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: All right, let's get it started here four o'clock on
Speaker 2: a Thursday.
Speaker 3: No, it's Wednesday.
Speaker 2: What day is it? What time is it? What show
Speaker 2: is this? I mean that's the way I'm feeling right now.
Speaker 2: I don't know what happened during that break, but I
Speaker 2: really hit a wall. No Monster today, Yeah, well I
Speaker 2: had one earlier and I didn't.
Speaker 3: So here's the issue.
Speaker 2: I had a Monster energy drink this morning, and I
Speaker 2: didn't want to take drink another one because I need
Speaker 2: to be able to go to sleep pretty early tonight.
Speaker 2: I think I'm going to be able to Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2: So I started the morning at three thirty That's when
Speaker 2: I got up gross right, three thirty am. That's when
Speaker 2: I woke up, and I took a shower, hit the
Speaker 2: road and came in here and filled in for Tony
Speaker 2: Cruz was on from five to nine AM on News
Speaker 2: Rady eight to forty whas And I've been tired here
Speaker 2: in stretches throughout the day, but I've been able to
Speaker 2: kind of sit and rest without falling asleep. And then
Speaker 2: I get not re energized because that's a stretch. But
Speaker 2: to where I'm you know, I'm better after just sitting
Speaker 2: and kind of letting, not only you know, physically just
Speaker 2: to rest, but I mean just mentally resting. But for
Speaker 2: some reason, I just literally during the break was like, wait,
Speaker 2: wait where am I? I'm My brain is a soggy
Speaker 2: pretzel right now. But we'll finish strong. That's all we
Speaker 2: can do. But it is coffee and company and we
Speaker 2: are fueled by Thornton's. It's not Thursday, it's Wednesday. And
Speaker 2: I didn't want to take another extra energy drink because
Speaker 2: I want to be able to fall asleep tonight. And
Speaker 2: last night, I mean I had the ultimate you know, hey,
Speaker 2: you better go to sleep, you gotta get up early,
Speaker 2: you better go to sleep. So what happens you think
Speaker 2: about it NonStop and you can't fall asleep. So I
Speaker 2: didn't end up falling asleep until about one fifteen last night,
Speaker 2: and I got up at three thirty. So I'm on
Speaker 2: a couple of hours sleep, And honestly, I'm tired, but
Speaker 2: I'm not as tired as I thought I would be.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I'll end up.
Speaker 4: Staying up to your normal sleep time tonight, probably I
Speaker 4: hope not, because I need I need some rest and
Speaker 4: I I.
Speaker 3: Back at it tomorrow. Can you nap?
Speaker 4: No, absolutely, that will turn That will turn into like
Speaker 4: what I want to do, sixty to ninety minutes to
Speaker 4: turn into three hours.
Speaker 2: Okay, because I I can't. I think if I fell asleep,
Speaker 2: I could have a good a good nap, little catnap
Speaker 2: is yeah, like I could. I could sleep for an
Speaker 2: hour and wake up and you know, I probably would
Speaker 2: feel still like I want to go back to sleep,
Speaker 2: but I feel like ild I would benefit from that,
Speaker 2: but I just can't.
Speaker 3: Like I thought, I knew.
Speaker 2: Today, Hey you've got both shows, so try to try
Speaker 2: to squeeze in like an hour nap or something like that.
Speaker 2: And I tried, and I just laid there for like
Speaker 2: forty minutes. And I guess that's technically resting, but like
Speaker 2: my mind needs a break, that's that's what actually needs
Speaker 2: some rest.
Speaker 3: So I would imagine that.
Speaker 2: But yes, tomorrow I'm back and then even on Friday,
Speaker 2: the rest of the week, I'll be filling in for
Speaker 2: Tony Cruiz, so so it's.
Speaker 3: Another early rise.
Speaker 2: But I would imagine I want to have the same
Speaker 2: trouble falling asleep tonight as I did last night, because
Speaker 2: I'm just gonna be gonna be so tired.
Speaker 3: The morning cruise. It's the morning coffee that's right.
Speaker 2: And then there's also the right after a game. Usually
Speaker 2: I'm I'm amped up and and can't sleep. But I
Speaker 2: think I'll be okay tonight tonight, given given given the circumstances,
Speaker 2: I think I'll be okay tonight because I think Louisville
Speaker 2: will probably win pretty easily. And it was a it
Speaker 2: was a nine o'clock tip that wouldn't be ideal, But
Speaker 2: it's seven o'clock in Boston, gonna be an empty arena,
Speaker 2: and I would imagine Louisville gets back to to their
Speaker 2: winning ways. And when I say it, you know, back
Speaker 2: to the winning ways. I mean, I guess that's accurate.
Speaker 2: If they do win tonight, they're gonna be winning once again.
Speaker 2: But I really don't think that they're lost to Georgia
Speaker 2: Tech was a game where they they took steps backwards, right,
Speaker 2: I mean technically they did, because they lost and free
Speaker 2: throw shooting is an issue and clearly they didn't get
Speaker 2: enough stops and really didn't execute well.
Speaker 3: Down the stretch.
Speaker 2: I'm not trying to act like they played good against
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech, because I don't believe they did. But it
Speaker 2: wasn't a situation where they came out feeling too good
Speaker 2: about themselves or anything like that. And it doesn't change
Speaker 2: anything as far as Louisll's resume. But Georgia Tech going
Speaker 2: on the road and beating Clemson in triple overtime last night,
Speaker 2: that at least makes the loss again it is still
Speaker 2: it is what it is. It's gonna be on your
Speaker 2: resume and it's gonna be a stain on selection Sunday.
Speaker 2: But Georgia Tech can get hot and do that to
Speaker 2: other good teams too, and they proved that last night.
Speaker 2: Boston College is not a team that I believe is
Speaker 2: going to be a real threat, and if they are,
Speaker 2: I mean that's an issue, right. I mean, Boston College
Speaker 2: is bad, Like they're not a good team at all though,
Speaker 2: the worst team in the ACC in every metric, And
Speaker 2: I guess that's exactly what you would want whenever you're
Speaker 2: coming off of a loss, all right. Rick Pottino last
Speaker 2: night really seemed to have his biggest moment so far
Speaker 2: at Saint John's. They sold out the Garden. Marquett the
Speaker 2: two hottest teams in the Big East, at least the
Speaker 2: two teams with the best record in the Big East.
Speaker 2: I think Marquette has now lost to in a row,
Speaker 2: but still that was a big game and Rick Patino's
Speaker 2: team got it done. They're currently sitting twenty and three overall,
Speaker 2: and I don't think they've got I mean, they will
Speaker 2: play at Marquette to close out the regular season, but
Speaker 2: the rest of the way, I mean, they look like
Speaker 2: they're going to be in good shape now. They play
Speaker 2: Yukon twice. They've got them on the road coming up
Speaker 2: tomorrow or I'm sorry, Friday night, which should be a
Speaker 2: great game by the way, and then they'll also play
Speaker 2: Yukon at home. So to be fair, they have gone
Speaker 2: through I guess the lighter stretch of the Big East
Speaker 2: thus far. But I've watched them enough in the last
Speaker 2: couple of weeks to know that they're playing really well.
Speaker 2: And Rick Patino has proven to be a really, really
Speaker 2: good coach. So again, last night kind of felt like
Speaker 2: the moment where the chatter, the noise about the job
Speaker 2: he's doing in just his second season at Saint John's
Speaker 2: became louder than it's ever been. And what I think
Speaker 2: nobody is really acknowledged when it comes to Rick Patino
Speaker 2: in how impressive he has been as a coach, is
Speaker 2: that Rick has been elite. He's won championships in different
Speaker 2: eras when really the game is a lot different. I mean,
Speaker 2: he was a big innovator of the three point line
Speaker 2: at Kentucky. Obviously that was a big factor. And when
Speaker 2: they got it rolling there three point shots, and obviously
Speaker 2: he brought in a load of talent when he was
Speaker 2: there at Kentucky, and then when he comes back to
Speaker 2: Louisville still really emphasizing the three point line. Taekwondin, Francisco Garcia,
Speaker 2: Alario Bannon twenty year anniversary for that Final four team
Speaker 2: this year, which again they're going to be honoring that
Speaker 2: group on Saturday when they host Miami. But his first
Speaker 2: Final Four at Louisville, I feel like you still could
Speaker 2: see he was a guy that was going to really
Speaker 2: pressure you want to play fast, really good after you defensively,
Speaker 2: but man, really just take advantage of the three point line,
Speaker 2: and it worked.
Speaker 3: He got to a Final four.
Speaker 2: Well, then he ended up putting together a team that
Speaker 2: I believe as far as talent was in my lifetime.
Speaker 2: In my opinion, I can't prove this. It's the most
Speaker 2: talented Louisville team that never made a final for two
Speaker 2: lottery picks with Earrol Clark and Terrence Williams. Not to
Speaker 2: mention other really good players like Jerry Smith, and I
Speaker 2: mean even p.
Speaker 3: K was a freshman, yeah, Preston the les.
Speaker 2: I mean Samarta Samuels was a really good college player
Speaker 2: and a really good true freshman, and he throws at
Speaker 2: Edgar Sosa was a guy that you know, clearly had
Speaker 2: some bright moments, a name that I don't want to mention.
Speaker 2: You know, he wasn't a real strength of the team,
Speaker 2: but he was you know, he was in the rotation
Speaker 2: Andre McGee. So at that point, that team offensively was
Speaker 2: not fun to watch. It was fun to watch Tea
Speaker 2: will get loose and dunk on somebody in transition, and
Speaker 2: they had games where Jerry Smith would make a bunch
Speaker 2: of threes. But really they were elite because they would
Speaker 2: lock you down defensively and they didn't necessarily play insanely fast.
Speaker 2: So you know, he didn't have a great shooting team.
Speaker 2: I think the percentages weren't great and they didn't score.
Speaker 2: I mean they had games where they scored like sixty
Speaker 2: two points. So that was Rick winning and he never
Speaker 2: broke through and got to a final four. But those
Speaker 2: two teams two thousand and eight and two thousand and nine,
Speaker 2: those are really good teams, and Louisville was won. Those
Speaker 2: were two of the best teams in the country that year.
Speaker 2: So then at Louisville in not really a different era,
Speaker 2: but twenty twelve to two thousand and I'd say seventeen
Speaker 2: was a great run for Rick and he won a title,
Speaker 2: got to a couple of final fours, and you know,
Speaker 2: it's a different game then than it was when he
Speaker 2: did it in the nineties at Kentucky or when he
Speaker 2: did it Providence when the three point line was like invented.
Speaker 2: So here he is now at Saint John's and he
Speaker 2: hasn't really done anything yet as far as the accomplishments
Speaker 2: that really matter, because Rick Patino having a twenty and
Speaker 2: three start is not a surprise. He's Rick Patino, and
Speaker 2: he knows that you get your real value in the
Speaker 2: NAA tournament and he's already And by the way, if
Speaker 2: you look at the coaches with the most wins in
Speaker 2: NAA tournament games that are active. The leader is Bill
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. The leaders Cali Perry with fifty seven. Bill
Speaker 2: self did uh, how far did Kansas go last year
Speaker 2: in the tournament? IM gonna have to look this up
Speaker 2: because this what I'm referencing is this actually came out
Speaker 2: last year before the tournament, and I think, in fact,
Speaker 2: I think Kansas lost. I believe, Yeah, they lost in
Speaker 2: the round to thirty two. So he added one more.
Speaker 2: Cal of course did not get a tournament win last
Speaker 2: year thanks to Oakland. So Bill self has fifty six.
Speaker 2: Cal has fifty seven. Tom Izzo has I believe, I
Speaker 2: believe he's also I think Tom Mizzo may be tied
Speaker 2: with Bill Self. So again tom Izzo is he has
Speaker 2: Let's see, so Izzo has fifty six, just like Bill self.
Speaker 2: So Cale has the lead at fifty seven. Bill self
Speaker 2: has fifty six, and Tom Mizzo has fifty six, and
Speaker 2: then and then Rick Patino has fifty four, so he's
Speaker 2: he's right behind those three guys. And keep in mind
Speaker 2: he didn't coach college for a long time. When he
Speaker 2: went to the Boston Celtics, and he also didn't coach
Speaker 2: college for a long time whenever he got fired at Louisville.
Speaker 2: I mean I shouldn't say a long time, but you
Speaker 2: include the years he wasn't coaching at when he was
Speaker 2: at the Celtics, in the years he wasn't coaching after
Speaker 2: he left Louisville. I mean, that's still a big chunk.
Speaker 2: And all those guys that I just mentioned in that
Speaker 2: amount of time they were coaching. So like if you really,
Speaker 2: you know, if you just base it off of like
Speaker 2: the winning percentage you have in the tournament, and I'm
Speaker 2: sure if you crunch those numbers, he might be first
Speaker 2: and this would be.
Speaker 3: This would be his if.
Speaker 2: He makes a I mean, he's gonna make the tournament
Speaker 2: this year and this will give him.
Speaker 3: Let's see where.
Speaker 2: Did Rick start his career. Let's see, it was at Boston.
Speaker 2: I think was that his first head coaching job or
Speaker 2: was his first head coaching job at Providence? Let me
Speaker 2: look it up. So Rick is a head coaching college.
Speaker 2: He was two and four at Hawaii, which she became
Speaker 2: the interim, and then he was at Boston for four years.
Speaker 2: I knew he was at Boston, but I didn't remember
Speaker 2: if he was an assistant or a head coach there.
Speaker 2: So he ended up making the tournament there in nineteen
Speaker 2: eighty three. Didn't win, but he made the tournament. So
Speaker 2: Rick Patino is about to take his sixth team to
Speaker 2: the NAA tournament.
Speaker 3: That's got to be a wrecord has to be.
Speaker 2: You've got Boston, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona, and now Saint John's.
Speaker 2: I mean, and here I am giving you guys his
Speaker 2: resume as if you're unfamiliar with how good of a
Speaker 2: coach he is. But because of a lot of things
Speaker 2: that have happened with Rick his own doing, he doesn't
Speaker 2: come up as much as a guy that you know
Speaker 2: is just a flat out elite college basketball coach. I mean,
Speaker 2: nobody would deny that he is. But there's some other things,
Speaker 2: some baggage, right that comes up before you acknowledge how
Speaker 2: great he is as a coach. But right now it
Speaker 2: seems to be that people are just you know, the conversation.
Speaker 2: Maybe not as much locally, but just in college basketball,
Speaker 2: nobody forgot he was great. Nobody would tell you that
Speaker 2: he wasn't great. But what he's doing now, I think
Speaker 2: it's a real reminder of how successful he has been,
Speaker 2: and I think if he's able to really break through
Speaker 2: and make a Final four at Saint John's easier said
Speaker 2: than done, right, I mean, you can have a great
Speaker 2: team and not make the final four.
Speaker 3: That happens often, but he's.
Speaker 2: Doing it now in an entirely different world where there's
Speaker 2: free agency. Right, you've got the portal, I mean, niol
Speaker 2: I mean it matters. So he has always been able
Speaker 2: to really adjust and adapt, and no matter what, he'll
Speaker 2: make the necessary adjustments. And I don't mean like end
Speaker 2: game adjustments. I mean adjustments to the job of being
Speaker 2: a college basketball coach, no matter what it is, no
Speaker 2: matter what's happened along the way. Throughout his many many
Speaker 2: years as a coach, He's been able to do what's
Speaker 2: needed to succeed regardless of the changing landscape. And that, actually,
Speaker 2: I think is what makes him more impressive than anything.
Speaker 2: I mean, Nick Saban, he went from being a guy
Speaker 2: that was content and he knew he could win six
Speaker 2: to three because you know, that's all it took. Whenever
Speaker 2: he could just load up a defense and run the
Speaker 2: ball and not need a quarterback to do much of anything.
Speaker 2: I remember some of those matchups between LSU and Bama
Speaker 2: where it was like number one verse number two or
Speaker 2: number one verse number three, and I mean they weren't.
Speaker 2: They weren't big time scoring games by any means. Well,
Speaker 2: then the game changed, right Like Nick Saban knew, Okay,
Speaker 2: I've got to adapt in a ball because nowadays they're
Speaker 2: throwing it all over the yard. You got to be
Speaker 2: able to score some points. So he hired an offensive
Speaker 2: coordinator and made some adjustments. And you know, coaches that
Speaker 2: are willing to adapt regardless of what's going on and
Speaker 2: succeed that that's easier said than done. And you got
Speaker 2: to keep in mind, look at all of the coaches
Speaker 2: that are sort of from the Patino I wouldn't say era,
Speaker 2: but just you know the ogs, right like cal and Rick.
Speaker 2: I think Bill Selp he's the younger og, but he's
Speaker 2: certainly been doing it in a long time and he's
Speaker 2: really successful. Tom Izzo, all the other guys I feel
Speaker 2: like have have have kind of left, right, Like, there's
Speaker 2: not many guys left that you know, you would include
Speaker 2: is not only a great college basketball coach right now
Speaker 2: in the current scheme of things, but guys that have
Speaker 2: you know, have done this decades and proven to be
Speaker 2: great that if they called it quits now, we'd still
Speaker 2: look back and say, man, that was one of the
Speaker 2: best college basketball coaches of his generation. A lot of
Speaker 2: those guys have not been able to adjust. They've complained,
Speaker 2: and they've sometimes just quit and walked away because they
Speaker 2: couldn't even if they tried. Maybe they tried and didn't work,
Speaker 2: or maybe they were stubborn and they refused to adjust.
Speaker 2: Whatever it may be like, that's what Rick, that's where he,
Speaker 2: in my opinion, looks the most impressive. And you know,
Speaker 2: just not something I hear a lot of people really
Speaker 2: mention that. You know, the wins are there, right, the
Speaker 2: tournament runs are there, we all know that. But to
Speaker 2: do it in multiple different decades when clearly the game
Speaker 2: has changed quite a bit when he took that Providence
Speaker 2: team to the Final four in nineteen eighty seven, A
Speaker 2: lot has changed in college basketball many different times throughout
Speaker 2: And here we are in twenty twenty five and he's
Speaker 2: got a nineteen and thirteen that looks like they're going
Speaker 2: to be in good shape to maybe win the Big East.
Speaker 2: And I'm not doing this to you know, kiss his
Speaker 2: rear end and act like you know, he should still
Speaker 2: be our coach, but you know he's He's a hell
Speaker 2: of a coach. There's no doubt about that. All right,
Speaker 2: quick break, We'll come back and keep this thing rolling
Speaker 2: along as I'm trying to rally through here, and I'll
Speaker 2: be good. I'm not gonna, you know, like fall asleep
Speaker 2: or anything. But it did absolutely hit me recently that
Speaker 2: I've been up since three point thirty in the morning
Speaker 2: on two hours sleep roughly.
Speaker 3: So, but hey, that's what we do. Man's right. It's
Speaker 3: called show business, Austin. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's that's the business. It's the life we chose.
Speaker 2: My man, sleep when you're dead, exactly. Keep it locked
Speaker 2: right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: Don't be surprised if you hear more and more about
Speaker 2: these hires made with college football programs and college basketball
Speaker 2: programs the GM role, because that's what you need.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: This is professional sports. Nobody can tell you otherwise. It's
Speaker 2: directly in your face. This is a pay for play situation.
Speaker 2: They can dress it up as whatever they want but
Speaker 2: it's pay for play, and you know, I'm sure that
Speaker 2: still bothers certain people, but it is what it is.
Speaker 2: The viewership with high level college sports has only grown
Speaker 2: whenever we went to this new system where players can
Speaker 2: get paid. So the GM role Andrew Luck hired at Stanford,
Speaker 2: that of course made a big splash, more so just
Speaker 2: because it's hands for Luck. Also Ron Rivera, you heard
Speaker 2: there during the update from our national anchor that he's
Speaker 2: going to be going to cal to do it. And
Speaker 2: it's one of those positions that I really wouldn't be
Speaker 2: shocked what they pay for that, because it's really important.
Speaker 2: I mean, if that role is to be instrumental in
Speaker 2: helping raise the funds and then sort of managing the
Speaker 2: funds you have for your roster, communicating with the players
Speaker 2: and their representatives, because that's what the coaches really hate.
Speaker 2: I'm sure they hate all of it. Even the coaches
Speaker 2: that embrace it and act like it's great and their
Speaker 2: happy players are getting paid. I mean, some of them
Speaker 2: are probably lying and they just know that if they
Speaker 2: come off as anti player, then they probably won't have
Speaker 2: great success at getting players. So, you know, but the
Speaker 2: guys who have actually called it quits and said they're
Speaker 2: done with it. It sounds like what really was a factor
Speaker 2: in them just walking away was having to deal with
Speaker 2: agents who aren't really agents. They're just you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: they're not certified. They can't represent real professional players. They're
Speaker 2: just guys who you know, got a sports administration degree
Speaker 2: and started DM and players saying hey, let me represent you.
Speaker 2: And by the way, I'm not exaggerating, that's absolutely what
Speaker 2: has happened with some of these guys. And they're getting
Speaker 2: terrible advice from these unqualified people. They're giving up way
Speaker 2: more money than a real agent actually gives up. So
Speaker 2: you know, if you've got somebody that's GA, they can
Speaker 2: weed that stuff out and really they can take care
Speaker 2: of the stuff that like coaches would never want to do. So.
Speaker 2: I do think though there are some coaches that are
Speaker 2: just it's more so your personality. They're more hands on
Speaker 2: to where they would have a tough time Like for example,
Speaker 2: I think Jeff Brom's fine with handling a lot of
Speaker 2: this stuff himself. I think his personality is one to
Speaker 2: where he's pretty good at being direct, which sees what
Speaker 2: you get with players, to where you know he can
Speaker 2: be pretty open about what you know, what Louel will
Speaker 2: can do for somebody when it comes to taking care
Speaker 2: of him. Again, there's certain things that you are and
Speaker 2: aren't allowed to do. But I'm not sure people even
Speaker 2: in the world of college athletics, you know, coaches, are
Speaker 2: they even clear on what they are and aren't allowed
Speaker 2: to do, because I swear I feel like there are
Speaker 2: things that have just become openly talked about when it
Speaker 2: comes to player you know, coaches having conversations with players
Speaker 2: about nil. But yet, like, isn't that actually against the rules?
Speaker 2: Like nobody knows what you are and aren't allowed to do,
Speaker 2: And the NCAA has never seemed less legitimate as far
Speaker 2: as being able to actually have any control over anything.
Speaker 2: So with these new positions, it really is going to
Speaker 2: be super important. Therefore, it may be a position you
Speaker 2: pay somebody more money than you're paying anybody other than
Speaker 2: your head coach. I mean, I don't know if that's
Speaker 2: how it's gonna shake out, but let me give you
Speaker 2: an example. So in basketball, Carolina is a mess, right.
Speaker 2: They're having a very bad year under Hubert Davis for
Speaker 2: the Carolina Standard. They're not going to make the tournament
Speaker 2: I guess they might. I guess technically they're still a lot,
Speaker 2: but I'll be honest with you, it's a better look
Speaker 2: if they make the tournament and the ACC needs all
Speaker 2: the teams they can get. But I can't tell you
Speaker 2: with this straight face the Carolina belongs in the tournament
Speaker 2: because they're a mediocre ACC team in a year where
Speaker 2: the ACC stinks out loud like they're not good. I
Speaker 2: wish they were. And they're also a team that just
Speaker 2: pisses me off because they're also talented enough to where
Speaker 2: they might mess around, play well and beat anybody in
Speaker 2: the league or anybody in college basketball. It's one of
Speaker 2: the things where I'll kind of believe it when I
Speaker 2: see it. But what I'm getting at is like they
Speaker 2: could beat you in the Instubble or they could beat
Speaker 2: you in the ACC Tournament because they've got elite talent,
Speaker 2: but because they stunk it up all regular season, it'll
Speaker 2: be a bad loss for somebody. Like That's where that
Speaker 2: what's for the ACC is just irritating, like Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh
Speaker 2: should be a tournament team. They're not going to be
Speaker 2: because you know why they keep losing. So anyways, Carolina,
Speaker 2: they went within the family, right, they elevated Hubert Davis,
Speaker 2: and I believe despite making a championship appearance, I don't
Speaker 2: think he's done good enough to where he should feel
Speaker 2: secure in his job. He's got the rest of the
Speaker 2: season to finish it. But what he said recently, and
Speaker 2: I guess the reporting that's going on in Carolina make
Speaker 2: it seem as if they're not making any kind of
Speaker 2: move because Hubert Davis, I guess, understands that his results
Speaker 2: aren't great enough. So in his coaches Shows radio show,
Speaker 2: he talked about how they tried to do it the
Speaker 2: Carolina way like they always do right, you know, clearly
Speaker 2: know that nil is a factor, but really sell Hey, yeah,
Speaker 2: you can get more money maybe here or there, but look,
Speaker 2: this is North Carolina and that doesn't all that really
Speaker 2: doesn't always work. In fact, I don't think it does work.
Speaker 2: And to be honest, Calipari not Callibarry, but Mark Pope
Speaker 2: has sort of that same mindset. Clearly they're going to
Speaker 2: be competitive in il a'ts Kentucky basketball, but he believes
Speaker 2: that what Kentucky can provide can be the kicker that
Speaker 2: gets guys over other elite programs that are offering more money,
Speaker 2: and so far he does have a really talented group
Speaker 2: of players.
Speaker 3: However, would those guys.
Speaker 2: Understand how special it is to play at Kentucky if
Speaker 2: they weren't from Kentucky. Malachamreno from Georgetown, Jasper Johnson's family
Speaker 2: all played football. I think a Kentucky and he's from Lexington,
Speaker 2: so that that that's a great class and look props
Speaker 2: to Pope, But you got to wonder if that's going
Speaker 2: to be your mindset. Are you still gonna be able
Speaker 2: to get those kind of guys when they don't have
Speaker 2: that connection to Kentucky. So I kind of feel like
Speaker 2: Hubert Davis on his radio show was essentially acknowledging, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna keep my job, but we got to bring
Speaker 2: in some help because I'm trying to do it the
Speaker 2: Carolina way and it's just not working anymore. So the
Speaker 2: reported candidate for this job, the GM of North Carolina Basketball,
Speaker 2: is apparently let's see and I'll read here. This is
Speaker 2: the quote, yeah, quote from Shubert Davis on his radio show,
Speaker 2: and he was speaking about Carolina making plans to increase
Speaker 2: their staff and hire a GM. Quote the old model
Speaker 2: for Carolina basketball just doesn't work. It's not sustainable. So
Speaker 2: one of the names mentioned for this job is Buzz Peterson.
Speaker 2: If you remember former was he a teammate a Jordan.
Speaker 2: I think he was back at Carolina back in the day.
Speaker 2: Obviously he coached at Tennessee and I think he coached
Speaker 2: at Coastal Carolina. He's been a coach, and he's got
Speaker 2: a lot of Carolina connections. And look, Carolina, man, they're consistent.
Speaker 2: They keep it in the family with their head coaches,
Speaker 2: and their entire staff is former North Carolina players or
Speaker 2: former Carolina like you know, or guys who've been around
Speaker 2: forever as an assistant on Roy's staff or I mean,
Speaker 2: I doubt there's anybody left from Dean Smiths staff. But nonetheless,
Speaker 2: another candidate that apparently is is now the guy that
Speaker 2: people think is going to get this job is a
Speaker 2: guy named Jim Tanner, and he is a veteran sports agent.
Speaker 2: He's the founder of an agency called Tandem Sports, and
Speaker 2: he's represented Hall of Fame players like Grant Hill, Tim Duncan,
Speaker 2: Ray Allen, a lot of other big names. He's negotiated
Speaker 2: tw hundred and ninety one million dollars worth of contracts
Speaker 2: according to Forbes, and of course he's a graduate of UNC.
Speaker 2: So I'm just thinking, this guy, if he's going to
Speaker 2: take this job when he's already a super successful agent. Yeah,
Speaker 2: he's Carolina, he's family, he's an alum, but he's also
Speaker 2: going to need a lot of money. Right, So are
Speaker 2: we going to be in a spot where successful agents
Speaker 2: decide to take these GM jobs. I kind of feel like,
Speaker 2: why would you do that when you can kind of
Speaker 2: just be an agent. And when you're an agent, you
Speaker 2: work for your clients as far as you know what's
Speaker 2: best for them, but overall you kind of work for yourself. Well, right,
Speaker 2: maybe you work for an agency, but I mean to me,
Speaker 2: it's kind of like being a real estate agent in
Speaker 2: a way. So I think you're going to see a
Speaker 2: lot of those kind of hires made, and it wouldn't
Speaker 2: shock me if they're gonna make a ton of money,
Speaker 2: because again, that's a very important position. But one thing
Speaker 2: to keep in mind, I think there are certain coaches
Speaker 2: that are a little more hands on, maybe even dare
Speaker 2: I say, their control freaks, to where they're just gonna
Speaker 2: want to be that wrapped up in it. And I
Speaker 2: think those are the guys that you really you know,
Speaker 2: and I think Louisville for the most part here with
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey and Jeff Brohm, they are guys that I
Speaker 2: think all they want to do is succeed. All they
Speaker 2: know is coach and ball. So there's really not a
Speaker 2: mindset to complain about where we are with college athletics
Speaker 2: and how it's not regulated and we need more guardrails
Speaker 2: and all that Stuff's true, by the way, but like
Speaker 2: these guys don't even give a second to complain about it.
Speaker 2: They just try to adapt and figure out how they
Speaker 2: can succeed with the ever chain landscape of college sports.
Speaker 2: So you may not see it around here, but if
Speaker 2: you do, I won't I won't be shocked, because again,
Speaker 2: it's an important, very very important thing.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: So tonight Louisville in action against Boston College. I was
Speaker 2: telling Austin during the break, I think Louisvell's gonna hammer
Speaker 2: Boston College tonight, I really do. I mean, if they don't,
Speaker 2: it's not like I'm gonna be panicked and worried. I
Speaker 2: mean if they lose tonight, that is, I mean, that's alarming,
Speaker 2: because that would be that would be two straight losses
Speaker 2: that are easily your worst losses of the season, and
Speaker 2: quite literally and that's why tonight, in a weird way,
Speaker 2: is kind of huge. I'm not worried because I just
Speaker 2: I expect this team to come out and play well
Speaker 2: and win.
Speaker 3: They are better.
Speaker 2: They'd have to really lay an egg to lose to
Speaker 2: this team tonight, and I guess that's possible. Anything's possible.
Speaker 2: But I mean, I'm not sweating at all as far
Speaker 2: as like, man, hopefully don't lose. They lost the game
Speaker 2: for the first time in a while. Maybe they let
Speaker 2: this one, maybe they let that Georgia Tech loss get
Speaker 2: them twice. I just don't think that this team is
Speaker 2: the kind of team that would do that. I think
Speaker 2: they proven to be able to kind of really absolutely
Speaker 2: take it one game at a time. They were never
Speaker 2: too high and never too low at any point. And
Speaker 2: I don't think their loss to Georgia Tech was anything related.
Speaker 2: I don't think it happened because they were feeling themselves
Speaker 2: and they were just you know, riding high and started
Speaker 2: to read all the good stuff that everybody was saying
Speaker 2: about them as a team and their coach. I just
Speaker 2: think they got beat by a team that took advantage
Speaker 2: of your mistakes miss free throws, and they made big
Speaker 2: shots when it counted. And again they got some momentum
Speaker 2: right now, meaning Georgia tack.
Speaker 3: So I think they win big.
Speaker 2: I'm actually going to bet on them to cover because
Speaker 2: it's not a big enough number in my opinion. But
Speaker 2: it is one of those things, and this is what
Speaker 2: makes it a big game. If they lose like it
Speaker 2: really changes everything. And it's not because it would mean
Speaker 2: Louisville sucks. It certainly wouldn't make me feel great that
Speaker 2: they are a great team to have these two if
Speaker 2: they had two straight losses like this, But it's just
Speaker 2: because of the resume and because of the ACC being
Speaker 2: what it is like. You've got a lot to lose
Speaker 2: from now and to the end of the regular seat
Speaker 2: and really not much the game, and that's just not
Speaker 2: a fun place to be in. But all you can
Speaker 2: do is play who's on the schedule, take care of business,
Speaker 2: and I think they do that tonight. And I've said
Speaker 2: for a while now, I don't think Pat Kelsey's somebody.
Speaker 3: That is wired to really be out here.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 2: He's not at her manufacturing hate to motivate himself. I
Speaker 2: think he's a very he's proven, he's pretty, he's pretty
Speaker 2: motivated on his own and a very high energy, very driven,
Speaker 2: hard worker, a guy that just never stops. So he
Speaker 2: doesn't need any added motivation. And I don't feel like
Speaker 2: these players do. But Chuckie Hepburn, I think really is
Speaker 2: a hungry player. I think you're seeing that this year.
Speaker 2: He left Wisconsin after three good years there and he
Speaker 2: took a slight step back as far as his role
Speaker 2: in his third season, aj Stores kind of kind of
Speaker 2: became the guy for Wisconsin and he transfers to Kansas
Speaker 2: and barely plays, Like was the leading scorer for Wisconsin,
Speaker 2: one of the better guards in the Big Ten last year,
Speaker 2: and now he barely gets I mean I shouldn't he
Speaker 2: barely plays, but he is a bench player and not
Speaker 2: a big factor in Kansas in any way.
Speaker 3: And Chucky he hit the portal.
Speaker 2: I mean he had options, right, but he wasn't ranked
Speaker 2: as a big time transfer. In fact, twenty four seven
Speaker 2: Sports had him outside the top one hundred. So I
Speaker 2: think he came to Louisville, Hungary to prove that he
Speaker 2: is a really good player. And I don't know, maybe
Speaker 2: we'll find out one day, but Peyton Seva did something
Speaker 2: to that guy before they went to the Bahamas because
Speaker 2: Chucky was passive, trying to be this floor general, really
Speaker 2: a distributor and really just trying to get everybody involved.
Speaker 2: And he still does that, but he's clearly turned it
Speaker 2: on and been more aggressive as a scorer since they
Speaker 2: had some injuries, and it's turned into him being I
Speaker 2: think one of the best point guards in the country. So,
Speaker 2: I mean, Chucky I think has had some real genuine
Speaker 2: reasons to be motivated to prove to people that hey,
Speaker 2: I'm better than you guys know, I'm better than you
Speaker 2: guys are giving me credit for. So I think he's
Speaker 2: already kind of wired that way, and that's healthy, right.
Speaker 2: I think staying competitive, staying you know, motivated, to always
Speaker 2: proved to people and really prove yourself even that you're
Speaker 2: you know you're that. I mean, that's a key component
Speaker 2: I think to being a good player, other than, of course,
Speaker 2: you know, having talent. Chucky certainly has that. But we
Speaker 2: now have back to back days where my man Chuck
Speaker 2: is getting disrespected. Yesterday it was the Bob Coosey Award
Speaker 2: finalist list that came out. He's not one of the
Speaker 2: ten finalists, and there are a couple of guys that
Speaker 2: I don't think below on their ahead of Chucky. But
Speaker 2: either way, you can't look at his numbers and what
Speaker 2: he's doing and say that he's not one of the
Speaker 2: best ten point guards and one of the most deserving
Speaker 2: guys for that award. I mean, you can't put everybody
Speaker 2: on it, but I mean it did become sort of
Speaker 2: a I don't want act like it was one of
Speaker 2: the bigger storylines in college basketball, because that would be
Speaker 2: a stretch, but a lot of folks looking at that
Speaker 2: list saying, man, somebody's missing and it's Chuckie Hepburn, and
Speaker 2: I don't mean just Louisville fans saying it. So anyways,
Speaker 2: we now have another list that Chucky Hepburn is not on,
Speaker 2: and I don't know what else this guy can do.
Speaker 2: I mean, I say this tongue in cheek, meaning I
Speaker 2: want people to understand this is a bad joke, but
Speaker 2: it's also kind of true. The bad joke part of
Speaker 2: it was when I said Pat Kelsey is holding Chucky back.
Speaker 2: That's ridiculous. I don't believe that in any way.
Speaker 3: Take a couple of days it was.
Speaker 2: But but I do think there may be some truth
Speaker 2: to Pat Kelsey doing such a good job to get
Speaker 2: Louisville back in the mix in his first year and
Speaker 2: putting together a ten game winning streak. I do believe
Speaker 2: there's a chance that that has led to people not
Speaker 2: realizing that he has a point guard that has been really,
Speaker 2: really good, right because the attention and again to every
Speaker 2: bit of attention and praise that Pat Kelsey's getting, I
Speaker 2: think is deserved, but I think it might have actually
Speaker 2: kept people from, you know, taking a look at statistically
Speaker 2: what Chucky is doing. But Naysmith Defensive Player of the
Speaker 2: Year watch list came out today and Chucky's not on it.
Speaker 3: And this list it's insane. I mean, I can't.
Speaker 2: I cannot run through this and tell you that, like
Speaker 2: I know, how good or not good every single player
Speaker 2: on this list is. But I mean, I just don't
Speaker 2: know how you can lead the ACC and assists quite literally,
Speaker 2: every time Louisville is playing on national television, rather it
Speaker 2: be ESPN, ACC Network, whatever, I mean, the announcers make
Speaker 2: it clear that Chucky Hepburn is viewed as one of,
Speaker 2: if not the very best point guard defenders in college basketball,
Speaker 2: and I just I kind of feel like people I don't.
Speaker 2: I mean, again, maybe I'm wrong here. I don't believe
Speaker 2: that people are out there saying he's not good and
Speaker 2: he's not deserving. I kind of think they're just sleeping
Speaker 2: on him, as they say. And maybe it's because Louisville
Speaker 2: hasn't been relevant in a few years, or maybe it's
Speaker 2: because when they think of Louisville they just think, Wow,
Speaker 2: this Pat Kelsey guy, he's doing a great job. Many
Speaker 2: seems high in it. He seems like a really good
Speaker 2: fit for Louisville, and all that's true, But my man,
Speaker 2: Chucky like to see. I mean, Lamont Butler's on this list,
Speaker 2: and yeah, he's a good defender, but like he may
Speaker 2: not play getting the rest of the season. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's Ace Baldwin guy for Penn State has now been
Speaker 2: on two lists that Chucky's not on, and Penn State
Speaker 2: thinks out.
Speaker 3: Loud, that's just a cool name. But I don't like him. Ace.
Speaker 2: Oh, you got Ace Baldwin's back here. I thought you
Speaker 2: had Chucky's back, and I do have Chuck's that's just
Speaker 2: a cool name back, Gonna lie, Well, actually it's not
Speaker 2: his real name. So his name is Adrian Baldwin. Okay, yeah,
Speaker 2: so yeah, your mama named you Adrian. That's what I'm
Speaker 2: gonna call you.
Speaker 3: Chucky's way better. I mean, give me some chuck.
Speaker 2: I mean, I just I don't know, man, like I
Speaker 2: hate it for him because you come to Louisville and
Speaker 2: you ball out like he is, and because you're playing
Speaker 2: at Louisville typically you get a lot of love. And
Speaker 2: I can't lie and say that I think people are
Speaker 2: out here trash talking to him, because again, he's getting
Speaker 2: a lot of praise in every game Louisville does, every game,
Speaker 2: every game that Louisville is on TV, the broadcasters are
Speaker 2: are going out of their way to talk about how
Speaker 2: good he's been.
Speaker 3: But I remember Siva was on these awards lists watch too,
Speaker 3: and he's probably just as good.
Speaker 2: And what's crazy is that Chucky's a four. This is
Speaker 2: his fourth year in college basketball, and he's been good
Speaker 2: as a point guard and elite really as a defender
Speaker 2: since day one. I just feel like they're sleeping on him.
Speaker 2: And I would not be shocked if he comes out
Speaker 2: with a little extra motivation because of that quick break.
Speaker 2: We'll come back and keep this thing rolling along. It's
Speaker 2: coffee and Company, and we are fueled by Thornton's right
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1: Ninety Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's
Speaker 1: on Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: Somebody on Twitter mentioned this earlier, and I don't, I don't.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna say that I predicted happens, But if
Speaker 2: this scenario, the first part of the scenario plays out,
Speaker 2: then maybe you're right. But Mark Pope, I still think
Speaker 2: is a good coach, and I think they look they
Speaker 2: could they could still end up having a great run.
Speaker 2: I mean, they have proven they can be really good
Speaker 2: teams even when they're short handed. But obviously they've now
Speaker 2: lost four out of five, and I don't think their
Speaker 2: fan base is turning on him, but clearly, you know,
Speaker 2: this is the roughest stretch of his early career at Kentucky.
Speaker 2: But somebody on Twitter asked if it really fell apart
Speaker 2: and they were to kind of flame out this year
Speaker 2: and then next year they're just not very good, which
Speaker 2: again I don't see either of those things happening, But
Speaker 2: if it did, and like they wanted to get rid
Speaker 2: of him, Rick Patino would be their coach, and yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean I kind of feel like that would happen, right,
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe Rick has always kind of been putting
Speaker 2: it out there and he's been showing this, you know,
Speaker 2: fake support for Mark Pope, and he knows that deep
Speaker 2: down Mark Pope's going to be in over his head
Speaker 2: and he's just hoping for that to happen, so again
Speaker 2: he can get the call for I mean, I I doubt,
Speaker 2: I really doubt that that would play out beautifully. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm not as much thinking about Kentucky, but
Speaker 2: think about how many programs never even considered hiring Rick
Speaker 2: Patino and Saint John's did and now they're.
Speaker 3: Yeah, all this stuff came out, He's he's done.
Speaker 4: Why would you ever hire coach Patino with the stain
Speaker 4: that he carries around.
Speaker 2: I mean, we really did have a clutching of the pearls.
Speaker 2: This guy's the worst and one as things played out,
Speaker 2: he really wasn't at all a factor or a player
Speaker 2: in the pay for play Adida's Merle code kind of thing.
Speaker 2: It was just, I mean, he was just a guy
Speaker 2: that already had some some you know issues within his program.
Speaker 2: And when you're even mentioned in the indictment like he was.
Speaker 2: That was enough for Louisville to move on. And you know,
Speaker 2: clearly he had assistants that were, you know, at least
Speaker 2: having conversations. I mean Kenny Johnson's I mean, Kenny Johnson
Speaker 2: gave Brian Bowen's dad money, which is just funny to
Speaker 2: think about now, is that was a huge issue because
Speaker 2: now that's how it works.
Speaker 3: But so I guess maybe.
Speaker 2: That's why as things it played out, like nobody's even
Speaker 2: thinking about Rick as a guy that you know you
Speaker 2: can't hire. They're looking at him and thinking, man, this
Speaker 2: guy's a phenomenal coach. He's proven it in many different
Speaker 2: eras of college basketball. But I mean, to be fair,
Speaker 2: like in New York, he's probably content. But if Carolina
Speaker 2: just you know, got rid of Hubert Davis and they
Speaker 2: decided they didn't want to keep it in the family anymore,
Speaker 2: I mean, and they like they could get him, like
Speaker 2: how do you not hire him? And yeah, maybe he
Speaker 2: only has a four or five years left because he's old,
Speaker 2: but you know what, this guy's going to coach till
Speaker 2: he's dead, and you know that hopefully is not anytime soon.
Speaker 3: But like, if you really think about it.
Speaker 2: If a big job opens up, Saint John's can't afford him,
Speaker 2: and Rick's not really at a point in life where
Speaker 2: he's doing a lot for money. But I mean, you'd
Speaker 2: be foolish not to go after him if if you
Speaker 2: want to win. Now, I mean, he's he's that good.
Speaker 2: So anyways, I doubt he ever ends up back in Kentucky,
Speaker 2: but you know, I guess crazier things have happened, as
Speaker 2: they say. All right, so, speaking of big jobs, Indiana
Speaker 2: is I would say likely going to open up. I mean,
Speaker 2: how sad was it that Mike Woodson's team came out
Speaker 2: They were down like twenty four to six, maybe twenty
Speaker 2: four to four actually at one point, and his comment was, well,
Speaker 2: we came out with good intentions. I mean, that's a
Speaker 2: sad program that you know. I've never been able to
Speaker 2: articulate it the way that I want. But when it
Speaker 2: comes down to it, you can have guys that aren't
Speaker 2: out there completely loafing, But when you have a culture
Speaker 2: of players that really just aren't competing at the level
Speaker 2: you need to, and it's not something that's predetermined, it's
Speaker 2: not like they're out there Y'm going to give seventy
Speaker 2: percent effort today. But the fact that that's just kind
Speaker 2: of how it is, that that's a bad thing that
Speaker 2: needs to be gotten rid of. It may not even
Speaker 2: be that you're a bad coach, but if that's where
Speaker 2: your program is, you have it, I mean, I think
Speaker 2: you're gonna have a tough time fixing it. And I
Speaker 2: think now he has had enough talent in his few
Speaker 2: seasons there to where he's not the worst coach ever.
Speaker 2: But there's no doubt they should be better than they
Speaker 2: are and they're just not in a good place. And
Speaker 2: I would imagine that job will likely end up opening up,
Speaker 2: and if it does, just maybe, just maybe it'll be
Speaker 2: Chris Beard, because one he's proven to be a great coach.
Speaker 2: He's only available and not at Texas because you know
Speaker 2: what happened with his wife, some weird stuff. Yeah, So
Speaker 2: Chris Beard last night after beating Kentucky, and I'm reading
Speaker 2: this from WDRB dot com and I didn't realize the
Speaker 2: connection with with with Beard and Bob Knight, but he
Speaker 2: quoted Bob Knight. This was on Tuesday night, as his
Speaker 2: team got up to fifty four to thirty one lead
Speaker 2: at halftime, he credited the Rebels success to his beloved
Speaker 2: mentor Bob Knight.
Speaker 3: Quote. That's Bob Knight.
Speaker 2: Victory favors the most aggressive team and the one that
Speaker 2: makes the fewest mistakes. And some are saying he went
Speaker 2: out of his way to talk about Bob Knight, maybe
Speaker 2: to kind of, you know, let Indiana know, Hey, you up,
Speaker 2: I'll be up late, call me tonight, like that kind
Speaker 2: of thing, right, like you know, sending the signal, Hey
Speaker 2: you want to do this, we can make it happen. So,
Speaker 2: I mean, you can't can't go wrong with with Chris Beard.
Speaker 3: That'd be a great hire.
Speaker 2: And I think you'd leave old Mistic go to Indiana.
Speaker 2: And I've always said this about Indiana. All they need
Speaker 2: is a good coach and they could be back in
Speaker 2: the limelight. They could be back at the top of
Speaker 2: the sport. They just have never been able to get
Speaker 2: the coaching thing right. And that's pretty important. And I
Speaker 2: think if Chris Beard's there, given what he has done
Speaker 2: everywhere he's been, I have a hard time seeing that
Speaker 2: not working out.
Speaker 3: All right, it's Coffee and Company. We are field.
Speaker 2: But Thornton's right here. On Sports Talk seven ninety