for him to
Speaker 2: you know, have money to go get players and it's
Speaker 2: going to work out. But I wouldn't be shocked if
Speaker 2: Will Wade ends up at in C State. I hope
Speaker 2: he does, because I'd make the league better. I We're
Speaker 2: at a time everybody enjoy their evening. We're back at
Speaker 2: it tomorrow. March is here, folks, postseason play. It's exciting.
Speaker 2: Have good night, everybody,