Speaker 1: All right, let's get it. Drivetime Thursday afternoon, ten minutes
Speaker 1: past the hour of two o'clock. How do you like?
Speaker 1: Eighty degrees and more or less sunny? Here in downtown
Speaker 1: Salt Lake City, Utah. It feels downright late spring, early summerish, beautiful,
Speaker 1: beautiful day outside, and as it is every single day,
Speaker 1: it's going to have you along for the ride. Spence check,
Speaker 1: it's behind the mic. That's Porter Larson behind the glass.
Speaker 1: Today we've got a jam pack show with a lot
Speaker 1: to get to on the program. I will admit I
Speaker 1: had no faith in my New York Knicks going up
Speaker 1: to Boston and grabbing Game two at TD Garden after
Speaker 1: stunning the Celtics in Game one, but that is exactly
Speaker 1: what happened. We'll do some NBA playoff basketball on the
Speaker 1: show today. The Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely pantsed the Nuggets
Speaker 1: on national television after Denver was able to grab Game one.
Speaker 1: That's what OKAC looks like when OKC is doing OKC things.
Speaker 1: So a couple of takeaways from the games last night,
Speaker 1: and we've got one game tonight, only one game this evening.
Speaker 1: It's at six thirty Mountain time on Turner Sports on
Speaker 1: TNT where the Warriors we'll try to take a two
Speaker 1: to zero lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves. We're only a
Speaker 1: few days away now from the NBA Draft Lottery. You
Speaker 1: don't forget coming up on Monday here on the radio station.
Speaker 1: We will say goodnight just a little bit early on
Speaker 1: the program and then bring you the NBA Draft Lottery
Speaker 1: live during the five o'clock hour, when we will find
Speaker 1: out the fates of the Utah Jazz and where they
Speaker 1: will draft, and what that means for the offseason plans
Speaker 1: and what it means for the future of this franchise.
Speaker 1: I think I probably say this every single day, but
Speaker 1: I just cannot help but think about what a bummer
Speaker 1: it is that we have not had spring basketball here
Speaker 1: for three years, and we probably won't have spring basketball
Speaker 1: here for quite some time. Because if you're watching the
Speaker 1: NBA playoffs, you understand that this tournament comes springtime, and
Speaker 1: pro basketball is really the payoff for the regular season,
Speaker 1: which at times feels like a grind. And I can
Speaker 1: promise you and being on both sides of this stuff,
Speaker 1: it's a grind for players and coaches and front office people.
Speaker 1: It's a grind for anybody involved in the NBA, and
Speaker 1: it's a grind for fans in a way that it
Speaker 1: didn't used to be because the regular season just does
Speaker 1: not feel like I used to. It just doesn't. And
Speaker 1: I know I sound like the old dude every time
Speaker 1: I talk about that, But there was a time where
Speaker 1: the intensity that we see in the playoffs did permeate
Speaker 1: for the most part throughout the regular season. But it
Speaker 1: just doesn't anymore. And so this is if you're a
Speaker 1: basketball fan, this is the payoff, and if your team
Speaker 1: is not involved, it makes you realize how much you
Speaker 1: miss it. And it has been way too long and
Speaker 1: will be probably another few years before spring basketball is
Speaker 1: here in Salt Lake. But we will do some NBA
Speaker 1: draft lottery today on the program. University of Utah football
Speaker 1: program locked in a transfer that will tell you about
Speaker 1: and we're gonna do some Utah basketball on the program today.
Speaker 1: Top Basketball continues to kind of fill out their roster.
Speaker 1: It is taking shape. Alex Jensen's staff is taking shape,
Speaker 1: of course, Mark not Mark Pope. Mark Pope is in
Speaker 1: Kentucky doing a great job. Kevin Young is the coach
Speaker 1: of BYU. Mark Pope grabbed another recruit by the way,
Speaker 1: that's why he's top of mind. He's doing a good
Speaker 1: job in Kentucky. But of course, what Kevin Young has
Speaker 1: done I'd bring him Young in one short year has
Speaker 1: been nothing short of very impressive. And now it's kind
Speaker 1: of up to Alex and his staff to answer the belt.
Speaker 1: So we'll get to some of that stuff on the
Speaker 1: program today. We are one day closer to match day
Speaker 1: for Reale Salt Lake RSL is going to be on
Speaker 1: the road again, this time in Dallas six thirty Mountain
Speaker 1: Time on MLS Season Pass on Apple Television. Do a
Speaker 1: little soccer on the program. Off season NFL stuff kind
Speaker 1: of quieted down, of course, rookie rookie camp's going on
Speaker 1: after the draft, and now we'll see kind of what
Speaker 1: sort of hand we've been dealt with some of these
Speaker 1: rosters as we kind of inch closer and closer to
Speaker 1: the fall. So busy show today on the program. Great
Speaker 1: to have you with us. We will start things out
Speaker 1: today with none other than the seventeenth head coach in
Speaker 1: Utah men's basketball history. We've been efforting Alex Jensen for
Speaker 1: quite some time. We run into a complication on afternoon
Speaker 1: Drive that some of the other shows just don't. Most
Speaker 1: of the time, the football team is practicing during the fall,
Speaker 1: basketball team has stuff going on. So we've been trying
Speaker 1: to get Alex on the program ever since the announcement
Speaker 1: was made. I've known Al for a long long time,
Speaker 1: his wife Natalie, and we made that happen today. So
Speaker 1: our first guest will be Alex. Alex Jensen right out
Speaker 1: of the gates. We're gonna do some hockey today with
Speaker 1: Belle Frasier, our friend from the Salt Lake Tribune. It
Speaker 1: is good vibes all around these days. Hashtag tusks up
Speaker 1: as the Utah Mammoth. It's going to take a minute.
Speaker 1: I might just call him the Hockey Club forever, just
Speaker 1: so you know. But we have a new name. It
Speaker 1: is the Utah Mammoth. They had some lottery luck last
Speaker 1: week where they will draft number four, moving up ten spots.
Speaker 1: Bell wrote a really good outlining some of the prospects
Speaker 1: that could be available at four. Or does Bill Armstrong
Speaker 1: elect to utilize that as a chip, a trade piece
Speaker 1: to bring in a veteran presence to expedite the growth
Speaker 1: of the third youngest roster in the NHL. So we'll
Speaker 1: bring in Bell today. The Stanley Cup playoffs have been
Speaker 1: incredible because they are every single year, and I do
Speaker 1: think we're going to see Stanley Cup playoffs here in
Speaker 1: our market next year. Okay, So while we'll all miss
Speaker 1: the NBA for quite some time unless something miraculous happens,
Speaker 1: if you're watching this tournament in pro hockey, you realize
Speaker 1: just how special it is. The Hurricanes and the Capitals
Speaker 1: will start at five o'clock in Washington, d c Caps
Speaker 1: trying to even that series up, and then in Vegas
Speaker 1: the Oilers will try to take a two zero lead
Speaker 1: on the Golden Knight. So that's your hockey action coming
Speaker 1: up tonight. After Bell stops by, we'll bring in Dave mcminnimon,
Speaker 1: who covers the NBA for ESPN. We'll do some NBA
Speaker 1: with Dave on the program today. We're gonna bring in
Speaker 1: none other. Then we can add something to this list.
Speaker 1: The greatest keeper in MLS history, one of the lynchpins
Speaker 1: that allowed RSL to win a cup back in the day,
Speaker 1: the Wall of the Wassatch and now we know him,
Speaker 1: know him as Hall of Famer Nick Romondo on the
Speaker 1: program in the four o'clock hour. Then we'll do some
Speaker 1: sports court with our friends from Handy and Handy, launching
Speaker 1: at the five o'clock hour before we say good night
Speaker 1: at six Busy Show with Alex Jensen, with Belle Frasier,
Speaker 1: with Dave McManaman, with Nick Romondo, with Me Spence Check.
Speaker 1: Its all of you, the great listeners, and that guy
Speaker 1: Porter Larson. I think you believed a little bit more
Speaker 1: than I did. I'm watching that twenty point comeback for
Speaker 1: the second straight game. You're shaking my head, dude. No
Speaker 1: part of me thought the Knicks were gonna win last night.
Speaker 2: I mean, the only reason I had some sort of
Speaker 2: belief watching it live was because I saw it two
Speaker 2: nights ago.
Speaker 3: Like that.
Speaker 2: There is quite literally, I believe no team that's ever
Speaker 2: come back from twenty straight or from twenty down in
Speaker 2: back to back playoff games. So to watch it New
Speaker 2: York Knicks against the Boston Celtics, who just want an
Speaker 2: NBA championship, it seems a little bit unbelievable. As a
Speaker 2: Knicks fan, I was like last night, as you can
Speaker 2: tell by my text messages, I was pinching myself a
Speaker 2: little bit, like what am I watching Jalen Brunson clutch
Speaker 2: it's it's something a little unfamiliar if you're a Knicks
Speaker 2: fan who wasn't alive in the you know, seventies when
Speaker 2: Walt Fraser was playing, So you know it was fun.
Speaker 2: I'm enjoying it a lot. I don't want to. I
Speaker 2: don't want to jinx it. I don't want to. I'm
Speaker 2: not that superstitious, but with the Knicks, I'm a little superstitious.
Speaker 1: A little stitious. Little shout out Michael Scott on a
Speaker 1: Thursday afternoon to tadhes I will I will completely admit
Speaker 1: that this has been fun. And when you get into
Speaker 1: this business, you just kind of you have to lose
Speaker 1: the fandom a little bit, at least I think you do.
Speaker 1: I cannot stand uh broadcasters, radio hosts, play by play
Speaker 1: voice they refer to the team, we and us and
Speaker 1: Homer's drive me nuts, and I don't like to do
Speaker 1: the show that way. I try to approach a little
Speaker 1: bit more authentically because I don't have any respect for
Speaker 1: broadcasters that think they're playing for the team and talk
Speaker 1: like that. So, yeah, you let the fan die in
Speaker 1: you a little bit. But this has been man, it's
Speaker 1: just been fun, and it's so much sweeter that it's
Speaker 1: against the Celtics. All right, we will bring in Alex Jensen.
Speaker 1: We'll learn a little bit about this roster. We'll talk
Speaker 1: about his staff, we'll talk about the process that led
Speaker 1: him to make his decision to land back here in
Speaker 1: his home market to coach his alma made, the University
Speaker 1: of Utah. But before we get to aj on a
Speaker 1: Thursday afternoon, courtesy of our good friends, and you're good
Speaker 1: friends too at Prize Picks, it is time now for
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Speaker 4: Welcome to the Drive with Spence check its on Utah's
Speaker 4: number one sports talk Now into the studios of ESPN
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Speaker 1: and hopefully make a little chatter. All right, real quick,
Speaker 1: a couple of thoughts on what we saw last night.
Speaker 1: We'll start with because it wasn't interesting at all what
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City did to the Denver Nuggets. They hung eighty
Speaker 1: seven points in the first half. This game was over
Speaker 1: after the first quarter. Russell Westbrook tried to do the
Speaker 1: hole like, hey, I'm gonna be the hero thing, but
Speaker 1: they were already down thirty by the time that happened,
Speaker 1: completely neutralized. Nicola Jokicic nobody on Denver really showed up.
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray was atrocious, and this looked like a little
Speaker 1: bit of a Okay, we got game one. Let's go
Speaker 1: home with a split from the Denver Nuggets because they
Speaker 1: waved the white flag with about six minutes left in
Speaker 1: the third quarter. They outscored Oklahoma City thirty to twenty
Speaker 1: five in the fourth. But it was bench guys. Really,
Speaker 1: it was like Zeke Naji and Peyton Watson and Hunter Tyson.
Speaker 1: But that is who Oklahoma City is when they just
Speaker 1: simply do what Oklahoma City has done all year long.
Speaker 1: They shot forty five percent from three to fifty seven
Speaker 1: percent from the floor. Most shockingly, and this is who
Speaker 1: they are. They went to the free throw line thirty
Speaker 1: six times and they made thirty three free throws. Are
Speaker 1: you paying attention, Boston Celtics. Yeah, rebounded Denver that. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's no reason to spend a ton of time on it.
Speaker 1: That was just an undressing. They blew the brakes off
Speaker 1: the Nuggets and now they go back to ball Arena
Speaker 1: for Game three. But what we saw up at the
Speaker 1: TD Garden where the New York Knicks just continue to
Speaker 1: show this unexpected mental toughness medal against the defending champs
Speaker 1: Boston Celtics for the second straight game. As porter reference
Speaker 1: during the intro, it has never happened before. The New
Speaker 1: York Knicks came down from twenty points to actually get
Speaker 1: the win. Game one, it was seventy five to fifty
Speaker 1: five with about four minutes left in the third. The
Speaker 1: Knicks closed out on a fifty three to thirty run
Speaker 1: the fourth and in overtime to get that win. Game two,
Speaker 1: it was seventy three to fifty three with three minutes
Speaker 1: left in the third, and just like Game one, I'm
Speaker 1: making a mental note like, Okay, this feels like it's over.
Speaker 1: How can the Knicks get back into it? And look,
Speaker 1: to be very clear, this is just as much about
Speaker 1: the failures of the Boston Celtics and Joe Mizzoula as
Speaker 1: it is about anything the Knicks are doing well now.
Speaker 1: The Knicks deserve a ton of credit. They were a
Speaker 1: seven to one underdog in Vegas to start this series,
Speaker 1: so I'm not taking anything away from New York, but
Speaker 1: I am shocked at the lack of simple adjustments to
Speaker 1: no time and score. When you're up twenty points with
Speaker 1: his twenty points with fourteen to fifteen minutes left in
Speaker 1: the game, and you're at home and you're the defending champ,
Speaker 1: there's no way you should ever even come close to
Speaker 1: losing one, let alone two straight games on your home floor.
Speaker 1: And the criticism about Joe Mizula has always sounded like, Okay,
Speaker 1: he stumbled into this job. It was emy Udoka's team,
Speaker 1: put together initially by Danny Ainge, who of course is
Speaker 1: here helping the Jazz roster construct, and Brad Stevens added
Speaker 1: his flavor to the roster, and then of course the
Speaker 1: Emmy Udoka stuff goes down. He loses a job. That
Speaker 1: job should have gone to Will Hardy, as I've talked
Speaker 1: about Will Hardy. If Will Hardy would have waited two
Speaker 1: more weeks, he would be the head coach of the
Speaker 1: Boston Celtics right now. And who knows who would be
Speaker 1: coaching the Jazz maybe Kevin Young, who knows, but Will
Speaker 1: Hardy was Emi Udoka's first assistant. Emi gets fired as
Speaker 1: a result of some improper behavior off the floor. Will
Speaker 1: Hardy takes the Jazz job, and Joe Missoula, a lot
Speaker 1: of people believe, just fell into it, fell into it
Speaker 1: with a roster that was top shelf. I still believe
Speaker 1: on paper, the Boston Celtics have the best roster in basketball,
Speaker 1: including Oklahoma City, including the Lakers with Luke and Lebron.
Speaker 1: The best roster on paper in the NBA belongs to
Speaker 1: the Boston Celtics, and that's credit Danny Ainge and its
Speaker 1: credit to Brad Stevens.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 1: The criticism has always been, well, Okay, Misoula just fell
Speaker 1: into this as a first time head coach, and all
Speaker 1: he has to do is not screw it up. Now. Look,
Speaker 1: they won the championship last year, but if you remember,
Speaker 1: Boston ran into a grip of teams. They ran into
Speaker 1: Cleveland without Donovan, they ran into Indiana without without Halliburton.
Speaker 1: So a lot of people believe Boston Celtics. The Boston
Speaker 1: Celtics run to the championship last year was a little
Speaker 1: bit fool's gold, and a lot of people were kind
Speaker 1: of sitting back and waiting to see what Boston did
Speaker 1: this season, because when you repeat, nobody can say a thing.
Speaker 1: When you go back to the finals and win it
Speaker 1: for the second straight time, that alleviates every single portion
Speaker 1: of criticism that could come your way. The other thing
Speaker 1: about the Boston Celtics, and in a way, this is
Speaker 1: applicable to Oklahoma City. Both Boston and OKC at times
Speaker 1: were so good this year that they blew teams out,
Speaker 1: and when it came down to close games, both those teams,
Speaker 1: when you look at the metrics, aren't as dominant as
Speaker 1: you would expect based on their regular season record when
Speaker 1: they both just had insanely good regular seasons. So the
Speaker 1: criticism about Joe Mizula is okay. This offensive system that
Speaker 1: was implemented when Emy Yudoka was the head coach. You
Speaker 1: simply inherited the roster and you have so many good
Speaker 1: players that you just don't screw it up. That's your
Speaker 1: job as the coach. Don't screw it up. Right. It's
Speaker 1: like when Steve Kerr took that leave of absence from
Speaker 1: the Warriors and Luke Walton took over as head coach,
Speaker 1: and I think he was like thirty five and two.
Speaker 1: Nobody thought like, hey, Luke Walton is really good at this.
Speaker 1: It's like, No, Luke Walton just simply got out of
Speaker 1: the way. Because Luke Walton's had a couple of other
Speaker 1: stops as a head coach and it hasn't worked. Okay.
Speaker 1: So that's always been the criticism with Missoula. And you
Speaker 1: do have to give Tom Thibodeau a lot of credit
Speaker 1: because the Knicks have changed their defensive approach a little bit,
Speaker 1: and the defensive approach that they've changed has allowed them
Speaker 1: to stay home on shooters in a little bit of
Speaker 1: a different way. They're not switching everything, and mostly that's
Speaker 1: because Ogannanobe has been insanely effective as an individual defender
Speaker 1: on both Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown. Now, Boston has
Speaker 1: been successful at times and getting the switches they want,
Speaker 1: but there have been so many possessions where Og has
Speaker 1: had to run through three or four different screens to
Speaker 1: fight through action to be the primary defender on Tatum
Speaker 1: or Brown. And that's what you want because mckel bridges
Speaker 1: is a solid perimeter defender. Josh Hart isn't necessarily bad himself,
Speaker 1: but Og is the elite perimeter defender on this team
Speaker 1: and one of the elite perimeter defenders in all of
Speaker 1: pro basketball. And he is driving Jason Tatum nuts and
Speaker 1: at times he's getting into Jalen Brown as well. But again,
Speaker 1: as far as what really and I do want to
Speaker 1: say this, I have never been a big Cat guy.
Speaker 1: I've never been a Karl Anthony Towns guy. There's a
Speaker 1: little bit of a Donovan Mitchell Field the Cat, which
Speaker 1: is tremendously skilled, really good when the playoffs roll around
Speaker 1: and the physicality is up to who are you exactly?
Speaker 1: And Donovan's had plenty of great playoff games, but Donovan's
Speaker 1: never been out of the second round either. His Cat
Speaker 1: that was the best Karl Anthony Town game I've seen
Speaker 1: him play. Maybe in his career considering what was at stake.
Speaker 1: What I love is he only took one three and
Speaker 1: that was say, seventy foot heave at the end of
Speaker 1: the quarter wasn't even a real three. He actually played
Speaker 1: like a big He had seventeen boards, he had twenty
Speaker 1: one points. The Knicks are getting insane production from Mitchell Robinson,
Speaker 1: who allows some rimtion protection in a way the Catches doesn't,
Speaker 1: and essentially they are calling Boston's bluff to say, look, okay,
Speaker 1: we understand your five out system with spacing, and you
Speaker 1: want to take as many threes as possible. That's fine.
Speaker 1: We're going to stay home on shooters. We're going to
Speaker 1: make you take contested threes, and when you go to
Speaker 1: the rim, we're going to make you feel our presence.
Speaker 1: So you're taking contested floaters, dunks, layups at the rim
Speaker 1: that are contested by Mitchell Robinson or some of the
Speaker 1: other players with length on the perimeter like a Josh
Speaker 1: Shart or an og Annobi or Michel Bridges. Now, last night,
Speaker 1: without what mckel Bridges did in the fourth quarter to
Speaker 1: start things off, the Knicks are not winning that game.
Speaker 1: So Tom Thibodeau elects to sit Jalen Brunson and Karl
Speaker 1: Anthony Town to the start of the fourth which is
Speaker 1: what Tom does. He staggers the minutes to make sure
Speaker 1: that Jalen is arrested for crunch time, because that's where
Speaker 1: Jalen shines, and playing Mitchell Robinson and Duce McBride a
Speaker 1: little bit of campaign. At the start of the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: the Knicks are down twelve, fourteen points, and mikel Bridges
Speaker 1: shows everybody why the New York Knicks traded five first
Speaker 1: round picks for him. He scores individually fourteen points in
Speaker 1: six minutes of action in the fourth and that allowed
Speaker 1: the Knicks to stay with it. But again, and we'll
Speaker 1: finish here, this is as much about the failures of
Speaker 1: Joe Miszula and the Boston Celtics as it is about
Speaker 1: anything the Knicks have done. When you are up twenty
Speaker 1: points no time and score no situation, stop foceing threes
Speaker 1: every possession. And yes, I know that's your system, and
Speaker 1: you want a championship a year ago, and you're the
Speaker 1: favorite to win the East this year. And I will
Speaker 1: say there is a big part of me that's still
Speaker 1: very skeptical about the Knicks chances to win this series.
Speaker 1: The Boston Celtics will have a game and it could
Speaker 1: be coming up at MSG for Game three where they
Speaker 1: go like twenty two of forty three from three and
Speaker 1: they beat the Knicks. I like thirty points. That is
Speaker 1: going to happen. And here's the thing. The Boston Celtics
Speaker 1: at home this year were twenty eight and thirteen. On
Speaker 1: the road they were thirty three and eight. This is
Speaker 1: a team that has a championship belt. They're the defending champs.
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum have been the five Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference Finals, two NBA Finals. The garden will be absolutely insane.
Speaker 1: I was actually kicking the tires to maybe see if
Speaker 1: I can make it back there because I just cannot
Speaker 1: wait to see what that atmosphere is going to be like.
Speaker 1: And the NBA has done a smart thing. They put
Speaker 1: it on Saturday afternoon at one thirty Mountain time on ABC.
Speaker 1: That is going to be off the hook, but it
Speaker 1: will not affect this Boston Celtic team. And when you
Speaker 1: look at the second spectrum data, expected fueld goal percentage
Speaker 1: based off of the quality of shots you're looking at,
Speaker 1: and I don't love that metric. It's one of the
Speaker 1: metrics all the Jazz Homer broadcasters used to use about. Hey,
Speaker 1: the Jazz expected fuel goal percentage under Quinn is this Okay,
Speaker 1: good thing we have a scoreboard, and good thing we
Speaker 1: can actually tell how many shots you're making. But when
Speaker 1: you look at what Boston is expected to be shooting
Speaker 1: based off these quality of shots that they're getting, the
Speaker 1: storm is coming for New York. It is, and it
Speaker 1: might be Game three, and it could be Game three
Speaker 1: in Game four, Like, no part of me believes the
Speaker 1: series is over at all now. NBA history tells us
Speaker 1: the teams go on the road to win the first
Speaker 1: two road games win the series eighty six percent of
Speaker 1: the time. But don't forget the Knicks were a seven
Speaker 1: to one underdog to to essentially lose Round one, and
Speaker 1: they lost all four games to the Celtics in the
Speaker 1: regular season. And the Knicks were solid at home this
Speaker 1: year twenty seven and fourteen, but not great, And thirty
Speaker 1: three and eight on the road is like historic Boston
Speaker 1: is a historically good road basketball team. So I will
Speaker 1: admit that as a member of the media and somebody
Speaker 1: who tries to do this job authentically and not with
Speaker 1: a homer take calling a team WE or US. When
Speaker 1: I'm doing a broadcast, I do try to put my
Speaker 1: fandom aside, but I don't run from the fact that
Speaker 1: there are two NBA teams that I have always cheered
Speaker 1: for and will always cheer for, and one is our
Speaker 1: local team, the Utah Jazz, and the others the New
Speaker 1: York Knicks. And this has been fun. If we are honest,
Speaker 1: the Necks have not been this relevant in twenty five years.
Speaker 1: There was a three or four year stretch where Mellow
Speaker 1: was their main guy, where they were a playoff team
Speaker 1: and won a couple of series, but they were never serious.
Speaker 1: Do I believe they're a championship contender? I cannot say
Speaker 1: that with any authenticity or honesty on the program, but
Speaker 1: as this has been fun so far, it has and
Speaker 1: to wrap it up, I just every time I'm watching
Speaker 1: playoff basketball, I just miss how fun it is here
Speaker 1: in saw Lake when the Jazz are in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Hopefully they can make that happen at some point soon
Speaker 1: we'll have to see. Welcome back to the Drive with
Speaker 1: Spence Checkets.
Speaker 6: The conversation continues now on Utah's number one Sports Talk
Speaker 6: ESPN seven hundred.
Speaker 1: All Right Drive with Spance Jackets continues on this beautiful
Speaker 1: Thursday afternoon across the landscape from Salt Lake City and
Speaker 1: please to welcome in the seventeenth head coach in his story
Speaker 1: of the Utah men's basketball program. Known him a long time,
Speaker 1: thrilled for him, thrilled for his wife and the kids.
Speaker 1: Alex Jensen is our guest on this Thursday afternoon. Al
Speaker 1: Happy Thursday, man. How you doing.
Speaker 7: I'm doing good. How you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm well, I'm well. I was teasing the off air
Speaker 1: that I thought you were contractually obligated to do your
Speaker 1: first interview with me since you landed in the market,
Speaker 1: But I'm going to put that aside because I'm a
Speaker 1: professional howl. We're going to focus on the moment. I'm
Speaker 1: beyond thrilled that this was the decision from the administration
Speaker 1: and that you that you said yes. So congrats because
Speaker 1: I haven't had a chance to catch up with you.
Speaker 1: Just big picture, what the last few weeks been like
Speaker 1: since the season ended in Dallas. We all know that
Speaker 1: you were doing a lot of work even when you
Speaker 1: were coaching with the MAVs, but since the season ended
Speaker 1: with Dallas. What have the past few weeks been like?
Speaker 5: Al No, well they've actually the last few weeks were
Speaker 5: actually been a little bit better than the previous the
Speaker 5: previous two weeks before that. But it's been it's been good.
Speaker 5: Like you know, I told you off air as well,
Speaker 5: I'm trying to be Gill. And the advice I've had
Speaker 5: from other college guys and NBA guys that I've talked
Speaker 5: to was, you know, like like take your time, don't
Speaker 5: be rushed with everything, which I've tried to do, which
Speaker 5: hasn't you know, always been easy or you know, easy
Speaker 5: for those that are associated with the program. But no,
Speaker 5: I'm getting I'm optimistic.
Speaker 7: And I'm excited.
Speaker 5: I'm excited to build it and you know, do what
Speaker 5: I the way I feel.
Speaker 1: It the right way for sure. I wonder how you
Speaker 1: know a lot of reports and I've talked to people
Speaker 1: about this as well. You know last time around when
Speaker 1: there was an opening up here. I know that you
Speaker 1: spoke with Mark Harlan. I know there were conversations last
Speaker 1: time around. What was the difference this time around after
Speaker 1: the decision was made to move on from Craig Smith,
Speaker 1: who is a great man, and I think he is
Speaker 1: a really good coach and has a lot of coaching
Speaker 1: left in his future. But the difference this time around
Speaker 1: that led you to taking the job was what out.
Speaker 5: It's a great question. I don't know if I could
Speaker 5: put my finger on one thing. I think the you know,
Speaker 5: I think the timing was a lot different, and I
Speaker 5: think you know, in college basketball changed in that time
Speaker 5: as well, And you know, I just think it was
Speaker 5: probably I would put it on, you know, kind of
Speaker 5: a place where me and my family, you know, I
Speaker 5: got three girls and they're getting older, and you know,
Speaker 5: there's something to be said for the stability of it,
Speaker 5: and uh, you know, I just think it was, you know,
Speaker 5: kind of the timing of everything that it worked out well.
Speaker 5: But again, I think I think personally, like in my
Speaker 5: in my life that you know, I was more of
Speaker 5: a place for if that makes any sense, me and
Speaker 5: my family, it makes.
Speaker 1: A lot of sense. And I'll follow up with this.
Speaker 1: I always believed, and part of me still does, that
Speaker 1: you were going to or eventually could be the head
Speaker 1: coach of an NBA basketball team. I mean that may
Speaker 1: mean that's that's me a right and all of the
Speaker 1: work you did here with Quinn all of the work
Speaker 1: you've done throughout the course of your life as a
Speaker 1: coach in uh In in college for a minute with Rick,
Speaker 1: and I do want to talk about that in the moment,
Speaker 1: I just I felt like you were going to end
Speaker 1: up being a head coach. Did just out of curiosity,
Speaker 1: did you do some calculations to maybe believe that that
Speaker 1: was not part of your future and this was your
Speaker 1: best chance to have your own team?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 5: You know what, Spence, There's a common line in the
Speaker 5: NBA they talked about like it's one of thirty, right,
Speaker 5: like a GM job or a coaching job. And I
Speaker 5: and I've always said this, and I still believe it
Speaker 5: to my core, Like I've never I've never approached it
Speaker 5: that way, like like I honestly I you know, because
Speaker 5: you know, just to be a a head coach. I mean,
Speaker 5: there's a lot of a lot of first head coaching
Speaker 5: jobs aren't in a great situation. And and I've always
Speaker 5: said this, I don't care if I'm the head coach
Speaker 5: or I just want to be in a you know,
Speaker 5: a good place surrounded by good people, which I wasn't
Speaker 5: with the Jazz for a long time, and and just
Speaker 5: to be able to do what I you know, have
Speaker 5: a passion for and I love. But like I never,
Speaker 5: I never, never, you know, it was going to take
Speaker 5: a job just because it was a head coaching job,
Speaker 5: if that makes sense, Not that I was, you know,
Speaker 5: had a you know of those opportunities. But yeah, no,
Speaker 5: I think it just like with this job this time around.
Speaker 5: I think it was the timing of everything, and I
Speaker 5: think it a lot of it has to do with
Speaker 5: the people that you're going to be doing it with.
Speaker 1: Certainly, certainly, Yeah, no, you know, no, that no, it
Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense. It makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1: And I was just giving you my personal take that
Speaker 1: I thought that that was going to be an opportunity.
Speaker 1: But to your point, a lot of those guys are
Speaker 1: hired to be fired. And when you see a guy
Speaker 1: like Michael Malone lose a job a couple of years
Speaker 1: after getting a ring, and a guy like Taylor Jenkins
Speaker 1: lose a job after being the most successful coach in
Speaker 1: Memphis Grizzly history, I would imagine that even underscores how
Speaker 1: nice it is for you to have a bit of
Speaker 1: a runway and also security, how where you and Natalie
Speaker 1: have roots, right that had to play into it.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, one hundred percent, you know. And and Taylor.
Speaker 5: I coached with Taylor and the D League. Phenomenal coach,
Speaker 5: Like he'll get another job. You know, he's one of
Speaker 5: the he's really good. It was always a good team.
Speaker 5: Like if you had that scout, it was it fun
Speaker 5: to do because it was you know, you'd love But yeah,
Speaker 5: same thing with with Mike Malone and Denver and you
Speaker 5: know in the NBA is you know, it's a great league,
Speaker 5: and it's uh, it seems like it's more you know,
Speaker 5: unpredictable and yeah, like the stability, and I think, you know,
Speaker 5: it's interesting because I thought I kind of looked at
Speaker 5: you know, college with the nil and everything, and I
Speaker 5: think as time goes on, they'll they'll put more like
Speaker 5: regulations in and I think it could actually kind of
Speaker 5: be a you know, it's a little wild right now,
Speaker 5: but I think it, you know, it could be somewhat
Speaker 5: of a good thing with a.
Speaker 8: Little more structure.
Speaker 1: Well, of course, the name Rick Manjaris will always loom
Speaker 1: large around here. And the first time I interviewed both
Speaker 1: coach Criscoviac and coach Smith, I promised them that I
Speaker 1: would not invoke his name in order to not be
Speaker 1: fair to them, because that is an expectation that is
Speaker 1: hard to live up to. And you know, it's It's
Speaker 1: funny all over the years whenever I've interviewed your former
Speaker 1: teammates or anybody close to the program. Obviously you know,
Speaker 1: Britton Johnson's good friend of mine, and they always tell
Speaker 1: the story that, you know, you were always his favorite
Speaker 1: and you were always the one that he uh, you know, trusted.
Speaker 1: I think trust is the word that I land on
Speaker 1: when it comes to my view of the relationship between
Speaker 1: the two of you. But talk about as a guy
Speaker 1: who played for him and coach next to him, the
Speaker 1: expectation that you think is realistic and the expectation he
Speaker 1: set for you as a player and a coach, and
Speaker 1: whether or not that is something you kind of use
Speaker 1: as a north Star if that makes sense.
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, no, it was that, you know, I've you know,
Speaker 5: I've reflected on my you know, kind of my progression
Speaker 5: as a coach, and I've been really lucky and to
Speaker 5: start with him like that's a great you know, not
Speaker 5: to be critical of a lot of younger coaches. I
Speaker 5: was lucky to have him at the beginning because it's
Speaker 5: a great foundation to, uh, you know, to kind of
Speaker 5: grow and learn from. As opposed, I think the NBA
Speaker 5: is a hard place to to start coaching, to like
Speaker 5: learn the game, if that makes sense. And you look
Speaker 5: at a lot of the great coaches, you know, Phil
Speaker 5: Jackson and George carl and I think even Van Gundhi,
Speaker 5: Like you know, this always interesting to see where they started.
Speaker 5: But you know, being able to play for coach mcjeri's
Speaker 5: and coach with them, I got to see, you know,
Speaker 5: two different sides. And you know, the best thing I
Speaker 5: got from him, well, the first thing is when people
Speaker 5: asked about, you know, the thing you took from like,
Speaker 5: I always say this, like he ruins the game for
Speaker 5: you in a lot of ways because you can't watch
Speaker 5: a game with that without critiquing it and seeing what
Speaker 5: everybody's doing wrong. So it's kind of interesting. But at
Speaker 5: the same time, the one thing that that to this
Speaker 5: day that I think that he was remarkable at was
Speaker 5: like he was like we had long practices when I
Speaker 5: first got here, but like he coached every even if
Speaker 5: he was eating a hamburger or in the middle of it,
Speaker 5: he was still he was one hundred percent there coaching
Speaker 5: and intent and seeing everything and you know it spence
Speaker 5: not to get long winded here, but like I've never
Speaker 5: been never played football, never been around it. But when
Speaker 5: we were in Dallas, Bill Belichick came and talked to us.
Speaker 5: I've listened to Mike Tomlin and I love those guys,
Speaker 5: and they always talk about like just grinding week to week.
Speaker 5: And it always reminded me of the jerifs because whether
Speaker 5: it was a preseason game or an NCAA tournament game
Speaker 5: like it was, it was always he never talked about
Speaker 5: we want to make the tournament, we want to win
Speaker 5: the league. It was always the next game, right, like
Speaker 5: getting better and then then everything else will take care
Speaker 5: of itself. So that was like a good thing too.
Speaker 8: For me.
Speaker 5: And it's you know, it's what I'm going to try
Speaker 5: to do, but you know, expectations like he set the
Speaker 5: standard and and again I'm and you know he uh,
Speaker 5: you know, it was a different time in college than
Speaker 5: it is now. But no, like that's the I'm going
Speaker 5: to take a lot of the things that he taught
Speaker 5: me and start to do them in my own way.
Speaker 5: And I think that's a big mistake some people make.
Speaker 5: I'm not going to try to be him. I think
Speaker 5: I did that early on in my coaching career. But yeah, no,
Speaker 5: he's he's the standard bear, and that's what you know,
Speaker 5: kind of everybody from since then, and you know after
Speaker 5: me will be kind of be compared to. But you know,
Speaker 5: I look at it as it a good thing because
Speaker 5: a lot of people remember those days, and when we
Speaker 5: talk to recruits now we can talk about it and
Speaker 5: they might be too young to remember it, but you
Speaker 5: know their agent or their coach or they will remembering.
Speaker 5: It gives us some credibility, so.
Speaker 1: You reference earlier al how college basketball has changed, and
Speaker 1: I wonder ultimately the bottom line is whether you're Utah
Speaker 1: or BYU or Southern Illinois, doesn't matter who you are.
Speaker 1: You have to have the financial resources and the economic
Speaker 1: ecosystem in place to make sure that you can pay
Speaker 1: these players to play for you. I mean, there's no
Speaker 1: other way to put it. At this point. The people
Speaker 1: you say transfer or I call it free agency. And
Speaker 1: we're moving closer to the house of the NCAA settlement
Speaker 1: you guys are at. We'll have some more guardrails in place,
Speaker 1: and hopefully that brings a little bit of stability but
Speaker 1: I would imagine. Now I don't want to speak for you,
Speaker 1: and I'm not leading the witness, but you would not
Speaker 1: have taken this job if there weren't promises in place
Speaker 1: that you would have the bankroll that you need to
Speaker 1: stay competitive with your peers. Is that fair to say?
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, obviously, you know those are questions I asked.
Speaker 5: But you know, playing being from here and coming from here,
Speaker 5: like you know, I'm aware of that. You know, the
Speaker 5: university is very capable of providing those resources. And talking
Speaker 5: to a lot of my college coaching friends, like they
Speaker 5: all talk about you got it, like it's funny you
Speaker 5: got to get money and got to get money. But
Speaker 5: when I was going through the process of taking the job,
Speaker 5: and even after I took it, I kind of like,
Speaker 5: maybe I'm naive or trying to be too optimistic mystic,
Speaker 5: but I like the position that University of Utah is in.
Speaker 5: You know, they're smaller schools that you have success, you
Speaker 5: have no chance at keeping and players. And at the
Speaker 5: same time, like I don't I right now, I don't
Speaker 5: want to be I don't want to get in a
Speaker 5: bidding war and you know, pay a single player like
Speaker 5: a ton of money, because I think it's you know,
Speaker 5: coming from the NBA, like you see the problems that
Speaker 5: that can cause. But I think, you know, like we're
Speaker 5: I don't want to say a middle ground, but we've
Speaker 5: got you know, good resources and you know, getting kids
Speaker 5: that you know, money is always part of it. Like
Speaker 5: you'd be lying to yourself if you said it wasn't
Speaker 5: about the money, but also you know kids that see
Speaker 5: the opportunity here. So yeah, like it's uh, it's very
Speaker 5: it's transactional as the word a lot of people in
Speaker 5: the NBA are they used now, which is kind of
Speaker 5: a you know, I think college is getting used to
Speaker 5: it and it's it's turning professional for sure.
Speaker 1: So that leads me to some questions about your staff
Speaker 1: and players out with our remaining time that I'll set
Speaker 1: you loose. And you know, there isn't a bigger indicator
Speaker 1: as far as the changing landscape of collegiate athletics and
Speaker 1: college hoops. Then the fact that everyone's hired a general manager.
Speaker 1: And you know, me, I've been around pro basketball my
Speaker 1: entire life. It as a basketball siko myself. I knew
Speaker 1: exactly who Wes Wilcox was when I heard the news
Speaker 1: and I know who Wes is. I don't know him personally,
Speaker 1: but you know I was at the OKC Jazz game
Speaker 1: with Scott Layden recently, and Scott he's been doing some
Speaker 1: work for the King, so he's been working with Wes.
Speaker 1: And he's a bright guy. I mean, you know this,
Speaker 1: You've known him forever. What ultimately led you to landing
Speaker 1: on Wes Wilcox as your general manager?
Speaker 5: Well, you know when I when I seriously started thinking
Speaker 5: of taking the job, and I when I had the job,
Speaker 5: like my mind and I told everybody like like it's
Speaker 5: my mind just went so it just screamed a GM.
Speaker 5: And uh it's hard for a coach to negotiate the
Speaker 5: money with the player and then try to coach him
Speaker 5: during the season. But at a GM and I and
Speaker 5: I wanted somebody. I didn't want a former coach, but
Speaker 5: I want My mind just went to the NBA of
Speaker 5: somebody that's that that's what they want to do, that's
Speaker 5: what they've done. And you know Wes was you know,
Speaker 5: he hired me in Cleveland as the DA LEA coach.
Speaker 5: I means one of the guys that I had asked
Speaker 5: to ask, you know, for advice. You know, different situations
Speaker 5: in my career and and I you know, I first
Speaker 5: approached him about asking, you know, any maybe younger Diuce
Speaker 5: he knew and you know, there was a little interest there.
Speaker 5: Then it grew and I didn't think I would get
Speaker 5: somebody as uh seasoned and as good as West, But yeah,
Speaker 5: that that that's it's been huge and I think I
Speaker 5: think more colleges will go that way. But I think
Speaker 5: there's the distinction between somebody who's done that, who's built rosters,
Speaker 5: balanced robsters, negotiated contracts. It's a huge asset and it's
Speaker 5: made it that much easier for us now. But and
Speaker 5: again it's a great a partnership, you know between coaching
Speaker 5: the fern offles like you're together but separate, like you know,
Speaker 5: throughout this whole year, that's what he's going to be doing. Well,
Speaker 5: you know, I'll be coaching the team. We'll talk basketball
Speaker 5: ross but like that's that's his job and then I
Speaker 5: have my job. That makes sense.
Speaker 1: It does, it does, and you know, like I said, dynamic,
Speaker 1: bright guy who's really good with numbers. It was a
Speaker 1: great move. So let's talk about your the first assistant
Speaker 1: coach you hired, Raphael Chillius. I had heard the name.
Speaker 1: I've had several guests on over the course of the past,
Speaker 1: I guess a couple of months now since the hiring
Speaker 1: came down, and this was another move that a lot
Speaker 1: of people applauded. Tell me, why Al, you landed on
Speaker 1: Coach chill is your first assistant coach?
Speaker 5: You know? You know I got to meet Coach chill
Speaker 5: because we coached in the summer together with we took
Speaker 5: college teams, so we spent time on the bus, became friends,
Speaker 5: and he was actually he was a scout for the
Speaker 5: Grizzlies this year, had an extensive college experience, but first
Speaker 5: just a good person and a guy that just lives
Speaker 5: it like he's one of the scouts. And you know
Speaker 5: this spense that when the door is open to the arena,
Speaker 5: he's waiting to get in, and he's down there an
Speaker 5: hour and a half before, just watching everything. And you know,
Speaker 5: it's funny. We were playing in Boston and he was
Speaker 5: scouting when the rumors started about me, and we went
Speaker 5: to dinner and he brought it up and expressed interest
Speaker 5: in coming, which and at that time I wasn't I
Speaker 5: don't think I was really deep into thinking about taking it,
Speaker 5: but and that, you know, I'm grateful that he did
Speaker 5: that he wanted to be here, and you know, that's
Speaker 5: that's the one thing I think that that's hit me
Speaker 5: since you know, my staff has been here and we
Speaker 5: talked about with the players, like, you know, I had
Speaker 5: a good job, Wes definitely had a good job. Chill
Speaker 5: Rafael Chill had a great job, and like, we're here
Speaker 5: because we want to be here, not because we do,
Speaker 5: not because of money. But I think it's rubbed off
Speaker 5: on a recruiting But yet Chill coached Phil who's often
Speaker 5: everybody calls him, knows everybody, and could take multiple college
Speaker 5: jobs every year. So I'm flattered and we're lucky to
Speaker 5: have him.
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you because you referenced meeting some
Speaker 1: football coaches in your time down in Dallas, and I
Speaker 1: understand a football coach here in Salt Lake City. You
Speaker 1: hopped on the phone with a football coach here in
Speaker 1: Salt Lake prior to taking the job, and he had
Speaker 1: a conversation with coach wit with Kyle Whittingham. I wonder
Speaker 1: if you could provide a little context on why you
Speaker 1: decided to talk to Kyle, what he told you and
Speaker 1: how that ultimately helped you decide you wanted to move
Speaker 1: the family here and coach the uts.
Speaker 5: You know, I you know, I've known Kyle, you know
Speaker 5: since my freshman year when he when he worked here
Speaker 5: with his dad, and obviously i've you know, watched or
Speaker 5: admirred what he's done and and mostly you know, and
Speaker 5: the opportunity rise again, like I'd like to talk to
Speaker 5: him because that's what you know, we're trying to do
Speaker 5: on the basketball side, replicate what he's done, because he's
Speaker 5: built an amazing program and he's done a great job,
Speaker 5: and he's you know, and I respect him. And that's
Speaker 5: why I respect a lot of football guys because usually
Speaker 5: in football, you start and you work your way up,
Speaker 5: you know, the NBA, a lot of guys, you know,
Speaker 5: you skip steps. But no, like he's I you know,
Speaker 5: every chance I get, he's a guy that I would
Speaker 5: approach with advice because not only has he been I've
Speaker 5: been in and out, but he's been around it and uh,
Speaker 5: like I said, just admire what he's done, and and uh,
Speaker 5: you know somebody that I'll is every chance I get
Speaker 5: try to you know, learn from and get some advice
Speaker 5: from you know the challenges and obviously you know talking
Speaker 5: about the challenges and uh, you know the good and
Speaker 5: bad of it all, which which comes everywhere you go.
Speaker 5: But no, he's uh, and again he's been here for
Speaker 5: what thirty years and put the programs come a long
Speaker 5: way in thirty years.
Speaker 1: It sure has al How does it land with you
Speaker 1: when I say next year in marks a decade since
Speaker 1: the last NC Double Tournament appearance for your Tom men's basketball.
Speaker 5: You know it's it's uh, you know, think all of
Speaker 5: us got you know, we were spoiled and got used
Speaker 5: to the success. There's no reason you know why it
Speaker 5: can't be there, But you know, the I don't know,
Speaker 5: I think it's and again, obviously that's something that you
Speaker 5: want to do every year. But you know, just the
Speaker 5: way Majeri's taught me and listening to a lot of
Speaker 5: football guys like you know, like you just do your
Speaker 5: do what you're supposed to do every day and that
Speaker 5: will all take care of itself. I mean, obviously it's
Speaker 5: something that we want and everybody else wants us to
Speaker 5: get and I think it just starts, you know, in
Speaker 5: the summer and just like what we do today, you know,
Speaker 5: instead of talking about it every day. That's our goal.
Speaker 5: That's our goal. Whereas we have our you know, do
Speaker 5: goal about our daily business and have our goals and
Speaker 5: accomplish what we need to like, that'll that'll eventually happen.
Speaker 5: But yeah, I don't think that's something that anybody you know, ten, fifteen,
Speaker 5: twenty years ago, whatever of predicted have a you know,
Speaker 5: a ten year drought from the NCAA tournament.
Speaker 1: Obviously as your reference, that's a goal that you want
Speaker 1: to achieve every single year. As you know, al you
Speaker 1: are playing in one of, if not the best college
Speaker 1: basketball conferences in America. That was probably the SEC a
Speaker 1: year ago, but it might be the Big Twelve next year.
Speaker 1: And I continue to try just to temper expectations because
Speaker 1: you just started the job and you've got a group
Speaker 1: of a bunch of new players. But what would you
Speaker 1: say to the Utah fan base chomping at the bid
Speaker 1: for success and tournament appearances and such that they should
Speaker 1: expect year one from you and your staff in the
Speaker 1: Big Twelve.
Speaker 5: You know, it's just like with the you know, I
Speaker 5: mentioned it took my time. I wanted a GM. I'm
Speaker 5: trying to be really deliberate with how I go about
Speaker 5: it and not get rushed with my staff and the team,
Speaker 5: and that you know, there's a specific you know, once
Speaker 5: I hired west Chill and I and Eric like, we
Speaker 5: have our criteria for players.
Speaker 7: But I would say this that.
Speaker 5: Going after guys that want to be here, that want
Speaker 5: to get better, and you know, not necessarily you know,
Speaker 5: to make the most money. I mean, obviously that's part
Speaker 5: of it, but you know, I would sell fans and
Speaker 5: everybody else. There's a particular type of player that we
Speaker 5: went out after, and I think we got, you know, first,
Speaker 5: guys that compete, Guys that love the game and like
Speaker 5: to play. And that might seem like a simple thing
Speaker 5: and you think everybody does it, but you know, the
Speaker 5: hardest thing for a coach is when you have a
Speaker 5: player that doesn't care about it as much as you do.
Speaker 5: And I think we've done a really good job with
Speaker 5: those guys, guys that compete, love to play. And then
Speaker 5: after that we go into the you know, the physical attributes.
Speaker 5: But no, I'm actually looking really I'm getting excited to
Speaker 5: be able to coach these guys and to see where
Speaker 5: we go. And that's the fun part about it is
Speaker 5: I don't think I could even anticipate how things will
Speaker 5: turn out, but I am optimistic and we have a
Speaker 5: good grow it of players and coaches.
Speaker 1: All right, I'll before I say you lose, because I
Speaker 1: know we're up against it here, and I would love
Speaker 1: at some point to bring you in studio maybe to
Speaker 1: talk about all these young men individually, but we just
Speaker 1: don't have time to do that. And we have a
Speaker 1: Utah basketball community and fan base curious about this roster
Speaker 1: full of new faces outside of Keanu Kanda Daz who
Speaker 1: we all saw play who at a hell of an
Speaker 1: end of the year last season. So I'm going to
Speaker 1: give you the space with whatever direction you want to
Speaker 1: go as far as talking about a couple of these
Speaker 1: new players so our fan base can kind of get
Speaker 1: to know this roster a little bit.
Speaker 5: Okay, Yeah, yeah, No. It's funny because I would, you know,
Speaker 5: I was finishing up in Dallas, I had a game,
Speaker 5: and then I would after the game, I'd call a
Speaker 5: coach still in West would be up in my office
Speaker 5: going through a roster, and I tell him I apologize,
Speaker 5: and I feel bad like I just took three hours
Speaker 5: off and watched the game while you guys are making
Speaker 5: the calls. But I mean, I often having lived as
Speaker 5: a coach, like I wanted to point guard. You know,
Speaker 5: we were we were hurt in Dallas and even after
Speaker 5: the game, I'd say, okay, point guard, we need a
Speaker 5: point guard. But you know, Terrence Brown is one of
Speaker 5: the first guys we signed out of Fairley Dickinson hid
Speaker 5: from Minnesota, and uh, and I just you know, he
Speaker 5: loves it. He's in Vegas working out now, but he's
Speaker 5: one guy. And then and we got uh, after that,
Speaker 5: we got Elijah Choppa Moore from from Syracuse. He's originally
Speaker 5: from the Bronx, and uh, you know, you know, I
Speaker 5: think the one thing we had, you know, James the
Speaker 5: Conquo who's actually originally from London who played Acklan last year,
Speaker 5: Jackai Howard from Auburn, Don McHenry and Babacar fey Or
Speaker 5: coming from West Virginia, and Sadu Traillery who's from the Bronx,
Speaker 5: who's coming from Iowa. It's kind of kind of dawned
Speaker 5: on me that they're kind of I don't know the
Speaker 5: last time, you know a Feutah team has had two
Speaker 5: kids from the Bronx or you know, Boston London, so
Speaker 5: it's it's actually and you know, Keanu is a local kid.
Speaker 5: But I think it's uh again, they I feel like
Speaker 5: they have all those rights. They likes to compete, they
Speaker 5: like to play, and they want to get better. So anyway, yeah,
Speaker 5: I'd love to come in sometime too, Spence, and we could.
Speaker 5: We could spend more time with each one of them,
Speaker 5: because it's a good group. I think.
Speaker 1: Well, Like I said, I'm thrilled that this was the
Speaker 1: decision made by the administration. I'm thrilled that you'd say that,
Speaker 1: you said yes. You know, my family are big fans
Speaker 1: of the Jensen family and big fans of you, and
Speaker 1: big fans of your bride and your girls too. So
Speaker 1: thrilled to have you on the ground. If we can
Speaker 1: ever do anything for you as your broadcast partner, please
Speaker 1: reach out.
Speaker 7: Okay, I will thank Spence.
Speaker 1: Likewise, all right, Alex Jensen, seventeenth head coach and you
Speaker 1: Tom Men's basketball history joined the program on this Thursday.
Speaker 1: I'm courteous of our friends at IFA Country Stores. Dave
Speaker 1: mcmanamon's Gonna roll by covers the NBA Free ESPN, one
Speaker 1: of our celebrity reporters. He's very famous. He's a very
Speaker 1: big deal. Nick Ramondo, who's a Hall of Famer, also
Speaker 1: very famous, A very big deal, joining us now, very famous,
Speaker 1: very big deal. On a Thursday afternoon, she covers the
Speaker 1: Utah Hockey Club for the Salt Lake Tribune. Always fun
Speaker 1: to welcome in Belle Frasier on a Thursday. Bell, Happy Thursday.
Speaker 1: How are you good? I'm good? All right? Here's my
Speaker 1: question right out of gates. We have a basketball team
Speaker 1: in midtown Manhattan that's about to return home to a
Speaker 1: Rausius Madison Square Garden fan base to watch the Knicks
Speaker 1: try to beat the Celtics. I hate to rub it
Speaker 1: in Bell, but the Rangers obviously not involved. What is
Speaker 1: midtown Manhattan like when the Rangers are in the Stanley
Speaker 1: Cup playoffs come springtime?
Speaker 3: It's insane that I have to say Knicks fans definitely
Speaker 3: take the cake there. I actually was lucky enough to
Speaker 3: be in Boston last night and grabbed last minute ticket
Speaker 3: to the Celtics Knicks games. They're about to see the
Speaker 3: next with their second straight comeback, and even within TD Garden,
Speaker 3: the Knicks fans we absolutely crazy, and all of Steventh
Speaker 3: Avenue last night in New York by Madison Square Garden
Speaker 3: was flooded and the game wasn't even there, So I
Speaker 3: can't imagine what it's going to be like for Game
Speaker 3: three Rangers. I mean, of course NHL playoffs are big,
Speaker 3: but New York is kind of more of a basketball town,
Speaker 3: I would say. And it seems like it's the highest
Speaker 3: price to even get in that the Nicks have ever had,
Speaker 3: and it's second round, so I think that's saying something.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I'm pulling for my Knicks now that no
Speaker 3: Rangers to root for.
Speaker 1: Wait, you were at the game last night. I was, oh, well,
Speaker 1: I'm so jealous you did you don orange and blue?
Speaker 1: Were you decked out?
Speaker 3: I had a little hat, but you know you got
Speaker 3: to be careful, so.
Speaker 1: Yeah you do. In fact, did you witness any tense
Speaker 1: interactions between Celtic fans and Nick fans?
Speaker 3: Most definitely. I think we maybe are Snicks fans are
Speaker 3: a bit of sore losers. I kept pretty quiet, but
Speaker 3: you know, always at all the games and the staircase
Speaker 3: going down and stuff, there's the chirping and such, but
Speaker 3: nothing you wouldn't expect from a Boston, New York serience.
Speaker 1: Fair enough, fair enough? Are you still in Boston.
Speaker 3: I'm at the airport right now, going to be touching
Speaker 3: down and Felt Lake tonight. So I'm excited to get
Speaker 3: back to Utah.
Speaker 1: Okay, very nice. We'll travel safe and there's a lot
Speaker 1: to talk about. Since you and I last cut up.
Speaker 1: There's been a ton of storylines surrounding of course, the
Speaker 1: Stanley Cup playoffs going on. We'll get to that in
Speaker 1: the moment, but we now know that the name of
Speaker 1: the hockey team that plays in Utah will no longer
Speaker 1: be the Utah Hockey Club. It is Tusks Up the
Speaker 1: Utah Mammoth Bell. What do you make of kind of
Speaker 1: the process and went down and what are your thoughts
Speaker 1: on the name now that we know what it will
Speaker 1: be henceforth then forever.
Speaker 3: I'm so happy it's out. I think people were guessing
Speaker 3: that it could be around the NHL Draft and things
Speaker 3: like that, but I think the team just had everything
Speaker 3: ready and we've been tracking the trademark websites. We saw
Speaker 3: that they extended for it and they asked for an
Speaker 3: immediate approval, so I think they knew that if they
Speaker 3: waited any longer, it would probably get leaked. And everyone
Speaker 3: saw that they accidentally changed their user name on youtub
Speaker 3: to Utah Mammoth and then deleted the page and then
Speaker 3: swished it back to Utah Hockey Club. So I think
Speaker 3: it was getting to a point where everyone had a
Speaker 3: feeling it was Mammoths, so why not just make it official.
Speaker 3: But it was one of the coolest days on the
Speaker 3: job yesterday just seeing it all happened. We were counting
Speaker 3: down and so we could post our stories and sort
Speaker 3: the whole public to know. And I think seeing the
Speaker 3: fan reaction was really special. I mean overwhelmingly positive. People
Speaker 3: really liked the jerseys, they really liked the names, and
Speaker 3: I think that's the product of the fact that they
Speaker 3: voted for it. And I talked to a lot of
Speaker 3: fans yesterday over the phone, and that was kind of
Speaker 3: the main theme that came through, was that they said,
Speaker 3: we feel like we're woven into this jersey, that this
Speaker 3: is something that we wanted for our state and that
Speaker 3: we got to choose. So it makes it all that
Speaker 3: more special. And I think some people maybe we're second guessing,
Speaker 3: is Ryan Smith is really going to keep his promise
Speaker 3: of letting the public choose it. And he made a
Speaker 3: joke at his press conference that he wouldn't go through
Speaker 3: this process again, just you know, collecting millions a million
Speaker 3: votes during an NHL regular season and everything else they
Speaker 3: had going on. But it turned out great, and I
Speaker 3: think everyone, fans, players are excited for the second year.
Speaker 3: It builds kind of the hype of momentum for next
Speaker 3: year having a legitimate identity.
Speaker 1: Let me follow up, because you referenced the fan reaction,
Speaker 1: then you just referenced I just haven't seen a lot
Speaker 1: of player or coach reaction, so I wanted to. I
Speaker 1: was curious from your vantage point, if you've been able
Speaker 1: to kick the tires with players and coaches and how
Speaker 1: they feel about the new name and the new logo
Speaker 1: and the color scheme and everything.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they weren't. They didn't have a media availability to
Speaker 3: players and coaches yesterday, but Jack mcdain, Jayleen concert, Ian Cole,
Speaker 3: and Ollie Mata, as well as Andre and Bill aren
Speaker 3: Seng and the San Sean obviously were there yesterday, checked
Speaker 3: out in the Maymoth merch. This team social media did
Speaker 3: some videos with them and they seemed excited about it.
Speaker 3: They were doing the tosts up, so I think it's
Speaker 3: really energizing for the players to to kind of see
Speaker 3: the investment FI Entertainment Group and the fans that they
Speaker 3: wanted to make it a big thing. They wanted to
Speaker 3: take time with the branding. And I mean, we don't
Speaker 3: need to talk about free agency, but it's a pretty
Speaker 3: exciting time for Utah right now. They get the name,
Speaker 3: they get the fourth overall pick, they have a front
Speaker 3: facing owner who's spending lots of money on them right now.
Speaker 3: So I imagine it feels really good to be one
Speaker 3: of those players. And we talked them throughout the season,
Speaker 3: they said they didn't fully care about the name. They
Speaker 3: just wanted the fans to be happy. So I imagine
Speaker 3: that's still the same.
Speaker 8: All right.
Speaker 1: You referenced the number four overall pick, and in one
Speaker 1: year of existence, the Utah Hockey Club has received more
Speaker 1: good luck than the Utah Jazz have received in fifty
Speaker 1: years of existence. And maybe that will change come Monday. Bell,
Speaker 1: We'll kind of have to wait and see there. But
Speaker 1: you did a really good job for the trip of
Speaker 1: outlining really what this could mean, so let's dig into it.
Speaker 1: You know, ultimately, Bill Armstrong is in a spot now
Speaker 1: with several different options where he could add a good
Speaker 1: young piece to this core. They're already the third youngest
Speaker 1: team in the NHL, and we had Smith on yesterday.
Speaker 1: Neil was good to walk us through how rare it
Speaker 1: is for a draft pick to play right away. A
Speaker 1: lot of these kids are seventeen, eighteen years old. They're
Speaker 1: going to go back to college, they're going to go
Speaker 1: back to junior so we're not really sure what it
Speaker 1: would look like. But the other option Bell is to
Speaker 1: utilize this, certainly as a trade chip and a piece
Speaker 1: to maybe expedite the growth by adding a veteran player.
Speaker 1: So you've had a chance to hear from Bill Armstrong,
Speaker 1: You've had a chance to kind of dig into this.
Speaker 1: So your thoughts on Utah getting the number four overall
Speaker 1: pick and your thoughts on what they may or may
Speaker 1: not do with it.
Speaker 3: First of all, it's just crazy that they got it.
Speaker 3: I mean, everyone knew they had one point five percent
Speaker 3: chance of winning that second sequence, and since they were
Speaker 3: originally fourteen, they could only move up ten, so obviously four.
Speaker 3: But to be in the top five and not be
Speaker 3: a bottom feeding team is I mean, it's incredible. They
Speaker 3: missed playoffs by seven points and are up and coming,
Speaker 3: unlike a lot of the teams in the top ten
Speaker 3: of the draft right now, So for them to be
Speaker 3: able to add a franchise player or like you said,
Speaker 3: trade for someone that could come in and provide immediate
Speaker 3: help really changes the trajectory for this team. So I
Speaker 3: cannot underscore enough you know what a game changer this
Speaker 3: is for the organization, not just next year, but for
Speaker 3: the next ten years. Like you said, a lot of
Speaker 3: these players will go back to play in junior or
Speaker 3: college for a year or two. And Bill Armstrong definitely
Speaker 3: likes when his players get a little bit more developmental time.
Speaker 3: So Utah fans shouldn't be disappointed that if they keep
Speaker 3: the pick, they don't see the draft ye right away,
Speaker 3: But yeah, I think it is really interesting to think
Speaker 3: about what they what else they could do with it.
Speaker 3: And Bill Armstrong was very clear he said, we'll never
Speaker 3: shut that door. That's always been an avenue for us
Speaker 3: to get players in terms of trading a pick, and
Speaker 3: a lot of teams who thought they were going to
Speaker 3: be in the top ten or top five are not.
Speaker 3: So I imagine Bill Armstrong is going to be getting
Speaker 3: a ton of calls from organizations who are further back
Speaker 3: in the rebuild than he is and want a prospect.
Speaker 3: And you saw him do it last year. He traded
Speaker 3: the forty ninth overall pick for John Marino. He threw
Speaker 3: two picks in the Mikail Serga chev trade, and those
Speaker 3: guys are Utah's top two defensemen now. So it's definitely
Speaker 3: about that he feels comfortable taking, and I think it'll
Speaker 3: just be what the team needs. I think they're lucky
Speaker 3: that the top five in the draft. A lot of
Speaker 3: them are big centers, and I think Utah could use
Speaker 3: a big goal scoring two way forward. So it'll work
Speaker 3: either way. And I think that's what Utah Hockey I
Speaker 3: was going to say, Utah Hockey Club. This is hard
Speaker 3: Utah Mammoth fan should be excited about. Is you can't
Speaker 3: really lose here. You're either going to have a big
Speaker 3: time player come in next season or have a really
Speaker 3: exciting prospect to look forward to.
Speaker 1: It's going to take a minute. I think I I'm
Speaker 1: not even sure that I've said Utah Mammoth yet. I
Speaker 1: think I've just said Utah Hockey Club all week bell.
Speaker 1: But we'll get there, one step at a time. You
Speaker 1: point out in your piece for the trip that there
Speaker 1: is not, you know, the number one odds on. You know,
Speaker 1: this is the dude you gotta take. There's not the
Speaker 1: franchise changing piece at number one like there has been
Speaker 1: in the past. But you outlined some of the options
Speaker 1: that could be available at four for the Utah Hockey Club.
Speaker 1: So for our listeners that have not had a chance
Speaker 1: to read what you wrote, let's talk about some of
Speaker 1: these names and some of these young prospects. You think
Speaker 1: A will be there at four and B makes sense
Speaker 1: for the Utah Mammoth.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, just from other scouts who do this
Speaker 3: for a living and watch these guys night in the
Speaker 3: night out, the consensus is that the guys in the
Speaker 3: top five at least will be Matthew Shafer, Michael Missa,
Speaker 3: Jane Pagan, Porter, Marton Anton Fondell. Matthew Shaefer is the
Speaker 3: only defenseman in that group, and in the past couple
Speaker 3: of days it sounds like he's starting to lean more
Speaker 3: towards number one. And the Islanders have the number one
Speaker 3: pick they could use the blue liner, So there's that.
Speaker 3: But then also Jane Pagan's a year ago everyone thought
Speaker 3: he was going to go number one. He actually goes
Speaker 3: to Boston College. But he's a great player nonetheless, kind
Speaker 3: of a smaller center, but he grew up in Islanders
Speaker 3: fan He's from Long Island, so who knows if they
Speaker 3: swing that way, So those guys might be off the table.
Speaker 3: But I could also see Hagan's dropping because you just
Speaker 3: never know what the other teams are going to do.
Speaker 3: But I think Utah fan should definitely look at Porter Marton.
Speaker 3: I think he kind of fits the forward depth and
Speaker 3: scoring touch and save the advantage for Utah. He fits
Speaker 3: that bill. Eighteen years old, he had ninety eight points,
Speaker 3: which was thirty seven goals and sixty one assists in
Speaker 3: fifty seven games. I believe he was the captain of
Speaker 3: the Ohls Branton's Steelheads this season. And he's six foot
Speaker 3: three and two hundred and eight pounds right now, so
Speaker 3: can only imagine what he'll be put on weight at
Speaker 3: an NHL shape in the next couple of years. And
Speaker 3: he's a right winger, so not a center. But I
Speaker 3: think Utah just needs some size reinforcements in its top
Speaker 3: six and if that's someone they could develop, that would
Speaker 3: be great. And I think it's realistic that he could
Speaker 3: drop to four. But I don't know it really is.
Speaker 3: I think teams will say that they'll draft there the
Speaker 3: best player available, but I think it's a little more
Speaker 3: me tailored than they'll admit. So someone else may want him,
Speaker 3: But I think that's someone that Utah fans could be
Speaker 3: excited about and start watching a bit.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, did I catch you? Just say? He goes
Speaker 1: to Boston College, but he's a good player. Nonetheless, Is
Speaker 1: that because I'm talking to a BU girl? Did I
Speaker 1: catch that right?
Speaker 3: I am? I am Bu, but I'm unbiased. I'm an
Speaker 3: unbiased journalist as well, so he would be a great
Speaker 3: pick for Utah. Good forward in the mix.
Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough. I just wondered if I heard that correctly. Bill,
Speaker 1: let me go the other let me let's go the
Speaker 1: other direction, and look, if you haven't dug into this,
Speaker 1: I totally understand and we can move on. But should
Speaker 1: Bill Armstrong elect to utilize four and maybe some of
Speaker 1: the other assets at his disposal to expedite the growth
Speaker 1: and bring in a veteran any names out there? Any
Speaker 1: thoughts on who could be available and who the Mammoth
Speaker 1: could look at to potentially bring in to help out
Speaker 1: the group?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean The thing with trades is theoretically anyone
Speaker 3: could be available if they don't have no move cause,
Speaker 3: but even then you could get them to lift it
Speaker 3: for specific trades. So there's nothing, actually no news actually
Speaker 3: around it. But as beat writers we like to hear
Speaker 3: arrives of what would be a really fun thing to happen.
Speaker 3: And I think you look at someone like Page Thompson
Speaker 3: and Bill armsheng is actually in his drafting process when
Speaker 3: he's in Saint Louis. Thompson was drafted to the Blues
Speaker 3: and he's actually on a line with Clayton Keller and
Speaker 3: Loping Cooley at the World Championship, the Mentoral Championship. Right now,
Speaker 3: he's on the Buffalo Sabers, who are the ninth overall pick,
Speaker 3: I believe, but at a brutal season. I mean, it's
Speaker 3: going to be a long long time until that's a
Speaker 3: winning team. So you could really imagine that they would
Speaker 3: want to trade up in the draft number four, and
Speaker 3: teams like Santose and the Chicago blipops to the second
Speaker 3: and third pick are also in the rebuilt, so they're
Speaker 3: not going to give up those picks. So it would
Speaker 3: seem that if Buffalo was going to trade with anyone.
Speaker 3: It could be Utah Thompson's. He had seventy two points,
Speaker 3: forty four goals, twenty to assists in seventy six games.
Speaker 3: He's six foot four, would I want to say a center,
Speaker 3: but can play the wing. He's kind of exactly what
Speaker 3: you want it. This kind of fits exactly what Utah
Speaker 3: needs and he could step in immediately. But I mean
Speaker 3: that's just hypothetical. Who knows what Page Shompson actually wants
Speaker 3: to do. I think he would have to cry him
Speaker 3: out of the Buffalo Sabers hands. That is not a
Speaker 3: guy that they want to see leaves. So yeah, just
Speaker 3: the thought. But I think that's the type of caliber
Speaker 3: of player that Bill armsheawan was trade for. He's not
Speaker 3: going to give up the fourth overall pick for a
Speaker 3: mediocre player and then a couple of depths people. I
Speaker 3: think it would have to be for a star like him.
Speaker 1: So you referenced some of the players Clayton and others
Speaker 1: that are playing, you know, for that, some of the
Speaker 1: national teams United States and others. I wonder if you
Speaker 1: have any other just general information. You know, when the
Speaker 1: season ends, the players go through their exit interviews with
Speaker 1: coaches and front offices, and I would imagine there are
Speaker 1: you know, structures in place, plans in place for the
Speaker 1: players as they kind of jettison and takeoff. So whether
Speaker 1: it's the players that are in action with their countries
Speaker 1: or players that are not necessarily playing anything competitively, any
Speaker 1: thoughts on what the front off is and the coaching
Speaker 1: staff are expecting from these players come off season so
Speaker 1: they're ready to go next year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you see in the men's World Championship
Speaker 3: specifically for hockey, it's a lot of the guys that
Speaker 3: didn't make playoffs with their NHL teams or bounced in
Speaker 3: the first round. It's a long summer for them and
Speaker 3: training you know, their athletes, their competitors, they do it
Speaker 3: every day, but you don't get any game action for
Speaker 3: months on end. So the World Championship is a really
Speaker 3: good outlet to be able to do that. This year
Speaker 3: it's in Sweden, in Denmark, and some guys I'll dalg
Speaker 3: it of it on a yearly basis because it's only,
Speaker 3: you know, a month after the regular season ends for hockey,
Speaker 3: so guys can be heard or just want some rest time.
Speaker 3: But there's kind of another layer to it this year
Speaker 3: because the twenty twenty six Olympics are coming up, so
Speaker 3: it's almost like a test run or trial to get
Speaker 3: yourself in front of the decision makers and just the organizations,
Speaker 3: the national teams that will be making those rosters. I
Speaker 3: personally think that's a huge reason that Clayton Keller went.
Speaker 3: He was left off of the four Nations roster for
Speaker 3: Team USA this year and played at the chip on
Speaker 3: his shoulder for the rest of the season, finished with
Speaker 3: a career high ninety points, and he's now captain of
Speaker 3: Team USA for the World Championship. You mentioned Looking Cooley's
Speaker 3: there with him, Michael Kestering's there, Josh Jone is there,
Speaker 3: Barret Hayton playing for Canada, and then Carel Venlka is
Speaker 3: playing for Chechia. So good amount of Utah. Oh my god,
Speaker 3: Utah Hockey Club. This is going to be bad mammoth representation.
Speaker 3: You tell mammoth mammoth and mammoth representation at the World Championship,
Speaker 3: And yeah, I mean, I imagine management likes to see
Speaker 3: their guys sitting in the extra work over the summer,
Speaker 3: but there's so many injuries and layers to it that
Speaker 3: is not made to the public or that the media knows.
Speaker 3: So I think it's good for those guys to kind
Speaker 3: of put their name in a hat for Olympics and
Speaker 3: just get some extra reps. Like Kessoing just said, it's
Speaker 3: good for his development, for him to be confidence over
Speaker 3: the summer. He's probably not done into the Olympics. But
Speaker 3: for someone like Cooley and Keller, I think it's a
Speaker 3: different story. And those games actually start tomorrow. The tournament
Speaker 3: will run May night through May twenty fifth, So if
Speaker 3: you tell Mammoths fans are missing action, you can watch
Speaker 3: that on I think it's IIHF TV streaming and then
Speaker 3: NHL Network also streams those games. If you're missing Utah.
Speaker 1: Action, all right, Bell, Before I said you lose, it's
Speaker 1: interesting to consider what exactly hurt the Utah Mammo's I
Speaker 1: almost did it. But learning from you, it's interesting to
Speaker 1: consider where they kind of failed a little bit because
Speaker 1: there are two sides of the coin. So overtimes in shootouts, Okay,
Speaker 1: so losing twelve games and overtime or a shootout two
Speaker 1: sides here. It means you're close, but it also means
Speaker 1: you need to learn how to close out and win
Speaker 1: those games. And then ultimately, as you and I have discussed,
Speaker 1: you've got to be better at home and you've got
Speaker 1: to be better at holding leads. All of those things
Speaker 1: Bell indicate to me that this is still a young
Speaker 1: team that needs to learn how to do those things.
Speaker 1: The offense twenty first and goals per game power play
Speaker 1: was fifteenth, so those have to improve. So before I
Speaker 1: set you loose, we're already talked about potential trades, but
Speaker 1: twenty one point five to three million in cap space,
Speaker 1: how does Bill Armstrong go about his business during the
Speaker 1: offseason to improve those areas? Or is it simply allowing
Speaker 1: this team to grow in order to make the postseason
Speaker 1: next year, which I think is a very realistic thing
Speaker 1: to expect.
Speaker 3: I think it's a bit of both, And I think
Speaker 3: Utah fans should feel very comfortable with phill Armshell as
Speaker 3: general manager because he has a very balanced approach to things.
Speaker 3: He's not going to be overzealousous because Brian Smith is
Speaker 3: the owner now, and he had a quote He's like,
Speaker 3: we know Ryan and Seg will do whatever it takes
Speaker 3: and can get any deal we need done. So he
Speaker 3: has that in the back of his head. But he
Speaker 3: followed that up with saying that doesn't mean you need
Speaker 3: to spend unwisely. Just because you have that cap space
Speaker 3: and you know are in better conditions as an overall organization,
Speaker 3: doesn't mean you need to spend it all on someone
Speaker 3: like Mitch Murner if it's not a fit, or you know,
Speaker 3: someone like Niklai Eelers if it's not a fit, who's
Speaker 3: probably going to get more money because the CAP's going
Speaker 3: up as well. So I think they're taking a cautious approach.
Speaker 3: But they've also been rumored to be one of the
Speaker 3: teams that insiders like sports Nets Elliott Friedman think is
Speaker 3: going to take a really big splash this summer. So
Speaker 3: I think, if the deal's there, and Bill Armsheank has
Speaker 3: said this as well, if the free agent is right,
Speaker 3: if the fit's right, if the conversations with them and
Speaker 3: their agent and the number is right, and it phil
Speaker 3: the need that they need that they have, and I
Speaker 3: would say that's going to be a top six forward.
Speaker 3: I would not think they would go after a defenseman
Speaker 3: as much then I think they do it. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I don't think they're going to just go sign anyone
Speaker 3: because they feel like they have to, because it's their
Speaker 3: first off season as the Utah Manis and they have
Speaker 3: all this cash, so I do agree. I think they
Speaker 3: need to bring someone in or a few people in
Speaker 3: to turn that corner. But it's also, like you said,
Speaker 3: not like they were losing by five to six goals
Speaker 3: in those games. It was overtime. It was shootouts, which
Speaker 3: almost make it more frustrating. But Ian Cole had great
Speaker 3: quips at the end of the season. He's like, that's
Speaker 3: on us. If we turn a corner, that's on us.
Speaker 3: Everyone needs to dig in and decide if they want
Speaker 3: to win or if they want to focus on other things.
Speaker 3: So I think there's a good understanding in that room
Speaker 3: with the players they have now that it's you know,
Speaker 3: one more check, one more block shot and they're in
Speaker 3: the playoffs. So that mixed with some new personnel, I
Speaker 3: think will put these guys in a good spot moving forwards.
Speaker 1: Okay, Bell, thanks so much for the time, Travel safe
Speaker 1: and go nix right.
Speaker 3: Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1: At Belle Fraser from the Solid Tribune covers the Utah
Speaker 1: Hockey Club. She has landed on the ground and just
Speaker 1: been a star in her role. If you're looking for
Speaker 1: the best coverage of the Utah Hockey Club. Look no
Speaker 1: further than Bell at Belle Fraser one on Twitter and
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Speaker 4: We're back on the Drive with ESPN's Dave mcminimmon joining
Speaker 4: us for today's NBA Daily Assist.
Speaker 1: Alex Jensen five o'clock hour tonight. Always appreciate his time.
Speaker 1: Hey Porter, real quick? Do you follow? Do you follow
Speaker 1: Dave mcminnimon on Instagram?
Speaker 2: I think so?
Speaker 1: I think so? Okay? Has he ever posted a photo
Speaker 1: thanking us for bringing him on and like saying, Hey,
Speaker 1: this is really cool. I've been doing this for years
Speaker 1: and Spence rules. Has he ever posted any photos like
Speaker 1: that you sell the Richien hit?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm just saying, like, I like rich Eisen,
Speaker 1: but I too, you know, I think Dave is on
Speaker 1: Riches show once a year, he's on our show. I'm
Speaker 1: just curious. Did I miss a post of Dave saying Wow,
Speaker 1: it's awesome to be on Spencer's show again.
Speaker 2: You know we've had Dave on. I think we've had
Speaker 2: Dave like on site before. Have we had him in studio?
Speaker 1: H No? But you know, I'm just wondering if if
Speaker 1: he holds rich Eisen on a pedestal, then he doesn't
Speaker 1: really feel like I'm worthy of social media sharing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you may have a point.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Dave mcmahiman joins us on a Thursday.
Speaker 1: What's the deal, dude. I mean I like Rich Eisen too,
Speaker 1: but I mean, come on equal time.
Speaker 7: I would say in my recollection, when I made sure
Speaker 7: to go remote on site with you dur An All
Speaker 7: Star weekend in Salt Lake City, your operation didn't have
Speaker 7: a cameraman there capturing the moment and.
Speaker 8: Then sharing that image with me so that I could
Speaker 8: then share with my followers.
Speaker 9: Had I received.
Speaker 8: That jpeg and not shared it.
Speaker 7: I think you would have a point. But I would
Speaker 7: have to say, like, you got to up your game.
Speaker 7: You got to start doing it like Eisen so I
Speaker 7: can start promoting the show the same way.
Speaker 1: Porter, Will you please hire a photographer before Dave gets
Speaker 1: off air so we could do it next time.
Speaker 2: In town, just for Dave mcmannibe's next hit.
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you, sir. I kid Dave, obviously, I kid.
Speaker 1: All right. Look, you know the deal, man, you do
Speaker 1: this job, You're in this ecosystem, and you've got to
Speaker 1: put the fan aside, which I try to do, but
Speaker 1: I have not been this excited about a New York
Speaker 1: Knick team, truly in twenty five years since the late nineties, right,
Speaker 1: I am still incredibly skeptical of their ability to get
Speaker 1: two more wins. That's just where I'm at. But where
Speaker 1: are you at with Nick Celtics after two games?
Speaker 7: I mean, listen, they the Knicks deserve so much credit
Speaker 7: for the way they did not give up on either
Speaker 7: of those those games. Day one, Kas in foul trouble,
Speaker 7: didn't find a rhythm, Brontson caught a heater late, and
Speaker 7: mckel bridges making every play they needed in overtime. And
Speaker 7: last night, you know, like just they never gave up
Speaker 7: once again. And you know, the Boston I'm not saying
Speaker 7: they're like an intimidating opponent, but they are very very
Speaker 7: good one. They're a worthy champion, and anyone who watched
Speaker 7: them this year, I think certainly they have the best
Speaker 7: level of play when.
Speaker 8: They are at their best.
Speaker 7: But the Knicks are making it tough for the Celtics
Speaker 7: to play at their best. And man, the Garden's going
Speaker 7: to be insane for Game three. I saw Jared Smith
Speaker 7: said he's.
Speaker 8: Going to go there. He needs to be in the building.
Speaker 7: You can imagine I'm surely be a parade of former
Speaker 7: Knicks there. You know, Patrick Ewing going up to Boston
Speaker 7: for these games, but you know Pat will be in
Speaker 7: the building. You know you're going to see Larry Johnson
Speaker 7: ETCT Center. It's going to be awesome. And I think
Speaker 7: this is kind of what everyone was hoping for last
Speaker 7: year on that NIXT team to make it to the
Speaker 7: conference finals. Obviously upset by Indiana, and they were injured
Speaker 7: at the end of their run, and they look like
Speaker 7: a real contender right now.
Speaker 8: I will say this, though, the series is far from over.
Speaker 7: And you know, I picked Boston and seven, and I
Speaker 7: guess my confidence netic is shaken ever so slightly. But
Speaker 7: I don't think it's going to be easy from here
Speaker 7: on out for.
Speaker 1: The next I'm surprised you picked Boston in seven. Most
Speaker 1: people pick Boston in four, five or six, so I'm
Speaker 1: surprised you thought it would go seven. And look, I
Speaker 1: completely agree with you, and we really should give Tom
Speaker 1: Thibodau and the New York Knicks a ton of credit
Speaker 1: for a number of different things. They've changed their defensive approach.
Speaker 1: Some of the switches that Boston is trying to force
Speaker 1: has not worked because og is just such a beast,
Speaker 1: and when the switches don't work, it allow it allows
Speaker 1: the defenders to stay home. So a lot of the
Speaker 1: Boston Misses are can test it, but a lot of
Speaker 1: the Boston Misses are not contested, Dave, So, do you
Speaker 1: feel like we're in for like a regression to the
Speaker 1: mean situation? Part of me believes one of these games
Speaker 1: Bostons is going to go like twenty two of forty
Speaker 1: two from three and win by like thirty.
Speaker 7: I mean, you'd think that's going to be the case here.
Speaker 7: I mean, it's clearly the style of play that they
Speaker 7: look to go for, and they have the personnel to
Speaker 7: do it. You know, it's not just Jayson Tatum, but
Speaker 7: Jalen Brown and Derek White and Richard Howser, etc. Like
Speaker 7: even a Horford and for Zingis when he's right, Like,
Speaker 7: they have a ton of guys who can hit from
Speaker 7: the outside, and like you do have a non get
Speaker 7: this word out right, anominally type things that occur in
Speaker 7: NBA playoffs run. You know the Kimberwolves, who I've covered
Speaker 7: now in the first and second round, they open up
Speaker 7: Game one against the Lakers, they hit twenty two threes.
Speaker 7: These last two games between Game five against the Lakers
Speaker 7: and Game one against the Warriors, they're twelve for seventy
Speaker 7: six from three.
Speaker 8: Are they the twenty two to three team? Are they
Speaker 8: the twelve for seventy six? They're probably neither, right.
Speaker 7: But with teams you know, throwing the kitchen sink at
Speaker 7: you defensively, they're going to have some ups and downs
Speaker 7: on a huge stage. And the question is, you know,
Speaker 7: will we get to rooty t type of temerity from
Speaker 7: this Celtics group going into Game three. You never underestimate
Speaker 7: the heart of a champion, and they look like a
Speaker 7: different team and they have kind of the stable sense
Speaker 7: of mind to be able to recognize that two oh,
Speaker 7: it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matters, Like what do
Speaker 7: we do? Tip off for Game three, play our best
Speaker 7: forty eight minutes of basketball, and then you know, continue
Speaker 7: to get back into the series that way.
Speaker 1: So the rise of kind of the analytical approach to
Speaker 1: the game of basketball certainly is not new. I think
Speaker 1: John Hollinger was one of the first to kind of
Speaker 1: help people understand how new numbers can be digestible and
Speaker 1: not completely boring. I hate broadcast that or steeped and analytics.
Speaker 1: I think they're boring anyway, But ultimately I understand how
Speaker 1: the approach from a front office and a coaching staff
Speaker 1: can lead to more efficient you know, efficient play and
Speaker 1: rotational decisions and such. But look, man, you're up twenty
Speaker 1: with thirteen or fourteen minutes left in the game. The
Speaker 1: easiest stat Dave for me from Game one is after
Speaker 1: Boston goes up twenty with three and a half minutes left,
Speaker 1: ten straight possessions they shoot a three and nine of
Speaker 1: those possessions the ball didn't even break the pain. Like,
Speaker 1: at what point do you say, okay, our style and
Speaker 1: the personnel we have to your point that is suited
Speaker 1: to play this style won a championship a year ago,
Speaker 1: has led to a tremendous couple of year run. But
Speaker 1: maybe it's okay to try to attack the glass and
Speaker 1: get twos and ones when you're up twenty with fourteen
Speaker 1: minutes left to play, Like, at what point do you
Speaker 1: kind of scrap the whole approach in the name of
Speaker 1: just running the game out so you can get to win.
Speaker 7: It's a great point. It's why, as we've seen the
Speaker 7: analytical movement, basically say teams just want layups, dunks and
Speaker 7: threes and specific corner threes, where you've had people like
Speaker 7: Lebron James publicly be vocal pushing back against that, saying like,
Speaker 7: what about the midrange? You need to have a mid
Speaker 7: range game because that's the shot you can get to
Speaker 7: at the end of the shot clock that that teams
Speaker 7: are going to give it to you, Like, you should
Speaker 7: have that in your bag. And look at the maestro
Speaker 7: for the Knicks in Jalen Brunston. I mean, he has
Speaker 7: every single three level score type of bag to his game,
Speaker 7: whereas you know Tatum right, like that's what he's kind
Speaker 7: of been critiqued for over the last several years where
Speaker 7: when he goes to that mid range step back, it's
Speaker 7: not a very efficient shot for him, And so you
Speaker 7: wonder do they have the personnel to get those shots
Speaker 7: you're talking about on the fly, And also like who
Speaker 7: is their penetrating guard too?
Speaker 8: You know, other than Richard.
Speaker 7: Can do that in moments off the bench, but that's
Speaker 7: more of a change of pace type guy who's going
Speaker 7: to be the guy consistently getting into the pain for them.
Speaker 7: So as great as they are with their fastball, and
Speaker 7: obviously there's a reason that they were the champion, and
Speaker 7: they're a team that hit more threes last year in
Speaker 7: their postseason run than any other team has an NBA
Speaker 7: postseason history. But if they if they are hitting, they
Speaker 7: all of a sudden look vulnerable. Now, I think the
Speaker 7: numbers will bear out and they're gonna win with that
Speaker 7: style in the long run personally, but I mean, they
Speaker 7: are certainly playing with fire going into Game three.
Speaker 1: So as you know the Missoula the portion of the
Speaker 1: basketball I don't know media or ecosystem that criticizes Missoula.
Speaker 1: It's okay inherit. He inherited emy Udoka's team. He fell
Speaker 1: into the job because Will Hardy took the Jazz job.
Speaker 1: Will was Joe's number one assistant and then Will takes
Speaker 1: a Jazz job like two weeks later, loses the job
Speaker 1: because of what happened off the floor of Missoula kind
Speaker 1: of falls into it. So the criticism is, did he
Speaker 1: just inherit a roster and a system that is self
Speaker 1: sustainable because of the roster that Danny Danny Ainge then
Speaker 1: Brad Stevens put together, which I still believe is the
Speaker 1: best roster in pro basketball on paper, and so the
Speaker 1: criticism has kind of been, all right, it's an auto
Speaker 1: drive car, like you don't really have to do much.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how fair that is. But what are
Speaker 1: you expecting from him as it pertains to adjustments that
Speaker 1: people think that he needs to make, or do you
Speaker 1: think he just rides with the system that won him
Speaker 1: the chip a year ago?
Speaker 7: Yeah, he seems to be. And I covered the finals
Speaker 7: last year, so I got to spend a little bit
Speaker 7: of time around him. He seems to be a guy
Speaker 7: who's pretty strong in his divinchens and not one to
Speaker 7: meddle with the big picture. Now, of course, I imagine
Speaker 7: Neils some sort of adjustments, but I wouldn't even venture
Speaker 7: like a guess as to what specifically.
Speaker 8: That would be.
Speaker 7: But I think in general this roster has perfected to
Speaker 7: some degree. This approach of shooting forty three is a game,
Speaker 7: and I think if you look at the long time
Speaker 7: term sample size, right.
Speaker 8: You'd even say that like.
Speaker 7: For the two games so far the series, it worked
Speaker 7: for seventy out of the eighty six minutes or whatever
Speaker 7: ninety six minutes, right, So I wouldn't anticipate whole sold
Speaker 7: wholesale changes, but you know he would be kind of
Speaker 7: a sleep of the wheel if he doesn't make some tweeks.
Speaker 1: Last question before we move on, My goodness, I could
Speaker 1: talk to you for three hours today. This playoffs has
Speaker 1: been so insane. But should the Celtics should they? Should
Speaker 1: they not find their way back? If if Mozilla stays
Speaker 1: stubborn and the next get it, Let's say, I don't know,
Speaker 1: maybe the next go to MSG and get two. They're
Speaker 1: on the hook next year for twenty three are two
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three million dollars in change, almost two
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty four million dollars in change. They have
Speaker 1: a new ownership group who I would imagine would not
Speaker 1: be thrilled to pay a luxury tax bill for a
Speaker 1: team that lost in the second round. If Boston doesn't
Speaker 1: get back into this thing and win, what do you
Speaker 1: think the offseason looks like for Joe Missoula and this roster?
Speaker 7: And that is a very very good question. And obviously
Speaker 7: the other group putting up on precedent amounts of money
Speaker 7: just to be able to take over, and that's that's
Speaker 7: a huge bill. And you know some of the pieces,
Speaker 7: you know, a guy like Al Horford not getting any younger.
Speaker 7: I don't know. I think it certainly would have them
Speaker 7: reevaluate things and and look again at the the brunt
Speaker 7: excuse me, the jail and Brown situation and him with
Speaker 7: Jason Tatum and and figure is just really our best
Speaker 7: pathway forward paying both these guys incredible sum of money
Speaker 7: when there's still a bit of an overlap. I would
Speaker 7: tend to think that they would try to keep them
Speaker 7: together together one more year, because again, you're gonna be
Speaker 7: talking about the big picture of this team is that
Speaker 7: this would be a second round exit, right, but over
Speaker 7: the last nine years, it would be that would be
Speaker 7: the earliest things that they had. I'm including two finals appearances,
Speaker 7: a championship, and six conference finals appearances. So do you
Speaker 7: trust the eject button on that? I think probably not.
Speaker 7: But I do think some of the kind of the
Speaker 7: role players, you would have to look at, what specifically
Speaker 7: will we missing against the Knicks, and is it going
Speaker 7: to be something that we are going to achieve by
Speaker 7: continuing to pay some of these role players, And I
Speaker 7: think obviously there would be some degree of a shakeup.
Speaker 1: You like dogs, Dave, I love dogs. You love dogs. Okay,
Speaker 1: we're gonna move over to Indiana and Cleveland. Now here's
Speaker 1: the deal. Donovan Mitchell is a golden doodle. We love
Speaker 1: golden doodles. Everyone loves golden doodles. The golden doodles are cute.
Speaker 1: You can enter them to a dobs show. They're gonna
Speaker 1: win a dog show here there. To win the NBA Playoffs,
Speaker 1: you got to have Rott Wilders and the Pacers have
Speaker 1: a bunch of dogs. Man, they got a bunt Nie Smith. Now,
Speaker 1: I mean Benedict Matherin wants to fight everybody all the time.
Speaker 1: And you know, and we love Donovan.
Speaker 8: Here.
Speaker 1: I cheered for Donavan and look he nearly hung half
Speaker 1: a hundred and he's without three of his four best teammates.
Speaker 1: So this is not even a criticism. But we all
Speaker 1: thought we were a high speed head to Boston. Cleveland
Speaker 1: and the Calves are up a creek. Man, what do
Speaker 1: you make of what we've seen so far with the
Speaker 1: Pacers taking that.
Speaker 7: To a lead? Yeah, I mean that's what a brutal game.
Speaker 7: Brutal ending. I say, for Donovan Mitchell, you're missing three
Speaker 7: of your keep rotation guys. You know DeAndrea Hunter, no
Speaker 7: Evan Mobley, who just was named defensive Player of the
Speaker 7: Year and can't go because of an ankle. Obviously Daris
Speaker 7: Garland has been out since the first round. You put
Speaker 7: up forty eight I think you have nine to fix
Speaker 7: four steals, and in the last two minutes and thirty
Speaker 7: seconds you can't hold on to a seven point lead,
Speaker 7: in part because you missed two free throws and you
Speaker 7: have a bad turnover, and of course mass Screws also
Speaker 7: had a terrible turnover. But I mean, that is devastating,
Speaker 7: and you know, he said the right thing. Okay, we
Speaker 7: got to go down to Indiana and get to and like,
Speaker 7: I hope there's confidence behind that statement because this is
Speaker 7: a really tough Indiana team and a lot of I mean,
Speaker 7: the commentary is through that lens of the Lakers, JJ
Speaker 7: Reddick was so high on this Pacers team all season long.
Speaker 7: He thought that they play with an incredible pace, they
Speaker 7: are really sharp rotations defensively, and they have the size
Speaker 7: and physicality to give you problems on the wings. And
Speaker 7: this Cavs team, they are very, very deep, but all
Speaker 7: of a sudden, there is a big drop off. Whereas
Speaker 7: you know, Dean Wade getting knights Man minutes, they seem deep,
Speaker 7: but when Dean Wade's getting six man minutes.
Speaker 8: It's a different.
Speaker 7: Mass that you're dealing with. You know, tyjer Robes was
Speaker 7: a six Man of the Year candidate. He starts in
Speaker 7: game two, goes one for fourteen, you know, and it's
Speaker 7: the guy guarding Haliburton when he makes the game winning shot,
Speaker 7: and you wonder, you know, if he should have available
Speaker 7: up on him closer. I mean, it makes you think
Speaker 7: back to Game seven the twenty sixteen finals. Kevin loved
Speaker 7: it a better contesto Steph Curry than ty Jerome did
Speaker 7: on Tyrus Haliburt in that situation. So I think, whereas
Speaker 7: this is Cavs team I actually watch a lot because
Speaker 7: I spent four years cover in Cleveland, and I really
Speaker 7: enjoyed this group.
Speaker 8: I think they're a fun group to watch.
Speaker 7: I think they're I don't have nearly the same faith
Speaker 7: I have in the Calves that I do I have
Speaker 7: in Boston.
Speaker 8: I think they are up the creek without a paddle.
Speaker 8: This is gonna be a tough one for them to
Speaker 8: advance through.
Speaker 1: I agree one more question with this series though, because
Speaker 1: of course you want Evan Mobley and you want DeAndre Hunter,
Speaker 1: but they need Darius Garland in this series. Any thoughts
Speaker 1: on if they're getting close to healthy with either Garland
Speaker 1: or all three of those guys.
Speaker 7: I mean, what we heard most recently from Kay Eckinson
Speaker 7: was basically putting it on the medical staff and saying
Speaker 7: it's out of Garland's hands. When you start to hear
Speaker 7: stuff like that, you know, let's say, even if he
Speaker 7: does get in uniform at some point this series, or
Speaker 7: even as close as these next two games in Indiana,
Speaker 7: I think they're kind of laying it out there that
Speaker 7: he's not the player that we've accustomed to have and
Speaker 7: received his contribution to the multi time All Star.
Speaker 8: Like again, maybe I'm wrong, and maybe.
Speaker 7: This is smoke screen from Kenny Atkinson, but his most
Speaker 7: recent comments that I read in a Cleveland Plain Dealer
Speaker 7: makes me think that you're not going to be getting
Speaker 7: prime time Derek Starlin this series. We're gonna have to
Speaker 7: try to figure a way to win without him.
Speaker 1: Man to your point, I'm not sure they can. But
Speaker 1: let's move out west. With a few minutes we have
Speaker 1: remaining Warriors t Wolves. Game one goes to Golden State.
Speaker 1: Even though Stephen Wardell Curry played thirteen minutes and left
Speaker 1: in the second quarter. So give us an update on
Speaker 1: Steph and give me your thoughts on whether or not
Speaker 1: Golden State can actually get this thing done if Steph
Speaker 1: isn't ready to go sometime quick.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: One, I have to give credit to Steph Curry.
Speaker 8: Speaking to reporters today in Minneapolis. A lot of guys
Speaker 8: when they're injured.
Speaker 7: Will not do that, and I think it only benefits
Speaker 7: the fans to have that kind of trust with the press,
Speaker 7: to be able to give some information about what you're
Speaker 7: going through. He is a guy who he really doesn't know.
Speaker 7: You know, he's been in the league for forever and
Speaker 7: has never experienced a hamstring injury period. He was asked
Speaker 7: if even experienced tightness at some time in his career
Speaker 7: and he said no. And so the plan here is
Speaker 7: to give him a full week's rest, which means Game two, three,
Speaker 7: and four are out, and then see where he is
Speaker 7: at that moment. So right now it's just treatment round
Speaker 7: the clock. He's doing stand still shooting. I think probably
Speaker 7: just to you know, not have himself go nuts during
Speaker 7: this process more than anything, and then we will see
Speaker 7: where the series stands. If it's going back to San
Speaker 7: Francisco for a game six. I think everyone involved with
Speaker 7: the Warriors like that is the tie in the sky.
Speaker 7: Hope is that we can get Steph Curry on the
Speaker 7: court that game, but we don't know if that will
Speaker 7: be a Willis Reid Steph Curry and he's going to
Speaker 7: be there just to get the crowd riled up. You know,
Speaker 7: people forget Willis Resonas scored four points in that game
Speaker 7: when the Knicks won it, or he will actually be
Speaker 7: able to recover from this thing, a Grade one strain.
Speaker 7: It's one of two weeks and it's something that if
Speaker 7: you rush it back, you're automatically out for another one
Speaker 7: to two weeks. So it's a tough situation for them.
Speaker 7: I think the Wolves is sixth going into this series.
Speaker 7: I think it pace still goes that direction. But I
Speaker 7: do think when you get a guy like Jimmy Butler,
Speaker 7: that's a pretty good alternative to having. Of course, Steph
Speaker 7: Curry is, you know, an all time great, but Jimmy
Speaker 7: Butler is someone who will not blink at this task
Speaker 7: that's placed on his plate right now. He will come out,
Speaker 7: He'll come out with a game plan. He would be
Speaker 7: ball dominant. They're probably not gonna score a ton again.
Speaker 7: But they're going to grind out this game. They're gonna
Speaker 7: be physical. They out rebounded the Wolves by ten in
Speaker 7: game one. They're going to try to do the same
Speaker 7: thing here. And if they can get a hot shooting
Speaker 7: night from you know, Brandon Puzhevski or you know, Buddy Healed,
Speaker 7: they could have a chance to stay in this thing. Basically,
Speaker 7: all they got to look at the next three games.
Speaker 7: We got to win one and that'll assure us that
Speaker 7: this thing goes six.
Speaker 8: And if it goes six, you have a chance to
Speaker 8: get Steph Curry back.
Speaker 1: Give me a thought on tonight. The Tea Wolves are
Speaker 1: a ten point five point favorite. Part of me feels
Speaker 1: like this could look a little bit like Oklahoma City
Speaker 1: and Denver last night. Part of me feels like we
Speaker 1: may see the Tea Wolves wrong. But what do you
Speaker 1: think happens tonight, the first game they're playing without Steph.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'm totally with you. I don't know if we're
Speaker 7: gonna be a forty point blowout, but I anticipate the
Speaker 7: Wolves come out like their pants are on fire. And
Speaker 7: this thing's not even a game. You have to think,
Speaker 7: and especially because they have the athletes to just, you know,
Speaker 7: be able to turn this thing into a track race,
Speaker 7: and you're getting rebounds and steals and deflections, and you know,
Speaker 7: if you get the whistle on your side. Chris Finch
Speaker 7: certainly doing his part politically to play the rests and
Speaker 7: put it out there that Rudy Gobert wasn't getting a
Speaker 7: fair whistle in Game one, and a lot of times
Speaker 7: that does work. You get the league's attention and it
Speaker 7: sways back the other direction a little bit. Yeah, I
Speaker 7: would be very I would be very impressed, but I'd
Speaker 7: be very surprised if the Warriors even make this a game.
Speaker 8: I think Vegas kind of has the line right on
Speaker 8: this one.
Speaker 7: I think the Wolves run away with it, and then
Speaker 7: we reset the series in Golden State and see if
Speaker 7: the Warriors can kind of use the hometown energy to
Speaker 7: go back ahead and get that one more win because
Speaker 7: we have a chance at seeing Steph again this year.
Speaker 1: Would imagine Okase is salivating watching Boston struggling, but of
Speaker 1: course we're getting ahead of ourselves. I was tremendously impressed
Speaker 1: by Denver's just great an attitude to hang around and
Speaker 1: then make a couple of big plays down the stretch
Speaker 1: to get Game one, and then Oka See to your
Speaker 1: earlier point, just curb stomps them in game two. So
Speaker 1: through two games, Dave, what are your thoughts on that
Speaker 1: series and how do you think it plays out?
Speaker 8: Thought?
Speaker 7: Game one is what a tremendous moment that we get
Speaker 7: the two guys up for MVP going against one another,
Speaker 7: one just starting his prime and she goes out Xander
Speaker 7: or the other guy clearly smacked that in his prime
Speaker 7: and the best player in the world, and then both
Speaker 7: tremendous performance. Jokis was so good down the stretch in
Speaker 7: game one, the play where he caught it above the
Speaker 7: foul and he saw he had Caruso on him, and
Speaker 7: he just immediately put it in like Dad in the
Speaker 7: driveway mode and backed him down all the way to
Speaker 7: two feet from the basket and around plopped it in.
Speaker 7: And then a couple of mostons later he gets it
Speaker 7: now top of the key partner scene on him surveys,
Speaker 7: you know, jab steps rise and fire makes it like
Speaker 7: he's so good now. Tremendous credit to okay See for
Speaker 7: having the right bounce back, But I don't think that
Speaker 7: means like the rest of the series is going to.
Speaker 8: Not be competitive. I mean, I don't want to hurt
Speaker 8: any of your listeners here and bring up.
Speaker 1: You know, old wound.
Speaker 7: But we remember Bulls killing the Jazz right in game
Speaker 7: three back what was that the ninety eighth final, yep?
Speaker 7: And then Game four was a nip and tuck like
Speaker 7: right back to being a competitors series. The rest of
Speaker 7: the series quite frankly, it was nip and tuck.
Speaker 8: So I don't think Denver's out of this by any means.
Speaker 7: However, I think okay see probably avoided disaster by making
Speaker 7: sure this is a one to one series, and I
Speaker 7: do it anticipate them at dancing, but it could certainly
Speaker 7: go six or.
Speaker 1: Seven final thing, Dave, I'll set you loose on this.
Speaker 1: We actually have a local story which kind a lot
Speaker 1: of people are guard now. Will Hardy had had year
Speaker 1: four and year five options picked up, so he was
Speaker 1: not up against it, but the Jazz elect to extend
Speaker 1: him through twenty thirty one, which means, Dave, if he
Speaker 1: coaches through his contract, he will have a nine year
Speaker 1: run runway before he has to figure out what's next.
Speaker 1: That never happens in pro basketball. He would be the
Speaker 1: third longest stenured coach right now if he coaches through
Speaker 1: the end of his contracts. Are your thoughts on the
Speaker 1: decision of the Jazz to offer and Will to accept.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I was briefly talking about this with your producer
Speaker 7: porter before I came on air. I'd like to think
Speaker 7: that maybe Sanny Ainge and you know, Ryan and all.
Speaker 8: The decision makers listen to your show.
Speaker 7: Because I feel like we've talked about this kind of
Speaker 7: quandary that they may have found themselves in by clearly
Speaker 7: continuing this rebuild. And are you going to dim the
Speaker 7: light of your head coach someone who's going to actually
Speaker 7: want to be involved in this or does he feel
Speaker 7: like he's not being able to like pursue what could
Speaker 7: be a great coaching career if he just goes through this.
Speaker 7: And I think they made it quite clear for their
Speaker 7: money where their mouth is that no, we really value you.
Speaker 7: You are going to be there for now and for
Speaker 7: the future and for the extended future, and you are
Speaker 7: going to be the guy to lead us out of this.
Speaker 7: I think it was a great decision by them. I
Speaker 7: think it's still going to be very hard for Will
Speaker 7: Hardy to actually go through because you know they are
Speaker 7: not close to being a playoff team, let alone a contender. However,
Speaker 7: the lottery goes you know, in their direction, and you
Speaker 7: end up with you know, I'd say top two picks
Speaker 7: are both should be like can't miss guys. I think
Speaker 7: that it will be a fruitful journey for Hardy.
Speaker 1: Based off of the feedback I receive. They definitely listen
Speaker 1: because I'm either welcome with open arms if I'm nice,
Speaker 1: or i am shunned and I'm giving dirty looks if
Speaker 1: I'm not nice. Dave, so I know I know they're listening. Hey,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for the time. I guy, travel safe.
Speaker 1: We chats in. Dave mcmanman covers the NBA for ESPN.
Speaker 1: He is on the Warriors Timberwolve series. But some good
Speaker 1: stuff from Dave today. It's our next guest. I could
Speaker 1: use a ton of superlatives. The Wall of the wasatch
Speaker 1: the best to ever do it in Major League soccer,
Speaker 1: and now we can add to it. Nick Romondo Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer as Nicky was inducted into the National Soccer
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame as part of the twenty twenty five
Speaker 1: class just a few days ago. The first RSL player
Speaker 1: ever to be inducted so Nick, the first thing first, man,
Speaker 1: so proud of you. Congratulations, how you.
Speaker 5: Doing, Thank you man?
Speaker 6: Yeah, worlwind Tour just got back from being inducted in Dallas,
Speaker 6: and just so real for me to be amongst the
Speaker 6: names of so many great American soccer players and people
Speaker 6: being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 9: So just feeling so happy, so grateful, so blessed. And
Speaker 9: to be the first to ever do it from Rsel
Speaker 9: obviously that's a special feeling as well.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this, Nick, because as I referenced,
Speaker 1: I certainly am proud of you. I know a lot
Speaker 1: of people, including my old man, very proud of you.
Speaker 1: What are you most proud about during this journey that
Speaker 1: is culminated with an induction into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I tried to get your pops down there. Unfortunately, you
Speaker 6: know your dad has a busy schedule, but he was
Speaker 6: able to send me a nice little little gift to
Speaker 6: the house. That was very nice of him. But for me,
Speaker 6: I think just the consistency of being able to play
Speaker 6: for twenty years. You know what it takes to play
Speaker 6: for that long, to be able to take care of
Speaker 6: your body, have the trust from the organizations and teammates,
Speaker 6: your coaching staff, and to stay the longevity of just
Speaker 6: being at a club for so long, like Real Salt Lake.
Speaker 9: So and again, I.
Speaker 6: Think I would be remiss not to say that, you know,
Speaker 6: the speriences I've had with the national team, going to
Speaker 6: represent the country down at the World Cup in twenty
Speaker 6: fourteen was very special for me. And obviously the whole journey,
Speaker 6: the whole journey makes me who I am as a player,
Speaker 6: as a person, and the ups and downs of my
Speaker 6: careers and just again this reminiscing and looking back on
Speaker 6: my career, there's so many ups and downs that maybe
Speaker 6: the person I am today And just again just feeling
Speaker 6: so grateful.
Speaker 9: To be in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: No, you're a big music guy. I was watching this documentary,
Speaker 1: this music documentary on Glastonbury, this music festival, and they
Speaker 1: interviewed Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, after that
Speaker 1: big cold Play, like their first Glastonbury concert, and he
Speaker 1: said something that struck with me because they said, and
Speaker 1: you know, guys like you who achieve, and guys like
Speaker 1: lead singers of a band, you know, they start with
Speaker 1: a dream and then they followed the dream and work
Speaker 1: as hard as they could. And I'll never forget what
Speaker 1: he said. He said, my dreams never got this big.
Speaker 1: I never got here in my dreams. Were you did
Speaker 1: you dare to dream that something like this was a
Speaker 1: possibility for you when you were starting out playing soccer
Speaker 1: or did your dreams never get this big?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 6: You know, I never started playing soccer to be in
Speaker 6: the Hall of Fame. It was because I loved the sport.
Speaker 6: I love the competition, I love the bands, I love
Speaker 6: the team, my teammates and being a part of the
Speaker 6: team and the goal to reach, you know, the finals,
Speaker 6: the playoffs. That I was just a competitive person. And
Speaker 6: obviously when you start playing for as long as I did,
Speaker 6: to act like you start to, you know, accumulate a
Speaker 6: little bit more and more, and if you win, if
Speaker 6: you do well, you know, your name might get you know,
Speaker 6: shine bright a couple of times here and there. But
Speaker 6: I think if you ask anybody that has been inducted,
Speaker 6: they don't They don't do it to be in the
Speaker 6: Hall of Fame, to do it because they love the sport.
Speaker 6: And yeah, as you continue to play, those ambitions get
Speaker 6: a little bit bigger and bright and as I, you know,
Speaker 6: won the MLS Cup, it's like, what could I do next,
Speaker 6: Let's go to the Goal Cup, Let's let's get on
Speaker 6: the national team. And then obviously the goal was to
Speaker 6: make it to the World Cup, and and uh, to
Speaker 6: be able to achieve that that goal the biggest goal
Speaker 6: of my of mine and playing in one of the
Speaker 6: biggest soccer tournaments or sports tournaments in the world was
Speaker 6: massive to me. And I guess when when you're done playing,
Speaker 6: maybe there's a little hope that that there's gonna be
Speaker 6: some recognition somewhere here and there, and and and to
Speaker 6: be recognized by the Hall of.
Speaker 9: Fame and be inducted, that's that's the biggest for me.
Speaker 1: I wonder Nick, because you know, the hero's journey contains
Speaker 1: a lot of ups and downs, and life is not
Speaker 1: a straight line and careers are not linear. And you
Speaker 1: had a really interesting career where you started out, you know,
Speaker 1: on a trajectory that was going straight up with Miami
Speaker 1: and you want a supporter shield. You know, you were
Speaker 1: a starter as a rookie, uh, and then you went
Speaker 1: to d C and you know you were able to
Speaker 1: get the starting job for a minute. You guys want
Speaker 1: a cup, and then you lost your starting job and
Speaker 1: ultimately you landed here in uh in a in a
Speaker 1: trade that brought RSL. Freddy you do and you turned
Speaker 1: out to be the gem of that deal. But at
Speaker 1: the time, I think there were some questions. Did you
Speaker 1: ever question yourself during that time when you had lost
Speaker 1: your job and you landed here, grabbed the starting job
Speaker 1: and the rest is history? But did you ever have
Speaker 1: doubts during that process?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 9: Of course. And again like that's I touched.
Speaker 6: On a little bit, But who made It's what made
Speaker 6: me as a player, the downs more than anything, the injuries,
Speaker 6: the not playing someone else taking my starting position. It's
Speaker 6: believing in yourself, pushing yourself through. There're in those moments,
Speaker 6: letting that be the feel not you know, not the
Speaker 6: ceiling of who you are as a player and a person.
Speaker 6: And I really think if I didn't have any setbacks
Speaker 6: in my career and everything was just jolly and going straightforward,
Speaker 6: I wouldn't be where I'm at. It's those setbacks and
Speaker 6: injuries that again made me and made me go through
Speaker 6: the hard times in my career and really really flourish
Speaker 6: and the good times and you know, push me through
Speaker 6: to get to those moments, you know, winning in two
Speaker 6: thousand and nine, going to the MLS club and even
Speaker 6: losing I think I believe it was twenty twelves a KC.
Speaker 6: Those feelings stick with you and and and you don't
Speaker 6: want to feel those feelings again. So you get back
Speaker 6: on that on that on that field and in the gym,
Speaker 6: and you try to do whatever you can not to
Speaker 6: have that feeling again of losing, and just pushes you through.
Speaker 6: Everybody has motivation in their own way, and and and
Speaker 6: mind was through the losses and and and those learning
Speaker 6: experiences and how to get back on that horse.
Speaker 1: You know what I didn't know until recently because we
Speaker 1: were talking about your induction. You never want MLS Keeper
Speaker 1: of the Year in your entire career. That award never
Speaker 1: came your way once.
Speaker 9: No, no, I figure I was close a couple of times, but.
Speaker 6: Uh never never was able to get it. And and
Speaker 6: and listen, there were some good goalkeepers in my time,
Speaker 6: and not not to you know, be that humble guy
Speaker 6: all the time, but you got to give it to
Speaker 6: some of these goalkeepers. Man, Every time I thought I
Speaker 6: maybe had it, and again you don't. You don't start
Speaker 6: the year. It may be a goal, but you don't
Speaker 6: push for it, and at the end of the year
Speaker 6: you're like, Okay, maybe I got it.
Speaker 9: And it was just never on the table for me.
Speaker 9: And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that.
Speaker 6: I have selling more experiences and then friendships and teammates
Speaker 6: and awards that I got through my career, and.
Speaker 9: But it is. It is a talking point for sure.
Speaker 1: Look, dude, you have the MLS records for minutes games played, wins,
Speaker 1: clean sheets, saves, and penalty kicks. There's literally nothing else
Speaker 1: you could have done. So I will complain for you.
Speaker 1: The fact that you never won that award once is
Speaker 1: beyond stupid.
Speaker 9: I think you and my mom agreed.
Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough. Well, then I'm in good company because
Speaker 1: I've met your mother. Of course, she's a lovely lady. Hey,
Speaker 1: let me ask you this, what was it about, you know,
Speaker 1: whether it was simply Salt Lake being a new fresh
Speaker 1: start or John Ellinger and then Jason christ you know,
Speaker 1: believing in you. What was it that made this market
Speaker 1: at that time the right fit for you, that allowed
Speaker 1: you to go on to break all these records.
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, for me, it needed I needed to change.
Speaker 6: I wasn't the number one in DC. I was really
Speaker 6: in good with with DC United and the front office,
Speaker 6: so so uh, they helped me, you know, get out
Speaker 6: of there and gave me some options. It was Kansas City, Columbus,
Speaker 6: and I think Salt Lake City were at the top
Speaker 6: of the list for trading options, and honestly, for me,
Speaker 6: it was just trying to get as west as I
Speaker 6: could in Salt Lake was that and I was thinking, Okay,
Speaker 6: if I could somehow end my career in California, that
Speaker 6: would be great. I'm back to where you know I'm from.
Speaker 9: But Salt Lake is it was a home. It fit me,
Speaker 9: It fit my family, the people here that the relationships
Speaker 9: I built the club now to this day have have
Speaker 9: a great relationship with them and I owe a lot
Speaker 9: to them in my career. So many people did to
Speaker 9: name but this is home. After I was.
Speaker 6: Done playing, there was there was, you know, hands of
Speaker 6: MLS clubs that wanted me to come and get into
Speaker 6: coaching with their first teams, and for me, it was
Speaker 6: just it wasn't the right time. And honestly, I wanted
Speaker 6: to see what coaching was about, what that next level
Speaker 6: was about, and what better place to do do it
Speaker 6: at than my home club where my kids are, and
Speaker 6: really dip my toes and what this coaching thing is
Speaker 6: all about. So again they open up their arms to
Speaker 6: me and let me be the coach version of myself
Speaker 6: and see if I.
Speaker 9: Like it or not.
Speaker 6: And I just love it here man, the weather, the
Speaker 6: changing of the weather, the people that you know where
Speaker 6: I live, riding my bikes everywhere, that the concert scene,
Speaker 6: the restaurant scene. It's just evolving through the years, and
Speaker 6: I'm happy this is home.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you really have carved out an excellent piece of
Speaker 1: real estate for yourself, both literally and figuravely in this market,
Speaker 1: with the businesses you run, the coaching you're doing, and
Speaker 1: the presence you have. I wonder I want to kick
Speaker 1: the tires with the coaching stuff for a little bit, Nikki,
Speaker 1: because from my experience interviewing players and coaches over the years,
Speaker 1: and specifically players like you that decide to get into coaching,
Speaker 1: nothing will ever capture the buzz of playing, right, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think that's fair to say, But does coaching come
Speaker 1: close at all? And what's your experience been like so far?
Speaker 9: You cut out a little bit spent, say that again, Bud.
Speaker 1: I'll reduce it to make it quicker. I don't think anybody,
Speaker 1: I don't think anything can ever capture the buzz of
Speaker 1: the buzz you had when you were playing. I just
Speaker 1: don't think that's possible. But does the coaching thing come close?
Speaker 1: And what's been your experience so far with the coaching experience?
Speaker 7: Yeah?
Speaker 9: No, I mean when you step on the field and
Speaker 9: you put the mids on and you got the cleats underneath,
Speaker 9: the lights and the pressures and trying to accomplish something
Speaker 9: as a team, that's a whole different feeling than you know,
Speaker 9: put it on the running shoes and a polo before
Speaker 9: a game, that's for sure, But you know, it keeps
Speaker 9: me involved. You can't buy experiences, and the experience I've
Speaker 9: had in the game, I think, you know, real real
Speaker 9: moniks for the academy kids that I've been working with
Speaker 9: and even the first team as if there's you know,
Speaker 9: I see him around a lot in the locker room
Speaker 9: and we you know, small talk hand they're about games.
Speaker 9: But I think you're never going to get that same
Speaker 9: filling of being the player. But I hope that you know,
Speaker 9: my presence on the sideline on the training training field
Speaker 9: will give these players an upper hand, you know, with
Speaker 9: my experiences.
Speaker 1: All right, tank you before I set you lose, because
Speaker 1: I know you have to run. I always hesitate to
Speaker 1: either dismiss or anoint an MLS team based off the
Speaker 1: start because some of the best teams we've ever had
Speaker 1: here they've started slowly and some of the worst have
Speaker 1: started quickly. It has been an up and down start
Speaker 1: to say the least. But Roth has been really good.
Speaker 1: I wonder what your take is on this new keeper
Speaker 1: for the club and your thoughts on if Pablo and
Speaker 1: the group can turn around.
Speaker 9: Yeah. I see Ratha every day. His training habits are
Speaker 9: second to none. What he's doing on the field, Isn't
Speaker 9: it surprising me? Because he comes in and we're part
Speaker 9: every single day. His technique is upstanding and other players
Speaker 9: to look up to and and I'm just really really
Speaker 9: proud to see rap A step in and be so
Speaker 9: consistent with the team. And he's been one of the
Speaker 9: best players in my opinion, throughout throughout the season so far.
Speaker 9: Obviously you have to be you have to think of
Speaker 9: Diego Luna as well, who's and we could get back
Speaker 9: on track, you know, we've had some injuries. I'm trying
Speaker 9: to get you know, I think some some Uh let's.
Speaker 1: Let him go, all right, Uh, there you go. I
Speaker 1: think he copped in his car. I think he probably
Speaker 1: had to get to practice, is my guest this time
Speaker 1: of day, right, I.
Speaker 2: Think actually another soccer game, daughter soccer game.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, he's got too two growing kids. I'm sure
Speaker 1: he's uh there, there's there's nothing more complicated. Then you're
Speaker 1: doing an interview and you can tell that they're walking
Speaker 1: from their house to the car. Then you got to
Speaker 1: get in the car, got to start the car, got
Speaker 1: to pull out of the driveway. So that's my guest
Speaker 1: that we had Nick in his house and then he
Speaker 1: had to get in his vehicle.
Speaker 2: I think you actually when you cut out, was him
Speaker 2: the headphones going into the car. So I think you're spot.
Speaker 1: On, Nick Romando, Hall of Famer. I will repeat this now.
Speaker 1: We do this thing in our market where you know,
Speaker 1: we always complained that Jerry Sloan never one Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year, which was a crime. I think Jerry had
Speaker 1: a case four or five different times. Nick Romondo has
Speaker 1: the MLS records for minutes played, games played, career wins,
Speaker 1: clean sheets, saves and penalty kicksaves. Is there anything else that?
Speaker 1: Is there any other record you can hold as a keeper?
Speaker 1: I feel like Nick has literally every record in MLS
Speaker 1: history that you can carry as a goalkeeper.
Speaker 2: I think so at least is we're talking career spans, right,
Speaker 2: there's no one that really comes close to Nick Romondo.
Speaker 2: And when you look at the comparison spence, they are
Speaker 2: several of them. They are records that appear like they
Speaker 2: could stand for a very long time in Major League soccer. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't know that there's much more. You know, you
Speaker 2: don't rely on on goalies for goals, but I always
Speaker 2: like that one.
Speaker 1: That's always fun.
Speaker 2: When a goalie has a couple of goals on the sheet.
Speaker 1: Maybe assists distribution out of the back porter.
Speaker 2: It's important.
Speaker 1: It's important soccer terms. I don't mean to get too deep,
Speaker 1: but you got to be able to provide distribution from
Speaker 1: the back line. Nick was actually good at that. I
Speaker 1: don't know how many careers Sissy have he had, but
Speaker 1: I think he had a few. So outside of goals
Speaker 1: and assists that you do not count on your keeper
Speaker 1: to provide. Nick has all of the meat and potato
Speaker 1: records in MLS.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I believe so, as you said, probably a crime
Speaker 2: that he was never given that award. And you go
Speaker 2: back to some of the ways that RSL won and
Speaker 2: one playoff games, one games down the stretch, it was shootouts,
Speaker 2: it was one Nill right that. I mean, you're relying
Speaker 2: on your keeper quite often. So yeah, shout out to
Speaker 2: NICKI well deserved Hall of Famer even if he didn't
Speaker 2: get that Keeper of the Year award.
Speaker 1: Throughout the course of RSL's runs back in the you know,
Speaker 1: the two thousand and seven to twenty fifteen sixteen run
Speaker 1: when Nick was really peak Nick, if you weren't there
Speaker 1: or if you weren't watching consistently, it's hard to explain
Speaker 1: how many big time saves he came up with, not
Speaker 1: just throughout the run of play soccer term, not trying
Speaker 1: to get too deep, but also just penalty kick saves
Speaker 1: PK shootouts, certainly MLS Cup that saw RSL beat that
Speaker 1: LA Galaxy team that had Landon Donovan and David Beckham
Speaker 1: on it. And you know, it's interesting to consider, you know,
Speaker 1: Nick's Nick's story is a really really just simply a
Speaker 1: really good life lesson because, as I talked to Nicki about.
Speaker 1: Ironically enough, Nick's career started out in Miami with the
Speaker 1: Miami Fusion. They picked him thirty fifth overall in the
Speaker 1: third round of the draft, and the starting keeper in
Speaker 1: Miami at the time was a guy named Jeff Kassar,
Speaker 1: and Nick took Jeff's job. Ironically enough, Jeff was the
Speaker 1: goalkeeper coach under Jason christ here in saut Lake, so
Speaker 1: Nick was started as a rookie and then started twenty
Speaker 1: five games the next season, and the Fusion won the
Speaker 1: Supporter Shield in two thousand and one. With Nick and
Speaker 1: goal Miami now has a soccer team. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you've heard they've got a player. I don't know
Speaker 1: how to pronounce his name. I think it's Messi. But
Speaker 1: Miami was contracted after the two thousand and one season,
Speaker 1: so Soccer and Miami was done and the players were
Speaker 1: dispersed via an allocation draft, and Nicki was taken by
Speaker 1: DC United, who was coached by Ray Hudson, who coached
Speaker 1: Nick in Miami. And in two thousand and two, Nick
Speaker 1: played in every game and three he missed the end
Speaker 1: of the season with an injury, but then he lost
Speaker 1: his job to Troy Perkins because Ray Hudson lost his job,
Speaker 1: and I want to say, Bruce Arena took the job
Speaker 1: in DC and then Nick actually took the job back
Speaker 1: and they won MLS Cup that year, but then he
Speaker 1: lost out to Troy Perkins again in two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: so he was their second string keeper. And I think
Speaker 1: what a lot of people may forget is we had
Speaker 1: Nick here for a minute, but then Nick lost his
Speaker 1: starting job here in saw Lake to a guy named
Speaker 1: Scott Garlic, and so Nick was sent back to DC United. Okay,
Speaker 1: so he was sent back. Excuse me, he was actually
Speaker 1: traded to the New York Red Bulls. Okay, So he
Speaker 1: was traded to the New York Red Bulls because Scott
Speaker 1: Garlic won the job here. So Scott Garlic was going
Speaker 1: to be the keeper here. He was the first choice keeper,
Speaker 1: he had won the job, and Nick was in New York. Well,
Speaker 1: I'll never forget being in RSL's offices when a phone
Speaker 1: call came through and the general manager at the time,
Speaker 1: Steve Pastorino John Allinger, was kind of making most of
Speaker 1: the decisions, but John Ellinger informed the staff that Scott
Speaker 1: Garlic was retiring from Major League soccer because he got
Speaker 1: a good job in real estate. And I can remember
Speaker 1: thinking like, Okay, this is not the NBA, this is
Speaker 1: not the NFL. This is a different league. If you're
Speaker 1: starting keeper who had won the job and was under
Speaker 1: contract and probably had three or four years left to play,
Speaker 1: decided he was retiring from soccer because he wanted to
Speaker 1: pursue real estate. This is a different thing altogether. So
Speaker 1: John Ellinger, to his credit, had to scramble and he
Speaker 1: calls New York and as the story goes, New York
Speaker 1: I believe gave John the choice between two keepers, and
Speaker 1: Nick was one of them, and John said, just send
Speaker 1: Nick back to us and let's see what we can
Speaker 1: do with that. And the deal again for Romando, was
Speaker 1: made to acquire Freddie Adue, who was thought to be
Speaker 1: the future of American soccer. He was a teenage kid
Speaker 1: when he was receiving national team call ups. And Freddie
Speaker 1: had played for John Ellinger at the Bradenton Academy with
Speaker 1: the developmental program for the national team. So the attention
Speaker 1: in that transaction was on Freddie and not Nick. Nick
Speaker 1: was kind of a throw in, and then they had
Speaker 1: to panic to get Nick back because our keeper retired.
Speaker 1: They made Nick the number one overall keeper in two
Speaker 1: thousand and seven and all he did after that was
Speaker 1: go on to break every record that MLS has for keepers.
Speaker 1: So pretty phenomenal story and Nick deserves a lot of
Speaker 1: credit because obviously RSL went on to win MLS Cup
Speaker 1: in two thousand and nine. They went onto a CONCACAFF
Speaker 1: Champions Final, almost becoming the first MLS team to win
Speaker 1: the CONCACAFF Champions League, and then nearly won a Cup
Speaker 1: again but lost to KC in the final. And then
Speaker 1: Nick played through twenty nineteen, so played another five years
Speaker 1: after that and will go down as one of, if
Speaker 1: not the best keeper in the history of this league
Speaker 1: and certainly a legend for RSL. Utah Football picked up
Speaker 1: a transfer today. His name is Dylan Battle. He's a
Speaker 1: defensive lineman who transferred to Utah from LSU. A cool
Speaker 1: six two three twenty. What would be like to be
Speaker 1: six two three twenty. That is a massive, massive human.
Speaker 2: That's what you call a dude. Yeah, sec experience obviously
Speaker 2: got the size, got the got the measurements to play
Speaker 2: de tackle. But when you get a player like that
Speaker 2: at Utah, it's at least the ceiling is there. You
Speaker 2: never know what you're gonna get. The transfer stuff, you know,
Speaker 2: sometimes is hit or miss, but the potential the ceiling
Speaker 2: is is obviously going to be there. A kid that
Speaker 2: was pretty highly recruited, played at an SEC school and
Speaker 2: now transferring to Utah where well, I don't know if
Speaker 2: you've heard they had some changes that de tackle the offseason.
Speaker 1: Porter, You know me, all I want is dudes who
Speaker 1: love ball. That's all I want. Found dudes, dudes who
Speaker 1: love ball. Just bring me all the dudes who love ball,
Speaker 1: and we're ready to roll.
Speaker 2: Get Yogi on the show.
Speaker 1: Do it? Oh, you know what we should? Yogi released
Speaker 1: a really cool video on Cameron on Cam Rising yesterday,
Speaker 1: and Yogi has known Cam since he was a high
Speaker 1: school quarterback with his Elite eleven ties. It'd be funny
Speaker 1: catch up with Yogi, all right, Porter, Ryan Smith is
Speaker 1: taking a massive risk. You ready to hear? Why? Yes?
Speaker 1: So we know now who the Jazz rep will be
Speaker 1: at the NBA Draft lottery coming up on Monday of
Speaker 1: next week. Thurle not Big T would be a good
Speaker 1: call with Big wasn't T there last year? I think so?
Speaker 1: And then the Jazz moved down. Yeah, sorry Thurle, Sorry
Speaker 1: t our guy. Reminder coming up on Monday, we are
Speaker 1: going to say good night just to sco Shirley, just
Speaker 1: to scoach.
Speaker 2: That's a unit measurement.
Speaker 1: It is a unit of measurement. It's applicable for this conversation.
Speaker 1: And we will bring you the NBA Draft Lottery live
Speaker 1: and representing the Utah Jazz will be none other than
Speaker 1: Ashley Smith, Oh, Ryan's wife. Okay, here's the risk. What
Speaker 1: if Ryan asks Ashley to rep the Jazz and they
Speaker 1: move down all the way to five right, That's not
Speaker 1: going to be a very happy household. Ryan and Rii's
Speaker 1: my guy. A couple guys in their forties that throw
Speaker 1: the hat on backwards. Okay, riise my guy. But I
Speaker 1: view that as a massive risk. Now, the reward is
Speaker 1: Jazz get number one overall, happy wife, happy life, as
Speaker 1: they say, The risk is they fall. Good luck, dude,
Speaker 1: good luck at home.
Speaker 2: You're putting expectations now on Ashley.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying it's a risk for Ryan to do that.
Speaker 2: You are, you know, maybe trying to get some brownie points.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's it's Mother's Day, I think, so you're trying
Speaker 2: to play that card. But if it doesn't go well,
Speaker 2: you're putting a lot of weight on the shoulders of
Speaker 2: your wife there.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying. So hopefully it works out. So
Speaker 1: the Jazz rep will be Ashley Smith coming up for
Speaker 1: the draft lottery on Monday of next week and we
Speaker 1: will bring that to you live. All right, Porter, that's it.
Speaker 1: I'm done. I'm out. I've had enough. No more where
Speaker 1: you're going. I'm going to play golf in Saint George. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'll be back on Monday. But tomorrow, Scott Mitchell apparently
Speaker 1: is hosting shows on the station for like seventy five
Speaker 1: straight hours.
Speaker 2: I think it's the Scott Mitchell Extravaganza, if you.
Speaker 1: Will, Okay, so stay tuned for that. Scott Mitchell will
Speaker 1: be hosting this program tomorrow. So I am going to
Speaker 1: ask you to make sure that you hold the ford
Speaker 1: down because Scott's got a lot of work to do.
Speaker 1: So there's some pressure on you tomorrow, young man. Can
Speaker 1: you handle it?
Speaker 2: I relinquish any of that responsibility, sir. I just I
Speaker 2: just I just got the knobs, you know, Okay, I
Speaker 2: got the buttons. I got the knobs, all right. The
Speaker 2: responsibility falls on the shoulders of one Scott Mitchell in
Speaker 2: Broadway media.
Speaker 1: All right, well they're Broad's shoulders. But if Scott needs
Speaker 1: a nap, you might have to just cover five DA
Speaker 1: eight minutes of air time.
Speaker 2: I got it, Okay, I got it. Scott will be here,
Speaker 2: but I'll be I'll be ready to go. I'll be
Speaker 2: in tow all right.
Speaker 1: So I'm out tomorrow, gonna go play little golf in
Speaker 1: Saint George where the weather is supposed to be phenomenal,
Speaker 1: so look forward to that. I'm not playing Black Desert.
Speaker 1: So Patrick Manning, you are dead to me. That was hard.
Speaker 2: Did he not text you back?
Speaker 1: He did, but it was during the LPGA event, and
Speaker 1: so he said, hey, lobby to attext tomorrow before noon.
Speaker 1: Let me see what I can do. Lobbed the text
Speaker 1: in your back. So, Patrick Manning, if you're listening, you
Speaker 1: have a chance to be my best friend in the world.
Speaker 1: But as of now, you're dead to me. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: kind of harsh. Busy guy with the LPGA stuff.
Speaker 2: We're gonna get you on that course, all right sometimes.
Speaker 1: So I'll be down in Saint George playing a little
Speaker 1: golf over the weekend, I'll be back on Monday. But Porter,
Speaker 1: what comes our way on a Friday edition of the program?
Speaker 1: You going to the UNI course, I am playing. We're
Speaker 1: going to mesquite Oh fun, We're gonna do a little
Speaker 1: falcon Ridge, and then your boy might throw some cards
Speaker 1: tomorrow night. You should. I will.
Speaker 5: Sports.
Speaker 1: I never bet on sports, but I can grind on
Speaker 1: a blackjack table. I've played enough blackjack that I can
Speaker 1: spend a couple of hours and then either go up
Speaker 1: or down one hundred or couple hundred bucks and then
Speaker 1: walk away. I'm not trying to get rich. I'm not
Speaker 1: trying to lose money.
Speaker 2: If you do bet on sports, use the provo CODESPN
Speaker 2: seven hundred.
Speaker 1: Ice pick get fifty dollars for a first five dollars.
Speaker 2: Bet on a Friday with Scott Mitchell, of course, we'll
Speaker 2: react to the retirement of one Cam Rising. We'll talk
Speaker 2: some Utah spring football. Max Chadwick stops by the program
Speaker 2: for that, Paul Pugmeyer will give us the latest at
Speaker 2: the Truest Open, and Howard Beck for some NBA playoffs,
Speaker 2: and I'm sure the remainder of the time will be
Speaker 2: Scott and I kind of going back and forth on
Speaker 2: Utah Football, NBA playoffs, whatever comes about on a Friday afternoon,
Speaker 2: and then set you loose for the weekend. There you
Speaker 2: on Mondays.
Speaker 1: There you go. Thanks for holding the Ford down, and
Speaker 1: we'll say good night. Special thank you today to Alex Schenzen,
Speaker 1: the Belle Frasier, Todave mcminnimon, and to Nick Romando for
Speaker 1: any of the sound you missed from the show. ESPN
Speaker 1: seven hundred words dot com is our website. Download our
Speaker 1: mobile app, Take us on the go. That's what I
Speaker 1: use to listen to our radio station. You'll love it.
Speaker 1: ESPN seven hundred app is free in the Google Play
Speaker 1: Store of the App Store as well. Then, finally, for
Speaker 1: what we do in our space every afternoon for four hours,
Speaker 1: check out our podcast page. It's called The Drive with Spence.
Speaker 1: Check it's that's available wherever you get your shows. Subscribe, rate, review,
Speaker 1: say and nice things in the comments. Give us all
Speaker 1: the stars. It actually does help. Reporter. I'm Spen saying,
Speaker 1: and I have a great weekend. Give Scott and Porter
Speaker 1: your attention coming up tomorrow. I'll be back on Monday.
Speaker 1: Be good yourself, be good to each other so always
Speaker 1: you can catch all the action right here on ESPN
Speaker 1: seven hundred and ninety two and FFM. We are proud
Speaker 1: to be part of utah's ESPN radio network.