It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
So we wrapped up the three o'clock hour mentioning the crazy trade in the NBA on Saturday night that didn't seem real, but in fact, Israel, you've got Luka Doncik heading to the Lakers and Anthony Davis going to Dallas and I don't remember me. Obviously, we're getting close to the trade deadline, and that's usually when trades, of course get talked about more than they ever do. But that, of course was a huge trade, and the deadline is coming up on the six later this week, so I
don't know. It just kind of feels like everybody covering the NBA is anticipating, like another big move. I don't think you could put one together that would be bigger than what we just had with Davis and Donk Dunchick. But yeah, this is from Front Office Sports that multiple NBA teams have adjusted flights on their February six games to avoid potential awkward situations from being in the air
when the trade deadline passes. So when they say awkward situations from being in the air, you know what they mean. It's not not.
The high club.
Well it's yeah, that, but it's also not because they're going to try to make sure they can like connect and discuss a deal and get a deal finalized. It's because you don't want to be on the plane with somebody who you're essentially firing. I mean, you're I mean, trading somebody is is kind of like firing him, isn't it. Yeah, it's a kind of like a we don't want you anymore, we see value in something else that we're getting for you.
Basically.
Yeah, I mean, look, I don't really have any sympathy for anybody in the NBA that gets traded when it comes to just like their overall situation. But you know, even if you even if it wasn't something about like your family, like it had become home, this is where you wanted to stay, and you just have say so because they can trade your contract. I mean that that's a bummer. But like, you know, knowing somebody doesn't want you and they think they could be better without you
would be a tough thing to take. And oftentimes as fans, we never really wrap. We never really First of all, we can't because we can't relate. Most of us that consume it and are obsessed with it probably didn't play at that high of a level because you know, not many people on the planet are able to play pro sports in the NBA, the NFL and all that kind
of stuff. But because it's you know how it is, it's just hard to sometimes remember that you know, these are I don't want to say it's hard to remember that they're humans, you know that, but I mean, you never even think about comparisons, understandably so about their job and what they do compared to yours because again different planets. However, it is still their job, and you know it would be tough for anybody to take that. But yeah, we'll see. The sixth is the deadline, so maybe there will be
another big move made. All right, some breaking news here. This is something that I think came out right as the show started and I had not checked on Twitter, But Leonard Hamilton is going to step down at Florida State. So it looks as if he's going to finish out this season and will resign when the season comes to an end. I'm just reading here from the press release.
They're going to mention his record of four hundred and fifty six and two hundred and ninety and obviously had some good teams, but that that that thing kind of fell pretty quickly. I remember Florida State is one of those teams that when the tournament didn't happen right, like it just we had a global pandemic that really not out of nowhere, but I mean the amount of changes made as far as schedule, sports, live events, people being
around each other. I mean, you know, I remember going taking off for Greensboro for the ACC basketball tournament, and by the time I got to Greensboro, they said no fans at the SEC. The ACC hadn't made a decision yet. So like it was a really really quick moving thing. And even if, you know, even if it wasn't the way that happened, that's going to be such a forgettable season for a lot of people, for you know, for
obvious reasons. But Florida State's one of those teams that I actually think could have had a deep run in the tournament for the first time like ever. I don't know, I mean, Leonard Hamilton never went to a final four, and I don't know what his furthest trip to the tournament was. I'm seeing he has gone to the Sweet
sixteen a couple of times. He did make the Elite eight in twenty eighteen, So look, he had a good run there, coached there a long time, and I'd say this is probably the right move in Florida State.
That's a good enough job.
I'm not saying it's elite, but Florida State they're one of those programs that with this change, I mean, honestly, they can only get better. I don't know how good they're gonna be, but there's like five or six teams in the ACC that maybe aren't ever going to be the real leaders of the conference when it comes to basketball. But if they're good and it's rather consistent, then like that could make the ACC back to becoming one of the better leagues in college basketball. Because you know, you're
Carolina's dukes in laws. Louisville's are always going to try to be really good in basketball meeting. They're not going like Louisville got rid of a coach in two years now. It was an insanely bad two years. But there's no scenario where Louis Louisville is not committed to making basketball great. It has to be and you know, I don't have any worries about that in the future. Duke and Carolina, you'd say the same thing. Virginia, you know who they hire,
because they can be really good. Tony Bennett proved that now kind of weird knowing it was just the way he did it, and he was a very unique coach. But there's a handful of teams that you just know are always going to at least try to be you know, it'd be for example, Louisville, ever is as bad as they were the last two years. I mean, I would I highly doubt that ever happens. And then you've got
the Duke Carolinas. And then you've got teams that you know you'll never really expect to make you good, like Boston College teams like that probably Smull, not SMU, but probably in basketball cal But then you've got others that you know can be good in the right situation. So now we've got the Miami job open, the Florida state jobs going to be open, Virginia's open. Syracuse certainly has to consider moving on from red art reht Is it Autrey,
I think it is who took over for Beheim. So those are four jobs right there that I mean in this new world, let me look at what pack Kelsey did. And I'm not saying these programs all have the same resources that Louisville does, but I mean, you hire a guy that can win, and he can bring his formula there, and he can utilize resources to bring in some good players via the portal.
It's not going to be too tough to get things turned around quickly.
So I do believe, as much as I've been hard on the acc and how, I just think it's weird that nobody really saw this coming when I've been you know, to me, it's been pretty obvious this league's been slipping big time in basketball.
But with all that bitching that.
I do about it, I do think that in four or five years, it'd be a real shocker to me if the league is maybe not the best league in college basketball, but clearly in a much better situation than they are right now. All Right, it's coffee and Company. We are feel about Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Appreciate you hanging out with us. As you could expect, we have talked a lot about the weekend. Yes, it is Super Bowl week, but probably not going to touch on that a whole lot today.
We got the rest of the week to do that.
But we always react to the weekend, and the weekend was not good for both Louisville and Kentucky fans. And when it comes to Louisville, you know, I I don't want to say I told you so, because again I don't. I had no reason to believe Louisville would would lose. I mean, there's a reason they were favored. And I still think that those two teams play each other ten times, I'd still think Louisville was gonna win more than they were gonna lose. But you know, Georgia Tech made a
lot of really tough shots. Louisville missed free throws and key moments. I thought something that I haven't heard talked about a whole lot is that they were called for fouls. And let me pull up the numbers here just to see, just to see what it ended up being. But yeah, when it comes to foul trouble, I mean, I don't really remember anybody. Let's see here, let's see, and of course I can never find Yeah, here we go. So you had Javon Hadley foul out late, and I remember
that was something to monitor. James Scott had for Rain had four, Chucky had three. So I would say the eighteen total fouls called. I don't know where that fits on their average, but I think one thing that it's kind of got me not worried, but I feel like Louisville has been pretty good early on at Chucky more than anybody, being able to just kind of set the tone.
And I'm not saying he gets away with a bunch of fouls, but there are times where I feel like if they did call a foul, I couldn't say that I'd be shocked. So there's no doubt, and this is something that kind of annoys me. But when people say, look we saw against wake Forest. If you take Chucky, hepburn off the floor. I mean, this is a different team, and you know what, you're right, but you literally could say that about every team who has like a guy
that makes them go. I mean, when your best player is your point guard and he's also a guy that is one of your leading scorers and he's one of the best distributors in the country, any team in that situation, if that guy's not playing, it's going to impact them in a major way. So like that's always been the case. But with Chucky, I think we've been able to avoid him being in foul trouble to where he's got to
sit a lot of men. It's because, look, Louisville, this has always been the case, right before they started the win streak in today, Chucky was going to be a real big piece and he's going to have to be a big piece to what Louisville's doing if they're going
to have success. And he finished with seventeen. I'm trying to see the breakdown here in halves, because I mean, Chucky in the second half just made just one bucket and I kind of felt like, I mean, look, I'm not picking on Chucky at all, you guys know, in fact, anybody watching knows how good he's been for Louisville, and I don't know where the hell they'd be if they
didn't have him. But I did feel like the Chucky that kind of And I'll give Austin some credit here because he mentioned this to me whenever whenever Louisville lost too, I think it was Ole miss and even the Duke game, you weren't bagging on Chucky, But you mentioned sort of how he would kind of just he kind of just forgot he was out there at times, and I think
that's what happened against Georgia Tech. I'm not saying like he was rattled, but Georgia Tech had some guys just making tough shot after tough shot, and Chucky was really aggressive in the first half, five of nine, three of five from three. And look, sometimes you chalk it up and you just give the other team credit because they
found a way to keep him from killing them. But when I see that Chuck, he only took five shots and only made one of them, and then he you know, actually he had a bucket and he had two free throws and of minus nineteen in the plus minus in the second half. So that that right there is a real situation if Chucky is is and again he's had games where he's shot poorly and you don't even remember it because you're like, you kid me, that guy was one of the most impactful players out there. That's why
we won because of him. Well, sometimes he does that and he's three of eleven, and that's okay, because if he's aggressive NonStop and he has a bad shooting night.
I think Louisville more often than not is.
Gonna be able to get by because they got other guys that can score and he can distribute. But whenever he's not aggressive and he's only taken five shots, I don't I don't think that's that's ideal. Now again, I'm not being critical. Obviously, it was a hell of a hell of a game for Javon Hadley, I mean, and even Terrence Edwards. I mean Terrence said Wards overall, he had a bigger first half than anything, But I mean, overall, Terrence Edwards is going eight of sixteen, three of six
from three point range. You know that's a good thing, and Chucky doesn't have to do a whole lot, but he's just got to stay aggressive. And I kind of feel like I didn't go back and watch it because why would I want to torture myself to watch a
loss over again. But it just kind of felt like late in the game, he just Chucky wasn't making as much of an impact as we typically seed where he was a little bit passive, and you know what, that's gonna happen, because, if anything, he was due for maybe a game like this because he has relied upon so much so, and it's been clear really since day one that Louisville was going to go as far as he could take them, right even whenever, like I don't want
to minimize the absence of Case in prior, but whenever he got hurt, I think people were of the belief that, like that was the last guy you needed to lose, and no offense to Case and but no, I mean to me, it was always Chucky. So you know, I'm bummed about the loss, But I think this group will come back ready to play on Wednesday against Boston College and I and be surprised at all if they put together a good win streak here. But one thing that is,
you know, that is just the facts. It's really not an opinion. It's just what it is. That loss hurt them when it comes to the resume. It's not something that puts them on the outside looking in or anything like that. But you now have a lower potential ceiling when it comes to your seed line because of this loss and no other real opportunities in the regular season to get wins that are gonna really do much for you.
And you can't control that, right, you go out there and play who's on the schedule and try to.
Win every game.
I think this group, as much as it sounds cliche and it's what you hear every coach say, but I think they've always been pretty good about, Hey, you know, we're gonna we're gonna stick with we're one game at a time. We are quite literally, I mean Pat Kelsey said it, but I think they really do run with it that the next game, whoever it is against, that's the most important game in the history of the program because
it's next. And I think, again, the maturity of this group that they've shown throughout, I expect them to bounce back from this. But again, you really can't afford to slip up to a team like Georgia Tech more than once, probably, and you don't want to do it at all, But like I think, if you do it twice, I think it really changes how you're viewed in a major way.
And I don't expect that they will do that. But again, just the visual of seeing this team lose to a team like Georgia Tech, you know, it's just a reminder that, man, they got to come ready to play. And I don't know, somebody on the text line mentioned this earlier that maybe Louisville has become the hunted. I mean, Louisville is always going to be a program. Well I guess outside of the last few years that if you beat them, it's better than beating most teams now, but clearly louisll has
been really bad. I would say, this a ranked team in your house and your Georgia Tech, that's a big deal. So like, I don't think we're their super Bowl, but gonna you're gonna there's gonna be more I guess to gain by beating a ranked team because there's clearly just you know, the perception is that there's more value there. So maybe it's not the Louisville brand or anything like that, but knowing, hey, in the longer, you let teams like
that hang around. That's how this happens. Right, Louisville I think withstood a couple of runs from Georgia Tech as far as where they just got hot and Pat had to call a time out. But then late, you know, Georgia Tech continued to kind of make tough shots that I feel like, I mean, maybe it's just the way I want to remember it, but I feel like a lot of the shots they made were just really tough
shots well defended. Now, again, there were some other buckets that they got where you're thinking, how's he get to the rim like that?
Or how did he not? How was how was there not a better contest on that shot?
So I'm not saying they were perfect, but I think Georgia Tech just made some tough shots early, they made tough shots late, and then when Louisville's missing shots around the rim that you know, you know are going to be crucial and then you miss free throws, That's that's
how these things happen. But again, I still think this is a group that has I don't want to say no chance of missing the tournament, but put it this way, and this is repetitive at this point, but I feel the same today as I did a week ago, just because we've known this team was vulnerable and they could lose these games if you know, if they're not careful, and uh, you know, sometimes you you know, I I know there's some people that and I'll just share with
you really quickly here. Somebody's like, we would have crushed Kenny Payne for this loss. Why are we not crushing Pat Kelsey? I mean like I is that is that? Am I taking the bait here by like the Pat Kelsey's Yeah, I mean like I'm taking the bait by
even acknowledging that. But one thing I wanted to run with that, other than just the nonsense about any comparison between these two coaches, is we have an arrogance about ourselves as a program to an extent to where a loss to a Georgia Tech team that has nine wins on Saturday, like a lot of people are like, I don't care, they're not good. We should win, right, Like that's what they That's what they say, And I understand that.
But also like sometimes dudes just get hot and play really well, and I think Louisville was a reason for that. But also I'm willing to give Georgia Tech a little bit of credit here because I thought they showed that.
They you know, they were in the game.
They made some big plays that really swung momentum, and then from there they were able to you know, they were able to uh to hold on and win. All right, quick break what I want to get you on the other side, more about the Lexington return for John Caliperry.
Not only the game itself. But man, the former players that decided to not necessarily be anti Kentucky but make it clear that they are still going to support John Caliperry and they're going to support him and you while they're why you all are playing each other like that clearly has ruffled some feathers. So we'll get to that in a lot more. It's coffee and company. Feel about Thorton's ready here on Sports Talk seven.
Ninety Now back to coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
You know, one of the things I talked about at the beginning of the show when we were mentioning the Louisville loss is, you know, there's a lot of different elements to the revival process, right like Louisville fans remembering what it's like to watch a team play hard and feel like, hey, we're going to the tournament and just feel good right, good energy. I mean, January was a phenomenal month, and really things have been pretty good, in fact, really good I think since Pat Kelsey got hired up
to this point. But he lost a game for the first time as our coach that he wasn't supposed to lose. I mean, that was not a good loss by any means. And it's so I'll bring all that up to said that I've kind of been avoiding bracketology because I didn't want to have to see what these bracketologists are saying about Louisville as far as what it did to the resume. And I did see too earlier that had Louisville on the eight line, which is understandable.
But then Lonardi, for what it's worth, not.
Much of anything because he doesn't actually see the tournament, but he did not hold them as accountable for that loss as some others because he still has Louisville as a seven seed, and so they are down from a five to a seven. They did drop, but again eight also wouldn't be crazy. But he has Louisville as the number twenty seven overall seed right now.
So you know, not a good loss.
But if you just have that one and you still can finish strong and look, I feel silly now saying, hey, they should win every game that's left, but they're going to be expected to win every game that's left, and it says more about your opponents than it does. And yes, the reminder that they can be beat that they just happened. Certainly that's going to I mean, that makes them look
I guess more. I mean, it proves that they can lose to those kind of teams, but I think we've always known that, and also even with that loss now there, let's not change the script here. I think we've seen what this team can do against teams substantially better than Georgia Tech. So let's just hold out hope that they get back on the winning side and keep it rolling again. Now for Kentucky again, they have such a such a weird resume. Man, that loss on Saturday is easily they're worse.
I mean, both teams, Louisville Kentucky, no doubt about it, not only took bad losses, but they're easily the worst losses of the season for these teams. And it's really not even close. I mean Kentucky, I mean, what a resume. They have losses to Arkansas, who's forty seventh, Vandy who's fiftieth, Georgia Tech who's fortieth, Ohio State who's twenty sixth, Clemson who's twenty seven. So I'm referencing the kin Palm numbers there. But Ohio State. They're probably not a tournament team. Georgia
doesn't look like it right now. Vandy they're in Arkansas. No, So again, they're not terrible losses, especially when you consider the metrics. But I mean, you lose to those teams, but then you turn around and yeah, you got do girly. But still that's a win that counts. It's got a lot of value. You beat Gonzaga, which that also doesn't look as impressive now because they Gonzaga, by the way, this year has taken a bigger slide than I think people realize. But you know, they're on the other side
of the country and we never watch them play. But still, you know, that's a good win. Beat Florida, who's a top five team, beat Tennessee at Tennessee, who then bounced back and beat the hell out of Florida the next game after Kentucky got them. I mean, beating A and M at home, that's a huge win Mississippi State on the road. So Kentucky, I mean, I feel like if you remove I mean they've got six losses and such
valuable wins. I mean, they're a couple of games away, Like for example, if they hold on and beat Clemson, or let's say they hold on and beat Bama, or maybe they just don't slip up and lose to Arkansas. I mean, I feel like they're close to a one seed, probably a two at that point, but their wins are so valuable and their losses aren't terrible other than Arkansas. But then again, like there's still you know, teams that
you know they should beat. So right now, again, Lenardi has them even after their loss to their worst loss of the season, he still has them sitting to a
three seed and the number eleven overall seeds. So currently when it comes to conferences, you've got three currently in right I guess four currently in right now in the AC seed Duke one seed, Louisville seven seed, Clemson eight seed, and then Pittsburgh is listed in the last four in North Carolina is listed in the first four out, Wake Forest is in the next four out out and also
SMU is in the next four round. So it'll be wild to see and I and this this will be ACC fans telling on themselves because there's a scenario where if the bubble just happens to roll a different a certain way, all those teams could get in smu Way, But like, can you really claim the haters were wrong if you will only have like two teams safely in. I mean, look, all those teams could not make it too but anyways, that's where you that's where how it
currently looks in the ACC. And then the Big twelve, I mean quietly having another really good season. It's just been overshadowed by how good the SEC is. So Iowa State is a two seed, number five overall, Houston also a two seed, Kansas a three seed, Texas Tech a four seed, Arizona up to a five seed, and then you've got Baylor West Virginia getting in still, and then
bubble teams are BYU and US and UCF. And then in the SEC, I mean, they've got six teams that are that they're really even if they tried to miss the tournament they couldn't. And that's Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, A and M and Kentucky and then Missouri and Ole miss safely in as top five seeds. Right now, I would say Mississippi State they're in as a sixth seed. And then after that you I mean, like the fact that Georgia Vandy and Oklahoma are all listed as nine, ten,
and eleven seeds, and Texas is a non seed. I mean, hard to claim those teams don't belong because of how good the league was in the non conference. Like Georgia has taken their lumps, they've had a rough go at it, but you know they're still in because in the non conference they had some good wins, including like I think they're the last team to beat Rick Patino in Saint John's, which tells you how hot his team has been. So again,
I think for Louisville right now you're ceiling. I guess it could still be four, but I think you'd need to like went out and then get to you know, get to one of the games in the ACC tournament where you could get some value if you win, and if you lose, it's not going to be like a you know, it's not going to crush your resume. Maybe I'm wrong though, Like maybe they could get higher than that,
but I don't know. I mean, I guess if they went out and they just start stacking up a bunch of wins even though they're against bad teams, maybe they could you know, maybe maybe maybe the resume would be more impressive than that I'm giving it credit for. But what comes to mind for me is that there was something that could be said about the resume prior to Saturday that that was valuable, but now you can't say it because it's not true. Louisville does have a bad loss,
whereas before that they didn't. So that's kind of where I feel like they're sealing us lowered a little bit. And look, Kentucky caets still get a one seed with everything that's left in front of them. But one thing that they got to figure out is, I mean, how healthy can they be because not having Lamont Butler play car clearly is just not healthy. They've they've been without Cresa for quite some time, so I mean I just thought visually they looked like they were like much less
talented and much less athletic than Arkansas. And look, Arkansas despite having a bad record and not being a very good team as far as results, I mean, they're always gonna have talent on athleticism, but they've lost to teams
that clearly are a lot worse than Kentucky. But that was the first time I watched Kentucky and felt like, okay, with how good the SEC is like, they're probably going to run into some teams that they just can't match up with because the SEC's loaded and they're missing some guys that they really need.
Now. Also, anytime it seems.
Like well they like for example, this has been pretty consistent for Mark Pope. Anytime they've had a really tough game coming up that's coming off of a loss, they find a way to win. I mean, Pope has won games that have a lot of value in one games that really I don't say nobody gave them a chance. I mean, it's a Kentucky team. They've been really top ten all year, so they've always got a chance. But you know when they ended up who was.
It who they lost to? They lost to Georgia.
You know, they're going on the road and playing and I remember thinking, okay, we well, man, if you lose on the road to Georgia, now you've got to go on the road to play Mississippi State.
Good luck.
Well they ended up going there and beating them. That's you know, and that that wasn't a win that I think there was a whole lot of expectation for. I mean, honestly, I guess Ohio State, right they beat them by twenty and then their next challenge was going to be Florida
in January fourth. They won that game in a close one. Son, I don't re act like they were just left for dead in these moments, but they've they've had losses that would make you feel like if they could lose to this team, man, they're going to have a really tough time beating the likes of Florida, Mississippi State at their place, you know, Tennessee on the road, and yet they've they've been able to win those games. So they've got Old
Miss tomorrow. So again, what I'm getting at is if they win tomorrow at Ole Misigans Chris Beard, I mean, can we say we're that surprised because that's kind of what they've done, which, again, more than anything, speaks.
To how good of a coach Mark Pope is.
He's clearly not perfect, and I'm sure he's doing things strategically that fans don't love, but I mean he's also getting great results. But one thing he's got to figure out is is his rotation. And this is something that both Pat Kelcey and Mark Pope are alike in they want to play as many guys as they can because
they want to play as many possessions as possible. They want to be able to go to a fresh guy or maybe bringing three guys off the bench, and you still play that same pace like everybody can play that style. That's what both coaches want to do. Louisville, you know they were deep early on, when then you know they weren't right they lost. I mean they didn't have Trey Roy for a long time. Prior only played a few games,
and obviously Corn Johnson only played one game. So you know, you're forced to just kind of figure out your lineup right. You don't have any option to really go to the bench because you don't have one. Therefore, guys are going to, i think, have a better ability to kind of define their role so with I mean, if they're not getting it, sounds like mat La mont Butler maybe out for a while. But and that clearly changes things. But one thing that just seems to be like a head scratcher for me
is when Pope goes to his bench. I mean, I just don't understand the combent. Like to me, there shouldn't be many games where you have Colin Chandler and Travis Perry and Annsley almanor like all on the floor together. That to me just seems like you could be really vulnerable against teams, you know, like Arkansas.
With that with that trio out there, like.
I think, like for Louisville, even if they had, like put it this way, Let's say Chucky was doing what he's doing and Rain, you know, was having the season he's having. I mean, they're in good rhythm. Those guys have had phenomenal seasons. I mean, you can make the case that Chucky and Rain, that duo all in all, as of right now, outside of whatever Duke's working with,
that's the best backcourt in the AC. Seat's not close because those guys have honestly in ACC play, I mean, right, Smith is not just a guy who gets hot from three. I mean that is a big part of what he does. But I mean his number is this production. He's been one of the better guards in the ACC and obviously Chucky has been and I don't think that'll change. So if we had Corn Johnson, like, it wouldn't be an issue.
It'd be nice to have another guy to put in, but like he'd be getting legitimate backup minutes, not the same minutes that you probably are gonna see from Chucky. So I'm not trying to act like we don't need these guys, But I think Louisville was able to round into form because they had no other choice.
With Pope, I think he still wants to.
Play a lot of guys because of the style that he wants to play, and he wants to keep guys fresh.
But you're gonna be.
At your best if Jackson Robinson, Amari Williams, I mean Away and Car Like, if those guys are playing thirty five plus minutes, that's a good thing, because you know those guys are good. Those guys, clearly, I think, do a lot more for you than the others. Like Garrison, he could still play, you could still throw them out. They're the same thing for Chandler and all minors come in and hit some shots for him.
But like, it should be spot.
Minutes, and I guess technically that's what he's doing as far as minute distribution, But like, I just it just seemed as if when they went multiple substitutions the other night and then you know, they got exposed a little bit, I'm sitting here thinking, well, you probably should have seen that coming. And that's where Pope and Kelsey are both very much analytically driven, more about the system than about
like personnel. And not to say they don't pay attention to personnel, but I mean I think you should at times. All Right, this has not been talked about just yet, but we'll take our last break here in the four o'clock hour because there's a couple of things I want to hit on before we finish up the four o'clock hour.
Don't forget that we're taking you up till six o'clock.
But Chuckie Hepburn not listed as one of the top ten candidates on the Bob Coosey Award, which is given annually to the nation's best point guard.
I mean it's kind of insane.
Oh, it's disrespectful. I mean it's disrespectful. And I mean that like not saying that, like Chuckie needs to feel emotional about it. But the guys that are ahead of him on here, like they're playing for teams that some of.
Them aren't as good as Louisville.
And I mean, Chucky's been phenomenal this year, So I think I don't know. I'll share my thoughts on the other side. I mean, I don't have a whole lot more to add other than that's ridiculous, But.
We'll get to that.
And as well the Kentucky players that I mean really, I mean, do you all, really, as Kentucky fans, care what Ashton Hagen says?
I mean not to say that you like hate? Yeah, Like to me, those are guys that you got.
I mean again, I'm wrong. I'm not a big big I'm not a big Blue Nation guys. Like, maybe you will loose sleep at night knowing those guys were pulling for col But like Reed Shepherd, that was wild. To me, that was insane. And we'll talk about it next right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
You want to hear a hot take, of course, I mean I've got a really hot take here that is.
Something that I actually believe is true. But this is what do I do.
I'm gonna set it up like I'm one of those loud mouse on the round table shows where you're just supposed to embrace, debate and yell at each other.
Oh yeah, you ready for it? Yeah?
Pat Kelsey is holding Chucky Hepburn back. Pat Kelsey is limiting Chucky Chucky Hepburn and what his credentials.
Can be, and he hasn't fully unleashed him yet. Now what you're saying, well, that's the way people might hear it.
But what I was actually going to say is that Pat Kelsey has, understandably so and for good reason, been such a big story in college basketball and how Louisville has turned things around that people don't even realize how good Chucky is.
Yeah.
So again, it's nobody's fault. Yeah, but it's it's I mean, it's it's nobody's fault. I'm I'm just stating that that has to be the only explanation is that they're just assuming that that Pat Kelsey is and look, Pat Kelsey is the is the reason is the difference in Louisville previously,
in the last few years and now. But maybe they're just so much focused on that that they don't really consider to look at Chucky Hepburn and what he's doing statistically, because for him to not be one of the finalists on the Wooden Award or not the Wooden Ward, I'm sorry the Bob Cuzy Award, which goes to the ten to the ten best point guards in the country, meaning the final ten. Obviously the oward goes to the winner.
But you've got Mark Sears at Alabama, Walter Clayton junior at Florida, Ryan Nemhart at Gonzaga, Keshawn Gilbert Iowa State, Cam Jones at Marquette, As Baldwin junior at Penn State, Braden Smith that Purdue, Dylan Harper at Rutgers, Zakai Ziggler at Tennessee, and then Javon Small from West Virginia. So I mean, I can't sit here and tell you that Chucky's numbers are substantially better than a handful of these guys,
but they are better to some extent. I mean, Chucky's averaging fifteen points, six point four assists and three point five rebounds, and his steals. I mean, I'm gonna have to look it up now, because I mean, I don't know.
I kind of feel like the last time I looked up Chucky, the last time I looked up chucky Steel stats, it actually wasn't as impressive as I thought, because clearly you can tell his impact defensively when he's just a past out there necessarily have to collect a steal for you to realize this guy's a real problem for opposing teams when it comes to his ability to defend you.
But sure enough, he.
Actually leads the ACC and steals by more than a steal. He's averaging. Okay, let me yeah, no, I'm sorry, never let me back ups. He's he is leading. I was looking at the wrong side of it, but he is leading the ACC in steals total and in steals per
game at two point four. So again, like, I can't sit here and say that all these guys are a lowsy, but I think what's happened is that again there's just not as much attention on Louisville for any specific player and everybody else other than I guess, I don't know. I mean, West Virginia is having a West Virginia lost to Louisville. Chucky got the best of Javon Small in
that game. And I know that's not how this works as far as you know the the Bob Coosey Award, But you know, it's nice to be sensitive for a basketball player for you feeling, and really, I mean, I think it's not to say that that many of these guys are not deserving, but like, how's he not deserved?
Again?
You can only put ten but I think you know when you look at Keishawn Gilbert, I mean, his numbers not as good as Chucky's, but you know what he happens to play for Iowa State, who's the top ten team. Ace Baldwin. He's got good numbers, fourteen point seven point eight assists, but like his team's lousy. They're not even gonna sniff the tournament in the Big ten. I mean Dylan Harper, I know he's a really good freshman, but like Rutger sucks, Rutgers is going to be a really
good case study as far as you know. You can have the two best players in the country outside of Cooper Flag, but that doesn't guarantee you anything because yeah, they're talented, Yeah they're going to be taken early in the draft, but like you didn't win with them, and you only are going to have them one year. Braden Smith, they got no issues with him there as a kay Ziggler, I've got no issues there, no issue with Cam Jones.
But Ryan Nemhard, I mean, good player.
But like it's wild to think about this but he's getting the Gonzaga bump, which is crazy that Gonzaga is getting a brand bump over Louisville in the grand scheme of things. But clearly Gonzaga has been a good program for a while now, but even they're taking a step back. Like Ryan Emhard right now, he's averaging eleven points in tennis is now tennis is per game. Hard to imagine somebody averaging tennisis per game would not be on this list.
So again it's not like I can just tear all of them down, but when the stats are close, I feel like Chucky would have got the edge over some of these guys because again, some of their teams aren't very good. But you know, it is nice though that it doesn't seem to just be Louisville fans all over this, you know, kind of acknowledging that there's clearly somebody that is missing, because others that cover the sport are you know,
noticing it as well. But again, it's only a couple that I would say I have an issue with them being on there. I mean, Mark Sears, I could be totally wrong here, but like I think, until just recently he was in the headline not headlines, but I mean he was he was kind of regressing, But yeah, I am wrong. He's actually he's still having a good season. Alabama's really good. So here I'm just trying to tear down good players because I'm bothered that Chucky's not getting
the respect that he deserves. But what are you gonna do? All Right, the everything that came with Saturday, as far as the lead up to Cali Perry returning to Lexington and all that, and we'll dive back in the five o'clock hour as far as just kind of what that was. But I really never once gave you. I'm not a Kentucky fan, so it's not something I would ever think about.
But I don't remember I don't remember Kentucky fans as they got set for the game, at least, you know, the friend the ones that I'm friends with, the ones that you know, I know, I don't think they really were thinking about.
Hmm.
I wonder who our former players are going to cheer for or man, I wonder how our former players feel watching their coach go up against you know, big Blue Nation where they played. And I think for the most part, it is understandable for players to still love Cal. I mean he changed their lives. Not to say, you know, they wouldn't have been in the NBA or something without him, but I mean he was around him. And look, maybe you don't want to give him credit for them being
NBA players, and if so, that's fine. There's plenty of guys that would have been in the NBIA regardless, but they still have a strong relationship with him, and and that's been evident really from day one, since he got to Lexington. These guys aren't just elite players that are committing to come to Kentucky. They are very I mean, they're coming there for him. And you don't really think about that a whole lot when things are going great
because it doesn't matter. But I guess more than anything, for Kentucky fans on Saturday, it was a reminder that it was really transactional. Like if Cali Perry wasn't the coach, you may these guys may have never considered Kentucky. And
that's okay, That's really how it is everywhere. I mean, are we gonna act like players who pick where they go to school, especially now in this new world, like it's not based off of a transaction it's money, and it's you know, the coach matters too, like they're gonna clearly know which programs have had success, which ones are considered blue bloods. But I think Kentucky, with you know, it being such a special place, clearly they've got one the biggest s fan bases on the planet and that
is a selling point, so it matters. But again, Cal being there was a big reason why they came. Not to say that if somebody else instead of Cal was coaching, like for example, Mark Pope's already got some big time recruits coming his way that you know are there and
Cal Perry's not, so it could still happen. But it was I guess, kind of a reminder that maybe you didn't want to see, given the day where Cal comes back and beat you, and you've got former players that were supporting him, not necessarily not supporting you, but some you know, the Ashton Hagens and the who else was it? They beyond Men's I believe was one of them.
Hi, yeah, Tyti Washington.
I mean those guys, I mean, they might have been a little their comments might have made it seem like they were kind of, you know, clearly wanting Kyle to win and.
Didn't care about Kentucky.
But either way, like even if like Greed Shepherd wearing the Arkansas shirt in the Kentucky shorts is something I still can't believe happened, and I don't I'm not saying he did something like wrong because again, he committed to play for Kentucky at cal and yeah, he's from Kentucky. His dad won a championship at Kentucky. His dad is close, was really close with Mark Pope, who's the coach. Now
he's a Kentucky boy. Like all those things are true, But in his last I don't know, five years of his life, he's not really been a fan of anybody. He's been you know, clearly his rooting interests and his roots are Kentucky. But he's not in the mindset of like fan because to meet him, it's it's like it's it's just different any college player, Like, yeah, you may grow up rooting on a certain team, but that changes.
Like if Reed Sheppard only thought about who he was a fan of, like then he would have never considered any other school. And look, he might not have, but I just think he I don't know, I'm trying I'm trying to not make it sound as if like I think what he did was, you know, the worst thing ever. But I just don't think he sees the Kentucky fan base like the Kentucky fan base thinks he does. And it's not because he doesn't appreciate it and he doesn't
understand it. To anybody would understand it would be him. But he also chose to play for Caliparia Kentucky, and to be honest, Reid was kind of the guy that Cal has had many years, meaning like the dog, the guy who just kind of became the man for that team. And I think Reid benefited playing from Cal not because of like development as far as what he could do on the court, but I kind of think Reid, you know,
he was an alpha out there at times. I mean, he didn't do it against Oakland and people were reminding him of that on Saturday night, But I mean like he had a special connection to Cal and that alone makes it to where it would make sense that he would not be going into that game thinking, you know, the hell with Arkansas, go big Blue, but to wear
the Arkansas shirt. Like the biggest surprise for me is that he didn't have the ability to read the room, or that he didn't care because he's a smart guy for him to not I think he later came out and said he thought it would be funny, like it was a joke. I mean, I don't know anybody on any side of the rivalry, or really anybody that knows this stuff and is into it like we are. I don't know of anybody that would have said, hey, reed, that would be a good idea, you should do it.
People will get a kick out of it, like and it'll blow over. Trust me, it'll be fine. I don't think it's something they'll forgive him. They've probably already have forgiven him, And I don't think he like betrayed them by the way, like at the end of the day, he could know that it makes you feel that way, but also as a grown man go to bed at
night knowing that he did nothing wrong. He's supporting both because he's a Kentucky guy played there, but also he loves cal Perry and you know that's not a crazy thing to wrap your head around. But you know what, this stuff makes us crazy and people lose sight of you know, what's reality and what's not. All right, we got another hour left, so stick around right here on Sports Talk seven ninety