Thybulle's, Shayok's College Coaches Call In

a great jumps in the last two years. Now he's gonna have more time to put into it is what he can do the next couple of years. We talked to two coaches of the Sixers two draft picks on this episode of the broadcast A busy Draft night, it was for the seventy sixers. They entered the evening with five picks, ended it with two, but no doubt they believe in the guys. They got Latistival at the twentieth slot and Mariel Shayak at pick number fifty four and

Brian Sell hope you are doing great. Thank you as always for checking out the podcast. We're gonna speak with Will Conroy, a former NBA player who also played at the University of Washington and he coached Thible there the last four years as an assistant, and also Steve Prome, the head coach at Iowa State who had Mariol Shayak

in his program last season. Before we get started, some reminders that to find our podcast, you can go to just about any podcasting platform that's out there, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, tune in, spreaker, type in Sixers Podcast Network and that will take you to our feed. And please do subscribe if you have not yet done so. Already.

Conversations with Will Conroy and Steve prom coming up, But first I wanted to play back some sound from draft night or what became early the next day, Draft morning, going from Thursday, June twentieth into Friday, June twenty. It was a long night for general manager Elton Brand and the seventy sixers, just because they had to wait for the trade call with the Boston Celtics to be finalized before they could formally announce that they had acquired Matisse

Thybal with the twentieth overall pick. The Sixers also got Mariel Shayak, a guy who they had in for a workout at the start of the pre draft period. So here's Elton brand the night of the draft talking about the seventy sixers two acquisitions Thible and Shayok Matisse. Eventually he's going to take time, but I see him cracking that that front end of our rotation. Mariol He's definitely gonna be part of our organization. We look forward to him,

you know, being a part of us. They're they're young, they're talented, so I feel good about it. Both Thible and Shaok do seem to have some parallel traits and characteristics. Three in D veteran college players, high character guys. Certainly Thiable well known for his defense. The National Defensive Player of the Year last season in his final go round at Washington, led the country with one hundred and twenty six steals. He had in top ten individual defensive rating

in Division one NC DOUBLEA. So Thible he is ready for this next step. It has been quite the journey for him, and he reflected on that upon his arrival at the training complex last Friday. It might feel even more like a dream now, like walking through the facility, and it's crazy to say because you, I mean, you always imagine, you dream of being in this position, but

to actually be there is pretty surreal. Thible and the limited time that we were around him here in Camden last week, he just always seemed to be smiling, amazing kid with great perspective and a skill set that the seventy sixers really like. You could say the same about Mariel Shayok as well. He started his college career at UVA under Tony Bennett. He then transferred in two seventeen, sat out that season while with Iowa State, got on

the court last year and had a breakout season. So here's shayoksly after arriving at the Sixers facility, playing for Uba and I was stay was definitely a blessing. Playing under two great coaches and great programs. I was able to learn and hopefully I can use those both of those experience and take into the next level. Between Shayak and Thible seventy six ers field, they've got a couple of players who might be able to compete for spots in the rotation. That can certainly be said for the

number twenty pick Thible. Why don't we bring on right now. A guy who coached him all four years at Washington between two coaching staffs, Lorenzo Romar, first for thibles freshman and sophomore seasons and then most recently Mike Hopkins for Thible's junior and senior campaigns. His name is Will Conroy. He was an all time great playing at Washington. He then was in the pros in the NBA overseas, had a front office stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he

is now an assistant coach with Washington. All right, Will Money tell us about Matisse. What I'll say is off the court, you are getting a guy who is if if you're looking for a guy that you will be okay to date your daughter, that will be Matief Kinder. There's no higher praise than now. I mean, he is honorable as they come. I've never seen him seat a line and down and back. Even if he doesn't get the time, if you would like him to get, he just rather do it right, you know, every single time,

than to try to cheat it. And that's who he is. He's a He's a stand up guy for things that's right. He doesn't hesitate to speak his mind. If if he doesn't think guys are doing the right things. He's a giver. He wants to see everyone around him do well. And he's just an unbelievable kid. It really seems in the little time that we've gotten to be around him here in Philadelphia, he has the complete package from an intangible standpoint, from a skill set standpoint. And I'm sure you guys

noticed this two in Washington. To me, the first thing that jumps out to me is the guy never stops smiling. He is smiling all the time. Oh yeah, he's appreciative man. He is, you know from Tis. He's you know, he came in here. The guy played center in high school. He's a center at Eastside Catholic High School. And you know, we took him here. You know, he he kind of didn't understand what we wanted from him. He didn't understand. And when he first got here, I told Hi about Simitis.

At some point, you could be the best defensive player in the country, and he kind of fought it. He kind of fought us on it. You know, he kind of wanted to score. He did. The position for him was raw, like playing the guard was raw. So he would go too fast sometimes or go too slow. He's just trying to figure it out. But what we knew is if it ever clicked, then the world would see what we saw. And by middle of his sophomore year, you know, he really starts backing those steels up and

he started having fun playing defense. Junior year took off playing defense and see her. You're obviously everybody found out about him, so it was a pretty big time to watch his maturation and the kids just that's why he's always smiling. He's like he almost like, I can't believe all this has happened for me totally. And it was just a really neat moment to see him and his father embrace when they got to the seventy sixers training complex and his dad had the same vibe about him.

He just looked around and was like, Wow, I cannot believe that this dream finally came to fruition. I mean, there's no doubt the seventy sixers targeted Matisse because of his defensive capabilities. Elton Brand called him the best wing in the draft. I wanted to ask you two prompt questions about the defense with Matisse, going back to what you just said, you had the vantage point of seeing

him for his entire career at Washington. What initially did you guys see in him that led you to believe that he could evolve the way he did defensively, and then how did you ultimately sell him on and how did you make playing that side of the floor fun for him something that he could buy into well? Amatically, he his athleticism jumps off the charts. He's talking about a guy who was agile as anyone in the draft, could jump as high as anyone probably beside Zion in

the draft. And his instincts are ridiculous. I mean, you talk about a cornerback that can cut off one side of the field. Literally, Teams would not run their offense if it had if he was on the side of the zone, they would not run their off They would not additiate office that way. And you knew it was bad when that practice he was he was still the ball from the our backup point guard who's playing with him all year. So you start to see that stuff

and you're like, man, that's not normal. And then for me, you know, I'm having a chance to play me around some of the top athletes of the world playing in the pros. When I start to see some of his athletic ability, I was like, man, that dude was one of the most athletic people in the world, not just not just basketball. And then our track coach came from Texas, I mean, our strength coach came from Texas and he

was working with track at at Tech at Texas. And then when he said this, and I was like, Okay, I thought I was I knew I wasn't crazy. The track coach says, if I trained Matisse for a month, he can win it too. Cathalan, No, really, he said, he is in that percentage of athlete in the world. Amazing because over here, you guys understand athlete that you're getting like because he hasn't. We didn't. He didn't do

a lot of workouts for the draft. I will guarantee he will turn heads and you guys is first thing that he's on the floor, they will say, wow, I didn't know it was like that. It's interesting. Was there are a couple of things that were going on here in the run to the draft. Not only like you said, did Matisse not do a ton of workouts for the

fans here in Philadelphia. They also didn't have a ton of opportunities to see you guys the Huskies play over the past couple of years because the time zone difference and all that. So I think that has added to the intrigue surrounding Matisse's profile as well his instincts. How did you fine tune those over the course of his time with the team? Defensively? You know what, you don't

really get a chance to fine tune them. What you do as you watch film with him and you and you let him see like, uh, because he's so good at it and he creates so much havoc that you know, he takes chances, and when you take chances, sometimes he can hurt the He can hurt us in a in a position where he can put us in a position. But it got to a point, to be honest with you, it got to a point where we were just like, let Matisse be Matis and then we all just cover

for it. You know, you don't you don't try to put a bottle cap on that. It's something that Brett Brown with the seventy six ers, he talked about this past season with a guy like Jimmy Butler. Yeah, there's roles within the defense, but sometimes when you have someone who's got the gifts and the sense and the anticipation, you just let them run their own course to a certain degree, and like you said, cover ground where you need to cover ground, there's no question. And he's got

the speed and the agility to do it. I mean, the guy. Another thing that we had, we have a mild test, and this is another. There's another thing. We had a mild test now and that's a mild test. The guards have to make it in five thirty. The bigs have to make it in five thirty five. That's our that's our season opener to telephone. Guys have been working out over the guys are in fake I made the mile in five. My fastest time was five fifteen.

Nate Robinson was five, like thirteen, five twelve. Okay, we kind of helped. I think maybe one guy broke the record, which was like five or nine. Latisse made the mile in four fifty five. Wow, that's outrageous. Four fifty five. And as he finished, the guy just walked off like he didn't bend over. He just walked off like Hoodo was kind of tough. That's incredible. I mean, he does seem it again, This is just first impressions on this end, like a guy who really can't be phased by much.

Obviously everything that he's gone through on the personal side of things, he seems to have a great maturity about him, someone who can persist in persevere. We heard from his father the day he was introduced with the seventy six ers after the draft, and his dad said that their family has this acronym GDI goddamn individual, which is to mean, you know, they raised matis to try and be this independent person, someone who can be proactive and find his

own way. That seems like it's carried through in a bunch of different aspects of his life. No, there's no question he is a He is a guy who's not going to follow the trend if he doesn't feel like if he doesn't feel like it's been official to him, he's just not his way. You know, He's just gonna do what he believes is writ in his heart. He's

just gonna do that. And uh, you know, his dad always said he's his mother's child and she was a supergiver and she just wanted everybody around her to be great. And dad always says that's that's that's his mother's child. He said, yeah, he said the exact same thing when we sat down with him. Um, tell me about the transition that Matisse made along with the rest of the team when you guys went from the defensive system you ran under coach Romar to what coach Hopkins implemented with

the zone. Well, and this is I'm glad you asked this question everyone before the draft, I took somebody calls from NBA teams. They said, do you think you can guard at the NBA level? And I said, well, Matisse played man and man. His first two years, he led the team in steals both years, right played man to man. It's second year he led the conference and steals playing manda man. You know, the only person that beat him his freshman year, I believe was Gary Payton GP two. So, uh,

the zone just gave him a home. You know. The zone just put him in a home where he can kind of just sit back and read eyes. So that's when you've seen his numbers just double up. You know, a man and man you're more responsible for a guy. Um, the zone just kind of gave him a home to just like really rereak havoc. Everyone focuses on the defensive side of the game for Matisse, understandably so given what

he did. What were your impressions of him as far as his offensive development of the last four years, Well, it's great for Matis. That's an NBA game has transitioned into you know, if you're not if you're not listen, Let's say, and you guys in this case of Bench Simmons or Joel and be someone who's gonna have the

ball in their hands, you know the majority of the game. Uh, you want guys who can make an open shot, who can drive a close out, who can make a right decision with the ball, and a guy who can guard the game. The NBA has just transitioned that way. So as an NBA start transitioning that where I thought Matistes would be a gold product for any team, and that's he can do that. He can make open shots, he can drive the clothes out and finish above the rim,

and then he can guard. He can switch one through three, one through four in the in the NBA game, So you know, if you can see guys like Trevor Reza who aren't really close to Matisses is a six nine, six eight like Trevor, but I mean he's got a seven one wingspan with a forty one is vertical at six six, So not a bad profile to have, not at all. And you're a guy who you not only had a terrific career playing for Washington, you were in the pros in the NBA and the G League overseas.

You had some time in the front office within the league as well. What did you learn over the chorus and what do you continue to learn over the course of your current basketball about what makes a prospect the college level, What sets a prospect of the college level to have a solid, a good, great pro career. Well, you kind of see what you look for is you look for um, you look for fit. You know, either you're gonna be either the NBA team like you as

a star. Uh. You know, usually those guys are guys who that thing is kind of decided when they were juniors and seniors in high school. You know, they start saying, well, this guy is gonna be a franchise of an NBA team. But then you have those guys who developed out of nowhere, you know, and and really can help a team. And when I've seen that with Matiss I've seen his how he progressed. I said that dude's gonna be an NBA

basketball player. And then as the years went on and got further and further, that dude was gonna be an NBA for a long time. You know, actually, as the skills start to refine, you start to say, now I can really see where he can he can stand. And obviously the NBA game has transitioned into a more of a one guy has the ball, another guy's option be than that option. See guy seeing the guy are very instrumental on how you win, because you know, they have to be able to make open shots to keep the

defense honest. And he can do that. And he can, like I said, he can play defense on the other end. So when you start to see that, he becomes gold to teams. And that's why I knew he'd be he'd be a solid pick draft pick. Seventy Sixers said going into the draft they were looking for a mature college prospect to acquire in the draft this year. How do you think Mattise having been in college a starter for one hundred and thirty five games for you guys, how

do you think that will benefit him? And also the seventy sixers. I think, um, it'll really been benefit the seventy six ers. Obviously, I'm a real familiar with you guys just personnel. M Tony Rotten was there who was like a brother of mine, a little brother of mine,

and they still a legend in Philadelphia. Tony Roten is you know, and and I spent some time with a lot of time with Markuel Folds, So I've been familiar with you guys as a personnel for the last few years, maybe five or six years, So I know he can do what you need him to do. I know you guys made a good player out of Robert Covington, and I thought Covington was a really solid defensively. But Matise can actually like turnheads defensively. It's actually becomes laughable for

things that he does. Some high praise from one of Matistible's assistant coaches in college, someone who's involved in breaking him in to the Huskies from his freshman year. Will Conroy, a former NBA player and also player at Washington as well, appreciate him taking a few moments to talk about Matisse On the podcast, we'll hear from Steve Prome about Mariel shack in just a second, but wanted to hit you with this reminder. Registration currently opened for seventy six ers

Camps presented by Rothman Orthopedics empowered by EESF. Go to seventy six ers Camps dot com for all the information. One week, two week, three week, and four week session at registration opportunities are available right now. You can take video tours of the dorm rooms at the various facilities that seventy sixers Camps are being held at throughout the Delaware Valley. There's such a great track record for success and even more important enjoyments for campers at seventy sixers Camps.

Go to seventy sixers Camps dot com to learn more. It's seventy Sixers Camps presented by Rothmann Orthopedics empowered by EESF. Mariol Shock acquired by the seventy Sixers with the fifty fourth pick in last Thursday's draft. Let's hear from the guy who coached him last year at Iowa State when he broke out for a ridiculously efficient and impressive season. Steve prom Is, the head coach of the Cyclones. I think you're getting a great, great person, great family, great character,

extremely hard work or fun to be around. And he's an everyday guy, you know, humble going cool, but he his best quality. I think he's just he's he's a phenomenal worker and he's going to be great for the culture there. How did you first connect with Mario? How did he first come on your radar? You know, obviously had three great years of Virginia, obviously great great respect for Virginia and Tony Bennett's one of the elite coaches

in the country. But I think Mario, you know, kind of got to a point there was like, you know, how do I kind of take the next step to get seen a little bit more and and and play at a different pace offensively, And so he kind of bet on himself, and you know, after three years, we actually played him in the Sweet sixteen in two thousand and sixteen. M and his Virginia team ended up getting

beating the Elite eight. But he had won a couple of ye championships, he had you know, been to Elite eight, and so he decided to transfer, and we jumped on him right away and thought maybe he would go to Providence. We were a little nervous about that, but there's a rule, you know, he had rich had signed with Marquette, and there's a rule you can double up in the Big East. Once you signed with the big EAT school, you can't sign with another one. And so he had a really

good relationship with it Cooley. But you know, we were able to really recruit him hard and get him here and he ended up visiting here, and then he ended up visiting Liberty, which Richard McKay's there who coached him at Virginia, you know, for a while as an assistant, and we got him and you know, he sat out and had a tremendous sit out year and then opposite

a terrific, terrific's eating year for us. So what goes on behind the scenes during that red shirt transfer year which was two thousand and seventeen, two and eighteen, that prepared him to make at least on the superficial stat page the type of jump that he did, because the

numbers last year with you guys who are outstanding. Yeah, you know, there's a stat and I don't have an in front of me, but I think since in two thousand and nine two ten, only eight players have had a stat line of this efficiency level eighteen and a half points, forty eight from the field, thirty eight from thirty eighty eight from line. Only eight players in ten twenty ten. So that's a phenomenal feed in itself. But you know, it's ten to fifty here right now on

a Wednesday. And if Maria was in school here right now still, and the gym light was on and there was a ball bouncing, you could bet your last time it was probably gonna be male satof out there. Uh,

And that's how he used to sit out here. He got in the gym, I thought he really improved just three point shot a three point percentage one up six or seven points, and percentage wise, he worked on you know, pick and roll offense, being able to come off ball screens, and he's, uh, you know, he's got a he's got a good you know, obviously he's he's a good looking kid. From his upper body is there's well put together, and

he's got great length. But he just put a lot of time in the gym of getting better and really you know, increasing his skill level and his seething ability, and they really paid off for him as a senior. Did you see him as an NBA prospect when you put eyes on him. I thought he was going to be a really good player for US. I actually have a coach here, coach hops US, a head coach Alabama when I was in school there that used to stuff with the jazz before he got here, and he was

we went back. He actually had a rite up on Mario because he had scouted him at Virginia, and so I think he was a guy we thought, you know, because of his size, because of his ability to shoot the basketball and having great length defensively, that he would he would have a chance, you know, he would put himself in some conversation and then going in the senior year, the way he competed, the way he played, being a you know, MVP of the of the the Big Twelfth Tournament,

you know, winning a conference tournament championship, getting us back to the NCAA's I think he got himself. If we really don't have a bad two or two two three, had a bad two three reach stretch in February. If we don't have that stretch, he has a legit chance to be a Big Twelfth Player of the Year. Putting up tremendous numbers last year, Mariel Shack across the board when you see the dynamics with him and how he

fit in with his teammates. What's it like for a guy who comes in after three years at one school, Then the expectations probably were somewhere on the higher level, I would assume for him going into his season with you guys, How did he go about fitting in with teammates? What type of teammate was he? I thought he was a great teammate, you know. I think he still stays in touch with the majority of these guys right now.

I think you can tell when guys get drafted, how excited these guys talking to them, how excited they were for him. But I think Mariel was really selfless. He put the work in. These guys I think respected his work ethic, his attention to detail, his character. So a

lot of guys really looked up to him. He's a fifth year guy, you know, he's fifth yearth senior, came out here with a lot of his success, a lot of experience, and I think that really helped our program last year get back to where we needed to be. He seems to really be a prideful guy as well. When he came into the seventy six Ers for a pre draft work out and we spoke with him. He referenced being from Ottawa and being one of the first Ottawans to make it into the NBA. Did you get

that vibe from him as well? The pride factor takes him a long way. Yeah. I think a lot of those guys, you know, we've had great success with Canadian kids here, you know, here in the last couple of years and then back when Fred Hoyburg was here, and I think they all take a lot of pride and everybody who takes a lot of pride and represent their country with its USA, Canada, whichever it may be. And so yeah, I think, you know, being from Ottawa, I think he takes a lot of pride in that. And

I think his family does too. And he's got a great family, and I know they're really really excited for him. You mentioned earlier seeing a potential fit for mary All in your system at Iowa State. For some seventy six Ers fans, even myself, who might not always see you guys play on television throughout the year, what did you think made the match work well? Specific to what you guys do on offense and defense, well, I just think offensively, his ability of space to floor with his shooting ability.

You know, we play I think we were ninth in the country last year, and offensive efficiency. We were number one in our league in assistant turnover ratio last year. You know, we've been one of the top offensive teams over the last several years. And so just the spacing concepts, I think he'll be familiar with a lot of the

spacing concepts. You know, some things offensively that you guys do that I think his learning curve will be he'll be able to handle all the learning curve that he's got to change and adapt to at the NBA level. But you know, space to floor give those guys a lot of freedom to make plays in space, make plays off pick and roll. Our biggest thing was, you know, how good can we share the ball and move the ball? And when we moved the ball well, and the ball

really was hopping around the floor. We were really a tough, tough cover and a tough car because we put some other really good primer guys out there as well, you know. But and then Mario and defensive, I think the one thing he brings with his size is he can also are bound for you both offensively and defensively on both ends, and that was big for us. He had, he had a cup, you know, some some big rebounding games for us as well. I would stayed under your watch putting

a handful of players into the NBA. What have you found to be some of the keys to creating an atmosphere within a program to help prepare guys for that next step professionally. If that next step professionally is the NBA or somewhere else, well, I just think it's you know, character, having great character and have a great work ethic, and then being humble in the process. I think those are

the three biggest things. And if you look at the guys that are in the NBA area and having success first right now, you know George Niang with the Utah Jazz, Monte Morris with Vernuggets, just to name a couple. You know, we've got a couple in Oklahoma City, Deante Burton and Avil Nader. And then and then as long as playing Summer League with the Calves, he was with the Utah Jazz on a two way last year. Those guys work ethic and their everyday ability to compete and get better

was as good as I've been around. Matt Thomas played from the season Valencia, Spain in the highest level over They're having a great, great run. Those guys, their character and their work ethic was off the charts, and I think that's what's given Mariel a chance to get drafted and put himself in a position where hopefully you can help the Sixers, you know, you get get to the conference finals or even further than that next year. Some of these guys too, they have had some seasoned experience

playing in the college game. From your standpoint as a college coach, one thing the seventy sixers were looking at bringing in prospects this year who might be able to fill a role jump in right away for an NBA team that's trying to compete for a championship. What's your view on how the accumulation of time reps at the NCAA level can affect the transition of a player to the pros, let's say the NBA, because that does seem to be the type of profile of a player the

seventy Sixers were searching for. Yeah, I think a great game you know for Marial is now you know, you really gets shoot he didn't have to. He was a fifth yer year graduate end is three year already and he was taking some classes senior year. But now it's all basketball, and I think for a guy like him, that's terrific to where he can get in. He can watch films, the coaches, he can talk with him, he can get in with the workout guys. He can get his extra shots and really get in there and learn

and get better. Um, you know, I'm excited to see kind of you know, he's made great jumps in the last two years. Now now he's gonna have more time to put into it. Is what he can do the next couple of years. Obviously with you know, coach Brown and his system and the people that they've got, you know, to push him. I think he's kind of really good home and a great thing about is you want these guys in places that they love hoops. And the first time I ever went to an NBA game, I was

a young kid. I went to watch the Hawks and Sixers back with Irving and Tony and Billy Cunningham. I grew up a diehard Sixers fan because I've lived in Northern Virginia and so I'm excited for him. So tell me a little bit more about that. How did you make the Sixers connection there? If it was Northern Virginia? Is that not Bullets country or Wizards country for what it would be now? Or yeah, back back back when

I was growing up as bullets, right, you know, yeah, bullets. Uh, you know, as a couple of you know, Philly to the Northern Virginia's not far uh. And man, I just grew up. I was just doctor Jay this, doctor Jay that. And you know, we went to Philly. Uh, I'll never forget. My dad's surprised. And we went to Philadelphia to you know, see the Liberty Battle and all the sites of Philadelphia. And he said, hey, I got your tickets. We're going to spectrums and you go to the spectrum and we're

gonna watch the Sixers tonight. And I swear I still know the score. I think we won in overtime one twenty to one thirteen. I think it was. And this was it had to be years ago. I had to be nine, ten years old, I think. But but it's you know, back you know, it was Mo Cheeks and Tony and Cunningham and Moses Malone and Irving and you know, I have a RONI and all those guys, you know, obviously Billy Cunningham's coach, you know, but h man, it

was that was a lot of fun. And you know, and my dad liked the Celtics, so you know, back then it was you know, the six or Celtics trying to fight, you know, fight that battle. But Philly is a great sports down. I am a diehardwashing Redskins fan, so I don't like the Eagles, but um but I do, I do. I do pull for the Sixers. That is so great. An early instance of perhaps youthful rebellions. Son loves the seventy sixers. Dad a fan of the Boston Celtics.

That's terrific. Steve Prome, head coach Iowa State had Mariol shayok last season. Thanks so much for sharing a few stories and continue success with what you've got going on out there at AIMS. Thanks and good luck this year to you guys. How about that Steve Prome, Iowa State head coach, a seventy sixers guy. We love it. I love that he took a few moments to talk. Same to be said for Will Conroy, assistant coach at Washington for the stories shared about n T Stybel. Thank you

for listening to this episode of the podcast. Well, what do we got coming up in the immediate days ahead? Something My gut just tells me that at around six o'clock on June thirtieth, there's going to be a lot of increased interest in what's going on in the NBA and things become official on July the sixth, That is when we will be able to talk about it. But

also next week, late next week, Summer League underway. Seventy six ers first game on the Summer League docket is going to be on Friday at three thirty pm Eastern versus Milwaukee Bucks. Follow our social channels. We have you updates coming in from Vegas. All right, talk to you next time here on the broadcast Seal s