Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: So we wrapped up the three o'clock hour mentioning the
Speaker 2: crazy trade in the NBA on Saturday night that didn't
Speaker 2: seem real, but in fact, Israel, you've got Luka Doncik
Speaker 2: heading to the Lakers and Anthony Davis going to Dallas
Speaker 2: and I don't remember me. Obviously, we're getting close to
Speaker 2: the trade deadline, and that's usually when trades, of course
Speaker 2: get talked about more than they ever do. But that,
Speaker 2: of course was a huge trade, and the deadline is
Speaker 2: coming up on the six later this week, so I
Speaker 2: don't know. It just kind of feels like everybody covering
Speaker 2: the NBA is anticipating, like another big move. I don't
Speaker 2: think you could put one together that would be bigger
Speaker 2: than what we just had with Davis and Donk Dunchick.
Speaker 2: But yeah, this is from Front Office Sports that multiple
Speaker 2: NBA teams have adjusted flights on their February six games
Speaker 2: to avoid potential awkward situations from being in the air
Speaker 2: when the trade deadline passes. So when they say awkward
Speaker 2: situations from being in the air, you know what they mean.
Speaker 2: It's not not.
Speaker 3: The high club.
Speaker 2: Well it's yeah, that, but it's also not because they're
Speaker 2: going to try to make sure they can like connect
Speaker 2: and discuss a deal and get a deal finalized. It's
Speaker 2: because you don't want to be on the plane with
Speaker 2: somebody who you're essentially firing. I mean, you're I mean,
Speaker 2: trading somebody is is kind of like firing him, isn't it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's a kind of like a we don't want you anymore,
Speaker 2: we see value in something else that we're getting for you.
Speaker 3: Basically.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, I don't really have any sympathy
Speaker 2: for anybody in the NBA that gets traded when it
Speaker 2: comes to just like their overall situation. But you know,
Speaker 2: even if you even if it wasn't something about like
Speaker 2: your family, like it had become home, this is where
Speaker 2: you wanted to stay, and you just have say so
Speaker 2: because they can trade your contract. I mean that that's
Speaker 2: a bummer. But like, you know, knowing somebody doesn't want
Speaker 2: you and they think they could be better without you
Speaker 2: would be a tough thing to take. And oftentimes as fans,
Speaker 2: we never really wrap. We never really First of all,
Speaker 2: we can't because we can't relate. Most of us that
Speaker 2: consume it and are obsessed with it probably didn't play
Speaker 2: at that high of a level because you know, not
Speaker 2: many people on the planet are able to play pro
Speaker 2: sports in the NBA, the NFL and all that kind
Speaker 2: of stuff. But because it's you know how it is,
Speaker 2: it's just hard to sometimes remember that you know, these
Speaker 2: are I don't want to say it's hard to remember
Speaker 2: that they're humans, you know that, but I mean, you
Speaker 2: never even think about comparisons, understandably so about their job
Speaker 2: and what they do compared to yours because again different planets. However,
Speaker 2: it is still their job, and you know it would
Speaker 2: be tough for anybody to take that. But yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 2: The sixth is the deadline, so maybe there will be
Speaker 2: another big move made. All right, some breaking news here.
Speaker 2: This is something that I think came out right as
Speaker 2: the show started and I had not checked on Twitter,
Speaker 2: But Leonard Hamilton is going to step down at Florida State.
Speaker 2: So it looks as if he's going to finish out
Speaker 2: this season and will resign when the season comes to
Speaker 2: an end. I'm just reading here from the press release.
Speaker 2: They're going to mention his record of four hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty six and two hundred and ninety and obviously had
Speaker 2: some good teams, but that that that thing kind of
Speaker 2: fell pretty quickly. I remember Florida State is one of
Speaker 2: those teams that when the tournament didn't happen right, like
Speaker 2: it just we had a global pandemic that really not
Speaker 2: out of nowhere, but I mean the amount of changes
Speaker 2: made as far as schedule, sports, live events, people being
Speaker 2: around each other. I mean, you know, I remember going
Speaker 2: taking off for Greensboro for the ACC basketball tournament, and
Speaker 2: by the time I got to Greensboro, they said no
Speaker 2: fans at the SEC. The ACC hadn't made a decision yet.
Speaker 2: So like it was a really really quick moving thing.
Speaker 2: And even if, you know, even if it wasn't the
Speaker 2: way that happened, that's going to be such a forgettable
Speaker 2: season for a lot of people, for you know, for
Speaker 2: obvious reasons. But Florida State's one of those teams that
Speaker 2: I actually think could have had a deep run in
Speaker 2: the tournament for the first time like ever. I don't know,
Speaker 2: I mean, Leonard Hamilton never went to a final four,
Speaker 2: and I don't know what his furthest trip to the
Speaker 2: tournament was. I'm seeing he has gone to the Sweet
Speaker 2: sixteen a couple of times. He did make the Elite
Speaker 2: eight in twenty eighteen, So look, he had a good
Speaker 2: run there, coached there a long time, and I'd say
Speaker 2: this is probably the right move in Florida State.
Speaker 3: That's a good enough job.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying it's elite, but Florida State they're one
Speaker 2: of those programs that with this change, I mean, honestly,
Speaker 2: they can only get better. I don't know how good
Speaker 2: they're gonna be, but there's like five or six teams
Speaker 2: in the ACC that maybe aren't ever going to be
Speaker 2: the real leaders of the conference when it comes to basketball.
Speaker 2: But if they're good and it's rather consistent, then like
Speaker 2: that could make the ACC back to becoming one of
Speaker 2: the better leagues in college basketball. Because you know, you're
Speaker 2: Carolina's dukes in laws. Louisville's are always going to try
Speaker 2: to be really good in basketball meeting. They're not going
Speaker 2: like Louisville got rid of a coach in two years now.
Speaker 2: It was an insanely bad two years. But there's no
Speaker 2: scenario where Louis Louisville is not committed to making basketball great.
Speaker 2: It has to be and you know, I don't have
Speaker 2: any worries about that in the future. Duke and Carolina,
Speaker 2: you'd say the same thing. Virginia, you know who they hire,
Speaker 2: because they can be really good. Tony Bennett proved that
Speaker 2: now kind of weird knowing it was just the way
Speaker 2: he did it, and he was a very unique coach.
Speaker 2: But there's a handful of teams that you just know
Speaker 2: are always going to at least try to be you know,
Speaker 2: it'd be for example, Louisville, ever is as bad as
Speaker 2: they were the last two years. I mean, I would
Speaker 2: I highly doubt that ever happens. And then you've got
Speaker 2: the Duke Carolinas. And then you've got teams that you
Speaker 2: know you'll never really expect to make you good, like
Speaker 2: Boston College teams like that probably Smull, not SMU, but
Speaker 2: probably in basketball cal But then you've got others that
Speaker 2: you know can be good in the right situation. So
Speaker 2: now we've got the Miami job open, the Florida state
Speaker 2: jobs going to be open, Virginia's open. Syracuse certainly has
Speaker 2: to consider moving on from red art reht Is it Autrey,
Speaker 2: I think it is who took over for Beheim. So
Speaker 2: those are four jobs right there that I mean in
Speaker 2: this new world, let me look at what pack Kelsey did.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying these programs all have the same
Speaker 2: resources that Louisville does, but I mean, you hire a
Speaker 2: guy that can win, and he can bring his formula there,
Speaker 2: and he can utilize resources to bring in some good
Speaker 2: players via the portal.
Speaker 3: It's not going to be too tough to get things
Speaker 3: turned around quickly.
Speaker 2: So I do believe, as much as I've been hard
Speaker 2: on the acc and how, I just think it's weird
Speaker 2: that nobody really saw this coming when I've been you know,
Speaker 2: to me, it's been pretty obvious this league's been slipping
Speaker 2: big time in basketball.
Speaker 3: But with all that bitching that.
Speaker 2: I do about it, I do think that in four
Speaker 2: or five years, it'd be a real shocker to me
Speaker 2: if the league is maybe not the best league in
Speaker 2: college basketball, but clearly in a much better situation than
Speaker 2: they are right now. All Right, it's coffee and Company.
Speaker 2: We are feel about Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 2: Appreciate you hanging out with us. As you could expect,
Speaker 2: we have talked a lot about the weekend. Yes, it
Speaker 2: is Super Bowl week, but probably not going to touch
Speaker 2: on that a whole lot today.
Speaker 3: We got the rest of the week to do that.
Speaker 2: But we always react to the weekend, and the weekend
Speaker 2: was not good for both Louisville and Kentucky fans. And
Speaker 2: when it comes to Louisville, you know, I I don't
Speaker 2: want to say I told you so, because again I don't.
Speaker 2: I had no reason to believe Louisville would would lose.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's a reason they were favored. And I
Speaker 2: still think that those two teams play each other ten times,
Speaker 2: I'd still think Louisville was gonna win more than they
Speaker 2: were gonna lose. But you know, Georgia Tech made a
Speaker 2: lot of really tough shots. Louisville missed free throws and
Speaker 2: key moments. I thought something that I haven't heard talked
Speaker 2: about a whole lot is that they were called for fouls.
Speaker 2: And let me pull up the numbers here just to see,
Speaker 2: just to see what it ended up being. But yeah,
Speaker 2: when it comes to foul trouble, I mean, I don't
Speaker 2: really remember anybody. Let's see here, let's see, and of
Speaker 2: course I can never find Yeah, here we go. So
Speaker 2: you had Javon Hadley foul out late, and I remember
Speaker 2: that was something to monitor. James Scott had for Rain
Speaker 2: had four, Chucky had three. So I would say the
Speaker 2: eighteen total fouls called. I don't know where that fits
Speaker 2: on their average, but I think one thing that it's
Speaker 2: kind of got me not worried, but I feel like
Speaker 2: Louisville has been pretty good early on at Chucky more
Speaker 2: than anybody, being able to just kind of set the tone.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying he gets away with a bunch
Speaker 2: of fouls, but there are times where I feel like
Speaker 2: if they did call a foul, I couldn't say that
Speaker 2: I'd be shocked. So there's no doubt, and this is
Speaker 2: something that kind of annoys me. But when people say,
Speaker 2: look we saw against wake Forest. If you take Chucky,
Speaker 2: hepburn off the floor. I mean, this is a different team,
Speaker 2: and you know what, you're right, but you literally could
Speaker 2: say that about every team who has like a guy
Speaker 2: that makes them go. I mean, when your best player
Speaker 2: is your point guard and he's also a guy that
Speaker 2: is one of your leading scorers and he's one of
Speaker 2: the best distributors in the country, any team in that situation,
Speaker 2: if that guy's not playing, it's going to impact them
Speaker 2: in a major way. So like that's always been the case.
Speaker 2: But with Chucky, I think we've been able to avoid
Speaker 2: him being in foul trouble to where he's got to
Speaker 2: sit a lot of men. It's because, look, Louisville, this
Speaker 2: has always been the case, right before they started the
Speaker 2: win streak in today, Chucky was going to be a
Speaker 2: real big piece and he's going to have to be
Speaker 2: a big piece to what Louisville's doing if they're going
Speaker 2: to have success. And he finished with seventeen. I'm trying
Speaker 2: to see the breakdown here in halves, because I mean,
Speaker 2: Chucky in the second half just made just one bucket
Speaker 2: and I kind of felt like, I mean, look, I'm
Speaker 2: not picking on Chucky at all, you guys know, in fact,
Speaker 2: anybody watching knows how good he's been for Louisville, and
Speaker 2: I don't know where the hell they'd be if they
Speaker 2: didn't have him. But I did feel like the Chucky
Speaker 2: that kind of And I'll give Austin some credit here
Speaker 2: because he mentioned this to me whenever whenever Louisville lost too,
Speaker 2: I think it was Ole miss and even the Duke game,
Speaker 2: you weren't bagging on Chucky, But you mentioned sort of
Speaker 2: how he would kind of just he kind of just
Speaker 2: forgot he was out there at times, and I think
Speaker 2: that's what happened against Georgia Tech. I'm not saying like
Speaker 2: he was rattled, but Georgia Tech had some guys just
Speaker 2: making tough shot after tough shot, and Chucky was really
Speaker 2: aggressive in the first half, five of nine, three of
Speaker 2: five from three. And look, sometimes you chalk it up
Speaker 2: and you just give the other team credit because they
Speaker 2: found a way to keep him from killing them. But
Speaker 2: when I see that Chuck, he only took five shots
Speaker 2: and only made one of them, and then he you know,
Speaker 2: actually he had a bucket and he had two free
Speaker 2: throws and of minus nineteen in the plus minus in
Speaker 2: the second half. So that that right there is a
Speaker 2: real situation if Chucky is is and again he's had
Speaker 2: games where he's shot poorly and you don't even remember
Speaker 2: it because you're like, you kid me, that guy was
Speaker 2: one of the most impactful players out there. That's why
Speaker 2: we won because of him. Well, sometimes he does that
Speaker 2: and he's three of eleven, and that's okay, because if
Speaker 2: he's aggressive NonStop and he has a bad shooting night.
Speaker 3: I think Louisville more often than not is.
Speaker 2: Gonna be able to get by because they got other
Speaker 2: guys that can score and he can distribute. But whenever
Speaker 2: he's not aggressive and he's only taken five shots, I
Speaker 2: don't I don't think that's that's ideal. Now again, I'm
Speaker 2: not being critical. Obviously, it was a hell of a
Speaker 2: hell of a game for Javon Hadley, I mean, and
Speaker 2: even Terrence Edwards. I mean Terrence said Wards overall, he
Speaker 2: had a bigger first half than anything, But I mean, overall,
Speaker 2: Terrence Edwards is going eight of sixteen, three of six
Speaker 2: from three point range. You know that's a good thing,
Speaker 2: and Chucky doesn't have to do a whole lot, but
Speaker 2: he's just got to stay aggressive. And I kind of
Speaker 2: feel like I didn't go back and watch it because
Speaker 2: why would I want to torture myself to watch a
Speaker 2: loss over again. But it just kind of felt like
Speaker 2: late in the game, he just Chucky wasn't making as
Speaker 2: much of an impact as we typically seed where he
Speaker 2: was a little bit passive, and you know what, that's
Speaker 2: gonna happen, because, if anything, he was due for maybe
Speaker 2: a game like this because he has relied upon so
Speaker 2: much so, and it's been clear really since day one
Speaker 2: that Louisville was going to go as far as he
Speaker 2: could take them, right even whenever, like I don't want
Speaker 2: to minimize the absence of Case in prior, but whenever
Speaker 2: he got hurt, I think people were of the belief that,
Speaker 2: like that was the last guy you needed to lose,
Speaker 2: and no offense to Case and but no, I mean
Speaker 2: to me, it was always Chucky. So you know, I'm
Speaker 2: bummed about the loss, But I think this group will
Speaker 2: come back ready to play on Wednesday against Boston College
Speaker 2: and I and be surprised at all if they put
Speaker 2: together a good win streak here. But one thing that is,
Speaker 2: you know, that is just the facts. It's really not
Speaker 2: an opinion. It's just what it is. That loss hurt
Speaker 2: them when it comes to the resume. It's not something
Speaker 2: that puts them on the outside looking in or anything
Speaker 2: like that. But you now have a lower potential ceiling
Speaker 2: when it comes to your seed line because of this
Speaker 2: loss and no other real opportunities in the regular season
Speaker 2: to get wins that are gonna really do much for you.
Speaker 2: And you can't control that, right, you go out there
Speaker 2: and play who's on the schedule and try to.
Speaker 3: Win every game.
Speaker 2: I think this group, as much as it sounds cliche
Speaker 2: and it's what you hear every coach say, but I
Speaker 2: think they've always been pretty good about, Hey, you know,
Speaker 2: we're gonna we're gonna stick with we're one game at
Speaker 2: a time. We are quite literally, I mean Pat Kelsey
Speaker 2: said it, but I think they really do run with
Speaker 2: it that the next game, whoever it is against, that's
Speaker 2: the most important game in the history of the program because
Speaker 2: it's next. And I think, again, the maturity of this
Speaker 2: group that they've shown throughout, I expect them to bounce
Speaker 2: back from this. But again, you really can't afford to
Speaker 2: slip up to a team like Georgia Tech more than once, probably,
Speaker 2: and you don't want to do it at all, But
Speaker 2: like I think, if you do it twice, I think
Speaker 2: it really changes how you're viewed in a major way.
Speaker 2: And I don't expect that they will do that. But again,
Speaker 2: just the visual of seeing this team lose to a
Speaker 2: team like Georgia Tech, you know, it's just a reminder that, man,
Speaker 2: they got to come ready to play. And I don't know,
Speaker 2: somebody on the text line mentioned this earlier that maybe
Speaker 2: Louisville has become the hunted. I mean, Louisville is always
Speaker 2: going to be a program. Well I guess outside of
Speaker 2: the last few years that if you beat them, it's
Speaker 2: better than beating most teams now, but clearly louisll has
Speaker 2: been really bad. I would say, this a ranked team
Speaker 2: in your house and your Georgia Tech, that's a big deal.
Speaker 2: So like, I don't think we're their super Bowl, but
Speaker 2: gonna you're gonna there's gonna be more I guess to
Speaker 2: gain by beating a ranked team because there's clearly just
Speaker 2: you know, the perception is that there's more value there.
Speaker 2: So maybe it's not the Louisville brand or anything like that,
Speaker 2: but knowing, hey, in the longer, you let teams like
Speaker 2: that hang around. That's how this happens. Right, Louisville I
Speaker 2: think withstood a couple of runs from Georgia Tech as
Speaker 2: far as where they just got hot and Pat had
Speaker 2: to call a time out. But then late, you know,
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech continued to kind of make tough shots that
Speaker 2: I feel like, I mean, maybe it's just the way
Speaker 2: I want to remember it, but I feel like a
Speaker 2: lot of the shots they made were just really tough
Speaker 2: shots well defended. Now, again, there were some other buckets
Speaker 2: that they got where you're thinking, how's he get to
Speaker 2: the rim like that?
Speaker 3: Or how did he not? How was how was there
Speaker 3: not a better contest on that shot?
Speaker 2: So I'm not saying they were perfect, but I think
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech just made some tough shots early, they made
Speaker 2: tough shots late, and then when Louisville's missing shots around
Speaker 2: the rim that you know, you know are going to
Speaker 2: be crucial and then you miss free throws, That's that's
Speaker 2: how these things happen. But again, I still think this
Speaker 2: is a group that has I don't want to say
Speaker 2: no chance of missing the tournament, but put it this way,
Speaker 2: and this is repetitive at this point, but I feel
Speaker 2: the same today as I did a week ago, just
Speaker 2: because we've known this team was vulnerable and they could
Speaker 2: lose these games if you know, if they're not careful,
Speaker 2: and uh, you know, sometimes you you know, I I
Speaker 2: know there's some people that and I'll just share with
Speaker 2: you really quickly here. Somebody's like, we would have crushed
Speaker 2: Kenny Payne for this loss. Why are we not crushing
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey? I mean like I is that is that?
Speaker 2: Am I taking the bait here by like the Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey's Yeah, I mean like I'm taking the bait by
Speaker 2: even acknowledging that. But one thing I wanted to run
Speaker 2: with that, other than just the nonsense about any comparison
Speaker 2: between these two coaches, is we have an arrogance about
Speaker 2: ourselves as a program to an extent to where a
Speaker 2: loss to a Georgia Tech team that has nine wins
Speaker 2: on Saturday, like a lot of people are like, I
Speaker 2: don't care, they're not good. We should win, right, Like
Speaker 2: that's what they That's what they say, And I understand that.
Speaker 2: But also like sometimes dudes just get hot and play
Speaker 2: really well, and I think Louisville was a reason for that.
Speaker 2: But also I'm willing to give Georgia Tech a little
Speaker 2: bit of credit here because I thought they showed that.
Speaker 3: They you know, they were in the game.
Speaker 2: They made some big plays that really swung momentum, and
Speaker 2: then from there they were able to you know, they
Speaker 2: were able to uh to hold on and win. All right,
Speaker 2: quick break what I want to get you on the
Speaker 2: other side, more about the Lexington return for John Caliperry.
Speaker 2: Not only the game itself. But man, the former players
Speaker 2: that decided to not necessarily be anti Kentucky but make
Speaker 2: it clear that they are still going to support John
Speaker 2: Caliperry and they're going to support him and you while
Speaker 2: they're why you all are playing each other like that
Speaker 2: clearly has ruffled some feathers. So we'll get to that
Speaker 2: in a lot more. It's coffee and company. Feel about
Speaker 2: Thorton's ready here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1: Ninety Now back to coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's
Speaker 1: on Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: You know, one of the things I talked about at
Speaker 2: the beginning of the show when we were mentioning the
Speaker 2: Louisville loss is, you know, there's a lot of different
Speaker 2: elements to the revival process, right like Louisville fans remembering
Speaker 2: what it's like to watch a team play hard and
Speaker 2: feel like, hey, we're going to the tournament and just
Speaker 2: feel good right, good energy. I mean, January was a
Speaker 2: phenomenal month, and really things have been pretty good, in fact,
Speaker 2: really good I think since Pat Kelsey got hired up
Speaker 2: to this point. But he lost a game for the
Speaker 2: first time as our coach that he wasn't supposed to lose.
Speaker 2: I mean, that was not a good loss by any means.
Speaker 2: And it's so I'll bring all that up to said
Speaker 2: that I've kind of been avoiding bracketology because I didn't
Speaker 2: want to have to see what these bracketologists are saying
Speaker 2: about Louisville as far as what it did to the resume.
Speaker 2: And I did see too earlier that had Louisville on
Speaker 2: the eight line, which is understandable.
Speaker 3: But then Lonardi, for what it's worth, not.
Speaker 2: Much of anything because he doesn't actually see the tournament,
Speaker 2: but he did not hold them as accountable for that
Speaker 2: loss as some others because he still has Louisville as
Speaker 2: a seven seed, and so they are down from a
Speaker 2: five to a seven. They did drop, but again eight
Speaker 2: also wouldn't be crazy. But he has Louisville as the
Speaker 2: number twenty seven overall seed right now.
Speaker 3: So you know, not a good loss.
Speaker 2: But if you just have that one and you still
Speaker 2: can finish strong and look, I feel silly now saying, hey,
Speaker 2: they should win every game that's left, but they're going
Speaker 2: to be expected to win every game that's left, and
Speaker 2: it says more about your opponents than it does. And yes,
Speaker 2: the reminder that they can be beat that they just happened.
Speaker 2: Certainly that's going to I mean, that makes them look
Speaker 2: I guess more. I mean, it proves that they can
Speaker 2: lose to those kind of teams, but I think we've
Speaker 2: always known that, and also even with that loss now there,
Speaker 2: let's not change the script here. I think we've seen
Speaker 2: what this team can do against teams substantially better than
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech. So let's just hold out hope that they
Speaker 2: get back on the winning side and keep it rolling again.
Speaker 2: Now for Kentucky again, they have such a such a
Speaker 2: weird resume. Man, that loss on Saturday is easily they're worse.
Speaker 2: I mean, both teams, Louisville Kentucky, no doubt about it,
Speaker 2: not only took bad losses, but they're easily the worst
Speaker 2: losses of the season for these teams. And it's really
Speaker 2: not even close. I mean Kentucky, I mean, what a resume.
Speaker 2: They have losses to Arkansas, who's forty seventh, Vandy who's fiftieth,
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech who's fortieth, Ohio State who's twenty sixth, Clemson
Speaker 2: who's twenty seven. So I'm referencing the kin Palm numbers there.
Speaker 2: But Ohio State. They're probably not a tournament team. Georgia
Speaker 2: doesn't look like it right now. Vandy they're in Arkansas. No,
Speaker 2: So again, they're not terrible losses, especially when you consider
Speaker 2: the metrics. But I mean, you lose to those teams,
Speaker 2: but then you turn around and yeah, you got do girly.
Speaker 2: But still that's a win that counts. It's got a
Speaker 2: lot of value. You beat Gonzaga, which that also doesn't
Speaker 2: look as impressive now because they Gonzaga, by the way,
Speaker 2: this year has taken a bigger slide than I think
Speaker 2: people realize. But you know, they're on the other side
Speaker 2: of the country and we never watch them play. But still,
Speaker 2: you know, that's a good win. Beat Florida, who's a
Speaker 2: top five team, beat Tennessee at Tennessee, who then bounced
Speaker 2: back and beat the hell out of Florida the next
Speaker 2: game after Kentucky got them. I mean, beating A and
Speaker 2: M at home, that's a huge win Mississippi State on
Speaker 2: the road. So Kentucky, I mean, I feel like if
Speaker 2: you remove I mean they've got six losses and such
Speaker 2: valuable wins. I mean, they're a couple of games away,
Speaker 2: Like for example, if they hold on and beat Clemson,
Speaker 2: or let's say they hold on and beat Bama, or
Speaker 2: maybe they just don't slip up and lose to Arkansas.
Speaker 2: I mean, I feel like they're close to a one seed,
Speaker 2: probably a two at that point, but their wins are
Speaker 2: so valuable and their losses aren't terrible other than Arkansas.
Speaker 2: But then again, like there's still you know, teams that
Speaker 2: you know they should beat. So right now, again, Lenardi
Speaker 2: has them even after their loss to their worst loss
Speaker 2: of the season, he still has them sitting to a
Speaker 2: three seed and the number eleven overall seeds. So currently
Speaker 2: when it comes to conferences, you've got three currently in
Speaker 2: right I guess four currently in right now in the
Speaker 2: AC seed Duke one seed, Louisville seven seed, Clemson eight seed,
Speaker 2: and then Pittsburgh is listed in the last four in
Speaker 2: North Carolina is listed in the first four out, Wake
Speaker 2: Forest is in the next four out out and also
Speaker 2: SMU is in the next four round. So it'll be
Speaker 2: wild to see and I and this this will be
Speaker 2: ACC fans telling on themselves because there's a scenario where
Speaker 2: if the bubble just happens to roll a different a
Speaker 2: certain way, all those teams could get in smu Way,
Speaker 2: But like, can you really claim the haters were wrong
Speaker 2: if you will only have like two teams safely in.
Speaker 2: I mean, look, all those teams could not make it
Speaker 2: too but anyways, that's where you that's where how it
Speaker 2: currently looks in the ACC. And then the Big twelve,
Speaker 2: I mean quietly having another really good season. It's just
Speaker 2: been overshadowed by how good the SEC is. So Iowa
Speaker 2: State is a two seed, number five overall, Houston also
Speaker 2: a two seed, Kansas a three seed, Texas Tech a
Speaker 2: four seed, Arizona up to a five seed, and then
Speaker 2: you've got Baylor West Virginia getting in still, and then
Speaker 2: bubble teams are BYU and US and UCF. And then
Speaker 2: in the SEC, I mean, they've got six teams that
Speaker 2: are that they're really even if they tried to miss
Speaker 2: the tournament they couldn't. And that's Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Texas,
Speaker 2: A and M and Kentucky and then Missouri and Ole
Speaker 2: miss safely in as top five seeds. Right now, I
Speaker 2: would say Mississippi State they're in as a sixth seed.
Speaker 2: And then after that you I mean, like the fact
Speaker 2: that Georgia Vandy and Oklahoma are all listed as nine, ten,
Speaker 2: and eleven seeds, and Texas is a non seed. I mean,
Speaker 2: hard to claim those teams don't belong because of how
Speaker 2: good the league was in the non conference. Like Georgia
Speaker 2: has taken their lumps, they've had a rough go at it,
Speaker 2: but you know they're still in because in the non
Speaker 2: conference they had some good wins, including like I think
Speaker 2: they're the last team to beat Rick Patino in Saint John's,
Speaker 2: which tells you how hot his team has been. So again,
Speaker 2: I think for Louisville right now you're ceiling. I guess
Speaker 2: it could still be four, but I think you'd need
Speaker 2: to like went out and then get to you know,
Speaker 2: get to one of the games in the ACC tournament
Speaker 2: where you could get some value if you win, and
Speaker 2: if you lose, it's not going to be like a
Speaker 2: you know, it's not going to crush your resume. Maybe
Speaker 2: I'm wrong though, Like maybe they could get higher than that,
Speaker 2: but I don't know. I mean, I guess if they
Speaker 2: went out and they just start stacking up a bunch
Speaker 2: of wins even though they're against bad teams, maybe they
Speaker 2: could you know, maybe maybe maybe the resume would be
Speaker 2: more impressive than that I'm giving it credit for. But
Speaker 2: what comes to mind for me is that there was
Speaker 2: something that could be said about the resume prior to
Speaker 2: Saturday that that was valuable, but now you can't say
Speaker 2: it because it's not true. Louisville does have a bad loss,
Speaker 2: whereas before that they didn't. So that's kind of where
Speaker 2: I feel like they're sealing us lowered a little bit.
Speaker 2: And look, Kentucky caets still get a one seed with
Speaker 2: everything that's left in front of them. But one thing
Speaker 2: that they got to figure out is, I mean, how
Speaker 2: healthy can they be because not having Lamont Butler play
Speaker 2: car clearly is just not healthy. They've they've been without
Speaker 2: Cresa for quite some time, so I mean I just
Speaker 2: thought visually they looked like they were like much less
Speaker 2: talented and much less athletic than Arkansas. And look, Arkansas
Speaker 2: despite having a bad record and not being a very
Speaker 2: good team as far as results, I mean, they're always
Speaker 2: gonna have talent on athleticism, but they've lost to teams
Speaker 2: that clearly are a lot worse than Kentucky. But that
Speaker 2: was the first time I watched Kentucky and felt like, okay,
Speaker 2: with how good the SEC is like, they're probably going
Speaker 2: to run into some teams that they just can't match
Speaker 2: up with because the SEC's loaded and they're missing some
Speaker 2: guys that they really need.
Speaker 3: Now. Also, anytime it seems.
Speaker 2: Like well they like for example, this has been pretty
Speaker 2: consistent for Mark Pope. Anytime they've had a really tough
Speaker 2: game coming up that's coming off of a loss, they
Speaker 2: find a way to win. I mean, Pope has won
Speaker 2: games that have a lot of value in one games
Speaker 2: that really I don't say nobody gave them a chance.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's a Kentucky team. They've been really top
Speaker 2: ten all year, so they've always got a chance. But
Speaker 2: you know when they ended up who was.
Speaker 3: It who they lost to? They lost to Georgia.
Speaker 2: You know, they're going on the road and playing and
Speaker 2: I remember thinking, okay, we well, man, if you lose
Speaker 2: on the road to Georgia, now you've got to go
Speaker 2: on the road to play Mississippi State.
Speaker 3: Good luck.
Speaker 2: Well they ended up going there and beating them. That's
Speaker 2: you know, and that that wasn't a win that I
Speaker 2: think there was a whole lot of expectation for. I mean, honestly,
Speaker 2: I guess Ohio State, right they beat them by twenty
Speaker 2: and then their next challenge was going to be Florida
Speaker 2: in January fourth. They won that game in a close one. Son,
Speaker 2: I don't re act like they were just left for
Speaker 2: dead in these moments, but they've they've had losses that
Speaker 2: would make you feel like if they could lose to
Speaker 2: this team, man, they're going to have a really tough
Speaker 2: time beating the likes of Florida, Mississippi State at their place,
Speaker 2: you know, Tennessee on the road, and yet they've they've
Speaker 2: been able to win those games. So they've got Old
Speaker 2: Miss tomorrow. So again, what I'm getting at is if
Speaker 2: they win tomorrow at Ole Misigans Chris Beard, I mean,
Speaker 2: can we say we're that surprised because that's kind of
Speaker 2: what they've done, which, again, more than anything, speaks.
Speaker 3: To how good of a coach Mark Pope is.
Speaker 2: He's clearly not perfect, and I'm sure he's doing things
Speaker 2: strategically that fans don't love, but I mean he's also
Speaker 2: getting great results. But one thing he's got to figure
Speaker 2: out is is his rotation. And this is something that
Speaker 2: both Pat Kelcey and Mark Pope are alike in they
Speaker 2: want to play as many guys as they can because
Speaker 2: they want to play as many possessions as possible. They
Speaker 2: want to be able to go to a fresh guy
Speaker 2: or maybe bringing three guys off the bench, and you
Speaker 2: still play that same pace like everybody can play that style.
Speaker 2: That's what both coaches want to do. Louisville, you know
Speaker 2: they were deep early on, when then you know they
Speaker 2: weren't right they lost. I mean they didn't have Trey
Speaker 2: Roy for a long time. Prior only played a few games,
Speaker 2: and obviously Corn Johnson only played one game. So you know,
Speaker 2: you're forced to just kind of figure out your lineup right.
Speaker 2: You don't have any option to really go to the
Speaker 2: bench because you don't have one. Therefore, guys are going to,
Speaker 2: i think, have a better ability to kind of define
Speaker 2: their role so with I mean, if they're not getting it,
Speaker 2: sounds like mat La mont Butler maybe out for a while.
Speaker 2: But and that clearly changes things. But one thing that
Speaker 2: just seems to be like a head scratcher for me
Speaker 2: is when Pope goes to his bench. I mean, I
Speaker 2: just don't understand the combent. Like to me, there shouldn't
Speaker 2: be many games where you have Colin Chandler and Travis
Speaker 2: Perry and Annsley almanor like all on the floor together.
Speaker 2: That to me just seems like you could be really
Speaker 2: vulnerable against teams, you know, like Arkansas.
Speaker 3: With that with that trio out there, like.
Speaker 2: I think, like for Louisville, even if they had, like
Speaker 2: put it this way, Let's say Chucky was doing what
Speaker 2: he's doing and Rain, you know, was having the season
Speaker 2: he's having. I mean, they're in good rhythm. Those guys
Speaker 2: have had phenomenal seasons. I mean, you can make the
Speaker 2: case that Chucky and Rain, that duo all in all,
Speaker 2: as of right now, outside of whatever Duke's working with,
Speaker 2: that's the best backcourt in the AC. Seat's not close
Speaker 2: because those guys have honestly in ACC play, I mean, right,
Speaker 2: Smith is not just a guy who gets hot from three.
Speaker 2: I mean that is a big part of what he does.
Speaker 2: But I mean his number is this production. He's been
Speaker 2: one of the better guards in the ACC and obviously
Speaker 2: Chucky has been and I don't think that'll change. So
Speaker 2: if we had Corn Johnson, like, it wouldn't be an issue.
Speaker 2: It'd be nice to have another guy to put in,
Speaker 2: but like he'd be getting legitimate backup minutes, not the
Speaker 2: same minutes that you probably are gonna see from Chucky.
Speaker 2: So I'm not trying to act like we don't need
Speaker 2: these guys, But I think Louisville was able to round
Speaker 2: into form because they had no other choice.
Speaker 3: With Pope, I think he still wants to.
Speaker 2: Play a lot of guys because of the style that
Speaker 2: he wants to play, and he wants to keep guys fresh.
Speaker 3: But you're gonna be.
Speaker 2: At your best if Jackson Robinson, Amari Williams, I mean
Speaker 2: Away and Car Like, if those guys are playing thirty
Speaker 2: five plus minutes, that's a good thing, because you know
Speaker 2: those guys are good. Those guys, clearly, I think, do
Speaker 2: a lot more for you than the others. Like Garrison,
Speaker 2: he could still play, you could still throw them out.
Speaker 2: They're the same thing for Chandler and all minors come
Speaker 2: in and hit some shots for him.
Speaker 3: But like, it should be spot.
Speaker 2: Minutes, and I guess technically that's what he's doing as
Speaker 2: far as minute distribution, But like, I just it just
Speaker 2: seemed as if when they went multiple substitutions the other
Speaker 2: night and then you know, they got exposed a little bit,
Speaker 2: I'm sitting here thinking, well, you probably should have seen
Speaker 2: that coming. And that's where Pope and Kelsey are both
Speaker 2: very much analytically driven, more about the system than about
Speaker 2: like personnel. And not to say they don't pay attention
Speaker 2: to personnel, but I mean I think you should at times.
Speaker 2: All Right, this has not been talked about just yet,
Speaker 2: but we'll take our last break here in the four
Speaker 2: o'clock hour because there's a couple of things I want
Speaker 2: to hit on before we finish up the four o'clock hour.
Speaker 3: Don't forget that we're taking you up till six o'clock.
Speaker 2: But Chuckie Hepburn not listed as one of the top
Speaker 2: ten candidates on the Bob Coosey Award, which is given
Speaker 2: annually to the nation's best point guard.
Speaker 3: I mean it's kind of insane.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's disrespectful. I mean it's disrespectful. And I mean
Speaker 2: that like not saying that, like Chuckie needs to feel
Speaker 2: emotional about it. But the guys that are ahead of
Speaker 2: him on here, like they're playing for teams that some of.
Speaker 3: Them aren't as good as Louisville.
Speaker 2: And I mean, Chucky's been phenomenal this year, So I
Speaker 2: think I don't know. I'll share my thoughts on the
Speaker 2: other side. I mean, I don't have a whole lot
Speaker 2: more to add other than that's ridiculous, But.
Speaker 3: We'll get to that.
Speaker 2: And as well the Kentucky players that I mean really,
Speaker 2: I mean, do you all, really, as Kentucky fans, care
Speaker 2: what Ashton Hagen says?
Speaker 3: I mean not to say that you like hate? Yeah,
Speaker 3: Like to me, those are guys that you got.
Speaker 2: I mean again, I'm wrong. I'm not a big big
Speaker 2: I'm not a big Blue Nation guys. Like, maybe you
Speaker 2: will loose sleep at night knowing those guys were pulling
Speaker 2: for col But like Reed Shepherd, that was wild. To me,
Speaker 2: that was insane. And we'll talk about it next right
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: You want to hear a hot take, of course, I
Speaker 2: mean I've got a really hot take here that is.
Speaker 3: Something that I actually believe is true. But this is
Speaker 3: what do I do.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna set it up like I'm one of those
Speaker 2: loud mouse on the round table shows where you're just
Speaker 2: supposed to embrace, debate and yell at each other.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you ready for it? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey is holding Chucky Hepburn back. Pat Kelsey is
Speaker 2: limiting Chucky Chucky Hepburn and what his credentials.
Speaker 3: Can be, and he hasn't fully unleashed him yet. Now
Speaker 3: what you're saying, well, that's the way people might hear it.
Speaker 2: But what I was actually going to say is that
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey has, understandably so and for good reason, been
Speaker 2: such a big story in college basketball and how Louisville
Speaker 2: has turned things around that people don't even realize how
Speaker 2: good Chucky is.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So again, it's nobody's fault. Yeah, but it's it's I mean,
Speaker 2: it's it's nobody's fault. I'm I'm just stating that that
Speaker 2: has to be the only explanation is that they're just
Speaker 2: assuming that that Pat Kelsey is and look, Pat Kelsey
Speaker 2: is the is the reason is the difference in Louisville previously,
Speaker 2: in the last few years and now. But maybe they're
Speaker 2: just so much focused on that that they don't really
Speaker 2: consider to look at Chucky Hepburn and what he's doing statistically,
Speaker 2: because for him to not be one of the finalists
Speaker 2: on the Wooden Award or not the Wooden Ward, I'm
Speaker 2: sorry the Bob Cuzy Award, which goes to the ten
Speaker 2: to the ten best point guards in the country, meaning
Speaker 2: the final ten. Obviously the oward goes to the winner.
Speaker 2: But you've got Mark Sears at Alabama, Walter Clayton junior
Speaker 2: at Florida, Ryan Nemhart at Gonzaga, Keshawn Gilbert Iowa State,
Speaker 2: Cam Jones at Marquette, As Baldwin junior at Penn State,
Speaker 2: Braden Smith that Purdue, Dylan Harper at Rutgers, Zakai Ziggler
Speaker 2: at Tennessee, and then Javon Small from West Virginia. So
Speaker 2: I mean, I can't sit here and tell you that
Speaker 2: Chucky's numbers are substantially better than a handful of these guys,
Speaker 2: but they are better to some extent. I mean, Chucky's
Speaker 2: averaging fifteen points, six point four assists and three point
Speaker 2: five rebounds, and his steals. I mean, I'm gonna have
Speaker 2: to look it up now, because I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I kind of feel like the last time I looked
Speaker 2: up Chucky, the last time I looked up chucky Steel stats,
Speaker 2: it actually wasn't as impressive as I thought, because clearly
Speaker 2: you can tell his impact defensively when he's just a
Speaker 2: past out there necessarily have to collect a steal for
Speaker 2: you to realize this guy's a real problem for opposing
Speaker 2: teams when it comes to his ability to defend you.
Speaker 3: But sure enough, he.
Speaker 2: Actually leads the ACC and steals by more than a steal.
Speaker 2: He's averaging. Okay, let me yeah, no, I'm sorry, never
Speaker 2: let me back ups. He's he is leading. I was
Speaker 2: looking at the wrong side of it, but he is
Speaker 2: leading the ACC in steals total and in steals per
Speaker 2: game at two point four. So again, like, I can't
Speaker 2: sit here and say that all these guys are a lowsy,
Speaker 2: but I think what's happened is that again there's just
Speaker 2: not as much attention on Louisville for any specific player
Speaker 2: and everybody else other than I guess, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, West Virginia is having a West Virginia lost
Speaker 2: to Louisville. Chucky got the best of Javon Small in
Speaker 2: that game. And I know that's not how this works
Speaker 2: as far as you know the the Bob Coosey Award,
Speaker 2: But you know, it's nice to be sensitive for a
Speaker 2: basketball player for you feeling, and really, I mean, I
Speaker 2: think it's not to say that that many of these
Speaker 2: guys are not deserving, but like, how's he not deserved?
Speaker 3: Again?
Speaker 2: You can only put ten but I think you know
Speaker 2: when you look at Keishawn Gilbert, I mean, his numbers
Speaker 2: not as good as Chucky's, but you know what he
Speaker 2: happens to play for Iowa State, who's the top ten team.
Speaker 2: Ace Baldwin. He's got good numbers, fourteen point seven point
Speaker 2: eight assists, but like his team's lousy. They're not even
Speaker 2: gonna sniff the tournament in the Big ten. I mean
Speaker 2: Dylan Harper, I know he's a really good freshman, but
Speaker 2: like Rutger sucks, Rutgers is going to be a really
Speaker 2: good case study as far as you know. You can
Speaker 2: have the two best players in the country outside of
Speaker 2: Cooper Flag, but that doesn't guarantee you anything because yeah,
Speaker 2: they're talented, Yeah they're going to be taken early in
Speaker 2: the draft, but like you didn't win with them, and
Speaker 2: you only are going to have them one year. Braden Smith,
Speaker 2: they got no issues with him there as a kay Ziggler,
Speaker 2: I've got no issues there, no issue with Cam Jones.
Speaker 3: But Ryan Nemhard, I mean, good player.
Speaker 2: But like it's wild to think about this but he's
Speaker 2: getting the Gonzaga bump, which is crazy that Gonzaga is
Speaker 2: getting a brand bump over Louisville in the grand scheme
Speaker 2: of things. But clearly Gonzaga has been a good program
Speaker 2: for a while now, but even they're taking a step back.
Speaker 2: Like Ryan Emhard right now, he's averaging eleven points in
Speaker 2: tennis is now tennis is per game. Hard to imagine
Speaker 2: somebody averaging tennisis per game would not be on this list.
Speaker 2: So again it's not like I can just tear all
Speaker 2: of them down, but when the stats are close, I
Speaker 2: feel like Chucky would have got the edge over some
Speaker 2: of these guys because again, some of their teams aren't
Speaker 2: very good. But you know, it is nice though that
Speaker 2: it doesn't seem to just be Louisville fans all over this,
Speaker 2: you know, kind of acknowledging that there's clearly somebody that
Speaker 2: is missing, because others that cover the sport are you know,
Speaker 2: noticing it as well. But again, it's only a couple
Speaker 2: that I would say I have an issue with them
Speaker 2: being on there. I mean, Mark Sears, I could be
Speaker 2: totally wrong here, but like I think, until just recently
Speaker 2: he was in the headline not headlines, but I mean
Speaker 2: he was he was kind of regressing, But yeah, I
Speaker 2: am wrong. He's actually he's still having a good season.
Speaker 2: Alabama's really good. So here I'm just trying to tear
Speaker 2: down good players because I'm bothered that Chucky's not getting
Speaker 2: the respect that he deserves. But what are you gonna do?
Speaker 2: All Right, the everything that came with Saturday, as far
Speaker 2: as the lead up to Cali Perry returning to Lexington
Speaker 2: and all that, and we'll dive back in the five
Speaker 2: o'clock hour as far as just kind of what that was.
Speaker 2: But I really never once gave you. I'm not a
Speaker 2: Kentucky fan, so it's not something I would ever think about.
Speaker 2: But I don't remember I don't remember Kentucky fans as
Speaker 2: they got set for the game, at least, you know,
Speaker 2: the friend the ones that I'm friends with, the ones
Speaker 2: that you know, I know, I don't think they really
Speaker 2: were thinking about.
Speaker 3: Hmm.
Speaker 2: I wonder who our former players are going to cheer
Speaker 2: for or man, I wonder how our former players feel
Speaker 2: watching their coach go up against you know, big Blue
Speaker 2: Nation where they played. And I think for the most part,
Speaker 2: it is understandable for players to still love Cal. I
Speaker 2: mean he changed their lives. Not to say, you know, they
Speaker 2: wouldn't have been in the NBA or something without him,
Speaker 2: but I mean he was around him. And look, maybe
Speaker 2: you don't want to give him credit for them being
Speaker 2: NBA players, and if so, that's fine. There's plenty of
Speaker 2: guys that would have been in the NBIA regardless, but
Speaker 2: they still have a strong relationship with him, and and
Speaker 2: that's been evident really from day one, since he got
Speaker 2: to Lexington. These guys aren't just elite players that are
Speaker 2: committing to come to Kentucky. They are very I mean,
Speaker 2: they're coming there for him. And you don't really think
Speaker 2: about that a whole lot when things are going great
Speaker 2: because it doesn't matter. But I guess more than anything,
Speaker 2: for Kentucky fans on Saturday, it was a reminder that
Speaker 2: it was really transactional. Like if Cali Perry wasn't the coach,
Speaker 2: you may these guys may have never considered Kentucky. And
Speaker 2: that's okay, That's really how it is everywhere. I mean,
Speaker 2: are we gonna act like players who pick where they
Speaker 2: go to school, especially now in this new world, like
Speaker 2: it's not based off of a transaction it's money, and
Speaker 2: it's you know, the coach matters too, like they're gonna
Speaker 2: clearly know which programs have had success, which ones are
Speaker 2: considered blue bloods. But I think Kentucky, with you know,
Speaker 2: it being such a special place, clearly they've got one
Speaker 2: the biggest s fan bases on the planet and that
Speaker 2: is a selling point, so it matters. But again, Cal
Speaker 2: being there was a big reason why they came. Not
Speaker 2: to say that if somebody else instead of Cal was coaching,
Speaker 2: like for example, Mark Pope's already got some big time
Speaker 2: recruits coming his way that you know are there and
Speaker 2: Cal Perry's not, so it could still happen. But it
Speaker 2: was I guess, kind of a reminder that maybe you
Speaker 2: didn't want to see, given the day where Cal comes
Speaker 2: back and beat you, and you've got former players that
Speaker 2: were supporting him, not necessarily not supporting you, but some
Speaker 2: you know, the Ashton Hagens and the who else was it?
Speaker 2: They beyond Men's I believe was one of them.
Speaker 3: Hi, yeah, Tyti Washington.
Speaker 2: I mean those guys, I mean, they might have been
Speaker 2: a little their comments might have made it seem like
Speaker 2: they were kind of, you know, clearly wanting Kyle to
Speaker 2: win and.
Speaker 3: Didn't care about Kentucky.
Speaker 2: But either way, like even if like Greed Shepherd wearing
Speaker 2: the Arkansas shirt in the Kentucky shorts is something I
Speaker 2: still can't believe happened, and I don't I'm not saying
Speaker 2: he did something like wrong because again, he committed to
Speaker 2: play for Kentucky at cal and yeah, he's from Kentucky.
Speaker 2: His dad won a championship at Kentucky. His dad is close,
Speaker 2: was really close with Mark Pope, who's the coach. Now
Speaker 2: he's a Kentucky boy. Like all those things are true,
Speaker 2: But in his last I don't know, five years of
Speaker 2: his life, he's not really been a fan of anybody.
Speaker 2: He's been you know, clearly his rooting interests and his
Speaker 2: roots are Kentucky. But he's not in the mindset of
Speaker 2: like fan because to meet him, it's it's like it's
Speaker 2: it's just different any college player, Like, yeah, you may
Speaker 2: grow up rooting on a certain team, but that changes.
Speaker 2: Like if Reed Sheppard only thought about who he was
Speaker 2: a fan of, like then he would have never considered
Speaker 2: any other school. And look, he might not have, but
Speaker 2: I just think he I don't know, I'm trying I'm
Speaker 2: trying to not make it sound as if like I
Speaker 2: think what he did was, you know, the worst thing ever.
Speaker 2: But I just don't think he sees the Kentucky fan
Speaker 2: base like the Kentucky fan base thinks he does. And
Speaker 2: it's not because he doesn't appreciate it and he doesn't
Speaker 2: understand it. To anybody would understand it would be him.
Speaker 2: But he also chose to play for Caliparia Kentucky, and
Speaker 2: to be honest, Reid was kind of the guy that
Speaker 2: Cal has had many years, meaning like the dog, the
Speaker 2: guy who just kind of became the man for that team.
Speaker 2: And I think Reid benefited playing from Cal not because
Speaker 2: of like development as far as what he could do
Speaker 2: on the court, but I kind of think Reid, you know,
Speaker 2: he was an alpha out there at times. I mean,
Speaker 2: he didn't do it against Oakland and people were reminding
Speaker 2: him of that on Saturday night, But I mean like
Speaker 2: he had a special connection to Cal and that alone
Speaker 2: makes it to where it would make sense that he
Speaker 2: would not be going into that game thinking, you know,
Speaker 2: the hell with Arkansas, go big Blue, but to wear
Speaker 2: the Arkansas shirt. Like the biggest surprise for me is
Speaker 2: that he didn't have the ability to read the room,
Speaker 2: or that he didn't care because he's a smart guy
Speaker 2: for him to not I think he later came out
Speaker 2: and said he thought it would be funny, like it
Speaker 2: was a joke. I mean, I don't know anybody on
Speaker 2: any side of the rivalry, or really anybody that knows
Speaker 2: this stuff and is into it like we are. I
Speaker 2: don't know of anybody that would have said, hey, reed,
Speaker 2: that would be a good idea, you should do it.
Speaker 2: People will get a kick out of it, like and
Speaker 2: it'll blow over. Trust me, it'll be fine. I don't
Speaker 2: think it's something they'll forgive him. They've probably already have
Speaker 2: forgiven him, And I don't think he like betrayed them
Speaker 2: by the way, like at the end of the day,
Speaker 2: he could know that it makes you feel that way,
Speaker 2: but also as a grown man go to bed at
Speaker 2: night knowing that he did nothing wrong. He's supporting both
Speaker 2: because he's a Kentucky guy played there, but also he
Speaker 2: loves cal Perry and you know that's not a crazy
Speaker 2: thing to wrap your head around. But you know what,
Speaker 2: this stuff makes us crazy and people lose sight of
Speaker 2: you know, what's reality and what's not. All right, we
Speaker 2: got another hour left, so stick around right here on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety