Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day, Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: I don't want to mislead you guys and act as
Speaker 2: if there are conversations that the company man and myself
Speaker 2: have during the commercial breaks that you know, you guys
Speaker 2: just wouldn't believe. I mean, sometimes we say things that
Speaker 2: you know, we wouldn't be able to say on the radio.
Speaker 2: But honestly, I kind of feel like, you know, at
Speaker 2: least from from my end of it, there's not much
Speaker 2: that we talk about that I would want to like,
Speaker 2: you know, be like, it's not like we're telling secrets
Speaker 2: or anything like that. But John just did something during
Speaker 2: the break that he didn't know what he did or
Speaker 2: what he's done now, but he's got me ready. I
Speaker 2: wasn't ready for Louisville Miami until about ninety seconds ago
Speaker 2: when John said big game, brom Is showing up. We
Speaker 2: were talking about some wagers we're going to make this weekend.
Speaker 2: And I have an influence because I've not necessarily expressed
Speaker 2: a whole lot of confidence in Louisville here. I think
Speaker 2: they can win, but I'm still a kind of you know, well,
Speaker 2: I was kind of a wait and see. Now I'm
Speaker 2: ready because that October surprise from Jeff Bram happens annually,
Speaker 2: and maybe this is it. I'm hoping it's it. John
Speaker 2: has made me think that it's it because he's he's
Speaker 2: saying big game, Bram is showing up. And if that's
Speaker 2: the case, then that would be it'd be good news
Speaker 2: for Louisville. And there's a lot on the line here.
Speaker 2: I mean, let's be honest, this would be a win
Speaker 2: against the number six team in the country. When's the
Speaker 2: last time Louisville beat a team that was ranked that high?
Speaker 2: Got to be Florida in the Sugar Bowl has to be.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm not even really sure how many other
Speaker 2: wins you have against top five, top ten teams. You
Speaker 2: go to the Florida State game when Lamar Jackson really
Speaker 2: won the Heisman and never looked back. So I thought
Speaker 2: I was ready for the game. Now I know I
Speaker 2: for sure am so thank you John. It'll be a sellout.
Speaker 2: By the way, for those just now joining us, maybe
Speaker 2: you're just now hopping in your car avoiding that hailstorm
Speaker 2: that appears to be going on out there somewhere. In
Speaker 2: the Kentucky and A region. I'm seeing people posting pictures
Speaker 2: and clips of it, but sellout, which hey kind of surprised.
Speaker 2: In fact, I'll admit it, I am surprised. If you'd
Speaker 2: have made me guess, will this thing be a sellout?
Speaker 2: I just I kind of would have said not even close.
Speaker 2: And it's not because, like I'm saying, Louisville fans are terrible.
Speaker 2: It's just it's noon. Like a lot of fan bases
Speaker 2: don't like noon games. I think Louisville fans specifically don't
Speaker 2: like noon games, probably no different than anybody else. But
Speaker 2: I've just been around here long enough to know that
Speaker 2: noon kickoffs are really an open invitation not to come
Speaker 2: for a lot of fans. It's just kind of how
Speaker 2: it works. I don't know if that exists, an open
Speaker 2: invitation not to come somewhere, but like it's it's like
Speaker 2: your RSVP that you're not going if you find out
Speaker 2: it's at noon. So it should be a great atmosphere,
Speaker 2: beautiful weather, and again a lot is on the line,
Speaker 2: and that has me very excited. We had a really
Speaker 2: good conversation there in the four o'clock hour with David
Speaker 2: Hale ESPN, who covers the ACC and you know, I
Speaker 2: think his analysis is pretty spot on when it comes
Speaker 2: to this matchup. Louisville could potentially expose a secondary that might,
Speaker 2: you know, a week secondary for Miami, and I think
Speaker 2: they've got the quarterback to do it, and they've got
Speaker 2: the receivers to do it, especially Jacorey Brooks, and maybe
Speaker 2: this is a big Colin Lacy game. However, is the offensive
Speaker 2: line which is Louisville's weakness, especially on offense. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think you could probably say at this point the
Speaker 2: offensive line is probably the weakness of the team. The
Speaker 2: defense at times has been, but it's it's really I mean,
Speaker 2: I think that's more coaching and communication than it is
Speaker 2: just knowing you've got, you know, bad players on defense.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying we got bad offensive linemen, but
Speaker 2: that that clearly is a position that we just have
Speaker 2: to acknowledge is not a strength and you're gonna have
Speaker 2: to scheme around that. So we all know Miami's really
Speaker 2: good upfront defensively, I mean, dudes that are going to
Speaker 2: play in the NFL, can the offensive line step up
Speaker 2: and play well enough to where Tyler Shuck's got you know,
Speaker 2: a little bit more time back there to make a play,
Speaker 2: because if he's running for his life, that's not ideal. Now,
Speaker 2: I actually again, it's not something you want. But I
Speaker 2: think at times when he does take off run and
Speaker 2: you know, he's made some plays. I mean, he did
Speaker 2: it against Notre Dame, and I think he's a mature
Speaker 2: quarterback that is wise enough to know, hey, let's let's
Speaker 2: eat this one and live to play another down here
Speaker 2: and not get hurt or not turn it over. And
Speaker 2: I like that. But then again, there's also some times
Speaker 2: where I'm like, all right, man, I know you're a
Speaker 2: little fragile, but you know, how about you, how about
Speaker 2: you reach the ball out to the sticks to try
Speaker 2: to get a first down? Like that? That droves me
Speaker 2: insane when that happens. Whenever I don't believe that there's
Speaker 2: a lack of awareness as to where you are and
Speaker 2: where the sticks are. But it's like he's just being
Speaker 2: super you know. I give him the benefit of the
Speaker 2: doubt because of his injury history. He's a seventh year
Speaker 2: senior for a reason, but you know, he's been so
Speaker 2: good in my opinion, and I think most agree that,
Speaker 2: like he's the last guy that I'm gonna throw a
Speaker 2: lot of criticism out there for I mean everybody. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's made mistakes, nobody's perfect. But again to circle back,
Speaker 2: and it's really it's a broken record for me. I
Speaker 2: just I'd rather Louisville be four and two. Actually, I
Speaker 2: don't know. I was about to say something that I'm
Speaker 2: not even really sure I would have believed it as
Speaker 2: I said it. I was about to say I could
Speaker 2: live with it, and it would be better if Louisville
Speaker 2: was four and two, and we just got humbled because
Speaker 2: you know, what are you gonna do? Notre Dames elite
Speaker 2: this year, which they're not or smu man, that's a
Speaker 2: team that you know, they've got a once in a
Speaker 2: lifetime talent at quarterback or you know, at running back
Speaker 2: or whatever it may be. And I do think they've
Speaker 2: got some good players, but that really wasn't why you lost.
Speaker 2: So to be here and it be because of literally
Speaker 2: your own mistakes, like that's just it's maddening. But a
Speaker 2: win here doesn't make that go away, doesn't mean that
Speaker 2: that didn't happen, but it could certainly be the first,
Speaker 2: in my opinion, real sign that you have taken a
Speaker 2: massive step forward when it comes to just hurting yourself.
Speaker 2: And somebody on the text line mentioned this last week,
Speaker 2: and we've had somebody else say the same thing essentially
Speaker 2: earlier today when we were talking talking about this matchup
Speaker 2: with David Hale. And you're right, mistakes happen. And if
Speaker 2: you go back and look at Louisville's penalties and whatnot,
Speaker 2: like it's not like it's an egregious amount. I mean,
Speaker 2: still there's more than that needs to be there. But
Speaker 2: I feel like when Louisville's made a big mistake, rather
Speaker 2: it be a silly penalty or just a goof snapping
Speaker 2: the ball over the punter's head, Jeff's puzzling decisions to
Speaker 2: go forward on fourth down and run certain plays like
Speaker 2: they come at crucial times, Like the timing of your
Speaker 2: mistakes is a big factor and winning and losing a
Speaker 2: ball game, because everybody makes mistakes, nobody's perfect. But if
Speaker 2: your mistakes come when the game's on the line, you know,
Speaker 2: when you get a delay of game on fourth and
Speaker 2: one with the game on the line, like that, I mean,
Speaker 2: delay games happened, having it happen in that situation quite literally,
Speaker 2: the worst possible scenario for that to happen. So again
Speaker 2: here I am mentioning all the things that have led
Speaker 2: to them being foreign to and a little underwhelming and
Speaker 2: you know, frustrating for fans. But that's out the window
Speaker 2: now because John said big Game brom is going to
Speaker 2: be there on Saturday, and I have no reason to
Speaker 2: think that's not true, not just because I trust the
Speaker 2: company man himself, but like, no pressure, Jeff, but like this,
Speaker 2: this is the game you win, man, this is kind
Speaker 2: of what you do. I mean, how long has it
Speaker 2: been since he lost a really big game and now
Speaker 2: they got crushed in the Big Ten championship in his
Speaker 2: last year with Purdue. But man, that's a great question,
Speaker 2: because he lost two games. He lost games against the
Speaker 2: elite teams way more often than he won them when
Speaker 2: he was at Purdue. It's just he would do it
Speaker 2: in like the most unlikely spot to where it became
Speaker 2: like a thing. I mean, his brand within college football,
Speaker 2: not to say that he's viewed as one of the
Speaker 2: best coaches in the game. I think clearly there's a
Speaker 2: lot of respect for Jeff Brahm as a head coach,
Speaker 2: and I think that's deserved. But he's built it up
Speaker 2: doing it as many times as he did it at Purdue.
Speaker 2: And really there was two different years at Purdue during
Speaker 2: his what six years there where it was just, hey,
Speaker 2: you know, they beat three ranked teams one year and
Speaker 2: I think they only finished six and six, So you know,
Speaker 2: he's he's he's had those kind of years. And then
Speaker 2: beating Notre Dame last year it furthered. Two things that
Speaker 2: were said about Jeff before last year, before he coached
Speaker 2: his first game at Louisville, both kind of proved out
Speaker 2: to be true last year. One, Hey, he'll mess around
Speaker 2: and he'll win that game against a big team where
Speaker 2: you know the opportunities there. He'll have his guys ready,
Speaker 2: he'll call a game that is perfect in what you
Speaker 2: need to do to Maybe not perfect, but you know
Speaker 2: exactly what you need to really scheme your way to
Speaker 2: a victory against a team that you flat out and
Speaker 2: no probably has better players than you. Like, he's done
Speaker 2: that at Purdue, and he did it at Louisville Notre
Speaker 2: Dame last year. But then he'll turn around and lose
Speaker 2: to a team that you have no business losing to.
Speaker 2: Like both things that were said about him. One is
Speaker 2: a real big positive. The other is clearly a negative.
Speaker 2: Both kind of played out last year to be accurate.
Speaker 2: So this year's been a weird year for Jeff. Like
Speaker 2: I went back and looked at his his time at Purdue,
Speaker 2: and there really isn't any and even a Western there
Speaker 2: was no There was no season that I feel like
Speaker 2: is comparable to this one, meaning where where you look
Speaker 2: the part at times, but then you just make silly
Speaker 2: mistakes and again broken record, you take away four mistakes
Speaker 2: out of many more than just four in those two
Speaker 2: games that you've lost, and you could be sitting here
Speaker 2: six and oh, and we'd still kind of be saying, like, man,
Speaker 2: we're lucky to be six and oh, and we could
Speaker 2: be even better. We could be, you know, dominating these
Speaker 2: teams if we didn't do such silly things here and there,
Speaker 2: we didn't have any defense that's never organized, all that
Speaker 2: kind of stuff, you know. But it just sucks to
Speaker 2: have to take l's and learn that. It'd be nice
Speaker 2: to have those things that you know you got to
Speaker 2: work on and you know, make gradual progress, but you're
Speaker 2: still able to find ways to win. And I've heard
Speaker 2: this from a few people this year, and I haven't
Speaker 2: really talked about it, and I'm just reminded about it
Speaker 2: from the text line, and that is, like, I know,
Speaker 2: last year, Louisville had a lot of close games they
Speaker 2: could have lost, but you know what they didn't do.
Speaker 2: They didn't they didn't make huge mistakes in close games late.
Speaker 2: I mean, they just didn't. They found ways to win
Speaker 2: close games. And yes, you can chalk it up as luck.
Speaker 2: There's always luck involved to an extent, but also I
Speaker 2: think you can develop the ability to make winning plays
Speaker 2: late in the game to give yourself a chance to win,
Speaker 2: and I think they did that pretty consistently last year
Speaker 2: until the very end of the season, and this year
Speaker 2: it's just been the opposite. You know, they're putting themselves
Speaker 2: in a position to where they're there with a chance
Speaker 2: to win the games that they've lost, but the critical
Speaker 2: mistakes happened that weren't happening last year. I mean, again,
Speaker 2: just my opinion, and I'm sure there's some that agree,
Speaker 2: and maybe there's some that don't agree, and that's fine.
Speaker 2: I'm just going to be honest with you. I think
Speaker 2: Lowell's more talented than they were a year ago. The
Speaker 2: only area where I would say that, yeah, they're not
Speaker 2: is the offensive line and at running back. But then again,
Speaker 2: Isaac Brown, that guy's pretty special. You don't have a Grendo,
Speaker 2: or you don't have a duo like what you had
Speaker 2: with Jordan and Grendo last year. But Isaac Brown, I mean,
Speaker 2: when he got a healthy dose of carries against Virginia,
Speaker 2: he proved to be more than serviceable as you're running
Speaker 2: back despite being a true freshman. All right, So coming
Speaker 2: up on Saturday eleven o'clock, we'll get the pregame show
Speaker 2: started with myself, yours truly, the louisvill Football Pregame Show
Speaker 2: presented by Pillow Windows and Doors of Central Kentucky and
Speaker 2: Jefferson Animal Hospital. And then after the game, as soon
Speaker 2: as it ends, we'll go live for the Louisvilleootball postgame
Speaker 2: Show presented by Alex rwhit Lawyer's Sudistractage driver dot Com.
Speaker 2: All right, let's talk some basketball, shall we. So Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey had a press conference earlier today. I think he's
Speaker 2: only had a few press conferences since he's been here,
Speaker 2: but this was probably the longest. Well I don't know,
Speaker 2: I lied because I'm sure he was on the at
Speaker 2: the podium for nearly an hour or maybe an hour
Speaker 2: whenever he got hired, But he talked for over thirty minutes,
Speaker 2: and you know, it wasn't as if there was anything
Speaker 2: surprising that came from that. But as he was wrapping
Speaker 2: it up, I think this might have actually been his
Speaker 2: closing answer when he was asked sort of about now
Speaker 2: he's here getting ready for an exhibition opponent and the
Speaker 2: season is actually here. They're practicing like you know, it's here,
Speaker 2: and he's done all kinds of promoting and you know,
Speaker 2: being a hype man. And when I asked him this
Speaker 2: last week at the ACC tip off, you know, I said, hey,
Speaker 2: is this something you genuinely enjoy? And I knew he
Speaker 2: was going to give me the answer that he gave
Speaker 2: me as far as like it it, you know it
Speaker 2: it's a privilege to be able to promote the program
Speaker 2: and be here, and he means all that, but you know,
Speaker 2: it's what a coach would say. But but what really
Speaker 2: stood out to me in his answer, even though it
Speaker 2: was kind of expected, is that, like he was listing
Speaker 2: all that comes with that, right, like being on campus,
Speaker 2: throwing T shirts, that kind of stuff. I could see
Speaker 2: why he loves doing that, or maybe just enjoys doing
Speaker 2: it more than most coaches because he's good at it.
Speaker 2: Right now, Again, if you do all that and you
Speaker 2: don't win games and there's no results, then it's not
Speaker 2: a good recipe. But like I think it makes sense
Speaker 2: for a guy to not mind it because he knows
Speaker 2: that he's effective at it. And oh, by the way,
Speaker 2: it matters when you are coaching at a program like
Speaker 2: Louisville fan you need to engage with your fans. It's
Speaker 2: a big part of it. Again, you got to win.
Speaker 2: But until you can do that, he's done all the
Speaker 2: little things and I shouldn't even call them little things
Speaker 2: because they're not little. They matter a lot, and he's
Speaker 2: done it. And the energy, the overall vibes surrounding Louisville basketball.
Speaker 2: You know, we'll see. Maybe we're way wrong here as
Speaker 2: far as what's going to happen this year, but I
Speaker 2: happen to think that they've got a chance to be
Speaker 2: pretty damn good, and even if they're not elite, and
Speaker 2: maybe they're sweating it out for a spot in the tournament.
Speaker 2: I mean, we have no clue how it'll play out,
Speaker 2: but let's just say that's the case. I think they
Speaker 2: are going to be fun to watch. And and I
Speaker 2: hate saying this because again it's it's not the bar.
Speaker 2: But man, likes, we're all human beings, aren't we when
Speaker 2: you go through what you went through recently? Even if
Speaker 2: Louisville's nowhere near what we expect them to be when
Speaker 2: things aren't, you know, like they've been in recent years,
Speaker 2: like this is gonna be fun, man, I think Louisville
Speaker 2: fans are gonna have a lot more fun than they
Speaker 2: even realize when it comes to you know, like beating
Speaker 2: exhibition opponents. That's not something that you would ever be,
Speaker 2: you know, throwing a party about. But we lost those
Speaker 2: games last year in the year before that, which is scary.
Speaker 2: But here's Pat's clip that I wanted you guys to
Speaker 2: hear because again it I think it, if it, if it,
Speaker 2: if you're not fired up for hoops season, this should
Speaker 2: this should this should help you when it comes to that.
Speaker 3: So it has been a lot of a lot of stuff, right,
Speaker 3: A lot of events, a lot of speak engagements, time
Speaker 3: on campus, time out in the community, and I've loved it.
Speaker 3: I've just gotten such a sense and a feel for Louisville,
Speaker 3: the people, what this place is about. So I've loved
Speaker 3: every second of it from that standpoint. In terms of
Speaker 3: me being out there, the Hayes a little bit in
Speaker 3: the barn, Like I'm locked in on our dudes right now.
Speaker 3: That doesn't mean I'm not gonna be on campus riding
Speaker 3: around the golf court throwing T shirts out, but uh,
Speaker 3: but yeah, the Hayes in the barn a little bit
Speaker 3: in that regard. I guess what, hopefully everybody that's you know,
Speaker 3: watching your broadcast, what what whatever, uh, whatever news station,
Speaker 3: radio station that you come from, is is just a
Speaker 3: just a last shout out that that that we need you.
Speaker 3: I keep hear Peyton talk about the atmosphere at the
Speaker 3: YOUM and what it was like when there's twenty two
Speaker 3: thousand people there, and to hear him tell recruits and
Speaker 3: the hair stands up on my arm. My heart beats
Speaker 3: fast when I hear it. And this team's done everything
Speaker 3: they've can since June fifth to build ourself to the
Speaker 3: point we're ready to take that floor and make this city,
Speaker 3: this fan base, this student body, these former players, and
Speaker 3: our alumni proud. But let's do it together, right this
Speaker 3: isn't just my team. This isn't our players team. This
Speaker 3: is the student's team, this is your team. This is
Speaker 3: Louisville's team. And this journey that we're starting together, we're
Speaker 3: gonna have ups. We're gonna have up ups, and we're
Speaker 3: gonna have some downs. We're gonna have doing this thing together,
Speaker 3: sticking together and making this one of the great eras
Speaker 3: in the history of our city. And I'm excited to
Speaker 3: get started. I'm blessed to be the head coach here
Speaker 3: and let's go. Let's get it started.
Speaker 2: So that was the end of his pressor today. And
Speaker 2: you know, I again, words don't mean a whole lot
Speaker 2: whenever you don't have result. But we haven't got there yet.
Speaker 2: And I have learned a lot about myself as a
Speaker 2: louis A fan, and not everybody's different. I'm not saying that.
Speaker 2: You know, maybe I'm the only one that feels this way.
Speaker 2: I doubt it, but either way, it's just what I've
Speaker 2: learned throughout this whole process. When we obsess over this
Speaker 2: and we love it so much, and it's such a
Speaker 2: big deal to us, meeting the Louisville basketball program, the
Speaker 2: Kentucky fans relate that it's the same way with them. It's
Speaker 2: a lot bigger deal to us than it is most
Speaker 2: places when it comes to how much we love our
Speaker 2: college basketball. Same thing for John he's an Indiana fan.
Speaker 2: It's just different around here with these three programs than
Speaker 2: it is in most places as far as just how
Speaker 2: much we care. And you know, it's probably not healthy,
Speaker 2: but it's the way we are and I wouldn't have
Speaker 2: it any other way. So whenever you've been just so down,
Speaker 2: it's nice to have somebody that is giving you good
Speaker 2: energy and is you know, and it may all be nonsense,
Speaker 2: like maybe it doesn't work out, but until then, you know,
Speaker 2: like if we hired a coach that had a little
Speaker 2: more on the resume than Pat Kelsey, that you know,
Speaker 2: has accomplished a little bit more as far as maybe
Speaker 2: making a deep run at a different school, like a
Speaker 2: Dusty May, we would just we would be super excited
Speaker 2: because it's new and it's not what it once was.
Speaker 2: That's I mean, that alone is worth celebrating. But I
Speaker 2: don't you know, if you don't have the personality that
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey has in the energy that he has, would
Speaker 2: we be as excited as we are right now. I mean,
Speaker 2: we'll never know, so, you know, silly hypothetical, I suppose,
Speaker 2: But I just I feel like I've learned that, you know,
Speaker 2: a fan base that is so damaged, I guess, I mean,
Speaker 2: and maybe maybe I should say we were damage because again,
Speaker 2: I feel like the energy's in a pretty good spot now.
Speaker 2: But like having somebody that can do everything he's done
Speaker 2: since he got hired, until he can coach a game,
Speaker 2: it matters in a major way. And I've always known
Speaker 2: that it mattered to an extent, but it's just been
Speaker 2: a real experience to see that if you're not doing
Speaker 2: this kind of stuff and you're just average or you're
Speaker 2: not good, and you don't win games, like it's a
Speaker 2: recipe for disaster. And again, most importantly, you gotta win.
Speaker 2: He ain't coached a game yet, but all the other
Speaker 2: stuff until then it does matter. And that's why I
Speaker 2: think when they come out and they played Tennessee in
Speaker 2: their second game, a preseason top twelve team, I think
Speaker 2: that arena is gonna be pretty damn full. Maybe it
Speaker 2: won't be a sellout, I don't know. It's tough to mean,
Speaker 2: tough to predict, to be honest with you, and even
Speaker 2: if they don't sell it out, I'm still gonna watch
Speaker 2: the game and enjoy it and know that the fans
Speaker 2: that are there are probably gonna be rowdy if the
Speaker 2: team's playing well. But I mean like it it. He's
Speaker 2: done a good job getting us to this point and
Speaker 2: we'll see where it goes from here. But it's just
Speaker 2: nice to be in a different situation this year, this
Speaker 2: time around than we were a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2: All Right, for those who missed it, I'll let you
Speaker 2: guys hear it. On the other side, we got to
Speaker 2: get to a break, but he was asked about Rick Patino. Patino,
Speaker 2: of course, made his return to Lexington for Big Blue Madness,
Speaker 2: and he was asked by one of the local TV stations.
Speaker 2: I think it might have been WHS eleven that asked
Speaker 2: him about Patino ever coming back, and we'll let you
Speaker 2: hear his answer. On the other side, also, Mark Pope
Speaker 2: taught today at the SEC Basketball Media Days, and I
Speaker 2: know he's a made man right now in Lexi then,
Speaker 2: just like Pat Kelsey is in Louisville. But he said
Speaker 2: something about Calip Perry that I know, even if Kentucky
Speaker 2: fans won't acknowledge that they won't say it. I know
Speaker 2: you don't agree with one thing he said about Cali Perry.
Speaker 2: All right, we'll get to that in a lot more.
Speaker 2: Keep it locked right here. It's coffee in company. Feel
Speaker 2: about Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety So I actually
Speaker 2: want to hear this clip back. I played it earlier
Speaker 2: for you guys who might have missed it, and it's
Speaker 2: worth hearing. But pat Kelsey was asked about Rick Patino,
Speaker 2: given that he went back to Lexington, if he'd ever
Speaker 2: be able to come back to Louisville. And some have said, well,
Speaker 2: now Rick can't claim it's not because he doesn't have
Speaker 2: an invite. I think you can. Well, well, let's just
Speaker 2: listen to it, because I'm not sure it was like
Speaker 2: a direct invitation. It's just like, hey, if he ever
Speaker 2: wants to come back, that would be great. But is
Speaker 2: that considered an invite? Let's listen and see see what
Speaker 2: we think here.
Speaker 4: Turn into his former team that he helped to win
Speaker 4: a championship. Could you see something like that happening here?
Speaker 4: And you know, what is your thoughts on Rick Patino
Speaker 4: return here? And my second question is you and Chris
Speaker 4: Mack have switched Rose. Have you guys talked about or
Speaker 4: given any advice about your new jobs.
Speaker 3: We haven't talked in a while, but we talked early on. Obviously,
Speaker 3: it's like, what is that seinfed Bizarro world were kind
Speaker 3: of like flip from one to the other. It's kind
Speaker 3: of kind of interesting. I know he's a big Seinfeld guy.
Speaker 3: As far as as far as Coach Patino going back
Speaker 3: to Kentucky, I mean, gosh darn, that was a captain
Speaker 3: on a national championship team, you know, and the man
Speaker 3: loves his players and he was there to support his player.
Speaker 3: I have one of his former players on my staff
Speaker 3: and Peyton Seeve, and Peyton Seva loves him, and I
Speaker 3: know he loves Peyton Steve. I feel like, in some
Speaker 3: ways Coach Patino's around here more than people think because
Speaker 3: of Peyton. I get a Patino as him every couple
Speaker 3: of days or so and bring them all on man,
Speaker 3: because that cat's a Hall of Famer. He's one of
Speaker 3: the best coaches in the history of college basketball. So
Speaker 3: obviously we'd love to have him back. And he's always
Speaker 3: welcome here. Icon in this city and icon and.
Speaker 2: Coaching, I guess that is kind of an invite, right John,
Speaker 2: Like we'd love to have him back. He's welcome anytime.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's not hey, we're going to send the
Speaker 2: you know we're gonna send It's not an invitation of
Speaker 2: the mail. But at least it's clear that it's kind
Speaker 2: of like my door is always open type of thing. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean, and I'm not surprised by that answer at
Speaker 2: all with Coach Kelsey, but I you know, I also
Speaker 2: realized there's a lot of coaches that like wouldn't like
Speaker 2: to hear it. People talk about former coaches around here
Speaker 2: now that they've taken over the program. I mean, again,
Speaker 2: that goes back to what I talked about with Pat
Speaker 2: from day one. That stood out that I wasn't really
Speaker 2: thinking about and I wasn't really expecting one because I
Speaker 2: didn't know him. But he was well aware of the situation.
Speaker 2: He read the room and still has been able to
Speaker 2: do that. Like he you know, he knows that Louisville
Speaker 2: fans weren't lining up to you know, let Josh heard, no, please,
Speaker 2: you need to go hire this guy, but he really
Speaker 2: you know, that's how it worked out, and clearly Josh
Speaker 2: was impressed with what was said and and and how
Speaker 2: Pat pitched himself with the gig. But you know, it's
Speaker 2: probably the last time we'll be bringing up Rick Patino
Speaker 2: in a long time around here. But at least now
Speaker 2: he can you know, it's it's out there that he
Speaker 2: was he was. You know, it's quite clear if he
Speaker 2: wants to come back, he can't now. Another person brought
Speaker 2: this up on the text line, and I don't really
Speaker 2: know the answer to it, but it's a good it's
Speaker 2: a good point that I hadn't thought about, Like if
Speaker 2: he did want to come back, and Pat Kelsey was
Speaker 2: all for it, like would the school want it to happen?
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know why they wouldn't at this point,
Speaker 2: Like what's the harm. It's been so many years since
Speaker 2: he's been gone, and there's not any lawsuits going on,
Speaker 2: and you know, like I don't think it's at a
Speaker 2: point and you and everything's done with the NC double A, right,
Speaker 2: and Rupertino in the eyes of the NC double A.
Speaker 2: I mean, he didn't do anything. I mean, I don't
Speaker 2: say he did nothing wrong because clearly he was in charge,
Speaker 2: but I mean it's not as if he had to
Speaker 2: go serve some crazy suspension from it. I mean, it's
Speaker 2: you know, it's in it's in the rear view. So
Speaker 2: all right, SEC Basketball media days are going on right
Speaker 2: now and Cali Perry and Pope are both talking, and
Speaker 2: I'll let you hear what Mark Pope had to say,
Speaker 2: because it's really I mean, it's a it's a classy
Speaker 2: way to to answer the question. And Pope or Kelsey,
Speaker 2: by the way, have nothing at all to gain by
Speaker 2: doing anything other than praising former coaches that were there
Speaker 2: and being appreciative of the jobs that they have. They're
Speaker 2: a nice shot in the arm. It's just refreshing. That's
Speaker 2: probably the better way to say it. It's refreshing that
Speaker 2: these guys and I don't you know, I hope Mark
Speaker 2: Popo lowses every game just because I'm a louisvill fan.
Speaker 2: But it is refreshing to have dudes that aren't, you know,
Speaker 2: completely full of themselves like Cali Perry was and Patino was.
Speaker 2: Now Patino had good reason to be. I mean he was,
Speaker 2: you know, we just accepted it. He was a larger
Speaker 2: than life figure within sports, and you know, he handled
Speaker 2: himself away that a lot of people don't. Kenny Payne
Speaker 2: I don't know. He just I don't know. He was
Speaker 2: full of himself. Yeah yeah, but in a different way.
Speaker 2: But it's sad, like Kenny still thinks like he was
Speaker 2: a good coach here, which is just a sad thing.
Speaker 2: But here's what Pope said about Cal, and again it's
Speaker 2: the classy way to go about it. And he just
Speaker 2: says something to the very end of this clip that
Speaker 2: I know is not true, but I get why he
Speaker 2: said it, So I'm not being critical. It's just I
Speaker 2: think we can all agree that, like, no way Kentucky
Speaker 2: fans at this point right now agree with this last
Speaker 2: part of this thirty eight second clip.
Speaker 5: You'll never hear me say a negative word about coach
Speaker 5: Cal because there's not a lot to say. He's a
Speaker 5: Hall of Fame coach. As a diehard Kentucky fan and
Speaker 5: alumnus and former player, I'm grateful for everything, all the
Speaker 5: incredible things that Cal accomplished at the University Kentucky. And
Speaker 5: he's also been a good friend. He's been a terrific mentor,
Speaker 5: and he's always been generous to Leanne and I as
Speaker 5: we've gone through our coaching journey, and so we wish
Speaker 5: him the best in everything that he does, and will
Speaker 5: forever be grateful for everything that he did at Kentucky
Speaker 5: and will be cheering for him every day like crazy,
Speaker 5: except for February first.
Speaker 2: We'll be cheering for him like crazy every day until
Speaker 2: February first. He didn't need to say that last part.
Speaker 2: He didn't need to. But again, I don't have a
Speaker 2: real issue with him saying it because it's just him
Speaker 2: being nice and being taking the classy route, and I
Speaker 2: think that's what he's always going to do. From what
Speaker 2: I've gathered about Mark Pope, I think I think Mark
Speaker 2: Pope's a pretty genuine dude. I just hope he loses
Speaker 2: every game. You know, because I'm a little fan, we
Speaker 2: all get how this works. But you can actually still
Speaker 2: say even though it's I mean, it was a breakup
Speaker 2: and it was mutual, but still like there's a motion there, right,
Speaker 2: Like Kentucky fans don't like seeing Cal doing anything well
Speaker 2: in Arkansas, whether it be recruiting, They're not going to
Speaker 2: be cheering for him to win games, as they shouldn't
Speaker 2: because he's a direct competitor now, So again he can
Speaker 2: say that and it's just being classy. So like I
Speaker 2: think if Kentucky fans, No, deep down, yeah, he was
Speaker 2: so stubborn at the end, and it's really that he
Speaker 2: went out that way and really wasted away an elite
Speaker 2: team last year with Reed Shepherd and Rob Dillingham and
Speaker 2: Antonio Reeves and man, it probably should have ended a
Speaker 2: couple of years sooner than it did. But I am
Speaker 2: appreciative of that era that he gave us where Kentucky
Speaker 2: was on top and we're making final fours seemingly every
Speaker 2: year every other year, like you can believe that and
Speaker 2: feel that. But now's not the time for that, right
Speaker 2: because there's no scenario that many Kentucky fans are genuinely
Speaker 2: pulling for both Arkansas and Kentucky this year. But whenever
Speaker 2: they play each other, your go big blue like no,
Speaker 2: And that's okay, because I mean, Cal made it awkward
Speaker 2: he left to go to Arkansas, and again, you're happy
Speaker 2: he did because it led you get out of that
Speaker 2: insane situation with the contract, right, but make no mistake
Speaker 2: about it. Right now he's the enemy, just like I mean,
Speaker 2: it's not the same scenario, but like Rick was the enemy,
Speaker 2: and well, I guess it's not a comparison at all
Speaker 2: because Rick went did the rival cal didn't really do that.
Speaker 2: But now he's in your league still and he's a
Speaker 2: direct competitor and you wanted to lose. Now, maybe if
Speaker 2: he retires five years and he didn't necessarily do well
Speaker 2: at Arkansas, maybe there will be a time where you
Speaker 2: want him to come back and be honored. Because the
Speaker 2: first half of his tenure was pretty special, very memorable.
Speaker 2: And if you're a younger fan on the Kentucky side,
Speaker 2: like it may be really the bulk of your memory
Speaker 2: as a fan is the cal Era because it was special.
Speaker 2: So like, I get all that, but here's a scenario
Speaker 2: where you wouldn't want it to happen. And this is
Speaker 2: a real possibility. And I'm not sure if Kentucky fans
Speaker 2: have thought much about it, but this is a real possibility.
Speaker 2: If he's really good at Arkansas, like better than he
Speaker 2: was in Kentucky, starts making deep runs again in Kentucky's
Speaker 2: just mid and he's doing the col obnoxious, arrogant stuff
Speaker 2: that he's done, and maybe you know, and you know
Speaker 2: clearly wanting to rub it in as best he can
Speaker 2: that Kentucky wanted him gone and he left, and now
Speaker 2: they got to sit with this guy, and Col's elite
Speaker 2: at Arkansas. Again, if that was to play, that may
Speaker 2: make it to a point where you would never want
Speaker 2: him back. But hey, Tom, heals a lot of things.
Speaker 2: Maybe maybe instead of it being, you know, five years
Speaker 2: after he retires, maybe it's when he's eighty or something like.
Speaker 2: I don't know how good Cal is going to be
Speaker 2: at Arkansas. I really have no clue. I don't get
Speaker 2: the sense that he is going to change much of
Speaker 2: his approach and how he wants to play. And I
Speaker 2: just think that's not a good idea, that's not a
Speaker 2: good fit for him. In fact, you know we talked
Speaker 2: about yesterday them being ranked in the top twenty Arkansas
Speaker 2: I think is based just off of the fact that
Speaker 2: he's there. I mean, I mean not to say he's
Speaker 2: got a terrible roster, but he's got a roster worse
Speaker 2: than what he had last year and they were they
Speaker 2: were good enough to get a good seed. But like
Speaker 2: you know, I wouldn't be shocked if Cal has slightly
Speaker 2: less successful regular seasons. But maybe maybe he does breakthrough.
Speaker 2: And I mean, heck, is it break him through if
Speaker 2: you avoid a loss to a team like Saint Peter's
Speaker 2: or Oakland. No, it's just avoiding a disaster which he
Speaker 2: couldn't avoid twice. But here, you know, Cal, I don't
Speaker 2: have the audio of this, but the Field of sixty eight,
Speaker 2: of course is covering SEC media days and the quote
Speaker 2: I'm reading here says they picked the right guy. That
Speaker 2: was Cal on Kentucky's hiring of Mark Pope as Kentucky's
Speaker 2: new coach. Does that mean, like, I mean, that could
Speaker 2: be a lot of things. I mean, I'll give Cal
Speaker 2: the benefit of the doubt and and assume that that
Speaker 2: meant I'm and I didn't hear it, so maybe context
Speaker 2: does matter. But like, I'll just assume that that means
Speaker 2: he's a fan of Mark Pope and thinks they got
Speaker 2: a good coach, which he would say that regardless of
Speaker 2: how he feels, because that's what coaches do. It's not
Speaker 2: like WW where they're gonna be in each other's face,
Speaker 2: like they're about to go out there and have a
Speaker 2: scripted wrestling match. It'd be great if it was, but
Speaker 2: you know, like coaches are gonna say that. I mean,
Speaker 2: people were still calling Kenny Payn a good coach at
Speaker 2: the end of the the end of his era, like
Speaker 2: that's the ultimate sound that they're just gonna say what
Speaker 2: they're supposed to say as coaches to to a certain extent.
Speaker 2: But Cal could have meant they hired the right guy
Speaker 2: for me to go to the for me to go
Speaker 2: to Arkansas and make them miss me like crazy. Like
Speaker 2: I doubt he meant it that way, but if he did,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be shocked. And like, I don't know, man,
Speaker 2: And like if Cal, here's something that I probably need
Speaker 2: to reset and say more than I do, although I
Speaker 2: do probably already say it a lot. And that is
Speaker 2: that at the end of the day, both these guys
Speaker 2: have won over their fan base and momentum is in
Speaker 2: a good place for both programs to start these new eras.
Speaker 2: But we all know that like results matter and none
Speaker 2: of this stuff means a whole lot if they don't win.
Speaker 2: We all know that maybe it doesn't need to be said.
Speaker 2: But like hearing Mark Pope and how he has handled
Speaker 2: every interview, every press conference like he's really I mean,
Speaker 2: I think he's done a great job, just like Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey as far as making the fans fall in love
Speaker 2: with him, and there is something to be said about
Speaker 2: we would fall in love with anybody who's our coach
Speaker 2: because we want to win so badly and we just
Speaker 2: wanted to work out. But I also think these guys
Speaker 2: are well aware that there's things they bring to the
Speaker 2: table as far as their personality, their charisma that lacked
Speaker 2: in a major way with the previous coaches. And I
Speaker 2: don't mean that Pope's thinking about Kenny Payne and Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey is thinking about Calipari, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Both they're in a similar situation to where they can
Speaker 2: bring some really refreshing aspects and components to the to
Speaker 2: this situation that the other guys didn't have. And if
Speaker 2: you're a Kentucky fan, I'm not going to play this
Speaker 2: in its entirety because you probably don't want to hear it.
Speaker 2: But like Cal's turned into the old dude who just
Speaker 2: is trying to be like cool and sarcastic and like
Speaker 2: it it just falls flat. Like here's what Cal said
Speaker 2: about the SEC media days today. He said that he
Speaker 2: tried to take a COVID test to see if he
Speaker 2: had it so he didn't have to come Like that's
Speaker 2: not funny, and like like Cal's bit, if you want
Speaker 2: to call it that like his his set, if you
Speaker 2: know what I mean, Like he's working like a poet,
Speaker 2: like he's doing stand up comedy, Like it's just so
Speaker 2: played out. And like if you're Arkansas, like I mean,
Speaker 2: if he wins at a high level, I'm sure you'll
Speaker 2: be happy. But like this guy, this day and age,
Speaker 2: this is not a coach that is fun for anybody.
Speaker 6: So yesterday I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I
Speaker 6: did a COVID test because I thought if I had
Speaker 6: COVID I wouldn't have to My wife called me and said,
Speaker 6: not happening, You're going tomorrow. So I've been to a
Speaker 6: lot of them, and it's something we have to do
Speaker 6: to Really they were really important before because we had
Speaker 6: to promote our league in basketball.
Speaker 2: I mean, like, I know, Kentucky fans have to be
Speaker 2: so happy to not have to hear that kind of
Speaker 2: stuff again from your coach. And maybe sometimes it doesn't
Speaker 2: need to be said, but it certainly seemed like towards
Speaker 2: the end of Caliperry like he didn't appreciate the fact
Speaker 2: that he had what a lot of people view as
Speaker 2: the best job in his industry, a job that provided
Speaker 2: him a contract that nobody would else, nobody else would
Speaker 2: give him. I mean, he's got a good deal at Arkansas,
Speaker 2: making a lot of money, but he had a much
Speaker 2: better situation in Kentucky for being honest as far as
Speaker 2: the contract, and he didn't appreciate that at all. He
Speaker 2: truly felt like he was bigger than that program and
Speaker 2: that they should always be forever in debt to him
Speaker 2: because he's there to coach the program, and like that
Speaker 2: had to become so stale. Same thing with Kenny Payne.
Speaker 2: I mean, Kenny didn't really say a whole lot that
Speaker 2: you know that had any substance to it that I
Speaker 2: can remember, But you know, he clearly didn't appreciate the
Speaker 2: fact that he had. I mean, he didn't work, he
Speaker 2: didn't like try, he didn't recruit like he you know,
Speaker 2: one thing to be really bad. The guy didn't even try,
Speaker 2: it seemed. And you know there's people who worked with
Speaker 2: him that'll tell you that he didn't even try, especially
Speaker 2: towards the end. So to have coaches around here that
Speaker 2: make it quite clear, and I think it is genuine
Speaker 2: that they are in heaven with the roles they have.
Speaker 2: As a fan, you can't hear that enough. Now again,
Speaker 2: if they don't win, that's gonna make it tough. But
Speaker 2: these guys are so refreshing. And I don't mean just
Speaker 2: from like a fans perspective, because I know some LoVa
Speaker 2: fans don't care about what Mark Pope says, and Kentucky
Speaker 2: fans don't, or some you know in Kentucky fans don't
Speaker 2: care about what Pat Kelsey says. But I can tell
Speaker 2: you somebody who talks about these two coaches in these
Speaker 2: programs and always will unless I end up doing something
Speaker 2: else later in life. You know, it just became stale
Speaker 2: with cal and with you know, with Kenny, it was just,
Speaker 2: you know, a disaster. But anyways, quick break will come
Speaker 2: back on the other side of wrap this thing up.
Speaker 2: It's coffee and Company fueled by thorns right here on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety right, so Cody Wright said and
Speaker 2: says Nick, is they're a chance that we end up
Speaker 2: with two guys that, despite this being a hatred, heated
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, heated rivalry, we end up finding it hard
Speaker 2: to dislike the rivals coach. Yes and no. I think
Speaker 2: you can like put it this way. I don't think
Speaker 2: that Mark Stoops comes off as like a really easy
Speaker 2: to dislike guy. He's not like lovable, but like he
Speaker 2: doesn't like you know, I don't mind Mark Stoops, but
Speaker 2: he coaches Kentucky, so I hope he loses every game
Speaker 2: just because of the rivalry. Tobby Smith was great. He
Speaker 2: was a guy that was hard not to like, but
Speaker 2: make no mistake about it, I wanted him to lose
Speaker 2: every single game he plays. So yeah, I mean, I
Speaker 2: think these guys will probably not be you know, hateable,
Speaker 2: because that's just not really their personalities at all, regardless
Speaker 2: if they're successful or not. But I just think, you know,
Speaker 2: it's it's something you can't control if you're I guess
Speaker 2: sick and twisted like me, And I know there's many
Speaker 2: of us out there that are sick and twisted that
Speaker 2: loves nothing more than to root against your rival. I mean,
Speaker 2: you like rooting on your team more. But other than that,
Speaker 2: it's whoever they're playing, let's hope they win. And even
Speaker 2: though we you know, like col was a perfect villain
Speaker 2: to be honest with you like he was, I mean
Speaker 2: he was perfect for the mean other I mean he
Speaker 2: was perfect for them because he did a good job
Speaker 2: of like making us not like him, but also like
Speaker 2: he beat us a lot, and I hope that it
Speaker 2: doesn't happen with Mark Pope, but we'll see, all right.
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Speaker 2: That was a fun show, went by really quick, but
Speaker 2: we're back at it tomorrow. And again, thank you to
Speaker 2: the company man, mister John Alden for letting me know
Speaker 2: it's gonna be a big game brom on Saturday. I
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Speaker 2: we're ready to rock. Can't wait for Saturday, are you? Guys?
Speaker 2: Have a good night. Talk to you tomorrow right here
Speaker 2: on Sports Talk seven ninety