Speaker 1: Just like the Cougar football team.
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and nineties go to the South a coach source on
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Cougars in the pros headed the Puka Nakua ball out.
How do you play? And uh, what's up with KVM?
We'll get into that here momentarily. The segment's going to
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Speaker 3: Check them out today at the Utah Advocates Utah Advocates
dot com. Puka Nakua had himself a day Pooka nakup.
As I watch him the former fashion with Sean McVay
is utilizing him in the offense is very It's only
similar to how Aaron Roderick used them at BYU. If
there's a reason why they loved what they saw and
they got a diamond in the rough right. One of
the most the best ROI out of that particular draft
I think was Pooka and we're seeing that right now.
Typically they line um up in the slot and uh
he runs routes like a slot.
Speaker 4: Receiver with his footwork.
Speaker 3: Okay, he's got great acceleration, though I wouldn't say his
top end speed is that is elite, but his acceleration
to get on top of routes is U is akin
to like an outside receiver. So he's kind of a
combo between the inside and outside receiver. He blocks extremely well,
like a tight end wood out in space, very physical,
he breaks tackles like a freaking running back. He stays
grounded through contact, and he's got like a high he's
got a football IQ of a quarterback like he is
the perfect football players. Gruden would say, Pooka had an
amazing weekend.
Speaker 5: This guy's he's a football player.
Speaker 4: He's making history right now.
Speaker 3: He leads all NFL, all of the NFL history and
receiving yards per game right now.
Speaker 4: It's crazy.
Speaker 3: It's insane. His his Pro Football Focus numbers are insane
right now. He's the best receiver, but per many in
the in the National Football League, he's just balling out
and and luckily, like it takes a lot to maximize
one's talent obviously, you need a great architect, good play caller,
you need good supporting cast in order to allow you
to have one on ones, which Pooka gets and he's
able to.
Speaker 4: He's a great zone route runner too, by the way.
Speaker 3: He can win in one on ones obviously, but he's
fantastic get settling into zones. He's, like I said, football
iq and just great vision of where he's supposed to settle,
where he's supposed to decelerate, where he's supposed to accelerate
through routes.
Speaker 4: Surefooted, sure handed, super strong, He's just elite man.
Speaker 3: He's he's a leade in so many ways, but you
need a great quarterback to be able to get him
the ball that's looking for him on time. And their chemistry,
Stafford's chemistry with Puka is just insane right now. So
shout out to McVeigh, Shout out to Stafford, shout out
to the supporting cast.
Speaker 4: They have a perfect combination of it all right now.
Speaker 3: At Pooka, I think missed a few games earlier this
season due to injury. He had nine receptions over one
hundred yards and continues to just.
Speaker 4: Shock the world.
Speaker 3: Ronald the three man Weaver, is he the best wide
receiver in the National Football.
Speaker 2: League this point in time, because Ben, and what I
always say, NFL is not college, right, you update your
resume week to week, month to month, year year. So
currently right now, yes, he is the best wide receiver
in the league. I know people say, well, Jamar, well
Justin's like no, like right now, Puka's playing the best.
I pukas playing the best. Is the best wide receiver,
rightfully so. And even before that, Ben, he was up
there with Jamar and Justin last year right fluctuating between one,
two and three. Right now, I think he's the bona
fide number one guy. You've heard Dan Orlowski say it
on Get Up Pooka. Nikoua is the wide receiver number
one for the Los Angeles Rams. Look, they went to
Cooper cup Ben and said, hey, where can we find
a new home for you that we could trade you
to that you would like because you're not the number
one anymore. We don't want to just throw you to
the curb. But this guy that we have over here
at number seventeen back in the day, been now number
twelve is the guy. Like they did that. They did
that Ben. They they went to Cooper Cup, who's a
triple Crown winner. Been remind you a good wide receiver
might have a chance to be into the Hall of Fame,
maybe not a first ballot, but they went to him
and said you got to move aside and step aside
for this guy. And it was a perfect partnership with
him and Davante and everything sucked, the DA got hurt.
But yes, Pooka right now is phenomeno. And Ben look,
even with the help of Davonte, with Sean McVay and
that defense, they beat the Lions. Like Dan Campbell has
a great program. Jared Goff's a good quarterback. He's been
in the Super Bowl before with the Rams and he's
now in Detroit. I think the Rams are hitting the
peak at the right stride. And now with Andy Reid
and not being in the playoffs right one of the
great coaches, he lost his quarterback. I think Pooka and
the Cup and the Rams have a good chance to
fight Ben to go to the Super Bowl. Like we
could see Pooka in this fedruar. I don't think that's hyperbole.
I think that's very real, and that's because of how
well if they run the football and how well Pooka
can play in the slot and outside.
Speaker 3: Nine reception and seven yards versus the Detroit Lions. I
ever a lot of Detroit Lions fans in my timeline.
Caleb Lion, say, Ben, I'm gonna need you to keep
the rams content off my timeline for one day.
Speaker 4: It's a source spot right now. I love Puka, but
just a different day.
Speaker 3: So all you Detroit Lions fans right now, I apologize
the Detroit Lions fans that also be Yu fans. Definitely
a house divided or rather very internally conflicted right now
as they watch Puka ball out. I did see a
SoundBite drop from Puka, but let's uh, let's let's transition. Yeah,
I'll send it over to you right now. And by
the way, Puka Aku has a new custom case to
carry his cleats. It's part of the Jordan brand right now.
I guess it's exterior leather. It's like gold plated, and
I think there's diamonds encrusted on it around the edges. Uh.
Speaker 4: And so yeah, his cleats, Uh.
Speaker 3: The Jordan cleats he was repping the Jordan elevens Low's
looks like it's a It is a vapor style of
cleat I believe, which I don't like, but it is
a Jordan clee. Jordan cleats always are better than any
Nike cleat. That just they're built different. Jordan brand is
the best brand. I want Jordan. I want Jordan.
Speaker 1: I want to.
Speaker 3: Bifurcated apparel deal shoe deal with Nike. I want Jordan cleats,
Jordan basketball shoes, and then Nike Swoosh apparel.
Speaker 4: Let's get it done. That is my wish. Uh, that
is my prayer as it relates to the swag at Brigham. Uh.
At any rate, I'll try to find that sound bite
for you. But let's move on. How about the little
cav inside.
Speaker 3: Kavan had himself a day as well, picking off a pass.
He's been great as a as a savvy vet thus
far this season, he's produced, uh, pretty gosh thing.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 3: Okay, he was picked up over the last two years
with the Baltimore Ravens in the twilight of his career
and he has just stepped up in a big way
in so many ways.
Speaker 4: Okay, just coming off the edge.
Speaker 3: The six foot three, two hundred and fifty five pound
linebacker Dn the former second round pick to the Detroit Lions,
when they were in a different era. Now the new
era is fantastic for them. But this season eighteen total tackles,
eleven solo, seven assisted.
Speaker 4: He's got two sacks and.
Speaker 3: He's got that iron t He hands it off though,
so he picks it off, decides, you know what, I
don't think I'm gonna be able to house this. Maybe
I could, maybe I couldn't. He hands it off to
a former Aorum high school defensive back and he houses
it instead. Ronald, your thoughts, your comments, or your follow
up to this fantastic season thus far for KVN and
doing something that many have done, pick off a pass
handed off to somebody else for a pick six.
Speaker 2: Look, he's playing with one of the best defenses of
one of the premier, greatest organizations. Right when you look
at Ravens football being you think of ray Lewis, ed Reed, shannonsha.
I mean they had so many talents, Drel So you
can go down the list, right, A great head coach
and John Harball, you know my favorite Harball.
Speaker 1: Don't like Jim just kidding, that's all jokes, but no, look, I.
Speaker 2: Like everything that Cavan's been able to do to not
revive his career, but to keep it going right. He
had the great stint with the Patriots winning two super
Bowls and then kind of try to figure out what
the Dolphins didn't work out and got with the Ravens,
and the Ravens did the best thing, you know, letting
him get in there on third down and cass havoc.
Speaker 1: But that was an amazing play, Ben. That was a
high level Q playing.
Speaker 2: We've seen some of these in the NFL with guys
throw backwards pass latterly normal Travis Kelse doing it, but
he's not playing well this season. But Kvan caught it
and said, look, I'm not fast enough, but I know
that this safety is and I watched tap and he's
a local product, so i'ma just extend it all the
way out here as if I'm a quarter back, hand
and off for you know, out zine, out zone, outside
zone read and he took it to the house.
Speaker 1: I was shocked.
Speaker 2: I stood up off my couch when it happened, being
because I was surprised that that happened because you don't
expect those things in game.
Speaker 1: But wonderful play by kV. And I still wanted him
to have the pick six, so I won't lie.
Speaker 4: It would have been nice. I think he could have
got there too.
Speaker 1: You could have as well.
Speaker 3: I think Kseki may have been able to catch him,
but he had a good head start on Guseki.
Speaker 4: Uh great athlete is Guseki? I can't remember?
Speaker 3: I think let me double check the forty time forty
yard dash time? Do you have the SoundBite of him
actually discussing the play?
Speaker 1: Though I do, I haven't ready here yet. We can
play it right now.
Speaker 3: Mike Giseki ran a four or five four forty yard
dash eighteen NFL combine, and if I'm not mistaken, Kyle
van Noys was a four to seven when he had
a head start, but Giseke may have been under track
him down. It may have been a blessing to have
a Lohi Gilman, the former Navy mid shipman as well
as the Notre Dame firing Irish defensive back. He's a
product out of Couhuckoo High School and I think or
High School. I think it was from Cuhucko, but ended
up attending Oram High School as well. But a Loohi
Gilman now been in the NFL. I want to say
since like twenty sixteen, really good football player.
Speaker 4: No, it's answered butts about it. Sorry.
Speaker 3: Twenty twenty is when he entered the NFL, but I
think he was a part of maybe the twenty sixteen.
Speaker 4: Class coming out of high school. Let's get to the
KBN sound though.
Speaker 3: This is combin on former Bo Grit, maybe the best
defensive player in BAA football history, commenting on his pick
handoff six.
Speaker 6: My first thought process was to run for the end
zone because it looked really good that far away. And
then I thought for a second in my brain, and
I was like, Nah, we gotta hand this ball off.
Drum roll, we gotta talk about this pick six.
Speaker 4: We had Huh, That's what.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about.
Speaker 5: Finally made a play.
Speaker 6: Oh my gosh. Anyways, got a pick six. I didn't personally.
I got an interception, but I got the assist on
the pick six. Now we gotta walk through it. Everyone's
probably like, damn, kV, why are you dropping? That was
the play call?
Speaker 7: You know.
Speaker 5: I did my assignment.
Speaker 6: I rushed to touch and t Rob snuck behind him,
forced Joe Burrow to process a little bit faster than
he wanted. He slipped in through a lollipop, and I
had to go high pointed it. If you notice I jumped.
I didn't get very high, but I jumped caught it
on the way down. They jumped too early. And then
my first thought process was to run for the end
zone because it looked really good that far away.
Speaker 5: And then I thought for a second in my brain.
Speaker 6: And I was like, nah, we gotta hand this ball
off to a Lohi who I turn and see and said,
take it, my friend, you got it touchdown. I just
want to say this too, because I know there's gonna
be some people like damn ug while you get the
ball up. For a split second, I feel like I
would scored, you know what. I know I would have
scored because there is some elite blocking out there. But
we'll never know because the low he scored and that's
all that matters.
Speaker 5: Let's go.
Speaker 4: Loved it.
Speaker 1: That was fun play.
Speaker 6: My first thought process.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I wonder, I wonder if Giseke tracks him down.
Speaker 3: You see at the very end, Gseke tracking down a
Lohi Gilman, so that everybody knows how fast is a
Lohi Gilman?
Speaker 4: Is the question right?
Speaker 3: So you're like, okay, GISEKEI ran a four five four forty. Okay,
A Loohi Gilman ran a four to six forty, So
I mean, alow, he could be faster than that right now.
But you see Giseki show up in and remember Kyle
nil ran a four to seven one.
Speaker 4: I think it could have been close.
Speaker 3: I think if a Loohi Gilman backtracks and blocks Gisekei
and he keeps on on a swivel, that's a pick
six for KVN because the blocking out in front of
him was tremendous on the left hand side or sorry,
on the right hand side coming down the sideline. So Kyle,
you didn't trust Man, you could, you would have housed that.
I think he would have housed it. Guy too, I
think he would have housed it unless you pulled a
muscle on the way down. That's the thing when you
get into unk status, you know, when you really start
to open up, you start to feel it in the hamstrings,
you start feeling the achilles, start to feeling in the groin.
So you know, ten twenty yards are running, that's different
than eighty ninety.
Speaker 4: Yards are running a full spring full speed.
Speaker 1: You're sprinting elevator.
Speaker 2: Gall exactly like Gazeki's a good athlete. Man, I'm looking
at this over. I didn't know how fast he was,
so he said it. I'll be like, ooh, could he
have Actually I don't know. I'm glad Kyle handed the ball.
I don't want to find out because how would that
be been you get hawked down at the one yard line?
Speaker 1: Oh, I had good, good job handed off Kyle, good job.
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe it was a blessing and decide, But I
think Kavie would have got it because I think ALOHI
would have back tracked.
Speaker 4: I think he would have backed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he was fast enough to keep up.
Speaker 3: Yeah, found first available first uh first uh, you know
just uh the biggest threat, biggest threat, first threat. All right, guys,
that's our Let's talk about stats segments slash cougars in
the pros uh, Pukaaku and KVN upfront Looking good, feeling good,
And that segment was brought to you by UTAH Advocates
UTAIH Advocates dot com. Look, guys, if you've been in
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Utah Advocates dot com today. Let's take a brief time out.
Speaker 4: We'll be back.
Speaker 3: Cougarnation still plenty to get you on a Monday, December
fifteenth edition of Cougar Sports here on.
Speaker 4: One o three nine ninety eight point three ESPN.
Speaker 3: Let's get to know the Cougars student athletes can a
player profile segments here on one oh three nine at
ninety eight three ESPN.
Speaker 4: The van.
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It is top for a little player profile.
Speaker 4: Gonna get to know A. J.
Speaker 3: DEBONSA hidem Boop and Alexi Kostik of the BUA men's
basketball team. They address the media after their uh They're
great win over UC Riverside, scoring over one hundred points.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 3: It hasn't happened all that often. You gotta celebrate that
Aj Debonsa was paired up with these two. I think
because you're gonna need Aja de Bonsa to to sometimes
lead that second team as the point guard is the
backup point guard. Aj needs to be the distributor and
playmaker for these guys coming off the bench and create
open shots for them so they can get in a rhythm.
They can fill the rhythm, fill the rhyme, and uh
get on up before it's March Madness time. I truly
believe that so ajuh is gonna be critical to the
success of that second team.
Speaker 4: We're gonna discuss it here on your Uti, ESPN readio never.
Speaker 3: We're gonna be brought to you by Ortho prose of
utallworthorprosiview dot com for those that don't know, I do
media as a side hustle.
Speaker 4: It's something I love. I've done it since two thousand
and eight.
Speaker 3: My main job is actually running an orthopedic and sports
medicine device distribution company, Orthoposa Viewtile. We specialize in orthopedic
and sports medicine devices. We distribute them along the wahsatch
front from bracest supports, compression wear, thermoformable casting, removable casting,
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all of it. Right, So, if it's within that sphere
of conservative management of rehabilitation and post operative or even
prehabilitation care, or even injury.
Speaker 4: Prevention, that's what we specialize in. And give us a
call set up at a point wre. We can build
out to your insurance.
Speaker 3: If you have a prescription, you have a particular clinical
indication that merits the medical device, you can call us today.
We can vet it, we can evaluate it. Eight oh one,
four hundred, five three and eight. That's eight O one
four hundred fly through an eight orthropros. If you orthropros,
of you tah dot com support us so I can
continue to do this media deal. That's just is fun
and uh it's uh Ronald and I get to hang
out and talk Paul and talk the gospel, talk b
Yu all day every day. We appreciate it that you
allow us to do such. All right, let's get into it.
AJ Debonsa hadem boop and Election coastick post game after
their fantastic dub over.
Speaker 8: UC riverside EJ, what was kind of the mindset coming
into this game to get get off so fast start?
Speaker 1: We'll just kind of the message from K.
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's kind of like the mentality that we have
in our second half. We're just trying to go just
bring that to the first half obviously been you know,
coming out pretty lazy. I mean our second half has
been good, but we just wanted to bring that sametime
to the first half.
Speaker 8: How would you assessed now game's over, just how that
how that was executed today?
Speaker 4: How do you feel like you guys performed?
Speaker 9: No, definitely definitely good. I think we had one of
our better transition games. We said we had twenty two assisterents.
Is the great stats, so I like them. You played
as the team.
Speaker 4: That the first double double for you?
Speaker 8: Uh, how does that feel just as working so well
for you in this game?
Speaker 1: I mean I feel like, you.
Speaker 5: Know, plays fast, like it just said, transition and kick
your head.
Speaker 7: You know, if we did not hold onto the ball
and everybody was touching, we were running, just made it
easy for me because that's like my game transitioning.
Speaker 5: I'm fast and I use that.
Speaker 9: Lets said, Kevin said that he told you guys to
do what you do best when you can in off
the bench. Do you feel like that's a green light
kinder for you because you what you do best is shit?
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean, of course a green light. And that's
just like what I'm most confident in shooting the ball.
So that's just what I'm trying to do. And I
think I can bring that to the table to make
our team better.
Speaker 5: Indulgent all that you're thin as you're going after Robert.
That shot sound like a cartoon or something.
Speaker 9: Wait oh, and I mean that's just a celebration that's
going to popular in the NBA right now. Thanks Jaalen Brents.
I made it famous when you had a big three?
Uh got put the face.
Speaker 10: J K?
Speaker 5: Why said that count of holds them away?
Speaker 4: Help people seem to forget how good you are?
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's go all right, Ronald, I'm an old hit.
I'm an unk forty three years of age. And that
was annk type of question. Don't all Dixon?
Speaker 6: Uh?
Speaker 4: And and so like we don't know from like hey
back in my day.
Speaker 3: You know, there was there was There were many three
point shots celebrations and we would mimic those.
Speaker 4: We would celebrate those. Uh, what what does the one
that that Rob Wright and A J and the crew
are currently doing. What is it called?
Speaker 3: Where does it stem from? What's the etymology of it?
Break it down for so we understand.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this new generation of athletes that play, they all
have kind of like a signature thing it they do.
Speaker 1: Steph Curry does the night Night.
Speaker 2: When Kevin Durant hits a shot over a smaller dude
gets fouled or hits a three, he does like the
little mini and tells him. So there's a lot of
gamesmanship going on during the NBA games, a lot of
trash talk. But this specific one Ben is Jalen Brunson
who plays for the New York Knicks. Fun fact, by
the way, Ben played against Jalen Brunson in the high
school when he was in Stevenson from Illinois got cooked
once they how many he got the first two point
guards on my team in the foul trouble.
Speaker 1: That lets you know I shouldn't have been in the
game anyway. I just wanted to say that, so I saw.
Speaker 2: Jalen Brunson before Jalen Brunson became Jalen Brunston. He actually
played against Jabari Parker in the state championship games. So
Jalen was cooking in high school. Good basketball player Rifley
So with the New York Knicks. But when he hits
a three, he puts you know, if you were to
like shoot at someone with your thumb and like if
it was a trigger, but you put it up, you know,
like it's an al, you just put it to your face.
Speaker 1: And that's what they do.
Speaker 2: And Jalen Brunson does that. When he hits the three,
he kisses it or just puts it over his face.
So they're doing the same thing. They're mimicking that. So
he's the one that started it into me. And kind
of how they have the old tradition, we're not old tradition,
but the tradition of the Oklahoma City Thunder. How they
all gather around during postgame interviews BYU's doing that too.
Speaker 1: Something that they're doing. I love that they're doing it.
Speaker 2: Look if these guys are going to the NBA bin,
which aj is, Rob is, Richie is and maybe some
of these other guys might play overseas, let them, let
them have some fun. You want the boys and the
kids to have fun, make the most of it. So
I love that they're treating it like that type of environment.
This team is really playing for each other. You let
me know, and I trying to be rude, I didn't
see a Mark Pope. Team gathered around everybody after the
post came like okay, okay, Like you just see the
love that they have.
Speaker 1: So I love that they do it.
Speaker 2: The best shot though, shout out to Jered Wilkie Nate
Edwards in the garden bind which is where Jaylen Brunson
plays too for the Knick. So I guess it made
it even more profound when they did it. But there's
a shot of them after they win the game, before
they talk to ESPN. Everybody just has it on their
face and they're looking up at the ceiling in Madison.
Regarding the angle shot that they caught. That was one
of the best pictures I think they've taken of all
time at BYU history because that that just speaks to
the level of what that game was. Will you will
remember that game, bin if you see that picture of
the aj career high the Donkey had and the Rob
Right buzzer beater. So a pitcher does sometimes tell a
thousand words, but that is the answer for Darnellen, for everybody.
The young kids do it too. A lot of them
do the Steph Curry night night. You might get a
technical foul though if you do that one. But doing
a three to the face, that's what they do when
they hit a three, and they've been doing it all
season long, and they're gonna keep doing it. I want
to see Richie Saunders do it because Richie's all about
basketball been so the day I see Richie do it
is I know that they'll be locked in. But Richie
bro Richie, and look this may people gonna get on me.
Richie's the Richie's the white brother that lived in the
hood back at home in Chicago, that just gets buckets
and bust your behind, that's always invited to the barbecue.
Richie just wants to play basketball. He's all about business.
So I love this basketball team and everybody that they have.
Speaker 4: Love it.
Speaker 3: Thanks for clarifying and giving us the background and what's
been hot in the NBA and how it you know,
it cross pollinates, it leads out, it waterfalls into the
NCAA College basketball world. Let's get back to the sound
aj debonca Kadeem Boo getting his first double double by
the way in his career.
Speaker 4: Very nice work there at election Coachtick post game.
Speaker 5: After that massive square ard performance. Do you kind of
like use his motivation to, you know, keep.
Speaker 8: Showing people that how good you are to get that
number one draft status and going for because like people gotta.
Speaker 5: Not talk about you as much of that.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean, I'm confident in my abilities that if
they don't want to talk, then I want to talk.
That's kind of better for me. I can just work
in silence and just do what I do. But I mean,
if you want to forget, you can forget. I'm just
trying to produce on my team and how my team
win is possible.
Speaker 5: Let's you kind of touch on it a little bit.
Speaker 4: But well, it's just working so well for.
Speaker 5: You specifically today.
Speaker 4: I mean it's been a while with you guys, excuse obviously,
and points and everything.
Speaker 1: Can you feel like you kind of saw the hoop
a little bit bigger?
Speaker 10: I mean I always started try to stay ready and
when I come in the game, I try to shoot
and some days of course more threes fall some days. No,
but I don't really like I wouldn't say like something
different that I did today. It's just I shoot the
ball and today I just made a lot.
Speaker 8: Like like I said, what's been kind of the challenge
from the coaching stassins Dawson went down for you in
these games.
Speaker 5: To what you can produce for this team going forward.
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean, it's of course very sad that we
lose a player like Dawson, but I mean they told
me that I will have like a bigger role, and
I was, like I said, trying to stay ready and
step in.
Speaker 8: His life footsteps and aj how important is it to
have the second unit, you know, kind of come together
before league play and get these guys going and.
Speaker 5: Having these gays.
Speaker 9: No, it's definitely impartant. Definitely got to give them the
confidence because league player is tough. Obviously, situations happening, people
may have filed trouble, stuff like that. So I mean
the bench just gotta be ready, not then they produce today.
Speaker 5: Aj K why I talked about your versatility but also
your ability to be a team player.
Speaker 7: Now of your ten games into.
Speaker 8: Your college career, how do you feel like you're trying
to balance like the growth of your game versus like
spreading that involve them and among your teammates at the
same time.
Speaker 9: NA, that pretty much is the growth, like me being
able to get other guys involved all of a sudden,
I can score the ball, score the ball, uh, you know,
at a fishing level. But what I'm trying to work
under is also just getting guys involved. Obviously, I I
tried to out of gravity. I'm just trying to find
open guys who open threes, open dunks.
Speaker 5: Any questions for a day? First Crew double double?
Speaker 8: Yeah, Adema asked you about the double double, right, but
I wanted to give your thoughts to just what is
How would you describe playing with some like AJ on
the floor, how much you enjoyed the experience so far?
Speaker 5: Just how does it help lift up everyone around the rockets?
Speaker 7: I mean it's a you know versus I play really good,
you know, a grade too made. You know, like even
though he's playing, but he cared about the bench, you know,
give you. He he gonna give you the confidence when
you step in, cheer for you. You know, like he
gonna feed you for sure, get you some buckets, you know,
and all the attention is.
Speaker 5: Gonna go on him. You know, that's gonna allow other
players to be.
Speaker 2: Awkwo was talking to you about how he gave you
a lot of minutes playing before a little bit today,
Do you feel comfortable and kind of a little bit
more so.
Speaker 1: We see you so much out of the wing that
I almost forget.
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 7: I've been playing the four my whole lives of that's
a new additionment for me to play the five.
Speaker 5: But you know, I'm I'm just a player. You know,
I would just play whatever that couse you put me in.
Speaker 7: So he put me at the Fort Tonday, and you know,
I've been working on my guard skills the whole time,
and I was ready for that opportunity.
Speaker 5: All I care is like just playing hard, getting my reward,
saying do what I do? Then question lu.
Speaker 8: Between Richie Richie up to you subscribe chemistry between you
and Ritchie and then that play as well.
Speaker 4: That's that.
Speaker 9: Yeah, that's a that's a big momentum shifter. But I
mean we just have a lot of chemistry, Like I
think a lot of teams have trouble because it's kind
of like pick your poison if you want to guard
him and leave me open. Okay, now, if you want
to guard me and leave him open, who shoots forty three?
Speaker 5: That's kind of like that.
Speaker 9: So it's kind of like a two on one situations
like pick your for you you want me to doune
or you want reach you to get a layup.
Speaker 5: So I think it's kind of hard for teams to stop.
You know, you know, both of us on the cour
at the same time. Did you expect him to get
that back to you? Oh?
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, I kind of looked at him. I kind
of have this look when I when I'm looking for
a lot. I'm not gonna tell it before they scouted,
but I got it.
Speaker 2: That was a j De Bossakadin Boop and uh Alexi
coachch in the post game was there yesterday. I think
that's a little funny thing at the end, aj you
have this look when I'm looking for a lot, but
I'm not going to tell you because I don't want
them to scout it. Miles always loved the little tibbits
that players coaches give you guys in the post game
that you can't get anywhere else. I think that was
really funny they said it. But yeah, No, the chemistry
right now between AJ and the team is coming along.
Speaker 1: Richie.
Speaker 2: I love that, Richie through that lot because for the
most part, look, we've heard from Kevin Young, we heard
from a multitude of other people coming in. It was
going to be Rob Wright as the primary porn Garden.
He even told us Nate Dawson maybe would come in
and help and you know, run it a little bit,
but it was really going to be robbing AJ. So
you love that AJ now is cooking. Look he's come
to a triple double a couple of times, the one
in Madison Square Garden against Clemson, now against UC riverside.
Speaker 1: Look, these are all time great performances.
Speaker 2: Enjoy it, while alast kugernation because players like this hard
to come by, generational talent. To me, with Darren Peterson
being bad, I think Ben's back as well. It's not
I don't know if Darren's going to be the number
one overall pick. If you can't play and AJ stock
is rising, you know, cam Busier Duke is also playing well.
Speaker 1: So love that.
Speaker 2: And then kadem it goes to what Brett Hammer said,
I think the Dennis Robbin of this team. He said,
get my rebounds, to play defense and do what I do.
The guy's not worried about scoring. So everybody on this team,
just like Kilaney says, still in the line for football
because it drives the ship. Everybody on this team's doing
their one eleventh. Kevin Young, we heard the sound in
the first hour in the nitty grit. If you miss it,
download the podcast, says, do what you're good at. Alexi
good at shooting, shoot aj good at play making, Go
play make Kadem. You're good at playing defensive, grab a rebounds,
do that, k, but you're good at protecting the rim
and duncan do that. In this team, Ben right now
has been thriving. They've been excelling. So I love what
I've seen from everything and shout out to you know,
ag de Boonce on leading this team. Look, I think
he if he keeps this up Ben and plays at
this high of a level, does it in conference play?
Speaker 1: Does it in the tournament? Remember we had that conversation
at the beginning of the year. What he live up
to the hype?
Speaker 2: Right now, he's been doing that, but the competition is
about to get ramped up, so we'll see if he
keeps it up.
Speaker 1: In the next month or so.
Speaker 3: Indeed, it was great hearing from those those three. One
of the things that stood out to me is just
AJ taking responsibility, taking the lead, taking this leadership responsibility of.
Speaker 4: Leading that second team back of point guard.
Speaker 3: He's taken advice from Ky and the coaching staff and
he's what, Yeah, I agree, Like, I gotta be that
guy that's gonna help not only his win, but it's
gonna help his draft status too little. We not me,
but it always helps out when it's also helping me
a little bit. So it's gonna help him.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 3: And he's gonna be that that point forward for the
in the NBA. And uh, he may be the next
generation face of the NBA. Have you seen enough yet
from AJ to declare who he will be in the NBA,
what he's capable of in the NBA, what his ceiling
is in the NBA. You know what I mean is this,
Are we watching the next Lebron James? Are we watching
the next Michael Jordan? Or are we watching you know
Tea mac right? Are we watching Penny Hardaway? Are we
watching a KG?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 3: These are all time greats, right, but they're not like
these legendary top ten play?
Speaker 4: Is he the next Kobe right? You know what I mean? Like,
is he a top ten all time player by the
end of his career?
Speaker 3: Have you seen enough to make such a declaration or
is he just in that great to very good kind
of echelon of the next generation of NBA players?
Speaker 4: What do you make of it?
Speaker 2: I don't think we can make that statement yet. I
think he has the potential and we're seeing the ability
to be at the next level. Again, That's why I
brought a conference play, right then if the numbers go
down in conference play, then it's like, okay, well maybe
not so because you can beat up on anybody in
non conference that's a UC riverside right for crying out loud.
But no, I think he will live up to it.
I think you see the potential there. Look at twenty
eight nine and six or seven or eight or whatever
he had at the Garden was ridiculous, right, Like you're
talking about a rebound and then three assists away or
two assists away from a triple double against a Clemson
on a second half comeback.
Speaker 1: You see the clay there. So I think he will
become his own player eventually.
Speaker 4: Been But I don't know.
Speaker 2: I can't say the next Lebron, I can't say that
own team act, but I think he will be put
in a category with that because he'll have his moments.
But you see it, you see the numbers that he
could maybe do like a Cooper flag. Because a reminder,
he gets drafted been he's gonna go to one of
the three worst teams, So he's not gonna be on
a flashy team looking some type of way, unless somehow
he ends up with you know, the the Boston Celtics
or ends up you know, somewhere else. But I think
he definitely will be there. I see the clay. The
clay is good, and if he doesn't in conference play,
I definitely think he'll get to that point. But he's
the face of a future NBA franchise. He's the guy,
and what he's doing right now is exactly what he'll
do in the league. Ben He'll have to score at
a high level, produce and rebounding. He's definitely capable of
doing it. So let's give him time, let's see where
it's at. I'm not gonna be over the declarative, but
once he starts to rack up the awards, I think
I can start to lean towards that way, you.
Speaker 4: Know, from a bottom of the barrel.
Speaker 3: I mean, look, the Jazz are pretty down, pretty down
on their luck right now in the Western Conference. You know,
you're hoping, praying that you can keep them here in
the in the great state of Utah. Maybe that's what
the cards will end up being. Well, let's hope, let's
pray that he stays in the state of Utah. Let's
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So a couple of things here in this cougar in
side report that I want to get into. Okay, number one,
This BYU basketball team is something special, you know, and
John Rostein, the CBS Sports has delved into it.
Speaker 4: You're seeing.
Speaker 3: ESPN put out their breakdown of BYU basketball. I know
it's only December, but BYA Basketball is trending in the
right direction heading into Big twelve play. Check this stat
out for a moment, an ESPN stat you need to
know about this Boa basketball team after being ranked tenth
in the latest A people Okay, their previous ranking was tenth.
They didn't move up there nine to one on the season, obviously,
stat to know though.
Speaker 4: Agent de Bonsa.
Speaker 3: Recorded his fifth game with twenty or more points with
Saturday's twenty six point effort against UC Riverside, the most
of any BYU freshman.
Speaker 4: Over the last ten seasons.
Speaker 3: Maybe that's not like all that impressive because he's going
to be the number one all I think he's gonna
be the number one overall draft pick in next year's
NBA draft.
Speaker 4: But he's producing. He's producing at a high level.
Speaker 3: He also became just the second freshman in program history
to reach two order points in his first career games,
joining Danny Ainge. For many people, the goat of BYU basketball.
You're in the same you're mentioned, the same sentence, the
same paraiff, the same man as Danny Ainge. Obviously you're
heading down a path of greatness and we expect it.
Know if sands or butts about it. Let's transition over
to some John Rocks commentary. John Rostein says BYU will
stay inside the top ten for the majority of this season.
So let's listen in here and after these comments. Okay,
I just sent it over to you, Ronald three man Weaver,
what type of seeding does BYU basketball get in the
NCAA March Madness Tournament, You wonder, right, this is John
Rostein's College Basketball Insider, his discussion on why BYU will
stay inside the top ten for the entirety, maybe the
majority of the season.
Speaker 5: Good points.
Speaker 1: Then you look at the fact that BYU.
Speaker 11: Has been a team that has answered the majority of
the calls it has received. BYU went to Boston, was
very competitive against Yukon of T D. Garden lost the game,
but BYU also want you games in Florida at the
ESPN Events Invitational, beating Miami, beating Dayton, beat Wisconsin in
Salt Lake City, came back and beat Clemson. I was
at the game last Tuesday in the Jimmy B Classic.
BYU looks the part of a team thanks to AJ
debants Richie Saunders and Rob Wright, that will be inside
the top ten for the majority of the season.
Speaker 4: Good point, they go.
Speaker 3: That's John Ross teams. So okay, they're gonna be in
the top ten for the majority of season. They're getting
into Big twelve play right now. No matter what happens,
which I imaginally gonna win more than they lose. I
think they're gonna be a above five hundred in Big
twelve play number one, let's set a sound foundation for that.
If they're above five hundred in Big twelve play, do
you think they stay in like slightly above a least,
say it's like, you know, just slightly above five hundred,
which I think they're gonna be better than that. But
let's just say, worst case scenario, they're slightly above five hundred,
sitting around five hundred. Are they in the top ten
at the end of the season, Ronald the three man weaver.
Speaker 2: One hundred percent. I still think that they are. And
even if they're not coming, to be honest, men, I
don't care if they are. It's about the Quad one
and Quad two games. Look out of those games. If
they're slightly above, how many Quad one wins do they
have on the road in true road environments?
Speaker 1: How many Quad one wins do they have at home? Ben,
you saw what Arizona did.
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter, and Arizona did finished highly in the
Big twelve ty for throw with BYU. Do do a
tiebreak of common opponents and look what they got. They
got a top four seed. So BYU that had a
same tough non conference that Arizona did, but one more
games and besides the Yukon game, that's their only loss.
And then you go on a conference play if you're
sitting like Arizona Ben last year at Houston, Look, I
don't think it's hyperbably. Just say they might be the
last number one seed. Not that might be tough, but
they'd be the first number two seed. BYU is either
going to be the last number one seed to in
the NCAA tournament or the first number two seed and
when selection Sunday happens. Being slightly above five hundred and
into Big twelve, it's hard to in this conference, they're
back to eighteen games. Even if they're ten and eight,
that's enough. Ben, I don't think they will be quite Frankly,
I think they're gonna be close to that. What thirteen
to fourteen win margin in conference play, I really think so.
Speaker 1: So we'll see.
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, as long as
you got Kevin Young, AJ Robin Richie, like John Rosstin said,
they're gonna be top ten for most of the season.
Speaker 1: But the ap pole doesn't matter. Guys don't pay attention
to that.
Speaker 2: Pay attention to the net rankings, pay attention to those
trust round with the three mail weaver. If you get
credit for it in basketball, you don't get credit ford
in football. You have to pay attention to college football
playoff rankings, but you don't have to pay attention to
the ap pole ranking that much when it comes to basketball,
because you get credit for the quality opponents.
Speaker 1: You pay not necessarily when you win and lose.
Speaker 3: I think the highest seed in BYU basketball NCAA tournament
history that they've accrued I believe it was a three seed.
I believe it's a three seed number. I think it
was in nineteen eighty and then in two thousand and eleven.
So they should eclipse that. They should they this year
it's gonna be different. It's gonna be built different. Currently
there are six Big Twelve teams in the latest eight
people you have aged at number one. I was stayed
at four, Houston at eight, BYU at ten, Kansas at seventeenth,
and then Texas Tech at number nineteen. So John Rossney
the CBS Sports says the Big Twelve could have six
of the top sixteen seeds on selection Sunday, So at worst,
maybe a three seed, At best a one seed. Could
you imagine BYU basketball being a one seed? Holy conolly,
just a crazy time in BYU basketball history, no doubt
at BA athletics history. You look and compare and contrast,
as we've talked about in the past. This last year
and for instance, for twenty twenty four, BYU football went
eleven and two with an Alimo Bowl victory.
Speaker 4: Over a ranked Colorado team.
Speaker 3: Okay, great victory over Trafs, Hunter Ruter Sanders Prime, fantastic, marvelous,
amazing b YU basketball. Then then recap that, right, recap
that and uh uh with a with a sweet sixteen
run led by you know, Yagor and Richie the Todd King.
Speaker 4: Phenomenal.
Speaker 3: One of the best seasons, one of the best years
in BYU athletics history. When you can bind those two sports,
it's gonna be it's gonna be surpassed this year because
b Y has already eleven and two.
Speaker 4: You hope that they get a win.
Speaker 3: They should get a win over a ranked opponent once
again in the Pop Tards Bowl. Georgia Tech would have
been better had it been Notre Dame. By the way,
Notre Dame, it's pretty much confirmed. The reason why they
opted out is because they were going to be too
many or they opted out of playing the bowl game
because they had too many opt outs.
Speaker 4: Amongst their leadership council.
Speaker 3: So when mar RCUs Freeman met with the team captains,
many of them are pro bound, they were like, like,
we're not gonna play in a game like this. It's
too risky to play in this game without playoff opportunity,
without a national championship opportunity.
Speaker 4: So they were gonna be.
Speaker 3: Too many opt outs and they didn't want to go
in shorthanded. Even though they have a very talented team,
you look at their recruiting rankings year over year, Notre
Dame is still very much a great and sometimes even
under leite team with their personnel that they bring in.
So anyway, just to kind of set the tone here,
BYU basketball could end up being a one seed at worst.
What's the farthest day drop with their schedule? What's the worst, guy,
I think it's a three seed. That's the worst case scenario.
What do you see, Ronald the three man weaver.
Speaker 1: Worst case scenarios like Arizona four seed? I think that's
the worst.
Speaker 2: Like, and that's like if it got really bad and
that's been Can I be honest if that's Rob Wright
got injured or Alexi Kosach and you had to like
fumble in figure out if they lost another key piece.
Speaker 1: I think then at that point, four seed.
Speaker 2: But even to your point, with the quality wins that
you have, you're still probably getting credited being a three seed.
Speaker 1: So I think that's the worst.
Speaker 2: Like if all hell were to break loose, don't swear
if you haven't served admission, I can remember that you
can't well you do that, But I think four is
the absolute worst because remember Arizona started the season five
and four last year, and if you were at the
five hundred market conference play, you might be that first
team as a number four seed, but again you probably
are the last three seed because that schedule is going
to give you a lot of credit when you beat
the likes of a Kansas Iowa state. He'ston like Robbi
McCombs put this out and I need to reach out
to Robbie Bin to get him on the show, if
not this week next. Robbie put out a good point
of it that BYU has a chance to be top
five at some point in the season because if you
beat number one Arizona, if you beat number four, I
would state if you beat number seven Houston, that is
going to propel you into the top five. Ben and
that alone makes your strength of record amazing because though
all of those tas are going to the NCAA Tournament,
no doubt all of those teams might have a top
five seat.
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to break guys, Please don't go anywhere. Little recruiting news
and Notes The Cougars with mus Bingham, former on campus
recruiting coordinator for bing Brigham Young University. He's been the
creator of the podcast The Utah Perhaps Podcast, and he's
the president for a recruiting software company as well along
or around the country, So don't miss it.
Speaker 4: Moose Bingham.
Speaker 3: Coming up next, this is Cougar Sports on one of
three nine ninety eight point three es