It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
All right, hour number two Here on a Friday afternoon. Vibes are good. It's Friday, big weekend ahead, big basketball game tomorrow, Louisville and Tennessee. I am pumped for tomorrow, and I know a lot of Louisville fans feel the same way. But I will start off the four o'clock hour with a complaint. And look, I've been fortunate enough to, you know, put myself in a position where I do have a platform, and I greatly appreciate it, and I
won't have it forever. I know that. So why not take advantage of the platform and complain about something because that's what you tuned in for, right This isn't a big complaint, But do companies not trust you to have a secure enough password? Like? Why do they make you reset your password every? How many times a year? Do we have to reset our iHeart password? I think as every six months?
Right now?
Yeah, I wouldn't. I mean, that sounds about right. But if you'd told me it was every quarter, I believe you. So I have a very, very unique, undetectable password that nobody would ever just guess, like you'd have to like hack me and get it obtain it by viewing it. You'd never just figure out what it is. So over the years I've had I've had to put together a bunch of different variations of the password to slightly mix it up, and it takes a little while to get
used to it. But then it's just you know, it's safe now on my phone. It now does the like with most things on my phone. It's the facial recognition thing that like, you know, it can scan my face and know that it's me. Uh, but you know you can't do that with the work stuff. So I'm having to reset it like every day now, John, because I don't remember exactly what it what it was. And I'm
telling you, yeah, it's just me being an idiot. Like I could write it down and then I would hate, you know, remember, I could go reference it and then eventually I would remember it. But you know, I'm telling myself each time, oh, I'll remember that, but apparently I don't, So I'm having to reset it all the time, and I just you know, like they if my if my password got hacked it would be on me, not on them. But again, I guess because you know, I work for them.
I'm an employee. If somebody hacks into my stuff and I'm within the iHeart World cloud network, whatever you want to call it, then that would be, you know, not ideal. So anyways, I'm trying to access my email and I can't get in, which nevermind, I was going to make a comment about something that I probably should just not make a comment about today. But hey, you know what I'm talking about, John, If only you and I know what I'm talking about, that's probably not good for the show.
Maybe a few others listening know what I'm talking about. That's you know, not good for our listeners. But man, it was right there and it.
Flew away though, and that's a good thing.
Yeah, it flew away. I'm sad, all right, Hour number two, let's get it started. Coffee and Company again. We are fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven to ninety, so we'll talk a little bit more about this Tennessee matchup coming up at four thirty. We're gonna be joined from behind enemy lines, as they say, by Ben McKee, who covers Tennessee for twenty four to seven Sports, and I mentioned this at the beginning of the show, and I'm trying to refresh now just to see if there's
been any change. But Louisville underdogs here. I think most expected them to be underdogs in this game. Opened up at one and a half at DraftKings. It's now at minus two and a half at I'm sorry, Louisville plus two and a half at FanDuel. I don't know what it opened up at there. Let me try to pull it up here on DraftKings to see if there's been
much much change. I wouldn't be shocked if it's, you know, still sitting at Louisville plus one, or maybe maybe it did go up to Louisville plus plus two and a half like it is. But for what it's worth, and I know kN Palm has not been Ken Palm has struggled when it comes to the formula, being able to adjust to the portal and whatnot. Like team like you know,
Kim Palm was really really accurate. Before you had so many moving pieces within college within college basketball, and you know, last year was really the first year where I found myself being a loyal, a lifelong I mean not lifelong. It's not been around that long. But like I pay for ken Pom's rankings and formulas and all the good analytics that you get because you know it's valuable to me. It's helped me when it comes to betting. But now I don't even I try not to look at it
because it can. I still feel my loyalty to Ken Palm Roy and his formula, but if I trust it when it comes to wagers, it just doesn't. It just doesn't usually pay off, especially not early in the year. Now, maybe when we get later on in the season, you'll see how accurate it can be. But Kim Palm again, for what it's worth, probably not much because it's early and the formula has struggled in the New world. They have it as just a one point victory for Tennessee.
So yeah right here, if you go to yeah so right, the projected score in the kin Pom formula is seventy six seventy five with a Tennessee victory. So again, take that for what it's worth. On back to DraftKings. Here their current line in this matchup tomorrow. It looks like it is. Gosh, there's so many college basketball games. I love it, but again, as I mentioned earlier, it makes it harder to find the specific one you're looking for. Let's see here, so right now it is one and
a half, so a little bit of movement. It was Louisville plus one. Now it's plus one and a half. So that spread indicates that the expectation is that this is going to be a close game, and maybe it is, but I think the Louisvill's gonna win now when it comes down to that little of a line. I mean, that's the kind of game that I'm just taking money line,
regardless of who I think is gonna win. I want, you know, because you know college basketball, I like taking spreads when they're when they're bigger than you know, four or five, when it's that close. Like I just I know how a game can play out with free throws of that kind of stuff to where it just leaves it. It leaves it too much. It's just so many variables at the end of a game that could they could totally kill you and give you what's called, you know,
a bad beat. All right, this is a big story in college basketball that I'm sure is getting a lot of attention nationally at least, you know, I would assume I saw it earlier today. But the University of Florida student newspaper has put together a lengthy article claiming that Florida head basketball coach Todd Golden has been harassing, sexually harassing, and exploiting and even stalking females students at Florida, Which again,
that's that's that's a that's a big time yikes. So the alligator good name, by the way, for the Florida Student newspaper, isn't that good? John the Alligator. That's pretty clever there. They accuse him. There's an unknown number of women who have I guess, made these claims that the head basketball coach has sexually harassed them and stalked them. I mean, just to give you some of the details here.
This is from a little excerpt in the In the in the article says the claims regarding sexual harassment, which could also include sexual exploitation, cited sending photos and videos of his genitalia while traveling for the University of Florida, unwanted sexual advances on Instagram, requesting sexual favors in various on various occasions, stalking, there were allegedly more than There was legendly more than one occasion in which Golden was
taking photos of women walking or driving and sending those pictures to the subjects involved. Various stalking incidents also included Golden showing up the locations where he knew the women would be. I mean, if that's true, which again you never really know, there's two sides to every story. But if that's true, like, how does he survive this? I mean, this day and age, that's something and really not I don't even want to reference like back in the day, man,
everybody was doing that. No, like it's not I mean, this isn't like a well what do you know? The climate's just changed so much you can't get away with a with using a certain word anymore. This is just behavior that I feel like really under any era, any you know, timeline in society, people would say, yeah, that's something that you know you can't do, and if you end up doing it and getting caught, you should expect to lose your job and expect him potentially, I don't
know if faced charges or something like that. So Todd, you know, Pat forty, he's he shared the article and he made a reference and I'll make sure and pull it up because I don't want to misquote him. But I think he had said that Florida was aware of this as far as like rumor is as far back as last year. Yeah, it says this is Pat sweet from two hours ago. There was a lot of smoke swirling around Golden in this regard last season. Florida was aware of the rumors.
Now.
He then responded and said worth mentioning that smoke is not the same as reportable facts. Information was scarce and vague.
That was So here's my gut. Pat Forty put that out there, and people trust Pat Forty like you could people can you know, I'm not saying you have to like him or think he's great, but he is somebody and any think you'd agree with this, John pat Forty is somebody that if he puts it out there, ninety nine percent of the people are going to assume that's a guy that's a veteran, he's got trusted he's a trusted source to where there wouldn't be much thought that
this would be this would be you know, nonsense or fake news. So and honestly, student newspaper, maybe maybe some would say well, the student newspaper, that's not that's not a credible source. So maybe there is some exaggeration, or maybe maybe it's all made up. Well, when Pat forty shares it and mentions that there's smoke, that's going to make people more so believe that it's true, he probably got a call or a text maybe from somebody at Florida to say, look, yeah, we knew there were rumors,
but we had no evidence, no facts. We can't act. And if we only have hearsay and just a rumor that nobody even really knows the source of the rumor. And yet you know, we talked to coach Golden about it and he denies it, and there's no proof. What are we supposed to do? And that's fair like what are they supposed to do? So I think Pat was probably told that and then wanted to you know, I mean he doesn't usually, I guess correct himself and he's
not necessarily doing that. But to then respond an hour and a half after he put it out there, mentioning that Florida was aware of these rumors, For him to say an hour and a half later worth mentioning that smoke is not the same as reportable facts. Information was scarce and vague. That's probably because Florida let him know. Look, dude, don't make us looked bad. We heard of We knew that this had been out there rumor wise, but we
vetted it and there's nothing we could do. We had no facts which to be fair, if that's what happened, I'm not sure they did anything wrong. Now, how they handle this thing over the next few days will, I think, determine if they are up for being, you know, criticized for how they handled it. I mean, Florida fans just found out yesterday that the coach that none of them want is going to survive and be back next season.
The next day they find out that a basketball coach who, by the way, I think has a really I mean had a really, really bright future, Todd Golden. I mean, he doesn't really have a whole lot on his resume as far as like, wow, he made a Final four, or you know, he pulled off some massive upset. But he's a young coach that was really successful at San Francisco.
He's only thirty nine years old. He is a he's believed to be a rising star in the business, and his style of play at Florida was you know, it's the new wave now his team. You know, he plays a very similar style to the way Pat Kelsey Mark Pope play. So last year they did kind of have a breakthrough season with him where they went twenty four and twelve, eleven and seven in league play and lost in the first round of the tournament. So you know,
he's somebody that the future looked bright for him. He was. I think most people, in fact, I wouldn't be shocked when you see coverage of this story by those who cover college basketball at a high level. Don't be shocked if you see him referenced as a rising star in college basketball. Again, the numbers don't necessarily confirm that. But a young guy, I mean, not even forty years old, and like a lot of men in society, they ruined their life or their livelihood because they just get horned up.
I mean, I don't mean to be so matter of fact about it, but like I mean maybe being you know, I think a lot of people in fact, if you're using Glucu promo code nick seven ninety a checkout, I mean, you're getting horned up pretty easily. But it doesn't mean you're going to go act like this, so you know, you can be you know, you can be somebody that you know, trying not to sound so inappropriate.
But.
Yeah, it's a Friday, and I'm trying to find some balance here because you know, this is a very serious thing that you shouldn't do. But also, you know, sex is involved, and when we talk about sex on the show, I you know, I kind of turned into a seventh grader. It's kind of yeah, it's kind of what happens. So you know, but you know, it's one thing to like get caught having an affair or I mean, that's not good.
You shouldn't do that. Which also apparently he you know, I don't know if any if any of his actions were were met with a willing you know, other side, meaning, I don't know if he was hooking up with any of these females at floor or if it was just him being a creep and they finally had enough and reported him. I don't know if you know, but he's married. He's married to a former college volleyball player according to
his bio. So so again, it's one thing to get caught having an affair with a coworker or having a relationship with somebody that you're not allowed to have a relationship because of your chain of command within your job. Like that's something you still shouldn't do, and you should you know, you probably are going to get some consequences.
But what he's accused of doing is I mean, it's damn near criminal, right, I mean, stalking is a crime, sexual harassment is you know, I don't know if there's a certain I mean, clearly you can get in trouble with that. If it's not you know, from a legal standpoint as far as criminal, it can be something you could get sued for. So I don't know. I mean I feel like now we still just assume, well this this like we'll be surprised to find out if this is like made up or exaggerated, whereas I feel like
it used to be. Well, we'll see what's his side of the story, Like what's going on here, Like maybe he does. And there's still have been some examples over the years where guys were accused of something and it totally ruined their life and then you find out it was all made up, Like that happened to that punter who was with the Bills, whose life was ruined all for something that was completely made up. Around here Chris Jones.
I mean, you google Chris Jones. Louisville Basketball. Wouldn't be shocked if the first stories that come up are still him being charged with rape and it was all made up. None, nothing happened. So you know, we probably should have a little bit more of a of an awareness that, like, you know, people get accused of things all the time and it's either not true, exaggerated, or you know, half truths.
So we'll see. I mean, clearly he's gonna have to defend himself, and Florida's gonna have to defend him if they want to keep him employed, because these are some pretty serious allegations. But yeah, I mean crazy to think about it. But like if he gets fired, the Florida job opening up is kind of crazy right now. You are, you're not going to go hire somebody now like you would have the uh, you'd have the interim. I assume
that would step in. But a rough day for Gator fans. No, I mean think I'll tell you.
What though, I mean, would the Billy Donovan rumors, considering that's where he came from, would they pop up?
Maybe, you know, especially if like in his in you know, the NBA season just started as well, but like if he's struggling in Chicago, like maybe maybe this would be you know, him wanting to come back, and maybe that could be the job him coming back to get it started to get it Florida. Maybe that could get him back to the college game. But no doubt a big
story in in college hoops. All right, coming up at about four thirty, So in about ten minutes, we're going to talk to Ben McKee, who covers Florida or not Florida but Tennessee for twenty four seven Sports. But some other things I want to make sure we get into before we get out of here today. I have found myself really invested in some drama on the internet. Queen Zach Bryan, the former well he's still a huge Uh it's his former girlfriend that that this shrama stems from. Yeah,
chicken fry. Have you seen all this? I seen an update?
No.
So we we talked about it a couple of weeks ago because you know, he looked like a real a hole and it was just weird behavior that he has now three different times done the exact same thing, got with a girl they became serious. He then wanted He then bought homes for the two to you know, his girlfriend at the time, whoever it was. There's three different ones.
He bought homes in their hometown like community where they grew up to like essentially, you know, live together and and and you know, maybe start a family and grow and grow up where she grew up. Three different women, and each time he's cheated on him and you know they broke up that you know that that made him kind of look bad. But he's had a rough forty eight hour, seventy two hours, however long this thing's been going on. I feel like I'm catching up to it
a little bit late. But he has apparently paid each of those those previous girlfriends fiances to not talk. They sign NDA's and he pays them a lot of money to not talk after they break up, which one means he's got a lot of money, and people thinking like, how would he He's selling out stadium tours. That's a level of wealth that is much different than most celebrities. To be honest with you, I mean, he's making an
insane amount of money. Well, he offered Brionn a chicken fry twelve million dollars to sign an NDA and just never talk publicly or to anybody about their relationship and what went on. So she's got the army of Barstool Sports because she's a Barstool Sports podcaster, and Dave Portnoy and his crew they made like a dish track about Zach Bryan and like the Barstool army, say what you want about him. They're loyal and they're all coming after Zach Brian and you can be not loyal to Barstool.
But hear her on this podcast talk about Zach Brian in their relationship because she she turned out twelve million dollars to not talk. Not many people would do that. Now, she did have the humility to claim she is in a much different situation as a person from her career in her family than the other women who did take the money, because most would. You could be a worth you could be worth millions already and turning down twelve million and all you gotta do is just not talk
about something like that's insane. That's actually the most crazy aspect of this entire thing. To be honest with you, finding out a super successful musicians an a hole really not that big of a shocker, but she's opening up about it, and he's had a really really rough seventy two hours to where he like in the middle of the night, posted something on Instagram saying he was gonna not tour anymore and he was gonna go get his
master's degree in another country. Like he's he knows now that like the perception of him being an a hole was already out there, and now she's gonna talk and it's gonna make him look really bad. And for those thinking, oh, she's it's just bitter, she's a bitter ex. She is just trying to still get attention and fame because she's with Zach, because she's now no longer gonna be by his side on the red carpet all that kind of stuff. If you want to believe that, you go for it.
But I'll tell you this, you're wrong. If he's gonna pay her twelve million dollars to not talk and he's already done it with three others, that probably tells you he's he's he's got a lot of things he doesn't want out there about him. I mean, twelve million dollars to anybody is a lot of money. And she said no. And it's been an interesting day. It's been an interesting few days on the internet. And she's kind of slowly but surely started to talk a little bit about how
big of a jerk he was. So anyways, but you know what this is probably gonna do, John, He's gonna make more sad music and people are gonna love it, right he will. That's exactly how you need him to be troubled and sad. I don't know if you need him to be an a hole, but you need him to be troubled and sad for you to continue to get that crack code Caine that you crave, which is Zach Brian's sad music that everybody's paying out the rear
end for they go see him in concert. All right, quick break, we'll come back on the other side again. We'll talk to Ben McKee. He covers Tennessee for twenty four seven Sports. He joins us next right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. That's right, it's coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety about halfway through here on a Friday, as we get you set for the weekend. Appreciate you hanging out with us.
Also appreciate our next guest. He's been McKee of twenty four to seven Sports, joining us to discuss this Louisville basketball matchup with Tennessee tomorrow. How are we doing, Ben, I'm doing great. How are you doing well? There's a feeling of nostalgia around here, Ben, because Louisville basketball, a program that has had a lot of success historically, been really really down as of late. And I'm sure you
know that. And there's a big game tomorrow and it's been a while since fans had this much enthusiasm about a big opportunity to play a good team and get a good you know, get what would be a big win if they can pull it off. Before we discuss the matchup, I just let's go back tom a little bit here. When Rick Barnes took over the job, came coming from Texas, obviously a well respected coach, and he's
been successful at Tennessee. I think he's I think I read he's won more games in the last seven years in SEC play than anybody else, which is really really impressive considering how much better that league has got from a basketball standpoint. But would you say that that higher at this point has has worked out to where fans, you know, as far as what fans expected when they hired Rick Barnes.
One thousand percent, I think it's been a home run higher Quite frankly, I think that Tennessee has thrived about as well as they can under Rick.
And now there.
Are some fans who are quick to gripe about the Ncublea tournament stuff sure, as is the typical conversation that surrounds Rick Barnes. I do think there's some more context there that would take a whole other segment or two to dive into.
But some of the teams that they've lost to in.
The Ncublea Tournament are loyal to Chicago when they made their final four Runau when they made their their final four run.
The last time Tennessee was in the Young.
Center, they lost an epic overtime game to Purdue.
The hell of a game. I remember that one, Yes it was.
And in Tennessee fans are still mad about Ryan Kleine and in the foul that was called on the Monte Turner. And and you know, this past season they lose in the Elite eight to Purdue, who was the second best team in the country and played for a national championship, and then Tennessee was probably the third best team in the country this past year behind Connecticut, UH and Purdue.
So there's been some context that there's other years they've lost to a Michigan team that got real hot under Juwan Howard with Hunter Dickinson, and I believe that was his freshman year. The next year is Zikai Ziegler tears his ACL late February early March, and they're without their point guard, and in the NCAA Tournament they still managed to beat Duke in advance to the Sweet sixteen.
And that's when they lost the FAU.
So even when they have maybe come up short by fan expectations or you know, on the surface, you look at the brand recognition and you think, okay, Tennessee, although it's not a blue blood in college basketball, it should beat FAU, it should beat.
Loyer of the Chicago. Well.
They dealt with injuries in those games, and then those teams turn around and they proved to make a Final four run. So there's context involved with each NCAA tournament. But they've had as much success under Rick Barnes as they have under any coach he's right there with Bruce Pearl,
if not slightly ahead. And you know, Tennessee basketball, I think before Bruce was certainly not a top twenty five program, and Bruce elevated it to where it was a top twenty five program, if not a top fifteen program at the time, and it dipped off a couple of years after Bruce and Rick Barnes has certainly gotten it right
back in the fray. And I would imagine, off the top of my head, if we sat down and listed out the best programs in college basketball right now, Tennessee's got to be in the top ten.
So I think it's been a home run higher quite frankly.
No they win, and college basketball, I mean, I'm obsessed with it. I'm not sure what could happen to the sport that wouldn't make me love it. But it is crazy how the tournament, And again I think that's what makes it unique in the tournament so so awesome that you could have great years and people will know that you're good, but man, it just it's out the window if you don't get it done in the tournament. I think with Rick Barnes, you know, it's not necessarily an excuse.
It's more of an explanation as to how they've had those shortcomings in the tournament. And I think you can do that with a passionate fan base like Tennessee has and still have a really high approval rating because you know, at the end of the day, you're they're still winning, fans are enjoying the success throughout until the tournament. But also he seems like a really genuine guy to where I feel like, you know, and I think Pat Kelsey's
got a chance to do that here at Louisville. He obviously has to win, but he's definitely done a whole lot to really, you know, make an impression on fans. And I feel like when you have those short falls in the tournament, yet you're still winning and you're going to in Elite eight like they did last year, Like I don't know, I just feel like Rick Barnes has become one of these guys that in the sport of college hoops, he's pretty well below like people think he's like, coaches love him.
Absolutely.
Coaches love him, Coaches think that he is absolutely a future Hall of Famer, which I think he is as well.
He's going to make it into the Hall of Fame, but he is.
He's kind of in that tier right behind the elite of the elite coaches. He's had a great deal of success, but obviously a second Final four has eluded him for a very long time and was never able to get over the hump and win a national championship. And that's what will prevent him from being in the same conversations as Tom Izzo and Mark.
Few and coach k and Roy Williams and all those names.
Rick Patino, right, But if you talk to any of those coaches, they'll rave about Rick Barnes the person and who he is as a coach.
So I completely agree with you there.
And you know, fans at Tennessee, even I see it on social media. Come in cla tournament time and if somebody starts to hype up Tennessee, they they're quick to throw Rick Barnes under the bus, right, because of the constant dialogue about what his teams have done in March. But you mentioned it off the top of the segment, like you can just look at the numbers during his time at Tennessee.
He would win more than anybody in the SEC.
Go through Tennessee's game notes and it's just like statistic after statistic about how just Tennessee just wins, they just have not been able bad luck or poor play in a half here or there. It's just they had not been able to get over the hump and reach that final four. So at the end of the day, should Tennessee maybe have a little more success in the postseason under Rick?
Yeah?
Sure, but again there's context there, and at the end of the day, he is elevated Tennessee's basketball program.
Make no mistake about it.
It's still a football first school, but the basketball program has grown tremendously. It grew tremendously under Bruce Pearl, and Rick Barnes kind of revived it and has elevated it even more to where when he retires within the next couple of years, I mean, Tennessee maybe not going to go out and hire Chay right away from CBS, but should be in a pretty nice situation to where it can go hire an established coach, which before Bruce Pearl that was probably not possible.
Ben McKee of Govalls twenty four seven is our guest joining us here on Sports Talk seven ninety getting set for this matchup between the Cards and the balls. Replacing Dalton Kinnecks certainly not possible. Really, I mean, he was one of the best players in college basketball last year and he's already off to a good start as a pro. What do you think the overall plan is for coach Barnes as far as filling that gap and that void
in production. Obviously, Ziggler's back after having three really successful seasons thus far in his career. Chas Lanier a big addition for Tennessee and the portal. Where do you think their production comes from this year to kind of to make up for an All American caliber player you lost a year ago.
Yeah, it's going to be more by committee this time around.
I think I'm not going to say the offensive numbers will be the exact same.
I don't even remember off the top of my head where exactly Tennessee finished in like ken Palm offensive efficiency, but I believe it was top twenty, top twenty five, and I think that Tennessee will be somewhere in that range. And if there is a drop off, I don't think it will be much of one.
But it is going to look different, no doubt. This year.
It's just going to be more the production is going to be more spread out. It starts with Chanslineer, the transfer from North Florida, who is an absolute bucket.
There's been some.
Expectations placed on him about possibly being the next Dalton connect because there were some similar stat lines coming to Tennessee from North Florida.
And I mean, it would not surprise me if we.
Look up in February and Chanslineer is in the thick of the SEC Player of the Year race. He kind of reminds me of Antonio Reeves, particularly last year's Antonio Reeves that was also in the SEC Player of the Year conversation until Dalton grabbed the ball by horns and ran away with it.
So Chaslaner, he needs to be a big piece to the puzzle.
That's why he was brought in that that's why Kentucky wanted him, That's why Byu was willing to spend big for him. I believe cal was trying to get him to visit Arkansas as well. He could have gone pretty much anywhere in the country and he elected to come to Tennessee.
So he has to be a big piece to the puzzle.
You have Zekai Ziegler, who is arguably the best point guard returning in the country. I know Rick Barnes will not trade him for any other point guard in the country because of, yes, his skill set, but also the intangibles. Zakai is as good of a leader as you are going to find, and as a pitbull on the floor.
You have Jami Mayshacht coming back.
You picked up Felix doc Para from Ohio State who was a great rim protector, and I think he surprised them more offensively than they thought he would or would be able to provide more offensively, So you have the makings of a nice offensive unit. You brought in Igor milichis junior from Charlotte. He's a very versatile four, modern day four that can stretch the floor.
And you have some intriguing young pieces and.
Cameron Carr JP Astrello that Tennessee needs to take the next step as well. So I don't know that they had that piece yet, especially given it's early in the season.
Like Dalton connect that's just gonna take.
The game over and rip off fifteen twenty straight points and win you the game. I think it's gonna be more of a group effort, and as Rick Barnes likes to do. He likes to hang his hat on the defensive end because he believes that's the one thing that you can.
Trust night in night out.
Even the best shooting teams are gonna have off night shooting the basketball, but if you don't have an off night defensively, you're gonna have a chance to win every single game that you play.
So I think they'll be.
In that fringe top twenty five range of offensive efficiency while maintaining the defensive standard, and that's being one of the best defenses in the country, and that should lead the way for this Tennessee team.
Now, obviously, a lot of Louisville is completely built from the portal. I mean, Pat Kelsey had to build a team from scratch, and it looks as if he's done a pretty good job at that thus far. But obviously we'll find out where Louisville is tomorrow. Sin could be said about Tennessee. They're also relying on the portal, not as much. But you mentioned a handful of names, darling Ston, Dobar, am I saying that correctly? Is he is he expect
I know he's dealing with some personal stuff. Rick Barnes talked about that earlier this week after the season opener. Is there any update on his availability his status? Is he expected to be with the team tomorrow.
Darling Stone?
So you were very close, Okay, close enough, right, I was right there with you when we were going through the portal stuff. He will not play tomorrow, Okay. He is dealing with a a personal matter. There was no formal update given, but I watched practice today and he was once again in team issued gear, sitting on the bench, watching from the sidelines. So I would be absolutely stunned if he played tomorrow.
So, I mean, he was somebody that you don't know what you're missing until you actually see it. He's yet to really do a whole lot. I know he played briefly in one of the charity exhibition games, but wasn't he somebody that as far as production from the portal, I mean, he was viewed to be a potential big piece for coach Barnes.
Absolutely, And we'll see what happens with this personnel matter.
It is non basketball related.
So we'll see when he is able to get back on the floor. Tennessee has said that it's kind of up to him on when he wants to get back out on the floor. So there is still hope, assuming that he returns to play, that that he can be a piece. I do think that there's more hope with chas Lanier, with Igor and Milicic, with Felix Aunt Para and and even before the the current personal personal situation took place, I mean, it was kind of already trending in that direction.
Darling Stone was still gonna play, uh and and and again.
They need him, I don't know, maybe needs not the right word. They want him to be a piece to the.
Puzzle, because, like you said, he is somebody that.
Can absolutely contribute. He was a lights out shooter last year at Hofstra. He plays the same position as Igor Milicic, kind of that New Age four. Maybe not as versatile as Igor, but he's again capable of stretching the floor. He's he's a bigger bodied in great shape, so he can move bodies around in the paint and score off the dribble as well.
So he's certainly a piece that can.
Contribute if he is able to get back out on the floor. What we're just gonna have to kind of see how this personal matter plays out. The good news is that he was kind of already probably the seventh or eighth guy right now in the rotation, and they were trying to figure out where he fits best. So it's not like it would be different if he was chaslineer and Lanier's throwing right away and probably gonna play twenty five to thirty minutes, if not more, then that would be a bigger.
Issue for Tennessee. But he was still trying to find his footing as is with a.
Lot of new pieces with Tennessee and guys who are coming back stepping into new roles. This may be a little bit of a tough question to answer, considering it's just this, this will be the second game of the season. But who do you think is most vital? For example, you know, with Louisville's team, I'm not really sure who's going to be their leading scorer. I'm not even really
sure who I would say is their best player. But I feel like Chucky hepburn with what he does as far as setting the tone defensively, a true point guard that can run your team. I feel like he to me is, you know, from what I know right now, probably one of their most if not the most important guys, Meaning if he if he was injured or if he
had an off night. You know, that would worry me more than maybe somebody else because of Louisville's perceived depth at this point, who do you think is that guy for Tennessee to where he doesn't have to lead him in scoring. He doesn't really have to, you know, do anything spectacular, but what he does is going to be
really valuable and you need that consistency. Again, probably tough to answer that now this early, but any thoughts as far as somebody you think that's going to maybe be more important than the stat line would show.
Yeah, it's the Guysigler and it's not even close. He is the heartbeat of this basketball team. I mentioned him earlier and Rick Barnes would not trade him for any point guard.
In the country.
I truly believe that, because again of the intangibles, the leadership.
Quality, uh, the will to win. He just refuses to lose and he.
Is and he's done it since he walked in. I mean he he's spent the same guy from the big from his freshman year.
Yes, he was an undersized point guard from New York City who they added. I think it was July before his true freshman season and he arrived on campus, they thought that they were going to red shirt him, and they knew within a week that they were not going to be red shirting him.
And he played.
A lot of the true freshmen I believe, all the sec freshman if I remember correctly, And he's one of the all time Tennessee basketball fan favorites just because of how he plays the game, his grit, his determination.
You hear in sports all the time.
That you want players that had that dog in him, and in Zechai, Ziegler is the epitome of somebody who had as just a relentless motor. I mean, he is constantly going, just refuses to lose. And that's on top of him being a very skilled basketball player as well, and so he is just vital to the team from a leadership standpoint. And also he is I mean, you have your Braden Smith's up there, you Nim Hart's out there.
So he's in the conversation as the best point guard in the country as is, But then they don't have a ton of point guard depth behind him, so they don't have a true point guard behind him on the roster, which you can get away with in.
Today's day and age of basketball as long as you can.
Have multiple guys that can handle the ball in a pinch, and they do, but losing him would just be absolutely devastating, just again because they don't have a true point guard behind him, because of his abilities as a basketball player, which are pretty dang good on top of all of those intangibles that I just talked about.
All right, but only got about a minute left, But I do want to ask you this really quick. You mentioned fans. How many fans would you expect to see at the Center tomorrow? I know Tennessee's got a humongous fan base, clearly very passionate, but you guys have a football game tomorrow night at home. Are you expecting to see much orange here at the UMP Center?
I'm not.
Unfortunately, it is football season.
I'm upset that this is on a football Saturday, or at least I wish that the two teams were not playing on the same day. But yeah, Tennessee's in the make sure of a playoff spot.
Yeah, home football mode.
I get homecoming.
They're in football mode right now, especially with them being in conversation to get into the playoffs. So unfortunately, I'm not expecting as much orange in the building as there was last time when they did play that awesome game against Purdue.
I understay totally interesting, man. I appreciate the time, really good conversation. Hopefully there's a good hoops game tomorrow for us to cover. But again, thank you at the time, and hopefully we can catch up down the line.
Absolutely hope to see you at the building tomorrow and hope you all have a great weekend.
Take care. That's Ben McKee again. He works for Govalls twenty four seven covering the Tennessee Volunteers. Really good stuff. They're good, good combo and get me more and more excited for this big matchup and early marquee matchup. Here in college basketball quick Break, we'll come back and wrap up the four o'clock hour and then finish strong in the five o'clock that's right, Coffee and company rolling along here.
We're actually gonna have a very quick segment here as we wrap up the five four o'clock hour, But the five o'clock hours coming up five o'clock on a Friday, good vibes coming. At least, We're gonna attempt to keep the good vibes going. I'm trying to refresh here on the different different ticket resale websites like tickpic, Vivid, seat stub Hub, ticket Master, just to kind of see what's still available. And you know, there are still tickets available.
But the push from I guess it wasn't really a push. It was just it was help from Rick Keeber to purchase up a certain amount of tickets and give those away to fans who wanted to go, but you know, really couldn't justify the expense because of their budget, their finances, whatever it is. I mean, it really wasn't a huge amount. I mean, anything helps, and it was a great gesture.
But if you end up having a really big crowd tomorrow where you know, maybe you're just under twenty thousand or right at twenty thousand, and I have no clue what it's going to be. I'm really bad at guessing that stuff because to me, it's always sort of a crapshoot as far as you know, and you know, I'm terrible at looking at a stadium or an arena and
thinking to myself, oh, there's this many people here. But what I'm saying is if there is a great crowd, the help should be, you know, should be acknowledged from rick Keeper and other partners that are helping out donors, boosters, people that want to see a big crowd and have the means to help those that can't afford it. You know, again, that's a factor, but I still think in the grand scheme of things, it would be a sign that people are willing to still come out and support little of
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that's what I like to hear. So five o'clock hours next right here, Sports Talk seven ninety