Speaker 1: It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: So I rarely get feedback when it comes to how
Speaker 2: I let you know.
Speaker 3: That we're getting this thing started right.
Speaker 2: I think it was a couple of weeks ago I
Speaker 2: mentioned got I gotta keep it fresh, get creative. Other
Speaker 2: than saying, hey, let's let's ride, let's get it started. Here,
Speaker 2: we go go time here and there, we'll throw in
Speaker 2: the allow me to enter your ears or we're here,
Speaker 2: we're in your ears. And there was one person who
Speaker 2: let me know on Twitter that they don't they don't
Speaker 2: like that, and I get it. It does kind of sound
Speaker 2: like I'm violating you and I would never do that,
Speaker 2: but I get what you mean. But then there's somebody
Speaker 2: that quickly responded to that person that said, no, they
Speaker 2: like it. So you know, we're here. We are Coffee
Speaker 2: and Company, Nick Coffee, Austin Montgomery. You guys, we're all here.
Speaker 2: We're riding for the next two hours and we're gonna
Speaker 2: have some fun. So apologies if I've, if i've you know,
Speaker 2: seemingly made you feel like I violated you by letting
Speaker 2: you know that I'm in your ears, but I'm also
Speaker 2: just telling you the truth. If you're listening to this
Speaker 2: right now, in one way or the other, you know
Speaker 2: where I'm at. I'm in your dome.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 3: You know how I got there through your ears. It's
Speaker 3: just me.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 3: If anything is just the hard truth. But do you
Speaker 3: feel dirty, then that's something that little soap can fix.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, like, look, I think any you may not
Speaker 2: realize it now, but this experience for you, me being
Speaker 2: in your ears is only going to make you better.
Speaker 2: It's only gonna it's only going to going to enhance
Speaker 2: your life. Sure, So therefore, you know, just just keep
Speaker 2: that in mind. But it is coffee and company. We
Speaker 2: got two hours left. As you could expect, a lot
Speaker 2: of talk so far about what happened last night, Louisville
Speaker 2: winning once again. And I wasn't worried about Forest, but
Speaker 2: I and it wasn't like I wanted to be worried
Speaker 2: about Wake Forest. I was kind of doing some mental
Speaker 2: gymnastics leading up to this game with Louisville having a
Speaker 2: week off, because I feel like Wake was good. I
Speaker 2: don't think they're elite. I thought Louisville was better, and
Speaker 2: they certainly showed that last night, but it was you know,
Speaker 2: I feel like it's just for me, and I can
Speaker 2: only speak for myself. What's made this unusual for me
Speaker 2: isn't Mostly it's the bigger factor that just kind of
Speaker 2: you know, has me thinking like is this real?
Speaker 3: Is no longer? Hey?
Speaker 2: Is this team like really good? Because I think they are?
Speaker 2: Am I getting my hopes? Sub Could they be that good?
Speaker 2: Because I think they are. Again, we'll never know until
Speaker 2: we see how far they go. And here's here's the reality, folks.
Speaker 2: They could lose, right, They could end up they could
Speaker 2: end up bowing out in like the first round if
Speaker 2: they're a four or five seed, and you know what,
Speaker 2: that'd be really tough to take. And you know what,
Speaker 2: they'd be criticized and the ACC would get a lot
Speaker 2: of heat for how bad they are. But you know what,
Speaker 2: it wouldn't prove that they weren't good. They could just
Speaker 2: have a bad game. And I'm not trying to set
Speaker 2: anybody up for that. I'm just saying like, we'll never know,
Speaker 2: but I'm content in my belief that this is actually
Speaker 2: a good team, and I believe that they continue to
Speaker 2: do what they've been doing now for a month. They'll
Speaker 2: be able to potentially find themselves in the second weekend
Speaker 2: of the NCAA tournament. What's got me kind of just,
Speaker 2: you know, feeling weird and not knowing what to think
Speaker 2: is the acc itself. I don't believe the league is
Speaker 2: as bad as it's been made out to be by some,
Speaker 2: but I also can't deny that it's substantially down compared
Speaker 2: to what it usually is. And what frustrated me so
Speaker 2: much about wake Forest is the reason. Louisville won by
Speaker 2: double digits last night, led by twenty nine against and
Speaker 2: by the way, some people have been like, well, they
Speaker 2: shouldn't have let up. I'm sorry if you think that
Speaker 2: Louisville falling in the net after beating a fifteen and
Speaker 2: five team that, to be honest with you, had a
Speaker 2: better resume than you their wins. I mean, they got
Speaker 2: a better win than Louisville has right now. They do
Speaker 2: their way against Michigan is a better win than any
Speaker 2: that Louisville has. That's not I'm not saying that because
Speaker 2: I'm doubting that that Louisville's good. I'm just I mean,
Speaker 2: resume wise, Michigan is a better win than any lot
Speaker 2: when the Louisville has and honestly their losses are good
Speaker 2: as well. Louisville's, I guess, got the better resume when
Speaker 2: it comes to losses, which just sounds weird to say,
Speaker 2: but like Louisville should have been able to beat a
Speaker 2: team who was fifteen and five with a good resume
Speaker 2: by double digits and not fall on the net rankings,
Speaker 2: and they did because wake Forest is just I mean,
Speaker 2: they're incompetent scheduling. The way they did it hurt the league,
Speaker 2: hurt wake Forest, and you know last night it technically
Speaker 2: it hurt Louisville. See, yeah, they could have, they could
Speaker 2: have stayed locked in in one by forty, but like
Speaker 2: you shouldn't have to do that, and it was so
Speaker 2: easily avoidable. That's just what frustrates me. So Wake I
Speaker 2: think they're pretty good. Now, how good I don't know.
Speaker 2: And here's somebody asked me this on the text line
Speaker 2: yesterday and I didn't get a chance to get to it.
Speaker 2: But the question was, what's best case scenario the NAA
Speaker 2: tournament for Louisville the rest of the way, meaning like
Speaker 2: what should we root for the rest of the regular
Speaker 2: season within the ACC for the league to get as
Speaker 2: many teams in and get the best seeds they possibly
Speaker 2: can get. And I mean, I think right now Duke
Speaker 2: Louisville safely and Clemson is too.
Speaker 3: Clemson's now doing what Louisville did right.
Speaker 2: They are a good team with no bad losses, and
Speaker 2: they're taking advantage of the league being what it is now.
Speaker 2: Their loss to South Carolina is probably not a good loss,
Speaker 2: but you know what, they beat Kentucky. That's a good
Speaker 2: win for him. So Clemson, Louisville, and Duke. I just
Speaker 2: don't see a scenario where those teams don't make it. Clemson,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, not Clemson, but Wake they should be in.
Speaker 2: They absolutely should be in, because I mean, the resume
Speaker 2: is only flawed, meaning they're in the seventies in the
Speaker 2: NET and the Ken Palm because of who they scheduled
Speaker 2: in the non conference and that was so easily avoidable.
Speaker 2: And again, I know people yell at me when I
Speaker 2: say this because they think the system's flawed. You're right,
Speaker 2: but the system is what the system is. We can't
Speaker 2: control that. It's actually been the same for many years now.
Speaker 2: So choosing to play five of the worst teams in
Speaker 2: college basketball was avoidable. You could have played teams ranked
Speaker 2: in the two hundreds or the one eighties and up,
Speaker 2: and you probably would be sitting in like the forties
Speaker 2: or fifties in the net. And you know what, if
Speaker 2: that's the case, you're not only in, you're not even
Speaker 2: on the bubble. So it is stupid that it's like that.
Speaker 2: That's a flawed way of doing it, but that's how
Speaker 2: they do it. You can't change that. And when you
Speaker 2: know how it works, and you either intentionally or you're
Speaker 2: just too big of a dumb ass to like know
Speaker 2: what you gotta do, that's your fault and it's now
Speaker 2: hurting the ACC.
Speaker 3: So I would say, Pitt.
Speaker 2: Winning last night against Carolina, I don't know what that did,
Speaker 2: meaning like, I don't know if that Like SMU, I
Speaker 2: think has a SMU is gonna be the most bubblicious
Speaker 2: team unless they fall apart because they I mean, I
Speaker 2: guess technically SMU could could get a win again a
Speaker 2: Duke or even a Louisville like Louisville will host them,
Speaker 2: I believe, or no, they don't play a SMU twice.
Speaker 2: So SMU they're sitting at fifteen and five. Again, no
Speaker 2: bad loss, and they I guess technically don't have a
Speaker 2: good win, so maybe Again that's why I believe they're
Speaker 2: going to be about as bubbleish as as possible. So
Speaker 2: they'll play Pittsburgh, They'll play Clemson, and those are really
Speaker 2: their opportunities meeting SMU.
Speaker 3: So if they beat the.
Speaker 2: Teams they're supposed to beat, and then they lose to
Speaker 2: the teams that are going to be favored against them,
Speaker 2: that are expected to beat them, like Clemson and like
Speaker 2: pitt I think they're going to be absolutely on the bubble.
Speaker 2: Carolina is the team that I just don't know what
Speaker 2: they're gonna do with. And I'll be honest with you,
Speaker 2: I feel like Carolina broke down last night. I thought Carolina.
Speaker 2: I mean, Jay Williams did a great job last night.
Speaker 2: And I'm not just saying this because we're boys now,
Speaker 2: you know, but he did a good job show exactly.
Speaker 2: He did a good job of acknowledging something that I
Speaker 2: feel like he noticed as a player that maybe a
Speaker 2: lot of guys wouldn't have in his position as a broadcaster.
Speaker 3: Because it's a tight.
Speaker 2: Game, you're down four points, with two minutes left, and
Speaker 2: Carolina I think because they've lost so many close games,
Speaker 2: and because they've just had a rough season where they
Speaker 2: come up short against good teams, and because maybe they don't.
Speaker 3: Have a great coach.
Speaker 2: They just had they had the body language and everything
Speaker 2: about their demeanors screamed that they had accept the defeat.
Speaker 3: Where pitt they're locked.
Speaker 2: In, right, they're huddled, they're into it, and I think
Speaker 2: Carolina just they kind of broke down. So they end
Speaker 2: up losing last night. That certainly helps Pittsburgh. I think
Speaker 2: they were already ahead of Carolina seemingly when it comes
Speaker 2: to the tournament. But Carolina also losing a close game
Speaker 2: at home to pitt But you just can't keep like,
Speaker 2: you can't be thirteen and nine and claim you belong
Speaker 2: in the tournament. Now again they have all losses against well,
Speaker 2: they don't actually I lied, because their loss against Wake
Speaker 2: is not a great loss. They lost to Stanford like
Speaker 2: not a good loss. Everybody else that's beat them is.
Speaker 2: I mean, they've got loss. This is what's crazy about
Speaker 2: this Carolina team. Before they lost to Stanford on the
Speaker 2: eighteenth of January, their losses were to Kansas by three
Speaker 2: got beat by Auburn by double digits, who's number one
Speaker 2: in the country in the Kent Pom. They got beat
Speaker 2: by Michigan State in overtime, who, by the way, has
Speaker 2: the second longest winning streak in the country. Their top
Speaker 2: fifteen team looked like they're in the driver's seat for
Speaker 2: the Big ten. Alabama, who is a top ten team.
Speaker 2: They played them relatively competitively. They lost by six to
Speaker 2: a good Florida team who's number four in the Kent Pom.
Speaker 2: And then Louisville got I mean, Louisville wasn't in a
Speaker 2: great position as far as the numbers at that time,
Speaker 2: but they're clearly looking it doesn't look like a bad
Speaker 2: loss now losing the Louisville at Louisville, and then now
Speaker 2: they've lost three out of four where they lost to Stanford,
Speaker 2: Wake and Pitt and then they beat Boston College, a
Speaker 2: bad team in overtime. So I'm to the point now
Speaker 2: where I just don't expect Carolina to make it. So
Speaker 2: I think, to answer your question, best case scenario four.
Speaker 3: The acc is is that.
Speaker 2: I would say three teams look like they're gonna get in,
Speaker 2: and it probably won't be something they have to sweat out.
Speaker 2: As far as where they get seated, that's that's anybody's guest.
Speaker 2: I think where you look at Lenardi and Jerry Palm
Speaker 2: and the others that do bracketology, I'm trusting not that
Speaker 2: they know because they don't know, they're not on the committee,
Speaker 2: but I think they're right as far as where they're
Speaker 2: seeding some of these teams. But the teams that I
Speaker 2: think are going to be on the bubble, but you
Speaker 2: really just don't know if they're going to make it
Speaker 2: or not. It's going to be SMU and Wake Forest.
Speaker 2: And if Wake doesn't make it, they got nobody to
Speaker 2: blame with themselves because of their non conference schedule. Now
Speaker 2: if they slip up and start losing to bad teams,
Speaker 2: it's a different conversation SMU. You know again, I mean
Speaker 2: it's going to be really at the mercy of the
Speaker 2: committee or maybe what they do in the ACC tournament.
Speaker 3: So again, like.
Speaker 2: I can't line say that the acs that I believe
Speaker 2: the ACC is going to get a certain amount of
Speaker 2: teams in and they're going to prove everybody wrong, because
Speaker 2: I just don't believe that. But I think in the
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, if you have three
Speaker 2: teams that all get in and they're all top six
Speaker 2: or top five seeds, because Clemson getting a five seed
Speaker 2: is realistic. And if you've got three teams in the
Speaker 2: top five seed lines, that's not something the ACC as
Speaker 2: a league should brag about because.
Speaker 3: Again it's the ACC.
Speaker 2: However, I mean, you'll look around the country and again
Speaker 2: the SEC is on steroids this year. But outside of that,
Speaker 2: I mean, let's be honest, you look at let's see
Speaker 2: the other conferences out I mean, like the Big East.
Speaker 2: I mean, Yukon has a word Like Yukon doesn't have
Speaker 2: a good resume, I wouldn't necessarily be signing up to
Speaker 2: play Dan Hurley. But like the Big East is not
Speaker 2: much better than the ACC. Like Marquette, Saint John's, Creighton
Speaker 2: and Yukon are the only teams that look safely in
Speaker 2: the tournament. That's one more than the ACC has, and
Speaker 2: I think they've got a bigger fall off like teams
Speaker 2: teams like Nova and Xavier and Providence, they're not going
Speaker 2: to the tournament. I guess Xavier could. But other than that,
Speaker 2: like you know, the Big East is not that much
Speaker 2: different than the ACC. But then there's a big gap.
Speaker 2: I think when you get to the other conferences, like
Speaker 2: the Big Ten, I mean, I don't know how loaded
Speaker 2: they are at the top of Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Speaker 2: Maryland's playing some really good ball, and then UCLA, Right,
Speaker 2: they lost four in a row, look to be dead,
Speaker 2: and now they've won four in a row, and I'd
Speaker 2: be shocked if they don't make the tournament. So I
Speaker 2: think every every top league is, you know, their strengths different. Right,
Speaker 2: the SEC is just stupid loaded, meaning they got a
Speaker 2: ton of good teams in their top tier. Could all
Speaker 2: be Final four teams and nobody would be shocked. I'd
Speaker 2: say the Big Twelve they're also, I guess, kind of
Speaker 2: in that same in the same tier as far as depth,
Speaker 2: like the Big Twelve has Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, I mean,
Speaker 2: even Arizona's got it rolling now eight and one in
Speaker 2: the league. Texas Tech's having a really good season in
Speaker 2: year two of Grant. I can't think of his last name.
Speaker 2: So Baylor, though they're down, like Baylor's looking like a
Speaker 2: bubble team. Kansas continues to struggle and has more losses
Speaker 2: than they typically do this time of year, but they're
Speaker 2: in the tournament. So you know, I have no issue
Speaker 2: with anybody claiming that the AC sees down and it's weak.
Speaker 2: But I do think if you look at really the
Speaker 2: Big East.
Speaker 3: And maybe even like maybe even the Big Twelve, like it's.
Speaker 2: It's I understand why people claim it's a better league,
Speaker 2: but I don't know if it's miles ahead of the
Speaker 2: ACC like some may may think. All right, real quick,
Speaker 2: let's go to the text line because this is a
Speaker 2: really good text that came in and we are going
Speaker 2: to talk coming up here before too long with doctor
Speaker 2: Larry Benson proriea physical therapy. He'll join us around four thirty.
Speaker 2: And also if if you want to give us a call,
Speaker 2: if you're on hold, stick with us. I promise you
Speaker 2: we'll get to you. But Austin, I want you to
Speaker 2: listen to this text because this hit me. Hit hit
Speaker 2: me in the heart. Okay, it almost like it was
Speaker 2: me saying it, because I think this is an absolutely
Speaker 2: spot on observation that somebody put into words maybe better
Speaker 2: than I could, because I think it's on the spot on.
Speaker 2: So this says Nick, I'm a transplant, lived in Louisville
Speaker 2: for seventeen years. What transplant? Oh yeah, trans meeting. They
Speaker 2: lived elsewhere now they're here.
Speaker 5: Oh OK.
Speaker 2: But they could be the other. They could be I
Speaker 2: don't know what they are. I don't know what they
Speaker 2: identify as. But I think when he says transplant, he
Speaker 2: means he didn't grow up here, but he lives here.
Speaker 3: Well, he's equal to me.
Speaker 2: He lived in Louisville for seventeen years. But I'm originally
Speaker 2: from the Midwest. I've enjoyed learning about these fan bases
Speaker 2: as an unbiased listener of sports talk radio in this market.
Speaker 2: One thing you've said that I never hear anybody else
Speaker 2: say that is absolutely true is that both sides really
Speaker 2: do the same thing point fingers in regards to obsession,
Speaker 2: but both are always paying attention to the rival things
Speaker 2: they'd criticize the other for doing. They defend their program
Speaker 2: for the same thing. You're spot on. But one thing
Speaker 2: that has become very obvious from an objective view is
Speaker 2: that Kentucky fans are rare and unlike any they'll ignore
Speaker 2: their team's success to obsess over their rival. No better
Speaker 2: example than last night than beating Tennessee. And I seem
Speaker 2: to see more Kentucky fans talking about Pat Kelsey not
Speaker 2: being deserving of Coach of the Year. I mean, one,
Speaker 2: I think there's a reason I've said that for a
Speaker 2: long time, Like that's how the rivalry works. It's petty
Speaker 2: things you'd criticize your program, or things you'd criticize your
Speaker 2: rival for doing or make fun of them for. You
Speaker 2: would find a way to accept it and defend it
Speaker 2: because it's your team. That's not a crazy thing to
Speaker 2: point out. I think it's pretty obvious. It's because we
Speaker 2: I mean, that's our team. We're gonna we're gonna ride
Speaker 2: or die with them, right, and if it's your rival,
Speaker 2: you'll find anything to take a job at it, because
Speaker 2: that's how it works.
Speaker 3: That's what makes sports great.
Speaker 2: So I've always said that, and yet I don't know
Speaker 2: if I'm the only one that says it, but you know,
Speaker 2: to me, it's pretty obvious. But one thing that I like,
Speaker 2: here's how I view it when it comes to Kentucky
Speaker 2: fans and Louisville fans and who's more obsessed with the other.
Speaker 2: Another thing that I'd rarely hear anybody else say that
Speaker 2: I think is rather obvious and it doesn't need to
Speaker 2: be something we have to shy away from acknowledging. They
Speaker 2: have way more of them than us. They are a
Speaker 2: humongous fan base. We are not, and that's okay. I've
Speaker 2: never once felt like we needed to have as many
Speaker 2: of them to be equal, or to be as good,
Speaker 2: or to compete or any of that. And it's really
Speaker 2: not even a debate. They have a ton. You can
Speaker 2: go to the moon, you'll probably run into somebody wearing
Speaker 2: a Kentucky shirt, and they'll probably tell you that they're
Speaker 2: a Kentucky fan, even though you already saw them wearing gear.
Speaker 2: They'll probably just assume you're a Louisville fan and throw
Speaker 2: L's down. That's just how they operate. So both sides
Speaker 2: are obsessed. But I think with Kentucky is there's just
Speaker 2: so many of them. Therefore it seems as if they
Speaker 2: are more. But I mean, I guess technically by definition,
Speaker 2: it would mean that they're a little bit more, a
Speaker 2: little bit more you know, obsessed. And here's what's here.
Speaker 2: Here's what he said at the end is what made
Speaker 2: me read this. I usually would have just wrote back
Speaker 2: and said thanks, because I don't want to act like
Speaker 2: I'm being self serving here but if you go to
Speaker 2: any college basketball account on social media Facebook, Twitter, x,
Speaker 2: go to the comment sections of websites if that still exists,
Speaker 2: and you see any any writer, any analyst praising Pat Kelcey,
Speaker 2: maybe mentioning that they think he's done a good job
Speaker 2: and should be a candidate for Coach of the Year.
Speaker 2: I am not kidding if you do that and you
Speaker 2: go find that, which is pretty easy to find, because
Speaker 2: they're gassing up our boy Pat Kelsey as they should.
Speaker 2: The majority of the responses that you will see are
Speaker 2: Kentucky fans upset about it and wanting Pope to beget
Speaker 2: to be getting the same love. And last night it
Speaker 2: was noticeable. I mean I was a few beers in
Speaker 2: having a good you know, just feeling good. I'm in
Speaker 2: the recliner watching hoops. My team got another good win.
Speaker 2: I'm feeling good, and I you know, I now love
Speaker 2: getting into the weeds on Twitter to see everybody nationally
Speaker 2: that covers college basketball gassing up this Louisville team and
Speaker 2: talking up Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, and it's it's it's so in.
Speaker 2: Your face that the majority of the like the I
Speaker 2: think there's more people talking about Pat Kelcey online that
Speaker 2: are Kentucky fans than anybody else because they're just so triggered.
Speaker 2: And what I don't understand is why, Like I mean,
Speaker 2: it's one thing if you just disagree. And by the way,
Speaker 2: pack Mark Pope is still getting more love for that
Speaker 2: award than anybody else. And I have no problem with it.
Speaker 2: I think he's done a great job. But they are,
Speaker 2: they're so triggered by it, and that's what I don't
Speaker 2: really understand. And last night they got I think, the
Speaker 2: most impressive win that they have up to this point
Speaker 2: with Mark Pope, without Lamont Butler on the road at Tennessee.
Speaker 2: We had somebody pointed out earlier that may be the
Speaker 2: most valuable win anybody has beating a Tennessee team at
Speaker 2: their place. Maybe they end up losing more games in
Speaker 2: lead play at home because the SEC is that loaded.
Speaker 2: But they instead of just enjoying that, they're on the
Speaker 2: internet battling, fighting, wanting to hold people accountable because they
Speaker 2: feel like it's wrong to acknowledge that Pat Kelsey's done
Speaker 2: a good job. And they really know that Pat has
Speaker 2: done a good job, and they know that Louisville fans
Speaker 2: should in fact be excited about their program in the future.
Speaker 3: So what do they do?
Speaker 2: They just they seemingly have Tourette's syndrome on Twitter or
Speaker 2: about the ACC and how bad of a league it is,
Speaker 2: and like I don't really see a whole lot of
Speaker 2: people arguing, but like you're the one that's obsessed with it.
Speaker 2: Like nobody's telling you, oh, no, you're wrong, the s
Speaker 2: the ACC is a great basketball league this year.
Speaker 3: Who's saying that? Nobody? But you can't help yourself.
Speaker 2: And again, I I think the reason it seems to
Speaker 2: be obsession levels that are just like what what? It's
Speaker 2: because their fan base is kind of like what because
Speaker 2: there's so many of them, and they're like, it's they
Speaker 2: can't they can't help themselves. So I'm glad you pointed
Speaker 2: that out because I noticed it too, And yeah, if
Speaker 2: I had to to take a side, and clearly I'm
Speaker 2: biased as far as which one does a little bit
Speaker 2: more keeping up with the other, it's it's Kentucky. But
Speaker 2: I just I think more than anything, it's because there's
Speaker 2: just a billion of them and it's a rivalry. But anyways,
Speaker 2: quick Break will come back on the other side. Doctor
Speaker 2: Lurry Ben's program Physical Therapy is set to join us.
Speaker 2: We'll get to your phone calls as we move through.
Speaker 2: Another hour and a half left with you right here
Speaker 2: on sports Talks.
Speaker 1: Now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: As I mentioned just a moment ago, we are expecting
Speaker 2: to hear from the one and only doctor Larry beIN's
Speaker 2: of Proria Physical Therapy. Also going to have doctor Mackelrey
Speaker 2: on later this week as well, so we're double dipping
Speaker 2: this week because of our schedule last week.
Speaker 3: But he's a busy guy, so there's a.
Speaker 2: Few different times where we were expecting to have him
Speaker 2: and uh, and what I mean is there's some times
Speaker 2: where I told him, hey, you know, whatever you can
Speaker 2: make work, make it work. So if we don't get
Speaker 2: him this sevement, we'll certainly get to doctor Ben's at
Speaker 2: some point before we run out of time today. But
Speaker 2: it is Coffee and Company. Appreciate you guys hanging out
Speaker 2: with us. We are about halfway through here on a
Speaker 2: was it Wednesday? It's Wednesday? Right, Yeah, on a Wednesday afternoon,
Speaker 2: and the conversation we were well, I was reading a
Speaker 2: text and then kind of reacting to it, and it
Speaker 2: led to a lot of feedback from from from those
Speaker 2: on our Ellen and Federal Credit Union text line, and
Speaker 2: somebody asked a question that I hadn't really thought about,
Speaker 2: and I think, again, you guys are kind of figuring
Speaker 2: me out out. I've had very little and look, I
Speaker 2: always try to tell it like it is. I don't
Speaker 2: know if I'm as good at it as I want
Speaker 2: to be. I'm clearly invested in this rivalry and I
Speaker 2: love Louisville in a way that you know, probably isn't
Speaker 2: good for my health long term. And with that, you know,
Speaker 2: I have a deep, you know, hatred, not on a
Speaker 2: personal level, but I want to see Kentucky lowse because
Speaker 2: they're the rival. But somebody pointed out on the text
Speaker 2: line that they think that I'm having an even better
Speaker 2: ability to acknowledge Kentucky's success because of Louisville also being
Speaker 2: successful this year and because of Louisville having the previous
Speaker 2: three seasons being as bad as they were. And I
Speaker 2: never really thought about it, but you're right again. Maybe
Speaker 2: in my mind, I'm thinking, well, hey, look i'll tell
Speaker 2: you where I stand what I want to see happen.
Speaker 2: But I'll also tell you what I believe is the truth,
Speaker 2: and I, in all seriousness, I do try to do that.
Speaker 2: And I do appreciate those of you they call in
Speaker 2: that are from the other side of the rivalry that
Speaker 2: do acknowledge that and mention that, because you know, I
Speaker 2: don't need you to gass me up. But it is
Speaker 2: something I really if I'm if it's just Homer Radio,
Speaker 2: I mean, one that wouldn't that wouldn't be good for business, right.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's a lot of fans of of of
Speaker 2: both sides here in this market, and fans of of
Speaker 2: all different teams.
Speaker 3: Really.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously we stick to for the most part,
Speaker 2: both Red and Blue, but you know, yeah, I mean, look,
Speaker 2: Mark Pope being an easy guy to like has probably
Speaker 2: also been a factor. And I just think it's been
Speaker 2: pretty obvious. They're as good as they are this year
Speaker 2: because of a variety of things, but his coaching is
Speaker 2: certainly one of them. I mean, the things that I had,
Speaker 2: I believe have really helped Louisville kind of navigate their
Speaker 2: season up to this point, dealing with injuries and playing
Speaker 2: such a challenging schedule early on. I think the way
Speaker 2: both Pope and Kelsey lead their programs and the way
Speaker 2: they target guys they feel like fit their system, fit
Speaker 2: their philosophy, and really fit their culture.
Speaker 3: It's very similar.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think Kentucky going on the road and
Speaker 2: not being too wide eyed for that environment in knocks
Speaker 2: Fell and beating Tennessee.
Speaker 3: It's really impressive.
Speaker 2: I mean that that's I mean, Tennessee is a damn
Speaker 2: good team, and I know they've struggled as of late,
Speaker 2: and who knows, maybe they end up losing more games
Speaker 2: the rest of the way than many are expecting them to,
Speaker 2: but that that's a really impressive win. And oh, by
Speaker 2: the way, they also beat their rival Louisville. They beat Gonzaga,
Speaker 2: which not to maybe this is me being maybe this
Speaker 2: is me doing the rivalry thing because Gonzaga that actually
Speaker 2: hasn't necessarily aged as as quite as good of a
Speaker 2: win as you would have expected. But you can't control
Speaker 2: that right at the time. You went there, and you
Speaker 2: beat them at their place, and that's impressive, especially how
Speaker 2: it all played out, having to come from behind.
Speaker 3: They beat Duke.
Speaker 2: I mean, Pope has won games that have real value
Speaker 2: for your resume, but also it's it's games that really
Speaker 2: mean a lot to your fan base, and I get it,
Speaker 2: Like I mean, I wish I could. I mean I
Speaker 2: wish I was here celebrating Kentucky making a bad hire
Speaker 2: that might set them back for years. But I don't
Speaker 2: think anybody with a straight face could tell you they
Speaker 2: believe that's what's going to happen, given the way things
Speaker 2: given the way things have started for both sides. All
Speaker 2: right again, it's coffee and company. Feel by Thornton's here
Speaker 2: on Sports Talk seven ninety. Let's go to the on
Speaker 2: lines five two five, one seventy nine hundred is the number.
Speaker 2: Let's let's bring in Aaron. Aaron, You're on Sports Talk
Speaker 2: seven ninety.
Speaker 3: How are you?
Speaker 4: What's up? Nick? How's it going?
Speaker 3: Dude?
Speaker 1: Well?
Speaker 3: How abut yourself?
Speaker 5: Man?
Speaker 4: Doing good? Just wanted to say a couple of things.
Speaker 4: I'm a diehard Kentucky san and always have been. Although
Speaker 4: I will say I've got a lot of Louisville friends,
Speaker 4: and originally when you all chose to hire Kelsey, my
Speaker 4: my friends were down on him. They're like, I can't
Speaker 4: believe we got a second toier coach hire and blah
Speaker 4: blah blah blah. And I totally disagreed with him. I
Speaker 4: felt like he he he has brought so much tenacity
Speaker 4: to your alls program, his coaching style, what he makes
Speaker 4: these players do for him, The output that these players
Speaker 4: put on the lower the speed they've got, fast big.
Speaker 4: You all are a fishing for from Stielgo. I mean,
Speaker 4: you guys pushed the ball, You hit a good percentage
Speaker 4: of threes for the most part. Duke is very fortunate
Speaker 4: that you all are not playing them again, because I
Speaker 4: would put money on Louisville all day, I have all
Speaker 4: season long. As far as the coaching coach of the
Speaker 4: Year goes, obviously you're a homer and I am too.
Speaker 4: I think Kelsey and Pope are by far the forefront runners.
Speaker 4: No one's even close. I would have to lean towards Pope,
Speaker 4: not only because I'm a Kentucky fan, but because of
Speaker 4: the quality of wins that he has.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, he's not only Aaron.
Speaker 2: He's not only had those big wins that I just referenced,
Speaker 2: but I mean those are wins that I think on
Speaker 2: paper before the season started. When it comes to personnel,
Speaker 2: I mean, nobody would have said you'd have gotten blown out.
Speaker 2: But I mean I think Kentucky again and again. That's
Speaker 2: why I believe Pope is as deserving as anybody, to
Speaker 2: be honest with you, because I think a big factor
Speaker 2: in why Kentucky is where they are is I mean,
Speaker 2: I think the biggest factor for them is his coaching.
Speaker 2: And I think you could say the same. And again,
Speaker 2: I think we both We know both sides have some
Speaker 2: good players that really are proud to be playing for
Speaker 2: both programs, and they're embracing everything that comes to play
Speaker 2: for programs that care this much about hoops. But you
Speaker 2: know what, the guys that identified them and are leading it,
Speaker 2: that's where it really comes from. So again, I again
Speaker 2: I'll acknowledge me wanting it to give it to Kelsey
Speaker 2: is certainly because I'm a fan, But I cannot, even
Speaker 2: if I tried my hardest, downplay how good of a
Speaker 2: job Pope's done.
Speaker 4: And I'm you know, I've watched a ton of Louisville
Speaker 4: games this year because of what Kelsey has brought to
Speaker 4: that program. It is super important. I don't know if
Speaker 4: people realize this, it's important for Louisville to be good
Speaker 4: in Kentucky to be good. When we're good, it makes
Speaker 4: the our community so much better. I live over in Indiana.
Speaker 4: I'm but I'm like again, I'm a Kentucky fan, and
Speaker 4: I can't hate Kelsey. I like him. I want to
Speaker 4: I want to beat you guys, Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 4: I want to beat you all every time we play.
Speaker 4: But I think Kelsey is a class act. He's exciting,
Speaker 4: and I think you guys are gonna be a big
Speaker 4: problem in March for other teams to match up with.
Speaker 4: I would say, you know, yes, the ACC is down,
Speaker 4: but I think Louisville is really good and I think
Speaker 4: they've got a shot to go pretty deep. They'll definitely
Speaker 4: make it to the second but they'll definitely make it
Speaker 4: to the second weekend and probably knock someone off there,
Speaker 4: and they could make it to the Sweet sixteen. They're
Speaker 4: they're gonna have They're gonna be problematic to guard. They
Speaker 4: just are. They're a good team. And I wish you
Speaker 4: guys luck.
Speaker 3: Thank you. I appreciate it, Aaron. Good to hear from you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, last night kind of felt like the
Speaker 2: moment for me where I was and again, I could
Speaker 2: be wrong. There's so many teams that that you know,
Speaker 2: you think you know, and then you realize you were wrong.
Speaker 2: Or you could have been right and they you know,
Speaker 2: they had a bad game. That's what makes college basketball special.
Speaker 2: It's really stupid in a way, but it's also special
Speaker 2: that you can be great in the regular season and
Speaker 2: certainly that matters because it gets you in a good
Speaker 2: position once you get to March. But if you don't
Speaker 2: deliver in March, especially for programs that really you know,
Speaker 2: have a have a pretty deep trophy case with accomplishments,
Speaker 2: you know, it just feels like it was kind of
Speaker 2: all for nothing. Which again I've always felt like that's
Speaker 2: that's insane to you it that way, but that's just
Speaker 2: the way it is, and I know, deep down it does.
Speaker 2: I mean, I know, if Louisville had a great, phenomenal
Speaker 2: season and they still fell short and lost down I
Speaker 2: don't know, the round of thirty two, I still think
Speaker 2: fans would be able to say, man, I hate that
Speaker 2: we came up short, and maybe we finally had our
Speaker 2: bad game we've been avoiding. But that was a fun ride,
Speaker 2: So you know, I just again I said this at
Speaker 2: the beginning of the show. I know other fans are
Speaker 2: asking this question. I've been asking the question as well,
Speaker 2: and only time will tell as far as what really happens.
Speaker 2: But I think Louisville is going to be a tough
Speaker 2: out for a lot of teams because they're doing a
Speaker 2: lot of really good things that are that are easy
Speaker 2: to recreate, meaning bringing energy, effort, attention to detail on
Speaker 2: the defensive scout, really working on the backboard and sticking,
Speaker 2: you know, rounding out to really have an identity that
Speaker 2: that that is that is a good one and being
Speaker 2: consistent with that. So when they do start making shots
Speaker 2: and Rain Smith gets hot or Terrence Edwards, you know
Speaker 2: he shoots out of a shooting slump like he did
Speaker 2: last night, Chucky Hepburn just kind of starts taking over
Speaker 2: and it's distributing and scoring. That's where you get to
Speaker 2: not just being a good enough team to you know,
Speaker 2: to get some respect, but maybe being a good enough
Speaker 2: team to win some games in March. All right, let's
Speaker 2: go back to the phone lines. Five two, five, seven,
Speaker 2: one seventy nine hundred is the number. Let's welcome in
Speaker 2: kirk Kirk. You're on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 6: How are you, hey, Nick? Kay Austin My two most
Speaker 6: favorite personalities.
Speaker 3: What's upbod you doing? Guys doing well?
Speaker 5: Hey man?
Speaker 4: Good good.
Speaker 6: I just wanted to just say, man, what a rave
Speaker 6: we're on. You know, I went to the game last night.
Speaker 6: I took my son, Dakota, and it was his first
Speaker 6: official Louisville basketball game. So again, Chris, yes, and he
Speaker 6: is now officially a christ and Louisville fan for sure.
Speaker 6: But I was just telling Nick Austin, you know, you know,
Speaker 6: I've been an old school louivill fan pretty much since
Speaker 6: I've been ten years old, and I can pretty much
Speaker 6: tell from the get go, like from the you know,
Speaker 6: the Bahamas, from the first game what kind of team
Speaker 6: we were going to look like or be. And I
Speaker 6: could tell you from that first even even to Indiana
Speaker 6: when I could just tell this was going to be
Speaker 6: a special team.
Speaker 4: And to this point where.
Speaker 6: We're at it just with the adversity, with the injuries
Speaker 6: and and how we got through that, how Louisville got
Speaker 6: through that to now, I just think we do nothing
Speaker 6: but get better, and I think by the end of
Speaker 6: the season we're going to be a force to be
Speaker 6: wrecking with, that's for sure.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 3: I can't disagree at all.
Speaker 5: Kirk.
Speaker 2: Great to hear from you, and a good moment for
Speaker 2: you last night, taking taking your youngster to his first game.
Speaker 2: I mean, what an experience, and again, what a good
Speaker 2: game to be at. Always great to hear from you,
Speaker 2: Kirk and my father. He told me something pretty consistently
Speaker 2: throughout the earlier parts of this season, and I didn't
Speaker 2: I never told him he was wrong, and I disagreed,
Speaker 2: but I don't know if I agreed with him totally
Speaker 2: at the time he said it. But you know, you
Speaker 2: could see Louisville losing some games but also playing really
Speaker 2: good teams and showing signs in those games.
Speaker 3: That hey, they're only going to get better.
Speaker 2: It reminds me of Denny's teams that I briefly, you know,
Speaker 2: I remember a certain era of Denny's teams doing this,
Speaker 2: But most of this, really, this brand that Denny had
Speaker 2: really was established long before I was watching, maybe before
Speaker 2: I was alive. And that's really challenging yourself. In the
Speaker 2: non conference. Louisvell's had one of the mean, there's a
Speaker 2: reason Louisville is in the ACC in a year that
Speaker 2: it's so bad, yet they still have a top fifteen
Speaker 2: strength to schedule because their non conference schedule was that tough.
Speaker 2: So you know, you were losing a lot of those games.
Speaker 2: Some of them were ugly, but I think, you know,
Speaker 2: there was clearly some circumstances at play as to why
Speaker 2: those games got a little bit out of hand. And
Speaker 2: then even though you know, you lost some of the games,
Speaker 2: they were competitive and you showed some good signs, and
Speaker 2: I kind of worry, you know, hey, man, they're gonna
Speaker 2: have so many losses and maybe it's just kind of
Speaker 2: kind it's gonna it's gonna come to a head and
Speaker 2: they're gonna maybe not fall apart, but you know, maybe
Speaker 2: just kind of start to not believe that they could
Speaker 2: be a good team. But clearly leadership's really important, I
Speaker 2: think Pat Kelcey, if you go look at the article
Speaker 2: that Matt Orlander wrote today with some quotes from Pat Kelsey,
Speaker 2: he mentioned that he thought in December, when they were
Speaker 2: losing to Kentucky and they clearly had had a loss
Speaker 2: to Duke that they played well in for about thirty
Speaker 2: minutes of it. He felt like they were really getting
Speaker 2: close to being a good team. And I don't know
Speaker 2: if I'd have said that at the time. I was
Speaker 2: trying to believe that, But you gotta keep in mind
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey you know, he played it, or he coached
Speaker 2: at Winthrop and at Charleston, so they would play those
Speaker 2: kind of teams every now and then in the non
Speaker 2: conference and probably get dusted, but he would know, hey,
Speaker 2: we're not the same caliber team.
Speaker 3: We can get better in these games. We can really
Speaker 3: grow from this.
Speaker 2: And they were able to do that in those moments,
Speaker 2: and now you know they're playing some really, really good basketball.
Speaker 2: All right, we got to run quick break. If you're
Speaker 2: on hold, We've got Rod, David Chris. If you're with us,
Speaker 2: stick with us, don't go anywhere. We'll be back in
Speaker 2: just a few minutes and we'll get back to the
Speaker 2: phone calls. It's coffee and Company fuel about Thornton's right
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: It's right, we are wrapping up the four o'clock hour
Speaker 2: here on a Wednesday afternoon. It's coffee and Company field
Speaker 2: by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. We do
Speaker 2: have some time to get to a couple more callers,
Speaker 2: So I'm not gonna I'm not gonna have your rapid fire,
Speaker 2: but just be mindful of the time here, and you
Speaker 2: know we love to hear from you.
Speaker 3: So let's do it.
Speaker 2: Let's get to the phone lines five O two, five
Speaker 2: seven one seventy nine hundred is the number. Let's welcome
Speaker 2: in Rod, Rod. How you doing this afternoon?
Speaker 5: Doing great? Doing great? I'm I'm one of those old
Speaker 5: Kentucky fans.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 5: The best players that were in my day were Butch,
Speaker 5: Beard West Unsel, Dan Issel.
Speaker 3: And Mike Pratt some legends right there.
Speaker 5: So that's how that's how old I go back. But uh,
Speaker 5: what you said before about a lot of the majority
Speaker 5: of Kentucky fans on the on the on the internet
Speaker 5: talking about yeah, yeah, that's yeah. The fans over fifty,
Speaker 5: I think are a lot over fifty years old, are
Speaker 5: a little bit different than some of these youngsters.
Speaker 3: I would totally agree they I think some of the.
Speaker 5: Young player young people don't really understand good basketball when
Speaker 5: they see it. And uh, and and so if you're.
Speaker 3: It, I can ask you a question, Rod, because I'm curious.
Speaker 3: I think you made it.
Speaker 2: You made a good point that that I hadn't really
Speaker 2: thought about from the Kentucky perspective. But I think the
Speaker 2: younger generation and I'm talking folks that are, you know,
Speaker 2: even even you know a little bit younger than me.
Speaker 2: And it makes sense just because of their era that
Speaker 2: they probably had a harder time accepting that that with
Speaker 2: Cali Perry got had a great run there, did some
Speaker 2: good things, but Kentucky basketball needed a new new voice,
Speaker 2: as Cal said, and a guy that's that's kind of
Speaker 2: hitting the notes.
Speaker 3: Pope is.
Speaker 2: And I'm sure regardless of your age, if you're a
Speaker 2: Kentucky fan, young or old, you're enjoying this this ride
Speaker 2: so far with Mark Pope, because it's been great. But
Speaker 2: you know, I think you're right as far as just
Speaker 2: the differences, and it's nobody's fault. It's just you know,
Speaker 2: they only know what they were around. The kind of experience.
Speaker 5: But there's no coming in.
Speaker 2: Kentucky, you know what I mean, Like every coach that
Speaker 2: they've had more coaches win titles there than any other program.
Speaker 2: And again that that speaks to just if you're a
Speaker 2: good coach, you can win there.
Speaker 5: Yeah. But if you like, if you like good basketball. Though,
Speaker 5: back in the seventies in the eighties, you had to
Speaker 5: you had to appreciate, uh, you had to appreciate what
Speaker 5: Guinny Crumb did, and you also had to appreciate what
Speaker 5: Joe B. Hall was doing at the same time. Uh,
Speaker 5: these guys were winning championships in seventy eight, eighty eighty six,
Speaker 5: all of these these these back in the back in
Speaker 5: those days, and because they were playing good basketball. And
Speaker 5: that's the problem back nowadays, it's like, you know, you
Speaker 5: got to be for one team or the other and
Speaker 5: the other team can't be playing good basketball. But that's
Speaker 5: not that's not true. If you go back to the
Speaker 5: Kentucky Louisville teams back in those days, both teams played
Speaker 5: great basketball, and kind of like right now, you've got
Speaker 5: two teams that to me are playing really good basketball.
Speaker 5: And if you if you don't appreciate that, then you
Speaker 5: really don't appreciate sport.
Speaker 2: I'm with you, That's what I say.
Speaker 5: Well said, and yeah, and I you know so so
Speaker 5: I say some of the older fans are I think
Speaker 5: you can personally be you know, appreciate good basketball, appreciate
Speaker 5: good coaching, because so many times you don't have good
Speaker 5: coaching and you don't have good basketball, and and it's
Speaker 5: just you know, it's but you've got to appreciate both
Speaker 5: teams and what they're doing.
Speaker 3: Now, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2: And I appreciate the call, Rod, I will say this,
Speaker 2: I think that's that's been pretty evident. Again, you can
Speaker 2: you can get deep into the weeds on on the
Speaker 2: World Wide Web and really find anything you're looking for.
Speaker 2: And I mean, like anything, especially when it comes to
Speaker 2: fans that that you know, want to get that just
Speaker 2: only see it from the real vitriol and and real
Speaker 2: you know, just deep rooted hatred that exists within the rivalry.
Speaker 2: But I think there there's really been for me, just
Speaker 2: in my position. I think there's a lot of folks
Speaker 2: who just love basketball and clearly their love for the
Speaker 2: sport came from watching their team Louisville or Kentucky. You know,
Speaker 2: established sort of their their their mark on the sport.
Speaker 2: And even if you want to kind of have some
Speaker 2: fun with the back and forth and the rivalry, I
Speaker 2: think if you're honest with yourself, we're we're seeing two
Speaker 2: coaches really put good basketball on the floor every night,
Speaker 2: and I mean you can find ways to take shots
Speaker 2: at the other team and discredit them. And again I
Speaker 2: have no issue with it, I get it, but you know,
Speaker 2: I try to be as as as straightforward as I can,
Speaker 2: and I think I think both teams are doing a
Speaker 2: great job as far as just you know, not only winning,
Speaker 2: and Louisville clearly winning even a little bit would have
Speaker 2: been great this year just because of recent years, Kentucky
Speaker 2: hasn't really had a big fall. Even when they lost
Speaker 2: in the tournament early, they were still winning at a
Speaker 2: high level. So with all that said, you know, bars
Speaker 2: are different this year just because of the recency. But
Speaker 2: people around here know basketball, you know, and I love that.
Speaker 2: I love knowing that something, and I love sports. That's
Speaker 2: why I'm so fortunate to be able to do what
Speaker 2: I do. But basketball is just it's different for me,
Speaker 2: especially college basketball. But there's no doubt it was said
Speaker 2: by one of the callers earlier. Everything is better around
Speaker 2: here when both teams are good. And clearly Kentucky has
Speaker 2: the edge right now. They've beat Louisville head to head
Speaker 2: and they've got a phenomenal resume. But you know, I
Speaker 2: just I'm enjoying it.
Speaker 3: I really am.
Speaker 2: So all right, we don't have any more time left
Speaker 2: here to get to one more call, but we will
Speaker 2: get to you on the other side if you want
Speaker 2: to stick with us. We'll let you guys continue to
Speaker 2: be a part of the show the rest of the way.
Speaker 2: It's been fun interacting with you guys, so we'll keep
Speaker 2: doing it. Five two, five nine hundred is the number
Speaker 2: stick around if you're on hold and we got one
Speaker 2: more hour left, so don't go anywhere, keep it locked
Speaker 2: right here.
Speaker 3: It's coffee and company.
Speaker 2: Feel Buth Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety