Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine days.
Speaker 2: Now, here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Sports Talk seven ninety. I'm Scott Fitzgerald
Speaker 1: filling in for the next couple of days for the
Speaker 1: vacationing Nick Coffee, who is taking.
Speaker 2: A well deserved two days off. Bind you.
Speaker 1: I don't think people understand just how hard this man works,
Speaker 1: and so when he takes some time off, well, it's
Speaker 1: great to see him be able to step aside and
Speaker 1: get away. It is so hard to believe, but it
Speaker 1: is time again for Kentucky State high school football and
Speaker 1: it won't be long in.
Speaker 2: Friday night lights will be a thing.
Speaker 1: And we've got the one man, the authority with Kentucky
Speaker 1: Prep Gridiron dot Com. He is Fletcher Longie's back for
Speaker 1: a second season with us. How are you, brother man?
Speaker 3: I am doing great, Scott, and I got a little
Speaker 3: announcement if you'll indulge me, please do so. I'm also
Speaker 3: repping Prep Red Zone, so wow, I've joined the folks
Speaker 3: at Prep Red Zone and I'm still doing Kentucky Prep
Speaker 3: Gridiron and most of my middle school content, if not
Speaker 3: all of it, will be over on Prep Red Zone next. Okay,
Speaker 3: but I want to give a shout out to al
Speaker 3: Papadines and Jake Lemming, my and my new crew at
Speaker 3: the Prep Red Zone. So what this makes me really
Speaker 3: is a football monopoly you're talking to. You're talking to
Speaker 3: a middle and high school football monopoly. You can't really
Speaker 3: monetize such a concept, but it does exist right well.
Speaker 1: And the important thing here, Fletcher, to document is why
Speaker 1: if you really want to fall high school football as
Speaker 1: big as it's getting, you've got to start at the
Speaker 1: younger levels because players are getting younger and younger now
Speaker 1: and they're starting to form relationships now, and those relationships.
Speaker 2: Turn into bigger relationships, et cetera. And we move on.
Speaker 2: So good to hear, Fletch. Glad to hear your working
Speaker 2: through that.
Speaker 1: Fletcher and I of course ran down all last year,
Speaker 1: as we will again this year. Every Saturday we'll be
Speaker 1: out with the recap of what is the high school
Speaker 1: football week in Kentucky. So, Fletcher, in the limited time
Speaker 1: we have here, Buddy, we could probably talk for hours
Speaker 1: on this, but let's start right in.
Speaker 2: This is our season preview as.
Speaker 1: We look at what's ahead coming up in high school
Speaker 1: football around the entire comming wealth.
Speaker 2: Let's start in Class one and a what do you have, brother?
Speaker 3: Well, you know, it's hard to unseat the Pikeful Panthers.
Speaker 3: They're almost at Boyle County level, and that is they're
Speaker 3: gonna be our presumptive state champion till somebody beats them.
Speaker 3: But if there's a team that can beat them, a
Speaker 3: team that has more talent than even Pikeville has, you'd
Speaker 3: have to say that. You got to like Sayer High School.
Speaker 3: I mean, is it their time? They've got the best
Speaker 3: quarterback in the classification. This guy had a sixty seven
Speaker 3: percent completion rate in twenty three fifty touchdowns against zero picks,
Speaker 3: which I don't know how in the world that's even possible.
Speaker 3: They've got Charlie Slayball is probably gonna be incidentally, that
Speaker 3: guy's name is Pennington, Luke Pennington's quarterbacking. They got Charlie
Speaker 3: slay You know that shit sound familiar, right? They were
Speaker 3: Chad Pennington of NFL and Marshall Fame. They got Charlie
Speaker 3: slat Ball is going to carry the load on the
Speaker 3: ground this year. But I really I kind of like Sayer,
Speaker 3: you know, I you know, I picked. If you're reading
Speaker 3: my magazine, I picked Pikeful, and I don't like going
Speaker 3: with last year's champion. But there comes a time when
Speaker 3: it just gets ridiculous and you have to say, Okay,
Speaker 3: you know, I'm going with last year's champion until somebody
Speaker 3: shows me that they can beat last year's champion. And
Speaker 3: you know, but anyway, I don't like going with last
Speaker 3: year's champion, but I picked Pikeful. But I'm telling you
Speaker 3: Sayer could win one.
Speaker 2: A wow, all right, Fletcher Long joining us in.
Speaker 1: Fletcher is the guru, the okay so grande, the big
Speaker 1: cheese when it comes to high school football in Kentucky.
Speaker 1: He's web His website is Kentucky Prep Gridiron dot com.
Speaker 1: And again he's also with Prep red Zone in Prep
Speaker 1: red Zone?
Speaker 2: Is that right, Fletch? Do I get that right?
Speaker 3: That's right? Yeah, it's Prep red Zone. I think I'm
Speaker 3: with the next. I think I'm with Prep reads on Next,
Speaker 3: but it's all prepreds on Baby.
Speaker 1: I got you, brother, Okay, perfect, perfect, Well, Fletch and
Speaker 1: I will be breaking down the high school football week
Speaker 1: that was throughout the season, and you can follow along.
Speaker 1: You either follow Fletch on actions. You can follow me
Speaker 1: on next whomever, but get connected with Fletch. He'll take
Speaker 1: you where you need to be. Okay, Fletch. As we
Speaker 1: preview the upcoming season, let's move over to class to
Speaker 1: a Mayfield where you're state champions last year after they
Speaker 1: beat Owensboro Catholic a very high scoring affair fifty three
Speaker 1: to forty eight.
Speaker 2: How does Class two a shake out this year?
Speaker 3: Well, nobody's going to be surprised. Everybody knows that I'm
Speaker 3: a big fan of Owensboro Catholic. You know, Mayfield lost
Speaker 3: their coach in the offseason, Joe Morris retired. They lost
Speaker 3: about every line of production that they could put on
Speaker 3: a football field. I like Owensboro Kathla to win it.
Speaker 3: I mean they got Brady atwell Back at quarterback. He
Speaker 3: completed nearly seventy percent of his passing attempt for nearly
Speaker 3: five thousand yards and sixty eight touchdowns. He was also
Speaker 3: the leaguing rusher with six hundred and ninety five yards
Speaker 3: and seventeen Russian touchdowns. Hecky had ten tackles and a
Speaker 3: tackle for loss on defense. You talk about your do
Speaker 3: it all guy, Vince Karko's back he had one hundred
Speaker 3: and ninety seven tackles a year ago. They got their
Speaker 3: placekicker back. Always look at the place kicker. That's Uncle
Speaker 3: Fletcher's tip of the day because that's sixty eight made
Speaker 3: pats in a field goal. That's seventy one points. It's
Speaker 3: hard to you know, when you lose seventy one points,
Speaker 3: you know. So they got their placekicker back. You know,
Speaker 3: they lost William. They lost William Carrico, he graduated, but
Speaker 3: they got Darien Crowe coming over from Owensboro Senior High.
Speaker 3: I can comment on this transfer because he's been cleared
Speaker 3: for play. This guy has a four to six five
Speaker 3: second forty yard dash in a three seven grade point average,
Speaker 3: and he's already committed. It looks like that he committed
Speaker 3: to I think it's an FCS school, but it looks
Speaker 3: like that he's he already committed to Illinois State. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I think they're State. They could be FBS, but but
Speaker 3: their division one. So I mean, I like the aces Man.
Speaker 3: They got a great coaching staff, but I also like Beechwood.
Speaker 3: You know, Clay Hayden's back and he completed seventy three
Speaker 3: percent of his passing attempts. At forty eight touchdowns. Chase
Speaker 3: flowerty is back at running back, you know. And they
Speaker 3: got Tyler Freeman, who's probably one of the best twenty
Speaker 3: seven white outs in Kentucky's twenty seven class. He had
Speaker 3: forty seven receptions and one thousand yards receiving and ten touchdowns,
Speaker 3: was the third leading scorer, and he was a freshman
Speaker 3: last year. He was just a frosh. You know. They
Speaker 3: got Larr Coulson back at placekicker. This Uncle Fletcher's tip
Speaker 3: of the day. This guy scored eighty one pats and
Speaker 3: was three for five on field goals. Was their fourth
Speaker 3: leading scorer. So they lost Xavier Campbell and Talon Lender
Speaker 3: and Noah Rash. Of course, their legendary coach retired before
Speaker 3: last year. So I mean I like them. I like
Speaker 3: LCA two. They've got the best offensive line, you know,
Speaker 3: in the game. They've got out of their five slots,
Speaker 3: they've got four of them holding multiple D one offers.
Speaker 3: You got Hayes Preston's headed to Air Force. Jake Darby
Speaker 3: I think is gonna go to West Point. He was
Speaker 3: their player of the year at their camp this past summer.
Speaker 3: You've got Trey Forod Thomas headed the Navy, and Brooks
Speaker 3: Kerwin has been offered by E Ku and U. T. Martin,
Speaker 3: and I think he's going to Gardner Webb is what
Speaker 3: I heard. The other day. They got Hunter Adams back,
Speaker 3: so they lost a lot, and Cutter Bowley and Brady
Speaker 3: Hensley and Parker Cheney and Will Howell and Major Brown
Speaker 3: can Yatta ours, but they got a lot coming back
Speaker 3: to So I'm gonna say those are my top three,
Speaker 3: and look look for Summerset and Mighty Mayfield to jump
Speaker 3: in there too. And I just want to mention Mike
Speaker 3: Hocomb's back at breath At Height, and they've got two
Speaker 3: young stud twenty eighths and Eli Thomas and Miles halland
Speaker 3: Hocomb's helping with Kyle Moore staff, the Hall of Famer,
Speaker 3: the guy you know, the guy with over three victories
Speaker 3: and three titles. He's he's helping coach at breath At again.
Speaker 3: And they've got two stud twenty eighths and Eli Thomas
Speaker 3: and Miles Holland, and Holland could be the quarterback they've
Speaker 3: been looking for. Eli Thomas is a little running back,
Speaker 3: a freshman that can box jump on a fifty inch
Speaker 3: box sideways on one leg. Pretty impressive. And Austin Sperry's
Speaker 3: back at receiving. I've seen him do it. I mean,
Speaker 3: I'm not just saying that, right, I've seen it. You know,
Speaker 3: they got Austin's Ferry back. Of course, Corey Combs is
Speaker 3: coming off the injured reserve and he should be back
Speaker 3: and healthy. So I mean look for breath at High
Speaker 3: and Murray Hyde to get into the mix. You know,
Speaker 3: Murray High's got Melvin Conningham and his second year's coach.
Speaker 3: And of course Jeremiah Jones is committed to Nebraska six four,
Speaker 3: two hundred pound stud. Yeah, fladed Wow.
Speaker 2: Fletcher Long joining us again.
Speaker 1: He was year two now with Fletcher breaking down Kentucky
Speaker 1: state high school footballs with Kentucky gred Iron dot com
Speaker 1: as the website and also prep red Zone next. You
Speaker 1: can check him out there and also follow him along
Speaker 1: line ax as we give you up a preview of
Speaker 1: the season to come. And of course flat sharlright, let's
Speaker 1: take it over to Class three. A Christian Academy cut
Speaker 1: through three a like a hot knife through butter in
Speaker 1: the playoffs last year, winning the championship forty one to sixteen.
Speaker 2: Over Bell County. Are the Centurions gonna do it again
Speaker 2: this year?
Speaker 3: No, I'm alright, I've already started some controversy. Three al
Speaker 3: wants to kill Friday Night Flitch. They've already gotten mad
Speaker 3: at me.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 3: I like Belfrey High School's their last year in three A.
Speaker 3: They've won eight championships under Philip Haywood. You know I
Speaker 3: love the legendary coaches.
Speaker 2: Yes, you know.
Speaker 3: They've got one of the best offensive lines in the
Speaker 3: state of Kentucky. And they got a guard, a twenty
Speaker 3: six guy that I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't
Speaker 3: get in the Mister Football race next year. His name
Speaker 3: is Wolford. He's six to three each hundred and ninety pounds.
Speaker 3: I mean the guy clip saw forties and five point
Speaker 3: four seconds. He runs the shuttle in four nine didn't
Speaker 3: allow us sack the entire last season. Benches three forty five,
Speaker 3: squat's five twenty five power cleans two sixty five. He's
Speaker 3: a gull of a man. You know. They got Chase
Speaker 3: Barney back at quarterback. He was effective last year. He
Speaker 3: threw it more than than Belfry guys generally do. They
Speaker 3: got Ace Caudle back and he's gonna lead the He's
Speaker 3: gonna fill the shoes that left by Caden Woolham and
Speaker 3: Dre Young graduating. But I like them. I like Union
Speaker 3: County as runners up. That Jaron Johnson is scintillating a
Speaker 3: twenty five dual threat quarterback. He had a two to
Speaker 3: one TD to interception ratiow. He ran for two thousand
Speaker 3: and ninety one yards, and I did say ran for
Speaker 3: you know, this guy had thirty three rushing touchdowns from
Speaker 3: the QB slot, average close to nine yards per carry.
Speaker 3: They got a lot there at Union County. Now like
Speaker 3: Christian Academy a little, but all my cl centurions, and
Speaker 3: I know this is a Louisville station, I'm on, but
Speaker 3: I just want to say that you don't lose a
Speaker 3: quarterback that threw for over four thousand yards and fifty
Speaker 3: seven touchdowns and was also your leading ground gainer and
Speaker 3: think that his LEVI didn't gonna hurt you. I mean
Speaker 3: what even gonna hurt you? And they lost Justin Ruffin too,
Speaker 3: who caught nearly ninety balls for nearly fourteen hundred yards
Speaker 3: and eighteen touchdowns, was a second leading score a year ago.
Speaker 3: They're both gone. That's gonna hurt any offense. That's gonna
Speaker 3: hurt any football team. Now they got some weapons returning.
Speaker 3: They got brother Connors coming back with twenty three receiving touchdowns.
Speaker 3: Somebody's got to throw in the ball. I don't know
Speaker 3: who that's gonna be in neither to you. Jeffrey Vanzana's back,
Speaker 3: and he was the second leading rusher year ago. And
Speaker 3: they got Maidan Miller and Gary and Hobbs is one
Speaker 3: of the top tackle men out there in three eight.
Speaker 3: They're very talented. But you know, it's tough to not
Speaker 3: lose something when you lose a quarter back the ilk
Speaker 3: of Cole Hodge, you know, and sure Lex will be
Speaker 3: in the mix, and so will s Central High School
Speaker 3: with probably the best running back in the state, and
Speaker 3: cortest Stone. So that's how I see that shaken out. Well.
Speaker 1: We had a chance to talk with coach Philip Haywood
Speaker 1: last year Fletch and just an amazing, amazing interview, and
Speaker 1: so glad we had that opportunity. So I wish them
Speaker 1: all the luck as they move forward again. Fletcher Long
Speaker 1: joining us. Fletcher and I are back for our second
Speaker 1: season talking about high school football in Kentucky. Follow us
Speaker 1: along on x on Twitter, you can listen along here
Speaker 1: at on any of our local stations. Here is Fletch
Speaker 1: and I are going to sort of break down the
Speaker 1: week that was in high school football each week as
Speaker 1: we come back. You can find Fletch at Kentucky Prep
Speaker 1: gridiron dot com and Prep red Zone next as well
Speaker 1: if you want to follow along there. All right, Fletch,
Speaker 1: let's take it now too well.
Speaker 5: Four A.
Speaker 1: To be honest with you, Boyle County winning the state
Speaker 1: championship last year. You also had Bardstown went deeper into
Speaker 1: the playoffs before getting ousted by Franklin County thirty seven
Speaker 1: to twenty nine.
Speaker 2: But are we looking at another repeat from Boyle County?
Speaker 3: Uh No, Okay, that's gonna cause a lot of crap too.
Speaker 3: I think I don't think they win their fifth straight championship.
Speaker 3: I think that Paduca Tillman's two too talented. Yeah, you've
Speaker 3: got a quarterback returning in Jack James that threw for
Speaker 3: over four thousand yards and fifty six touchdowns only six picks.
Speaker 3: You got DeMarcus Wilson is back, and he's a thousand
Speaker 3: yard rusher from a year ago with fourteen touchdown. They
Speaker 3: even had fifteen receptions. You got Martell's carter. Mister football contender.
Speaker 3: This guy had seventeen rushes, three for touchdowns, forty three receptions,
Speaker 3: ten for touchdowns, housed five punts and a kickoff to
Speaker 3: lead the team and scoring with one hundred and fourteen points,
Speaker 3: and then threw in forty four tackles, a tackle for loss,
Speaker 3: a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and three picks. This
Speaker 3: guy's already committed to the University of Kentucky. You know,
Speaker 3: ukn't since al down Martell's carter. He had been offered
Speaker 3: by about everybody. You got Jimmy Mooney back at linebacker.
Speaker 3: He's a twenty five guy. He had ninety tackles a
Speaker 3: year ago, and probably the kicker here is maybe the
Speaker 3: best player in the twenty sixth class at all of Kentucky.
Speaker 3: His offensive lineman, Jarvis Strickman. This guy is a total monster.
Speaker 3: He's about six foot seven, two hundred and eighty pounds
Speaker 3: and he plays football in a very ill humor. Okay,
Speaker 3: now they lost Shep Esper last year. This guy made
Speaker 3: ninety eight pats for them. Again, Uncle Fletcher's tip of
Speaker 3: the day. You know he lose that placekicker back in
Speaker 3: hurts you now, Boyle's good, okay, But Boyle's Boyle is lost.
Speaker 3: Avery Bodner, who had twenty two rushing touchdowns, four tds receiving,
Speaker 3: was the second leaguing scorer. Their leading tackler. Had two
Speaker 3: force fumbles, two fubble recoveries, an interception, seven sacks and
Speaker 3: fifteen tackles for loss. That's a lot of production. You
Speaker 3: just lost, you know. Sage Dawson is gone. Their quarterback.
Speaker 3: He signed with a Service Academy Division one FBS. He
Speaker 3: completed sixty percent of his passes. He had twenty five
Speaker 3: hundred yards passing, twenty nine t d's. That's a big loss.
Speaker 3: They lost their top sack guy in Jocks Bixler now
Speaker 3: and Josh Bixler. Now, they got guys back. You know.
Speaker 3: They got at Austin Badner, who's Avery's little brother. They've
Speaker 3: got the Q mont Haven Quizzingberry, probably the favorite to
Speaker 3: win the Mister Football this year. Preseason, this guy had
Speaker 3: a variety ways of scoring. He had eight hundred rushing yards,
Speaker 3: eighteen rushing tds, forty three pass receptions, eight hundred and
Speaker 3: sixty four receiving yards, twelve tds receiving, he scored two
Speaker 3: hundred and ten points. You know, he also housed some
Speaker 3: putts and kicks. This guy had fifty one tackles and
Speaker 3: four tackles for loss and two fubble recoveries and two
Speaker 3: forest bumbles and two picks. I mean he did everything.
Speaker 3: But you know, so Boyle County is going to be
Speaker 3: right there, They're gonna be good. I like Paul Blazer
Speaker 3: height and in the third slot, give me the Corbyn
Speaker 3: Redhounds at number four, and give me tied for fifth.
Speaker 3: I've got Johnson Central and then I got Covington Catholic.
Speaker 3: Now you may say, and I can hear you saying it,
Speaker 3: Where's Bardstown? Where's Franklin? Bardstown was probably the most loaded
Speaker 3: classification in high school football. Is for a they're just
Speaker 3: that good. Yeah, you know, And I just got to
Speaker 3: say that Franklin County and Guardstown, I just don't think
Speaker 3: they have the talent. I mean, they don't have the
Speaker 3: tradition of a cub Cat, they don't have the tradition
Speaker 3: of a Johnson Central, and I don't think they have
Speaker 3: the talent of those other teams have mentioned. So, I mean,
Speaker 3: we look at these things. And you know, it's not
Speaker 3: like we didn't look at Franklin County. We did. They
Speaker 3: almost made it, They almost got in there, but they
Speaker 3: just weren't. They're probably a top ten team. We just
Speaker 3: didn't like them. We didn't like them as top five ish,
Speaker 3: you know. And another team to look out for, Perry
Speaker 3: County Central is just making waves in five A in
Speaker 3: the Mountains. Look out for them. They lost Kaiser Sloan,
Speaker 3: but they got a young quarterback named Aaron Johnson that's
Speaker 3: a transfer from breath That. He's a twenty six kid,
Speaker 3: makes all the right reids, can make all the throws,
Speaker 3: been excellently trained to play the position. And his brother
Speaker 3: Bryson Johnson is the top twenty eight linebacker coming up
Speaker 3: out of the middle school ranks. They call him mister
Speaker 3: b If they call you mister anything, you're probably pretty
Speaker 3: good at football. And this guy is likely to be
Speaker 3: a night one, snap one guy for Mark Dixon and
Speaker 3: his commodores. Also look out for Taylor County Scott Parky
Speaker 3: can flat.
Speaker 1: Coach outstanding Fletcher Long joining us now at Kentucky Prep,
Speaker 1: grid ironm Prep Red Zone Next. And you can follow
Speaker 1: along on Twitter or Ax and Fletch will be with
Speaker 1: He and I'll be together each Saturday breaking down the
Speaker 1: week that was in high school football has move over
Speaker 1: to five as we're giving you a season preview here
Speaker 1: Fletch the Bowling Green Purples obviously state champions last year.
Speaker 2: Who do you see shaking out in five? A?
Speaker 3: Well, I really think you know, Cooper almost lost nothing. Okay,
Speaker 3: they've got Austin Alexander back. You know, they got Cam
Speaker 3: o'harrowback at quarterback, and he threw for thirty three hundred
Speaker 3: and sixty one yards and forty seven touchdowns. They got
Speaker 3: Keegan ma Her back and he ran for twelve hundred
Speaker 3: and four yards. You know, Isaiah Johnson's back. You know
Speaker 3: they lost some things, but they didn't. You know, Isaiah
Speaker 3: Johnson had seventy six receptions for thirteen hundred and seventy
Speaker 3: two yards and twenty one touchdowns. Was was their league
Speaker 3: and score. Now they lost their place kicker in Carson Taylor.
Speaker 3: He converted sixty seven of seventy pats and was five
Speaker 3: for five in the field goals. That's hard to replace
Speaker 3: the high school eleven. They lost Jack Loneker, one of
Speaker 3: their top defensive guys. But you know, they didn't lose
Speaker 3: a lot. And the only thing I can say that
Speaker 3: is is Bowling Green lost almost nothing at all.
Speaker 2: Right, right, poor Cooper, You know, poor Cooper.
Speaker 3: They got all this young talent. They were a young team.
Speaker 3: They made it to the state finals and they played
Speaker 3: another young team. Deuce Bailey is a Mister Football candidate.
Speaker 3: He threw for thirty five hundred plus yards and forty
Speaker 3: three touchdowns last year. Scored eight times all on the ground.
Speaker 3: They got Jackson Smith back, who scored ten rushing touchdowns.
Speaker 3: He caught eighteen balls and had six touchdowns through the air.
Speaker 3: They got Trevy Barber back. You know, this guy is
Speaker 3: one of the top twenty sixes in Kentucky. Caught eighty
Speaker 3: four passes for eleven hundred and eighty nine yards and
Speaker 3: sixteen tds when he was just a sophomore. You know,
Speaker 3: they got Sweeney back. You know, they got so many
Speaker 3: pieces back. I also think that that senior high will
Speaker 3: be good, even though they lost Darien Crow to Catholic.
Speaker 3: You know, they got Evan Hampton back. He's one of
Speaker 3: the top recruits in the state of Kentucky. I mean,
Speaker 3: this guy's being recruited by D one FBS Power five
Speaker 3: types left and right, and they're all over him, you know.
Speaker 3: And so he's good as twin brother Elijah Hampton, all
Speaker 3: so good, one of the top defenders on the team.
Speaker 3: So they're they're gonna be pretty good. And you know,
Speaker 3: I think that be looking for South Warren has lost
Speaker 3: quite a bit. But they had Bryce Button back, you know,
Speaker 3: who reminds me of Benjamin Button for some strange reason,
Speaker 3: even though he's not Benjamin Button. But they had Bryce
Speaker 3: Button backing and Colton Van Camp one of the top
Speaker 3: players in the twenty five class. It's a tight end linebacker.
Speaker 3: Brother was a fantastic player and signed with Western Kentucky
Speaker 3: and Colton may end up at the same place. But
Speaker 3: I'm this guy had nineteen tackles for lost in six
Speaker 3: sacks on defense, you know. I mean, they just have
Speaker 3: so many good players. But be looking for a Madisonville
Speaker 3: North Hopkins to get in the mix a little bit,
Speaker 3: you know, or or the big A train should be
Speaker 3: good again.
Speaker 1: Do you think do you think Atherton can recreate some
Speaker 1: of that magic from last ye here.
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 3: They they got they got some key pieces back, and
Speaker 3: the main thing they got back. Is is Nino White.
Speaker 3: You know, Anthony White was recorded by several programs around
Speaker 3: uh the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was offered several jobs.
Speaker 3: I know of one for a fact that he was
Speaker 3: offered and uh, you know he turned them down and
Speaker 3: went back to Atherton. And you know, so, I mean
Speaker 3: he might be the biggest thing they got back. You know,
Speaker 3: I think Atherton is gonna be there. They're gonna be good.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: They got on them last year in the regional finals
Speaker 3: at Owensborough. But yeah, you know that's a lot of
Speaker 3: people lose to Owensborough. Well, but they got a good
Speaker 3: running back. And I just one more thing, marsh Eith
Speaker 3: high tower at running back is it is a top guy.
Speaker 3: Uh be looking for him. He his brother ran for
Speaker 3: three thousand yards as a senior a few years ago
Speaker 3: and was in the Mister Football Race and also Canyon Johnson.
Speaker 3: It was a quarterback transfer from Muneberg Central. Last year,
Speaker 3: he passed for nineteen twenty five and eighteen tds and
Speaker 3: he ran for twelve hundred and eighty seven yards. He's
Speaker 3: one of the best athletes in the western end of
Speaker 3: the state.
Speaker 1: Outstanding Fletcher Long joining US nobody breaks down high school
Speaker 1: football in the Commonwealth of Kentucky like Fletcher Long. You
Speaker 1: can read his stuff at Kentucky prepgridiron dot com. You
Speaker 1: can also go to Prep red Zone forward slash next
Speaker 1: to catch all the middle school highlights. And we say
Speaker 1: that because players are getting evaluated at a younger and
Speaker 1: younger age, and Fletch is all over this and when
Speaker 1: it comes to football in the Commonwealth, and Fletch last,
Speaker 1: but certainly not least the big boys Class six A.
Speaker 2: I know everybody's waiting to hear your take on this one.
Speaker 3: Who you got, Well, it's hard to say. I think
Speaker 3: it's going to be a Trinity in Frederick Douglas battle.
Speaker 3: Frederick Douglas is one of the most talented rosters from
Speaker 3: top to bottom in Kentucky football. Trinity's hard to peg
Speaker 3: because you'll notice every year that many of their starters
Speaker 3: and producers are seniors, right but get except for their
Speaker 3: quarterback who was a freshman last year. So I mean,
Speaker 3: this guy, Zane Johnson's gonna have a huge season, you know,
Speaker 3: a huge season. I like Trinity and Frederick Douglas to
Speaker 3: battle it out. You know, Male's gonna be there, you know,
Speaker 3: Manuel is going to be there. You know, Saint X
Speaker 3: is gonna be there. Ballard has lost their coach and
Speaker 3: Adrian Morton retired last year. I don't know what they're
Speaker 3: gonna do. Bryan Station has come around under Hawkins and
Speaker 3: has become one of the best six eight teams in
Speaker 3: the state. The Riyal Raiders are always tough. I'd look
Speaker 3: at Simon Kenton was a very deceptive five and five
Speaker 3: a year ago. The Pioneers were five and five that
Speaker 3: lost three games by just a handful of points, and
Speaker 3: so they could also be good. I'm gonna give you
Speaker 3: a tip on a team that you're not gonna believe. Okay,
Speaker 3: the Christian County Colonels. They have hired very well this
Speaker 3: off seat, and they were two and nine last year.
Speaker 3: They've come off back to back to and nine. They
Speaker 3: got a defensive end named de Mark Keith Harris. This
Speaker 3: kid is a stud. He's practically unblockable. Just wrote an
Speaker 3: article on he Uh. They've got some They've got some
Speaker 3: good talent at Christian County and if they can get
Speaker 3: good quarterback and play I put them as a five
Speaker 3: to eight win regular season ball club, which is quite
Speaker 3: a turnaround. From back to back two and nine. But
Speaker 3: they've gotten Ethan Ashley to come coach there at Christian County.
Speaker 3: You may remember him he built the program at LCA
Speaker 3: pre Doug Charles that he went to Bullet East and
Speaker 3: built that program. Uh, but you know he's a He's
Speaker 3: a proven program builder, a proven coach, a proven commodity.
Speaker 3: So be looking for Christian County to be just a
Speaker 3: ton better and we'll challenge for D one district supremacy
Speaker 3: with with Henderson and McCracken. I really believe that in
Speaker 3: Dave's County was five hundred ball club a year ago,
Speaker 3: and you know they're also making strides. McCracken and Henderson
Speaker 3: really didn't lose much of anything. They were both young
Speaker 3: ball clubs last year. And Christian County has got a
Speaker 3: lot of important pieces back too. But I just wanted
Speaker 3: to mention those guys. We don't talk about the West
Speaker 3: much in six A because all your good players are
Speaker 3: in Louisville. Now by West, I mean outside of Louisville.
Speaker 3: We don't talk about the West much in six A
Speaker 3: because you've got Mail and Manual and Saint Ex and
Speaker 3: Trinity and Ballard and you know you got all the
Speaker 3: super hard teams in Louisville, you know, and it's hard
Speaker 3: for little bitty Christian County, Kentucky to compete with that.
Speaker 3: I think they've hired a guy that can bring them there.
Speaker 2: There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1: Christian County, by the way, opening up at Warren East
Speaker 1: on August twenty third, so they'll get his right.
Speaker 3: The J Allen Builders Bowl, that's a great that's a
Speaker 3: great bowl game. Looking forward looking forward to uh, I've
Speaker 3: been invited to that. I'm looking forward to attending that
Speaker 3: and see what Dad, my friend.
Speaker 1: Oh good, we'll get a full report. Then you can
Speaker 1: tell us what your first impressions were. And Fletcher Long,
Speaker 1: you are the best I know. We could talk for
Speaker 1: hours about this. It is so great to be back
Speaker 1: with you for a second season of previewing and recapping
Speaker 1: Kentucky state high school football.
Speaker 2: No One, no one has.
Speaker 1: His finger on the pulse more than Fletch and the
Speaker 1: good folks over at Kentucky Prep Gridirron when it comes
Speaker 1: to all things high school football in Kentucky, and now
Speaker 1: you can see his work on Prep Red Zone. Next,
Speaker 1: I look at some of the younger talent coming up
Speaker 1: as well.
Speaker 2: Fletcher.
Speaker 1: I am looking so forward being with you each Saturday
Speaker 1: morning as we recap the night that was before. Thank you,
Speaker 1: my friend, and all the best to you. And we'll
Speaker 1: be talking here in the coming weeks.
Speaker 3: All right, brother, I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: Well, that doesn't get you fired up for high school football,
Speaker 1: I don't know what will again, Fletcher along with Kentucky
Speaker 1: Prep Gridiron. I'm Scott and Streil filling in for the
Speaker 1: vacationing Nick Coffee over the next couple of days. He
Speaker 1: is John Alden. We're back after this on Sports Talk
Speaker 1: seven ninety. Welcome back this Words Talk seven ninety. I'm Scott,
Speaker 1: that's Geraldine is John Alden. I'll be filling in for
Speaker 1: the vacationing Nick Coffee over the next couple of days.
Speaker 1: Is Nick takes some well deserved days off. In my opinion,
Speaker 1: he deserves more. We are so blessed to have Nick
Speaker 1: with us. He works so hard to bring you this
Speaker 1: show each and every weekday, for sure.
Speaker 2: But he'll be back with you on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: Well, it's taken a while, but leave a little doubt
Speaker 1: that in twenty twenty four, women's basketball is a force
Speaker 1: to be reckoned with At the NCAA Women's Tournament this year,
Speaker 1: the final game between South Carolina and Iowa averaged nearly
Speaker 1: eighteen point seven million viewers, peaking at twenty four million
Speaker 1: on a combined ESPN ABC telecast.
Speaker 2: According to ESPN, that marked just the first time a
Speaker 2: women's final out drew the men.
Speaker 1: Joining us is for your letter winner at Eastern Kentucky
Speaker 1: who left as a leading rebounder and second leading score
Speaker 1: She's a sacred heart alum and they know a thing
Speaker 1: or two about who's there and was the head coach
Speaker 1: at Florida Atlantic before she earned a conference title in
Speaker 1: NCAA tournament birth she's now had to bring her thirteenth
Speaker 1: season at the helm of the Bellamant Knights were of
Speaker 1: course talking about Chancellor Duke.
Speaker 2: Greetings, coach, thanks for taking time to talk to us.
Speaker 4: Scott, thank you so much for having me. Just longtime fan,
Speaker 4: you know, listen to you a lot. Well.
Speaker 5: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Oh that means so much, coach, Thank you. I appreciate
Speaker 1: you saying that. Yeah, I just you know, my wife
Speaker 1: and daughter of Bellamin grads.
Speaker 2: We love Bellaman.
Speaker 1: We love doing things at Bellaman and being a part
Speaker 1: of that program, and so it's an honor for me
Speaker 1: to talk to you, for sure.
Speaker 2: And Coach, I gotta.
Speaker 1: Ask you, you've seen plenty of highs and lows in
Speaker 1: your career. After taking Florida Atlantic to the tournament, you
Speaker 1: arrive at D two Bellaman and your first season you'll
Speaker 1: lead them to a winning season after two straight losing seasons.
Speaker 1: Now just three years later, you go twenty four and four.
Speaker 1: You get a top twenty ranking heading into the tournament.
Speaker 1: Then comes the adjustment to D one down the road,
Speaker 1: What has this ride been like for you?
Speaker 2: Coach?
Speaker 4: Yeah, that ride, you know, winning the championship here you
Speaker 4: know Division two you know was you know DVC championship
Speaker 4: was really was really awesome, you know, and but you know,
Speaker 4: to make the leap to go to Division one, uh
Speaker 4: and then do it it's hard enough. You know, it's
Speaker 4: like going and I tell all the telling everybody all
Speaker 4: the time, it's like, you know, playing eighth grade basketball
Speaker 4: and now you're gonna.
Speaker 5: Play college basketball. You know, it's that big of a league.
Speaker 4: And so but then do it during the pandemic, that
Speaker 4: was that was something else. So you know, I tell
Speaker 4: the girls, you know that we're here. You know, the
Speaker 4: women on my team that were here. You know, they
Speaker 4: set that foundation. They had to go through so much
Speaker 4: and so you know, it was so hard and just
Speaker 4: to navigate, you know, through that much less try to
Speaker 4: get you know, wins and wins. So you know it
Speaker 4: was Uh, they played, they gave me everything they had
Speaker 4: and they played as hard as they could. And and
Speaker 4: you know, I've got you know, some lifelong relationship with
Speaker 4: those kids, you know, on on that on those teams,
Speaker 4: and you know, they just set up the foundation for
Speaker 4: where we are right now. And uh, you know, I'm
Speaker 4: looking forward to what we can do, uh moving forward,
Speaker 4: uh in this league and being able to you know,
Speaker 4: go to the tournament, you know, and that's that's a
Speaker 4: goal down the road, and you know we want to
Speaker 4: be able to to be able to do that.
Speaker 5: So move forward to it.
Speaker 1: And we're talking with coach Chancellor Dugan women's basketball coach
Speaker 1: and Belloman University just signed an extension too, going to
Speaker 1: be around for a bit longer, which I think we're
Speaker 1: all happy to see.
Speaker 5: Coach really excited about it too.
Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, how did how did
Speaker 1: that make you feel when the university said, hey, let's
Speaker 1: let's extend you out, coach, let's keep it here front.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, coming off you know, a ten
Speaker 4: win season, you know, and it's the most we've ever had. Uh,
Speaker 4: you know, in in Division one, coming off of a
Speaker 4: season where you know, you think that you're going to
Speaker 4: have uh, you know, a leading scorer, leading rebounder, you know,
Speaker 4: a son freshman of the year her back, but you know, know
Speaker 4: she's red shirting. So you know, we had to really pivot,
Speaker 4: uh and and put in an offense, uh in defense
Speaker 4: that I'm normally not Uh you know, I normally not do.
Speaker 5: Uh. So you know we had to and the girl,
Speaker 5: the kids bought in. Uh. They they did everything we
Speaker 5: wanted them to do.
Speaker 4: Uh, and we ended up winning more games than we
Speaker 4: ever have. So uh, you know that was that was
Speaker 4: really something that was very special, you know to us. Uh,
Speaker 4: you know, in the trajectory of where we are going
Speaker 4: is going up.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you're talking about that, coach, because I wanted
Speaker 1: to talk to you about your recruiting. You've been hitting
Speaker 1: the recruiting trail pretty hard and bringing home some local talent, uh,
Speaker 1: like former Sacred Heart All State selection Aaron Toller. She
Speaker 1: began her post Doctrie era at UK. Now she's coming
Speaker 1: back home. How big of a factor is she gonna
Speaker 1: be this year?
Speaker 4: She's gonna be huge for us. I mean, you know, Aaron,
Speaker 4: she's such a great kid too. I mean, she's she's
Speaker 4: doing everything that we want her to do. She's she's
Speaker 4: playing so hard right now and doing you know, doing great.
Speaker 4: You know, we're we're not really you know, doing a
Speaker 4: lot this summer. We're shooting a lot, We're playing some
Speaker 4: three on three and and you know, just really getting
Speaker 4: to know each other, you know, because we had four
Speaker 4: returners off last year's squad. Uh so we've got eight
Speaker 4: new ones coming in and you know, it's just we've
Speaker 4: got you know, I'm picking up a kid, you know,
Speaker 4: tonight at the airport, you know, from from Serbia, and
Speaker 4: then we got a kid from Egypt coming in at
Speaker 4: the UH at the middle of August. So you know,
Speaker 4: we're we're still you know, getting getting to know each other.
Speaker 4: And that's you know, really kind of where uh what
Speaker 4: what we're doing right now in the summer.
Speaker 1: And I want to talk about some of that local
Speaker 1: talent too again, Coach that that you're bringing in and
Speaker 1: you went to bullet East and got former charge of
Speaker 1: Anna Rogers. She's a problem member of the Bullet East
Speaker 1: one thousand club. How big is that to keep some
Speaker 1: of this local talent at home?
Speaker 5: You know, I think it's big.
Speaker 4: You know, Anna has has come in and you know,
Speaker 4: she's exceeded all of the coaching staff, you know, because
Speaker 4: she was hurt last year, you know, and and uh,
Speaker 4: you know, probably didn't get the look you know that
Speaker 4: she deserved. But you know, we're we're very happy that
Speaker 4: she's on the team and you know, just uh, you know,
Speaker 4: she's probably gonna be pushing, you know, for for some minutes,
Speaker 4: so we're you know, I think I think everybody on
Speaker 4: the team right now is just really competitive. And you know,
Speaker 4: the how how we're practicing right now is really pleasing
Speaker 4: to me and to my staff because you know, they're
Speaker 4: they're competing every single day and every single you know,
Speaker 4: even though we're just shooting and doing that, they're competing
Speaker 4: in their shooting events, you know, and and just you know,
Speaker 4: looking down, they got twenty a lot.
Speaker 5: We need to get more than that, you know. So, uh,
Speaker 5: it's it's really nice.
Speaker 1: Talking with Chancellor Chancellor Dugan had women's basketball coach at
Speaker 1: Bellaman University on the heels of her signing and extension
Speaker 1: going to be around for a bit. Is they're on
Speaker 1: the upswing there at Bellaman and coach you mentioned the
Speaker 1: player from Servia. I assume you were talking about Mia Melosovich.
Speaker 2: Is that right? Yes, Yeah, okay, I was.
Speaker 1: I was just reading about her. How big of an
Speaker 1: impact is she gonna make for you this year?
Speaker 4: She's gonna make a huge impact. You know, she was
Speaker 4: recruited out of the two years at at at school
Speaker 4: up in Maine, and you know, she was highly recruited
Speaker 4: out of there, but really chose said that she was
Speaker 4: not going to play, that she was going to go
Speaker 4: pro back home, and uh just really late got you know,
Speaker 4: thinking about it, and she's like, no, I think I
Speaker 4: want to play. So you know, we were very very
Speaker 4: fortunate to come in, swoop in and get her.
Speaker 5: So we're we're really excited about her.
Speaker 2: At six too. She's gonna bring a little hight to
Speaker 2: you too.
Speaker 5: Right, He's got some heights.
Speaker 4: She can shoot, she can take it out the dribble, yeah,
Speaker 4: you know, she can, she can post up, so you know,
Speaker 4: she's she's really versatile in what we want to do.
Speaker 4: Coach that will fit our style.
Speaker 1: Very nice coach, Chancellor Dugan talking with US head women's
Speaker 1: basketball coach at Belloman University. Coach, let's talk about some
Speaker 1: things facing women's basketball right now, and let's start off
Speaker 1: from the obvious. As we mentioned in the open, the
Speaker 1: ratings were off the chain for the women's National Championship game,
Speaker 1: pretty much all year for women's basketball. What is driving
Speaker 1: the surge not only in women's sports, do you think,
Speaker 1: but women's basketball and women's sports.
Speaker 5: I think it's you talking about it. I think it's
Speaker 5: the you know, everybody picking up on it.
Speaker 4: You know, I've always said in my you know, thirty
Speaker 4: plus years of coaching, I said, if you will give
Speaker 4: us the time that you give the men's basketball, you know,
Speaker 4: on the front page of the paper, on the front headlines,
Speaker 4: every every you know, radio show talking about it, every
Speaker 4: ESPN show talking about it, If you'll give us that
Speaker 4: time and talk about us like you do men's basketball,
Speaker 4: you will see the numbers come to us.
Speaker 5: And I think you've seen it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that you know that that you have
Speaker 4: seen what what can happen when you look at our
Speaker 4: game because our game is good.
Speaker 5: Our game is exciting.
Speaker 4: You know, yeah, there's not many that can dunk, but
Speaker 4: there's there's some that can dunk out there, right.
Speaker 5: But you know, I think that you know, basketball.
Speaker 4: Loyalists and purists really want to come see like what
Speaker 4: we can do, how we move the ball, you know,
Speaker 4: how we shuit the basketball, and you know, I think
Speaker 4: that it's exciting brand of basketball that we play.
Speaker 1: And I think in large part too, it's players like
Speaker 1: and I hate that you lost her this year. That
Speaker 1: of course, Gracie Merkle, because she when when she was
Speaker 1: in there and in there as a freshman, she was
Speaker 1: a dynamic player and Fundo, I mean, she got after it.
Speaker 1: She scrapped as hard as any of the any of
Speaker 1: the fellas I've seen. And I think you see that
Speaker 1: across the board and women's basketball as we've seen in
Speaker 1: the w NBA. I mean, look how hard they go
Speaker 1: in the w NBA. That's to me, that's basketball.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's I mean, if you watched, if
Speaker 4: you know, you watch the w NBA All Stars versus
Speaker 4: the USA team, I mean that is indicative of where
Speaker 4: we are right now. Those young players are pushing so
Speaker 4: hard against Tarra, you know, and and you know, all
Speaker 4: those girls that have been there, done that, you know.
Speaker 4: I mean, it's it's incredible, uh, you know, just the
Speaker 4: amount of talent.
Speaker 5: And I think that, you know, the w NBA.
Speaker 4: Sees that because they're like, Okay, we need to expand,
Speaker 4: you know, and so they're you know, in twenty twenty six,
Speaker 4: you know, two more teams are coming in, you know,
Speaker 4: and that just is going to open up, you know,
Speaker 4: such a level of competitiveness and opportunities, you know for
Speaker 4: these college players because you know, you saw even the
Speaker 4: first round kids, first round picks in the w NBA
Speaker 4: didn't get picked up on a team.
Speaker 2: Right, you know, so well.
Speaker 1: And I think Geno Arima said it best too when
Speaker 1: he was talking about this, and he thinks one of
Speaker 1: the main states for women's college basketball, least for now,
Speaker 1: is that the ladies stick around at the same school
Speaker 1: for a while. You're not seeing this in and out
Speaker 1: of the portal the way it the way it is
Speaker 1: with the men. And I hope it stays that way.
Speaker 1: I do too, because you're right, because then you can
Speaker 1: develop something, some sort of following with the players. And yes,
Speaker 1: and I think coach that's what That's why I love
Speaker 1: Bellerman Athletics so much because, as we mentioned, it is
Speaker 1: such a homegrown organic product, and there's talent in our
Speaker 1: backyard that's right here. And we saw that when Gracie
Speaker 1: Merkle was at Bellerman. And when you keep that talent
Speaker 1: at home.
Speaker 2: People get excited. Look at TBT, I mean you.
Speaker 4: Know, yeah, you know people have seen you know, right,
Speaker 4: and they want to come back and see it, you know,
Speaker 4: whether it be at University of Kentucky where it be Velle,
Speaker 4: whether it be at Bellerman. Yeah, I mean, you know
Speaker 4: those guys that played you on the TV t everybody
Speaker 4: came out to watch them and they wanted to see them.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 5: That's that's why. You know, it's so great to.
Speaker 4: Have like Ashley Harris on our team, you know, right
Speaker 4: from Sacred Heart, you know, have hopes of war, our
Speaker 4: team from Mercy, you know, I.
Speaker 5: Mean those kids right there.
Speaker 4: Everybody when we got Hope back here, everybody was like,
Speaker 4: oh my god, we got Hope coming back, you know.
Speaker 4: And uh, I mean just her family alone is like
Speaker 4: a seeding section you know in freedom all so.
Speaker 2: We know that right it would see it to your point.
Speaker 1: We know the Savorys because we go to Saint Martha's,
Speaker 1: So we know the Savory families from over at Saint
Speaker 1: Martha when my daughter went to school there. And when
Speaker 1: you keep these products at home, it gives that that
Speaker 1: community bond and they're good players. And that's why I
Speaker 1: think Bellamine is so good for athletics in this town.
Speaker 2: And what you're doing.
Speaker 1: Again, we're talking with coach Chancellor Dugan and we're talking
Speaker 1: Bellamin women's basketball in the state of women's athletics in general,
Speaker 1: which are enjoying just some banner times right now. And coach,
Speaker 1: I do want to ask you, and I l how
Speaker 1: has it changed the game from a coaching standpoint, Like right.
Speaker 4: It's just you know, I mean, you know, I've gone
Speaker 4: through and seen everything.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: I never, in my wildest dreams would have thought that
Speaker 4: the NCAA would have given so much.
Speaker 5: A autonomy two because it's like the wai Wai West.
Speaker 4: I mean, the rules change and update daily to that thing,
Speaker 4: you know, and it's just it's amazing that uh you know,
Speaker 4: that is out there and that is a vehicle for them.
Speaker 4: I mean, kudos to you know, the student athletes, you know,
Speaker 4: But you know, I would I would have liked to
Speaker 4: have seen a little bit more control on that, you
Speaker 4: know when they rolled that out, and I think the
Speaker 4: incident of a is probably thinking that same thing that
Speaker 4: they should have had more control over it because they're
Speaker 4: trying to pull.
Speaker 5: It back a little bit.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but once that cats out of the bag, I
Speaker 4: don't know how you can put it back in.
Speaker 1: That's that was gonna be my next question for you, coach.
Speaker 1: You see any changes coming to that or is it
Speaker 1: just going to be something coaches are going to have
Speaker 1: to adapt to.
Speaker 5: I mean, I think it's just, you know, we're adapting
Speaker 5: to it.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, we have we have an initiative here,
Speaker 4: you know, going at for women's basketball at Bellaman and
Speaker 4: and uh, you know, and and so you know we
Speaker 4: are we're not going to be behind in that. You know,
Speaker 4: we are going to be on the forefront of that.
Speaker 4: And you know, so we just want to make sure
Speaker 4: that you know, we're doing it the right way. Uh,
Speaker 4: We're we're you know, you know, having conversations with compliance,
Speaker 4: you know, and making sure that we are doing it
Speaker 4: the correct way. And but but we know that to
Speaker 4: attract you know, the players to be able to compete
Speaker 4: at the division one and go to the Inn Stabla
Speaker 4: in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Uh, we're going to have
Speaker 4: to have some money to be able to offer these kids, right.
Speaker 1: Chancellor Dugan's talking with us, spending a few minutes with
Speaker 1: the belomin women's basketball coach over what's going to be
Speaker 1: an exciting season for Bellaman in the A Sun Conference
Speaker 1: again this year and coach after making it into the
Speaker 1: A Sun Tournament, what do you expect out of the
Speaker 1: league this year?
Speaker 5: You know, I expect a very competitive league, you know.
Speaker 4: Obviously, you know, Florida Gulf Coast is up there, you know,
Speaker 4: and that's that's everybody, that's who everybody's chasing.
Speaker 5: And I think we're we're closing in on them.
Speaker 4: And uh, I think that, you know, with the recruits
Speaker 4: we have and with the turners we have, that we can.
Speaker 5: Make a push to be up there, you know.
Speaker 4: So I'm not going to put a number on it
Speaker 4: or anything like that, but I think that we can
Speaker 4: really be in the mix of competing for the for
Speaker 4: the league title, you know, And that's that's something that
Speaker 4: you know, I've not been able to say, yuh, you know,
Speaker 4: in a very long time.
Speaker 5: So I'm very excited to be able to say that.
Speaker 2: Last question for you, coach, for let's go. I know
Speaker 2: you're very, very busiest pace.
Speaker 1: People don't realize how busy you are even though you're
Speaker 1: not playing this.
Speaker 2: Time of year.
Speaker 4: It's so funny because people ask me, you know, like
Speaker 4: when season's over, what what what are you doing now?
Speaker 5: I'm like, this is the busiest part of course.
Speaker 2: All right, coach. The final question for you, aside from basketball.
Speaker 1: If someone out there is listening right now, be it
Speaker 1: a parent, even a student, and they're asking why Bellaman
Speaker 1: Because we just saw a major announcement from Belmin come
Speaker 1: out today, barrier free education for folks who want to
Speaker 1: come to Bellopman, which.
Speaker 2: Is really exciting. Why Bellaman? Why? Why should they Why
Speaker 2: should they pick Bellaman?
Speaker 4: You know, I think that number one, you know, because
Speaker 4: if you play a sport or don't play a sport,
Speaker 4: that that Bellaman degree, because you're gonna have to fall
Speaker 4: back on something, whether you're going pro or not going
Speaker 4: pro in anything, you know, music, whatever, that Bellamin degree
Speaker 4: is gonna get your resume up to the top of
Speaker 4: that list. You know, nights get hired. I mean that's
Speaker 4: that's a fact. I mean you can look at it
Speaker 4: and all the data. I mean, our kids graduate here
Speaker 4: and people are clamoring to get our graduates. And because
Speaker 4: it's it's number one, academics is fantastic here, You're gonna
Speaker 4: get the education is beyond anything that you're gonna get. Uh,
Speaker 4: and it's and it's in Louisville. I mean, what else
Speaker 4: do you want? I mean, this city is fantastic, So
Speaker 4: bellamant is is Uh is just a jewel up on
Speaker 4: the hill in the highlands, and it's a safe atmosphere
Speaker 4: and and uh, it's it's in a beautiful, beautiful city.
Speaker 2: Well said coach Coach Chancellor Dugan.
Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, It's going to be an exciting season.
Speaker 1: Cannot wait to get out to Freedom Hall. Coach, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for spending a few minutes with us.
Speaker 2: We really appreciate you.
Speaker 5: Scott, thank you so much. And go nights, Go nights, Coach.
Speaker 1: How blessed are we to have two great coaches like
Speaker 1: Coach Dugan and Jeff Walls at the University of Louisville
Speaker 1: to help promote women's college basketball right here in our
Speaker 1: own backyard.