Speaker 1: It's something we've talked about for I guess really the
Speaker 1: last last few months, maybe even longer, definitely during the
Speaker 1: college basketball season. The rivalry here is a special thing.
Speaker 1: I think we all know that, and in Louisville it's
Speaker 1: a little different because there's so many of both Louisville
Speaker 1: and Kentucky fans and it's been kind of awkward, kind
Speaker 1: of weird because you can't help but like the other coach.
Speaker 1: And I know again there's some that will say I
Speaker 1: don't care, I'll hate whoever coaches Louisville.
Speaker 2: And you know, I think, you know, I get it.
Speaker 1: There's a level that you know, there's just no scenario
Speaker 1: that they wouldn't And not to judge those people, because
Speaker 1: again those that are the most passionate, the most crazy
Speaker 1: about it. You know, that's why we're a special market
Speaker 1: here to where college basketball is king and whatnot. But
Speaker 1: it's been awkward because Louisville fans I think at this
Speaker 1: point would probably have to really try to find something,
Speaker 1: really manufacture something almost to use against Mark Pope as
Speaker 1: far as being a guy that's like easy to dislike,
Speaker 1: because you want to be able to dislike your rival.
Speaker 1: At the end of the day. It's really never personal,
Speaker 1: like we don't know these people, right, I mean, we
Speaker 1: don't know them as human beings, but we get caught
Speaker 1: up in it. And Cali Perry was a great villain,
Speaker 1: a great guy that it was easy to dislike, honestly,
Speaker 1: because I think he wants to be disliked like. I
Speaker 1: think that's kind of its brand. Especially when he got
Speaker 1: to Kentucky. He realized I can use this army of
Speaker 1: fans and will be you know, well we will adopt
Speaker 1: I guess the motto you know they hate us because
Speaker 1: they ain't us kind of thing. And it worked well
Speaker 1: for a little while, and you know it didn't. But
Speaker 1: Mark Pope is really hard to not like. He's a
Speaker 1: he's a very likable guy. I think he's a good
Speaker 1: coach man. I don't want him to win. It'd be
Speaker 1: I think it'd be great if they weren't successful. But
Speaker 1: I don't find him at all easy to dislike, meaning
Speaker 1: he's pretty like and I think he's good basketball coach,
Speaker 1: and I think he'll utilize resources and everything that Kentucky
Speaker 1: has to offer and probably succeed at a high level. Well,
Speaker 1: I think Kentucky fans at least a lot of them,
Speaker 1: many of them that you know that I've that I've
Speaker 1: talked to, say the same thing about Pat Kelsey. Maybe
Speaker 1: they're not as convinced that he's going to be great
Speaker 1: or anything like that, but they they they have a
Speaker 1: hard time not acknowledging that, Like, he seems like a
Speaker 1: good dude, and he seems like a coach that would
Speaker 1: be really easy for a fan base to get behind
Speaker 1: and really root for.
Speaker 2: And I think he was.
Speaker 1: Even yesterday or maybe the day maybe the day before.
Speaker 1: I don't know when it was. I get my days
Speaker 1: mixed up, but I know it came up on KSR,
Speaker 1: the video of Pat Kelsey driving down the road and
Speaker 1: fans realizing, Hey, that's Louisville's basketball coach next to us.
Speaker 1: Let's let's let him know we see him and we
Speaker 1: appreciate him. And sure enough he rolled down the window
Speaker 1: and was, you know, yell and go cards and all
Speaker 1: into it, and that that that that's quite literally what
Speaker 1: you would expect from him. It's pretty consistent. He's got
Speaker 1: good energy, he's got good vibes, and clearly he seems
Speaker 1: to be pretty good basketball coach too. So I do
Speaker 1: believe some Kentucky fans when they say that they're happy
Speaker 1: Louisville is getting back, not because they're happy for us.
Speaker 1: I mean maybe some of them are, but like it's
Speaker 1: because it does, in fact make it more fun for them. Right,
Speaker 1: if you beat your rival and they stink, you're happy.
Speaker 1: You beat your rival and you're happy they stink. But
Speaker 1: you also get more satisfaction from beating said rival if
Speaker 1: they don't stink, because it means more because you beat
Speaker 1: a good team and you know it's going to hurt
Speaker 1: your rival more knowing that their good team lost to you.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's just how it works, right, So in
Speaker 1: recent years, Louisville fans were lifeless in the rivalry in
Speaker 1: every way. So this year I don't get the sense
Speaker 1: that Louisville fans are as much. I mean, we're just
Speaker 1: so because of recency. Louisville fans are just enjoying the ride,
Speaker 1: and there's probably not as much attention spent on anybody
Speaker 1: else or any I mean, I don't think many Louisville
Speaker 1: fans right now are tracking other teams and their resume
Speaker 1: and their seed line projection because we're just enjoying it.
Speaker 1: I think in previous years when this was more of
Speaker 1: like the expectation to be a top twenty five team
Speaker 1: that looks sure to make the tournament, you would be
Speaker 1: focusing on the other stuff. But this is a very
Speaker 1: rare situation and it's it's again. It's not to say
Speaker 1: this is the ceiling. We know that's not the case.
Speaker 1: But for reasons I've mentioned many times over the last
Speaker 1: few weeks, everything that happened in recent years has made
Speaker 1: this be more enjoyable and if anything, that's the silver
Speaker 1: lining where the success isn't crazy for what Louisville has
Speaker 1: done historically, but man, it's been a while since we've
Speaker 1: been here and it's a different planet compared to where
Speaker 1: we were previous years. Therefore, it's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: So what I'm getting at is it's been kind of
Speaker 1: a you know, it's been kind of a playful thing
Speaker 1: back and forth this year where boat teams are pretty good.
Speaker 1: In fact, Kentucky deserves a better seat. Kentucky beat Louisville
Speaker 1: head to head. I think with that, clearly they deserve
Speaker 1: to claim that they're a better team. They have a
Speaker 1: better resume. Like I'm not arguing against that at all,
Speaker 1: but numbers wise, And again this is I'm not even
Speaker 1: making the argument here about who's better. Kentucky is better
Speaker 1: right now. They played and I mean Louisville might get
Speaker 1: them if they played them right now, but they played
Speaker 1: ten times on a neutral court. I think most would
Speaker 1: expect Kentucky to win more than they lose, and I would.
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean it's gonna happen, but I would understand.
Speaker 1: But like in the Ned and the kin Palm, they're
Speaker 1: pretty pretty similar. Actually, Kentucky's weird. The kin Palm does
Speaker 1: not like Kentucky as much as others. I think I've
Speaker 1: said that before, But still they're both in position to be,
Speaker 1: you know, right now, Kentucky looks like a three seed
Speaker 1: in the recent bracketology and Louisville's a five. So again,
Speaker 1: they're not that far off. But and in most years
Speaker 1: I think it would be you know, you'd have people
Speaker 1: at each other's next. But I think Kentucky fans understand
Speaker 1: why Louisville fans are excited, and they can't really knock
Speaker 1: them because hey, we have been bad and now we're not.
Speaker 1: And with Kentucky it's been such a good ride. Like
Speaker 1: they're losing games here and there, but they know they're
Speaker 1: really good. They know Mark Pope is a good coach,
Speaker 1: at least seemingly good enough to where if you utilize
Speaker 1: what Kentucky has to work with, you should succeed at
Speaker 1: a high level. So we haven't really had a whole
Speaker 1: lot of back and forth until now now, and it's
Speaker 1: about the National Coach of the Year conversation, and it
Speaker 1: was I mean, you're now seeing everybody put out who
Speaker 1: they think is in the mix who should be candidates
Speaker 1: as of now for National Coach of the Year, and
Speaker 1: Kelsey and Pope are in the mix just about everywhere,
Speaker 1: but as of late there has been more mention of
Speaker 1: like Pope being more deserving. And I'm just going to
Speaker 1: say this, and this is not I mean, I know
Speaker 1: it's going to sound like I'm just trying to appease
Speaker 1: both audiences, but I promise you that's not my intent here.
Speaker 1: It's just me being honest with you. I think right now,
Speaker 1: the two best candidates for that job I'm sorry for
Speaker 1: that award would be both the coaches here, Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 2: And Mark Pope.
Speaker 1: Now I'm biased, although I try not to be, but
Speaker 1: I would give the edge to Kelsey for some obvious reasons. One,
Speaker 1: he didn't take over a winning culture. He had to
Speaker 1: kind of start from scratch, and he's missed two key
Speaker 1: guys like Louisville has been impacted. We read the numbers
Speaker 1: earlier this week and I forget that they're even dealing
Speaker 1: with the injuries. But Louisville has had Louisville has had
Speaker 1: more of an impact with injuries than anybody this year
Speaker 1: as far as guys that were you know, that were
Speaker 1: playing big minutes or expected to play big minutes, both
Speaker 1: Case and Bryor and Koran Johnson, and I keep forgetting
Speaker 1: that those guys were ever even here.
Speaker 2: I hate to say it.
Speaker 1: Love them, hope they stick around because they're both good
Speaker 1: to qualify for medical red shirts, But like I just
Speaker 1: forget about them because Louisll's playing well and we're not
Speaker 1: missing them a whole lot. We'd be better with them,
Speaker 1: I'm sure. So that's why I would give the nod
Speaker 1: to Kelsey. But again, if you want to claim that
Speaker 1: I'm doing that because I'm biased, you may be right.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna fight you on that. But I'm also
Speaker 1: saying that Mark Pope is deserving because he also started
Speaker 1: appro started the team from scratch essentially, and I actually
Speaker 1: think Kentucky is is more successful because of his coaching
Speaker 1: than they are his personnel. I mean that like, and
Speaker 1: you know what that means. It's a good if you're
Speaker 1: doing more with less. And again, it's not like he's
Speaker 1: got a bunch of bums, but he has no pro
Speaker 1: on this team.
Speaker 2: I'm not even sure whose best player is.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's Jackson Robinson, but you know, he can also
Speaker 1: just kind of not show up sometimes. Maybe it's Lamon Butler,
Speaker 1: who went for what thirty plus against the Louisville and
Speaker 1: he's a good player, but you know, times means not elite,
Speaker 1: Like I don't even I mean, it's gonna sound crazy,
Speaker 1: and I guess some will say that maybe it's a
Speaker 1: backhanded compliment, but I don't mean it that way. Who
Speaker 1: on Kentucky's team is even deserving of being All conference
Speaker 1: in the SEC? And again it sounds like I'm dissing them,
Speaker 1: but I'm actually, I mean, I'm more than anything trying
Speaker 1: to emphasize it. I think Mark Posts done a great
Speaker 1: job with the group that he has, and although it's Kentucky,
Speaker 1: nobody's surprised they're a top ten team. Nobody's surprised they're
Speaker 1: in line for a really good seat. It's Kentucky, but
Speaker 1: it's also you know, it's also not a situation where
Speaker 1: I mean, he started from scratch and he's winning, and
Speaker 1: he's in a better position in late January than Caliperry
Speaker 1: has been in a long time. And yet I think
Speaker 1: he's doing it with less and they've got good players.
Speaker 1: Trust me, I'm not trying to act like he's doing
Speaker 1: it with a bunch of rudies, a bunch of walk
Speaker 1: ons out there, but they've got I mean, otega Oway
Speaker 1: is their leading scorer. I don't think anybody would claim that.
Speaker 1: And he's a good player, trust me, good player, but
Speaker 1: like he's not he's not a I mean, he's not
Speaker 1: a pro. And he's also not somebody that anybody would
Speaker 1: would try to make the case to be like an
Speaker 1: All American in any way, or even like an All
Speaker 1: SEC first team guy. So the coaching from Pope, his style,
Speaker 1: he found the pieces and that's why they're so balanced.
Speaker 1: They've got five guys averaging eleven or more. Kar and
Speaker 1: Brea right at eleven, Robinson at thirteen, Lamont Butler just
Speaker 1: a little bit above that, and then Ottiga oway is
Speaker 1: is at fifteen point seven points a game. So again,
Speaker 1: good players. And again it's weird to say there's some
Speaker 1: real similarities between these teams. They're veteran less. They don't
Speaker 1: have any NBA players to my knowledge, although maybe Chucky
Speaker 1: plays in the league for a little while, maybe maybe
Speaker 1: Robinson does.
Speaker 2: I mean, who knows. You never know about the pros.
Speaker 1: But I think as much as we are kind of
Speaker 1: back and forth, I can't get on Kentucky fans for
Speaker 1: claiming that their coach should be deserving of the award
Speaker 1: as well, because I think he is. I think again,
Speaker 1: it sounds real, you know, it sounds like I'm just
Speaker 1: catering to the audience here, and maybe I am, but
Speaker 1: I believe when it comes to because the Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year award is stupid. It's a selective thing based
Speaker 1: off of year. And what I mean by that is,
Speaker 1: are you gonna give it to the overachiever of the year.
Speaker 1: Are you gonna give it to the guy who is
Speaker 1: the best team? Like people mentioning John Shier for Coach
Speaker 1: of the Year is the ultimate reminder for me that
Speaker 1: the Coach of the Year is not a it's not
Speaker 1: a legitimate award. It's just about who's the biggest overachiever,
Speaker 1: or if there's not a big overachiever, let's give it
Speaker 1: to the guy whose team had the best year and
Speaker 1: coach who have teams that are really good and win.
Speaker 1: You know what, they deserve a lot of credit because
Speaker 1: they're a part of it. But it's the one award
Speaker 1: in sports I can think of that quite literally, there
Speaker 1: is no consistency because sometimes the guy who wins it
Speaker 1: will be thirty six and one. Sometimes the guy who
Speaker 1: wins it will be a guy who made the tournament.
Speaker 1: I mean, so it's not about accomplishment, it's about like perception,
Speaker 1: and perception is different for everyone. I'm not gonna say
Speaker 1: that I think John Shire is a bad coach doing
Speaker 1: a bad job.
Speaker 2: Duke is great this year.
Speaker 1: But John Shire has Cooper Flag, a guy that people
Speaker 1: think is the best guy to enter the college basketball
Speaker 1: game in a long time. And you know he's at
Speaker 1: Duke and he's in his what third year, So he's
Speaker 1: not a bad coach. But like when you have your
Speaker 1: lead candidates be such have such different profiles this year,
Speaker 1: what are we doing? Are we going over achiever or
Speaker 1: are we giving it to the guy that we believe
Speaker 1: has done the best job coaching, because I think you
Speaker 1: need two awards. You know, I don't know overachiever of
Speaker 1: the year as a coach, or bounce back coach or
Speaker 1: a guy who you know you just feel like because
Speaker 1: here's the thing. In the regular season, that's when that
Speaker 1: award's given you. You don't vote coach of the Year
Speaker 1: in the tournament for obvious reasons. So let's say you
Speaker 1: got five teams, six teams contending for one seeds. If
Speaker 1: everybody has the mindset of we're gonna give it to
Speaker 1: the coach who we think has the best team, and
Speaker 1: clearly he's a factor, he's the coach. You just come
Speaker 1: down to deciding which of those you think is better
Speaker 1: and which was a better coaching job like Pat Kelsey,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, deserves Coach of the Year because I
Speaker 1: feel like his coaching and his and I don't just
Speaker 1: mean in game like x's and o's everything.
Speaker 2: He has brought.
Speaker 1: Everything he's brought to the table here in Louisville is
Speaker 1: working and it's helped us go through this healing process
Speaker 1: that's been a lot of fun. And oh, by the
Speaker 1: way they're winning, they're ranked, they're safely in the tournament
Speaker 1: right now. So that's the kind of the way I
Speaker 1: see it. And I think you could say the same
Speaker 1: for Pope and some will say, well, he was supposed
Speaker 1: to be good. No, he was, Kentucky was borderline ranked.
Speaker 1: I mean, Mark Pope and Kentucky I've actually at this
Speaker 1: point done substantially better than people would have expected. I
Speaker 1: don't think many thought that they were going to be terrible,
Speaker 1: but I mean I remember KSR having the conversation that
Speaker 1: they think they could be really good, but they're just
Speaker 1: hoping they make the tournament because you just don't know.
Speaker 1: It's all brand new, and you can get a brand
Speaker 1: new team and a coach and have success. That's been
Speaker 1: done elsewhere. There's examples of that, but I think the
Speaker 1: way both of these guys have done it, and knowing
Speaker 1: sort of their background, it's got to make both fan
Speaker 1: bases feel really good about these guys' long term because
Speaker 1: when you progress throughout your time and you are successful
Speaker 1: at a place like Louisville and Kentucky, what is it
Speaker 1: going to do. It's going to show proof of concept
Speaker 1: you can win there, and all that's going to do
Speaker 1: is potentially help you with anile resources from supporters and
Speaker 1: players who want to come play for you. So I
Speaker 1: think the two best candidates for this job are are
Speaker 1: those two or for this award? Of those two, now,
Speaker 1: if I could, if I could throw one more out there,
Speaker 1: I would actually say Bruce Pearl, just because I think
Speaker 1: Auburn might be the best team in the country. And
Speaker 1: I also believe that Auburn is and I don't want
Speaker 1: to say they're doing it with a bunch of a
Speaker 1: bunch of walk Ons or anything like that, but you know,
Speaker 1: Bruce Pearl, I heard this during the I don't know,
Speaker 1: I can't think of what they played in one of
Speaker 1: the tournaments around Thanksgiving Auburn did.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it was Maui or.
Speaker 1: Where it was, but they had a really tough schedule
Speaker 1: early on and they've been rolling. They're sitting here at
Speaker 1: seventeen and one overall undefeated in the ACC, so they're
Speaker 1: they're quite literally, you know, the best or one of
Speaker 1: the best teams in the country. So I remember watching them,
Speaker 1: and yeah, it was Maui and they won the Maui Invitational.
Speaker 1: I think I might have been Billis mentioning that Bruce Pearl,
Speaker 1: throughout the early stages here in the new world of
Speaker 1: the Portal and Nil and all, that he's found a
Speaker 1: formula that he thinks really works for him. And it's
Speaker 1: going and getting guys who are valuable and really wanted
Speaker 1: from the portal. But they're not guys that are Dickinson's
Speaker 1: coming from Michigan, where you've been, You've been the man
Speaker 1: at a big school. Bruce Pearl knows, Okay, I want
Speaker 1: to go get a guy who would be hungry to
Speaker 1: play for me, that has been really successful at a
Speaker 1: lower level. I don't need him to be a lottery pick.
Speaker 1: I just need him to be a dog. I need
Speaker 1: him to work hard, and I need him to be,
Speaker 1: you know, to be talented. Of course, I mean jan
Speaker 1: I Broome, a guy who a lot of people think
Speaker 1: has been as deserving a Player of the Year in
Speaker 1: college basketball until he got injured. It's probably going to
Speaker 1: go to Cooper Flag, but Jeni Broome he played at
Speaker 1: Morehead State for two years before he ended up at Auburn.
Speaker 1: And you know, that's a guy who climbed the ladder
Speaker 1: here in college basketball, got a lot better, and now
Speaker 1: he's I mean, he's he's embraced what Bruce Pearl provided
Speaker 1: and embraced his coaching. He didn't arrive as the guy
Speaker 1: who he felt like, you know, Auburn should be lucky
Speaker 1: to have. I think he probably felt lucky to be there.
Speaker 1: And it's a good it's a good, good chemistry. There's
Speaker 1: some real compatibility there. There's also a guy on Auburn
Speaker 1: who haven't checked his numbers lately. But I just love
Speaker 1: stories like this because I'm a nerd for this stuff.
Speaker 1: But they went out and got a transfer from Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think his name. Let me see if this is
Speaker 1: who it is. This there's a Division two Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: a Division two player on their team, and I believe
Speaker 1: it's Cheney Johnson. I could have the guy wrong, but
Speaker 1: he's a Division two guy who was successful at a
Speaker 1: D two school in Alabama, played some pickup games against
Speaker 1: Auburn players in the offseason, and clearly he could hold
Speaker 1: his own and he hit the portal and Pearl wanted him.
Speaker 2: And you know that's a guy.
Speaker 1: Who he's not scoring eighteen nineteen a night like he
Speaker 1: probably was at his Division two school, but he can
Speaker 1: play and he can fit with what they want.
Speaker 2: To do and it's working.
Speaker 1: So like I think you're going to start to see
Speaker 1: as the transfer portal is not changing. In fact, we
Speaker 1: may get to a point where guys can transfer mid season,
Speaker 1: like that's that's actually being talked about now. So being
Speaker 1: able to find what you can you can believe will
Speaker 1: work for you. It's not just about their style of play.
Speaker 1: It's not just about their productivity. It's about are they
Speaker 1: going to come in and buy in? Are they going
Speaker 1: to are they going to be Are they going to
Speaker 1: come in and feel like, Man, I got this opportunity,
Speaker 1: I've taken a step up here in the ladder of
Speaker 1: of of of my of my world, here in college basketball.
Speaker 1: This is this isn't this is motivating. I'm gonna work
Speaker 1: hard and show that I did belong here. Or are
Speaker 1: you going to say, hey, it's a payday and you
Speaker 1: know you're just a free agent, and I mean, and
Speaker 1: you never know, like you really never know how it's
Speaker 1: gonna work. But I think you're gonna see more coaches
Speaker 1: out there realize the way they used to do it
Speaker 1: right whenever you didn't have money, at least not the
Speaker 1: way you do now. I'm sure there's always been some
Speaker 1: handshake deals and all that kind of stuff. But now
Speaker 1: it's blatantly in your face that money matters. You've got
Speaker 1: to come correct financially to get big players who have
Speaker 1: other offers. That's just that's just part of it. So
Speaker 1: now that you have that, and now that players can
Speaker 1: and will leave whenever they want, there used to be
Speaker 1: a real fear. When you're an eighteen year old kid
Speaker 1: and you go to college to play basketball. The thought
Speaker 1: of just not playing for a year is something you
Speaker 1: would never consider because it's all you know. So that's
Speaker 1: why guys never transferred. They don't want to sit. Sometimes
Speaker 1: it would happen, but it was rare. Well, now it's
Speaker 1: happening all the time for really no no real reason.
Speaker 1: There are guys that just leave because they can. So
Speaker 1: what I'm saying is, I think these coaches who really
Speaker 1: became great in the previous world, right, break them down,
Speaker 1: then build them up, really put them through a lot,
Speaker 1: you know, and and develop them. And I you know,
Speaker 1: I like that. That's old school. I think that. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's to me, that's that's what it's all about. But
Speaker 1: now the game's change, right, players have way more power
Speaker 1: than they've ever had and that's not changing at all.
Speaker 1: So for these coaches that really kind of made their
Speaker 1: mark and became big names and successful coaches in the
Speaker 1: previous world, the most compatible player for them is the
Speaker 1: guy that you know is going to work his ass
Speaker 1: off because he's just grateful for the opportunity and he's
Speaker 1: not gonna waste the opportunity. He's happy to be there,
Speaker 1: he's gonna fight like he'll give you everything. And I
Speaker 1: think right now we're seeing that with both programs here locally,
Speaker 1: I think we're seeing guys who been around the block
Speaker 1: of time or two. They know where they were wherever
Speaker 1: it may be, maybe it's multiple places. Where they were
Speaker 1: is nothing like where they are now when it comes
Speaker 1: to the support you get when things are going well,
Speaker 1: and that's going to be motivating.
Speaker 2: So it's still new.
Speaker 1: I mean, it doesn't seem that new anymore, because you know,
Speaker 1: it's a constant thing for us around here talking college sports.
Speaker 1: So nil in the portal is really not that new.
Speaker 1: But when you consider historically the amateurism model that the
Speaker 1: NCAA enforced for generations, it went from the same thing
Speaker 1: forever to something completely different in like one season, And
Speaker 1: now where what four seasons is into it. So it's
Speaker 1: still and it's not new, but in the grand scheme
Speaker 1: of things, it actually is. And I think some of
Speaker 1: these coaches, those that haven't quit and walked away, and
Speaker 1: I still think some of.
Speaker 2: Them did do it in a bad way.
Speaker 1: But others, I think have just realized, Look, it's a
Speaker 1: different world, it's a different job. The way that I
Speaker 1: would have success, the way that I have success that
Speaker 1: ain't gonna work now. Therefore I'm not compatible. This is
Speaker 1: not a compatible thing for me anymore. But others who
Speaker 1: just don't know anything else, and they'll adjust, they'll adapt
Speaker 1: because this is what they have to do. I mean,
Speaker 1: it took them a little time, and I think you're
Speaker 1: starting to see, you know, certain certain coaches that clearly
Speaker 1: are finding what works for them. So we haven't really
Speaker 1: been contentious in a big way when it comes to
Speaker 1: to basketball around here in the rivalry, which is kind
Speaker 1: of weird, especially when both teams are good and have
Speaker 1: good reason to feel good about their teams. But maybe
Speaker 1: that's what we end up fighting over around here, is
Speaker 1: who's more deserving a Coach of the Year. All right,
Speaker 1: quick break, We'll come back on the other side talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about these NFL matchups as we find
Speaker 1: out this weekend, who in fact is going to be
Speaker 1: playing in the super Bowl. I know who I want
Speaker 1: to see in the super Bowl, but not sure if
Speaker 1: it's going to happen. We'll get to that in a
Speaker 1: lot more. Try to empty out this text long before
Speaker 1: we get out here for the end of the week.
Speaker 1: It's Coffee and Company. Feel about Thornton's right here on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 3: Oh you baby, I can ride behind me in the
Speaker 3: weekend ahead, you matter, get out of me.
Speaker 2: The voting and the Manda won, the good news, we're
Speaker 2: all ready back.
Speaker 3: And something ready Alo the mother out of the cool,
Speaker 3: no foe invested it.
Speaker 2: Come you walk. Then then.
Speaker 3: You're listening to Coffee and Company with Nick Coffee on
Speaker 3: Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Thank you much, Carl. This is this is this is
Speaker 1: how we get set for the weekend. And I'm ready
Speaker 1: for the weekend. But it's been a good week. I
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier today that this this week kind of feels
Speaker 1: like the first time in a long time where I've
Speaker 1: had a regular routine and a full week without the interruptions.
Speaker 1: And I call them interruptions. I mean, sometimes it's good
Speaker 1: to be interrupted with a day off because of holidays
Speaker 1: and that kind of stuff, and it really isn't an interruption.
Speaker 1: It's just kind of, you know, scheduling. But been a
Speaker 1: big week, no doubt. I will say this is probably
Speaker 1: maybe embarrassing to say. Maybe it's not. I'm not sure,
Speaker 1: but I went out for dinner on Wednesday night with
Speaker 1: my high school basketball coach who coached me nineteen years ago.
Speaker 1: Next year will be my twenty year reunion for my
Speaker 1: high my high school days, which used to feel like
Speaker 1: it would be crazy to say that, but now it
Speaker 1: kind of feels like it's been twenty years. But it
Speaker 1: was great to catch up with him. Just he and
Speaker 1: I had dinner, and it was probably the longest time
Speaker 1: I've spent really in a setting like that, just talking
Speaker 1: with someone and catching up and just kind of losing
Speaker 1: track of time. I'm pretty sure I had my phone
Speaker 1: in my pocket for three straight hours, which is probably
Speaker 1: what I should do more right, not be so distracted
Speaker 1: by my phone. But it was great to catch up
Speaker 1: and we were going over things because I'm gonna he's
Speaker 1: gonna be the one that'll do the speech to kind
Speaker 1: of induct me into our high school Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: which I'm extremely honored by and really looking forward to.
Speaker 1: But we were just we were going down memory lane.
Speaker 1: It was a lot of fun. And I the last
Speaker 1: two times that he and I've got together over the
Speaker 1: years and it hasn't happened as much as it should have,
Speaker 1: but the same thing has occurred where we just kind
Speaker 1: of get lost catching up on stuff and just I guess,
Speaker 1: you know, talking and catching up on each other's lives
Speaker 1: and of course reliving the good days and that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. But each time we've got together, it's been
Speaker 1: twice and I guess the last ten years or so
Speaker 1: where our wives have just started to worry because we're
Speaker 1: not paying attention to our phones at all, and they're
Speaker 1: wondering why we've been gone for so long, and it's
Speaker 1: just because we're, you know, we're catching up. But it
Speaker 1: was a good time, and I was going through some
Speaker 1: stuff earlier just to kind of get set for that
Speaker 1: event that's coming up in a couple of weeks, which
Speaker 1: I'm again real excited, really honored about, But it's just
Speaker 1: been that was like I would probably in this bad
Speaker 1: to say, but like I probably wouldn't have really had
Speaker 1: the initiative to to kind of, you know, reconnect and
Speaker 1: and and catch up. And I should have done it
Speaker 1: more than I have since I've been since I've been,
Speaker 1: you know, away from that world of you know, being.
Speaker 1: I mean, I've been out of high school a long
Speaker 1: time and you know, you kind of just get caught
Speaker 1: up in life and whatnot. But it's great to catch up.
Speaker 1: And uh, it's been it's been a good week. And
Speaker 1: I also will not lie to you, and this is
Speaker 1: probably not something to be proud of, but if anything,
Speaker 1: I don't feel as bad because I know I'm not alone.
Speaker 1: Louisville basketball being in the position they're in has just
Speaker 1: made my life seem better. And you know, I really
Speaker 1: wouldn't have it any other way, because when the good
Speaker 1: is good, man, you feel alive and it's just awesome
Speaker 1: and it's fun. But when the bad is bad, it's
Speaker 1: it's sad and you wonder, like, why do I care
Speaker 1: so much. I don't play on the team, my my
Speaker 1: my live my livelihood won't be impacted. My emotions will,
Speaker 1: my happiness will, and that's a sad thing. But you know,
Speaker 1: sports makes us crazy, and I kind of wouldn't wouldn't
Speaker 1: have it any other way, all right. Something we talked
Speaker 1: about a little bit earlier today. Obviously it's been a
Speaker 1: big piece of news nationally, but the NFL hires that
Speaker 1: have been made too were made today. Pete Carroll hired
Speaker 1: as the Raiders coach. I feel like, if you're Oakland,
Speaker 1: makes total sense. I mean, I don't know. I never
Speaker 1: I didn't think that they would be moving on from
Speaker 1: the higher they made Antonio Peers as quick as they did,
Speaker 1: but sounds like things kind of really went south there,
Speaker 1: not only with the lack of success, but just sounds
Speaker 1: like it wasn't wasn't a fit. And Pete Carroll, I mean,
Speaker 1: he's a safe higher. I think the floor is high,
Speaker 1: higher for Pete Carroll than a lot of other guys
Speaker 1: that have been hired. Now the ceiling may not be
Speaker 1: as high, but he's also a guy that you know
Speaker 1: can win at a high level. He's had some really
Speaker 1: good teams and dare I say Pete Carroll winning the
Speaker 1: way he did with Russell Wilson as his quarterback. I
Speaker 1: know at the time that they were really good. They
Speaker 1: had a good defense and Marshawn Lynch, but Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: hasn't been successful without Pete Carroll. Let's not forget that.
Speaker 1: So I think Pete Carroll, I mean again, I talked
Speaker 1: about this earlier. Pete Carroll is a phenomenal coach. The
Speaker 1: guy has won a Super Bowl in a college football
Speaker 1: national championship within the same what the same decade, and
Speaker 1: for the most part, even when he's not winning titles,
Speaker 1: he is successful, sometimes really successful, even if he's not
Speaker 1: winning super Bowls or championships. So the day that he
Speaker 1: was booted or moved on again, I think initially we
Speaker 1: thought he was retiring. We later learned that it was
Speaker 1: more their decision than his. But it was the same
Speaker 1: day that. In fact, I think I missed one earlier.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure all within like the same two days,
Speaker 1: maybe the same week, you had Horrorball move on from
Speaker 1: Michigan to go to the NFL, Which that isn't that
Speaker 1: big of a story if it wasn't for everything that
Speaker 1: came with it. Harrorball was not delivering at a high
Speaker 1: level like Michigan expected until he brought along Connor Stallions
Speaker 1: and then he bolted right and they got in trouble
Speaker 1: with the NCAA, and so that made it a story.
Speaker 1: But also Nick Saban retires, that's a big story. The
Speaker 1: best coach of my lifetime in college football, maybe the
Speaker 1: best coach of all time. And then I forgot about Belichick,
Speaker 1: you know him, and New England moved on, and then
Speaker 1: Pete Carroll whatever you want to call it, they were
Speaker 1: no longer. He's no longer their coach, and it just
Speaker 1: kind of seemed like such an easy thing to forget.
Speaker 1: And I remember thinking, this guy's a legend and it
Speaker 1: won't be much of a It just kind of just
Speaker 1: did not get this. He did not get the same
Speaker 1: attention that I felt like it should have. But again,
Speaker 1: he was competing with some other big name coaches that
Speaker 1: also at the same time were moving on or getting
Speaker 1: fired or whatever it may be.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen ended up being hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars,
Speaker 1: and I talked about this a lot in the three
Speaker 1: o'clock hour, and I don't want to completely reset the
Speaker 1: whole thing, but Liam Cohen didn't do anything that anybody
Speaker 1: would not do, Like I don't understand at any point
Speaker 1: throughout like the decisions he made in the last five
Speaker 1: six years that would make you be critical of him
Speaker 1: as far as like loyalty when you're an assistant, when
Speaker 1: you're any kind of an assistant, coach, coordinator, position, coach,
Speaker 1: whatever it may be, and you have aspirations to be
Speaker 1: a head coach, there's no loyalty involved. You will take
Speaker 1: the opportunity to improve your situation and better yourself and
Speaker 1: if you don't, maybe it wasn't meant to be. But like,
Speaker 1: I just can't imagine anybody else moving on to take
Speaker 1: a better job, a better position, improved their career and
Speaker 1: it be viewed as if they were unloyal and like
Speaker 1: a red flag. I think the way it played out
Speaker 1: in Kentucky led to Kentucky fans some of them doing that.
Speaker 1: But I think there's some hypocrisy going on here because
Speaker 1: you're talking out of both sides of your mouth at
Speaker 1: least some meaning you know that your coach is ran
Speaker 1: through offensive coordinators like nobody's business. And many of them
Speaker 1: that have moved on have ended up being good elsewhere,
Speaker 1: and they were not as good when they worked for
Speaker 1: Mark Stoops. So Liam Cohen, what's different with him? Like
Speaker 1: Lim Cohen left you guys twice. But if your coach
Speaker 1: is who you say he is, or at least from what
Speaker 1: I hear everybody complaining about how he's the problem with
Speaker 1: the ocs. And the one coordinator that lasted longer than
Speaker 1: a year is the guy who stunk at he Gran,
Speaker 1: So like, which one is it?
Speaker 2: Are you? Are you? Are you?
Speaker 1: I mean you just sound like a bitter X because
Speaker 1: the guy realized that, you know, he was able to
Speaker 1: move on, and he did. You clearly won't move on
Speaker 1: because it's your team. Like Liam Cohen, he was the
Speaker 1: OC at Maine for a couple of years, then he
Speaker 1: turned that into being the assistant wide receivers coach with
Speaker 1: the Rams for a couple of years, then he became
Speaker 1: the Rams assistant quarterbacks coach. Clearly at that time, being
Speaker 1: a Sean McVay protege, he was able to really build
Speaker 1: up his brand and his his you know, his reputation
Speaker 1: within the football world, and that got him the job
Speaker 1: at Kentucky. To be fair credit to Kentucky, they took
Speaker 1: a chance on a guy that was making a jump
Speaker 1: and calling plays for the first time since he coached
Speaker 1: at Maine. So Rams for a few years in different
Speaker 1: positions to Kentucky in twenty twenty one, and it worked.
Speaker 1: Out well to where he was able to go to
Speaker 1: the Rams again. But now is their OC. But when
Speaker 1: you're the OC with the Rams, you know what you
Speaker 1: don't do. You don't call place because you know who
Speaker 1: does Sean McVay and he always will because that's what
Speaker 1: makes him great. So that didn't work out because the
Speaker 1: I mean I feel like he was the fall guy
Speaker 1: for McVeigh. I could be wrong, but they took a
Speaker 1: step back, the Rams did, and Cohen ended up getting
Speaker 1: kind of the boot and he came back to Kentucky
Speaker 1: and I'm sure there was like a Hey, this is
Speaker 1: where I want to be. I'm going to stay here,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna raise my family like I'm sure he meant
Speaker 1: that at the time. But then you know, he once
Speaker 1: again was the OC for Mark Stoops and probably felt
Speaker 1: like the ceiling wasn't super high for him. So after
Speaker 1: a year he gets another opportunity, and you know, he
Speaker 1: ends up going to the Buccaneers, and guess what. With
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers, he was really good, and I mean really good,
Speaker 1: was a candidate for NFL jobs. The Jaguars wanted him
Speaker 1: and he said thanks, but no thanks, because I don't
Speaker 1: want to work for the GM. The Jaguars wanted him
Speaker 1: so much they fired the GM and then came back
Speaker 1: at him again and now he's their coach. So the
Speaker 1: only thing I can think of that is legitimately understandable
Speaker 1: as far as criticism is that apparently he just went
Speaker 1: he ghosted the Buccaneers. That's just not professional in any
Speaker 1: career that you have, any work any I mean, just
Speaker 1: com even if you know you're leaving, I mean completely
Speaker 1: ghost to an employer, I mean, really weak to do.
Speaker 1: It's also really stupid to do in the NFL as
Speaker 1: if it's not going to get around, and that's a
Speaker 1: very much that's very much a fraternity type of workplace,
Speaker 1: meaning like, for example, Bobby Betrino could be the best
Speaker 1: college football coach that ever walked the earth, he'll never
Speaker 1: sniff the NFL again because of how he left the Falcons, Like,
Speaker 1: you don't do that and then get another opportunity in
Speaker 1: a prestigious league and a prestigious employer like the NFL.
Speaker 1: So that's just stupid for him to do. Like and
Speaker 1: I get I get that, but as far as like
Speaker 1: when you're when you are an assistant coach at any level,
Speaker 1: rather it be a position coach coordinator, whatever, and you
Speaker 1: have the chance to jump up and work elsewhere and
Speaker 1: have a higher level position. Who out I mean like that,
Speaker 1: that's that's a no brainer.
Speaker 2: It really is. And I think the ram or.
Speaker 1: The Buccaneers feel bad because they one got ghosted. And
Speaker 1: also he initially told them, no, I'm not going to Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: I'm going to be back here, but then things change,
Speaker 1: the job changed.
Speaker 2: He now.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you're if you're an aspiring NFL coach,
Speaker 1: really any pro coach, the most important thing I would say,
Speaker 1: other than I mean, gosh. There are exceptions like if
Speaker 1: you got if you're taking a job and you know
Speaker 1: you got a Lebron James or an Anthony Edwards or
Speaker 1: you know you've got to I mean that that makes
Speaker 1: the job more attractive obviously, But if they're tough to
Speaker 1: coach and they're coach killers, like some guys are, you
Speaker 1: got to factor that in. But I wouldn't be shocked
Speaker 1: if you asked to coach if who the GM is
Speaker 1: one of the most, if not the most important components
Speaker 1: to you considering the job, I wouldn't be shocked, because
Speaker 1: I remember being so stunned whenever I was young, and
Speaker 1: I realized what a GM was in sports because here
Speaker 1: I am watching the NBA as a kid and really
Speaker 1: knowing who the coaches were because I was just a
Speaker 1: super fan. And when I found out that it's rare
Speaker 1: that the coaches get to like pick their teams and
Speaker 1: trade for guys and draft them, there's a level of
Speaker 1: their involvement, but overall that's the GM's job.
Speaker 2: And I just.
Speaker 1: Remember thinking, like, well, then what fun would it be coaching?
Speaker 1: You don't even get you even get to control who's
Speaker 1: on your team. And you know, that's a dumb way
Speaker 1: to look at it, I'm sure from my perspective, but
Speaker 1: I also still to this day, and I guess that
Speaker 1: speaks to me still maybe being really dumb, Like if
Speaker 1: I can't decide who I'm going to coach, how can
Speaker 1: you tell me, like how good of a coach I am?
Speaker 1: And again, it's a good gig if you can get it,
Speaker 1: because you know, at any moment you're gonna be expendable,
Speaker 1: because if they've got six years of billion dollars tied
Speaker 1: up in a player and things aren't working, who they
Speaker 1: gonna cut first? You you know that going in, but
Speaker 1: you'll take it if you can get a few years
Speaker 1: and making millions of dollars. So I get it, but
Speaker 1: it's just a I don't know. I mean, maybe that's
Speaker 1: why they're so expendable, because they really you know, they're
Speaker 1: there to kind of manage and lead and throwing a
Speaker 1: little X and O here and there. But this is
Speaker 1: not a great you know, I use this example all
Speaker 1: the time, and it's probably not fair to Steve Kerr,
Speaker 1: but when Steve Kerr was winning titles, when the Warriors
Speaker 1: were in their prime, I think my four year old
Speaker 1: son could have coached them and had the same success,
Speaker 1: because you know, let's let Steph Curry shoot a lot
Speaker 1: of threes, Let's let Klay Thompson shoot a lot of threes.
Speaker 1: Let's let Draymond Green get under everybody's skin. I mean,
Speaker 1: I know it sounds foolish to act like Steve Kerr
Speaker 1: didn't have any involvement in it, but like I'm telling you,
Speaker 1: if I put my four year old son on the
Speaker 1: end of that bench and they come out there and
Speaker 1: beat somebody by forty, would you be surprised?
Speaker 2: You wouldn't.
Speaker 1: In fact, Lebron really exposed this because and this isn't
Speaker 1: a good look on Lebron, and it kind of speaks
Speaker 1: to Lebron being a guy that a legend. But I
Speaker 1: don't know if I want to coach him because he
Speaker 1: is quick to just say let's get a new coach
Speaker 1: anytime things aren't going his way. But like, ty Lou
Speaker 1: coached the Calves at the end there, and I guess
Speaker 1: he was the coach when the Calves beat the Warriors,
Speaker 1: and that was great because I wanted to see that happen.
Speaker 1: But there were timeouts where like the TV, the camera
Speaker 1: would be on ty Lou in the huddle and man,
Speaker 1: he just got completely alphaed by Lebron, like, get out
Speaker 1: of the way, let me tell you what we're gonna do.
Speaker 1: And it's like, well, you know, I kind of get that,
Speaker 1: but man, like, if you can't coach, what control do
Speaker 1: you have. So anyways, being a coach in the pros
Speaker 1: still a highly coveted job. But when you know that
Speaker 1: you're going to be the fall guy when things aren't working,
Speaker 1: and yet you have no real control who those guys
Speaker 1: are that could potentially make you the fall guy, it's
Speaker 1: kind of a helpless position.
Speaker 2: That's I truly believe that Dan Hurley and I.
Speaker 1: Want to talk about him on the other side, just
Speaker 1: because I've got some thoughts on sort of kind of
Speaker 1: his brand as of now in sports, not just college basketball.
Speaker 1: But I think Dan Hurley, other than just you know,
Speaker 1: realizing he had something special at Yukon, I think he knew.
Speaker 1: I think Dan Hurley was a smart enough guy to
Speaker 1: know I can't coach. I can't coach. Like, imagine Dan
Speaker 1: Hurley acting the way he's acting this season in the
Speaker 1: National Basketball Association wouldn't work.
Speaker 2: I mean he might have been fired already. Probably not.
Speaker 1: But I mean again, even if he had a level
Speaker 1: of like knowing, I need to make some adjustments because
Speaker 1: I'm talking to people that make a lot more money
Speaker 1: than me and are clearly more valuable to the franchise
Speaker 1: than I am. Even maybe Lebron's son is more valuable
Speaker 1: to the franchise than you are. Like, he knew this
Speaker 1: ain't gonna work for me. There's no way I can
Speaker 1: coach the NBA like I coach in college, and sometimes
Speaker 1: knowing that as a real gift, because some don't realize that, Hey,
Speaker 1: I could climb the ladder, or I could stay where.
Speaker 2: I'm at where it works.
Speaker 1: Quick break will come back on the other side, wrap
Speaker 1: the wrap things up and get out here for the weekend.
Speaker 1: It's Coffee and Company fuel by Thornton's right here on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 2: This report is sponsored by Rapid Radios. I've got a
Speaker 2: hundred dollars walking in my bill hole. I know how
Speaker 2: I'll say it.
Speaker 3: Berdy is burning a hole right through my pocketing and
Speaker 3: do my scam.
Speaker 2: I'm on this morning. I'll be Brown Talk.
Speaker 3: It's fine, fine, I'm freezing am.
Speaker 2: I've got my motor running fin weekend.
Speaker 3: It's fine.
Speaker 2: That five burning time.
Speaker 3: I got it. You're listening to Coffee and Company with
Speaker 3: Nick Coffee on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: So it looks like we do have some for tomorrow's
Speaker 1: college basketball action.
Speaker 2: Another great day of college basketball.
Speaker 1: Usually when you get to late into the NFL playoffs
Speaker 1: in late January and early February, you know, every every
Speaker 1: Saturday is a big weekend with conference matchups, and I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna do it, but man, I feel like the
Speaker 1: best value is Kentucky minus three and a half against Sandy,
Speaker 1: just because you know Vandy's done well for Vandy and
Speaker 1: and they're a good team. I mean, you look at
Speaker 1: the resume, there's really not a whole lot that says
Speaker 1: they're not a good team, but Kentucky's better. And it's
Speaker 1: going to be a home game for Kentucky in Nashville,
Speaker 1: and that game is there, right, Yeah, it's it's it's
Speaker 1: at Mandy.
Speaker 2: So yeah, three and a half is the spread.
Speaker 1: I feel like Kentucky will win that thing by at
Speaker 1: least seven, but again, maybe Vandy surprises me. They did
Speaker 1: beat Tennessee, which was a big win for them, and
Speaker 1: then no real movement at all, and I guess usually
Speaker 1: you don't see much moving in the