Speaker 1: Do some college basketball, some college football, whatever else comes
Speaker 1: our way on this Tuesday afternoon with our guys. Spencer
Speaker 1: Lintin from b YU TV. Hello, Spencer, Happy Tuesday.
Speaker 2: How are you, Spence dolow Man. Good to connect with
Speaker 2: you once again. Busy time of year.
Speaker 3: We love it, sir, appreciate the time.
Speaker 1: Do you have a basketball rooting interest or are you
Speaker 1: just simply a fan of the Utah Jazz.
Speaker 2: I am a fan of the Jazz and have been
Speaker 2: so lifelong, really going back to the stock in the
Speaker 2: Malone days. I mean that's what I grew up with, so,
Speaker 2: like many of your listeners can share in that regard
Speaker 2: to the loving the old school Jazz. But yeah, I'd
Speaker 2: like to see the team turn it around. I'm excited
Speaker 2: about Will Hardy in his new contract and I feel
Speaker 2: like he's demand for the rebuild. But as far as
Speaker 2: playoffs go, like, I love good basketball games, like yesterday's
Speaker 2: games were so fantastic in the fourth quarter specifically, like
Speaker 2: I just flipped to watch high level basketball and clutch
Speaker 2: play and we saw a ton of that last night.
Speaker 2: So right now rooting interest because the Jazz are out
Speaker 2: of it, but I just want to see good games, though,
Speaker 2: I did find myself randomly pulling for the New York
Speaker 2: Knicks to win that game, so I guess there is
Speaker 2: something there. I feel like it's been a long time
Speaker 2: since New York's been in it, so maybe maybe I
Speaker 2: feel like basketball will be a little bit better if
Speaker 2: if the Knicks could be in it once again and
Speaker 2: do something good.
Speaker 1: My guy, I knew I liked you. No, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this while we're in the space.
Speaker 1: Like me, I think I'm a little bit older than
Speaker 1: you are, But like me, when it comes to springtime
Speaker 1: in sol Lake City, do you find yourself missing the
Speaker 1: buzz that we have downtown when the Jazz are in
Speaker 1: the postseason this time of year?
Speaker 2: Yeah, naturally, there's just that little bit of drop off
Speaker 2: and you tell yourself like, oh, I'll be able to
Speaker 2: fill it with other things. But it's just you're right,
Speaker 2: It's just it's different when there isn't something to look
Speaker 2: forward to. It's so fun to watch Jazz basketball in
Speaker 2: the playoffs and like look forward to that. It's the
Speaker 2: circle the calendar type of event for me. Whenever the
Speaker 2: Jazz have a playoff game, like it's almost like I
Speaker 2: plan everything around that. Oh well, we got to watch
Speaker 2: the Jazz game, Like, what are my buddies doing, what's
Speaker 2: my family doing? A jazzula of playoffs? It's game three
Speaker 2: of the first round or of the Western Conference second
Speaker 2: round whatever. I like to have that in my life
Speaker 2: when I'm planning things around those playoff games. So yes,
Speaker 2: I do feel like it's just natural, a little bit
Speaker 2: of a letdown and almost a quiet atmosphere, and it
Speaker 2: feels like we're go into the off season too early,
Speaker 2: and then we're just longing for college football to return
Speaker 2: in August.
Speaker 1: Indeed, and I do want to do some football today.
Speaker 1: But before we get to that topic that portion of
Speaker 1: the conversation, let's stick with some basketball. And since you
Speaker 1: and I last spoke, James Taff for Debt, better known
Speaker 1: as Jim Er, friend of the show, officially announced that
Speaker 1: he has retired from the game of basketball. And you know, Spencer,
Speaker 1: I've kind of changed my view about Jimmer. I've changed
Speaker 1: my view about the term bust overall, Like, no part
Speaker 1: of me believes a six foot nothing, white kid from
Speaker 1: Glenn's Falls, New York who made millions of dollars playing
Speaker 1: the game of basketball should be considered a bust, and
Speaker 1: I never thought that he was going to be a
Speaker 1: good NBA player. This goes back to a conversation I
Speaker 1: had with the BYU legend himself, Danny Ainge. I sat
Speaker 1: next to Danny during the Mountain West Conference tournament when
Speaker 1: Fordett dropped whatever on Kawhi and Fordett was dropping whatever
Speaker 1: on everybody, and I asked him, I said, so, what
Speaker 1: do you think? What do you think Jimmer NBA? And
Speaker 1: he said he's got no shot and I went WHOA,
Speaker 1: Like okay, And as we sat there throughout the game,
Speaker 1: Danny kind of helped me understand what he was seeing
Speaker 1: as far as you know. One of the things he
Speaker 1: pointed out, and this was intentional with Dave Rose, and
Speaker 1: Dave probably gave Jimmer a bit of a break on
Speaker 1: defense because he knew he had had every ounce of
Speaker 1: his offense to win games. But it wasn't that Jim
Speaker 1: or didn't guard. It was like he never got into
Speaker 1: a stance. And then Danny walked me through kind of
Speaker 1: the difference between the ability to shoot off the bounce,
Speaker 1: which Jimmer did at an elite level, and ability to
Speaker 1: catch and shoot, which Forett actually never was very good
Speaker 1: at So when Jimmer was going up against lesser competition
Speaker 1: that couldn't guard him off the bounce, he was going
Speaker 1: to dominate. But when he was going up against elite
Speaker 1: athletes that wouldn't allow him the space, he just didn't
Speaker 1: have the game to evolve in the NBA. But ultimately
Speaker 1: it was such a fun run to watch him at
Speaker 1: Brigham Young and then of course his life in basketball
Speaker 1: overseason with the Olympics. But from a BYU perspective, as
Speaker 1: Jimmer walks away, what's kind of the conversation down that way?
Speaker 2: You know, I didn't think that I would feel, I
Speaker 2: guess as sad in a way as I did when
Speaker 2: Jimer announced his official retirement, because he has brought so
Speaker 2: much happiness and joy to his basketball fans, but not
Speaker 2: just basketball fans, but just because he's a good person
Speaker 2: to the core. Like I don't feel like there's a
Speaker 2: fake bone in Jimmer Fredett's body. He is as genuine
Speaker 2: a YU star as there is, And so just the
Speaker 2: finalization of it was almost a little bit like h
Speaker 2: you know, like it's I can't believe we're never going
Speaker 2: to watch Jim orfo deet play competitive basketball in any
Speaker 2: facet again, and I think a lot of BA fens
Speaker 2: shared that similar feeling with me that it just wow, Well,
Speaker 2: I mean, what a journey that he has encountered and
Speaker 2: taken us on through basketball, Through obviously his BYU days
Speaker 2: that you were just pointing out, and then a very
Speaker 2: very tough, hut throat NBA portion of his career. But
Speaker 2: to watch him go to China and dominate and be
Speaker 2: the Chinese League MVP, and then go to Pennathonikos in
Speaker 2: Greece and play for Rick Patino and try and fill
Speaker 2: a role position there, and then back to China again
Speaker 2: and into the NBA G League and now he's a
Speaker 2: G League All Star and works his way back into
Speaker 2: the NBA through a couple of ten day contracts. I
Speaker 2: just remarkable stuff, so easy to root for. I would
Speaker 2: be hard pressed to believe that he won't have his
Speaker 2: number retired in the Marriott Center sometime in the next year.
Speaker 2: It's typically fifteen years from the time that you're done
Speaker 2: playing at the university, and you have to be an
Speaker 2: All American and officially retired as all those things have
Speaker 2: come to fruition, so I expect his number to be retired.
Speaker 2: But yeah, there was a little piece of the man.
Speaker 2: It kind of thinks that we're never going to watch
Speaker 2: gym or play in any sort of competitive facet again,
Speaker 2: which was what made the Olympics three x three things
Speaker 2: so fun because he took on this brand new avenue
Speaker 2: of basketball, ascended to become the number one ranked three
Speaker 2: x three player in the world, only to have his
Speaker 2: Olympic dream crushed. But then you watch him and his
Speaker 2: attitude handle it with class and dignity like he's always
Speaker 2: done just which makes it even more heartbreaking that he
Speaker 2: didn't get a chance to really push for that gold medal.
Speaker 2: But all in all, you step back and with you
Speaker 2: you can't call his career a bust. You can call
Speaker 2: him an absolute inspiration and an incredible example of taking
Speaker 2: on several adversities, facing several hurdles, being shut down and
Speaker 2: just continuing to work and find your place. And I
Speaker 2: mean a pros pro in every sense of the word.
Speaker 2: He worked so hard every day of his basketball career.
Speaker 2: So sad to see it shut down, no competition anymore,
Speaker 2: but excited that he's leading to three x three front
Speaker 2: and that he'll be the GM essentially of United States
Speaker 2: three x three basketball as they try and get back
Speaker 2: to the Olympics and then compete for a goal. So
Speaker 2: I'm excited to watch him in a managerial role and
Speaker 2: wouldn't be surprised to see him do some TV, some broadcasting,
Speaker 2: and certainly he'll be around basketball in some capacity.
Speaker 1: You know, if you would have asked me last year,
Speaker 1: I would have said maybe at some point Richie Saunders
Speaker 1: makes some money in Europe playing basketball. And then after
Speaker 1: the season he had year one under Kevin, I became
Speaker 1: pretty convinced that he had a chance to make his
Speaker 1: way in the NBA. And at the age of twenty three,
Speaker 1: you want to get the thing started because if you
Speaker 1: actually stick in the NBA, you get to your second contract,
Speaker 1: that's when generational wealth comes your way.
Speaker 3: So I was a little surprised that Richie decided to
Speaker 3: come back.
Speaker 1: Now this is nothing but good news for BYU. I
Speaker 1: wonder what sort of insight you could give us as
Speaker 1: to the reasoning that Richie leaned upon in order to
Speaker 1: come back and play for Kevin once again.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I talked to him at length, speaking of Richie
Speaker 2: in the Bya TV facilities on the air and off
Speaker 2: the air a little over a week ago, and he
Speaker 2: straight up just said it was just such a difficult
Speaker 2: decision because the NBA opportunity was very much on the table.
Speaker 2: And Richie's a guy that doesn't hyperbolze anything. He doesn't
Speaker 2: add any sort of fluff to it. He'll just tell
Speaker 2: you exactly what it is. I love the real nature
Speaker 2: of him. And so when we asked him, you know,
Speaker 2: what were your NBA opportunities, and he said, the consensus
Speaker 2: was early to mid second round. After my workouts, there
Speaker 2: was a lot of beliefs that I would go and
Speaker 2: impress people, and people have been comparing me to Alex
Speaker 2: Caruso and a few other NBA comps and being all
Speaker 2: big twelve. Like I was told that there's a great
Speaker 2: chance that I would be drafted early second round to
Speaker 2: mid second round at the latest, and that I was
Speaker 2: going to have a place on an NBA roster somewhere.
Speaker 2: So he said that like hearing that from a lot
Speaker 2: of people and realizing, oh my gosh, this is my dream,
Speaker 2: Like I can go to the NBA right now and
Speaker 2: do this. That's what made the decision to come back
Speaker 2: so difficult. And he's like, I just felt so blessed
Speaker 2: that as hard as this decision was, I'm looking at
Speaker 2: two different scenarios. One, I can go back and play
Speaker 2: for Coach Young again and he can help me develop
Speaker 2: my NBA game even more. But I'll have an opportunity
Speaker 2: to play with AJ Debonta and Robert Right the Third
Speaker 2: and we could do something historic at BYU and go
Speaker 2: maybe next level. Or I can go and fulfill a
Speaker 2: lifelong dream and get to the NBA and I can
Speaker 2: just start that pass. So he's like, both options were incredible,
Speaker 2: and I mean, he waited. There is a reason he
Speaker 2: waited till the very last minute. And he said that
Speaker 2: it took conversations with his wife Sierra, a lot of them,
Speaker 2: and consideration of can I can I still improve my
Speaker 2: game while staying at BYU and at least maintain the
Speaker 2: NBA status that I have right now for next year.
Speaker 2: And they felt confident that they could do that, not
Speaker 2: only that, but get even a little bit better and
Speaker 2: maybe improve his draft stock along with the additional exposure
Speaker 2: that's going to be so naturally there for BYU because
Speaker 2: of AJ Debonca and Rob Right the Third and some others.
Speaker 2: And so he, I mean, it was he waffled. He
Speaker 2: went back and forth a lot. He truly believe that
Speaker 2: at worst he was going to be a mid second
Speaker 2: round pick, but he believes he can be better than that,
Speaker 2: and he feels like he can maximize the opportunity at BYU,
Speaker 2: And with all of the additional exposure and and everybody
Speaker 2: watching very close to this year, it just to Richie
Speaker 2: felt like that was kind of the edge. And when
Speaker 2: he goes, when he makes a decision, he's all in.
Speaker 2: I love that about him too, is no like no, like,
Speaker 2: oh man, maybe I should have done this. Like when
Speaker 2: he goes, he goes. He is committed to the process,
Speaker 2: So respect that about him. Like you said, it's great
Speaker 2: news for BYU because now we're talking about a team
Speaker 2: that we believe, at worst should be in a Sweet
Speaker 2: sixteen and have a real shot to get back to
Speaker 2: BYU second ever Elite eight, if not further.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's always tough to be like, well, they should
Speaker 1: make the final four. It's just it's a one and
Speaker 1: done tournament. Great teams are eliminated every single year on paper,
Speaker 1: you know, when you look at some of the projections
Speaker 1: and the you know, with the combination of the incoming
Speaker 1: freshman recruits led by A and A couple of others,
Speaker 1: you know, the Xavion Stanton kid.
Speaker 3: Now this transfer portal class.
Speaker 1: I mean, most everybody spencer that I've seen has this
Speaker 1: team as a top five team coming into next season.
Speaker 1: It's an embarrassment of riches. Have you guys done an
Speaker 1: exercise where you trying to figure out like who's starting
Speaker 1: and who's playing. There are a lot of good players
Speaker 1: on this roster.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, we have run the gamut in that regard
Speaker 2: of like wondering how Kevin Young is going to stack
Speaker 2: this rotation and who's going to start. My best guess
Speaker 2: is that certainly Kabakata will start at the five. I
Speaker 2: believe that b Yu will. It could be Dominic Diamande
Speaker 2: at the four, and A. J. Gabonsa at the three,
Speaker 2: and Richie at the two and Rob Right at the one.
Speaker 2: Obviously the guy that BA just pulled into the transport recently,
Speaker 2: the four star from Suttlen, Illinois another good score. He's
Speaker 2: a guy that could start at the three and kind
Speaker 2: of cycle things around. Really, I think it's just the
Speaker 2: big question mark is only one player. I know that
Speaker 2: Rob right the third is going to start, Richie's going
Speaker 2: to start, AG's going to start in CAB He's going
Speaker 2: to start, But what does BUA do with that last
Speaker 2: spot in the starting five? But now BYU is in
Speaker 2: a position like they were last year where they can
Speaker 2: go at least nine deep on the bench, which is
Speaker 2: just you called it an embarrassment of riches. I don't
Speaker 2: think that's sensationalized at all. It's everybody feels like they
Speaker 2: deserve to play a lot of minutes. It's going to
Speaker 2: be a highly competitive room again. And they were back
Speaker 2: in the gym last week for the first time, and
Speaker 2: after the first couple of practices, all I heard was
Speaker 2: one it's just so competitive, like stuck an edge for
Speaker 2: all of them. And so that is a difficult scenario
Speaker 2: for Kevin Young to handle. Again, is how do I
Speaker 2: keep all these guys happy? Well, you don't. You just
Speaker 2: got to let the guys go earn it, get into
Speaker 2: what we feel is going to be a nine or
Speaker 2: ten man rotation again and go. But what a luxury
Speaker 2: to be able to go to the bench, even for
Speaker 2: a guy like Dawson Baker or Mihailo Boskovich, who's a
Speaker 2: tough matchup in some situational basketball. That proved huge for
Speaker 2: BYU last, like those guys coming off the bench and
Speaker 2: being able to impact this team again to spell some
Speaker 2: of these superstars, is it's big time. I mean, these
Speaker 2: guys are experienced dudes who are not going to shy
Speaker 2: away from big time moments because they've been in it
Speaker 2: and they've been it for a while, so expectations are
Speaker 2: sky high. But I'm with you. I would caution basketball
Speaker 2: fans in the state of Utah or anybody that's watching
Speaker 2: BYU to me, it would be remarkable if BOI got
Speaker 2: back to went back to back Sweet sixteens. I mean,
Speaker 2: they've been to three in forty five years, so if
Speaker 2: they could go back to back, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2: And then hey, let's see get to an other Sweet sixteen.
Speaker 2: If BA is a two or three seed, then they
Speaker 2: got a great chance to get to an elitiate and
Speaker 2: we'll go from there. But I kind of feel like
Speaker 2: once they get to a second consent to sweet sixteen,
Speaker 2: if they do, then you start to enter slowly into
Speaker 2: the house money territory. It's like, Okay, let's see what
Speaker 2: else we can do and let's strike while the irons
Speaker 2: hot with AJ and company in town.
Speaker 3: And really, if You're honest.
Speaker 1: The headliner and a chance to be a historic once
Speaker 1: in a generation opportunity for not just BYU fans, but
Speaker 1: basketball fans in the state is to watch AJ debonsa
Speaker 1: play for Kevin and BYU. And when that signing became official,
Speaker 1: I remember thinking like, this will mean a tremendous amount
Speaker 1: of opportunity and exposure for BYU basketball in a way
Speaker 1: that I don't think they've seen before.
Speaker 3: And John Rothstein reports that BYU will play in the.
Speaker 1: Jimmy V Classic with you know, Yukon and Florida and
Speaker 1: they're gonna play Clemson round one at Madison Square Garden.
Speaker 1: My question, though, is what sort of tangible buzz is
Speaker 1: there down there about AJ? And do you think BYU
Speaker 1: basketball fans Spencer, I don't know if you've seen this
Speaker 1: kid play, there's nothing. There's nothing he doesn't do well.
Speaker 1: Like when everybody asks, like people ask me, what does he.
Speaker 3: Have to improve on? Well, really nothing.
Speaker 1: He just has to keep incrementally getting better at everything
Speaker 1: that he's already awesome at. He's built you hear the
Speaker 1: Paul George Lebron James. He is that type of modern
Speaker 1: day wing. He will be an excellent NBA player, generationally special, potentially.
Speaker 1: Do you think BYU basketball fans really understand what they're
Speaker 1: about to watch in this kid.
Speaker 2: No, I don't, because they've never seen anybody like him
Speaker 2: in provo, and because I've seen him play granted at
Speaker 2: competition level in the high school ranks. But still like
Speaker 2: you see it and you're like, holy cow, that dude
Speaker 2: is so refined and polished his footwork, his basketball acumen,
Speaker 2: just his awareness of where everybody is on the floor,
Speaker 2: his ability to play above the rint. And I don't
Speaker 2: think people understand how good of a defender he can
Speaker 2: be when he commits to that specifically. Like I agree
Speaker 2: with Kevin Young. I watched him play defense. I'm like, dude,
Speaker 2: that I could be all Big twelve defensive team. I'm
Speaker 2: not kidding. We talked about all about his scoring and
Speaker 2: everything he does on the offense side. For I'm telling
Speaker 2: his fense he has a chance to be a special
Speaker 2: defender if he wants to commit to that part of
Speaker 2: his game, and so BYU specifically is gonna work with
Speaker 2: him there. He could be great both ways, and you
Speaker 2: just don't know until you see it in person. But
Speaker 2: BA fans, I don't believe we'll understand what they actually
Speaker 2: have until they get to witness AJ on the floor
Speaker 2: playing against Villanova in Las Vegas on November three. I
Speaker 2: think that's the date for the season tip off neutral
Speaker 2: side game. But wow, when they see that and then
Speaker 2: get him back in the Marriot Center, that then I
Speaker 2: think reality will begin to set in a little bit.
Speaker 2: But right now, it's just like highlights on social media
Speaker 2: and things like that. Watching him play in person is
Speaker 2: such a different experience. And his dad aceh we need
Speaker 2: to give him credit BYU fans and frankly basketball fans
Speaker 2: that that for why he's even in this state. Because
Speaker 2: AJ told me last week b Yu was not on
Speaker 2: my list. Like when I put my list together, like
Speaker 2: b Yu, that wasn't even a thought. And he said,
Speaker 2: my dad looked at me and said, just do me
Speaker 2: a favor. Just add Ba to the list. Trust me,
Speaker 2: And he said, b Yu, He's like this, just trust me,
Speaker 2: add By to the list. Let's go check it out.
Speaker 2: And so he said. I listened to my dad. I
Speaker 2: took his advice. I put By in the list, and
Speaker 2: then I made my first visit and I was like, oh,
Speaker 2: my dad, I didn't know Dad, but now I know
Speaker 2: like Dad is a special place, Kevin's a special coach.
Speaker 2: This could actually develop into something, and that's kind of
Speaker 2: how it all started. So I know that we hear
Speaker 2: a lot of tough instances where you know their parents
Speaker 2: were too involved and things like that. In this case,
Speaker 2: if it weren't for the great relationship that Ace and
Speaker 2: AJ have, he wouldn't he wouldn't have even put b
Speaker 2: YU on his list. So keep that in mind when
Speaker 2: you're watching him play in person and think you can
Speaker 2: thank his dad for helping him at least consider BYU
Speaker 2: and then ultimately end up in provo.
Speaker 1: I think at most P four major institutions like at
Speaker 1: Utah or BYU, even if the football team is expected
Speaker 1: to win zero games, there's more excitement for football than basketball.
Speaker 1: And I think BYU has a chance to have a
Speaker 1: good football and a basketball team. But is there more
Speaker 1: buzz on campus for this upcoming football or basketball.
Speaker 2: Season right now? I think in the moment, because Boa
Speaker 2: just went to the Sweet sixteen, and because fans in
Speaker 2: large part have been waiting to see if Richie Saunders
Speaker 2: came back and who else BOI is going to get
Speaker 2: through the portal and it feels like the news cycle
Speaker 2: is just producing something big time more regularly for basketball
Speaker 2: right now than football. And let's saying something because football
Speaker 2: is getting guys through the portal too, right but it's
Speaker 2: on the heels of an incredibly entertaining and unexpected basketball season.
Speaker 2: I feel like right now, prisoners of the moment, most
Speaker 2: would say, oh, man, I just I love football, but
Speaker 2: I'm I'm so excited about basketball because when has BYU
Speaker 2: been a preseason top five team ever? They haven't. I
Speaker 2: can tell you that the highest preseason ranking BYU has
Speaker 2: ever had in history, no joke, was back when Kreshner
Speaker 2: Chosich was playing in the early seventies and BYU had
Speaker 2: a preseason ranking of twelve. That's the best it's ever been.
Speaker 2: Spence number twelve and it was thirteen coming into Danny
Speaker 2: Ages Junior year. By has never been more highly thought
Speaker 2: of in a preseason capacity than they are right now.
Speaker 2: So hard not to get lost in that when they're
Speaker 2: coming in somewhere between five and eight and people are
Speaker 2: starting to throw out the words DULP final four and
Speaker 2: it's like, Paul, yeah, just okay, slow down a little bit.
Speaker 2: But and these are just like Homer's I mean these
Speaker 2: are this is John Rosstein a CBS Sports and all
Speaker 2: these high level dudes, Jeff Goodman, and it's it's co'm
Speaker 2: in theme now like by is going to be a
Speaker 2: top ten team in the preseason, so it's already pacing
Speaker 2: to be history. So yeah, I think most are prisoners
Speaker 2: of the basketball moment. I could say the same thing
Speaker 2: about last year because football had a bad season in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three or five and seven, and then in
Speaker 2: comes Kevin Young and the NBA buzz and Jegor Dennen
Speaker 2: and all these things started to happen for basketball. People
Speaker 2: were excited about it in the off season. Then football
Speaker 2: started and BYU destroyed Kansas State, and just like that Spence,
Speaker 2: it was like, Okay, forget basketball, I'm all in on football.
Speaker 2: BYU's three. You know, they're just embarrassed Kansas State, and
Speaker 2: then they're off and running. If BYU football starts the
Speaker 2: season again undefeated and non conference, and let's say they
Speaker 2: go and beat Colorado and they're big twelve opener and
Speaker 2: they're four and oh and they're ranking the top fifteen.
Speaker 2: Because I think they're going to be a preseason top
Speaker 2: twenty five team. Then it will shift to get back
Speaker 2: to the football, but it's probably gonna take a three
Speaker 2: and OHO or four and oh start for the full
Speaker 2: on slot of football fans and be like, hey, I'm
Speaker 2: backing on now, let's push paws on basketball.
Speaker 1: So with a remaining few minutes we have, let's do
Speaker 1: a little football and you know the cycle since nil
Speaker 1: and transfer portal became a reality for really every team.
Speaker 1: It's not just Utah, it's not just BYU, it's most
Speaker 1: teams across the country. When you finished springball, you have
Speaker 1: your exit interviews with the coaches, you understand where you're at,
Speaker 1: and then you get calls from other schools and the
Speaker 1: transfer portal opens.
Speaker 3: You're going to lose talent Utah did. By you did?
Speaker 1: Keeland Marion, Harrison, Taggart Spencer are the two names that
Speaker 1: stand out to me. Your thoughts on those two losses
Speaker 1: and any other losses you think really hurt.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Keelan Marion one is at the top of
Speaker 2: the list that hurts because he was so dynamic, specifically
Speaker 2: in the special teams game. I mean, it had been
Speaker 2: probably since James die in the mid to late nineties
Speaker 2: that BYU had a guy return multiple kicks for touch
Speaker 2: downs in a single season, and Keelan Marion brought back
Speaker 2: that dynamic. I know there's a lot that goes into it,
Speaker 2: and Kelly Paping is doing a great job coaching the
Speaker 2: special teams for BYU and Parker Kingston did his thing
Speaker 2: with multiple punt return touchdowns. But Keelan just has an
Speaker 2: ability to hit a scene and go in his mental toughness,
Speaker 2: his preparation in that regard that's tough to replace. And
Speaker 2: I had him as my number two overall receiver coming
Speaker 2: out of spring football, behind only Chase Roberts, and I
Speaker 2: thought that he was poised to take a significant role.
Speaker 2: Now what I've learned is he was not told that
Speaker 2: he was the number two receiver and that may have
Speaker 2: factored in a little bit to why he wanted to
Speaker 2: seek another opportunity. But for me, it hurts the most
Speaker 2: unspecial teams. With that explosive playmaking ability and the toughness
Speaker 2: that he brings to the field, he backs down from nobody.
Speaker 2: He is a true competitor and I know that getting
Speaker 2: a guy like Tiger Bachmeyer will help. And BYU ads
Speaker 2: another guy, Frishnek through the portal and they already have
Speaker 2: Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston, and they retained Jojo Phillips,
Speaker 2: and they got guys that were good in high school
Speaker 2: football in Saint Cody Hagen, who's now got his he's
Speaker 2: back from his true mission legs and he's healthy. B Y,
Speaker 2: you will be fine there. But that that that one hurts.
Speaker 2: Tiger Bachmeyer helps a little bit because he produced some
Speaker 2: nice numbers as a freshman at Stanford. But we'll see,
Speaker 2: you know, And and Tiger is a guy that were
Speaker 2: turned to punt for a touchdown as well. And will
Speaker 2: it be Parker Kingston and Tiger together in that capacity?
Speaker 2: Will We'll find out what Kevin Pepinki decides to do.
Speaker 2: But that's the number one toughest loss for me. Harrison
Speaker 2: Taggart consistent, just just a hard nosed, good kid, good
Speaker 2: football player. But I believe that Sarah actually has a
Speaker 2: higher ceiling than Harrison. Not saying that is as good
Speaker 2: as Harrison right now, but I believe that Cla can
Speaker 2: be better than Harrison's ceiling, so that one doesn't hit
Speaker 2: as much because I believe that that is going to
Speaker 2: extend himself and put himself into a greater role and
Speaker 2: and he will shine. We saw moments of brilliance, especially
Speaker 2: with his increased role in the Alamo Bowl. He was
Speaker 2: given Shador Sanders in Colorado. All sorts of trouble. So
Speaker 2: don't feel as panicked if you will about that one. Well,
Speaker 2: but we'll see what what the by A Special teams
Speaker 2: are after the loss of Keel and Mary and I
Speaker 2: know that by Us has worked hard to add some
Speaker 2: good pieces through the portal. Uh, specifically the defensive line. Uh.
Speaker 2: That one, to me, Spence is just like can the
Speaker 2: names are there? I know they got Kirkland from Ohio
Speaker 2: State or sorry, from Oklahoma State. And obviously can Oftner
Speaker 2: Vaso has maybe maybe you've heard about that one. I
Speaker 2: don't know him his addition from Utah to buy Can
Speaker 2: those two guys, with the coaching of some other guys
Speaker 2: that have been in the program for a little bit
Speaker 2: Logan Latuli and others, can can that defensive line finally
Speaker 2: create the habit that we stopped that Kalani Satake would
Speaker 2: bring to by immediately once he was the head coach.
Speaker 3: Kana what was that last name?
Speaker 1: Can you spell the I'm not familiar with this player
Speaker 1: you're referring to Kano if you could text me later
Speaker 1: the spelling of that name, so I could do a Google.
Speaker 3: Search spencer and I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: He in that vein will end on this, Okay. So
Speaker 1: I am of the opinion that social media interactions between
Speaker 1: sports fans is akin to people with mental health issues
Speaker 1: throwing their feces at each other. Okay, and I don't
Speaker 1: program my show based off of that. But here's my
Speaker 1: question for somebody who works at BYU, who I find
Speaker 1: to be a measured thinker.
Speaker 3: The name of the game these days is.
Speaker 1: Having your nil in a position to pay talent to
Speaker 1: play for your teams.
Speaker 3: B YU was doing that.
Speaker 1: Why can't we just say it out loud and why
Speaker 1: can't y'all lean into it and take a victory lap.
Speaker 2: I'm with you, brother, I don't know why it is
Speaker 2: considered such a bad thing to have that tight support. Now,
Speaker 2: I'll add this caveat Some of the numbers that are
Speaker 2: being thrown out are wildly exaggerated, and I'm like, okay, well, hey,
Speaker 2: you know, so it's just like wow, By's clearly just
Speaker 2: they're just going to be the highest bidder and they've
Speaker 2: sold their souls and blah. Blah blah. It's like all right,
Speaker 2: like we got to give some credit to the coaches
Speaker 2: and especially the basketball side, because people are like, well,
Speaker 2: the only reason the BA is good in basketball is
Speaker 2: because they have more money. It's like, no, no, Kevin
Speaker 2: Young is the real deal. Guys want to play for
Speaker 2: Kevin Young. They want to play for his staff. Can
Speaker 2: we please be fair to a good coaching staff and
Speaker 2: situation here and an NBA boot camp if you will. Yes.
Speaker 2: Nil is a significant part of this. But even AJ
Speaker 2: has said on record last week I talked to him,
Speaker 2: if you want to go back to Washington, go back
Speaker 2: and gop, go back and watch it. He says, b
Speaker 2: YU did not offer me the most, but that was
Speaker 2: not all. That's not what it is. I chose the
Speaker 2: city that I felt with best help get me ready
Speaker 2: for the NBA. Those are his words. So and I
Speaker 2: feel like that applies for a lot sometimes BYU might
Speaker 2: be the highest bidder, I'm all for it. Let's go
Speaker 2: if they If they are the highest bidder, amazing resource
Speaker 2: that they have to be able to compete that way.
Speaker 2: So I agree with you lean into it, but I don't.
Speaker 2: I struggle a little bit with the fact that BYU
Speaker 2: just continues to pay more money than everybody else for
Speaker 2: every athlete. Ever, like that one is tough because that
Speaker 2: is not the case. And look, I know that it's
Speaker 2: an important part of the deal, but I do want
Speaker 2: to be fair to the staffs and that they are
Speaker 2: creating a culture that is a place where players feel
Speaker 2: like they can get better. That is an element to this.
Speaker 2: And it's not just all about financial figures. Oh, he's
Speaker 2: just chasing the bag. He's just chasing the bag. You
Speaker 2: know what. Sometimes maybe players are good for them and
Speaker 2: if you or any of the school is offering it
Speaker 2: and that's that's their love language. Great, But it is
Speaker 2: not just the straight always it's always money. No, that
Speaker 2: is not the case. And I'd say the same thing
Speaker 2: about some players that go to Utah. Listen to Utah
Speaker 2: in some cases might be the highest bidder for some guys,
Speaker 2: but they're not the highest bidder for every guy. Guys
Speaker 2: that want to play for the youths Jose Kyle Whittingham
Speaker 2: and Mortgan Scaley and some incredible coaches because they related
Speaker 2: to them, and that's part of it. It's all a
Speaker 2: combination of things. But in general, like I don't know why.
Speaker 2: It's so like no, no, no, no, no, we're not
Speaker 2: paying us no, like sometimes BYU will be the highest bidder.
Speaker 2: But it's a it's it's within the rules, okay. And
Speaker 2: I do believe that campering. Who how the definition of
Speaker 2: tampering I feel like changes by the day, Like I
Speaker 2: don't know. I don't know what is considered tampering and
Speaker 2: what is not and what's fair game. That's for the
Speaker 2: NCAA to figure out. But I do believe in my
Speaker 2: heart of hearts that Klini Sataki and his staff and
Speaker 2: Kevin Young and his staff and BY administrators want to
Speaker 2: play by the rules. It just so happens that n
Speaker 2: I L is now within the rules and BA has
Speaker 2: got a very wealthy support booster group and collective are
Speaker 2: that want them to play ball, and so they're trying
Speaker 2: trying to do it within the rules. But hey, if
Speaker 2: it comes down to it and money is the signifying
Speaker 2: factor for a certain player to go to b YU
Speaker 2: over another place, then whatever it is, what it is,
Speaker 2: and that's fine, but it is not the end all
Speaker 2: be all in all cases.
Speaker 3: All right, my God, thanks for the time, Be good
Speaker 3: and we'll do it again soon.
Speaker 2: Okay, Hey, appreciate you, brother, and I'll make sure I
Speaker 2: send you the spelling for tanu Vasa as soon as
Speaker 2: I get up as buff love it.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 1: There you Spencer Litton b YU TV stops by today
Speaker 1: courtesy of our friends at if A Country Stores