Speaker 1: There are only two teams in the top twenty five
Speaker 1: that have at least seven players averaging seven points per game.
Speaker 1: Arizona's one of them. Michigan State University is the other.
Speaker 1: One of their assistant coaches, Saudi Washington, should be a
Speaker 1: head coach somewhere in this country, but we're glad that
Speaker 1: he's in the state of Michigan. His daughter's very talented gymnast,
Speaker 1: and he's with us here on Exis and bros. On
Speaker 1: this Friday morning. Sadi, my friend, how are you good
Speaker 1: morning sheep? How are you, my man? I'm doing great, buddy.
Speaker 1: It's great to hear your voice. I'm so happy for
Speaker 1: your success. It doesn't surprise me, but really happy. Why
Speaker 1: is your team so good? Do you think this year?
Speaker 1: What makes them tick?
Speaker 2: You know what? I think we have really embraced this
Speaker 2: idea of just trying to be different in today's culture.
Speaker 2: We really have bought into the strength and numbers concept,
Speaker 2: which leads to the the versatility of our team, our
Speaker 2: ability to kind of mix and match our rotation, you know,
Speaker 2: based on what the game needs. And you know, they've
Speaker 2: just done a really good job of just of just
Speaker 2: sacrificing for one another for the bigger calls, which you
Speaker 2: and I both know isn't always the easiest thing to
Speaker 2: do to convince a bunch of eighteen to twenty two
Speaker 2: year os to do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's also not easy to have them buy in
Speaker 1: on a night to night basis for defense. And yet
Speaker 1: your guys do that. You are I would consider you
Speaker 1: guys an elite defensive team. How are you able to
Speaker 1: get them to care so much on that end of
Speaker 1: the floor.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean that starts with the leadership. I mean
Speaker 2: that's always been a staple of a time as OH
Speaker 2: coach basketball team, toughness, rebounding, defending, and running. And so
Speaker 2: that's one of those non negotiables around here in terms
Speaker 2: of how we prepare, and our guys do a really
Speaker 2: really good job of a really investing time in the preparation,
Speaker 2: because you know, that's where it really starts, to be honest.
Speaker 1: Show Saudi Washington, assistant coach, Michigan State University joining is
Speaker 1: here on exis and broths. There's only one team in
Speaker 1: the nation that has ten players averaging fifteen minutes or
Speaker 1: more per game, and that's your team. How challenging is
Speaker 1: that for you to keep eight everybody happy and find
Speaker 1: the rhythm. And you know this because you played at
Speaker 1: the collegiate level. How hard is it to create that
Speaker 1: rhythm for guys if they're not logging the type of
Speaker 1: minutes that many times they were used to before.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think it's one of those things
Speaker 2: we really kind of stumbled upon this past summer when
Speaker 2: we were able to go on our foreign trips over
Speaker 2: to Spain and you know, like the distribution of minutes there,
Speaker 2: you're just trying to get everybody minutes play and find
Speaker 2: the rhythm. And then you know, we kind of discovered like, wow,
Speaker 2: you know, we got a really talented roster and the
Speaker 2: way that we want to play in terms of applying
Speaker 2: pressure defensively and playing fast offensively, Well, if you're doing
Speaker 2: your job like you're supposed to, you're probably not going
Speaker 2: to be able to, you know, play extended minutes and
Speaker 2: still be really efficient, you know, on both ends of
Speaker 2: the floor. So you know, it kind of was a
Speaker 2: trial and everything that happened this summer. Then obviously winning helps,
Speaker 2: you know, with the buy in a lot quicker, and
Speaker 2: guys are really adjusted, made the right adjustment for themselves
Speaker 2: personally for us to be really effective thus far this season.
Speaker 1: It's such an interesting path you have. And I've said
Speaker 1: this before. I don't say it just because you're the
Speaker 1: on our show right now. You should be a head
Speaker 1: coach somewhere and you will be. But you have learned
Speaker 1: from some of the best coaches I would argue in
Speaker 1: college basketball history. Greg Campy at Oakland, John Beeline at
Speaker 1: Michigan and now Tommy Izzo at Michigan State. What do
Speaker 1: those three men have in common that makes them great coaches?
Speaker 1: And what is perhaps one specific thing you will use
Speaker 1: when you become a head coach from each of those guys.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know, and I wouldn't exclude you on
Speaker 2: because you know, I've been really fortunate and spoiled to
Speaker 2: work with some really really good folks, and with each
Speaker 2: one of them thus far, we've had a lot of
Speaker 2: success in winning winning championships, and I hope to bring
Speaker 2: that here in East Lansingwood. Coach is though, who I've
Speaker 2: known since I was fourteen fifteen years old. But one
Speaker 2: of the consistent characteristics of the things, and they're kind
Speaker 2: of each individual. You know, Campy, you know, he's a
Speaker 2: guy that allows you know, the players to be their
Speaker 2: authentic self. You know, from an offensive standpoint value shooting,
Speaker 2: you know, similar with Coach b Uh. But in terms
Speaker 2: of like day to day preparation, you know, Coach b
Speaker 2: Coachwan obviously coach is a Hall of fame coach. The
Speaker 2: preparation that goes into building great teams is critical and
Speaker 2: not missing the details on both ends of the floor,
Speaker 2: on and off the court, because there's a lot of
Speaker 2: carryover in that. And you know what I've learned is,
Speaker 2: you know, if you hold up a high expectation to
Speaker 2: the young man in the States to the accountability part
Speaker 2: of it, if you got the right guys in the
Speaker 2: locker room, some really good things can happen.
Speaker 1: And I love the tough love coaching the Tomzwell develops
Speaker 1: and has done, and Greg Campy has done it, and
Speaker 1: John Beelin has done it as well. A couple more,
Speaker 1: just real quick, because I know you've got film and
Speaker 1: you've got things that you've got to do. I could
Speaker 1: keep you for a long time. Went on, Oh man,
Speaker 1: I was watching it on when you call, I bet,
Speaker 1: I bet that never stops. And I hope your family's
Speaker 1: doing well. Not everything is rose even though you got
Speaker 1: twenty one wins and twelve conference wins. Three point shooting
Speaker 1: is a problem for Michigan State, no question, right. I
Speaker 1: would guess that as long as you're taking good shots,
Speaker 1: you guys can live with it. But what's the problem
Speaker 1: with a three point shooting from MSU And how do
Speaker 1: you overcome that when the NCAA tournament comes around?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I would call it. I would reframe
Speaker 2: that and just say it's a work in progress. We
Speaker 2: have capable shooters in that locker room the guys. Is
Speaker 2: not because of a lack of effort, is not because
Speaker 2: of a lack of work. You know, you just we
Speaker 2: just really have to get more consistent in terms of,
Speaker 2: you know, getting our legs up into our shot, finding
Speaker 2: the right shots, like you said earlier, because you could
Speaker 2: take a lot of bad shots and that obviously lowers
Speaker 2: the percentages. But you know, within the floor of the offense,
Speaker 2: not press and being confident in the work that you
Speaker 2: put in beforehand and just really stepping in and believing
Speaker 2: in yourself and taking the right shots. Yes, you know,
Speaker 2: come March, you know, come postseason play, that's where it
Speaker 2: really becomes critical in the ability to win games at
Speaker 2: a high level. You know when when everything is on
Speaker 2: the line for one night.
Speaker 1: What will be most important tonight, especially against those two
Speaker 1: outstanding bigs and Danny wilsm flag Olden, who are are
Speaker 1: kind of unique because they're not always back to the
Speaker 1: basket guys.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think it's they're a really good team.
Speaker 2: You know, their their staff has done a really good
Speaker 2: job of assembling the right roster, and you know, the
Speaker 2: offense that they run. You know, we just have to
Speaker 2: play spartan basketball. At the end of the day. We
Speaker 2: have to defend, we have to run, we have to rebound,
Speaker 2: and you know, then we go on the other hand,
Speaker 2: we got to make shots. So I really think it's
Speaker 2: going to be more about our habits being better than
Speaker 2: their habits over a longer period of time.
Speaker 1: I don't want to sound too old, but are your
Speaker 1: daughters in college? Are they performing in the gymnastics in college?
Speaker 2: Yeah? So, my my daughter Sidney, whose birthday is Sunday,
Speaker 2: pretty happy birthday birth she's a gymnast at Ohio State.
Speaker 2: They actually she actually competes tomorrow at Penn State. And
Speaker 2: then my son Calob who you probably remember, well, that's
Speaker 2: junior in high school and he's a trick. He's a
Speaker 2: track guy. He has a big tru state.
Speaker 1: I can't believe you. I can't believe your daughter is
Speaker 1: in college. I remember, I remember talking with your beautiful
Speaker 1: wife and your kids so long ago. And when I
Speaker 1: thought I had read she's I thought she started a pet.
Speaker 1: I could be wrong there, but she did.
Speaker 2: Ye started that pit?
Speaker 1: She did? Okay, good.
Speaker 2: I was Ohio State last year. Yeah, and she's a
Speaker 2: now wow man.
Speaker 1: And I know you and your wife. I mean, your
Speaker 1: wife was such a champion, traveling all over the country
Speaker 1: with the gymnastics, and you were always keeping up with it.
Speaker 1: So I'm glad she's living that dream. It's it's awesome
Speaker 1: to talk to you. I'm so happy for you that
Speaker 1: you're doing so well, but even happier for Michigan State
Speaker 1: fans so they get to see you on a regular
Speaker 1: basis do the thing that you do so well. Congratulations,
Speaker 1: good luck tonight, and we hope we can see each
Speaker 1: other soon.
Speaker 2: All right, yep, I appreciate you, brother,