It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
That's right, this is Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety taking you up until six o'clock, a game day edition of Coffee and Company Louisville and action tonight in the acc SEC Challenge taken on Chris Beard and Ole Miss. I mentioned this yesterday, but I don't know some of you may not have been listening towards the end of the show, but Drey Davis making his return to Louisville tonight, a guy who I was always a real big fan of, loved his game.
He had a good run there at Seton Hall for seen Holloway, who I thought was really just a perfect fit with those two guys, and like a lot of players, he took advantage of the extra COVID year and the portal. And he's now at Old Miss so I know him. I would imagine his family is probably going to be here tonight to Indianapolis is their hometown, so I hope they lose tonight. But you know, I always always been
a big Drey Davis Scott. I've also always been a big Seal Brown guy, and he joins us now here on Sports Talk seven ninety cl What I need to do first is say thank you.
Okay, you know, do you know why I'm thanking you?
No idea?
You You helped me enjoy Thanksgiving by our conversation last week. So I'm a lunatic when it comes to Louisville and Kentucky the rivalry. I try not to make that as obvious, but I have a tough time.
And we had a.
Conversation last week and it was something you said that just kind of I don't know why, but it just it kind of brought me down to you know, reality and realized that, you know, Louisville really isn't they should have no trouble with Kentucky. Like I was just worried that, okay, they can't beat him this year, they're never going to do it. And you mentioned how okay Louisville defense. You know, they've had some games where they weren't great, but for
the most part, they've actually been pretty consistent. Down the back stretch of the schedule, they've just been a much better team. And at that moment, I was thinking, Okay, you know what, He's right, like it would be the worst case scenario to lose to them under these circumstances. But it was just really not something that you could see happening, just considering how different the seasons were going
for both teams. So I was still on edge, but I wasn't as stressed during Thanksgiving as I would have been had it not been for you putting me at ease.
So thank you, cl I appreciate glad I could help out. I think I think a lot of what we said in that conversation it was like Pat Kelsey heard us, and Chucky Hepburn heard us, because I mean Chucky had his basically his his coming out in the Bahamas. You know, he stepped forward kind of like how he talked about.
Yeah, and I guess when it comes to I mean, did you you would know more than I would. Was there a conversation with him within like the staff or somebody he did mention Peyton Peyton Siva being somebody that he really has has has enjoyed having as a mentor.
But the the talent that he showcased and just the aggressiveness, I mean, he looked sensational in those three games, especially the first two, and I don't think, you know, I don't think we saw anything close to that in the games prior to that, not because you know, he was playing poorly, but like he just as they say, he reached in his bag and showed some things that you know, I don't mean he played. What he did against West Virginia is one of the best performances you'll see from
a guard so far this year in college basketball. And it was awesome and it's gonna be needed for sure the rest of the way. But like, I don't know where the hell that came from.
Yeah, I don't know.
I don't I'm not privy to any conversations that he had with maybe a staff member or somebody he trusts in basketball circles, even going back to high school or at Wisconsin. But he definitely took more ownership. I think I think this team essentially became his in the Bahamas and well as they.
Moved forward, he'll be the guy they look too.
And that was the thing I was wondering early on in that Tennessee game when Tennessee, you know, Louisville couldn't make a shot. Tennessee got off to a lead and everything. I was like, who's the guy, Like, who's who's the guy you give the ball to and say stop this run, get us a bucket to stop the bleeding. And I kind of felt like, I mean, it's the second game of the season, so I give him a pass on this.
But I kind of felt like everybody was just kind.
Of playing team ball and there was no like, Okay, I need to step forward here.
It was everybody still kind of on the same level.
So I think we got a level in the Bahamas at the Battle for Atlantis and watching Chucky hepburn play.
No doubt about it, and he answered the question as far as who's going to kind of be the guy, and I think you said it best, like the team kind of became his team, and everybody around him kind of got I mean, I feel like it everybody got better from that he was he was taking the lead and in the half court they had to play a
lot more half court than they probably wanted to. But when he's able to create for himself or for others, and really just I mean he was a pest defensively to where even if you're not you know, teams can try to slow you down, and I think a lot of teams are going to try to do that with louisvill because they just want to take him out of their comfort zone. But if he is hounding your opposing guard the way he has been defensively, you can try to slow it down, He's just going to speed it
up because he's just going to be a pest. So you know, he was certainly one of the many bright spots, and I think two out of three games in the Bahamas was something that a lot of fans would have said, Okay, I'll take that.
Now.
What you don't like is that you lose case In Prior for the year.
We find out that Korin Johnson is going to be out the entire season, going to have shoulder surgery, obviously a big blow.
For Pat Kelsey in this team.
Before we get into maybe who's going to be relied upon more than expected because of these injuries, just your initial thoughts on this, I mean, are you somebody that now just thinks this ceiling for this team is substantially lower than it was prior to these injuries?
I do.
I think Prior was the I mean, Prior was probably my favorite player in the rotation. And not because he was necessarily the best guy, but he just did a lot of things. The energy that he brought to the court. I did think he needed to stop taking threes, Like if I was Kelsey, I would have stopped him from
shooting a long time ago. But he's still just such an intangible on the court with with the many things, the block shots he passed, well, you know, rebounding and the front court was the biggest question I had about this team coming into the season, and his absence means, you know, somebody's got to step up big time in the front court for this not to be a problem moving forward.
But it's just.
Just from a depth, depth perspective, I feel like it really hurts them, and you know, an energy perspective, just kind of having that person that excites not only his teammates but the crowd and you know what I mean, like having that guy.
Yeah, he's he's a big part his personality. It's a big part of your of your identity as a team, and uh, you know that's going to be missed in a major way. And he's just I think to be able to I don't hear many people talk about it, but what I think really is special about him is his skill set and his ball handling. For a guy that big, you know, he's not he can make a shot. But I'm with you. I think he shoots. I mean, he shot the third most amount of threes on this
team and is shooting fifteen percent. So you're not losing a guy who was really nailing threes efficiently for you. But yeah, I mean he's the guy. He is the prototypical guy that Pat Kelsey loves, the thought of, Okay, we don't need no outlet passes. He's going to get it and go and he's got the ability to do that and you and you've certainly lost you lost talent. I mean, he's probably one of your most talented guys. So there's really no way to minimize the loss of
case in prior. But am I crazy to think that maybe, just maybe when Trey Or gets back whenever that is, like, he could he could help you defensively, he could help you on the backboard. He's a decent distributor as well. He's not casing Pryor, but I feel like if he's able to get back sooner rather than later, I mean, that could at least help him a little bit right, Like it's kind of you kind of don't really know what you're missing because he's only played in two games
this year. But I do think when you look at what he did at Long Beach State and just kind of knowing, you know, what what his resume is, I feel like, you know certain areas where you're going to miss case and I think Treira could could kind of help fill that void a little bit.
I think he could help the void.
But I also think, you know, we don't know when he's coming back, Like that's the hard hard thing to kind of predict. And even when he does come back, you figure that it's going to take a few games for him to really get back acclimated into playing, you know, not only playing with his teammates, because he's only played two games this year so far, you know, just just the whole conditioning, everything that goes with coming back and playing at a high level, you know, in the in
the ACC. So I I would like to see what, you know, somebody like Roots is gonna do, Somebody like James Scott, like, does does this mean he kind of obviously he's probably gonna have to log more minutes, but does he try to expand his role as well. It's got feel like it's going to be tough for them, you know, inside with with Scott and Waterman really having to take on a much bigger responsibility.
Now.
Yeah, And I hate saying this because it's gonna make some people think that I'm speculating that it's gonna happen. But in this new world of college sports, if it's January and that's when Trey Ore is back to getting healthy, I mean, it would not be a surprise if if he decided, Okay, I'm just gonna go ahead and red shirt this year as well so I can salvage another year and play here next year, play elsewhere and continue to make money. I mean, that's still something that makes
people uncomfortable. That's that's that's where we are. That's what Colin Lacy did in football. He was injured late enough and realized, hey, I can I can take advantage of this. And again I'm not saying that that's what Trey Ory
would do, but it it really wouldn't shock me. And I think that Pat Kelsey built this team to play a certain style and I think he wanted to really rely on depth, and now he doesn't really have the ability to do that, not because he's you know, he's got guys that can't play here, he's got guys that are hurt.
He doesn't have the bodies.
I mean, they already brought into scholarship guys that were out for the year before the season started. So, I mean you might have answered the question by mentioning James Scott and and and can I Russ, But my question was going to be who, Like, who is who do you feel like is more important now in a major way than they were prior to knowing about prior's injury, And of course Corn Johnson.
Actually I'm going to go left, Okayvin Hadley?
All Right, Hadley's ability to rebound is going to come into play.
If he's going to be needed a lot more. It's not going to be like, you know, kind of not quite a novelty. But if he got thirteen what was it, thirteen rebounds against Winthrop.
In Oklahoma, Like, if he got those big numbers in other games, it's like, oh wow, look at him rebounding. But now it's more like he needs to be consistently pushing double figures for Louisville to be in a good position on the boards and not just to be you know, losing both offensive rebounds in and overall losing the rebounding battle the teams. So he's gonna have to get in and mix it up a little bit more, especially against probably against guys that are bigger than he is too.
In a lot of cases, he figure what Duke is gonna roll out? They basically have NBA sides in their lineup, you know, so that's that's gonna be a big test, a big challenge.
I don't think Ole.
Miss is quite the same in that respect, but you know, for from here on out, I feel like they have a thin margin of air when it comes to rebounding, and so everybody's gonna have to really be on.
It as a team. And I think Javon Hadley might be might be the best of the bunch that Louisville has.
Yeah, and when you in a perfect world, when you've got depth and everybody's healthy, you could have Hadley give you thirteen on the backboard and then maybe for the next night, and it's no big deal because trejore or prior was cleaning the glass and now it's like, Okay, you don't have anybody else that can go do it. So you got to you gotta come ready to work.
And yeah, it's just the more I'm looking at the roster, the more I realize just I mean, prior he was he was a hybrid guy that gave you a little bit in the post. Obviously a good athlete, he would kind of just walk into some rebounds because of his athleticism, because of his size, and yeah, it's gonna be a gonna be a big absence, no doubt.
So let's switch gears here and talk some football.
Jeff Brohm, I think at this point has has done a pretty good job at adapting to the new world of college football, really college sports when it comes to transfer portal. Is it safe to say that right now he'd be one of I'm sure he's not the only one, but he'd be one of the coaches that if you are in the portal as an offensive players, especially that you could see him as a guy that could really
help you finish out your career. Maybe it's for one year, maybe it's for a couple of years, because I think in both seasons at Louisville there have been some guys that really finished strong in their careers and not to say that it's all Jeff's doing, But Jeff gave him an opportunity and they fit well with what he wanted to do. I feel like in the portal Louisville's going to be should be an attractive school for a lot of players.
Yeah, I think if I'm an offensive skill player, especially, he would be someone I would I would look up because I.
Mean, he's got a track record of it, you know, and the.
Way that he's his offense can sometimes feature guys.
And really put him out there.
That would be intriguing to me if I was.
In that situation.
And these two years at Louisville, you know, you look at what he's done with quarterbacks, bringing them in. I mean, I don't want to talk down on Jack Plumber, but I was very surprised that he even made the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers. You know, I did not think he was an NFL quarterback. And because of the amount that that just throws at his quarterbacks and expects them to retain and and just the things that they can do in terms of pre checks and coming to
the line of scrimmage. That that's one of the things where I interviewed Jack Plumber way back when in the summer during during their training camp. That's one of the things he said that the Panthers were most impressed with him his ability to just kind of make those reads and it was expected under Jeff Brohm. That's one of the things that that basically Plumber learned being in this system. So h and then you look at how he brought Tyler in, and you know, he defied these.
Questions about can he stay healthy for a full year?
And part of that was because obviously, you know, you had the best for tection and still get one shot to knock you out. But part of it is Jeff didn't put him in those compromising positions like Texas Tech did when he was running on some cases, you know, fifteen times a game. You know, he didn't put them in those positions where he's going to get hit and be in.
A position to get injured.
So I do think and I think Tyler's going to have a shot at making a roster in the league because he played here.
Or totally agree.
I mean, David blau is still in the league. I'm not even sure if you know who that is, but he was a quarterback at Purdue before Jeff got there, I think, and you know, wasn't lighting it up and wasn't a big time recruit, but he found some success and learned a lot about that position, and he's he's now, I think with the Commanders, And I just think this was a big year for Jeff to go get a guy like Chuck, because if you look around the country,
there's so many other quarterbacks that ended up the bigger program and probably got a lot more money that wouldn't have looked at Shuck, and he probably had a better year than them, not just because Louisville wasn't eight and fourteen, but I mean statistically, I mean he was good. I mean he made some plays, especially when they played really
good teams. I mean I kind of feel like he played his best ball when they were playing the better competition, which of course has to help you when it comes to being attractive to the NFL. All right, on the Kentucky side, obviously, they had a miserable season in football. And I'm really not trying to kick him other down here. I just I think it's a legitimate question at this point.
But yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, I mean I am kicking him other down, but it's been a rough five six years when they just kept winning in football and it was just something I never thought i'd experience in my life. But I'm glad that's over and hopefully they never went again. But they got embarrassed against Louisville, and I think they honestly played their worst game of the season, like Louisville did enough to have a factor in that, but I mean,
I don't know if they could. Kentucky was terrible and every aspect of the game, I feel like, and maybe that's what I should have expected because they were one and seven in league play going into the game. But you have Mark Stoops saying he's coming back. There was rumors that he was gonna lose Vince Marrow to Louisville, which I'm not sure if that was ever really gonna happen. Today there's players entering the portal and that happens everywhere.
But when you have a bad season like this and the momentum is gone and it seems as if it's heading in the wrong direction, any little thing is going to be really under the microscope by fans. They're losing another offensive coach, a wide receivers coach, I think it is leaving to take the same position at Nebraska. So some of these things may just not they may not
even be that big of a deal. But I kind of feel like this thing has snowballed for Mark Stoops to where I just I would challenge somebody to give me a realistic scenario where next year Kentucky fans feel like he's still the guy long term. I know they don't feel that way now, and he's going to have to prove it to him next year, but you know, I just think it's gonna be harder for him to get players than ever because of the lack of momentum they have right now.
Yeah, it's an interesting situation with Steups because I do still feel.
Like he can get the job done there. I mean, what he's done in.
His tenure is unprecedented at Kentucky, and you know, having an.
Eight game I mean, an eight year bull streak.
Is something that shouldn't be just taken for granted there, because if they made the wrong hire, got rid of suits and made the wrong hire, you know, who knows when they would be able to flip it and get on a run like that again. But I also kind of question and I don't know if this year is what did it for him, and he's having a four and eight year is going to rejuvenate him to where he's coming back stronger next year.
I kind of.
Felt like he's just in a place where the motivation and the juice just isn't the same, Like he's not stirred in the same way that maybe he was when he was, you know, younger and hungry if you will.
I mean, I kind of compare it to like to like an entertainer, a rapper or a singer, like when they first come out, they're so hungry and you hear more mixtasting in it all over the place, and they're doing great things, and then once they had the big albums and the big success, it's like it falls off and it's like, yeah, the same drive from them, Yeah yeah.
I kind of feel like Stoops is in that place now, So I.
Don't know if there's something that that gets him back. And you know, I've li liken it to Patino when he was at U of L when he kind of had some I don't know there it is like he platts.
Hold here and there.
There was the team twenty ten to twenty eleven with Preston Nose kind of leading the charge. I've made this comparison before, and that he talked about how that team rejuvenated him because they didn't really have a star, but they played together, they believed in what he said, you know what I mean.
Like you got the most out of that team.
Sure, yes, And then he got it going again.
He got his swagger back marks swagger again.
What it sounds like is that I think Stoops just became and I would get I will say this, I can appreciate this about a guy in his position coaching at a place like Kentucky to where what she sees what you get. I don't think there's any strategy to, you know, be super happy or super set. I think he wears everything on his sleeve, and I think he
really did not like his team this year. As far as the character, I know, Vince Mara was on one of our shows here earlier this week yesterday on with Matt Jones and kind of talked about how they started prioritizing talent more so than character and it backfired on him. I would imagine he may go get some blue collar guys that are kind of cut from the same cloth Youngstown tough. That's sort of the brand that Stoops has run with for a long time to maybe that is
what is what energizes him. But you know, you're right, he just kind of seems like he's been you know, he just kind of hasn't had the same level of like, Hey, I'm gonna go prove you guys wrong. I mean, he was almost like it was he was letting people know, Hey, sorry, I know you want me gone, but I'm gonna be here. Maybe that's not the way he meant it, but it just kind of sounded like that on Saturday. But you're right, you know, to say that anybody when ten games at
Kentucky and football is crazy. I mean I remember saying this after the second ten win season. Actually no, I think I said it after their first ten win season Understoops. If you'd told me the Kentucky football is gonna win ten games, I would have assumed that Nick Saban ended up coaching there for whatever reason. Like so he's he's done a phenomenal job, but man, it just seems like in a three year span, especially this past year, it
really it really went uh went sideways for him. A right, I don't have a lot of time left, but I got to get your thoughts on this one.
Go ahead, go ahead, Like the whole character versus talent thing is overstated.
If they would have been winning games, nobody would be talking about.
Care That's a fair point. That's a fair point.
I think it's an easy thing to throw out there when you lose with good players, Right, that's a really good point.
Was picking the wrong quarterback? Yeah, that's what.
You are spot on?
Better, you are spot on because however, if you yeah, when you say that, it's it's the one you know, it's the one cop out you have because there's really no reason to be as bad as you were, especially when they had good players that are probably going to either go to the NFL or transfer and probably be good elsewhere. So yeah, no, I think that would be a really good counter to that, to that that comment. All right, real quick, your thoughts on this Ole Miss
team Chris Beard in his second season. They're off to a pretty good start. They won loss on the year. I think it was a close one to Purdue. Uh, just your thoughts on on this matchup tonight.
Yeah, I mean I think it's gonna be I know, Louisville's favorite, which I feel like that's all home court.
I think it's gonna be tough.
I got a lot of respect for Chris Beard and kind of what he's done in his stops. They definitely have these transfers that have come in and done well in his system, and they got you know, Virginia Tech transfer Padula, Taran Padula.
Shoot a three point specialists basically, yeah, they got.
I remember covering uh Jami and Braakfield when he was at Duke his first year.
Back in like.
One season.
Yeah, yeah, it's it's like that's what I was like. Dang, he is still playing.
As you mentioned dray Davis earlier, you know, he's he's an integral part of their their.
Team, is he not?
Like dray Davis played for two guys after he left Louisville, and I feel like are perfect for him, Bo Shaeen Holloway and Chris Spirit. I feel like dray Davis is the kind of player that was like created to play for those two guys.
Just tough.
Yeah, you create some money in the video game, you know, Yeah, yeah, so you.
Know, I mean, I think I think it's gonna be a scrappy game. I'm looking at the big picture too. I think it's gonna be a blood bath for the ACC. Louisville is one of the games that I had the ACC winn and I had.
The a CEC for like four games. I was looking at that.
I feel like the ACC should win, and three of them are because they're the home team.
But I just uh's gonna be tough.
I think it's gonna be tough, especially just mentally knowing that prior isn't there and hearing the Corn Johnson news today, Like, mentally, the kids are gonna have to come in with a level of toughness, you know what I mean, knowing.
That their guys aren't aren't.
Coming back this season periods, So it's gonna be a challenge. But I also like to see these situations just to kind of see.
How Kelsey reacts too, because you.
Know, we're learning him as well as we're learning the players, and now they react in situations. So I want to see what kind of wrinkles he pulls out for this game.
See all good stuff, as always, appreciate the time, keep up the great work, and we'll talk sooner, right brother, All right, appreciation it, Take care of that's Ceel Brown or the Courier Journal. Always appreciate him making sound for us. All Right, we got to get out of here for a quick break. We'll come back a couple of shorter segments here in the rest of the four o'clock hour. We still got a lot to go. We're halfway there, and trust me, there's a lot more fun to be had.
If you don't believe me, stick around and find out. How about that for a tease. You'll miss out if you don't stick around, So don't go anywhere. It's coffe and but if fuel about Thorton's on Sports Talk seven.
Ninety, you're listening to Coffee and Company with Nick Coffee on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Apologies for the poor clock management once again, but we can sacrifice a couple of shorter segments to wrap up at four o'clock hour if that means we get a lengthy conversation with the one and only cl Brown. Good stuff there as always from cl And he's right when it comes to the comment made and I'm paraphrasing here, but I know it was said something like this as far as prioritizing talent more than character. Vince Mayer said something similar to that when he was on with Matt
yesterday on KSR. And you know, I don't think that that's really you know, it's not crazy to say that that is that that you know isn't real, because I think they did have some internal stuff going on and the culture just hasn't been good. But at the end of the day, the culture is the responsibility for the core is the guy leading the program and that's Mark Stoops. But see, how is exactly right Kentucky. I think they
you know, I don't know. I don't have a clue what goes on like behind the scenes, But like, I think they've always acted like they've had a sense of entitlement that really I don't know where that came from. I don't know what they like, I don't know what would make the Kentucky football program internally have this sense of worth that like isn't there.
And again I'm I'm I don't. I mean, I'm trying not to.
Make it about a rivalry thing here, but I think they would beat Louisville and feel as if they were a lot better than they actually were. And you know, to be fair, that's on Louisville's that's Louis's fault for
not beating them, you know. But I think what he said is so true when it comes to the lack of like if they if they acted the way they acted and everything was going on the way that it had, Like if they were winning and everything else was still the same, you wouldn't hear about the culture problem and about guy that Stoops is basically going to say, I don't need to have a conversation with you.
I'm telling you you need to leave.
And you know, you know this, this isn't going to work. So you know, that is a little bit of a cop out there. But which what I think your you know, coaches are going to learn is that like put it this way, Mark Stoops, when he had a lot of six when he was when he had success at Kentucky to where they started to break through and no longer be the worst team in that league and in the
bottom tier of Power five football. Yeah, he brought in some good players, But I feel like Mark Soops is the kind of guy where he's going to get the most out of a three star that has talent, right, Like, you can't expect a two star that nobody's heard of to come in and be really good in the sec Like you need to bring in talent.
Recruiting matters, and you're never going.
To bypass a five star recruiter, a four star recruit that wants to play for you, that you feel I could help you. But it may be a compatibility thing, right, these guys that are big time recruits, maybe they're divas prima Donna's. Maybe they got a bunch of nil money because they transferred to you, and they're not willing to kind of conform to your culture that you want. I mean, I'll give you the best example, Rick Patino. His best
type player was a guy that was talented. Trust me, you need talent, but not the guys who were already propped up as one and done's no matter what happens in college, the you know, the.
Five stars or the forest.
And he didn't get many five stars, but the five stars he did get, it just didn't work out. Like they didn't like they couldn't handle Rick. Maybe they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. They weren't as hungry and they weren't willing to do what it takes to play for Rick Patino, which I've never played for a Patino. But I know people who have and he will. He will bring more out of you than you knew you had. He will challenge you in a way that
you never knew possible. And to this day that I mean Donovan Mitchell's killing it in the NBA right now, and any chance he gets when he's asked about sort of you know, I guess his success and everything, he'll he'll find a way to sneak in his time at Louisville playing for a Patino because Patino challenged him in a way he didn't know possible, and it brought out the type of player he is now that like maybe
he didn't even know he could be so. Terry o'zeer another guy, he wasn't a top ten, top fifteen player, but he was a high four star who was really good and really succeeded. Taekwandan, Francisco Garcia. I mean, these are guys who again had other options. They were talented. It wasn't like a you know, Russ Smith is a diamond in the rough. Ruff Smith's a guy who nobody wanted.
He lied to Rick about a scholarship offers when he was being recruited by Rick and he almost left, and to be honest, Rick didn't try to stop him, and I think he understood at that time if you wanted to go home and play at Manhattan for Stevie Mass, I get it. So, you know, coaches are having to learn about themselves later in their career than they ever
would in a previous world. But the new world is going to give you a big mixed bag of players, high school kids that you know you're hoping develop grown men playing it in the fifth and sixth year of college because of the new rules in the COVID year, and you're just gonna have to find a way to
make it work. I think getting the culture you want in your program is probably going to be more difficult than it's ever been for coaches because again, you're bringing like example, Jeff Brom, there were some dudes they brought in that are that enrolled last year in January that were, uh, you know, I hate using this word because it's a it just it shouldn't be used in something that's not
as serious as you know, cancer. But they were toxic, if you will, They were toxic to the locker room, toxic to the culture, Jeff Brom snipped, it out, packed their bags and told them to get the hell out of here. And that's exactly what they did because he could sense that, hey, this is not going to be good, and you know, you got to be able to and it's and it's tough because you know, you got to really keep an eye on that kind of stuff and
you really got to do your due diligence to figure out. Okay, I know what I'm bringing in as far as talent and production from the portal, But what's this guy like between the ears?
Right?
What is he? What kind of guy is he?
Is he a good guy that's going to be somebody that can fit with what we want to do, because you can't have guys come in and they start establishing a different culture than what you want. So I always say this all the time, and I know it's sound like a broken record, but we are in a new world college sports. When I watch college basketball, like I'm going to tonight, when I watch college football on Saturdays between the lines, it's the same thing, right, We're watching
the same sport. And maybe every now and then you'll realize, damn, that guy's still in college and that's when you realize, oh yeah, they can transfer, they get all these you know they I forgot about this guy. Well he's been at three schools in four years or something. So occasionally you'll see it something, you'll see it and you'll realize, Okay, yeah,
this is different. But everything else outside of when you watch the sports, when it comes to just roster management, off season talk everything money like in il, like your collective's hitting you up, wanting you to not only support the university and buy tickets, but give them money too. Like it's such a different world and everybody's trying to find their footing. Some have been able to adapt better than others, and some have just left the industry. Rights.
That's what's happened. So all right, quick break, Sorry for the short segment. We'll come back, wrap up the four o'clock hour. Talk a little bit about tonight's spreads. We've got some, I mean, we've got an unloaded amount of college basketball games to bet on. And I feel like a real I feel like a real ace right now when it comes to college hoops, because last night, you know what I did, Rhode Island minus three.
And a half? Got it? Oh, how about UT Arlington against somebody I don't remember Moneyline one B twenty. Never a doubt, Never a doubt.
But there are some good games tonight that I'm looking forward to betting on because it's teams you know that I've actually watched a little bit, because you know they're from real leagues. All right, quick break, don't go anywhere, let's ride, let's do. It's Coffee and Company. I'm Nick Coffee, he's Austin Montgomery. We're taking you up till six o'clock. So hang out right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
You're listening to Coffee and Company with Nick Coffee on Sports Talk seven nine day.
Man, I gotta be honest with you, but I'm looking here at the the lines for all the college basketball action tonight. I mean, I mean the most intrigued. I mean the play I think is to fade the ACC. And I'm not trolling anybody, but I did get a lot of pushback on the text line about what I was saying about the ACC, And again, I think it's a reminder for me that I'm not like I don't I'm I want the ACC to do well because I'm clearly a Louisville fan and that the better the league
is the better it is for Louisville. But I'm not like a fan of the ACC. Again, it's almost by proxy. It's by default because that's the league that Louisville's in, you know, But I don't have any I don't have any love for a league like I do my team, and I think most are the same way.
But I guess I don't know. I mean, look, if you there's.
No benefit at all, if your league isn't good now, potentially you could take advantage and win a lot more games. But you know, if you're winning a league that nobody thinks is good, there's not going to be as much value there. So when I talked about it earlier, which we can reset it in the five o'clock hour, the ACC is a basketball league has fallen off substantially. And I'm not bringing it up to clown anybody. I mean,
it's just the truth. And yes, I'm aware that Louisville is one of the biggest factors in the league not being now what it was eight ten years ago, But I mean, it is what it is. It's not really a debate, I don't think. I mean, you can find whatever data point you want to try to convince yourself otherwise. But NC State making the Final four last year does not mean that the ACC is just that good of a league.
It doesn't. You you can tell yourself that.
But just just like if a team wins thirty games and loses in the first round of the tournament, that doesn't mean that team's not good. It just means they
got upset and in college basketball, were weird. I wouldn't have it any other way, but it makes no sense that, like we you know, what makes it weird is what makes it all so special, is that, like your thirty wins mean nothing if you lose in the first round to a fifteen seed, right, I mean, doesn't mean the team's not good, but you didn't show up when it mattered the most. And it really makes people not care at all about what you did for the previous three
and a half months. It's not it doesn't make sense, but it is just the way we are in college basketball. So anyways, tonight you've got This is not a part of the ACC SEC challenge. Uh, But Austin I like, I like Cincinnati minus three and a half at Villanova. Villanova has fallen off substantially and they did what a lot of these other ACC teams did where when their coach just decided to walk away, they just gave the guy, gave a guy the job who has been around, And
what's the guy Kyle Neptune at Nova. I mean, I don't know how he survives the rest of this season or even you know, he'll probably spot the rest of the year unless he gets terribly bad.
But Cincinnati's got a good team here.
Wes Miller has done a really good job and feels like this is the year where they finally broke through to where he's got Cincinnati in a pretty good place, the ranked number fourteen in the country right now. But I think minus three and a half is the play here in that one. And then I don't know how much you've watched as some of these other teams in the UH, in the ACC, in the SE but have you seen much of cal in Arkansas?
I just know that it's he's kind of becoming a mad man and a lot of a lot of Arkansas fans aren't really in favor of it. But I haven't actually watched them play.
Well we are.
You're not missing much because it's really the same. It's the same type of team, and I don't mean, well, it's not the same type of team because he doesn't as good players. He had three NBA player, I mean he had more than three, but like last year they had three insanely talented guards with Reeves and Shepherd and Dillingham.
But at Arkansas he's playing the same style and it's just I mean, it's with DJ Wagner running the show and not those three guards I mentioned, which you know, I'm not picking on the guy, but like DJ Wagner at best is like a second team All Conference player by his senior year. He's just not that good. And then Nellie Davis, the transfer from FAU who was the number one or number two guy in the portal depending
on where you looked. He's averaging like eight a game and has not done anything to look anything other than average. So Miami they've been bad too this year. I mean Laraennega, I mean that guy. He took a team to a final four that they paid for, and they paid good money because they got to a final four with Isaiah Long Nigel Pack. And then I can't think of the guy's name who was at Miami for two years and
now he's actually a Baylor. But man, Miami, you know, they don't have the talent they've had in previous years. They just still love Nigel Pack and they're three and four right now with losses to So I can't say that I trust Miami to cover against Calipari in Arkansas. If Miami wasn't as bad, I might Are you.
Signed four and a half for years on that game?
Yep?
Yep? So, by the way, check this out.
Miami got three wins to start the season against Fairleigh, Dickinson, Binghamton and Coppin State. Since then, an eleven point loss to Drake, a double digit loss to Oklahoma State, a seven point loss to VCU, and they lost to Charleston Southern over the weekend.
Wow. So like Miami is Again, I didn't even.
Know this before I talked about the ACC sucking, so I'm surprised now. I want to just hammer Arkansas minus four and a half because Miami's that bad.
Good God, I like the under in that game. I'm seeing one five. I like under.
Oh yeah, that's way too many points. Yeah, I'm with you on that. I'm gonna crunch. I'll look at the kin Palm numbers.
But yeah, I like that.
I like that. We might have just built our first parlay together for college basketball on the show. It kind of feels like it kind of feels like we're having a moment here. We're taking Cincinnati minus four and a half and then the under in the Miami Arkansas game. Let's ride, baby, let's do it.
I like it.
What about what about Northwestern to cover five against Iowa?
I don't know enough about him. Northwestern has been in closer games this year against bad teams, but I think they've avoided big upsets. And then with Iowa, I don't know. That's to me, that sounds more like an under. But I'll have to look at the number. But we'll keep building. We'll keep building, baby Big n conege back. So far, we got another hour to go, So all right, five o'clock hours next. A lot to get in here before we wrap it up and call it a day.
So stick with us.
We got one more hour to go right here on Sports Talk seven ninety mm hmm