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: You know, I thought it was going to be an
Speaker 2: awkward start today because we only get one hour with you,
Speaker 2: which will make the most of it. It's coffee and
Speaker 2: company fuel by Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 3: Appreciate you hanging out with us.
Speaker 2: But again, one hour instead of three, so you are
Speaker 2: short changed today, But that's okay. We'll make the most
Speaker 2: of it. And I mean this to I mean today
Speaker 2: I feel like a part timer. Right. The job is, uh,
Speaker 2: there's not as much to it as it is there
Speaker 2: usually is, because you know, one hour instead of three.
Speaker 3: It's pretty it's pretty obvious.
Speaker 2: But I'm ready to roll on a Friday at five,
Speaker 2: usually Friday at five, Like when you get there, it's
Speaker 2: it's all right.
Speaker 3: Here we go, like, let's just let loose.
Speaker 2: However, today my work day starts at five o'clock on
Speaker 2: a Friday, which is kind of awkward. But that all
Speaker 2: went out the window when I heard Pat Kelsey there
Speaker 2: in his press conference from earlier today. We played that
Speaker 2: we had a little bit of time left before we
Speaker 2: got to the top of the hour, So I figured,
Speaker 2: why not let you hear the man of the hour,
Speaker 2: the man that has revived this basketball program, the one
Speaker 2: and only Pat Kelsey. And I mean, he's fired up
Speaker 2: about the thought of playing Stanford tomorrow. He's fired up
Speaker 2: about people who I don't even know if this is true,
Speaker 2: but in his mind he thinks that there's people out
Speaker 2: there claiming that mid major coaches from the conference he
Speaker 2: used to coach and can't can't, can't hack it at
Speaker 2: the top level.
Speaker 3: He's fired up about it.
Speaker 4: He's not here for that disrespect.
Speaker 2: So I'm fired up too. So we got an hour
Speaker 2: with you. We'll make the most of it again. Coffee
Speaker 2: and company, fuel about Thornton's Nick Coffee. That's me the
Speaker 2: tribal chief, Austin Montgomery alongside. And where do we start.
Speaker 2: I feel like this is going to be a little
Speaker 2: bit of a rapid fire afternoon because again, there's a
Speaker 2: lot to get to but not as much time as
Speaker 2: we typically have. But I will say this as someone
Speaker 2: who loves college basketball, and I feel like, right now, baby,
Speaker 2: it's March. It's March seventh. It's our time to shine.
Speaker 2: We haven't got to the big conference tournaments just yet.
Speaker 2: The NCAA tournament, of course, hasn't started yet. We've got,
Speaker 2: you know, roughly nine days from We're nine days away
Speaker 2: from selection Sunday. But still the NFL is the season's over.
Speaker 2: They had Combine Super Bowls in the rear view, and
Speaker 2: I feel like it's college basketball's time to shine. And
Speaker 2: this has been a phenomenal season. And I mean, like
Speaker 2: Louisville fans of course, like if you're just in your
Speaker 2: own bubble, I get it. I've been there with you
Speaker 2: for the most part, because man, this is just it's
Speaker 2: been so much fun watching Louisville basketball not only not
Speaker 2: be terrible like we were the last couple of years,
Speaker 2: but like we're good, We're fun to watch.
Speaker 3: We got a coach who I you.
Speaker 2: Know, I know, I'm one of many, many, many that
Speaker 2: love this guy, and he is perfect for us. So
Speaker 2: things are great for us, but also college BASKETBA I'm
Speaker 2: telling you, guys, man, like we've got some really good teams.
Speaker 2: I said this the other day, and we'll see when
Speaker 2: we get there. As far as the round of thirty two,
Speaker 2: but if this thing goes chalk meaning the seeds that
Speaker 2: are supposed to win advance past the round of sixty four.
Speaker 2: I think with the landscape currently with college basketball, we
Speaker 2: could absolutely have and they'll be upset, so this won't happen.
Speaker 2: But overall, like the round of thirty two, you've got
Speaker 2: like six seed play and three seed, right, you've got
Speaker 2: one seed play in, an eight seed, you've got two.
Speaker 3: Seed play in. Who would it be? Seven seed? Yeah,
Speaker 3: So like.
Speaker 2: Those teams may still win, they'll be favorites, but like
Speaker 2: there should be some really really great action in college shops.
Speaker 2: I say all that to say I just need to
Speaker 2: not expect anybody to actually give a damn about college
Speaker 2: basketball at the rate that we do, because right now,
Speaker 2: the two biggest stories in sports are these two things.
Speaker 2: James leaving the huddle in the fourth quarter last night
Speaker 2: the Lakers game to go address Stephen A. Smith, who
Speaker 2: was not working, wasn't on the call, wasn't a part
Speaker 2: of the broadcast, was just sitting courtside because you just
Speaker 2: inked a one hundred million dollar deal with the ESPN.
Speaker 2: And Lebron went up to him and and and and
Speaker 2: wanted to put him in his place, because you know,
Speaker 2: Steven A Smith, who is a clown. Although a successful
Speaker 2: clown who I don't have an issue with. I just
Speaker 2: treat steven A. Smith for what it is, Like it's
Speaker 2: not like he's giving me analysis.
Speaker 3: He's not.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's a character and that's okay, Like he's
Speaker 2: he you And I don't say he's an actor, but
Speaker 2: like he's a character.
Speaker 3: In fact, he is an actor.
Speaker 2: He did soap operas too, So you know, that's the
Speaker 2: biggest story, is that Lebron was upset about something steven A.
Speaker 2: Smith said about his son, which, by the way, it's
Speaker 2: all Lebron's fault for you know, and nobody would have
Speaker 2: had your son in the NBA if you didn't force
Speaker 2: it when he's clearly not an NBA player. And then
Speaker 2: also Charles Barkley, like the NBA is so bad that
Speaker 2: the games themselves, the actual substance that is National Basketball
Speaker 2: Association action it it's it's a nothing burger. So therefore
Speaker 2: you got Lebron calling out Stephen A courtside in Los Angeles,
Speaker 2: and then you also have Charles Barkley taking a shot
Speaker 2: at Kendrick Perkins like that's though, and I'm not kidding you.
Speaker 3: You can look all across the I mean again, I
Speaker 3: guess everybody.
Speaker 2: Can be in their own bubble absorbing whatever they really
Speaker 2: care about when it comes to sports. But I'm you know,
Speaker 2: where do you Where do people initially go and they
Speaker 2: want to know what's the latest headline or story news
Speaker 2: in sports? They go to the four letter network and
Speaker 2: those two things are dominating the four letter network.
Speaker 3: And look whatever, I get it.
Speaker 2: Drama that that that that matters, right, that that that sells,
Speaker 2: and the NBA has become that. But I just need
Speaker 2: to stop being surprised by this stuff, Austin, because like,
Speaker 2: college hoops is great, man, it's phenomenal. We've had some
Speaker 2: good mid major conference tournaments uh games thus far. Yet
Speaker 2: it just you know, like we're just like that, we're
Speaker 2: we're there. I don't there was I was about to say,
Speaker 2: can I still say this or is this like a
Speaker 2: cancelable thing?
Speaker 3: Like we're the red headed step child? Like is that
Speaker 3: is that a saying?
Speaker 4: Still? Yeah, I still say that.
Speaker 3: I didn't make it up, right, Like that's a thing.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I don't know any step child that's redheaded that was abused,
Speaker 2: but like I just know that was a saying whenever
Speaker 2: I was young. Yeah, and like that's what college that's
Speaker 2: how college basketball is treated. Like you just you just
Speaker 2: like us because of our bracket. You don't really value us.
Speaker 2: You don't appreciate what's on the inside. You only like
Speaker 2: it's like, you know, it's like a chit got a
Speaker 2: boob job.
Speaker 4: That's that's that's a really good way to put it.
Speaker 2: That's the bracket, right, Like you just like looking at
Speaker 2: a bracket and filling it out and thinking about taking
Speaker 2: off work on that Thursday and Friday.
Speaker 3: You don't appreciate as you don't deserve us.
Speaker 5: Yeah you're and you're just you're just gonna act like,
Speaker 5: oh well, I always liked her. She always had a
Speaker 5: good personality. And it's the same thing with the Four
Speaker 5: Letter Network and in the same in the same vein
Speaker 5: when we're talking about Steven A. Smith, we're getting coverage
Speaker 5: of that and other people fighting and people fighting at
Speaker 5: the combine, and then all of a sudden, once March
Speaker 5: madness hits, these people are all of a sudden going
Speaker 5: to become college basketball professionals. They're going to tell us
Speaker 5: about who's going to win the tournament when they haven't
Speaker 5: been given a damn the last few months. Now, all
Speaker 5: of a sudden, it's just going to be at the
Speaker 5: center of their attention.
Speaker 2: And look, I don't mind if you don't like. If
Speaker 2: it's not your thing, it's not your thing. But here,
Speaker 2: here's what. Here's what will happen if, in fact, you know,
Speaker 2: we get a few upsets, if this thing ends up
Speaker 2: to where we get let me just pull up a bracketology.
Speaker 4: Because pull it out.
Speaker 3: I'll pull it out on a Friday. It's out.
Speaker 4: No one's here.
Speaker 3: There is nobody here.
Speaker 4: I know, no five o'clock hits.
Speaker 3: Well, it was knew I was going to pull it out.
Speaker 5: It was that's right. Well, well we got to watch
Speaker 5: it out because it is. It is International Women's Day today.
Speaker 5: I don't know if you notice that.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for letting me know that after I
Speaker 2: just made very uh insensitive uh you know bad man
Speaker 2: jokes about pulling it out.
Speaker 5: Well, if they're not here, they're well, mamma don't know,
Speaker 5: don't exactly.
Speaker 2: So let's just say we get you know, Auburn in
Speaker 2: Illinois in the second round. That should be a really
Speaker 2: good game. How about Missouri Iowa State? How about Arizona,
Speaker 2: Texas A and m Kansas Wisconsin. My desk is raising
Speaker 2: how about Marquette Michigan. How about a little Clemson Texas Tech.
Speaker 2: I don't want this matchup because I'm scared of hiszz.
Speaker 2: Oh but Michigan State, Louisville. How about Tennessee Ucla?
Speaker 4: Bring it?
Speaker 2: Oh you want Matt Painter, Penny Hardaway, I got it,
Speaker 2: the six and three in Milwaukee. How about how about
Speaker 2: Maryland Kentucky, let's go. How about the Turps? How about
Speaker 2: how about they just put Scott Van Pelt's bald head
Speaker 2: on the sideline for Maryland. We got two bald coaches.
Speaker 2: We got the Mark Pos's bald right, Yeah, Yankees bald.
Speaker 5: Too, bald What seemingly is seven footer's going at it?
Speaker 3: Houston, Yukon.
Speaker 2: I mean we got you know, the big bad booty daddy,
Speaker 2: mister Calvin Sampson who's just been winning every chance he gets.
Speaker 2: And Dan Hurley. Don't let him in as an eight seed.
Speaker 2: That guy's one of the last two tournaments. Folks we
Speaker 2: were talking. We're talking in wichital Kansas. Danny Hurley, Kelvin
Speaker 2: Sampson laying it on the table.
Speaker 4: Oh, that's mister jewelry right now.
Speaker 2: How about the hottest team in the country, the Mormons
Speaker 2: and b Yu taking on Alabama the two seed, Oh
Speaker 2: you want you want? Chris Jans the dentist, I'm sweating,
Speaker 2: taking on Saint John's and Ricky p who just by
Speaker 2: the way last night, was it was it?
Speaker 3: What show was he on? Was it was it? I
Speaker 3: don't watch those mainstream shows with a Jimmy fallon.
Speaker 1: Was he?
Speaker 3: Oh guy? Oh yeah right?
Speaker 4: Rick?
Speaker 3: Yeah, Rick Rick, Rick's Rick is big time right now.
Speaker 5: I love how they love him now. And six years
Speaker 5: ago he was a perv cancer to the game.
Speaker 3: They want, They wanted him out of the game, they
Speaker 3: wanted him in prison.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so look now he's a darling.
Speaker 2: I'm telling you these were these would be the matchups
Speaker 2: we would get in the second round. And all these
Speaker 2: people that are worried about Lebron James being a dad
Speaker 2: and not being a professional, and Kendrick Perkins and and
Speaker 2: and Charles Barkley talking tough online only to probably you know,
Speaker 2: snuggle it night.
Speaker 3: If they ever see each other.
Speaker 2: Like like that, those people will will will look down
Speaker 2: upon those matchups I just mentioned because they only care
Speaker 2: about Sister Jean, her attention seeking ass stealing the show
Speaker 2: right like they want? Uh, They want Brad Stevens when
Speaker 2: he looks like he might be the equipment manager. No,
Speaker 2: he's coaching Butler and he's gone to two straight title games.
Speaker 2: Like they they all, they're all for the novelty acts.
Speaker 2: They're they're not in the trenches. They're not watching Mac
Speaker 2: Action on a Sunday night like they're not. They're not
Speaker 2: they're they're not built like us, bro, They're not built
Speaker 2: like us. And I just I'm ready to go all
Speaker 2: in here because we care about college troops around here
Speaker 2: more so than than than most.
Speaker 4: Oh you're fired up? Oh you got me ready.
Speaker 2: It's like I took a bump and I didn't, but
Speaker 2: I took a Pat Kelsey a little brief, little press conference,
Speaker 2: like a little well Pat Kelsey press press conference, pep talk.
Speaker 2: You might as well go get me a line prepared
Speaker 2: in the broom, guys. I mean, that's what this is
Speaker 2: right here. I'm fired up.
Speaker 4: It's March.
Speaker 3: I am March. We are March. It's what we do
Speaker 3: all right, real quick.
Speaker 2: For those that did not hear, because a lot of people,
Speaker 2: you know, they start their their commute home around five
Speaker 2: o'clock when they get off work. Pack Kelsey and his
Speaker 2: press conference didn't give us much of an update on
Speaker 2: rain Smith, but it was an update that at least
Speaker 2: made me not more worried than I already was, which
Speaker 2: I really wasn't worried, although you know, if I sit
Speaker 2: and stew and think about something long enough, I'll worry
Speaker 2: myself because that's just how I'm wired.
Speaker 3: I got issues.
Speaker 2: But Rain Smith has an ankle issue, which I feel like,
Speaker 2: you know, you can play through that, and I think
Speaker 2: if you know it was the tournament, he probably would
Speaker 2: have played through it. So I don't know if he's
Speaker 2: going to go tomorrow. I have a feeling he will
Speaker 2: because I think he's going to be able to go,
Speaker 2: and I think they're going to have a longer break
Speaker 2: than they've had typically, right like Saturdy to Thursday is
Speaker 2: a longer break than they've had in the majority of
Speaker 2: the weeks of the season.
Speaker 3: And he's got so many family here.
Speaker 2: I met my wife for lunch and we were down
Speaker 2: on Main Street, went to o'hay's for lunch, and you know,
Speaker 2: sure enough, the people working there were like we ended
Speaker 2: up having like three or four different people here throughout
Speaker 2: the week that were part of the party that came
Speaker 2: to Louisville with the Rain Smith crew. Oh so you know,
Speaker 2: they didn't give any information as far as his injury status.
Speaker 3: But party from down Undah exactly.
Speaker 2: So you know, I just think I think he's gonna
Speaker 2: be okay. If he doesn't play. You can really convince
Speaker 2: yourself whatever you want, that it's serious and we should
Speaker 2: be worried. Or maybe they just they realize that Stanford,
Speaker 2: but it's his I mean, I'll just say this, it's
Speaker 2: the last time Rain Smith's gonna play in the YOUM Center.
Speaker 3: So I know, Pat did what you would expect him.
Speaker 2: To do today and say, look, it's gonna be up
Speaker 2: to our training staff. I'm not a doctor. Kate the Great,
Speaker 2: she's phenomenal. She'll she'll let us know what we can
Speaker 2: do with Rain and that's what that look, that's that's
Speaker 2: what you should do in that situation. But I'm also
Speaker 2: you know, able to filter through the I don't even
Speaker 2: want to call it coach speak because I don't know
Speaker 2: if he's ever really given us that. I mean, I
Speaker 2: think he said some things that fall in line with
Speaker 2: coach speak, but he does it in a different way.
Speaker 2: And you know, he could probably say anything and we'll
Speaker 2: just eat it up because that's that's how appreciative we
Speaker 2: are of this thing being turned around so quickly. But
Speaker 2: what I'm getting at is I just can't ignore the
Speaker 2: fact that if he doesn't play and it's his last
Speaker 2: home game and he's got so many people there.
Speaker 3: Yes, you could say, well they.
Speaker 2: Didn't need him, maybe they're up twenty, they're up thirty
Speaker 2: at Stanford, and you may be right, but I'm also
Speaker 2: going to be at least aware that, like he literally
Speaker 2: could not play, because wouldn't you agree austin his last
Speaker 2: game of the Umcenter, He's actually he's played his highest
Speaker 2: level of basketball, meaning he's in the ACC. And and yes,
Speaker 2: I know people can make their jokes about the ACC.
Speaker 2: Rain's had great games again Kentucky against Duke again, like
Speaker 2: when Louisville played good teams, Rain Smith did. Rain Smith thinks, sure.
Speaker 2: So he's actually averaged more points, made more threes. He's
Speaker 2: been better this year at Louisville than he was in
Speaker 2: four years at a lower level at Charleston. So I
Speaker 2: just I refuse to believe. And again that's not me
Speaker 2: telling you that I know this for a fact. I'm
Speaker 2: just being honest with you telling you what I think.
Speaker 2: That's kind of what I'm supposed to do here. If
Speaker 2: he cannot if he does not play tomorrow, that means
Speaker 2: he cannot play. And that makes it to where like
Speaker 2: I'm gonna not be surprised if he can go against
Speaker 2: whoever they play on Thursday. But I'm also going to
Speaker 2: be thinking to myself, I kind of got to see
Speaker 2: him healthy to believe that, like he's gonna be good
Speaker 2: to go in March or good to go in the postseason.
Speaker 2: I should say we already are in March. Do that
Speaker 2: makes sense? Like, yes, you shouldn't risk it.
Speaker 3: You need him.
Speaker 2: He's a weapon. But also like if he simply cannot
Speaker 2: play at all, I you.
Speaker 4: Know, I'm good.
Speaker 2: And again I'm just saying for my own this is
Speaker 2: just my brain here, because others would be like, Nick,
Speaker 2: you're a lunatic.
Speaker 3: Like it's probably not very big of a deal.
Speaker 2: It's Stanford, and yeah, it's his last game, but like
Speaker 2: we should get him healthy because you know, maybe Louisville
Speaker 2: makes a run to the second weekend and you may
Speaker 2: be right, but I also you know, it's an ankle,
Speaker 2: and I an ankle is something that you know when
Speaker 2: you've got. I guess if it's like a high ankle spring,
Speaker 2: which I don't even think it's that. And I'll just
Speaker 2: tell you this. I think he's gonna play to Momore.
Speaker 2: I think I think he's gonna be fine.
Speaker 4: Just tape that thing up.
Speaker 3: But I'm just telling you.
Speaker 2: If in fact he does not go, the reality is
Speaker 2: we'll just have to wait and see if.
Speaker 3: That means anything substantial.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's just a I mean, because it could play
Speaker 2: out the way that Chucky did, right Chucky, it sounds
Speaker 2: like could have played against Miami after having his issue
Speaker 2: against Boston College where he was told he could not return,
Speaker 2: but and it looked fun. He came out against NC
Speaker 2: State that next game and was phenomenal. So maybe that
Speaker 2: same thing here. But I just know, let's be humans here,
Speaker 2: like this is his He's got countless folks from across
Speaker 2: the pond, from across the planet, really that if come
Speaker 2: to watch him, and if he can't, if he doesn't
Speaker 2: play at all, to me, that says he's legitimately dealing
Speaker 2: with something that we just have to hope and pray
Speaker 2: that he's better by the time we get to Thursday,
Speaker 2: because you know, at that point I mean, it's win
Speaker 2: or go home when you get to Charlotte, and obviously
Speaker 2: after that it's win or go home in the big Dance.
Speaker 3: So again, just to just.
Speaker 2: To give you a little bit of of a peek
Speaker 2: inside my brain here, when Pat was talking earlier today,
Speaker 2: I did what I do. I overthink it because you know,
Speaker 2: it's just me. If anything, I'm an open book. I
Speaker 2: don't know what else I am to you guys, but
Speaker 2: I share it all as far as how I feel,
Speaker 2: what I think, and sometimes that may make me look
Speaker 2: like a real idiot, but you know, which just sees
Speaker 2: what you get. When Pat Kelsey made it because when
Speaker 2: Chucky got hurt, there was a specific way in which
Speaker 2: he answered the question after the game about Chucky. He said,
Speaker 2: I was told he could not go, like the training
Speaker 2: staff said he can't play, and that worried me, but
Speaker 2: it was really just because they wanted to get some
Speaker 2: things looked at the growing all that kind of stuff
Speaker 2: with Rain. Rain was, according to Pat, having a tough time,
Speaker 2: but he had to tell him I can't go. So
Speaker 2: the fact that he said he can't go tells me
Speaker 2: he's really hurt. I mean, am I wrong?
Speaker 4: Gear?
Speaker 3: Like again, none of us know.
Speaker 2: Maybe maybe hits eleven threes tomorrow and breaks his own record.
Speaker 2: I don't know, But when I whenever, whenever he knows
Speaker 2: he can't play, a guy that you know knows this
Speaker 2: is the second to last game he's gonna play. And oh,
Speaker 2: by the way, a ton of people were there and
Speaker 2: he said I can't go. So again, I'm just giving
Speaker 2: you a little bit of of an insight into, you know,
Speaker 2: the way I'm looking at it, Cause again tomorrow will
Speaker 2: be a real big tell to me as far as rain.
Speaker 2: But again I'm just that's basing it off of me,
Speaker 2: assuming and you know, speculating.
Speaker 3: It's all speculation. Iman's technically what this job is, if
Speaker 3: we're being honest.
Speaker 2: But does that make sense Austin, Like he said he
Speaker 2: couldn't go, which tells me he's hurt. Yeah, because a
Speaker 2: lot of guys would go a lot of guys would
Speaker 2: go and they're told, no, you can't, we're not letting
Speaker 2: you play. So in no way I'm acting like he's
Speaker 2: not tough. In fact, I more so realized that like
Speaker 2: he may and I don't know when it happened, Like
Speaker 2: I remember a play where it you know, clearly something
Speaker 2: was up with him, but I don't know if that
Speaker 2: was what. Let you know, it sounds like he was
Speaker 2: dealing with something before and then it you know, maybe
Speaker 2: he reaggravated it or whatever.
Speaker 3: Maybe he heard it worse.
Speaker 2: But there was a They do a lot of handoffs
Speaker 2: with Rain, and he can just you know, if if
Speaker 2: you go under and they're doing a handoff, that's that's
Speaker 2: the danger zone. Well, somebody on they play cal looked
Speaker 2: like they were gonna do they were gonna go under,
Speaker 2: and they didn't. They jumped ahead and bumped Rain, and
Speaker 2: Rain got knocked off his spot and the ball just
Speaker 2: went out of bounds. It was a turnover and he
Speaker 2: stopped in his tracks, and I thought he was just
Speaker 2: kind of like giving you some body language to the
Speaker 2: ref like how could you not call a fouther I got,
Speaker 2: you know, got bumped. But actually it looked as if
Speaker 2: like he couldn't move very well because he might have
Speaker 2: done something, but it didn't seem like an ankle. So again,
Speaker 2: maybe this is another injury that we talk about way
Speaker 2: more than we need to. Like Chucky and Rain is
Speaker 2: not as valuable as Chucky. But let's be real, Ray Smith,
Speaker 2: is I mean you can you could probably in your
Speaker 2: own way, determine how you view each guy as far
Speaker 2: as the level of importance, like the guy you could
Speaker 2: least afford to lose.
Speaker 3: But I and this goes back to what we talked
Speaker 3: about yesterday.
Speaker 2: I think all four of these guys are deserving of
Speaker 2: all ACC honors, first and second team.
Speaker 3: They won't get it, and I'll understand it. I won't.
Speaker 2: It won't be as some it won't be some conspiracy,
Speaker 2: but like Louisville has four really good players that have
Speaker 2: all been very much instrumental in Louisville being able to
Speaker 2: be currently seventeen and two in the ACC. I mean,
Speaker 2: say what you want about the league. Let's just say
Speaker 2: the league is terrible, which we kind of all though
Speaker 2: it is. That doesn't mean that the teams that are
Speaker 2: good are terrible. Those are the teams that you're going
Speaker 2: to really find out, you know. I mean, you'll never
Speaker 2: really be able to know if the league hurt them,
Speaker 2: because you could see a team lose early and say,
Speaker 2: well they were good, but man, they'd get test they
Speaker 2: didn't get challenged for two months. Or you could see
Speaker 2: a team you know, roll through and say, yeah, the
Speaker 2: ACC stunk but man, that team didn't so you just
Speaker 2: never know. But all four of these guys chucky Hepburn,
Speaker 2: Terrence Edwards, Jamon Hadley and Rain Smith. And look not
Speaker 2: to say that the other guys haven't been valuable. I mean,
Speaker 2: Troiory's given you some great minutes off the bench. I
Speaker 2: love Kenai Ruth in his upside. James Scott, I mean
Speaker 2: defense and dunking, like that those are two things, and
Speaker 2: he does those two things pretty well, especially dunking.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we love the double.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you know, like I don't want to act
Speaker 2: like it's just those four guys, but like, go look
Speaker 2: at their numbers. They weren't just like hey, playing a
Speaker 2: small minor role. They were consistently good enough to where
Speaker 2: they put up numbers that I feel like any other team,
Speaker 2: those guys are getting the nut.
Speaker 3: Even if they're on a back team.
Speaker 2: Like if Rain Smith has his numbers on a bad team,
Speaker 2: there's a level of like, well, we got to get
Speaker 2: this guy at least on the third team, because I mean, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's team stunk.
Speaker 3: But look at him.
Speaker 2: He's got thirteen more threes than anybody in the league.
Speaker 2: And oh, by the way, he had made one in
Speaker 2: two games. So again, Rain is valuable and I hope
Speaker 2: he's good to go. I still believe deep down that
Speaker 2: like if it was like real concerning we wouldn't know,
Speaker 2: like as far as a press release, but not even
Speaker 2: to say like it would be out, like there'd be
Speaker 2: a league. But I didn't get the sense that Pat
Speaker 2: was overly worried about it today and that makes me happy.
Speaker 2: But also again Rain being the guy that says I
Speaker 2: can't go in that situation, I'm not just gonna act
Speaker 2: like that's I mean, players don't act that way unless
Speaker 2: they can't play. So maybe Rain is the veteran, the
Speaker 2: old man essentially, where he's like, yeah, I could be
Speaker 2: selfish and just want to play and not be at
Speaker 2: one hundred percent for my team.
Speaker 3: However, I could also rest up a little bit.
Speaker 2: And come out on Saturday and have the old ultimate
Speaker 2: curtain call essentially.
Speaker 3: In my last game.
Speaker 2: We're in the Louisville uniform in the UM Center, which
Speaker 2: just saying that makes me sad, but it's here, and
Speaker 2: you know, the end of the regular season is exciting
Speaker 2: usually when you're in this position where you're in the
Speaker 2: tournament safely. And I still believe this group can can
Speaker 2: make a run. You know, we'll see when the matchup
Speaker 2: is and all that. But I'm this is the saddest
Speaker 2: I've ever been for a regular season that's super successful
Speaker 2: to come to an end.
Speaker 3: Because yes, I love March. I am March. You guys
Speaker 3: know that. I mean, I feel pretty good about my
Speaker 3: opening monologue.
Speaker 1: If I die.
Speaker 2: Today, let college basketball hear that and they'll know how
Speaker 2: much I love it.
Speaker 3: Am I wrong? Am I wrong?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 3: It's so you know, kidding me.
Speaker 2: So you know, I'm excited about the postseason. But man,
Speaker 2: this has been such a fun ride. And I you know,
Speaker 2: give me Mark Pope wants forty games, give me sixty
Speaker 2: games with these guys, man, I love them, love them all?
Speaker 3: Right, quick break, We'll come back.
Speaker 2: Keep this thing wronging, ang, It's Cofee and Company, just
Speaker 2: one hour version of us today, but we'll make the
Speaker 2: most of it right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 3: All right, don't forget folks.
Speaker 2: We got a new text line five O two four
Speaker 2: three eight ninety seventy three. It's still the LNENT Federal
Speaker 2: Credit Union text line but a new number five oh
Speaker 2: two four three eight ninety seventy three again five O
Speaker 2: two four three eight nine zero seven three. Thank you
Speaker 2: uh to this recent text didn't leave the name. That's
Speaker 2: okay because you complimented me. I mean, I'd like you
Speaker 2: to leave a name so I can save it. That way,
Speaker 2: whenever our read a text, I can say, you know
Speaker 2: your name, or even if it's not your real name,
Speaker 2: just give me something. But they say college but they
Speaker 2: this person on the text line said college basketball doesn't
Speaker 2: deserve you.
Speaker 3: Nick what a passionate rant? I don't know if it was.
Speaker 3: Was it I rant?
Speaker 2: I guess it was a rant because I was complaining
Speaker 2: about people who you know, aren't in the trenches with us.
Speaker 2: Sure they're they're not up late when the you know,
Speaker 2: the Missouri Valley has got the got the tournament going
Speaker 2: at noon, actually it starts at noon in the art
Speaker 2: many times?
Speaker 4: How many times that they watch lamar?
Speaker 3: I mean the Mountain West? I mean how many?
Speaker 2: I mean, were you with me whenever the Mountain West
Speaker 2: got four teams, five teams in three straight years, And
Speaker 2: I'm thinking, man, they're sleeping on this league only for
Speaker 2: to just crumble and be terrible, like you.
Speaker 4: Don't you know, not a rant, a filibuster about that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there we go. But it's passion.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but it's passion. Baby.
Speaker 2: I love college basketball, passion, love every love, everything that
Speaker 2: comes with you. When you want to you mean to
Speaker 2: tell you a funny story about the word passion.
Speaker 4: Of course.
Speaker 2: My mother she's been sick this week. So I'm not
Speaker 2: sure if you went to she went to work today
Speaker 2: or not, but if she did, she's probably listening and
Speaker 2: she'll she'll well, she's she's she's a Donna Hue now.
Speaker 4: But that's right. But you told me that.
Speaker 3: But hey, but the respect was there, and that's all
Speaker 3: the matters.
Speaker 2: So she my mom, my mom has worked for and
Speaker 2: by the way, congratulations to her. She's uh, she's worked
Speaker 2: for the same she'll be retiring before too long, but
Speaker 2: she's worked for the same law firm for forty plus years.
Speaker 3: Oh yes, and she's she's uh, she's the best obviously.
Speaker 2: But she used to work for an attorney who his
Speaker 2: last name was.
Speaker 3: Was Cashion Cash.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and and all you know it was it was
Speaker 2: like her direct boss when I was a young kid,
Speaker 2: and she would talk about she would talk about mister
Speaker 2: cashon the the attorney that she worked for, who you know,
Speaker 2: was good to her and yeah, a good good man
Speaker 2: somebody that she worked with and worked for for a
Speaker 2: long time. And as a young kid, I just never
Speaker 2: really knew that the that it was a C and
Speaker 2: not a P. So I would just call him mister
Speaker 2: passion and h I later met him. I later met
Speaker 2: him as an adult and he remembered that I used
Speaker 2: to call him mister passion. And you know it, had
Speaker 2: it been a different situation, you know, not an older
Speaker 2: person who is you know, someone who's who's been great
Speaker 2: to my mother over the years, I might have made
Speaker 2: a joke that you know, would be fit for this show,
Speaker 2: like if your name's mister passion, like you know, you
Speaker 2: can do a lot of things other than just you know,
Speaker 2: practice laws, right right, But anyways, I got passionate about
Speaker 2: college basketball just a law exactly, absolutely absolutely all right.
Speaker 2: Uh it just hit me and you know how it
Speaker 2: hit me because I I need to be better at
Speaker 2: LinkedIn like you are, Austin. You are good at LinkedIn
Speaker 2: because you are.
Speaker 4: I just post on there.
Speaker 2: I'm not good, no, but like you, but you post
Speaker 2: good content for what that platform is sure. So like,
Speaker 2: so like I could, like for for what we do
Speaker 2: sports media, like I could post like clips of the
Speaker 2: show of me given hot takes, but like, I don't
Speaker 2: really know if that fits there or not. So sure,
Speaker 2: like you can give an example when I did our
Speaker 2: when I did my my own little personal commercial for
Speaker 2: the new and improved iHeart Radio.
Speaker 3: Appright, if that made sense to go to LinkedIn?
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, yeah, but like my mother content, like, I
Speaker 2: just don't really know if it fits there. So I
Speaker 2: rarely ever check LinkedIn. But the new text line is
Speaker 2: now connected to my personal email.
Speaker 3: That way I never lose it.
Speaker 2: So I saw that I had a bunch of notifications
Speaker 2: from LinkedIn, and it's a bunch of people congratulating me
Speaker 2: for something I didn't realize until I checked it out.
Speaker 3: Nine years ago.
Speaker 2: Today, March seventh, twenty sixteen, I did my first ever
Speaker 2: show for Sports Talk seven ninety nine years.
Speaker 4: Look at that.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm won away from ten. Hopefully I get
Speaker 2: to ten. But like, thank you appreciate that. But like
Speaker 2: you know, nine years is kind of up, but nine
Speaker 2: years that's the I mean, I'm thirty seven, I'll be
Speaker 2: thirty seven this year. I'm thirty six currently, But that's
Speaker 2: the I mean, it really did kind of trip me
Speaker 2: up a little bit during the break Because I've now
Speaker 2: worked for iHeartMedia for nine years. I've had three different
Speaker 2: day parts. I had Middays, mornings, now afternoon Drive on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety, a station that I grew up
Speaker 2: listening to. Well, I grew up as a sports radio
Speaker 2: I mean, I didn't listened to sports radio as a
Speaker 2: little kid. But like, you know, like I and this
Speaker 2: is gonna sound really corny, and I don't mean to
Speaker 2: I'm just being honest. Like I used to think, like
Speaker 2: if I ever get to meet Tony Vannetti, that'd be
Speaker 2: so cool.
Speaker 3: I didn't even know.
Speaker 2: I didn't even know Tony did rock radio, Like I
Speaker 2: didn't know. Oh yeah, I didn't know Vannetti at the
Speaker 2: Toy Tiger. Yeah, I just knew that Vannetti was funny
Speaker 2: and he would he would he would, you know, make
Speaker 2: nerd jokes about Adam Neft on the afternoon Underdogs. So like,
Speaker 2: I'm you know, not only is it still a dream
Speaker 2: come true to be able to do this, but this,
Speaker 2: this is the longest I've done anything in my life.
Speaker 4: That's awesome.
Speaker 2: Nine years here, nine years on this station. What an
Speaker 2: honor for me. But I mean, like I've I mean,
Speaker 2: I've had other jobs. I had another career before I
Speaker 2: did this, but like I've now, I've now done this
Speaker 2: way longer than I've ever done anything as far as
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: Like a job, a hustle, a passion.
Speaker 4: You know, and a dad.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I mean, and again we have very
Speaker 2: little time, so I'm sure people don't want to hear
Speaker 2: my life story as far as how I got able,
Speaker 2: I got myself in this position. But I mean, I
Speaker 2: interviewed to be the morning host in twenty fifteen, and.
Speaker 3: I can't believe they called me back, like to interview.
Speaker 2: Like, I mean, I applied and I was working at
Speaker 2: a different station at the time. And I'm forever, forever
Speaker 2: grateful for Dugan Ryan, who you know, gave me a
Speaker 2: chance to kind of cut kind of cut my teeth
Speaker 2: in radio and you know, figure out kind of find yourself.
Speaker 2: And anybody who's worked with me, I say that and
Speaker 2: they kind of look at me like I'm crazy.
Speaker 3: You'll find your role, You'll find.
Speaker 2: Your I don't want to say character because that always
Speaker 2: sounds like you're being somebody that's not genuine. But it's
Speaker 2: kind of like wrestling. You'll appreciate this, Austin the best
Speaker 2: people in wrestling. Ever, it's not even about like their
Speaker 2: talent and the ring. It's that if they can just
Speaker 2: be an extended version of themselves. Yeah again where theyre yeah,
Speaker 2: where they're turned up to ten. But there's still there's
Speaker 2: still an element of them being really who they are.
Speaker 5: You believe that that's there who they are outside in
Speaker 5: real life.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, you know, so when it comes to like, you know,
Speaker 2: my whole you know, my whole story, you know what,
Speaker 2: And here we are, it's already five thirty eight. I
Speaker 2: don't have much time, and I wanted to actually get
Speaker 2: some other stuff. But what I was going to say
Speaker 2: is that, you know, like I I got the interview
Speaker 2: thinking that they were just doing it, like they had
Speaker 2: to check off a certain amount of people, like they
Speaker 2: had to interview certain of people. And I was somebody
Speaker 2: that worked at a station. But you know, I found
Speaker 2: myself and I felt confident and I interviewed for that job.
Speaker 3: And I remember interviewing.
Speaker 2: It was Kelly Carls, who was the program director of
Speaker 2: Spoken Word here at the time.
Speaker 3: Fort Louisville. Bill Gentry had just retired to Earl Jones.
Speaker 2: I interviewed with with Kelly once and then I interviewed
Speaker 2: with Earl and Kelly a second time. And this was
Speaker 2: in like I want to say, like October maybe September,
Speaker 2: and I didn't feel like it was an interview because
Speaker 2: it just it was something I was passionate about, it,
Speaker 2: something I loved. So I wasn't feeling like I was auditioning.
Speaker 2: I was just talking like I was just like I
Speaker 2: was very at that point, I'd had enough confidence in
Speaker 2: myself to like, if you just give me an opportunity,
Speaker 2: I'll show you what I can do.
Speaker 3: And I think that's kind of how I played into it.
Speaker 2: Well then sure enough, you know, many many many months
Speaker 2: ago by I didn't get a call and I'm like, well, okay, yeah,
Speaker 2: it makes sense they didn't hire me. Well, then it
Speaker 2: turns out that it leaks that they've hired Howie Lindsay.
Speaker 2: Great guy, and he was he was in a better
Speaker 2: position for that job at the time than I was.
Speaker 2: I have no issue with that, right especially given where
Speaker 2: you know, iHeart was at the time trying to kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, salvage things with U of L. How we
Speaker 2: it was with somebody who could certainly help that more
Speaker 2: so than I could. So this was in you know,
Speaker 2: pre Thanksgiving. Whenever I'd realize, yeah, it wasn't me, like,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: Not my time.
Speaker 2: But at least, I mean I was even I was
Speaker 2: even still like thinking, well, at least I got an
Speaker 2: interview like.
Speaker 3: That was I felt like a big deal.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I got to walk in the door, a clear
Speaker 2: channel and they want to to iHeart, they wanted to
Speaker 2: talk to me. So a lot of time goes by.
Speaker 2: I'm you know, while we're going through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and
Speaker 2: starting twenty twenty sixteen, my wife's about to give birth
Speaker 2: to our first child, my daughter Maya, so you know,
Speaker 2: about to become a dad. I was still doing radio
Speaker 2: part time, and I was loving it. But I couldn't.
Speaker 2: I couldn't justify spending two or three hours away after
Speaker 2: my full time job, my nine to five, just to
Speaker 2: do it for fun and you know, maybe make it,
Speaker 2: make make it worth my time as far as money.
Speaker 2: But like I wasn't, you know, I couldn't leave my
Speaker 2: wife at home, you know, I couldn't. I couldn't be
Speaker 2: away from six thirty to eight pm, six thirty the
Speaker 2: morning to eight pm every night. Like it wasn't going
Speaker 2: to be a thing, right, So like I was telling myself, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to walk away. Like I'll still do
Speaker 2: you know, I'll still you know, do some things as
Speaker 2: a hobby, but like I gotta, I gotta, I gotta
Speaker 2: dive all the way into my software job where I
Speaker 2: worked as a QA analyst for a software company, and
Speaker 2: like I'll still cover Louisville and I'll do the blog
Speaker 2: and it'll be fun, but like I got priorities. I gotta,
Speaker 2: you know, I'm about to I'm about to be responsible
Speaker 2: for human being. So we're at the hospital. We're there
Speaker 2: a couple of days and you get non stop text me.
Speaker 2: You'll know this one day, Austin, And I'm sure you're
Speaker 2: not surprised. But when you when that happens, when you
Speaker 2: have your first child, you'll get phone calls, text You'll
Speaker 2: there'll be people that show up at the hospital that
Speaker 2: you're like, Okay, I think I know you, but why
Speaker 2: are you here because everybody's so happy for you.
Speaker 3: When I become a parent.
Speaker 2: So I got a phone call and it was a
Speaker 2: number I didn't recognize, and I never answered numbers I
Speaker 2: don't recognize, but I did because I thought it might
Speaker 2: be if somebody has my number and here I am,
Speaker 2: you know, roughly thirty two hours into being a parent,
Speaker 2: they're probably calling to tell me congratulations, and I want
Speaker 2: to answer it. So I answer it thinking it's somebody
Speaker 2: that I just didn't have their numbers, save that I
Speaker 2: was expecting.
Speaker 3: It wasn't. It was Kelly.
Speaker 2: Carl's who told me, hey, remember me, and I was
Speaker 2: like yeah, and he said, well, we were so impressed
Speaker 2: with you, and we really like what you bring to
Speaker 2: the table. We want to offer you a job that
Speaker 2: doesn't exist yet. And I said okay. He said, we're
Speaker 2: going to create a midday position, a midday show, noon
Speaker 2: to three. We've never done this, but we've never had
Speaker 2: a live noon to three programming on seven ninety.
Speaker 3: You don't even have to interview.
Speaker 2: All you got to do is log online and click
Speaker 2: apply and then we're gonna send you the contract and
Speaker 2: you gotta you gotta sign it. So I'm like it.
Speaker 2: I'm balancing things, like man, why I just I just
Speaker 2: gave my I just became a dad. Yeah, Like I've
Speaker 2: held my my daughter three times, and why am I
Speaker 2: thinking more so about this opportunity for me as a
Speaker 2: professional than being like it So I was. I didn't
Speaker 2: say a word to my wife. We get home, like
Speaker 2: two days go by, they've sent me the contract.
Speaker 3: They again.
Speaker 2: My daughter was born on February the sixteenth. I started
Speaker 2: on March the seventh. They announced it on March first
Speaker 2: that we were the new lineup, So I go home.
Speaker 2: I kind of ghosted him, and then they finally called
Speaker 2: me and was like, hey, like you said, you know,
Speaker 2: you seemed like it was it was you know, it
Speaker 2: was we were good to go, but you haven't signed
Speaker 2: the contract. And I was like, all right, give me
Speaker 2: an hour, I'll call you. So finally I told my
Speaker 2: wife and I was like I hate doing this because,
Speaker 2: like it is a risk. We're about to become me
Speaker 2: we're parents now, like got to we got to take
Speaker 2: care of another human being, and this would be a
Speaker 2: risk to where like I could leave my job, my
Speaker 2: full time career, and if this doesn't work out, like
Speaker 2: I got to start over, and like it's just it's
Speaker 2: the terrible time to take that kind of a risk.
Speaker 2: And my wife, before I could even like explain like,
Speaker 2: what we should do. She said, no, You're going to
Speaker 2: do it because if you don't, you'll never forgive yourself,
Speaker 2: you never forgive me. And if it doesn't work out,
Speaker 2: it doesn't work out. But imagine not knowing if and
Speaker 2: I and I was and I was like, all right,
Speaker 2: here we go.
Speaker 4: What a partner.
Speaker 2: So I jumped in in This industry clearly has changed
Speaker 2: a lot since I've been able to call it my
Speaker 2: full time job. So like it's still a privilege and
Speaker 2: a blessing to be able to do this every single day.
Speaker 2: And I don't have like the you know, I don't
Speaker 2: have the craziest story out there. But I mean, I
Speaker 2: left the hospital knowing I had an opportunity to do this,
Speaker 2: And I gotta be honest with you.
Speaker 3: I'm I'm not. I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't usually take a lot of big risks in life.
Speaker 2: I'm a very paranoid and safe person just to it
Speaker 2: just it's my nature. It's I wish I was a
Speaker 2: little bit more adventurous, But had my wife not been
Speaker 2: the way she was in that moment, I probably wouldn't
Speaker 2: have done it. And I would have told myself, well, Nick,
Speaker 2: you're just being risk Like I would have been a chicken,
Speaker 2: but I would have I would have dealt with it
Speaker 2: on my own way of being like, well, no, you're
Speaker 2: just being mature, You're just you know, but if I
Speaker 2: really I would have been scared.
Speaker 3: I would have been scared, and I would you know.
Speaker 2: So anyways, nine years, which is a random thing, like
Speaker 2: you know, what's one away from ten. But the reason
Speaker 2: I bring it up is because it just hit me
Speaker 2: one that it's been nine years. But also, this is
Speaker 2: the longest I've done anything in my life. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm thirty seven, So this is, you know, I don't
Speaker 2: know how. I don't know what the percentage of I
Speaker 2: don't know what the percentage of of not you know,
Speaker 2: nine years out of thirty seven, what that percentage is.
Speaker 2: But like this is, you know, not only has it
Speaker 2: been something I've been doing a long time, but like
Speaker 2: how I've been so lucky for so long.
Speaker 3: So thank you to everybody.
Speaker 2: I don't know if anybody listening is you know, it
Speaker 2: feels as if they are responsible for me still being
Speaker 2: able to do it. But I'm a lucky absolutely, Look
Speaker 2: you guy, all right, quick break, we'll come back on
Speaker 2: the other side and we wrap it up. I want
Speaker 2: to talk a little more about this matchup of Stanford tomorrow,
Speaker 2: as well as the two new coaches that have already
Speaker 2: been hired.
Speaker 3: By the ACC. It may work out, or it may be.
Speaker 2: Something that in a year or maybe even less than that,
Speaker 2: we look back and say.
Speaker 3: What were you doing Miami? What were you doing Florida State?
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and company, Fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: How about a little Billie Idol on a Friday? That's right, huh,
Speaker 2: may not tell you what This is not a probably
Speaker 2: a good thing to say about me, But there's a
Speaker 2: lot of things in life that I just chalk up to,
Speaker 2: Like I think of a lot of things, a lot
Speaker 2: of things that appear music, movies, stories, liners. They take
Speaker 2: me to an Adam Sandler movie. And when I think
Speaker 2: of Billy Idol, I think of him being on the
Speaker 2: plane with Adam Sandler on wedding Yeah, wedding singer. He's like,
Speaker 2: you got to get you got to get the girl,
Speaker 2: and I'm like, oh, yeah, I didn't even I didn't
Speaker 2: even know who Billy Idol was at the time.
Speaker 3: Kidding, but I'm like, this guy's bad ass.
Speaker 4: And he's exactly.
Speaker 3: He's in the movie for a reason.
Speaker 2: So good stuff. Billy Idol is the best, all right.
Speaker 2: So Louisville tomorrow against Stanford. You know, Stanford, to be fair,
Speaker 2: they're not. I mean, like a lot of the ACC
Speaker 2: has really, really really bad teams at the bottom bottom,
Speaker 2: like the teams that didn't qualify for the tournament. We're
Speaker 2: talking about Miami, Boston College, n C State. I guess
Speaker 2: this weekend actually will determine who ends up actually getting
Speaker 2: the last spot in the tournament. But nonetheless, you know,
Speaker 2: Stanford is eleven and eight. They have a winning record
Speaker 2: in the league, and there aren't many that can claim
Speaker 2: that that's not something that means that like they're good.
Speaker 2: They're not, but they're you know, I will admit I've
Speaker 2: looked at Stanford in a way kind of like, well,
Speaker 2: you know, might as well be playing Boston College, and
Speaker 2: that's not the case, because they're nineteen and eleven overall,
Speaker 2: and again, they have a winning record in the league,
Speaker 2: and they did beat Carolina at Carolina. And that's not
Speaker 2: to say that we should be you know, nervous as hell,
Speaker 2: but they're not one of the bums of the league.
Speaker 2: Doesn't mean they're good, but you know they are projected
Speaker 2: to lose this one a boy thirteen according to Ken Palm.
Speaker 2: And I'm trying to see if we've got an updated.
Speaker 2: Usually by now we have spreads for the games on Saturday,
Speaker 2: and yeah, we do Louisville. You've got any guesses, Austin
Speaker 2: as far as the number or do you have you
Speaker 2: already seen it?
Speaker 5: I haven't seen it yet. I'm gonna guess probably what
Speaker 5: you just said about. I'm gonna guess fifteen.
Speaker 3: Fifteen and a half, I'm sorry, twelve and a half. Oh, okay,
Speaker 3: so I'm taking it lower. Yes, sure, I'm believing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And you know, I just think there's not that
Speaker 2: these guys ever come out and don't play with high
Speaker 2: energy effort that kind of stuff. But I just you know,
Speaker 2: these guys are mature in a way that I feel like,
Speaker 2: even throughout the entire year, I think these guys have
Speaker 2: have kind of operated on a day by day thing
Speaker 2: to where they realize most of them are only here
Speaker 2: one year and they feel fortunate to be here, to
Speaker 2: where I just think, again, when I say this, it's
Speaker 2: gonna sound like they're going to give you more than
Speaker 2: they typically have. I don't mean it that way, but
Speaker 2: there's gonna be some urgencies, some real, some real energy
Speaker 2: from these guys to really go out with a bang.
Speaker 2: And I will say this, I never get into the
Speaker 2: weeds when it comes to the amount of fans that
Speaker 2: go as far as announced attendance. You know, we leave
Speaker 2: that to the Kentucky fans. They audit us when it
Speaker 2: comes to attendance. They are the ones who can tell
Speaker 2: us if there's empty seats or not. That's what they watch, Yes, exactly, exactly,
Speaker 2: that's what they do. But I have not in a
Speaker 2: long time seen as many people that either I know
Speaker 2: in group texts or people on social media Facebook, Twitter, whatever,
Speaker 2: everybody's asking for tickets. People want to people, people who've
Speaker 2: maybe gone to a game or two, maybe they haven't
Speaker 2: gone at all. Like people want to be there tomorrow
Speaker 2: for this team. And it makes total sense. I think
Speaker 2: they're gonna have a great crowd and hopefully they can
Speaker 2: they can end on a on a high note before
Speaker 2: we get to the postseason. All right, we're out of time.
Speaker 2: Short showed today. You know at times that this is
Speaker 2: this is this is me right, I give you a lot,
Speaker 2: but it didn't last a long time. My wife's been
Speaker 2: dealing with that a long time, so, you know, it's
Speaker 2: just what we gotta do. But we'll we'll be back
Speaker 2: at it on Monday and we'll have a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: It'll be you know, it'll be postseason play for the
Speaker 2: teams around here. So happy good Week and everybody, talk
Speaker 2: to you on Monday.