Welcome to the Big Moon Cider. Dick Gabriel with you on a Thursday.
It's game day, game night, actually, Kentucky opens SEC tournament play. As you know, Oklahoma lies ahead because the Sooners knocked off Georgia last night. So it's the Cats and OU in a rematch of that game, incredible game earlier this year when the Wildcats beat Oklahoma eighty three eighty two. Got that incredible shot from Otega oh Way, who scored eighteen of Kentucky's twenty one down the stretch and of course helped block a shot. I don't know if you blocked it or just got a piece of it of
the Oklahoma game winner at the buzzer. So it's a rematch of UK and OU. Will have it for you right here with Tom and Jack and all our pregame coverage coming up. But before that, I wanted to share with you a conversation I had with Donnie Adkins, who was a former high school coach who coached Lafayette to a state championship, and we talked about what's going on with high school basketball now that coaches have made it
a point. And Rick Patino, the most high profile coach of all to talk about ignoring high school kids in favor of guys coming through the portal and high school basketball, and election has been sagging for a while now, But I thought i'd turned to Don and get his thoughts on the future of Kentucky kids, kids all over the country playing high school ball and will they have a shot now at big time college basketball.
Well, Dick, I think there's you know, a lot of different things that go into this. You to look at just what's happening nationwide with COVID, you know, affecting the years of play. Well, now, some college kids have had six years of play. You're talking about a twenty three year old person play a four year old person going up against an eighteen year old freshman in college. And a coach kind of looks at that and says, well, man,
he's proved himself for four years, five years. I need to take a look at this and look at it hard. You know, Look, we'll just look at Alburn with Rome, and you know, these kids transfermed there major kids, but yet they're transferring to a big program. How does that affect high school you know, recruitment. I mean it puts that high school person you've got to be a real, real not a five A. You've got to be a
starter that year. You know, you got to come out of high school ready to compete, and those are few and far between.
As we don't know, do you think.
That more high school kids will end up going to mid majors Naia's jukos because so many of the higher level schools are going to be just looking more for just the veterans.
I think I think, you know, right now, I think that's the trend that we're going to see, maybe in colleges that because you know, I'm a firm believer in the maturity of somebody and working in your program for three or four years and then as the time you're a junior and season really you know, being able to come in and contribute to my program. And I you know, I think a lot of coaches are looking at that right now.
What's the answer do you think for high school kids? I mean, it looks like they're just going to be missing out.
Well, I think you know, a lot of kids, they get these tags on them through AAU ball and summer ball and going to all these recruitment things that you're a five star, you're a three star, you're a two star whatever it is. But yet there are a lot of young people out there that don't get that notoriety that their athletic ability and how they play the game is up there with anybody. They just don't get that publicity that they that a lot of other people see. And I think that's a big part of it too.
Also is that some of these coaches go out and they find these kids that quote, you know, coach John Smith never looked at because he wasn't in his area, or he wasn't you know, considered as a national recruiter by an AAU program or something. So I think that high school player is always going to have a spot. I just don't think it's going to be as glamorous
it once was. You know, Uh, Coach Kyle Perry came in and said, hey, you're a freshman, I'm going to make you an All SAR, and he did it because look at his track record with what he did with those you know, those ones and done.
Yeah, and those kids will always be because the Cooper flags are few and far between. The kids of that you know, ability level, they're not gonna have to worry.
It's the kids, like.
You say, that need a year or two to mature and grow in a program exactly.
And you look what grohme. Did you know he played two years at Moreheads and transfer to Auburn and he's All American and he's up for Player.
Of the Year.
And that just becomes with a maturity level of playing the game and playing at a very high level and you know, establishing your game as you know, hey, I'm one of the biggest big men in the nation.
I was talking to a friend about developing quarterbacks now, and you know how specialized that is. And he said, you know, we talked about all the moving into Portland all that, and he said, what do you do if you're a high school kid? Do you sign with a Western Kentucky all due respect, or any KYU or somebody hoping that some other school's going to notice you. That's essentially turning those mid majors into the feeder system for the big schools, isn't it.
I think I think that's right, Dick. And you know, whether wherever I can go to get my plane, that's right. If I look at it from that standpoint, that's probably where I have to go, because I'm I want to develop I want to bake my game the best that it could be, and how do I do that only playing against competition and working out at it. That's not I mean, it's just like anything else.
You know.
I go back to when freshmen played freshman ball. I mean, I'm that far back and coaching and being around programs is that that year was used as a development year to see what these kids could do playing against other freshman team in college and practicing against varsity competition every day. So that's how they developed. And then when the freshman
came in with eligibility, that changed the system again. And now we have another change in the system again, and how coaches adapt to that and how they go about recruiting to their programs, there's going to be another change in college sports.
Talking to Don Atkins, he coached Lafayette to the twenty oh one state championship and on the eve of the Sweet sixteen for the girls next week it's the boys. We're talking about the future of high school basketball players and recruiting the Portland all you mentioned aau Donnie, and it's been around forever, but I think with the advent of the internet with YouTube, the highlights and all that there there's I don't want to say it's an unsavory element,
but are unhealthy. But like you said, I think I think all the.
Attention being paid to.
These AAU All stars, who for you know, it's no fault that they're on. I mean, it's the way the system is. They're playing three and four games a day. You know, they don't learn things like team defense. They don't learn much team offense either, do they. But it's it's it's highlighting the one kid or two kids. But I don't know how much good it's doing well, Dick.
I think it goes back, you know, many many years. I was down in South Carolina working in a basketball camp one time, and I was talking to the coaches down in South Carolina and they this was, gosh, twenty some years ago. They said that, you know, AAU ball was killing their high school program because those kids were playing AAU ball instead of playing high school ball.
Wow.
And that you know, again, it's at this level. You're getting that level of competition out there, and those kids are getting noticed, and because they're getting noticed, the coaches are taking interest. And it I've always said this, that kid that's rated in the top one hundred and fifty in the country. There's another one hundred and fifty out there that just don't get noticed that probably are just as good.
That's right, that's right.
And it doesn't have the appeal of an AAU program that is, you know, legally funded by a shoe company or this or that, and so they can offer airplane tickets to travel to games.
And shoes and uniforms and that kind of stuff. Hard for a kid to turn down.
Hey, it is, it is, especially when you know shoe company X, Y Z or whatever it is. Clothing companies you know, come into the picture and say, hey, we'll give you this, and mom and dad can come and watch too, and it's it's just taken I'll say, amateur athletics and really spun it on its head from what from what I grew up with and you grew up with. Let's put it that way.
Talking to Don Atkins, he was the head coach of the Lafier Generals when they won the twenty oh one state championship. We'll talk more with coach in just a minute. On six thirty WLAP Welcome Back. We're talking with Don Atkins, Donny coach the Lafier Generals to the twenty one Sweet sixteen championship, not the only state Tuttle Lafayat ever won.
But what a thrill coach for you your players.
Now you've got teams going into the girls tournament this week, the boys next week. Of course, everybody's going to try to upend Sacred Heart Academy this.
Week, which is going for its fifth straight.
But what do you remember about taking a team Because I, as you know, I worked with Jock Sutherland for several years.
Jock was a great friend of mine and.
Yours, and you know he just you how much he adored the Sweet sixteen and what it meant to him just to go there the first time he ever went, much less win it. What do you remember about about taking a team there? The thrill of winning it all?
Well, they gets started goodness six In my high school days, I always wanted to get there, never did, just wanted to, you know, I think that that uh just continued to grow and grow. And then being at Tates Creek in ninety one when we took that team state championship game but lost in the finals to a good Fardale team, but then ten years later to be the head coach at lotyhat and come back and go on a twelve game winning strict down down the stretch to win it all.
Was indeed kind of like I tell people all the time, it's like a fairy book. You know, It's like it's like a fairy tale, and it always It just happened to be on my fiftieth birthday.
Oh man, Yeah, that was that was.
That was indeed, ah, a very good present.
Absolutely, just to share that entire experience, not just the night of the championship game, but the whole you know, I've Jock talked about when they handed him the packet with all the credentials and badges and passes and things like that.
I mean, is that when it hits home?
Well, I think it does. You get so involved in Okay, what do I have to do to win four basketball games? That's right, and you have to have good people around you. Luckily, I had a great assistant coaches that helped me during that time that they took a lot of that away from me that I didn't have to deal with that My job was to coach. They took care of what I'll call the minutia, that outside stuff, the tickets to passes, those kinds of things that yet still jumped in there
and coached. Also, those are what my memories are about with that group.
The powers that be are going to ruin March madness. If we give them a chance, they'll they'll make a money grab and screw it all up. I'm so happy, I'm sure you are too, that the Kentucky Sweet sixteen is still formatted the way it is. A team like Lyon County, Little Old Lion County can jump up and win it. All big schools will win it, but the small schools have a chance. Lafe, it's a big school, but you know you might have been you could have
been knocked off by a small school. That's the beauty of it, isn't it.
It is, Dick. And you know if we played Carlisle County the first game of that tournament, a very good team, you know, down in the western part of the state, came into the tournament, you know, unranked, just happen to get on a street and we just happened to have a very good game in the second half and beat them. And those smaller schools, all you have to do is
win that one game in a district tournament. Maybe to get you into the region and then win a couple of games in the region and you're in the state tournament, and then who knows what happened.
That's right, that's right, just got to get there. You and I bumped into each other at a reception for the seventy five team.
You were part of that. You were a ga, I.
Believe, well, I was a student manager, ye, but you were.
Soaking up the knowledge. What do you remember about that year, because it's been fits hard to believe, Donnie, it's been fifty years since we were in school and since that group made that un You know, they started as the super Kittens, had their ups and downs, but you know, they all played four years together. For the most part, they experienced all of that together, not just over a year or two, but for four years. Such a great experience.
And they're still that way. You know, once a year they all get together, and they'll get together when they come back. It's not just for that reunion, but once a year they always come back to the UK game and get to dinner, go after dinner, you own and sit and just tell bad stories on each other.
Again.
I loved how Joe b told them at one of their reunions that you know, he had stories on them that they didn't know, and Vera and Joe at one point.
I don't know if I want to hear any more of these.
That was true.
That was such a such a good ball club too, wasn't it.
It was?
You know, they came in, as you said, super kittens. There were seven of them, and they just you know, took the They didn't lose. I don't think their freshman year they did not lose. And matter of fact, I think they played one game over at the Frankfurt Convention Center and sold it out against I can't remember who it was, but uh, they sold that game out. And you know that was coach Hall's class. He was the
one responsible for putting that together. You know, they were the they were his recruiting as those super kittens, and they came in and you know Jimmy Dan and Kevin and g J and Jerry and Mack and you know guy at that whole group. Yeah, Mike Flynn, Danny Hall, uh and a coach Hall would have got Leroy Bird. You're talking about the group because Leroy Bird was in that recruiting class.
Was he really?
Yeah, he was he would have been a freshman with them, and uh with he would have been with Roby Fellack and James Jack and James and Danny Hall. Garry Bird was in that recruiting group. So you talk about a two couple of groups. And that's what recruiting was. You went out and got, you know, a class that was very good. Yeah, and then maybe the next year you'd have one or two to fill spot, and then the next year go get another and then that third year that's when you really went after the bang.
Yeah, that's right before I let you go.
As we said, Don is part of the cruise or scores table operates the twenty four second shot clock.
You are sitting there.
You you know a little bit about coaching basketball, and I know you've got to concentrate on that shot clock.
But you are privy to so much where you are. What were your impressions this year? And it ain't over yet, but the home.
Games are of Mark Pope and his style. You know, he's got an intensity all his own. He's not quite as profane as Rick Patino, if at all, but he's animated and you know he jumps in the middle of dust ups and things like that. But from what you've been able to tell where you sat, what were your impressions of Mark Pope?
Number one? I think coach Pope went one is very very intelligent. I think, you know, granted, yeah he was going to go to medical school, but his intelligence in the game of basketball, how he adjusts the game to what you know, he makes adjustments in the game. That's one thing I think as coaches we all have to do. We've got to make adjustments. If this is not working, what am I going to do next? If this doesn't work, what do I have to do next? Defensively or offensively?
Those kinds of things. You got to be kind of, as I said, you kind of have to think three and four possessions down the road to me to make things happen. And I think Coach Pope does an excellent job of that. I think he does an excellent job in relating to his players. I think his players respond to that in a way that young people do. And I always tried to do this as a coach. Is the worst thing I think you can do as a coach is embarrassed somebody on the floor, they make a turnover,
and you immediately jerk him out of the game. Well, what have you done. You just told everybody in twenty three thousand people or twenty thousand people, this guy just made the biggest mistake in the world. Well he had. It was a mistake, but we can let's try to get over it and go to the next place because we don't have time to worry about that. And I think that was one thing that I asked Coach Hall one time.
I said, Coach, what was the one thing that Coach Rupp did that you thought was better than anything else?
He said he.
Didn't live in that moment. He was like, you know, okay, it's old with it's done. Let's go to the next play. You know, I'm not concerned that you have fallen down trying to make a layup. I'm concerned that your man's going the other way to better get back on defense. Yeah, you know, those kinds of things. And that's what I think, that's what we as coaches have to or had to do, was to convey that message to our players. Hey, that
one play is not going to affect you. Let's get back and make another player a better play, or let's stop him on defense next time, or hey, let's see if we can't get a better shot. I can get this shot, but can we get a better shot? And I think that's what Coach Pope has done this year plus. I think he has brought I think some great enthusiasm to the fan base. Sure, Like you know, it's like
a hometown guy came home. Although he wasn't from Lexington, but he was a hometown guy absolutely and he came home. And I think that's you know, that's part of it stands it.
That's former Lafia coach Don Atkins up next to David Sisk of Cats Illustrated on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider, joining us down our celebrity hotline as a guy who was a longtime friend of the show. Now, David Sisk, you see his work for Cats Illustrated, part of the Rivals network, and he covers both Kentucky and North Carolina recruiting and breaks it down on the internet for us both schools. I might get to North Carolina in a minute because they played Duke
on Saturday and that was an interesting game. But Kentucky Missouri coach I thought Kentucky had a shot at winning. I did not honestly think that Kentucky would run off to a lead and then fight off Missouri the way it did. I thought it might come to the last couple possessions. What did you think of that game?
Yeah, it was interesting, and you know it was it was the North Carolina paces. Let me start it over after North Carolina.
Let me start answer the question when however, you just start anytime?
Okay, Yeah, it was and it was an interesting game. It was the Kentucky's pace. And I'll tell you, I thought Mark Pope, He's done obviously a really good job this year, but I thought that might have been the best game that that he's coached all year because they well they had to make adjustments, and I thought they
were spot on offensively and defensively. It wasn't one of those deals where I'll give you an example, you play Oklahoma, that's a team that I know that they may be in a tournament, but they're they're they're not that good a team. Or you take somebody who scores a lot of points and can't get stops. Or you play a really good defensive team who doesn't score that much. Missouri. Uh, you know, if you look at them and all the
game was going on. I went back and was looking interseasonal history, saying, Okay, do they have a history of this, really have an offensive difficulties when they lose? Do they just get cold and they don't? You know, Kentucky really defended them as well, I think, as anybody has. And then you look at the offensive side of it. You know, Kentucky's got watch at eight points ten minutes into the game or something like that, and then they end up scoring as much as they do. So I just really
thought they were tremendous on both ends. They played with a lot of physicality. It just seems to me like when Bray gets going, is knocking down threes, and it just it's like they just have a surge. And I think we saw some of that. But I thought all the bigs are, all the starters were really good. I think Pope, now that we've gotten into probably getting into the postseason here, they're shortening the roster up a little bit.
He is, and I just think that there was obviously a certain group of players that were the big time contributors. You see Almari Williams playing a lot more minutes than he normally dies, so I feel like he settled on you know what this team does. He settled on a rosk on the lineup that he wants to play the roster. And you know, it's been it's been hard to figure
out of all the injuries and the inconsistencies. And I think now he said, Okay, this is who we are and this is what we're going to go with now is to get into the postseason. And that's what you want to do.
Yeah, and you know, in an offhanded way, at least you know you hate to lose at Jackson Robinson, but at least you know now if you're a player, if you're a coach, if you're an assistant, you're not going to have him. This is who you are, this is what you've got. It's almost like the way Arkansas kind of surged a bit when Boogie Flann was lost for the season and everybody kind of settled in and knew what their job was. That's the case now with Kentucky. Does that mean makes sense?
Yeah?
I think you said that very well. I don't believe that that. Obviously, you don't want to lose Jackson Robinson to play like that at any time, but you certainly don't. You would rather do it a couple of weeks beforehand than to do it. You know that that Hi would go down yesterday. So now here's the thing when it rears its head, I think, or when teams really get into bray and you can't find a shot, and then
they're not stretching the defense as much. And you look at a couple of games where they just didn't make a ton of threes, and in the last two games they shot it very well. I've got a theory, and it's a theory only I don't think obviously Missouri is a team like Alabama or Auburn. But I think there's certain teams that can throw that appletam out there on the defensive end that can kind of get them out of their rhythm, and especially with Boay, have been able
to find a shot. And then I think you've got other teams like Missouri are very good or not quite as athletic, who can't do that as well. And then they, you know, and then Kentucky can kind of just go efensively and assist them, and everybody who has their roles can get into those roles. And then if I was on the other hand and I wanted to rebut that I would say, well, what about Tennessee, And I would go,
I really don't have an answer for that. I can't there It was like Kentucky's Tennessee's kryptonite, I guess, but you know it. It is interesting obviously as we go into the tournament, no doubt about it.
Tennessee is a puzzlement. But I'm going to leave that to the people in Knoxville to figure it out. Losing Robinson, on the one hand, settles things down a bit in terms of question marks.
On the other hand, it does affect your depth a little bit.
Uh. But you know, and you mentioned tightening up that roster, that rotation might mean fewer minutes for two of the three freshmen.
A man.
Chandler has come around in a huge way, hasn't he?
He has? And now it's hit and miss because you know, he's had some good games and then you know, he's got the game against Auburn where he was just, you know, he just he just looked like he was a fish out of water in that game. But how many Alburns are you going to see? So you know, But but the thing I like about him in comparison, and I'm
not knocking any of the freshmen. But the thing I like about him, and I think you can see it in the rankings, is that Chandler has sec athleticism in him, and it's not where he's got to adapt and play a certain way he played conservatively or anything like that to you know, keep from making mistakes. I think he
really can get out there and play his game. The more comfortable he gets now, I think in all fairness, and I do think it kind of puts them in a tough spot with a lack of doubt, and you know, with the other point guard being down outside of Butler, they have to slide him over to the point that's not his natural position, and I don't think that's necessarily fair to him in a way to put him at
that spot. But when he's in position and he can play off the ball, you know he's really really it just had to click because the athleticism, the tools were there. Now there's still going to be get some inconsistencies because he's a freshman and he didn't play a ton early, so he's not a Cooper flag that's been after a thirty eight minutes game all year long. But he's kind of having to adapt into that role, and as far as the depth goes, I'm not really worried about that
too much. I don't think we get into the tournament, that's not a big issue. You're playing twice a week like you normally would, you're not on other load. But the SEC tournament if you get into about that third day, and that's a good problem to have. I think if you ask Kenteking fans or Mark Pope or anybody else, and then I'd like they would all say, hey, if that's an issue on Saturday, will take Oh yeah, you know,
you put us to Saturday all day long. I think, you know, the only thing I would see is the four games and four days deal, and hopefully you can get that far. You know, where health does become.
An issue, absolutely absolutely.
We're talking to David sisk if Cat's Illustrated part of the Rivals Network, back with more from the coach in just a minute. Here on a Big Bloom Sider six thirty WLAP.
Welcome back.
We're talking with David Siske, covers Kentucky and North Carolina recruiting for the Rivals Network you see on Cat's Illustrated site, and I'm talking to Jack Gibbons on the broadcast Saturday, and one of my pet peeves not a big deal, but people like to say, well, you know, they're not freshmen anymore by now, and my response, and Jack agrees with me and he's lived it, of course, is yes
they are. Because this is a first for everything all this the tournament format, I mean at the college level, especially the SEC where you've cramming all those games into a short amount of time, but the NCAA tournament, the way you prepare, the way you travel, tickets for your family and.
Friends, all that stuff.
And as Jack reminded me from last year, it was sad for Kentucky, but you know, Dillingham and Shepherd as well as they played all year, did not play well in their low SEC tournament game. So that's a lot to deal with for a young kid, isn't it.
It is? And you could see teams that have really started, not started, but have been getting away from it, you know, And that was took critique on, you know, cal Perry, and it's been that way, especially since the portals started coming along, is that teams were going to get away just about everybody from the one and done thing. And of course Cali Perry's kind of stable that but you saw Swsky, you know, as he really didn't want to
deal with a portal. So Shire has done a good job of that and all and and he's a tremendous high school recruiter, but he's had a good mix. But you know, like I said, there's a I don't mean to be the dead horse here, but we all know there's a Trooper Lass different guy. So but when you look at when you look at freshman, yeah it is that is a big deal. But the thing now is guys are playing in college basketball longer they've ever played. So you know, you students say, well you're playing against
twenty year old guys. Now you may be playing the twenty four year old. So you know, that doesn't make a difference. Like you said, it's the you have all these things you have to take care of. And I think that's helpful if you're you're at a place like Kentucky and you've got a big staff, you know, and you've got guys who can help you know, uh, these players with things and kind of be of eight that
are not out there, you know, swimming by themselves. So I think you know, as far as that goes, Hopefully that you know, the people that work inside the Kentucky basketball program, the Flate department, you give them as much help as possible. And here's the thing. Now you're able to do that, And I think that needs to be said because there was a time you couldn't. Yeah, I mean, you couldn't get involved in any of this stuff, and now you can. So it's hopefully that that makes a difference.
Is nos tough as it might have been a one time.
One of the knocks on Mark Pope when he was hired and the naysayers who jumped right away on the hire was the fact that he has never won as a coach and NSA tournament game. Of course he's played in him, but has never won one. And I know that the postseason life is different for not just players but coaches, but I do like his chances this year.
I don't know obviously who they're going to draw, who they're going to play, but I think that you know, and I know it is different though, isn't it, David, Because like I said, different for the players and different for the coaches, isn't it.
Yeah? And we will find out how he does. Yeah, but you know, there's only one way to do it, man, So you know, I thought it was like, you know, just throw you the water and you learn to swim. So but you know, here here, here would be my rebuttal, I go, do I know what he's going to do based on record coming into his tournament? No, I don't, And I would rather have the uncertainty rather than the
other way around. I had a Tennessee fan yesterday and about to have been about eight o'clock Eastern time, who I ran into and we're they were still trying to figure out the brackets, and he said, I hope Tennessee plays Arkansas because we know John Keller Perry Kitt win a postseason so he uh, you know, so we knew where Kentucky was at two and eight in the last ten going home on Friday and the SEC tournament, going home on the first weekend in the NCAA tournament.
Uh.
So I liked the uncertainty, but I don't think. I don't think Kentucky's want to get this thing and get out coached. So you know, just from watching him this year, he does a really good job. He's so sound strategically, so I'm not too worried about that at all. I mean, I'm not watching Kentucky play and just constantly asking myself, what in the world are you doing? You know that that really never happens.
Plus you got them back. I don't know if he's sixty eighty or ninety five percent, but he's a guy who has played all the way through to the final four and that counts for That costs.
For a lot though.
Yeah, yeah, I went into skill. I really believe that. And you know, I think he's interesting to take. Like the Philadelphia Eagles, they were talking about their strategy was to go out and draft people out of the big time programs. Yeah, you see, they got so many guys out of Georgia and Alabama that had been their console. That's right, And you know, I don't think that's an accident. But yeah, went into skill and uh uh. And I think with him, you know, it looks to me like
he's getting a little better physically. To me, when he first came back, it was pretty noticeable. You know, he was trying to favor he was trying to favor the shoulder quite a bit. But I will say this, he took one or two hard falls on that left shoulder yesterday and uh I uh, and he got back he throw it back up. So that was a good thing. And you know the whole thing with the shoulder issue, you get hit wrong and it just goes out. You know, you're just okay. So you know he went down on
that left show. He had a hard ball run a bucket where he went in for a shot and went down on it. Even the announcer talked about it. And he's just bounced right back up and played. So I think that's a that's a good thing.
Everybody held their breath in a big blue nation. I can tell you that.
Uh before I let you go, as I said, you cover North Carolina as well, and they're not real.
Happy down there right now with Hubert David.
You and I have talked about him before, but man, what a tremendous atmosphere on Saturday for that duke game. And they made that incredible run and one kid got hot, but they just couldn't fight them off.
I mean that that Duke is just too good, isn't it.
Yeah? And I thought that I thought North Carolina played really is about as good as they could play. And I'll be on it with you. It kind of went this month the way I thought. I just thought North Carolina was a team of a lot of loss and even after they they so they lose to they they split with pit and the one where they beat them was was a one point win. They had one point win against North Carolina State. Uh, Syracusekin, they had some
Notre Dame. Rather they've had some tight games and but they were playing batter or something of the final six games. And uh, but I thought they would because the reason is the a SEC so bad. You get down to those final six games, you get down to the six teams they played before Duke, and you're basically playing them in a major schedule. North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State. I mean those I mean it's the dregs of B one basketball. So but you know, but they
were winning pig where they weren't weren't our lace. I said, I do feel like they're playing better. I think you know that the crowd really gave them a lot of energy. They came out against a dude really playing hard, and but in the I think the game playing kind of spread them out. They got real athletic guards. Try to let those guards work but I don't like you say they're playing Duke and Dukes is too much. I mean they really are. And and now here's the bad thing
for North Carolina. You're saying, Okay, maybe they can make a run any ACC tournament. Well, they needed to get up to be a sixth seed, to be honest, and that way they could either get Louis or Clemson and try and have a better opportunity to try to get one. But now they're going to open up probably will Pitt who and then wait, Foresto's actually the forest seed. North Carolina's to five. Well, they don't get anything off those winds.
I mean, they're in worse shape than North Carolina is as far as NCAA tournament bubbles, So they don't anything. Will Quad want guess what? You can win two games and you get Duke in the semi final and you're in the same place. So I think anything short of being Duke beating Duke, and I can't see that under any scenario. Now it's going to be on a neutral floor and Duke's gonna have a lot of fans in
there because they're expecting to win it. I just can't see them in the situation where they're going to go. They're going to go play or get to the NCAA tournament.
Well, it's interesting to hear you calling the ACC the dregs at least of the bottom half. But the future is kind of cloudy. But we're out of time, so we will pick that up next up.
I've read this right quick. North Carolina was not up to their standard this year, but they got an ACC problem because if you get past Duke, Clemson and Louisville, I mean there's nobody there can't your resumeating another. Rest of them are any good. But man Will Wade may be coming to North Carolina state gangster may He may be the first step to getting the lead back.
Were you surprised they fancy stayed a year out of away from a final four trip, fired their coach.
No, it was it was an old testament miracle that they won the games they won last year. I mean they were they had to win the ACC tournament. They were bad. They got all the way to the final four. I mean that was a miracle run like another and and you know, and then they were just as bad and it just it delayed inevitable.
I got you, I got youa and sometimes that happens. Coach, thank you so much and we'll talk to you soon again. I hope David Sisk. Follow him on Twitter at coach David Sisk. Look for is how he breaks basketball down on Twitter. Coach enjoyed a tournament?
All right, we'll do it man, And like I said, now time here to get off ga I do for now.
Stay tuned for pregame coverage. Kentucky and Oklahoma coming next at six thirty.
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