Speaker 1: This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on
Speaker 1: Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services insure
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Speaker 2: Big good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to IRO on the Ball
Speaker 2: here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera and
Speaker 2: with me today is former U of A Hooper and
Speaker 2: star Ridgie Geary.
Speaker 3: Reggie, how are you? I'm good, Steve, I'm good. I
Speaker 3: had to call You're like slash to meet you.
Speaker 2: You know, former U A player, former NBA guy, former
Speaker 2: NBA well, NBA now you're a radio guy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Former assistant coach, former head coach and the G League,
Speaker 4: former head coach overseas.
Speaker 3: What a life you've had. I've been very fortunate. You
Speaker 3: have you have? Did you ever think?
Speaker 2: I don't know if you remember this, but I remember
Speaker 2: this because it affected me. When you were being recruited
Speaker 2: by Luke ninety two, summer of ninety twos ninety one,
Speaker 2: maybe you were at down gym and you were being
Speaker 2: recruited by you of eight. I think you had just
Speaker 2: committed with your team from Matater Day, or you had
Speaker 2: been here for the summer and you said, yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: coming to Arizona, So that was kind of started the process.
Speaker 2: Would you have thought that it'd come to all this,
Speaker 2: this is thirty four years ago.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know if I ever thought it would
Speaker 4: come to this, but I think I hoped they would
Speaker 4: come to some type of relationship with the university, that
Speaker 4: I would be a student athlete, have an amazing experience,
Speaker 4: get to play for a Hall of Fame coach, got
Speaker 4: to play with just an amazing group of guys. I
Speaker 4: want to say, you know, probably ten twelve guys that
Speaker 4: went on to play professional at some level, and other
Speaker 4: guys became professional with other areas. So just to be
Speaker 4: with this group and to kind of, you know, parlay
Speaker 4: it into a nine year professional career or a fourteen
Speaker 4: year coaching career now back in Arizona. I don't know
Speaker 4: if I envisioned all that, but I definitely was hoping
Speaker 4: to playoffs something like this.
Speaker 2: Well, and the fact that you came in with a
Speaker 2: bunch of good dudes. You know, you kind of mentioned
Speaker 2: that with Joel McClain. There's probably some brothers of yours
Speaker 2: now right, jb uh, don't don't don't mess with me,
Speaker 2: because I'm trying to get this right, you JB. Corey McClain.
Speaker 2: Ray was not part of that group, was he? Who
Speaker 2: am I missing?
Speaker 3: Kevin? No?
Speaker 2: No, there was five of you there. Why it wasn't
Speaker 2: Edrick it was and okay was part of that group. So,
Speaker 2: you know, a player for every position and then dummy Eddrick.
Speaker 2: I could say that because he's one of my poker buddies,
Speaker 2: says you know that. I think he was a fantastic
Speaker 2: player by the way left, but that team all that potential.
Speaker 2: But then he got replaced by Ben Davis eventually, right.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, you know, we we obviously hate to
Speaker 4: lose Ederick. Back in the day, Edic went went on
Speaker 4: to Tennessee some Tennessee then Lewiston Clark actually ended up
Speaker 4: playing the NBA for for a cup of coffee and
Speaker 4: happy his career played out. But yeah, we ended up
Speaker 4: getting Ben Davis All American from Kansas and Florida. So
Speaker 4: back in the nineties, a lot of good things were happening.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no question.
Speaker 2: And you know when it's a deep when Sweet sixteen
Speaker 2: had had Kansas by the Yankers and didn't beat them,
Speaker 2: uh you would played Syracuse next game.
Speaker 3: Right now?
Speaker 5: Yeah, we had played them earlier in the season.
Speaker 4: They're going back to that ninety six year and uh, yeah,
Speaker 4: we had a good team. Senior Leyden had beat UH
Speaker 4: Georgetown in Michigan earlier in the year.
Speaker 5: From the preseason in it, I think we.
Speaker 4: Finished second in the Pac twelve, had a bad Bay
Speaker 4: Area trip and you know, unfortunately we go to Kansas.
Speaker 4: Joseph Blair at that time wasn't with the team, and
Speaker 4: he was a big part of what we were doing. Uh,
Speaker 4: future European Player of the Year a few years later,
Speaker 4: showing his quality. So they I didn't know that, yeah,
Speaker 4: when he was with when he was in Italy, he
Speaker 4: was Turkey at the time he was he was a
Speaker 4: year League Player of the Year before going to Milan,
Speaker 4: and so just to show his quality and we missed him,
Speaker 4: ended up losing to Kansas.
Speaker 5: But I want to say two two or three. I
Speaker 5: remember a Jared.
Speaker 4: Hoss corner of three told Miles don't leave standing next
Speaker 4: to me and called a time out.
Speaker 3: We went down the other way.
Speaker 4: Coach as to call a play up and I did
Speaker 4: a little driving kick to Michael Dickerson, who was a
Speaker 4: freshman at that time. He had a lot of confidence
Speaker 4: in and he just didn't knock it down right. It's
Speaker 4: just one of those things.
Speaker 2: Well, I still say this, and I'd probably talk to
Speaker 2: you about a thousand times. I thought that game helped
Speaker 2: that team the next year beat Kansas because they knew
Speaker 2: they could play with them, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: because you beat them the week you you had them,
Speaker 2: because I think it was Dickerson who went two for
Speaker 2: one on that final minute. They missed the shots, came
Speaker 2: back down the shot, mit whatever, But you guys paid
Speaker 2: Kansas so tight that ninety six that that gave him
Speaker 2: the confidence that they can beat him in ninety seven.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go with that. Steve. I like that.
Speaker 4: I tell people we taught them well and there's play
Speaker 4: that same same plays. They had been to that stage before,
Speaker 4: and now they're not overwhelmed by it. So yeah, and
Speaker 4: and keep in mind a group did that for me,
Speaker 4: previous Arizona team ninety four. And so yeah, that's what's
Speaker 4: one of the great things about you know, playing in
Speaker 4: a program like Arizona.
Speaker 5: You're gonna be on big stages.
Speaker 4: You're not always gonna win, but you're gonna maybe really
Speaker 4: get some good experience you can use for the next year.
Speaker 4: And as to your mentioned ninety seven was able to
Speaker 4: get hot and English.
Speaker 2: That one of the things that I think Loot did
Speaker 2: fantastically well. And you know this because you lived this,
Speaker 2: and I'm not sure it can be done anymore given
Speaker 2: the transfer stuff. And I almost see a cuss sword
Speaker 2: the transfer stuff where your first team and your second
Speaker 2: team could just go interchangeable and play each other tough
Speaker 2: to get ready for the game. You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 2: Your first team and your second team were not so
Speaker 2: much equal, but very close.
Speaker 4: No very close, I mean when you look back at
Speaker 4: I think that was one of the secret sauces for Arizona,
Speaker 4: that that those second line guys and third line guys
Speaker 4: were really future NBA guys, and we pushed each other
Speaker 4: every single day in practice. You know, as a freshman,
Speaker 4: I get to go against damis thought of my callip
Speaker 4: reeves both individuals were future NBA right, a lottery picks, right.
Speaker 4: And so I think even going forward now, looking fast
Speaker 4: forward to twenty twenty five, you know, and looking with
Speaker 4: some of the things that are coming out of the
Speaker 4: n C DOUBLA, with roster restrictions, we're no longer going
Speaker 4: to see twenty guys on the bench like we did
Speaker 4: last year with nine walk Ons. Gonna be a tighter
Speaker 4: bench fifteen guys. So I think there's gonna be more
Speaker 4: opportunities for first and second second groups. Yeah, the first
Speaker 4: team and second team groups to play against each other. Really,
Speaker 4: you know, kind of iron sharpening Ireland.
Speaker 3: As I like to say, without question, Yeah, how do
Speaker 3: you enjoy one?
Speaker 2: I'm gonna ask you a lot of questions because well,
Speaker 2: first of all, let's go into the guest lineup today,
Speaker 2: because it's got a pretty damn good one thanks to
Speaker 2: you and to a couple of people that said, yes,
Speaker 2: we're gonna have Rocky Coyle, former U of A baseball
Speaker 2: player captain and in nineteen eighty two, who lose I
Speaker 2: think in the North Carolina area. He's I think he
Speaker 2: was at the game over the weekend. So we'll see
Speaker 2: what he says about this baseball team. And then one
Speaker 2: of your buddies, what of guys? I know Kenny lofton
Speaker 2: last second addition, he's gonna be on at three forty.
Speaker 2: He's up to a lot of different things right in LA.
Speaker 2: He's got a lot of things going on. So three forty,
Speaker 2: that'll be a cool conversation. He's never been on the
Speaker 2: show before. And then at three at four fifteen, four seventeen,
Speaker 2: when your colleagues in what you do on the side, Brian.
Speaker 3: Jefferies, so like old times A lot of times.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I want to see if you have any stories
Speaker 2: about him, but maybe he is about you being it
Speaker 2: on the road?
Speaker 3: Does it you must enjoy that?
Speaker 6: I do.
Speaker 7: I do.
Speaker 4: It's it was one of the things that I was
Speaker 4: very flattered and honored to be asked when I first
Speaker 4: came back to the university as an administrator. Now six
Speaker 4: years ago. It's hard to believe, but six years and
Speaker 4: Brian came up and and I always laugh, He said, hey, man,
Speaker 4: would you like maybe jubbing on the radio with me
Speaker 4: and being our color analyst or expert analysts? And I said, yeah,
Speaker 4: that sounds great and so uh but.
Speaker 2: You even before that, Reggie, I think if you can remember,
Speaker 2: maybe if I remember correctly, you said, you know, give
Speaker 2: me as many opportunities that you could come and do this,
Speaker 2: so you could do that eventually.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I always go, you know, just being
Speaker 4: a professional athlete, you're always kind of in front of
Speaker 4: the mike as a coach. I had done a lot
Speaker 4: of press conferences, so I was I was fairly comfortable
Speaker 4: in front of a microphone. It's just I never really
Speaker 4: called a game before, and so I always tell the story.
Speaker 4: We get to Oregon for my first game doing a
Speaker 4: broadcast with Brian and it's a top ten matchup between
Speaker 4: Arizona and the Ducks in Eugene and really no instructions
Speaker 4: kind of pushed me out there.
Speaker 3: So is that what sean?
Speaker 8: No?
Speaker 4: No, that was I believe the year after okay, yeah,
Speaker 4: the year after that road trip. It's so ended up
Speaker 4: being an overtime game that we ended up winning. But
Speaker 4: that was kind of my baptism by fire in terms
Speaker 4: of our radio. And you said I could do this.
Speaker 4: I thought, if I, if I hold on to Brian
Speaker 4: very very tightly and this very very closely, then maybe
Speaker 4: I can. And it's been six years and they keep
Speaker 4: inviting me back. So it's great.
Speaker 3: The coattails. No, he's he's a good one to do that, right.
Speaker 2: No, No, And you guys have this great rapport, as
Speaker 2: does Rhino. You know, you guys kind of interchange that now, well,
Speaker 2: you know, professional stuff gets in the way. How do
Speaker 2: you how must time we have. You can tell I'm
Speaker 2: excited about today. We have five minutes. Well, waut your
Speaker 2: other role at you obey and how much you enjoyed that.
Speaker 4: Oh so my other role as an administrator as I
Speaker 4: work in a Wildcat cl I'm a senior Development and
Speaker 4: basically we are the business development, the fundraising arm for
Speaker 4: the athletic department. And so I have the great pleasure
Speaker 4: to work in this community, to work with alumni, to
Speaker 4: work with letter winners, people that I love the university,
Speaker 4: and I can talk to them about about my story.
Speaker 4: More important importantly learn about their story and where their
Speaker 4: passions lie and how they can help. And luckily there
Speaker 4: we have so many you know, just kind and generous
Speaker 4: people in the Tucson community at large in terms of
Speaker 4: the Wildcat family and the fact that like I said,
Speaker 4: we get to tell the story, raise some funds, provide
Speaker 4: some resources for today's current student athlete means a lot
Speaker 4: to me because someone I had done that for for
Speaker 4: me when I was a student athlete, and now I
Speaker 4: get to pay it forward.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, of no fantastic stuff. Yeah has it gone four
Speaker 2: years older? No?
Speaker 9: I do not.
Speaker 4: I mean I look in the mirror all the time,
Speaker 4: and I I'm hanging in there pretty good. So when
Speaker 4: people tell me, you know, you know, are remember you
Speaker 4: when I was a kid, or you played in the
Speaker 4: Golden Era, or I just remind myself that I'm in
Speaker 4: my fifties now, it's definitely an eye opener.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and a lot of you guys turned into these
Speaker 2: great guys. You know JB doing what he's doing with
Speaker 2: the NBA and all the philanthropy he does. You and
Speaker 2: your situation, Joe McClain, this money guy for the stars.
Speaker 2: You know, I don't even know how to say it.
Speaker 2: Uh Yeah, Corey doing his thing locally and on TV.
Speaker 3: Who am I ma? Then in dow in Atlanta, Alta?
Speaker 7: Right?
Speaker 6: Now?
Speaker 2: See him every now and again, right and then I
Speaker 2: don't rick I see from time to time. I wanted
Speaker 2: to get him on the show. When the last time
Speaker 2: I saw you bet we were in Vegas, right, And
Speaker 2: he's a shy guy, he is.
Speaker 5: If you could get Ebo on, that would be it.
Speaker 5: That would be pretty cool, pretty cool.
Speaker 4: But I mean just I was really, like I said,
Speaker 4: We've been blessed and fortunate not only through the Ludolfson era,
Speaker 4: but through the Sean Miller and Tommy Lloyd of just
Speaker 4: quality people coming in here, people doing things even after
Speaker 4: basketball and supporting one another. And in his current role
Speaker 4: working in the Waka Club, I get to talk to
Speaker 4: a lot of these guys pretty And that's the.
Speaker 2: Key, at least more recently too, that all you x
Speaker 2: guys have been embraced to come back to help. If
Speaker 2: you're around, go see go say hello your local. But
Speaker 2: you see that from the other dudes that come in.
Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure, I'm encouraging these guys come on in.
Speaker 4: Tommy's encouraging them come on in. You know, this is
Speaker 4: where you know, we're one family. You know, we want
Speaker 4: guys coming back. We want to expose the path to
Speaker 4: these new guys. And yeah, and he does a good
Speaker 4: job of getting guys out in front of the team
Speaker 4: to talk for a couple of minutes.
Speaker 5: Yeah, And so it's been great. And so that's one
Speaker 5: of the nice things to me coming back.
Speaker 4: That's saying, hey, I reached out to not only basketball players,
Speaker 4: but uh to swimmers and divers and sitting you're nice
Speaker 4: swimming going back to the nineteen fifties and saying, hey,
Speaker 4: come back home, we got a one place for you
Speaker 4: here and I think guys are taking advantage of that.
Speaker 2: Did you were you Have you been in those rooms
Speaker 2: with when the X guys come in and talk to
Speaker 2: Tommy's teams? Yeah, were you there a year or so
Speaker 2: ago when when Pete went in there and says, say,
Speaker 2: you're not just playing for You're playing for the guys
Speaker 2: down the road, you know, And I guess that was
Speaker 2: last week and he said that kind of made him cry.
Speaker 4: I mean that that's the one thing we always try
Speaker 4: to impart with these guys is that there's such rich
Speaker 4: tradition here that you really are upholding something greater than yourselves.
Speaker 4: But at the same time, you have just an army
Speaker 4: of former players and coaches that are rooting for you
Speaker 4: guys and just wishing the best for you, and just
Speaker 4: you know, that's why we go actually so hard, because
Speaker 4: we want you guys to do well. We want you
Speaker 4: to represent the A and and luckily we've had a
Speaker 4: lot of good players, a lot of good citizens.
Speaker 2: Doing that right, right, No, good group and not just dudes,
Speaker 2: good dudes, you know, not just basketball players, but good dudes. Yeah, yeah, okay,
Speaker 2: anything else. I think we're going to take a break here,
Speaker 2: get ahold of Rocky on the other side is calling
Speaker 2: from North Carolina.
Speaker 3: I think, and we'll see what happens.
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Speaker 1: This is Eye on the Ball with Steve Rivera on
Speaker 1: Fox Sports fourteen fifty eight.
Speaker 3: Hey, welcome back to my LaVall Hero Fox Books fourteen fifteen.
Speaker 3: I'm Steve Rivera.
Speaker 2: In with me today's former Ulive hooper Rejiguari, now in
Speaker 2: the admin department at Wildcat Club.
Speaker 3: You're traveling all over the place because of that job. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I do. I get out.
Speaker 4: I got out a pretty good much, you know, a
Speaker 4: good amount, you know, just obviously through their radio work
Speaker 4: and doing Big twelve road games and the Big Twelve Conference.
Speaker 4: But in my role as a regional guy because I'm
Speaker 4: even though I work here too, so I'm also regional.
Speaker 4: So I have groups in California. She's me in La
Speaker 4: Orange County, a couple of individuals in northern California. This summer.
Speaker 4: I'm looking to go to North Carolina in Illinois. So yeah,
Speaker 4: there's a man. That's one thing about uh being being
Speaker 4: a wildcat. I've lived all over the world. I've lived
Speaker 4: in the States, I've lived overseas twelve years, seven different countries.
Speaker 3: Everywhere I've gone.
Speaker 4: If I'm wearing an Arizona hat, someone's walked by me
Speaker 4: and said bear down.
Speaker 3: Or go cat right everywhere? Yeah, and recognizable. Did you
Speaker 3: learn Japanese?
Speaker 5: Scouse?
Speaker 3: You're very little?
Speaker 8: Is that?
Speaker 6: Is that?
Speaker 7: What that mean?
Speaker 3: That means very little. It's a difficult language. I don't
Speaker 3: have a great ear.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, when we're older, it kind of comes
Speaker 2: and goes, right, you got to learn it when your
Speaker 2: kids must have.
Speaker 3: My kids do pretty good. My wife has done well.
Speaker 4: You know, she has some family in Japan and we
Speaker 4: had been there previously before I started working there, and
Speaker 4: so I think there was a little extra a little
Speaker 4: extra emphasis. I wanted to learn the language, and she
Speaker 4: kind of immersed herself with the children, and so they
Speaker 4: do much better than I did.
Speaker 2: When you're coach there, what was the structure in terms
Speaker 2: of player roster, because you can have like a couple
Speaker 2: of Americans, right or what was.
Speaker 3: The Yeah, so Japan unique.
Speaker 4: You know, every country is different and it's changed over
Speaker 4: the years in terms of how many Americans or or
Speaker 4: players that you can have on your team. In Japan,
Speaker 4: you could have you could have four foreigners or four Americans.
Speaker 4: They could be from anywhere. Okay, so I usually have
Speaker 4: about four guys and usually that you have about eight
Speaker 4: or nine Japanese players to kind of fill out your roster.
Speaker 4: The interesting about thinking about Japan is that I get
Speaker 4: this correct. I think you can play your Americans six
Speaker 4: quarters of some type of combination. I believe that's correct.
Speaker 4: So if you see, if I can do the math correctly,
Speaker 4: So if I started, if I start, if I start
Speaker 4: two guys, how does that work? It's either four quarters
Speaker 4: or six quarters? But no time, could you have all
Speaker 4: your Americans out there at the same Okay, you could
Speaker 4: have one four or you could have two on the floor.
Speaker 4: Never could you have three, And you kind of had
Speaker 4: to be strategic about when you were gonna have two
Speaker 4: on the floor or one on the floor.
Speaker 3: That was because they wanted their guys to play.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're they're definitely for the you know, for the
Speaker 4: entertainment purposes and for the development.
Speaker 5: They felt in Japan have their own players.
Speaker 4: They thought it was important because if you go to
Speaker 4: Italy or some of the European countries, you can have
Speaker 4: five Americans on the floor, and I think they they
Speaker 4: just didn't want to see that where their naturalized players
Speaker 4: just weren't getting the minutes sure to kind of draw
Speaker 4: and they're growing the game there.
Speaker 5: So that's a big part.
Speaker 3: Who were you Americans? So we know who they are?
Speaker 4: Yeah, So, I mean the one I had the longest
Speaker 4: was a guy named Justin Burrell, justin Saint John's, Saint John's.
Speaker 4: He was a big East six six Man of the Year,
Speaker 4: had gone to camp the Golden State Warriors. It's about
Speaker 4: six foot nine. It was really right there on the edge.
Speaker 4: We almost become the NBA.
Speaker 3: Guy, give me the time frame for you, give me
Speaker 3: the time frame home.
Speaker 5: So I was there as in Japan, that is, I
Speaker 5: was there from twenty eleven.
Speaker 3: Oh so right after right after luds is coming gone
Speaker 3: and it just started.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So yeah, I was on coach Coach Alston's last staff,
Speaker 4: and so when Sean came on, I tried to remain
Speaker 4: on staff.
Speaker 5: Had some good players that I was working with.
Speaker 4: Had recruited Solomon Hill at Abdul Gaddy, who was the
Speaker 4: number one point guard the country that Mike Morris kuld
Speaker 4: out of Modern Date end up going to Stanford, and
Speaker 4: I thought, you know, when Sean came in, you know,
Speaker 4: I show him I was still working. But it just
Speaker 4: didn't work out at the time. So I was fortunate
Speaker 4: enough to get a job here in town for a
Speaker 4: little bit. Worked for Cody Ritchie or at krestin Senards. Yeah,
Speaker 4: you coach to my coach. I was a Calian Foot
Speaker 4: Hills High School. So I was trying to like you know,
Speaker 4: starting to getting my chops going while I got my degree,
Speaker 4: and and yeah, it just kind of all worked out.
Speaker 3: Okay, So for okay, who's the other guys.
Speaker 4: The other guys I had had Paris Horn, another guy
Speaker 4: from Saint John's. I had Draylen Burns. So I ended
Speaker 4: up Dreylan actually he was out of Milwaukee, ended up
Speaker 4: having a really nice career over in Japan. Actually had
Speaker 4: a game winning shot for me and a semi finals
Speaker 4: getting us to getting us to the finals of my
Speaker 4: second year, which we won.
Speaker 5: Had Jordan Pachinski people.
Speaker 4: Might remember him at an as Uh seven foot three
Speaker 4: Guy Uh, and so Thomas Kennedy Detroit Mercer. When you know,
Speaker 4: a lot of these individuals in there staying in Japan
Speaker 4: for a long time, so really good pros. The Japanese
Speaker 4: market or league has got better, better and better every year.
Speaker 4: And the great thing about it is you play eighty
Speaker 4: games in Japan, so it's it's it's second only to
Speaker 4: the NBA in terms of amount of games.
Speaker 3: So and it goes from when to win. I mean
Speaker 3: I was about six months schedule.
Speaker 5: That's like eight months sched and so I did that
Speaker 5: for six years.
Speaker 3: Ten ten games a month for eight months.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well I was out there ten months. I was
Speaker 5: I'd be in Japan for ten of the twelve months.
Speaker 4: The year we won a championship, I was there eleven months,
Speaker 4: and so our turnaround time was about three weeks.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I spent a lot of time there.
Speaker 2: So you you're like one of the many guys, are
Speaker 2: some of the handful guys at least that I know. Uh,
Speaker 2: you're from La right, southern California. You come here to school,
Speaker 2: but True Line's your home.
Speaker 3: Why.
Speaker 5: I mean, there's a lot, there's a lot. There's a
Speaker 5: lot to and not because.
Speaker 3: Your John, but you made purposely you left and you
Speaker 3: made this was home base.
Speaker 4: True Song was our home base. It was my off
Speaker 4: season home. You know, even at my time as a
Speaker 4: player and a coach. Close proximity to California, cost of living,
Speaker 4: the weather. The big things are the people here. You know,
Speaker 4: this is a warm place for me and my family,
Speaker 4: for everyone. We just we just love the people here.
Speaker 4: We just love the vibe of Tucson, how it's laid back,
Speaker 4: how people are kind and people do care, and that
Speaker 4: resonated with us. Yeah, and we thought thought about do
Speaker 4: we go back to southern California or do we move
Speaker 4: somewhere else? Having really been all over two songs, that
Speaker 4: wasn't easy. It was easy, antiws.
Speaker 2: Yeah, now I'm gonna kind of jump all over now
Speaker 2: that you're in the wildcat of the club club and
Speaker 2: doing what you're doing. How does how does the success
Speaker 2: of the baseball team help or like basketball or you
Speaker 2: know the other sports.
Speaker 3: All of them.
Speaker 4: I mean anytime obviously, uh, you know, do you have
Speaker 4: your Tucson faithful that you know, whether they're winning or losing,
Speaker 4: everybody's on board, and I know sure how most people are.
Speaker 4: But when things are going well, you know, there's an
Speaker 4: excitement in the room. And so when Wes Johnson and
Speaker 4: try out the lawn wins the national championship, hey, all
Speaker 4: of a sudden, you're going to meet some individuals that
Speaker 4: want to meet the coach and want to give some
Speaker 4: money and support that program. When baseball is on a
Speaker 4: run like they are right now going to the you know,
Speaker 4: the World Series, you know, yeah, that's going to resonate.
Speaker 4: People are going to go out to Omaha and and
Speaker 4: or or you know, watch from home and they want
Speaker 4: to get involved. So there's you know, being successful in
Speaker 4: in your sport and going on runs in the tournament
Speaker 4: and bringing home hardware.
Speaker 5: Yeah, people want to get behind that.
Speaker 4: And then through that we have an opportunity to to
Speaker 4: kind of educate and say you know, yes these are
Speaker 4: for you know, pursuing championships, but the big the big
Speaker 4: picture is, you know, these are student athletes and future
Speaker 4: leaders of the world.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, let me just say, we're expecting to get
Speaker 2: coiled Rocky coil here on the phone, but he hasn't
Speaker 2: called yet, so we'll just kind of here he is,
Speaker 2: I might like, you know, that's PCT timing.
Speaker 3: Rocky is issue. How are you good?
Speaker 8: Good?
Speaker 3: Right on time.
Speaker 2: When I was saying we haven't heard from you, let
Speaker 2: we got about seven minutes with you.
Speaker 3: How are you?
Speaker 7: Yeah great? Thank you for following me and wanting to
Speaker 7: be a part of your show.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you were. You were at the games this weekend,
Speaker 3: weren't you?
Speaker 7: Yes, all three?
Speaker 3: What did you What did you get? What was your
Speaker 3: impressions of the team.
Speaker 7: I felt that they were very resilient and they you know,
Speaker 7: they just even when they were getting blown out, they
Speaker 7: were still, you know, they didn't quit. I saw that
Speaker 7: in them, and I was able to They didn't know me,
Speaker 7: but I was cheering them. I mean I went down
Speaker 7: right by the field and I was telling each of
Speaker 7: them not to quit fighting. And you know, like I
Speaker 7: was a captain again back you know, right, I lived here,
Speaker 7: So I mean, like dream come true to me. That
Speaker 7: the Cats. I was expecting him to come last year.
Speaker 7: Then West Virginia came instead of us last year.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I lived fifteen minutes from the ballfield at in
Speaker 7: Chapel Hill there at Boshington Nice, so I live here now.
Speaker 7: So I was like so thankful they were coming.
Speaker 2: So nineteen eighty two, coach, you were the captain, right
Speaker 2: and Chip arrived yet no team.
Speaker 7: He came right when I left, because his last year
Speaker 7: was eighty six. You know, he won it in eighty six,
Speaker 7: and so he would I think he came he three
Speaker 7: or eighty four, and I and I in fact when
Speaker 7: they won it, when they won the championship, I had
Speaker 7: signed professionally. I was in Double A in the Southern League,
Speaker 7: and I can remember I was in Chattanooga on the road.
Speaker 7: I stayed up and I saw him win the championship
Speaker 7: Florida State and I was jumping up and down in
Speaker 7: my room all by myself. Really, but so I was,
Speaker 7: you know, and I grew up.
Speaker 6: Jim Wing was is interesting.
Speaker 7: I lived and I was from Phoenix, born and raised
Speaker 7: in Phoenix, but my dad played basketball at the Universe.
Speaker 7: I just passed away that she was the oldest living
Speaker 7: member of.
Speaker 2: The University of basketball program for the Well you're breaking
Speaker 2: up a little, Rocky, let me ask you real quick,
Speaker 2: so say that about your dad again.
Speaker 7: Yeah, my dad. My dad was the last, I think
Speaker 7: one of the last oldest living members from the University
Speaker 7: of Arizona basketball program.
Speaker 3: Who did he play for?
Speaker 7: He played for Fred Ink.
Speaker 3: Wow, So he had to be. He had to be
Speaker 3: in the nineties.
Speaker 2: He was eighty nine, eighty nine, right, because, friend, you're
Speaker 2: talking about nineteen fifty something.
Speaker 7: Yeah, my dad was Player of the Year his senior
Speaker 7: year and I didn't even know that un till he died.
Speaker 7: They put it up on the wild Cat you know,
Speaker 7: on the Alumni you know.
Speaker 2: Wow, I have Reggie Gear with me here too today
Speaker 2: as my co host, so you know there's some connection
Speaker 2: with basketball.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Rocky, how you doing great?
Speaker 7: How are you doing?
Speaker 4: I'm doing good, man, It said. Sounds, first of all,
Speaker 4: fairly cool. Store about your really cool story about your
Speaker 4: dad playing for Fred. There he ever sharing any stories
Speaker 4: with you of how he was as an individual or
Speaker 4: a coach.
Speaker 7: Oh, yeah, he was. My dad played with him at
Speaker 7: the end of his career, you know, and he you know,
Speaker 7: he had a you know, had a great run and
Speaker 7: my dad played the Old Border Conference. Yeah, and you
Speaker 7: know it was a cool thing because they had one
Speaker 7: of the first African American players in the country and
Speaker 7: they played for them.
Speaker 3: Haiti Reid Red Yeah read you read.
Speaker 7: But my dad played. My dad was a really good
Speaker 7: ball really he was. People told me that, you know.
Speaker 7: But he uh, he went to West High School won
Speaker 7: a state championship there. He had come from Ohio and
Speaker 7: he played for West High and they actually won the
Speaker 7: state championship at bear Down at the gym at bear Down,
Speaker 7: and then he ended up playing uh three years for
Speaker 7: you know, starter for he was good. He was this
Speaker 7: point guard during those years.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 7: So he was a really good and he was on
Speaker 7: a baseball scholarship too. But he hurt his arm, so
Speaker 7: he actually would have played against Jerry in the national
Speaker 7: championship in fifty seven, you know, but uh, you know
Speaker 7: it's one of those things that got hurt, so he
Speaker 7: couldn't play.
Speaker 3: Is that how Jerry found you? How they find you?
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 6: No, I was.
Speaker 7: For me, you know from you know you remember coach Wing, Yeah,
Speaker 7: Coach Wing and my my dad and well they saw
Speaker 7: me play in high school, you know, I was the
Speaker 7: I was the State of Arizona High School player of
Speaker 7: the Year when I was at Coronado High School in Scottsdale.
Speaker 7: So I was the State of Arizona player of the year.
Speaker 7: So I was getting recruited by everybody. And uh, I
Speaker 7: verbally committed to as you because I grew up by there.
Speaker 7: And then coach Kendall flew me to Tucson and said, hey,
Speaker 7: uh this you know, and and and you know, Craig
Speaker 7: Leffards picked me up at the airport and they took
Speaker 7: me there. We were playing. They were playing Stanford, and
Speaker 7: Coach Kendall walked me out to the outfield and said,
Speaker 7: this is yours for as long as you're here. Man,
Speaker 7: he goes, don't be a sun devil.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 7: I really liked him. I liked his character. He was
Speaker 7: a wonderful, wonderful Christian man, you know, the good guy,
Speaker 7: you know, and just a wonderful guy and a great
Speaker 7: leader of men, you know. So I'm glad I played
Speaker 7: for him and he ended up. In fact, he was
Speaker 7: supposed to call me the weekend my dad made this
Speaker 7: Sports Hall of Fame in Phoenix. Uh, and Coach Kendall
Speaker 7: was there to see his brother get into the Hall
Speaker 7: of Fame, and he told me. He went up to
Speaker 7: my dad and said, hey, tell Rocky. He always called
Speaker 7: me and checked on me. He said, tell Rocky, I'm
Speaker 7: gonna call him tomorrow. And the next day he had
Speaker 7: a stroke and he died. Yeah, that was he was
Speaker 7: supposed to call me. And it was Christmas. It was
Speaker 7: like December seventeenth, eighteenth. My dad called me and said,
Speaker 7: coach Kendall is going to call you tomorrow. And then
Speaker 7: I got worried that he had had a stroke.
Speaker 2: You know, well, you're you're a man of great faith too, right,
Speaker 2: So you you have played pro ball now, played pro
Speaker 2: ball back in the day, and now I think maybe
Speaker 2: you maybe have been a lucky charm out in North
Speaker 2: Carolina because are you still preaching?
Speaker 3: Are you still a Well what I.
Speaker 7: Did was i was at the peak of my career
Speaker 7: and I'm the last guy in the world. I should
Speaker 7: have had a bit of preacher. But what happened was
Speaker 7: I was in the middle of my baseball career. I
Speaker 7: was in Triple A, and I didn't really grow up
Speaker 7: in church or anything, you know, but I through Fellowship
Speaker 7: of Christian Athletes, I had come to faith. And it's
Speaker 7: funny how God picks the people that are least likely,
Speaker 7: you know. And I was one of them. And a
Speaker 7: guy came to me and said, Hey, why don't you
Speaker 7: come help me at the inner city here in Huntsville.
Speaker 7: I played in Huntsville in Double A, and I had
Speaker 7: a career three twelve average in pro ball, and I
Speaker 7: got hurt in Triple A, and then I was I
Speaker 7: went to spring training in eighty eight and the guy
Speaker 7: called me up and I told my wife, I said,
Speaker 7: I think I'm gonna leave baseball. And plus my son
Speaker 7: Josh was just starting, just starting kindergarten, and we were
Speaker 7: playing in Toledo and Triple A, and I went to
Speaker 7: go to the salad bar and he was holding onto
Speaker 7: my pant pocket scream and Daddy, you leave it again,
Speaker 7: And you know, I looked at his little face and
Speaker 7: I said, no, you know, I'm not gunn And sometimes
Speaker 7: in our lives as men, we have to make a
Speaker 7: choice for our children. And I, you know, I walked
Speaker 7: away from the game and went and started working with
Speaker 7: kids in the inner city in Alabama, and then went
Speaker 7: back to school. I had learning disabilities and I didn't
Speaker 7: know I didn't want to tell anybody, but it was
Speaker 7: really hard for me to go to school. And then
Speaker 7: I finally finished up in nineteen eighty nine ninety and
Speaker 7: then I was ordained, and you know, I started working
Speaker 7: with kids, and I now I have a nonprofit. I'm
Speaker 7: not at a church serving him. I really love being
Speaker 7: a youth minister, working with children, trying to help save
Speaker 7: kids lives out of gangs and drugs and things like that.
Speaker 7: That was my to coach with those there. And then
Speaker 7: I started a nonprofit. And I really liked teaching skills
Speaker 7: because I think a lot of kids lacking in skills
Speaker 7: because all the travel, ball and everything, and trying to
Speaker 7: make a difference in people's life and speaking hope and
Speaker 7: life my heart. What I'm good at is encouraging, and
Speaker 7: that's what I try to do with the cats they
Speaker 7: walk by. I don't think they really understood what I
Speaker 7: was doing, but I was just when they lost that
Speaker 7: first game, I go, hey, a couple of years ago,
Speaker 7: my son played at mc State, and I said, a
Speaker 7: few years ago, MC State lost nineteen nothing Arkansas, and
Speaker 7: then they beat them twice. I said, you guys can
Speaker 7: do it, you know, and they were just kind of
Speaker 7: staring up at me, and you know, like, who's this
Speaker 7: guy and so? And you know, I went down the
Speaker 7: dugout and with Chip and I sent you a picture
Speaker 7: of that, and you know, but my my heart is
Speaker 7: to see a difference in kids' lives. And that's what
Speaker 7: I dedicated my life to when I started, you know,
Speaker 7: working with children and kids, and that's what I do
Speaker 7: every day. In fact, I'm I'm in a batting cage
Speaker 7: right now with a young man that originally from Puerto
Speaker 7: Rico and stuff out here. And so but I just, uh,
Speaker 7: you know, I I just knew they could do it,
Speaker 7: and I believed. I said, it's one game. And I
Speaker 7: was the only guy in the stands, you know, I
Speaker 7: was with my daughter. And when we got that base
Speaker 7: hit and got the lead, I stood up and I
Speaker 7: was like yes, yes, And I turned around. Everybody was
Speaker 7: staring at me because I was sit in the middle
Speaker 7: of bunch in North Carolina.
Speaker 3: And they let you live, right, They let you live.
Speaker 7: They oh, they they go, why don't you go sit
Speaker 7: in your seat?
Speaker 6: I go, this is my seat.
Speaker 7: I made this seat nice.
Speaker 2: Nice last minute we got one minute left. Uh, you
Speaker 2: must have been very proud just just overall proud of
Speaker 2: how they did it.
Speaker 7: Now where they're going, yes, I was very proud. You
Speaker 7: know what I like about it is they're winners. Chip
Speaker 7: Hale is a winner, and a lot of people when
Speaker 7: we first got there gave my heart. But that guy's
Speaker 7: a winner and he's a champion. You know. One of
Speaker 7: my sayings is champions are not those never fail to
Speaker 7: those that never quit. And the bottom line is that
Speaker 7: Chip Hale is leading a bunch of men that will
Speaker 7: not whatever happens. They're winners. And and that's what I love.
Speaker 7: That they go out there and they they they don't
Speaker 7: ever give up. And if you remember what happened, you
Speaker 7: know in the in the Big twelve tournament, they look
Speaker 7: dead and then a kid, that least likely kid comes
Speaker 7: up and hits one end of the seats and ties it,
Speaker 7: you know, and that's what you got to do to win.
Speaker 7: It's got to be you know, everybody's got to be
Speaker 7: you know, on and then finally their their cap, their
Speaker 7: their main guy got the key hit the other day,
Speaker 7: even though he struggled most of the day and hit
Speaker 7: you know, so I mean, hey, bear down, it's great
Speaker 7: to be a wildcat. You know in the middle of
Speaker 7: the enemy. Here, I'm wearing my Arizona stuff. I got
Speaker 7: Arizona socks on, I got Arizona shorts and a baseball Arizona.
Speaker 7: The people coming in to hit are going, why did
Speaker 7: you wear that today? I go because we're the champions.
Speaker 2: Buddy, keep your phone, keep your phone on nine to
Speaker 2: one one and just hit pressed when you need it.
Speaker 3: Thanks, Thanks, Rocky, appreciate it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Rocky, bear down, be well, thank you bear Down.
Speaker 7: You're here. Bye bye.
Speaker 3: Let's take a.
Speaker 2: Break here real quick and come back with Kenny Love
Speaker 2: Steve Rivera here, and I've got a tip for you.
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Speaker 8: This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera.
Speaker 1: On Box Sports fourteen fifty.
Speaker 2: Hey, welcome back to my I on the Ball here
Speaker 2: on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, and today
Speaker 2: with me is Reggie Geary and now on the phone,
Speaker 2: we have the great Kenny Lofton, Kenny, how the heck
Speaker 2: are you?
Speaker 8: I'm good man, I can't complain.
Speaker 6: Thanks for having great to be on with you.
Speaker 3: You and Read's longtime friends.
Speaker 6: Right.
Speaker 3: How proud were you over the weekend of your bat Cats?
Speaker 8: Well, you know again, you know, anytime you have that
Speaker 8: opportunity for the Arizona Wildcats to get to the finals
Speaker 8: on any sport in Arizona, I'm very proud and for
Speaker 8: the baseball team to get to the finals. And you know,
Speaker 8: during the time where who won one of the championships
Speaker 8: in nineteen eighty one of my best friends, Clark Chris
Speaker 8: played on the team, is sitting there watching it, you know,
Speaker 8: with the little trauma he went through, but for him
Speaker 8: to be able to enjoy this time of Arizona baseball
Speaker 8: team going through the World Series in which he won
Speaker 8: it in nineteen eighty, So it's pretty cool.
Speaker 3: Did you bring up that name?
Speaker 2: He must have been He must mean the world to
Speaker 2: you given that, I guess was he the one that
Speaker 2: kind of pushed.
Speaker 8: You, Well, it pushed me.
Speaker 6: He was the guy who signed, the guy who took
Speaker 6: a chance on my.
Speaker 8: Ability or the nonability at the time, and he saw
Speaker 8: he said I saw something there that I knew with time,
Speaker 8: you're going to be something special.
Speaker 2: And he was right, did you when he's telling you this,
Speaker 2: are you believing? What are you talking about, arbur What
Speaker 2: are you thinking?
Speaker 6: Well at the time, because again, me being.
Speaker 8: An athlete, me being this guy with this drive, and
Speaker 8: if you tell me something that I can't do, I'm going.
Speaker 6: To show you that I can, right, And.
Speaker 8: I think he saw that from me, and then he
Speaker 8: was just, man, you just need to put some work in.
Speaker 8: And I know I had the ability, but hadn't played
Speaker 8: baseball for a while at that time. I knew if
Speaker 8: I just put my heart and soul in it, I was.
Speaker 3: Going to do what I had to do.
Speaker 4: Well, obviously he was correcting what he saw. Yeah, you
Speaker 4: had an incredible career. I want to say, sixteen years
Speaker 4: is in the Major League Baseball.
Speaker 5: I know you have a real argument. We've discussed this.
Speaker 4: I know it's been discussed nationally as as someone who
Speaker 4: should be in the Hall of Fame, and obviously we're
Speaker 4: all rooting for you there. But having said that, just
Speaker 4: me knowing you and knowing your history, was it hard
Speaker 4: to make that switch going into baseball. Do you ever
Speaker 4: think basketball wise, I still have some runway here where
Speaker 4: I can still play this out a little bit longer.
Speaker 4: Or did you know and baseball was kind of a
Speaker 4: natural switch.
Speaker 8: Well, well, baseball, I think was my natural sport, but
Speaker 8: where I grew up, I had to get a full
Speaker 8: scholarship and baseball wasn't given that full scholarship. And I
Speaker 8: knew basketball was a I mean, I was good at basketball,
Speaker 8: but once I got to Arizona.
Speaker 6: And started playing, and the teammates that I had, I
Speaker 6: mean I pretty much didn't get the ball.
Speaker 8: You had Sewn Elliotts, t Kerk, Jeff Buchler, Tom Tobert,
Speaker 8: Sean Rooke. So you had all those guys on your team.
Speaker 6: So basically, you know, you know, you got to get
Speaker 6: the ball to somebody.
Speaker 8: I gave it up. Once I gave it up, I
Speaker 8: didn't get it back.
Speaker 2: That's funny, Kenny, because when I talked to Reggie every
Speaker 2: now and again, any of regrets.
Speaker 3: Uh ready, yeah, I wish it would have shot should more?
Speaker 3: I should have shot him more. Again, go ahead, so again,
Speaker 3: yeah what do you wish?
Speaker 8: Well?
Speaker 6: Again, you had those great teammates.
Speaker 8: Again. The tough part about it is a point guard
Speaker 8: supposed to come down and passed the ball. And once
Speaker 8: you passed the ball to one of those guys. So
Speaker 8: talking about you know, I was have to come down
Speaker 8: and start doing the Steph Curry for the hash point.
Speaker 8: That's the only time I was gonna be able to shoot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And you know, Kenny, what are you doing with
Speaker 3: the court shot?
Speaker 8: Oh? That was loot for you passed the ball.
Speaker 3: Well, Kenny, I probably should thank you.
Speaker 4: I probably should thank you for the fact that you
Speaker 4: came through the program and then kind of player an
Speaker 4: athlete in which you brought to the table all the
Speaker 4: intangibles you know that you brought a table. I think, uh,
Speaker 4: when I came around, I think I was kind of
Speaker 4: another version of you. I think coach I had recognized
Speaker 4: that and knew how to use me. And so I
Speaker 4: should think you just kind of setting away kind of
Speaker 4: being undersized guards, you kind of could do everything you
Speaker 4: could put anywhere. And we've seen you know that play
Speaker 4: out with other players even after me. So I think
Speaker 4: a lot of that goes back to your play.
Speaker 8: Well again, with you coming in after me, I looke
Speaker 8: pretty much didn't want the point guards to shoot at all,
Speaker 8: you know, the guards so and he just wanted us
Speaker 8: to play deepense. At least you had a chance to shoot.
Speaker 2: It.
Speaker 3: Took a couple of years.
Speaker 4: I had, damn it, Chris MILLSID some guys that can
Speaker 4: put it in the bucket. But uh but yeah, you
Speaker 4: know when it was my turn, I wish I would
Speaker 4: have sat a little bit more. But I was a
Speaker 4: fitting guy like yourself.
Speaker 8: But again, like you said that lout wanted he wanted.
Speaker 6: Because again it's almost like I always.
Speaker 8: Look at the Bulls basketball team with Dennis Radman being
Speaker 8: that specialty player.
Speaker 6: I think you and I we would have specialty player
Speaker 6: because you need somebody to play defense. Like you said,
Speaker 6: I had guys on my team didn't play no defense.
Speaker 8: Steve didn't play a lot of Seawan didn't play a
Speaker 8: lot of defense. So you did the same things, Reggie.
Speaker 6: You had to go out there and play defense.
Speaker 8: But the other guys on there didn't want to play defense.
Speaker 8: They didn't want to shoot this hoar. We were in
Speaker 8: the same boat that way too.
Speaker 3: And you know Tom Tobert didn't play any defense.
Speaker 6: Oh yeah, Tom caught him the black hole, got down
Speaker 6: there and never came back out right.
Speaker 2: Well, the one thing is you, Reggie, Brian Williams probably
Speaker 2: three of the better athletes ever under loot O.
Speaker 8: Dude, I'm telling you, I keep telling people I believe
Speaker 8: I keep throwing myself in the front of this, but
Speaker 8: that Brian Williams boy, that vice and daily boy, he
Speaker 8: was an true athlete.
Speaker 6: For him to be that tall and be that fast
Speaker 6: and be.
Speaker 8: That adzible, I mean we used to do like the
Speaker 8: sprints and the on court the suicide. He was second
Speaker 8: behind me, So I knew this dude had so much
Speaker 8: athletic ability.
Speaker 7: And he used to play deepense on the guards, that's
Speaker 7: how quick he.
Speaker 8: Was with his feet.
Speaker 6: So he was one of the best athletes.
Speaker 3: I've seen come.
Speaker 8: Come through Arizona.
Speaker 6: I mean, yes, he was.
Speaker 7: No.
Speaker 5: I definitely credit I definitely agree with that, Kenny.
Speaker 4: You know, I got a chance to see him in
Speaker 4: high school while you guys were playing, and then he
Speaker 4: would come back during the summers, and I mean, he's
Speaker 4: a guy you could put in today's NBA game and
Speaker 4: could switch one through five and could run the floor,
Speaker 4: and he you know, he could do so many things.
Speaker 5: And he had a great career.
Speaker 4: Obviously, you know the kind of the tragic ending there,
Speaker 4: but just a special young man really eclectic and and
Speaker 4: I think he hit it on the head. One of
Speaker 4: the top athletes ever in Arizona history.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what are you up to these days? Because I
Speaker 3: know you're like an entrepreneur now you're doing a lot
Speaker 3: of different things.
Speaker 8: Well, you know, I'm a house here in LA.
Speaker 6: I have a primp production company. I'm doing that most
Speaker 6: of the time. I'm doing also doing some hitting with
Speaker 6: with kids.
Speaker 8: Here and trying to teach them to stay stay away
Speaker 8: from the launch angle stuff they're doing it in baseball.
Speaker 8: But you know, I'm just doing some small budget films.
Speaker 2: We do.
Speaker 6: Some editing as well.
Speaker 8: And I'm also working on the project here in LA
Speaker 8: to help some housing with some people in the Altadena
Speaker 8: area that happened in eating fire. Trying to help find
Speaker 8: housing for people who are who who lost their homes.
Speaker 8: And because Pasadena, I mean not Pasadena, but the Pacific
Speaker 8: Palisades are the people who are upper class people who
Speaker 8: had a little money. But Altadena where a lot of
Speaker 8: minority single family homes, people who had their their their
Speaker 8: first home got destroyed.
Speaker 6: So again it's little stuff like that that I'm.
Speaker 3: Trying to mh. What when you are you ever taking
Speaker 3: think about writing a book.
Speaker 8: Somebody talked about it once before. I do have a
Speaker 8: compelling story. It's very interest things to do where I
Speaker 8: started to where I you know, I ended up in
Speaker 8: my career, and I just got to find that right,
Speaker 8: you know, the right writer to you know, to can
Speaker 8: help pick my brain to figure out how to put
Speaker 8: it out together.
Speaker 6: I would.
Speaker 8: I wouldn't mind it.
Speaker 2: Hello here, I am no, they originally asked us, because
Speaker 2: you're right, you do have a compelling story from from
Speaker 2: where you started to how you got to where you
Speaker 2: got to because come on, what you're an after school special?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 8: I mean again, I mean I can look at it
Speaker 8: that way and from where I came from and how
Speaker 8: I grew up and to be able to because a
Speaker 8: lot of people.
Speaker 6: Don't understand that.
Speaker 8: When I see me in basketball Arizona, a lot of
Speaker 8: guys didn't know I played baseball, and then when I
Speaker 8: started playing baseball.
Speaker 6: Some people didn't know who I played basketball.
Speaker 8: So it was one of those one of those things that.
Speaker 6: I just had to make a decision at the time.
Speaker 8: And again I think it was the easy decision. Like
Speaker 8: I said, when the teams I played on and the
Speaker 8: players that I was on a team win, everybody couldn't go.
Speaker 6: To the NBA. So yeah, so I ended up making
Speaker 6: the right choice and.
Speaker 8: Going to a sport where I could be looked at
Speaker 8: a one on one and have an.
Speaker 6: Opportunity every single game to where I can show my talents.
Speaker 6: And that's what I wanted to do.
Speaker 5: Well, you did an excellent job of that.
Speaker 4: When you when you talk to the kids that you're
Speaker 4: working with, or young professionals or kids in the minor
Speaker 4: leagues or young pros, what are come with some of
Speaker 4: the messages knowing how far you've come and how successful
Speaker 4: you've been, what are some of the things you share
Speaker 4: with them?
Speaker 6: Well, again, I can almost tell them that, you know,
Speaker 6: even though from where they come from, they don't have.
Speaker 8: To end you know, they can end up being successful.
Speaker 8: And then just trying to show them. I think the
Speaker 8: biggest thing in when I try to show younger kids
Speaker 8: is that be who you are, don't try to be
Speaker 8: someone else. You know, when I played in the game,
Speaker 8: I always tell people I'm no Albert and.
Speaker 6: I'm not gonna be an Avabel.
Speaker 8: I want Kenny Lofton to have to stand on his own,
Speaker 8: his own lader, staying his own lane, and I always
Speaker 8: try to make sure these kids understand stay in your lane,
Speaker 8: don't go. Once you go outside your lane, it's gonna
Speaker 8: be tough for you to get back because that's not
Speaker 8: who you are.
Speaker 6: So it's gonna take them.
Speaker 8: A longer time to get out of their.
Speaker 7: Lane to get back, you know.
Speaker 6: So when I think, you know, I said.
Speaker 8: The straightest you know, the straightest line, the two points,
Speaker 8: it's a straight line, you know, A and B. These
Speaker 8: guys going all over the place and then they figure
Speaker 8: out later on in their career.
Speaker 6: Oh shoot, that's not who I am.
Speaker 8: I should have stayed there. So I'm trying to teach
Speaker 8: some of these kids nowadays to stay in your lane.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well you have a chance to. Or do you
Speaker 2: ever look back on your time at Jove And if
Speaker 2: you do, what do you think?
Speaker 6: Again? I'm when every time.
Speaker 8: I look back at my time in Yuova, I am
Speaker 8: so glad I did. I am so glad I because
Speaker 8: I being under Loot and the Arizona basketball team. It
Speaker 8: taught me to be in the way the core of
Speaker 8: the team that we had together. It showed me that,
Speaker 8: you know, it made me become a man. It showed
Speaker 8: me how to grow up and be a man, And
Speaker 8: that's what it's all about.
Speaker 6: You know, you're going to be an athlete and do
Speaker 6: all this, but it teaches you the right things to
Speaker 6: how to be a man and growing up because that.
Speaker 8: Is a pivotal point in your life. It's your Always
Speaker 8: tell people your colleague years is that pivotal twist or
Speaker 8: that pivotal turn who you are as a person those
Speaker 8: years And it taught me a lot and I'm glad.
Speaker 8: I will never take it back. I will do it
Speaker 8: over and over and over again.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then you met guys like Reggie and your brotherhood,
Speaker 2: the guys you played.
Speaker 3: With right, Sean and Steve and Craig and all these guys.
Speaker 8: Well again, you know always you know, gave respect to
Speaker 8: the basketball organization.
Speaker 6: Of recruiting good guys.
Speaker 8: You know, That's what I like, you know, guys and
Speaker 8: guys that you can just tell from their upbringing even
Speaker 8: though they're there there we are not in the same upbringing,
Speaker 8: but that personality of being a genuine person. That's what
Speaker 8: I love about my teammates and the guys before me
Speaker 8: and the guys after me, And how I felt like,
Speaker 8: you know, Loot recruited they recruited.
Speaker 6: Just genuine people and I love him for that.
Speaker 3: Right, No, Reggie, you're talking about good guys do good things. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I do that.
Speaker 4: And like I said, we are so lucky, like so
Speaker 4: many decades of players have come to this program, have
Speaker 4: done things not only in basketball but outside of it,
Speaker 4: and it's just great to celebrate them and be around them,
Speaker 4: and everyone just has an ease about them.
Speaker 3: And so I just love being a Wildcat, you know.
Speaker 4: And and like I said, Kenny is the epitome of that,
Speaker 4: you know, in terms of just a quality person individual.
Speaker 4: And then in speaking of that, last year in twenty
Speaker 4: twenty four, you go into the Ring of Honor here
Speaker 4: at the U of A.
Speaker 3: How much did that mean to you and your family?
Speaker 8: But No, that meant a lot because again, just being.
Speaker 6: Able to be in you know, being you know, being
Speaker 6: rewarded for your accomplishment.
Speaker 8: And sometimes people got to look at it as it's
Speaker 8: not always the big hype in the big glory that
Speaker 8: people feel like, oh, yeah, he was a guy who
Speaker 8: scored eighteen points in a game in fourteen rebounds. You know,
Speaker 8: it's always say give the little guys credit as well,
Speaker 8: because that's part of the game. That is also important
Speaker 8: that some people overlook, you know, always say, if it
Speaker 8: wasn't for me playing defense on a lot of guys
Speaker 8: on the courts at that time, I don't think Arizona,
Speaker 8: you know, just trying to shoot myself, you know whatever.
Speaker 8: But at the time me hustling and doing the defense,
Speaker 8: it helped Sean Elliott, Steve Kurr.
Speaker 6: Be able to do what they can offensively because they
Speaker 6: didn't have to.
Speaker 8: Worry about the defense, of of regarding Reggie Miller and
Speaker 8: Pooh Richardson and Gary Payton.
Speaker 6: And Mookie Bailey Lock, those guys didn't have to.
Speaker 8: Worry about that because they had a guy like me
Speaker 8: was out there tacking up the slack. And I felt
Speaker 8: like when I got that honored, I'm like.
Speaker 6: Okay, I got you know, rewarded for what I did,
Speaker 6: for the little things in the game.
Speaker 8: That a lot of people overlooked.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I was very honored.
Speaker 2: You in the back court in ac near the basket
Speaker 2: and all that good stuff, Kenny, Thanks so much for
Speaker 2: joining us.
Speaker 3: Great stuff, No problem. Okay, playing golf again with you soon, all.
Speaker 6: Right, We okay, let's do it, Okay, all right, we gotta.
Speaker 3: Go, We gotta go. Back on the other side. I
Speaker 3: think