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Coffee and Company Field by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety Nick Coffee Austin Montgomery with you taking you up until six o'clock. Thanks for hanging out with us. Don't forget you could take us with you wherever you go. Listen live on the iHeart Radio app. Also listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com. So the before actually I got to ask you this, you were in Nashville
on Sunday for the Titans Vikings game. For those who don't know, Austin's a big Vikings fan, and they're having a pretty damn good season for the most part. The atmosphere for a Titans game whenever they're really really bad. Because I'm actually going next month to see the Titans in the Bengals play because I've got a close, close cousin who loves far far away in Arkansas, but he's a big time Bengals fan, so he's bringing his son up to watch the Bengals and the Titans play in Nashville.
I'm gonna take Moose. We're gonna have a good time. And I've always enjoyed going to Titans games. I've been three times and each time I've watched him play my Colts, so I won't really have act. I'll be pulling for the Bengals because you know, I don't like the Titans, their division rival. But it looked like it looked like man, the Vikings fans invaded that place.
Yeah, they showed out. It was almost like a home game. You know, they had the skull chant going. Everywhere we went was purple. Hit BUCkies on the way up there and Smith's Grove nothing but purple. And at this point, are they like two and two and eight. I think they're defeated. Yeah, they stink. I mean the Bill Callahan, I think he kind of stinks. Ever since Derek and Derrick Henry leaving that place, you could tell he had such a big impact on just that community.
He was the franchise.
Yeah, the fan base of community, Like you just said, the franchise. There's Derrick Henry jerseys everywhere, and they just seemed depleted. I feel a little bit bad, But there was time and I was talking to one of our salespeople earlier where we just kind of left to beat the traffic a little bit, and as we're walking out, you could just kind of hear like a roar of something that happened at the end of the game, and my buddy just looked at me, who's a Titans fan
by the way, shout out Marcus. He was like, I don't even know if that's if that's for us or for y'all, And he even he even said it. And it turned out to be a Harrison Smith pick because Will Levis is just he's just a disaster. He's not a good NFL quarterback. He's just having a tough time. But I would I would expect at this point in the game, especially since Cincinnati so close, it is going to be a lot of Cincinnati fans there too. But to their credit, the Titans fans and we were sitting around,
very good sportsmanship. They're very nice. It was at Nashville Hospitality. You know, they weren't nasty. They were ugly, but they just kind of understood where they were at and I guess that they were just kind of happy to be there. But a lot of a lot of Vikings fans there, and I know that they travel well, but it was kind of overwhelming the amount. It really did feel like a Minnesota home game.
Yeah, the I have a few friends included that are Vikings fans, and all of them went and they each they each took pictures and posted like where they were before the game and after the game, and it just looked like you would have thought it was in Minneapolis. I mean, that's how that's how crazy it was. But uh yeah, good good times.
All right.
So last night Louisville wins big against Bellerman. One hundred to sixty eight was the score. That's really all you can do in these situations. And somebody asked a good question earlier on the text line, and we also had somebody ask this question who called in didn't want to come on the air, but they wanted to ask if I saw the Scotty Davenport blow by, which we will get to that in just a second. But the other question that I wanted to discuss is the Kent Pom
so Louisville. Let's see here, yesterday when that thing tipped off, Louisville was at number sixty eight in the kN Pom and now they're at sixty four. Now I know the kin Pom is the kinboms is active all throughout the year. The net rankings don't come out till later, but It's a similar thing to where Louisville jumped up four spots because they beat Bellerman, who was ranked three thirty five
thirty two points. That's one of those things to where you're gonna have to beat them, and not just Beller, remember, but any team in that in that range, you're gonna have to beat him pretty bad in order to you know, move up. And that sounds, you know, like you're trying to embarrass your opponent, But coaches, look, it's their job to put their teams in the best situation possible. Every
little every little bit counsel. When you know as a coach that you've got a chance each night out to do something on the scoreboard that is going to either impact you positively or negatively, you're gonna you're gonna choose positively. And and the best example for this is the Maryland played who was it they played the other night? Maryland was coming off a loss, a close loss at home to a really good Marquete team who, by the way, looked phenomenal last night against Purdue.
That was a really really good game.
And maybe it's just Shaka doing what he does early on, and he's always got good teams he just hasn't made deep tournament runs. But there's a chance Purdue maybe was just coming off of the high from the big win they had at home against Alabama. Huh, But man, Marquette looked like the best team in the country last night. I've watched a lot of college basketball early on this year, and I don't know who the best team is.
Nobody really does at this point.
But I don't feel like it's a recency thing here for me to say that, Like, I think Marquee is the best team I've watched. Now again, they had a phenomenal night from their best player, who just so happens to be I mean, had the third triple double and Marquette history, Cam Jones did. The only other two came from Dwayne Wade. But yeah, market looked really good. But anyways, back to Maryland. Maryland was coming off a close home loss to a really good Marquette team and they played
number three, fifty five Knissuus. I think that's how you say it. So there's only what nine teams worse than Kenissuus. So what do you got to do? You got to beat their brains in in order to not fall when it comes to tow numbers. They beat them one hundred and eight to thirty seven. Think about that, one hundred and eight to thirty seven. That is an ass woman, and it's led to some of those who cover college basketball ball saying something's gonna be done.
This is in humane.
I don't know why I said it in that voice, and I'm not sure if that's exactly what they said, but you know, like saying that there needs to be something done by the NCAA that lets teams know, okay, cap out at thirty your thirty point victory is where we're gonna stop. You know that's enough. They've thrown in the towel. You hit the benchmark of knowing that you beat a bad team as bad as you need to
beat them. But without that in place, some coaches, Kevin Willard specifically, because that's Kevin Willard, he has no problem beating a team by nearly one hundred points. So don't be shocked if you see other teams in a similar situation to Maryland, that will, in fact, if they can try to beat you by as much as they possibly can. And look last night Louisville, they didn't put the walk Ons in until a minute left. I mean, they were trying to win that game is best they could and
they end up winn about thirty two points. So, you know, I was really impressed with what I saw from certain players individually when it comes to score an offense. I mean, Chucky Hebburn needs to stay aggressive because he can run your team. He's good at that, but he's also a talented guy that can do some things offensively, not only
creating for others, but creating for himself. And I think he's also a guy that if he's just playing loose out there and he's aggressive, he could be creating for himself and then find him, you know, and end up, you know, drawing attention from the defense to where he's got somebody spotting up in the corner for a good look from three, or he's dropping it off to James Scott for a dunk because he got in the paint. So I was really happy to see that because he's
the guy. I mean, he wasn't the only one, but there are a lot of guys against Tennessee that just looked uncomfortable out there. They were out of rhythm, and I'm sure it was a variety of things, but I think the in and out everybody kind of playing similar minutes, that's going to keep guys from really reaching their potential.
And I don't mean, you know, like I mean, that's the wrong way to word it, because it's not like, you know, a lot of these guys who've played a lot of college basketball, they're probably as good as they're
going to give. But as far as like getting the most out of what they can do, I think you got to let them kind of go to work offensively and you know, have a little bit more structured half court offense that can you're running some action that can utilize case and pryor being a mismatch for somebody that can utilize Terrence Edwards's ability to go to work offensively. Chucky, Hepburn a guy who you know, I think he's got the ability to really go to work when it comes
to pick and roll action. Now with Edwards, you know, it's kind of slow, it's kind of methodical, but like last night, you can see why he was such a highly coveted transfer, a guy.
Who was the or was the Sun Belt Player of the year.
You know, But I and I'm overthinking it, but to me, I just feel like he can do that against a team like Bellerman and Morehead State, but I wonder can he do that against like really good teams? You know, can he take somebody off the bounce? And you know, we'll find out. And it's not that that's that's the ultimate factor in louisvill being good or not. It's just I think you've got some good stuff to work with offensively, despite us not seeing it against a really good defensive
team in Tennessee. But I find myself thinking, you know, worrying. Okay, well, yeah, that's doable against that kind of team, But when you play teams not ranked near the three hundreds, are you going to be able to rely on those guys being as productive as they were last night? But I'll go back to what I said earlier. I really do believe that.
You can be deep.
You can play the style that Pat wants to play, but also give the bulk of the minutes too specific guys, not saying play them thirty five minutes a game, but like Cayson Prior should start and should be on the floor for the majority of the game, Chucky Hepburn's same thing. Terrence Edwards, I'd say the same thing, But I think his you know, his production offensively, it may be more dependent upon who you're playing. And Rain Smith, I feel like he's somebody that just stats, you know, put the
stats aside. The offense just is better when he's on the floor because there's he understands spacing. He's not a point guard. He's not gonna break somebody down and and and create a whole lot for others. But one he has a weapon that you know, if he's open and it's it's going up, he's gonna miss some. But like if he ever makes it, you're never surprised. But he's the guy that you know, Roy McMahon was like this, Roy McMahon, it's sometime, you know, sometimes you'd ask yourself, Okay,
if he's not making shots, what's he doing for you? Well, if he's not a liability defensively and the opponents have to account for him because of his shooting ability, and he understands spacing, like he's a smart player that's not going to get in the way he's gonna you know, he's not somebody that's a that's a ball stopper. You know, he was somebody that if he had a good look when he caught it in rhythm, he's gonna fire it. If not, he's he's he's passing and he's he's moving.
I think Rain Smith's kind of liked that, although I think Rain, I mean, they're not the same player. And yeah, I know, I'm just comparing two white guys. They could shoot it, but to take away their you know, this color of their skin is that's the role is guys that the opponent knows. We can't leave them open. They might miss a few, but they could also hit four in a hurry and completely flip a game. All right, we'll get to the blow by just a second here.
But the Kentucky game last night, I just want to make sure I pulled up the numbers here because I didn't get to see much of it. Obviously, Louisville Kentucky played at the same time, but the games weren't exactly
on the same pace. Therefore, I did get to see some of Kentucky at the end of the first half for them, and then a little bit in the second half, just because I wanted to, you know, But once I saw they were up a billion points, you know, there wasn't a whole lot to really, and trust me, I'm not if I'm gonna be really on the edge of my seat to watch Kentucky play, it's likely when it's going to be a really good game like we saw last week against Duke, or you know, if they're getting beat,
because I would take great enjoyment in that. But when it comes to uh, their win last night ninety seven is sixty eight, I mean, it really did hit me. And I know Lipscomb's not great, but list come's not a terrible team, by the way.
I mean they're not.
They're not Bellermann and they're not they're not Morehead. But I'm just gonna have to say it. I've been really, really impressed with everything about this Kentucky team. It makes me sick, but I think they're a really really good basketball team. They don't have many NBA guys, but it doesn't really matter at all. The talent level is clearly good enough at this level of college basketball. I mean, they don't have anybody that's going to go to the
NBA in the first round, I don't think. And they played a team last week in Duke that you know, if they play them later in the year, maybe they do get beat.
Maybe it's bad.
I don't know, but it's not as if, you know, you're getting rid of all the NBA young talent that Cal brought in every year to go get a bunch of scrubs. You're getting guys that maybe don't have that ceiling. Maybe they're close to being as good as they're going to get, but they're also pretty talented. Are going to lose games, and I'm not here to tell you that they're the best team in the country, but they've got a really good roster.
They're really well coached.
Kobe Brea, I mean, was he shooting eighty something percent from three you saw last night? Jackson Robinson despite no showing against Duke, he certainly didn't hurt him and he's capable of going off on any given night. So you know, they'll lose games. Maybe they you know, maybe maybe this is all fools gold and you get to later in the year and they've got some major flaws. But again, i'd be a liar, and I don't like the lot of you guys, so I'm gonna tell you the truth.
They're I think they're really good. Their style of play is is I mean, both of these coaches went out and tried to get players that fit exactly what they want to do, and I think both did a good
job at that. But I'd say right now, Kentucky went out and got players that are that are a little bit a little bit above the Louisville guys when it comes to their their talent level, and they've got more interior presence, and they've got guys who are a little bit more so known for defense than what Louisville has. And I'm not trying to necessarily not trying to. I mean,
we'll worry about that matchup when we get there. But the reason I'll bring up the two is because they went out and built teams that did.
What they want to do. And I think both did a good job.
But I think Mark Pope right now looks as if to take away the Louisville I'm not saying, you know, he's one up on pat because he did a better job at it, but I just feel like Pope he's very much, very much analytical. He pays a very close attention to every little detail, and I think he quite literally picked some dudes that maybe you would have said, if you're a Kentucky fan, Okay, that guy's fine, But why didn't we go after this guy. I would have rather had this guy. Well, I think Mark Pope knew
what he was getting with everybody he brought in. And they look really really good now again don't lose games, and what their actual ceiling is, I'm not sure in the grand scheme of things.
But they look good.
I mean, if you take the way Cali Perry built his teams, you take away. You take the way if you look at the way Cali Perry build his teams, I mean, it's the exact opposite. And let me try to find a comparison here, because this is a roster for Pope that you know, you get rid of all the youth that they've had, and you get rid of the imbalance that Cal Perry had because cal would leave
scholarships open, which is just stupid to do. In fact, really it's really stupid this day at age because it's only really a one year commitment, and in fact Arkansas fans are complaining about that. Now they've got some guys injured and they're not looking great and they're not able to really get into to I mean, they haven't looked good really at all this year, to be honest with you, and yet cal just like left two scholarships open, Like why would you do that. It's the same kind of
stuff that Kentucky fans were frustrated about. So you know, you're doing it totally different, but you have enough talent. You're playing modern basketball again. They trust analytics, maybe more than any staff in the country, and they look really really good. Makes me sick to say it, but they're you know, they're they're good. And I probably shouldn't even mention the Louisville comparison, but I was doing it because of these two guys. Didn't just go out and try
to get the best player overall. I mean, clearly they wanted talent, and they would have taken elite talent if they could get it, But it was more so about fitting what they want to do. It's not ideal, but in a way you can actually go out and Okay, hey, I need somebody to fit this role that can be a pick and pop guy, a guy that you know can stretch the floor, a guy that's skilled in the post but can also step outside and knock down jump shots.
I mean that's that's that's Andrew Carr. I mean, so, yeah, they look good, all right, real quick before we get to a break here. I mean, I probably shouldn't have tweeted anything about it, but it was pretty surprising to see because you know, Pat Kelsey tells us before the press conference or before the game and his press conference that he and Pat Kelsey are friends. They clearly have
a reputation, they clearly have a history together. They both obviously if you're not familiar with the coaching tree that Pat Kelsey comes from, it's the Skip Prosser coaching tree, and coach Davenport and Skip Prosser were close and and you know, got to know each other over the years in the business that is college basketball. So you know, it wasn't really a it was a blow by, but it wasn't. So I was telling my dad, did you see the blow by?
And he was like, he didn't shake his hand.
I'm like, no, he did, but he just kept walking, didn't look at him and just kept going. I'm not sure if anything was said, and that's really not that uncommon, but it's Scotty d and they are I mean, they mean, I don't know how close they are as far as friends, but you know, I feel like, if you're Scott Davenport and you want to keep playing Beller, you want Bellerman to keep getting on Louisville schedule, then you would, you know, not do that. But again, he's also a coach that's
gone through a really tough start here. He's a competitor. That's why he's a really good coach. That's why he's a NASH champion at the division two levels. So I mean, I will trust me me tweeting it out it and the reason people noticed that it was clearly something everybody was talking about right after it had happened, and it wasn't anything crazy, but it just was a little bit of a shocker to me to see that happen.
And I give Scotty a clear pass.
I don't think it's because he's a jerker, because he you know, look, he wants to win, and his team lost about thirty two points and they've had a really rough start. They're now zero to five. They didn't have their best player, who's their leading scorer last night because he's dealing with I believe a death in his family,
so he wasn't there. So, you know, be different if he gave him the finger, be different if he you know, like what if they went ww E style Austin and he was like, all right, what if he started like making fun of cutting a promo on Pat Kelsey about his height? Oh yeah, I mean I wouldn't like that, but that would actually be entertaining personal because I think Pat Kelsey would you know, I wouldn't let the the
height fool you. I could see him being, you know, being a little being wiry, being a scrappy guy.
Rick Flayer, like start taking his jacket off an elbow in it on the floor.
That'd be pretty fun.
Now that I think about it. Pat Kelsey, with as good as he is on the mic, he he might be able to be I mean, he might be a guy in wrestling that I don't know what his his ability would be in the ring, but he could certainly do the other side of it, right the start of it.
Right yeah, the manager stuff, the mouthpiece. One of my favorite people probably ever in wrestling. I mean, I know wrestling is a huge part of it, but I love the person that can come out and talk some issh and has the energy and he'd be like the Paul Haymond Do you know Paul Hayman is Oh yeah, okay, yeah, he'd be like the Paul Hamon kind of guy. He's a big name, isn't he, Like he's oh yeah, he's huge,
He's huge everywhere. Not like that, but like he's you know, he's he's known in the pop culture world.
I mean, I don't don't know. I'm not going to come after him and say, well, you know so again.
Me tweeting about it and just saying was that a blowby by Scotty D?
Like that?
That makes it to wear like I can't disact, like I don't want to talk about it, But I also don't think it was much of anything. It just surprised me. And and he's a competitor. He wants to win. And his team's had a rough start for a variety of reasons. And you know, I hope that they get better because one it'll help Louisville. That ends up looking like, you know, a thirty two point win, that's not against one of the teams in the three hundreds, but they got a
tough road ahead. Many this is not one of his better teams. But he's a hell of a coach. So if they get it together and start winning ballgames, I won't be shocked all right, it's coffee and company again. We are fueled by Thornton's take a quick break. We'll come back on the other side. Keep this thing rolling along on Sports Talk seven ninety