Speaker 1: All right, our number two here on a Wednesday afternoon
Speaker 1: coffee and company Fieldbeth Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety
Speaker 1: and we are now welcomed by a man who I
Speaker 1: missed greatly, mister John Alden, the company Man.
Speaker 2: John.
Speaker 1: Before we get into it, how I mean, can I
Speaker 1: call you that?
Speaker 3: Still?
Speaker 1: I feel like, you know, did the nickname die when
Speaker 1: you left me for has?
Speaker 3: I feel like it's in limbo. I don't think it's
Speaker 3: officially died, but as you know, Tony Cruz has tried
Speaker 3: to call me who's your daddy on occasion.
Speaker 1: That's it kind of makes me uncomfortable because I mean,
Speaker 1: I get it, it's Tony trying to be funny, but
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, the company Man not only
Speaker 1: is it does it? I mean it made more sense
Speaker 1: for the name of this show obviously, but like it's
Speaker 1: it's a compliment to you, your work ethic, that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. I don't know why he won't embrace it.
Speaker 1: Just embrace the company man, Cruise. It's a good I
Speaker 1: wish he would. I wish he would.
Speaker 2: It's a good name.
Speaker 1: So we were just talking off the air about how
Speaker 1: how awesome it is this time of year for us
Speaker 1: to be in this position where both teams are going
Speaker 1: to the NAA Tournament. Whereas the years we worked together,
Speaker 1: Louisville basketball wasn't a place that I hope they never
Speaker 1: ever end up in again. So we'll get into that.
Speaker 1: As it's here, March madness is here. It's winner, go home,
Speaker 1: start next week in the NAA Tournament. We've got conference
Speaker 1: tournaments already underway. But you're about to be a dad
Speaker 1: before too long?
Speaker 3: Right, Like?
Speaker 2: Is it?
Speaker 3: Is it?
Speaker 1: I mean, how about how far away? How far away
Speaker 1: are we from seeing you become a father?
Speaker 3: So my wife's due date is May eighth, but I
Speaker 3: do believe she had a doctor's appointment this morning. I
Speaker 3: do believe that she is going to end up getting
Speaker 3: induced a little bit earlier than that. So I don't
Speaker 3: know exactly how long, but we are under two months.
Speaker 3: We'm both very excited.
Speaker 1: Does it seem as if you had a moment maybe
Speaker 1: recently or maybe it'll be happening soon where it hits
Speaker 1: you like okay, because nine months is a long process, right,
Speaker 1: Like you've got like you've got time to kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, let it marinate and kind of reflect on
Speaker 1: your life pre becoming a father and always tell this
Speaker 1: to people. You never like when people ask are you ready?
Speaker 2: You're ready? You're ready, it's a it's.
Speaker 1: A common question and it's not you know, I get
Speaker 1: why people ask it, but like you can't get ready,
Speaker 1: like you know, ready or not.
Speaker 2: It's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: There's gonna be some adjustments, but it's it's a beautiful thing,
Speaker 1: no doubt. But when I remember whenever we had our
Speaker 1: first when it got to be about a month away,
Speaker 1: is when it hit me like, Okay, this is really happening,
Speaker 1: isn't it, Like this is really a thing I'm going
Speaker 1: to be responsible for a human being.
Speaker 3: So she or the for me, I feel like the
Speaker 3: first the first time it hit me was, of course
Speaker 3: when you see the pregnancy test. And then the first
Speaker 3: time I noticed that my wife was showing that was
Speaker 3: early this year in January. And then I think the
Speaker 3: third moment that something kind of hit me it was
Speaker 3: is when I felt the baby kick for the first time.
Speaker 3: And that's a very surreal thing that of course if
Speaker 3: you're a dad or a mom, like of course two
Speaker 3: different perspectives. Someone's holding the baby and the other person's
Speaker 3: feeling it. From the outside, but two or three very
Speaker 3: surreal moments. And now at this point we're just counting
Speaker 3: down the days.
Speaker 1: You mentioned those surreal moments, and you really can't describe
Speaker 1: it to anybody until you've experienced yourself, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, Like, really you can. I think it checks
Speaker 1: out to say, Wow, it's pretty special and it's a
Speaker 1: it's a real moment where it makes it all seem
Speaker 1: real that this is about to happen, such a big
Speaker 1: moment in your life. But like there's just things about
Speaker 1: being a parent that even before you have kids, you
Speaker 1: probably yeah, I'm sure that's you have a different mindset
Speaker 1: when you have kids about this and that, but like
Speaker 1: you just you can't process it until it happens. So
Speaker 1: very very excited for you, and I get one more
Speaker 1: before we move on. How's how's the wife doing during
Speaker 1: the pregnancy. She good, she's doing fine. She had a
Speaker 1: rough first trimester, as many women do. She was, you know,
Speaker 1: without being too graphic, sheet a lot. Uh and then
Speaker 1: she she's had a few she she got the stomach
Speaker 1: bug a couple of weeks ago. And I think just
Speaker 1: because you have a compromised immune system, you know, it's
Speaker 1: more likely to unfortunately get those types of things easier
Speaker 1: than other people.
Speaker 2: So she had any real weird cravings.
Speaker 3: Weird she this has been recently. She she likes the
Speaker 3: squeezeable apple sauce. Okay, so that's I think that qualifies it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my wife she became addicted to pickles, Okay, I
Speaker 1: mean it. And it wasn't like where she would just
Speaker 1: sit around and eat, you know, an endless amount of them,
Speaker 1: but it was one of those things where it was
Speaker 1: like truly a craving addiction to where like not sure
Speaker 1: what she's doing where she's at, but she's got to
Speaker 1: have to have a pickle, so I gotta go find one. Yea.
Speaker 1: It was became just one of those things that like
Speaker 1: it wasn't necessarily to where she just started completely going
Speaker 1: crazy over one specific food item or snack or whatever
Speaker 1: it was. But it's just when the hormones are where
Speaker 1: they are when it comes to being pregnant, when you
Speaker 1: want it, you need it, like you know, I remember
Speaker 1: just thinking, Okay, if all I've got to do is
Speaker 1: just make sure that if she has that craving for
Speaker 1: a pickle, I can I can make it happen. Then
Speaker 1: you know, then I'll be okay. But anyways, I'm I'm
Speaker 1: a little bit in disbelief because there were times this year, John,
Speaker 1: where I was watching your Indiana Hoosiers and I thought,
Speaker 1: for certain, there's no scenario they sniffed the instead of
Speaker 1: a tournament.
Speaker 3: Oh absolutely, And I think the most recent time that
Speaker 3: that happened, they were on the road a wisconsinant I
Speaker 3: think they were down like twenty six to four in
Speaker 3: like the first few minutes of that game. And then
Speaker 3: once that loss finished up a few days later, you
Speaker 3: find out that Mike Woodson's going to be stepping down.
Speaker 3: That's what you kind of think. Okay, things are kind
Speaker 3: of falling into place, is kind of the direction we
Speaker 3: thought things were heading. But since that announcement, I've been
Speaker 3: saying this the last few weeks. It's like Mike Woodson,
Speaker 3: even though he doesn't have hair, he's letting his hair down,
Speaker 3: and the players are letting their hair down. There lose,
Speaker 3: nothing to lose, Yeah, And I think they've maybe only
Speaker 3: lost two, maybe three games since that point. And now,
Speaker 3: although they're squarely still on the bubble, I think they're
Speaker 3: going to find themselves in the Assembly tournament.
Speaker 1: I'll be honest with you, man, I think the way
Speaker 1: the bubble has you would need a ton of bid steelers, Yeah,
Speaker 1: in order for Indiana to be sweating on anything. Because
Speaker 1: what's happened is that the bubble like there's probably twelve
Speaker 1: to thirteen teams fighting truly borderline to get in or not.
Speaker 2: Indiana is not one of them. They're ahead of them.
Speaker 1: And it's just the way it's played out to where
Speaker 1: you know losses that they have, I mean right.
Speaker 3: Now, zero, quad two, three or four losses, I mean
Speaker 3: right now, just.
Speaker 1: Just knowing you know what you know about your team
Speaker 1: when you think of a bad loss for them, take
Speaker 1: away the margin. But just like a team and maybe
Speaker 1: more arching combine, like what loss to you stands out.
Speaker 1: It's like, Okay, if we didn't get in, it would
Speaker 1: be because of this loss.
Speaker 3: I don't know if there's a specific loss, Ye, there's
Speaker 3: not this one Northwestern. There's just somebody that kind of
Speaker 3: stands out just in fun fact, it's the only team
Speaker 3: that Mike Woodson hasn't been able to beat at least
Speaker 3: one since he's been in Indiana. But that's it's not
Speaker 3: a bad loss, but it's not necessarily a good one. Either.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so they have two losses that just again they
Speaker 1: don't look like devastating losses for your resume. But Northwestern
Speaker 1: on the road and Nebraska on the road, those are
Speaker 1: those are those are losses that you know or aren't
Speaker 1: too good teams. Those teams aren't considered to be good. However,
Speaker 1: you are on the road and they're good enough in
Speaker 1: the formula to where that's still a quad one loss
Speaker 1: for you. Yeah, so you look at the rest of
Speaker 1: their losses. They did have a loss to Iowa, which
Speaker 1: was a twenty five point beat down. That was probably
Speaker 1: the Iowa in Illinois back to back blowouts. That was
Speaker 1: probably in the Illinois when was at home, that was
Speaker 1: probably where I was thinking, Okay, yeah, it's over for Woodson.
Speaker 1: But you know, overall, Illinois still not a bad loss
Speaker 1: because they're good. I mean, Louisvillingan's out of those aren't
Speaker 1: losses that really hurt you. Maryland, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan, even
Speaker 1: UCLA Oregon on the road like nineteen and twelve doesn't
Speaker 1: sound super impressive by any means, But the vast majority
Speaker 1: of their losses are not too bad teams. And I
Speaker 1: think what really took them out of that pool of
Speaker 1: teams I was just referencing that are really fighting like
Speaker 1: crazy and really just I think it's going to come
Speaker 1: down to preference, Like the committee is just going to
Speaker 1: have to decide there's going to be a lot of
Speaker 1: teams that are very much the same and you're going
Speaker 1: to have to just determine meeting the committee what you
Speaker 1: value most. But when Indiana got the win against Purdue
Speaker 1: and they got the second winning ast to Ohio State
Speaker 1: swept them, I feel like that made it to where
Speaker 1: they're above that group. And I mean, heck, they've got
Speaker 1: opportunities in the Big Ten tournament to where if they
Speaker 1: can go out and get some more wins. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know how much they'll jump, but I mean
Speaker 1: clearly they've got a situation where they can improve, they
Speaker 1: can improve their seating in this tournament. Louisville, on the
Speaker 1: other hand, a little bit of a different situation. We'll
Speaker 1: get to them a little in just a moment. But
Speaker 1: with Mike Woodson, he's on his way out. He's retiring.
Speaker 1: Clearly it was a forced thing. I give him credit
Speaker 1: for reading the room and not going about it the
Speaker 1: way a lot of people would. I mean, Kenny Payne
Speaker 1: could have gone on a lot.
Speaker 2: More gracefully than he did.
Speaker 1: But what's the temperature like with Woodson, Because you know, overall,
Speaker 1: big picture, regardless of what happens from now until he
Speaker 1: coaches his last game, which could be before too long, he.
Speaker 2: Did the right thing. I mean, he walked away, He
Speaker 2: didn't fight it. He did the right thing.
Speaker 1: And I feel like that is already starting to pay
Speaker 1: dividends for him because nobody's around here, at least that
Speaker 1: I've heard, claiming he should still be the coach after
Speaker 1: the year. But like there's been a different appreciation for
Speaker 1: him to finish strong like he has. He's won five
Speaker 1: of six to close out, like I kind of feel
Speaker 1: like given everything as far as just the facts, the results, right,
Speaker 1: his win loss record is what it is. But outside
Speaker 1: of that, I feel like this this exit has been
Speaker 1: graceful and I think that can go a long way
Speaker 1: for his legacy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, people have gone from booing him, and there was
Speaker 3: a lot of booing going on at certain points indly
Speaker 3: all this year, gone from that to really just rooting
Speaker 3: him on and hoping that he finishes the season as
Speaker 3: best as he can. I mean, I think when things
Speaker 3: kind of came full circle whenever they beat Purdue on
Speaker 3: it was it was one of the major anniversary of
Speaker 3: the of the Bob Knight chair throwing. You may or
Speaker 3: may not have seen this, but he had what was
Speaker 3: supposedly the exact chair that Bob Knight had thrown across
Speaker 3: the court and he was sitting in it that night,
Speaker 3: and then I think after the game that he had
Speaker 3: met and talked with some people on the court afterward,
Speaker 3: and things just kind of, you know, the dark cloud
Speaker 3: that Louisville was experiencing last year that Indiana was kind
Speaker 3: of dealing with at some certain points this year. I'm
Speaker 3: not trying to say that they are compared to clear
Speaker 3: the air. Yeah, like there was no reason to really,
Speaker 3: you know, there was no more question marks. Yeah, you knew,
Speaker 3: you knew that things were going to end. You just
Speaker 3: hope that things are going to be ending on a positive.
Speaker 1: There's some transparency about where things are headed.
Speaker 2: He's on his way out.
Speaker 1: There's going to be a new life in Indiana, and
Speaker 1: I think just because it's out there, everybody knows what's happening,
Speaker 1: and because of the way in which they've cleared the air,
Speaker 1: I just think you've got real No, you've had a
Speaker 1: year that should have been better than it was. Everybody
Speaker 1: knows that. That's why, that's why they're going to make
Speaker 1: a change. But like there's no toxicity within the program, No,
Speaker 1: despite it coming to an end in him kind of
Speaker 1: having to be nudged out, which again that's there.
Speaker 3: This isn't even a realistic conversation, But there's been people
Speaker 3: who have thrown out like, what if Woodson takes him
Speaker 3: on a deep run in the tournament, would they end
Speaker 3: up changing their minds on certain things? And I don't.
Speaker 3: I don't think in any way, shape or form that
Speaker 3: would ever happen. But the fact that people are even
Speaker 3: having that conversation right now shows that people have already
Speaker 3: kind of shifted away from all of the negativity that all.
Speaker 1: Things considered, as you enter postseason play, you're gonna get
Speaker 1: in the tournament. I mean, I really think given the
Speaker 1: certain giving what we know, what is happening, I'm not
Speaker 1: sure it could be in the moment at a better
Speaker 1: spot because again, it's not like he's bitter. I mean,
Speaker 1: he might be, but he's not showing it a whole lot.
Speaker 1: You know, that game against Perdue, there must have been
Speaker 1: some magic on that chair, because the second half against
Speaker 1: Purdue in that game, like that's when everything just changed
Speaker 1: for them. I mean, they did end up losing at Oregon,
Speaker 1: but that's not a bad loss, and that's that was.
Speaker 3: All chance to avenge it. Yeah, exactly Thursday.
Speaker 1: So what do you make of the Louisville basketball season
Speaker 1: thus far? Because you know, you and I went through
Speaker 1: I mean, basically, you were my support system during the
Speaker 1: dark days, right, the awful era that was the Kenny
Speaker 1: Payne era. It was like a funeral for Louislle basketball
Speaker 1: every day on this show, and it sucked. But you know,
Speaker 1: it's part of the gig, and that seems like it
Speaker 1: was ten years ago because of how different things are
Speaker 1: just a year later. But as you've sat back and
Speaker 1: watched Louisville put together a good season, their seed probably
Speaker 1: not going to be great by any means. Clearly, they
Speaker 1: didn't beat many good teams and they had opportunities. However,
Speaker 1: the ACC just didn't give him many chances in league
Speaker 1: play to really go out and boost their resume, but
Speaker 1: nonetheless finish the regular season twenty five and six. I mean,
Speaker 1: if I would have given you, let's just say we
Speaker 1: knew the ACC was gonna stink because it wasn't great
Speaker 1: last year either. This has been a gradual decline as
Speaker 1: far as what the league is overall, top to bottom.
Speaker 1: But if I would have thrown at you, Pat Kelsey,
Speaker 1: ACC coach of the year twenty five and six safely
Speaker 1: in the tournament regardless of the seed, top fifteen in
Speaker 1: the AP pole and the coaches pull to finish out
Speaker 1: the season top twenty five, Ken palm Net like, if
Speaker 1: I'd have said that to you in the summer after
Speaker 1: we knew the roster, like, nobody would believe that.
Speaker 3: Right, No, they would have said a plus season. Again,
Speaker 3: you mentioned throwing out how weak or strong the a
Speaker 3: SEC actually is. Nobody from any standpoint, thought Pat Kelsey
Speaker 3: would have been able to do what he's been able
Speaker 3: to do. He took a team that was nothing. When
Speaker 3: I say nothing, there was nobody on this roster that
Speaker 3: was on the roster last year, found a way to
Speaker 3: make them fit the system he wanted to run. And
Speaker 3: I think as far as just making things mesh and
Speaker 3: then finding ways to win, there's not a single coach
Speaker 3: in college basketball, especially at a first year job right
Speaker 3: now that has done a better job than Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 3: And I love the way that it feels like Louisville
Speaker 3: basketball fans are happy again and they're not We're a
Speaker 3: lot from my perspective back from the dead. They're not obnoxious.
Speaker 3: And I had to deal with the thirty point loss
Speaker 3: in the Battle for Atlantis back November, and that was
Speaker 3: one of the low points for me for sure as
Speaker 3: an Indiana fan. But it's still it's still I think
Speaker 3: Pat Kelsey is a very likable guy. Yes, it's mad.
Speaker 3: It's made it easy to root for Louisville from an
Speaker 3: outsider's perspective.
Speaker 1: That's I'm glad to hear you say that, because you
Speaker 1: can provide a perspective someone who does. You know, you're
Speaker 1: around it a lot. You know a lot of Louisville fans.
Speaker 1: You work in this market, but you're obviously not a
Speaker 1: Louisville fan yourself, so you've got a real objective view
Speaker 1: of it. But also you know you're not that much
Speaker 1: of an outsider because again, you're around Yeah, but I
Speaker 1: think you know his guys are a reflection of him.
Speaker 1: I think you know, the not making excuses next man up,
Speaker 1: not feeling sorry for yourself I mean, he's a great,
Speaker 1: great leader and a great salesman really because whatever he's selling,
Speaker 1: these guys, they they've bought it. They're all in as
Speaker 1: far as just embracing what he wants to do, the
Speaker 1: culture that he wants to have within the program. But
Speaker 1: I think in a way two things. I think it's
Speaker 1: also kind of rubbed off a little bit on the fans.
Speaker 1: But also I think Louisville just being so back from
Speaker 1: you know, who knows how far they go in the tournament,
Speaker 1: if they even win a game in the tournament. It's
Speaker 1: tough to say, but we were dead for two years, lifeless,
Speaker 1: there's really I mean, it was just the same thing.
Speaker 1: Every game you knew you weren't gonna win most likely,
Speaker 1: and if you did, it probably didn't mean much of anything.
Speaker 1: So I think Louisville fans, this has been a real
Speaker 1: and I've struggled to really put into words what I
Speaker 1: mean when I say this, but this has been the
Speaker 1: ultimate season that you'll never be able to recreate. Not
Speaker 1: because like you won't be able to have the same
Speaker 1: win win loss record, not because you won't be able
Speaker 1: to finish second in the ACC but you've had an
Speaker 1: ability as a Louisville fan this year to find appreciation
Speaker 1: for things that you only appreciate because of the circumstance,
Speaker 1: because of what had happened previously.
Speaker 2: Like I think Louisville fans in.
Speaker 1: Any other year would be really obnoxious and insufferable about
Speaker 1: their seed, right, you.
Speaker 2: Know what I mean.
Speaker 1: But we're so caught up in the moment and just
Speaker 1: riding this wave of like can you believe this is
Speaker 1: this real? Or we back Chuckie?
Speaker 2: Hepburn.
Speaker 1: This guy's phenomenal, one of the best guards ever played here.
Speaker 1: He only played one year, but man, he's great. Pat Kelcey, man,
Speaker 1: this guy, he's gonna have these guys ready to play
Speaker 1: to where we're kind of just in our own world
Speaker 1: to an extent, Like it was kind of like an
Speaker 1: album experience to see Duke, their fan base and their
Speaker 1: program in general be so bothered by Pat Kelcey winning
Speaker 1: Coach of the Year and by Chucky winning Defensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year, because you know, it kind of is like, Wow,
Speaker 1: I guess they are kind of jealous. Not that they're
Speaker 1: a better team, clearly, and I think Louisville have a
Speaker 1: tough time if they played them again, but it's just
Speaker 1: I think this has been a special year in a
Speaker 1: way that we'll remember meeting Louisville fans for a long
Speaker 1: long time. But the way in which you've been able
Speaker 1: to kind of just be in the moment and appreciate
Speaker 1: little things. If we get back to where we think
Speaker 1: we belong, you should still appreciate it. But the human
Speaker 1: elements a powerful thing. To where beaten somebody by twenty
Speaker 1: in November, it's just going to be like what you're
Speaker 1: supposed to do, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Like you mentioned, you know the honeymoon period with
Speaker 3: all of this, and you relate the seeding and all
Speaker 3: that sort of thing. If Louisville were to with the
Speaker 3: season that they're having be rewarded with something like an
Speaker 3: eight seed where you have to play one of the
Speaker 3: top teams in the country and the second round, it
Speaker 3: feels like there's no reward for everything that's happened. And
Speaker 3: I know that the ACC's probably as down as it's
Speaker 3: ever been, But when you're looking at trying to validate
Speaker 3: your season, I think that's what you do with March
Speaker 3: in the NCAA Tournament. You want to be able to
Speaker 3: have that chance to make a deep run and I
Speaker 3: mean not saying Louislle will get an eight s, but
Speaker 3: it'll make it a lot more difficult to really kind
Speaker 3: of see where you stand in that sort of thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the matchups in the second round, which look,
Speaker 1: they could lose in the first round, even if there're
Speaker 1: a seventh seed or a sixth seed, just because you
Speaker 1: just don't you just don't know. I mean one thing
Speaker 1: that is crazy to say, but it's the truth. And
Speaker 1: I don't say it as a criticism. A lot of
Speaker 1: Louisville fans, I think sometimes hear me as if I'm
Speaker 1: like criticizing the team.
Speaker 2: I'm not.
Speaker 1: I'm just stating a fact. Whoever Louisville plays, if they're
Speaker 1: anywhere between a six to a nine, whoever that first
Speaker 1: opponent is, is going to be substantially better than everybody
Speaker 1: you've played from January on other than Clemson.
Speaker 2: Like that's just that's that's the position.
Speaker 1: So again, I would feel, you know, if they're not
Speaker 1: if they're against New Mexico in the eight to nine game,
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like they would be they'd be
Speaker 1: able to win, but I also would have to realize, Yeah,
Speaker 1: New Mexico would probably be the fourth fifth place team
Speaker 1: in the AEC because that's how bad Lee is.
Speaker 3: It's odd to me to even see. I was looking
Speaker 3: at the different like the conference numbers that were in
Speaker 3: the projected fields the other day, and the Mountain West
Speaker 3: being on the same level as the ACC just really
Speaker 3: puts into perspective how far the ACC has fallen from me.
Speaker 3: I mean, they're what five six years removed from being
Speaker 3: the best conference without a doubt in college basketball, and
Speaker 3: this is where things have gone. It's very, very puzzling.
Speaker 1: It is wild, and it really starts with coaching. And
Speaker 1: there's going to be some changes made. Already two HighRes
Speaker 1: have been made, and I don't like either of those,
Speaker 1: just because I feel like the direction both Miami and
Speaker 1: Florida State decided to go. There's just not a whole
Speaker 1: The risk is not worth it given the new world
Speaker 1: we're in, which so.
Speaker 2: That actually gives me a chance.
Speaker 1: If you could hang out for a few we'll talk
Speaker 1: about this on the other side. We'll do another segment
Speaker 1: here because I want to get your thoughts on the
Speaker 1: Indiana coaching search itself. But yeah, the ACC, it's else.
Speaker 1: They need some new blood, some new coaches. And although
Speaker 1: I don't love what I've seen so far from Miami
Speaker 1: and Florida State.
Speaker 2: Maybe it works out.
Speaker 1: But if in C State is apparently going to hire
Speaker 1: the gay they're talking about, which we'll get to that later,
Speaker 1: that could be. That could be a positive to where
Speaker 1: you know, n C State starts to become successful and
Speaker 1: that helps the league.
Speaker 2: But let's take a quick break. We're way too late
Speaker 2: for it. Stick around. It's Coffee and Company.
Speaker 1: We've got the company man back hanging out with us,
Speaker 1: taking you up till six o'clock right here on Sports
Speaker 1: Talk seven ninety. That's right, Coffee and Company. Field by
Speaker 1: Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Thanks for hanging
Speaker 1: out with us. Some quick updates for you when it
Speaker 1: comes to college basketball games going on right now. Conference
Speaker 1: tournaments in full swing. You've got West Virginia up forty
Speaker 1: four to thirty five over Colorado. Not sure if you
Speaker 1: care about that, and if you don't, I get it. However,
Speaker 1: West Virginia, the better they do here staying above, you know,
Speaker 1: staying in the top fifty. If they can get to
Speaker 1: the top fift down they're not even sure where they are,
Speaker 1: but that would be good for Louisville, also Northwestern on
Speaker 1: Minnesota at the half in the Big Ten tournament, Texas
Speaker 1: up twenty seven to nineteen over Vandy in the SEC tournament,
Speaker 1: and then we do have some games that have now concluded.
Speaker 1: Carolina no trouble with Notre Dame. They won seventy six
Speaker 1: to fifty six, and I believe that's about it as
Speaker 1: far as those the games that have concluded. We did
Speaker 1: talk earlier about Arkansas South Carolina. That one's also over
Speaker 1: seventy two to sixty eight. But the company man, mister
Speaker 1: John Alden is back with us. Always good to catch
Speaker 1: up with him. Glad to have him back in and
Speaker 1: we talked at a lot of hoops in the first
Speaker 1: segment here, but definitely want to do to continue the
Speaker 1: conversation and talk a little bit about.
Speaker 2: The Indiana job.
Speaker 1: For this to be such a big job and such
Speaker 1: a monumental hire, I don't feel like it's been discussed
Speaker 1: as much as I would have expected, like nationally. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's because obviously you realize they're going to go after
Speaker 1: somebody probably who's still active in coaching, to where you
Speaker 1: really aren't going to do a lot of the legwork
Speaker 1: in this search until a little bit down the line,
Speaker 1: But who are some name like, who are the give
Speaker 1: me three names that you feel like if you had
Speaker 1: if you had to, you know, you had to make
Speaker 1: a big wager it was gonna be one of these
Speaker 1: three people. Who would you say?
Speaker 3: Okay, right now, I'd put Ben McCollum at the top.
Speaker 3: I probably wouldn't have said that a few weeks ago,
Speaker 3: but be the perfect higher by the way, And I'm
Speaker 3: a big Ben McCollum guy. And it's funny if that's
Speaker 3: somebody that our our friend Jerry who calls the show,
Speaker 3: was mentioning a whole lot last year during Louisville's coaching search.
Speaker 3: And he's somebody at the currently the top of my
Speaker 3: list for Indiana. I think Mick Cronin somebody who's not
Speaker 3: at the top of my list, but somebody that people
Speaker 3: have thrown out a bunch. I think he's kind of
Speaker 3: wanting to get out of UCLA, and I think Indiana
Speaker 3: might be a good landing spot for him if he's something,
Speaker 3: if he's someone who actually desires to get away from
Speaker 3: the Bruins. And then also Brad Brownell from Clemson. I
Speaker 3: don't know why his name has come up recently. I
Speaker 3: guess maybe he's going down to the ACT too, and
Speaker 3: it's I just to me, that would be a really
Speaker 3: really it'd be underwhelming for me.
Speaker 1: Yes, And it's not to say that he wouldn't be
Speaker 1: able to succeed, because let's be honest, Clemson's on a
Speaker 1: roll right now, but they've also done it in the
Speaker 1: two years where the league's been terrible, and he's Brad
Speaker 1: Monroe's been at Clemson for so long.
Speaker 2: I don't believe this is like a he broke through.
Speaker 1: He finally got it. I kind of feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: the ceiling is not that high for him at Clemson
Speaker 1: for that matter. Therefore, I just think that would be
Speaker 1: a really flat higher. You never know how any higher
Speaker 1: is going to work out, but I just think, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's I'm fascinated with coaching hires in general, but
Speaker 1: McCollum is the guy that he's proven he is a
Speaker 1: winning formula, and for.
Speaker 3: Me, it's been it's kind of become cliche for me
Speaker 3: to say because I've said it so much now, he's
Speaker 3: he's the Kurt Signetti of college basketball right now. He's
Speaker 3: done so much at the lower levels Division two where
Speaker 3: nobody really cared what you were doing or how much
Speaker 3: you were doing. And now he comes up to drake him.
Speaker 3: One year, he's got him to thirty wins and won
Speaker 3: the Missouri Valley regular season and conference title or tournament title.
Speaker 3: And I just the one the one thing that worries
Speaker 3: not only me, but Indiana fans in general is that
Speaker 3: he plays a very very very slow style that is
Speaker 3: reminiscent of Archie Miller. But in this day and age,
Speaker 3: where you can get the guys that you want to
Speaker 3: build that way, where it's a lot easier to do
Speaker 3: with nil and you can kind of piece things together
Speaker 3: like the way Pat Kelsey has, I think it makes
Speaker 3: it a lot easier to have success playing that way,
Speaker 3: whereas Archie Miller had to do it whenever you're just
Speaker 3: traditionally recruiting guys out of high school.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I find myself obviously looking at what
Speaker 1: Louisville was able to do with hiring a guy like
Speaker 1: Pat Kelsey with his background, his path, and I'm just thinking,
Speaker 1: why doesn't everybody do that? Well, Pat Kelsey's don't grow
Speaker 1: on trees. You could you could go get a guy
Speaker 1: that's been at a lower level and had success, and
Speaker 1: you just never know how any high is going to
Speaker 1: work out. But to me, with money being such a
Speaker 1: factor in how you maintain players, now, I just think
Speaker 1: if Indiana goes and gets a guy who has proven
Speaker 1: at different levels he can win, and McCullum is that
Speaker 1: guy D two obviously, and then then a phenomenal job
Speaker 1: basically brought the same team with him from the Division
Speaker 1: two level to Drake. I just feel like Indiana has
Speaker 1: everything built in for a coach to succeed. They always have,
Speaker 1: especially now in the new world they do. They've got money,
Speaker 1: they've got resources. The roster Mike Woodson has this year
Speaker 1: is a very expensive roster, so just get if you
Speaker 1: can bring in a guy who you know has a
Speaker 1: winning formula, can get guys to buy in, has proven that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I just think that's such a safer route
Speaker 1: to go now because these larger than life personalities, like
Speaker 1: these big recruiters like cool, But I don't really know
Speaker 1: if there's a whole lot of value in a guy
Speaker 1: that can recruit out of high school. Right now, you
Speaker 1: still want to be able to get young players, but
Speaker 1: you got to be able to not only get young talent,
Speaker 1: you need to get transfers out of the portal. You've
Speaker 1: got to be able to manage the locker room and
Speaker 1: get those guys like they've got to believe in you.
Speaker 1: There's got to be a a I mean, you got
Speaker 1: to know x's and o's, and I would say, if
Speaker 1: you're winning at a lower level, clearly you know the game.
Speaker 2: But I just I don't know.
Speaker 1: To me, there's some names out there, not just for
Speaker 1: Indiana that I'm just thinking, like, you know what, that
Speaker 1: wouldn't be like to me, Mick Cronin. McK cronin's a
Speaker 1: fine coach, but I just don't know why that. I
Speaker 1: just think the timing with Indiana and the timing before
Speaker 1: we are in college basketball, I just feel like that
Speaker 1: would be I mean, it'd be a splash. But I
Speaker 1: could see Mick Cronin having the same type of run
Speaker 1: that Mike Woodson.
Speaker 3: And that's the thing I've told people a few different times,
Speaker 3: and maybe I would be dead wrong about this, but
Speaker 3: it worries me that Mick Cronin's already had his peak
Speaker 3: as a head coach. And I know he's he's not old.
Speaker 3: He's like in his mid fifties or whatever. It may
Speaker 3: be so he still has plenty of years of coaching
Speaker 3: and left. But will his will what he wants to do,
Speaker 3: can he can he get it done at a bigger
Speaker 3: place like Indian. Now, I guess when it comes to
Speaker 3: tradition and I guess really none of that stuff matters anymore.
Speaker 3: But ucl in Indiana kind of on that same level,
Speaker 3: there are a bunch of has beens. They haven't really
Speaker 3: done anything of significance in a while, other than Mick
Speaker 3: Cronin's UCLA Final four run of course, which that that
Speaker 3: came from from Dayton, Right, didn't he come out of
Speaker 3: the first four.
Speaker 2: COVID year where like people it's a blur of people forget.
Speaker 3: So, yeah, that that kind of falls into the fluky
Speaker 3: final four category where you know, Dusty May kind of
Speaker 3: falls into. Now, he's had a great season in Michigan,
Speaker 3: and I know Dusty May's not gonna be Indian's head
Speaker 3: of coach. But it always worries me whenever people get
Speaker 3: super excited, as I know it does you when people
Speaker 3: get super excited about those who have one fluky final
Speaker 3: four rous.
Speaker 1: All people have to do is just go look at
Speaker 1: like just go back and look at guys who have
Speaker 1: been hired because of the one off type of run
Speaker 1: in the tournament, the vast majority of them have never
Speaker 1: gotten back to that and have had step up jobs
Speaker 1: and kind of shown that. Not to say it was
Speaker 1: a fluke, but it was an outlier. It wasn't something
Speaker 1: that was you know that was. But I've always defended
Speaker 1: Indiana's program when it comes to what they have to offer,
Speaker 1: because if you have a guy who can coach, can lead,
Speaker 1: knows the game, everything else within Indiana's built into where
Speaker 1: you should succeed. I mean, and it's it's really not anybody.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Kelvin Sampson situation is while to think
Speaker 1: about now how that all played out. But they just
Speaker 1: haven't got the hires right. I mean, Tom Creane different
Speaker 1: world at that time, and Tom Crean wasn't bad. It
Speaker 1: just kind of had run its course. Archie that was
Speaker 1: a bad hire. With Woodson, it just you know, he
Speaker 1: hasn't been good enough. It's not like it's been terrible.
Speaker 3: That's the weirdest thing. Like a lot of times, especially
Speaker 3: a big programs, you either fail or you have massives,
Speaker 3: massive success. Whereas Woodson all four seasons and I know
Speaker 3: he missed the tournament last year, but he's kind of
Speaker 3: always been in that, you know, eighteen nineteen, somewhere between
Speaker 3: eighteen and twenty two wins. It seems like where you're
Speaker 3: just kind of in no man's land for a long time,
Speaker 3: and you don't really know how to fully evaluate other
Speaker 3: than the fact that he's maybe the most mid coach
Speaker 3: of all time.
Speaker 1: For just being honest, yeah, I mean he there's really
Speaker 1: not been any I mean, one thing I'll say is
Speaker 1: that for the most part, it does feel like his
Speaker 1: guys have always still held some level of like they're
Speaker 1: going to work for him.
Speaker 3: Yes, the players love Mike pas and that.
Speaker 1: And that matters, but you know, Indiana is still a
Speaker 1: team that when I watched him in the second half
Speaker 1: against Purdue, obviously that was a different Indiana team than
Speaker 1: I've seen all year, but it was just a reminder that,
Speaker 1: you know, doing that again would be tough because, man,
Speaker 1: momentum was on their side.
Speaker 2: Assembly Hall was rocking. It was crazy.
Speaker 3: I was also a Purdue team that thing had lost
Speaker 3: like four or five in a row.
Speaker 2: At that point, but they were up in the half.
Speaker 1: I mean, they the way they blitzed them in the
Speaker 1: second half was impressive, but like seeing that was a
Speaker 1: reminder that you know what, like if if Indiana does
Speaker 1: get hot and go on a run and beat some
Speaker 1: good teams to maybe make the second weekend or something
Speaker 1: easier said than done. But if it would happen, I
Speaker 1: wouldn't claim that I was predicting it, but I also
Speaker 1: would say, yeah, look at the personnel. I mean, they've
Speaker 1: got some really good players that are I mean Ballow
Speaker 1: is a force. I mean, Malik renew is one of
Speaker 1: the best players in the Big ten. Which one of
Speaker 1: the two transfer guards has really played well lately?
Speaker 3: One of them, I feel like Louke Goody's become a
Speaker 3: really great I mean he's not your typical starter, but
Speaker 3: he gets hot from three point.
Speaker 1: There's two guards that transferred in the.
Speaker 3: Probably think of Miles Rice and Canaan Carlisle. Carlisle's gotten
Speaker 3: very quiet. Miles Rice has done well coming off the
Speaker 3: bench as Okay.
Speaker 1: That's who I'm thinking of that that has given them
Speaker 1: a good spark off the bench. So again, you know,
Speaker 1: you never know what you're gonna get with this Hoosier team,
Speaker 1: it seems like, but if they do in fact play well,
Speaker 1: it's not like they're they're you know, I don't think
Speaker 1: it's gonna be luck. I think it's because they've just
Speaker 1: got enough talent and it's finally kind of coming around
Speaker 1: for him. Which college basketball is a tricky bitch, if
Speaker 1: we're being honest, because Indiana's had a roller coaster this year.
Speaker 1: There's been some games where they got killed and you know,
Speaker 1: Louisville was one of those teams, and you just feel
Speaker 1: like this, this, this, this is this is terrible what's happened.
Speaker 1: But if they somehow like went on a run, none
Speaker 1: of that would matter exactly.
Speaker 3: It's funny. College basketball is weird. I mean, it's the
Speaker 3: only it's the only sport where you can have so
Speaker 3: many ups and downs and from the beginning you don't
Speaker 3: know where your season's going to end. It may be
Speaker 3: somewhere totally different than you would ever expect. And if
Speaker 3: you're an Indiana fan back in the Bahamas or watching
Speaker 3: the game in the Bahamas November in Indiana where to
Speaker 3: make it run to the second weekend, you'd be completely surprised,
Speaker 3: I feel.
Speaker 1: And you know, it wouldn't change anything for Woodson. I
Speaker 1: wouldn't imagine, however, it would It would change how people
Speaker 1: view the ending of his time. They would say, yes,
Speaker 1: here he is got some momentum on his way out
Speaker 1: to hand off to whoever the coach is. So again,
Speaker 1: I always end up betting on Indiana when I bet
Speaker 1: on Big Ten basketball, just because it I haven't always won.
Speaker 1: But like I also, I just know what the I
Speaker 1: know the pieces that they have. Therefore, if they do
Speaker 1: play well, like when they've when they've won but not
Speaker 1: covered or sometimes they've won big against some teams, like yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm you know, like where do they finish in the
Speaker 1: Big teen, Like what's their seed?
Speaker 3: I think they're not they're either eight or nine.
Speaker 1: Because yeah, right now in the Big Ten you've got
Speaker 1: at the top Michigan State by themselves, and then it's
Speaker 1: Maryland and Michigan and then Wisconsin and Purdue Ucla and
Speaker 1: then after that it's Illinois Oregon and then Indiana's right
Speaker 1: there behind them. So you know, right now they're ahead
Speaker 1: of Ohio State, they're a little bit behind Ucla.
Speaker 2: Well, if they played Ucla.
Speaker 1: And beat them by fifteen again, that would be an
Speaker 1: upset when it comes to point spreads, I would imagine,
Speaker 1: But like I can't say that I'd be shocked because again,
Speaker 1: you know, I've said it since they started building their roster.
Speaker 1: They went out and got some really good players, and
Speaker 1: it's just wild to think about it. If it all
Speaker 1: comes together at the perfect time, that's all anybody's gonna
Speaker 1: remember down the line, which is you know again, it's
Speaker 1: it's why college basketball is so tricky a right, real quick,
Speaker 1: speaking of the Big Ten, who do you feel like
Speaker 1: is you know, in the best position as we get
Speaker 1: to not only the Big Ten Tournament, but winter go
Speaker 1: home next week in the NAA Tournament, Because I feel
Speaker 1: like Michigan State has clearly it's weird.
Speaker 3: It's like Tom is teams of old. Tom Izzo hasn't
Speaker 3: had a team this good, and I think since maybe
Speaker 3: pre COVID maybe he had one.
Speaker 1: He is Anzo team in a weird way, right, Like
Speaker 1: he's went out and got a guy like these guys
Speaker 1: fit what he wants to do.
Speaker 3: His style very old school style too. And if if
Speaker 3: they get the right matchups, and I know they may
Speaker 3: or may not be a one seed, if they get
Speaker 3: the right matchups in the NCAA Tournament, they should very
Speaker 3: well find themselves in the final four.
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe it's just because they played against each other,
Speaker 1: and this league clearly is a lot better than when
Speaker 1: I got used to watching in the ACC. But like
Speaker 1: teams like Michigan and even Purdue, maybe Wisconsin, I just
Speaker 1: kind of feel like they they're they're not heading in
Speaker 1: the right direction as as as the regular season ends.
Speaker 1: But then there's a team like Maryland that I've watched
Speaker 1: up this year. I think Maryland's really good. Like Maryland's
Speaker 1: one of those teams that, again, nothing can really surprise you,
Speaker 1: but I think Kevin Willard has the pieces to where
Speaker 1: if they're an Elite eight team, I'm not going to
Speaker 1: be shocked. Like I've watched them play at times and
Speaker 1: I'm like, they've got They're not loaded as far as depth,
Speaker 1: but they've got a seven man rotation that I feel
Speaker 1: like I wouldn't want to see him in the tournament.
Speaker 3: I think with the Big Ten in general outside of
Speaker 3: Michigan State, well you can kind of collectively say about
Speaker 3: every other team in there, especially those that will be
Speaker 3: in the tournaments, that they're inconsistent. You really never know
Speaker 3: who's going to play their best on which night, and
Speaker 3: if you get him on an off night, you can
Speaker 3: beat them if you if you're both playing your best game,
Speaker 3: it'll be one of the better games you watch in
Speaker 3: that you know, for that particular night or whatever it
Speaker 3: may be. So it's very very weird Big ten this year,
Speaker 3: and outside of Michigan State, it could be. It's kind
Speaker 3: of a wild card to me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I as far as imagining who's in
Speaker 1: the championship game of this, it could be of a
Speaker 1: I mean, I would expect Michigan State to be there
Speaker 1: just because they've looked that good, but like there's like
Speaker 1: eight nine other teams that I wouldn't be shocked if
Speaker 1: they end up in that championship game on Sunday. All right,
Speaker 1: last question for you, I think you kind of answered it.
Speaker 1: But if you're making the decision you're hiring Indiana's next
Speaker 1: head coach, who is it?
Speaker 3: It's been mccollo what I thought. You want to make
Speaker 3: sure we're talking realistic Canady. I think previously i'd mentioned
Speaker 3: Chris Beard. I think that ship sailed a while back,
Speaker 3: but at this point in time, definitely, Ben McCollum.
Speaker 1: Well, John, as always, it's great to catch up with you,
Speaker 1: and I'm glad to stop.
Speaker 2: I can't wait for you to be a dad.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're gonna be getting even less sleep than you
Speaker 1: already do now with your early wake up call. But
Speaker 1: it'll all be worth it. It'll all be worth it. So thanks, brother,
Speaker 1: appreciate it.
Speaker 2: All right, let's take a quick time out.
Speaker 1: We'll come back wrap at the four o'clock hour right
Speaker 1: here on Sports Talk seven ninety All right, coming up
Speaker 1: here at five o'clock when we get the five o'clock
Speaker 1: hour started, it'll be a little bit after five o'clock,
Speaker 1: in fact, closer to five oh five. We're gonna bring
Speaker 1: in mister kent Spencer from WHAS eleven. Looking forward to
Speaker 1: catching up with him as he's on the road heading
Speaker 1: to Charlotte for the ACC tournament. Not just we're not
Speaker 1: just gonna talk about the A SEC tournament. We'll also
Speaker 1: talk about you know, Kentucky's SEC tournament, which starts tomorrow
Speaker 1: as well, if you missed it earlier. I don't think
Speaker 1: Kentucky can really go much higher than they are, and
Speaker 1: I don't think they can go much lower than they are.
Speaker 1: I really feel like, no matter what happens in the
Speaker 1: SEC tournament, the teams that are on the one in
Speaker 1: two line are are safe, and there's nothing that could
Speaker 1: be done for them to not be a one or two,
Speaker 1: whereas can Entucky. They really can't fall because their resume
Speaker 1: is already so valuable. And yes, maybe if they do
Speaker 1: get to I mean, if they won the SEC tournament,
Speaker 1: it'd be hard to not see them jumping ahead of
Speaker 1: a three. But there's only two spots you can go.
Speaker 1: And again, Kentucky doing that, would that make them a
Speaker 1: more worthy one or two seed compared to the other
Speaker 1: eight that I feel like they've already got.
Speaker 2: It locked down. So we can we'll talk. You can't
Speaker 2: come up prety shortly. Also, before we get to the
Speaker 2: top of the hour.
Speaker 1: Don't need to let you guys know about my friends
Speaker 1: over the Louisville Men's Clinic, because they can help you
Speaker 1: fellas when it comes to being happier, healthier. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of different services they provide that you probably don't
Speaker 1: even know about. And then what I mean is that
Speaker 1: I'm sure you've heard of lotestostrone. You've probably you're well
Speaker 1: aware of what direct tile dysfunction is, weight loss therapy,
Speaker 1: hair restoration. They can help you with joint pain Perone's disease.
Speaker 1: So if you knew what all these issues are that
Speaker 1: they help many men. In fact, they've helped thousands of
Speaker 1: men in the local area, the Kentucky and area, I
Speaker 1: should say, for over ten years, because they're great at
Speaker 1: what they do.
Speaker 2: So if you, if you.
Speaker 1: Really just took some time to go to go see you,
Speaker 1: maybe give them a call, have a consultation, go see
Speaker 1: doctor Wood, you may learn about low T or Pironi's
Speaker 1: disease and realize, okay, I think I may have that.
Speaker 1: As men, we just get so caught up and just
Speaker 1: being tough, this very hard exterior to where there's nothing
Speaker 1: wrong with us, We're okay, and these kind of things,
Speaker 1: especially when it comes to rectatis function, maybe even ED.
Speaker 1: You probably are in denial, and you know, I get it.
Speaker 1: It's some an uncomfortable thing. But more than fifty percent
Speaker 1: of men over fifty deal with ED, so it's very common.
Speaker 1: There's nothing you did wrong. You're not a weak man.
Speaker 1: And if you know you've got folks that can help you,
Speaker 1: and they're great at that, they're passionate about helping you
Speaker 1: when it comes to these kind of things, why would
Speaker 1: you not take advantage of what they can do for you?
Speaker 1: So Lola Men's Clinic dot com is the website. FABO
Speaker 1: two four four four four thousand is the number. All right,
Speaker 1: not to pile on the ACC, but this was hilarious.
Speaker 1: I mean, all you can do is laugh at this point,
Speaker 1: because one, it is kind of funny, but it also
Speaker 1: just is a sign as to where the ACC is
Speaker 1: as a hoops conference. So Virginia Tech lost yesterday to California,
Speaker 1: ending their season. I don't know why Virginia Tech's not
Speaker 1: making a move from Mike Young. I just think it's
Speaker 1: not even that he gave you a fireable season.
Speaker 2: Which you could make the case that he did.
Speaker 1: But I think the quick trigger to move on from
Speaker 1: certain coaches is understandably growing, because when you know, you know,
Speaker 1: and you don't have to be patient anymore.
Speaker 2: Right, you can go flip the roster every year if
Speaker 2: you want it. I don't know why you'd want to
Speaker 2: do that.
Speaker 1: You'd like to have some continuity, right, But I mean,
Speaker 1: you think Mike Young is the guy that's going to
Speaker 1: ride Virginia Tech out of the dumps of the the
Speaker 1: ACC in this new world where the portal is it
Speaker 1: really matters, and like to be Virginia Tech's the kind
Speaker 1: of job right now that go hire a young, hungry
Speaker 1: coach that has been able to succeed in the new
Speaker 1: climate at a level and he's energetic. He's coming to
Speaker 1: Virginia Tech to show Hey, yeah, I've been doing it
Speaker 1: in the uh, you know, in the A ten, but
Speaker 1: man in the ACC, I'm gonna bring this same winning
Speaker 1: formula and we're gonna win. Like Mike Young's not a
Speaker 1: bad coach, but like it just seems like it's run
Speaker 1: its course. But anyways, Virginia Tech, there's season's over and
Speaker 1: they've got a young man by the name of Toby
Speaker 1: la Wall who had the single greatest quote I think
Speaker 1: I've ever seen that is really the truth, but also,
Speaker 1: you know, probably something you should just keep internally. But
Speaker 1: after the loss, this young man who by the way,
Speaker 1: averaged twelve and a half points per game, seven rebounds
Speaker 1: per game in his first season in Blacksburg, I mean,
Speaker 1: you really can't. You can't make this stuff up. But
Speaker 1: he was asked about, let me see if I can
Speaker 1: pull it up here. He was asked about, you know,
Speaker 1: sort of the season, you know, being a being one
Speaker 1: that was you know, underwhelming, and what he had to say,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna see if I actually have any sound here.
Speaker 1: I don't know if there's any sound there probably isn't,
Speaker 1: but I think that.
Speaker 2: Would be better.
Speaker 1: It would be better if we could hear it rather
Speaker 1: than just read it. But either way, I think it'll
Speaker 1: still it'll still it'll still make sense. But when asked
Speaker 1: about Virginia Tech this year, he mentioned that they exceeded expectations, which, again,
Speaker 1: that's a wild place to be. I know, Virginia Tech's
Speaker 1: not Duke or Caroline or even Louis of that matter.
Speaker 1: But to finish the season on the day of shame
Speaker 1: where you finished thirteen and nineteen, in fact, I'm sorry
Speaker 1: thirteen and twenty overall, to then say that you exceeded expectations,
Speaker 1: that's a sad place to be and you should never
Speaker 1: acknowledge that expectations are there, even if they are. But
Speaker 1: this is what this young man had to say when
Speaker 1: asked about it. They thought we were going to be
Speaker 1: ass I mean, we were still ass, but you know,
Speaker 1: we weren't that bad. Like what a world we live
Speaker 1: in where acc basketball programs can be.
Speaker 2: Well aware of where the league is.
Speaker 1: You could be one of the worst teams in said
Speaker 1: league and still feel like the like it just speaks
Speaker 1: to the didn't you know this is just one player,
Speaker 1: But like that's what really stood out to me.
Speaker 2: Not to go overboard here, but I couldn't believe.
Speaker 1: When I was in a when I was in Charlotte
Speaker 1: for the ASCY Basketball Media Days, that nobody was like
Speaker 1: acknowledging that the league needed to really get some new
Speaker 1: life and get back on track. They acted like everything
Speaker 1: was fine, and I'm like, geez, like, I mean, nothing
Speaker 1: you can do about it at media day. But let's
Speaker 1: not be let's not be delusional here, all right.
Speaker 2: Quick Break, We've got another hour to go.
Speaker 1: We'll finish strong, get you updated on all the scores
Speaker 1: because we've got basketball overload right now, and I'm loving it.
Speaker 2: I'm loving it, all.
Speaker 1: Right, quick Break, keep blocked your five o'clock hours. Next
Speaker 1: on Sports Talk seven ninety