Speaker 1: It's time for Coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: We've got a lot of really good college basketball matchups. Tonight,
Speaker 2: Kentucky's taken on ole Miss. Currently, Kentucky is four and
Speaker 2: a half point underdogs. Ole Miss projected to win this
Speaker 2: one by three eighty to seventy seven according to Ken Palm.
Speaker 2: And as we discussed earlier, these Kentucky's been in this
Speaker 2: exact same spot, not as bad, I guess as the
Speaker 2: loss to Arkansas, because again, take away the element of Caliperi,
Speaker 2: that's still, at least on paper, your worst loss. So
Speaker 2: you know, maybe it's not it's maybe this isn't something
Speaker 2: that continues to trend. But they've been in the spot
Speaker 2: where they've had a loss that they probably feel like
Speaker 2: they should not have had and then the next thing,
Speaker 2: you know, they got to turn around and go on
Speaker 2: the road and play a really good team and it
Speaker 2: doesn't look great, but then they win. I mean they
Speaker 2: did it last week against Tennessee whenever they were coming
Speaker 2: off that loss to Vandy, and then before that, it
Speaker 2: was the Mississippi State game right after they'd lost to Georgia.
Speaker 2: I think it was, went down there and won in
Speaker 2: Starkville and then beat Gonzaga. After slipping up, well not
Speaker 2: really slipping up, they get blown out by twenty points
Speaker 2: to Ohio State. So Mark Pope's been in this spot
Speaker 2: before and he's been able to bounce back. But doing
Speaker 2: it old miss against Chris Beard much easier said than done. Also,
Speaker 2: Arizona BYU. That's not a game that really does a
Speaker 2: lot for me. But Arizona currently a top fifteen team
Speaker 2: in the Ken Palm.
Speaker 3: So let's see who else.
Speaker 2: Michigan State UCLA, which I gotta get Mick cronin some credit.
Speaker 2: I mean he motivated his team by calling him out
Speaker 2: and really just reminding us how miserable he is and
Speaker 2: how unlikable he is. I mean when he just went
Speaker 2: on his rant about how he works hard, he doesn't
Speaker 2: need to do anything else, he's got so many wins.
Speaker 2: I mean, he was really feeling himself after losing. I
Speaker 2: think it was two in a row or three in
Speaker 2: a row. And how how young he was, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: fifty yet.
Speaker 3: Or something like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, so uh, I don't remember, because after that happened,
Speaker 2: he ended up losing.
Speaker 3: I think two more.
Speaker 2: But then since then they've actually really turned it on
Speaker 2: and they beat Iowa, a good Wisconsin team, beat Washington USC,
Speaker 2: and then most recently they beat Oregon who was having
Speaker 2: a good season, and man, they're kind of falling apart now.
Speaker 2: So Michigan State is who UCLA place tonight? This will
Speaker 2: be in La So.
Speaker 3: And what's the spread on that?
Speaker 2: Take a guess UCLA Michigan State at UCLA.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say three.
Speaker 3: It's a late tip, so let me see here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so UCLA minus three, you said, yes, it's UCLA
Speaker 2: minus two, and sure enough, Ken Palm predicts that UCLA
Speaker 2: will win by two seventy to sixty eight.
Speaker 3: That's taugh But yeah, Cronin, I mean he's certainly responded. Yeah.
Speaker 2: They end up losing five of six games from December
Speaker 2: twenty first to January thirteenth, and since then they haven't
Speaker 2: lost and they certainly look to be in much better
Speaker 2: shape for the tournament now, which, by the way, I
Speaker 2: may play this later. There's a good story when these
Speaker 2: two guys were assistant coaches at Louisville, both Mick Cronin
Speaker 2: and Kevin Willard, who's now at Maryland. Previously, Seaton Hall
Speaker 2: and Iona Mick played a prank on Kevin Willard that
Speaker 2: I thought was actually pretty funny. So there's a good
Speaker 2: clip that I can play a little bit later that
Speaker 2: I think you guys will find funny as well. But also,
Speaker 2: we've got Purdue in Iowa tonight, Marquette and Saint John's.
Speaker 2: That's a big time matchup. Really, that's the game to
Speaker 2: kind of determine who's gonna take the lead here in
Speaker 2: the Big East. Because right now, I mean Saint John's
Speaker 2: is sitting at nineteen and three. Their only loss is
Speaker 2: a one point loss to Crayton at Creighton. I mean
Speaker 2: they've been on fire, and really Rick's got it rolling
Speaker 2: right now. I mean their loss to George doesn't look
Speaker 2: as bad as it did when you took it, and
Speaker 2: really that still isn't a bad loss. They lost in overtime,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, double overtime to Baylor, a game that they
Speaker 2: were they really had no business losing. And then again
Speaker 2: that one slip up to Creighton that was in December.
Speaker 2: So they they're rolling right now, and Marquette really good team.
Speaker 2: They're coming off the loss to Yukon, which it's weird
Speaker 2: to say that losing the Yukon is like a bad
Speaker 2: loss because it's not. But you know, Yukon is currently
Speaker 2: thirty fifth in the Ken Palm, and that was I mean,
Speaker 2: that was I mean, that was before they just knocked
Speaker 2: off a really good Marquette team. So right now it
Speaker 2: looks like these two teams, Marquette Saint John's are in
Speaker 2: the driver's seat for the Big East. But we'll see,
Speaker 2: maybe maybe Dan Hurley gets hot and gets it rolling.
Speaker 2: But really, outside of I mean, let's see, outside of
Speaker 2: Saint John's, Marquette, Connecticut and Creighton, I mean.
Speaker 3: That's that league falls off.
Speaker 2: And we've had people mention this here and there on
Speaker 2: the on the on the text line, and I do
Speaker 2: have some numbers that I want to get to later
Speaker 2: because I do think you're right here. The ACC's get
Speaker 2: a lot of heat for being bad, and it is bad,
Speaker 2: especially considering what it used to be. And I can't
Speaker 2: even claim that I think that the ACC is like
Speaker 2: better than the Big East, because I don't. But Duke
Speaker 2: is better than any team in I would say, in
Speaker 2: both the Big East in the Big Twelve. But they're
Speaker 2: propping you up like the Big East is having a
Speaker 2: down year, and really, I mean, I'm looking at the
Speaker 2: numbers here. Sorry to be spinning my wheels, but I
Speaker 2: didn't realize that outside of those four teams, there's not
Speaker 2: even like a decent team in the Big East. They're
Speaker 2: all kind of bad, I mean really bad actually so
Speaker 2: and look who knows, mate, I mean, I have a
Speaker 2: hard time seeing those four teams not making it. But
Speaker 2: maybe the ACC. Here's what's gonna happen. Let's say the
Speaker 2: ACC ends up getting five six teams in because of
Speaker 2: the bubble bouncing the right way for these ACC teams
Speaker 2: that are on the bubble and in the Big East
Speaker 2: only gets four in. It'll be some people claiming that
Speaker 2: that means that the ACC is better, and it really
Speaker 2: all depends on how you want to look at it.
Speaker 2: But my whole thing is like, why are people in
Speaker 2: denial about the ACC? Like there's nothing you can do
Speaker 2: about it, right? You just support your team, and you know,
Speaker 2: I know you want your league to be good because
Speaker 2: if your league's good, that's gonna make your team look good.
Speaker 2: And obviously, if you lose games in league play and
Speaker 2: your league has respect it is valued, then it's not
Speaker 2: going to hit you as much. And if you win games, man,
Speaker 2: and your league is good, then you're getting good wins.
Speaker 2: But like, that's just so obviously not the situation that
Speaker 2: we're in. And it's really not even an opinion, it's
Speaker 2: a fact. Like the AEC not only is not a
Speaker 2: good league, it's also crazy different than it was ten
Speaker 2: years ago. And when I say that, people bring up like, well,
Speaker 2: you know all the coaches, Well, yeah, of course that's
Speaker 2: why I'm I'm not asking you how it happened. I mean,
Speaker 2: I guess maybe it is worth questioning how did they
Speaker 2: get this bad?
Speaker 3: But I mean, there's gonna be new hires made, and
Speaker 3: they got to get it right.
Speaker 2: I was talking to Dave Jennings earlier, who's a big
Speaker 2: Florida State fan, and you know, the big if big
Speaker 2: jobs open up, and we were just in this position, right, like,
Speaker 2: if big jobs open up, who are they going to get?
Speaker 3: There was a time where you just could feel, you
Speaker 3: could just you know, you could.
Speaker 2: Feel there were guys that were clearly gonna be ready
Speaker 2: to take the next jump up to a job. I mean,
Speaker 2: Dusty May was the guy, and he did. He went
Speaker 2: from fau to Michigan. You know Pat Kelsey did that,
Speaker 2: but there wasn't I mean, let's be real, there wasn't
Speaker 2: like a bunch of hype about ho, who's gonna hire
Speaker 2: this guy? He's the next star and so far he's
Speaker 2: been great. But you know, back in the day when
Speaker 2: Brad Stevens was at Butler, Shaka Smart was at VCU,
Speaker 2: even Chris Macket Xavier. I mean, there was a lot
Speaker 2: of folks that thought he'd never leave Xavier because he
Speaker 2: played there is from Cincinnati, and he did get a
Speaker 2: number one seed, brought in a top ten recruiting class
Speaker 2: at Xavier. But it's Xavier, so it didn't really surprise people.
Speaker 2: Like when he took the Louisville job, I think people realize, oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, that was a great story. It's Xavier, but
Speaker 2: you know, Louisville comes calling, you take the job. So like,
Speaker 2: I just don't know, like there's.
Speaker 3: Gonna be a lot.
Speaker 2: I mean, there are already are openings right now in the
Speaker 2: acc that I mean, you've got Leonard Hamilton's upping down
Speaker 2: at the end of the year, Miami's open, Virginia's open.
Speaker 2: I would imagine that Syracuse is going to open up
Speaker 2: at least it should and then I doubt they move
Speaker 2: on from Damon stodhomire at Georgia Tech this early, But
Speaker 2: I'm trying to think of it. I feel like there's
Speaker 2: other job. There's other schools that I feel like are
Speaker 2: going to have an opening in the ACC. But either way,
Speaker 2: I mean, if you go out and hire a guy
Speaker 2: that has good resources built in and I don't mean
Speaker 2: you know he's got top five inile money, because that's
Speaker 2: not I mean only the elite programs seem to be
Speaker 2: able to really do that. So, but if you have
Speaker 2: a competitive nil situation and you've got a coach who
Speaker 2: has a formula that has worked at a lower level,
Speaker 2: like a Charleston like of Utah Valley State, like Pope
Speaker 2: was how Pope was winning, like you could if you
Speaker 2: have good resources and you were at a place that
Speaker 2: has had success in basketball, you can go hire a
Speaker 2: proven good coach. I guess what I'm getting at is
Speaker 2: the whole Well, I don't know if he can do
Speaker 2: it at this level. He was good at the mid major,
Speaker 2: but can he do it at the big time? Well,
Speaker 2: I think things have changed to where you don't need
Speaker 2: to have that larger than life vibe about yourself to
Speaker 2: walk into a high school kid's house and recruit him anymore.
Speaker 2: Because if you got money, you can make up for
Speaker 2: maybe not being super famous, right and if you know
Speaker 2: you're selling an opportunity and you look I think you
Speaker 2: have to be relatable. You have to be charismatic. Players
Speaker 2: have to want to play for you. But like, you
Speaker 2: can go get a guy that is successful in the
Speaker 2: lower levels, maybe not even like to maybe not to
Speaker 2: Dusty May's level as far as going to a final four.
Speaker 2: But if your job has good resources, they can win
Speaker 2: because you can go buy players. Now, you can use
Speaker 2: the you can use free agency essentially, which is the portal.
Speaker 2: So I think the ACC is going to be back,
Speaker 2: I really do. But anybody acting like it's not in
Speaker 2: a bad way right now, I guess it's just you know,
Speaker 2: in denial. So again, a lot of good games tonight.
Speaker 2: Only one good game last night as far as you know,
Speaker 2: big time matchups, and it wasn't a good game because
Speaker 2: it was a blowout. Kansas really took it to Iowa State,
Speaker 2: a good Iowa State team, by the way.
Speaker 3: And this is just a crazy, crazy stat.
Speaker 2: Bill self is now thirty seven and zero at Kansas
Speaker 2: on Big Monday when they're at home. So I guess
Speaker 2: that is a I mean, the fact that he's coached
Speaker 2: thirty seven Big Monday games at home at Allen Fieldhouse,
Speaker 2: I guess it does speak to how long he's been
Speaker 2: at Kansas. But still, if they're at home on Big Monday,
Speaker 2: usually you know it's Kansas. Those Big Monday matchups, they
Speaker 2: don't just put you know, anybody there. There's a reason
Speaker 2: last night Iowa State was there because they're their top five,
Speaker 2: top ten team. So I mean, again, that doesn't that's
Speaker 2: not something you hang a banner for, but it proves
Speaker 2: how good he is in those kind of matchups and
Speaker 2: also that you know, that's a tough place to play.
Speaker 2: I used to be there all the time in the
Speaker 2: man too, I know. And look now that's another thing
Speaker 2: like last night. I mean, Virginia, by the way, gets blown.
Speaker 2: Virginia blows out Pitt at Pitt like that. That's the
Speaker 2: kind of loss that if Caple and Pitt don't make
Speaker 2: the tournament, they have to look themselves in the mirror.
Speaker 2: And they were a team that I feel like there
Speaker 2: was a scenario where we would have been able to
Speaker 2: defend them and say, hey, they're also kind of a
Speaker 2: victim here of everybody else in the league being so
Speaker 2: bad to where their numbers, their metrics should be better.
Speaker 2: But when you lose to Virginia like that, I mean
Speaker 2: on your home floor, a Virginia team that honestly looked
Speaker 2: pretty lifeless since we hit twenty twenty five and Pitt
Speaker 2: got really blown out. So I mean Big Monday used
Speaker 2: to be, oh man, you kidding me. We got Louisville
Speaker 2: and Syracuse, We've got Miami, NC State, you got Duke
Speaker 2: taken on Notre Dame or Carolina taken on a good
Speaker 2: Florida State team.
Speaker 3: That's where we used to be.
Speaker 2: And now, I mean ESPN's probably reconsidering where they're putting
Speaker 2: that game. I mean it's kind of tied into you know,
Speaker 2: your contract with the you know, ESPN and the ACC network,
Speaker 2: SEC network, that kind of stuff. But like that game
Speaker 2: last night, I mean, not a good look for the league.
Speaker 2: And again, like somebody asked this last week's you know,
Speaker 2: what's the best case scenario for the for the ACC
Speaker 2: from now until selection Sunday? And I think the answer
Speaker 2: is pretty obvious, which is you've got to hope that
Speaker 2: the teams that are on the bubble continue to work
Speaker 2: towards being on the right side of the bubble and
Speaker 2: getting in the tournament. And that way you really just
Speaker 2: have I don't know, five to six teams that you know,
Speaker 2: kind of maybe all beat up on each other. Duke's
Speaker 2: going to be in a world by themselves, and then
Speaker 2: you just don't slip up and lose to teams like
Speaker 2: Virginia at home, or don't slip up and lose to
Speaker 2: teams like Georgia Tech anywhere. And Louisville did that, Pit
Speaker 2: did that, and Louisville did such a good job in
Speaker 2: January at really improving their situation that that loss isn't
Speaker 2: a killer. But you know, you can't have many more
Speaker 2: of them or any more of them really and not
Speaker 2: start thinking about, all, right, does this put us where
Speaker 2: we really are thinking about a sweaty evening on selection Sunday.
Speaker 2: So again, you've got in the ACC three teams that
Speaker 2: as of now are safely in Duke, Clemson and Louisville,
Speaker 2: and then after that you've got SMU, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh,
Speaker 2: and North Carolina. Those are the teams that you know
Speaker 2: are alive essentially in the tournament as far as the bubble.
Speaker 2: But I mean with Pitt, I mean, you gotta keep
Speaker 2: in mind, Pitt is now lost. You know, I didn't
Speaker 2: realize this, Pitt. They lost four in a row, Duke, Louisville,
Speaker 2: Florida State, Clemson, and then they beat Kees and they
Speaker 2: beat Carolina. Looked like that was going to be a
Speaker 2: you know, and by the way, that was a pivotal
Speaker 2: game last week because Carolina and Pitt kind of in
Speaker 2: the same exact spot. Put you in a situation where
Speaker 2: if you end up where your neck and neck with
Speaker 2: each other when it comes to resumes, whoever ruins that
Speaker 2: head to head might get the nod. But Pitt got it,
Speaker 2: didn't turn around, lost to Wake Forest. Now they lost
Speaker 2: to Virginia. So they've lost six of eight games since
Speaker 2: January seventh. So like, I gotta be honest with you,
Speaker 2: I don't think pits in I don't know. I don't
Speaker 2: And and again it's you got plenty of time left,
Speaker 2: right we're in early February. But what the ACC has
Speaker 2: now that I've never seen before is such a lack
Speaker 2: like if you put yourself in a tough spot in February,
Speaker 2: you're kind of cooked unless you just go on some
Speaker 2: crazy run in the ACC tournament. I mean, if pen
Speaker 2: ends up winning out and you know, they end up
Speaker 2: having you know, a really good record and they're you know,
Speaker 2: twelve and eight or thirteen and seven in the ACC,
Speaker 2: maybe they'll get back into the good side of it.
Speaker 2: But like, I just don't know how you could look
Speaker 2: at pitt as a bubble team. And again, Carolina, They've
Speaker 2: got good metrics for a team that you know, is
Speaker 2: thirteen and ten. Like, I mean, Carolina still keeps getting
Speaker 2: mentioned as a bubble team that could maybe get there,
Speaker 2: and you know it's Carolina. They do have a chance
Speaker 2: to play Duke, and their numbers aren't bad for a
Speaker 2: team that's thirteen and ten, but they're thirteen and ten,
Speaker 2: Like how good? How are they even sniffing the bubble?
Speaker 2: I mean, I just don't think Carolina can be six
Speaker 2: and five in an ACC this bad and still be
Speaker 2: at as a team that might make the tournament. So
Speaker 2: then you get to smu who and I guess Wake Forest.
Speaker 2: But again, Wake, I'm not even gonna get into them.
Speaker 2: I mean, they're their own worst enemy as far as
Speaker 2: how it came because again, after they lost to Louisville.
Speaker 2: They went and beat Pitt which was a good win
Speaker 2: for them, you know, comparatively speaking. So they are sixteen
Speaker 2: and six and they have no bad losses and when
Speaker 2: better than most ACC teams have, but they're not in
Speaker 2: the top seventy five like in again, I don't want
Speaker 2: to sound like a broken record, but like that, that's
Speaker 2: easily avoidable if you just you know, know what you're doing.
Speaker 2: So maybe WAKE ends up getting there, but if not,
Speaker 2: I won't be surprised. And then SMU again, they're the
Speaker 2: tricky team because they don't have really any bad losses either,
Speaker 2: they're just taking advantage of a down ACC like other
Speaker 2: teams like Louisville Ar. I mean, like right now, this
Speaker 2: SMU team, they're currently in third place in the league
Speaker 2: behind Duke Clemson in Louisville. So you know, with that
Speaker 2: eight and three, fourteen and six overall, top forty five
Speaker 2: in the Ken Palm, like I'd say they're they're probably
Speaker 2: the most likely team to get in outside of the
Speaker 2: three Duke Clemson in Louisville, but like even there on
Speaker 2: the bubble. So anyways, whoever these coaches hire, I don't
Speaker 2: I don't think it has to be some big name.
Speaker 2: I think you can see, I think you can see
Speaker 2: certain guys that you know have shown that they've been
Speaker 2: successful and maybe not because again what happens, and this
Speaker 2: is I've always argued this was this was stupid. And
Speaker 2: there's examples that show you that, Like, you shouldn't hire
Speaker 2: a guy who's one thing on his resume is one
Speaker 2: specific run in the tournament, because doesn't guarantee that he
Speaker 2: that he will you know, fail. But man like Shaka Smart.
Speaker 2: Shaka Smart is doing well at Marquette now, but like
Speaker 2: he's never really won in the tournament in the one
Speaker 2: thing that like you remember about him is that he
Speaker 2: went to the final four a VCU. Like Dusty May
Speaker 2: is doing a fine job at Michigan right now, but like,
Speaker 2: other than that, there was really nothing on his resume
Speaker 2: that made it seem like he was that special other
Speaker 2: than he made a final four at a FAU, which
Speaker 2: again that has value. I'm not acting like that doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: We shouldn't we shouldn't include it. But we are so
Speaker 2: crazy when it comes to college basketball that there is
Speaker 2: so much emphasis on what you do in March and
Speaker 2: what kind of runs you make in the tournament. And
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that like we overvalue it, like it
Speaker 2: doesn't matter, but we also kind of just lose context
Speaker 2: of the situation to where that doesn't define if you're
Speaker 2: a good or bad coach. Like, for example, Pat Kelsey
Speaker 2: and Mark Pope had never won a tourna neither of
Speaker 2: him ever won an n SAA tournament game, and.
Speaker 3: They may not who knows.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think both will probably be just fine
Speaker 2: at both Louisville and Kentucky. But my point is they
Speaker 2: didn't have that deep run. Therefore, they weren't being talked
Speaker 2: about as next guy up. Right when somebody is looking
Speaker 2: for a new coach and they're a big time program
Speaker 2: that has high expectations for basketball, that's who they're gonna call.
Speaker 2: Because we only said that about guys who make the tournament,
Speaker 2: even if it's one year. And yet, if you really
Speaker 2: think about it, I'm not taking away final fours because again,
Speaker 2: they have a lot of value and they matter, and
Speaker 2: it's not easy to do either. But Pat Kelsey winning
Speaker 2: like he did at Charleston and Winthrop and Pope winning
Speaker 2: at Utah Valley and then winning at BYU, like, am
Speaker 2: I crazy to think that's actually more impressive than a
Speaker 2: guy who's been mediocre at best and then getting hot
Speaker 2: and making one tournament run.
Speaker 3: So you know, I'm not saying you can just.
Speaker 2: Go easily recreate Pope and Kelsey, because I think we
Speaker 2: got luckier in here. I think these guys are pretty
Speaker 2: special as coaches. Maybe that's just you know, me being biased,
Speaker 2: but there's other guys that have probably been successful at
Speaker 2: that level, but without that tournament run, they're not being
Speaker 2: mentioned for these jobs. That doesn't mean they can't take
Speaker 2: their formula that's succeeding at the lower level and make
Speaker 2: it work at the higher level. And again, I think
Speaker 2: that transition is actually easier now than it's ever been
Speaker 2: because what you may lack and experience with big time recruits,
Speaker 2: what you may lack and experience in like big time environments,
Speaker 2: all that kind of stuff, you could make up for
Speaker 2: it with money in il and you know, flipping your
Speaker 2: roster every year. A right quick break, it's coffee and Company,
Speaker 2: and we are fueled by Thornton's right here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: Who knew a Microsoft Windows prompt would actually hit with
Speaker 2: this song, right like that kind of sounded like, all right,
Speaker 2: like that might work. Sorry I hit the wrong button
Speaker 2: on the computer and you yes, yeah it was me.
Speaker 2: Yeah it's me, so apologies.
Speaker 3: But yeah.
Speaker 2: So super Bowl will be here in what five days,
Speaker 2: and I'm excited about everything that comes with Super Bowl commercials.
Speaker 2: I'm going to go to a Super Bowl party with
Speaker 2: some friends and family and that's always a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: But the game itself, I mean, I'm just I'm hoping
Speaker 2: that it's the Eagles that keep the Chiefs from three peating.
Speaker 2: But I'd be a liar if I said I had
Speaker 2: an real doubt about the Chiefs, you know, And this
Speaker 2: is where like, this is where they'll just come out
Speaker 2: and be good and will have to just accept it
Speaker 2: because they haven't been flashy this year by any means.
Speaker 2: They have had performances despite being wins where they just
Speaker 2: don't look scary and uh, you know, they still win though,
Speaker 2: And I think the Eagles have had a phenomenal season.
Speaker 2: But the Chiefs I think are the deserving favorites until
Speaker 2: somebody can can take them down.
Speaker 3: Endured that down it is there we go Micro it's
Speaker 3: just it's just uh, it's just uh.
Speaker 2: When it's it's when it's the tiny little amount of
Speaker 2: sound that's coming into the headphones, it makes it feels
Speaker 2: like somebody's hijacked my brain. Because have you ever felt
Speaker 2: like you heard something and then you can't, like you
Speaker 2: wait a second. That that that drafts me insane all
Speaker 2: the time.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So anyways, speaking of the super Bowl this uh this week,
Speaker 2: Rodger Gidell guess yesterday he has his h his annual
Speaker 2: I guess State of the Union, and he did say
Speaker 2: that an eighteen game NFL season is not going to
Speaker 2: be discussed until the league starts collective bargaining talks, which
Speaker 2: that doesn't ex that does not expire until twenty thirty one.
Speaker 2: So seventeen is a random, weird number, and it seems
Speaker 2: like adding another game or two just seems I mean,
Speaker 2: at some point, I think they're gonna have twenty games.
Speaker 2: I really do, because you know, why not. It's more
Speaker 2: money for everybody, and you could give us thirty NFL
Speaker 2: games and I think everybody's people are going to watch
Speaker 2: because the NFL is is king. But we'll get into
Speaker 2: some more NFL stuff a little bit later on in
Speaker 2: the week, And I don't mean like breaking down the matchup.
Speaker 2: I mean, I mean we could do that, but I
Speaker 2: don't think that would be a whole lot of fun.
Speaker 2: I think we kind of know the storylines here, right.
Speaker 2: That's you know.
Speaker 3: You've got Why can.
Speaker 2: I think of his name, Sakwon Barkley, who has had
Speaker 2: his best season really as a pro, and it's with
Speaker 2: the Eagles. Clearly they you know, the only difference in
Speaker 2: Barkley is one he's healthy, but also he's playing with
Speaker 2: a winning franchise, and man, he's been sensational. Fact, now
Speaker 2: that I think about it, if they are, like if
Speaker 2: the Eagles are able to get it done and knock
Speaker 2: off the Chiefs, keep them from getting a three peat,
Speaker 2: get another Super Bowl ring for Philly, I just have
Speaker 2: a hard time thinking that it won't be because Barkley
Speaker 2: was that same guy he's been really all year for them.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's been special. But you know, the Chiefs
Speaker 2: got some pretty good defensive players. To Chris Jones has
Speaker 2: got to be the most I mean he is, He's
Speaker 2: he's talked about less than all the other components that
Speaker 2: you feel like make the Chiefs special. Travis Kelce albeit
Speaker 2: kind of a douchebag. He's one of, if not the
Speaker 2: best tight ends of all time. And we know what
Speaker 2: Mahomes is, right, Andy Reid is a phenomenal coach, but
Speaker 2: also Chris Jones has been one of the best defensive
Speaker 2: players in the NFL for quite a while, and man,
Speaker 2: is he not a distant fourth when it comes to
Speaker 2: being like recognized. I mean he's getting he's getting respect
Speaker 2: from his peers, right, Like, the NFL knows he's great,
Speaker 2: he's winning awards, but you just rarely ever hear anybody
Speaker 2: bring him up. And you know that, don't let that, don't.
Speaker 4: Let you care about it more every single year in
Speaker 4: the postseason. I mean, he was kind of quiet a
Speaker 4: little bit like earlier in the regular season, but he
Speaker 4: just wrecks havoc when it comes to the playoffs, dude,
Speaker 4: And it just makes you go like, Okay, well, could
Speaker 4: you think about all the weapons that they have on offense. Yeah,
Speaker 4: and then you're like, oh my gosh, they have one
Speaker 4: of the best pass rushers in recent history on the
Speaker 4: defensive end.
Speaker 2: And look, I think one of the talking points obviously
Speaker 2: is and this is going to leave me to talking
Speaker 2: about Chris Jones for.
Speaker 3: Just a second.
Speaker 2: But the Chiefs getting preferential treatment from the referees. That
Speaker 2: has been a storyline all postseason in the NFL, and
Speaker 2: it's certainly a storyline to an extent, or maybe a
Speaker 2: big extent when it comes to this matchup, because there
Speaker 2: are people who are still going to watch, but they,
Speaker 2: you know, they just assume that the Chiefs are going
Speaker 2: to win because the refs are in on it.
Speaker 3: And I don't think this was productive. This is what
Speaker 3: they did today.
Speaker 2: The NFL Referees Association, their executive director Scott Green, put
Speaker 2: out a long memo basically stating that they, you know,
Speaker 2: they feel disrespected.
Speaker 3: Here's the quote from it.
Speaker 2: It is I'll just read directly from Tom Pellisara's reporters,
Speaker 2: a statement from the NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green,
Speaker 2: who says it is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy
Speaker 2: theories that somehow seventeen officiating crews consisting of one hundred
Speaker 2: and thirty eight officials are colluding to assist one team.
Speaker 2: And you know, I just maybe I'm naive, but I
Speaker 2: never I just can't imagine a scenario where referees would
Speaker 2: like intentionally be doing it. I think what this all
Speaker 2: boils down to is a couple of things. One, the
Speaker 2: Chiefs are just really good at not making the same
Speaker 2: mistakes that other teams make. And when you make that mistake,
Speaker 2: they're going to make you pay for it, and you're
Speaker 2: gonna feel like it's luck. Now, not to say they
Speaker 2: haven't had I mean, Pat Mahomes does clearly have an
Speaker 2: ability to trick people to make it look like he's
Speaker 2: gonna slide, and then they hit him, and then they
Speaker 2: get the target, and then they get the roughing the passer,
Speaker 2: you know, unnecessary roughness penalty, and that's just something he's
Speaker 2: utilizing to his advantage. In the NFL is looking into it,
Speaker 2: and they're aware of it. They realize that's something they
Speaker 2: got to fix. But you know, I just I not
Speaker 2: only do I am I naive, I guess, but I
Speaker 2: also would never want to believe that, like what we're
Speaker 2: watching is not legitimately a competition that that nobody knows
Speaker 2: is going to win. I mean that the integrity of
Speaker 2: sports is something that I just you know, it wouldn't
Speaker 2: We wouldn't have this if there if the results were
Speaker 2: already you know, determined before these two teams play in
Speaker 2: any sport. So anyways, I'll bring all this up to
Speaker 2: say Chris Jones. I mean, I could think of at
Speaker 2: least a few playoff games in their run here, as
Speaker 2: they've been dominant in the last I don't, however, many
Speaker 2: years to where it wasn't a bailout by the officials.
Speaker 2: It's that, you know, the defense came up huge and
Speaker 2: made a play, probably led by Chris Jones, and then
Speaker 2: mahomes gets another opportunity. And when mahomes gets an opportunity late,
Speaker 2: he's gonna he's gonna put the nail in your coffin,
Speaker 2: Like that's just what he does, so you know Jones.
Speaker 2: In fact, I can't remember which game it was, but
Speaker 2: there was one game where it might not have been
Speaker 2: last year, but maybe the year before, where like mahomes
Speaker 2: ha had a not so great series, right, I don't
Speaker 2: think he turned it over, but like they needed to
Speaker 2: keep it moving and keep you know, try to go score,
Speaker 2: and they couldn't do it, so they had to punt it. Well,
Speaker 2: sure enough, they made great plays on defense to get
Speaker 2: the ball back and they were able to but nobody
Speaker 2: thinks about that. They just think about well, hell, you know,
Speaker 2: Mahomes is so great, he's so lucky, and the officials
Speaker 2: help him. Look, I hate the Chiefs as much as anybody,
Speaker 2: but I just it's become such a talking point that
Speaker 2: I'm starting to realize that people truly do believe that
Speaker 2: there's a conspiracy that like the refs are out there
Speaker 2: doing their job, which is to do what Roger Goodell wants,
Speaker 2: and that's for the Chiefs to win.
Speaker 3: Like I just, I don't.
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe people say it that much and it's
Speaker 2: tongue in cheek, but like I mean, clearly some people
Speaker 2: believe it, and I maybe you're right. Maybe I'm the
Speaker 2: one that's a fool and I'm wrong, and I'm I
Speaker 2: guess I'm not saying you're a fool. If you believe that,
Speaker 2: you can believe what you want. But I just you know,
Speaker 2: the scenario, this is one of those things that because
Speaker 2: the NBA has been accused of being rigged, right with
Speaker 2: certain things that happened as far as storylines, But in
Speaker 2: this day and age, if that was the case, we
Speaker 2: would know because nobody would be able to keep that
Speaker 2: quiet this day and age like that would get out and.
Speaker 3: You'd hear about it, so yeah, and you got to
Speaker 3: keep in mind.
Speaker 2: Like again, now I feel like a real dummy really
Speaker 2: just entertaining it as much as we have, because I mean,
Speaker 2: do you realize how much trouble the NFL.
Speaker 3: Would get in? Oh yeah, that wouldn't be good, Like
Speaker 3: they would ruin. I mean I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't mean like the league would have to shut
Speaker 2: down because it's corrupt. I mean like criminal charges like
Speaker 2: you know of of you know, fooling people, fraud like all.
Speaker 3: I mean think about the sports.
Speaker 2: But if even if they weren't benefiting from it from
Speaker 2: like a sports wagering standpoint, like if they're if they're
Speaker 2: out there letting people gamble on something that they know
Speaker 2: the result to like that you can't. I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't know what the legal charge would be. So again,
Speaker 2: nobody's out there conspiring. What happens is when you are
Speaker 2: a dynasty and you are in this tier that the
Speaker 2: chiefs are in, and you are Patrick Mahomes probably gonna
Speaker 2: be maybe the best that ever did it. When it's
Speaker 2: all said and done, you're gonna always end up probably
Speaker 2: getting more calls than you're not gonna get. And that's
Speaker 2: really how sports has always been, and it's not because
Speaker 2: of a conspiracy. It's because referees are human beings and
Speaker 2: we oftentimes you know, forget that.
Speaker 4: Well, if you remember in the NBA a few years ago,
Speaker 4: remember that that crooked ref Tim Donnahy, he came out
Speaker 4: and like wrote a book about it and said, there
Speaker 4: are some calls that the league wants us to make
Speaker 4: at least here in the chief situation. It's not like
Speaker 4: you know that they're getting favored all game. It just
Speaker 4: always happens sort of like at pivotal moments of the game.
Speaker 4: And maybe just a lot of people because I like
Speaker 4: to think that myself, I'm a huge, huge conspiracy guy,
Speaker 4: are you? But I love conspiracy?
Speaker 2: I mean, I love them, but I don't like I
Speaker 2: just I'm I'm very love to entertain them. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: my fiance doesn't love it. But you don't seem like
Speaker 2: tinfoil hat kind of guy though with it, you.
Speaker 1: Know what I mean.
Speaker 4: I just always look, I'm a wrestling fan too, and
Speaker 4: I always know what's called a work when you see one,
Speaker 4: and what could be what could lead on to a
Speaker 4: major storyline, what's the cause and effect to some things
Speaker 4: that happened so anything can happen, and I just always
Speaker 4: like to think, hm, what could this really have been
Speaker 4: done for?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm trying to think of sports conspiracies that I've
Speaker 2: actually kind of really got gone all in on like
Speaker 2: others have.
Speaker 3: And I'm sure there's.
Speaker 4: The Michael Jordan uh and his father thing with him
Speaker 4: his father getting whacked for gambling and his his big
Speaker 4: uh what do you call it?
Speaker 3: His his debt with the Sharks.
Speaker 2: So that's one of those things that like they're just
Speaker 2: I mean, there's no like evidence of it.
Speaker 3: It's just right, these are things we.
Speaker 2: Know that his father he loves gambling, and his father
Speaker 2: was kind of randomly murdered, and it's you know that.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I mean, but then there's other things to
Speaker 2: where there's like evidence to where it's okay, you're gonna
Speaker 2: have to explain that. I don't think we I don't
Speaker 2: think the Jordan's there. I'll find In fact, I'm gonna
Speaker 2: look it up because I want to. I want to
Speaker 2: thought one that that because I'm sure there's a conspiracy
Speaker 2: out there in sports that that everybody says that's insanely
Speaker 2: that that's insanely stupid. It's who would believe that, but
Speaker 2: then like I would say, no, I'm let.
Speaker 3: Me tell you this is this is not a conspiracy,
Speaker 3: it's real.
Speaker 2: But anyways, real quick, speaking of gambling, we got to
Speaker 2: get you a break coming up in just a moment.
Speaker 2: But this this, this whole, I mean, it's not surprising,
Speaker 2: but the gambling ring that of course was involved in
Speaker 2: John tay Porter, who has since been banned from the
Speaker 2: NFL for life, he is I mean, I don't know
Speaker 2: if he's had his trial already, but he's going to
Speaker 2: go to federal prison. And we heard last week that
Speaker 2: Terry Rozier is alleged to have been you know, well
Speaker 2: Terry was is being and I guess I don't know
Speaker 2: if the investigation has has ended, but he's not going
Speaker 2: to comment on it, which is good thing for Terry.
Speaker 2: I'm sure his attorney told him that. But they don't
Speaker 2: really have any evidence. They just think it's very unusual
Speaker 2: that that same gambling group was also betting on his
Speaker 2: his props, and you know, they're looking in to see
Speaker 2: if he if he manipulated his performance during certain games.
Speaker 2: They've been looking into this for a long time. So
Speaker 2: the fact that it came out and yet they haven't
Speaker 2: actually done anything. Terry hasn't been suspended Terry. I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't know if he did it or not, but
Speaker 2: I kind of feel like if they were going to
Speaker 2: be able to take him down, they already would have.
Speaker 2: But then again, you know, maybe they're maybe they're still
Speaker 2: working on it. But anyways, I'll bring it up because
Speaker 2: according to ESPN, it's now this same exact gambling ring.
Speaker 2: They've also apparently been betting on college basketball games. So
Speaker 2: according to ESPN, sportsbook accounts connected to the same gambling
Speaker 2: ring bet against North Carolina, A and T, Mississippi Valley
Speaker 2: State and Eastern Michigan in games this season. So look
Speaker 2: that I'm not saying that those guys are guilty and
Speaker 2: somebody's in on it, but those are the kind of
Speaker 2: game like that. That's that's where that would happen, by
Speaker 2: the way, one, because you wouldn't think that people would
Speaker 2: pay that much attention to that. But also you can
Speaker 2: probably get players to do it more so than you
Speaker 2: because they don't have the NBA future to jeopardize. They're
Speaker 2: still really stupid for doing it, but they don't have
Speaker 2: the NBA future to jeopardize, and they're nil payday is
Speaker 2: not what others is. Therefore, if they're already terrible and
Speaker 2: they're just told to, you know, make sure you know,
Speaker 2: we lose by twenty seven instead of you know, instead
Speaker 2: of twenty four, and they could put some money in
Speaker 2: their pocket. Like I'm not saying they should do it
Speaker 2: or defending it, but like it isn't crazy at all,
Speaker 2: especially now that other players that play college basketball are
Speaker 2: getting paid and these guys probably are not making much
Speaker 2: of anything. So they're seeing you know, they're going on
Speaker 2: the road and playing bigger schools and they're playing against
Speaker 2: guys who are clearly better players, but you know, they're
Speaker 2: making six figures easily. I mean, I could just see
Speaker 2: somebody wanting to get their piece of the cut and
Speaker 2: maybe this is how they do it. Again, not condoning
Speaker 2: it by any means, but I wouldn't be shocked if
Speaker 2: if they determined that those teams had some guys shaving points.
Speaker 2: Right quick break, We'll come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: Leonard Hamilton is going to retire at the end of
Speaker 2: the season. That news broke yesterday on the show I
Speaker 2: want you guys to hear a story he shared before
Speaker 2: the season started that I think is really really, really good.
Speaker 3: So stick with us.
Speaker 2: Right here, it's coffee and company, feel bou Thornton's on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on
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Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety. Make sure if you have not
Speaker 2: tried all the delicious food items that Thornton's has, I mean,
Speaker 2: you got to check them out. I've had haven't had
Speaker 2: anybody tell me that I was wrong about all the
Speaker 2: great food options they have. But one thing they've had
Speaker 2: for quite some time, and it's kind of been overshadowed
Speaker 2: because of all the delicious breakfast sandwiches that they've given
Speaker 2: us over the years. They still have really good donuts.
Speaker 2: So keep that in mind. Among many reasons, don't sleep
Speaker 2: on the donut. Thornton's donuts are a phenomenal. So again
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Speaker 3: First regular glaze guy.
Speaker 4: Or do you kind of like the like the chocolate
Speaker 4: on them, or like the little Homer Simpson.
Speaker 2: I can do one glaze donut. Anything more is just
Speaker 2: too rich. Sure, yeah, like a chocolate glaze is good.
Speaker 2: But if I've had like two bites. I just feel like, man,
Speaker 2: that's enough sugar for the year for me, you know,
Speaker 2: but donuts are delicious.
Speaker 3: I like donut holes. Oh yeah yeah, big donut hole
Speaker 3: guy of course.
Speaker 2: So anyways, we are proudly fueled by Thornton's So let's
Speaker 2: go to the text line really quickly. Here this is
Speaker 2: and by the way, you can text it on the
Speaker 2: Ellen and Federal Credit Union text line five h two
Speaker 2: six five three zero seven ninety these textas, Nick, do
Speaker 2: you think we see Chris Mack back in the ACC
Speaker 2: with all of these jobs currently open? I would say
Speaker 2: probably not next year. I don't know maybe. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: if Mac ends up going on a run and you know,
Speaker 2: making the Sweet sixteen or something, which you know, that'd
Speaker 2: be easier seve than done, because even if he makes
Speaker 2: the tournament and they win their league, they're still likely
Speaker 2: going to have a you know, a very high seed
Speaker 2: to where they're gonna play probably one of the best
Speaker 2: teams in the country. So like right now, he is
Speaker 2: currently they did lose a tough one the other night
Speaker 2: that they shouldn't have lost to William and Mary, but
Speaker 2: they're currently seventeen and six overall and in their league,
Speaker 2: you'll projected to go twenty two to nine, twelve and
Speaker 2: six in their conference according to Ken Palm and the CAA.
Speaker 2: I mean, really, it's going to come down to UNC, Wilmington,
Speaker 2: William and Mary and Charleston. I would say, I guess
Speaker 2: you could have a team that ends up maybe getting
Speaker 2: hot and winning that tournament. But you know, if they
Speaker 2: win that league and he makes a run, maybe, But
Speaker 2: I would you know, I I think he will try
Speaker 2: to go to a bigger and better job when the
Speaker 2: timing is right. But I I don't you know, if
Speaker 2: I could give you a better answer, I would, But
Speaker 2: it wouldn't shock me at all that just making the
Speaker 2: tournament and being there again will remind people that the
Speaker 2: guy has been a good coach really throughout his entire career.
Speaker 2: He just didn't work out at Louisville for some obvious reasons.
Speaker 2: And when you look at Louisville's real demise, I mean,
Speaker 2: he wasn't responsible for it. You know, he got out
Speaker 2: of here and and really took half the money when
Speaker 2: he could have taken more, and you know, clearly he
Speaker 2: didn't work out.
Speaker 3: He wasn't the right fit. He didn't want to do
Speaker 3: it anymore.
Speaker 2: So I'm not trying to make the case, you know,
Speaker 2: he should still be the coach, But what I'm getting
Speaker 2: at is, if you really just look at his resume
Speaker 2: top to bottom, I mean, there are a lot of
Speaker 2: programs out there that would be lucky to have him.
Speaker 2: And I know the Dino thing was kind of weird,
Speaker 2: but like he was extorted by his assistant coach and
Speaker 2: we all heard it. Like, I don't know how you
Speaker 2: could hear that and not think Dino is a lunatic.
Speaker 2: But anyways, wouldn't shock me if he ends up back
Speaker 2: in the ACC at some point. I just don't know
Speaker 2: if it'll be after only one year back at Charleston.
Speaker 2: I would imagine he'll probably want to stay there for
Speaker 2: a couple of years and really, you know, wait for
Speaker 2: his best team that he has to potentially make the
Speaker 2: tournament because his daughters are going to play volleyball there,
Speaker 2: and I mean that alone. I think we'll make it
Speaker 2: to where he may not even look to leave anytime soon.
Speaker 3: But we'll see.
Speaker 2: But at Florida State, that job will be open at
Speaker 2: the end of the year because Leonard Hamilton announced yesterday
Speaker 2: that he will be stepping down at the end of
Speaker 2: the season, and you know, makes total sense just given
Speaker 2: the way things are. But I wanted to let you
Speaker 2: guys hear this really quick. This is him talking about
Speaker 2: a recruit that he once recruited back in the day.
Speaker 2: This was on the field of sixty eight whenever they
Speaker 2: did their coverage at the ACC tip off. And this
Speaker 2: is just a really funny recruiting story as far as
Speaker 2: you know, coaches really doing whatever it takes to get
Speaker 2: a kid to say, yes, I'm gonna come and play
Speaker 2: for you. This is him talking about Fly Williams.
Speaker 5: I was twenty three years old my first I was
Speaker 5: a graduate assistant at Austin p and the full time
Speaker 5: assistant coach became ill at Christmas and had to resign.
Speaker 5: So now it comes to the spring and I ask
Speaker 5: the coach would he let me go on the road recruiting.
Speaker 5: I had never been in New York in my life,
Speaker 5: so he gave me some money and say go. So,
Speaker 5: you know, he had never been to New York. Neither
Speaker 5: have I. So we didn't know what I was I
Speaker 5: didn't know what I was doing. I heard there was
Speaker 5: a tournament in New York City Community college, and I
Speaker 5: know that's where I wanted to go because they said
Speaker 5: them players in New York were good. I said, look, sir,
Speaker 5: can you please make arrangement for me to meet this
Speaker 5: young man y'all talk about coming in and it was
Speaker 5: Fly Whims and so he said, well, if you recruit
Speaker 5: his buddy, you might have a chance. So now I'm
Speaker 5: walking around New York all day until seven o'clock. I
Speaker 5: supposed to meet Fly, supposed to be getting home at seven.
Speaker 5: I go to his home. He's not there at seven,
Speaker 5: he wasn't there at eight, he wasn't there at nine,
Speaker 5: And the gentleman said, I got to go. So now
Speaker 5: I'm over wherever I am? I don't know where I am.
Speaker 5: I shure, don't want to leave. So now I'm stuck
Speaker 5: with the mother, just me and her. She don't know
Speaker 5: who I am. She just met me, and I'm in
Speaker 5: New York and do not want to leave the house.
Speaker 5: So about twelve thirty she had to go use the bathroom,
Speaker 5: so I turned the clock back to ten thirty so
Speaker 5: she wouldn't know what time it was, and then it
Speaker 5: was literally but happened. So we talked, and we talked
Speaker 5: about North Carolina. We talked about fishing, and we talked
Speaker 5: about chicken, and we talked about we talked about everything
Speaker 5: I can think of. It to about six thirty, and
Speaker 5: the sun is coming up six thirty, Yeah, sixth there
Speaker 5: in the morning, the whole night, Yes, And so the
Speaker 5: stum's coming up. She went to the bathroom. I pulled
Speaker 5: the shades down and closed the curtains so she would
Speaker 5: not know that the sun was coming up.
Speaker 3: So it ended up working out.
Speaker 2: Fly Williams did, in fact end up committing to Leonard
Speaker 2: Hamilton at Austin p when he was an assistant back
Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy two. I think it was, so it
Speaker 2: paid off. But yes, he he waited all night for
Speaker 2: Fly Williams to get home, and it never happened, I guess,
Speaker 2: didn't come back till the next day. So in order
Speaker 2: to keep the mom engaged to where he could you know,
Speaker 2: keep her attention until his sun got home so he
Speaker 2: could recruit him, he turned the clocks back and manipulated
Speaker 2: the blinds to make sure she didn't you know how
Speaker 2: late it was actually getting. And hey, it paid off
Speaker 2: because Fly Williams you know, ended up having a you know,
Speaker 2: a really good career at at Austin p What do.
Speaker 4: You think ended up going wrong for Leonard Hamilton? He
Speaker 4: seems like, by all accounts, he's a good guy, a
Speaker 4: really fun storyteller. He was beating Patino, he had max number.
Speaker 4: He always got big athletic guys, so he had was
Speaker 4: it nil or just like the way that things have
Speaker 4: been done the last few years.
Speaker 2: You're right about him getting the best of some. I
Speaker 2: mean he was winning in the ACC when the ACC
Speaker 2: was in a great spot, right we used to hate playing, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean they were they were just I mean he
Speaker 2: had I feel like he had many teams where everybody
Speaker 2: was the same size, not even kidding. They had some
Speaker 2: teams right right towards the end of the mac era.
Speaker 2: I mean they always had like two three seven footers,
Speaker 2: but then they would have like one through four would
Speaker 2: all be like six seven and six nine between there,
Speaker 2: and they were really tough matchups physacal. I think what
Speaker 2: happened is really it's a product of the New World.
Speaker 2: But I think when you look at Leonard Hamilton and
Speaker 2: when he did get it rolling at Florida State, he
Speaker 2: had guys that had been there three four years, Like
Speaker 2: it was a system kind of thing. Scottie Barnes is
Speaker 2: the one guy that he got that was a phenom
Speaker 2: freshman that ended up being a one and done and
Speaker 2: he's a great player in the NBA. But the other
Speaker 2: guys that were really good for Florida State ended up
Speaker 2: playing there and developing under Leonard Hamilton to where they
Speaker 2: were physical. You know, they clearly had a system in place,
Speaker 2: and I just think with the portal that was, you know,
Speaker 2: he couldn't keep those guys and develop them. And really
Speaker 2: where it got really bad for him is the whole
Speaker 2: nil thing where he was out here telling players they
Speaker 2: were going to make this amount of money and obviously,
Speaker 2: you know, he's currently in a lawsuit with those players
Speaker 2: who were told by him that they'd be paid this
Speaker 2: and that, and yet it never happened.
Speaker 3: So really good coach, a guy who did it a
Speaker 3: long time.
Speaker 2: Seventy seven years old, he'll be in August, so he
Speaker 2: had a great career as a head coach. I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't remember him at Oklahoma State because I was young,
Speaker 2: but he was there, and did you know that he
Speaker 2: coached the I gotta be honest with you, I didn't
Speaker 2: realize that he coached Miami for ten years.
Speaker 3: No, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was at Miami for a while and made
Speaker 2: the tournament a bunch of years there and went to
Speaker 2: the Sweet sixteen, and then took the Florida State job
Speaker 2: in two thousand and two and did make an Elite eight,
Speaker 2: made a couple of Sweet sixteen. So was an assistant
Speaker 2: for Jobe Hall from seventy four to eighty. And that's
Speaker 2: one of those things that when you consider that he's
Speaker 2: been I mean, he's been coaching forever. I mean, he's
Speaker 2: seventy seven and he just told that story that he
Speaker 2: was an assistant at twenty three and you know, recruited
Speaker 2: the best player maybe that ever played at Austin p
Speaker 2: So he's been and he's been doing this a long
Speaker 2: long time. I knew that he was an assistant. A
Speaker 2: knew part of his story was that he was an
Speaker 2: assistant at Kentucky for Jobe Hall, because I remember whenever
Speaker 2: Leonard Hamilton brought his team in here a few years ago,
Speaker 2: right before joebe had passed, or I guess you know,
Speaker 2: a couple of years before that Jobe had passed, they
Speaker 2: got together and caught up and again I knew the connection,
Speaker 2: I knew the history. I didn't know that he was
Speaker 2: an assistant at Kentucky for twelve years. I mean, that's
Speaker 2: a long stretch to be an assistant coach. But hey,
Speaker 2: I mean you're at Kentucky, You're probably feeling like, hey,
Speaker 2: I'll wait it out till I get a really good opportunity.
Speaker 2: And he went from an assistant at Austin p for
Speaker 2: four years, then at Kentucky for twelve years, and then
Speaker 2: in eighty six is when he got his first opportunity
Speaker 2: to be a head coach at Oklahoma State and he's
Speaker 2: been doing it ever since. Had a stint in the
Speaker 2: NBA with the Wizards. Totally forgot about that, but yeah,
Speaker 2: hell of a career. And I think that job will
Speaker 2: have no problem finding a coach that can succeed there
Speaker 2: now making deep runs in the tournament. Who knows, But
Speaker 2: I mean I think there are a lot of coaches
Speaker 2: out there that have similar paths, similar resumes, really to
Speaker 2: I shouldn't say a lot, because I don't act like
Speaker 2: Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 3: Those guys grow on trees. But I think you should be.
Speaker 2: Able to if you trust in your resources, your situation,
Speaker 2: you go hire a coach that has been able to
Speaker 2: succeed at a lower level and sustain that success. I mean,
Speaker 2: those are the kind of guys that think that could
Speaker 2: really thrive in this new world. All right, quick break,
Speaker 2: We got the five o'clock out coded up next, keep
Speaker 2: it locked right here on Sports Talk seven ninety