Speaker 1: It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven to nine day. Now here's Nick coffee.
Speaker 2: All right, let's get right to it. Just forty five
Speaker 2: minutes swell, in fact, closer to forty minutes left before
Speaker 2: we get out of here. There is a women's basketball
Speaker 2: game coming up, and that means we got to go early.
Speaker 2: So let's keep this thing on track and try to
Speaker 2: get the most out of the time that we have left.
Speaker 2: So we did start the show with some breaking news
Speaker 2: from the afternoon that Carson Beck is getting enter the
Speaker 2: transfer portal. One of the you to be one of
Speaker 2: the best quarterbacks in the country, because you know, he
Speaker 2: was at Georgia. They were really successful, but I kind
Speaker 2: of feel like lately there's not been as much fanfare
Speaker 2: for him, and you know, Georgia this year and even
Speaker 2: last year took a step back than where they were. Now.
Speaker 2: Tough to maintain that winning two national championships in a row.
Speaker 2: But you know, somebody on the text line had mentioned
Speaker 2: that they don't think they would take Carson Beck over
Speaker 2: Miller Moss, and I thought to myself as soon as
Speaker 2: I read that, Yeah, I don't know if I would either,
Speaker 2: but maybe that's ridiculous. Like I just Georgia is one
Speaker 2: of those teams kind of like old school Nick Saban
Speaker 2: Alabama teams where you don't really know how much their
Speaker 2: success is based off the quarterback. Right. The quarterback's doing
Speaker 2: it's doing his job. But like, I don't really think
Speaker 2: Carson Beck was somebody that I feel and look, you
Speaker 2: can be really loaded and be talented everywhere, but it's
Speaker 2: obvious your quarterback is special. I never really felt like
Speaker 2: that with him, But maybe I'm wrong. So Zack Barnett,
Speaker 2: who's our college football expert, he covers college football for
Speaker 2: FootballScoop dot com, he put this out earlier after the
Speaker 2: news broke about Beck inering the portal, saying that he
Speaker 2: doesn't buy that Ohio State or Texas Tech are actually interested.
Speaker 2: That's what's because that's what being reported right now is
Speaker 2: that it's those three schools, Miami, Texas Tech, and Ohio State.
Speaker 2: And I think what zachs insinuating is that yeah, this
Speaker 2: is this is Miami, Like Miami is the one that
Speaker 2: that is going to be the sucker here and pay
Speaker 2: him uh that much money, because the report is that
Speaker 2: he's going to make more than three million dollars, and
Speaker 2: that would that would make sense as to why you
Speaker 2: would say, yeah, uh, I'll come back to college for
Speaker 2: another year to make three million because I don't even
Speaker 2: know about ever see anything close to that money if
Speaker 2: if I go to the NFL right now. So that's
Speaker 2: that's uh, that's where we are and uh in college
Speaker 2: college sports right now. And and as I said at the
Speaker 2: beginning of the show, I still kind of think to
Speaker 2: myself every now and then, like what what like because
Speaker 2: it's it's it's not brand new, but in the grand
Speaker 2: scheme of how how long we have followed college sports
Speaker 2: and really how long college sports has existed, it's still
Speaker 2: brand new in that in that regard. But yeah, a
Speaker 2: lot of a lot of money uh is uh is
Speaker 2: being paid out to players and that's that's good for them.
Speaker 2: I mean, doesn't seem sustainable. It just kind of seems
Speaker 2: like in any moment, like something's gonna happen. I don't
Speaker 2: know what it would be, but like it just this
Speaker 2: it's such a mess. But uh, you know, clearly done.
Speaker 2: It's not done damage to the overall viewership and the
Speaker 2: product because there's a lot of people that don't like it.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of people complaining about it, coaches clearly,
Speaker 2: fans obviously, but people are watching at a really, really
Speaker 2: high level. I mean, even though these bowl games have
Speaker 2: now turned into glorified exhibitions, as people call them, and
Speaker 2: I think the random bowl games got even more sorry,
Speaker 2: the random bowl games got even more random whenever they
Speaker 2: added the twelve team playoff, because you know, when you
Speaker 2: were in when there was just two bowl game, when
Speaker 2: there was just two teams playing for the championship, that's
Speaker 2: when those other bowl games you would you'd be able
Speaker 2: to say, Okay, there's a there's a lot on the
Speaker 2: line here, we could really get a big win here
Speaker 2: in this bowl game because you know, only two teams
Speaker 2: get to play for the championship. But you know, there'd
Speaker 2: still be real value in those BCS games at that time.
Speaker 2: And then it went to four and you know, the
Speaker 2: other bowl games, the New Year six as they called them,
Speaker 2: they didn't seem as relevant, but there was still some
Speaker 2: value there. And then now with the twelve it just
Speaker 2: kind of seems like any any of the bowl games
Speaker 2: that's not included in the College Football Playoff, they just
Speaker 2: don't really have the same significance, it seems. However, people
Speaker 2: still watch them. Viewership for those kind of games is
Speaker 2: still climbing, and therefore they're still going to happen because
Speaker 2: a lot of money's being made. So it's still weird
Speaker 2: to me at times. But I don't know if there's
Speaker 2: anything that could happen to where I would I mean,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't know how to not care about college basketball
Speaker 2: and college football. I mean, I just I mean, it's
Speaker 2: it's a huge part of my life, and and that
Speaker 2: may make me seem like a sad individual because you know,
Speaker 2: I don't have any involvement and I just love it
Speaker 2: and watch it. But you know, I'm fortunate to be
Speaker 2: able to talk about it with what I do for
Speaker 2: a living. But it's really just like a culture thing.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's a lot of people around here that
Speaker 2: maybe think I'm crazy, but there's also others that think, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: I get it, Like it's it's kind of part of
Speaker 2: my DNA that I there's each day of my life,
Speaker 2: there's there's there's some time that I spend thinking about
Speaker 2: my team and the upcoming season or the next game
Speaker 2: or whatever, just because it's it's something we get lost
Speaker 2: in and that's what makes college sports special. All right,
Speaker 2: Coffee company, that's us. We're special. I think we are.
Speaker 2: I'm Nick Coffee Austin Montgomery alongside is is he just downed? So?
Speaker 2: Dorito's are cheetos nice? That spicy nacho?
Speaker 3: No regular? I do not like to gimmick up my
Speaker 3: doritos a straight nacho cheese.
Speaker 2: Man. I'll tell you what. Dorito's. They're classic and they're great.
Speaker 2: But if you ever noticed that the dorritos that are
Speaker 2: not the original, like the nacho cheese or the cool ranch,
Speaker 2: the texture is different, like the chip, like the chip,
Speaker 2: like the the They had a buffalo wing one or
Speaker 2: a hot buffalo blazing buffalo dorrito that and it was
Speaker 2: it was good. I couldn't eat too much of it,
Speaker 2: but it was good. But yet, like the it was
Speaker 2: way more crunchy like it was just way more almost
Speaker 2: like it was. It was like a cracker almost.
Speaker 3: I think the spicy nacho ones are like that.
Speaker 2: I yes, no, that's what I was gonna say. Like
Speaker 2: the spicy nacho. Yeah, they're the flavor. I don't mind,
Speaker 2: although I still think the original is the best. But
Speaker 2: it's the texture of it where they taste kind of stale.
Speaker 2: I don't know if they have to do something different
Speaker 2: because of whatever they're putting on them for that flavor.
Speaker 2: But yeah, Dorito's a real classic.
Speaker 3: Well, dude, I just got a big stroke of the
Speaker 3: munchies right now. So during that last break, go to
Speaker 3: the break room and it's not stocked. And I take
Speaker 3: partial responsibility for that because I usually I usually like
Speaker 3: to do that, but I know now that we have
Speaker 3: actually hired a part timer to do that. I don't
Speaker 3: know what she's been doing the last couple of days,
Speaker 3: but there's there's nothing back there. So that's an issue
Speaker 3: that the big issues. So there's nothing but like the
Speaker 3: skinny pop popcorn, And honestly, who's keeping them in business?
Speaker 3: Yes we are, and so but there is there is
Speaker 3: I have a key. I have a lot of key
Speaker 3: that goes to the actual closet.
Speaker 2: So you got.
Speaker 3: Is stored, yes, but you're just you're the plug. We're
Speaker 3: running low. There's not a lot back there. There's not
Speaker 3: a lot in the supply closet.
Speaker 2: It's one of the perks though, is they do give
Speaker 2: us snacks and and and and usually the I mean
Speaker 2: we've got this wasn't a thing before we came to
Speaker 2: this studio, this office, and now each day for the
Speaker 2: most part, there's a big spread of snacks and candy
Speaker 2: and unlimited soft drinks at times, so we we certainly
Speaker 2: appreciate it.
Speaker 3: And I almost went, almost went back to my scumbag ways.
Speaker 3: As I open up the refrigerator, there's a half eaten
Speaker 3: Jimmy john sandwich in there. Who just saats half a
Speaker 3: Jimmy Johnson?
Speaker 2: You you put me on the spot that day. I
Speaker 2: felt bad because here I am talking about, like how
Speaker 2: it's low key a real scumbag thing to do, to know,
Speaker 2: to knowingly take somebody's food that they brought for lunch.
Speaker 2: And because if you get caught, you can say, what's
Speaker 2: the big deal? It's it's you can play victim. What's
Speaker 2: the big deal? It's just a sandwich. I'll buy you
Speaker 2: five sandwiches, chill out. But yet it's not. It's not
Speaker 2: about that. It's about it's it's the principle. So here
Speaker 2: I am talking about how those people are the worst,
Speaker 2: and Austin's like, yeah, I've done that.
Speaker 3: I just did that. I just took a got right.
Speaker 3: So there's a half eat yeah John sandwich. It I'm
Speaker 3: pretty sure it belongs to someone important because I saw
Speaker 3: them heating up probably the first half of it earlier,
Speaker 3: and I got pretty excited. I'm like, all right, we
Speaker 3: got catering.
Speaker 2: Today and it was just one sandwich. John.
Speaker 3: They just went into business for himself, So not wrong
Speaker 3: with that, But I'm.
Speaker 2: Going at Jimmy John's in a minute.
Speaker 3: If that sandwich is still there by the end of
Speaker 3: tomorrow when we start our show tomorrow, it's mine.
Speaker 2: Oh I think, yeah, I think, I mean, somebody may
Speaker 2: still be looking for it, but I think it's more
Speaker 2: plausible that you would just assume that they're not coming
Speaker 2: back for it. Yeah, after that time, So I'm with you.
Speaker 2: All right, it's coffee and Company again. Feel about Thornton's
Speaker 2: heerroo on Sports Talk seven ninety. Let's go to the
Speaker 2: text line. This text says, Nick, would you rather be
Speaker 2: facing this pit team coming off of a win or
Speaker 2: the blowout loss they just had to Duke. I kind
Speaker 2: of feel like they're going to be ready to bounce back. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean, I think they'll be ready to bounce back
Speaker 2: because I think they're good. They went to Duke, by
Speaker 2: the way, first of all, they're number one right now
Speaker 2: in the kin palm, and I think everybody's aware the
Speaker 2: they're clearly really good. Their two losses this year are
Speaker 2: to Kansas and to Kentucky, two games they easily could
Speaker 2: have won. The Kentucky game was down to the wire.
Speaker 2: They lost by three to Kansas just a couple of
Speaker 2: weeks later. So there wins. I mean again, the win
Speaker 2: against Arizona doesn't look as valuable now because they've kind
Speaker 2: of fallen off. But they're the only team that's beat Auburn.
Speaker 2: You know, I guess they don't have that many great wins,
Speaker 2: but like they're playing really good basketball. They've got a
Speaker 2: lot of talent, Cooper Cooper Flag starting to catch bodies
Speaker 2: making posters out there. I mean, you guys saw that
Speaker 2: Donkey had the other night on Pittsburgh. So despite pitt
Speaker 2: getting blown out at Duke, I don't think any less
Speaker 2: of them. So I don't really see it as much
Speaker 2: of a factor, like I hear you, as far as
Speaker 2: maybe if they were continued, maybe if they were winning, well,
Speaker 2: maybe they were coming off a win against Duke, then
Speaker 2: they would be a little you know, maybe they'd look
Speaker 2: they take you lightly because they feel like as if
Speaker 2: they can beat Dukie Cameron, then they know they can
Speaker 2: just maybe put it on cruise control again. You but
Speaker 2: I just I kind of think that them coming off
Speaker 2: the loss, yeah, they'll be ready to bounce back. But
Speaker 2: I think it's more so just because they are going
Speaker 2: to be ready to play, because I think they're pretty good.
Speaker 2: So maybe you're right. Maybe if they would have won,
Speaker 2: it would have been more maybe it would have made
Speaker 2: them a little more vulnerable to lose on their home floor.
Speaker 2: But I think they're gonna be ready to play regardless,
Speaker 2: And I really can't. You know, there's nothing that backs
Speaker 2: this up as far as their resume. I mean, it's solid.
Speaker 2: They're clearly a tournament team right now. But there's not
Speaker 2: even really anybody on their team who who stands out
Speaker 2: like as a guy that you know is an All
Speaker 2: American caliber player. But they're just they're good, man. They've
Speaker 2: got a lot of they got a lot of balance,
Speaker 2: They've got uh, let me see who is their leading
Speaker 2: scorer this year? Because this let's see here now now,
Speaker 2: I gotta look it up, because they they and that
Speaker 2: speaks to Caple because I think they've actually lost in
Speaker 2: the last two years, like they've lost. They've had some
Speaker 2: really good players that they end up losing either to graduation,
Speaker 2: at the NBA draft or maybe to the portal. But
Speaker 2: it seemed like the last two years I've expected Pitt
Speaker 2: to kind of take a step back and kind of
Speaker 2: get back to where they were the early years of
Speaker 2: Caple at Pitt. But they've been able to maintain, like
Speaker 2: as Ish Leggott I think it is. I mean, his
Speaker 2: last name is Leggett, but Ishmael is his name. I
Speaker 2: think they just he goes by Ish. But he's their
Speaker 2: leading scorer, averaging seventeen points, about six boards a game,
Speaker 2: two and a half assists, and you know, he's he's
Speaker 2: been there for This is his second season transferred from
Speaker 2: Rhode Island, and I mean he's been a He's a
Speaker 2: five year guy who's scored in double figures seemingly every
Speaker 2: season he's played college basketball. So you know, they have
Speaker 2: some similar DNA to Louisville as far as just some
Speaker 2: guys that have played a lot of a lot of ball.
Speaker 2: Jalen Lowe is actually one of the younger guys. He's
Speaker 2: also averaging about sixteen points a game. He's he's just
Speaker 2: a sophomore and that's last year they brought in, is
Speaker 2: it Carrington? I can think of this above. Carrington was
Speaker 2: the guy who was a freshman a year ago ended
Speaker 2: up being a top twenty pick in the draft, and
Speaker 2: he was. He wasn't a huge recruit, but he really
Speaker 2: balled out out in one year for Capele, went to
Speaker 2: the NBA. And then Jalen Lowe, who is again their
Speaker 2: second leinning scorer at sixteen point seven points a game.
Speaker 2: He's another guy who was in that same class. So
Speaker 2: you know, Capele I thought his days were numbered. And
Speaker 2: now again there's no real big accomplishment that's happened. They
Speaker 2: haven't made some kind of deep run into the tournament.
Speaker 2: But you know he's putting good teams on the four
Speaker 2: of these last couple of years. And I think, without question,
Speaker 2: this is the toughest game Louisville has left on their schedule,
Speaker 2: and I don't even really think it's close. Other games
Speaker 2: that right now we can look at and say, Okay,
Speaker 2: that one may be tough to win. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: you could lose to anybody, but as far as like
Speaker 2: games that I'm thinking, okay, you could play well there
Speaker 2: and lose, because they're actually pretty good I mean again
Speaker 2: Pitt on the road, and then after that, I mean Syracuse.
Speaker 2: They stink Virginia. I mean they're falling apart, and you
Speaker 2: play them at home coming up on the eighteenth. They
Speaker 2: got killed last night by cal smu is probably the
Speaker 2: second toughest game you have left, and it's at their place.
Speaker 2: That's on January twenty. First, they're off to a pretty
Speaker 2: good start at eleven and four, although they've lost to
Speaker 2: in a row, but Carolina and Duke with the teams
Speaker 2: that they that they lost to, So you know, I
Speaker 2: think this is easily the toughest test left and with
Speaker 2: that comes great value, right like a win at Pitt,
Speaker 2: that's a quad one win that will not fade, meaning
Speaker 2: there's no scenario pitons up outside the top seventy five
Speaker 2: before the season ends. Now, what you got to worry
Speaker 2: about is Clemson. Will they stay in the top thirty
Speaker 2: of the net or will they you know, can they
Speaker 2: get back in the top thirty of the net? Same
Speaker 2: thing for Oklahoma and well that's a loss. But West Virginia.
Speaker 2: West Virginia's in the top fifty right now, which is
Speaker 2: where they need to be because it's a neutral site game,
Speaker 2: neutral site wins against top fifty teams, those count as
Speaker 2: squad one victories. Indiana, they're now in the top fifty
Speaker 2: after their win last night against USC so that's now
Speaker 2: a quad wa win. So Loisvill's resume, you know, when
Speaker 2: it comes to just the pure number aspect of it,
Speaker 2: it really is going to depend upon the two teams
Speaker 2: they beat in the Bahamas. Can they maintain top fifty
Speaker 2: stats that is, because if so, there's more value there
Speaker 2: with those wins. And I've been to think that Indiana
Speaker 2: and West Virginia will be able to do that because
Speaker 2: they play in such good leagues that I think overvalue
Speaker 2: those leagues, meaning the formulas I think overvalue those leagues. Therefore,
Speaker 2: Indiana could be five hundred or a little bit better
Speaker 2: in Big ten play and probably still be a top
Speaker 2: fifty team because they're playing good teams every night based
Speaker 2: off of these formulas. So, in fact, I want to
Speaker 2: do this because there's an updated bracketology today from a
Speaker 2: couple of actually two different updates from different folks that
Speaker 2: I want to take a look at, because again I
Speaker 2: think because of those two teams jumping up, that means
Speaker 2: Louisville probably, you know, instead of being at ten, maybe
Speaker 2: they're in eight. That kind of stuff, which, again, a
Speaker 2: lot of basketball to be played before we get to
Speaker 2: selection Sunday, and who knows, maybe Louisville falls apart. You
Speaker 2: just don't know. But it's just nice to know that
Speaker 2: you're alive and you're able to look at these silly
Speaker 2: bracketology updates and know, hey, yeah, you're damn right, we're
Speaker 2: in we're at this seed. Or that's because it's been
Speaker 2: a long time since we've been there. Man, it has
Speaker 2: all right, quick break, we'll come back on the other
Speaker 2: side and talk a little bracketology, and I want to
Speaker 2: share my thoughts on what I heard earlier today on
Speaker 2: KSR and what I've seen from some Kentucky fans on Twitter.
Speaker 2: And it's nothing controversial. It's not like I'm I'm ready
Speaker 2: to tee off, but I kind of understand why they
Speaker 2: would feel sorry for Caliperry, but I kind of am
Speaker 2: more so surprised that they're not enjoying his failures at Arkansas.
Speaker 2: So we'll talk about that and then we'll be out
Speaker 2: of here, because we know a whole lot of time
Speaker 2: Left's 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 nine day.
Speaker 2: All right, so the bracketology update here. This is from
Speaker 2: Graham Dori in bracketology. He's a college basketball writer and
Speaker 2: he's got his own podcast channel that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2: But he has Louisville Inn As a nine seed taken
Speaker 2: on San Diego State and they're one seed. If this happened,
Speaker 2: would be would be Alabama. However, it's in Lexington, meaning
Speaker 2: that would be a basically a home game for Louisville
Speaker 2: in those first two games. Of course, that's what ends
Speaker 2: up happening. Kentucky's sitting at a three seed, and I
Speaker 2: guess the loss to Georgia probably drop them down from
Speaker 2: a two two a three, I would guess, but you know,
Speaker 2: they're clearly in and there's no way to know until
Speaker 2: we get there, right. I mean, I'm gonna be so
Speaker 2: fascinated to see how the SEC is judged by the
Speaker 2: committee based off of losses, because there's gonna be a
Speaker 2: lot of losses, like teams are going to like I
Speaker 2: wouldn't even Auburn right now is the best I think,
Speaker 2: maybe the best team in the country, and they they
Speaker 2: they're clearly the favorite to win the SEC this year,
Speaker 2: but I mean if they're fifteen and five, I mean
Speaker 2: that that that probably would still be enough to win
Speaker 2: it because I think everybody else, even though I think
Speaker 2: they're good, they're going to play a lot of other
Speaker 2: good teams and have and stack up some losses. So anyways,
Speaker 2: the before we again, we're we're only have like twelve
Speaker 2: minutes left. In fact, about ten minutes left, So I'm
Speaker 2: just going to try to get through as much as
Speaker 2: possible before we run out of time. But this is
Speaker 2: what happens when I know that we have limited time
Speaker 2: and I realized there's like three things I don't know
Speaker 2: how to balance it, and I just you know, so
Speaker 2: I'm just going to talk about what was next and
Speaker 2: then we'll see how much time we have left whenever
Speaker 2: I you know, get through with it. But Kentucky clearly
Speaker 2: at this point feels as if the move from Caliperry
Speaker 2: to Mark Pope was perfect. I mean, maybe there are
Speaker 2: some bands that miss Cal, maybe there are some bands
Speaker 2: that don't think Pope is good enough to win titles there.
Speaker 2: I don't know, but overall, I don't know how you
Speaker 2: couldn't be thrilled with how well things are going with
Speaker 2: Kentucky thus far, and how poorly things are going for Cal.
Speaker 2: And let's be real, that matters. I mean, I do
Speaker 2: believe that there are some Well, put it this way,
Speaker 2: I believe some when they say that they don't keep
Speaker 2: up with Arkansas, they don't care one way or the other.
Speaker 2: They're not rooting for Cal, but they're not hoping that
Speaker 2: he fails. And you know, I'm sure some of those
Speaker 2: folks are genuine, but I know that there's a lot
Speaker 2: of emotion involved in being a fan, especially when you're
Speaker 2: a diehard fan of a program like Kentucky basketball. That
Speaker 2: means a lot to so many that look, it was
Speaker 2: a breakup. You all were together and you split up,
Speaker 2: and it was a positive situation in regards to both
Speaker 2: sides realizing, hey, we need an exit strategy. And the
Speaker 2: exit strategy worked out well. Cal found a school that
Speaker 2: was willing to pay him comparable money to what he
Speaker 2: was making in Kentucky. He didn't have to take a
Speaker 2: pay cut. He could start over at a good program,
Speaker 2: and Kentucky could get rid of him and start fresh
Speaker 2: and not have to pay him a dime of the buyout.
Speaker 2: So it actually worked out well when it happened, meaning
Speaker 2: the scenario, the situation, but it was a breakup still,
Speaker 2: and I think you want and to see what your
Speaker 2: old booze up to is a total natural and normal thing.
Speaker 2: And at this point it's still early, I guess in
Speaker 2: the in the new relationship Cal in Arkansas, but he
Speaker 2: looks like he's having the same Like he looks the
Speaker 2: exact same but not as good. I mean like that.
Speaker 2: That's that's what's happened here. The only scenario I thought
Speaker 2: were Caliperry would really thrive at Arkansas and make Kentucky
Speaker 2: fans regret letting him walk, would be that if he
Speaker 2: went there motivated, energized, ready to not reinvent himself, but
Speaker 2: willing to adapt and make some adjustments and evolve into
Speaker 2: what this new world of basketball is as far as
Speaker 2: just how it's played and really how your roster's built.
Speaker 2: That kind of stuff, like he's you know, him playing
Speaker 2: that archaic style was one of the factors as to
Speaker 2: why Kentucky during his last four years or so, they
Speaker 2: not only were you know, upset by teams in the
Speaker 2: tournament that you never thought you'd see. Saint Peter's in Oakland.
Speaker 2: But like they also even in years where they were good,
Speaker 2: they should have been better, Like they could have been better.
Speaker 2: And a lot of teams can say that, but like
Speaker 2: you got two guys last year that didn't you know,
Speaker 2: that didn't didn't play a lot together. I mean, in fact,
Speaker 2: the whole not playing the trio of Rob Dillingham, Reed
Speaker 2: Shepherd and Antonio Reeves as many minutes together as you could.
Speaker 2: It's just, I mean, it's it's insane. But that's Cal
Speaker 2: being stubborn and wanted to do it his way. So
Speaker 2: he's still doing those exact same things. But at Arkansas
Speaker 2: it's it's like a mid version of it. Right, Arkansas
Speaker 2: is a great program, but it's not Kentucky. Cal will
Speaker 2: continue to recruit well, but not quite as good as
Speaker 2: he did at Kentucky. He'll probably be able to get
Speaker 2: good players in the portal, but probably not the type
Speaker 2: of players he could have got in the portal at
Speaker 2: a place like Kentucky. So he's the exact same and
Speaker 2: yet his resources. You know, the vehicle that he's in
Speaker 2: is not as nice as the one that he to
Speaker 2: be driving, which was Kentucky. So you know, the scenario
Speaker 2: where he did stick it to him, it's clearly not
Speaker 2: gonna happen, So he's lost the breakup. It's already over,
Speaker 2: like he's lost. Who knows if Kentucky And again like
Speaker 2: if Mark Pope was really struggling, and you know, let's
Speaker 2: say Kentucky was sitting here as a bubble team, right
Speaker 2: and instead of eking out a close win against Duke
Speaker 2: and Gonzaga, they lost those games. Instead of being twelve
Speaker 2: and three, they'd beat ten and five, a much different situation.
Speaker 2: So clearly fans would not be as pleased with Pope
Speaker 2: if that was the case. But you know what, if
Speaker 2: kl was doing what he's doing right now, because they
Speaker 2: got blown out last night at home by Old Miss,
Speaker 2: I guess it ended up being closer late, but Old
Speaker 2: Miss led by double digits for the majority of the
Speaker 2: second half, and then they got beat by thirty against
Speaker 2: Tennessee the week before that. So right now, Kentucky's eleven
Speaker 2: and four. They don't really have any wins to speak of,
Speaker 2: and you know, they've gotten killed by some teams. Illinois
Speaker 2: got him bad, so cal is not doing well. And
Speaker 2: if Kentucky was in a you know, even if you
Speaker 2: weren't as thrilled as you are about Pope right now.
Speaker 2: As I just mentioned, if you looked at Arkansas and
Speaker 2: realized cal was in this position, it would make you
Speaker 2: probably maybe not feel any different about Pope himself, but
Speaker 2: you'd probably feel a little more content about the situation.
Speaker 2: And again, we'll never know, because this is not what
Speaker 2: has played out, and I'm sure not everyone would feel
Speaker 2: this way. But if Kentucky was if Kentucky was struggling,
Speaker 2: and again, let's say they're let's say they're nine and
Speaker 2: six or twelve or ten and five, and in Arkansas
Speaker 2: was fourteen and one with maybe only one loss, and
Speaker 2: it's to Tennessee and they look like a top five
Speaker 2: team or something like that. You know, you wouldn't be
Speaker 2: wanting to fire Pope, I would imagine, and and you
Speaker 2: know you wouldn't be losing your mind. But it would sting.
Speaker 2: It would sting a lot for some, it'd sting a
Speaker 2: little bit for others, maybe not any for a certain
Speaker 2: amount of people, But like, that's just how this stuff works.
Speaker 2: It's fascinating, Like Charlie Strong left Louisville for Texas, Texas,
Speaker 2: and it's funny thinking back now, that we thought, like
Speaker 2: we could keep him. It's Texas and Louisville was not
Speaker 2: even Louisville they are now at that time. Clearly he
Speaker 2: had a great thing going, but like it was Texas
Speaker 2: and Charlie Strong like gave Louisville football life when they
Speaker 2: needed more than anything. Without Charlie Strong in that era,
Speaker 2: who knows where Louisville Athletics is right now, they're probably
Speaker 2: not in the ACC. So we big picture, like we
Speaker 2: owe Charlie Strong a big thank you. But you know what,
Speaker 2: it was a breakup. He left us, he dumped us
Speaker 2: for a new girl, and it was Texas. So to
Speaker 2: this day there are still people that kind of have
Speaker 2: a little bit of a of an animosity towards him.
Speaker 2: And it's a perfect example I think of like the
Speaker 2: emotion that comes with being a fan. He left you
Speaker 2: for Texas, you know, like anybody would do that. I
Speaker 2: think in that situation now he probably regrets it because
Speaker 2: how it worked out, But like it's normal to have
Speaker 2: those kind of feeling because again you're not dating, but
Speaker 2: certainly there's there's there's it's there's a relationship. He's your
Speaker 2: coach and you want him to be loyal and not
Speaker 2: you know, not move on from you. Cal you wanted,
Speaker 2: you wanted the separation, you got it, but like to
Speaker 2: see that you know, he's he's struggling at least right now.
Speaker 2: I think most Kentucky fans probably you know, if anything,
Speaker 2: they're not actually sad about it. And that's why I
Speaker 2: brought this whole thing up because on KSR this morning,
Speaker 2: some of those guys were talking about how and I
Speaker 2: don't remember which one it was. It might have been
Speaker 2: might have been mad who said he kind of feels
Speaker 2: sorry for him a little bit. I think Shannon of
Speaker 2: course said no, not at all, and and I I
Speaker 2: wanted to to to think, I wanted to scream at
Speaker 2: him and say, why would you like how Cali Perry, Like,
Speaker 2: I don't think he's a terrible person or anything like that.
Speaker 2: I don't know him on a personal level. He's done
Speaker 2: a lot of great things in Kentucky for those that
Speaker 2: go through the tornadoes and floods and all that. Like
Speaker 2: I think he's I think he's probably not a bad person,
Speaker 2: but but I don't know him at all. But he
Speaker 2: didn't treat Kentucky fans very good. So like that's what
Speaker 2: like I was angry for Kentucky fans for hearing that
Speaker 2: they were potentially feeling sorry for him, because I'm thinking, like, no,
Speaker 2: this guy was arrogant, He talked down to you, He
Speaker 2: didn't he thought he was bigger than the program, which
Speaker 2: of course nobody is because it's Kentucky. Like, I wouldn't
Speaker 2: have any sadness for him at all. And I gotta
Speaker 2: be honest, Maybe it makes me a mean sob, but
Speaker 2: I'd be happy for his failure. I mean I think
Speaker 2: I would. But again, I didn't love him like you
Speaker 2: guys did. I always thought the guy was kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, a piece of work and not really a
Speaker 2: great coach and was able to, you know, maneuver his
Speaker 2: way through college basketball by just you know, being a
Speaker 2: great recruiter, which, hey, that counts. That matters. So when
Speaker 2: Rick Patino left, and to be fair, like Rick left
Speaker 2: us in an awful situation like Louisville basketball. Part of
Speaker 2: why we've been in the situation that we've been in
Speaker 2: since he left because of him. It's his fault. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's that's just the truth. But after it all ended,
Speaker 2: and you know, he Louisville had moved on and Louisville
Speaker 2: was in a bad Louisville was in bad shape, meaning
Speaker 2: things weren't going well. Towards the end of MAC and
Speaker 2: all that kind of stuff, there was no more. There
Speaker 2: wasn't a whole lot of anger. I heard from fans.
Speaker 2: It was like, man, he got a wrong he got
Speaker 2: a raw deal. It's because when you are a big
Speaker 2: fan of somebody for so long, when they're the head
Speaker 2: coach of your program that you love so much, I
Speaker 2: just think it's very unnatural as a human being almost
Speaker 2: to to just go from for so long loving somebody,
Speaker 2: not like you're in love with them, but because you
Speaker 2: don't know them at least that most of us don't
Speaker 2: know these coaches, but like to have a consistent, you know,
Speaker 2: decade plus connection with your coach because you think he's great,
Speaker 2: he's your guy, you're winning, you're successful, you think he
Speaker 2: represents your program well. To have all that and then
Speaker 2: he goes to another job for whatever reasons, Like, I
Speaker 2: just think it's unnatural to genuinely have the ability to
Speaker 2: flip the switch that effectively. I mean, it's kind of
Speaker 2: like not to get too deep here, but I'm sure
Speaker 2: there are there are people who are divorced that are
Speaker 2: in new relationships, maybe new marriages, and they knew that
Speaker 2: they were not right for each other, and maybe they
Speaker 2: had a lot of issues over the years, but like
Speaker 2: they probably deep down, if they thought about it, would say, yeah,
Speaker 2: I love that person. I'm not in love with them,
Speaker 2: but I don't know if I'll ever not love them
Speaker 2: because they were such a big part of my life
Speaker 2: for so long. It's not deep to that level because again,
Speaker 2: we don't even know these coaches. But I do think
Speaker 2: there are some similarities to how like I do believe,
Speaker 2: at least to an extent, there are some Kentucky fans
Speaker 2: that see Cal falling on his face and their initial
Speaker 2: instinct is to be sad for him because he was
Speaker 2: their guy for so long. But you know now he's
Speaker 2: not and you got a better guy. All right, We're
Speaker 2: out of here. Talk to you tomor folks say saye