Speaker 1: That's right, five o'clock hour here on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon.
Speaker 1: Appreciate you hanging out with us. A lot of things
Speaker 1: you could be doing right now, and I'm not giving
Speaker 1: you an invitation and go do something else. But if
Speaker 1: you're listening, thank you. And really, no matter where you're listening,
Speaker 1: if you're listening live, if you're listening on the podcast,
Speaker 1: we appreciate you. And again, as you know, we are
Speaker 1: fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety and
Speaker 1: I uh, I mean, this is one of those days
Speaker 1: where I always appreciate being able to do this right.
Speaker 1: Like I'm a very, very lucky guy, and I always
Speaker 1: try to keep that in mind. But this is one
Speaker 1: of those days where I wish I would have been
Speaker 1: smart and said, Nick, you should take off this day.
Speaker 1: I've got a lot of vacation. I've been here long
Speaker 1: enough to where they take care of me. It's one
Speaker 1: of the perks of the job I get. I'm in
Speaker 1: here nine years now to where I get plenty of vacation.
Speaker 1: In fact, sometimes I find myself in the holiday months thinking, Okay,
Speaker 1: I gotta use these, use them or lose them, essentially,
Speaker 1: so you know, I should have taken some of these
Speaker 1: days off. Then again, like it's kind of you know,
Speaker 1: this is the best day to be doing the job
Speaker 1: talking about basketball that's going on NonStop and that's where
Speaker 1: we are, and it's uh, it's certainly a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: All right, joining us to talk some hoops.
Speaker 1: As a man who is currently traveling to Charlotte, North
Speaker 1: Carolina for the a SEC Tournament, he is mister Kent
Speaker 1: Spencer from w h A S eleven, Kent.
Speaker 2: How are we doing, brother?
Speaker 3: We are.
Speaker 4: We are in West Virginia past Charleston. Haven't made it
Speaker 4: to the to the state of North Carolina yet, but Nick,
Speaker 4: we're at route.
Speaker 3: That's all we can say.
Speaker 2: Well, I uh that it's not a bad drive. Well,
Speaker 2: like seven and a half hours roughly?
Speaker 3: Is that? Is that?
Speaker 2: Give or take? Is that roughly what it takes to
Speaker 2: get there?
Speaker 4: Normally we've had some great spots where we've been stuck
Speaker 4: in traffic to the point where people are getting out
Speaker 4: of their cars.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: And let me tell you something that's not great. No,
Speaker 3: it's not a one time and one.
Speaker 4: Time we were stuck next to a tractor trailer full
Speaker 4: of cows and they didn't spell and they didn't smell awesome.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's not ideal.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we were there for about twenty minutes. Was pretty sweet.
Speaker 2: Yeah that's uh, I mean, are surely you're not alone?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 2: No, you got your team with you, right, Okay?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1: That helps break up the time whenever you know, you're
Speaker 1: just sitting there in traffic, knowing you still have hours
Speaker 1: ahead of you, and then you you know, unexpectedly have
Speaker 1: to stop for thirty minutes or whatever it may be.
Speaker 1: So stay safe and uh, you know, I'm sure you
Speaker 1: guys will get there without any issue. And you know,
Speaker 1: the ACC tournament just actual let's let's stit pause real quick,
Speaker 1: cause we'll get to the ACC's tournament the SEC tournament
Speaker 1: as well. I do want to get your thoughts on
Speaker 1: coach Davenport, Scott Davenport deciding earlier this week that he's
Speaker 1: gonna he's gonna step down and retire his son, Doug's
Speaker 1: gonna take over. I don't know anybody listening right now
Speaker 1: that is not familiar with Scott Davenport and really what
Speaker 1: he means to the city of Louisville and really just
Speaker 1: his impact on the basketball community. Just your your thoughts,
Speaker 1: on coach Davenport and your time covering Bellerman. Obviously a
Speaker 1: lot of success during that run and a lot of
Speaker 1: I mean a lot of steps. They take it up
Speaker 1: on the ladder there, right, jumping from Division two to
Speaker 1: Division one. And one thing that I really wanted to
Speaker 1: emphasize to folks earlier this week can was that those
Speaker 1: that look at the last couple of years and now
Speaker 1: Scotty retiring, I really hope that that people don't just
Speaker 1: have this memory of, well, it just wasn't meant to
Speaker 1: be at the D one level. When they first made
Speaker 1: the jump, they were a national story because they were
Speaker 1: winning so early and everybody realized what a stupid rule
Speaker 1: was in place that they couldn't make the NCAA tournament
Speaker 1: despite winning their league. So just your thoughts on coach Davenport,
Speaker 1: obviously a hell of a career.
Speaker 3: Well, let me tackle that last thing first, Nick.
Speaker 4: I thought at the time when they made the jump
Speaker 4: and then obviously they won the twenty twenty two A
Speaker 4: Son Tournament and couldn't go to the NCAA tournament or
Speaker 4: any postseason, I thought it was I thought it was like, Okay,
Speaker 4: this is the right time. The iron's hot they're ready
Speaker 4: to make this move, it's a good time to strike.
Speaker 3: It turned out, and this is just pure bad luck.
Speaker 4: It was the worst time to make that move because
Speaker 4: when they made the move, NIL wasn't a thing.
Speaker 3: The transfer for portal wasn't a thing. Now it became
Speaker 3: a thing.
Speaker 4: And then guys like you know, like after that a
Speaker 4: Son tournament title, a guy like Dylan Penn who would
Speaker 4: never have had the opportunity to go play with the
Speaker 4: NC DOUBLEA tournament if he stayed at Bellaman. He transfers
Speaker 4: in the transfer portal, goes to Vermont and gets to
Speaker 4: play in the NC DOUAA tournament and was I think
Speaker 4: the conference player of the year that year in that
Speaker 4: in that conference. And then so if Bellaman coaches up
Speaker 4: a guy and he's and he's playing, well, of.
Speaker 3: Course somebody's gonna come and get that player.
Speaker 4: They have a way to stop it because they don't
Speaker 4: have the post. By the way, you can't recruit to
Speaker 4: a postseason. It's really really hard to recruit to your
Speaker 4: program because everybody wants to live that dream. And the
Speaker 4: NIL came, you know, came around. So if you were
Speaker 4: good and you could get cash, then you were bouncing programs,
Speaker 4: which is what has happened to him the last few years,
Speaker 4: which is why they I in my opinion, why they
Speaker 4: ended up being in the predicament. They didn't see the
Speaker 4: transfer portal coming. You didn't see anil coming. It was
Speaker 4: just a horrible time, it turns out to make that jump.
Speaker 4: And now it kind of they got to get, you know,
Speaker 4: a good foundation under their feet and start building.
Speaker 3: This thing again.
Speaker 4: But look, I have loved covering Scotty Davenport over the
Speaker 4: time that i've I've been in the city of LOUISVA.
Speaker 4: Love love getting to know him. You know, I'm a
Speaker 4: I'm a fan. I love the way that he goes
Speaker 4: about his business. And you know, I talked to him
Speaker 4: a couple of days ago and and the big thing
Speaker 4: was is I you know, I kind of thought like
Speaker 4: the time was coming. I just didn't think it was
Speaker 4: gonna be after this year. And he just said, look,
Speaker 4: this is about Doug. Doug's ready.
Speaker 3: Doug's ready for this. And you know, I asked Doug yesterday.
Speaker 3: I had a chance to talk to him yesterday and
Speaker 3: just you know, hey, do you feel ready for this?
Speaker 4: Because you know, Nick, if you're around the program, you know,
Speaker 4: I've seen Doug in the low career running film sessions.
Speaker 4: I've seen him run practice. I see how involved he
Speaker 4: is during games. He said, you know absolutely, I feel
Speaker 4: like I'm ready for this. We're going to continue the
Speaker 4: culture that my dad started and got in place here,
Speaker 4: and that's how we're going to be successful. So it'll
Speaker 4: be interested to see Doug Davenport's who's dreamed of being
Speaker 4: a head coach that he was fourteen years old, worked
Speaker 4: under Chris Mack, worked under Rick Petito, did his opportunity.
Speaker 1: Whenever I was a young kid in elementary school, I
Speaker 1: remember going to the Louisville basketball camp and at that
Speaker 1: time Denny Denny was fishing already, he was no longer
Speaker 1: running his own camps, but the legend Scott Davenport was
Speaker 1: running those camps. Of course, he had joined Denny staff
Speaker 1: and obviously had a legendary career as a coach at
Speaker 1: Ballard High School. And Doug and I are the same age.
Speaker 1: I remember, you know, that's when I first that was
Speaker 1: my first introduction to Scott Davenport. I remember thinking, man,
Speaker 1: I don't know where you know, I'm going to play
Speaker 1: for this guy. This guy's awesome. Just such a such
Speaker 1: a great leader, such a great spirit. It's so infectious.
Speaker 1: I mean, I know you're an athlete as well, Kent,
Speaker 1: and like, isn't he somebody that you just feel like, Man,
Speaker 1: I'd love to play for that guy, whatever the sport is.
Speaker 1: He's somebody that I feel like a lot of Louisvillions
Speaker 1: that maybe didn't even play sports, they've gotten to know
Speaker 1: him over the years. He's such a big part of
Speaker 1: our community. Like he's kind of Louisville's coach. And I
Speaker 1: don't mean the Cardinals. I just mean the city of Louisville.
Speaker 1: And I know there's many people listening they would agree
Speaker 1: with that.
Speaker 4: Well, and think about this, Nick, I mean, like there's
Speaker 4: not a single person that doesn't most people, let me
Speaker 4: say this, most people love where they were born and raised.
Speaker 3: They love where they they they love where they grew up.
Speaker 4: And then you meet certain people that they take that
Speaker 4: love to a place.
Speaker 3: That you can't even imagine.
Speaker 4: Yes, sir, you know Scotty's Scotty is one of those
Speaker 4: people that man like he loves Louisville like more than
Speaker 4: so many, you know, like his love for his hometown,
Speaker 4: Like it's it's hard to quantify how.
Speaker 3: He loves this place. And yes, would I have loved to.
Speaker 4: Play for him, absolutely, because.
Speaker 3: Here's why, Dick.
Speaker 4: He will absolutely coach you up. He will jump your
Speaker 4: behind and seven seconds later he'll patch you on the
Speaker 4: butt and say, you know I love you right like
Speaker 4: because you know, you know the coaching has a purpose.
Speaker 4: He's not just doing it because he likes to yell.
Speaker 4: He's doing it because he's gonna coach you hard, but
Speaker 4: he's gonna love you hard.
Speaker 3: And those are the people that I respect more than anything.
Speaker 1: Totally agree. Could not have said it better. Ken Spencer's
Speaker 1: our guest joining us here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: So I guess I'll start with with Louisville. They finish strong,
Speaker 1: didn't have but just two losses in the acc obviously
Speaker 1: one to a really good duke team. The other was
Speaker 1: just to slip up against the Georgia Tech team. I mean,
Speaker 1: going into this tournament because of their double bye, they
Speaker 1: will only need to win three in order to win
Speaker 1: the whole thing. Easier said than done, because once they
Speaker 1: get past whoever it is tomorrow, which they could lose
Speaker 1: that game if they don't play well, then they've got
Speaker 1: opportunities to take on Clemson in Carolina or Clemsorry, Clemson
Speaker 1: and Duke. If this thing goes chalk, it's really been
Speaker 1: unknown because Louisville hasn't played Duke in a long time.
Speaker 1: Louiville and play Clemson in you know, nearly as long.
Speaker 1: I mean it was early January when that game took place.
Speaker 1: How I mean, where do you feel like Louisville.
Speaker 2: Is right now?
Speaker 1: I mean, I think to see them win this whole
Speaker 1: thing may be a little far fetched, but I mean
Speaker 1: the Clemson game for me, is gonna be the real
Speaker 1: test because I think Clemson's gotten better since Louisville played them.
Speaker 1: And it's just an unusual feeling with this tournament right
Speaker 1: because there's there's only three teams for sure that you
Speaker 1: know that are going to make the NCAA Tournament that
Speaker 1: are in this I'm not even really sure if there's
Speaker 1: enough value out there when it comes to winning and
Speaker 1: moving on in this tournament to get some of these
Speaker 1: bubble teams in maybe Carolina they look good earlier today,
Speaker 1: but I just I don't know Louisville. I feel like
Speaker 1: there's not a whole lot of room for them to
Speaker 1: drop as far as the potential seed, and I'm not
Speaker 1: really sure how much higher they can climb. Obviously, if
Speaker 1: they were to knock off Duke, that would be big.
Speaker 1: But just kind of your thoughts on Louisville as they
Speaker 1: enter the first ever postseason era here of the Pat
Speaker 1: Kelsey era.
Speaker 4: You know, is it crazy to say this, Nick that
Speaker 4: if they get matched up with clubs in the semi
Speaker 4: finals on Friday, that's a game probably for a five seed. Yeah,
Speaker 4: I don't think I don't think that's crazy to say,
Speaker 4: you know, obviously, yeah that that the game against Clemson
Speaker 4: was a long time ago.
Speaker 3: It was at the.
Speaker 4: KFC Young Center, But like, if you can go and
Speaker 4: you can beat that Clemson team.
Speaker 3: On a neutral court.
Speaker 4: In the ACC Tournament, like that right there, I think
Speaker 4: speaks volumes for how far this team has grown since
Speaker 4: let's say the Eastern Kentucky game where they had to
Speaker 4: kind of squeak one out and then it feels like
Speaker 4: they really started to go on their run after that,
Speaker 4: after that EKU game. So yeah, that's what I'm excited
Speaker 4: to see. Like, I'm excited to see, Okay, this is
Speaker 4: a neutral court, let's see what they what they looked
Speaker 4: like Thursday night, and then I would love to see
Speaker 4: Louisville get paired up against UH Clemson and if they
Speaker 4: can they could get past that.
Speaker 3: Obviously, you know who's waiting in the championship game. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I think.
Speaker 4: Louisville is a good team, but I'm I'm ready to
Speaker 4: see it again. Sure, you know some of the best
Speaker 4: of the best of the ACC.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, look at it's it's not a criticism,
Speaker 1: it's not. It doesn't even really, it's just the unknown
Speaker 1: Louisville winning. That's all they can do, right, They got
Speaker 1: to play who's on the schedule, and a lot of
Speaker 1: these games they've won, and it really wasn't close.
Speaker 2: But it's just it's just a wild thought of.
Speaker 1: Being in a conference like the ACC and knowing that
Speaker 1: whoever you get in that first round game, if you're
Speaker 1: anywhere between a six and an eight, I feel like
Speaker 1: there's a good chance that There's really no way to
Speaker 1: know this for sure, but I wouldn't be shocked if
Speaker 1: whoever you get in that first round game, if you're
Speaker 1: a six, seven, or eight, it's probably gonna be better
Speaker 1: that everybody you've played since January other than Clemson. Now again,
Speaker 1: if you get Duke, then that that changes it, obviously,
Speaker 1: but it's just I don't know's it's as a fan myself,
Speaker 1: I'm not really complaining because you know, Louisville being here
Speaker 1: in this position is just wild considering where they were
Speaker 1: the last couple of years.
Speaker 2: But hear me out on this.
Speaker 1: I want to know if you think I'm crazy because
Speaker 1: nobody wants to play Duke right now. I wouldn't think
Speaker 1: now there's an opportunity there if you get a win,
Speaker 1: to really to improve your resume. But I'm not I'm
Speaker 1: not saying bring bring on Duke, We'll take them down,
Speaker 1: because you know, I think they're really really loaded. But
Speaker 1: I also like the thought of even if you do
Speaker 1: get beat I guess it could be demoralizing if it's
Speaker 1: like a really bad beat down. But I think getting,
Speaker 1: you know, playing a team that good right before you
Speaker 1: get to the NC DOUBLEA tournament, knowing that January and
Speaker 1: February and in a lot of March weren't you weren't
Speaker 1: going up against great teams, I think there could be
Speaker 1: some value to play one of the best in the
Speaker 1: country before you get to win or go home.
Speaker 4: I think I think it's important for Louisville to play
Speaker 4: and I agree with you, like, like, I think it's
Speaker 4: important this week for Louisville to play against you know,
Speaker 4: a good team and get tested.
Speaker 3: Yeah, battle test and be like okay, so that's what
Speaker 3: that's where we got to get to or this is
Speaker 3: where we need to be.
Speaker 4: And this is a good thing heading into the NC
Speaker 4: DOUBLEA tournament, right like this is who these are the
Speaker 4: kind of teams that we're gonna face heading into the
Speaker 4: NC Double A tournament. No, I think it's a I
Speaker 4: think it's a great thing, and I think it's it's need.
Speaker 3: It because I mean, like, like.
Speaker 4: What is it like twenty to twenty one now or
Speaker 4: whatever the record is? You know that they that they've
Speaker 4: won in the ACC. Think about this, Look look.
Speaker 3: At their record.
Speaker 4: Look how many games that they've won. And we're talking
Speaker 4: about them being a six to an eight.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, a lot of people have them as an eight.
Speaker 3: Now, yeah that's because of what the acs like.
Speaker 4: They're winning all these games, but they're not getting any
Speaker 4: value for them because they're they're quad three or quad four,
Speaker 4: you know, like what are we talking about here? So
Speaker 4: that's why I do think it's important for them to
Speaker 4: play against the Clemson and and test yourself.
Speaker 3: Out win or losing that game.
Speaker 4: I think it helps you massively going up into the NCAA.
Speaker 2: Tournament, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: And you know, I think Louisvill's really just staying stagnant
Speaker 1: because again they're not doing anything to really hurt themselves,
Speaker 1: but they're not really jumping up. And then others you
Speaker 1: look at the SEC and the Big Ten, even the
Speaker 1: Big twelve, you got some teams they could stack some
Speaker 1: huge wins for the resume, not to get you know,
Speaker 1: a one or two, but at least just you know,
Speaker 1: like they could jump ahead of Louisville just with a
Speaker 1: couple of games. And it's not because Old did anything wrong.
Speaker 1: It's just they've been really at a standstill when it
Speaker 1: comes to their resume really where there's not been a
Speaker 1: whole lot to gain, and honestly, there's been a lot
Speaker 1: to lose. Fortunately they've not they've not put themselves in
Speaker 1: that spot to where they've you know, they've they've let
Speaker 1: one slip away that really crushed them. But yeah, just
Speaker 1: an unusual year for the ACC And that's the nice
Speaker 1: way of saying. It was just a really, really really
Speaker 1: bad year for the league. Let's pitch gears to Kentucky.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think they cannot do any worse than
Speaker 1: a four. I think they're a three, and I'd be
Speaker 1: shocked if on Sunday they're not on the three line,
Speaker 1: because I think the team slotted one and two in
Speaker 1: the Big in the Big Dances, I think those are
Speaker 1: pretty much locked in, and I'm not sure what could
Speaker 1: happen to where those those teams would fall. But then
Speaker 1: in Kentucky, you know, they've got more losses than a
Speaker 1: lot of teams in the top ten, but they also
Speaker 1: have an insane amount of really really good wins. And
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but if they if
Speaker 1: they were to get past Oklahoma or Georgia and then
Speaker 1: beat Bama, who's going to be shocked. It's going to
Speaker 1: be in Nashville. I mean, in fact, I kind of
Speaker 1: expect them to win that game at that point. Can't
Speaker 1: They will have si wins against the top ten teams
Speaker 1: in the net rankings despite having as many losses as
Speaker 1: they have, Like, do you think they could jump ahead
Speaker 1: of a team that's on the one and two? I mean,
Speaker 1: we're talking about the SEC teams that, of course did
Speaker 1: finish ahead of Kentucky. You've got Houston, Michigan State.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 1: I feel like the three is most likely for Kentucky,
Speaker 1: but if they were to win two, maybe three games
Speaker 1: in the SEC, I can't fault the committee if they
Speaker 1: bump them up to it two, because again, they have
Speaker 1: way more valuable wins than I think a lot of
Speaker 1: people realize.
Speaker 4: And Nick, I mean just honestly like the way because
Speaker 4: because so many things can shake out in these conference tournaments,
Speaker 4: somebody can you know, take an early loss whatever and lose.
Speaker 4: But I think if they win two games, I think
Speaker 4: there's a decent chance they end up at two.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I and and I agree with you, like right now,
Speaker 3: like just judge them by what you see.
Speaker 4: I mean, it seems like they're pretty much a lock
Speaker 4: for a three and unless you know, maybe they get
Speaker 4: upset Thursday night or whatever and that.
Speaker 3: Moves them down to a four.
Speaker 4: But right now, the feeling is because of the wins
Speaker 4: that they have and what is it, eight top fifteen wins.
Speaker 3: Or something like that, like it's insane, and.
Speaker 4: They because they have that, they feel like a lock
Speaker 4: for a three. But I think if they beat Alabama,
Speaker 4: Like if they get Alabama and they beat Alabama on Friday,
Speaker 4: if they make it that far, like it's it's not
Speaker 4: crazy to think they end up on the two.
Speaker 1: Lines, not at all. I mean, think about this. They've
Speaker 1: got as we as it stands. And again, I know
Speaker 1: people mentioned ranked wins as far as the AP poll,
Speaker 1: and that matters as well as far as just you know,
Speaker 1: those teams are usually pretty good. But when it comes
Speaker 1: to the NCAA's own metrics, the net rankings, they have
Speaker 1: four wins currently against the top five teams because they
Speaker 1: beat Duke, which is the best team out there. As
Speaker 1: far as the net, they have a win against Florida.
Speaker 1: They have two wins against Tennessee, who's number five. Florida's
Speaker 1: number four, by the way, Alabama's sitting there at number six.
Speaker 1: If they get that in which again I kind of
Speaker 1: feel like they're going to just you know, they could
Speaker 1: easily lose.
Speaker 2: Bama's really good.
Speaker 1: But also I think Kentucky fans are going to show
Speaker 1: out and they near beat him in Tuscaloosa when they
Speaker 1: well I guess it got away from a little bit later.
Speaker 1: But nonetheless, like if they end up getting that Bama went.
Speaker 1: I can't really fault the committee off they put him
Speaker 1: on the two line, because again, you won't find anybody
Speaker 1: that has that many that many really good wins and
Speaker 1: all their losses. To be honest, none of them are bad.
Speaker 1: I mean even even Arkansas, who looked it felt like
Speaker 1: a bad loss at the time. They're they're looking like
Speaker 1: they're going to be in the tournament. But real quick,
Speaker 1: a couple more I want to get to before we
Speaker 1: run out of time here, I'll stick with Kentucky. Then
Speaker 1: I'll throw it back to Louisville with the same kind
Speaker 1: of question. And this is a very you know, cliche
Speaker 1: kind of question, but forgive me, who who do you
Speaker 1: feel like for Kentucky, Like if you get to I
Speaker 1: don't know if they get to the Elite eight, And
Speaker 1: I guess it all depends on matchups that kind of stuff,
Speaker 1: like who's the most important guy for them?
Speaker 2: Because I think both.
Speaker 1: These teams are kind of similar to where they've got
Speaker 1: a good collection of guys that that you know, have
Speaker 1: been solid all throughout, but if you had one guy
Speaker 1: you feel like, hey, they need him to be at
Speaker 1: nearly his best in order for this team to make
Speaker 1: a deep, deep run.
Speaker 2: Who do you think it would be for Kentucky?
Speaker 4: Honestly, Like, it's probably changed throughout the course of the
Speaker 4: of the season, But I honestly like my guy and
Speaker 4: and and and this is so let me say this,
Speaker 4: let me preface it by saying this. This is for
Speaker 4: everybody that would you know from if you're on the
Speaker 4: roster right now and you're playing, you're going to stay
Speaker 4: healthy the rest of the year.
Speaker 3: Samari Williams, for.
Speaker 4: Me, like, if you watch them when he's in the game,
Speaker 4: they're a completely different team than when he's not. And
Speaker 4: I'm talking about on both ends of the floor more
Speaker 4: more so defensively, they're a much better defensive team. And
Speaker 4: I think that's a huge key for them when he's
Speaker 4: on the floor. Lot Like it drops off considerable when
Speaker 4: he's not in the game. So he's got to be
Speaker 4: playing well and he's got to be able to stay
Speaker 4: out of foul trouble.
Speaker 3: I think that that.
Speaker 4: Guy in the latter part of the season has just
Speaker 4: taken his game to another to another level. And then
Speaker 4: I would say like their X factor is Colin Chandler
Speaker 4: because without Jack Robinson, he's playing a lot better and
Speaker 4: he does things on both ends of the floor, and
Speaker 4: he's looking pretty comfortable.
Speaker 3: When it when it comes he's.
Speaker 4: Actually, in my opinion, I think he's looking pretty comfortable
Speaker 4: when it comes on the offensive end. Right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can see why he was a former top
Speaker 1: fifty recruit, and you can see that now. You know,
Speaker 1: might have taken him a little longer than than others
Speaker 1: to get acclimitted because you know, he took two years off.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, it didn't. He didn't play basketball.
Speaker 4: So I mean, like, you know, I think his defense
Speaker 4: came a lot, a lot quicker. But you're saying, hey,
Speaker 4: take take two years off, then start playing basketball again,
Speaker 4: and oh, by the way, play it at Kentucky, and
Speaker 4: then play it in the toughest conference that we've seen
Speaker 4: since the nineties.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's uh, the SEC. The SEC Tournament is going
Speaker 1: to be as I mean, it's gonna be more challenging
Speaker 1: probably than the NAA turna. But it's one of those
Speaker 1: things people say from time to time, and usually it's
Speaker 1: a little hyperbole. I'm not sure it is this go around,
Speaker 1: just because of how how loaded that league is. Right
Speaker 1: on the Louisville side, I don't I mean, I It's
Speaker 1: kind of a tough question to answer, but I'll give
Speaker 1: you the opportunity to do so, because I feel like
Speaker 1: they've got really a core of guys.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, I mean honestly, like I I feel like
Speaker 4: in my opinion, and if you disagree that, that's fine,
Speaker 4: Like I feel like they've got a core of four
Speaker 4: like that, Like these four are the.
Speaker 3: Ones who are going to lead the way.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna say Chucky above all, just because man, he's
Speaker 4: he's just so good and I think the rest of
Speaker 4: his teammates can be quite honest with you have feed
Speaker 4: off of him. And then of course the other the
Speaker 4: other three obviously are Terrence Edwards Badly and Rain Smith
Speaker 4: and that guy with with uh with the with the
Speaker 4: ankle right now, Like he's the X factor for me,
Speaker 4: like because when he's on the floor, Nick, you just
Speaker 4: you can't come off of him. It just opens every
Speaker 4: live a game, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like that, It's just they need him on the floor
Speaker 3: a little bit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he understands spacing.
Speaker 1: He's clearly a lights out shooter, but he's one of
Speaker 1: those guys that, to your point, you just have to
Speaker 1: account for him at all times. And that changes how
Speaker 1: you're defending Louisville. But also, I mean it's more of
Speaker 1: a surprise if you get through a game where he's
Speaker 1: healthy and played thirty plus minutes and there wasn't a
Speaker 1: moment where he single handedly kind of flip things because
Speaker 1: he can just get hot and score nine or twelve
Speaker 1: and you know, in a segment. So yeah, I hope
Speaker 1: his ankle's okay, because you obviously he's he's a guy.
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like they could still win some
Speaker 1: games without him. But obviously, just knowing you have a
Speaker 1: weapon like that, you want to be at full strength.
Speaker 1: Whenever you know it gets to be this late in
Speaker 1: the year, win or go home. So can't I appreciate
Speaker 1: your time as always, safe travels. Hopefully you guys don't
Speaker 1: have any more traffic. Enjoy your time in Charlotte and
Speaker 1: we will talk soon.
Speaker 4: Brother.
Speaker 3: Hey, hey, Bubba, take off a day.
Speaker 4: You deserve the year, take off a day.
Speaker 2: Oh well, thank you appreciate that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I need to just just to sit on the
Speaker 1: recliner and watch college basketball and enjoy it and cherish
Speaker 1: it because it'll be over sooner than later. But you know,
Speaker 1: I'm a company man. It's Coffee and Company. I mean,
Speaker 1: they can't keep me out of this place, all right,
Speaker 1: quick break? Hope you could sense the sarcasm there. We'll
Speaker 1: keep it rolling along. Stick around Coffee and Company. Feel
Speaker 1: abou Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety our will get shit.
Speaker 1: Other update on the scores from around the country right
Speaker 1: now in college basketball is we've got college basketball overload here.
Speaker 2: And I think I don't know I was gonna say.
Speaker 1: It can still be said as far as what was
Speaker 1: said yesterday that these games early on in the bigger tournaments,
Speaker 1: it usually doesn't feature many of the good teams. But
Speaker 1: and I guess that's true, like right now, in fact,
Speaker 1: just today, the only ranked team playing in a conference
Speaker 1: tournament game is Iowa State, who is number twelve. But
Speaker 1: they ended up being the five seed in the Big twelve,
Speaker 1: and they had no trouble today they won seventy six
Speaker 1: to fifty six. But in the ACC you had North Carolina,
Speaker 1: no trouble with Notre Dame. They won by twenty seventy
Speaker 1: six fifty six, and then Georgia Tech sixty six to sixty.
Speaker 1: They went over Virginia and then now he waits seven
Speaker 1: o'clock tip Cal Stanford. Winner of that, of course, is
Speaker 1: who Louis will get tomorrow, and then the night game
Speaker 1: Syracuse and an SMU, and in the SEC you've got
Speaker 1: their first day of conference play. The only game that's
Speaker 1: concluded was that Arkansas South Carolina game as Cal survives
Speaker 1: seventy two to sixty eight, which we haven't played the
Speaker 1: sound We probably don't need to today. But Cal's still
Speaker 1: doing Cal things, just saying outlandish things that everybody knows
Speaker 1: as nonsense, but you know, it's just him being him.
Speaker 1: It would be wild, though, if he wins the SEC tournament.
Speaker 1: It's not gonna happen, but somebody do it out there earlier,
Speaker 1: just how funny would be because he's never been good in
Speaker 1: the SEC tournament at least well he has, but not
Speaker 1: in a long time. And he clearly has never really
Speaker 1: even embraced playing in the SEC tournament. And now they
Speaker 1: don't need it to get in, but man, they can.
Speaker 1: It's certainly changed their situation if they pick up some
Speaker 1: wins along the way, because obviously, you know.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of there's a lot of value, all right.
Speaker 1: So currently seven minutes left, Texas sixty five to forty
Speaker 1: eight over Vanderbilt.
Speaker 2: That would be an upset.
Speaker 1: I don't think that puts Vandy in fact, what that
Speaker 1: does is probably puts Vandy more so in a in
Speaker 1: a vulnerable spot to maybe maybe miss out if there's
Speaker 1: like bid stealers and Texas. I don't mean you can't
Speaker 1: put Texas in the tournament, and I don't think they're
Speaker 1: going to. But I mean Texas is seventeen and fourteen
Speaker 1: and they went six and twelve. I just as good
Speaker 1: as the SEC is. I just don't know how you
Speaker 1: could put Texas in and I don't and again I
Speaker 1: don't think they're going to. Our next game in the
Speaker 1: SEC's LSU in Mississippi State at seven o'clock, and then
Speaker 1: tonight Oklahoma Georgia. The winner of that one, of course,
Speaker 1: is who Kentucky will play. And then in the Big
Speaker 1: Ten tournament, they they had, yeah, they've only had one
Speaker 1: game that was earlier today, that was Northwestern getting by
Speaker 1: Minnesota seven two to sixty four. And then they've got Iowa,
Speaker 1: Ohio State six o'clock and then tonight at eight thirty
Speaker 1: USC and a Rutgers. All right, so a lot to
Speaker 1: get to and not a lot of time left here.
Speaker 1: So I do want to just touch on the Junior
Speaker 1: Bridgeman situation. We did talk about it obviously in three
Speaker 1: o'clock hour, but I'm sure we have a different audience
Speaker 1: at this point. Just sad news to lose a man
Speaker 1: that was so successful, so impactful in this community and
Speaker 1: really everywhere. I mean a lot of people around here
Speaker 1: know Junior Bridgeman for being a guy who went from
Speaker 1: being an NBA player to being one of the most
Speaker 1: successful businessmen ever. I mean, he turned his NBA salary
Speaker 1: into a level of wealth that most people walking this
Speaker 1: planet will never know. He's a billionaire, right, So Louisville fans,
Speaker 1: people you know that are louavillions, they know his connection
Speaker 1: here and they you know they, I mean Louisville fans specifically,
Speaker 1: I mean always bragging on this guy. Yeah, he's great,
Speaker 1: He's one of our own. Played here, was a final
Speaker 1: playing in the Final four with Denny Crumb's seventy five team.
Speaker 1: Was the two time Conference Player of the Year. Was
Speaker 1: drafted by the Bucks. Has his number retired with the Bucks?
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't need to give you guys the
Speaker 1: full resume as far as an athlete, but obviously what
Speaker 1: makes him different is that he's mostly known more so
Speaker 1: for business than anything else. And to know that, you know,
Speaker 1: he was such a philanthropist and did so much to
Speaker 1: give back to people. And one thing that I had
Speaker 1: heard this before, and somebody in the text line shared
Speaker 1: a good story earlier about Junior to where he's someone
Speaker 1: that it would really surprise you when it comes to
Speaker 1: his level of wealth, that when he does give back
Speaker 1: and he's charitable, which he has been and was for
Speaker 1: a long long time in a major way. He wanted
Speaker 1: to know sort of what the cause was, right. It
Speaker 1: wasn't just hey, I've got so much money, I won't
Speaker 1: notice a couple million missing, so go give it to
Speaker 1: somebody in need. He wanted to have that connection and
Speaker 1: wanted to help people, and he certainly did that and
Speaker 1: he helped a lot of This is I think the
Speaker 1: best way to kind of put in perspective Junior's impact globally, right.
Speaker 1: I mean, he is someone that just is the best
Speaker 1: story you'll find as far as an NBA player utilizing
Speaker 1: basketball and getting the most out of what you can
Speaker 1: get as a basketball player, certainly at that time when
Speaker 1: he played and using that and again creating generational wealth
Speaker 1: for yourself as a businessman. So when it comes to
Speaker 1: guys in the NBA and really professional athletes overall, they
Speaker 1: think that it's awesome that this guy took his NBA
Speaker 1: salary at the time, never made more than three hundred
Speaker 1: grand a year in the NBA. Of course, it was
Speaker 1: a different time, and he was smart with his money.
Speaker 1: Clearly was a very wise man when it comes to
Speaker 1: how to utilize money that kind of stuff, invested in
Speaker 1: the right companies, and just super successful in every way.
Speaker 1: And these NBA players they look up to him, not
Speaker 1: only as a basketball player, but they're like, wow, you know,
Speaker 1: I've made more money than this guy. If I could,
Speaker 1: even if I could learn from him and become a
Speaker 1: better businessman and really understand how to create generational wealth.
Speaker 1: I mean that, you know, it's it's it's been insane
Speaker 1: to see in the last twenty four hours the amount
Speaker 1: of former NBA players, current NBA players, just celebrities in general.
Speaker 1: I mean, even Magic Johnson, who's an all time great.
Speaker 1: I mean, his his heartfelt message last night about Junior
Speaker 1: Bridgeman was awesome. But Junior Bridgeman is probably one of
Speaker 1: your favorite basketball players ever. He's probably the role model
Speaker 1: of those players that you idolized. I mean, maybe I'm
Speaker 1: reaching a little bit here, but think about it. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is somebody who again had a hell of a
Speaker 1: career as an NBA player and then he became, you know,
Speaker 1: this super successful businessman.
Speaker 2: And there's a.
Speaker 1: Lot of guys in the NBA that I feel like
Speaker 1: have had conversations with Junior over the years, just because
Speaker 1: of the camaraderie in the NBA. He was the president
Speaker 1: of the Players Association for many years when he was
Speaker 1: in the NBA, and you know, they know they can
Speaker 1: learn from him, for they look to him for guidance,
Speaker 1: and he clearly made a big impact on a lot
Speaker 1: of people and very sad so thoughts with his family
Speaker 1: and his louisll basketball family as well. Seventy one years
Speaker 1: old and just a really sad way to I mean,
Speaker 1: he went out doing something that he was clearly passionate about,
Speaker 1: and that was, you know, being a part of events
Speaker 1: and being a part of different foundations and helping them
Speaker 1: raise funds and raise awareness for whatever cause it is
Speaker 1: that they're focused on. So and one thing I wanted
Speaker 1: to say really quickly, and I hope he won't hope
Speaker 1: he doesn't mind, because I mean, I hope he wouldn't mind.
Speaker 1: But Kent Taylor, I mean, Kent was interviewing Junior yesterday
Speaker 1: in front of hundreds of people at the Gold House
Speaker 1: for this event. It was the forty fifth Annual Leadership Luncheon.
Speaker 1: And I mean, I'm sure he's not going to and
Speaker 1: many probably aren't thinking about Kent because he's Okay, he
Speaker 1: didn't lose his life. Junior Bridgeman did. But like that's
Speaker 1: a traumatic thing for Kent to go through that a
Speaker 1: lot of people probably don't even process or think about out.
Speaker 2: But I mean, I.
Speaker 1: I that that that cannot be something that is just
Speaker 1: going to be easy to forget. I mean that can
Speaker 1: have a I mean that can have a a very
Speaker 1: very strong impact on you in a in a negative way. Obviously,
Speaker 1: you know, there's nothing he gets me to give. That's
Speaker 1: just not something that typically happens to where you're hosting
Speaker 1: an event, you're working with somebody and they just have
Speaker 1: a heart attack and die right in front of you.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's that's a that's an awful thing.
Speaker 1: Uh And and certainly thought some prayers to everybody close
Speaker 1: to Junior but I've learned about this kind of stuff
Speaker 1: in my life. You can, you can go through something
Speaker 1: traumatic and be a survivor and be somebody that is
Speaker 1: very fortunate compared to others that that you know didn't
Speaker 1: have the same fortune you did. They maybe they lost
Speaker 1: their life, maybe they you know, so you you develop,
Speaker 1: you develop something to where you you're so appreciative of
Speaker 1: the fact that, like, wow, life is so precious. I
Speaker 1: can't believe here I am talking to this person and
Speaker 1: then they they have a heart attack and die. I
Speaker 1: should really value life. I'm very lucky that I have
Speaker 1: what I have and be gone in a moment, because
Speaker 1: that's just how precious life is. Like, that's I think
Speaker 1: how you normally as a human would process that. But
Speaker 1: which you don't process that can really hurt you is
Speaker 1: that you went through something traumatic and you've got to
Speaker 1: deal with that on your own, not to turn into
Speaker 1: doctor phil today. But like, I don't know if people
Speaker 1: have even thought about it that Kent Taylor was interviewing
Speaker 1: somebody and right in front of him he I mean,
Speaker 1: that's just not something that people normally deal with, and
Speaker 1: it's probably something pretty heavy for Kent. So Kent's a
Speaker 1: great guy, and I hope he's doing well. All things considered,
Speaker 1: that's got to be a rough and very memorable day
Speaker 1: for him for you know, not good reasons.
Speaker 2: That's a sad situation. So all right, last break, we'll
Speaker 2: come back on the other side.
Speaker 1: Put the finishing touches on a Wednesday edition of Coffee
Speaker 1: and Company Again. We're piled abou Thornton's right here on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven ninety