It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's nick coffee.
All right, let's get it started, Ladies and gentlemen, hour number two.
Here on a Tuesday afternoon, thanks for hanging out. Coffee and company, fuel by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety eighty coffee. That's me, Austin Montgomery alongside today. I'm not sure if it's because I'm having to wear different headphones or if it's the voice. But do I sound a lot different? I mean, I know people can hear me. I don't think I sound like I'm dying, But does my voice sound different?
There's some raspiness o to it?
Okay, that just gives it more character, right, Yah, of course there's a show a lot more care and I'm sure more than anything. For me, it's I can't use my earbuds today. I'm using the big cans because we didn't have the adapter that I needed.
But anyways, it does not feel like a.
Tuesday of me, just because the weather and I mean me getting sick yesterday it already being kind of a holiday for some people.
We had our offices closed, but we.
Were also some of us were on air, and you know, my kid didn't have school today, probably not gonna have school tomorrow. So really, as I said at the beginning of the show, today, the beginning of twenty twenty five has been just weird. We had a couple of weeks there where I felt like we were in rhythm as far as routine. We didn't have a lot of things that led to us having to close schools that kind
of stuff. But man, we had a crazy weekend. When it comes to the flooding, just really awful, awful situation. When it comes to the amount of I mean not only the amount of people impacted by but people who've lost their life. I mean, after today, Andy Bisheer mentioned two deaths in Jefferson County, so that puts it up to fourteen people have died due to the flooding, which again that's that's it's awful. And now you've got cold weather for the next couple of days, really cold weather
with some snow. We already had some snow come down earlier today, and we had some on Sunday, and I think three to six inches is what they're mentioning. As far as the Kentucky Aanna region when it's all said and done, but hopefully it's on the lower end of that. But again, if it ends up being more than that, I can't I can't say I'm going to be shocked. So stay safe, everybody, and hopefully we get warm weather here soon so we can get all this mess melted
and then actually get to some spring temperatures. I love the winter weather, always have, but we got enough this year to last for a while. So anyways, let's take a quick look here at the most updated bracketology.
From the one and only mister.
Joey Brackett's he put this out this morning, and top overall seed not a surprise Auburn. I don't know how much you guys have actually watched Auburn, like up close. I didn't watch them a whole lot early on. They've been having a phenomenal season and they are the best team. But in the last couple of weeks really, since they got they're.
Big man back.
I kind of think of his name who transferred morehead Stag Jenni Broom. Since Broom has been back, I've just not really because I'm looking to do it, but I've just found myself watching a lot of their games, more so than I typically do, especially when they played on Saturday against Alabama and Tuscaloosa. I mean, I think Auburn right now is kind of quietly become the best team
in the country. And it's not close. Not to say there are no other really good teams, but they, in my opinion, are quite literally alone on an island when it comes to being the number one overall seed. And they do have two losses. They lost to Duke earlier this year, but that was a close loss in Cameron, and then they slipped up and lost to Florida a couple of weeks ago, and that was a tough loss for them, but that was right when Jeni Broom was kind of getting back into you, back into rhythm.
So look, they anybody can be beat.
They're not a team that, you know, we got to start talking about are they going to be remembered as one of the best teams that ever played in college basketball? But I think they are far and away the best team in the country, meaning that when they play their best.
Nobody's beating them.
Now again, there's some things you can do to make them not at their best, and that's been done a couple of times. But when you look at because Alabama's really good. By the way Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Auburn had full control of that game throughout, other than one instance where Alabama made a really big run late to tie it up and then what did Auburn do? Turn the Jets back on and kind of run away with it.
So they're really, really good. Not a surprise to see that they are the number one overall seed, and I really I'd be highly shocked if we get to selections Sunday and they're not still right there as the number one overall seed.
All right.
As far as the first team out VCU, and the last team in is wake Forest right now, and the local teams Louisville, I believe they were, Yeah, there are seven right now. According to Lonardi, they'd be playing West Virginia in the seven to ten game. Tennessee would be the two seas they'd play if it goes chalk in that pod, the number one seed in that region is Duke. Other notable teams in that region. The three seed there
is Arizona, who has quietly really bounced back. I mean they had a rough start to the season.
Losing.
Well, what happened with Arizona is they lost some games early on that that I think people didn't realize at the time. Like, for example, I think Wisconsin beat Arizona. I don't think anybody realized Wisconsin is going to be a top ten team. So sure enough, Wisconsin's twenty and five and looking like a legitimate top three seed, and Arizona they got all again, look at this, Austin.
I know you.
I don't know if you have any like if if you pull for Arizona, but like that's where you live for a long time, so clearly they're of some interest to you.
My favor Wildcat. Let's say that Arizona started the season terrible, four and five. They were out of the top twenty five. Oh due, they were four and five.
I mean overall they I mean again, but here's the thing. Their losses to with Wisconsin and even in even West Virginia and UCLA, like those were games at the time. You didn't really know where those teams were going to be at the end of the season, but those were like right now, those five losses they had before Christmas, they're all quality losses. And sure enough, since they got into big twelve play. They've been playing a lot better. They're up to number twelve right now in the kN Poms.
So Tommy Lloyd's flipped the switch.
Yeah, So Arizona, I think they're deserving of being there as a three seed as of right now quoting Culinardi. And then the four in that region is Michigan State Kentucky. They have moved to a well they were. I think they were a three on selection. On the selection preview on Saturday's.
I saw the number ten overall seeds.
So they're still sitting as a three seed. That is in the Midwest region. The one seed there's Alabama, two is Houston and they'd be playing uncg if if that's how it played out. So other one seeds outside of Duke and Alabama, Auburn is they're the number one overall seed.
Florida is a one seed. Two seeds are Tennessee, Texas A and m Iowa State in Houston and real quick, I wish I could tell you that I believe that the SEC is getting too much love, but I don't because I think from top to bottom it's the best league and I think there's gonna be some teams that finish with five hundred or losing records in that league that are legitimately good. Now, I will say this, I
don't think Texas is very good. Maybe they get in, and I'm not just saying that because Kentucky has lost him Like I don't. I watched Texas enough this year to me, they're not one of those teams that I'm like, Wow, this is crazy. The SEC is so good, but really in their own way. Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, A and M Missouri, Ole, miss Kentucky of course, Mississippi State, and even Vandy because of Vandy's wins against Tennessee and Kentucky.
Teams that we know are good. Like, all those teams are legitimately, in my opinion, bona fide tournament teams. And maybe some of them will slip up and lose early.
I don't know.
But like how many teams that I just name there are. How many teams are even in the ACC or the SEC? Is it eighteen or sixteen? I think it's sixteen. I know eighteens in the ACC. Yeah, so there's sixteen teams in the SEC right now, and I think outside of South Carolina, LSU Georgia, Oklahoma.
I mean, I guess that's really it. I mean Arkansas.
I don't think are I put Arkansas head of Texas just because I've watched Arkansas play in stretches, including when they played in Lexington to where like you can see, Okay, when that team is able to play like that, they're gonna be a tough beat for anybody. So I would say roughly eleven of your sixteen teams I think are not all the same level.
Right.
Obviously, auburns above everybody. That you've got that second tier that I believe includes Alabama in Florida, and then I would probably include Kentucky and that when fully healthy, but I don't know if that's going to be the case the rest of the way. So after that, I would put Tennessee and Kentucky kind of together. Look, hey, and this was a long route for me to get there.
But the SEC, as much as I wish I could tell you that it's that it's not what everybody thinks it is, and they're getting way too many teams in the tournament, I just don't think that that's true. But there are a couple of teams that aren't, like like for example, Texas A and M Buzz Williams. They're twenty and five right now, nine and three in the league. I think they're looked at as a two seed but
just about everybody or maybe a three. But they like they've not they actually, I mean honestly, they're win against Texas Tech and Purdue, which were good non conference wins like those have value, but outside of that, like they haven't even played the best team. I mean, they played Alabama in Kentucky, two of the better teams in their league.
They lost that.
Their other SEC wins include Texas and Oklahoma. I don't think those are big resume wins. They beat LSU, they beat Mississippi. In fact, they did lose to Texas. So their other wins include Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia, and then recently Arkansas. So I'm not saying Texas A and M is bad at all. They're really good. They're deserving to be, you know, talked about as one of the better teams
in their conference. But they are getting, in my opinion, the love of the league being so good right because they're gonna look, they still have to play Florida, Auburn, Tennessee. So three of their last six games are against top five teams, and it's not by design. It just played out this way to where Texas A and M happened to have probably the most manageable SEC schedule of anybody. And again it's just you know its sometimes it's just going to play out that way. But it's not to
say that their schedule is like easy. It's just when I look at the teams in the SEC that I think are legitimately Final Four quality, they're not one of them to me. And maybe I'll be proven wrong, but like I think Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky went healthy, and maybe Tennessee. I don't know Tennessee. I the more I watched Tennessee, the more I don't know, Like.
Are they really good or are they like.
Were they frods? Because they beat the hell out of Louisville. Obviously, they got swept by Kentucky. They were down to Vandy at home for about ninety percent of that game.
It seemed. They did beat Florida by twenty, so they're good.
Look, everybody in the SEC outside of like five teams are legitimately good. I just think there's a couple that are really benefiting from the league being so good where they haven't actually gotten any of those big time signature wins, right like some of the you know teams like Florida. I mean they lost to Kentucky, but then they beat Auburn.
I mean that that kind of shows you that, Okay, yeah you can you know Kentucky, they've lost to Alabama, and they've lost to some other teams they probably shouldn't have lost it. But you know what else they did. They beat Florida at home, and they swim Tennessee like there's no real there's not really anything A and M has done. That I think is comparable to where you know, you could lose to anybody because the league's so good, but then you'll mess around and beat one of the
best teams. Like they haven't beaten one of the Tier one teams in the SEC just yet.
Maybe they will.
Maybe maybe I'll be eating crow because again, they play three top five teams in the last six games here, so Buzz is gonna have a chance to show really is what his team can do.
And clearly, again they're good.
I already feel like I've made it sound as if I'm saying they're frauds. It's just when I see just how this league is being seated in the NCAA tournament projections right now. I mean some of some of the teams, I totally get it. Others I just, you know, I don't know if I buy them as being that good. But maybe I'm just a hater. But I've tried not to be because again, like I I've been getting into it, not getting into it.
That's probably a stretch.
But like me and my dad have been going back and forth Austin about Louisville and in their seeding because I don't think Louisville can miss the turn. But I do know that if they somehow had a bad night and lost to one of these teams left on the schedule, that would change sort of the overall view of the resume. And that wouldn't mean that I don't think they're as good as I did today or even last week. Like I know, when this team's playing well, I think I
think the world of this Louisville team. I don't know if they're good enough to you know, make a Final four, but I really really like this team. It's just I'm looking at it from a pure number situation when it comes to the resume, and like, I just think, you know, Louisville put it this way, and actually we'll get to
a break because I want to get to this. On the other side, somebody texted in something earlier that I want this will give me a chance to kind of connect these two things, because there's some people that have speculated Louisville is being criminally underrated in the top twenty five, and you know what has Louisville got to do to be, you know, higher than just twenty five?
Look at the record And.
I don't even like to play Devil's advocate because I think Louisville is as good as a lot of teams.
I really do, but I don't. I mean, I don't think put it this way.
If you're somebody that is going to be stunned and feeling as if there's they're out to get us on selection Sunday, if Louisville's not better than like a seven seed, I would just tell you to prepare for that. And you know, I don't think. I think Louisvell' is a better quality team than that. But also I understand the resume is what it is.
So we'll get to that.
On the other side, stick around, it's coffee company, you feel about Thornton's on Sports Talk seven.
Ninety now back to coffee and company fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
So this came in on the text line earlier when I was talking about Louisville getting back into the top twenty five and how I just I wish I could have a variety. I mean, I guess I can. I mean, I don't act like it's impossible, but I just what makes this fun is being able to just share real
and honest opinions and be a fan. Like a lot of people, I try to be objective and to be honest and not just be a homer, but I'm also a fan, and to have to talk about Louisville basketball the way we did the last couple of years and now have this season, it's just been a lot of fun.
And I'm just kind of lost in the moment where I mean, more often than not, I'm just telling you guys how fun it is and how much I'm enjoying it, and that's probably not super entertaining, But I do know that a lot of you are like, hey, no.
This is.
You know, I'm sure it is boring to some who don't care and don't feel the same way about Louisville because you're not a fan, But this is the preference, right when you get to being repetitive and it's just kind of the same stuff here and there every day. Almost it's nice for it to be about good things right in Louisville basketball. Just being a twenty win team at this point is is something that you could be.
You could have not got to twenty wins at the end of the season and probably still in vision to scenario where we would have felt good about the future and felt like we hired the right guy. I mean, Pat Kelsey has already given us so far a fun season that has been successful, and I mean you got to think he won't be able to go get a bunch of Rainsmiths the rest of his time here, because I don't think those guys exist. He's one of the best shooters I've ever seen in my life, Chucky Hepburn.
I mean it sounds crazy to say because he's only played twenty six games here, but I mean he's one of the best point guards we've had in a long, long time.
So I don't want to act.
As if like this is going to be something that we can just easily recreate every year. However, I mean, he just kind of put this together, this roster without really any proof of concept, meaning he was getting people to come to Louisville before he even showed anybody that he could win here. So anyways, this comment came in earlier and I wanted to read it for you. It says I read it to you. I should say I'm
still learning how to speak. I don't know why, but it feels like I haven't been on the air in a long long time. I had a long weekend and of course dealing with a little bit of a sickness, so I'm a little rusty, so bear with me.
But it says the AP poll. That just says the A people.
And then he goes on to say louisll is the twenty fifth team in the country. But yet we're one of twelve teams with twenty wins and we have a top fifteen strength to schedule. Meanwhile, teams like Kansas and Ole Miss are still in and they keep piling up the losses. It just doesn't make sense, well it does. I mean, record is I mean, record is not the.
End all be all.
I mean, I'm sure there are teams with more wins than Louisville that aren't ranked, and it's probably because they play in a league that's not good, or they play in like a mid major league, or maybe even below that. So what I think is just tough for fans to it. By the way, let me let me I should have threw this out there beforehand before really diving in. Do I think Louisville's better than the twenty fifth best team in the country.
Yeah, I don't. I can't prove that, but I believe they are. When they're playing well.
I think they're probably closer to a top sixteen type team. I really do believe that. I can't prove it, but that's what I believe. So this isn't me saying, hey, no, you're wrong, Louisville is the twenty fifth ranked team. But what we're not used to around here is that the
league is hurting us in a major way. Now, you could take advantage of it and pile up wins like they've done, but what really tells you where the ACC stands is that Louisville's kicking team's ass and still our borderline top twenty five in the NET and in the Ken Palm, and of course also in the A. People, it's really not that complicated to look and see. Okay, yeah, Louisville, they lost to Georgia Tech, and since then, who have they been able to go beat? They've beat Boston College, Miami,
NC State, and Notre Dame. All those teams suck.
I mean they I mean, I'm.
Not discrediting Louisville for winning. I mean they won all of them by a lot, all of them by double vigions. But like those teams aren't good so that those who vote aren't gonna think, okay, well, I gotta put Louisville back in the top twenty five. Now, clearly they are back in the top twenty five, which is good. But I mean, we're not used to having four straight league games in February results in you not really changing your situation. And it's because we're not used to the league being
this bad. I mean, I can't think of any other time where Louisville has been a good team of course and played in Rather it be the ACC, the American for the one year of the Big East, even I don't even Conference USA maybe, like the league is what it is, you can't control it.
It doesn't mean Louisville's not really good.
It's just you don't have as many opportunities to really make a statement at all. And that's why I've said, really, since they beat SMU and Wake Forest, I feel like you have very little to.
Gain in a whole lot to lose.
I mean, looking at I don't have the eight peop pole pulled up in front of me, but I mean, and by the way, Louislle strength of schedules not top fifteen like you said, because again it was at one point, but now they're playing lousy teams, so their strength of
schedule is dropping like crazy. I mean, as of right now, Louisville strength to schedule, it's not terrible, but like right now, louis strength of schedules thirty six in the country, so they're twenty and six, and and you know, they haven't played as tough as the schedule as you would have expected. Imagine if they did not have a loaded non conference schedule that featured the likes of.
Kentucky. I mean, actually I may have walked myself into this.
The loaded non conference schedule isn't as loaded now as we thought it was Tennessee and Kentucky.
But Indiana's not good. West Virginia is not.
I mean, these aren't These aren't non conference opponents that look really like Oh wow, I mean West Virginia, Indiana, Oklahoma, like those are teams that are our quality as far as you know.
Your schedule. Oh Miss is the top twenty five.
Team, so you know that that's a that's a that's a good non conference opponent. So look, I mean, all I'm trying to say is that if you are somebody that thinks that Louisville is being disrespected by where they come in in the ape Pole, or maybe even you think they're being disrespected by those who put together bracketology updates, I'm not telling you that you're wrong. I just I'm trying to give you, I guess a scenario as to why they view it that way.
And also I'm trying to give.
You, I guess a little bit of a heads up that you should just be prepared because I mean, Louisville winning these next five games by double digits is simply gonna be what they're supposed to do.
And if you're just staying status quo.
Yeah, you might end up with a twenty five and six record going into conference play, but that may not result in you really changing your status as far as where you're projected to be going in the tournament and really where you are in the net or the ap pole, whatever it may be, which, of course, the ape pole is a human thing, like it's a vote, it's everybody. You know, there's I don't know how many, but many people have a ballot they put it together.
So again, I think.
Louisville is as good as a lot of teams when they're playing well. And really, what makes me even more bullish on them is I think what makes them a tough matchup, what makes them a team that I believe is top sixteen, top seventeen, eighteen. It's not based off luck. I mean, you're gonna need to make shots, but I mean defensively they're pretty good and that leads to them
being able to get high percentage looks elsewhere. So again, I don't want to make it sound as if I'm telling you, hey, no, you're wrong, Louisville's not a top twenty five team, or they're right at twenty five I just think if you consider that their best win is Clemson, and really there's no other win that is nearly as good as Clemson, and Clemson is borderline at Clemson's the seven seed. Your best win is against the seven seed.
And the only scenario that you will have where you end up getting a better win than that is if you play Duke in the a SC tournament and you beat them, which certainly that could happen.
They'd be great, they'd be huge.
But I just what I wanted to what I wanted to emphasize, is that we can we can acknowledge that Louisville is going to be a tough matchup for a lot of teams in the tournament if they keep playing well, because I don't think we're homers and saying no, this team's for real. But when you look at you know data, that stuff matters too, and the best win's Clemson, and.
The league is is what it is.
I mean, Florida State, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Callen Stanford, those are your last five games. You could win by twenty plus and I wouldn't be shocked because again, we know Louisville's capable of blowing out all these teams. But I just don't know if that's going to do enough to bump you up in the net. And I also don't know if that's going to make much of an impression on those that vote in the eight people and that doesn't matter.
Eight people doesn't matter, but clearly people value it, right, I mean, that's what people talk about more than anything.
I mean, the.
NCAA selection committee does not factor in the top twenty five A people at all, but you know, it's what still gets reference more than anything. When you talk about a team and where they are, they're not talking about their projected seed line, they're not talking about their net They're talking about that number that's next to their name on the score bug when they're playing.
I mean, it's very.
Much in your face. And look, it's nice to be ranked again. It's just you know, at the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter, and you know, the league just needs to be better. I mean, Poolville is a factor in that too, because hey, we were the worst team in this awful basketball league that it's become in the last couple of years. But now we're not and we're beating up on these teams and it's just unfortunately it doesn't It doesn't give you a whole lot
of value like it usually does. All right, Babo, tub I've seven. See hundred is the number. If you guys want to jump in and give us a call, let's go to Jerry. Jerry, what's happening?
Hey, Nick, I'm gonna throw a lot at you real quick. Okay, So good talking talking about seeds. Here's the way I look at it. I had a discussion with a guy yesterday. I think right now U of L has more pressure on them to win every game and to have and to finish strong than Kentucky does. Okay, because they get a pass because of all this totally unbelievable and we can't afford to drop one. Okay, So so I'll give
you our seed range. In my opinion, I think we could be anywhere, and I might be a little high on my high number or or you know, my my best number. I'm gonna say we're going to be a three to an eight. How do you get to a three? You run the table, you go five and zero, Then you get in the ACC tournament, you get to the final, and you beat Duke. That's the way you get to a three. If you get to the final and lose the Duke, you're going to be a four or five.
I think, how do you be an eight? You go four and one and you have a mediocre performance and you flame out before the final in the ACC tournament.
I think that's the rain not I could not agree more whether every scenario you laid out.
I think the ceiling is the three.
And it would take you needing even need to beat Duke to do it. I think if you end up losing the Duke but you beat Clemson again, I think you're I totally agree.
With you, okay about the Notre Dame game. Right now, I'm already spoiled, okay, so I have very high expectations they've spoiled me going to SMU and killing them. So I wasn't really that and I wasn't really that happy with the Notre Dame game. I was glad we won fifteens in nice margin, blah blah uh it. You know, I'm not sure on here to killing. But you know, I thought chucky man the five turnovers and some of them were terrible. You know, I was really a little disappointed in.
Yeah, it was sloppy and kind of awkward at times, especially early, just kind of felt weird.
Okay, I got two more uh two more topics real quick. Number one, I know that your show isn't on anymore postgame. All I can tell you is this, reading Twitter and reading a few things after the eight o'clock game the other night. There's a lot of fans that are starving for that. And I don't, I don't. I don't begrudge you, especially you know, and I know you said there are circumstances beyond your control blah blah blah. But with an eight o'clock or a nine o'clock start, the fans are
starving for that, especially the away games. I don't blame you for not wanting to do the home games, even if you had the opportunity to again. But but I wanted to throw that out there. And then I got one more thing. Of course you weren't on yesterday. I bounced around, listened to a lot of shows talking about Kelsey's contract on a show and he's at two point three right now. I want to know where do you think they land with his salary? And then I got
one more thing. A while back, I talked about hurt hurt need to be physically responsible with this contract, and I didn't. I didn't get to finish my thought for some reason that day. And I want I want to
do it now. Okay, there was one contract here locally, and it was up at IU with a football coach, Tom Allen, where he hit the He he looked like, maybe not as hot as Kelsey right now, but he looked really good, right and they and they went all in on him, and then they got burned by it because they're paying through the nose for Tom Allen right now, the way I see it, pay Kelsey huge money up front, but the badge, you know, in case things were to go south to by its should never be and I
don't think they will. I like the guy. I think it's gonna work out, but I think the buyout should be in U of L's favor. You know what I'm saying. I mean, look, look look at look again, look at how they got burned by Tom Allen. But anyway, that's all I got.
What did you say currently, Jerry? Who pat? Is it two point something? That was okay?
Chief than paid Kenny Payne. They paid Kenny Payne three point two for God's sake, you're you kidding me.
Appreciate.
So let's start with the well, I'll start with the the postgame show thing. I mean it is quite literally out of out of I mean really it's out of everybody's control, to be honest with you.
And I mean, we just don't have resources here right now to be able to do that without.
Running it up the ladder to higher ups to people that you know, don't even know who I am. I mean, iHeartMedia is a huge company. So with and we did start the season doing basketball those game shows, and we had a plan and then that plan kind of got derailed with with some cuts that were made that just limited us as far as the resources we have here.
And you know that that that's totally out of my control.
I know that there's there's a real and look, it was huge for me to be able to do the games football and basketball as soon as they ended once we no longer carried the Learfield product. I mean that that benefited us, it benefited me. Uh And and it sounds awful because it was really a funeral after every basketball game, it seemed during the Kinny Payne era.
But that you know, they're the.
People who really are you know, die hards and just you know, obsessed with Louisville basketball, good or bad. We we were, we were reaching a lot of people, and it just you know, way above my pay grade. Not something I can control at all. But I do believe that one day we'll be back to having that, and I mean we will. I mean I shouldn't say I believe we will. It's just this season.
I'm not sure.
Now. There may be some there may be some situations to where we can you know, postgame for acc tournament instead of a tournament, Like we may be able to work something out to be able to make that happen. But yeah, I miss doing them. You know, it certainly would be fun to have done a lot of these postgame shows after these wins, because it really is the
exact opposite. Now it's not like you're beating top ten teams every night, but I mean to be able to have really the exact opposite of what we did for two years straight, which is just to go on the air as soon as the game ends and react in the moment whenever you're watching this team blow teams out and going through what Pat Kelsey calls the revival. I mean, yeah, it would have been fun, but you know, out of my control, all right. So with pat Kelsey, I think
I don't know. I mean, he clearly is going to need a new contract if he continues to show that he is taking you know, because Louisville offered him a Louisville's paying him currently, probably less than they've paid any coach in Gosh. I don't know, Like when does Rick Patino ever make less than that at Louisville. I feel like he didn't, and you know, he's Rick Patino. Pat Kelsey's not. So I think it made sense to get
him at that rate. And honestly, I think you knew you could get him, but the cheap, which is probably one of the many things that Josh Hurd considered when he decided, Hey, this is who I want to offer the job to. But now, you know, I think what it really comes down to. And this is just me speculating, pure speculation, just really guessing. If Louisville makes the second weekend,
I think he has a new contract next year. If Louisville makes the tournament and loses in the round of thirty two, he might have another contract next year, or it might be a situation to where they rework it after the following season. So one thing's one of the things that makes it really tough to predict is that the way in which these schools pay ungodly amount of money to these coaches. Part of me says that's never gonna change. So what will likely change is the buyout
structure just to cover the we're in. These schools are now having to share revenue with athletes, meaning they got a twenty million dollar bill annually now to pay players. They didn't used to have that right, So you got to be super mindful of every little thing you're doing in what it could eventually cost you down the line.
So if you if you have a big time contract for Pat Kelcey, but yet if you end up firing him, the buyout is not what it's been in recent years in college sports, or really not even recent years for a long time, Like there's no scenario Kenny Payne should have ever gotten the contract he got and I'm not even talking about hiring him, but like what they paid him never made since, and what his buyout was never
made sense. And I just feel like moving forward in college athletics, these coaches are still gonna make a lot of money. But I would imagine their buyouts are gonna be are gonna be different, or at least they should be, because those have never made sense, Like it's robbery. I know that there are certain industries where you can you can be fired and yet they're still going to pay you the salary they agree to pay you. I mean,
that's that's well, what's my industry. I mean, there's a lot of people who end up not finishing their contract, but they're still getting paid and then there's a non compete in there, so like, but but the amount, I mean, like you could be like the fact that you could be a terrible coach and lose every game and that's not considered cause to fire you, Like that's insanity and that's probably never going to change as far as the stipulation.
But the the the buyouts that that that that's the most that's the easiest and most obvious thing to fix as far as really counting every little penny you're spending because you now have more mean, Look, there's coaches already that are that are making adjustments to their salary because they realize the school needs to save money. And oh, by the way money needs to go towards nil. So
I think Pat Kelsey will be here long term. I'm not at all worried about him on that low end deal getting plucked away from here, because if it came down to that, LOUISLL would do whatever they have to do to keep their coach. But if you know that, why not just do it now? Well, I think the answer is because they're clearly not in a great position financially because of what's happened in recent years.
So again, I think he'll be here long term.
I just don't know if he's the kind of guy that is going to be pushing for a new contract or maybe they're already working on it. I don't know, But yeah, I mean to see that he's making two point three, two point four, whatever it is. That's a lot of money to coach basketball, trust me. And it's a big pay raise for Pat.
Kelsey from where he was. But you know, Louisll's Louisville, and I don't know.
It just kind of feels crazy knowing that Kenny Payne is making more money right now to coach, to not coach Louisville basketball, than Pat Kelsey is. And again I understand how we got there, and there's really nothing you can do about it as we speak, but it just the thought of that insane to me.
All right, quick break, we'll come back on the other side. Keep it rolling along.
It's coffee and Company. Fiel about Thornton right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
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So, Jeff Brom had his press conference earlier today to get set for spring practice, which, believe it or not, we'll be starting here soon. The weather wouldn't make you think about football, but sure enough, it'll be here soon. And Miller Moss is the third consecutive quarterback to transfer to Louisville and play for Jeff Brom three straight years. Three guys that are veterans that are coming from the portal.
Started with Jack Plumber obviously last year a great, great season with Tyler Schuck and now Miller Moss, who transfers from USC. And I don't know why, but hearing both Jeff and Miller talked today just about you know, everything, including getting acclimated and learning the playbook.
And whatnot, I don't know why.
Today there really isn't one thing specifically, but man, it really felt like this is professional sports and we just landed a really big addition in free agency.
I mean, and that's technically what it is.
I mean that that's the portal and nil money has made it to where this is now very much professional sports and it's directly in your face. So that's not some grand observation that you know, I came up with it, nobody else has ever observed. But I sometimes just got to kind of get lost in it as a fan because there's really nothing that I that I know of that could could that could change college athletics to where I'm not going to love it and really want to,
you know, embrace it. We are a college market around here. I mean, there's a reason we talk college basketball, college football for you know, the majority of of of the shows each day, and it's just.
Kind of what it is.
But maybe it's because this is a guy that is well known. He played against Louisville a couple of years ago in that bowl game and obviously had the game
of his career. But you know it's also and I don't mean I don't I'm not bringing this up to like complain but I just feel like now that guys can do whatever they want and go play wherever they want, having a guy like Jeff Brom as your coach, I mean, I feel like he'd be a real shocker if we get to a point where there aren't guys like Miller Moss hoping to get a call from Jeff once they hit the portal because they realize, Hey, I could really benefit from playing for this guy who you know clearly
understands the position and asks a lot of his quarterback, demands a lot of his quarterback. I mean, if Tyler Shuck ends up being drafted where some people are now projecting him to get drafted, I mean, that can only help Jeff Brom. And I'm not sure how much you're gonna hear about Brom throughout that I mean you will. I mean, clearly he had his I mean, Tyler Shuck is not sniffing any NFL draft boards if he didn't come to Louisville and have a really good season like
he did playing for Jeff Brom. Now, maybe he would have still had a good year had he played elsewhere. So again, I'm not sure how much we're going to hear about Brom being, you know, such a crucial factor in Tyler Schuck becoming this guy that looks like he's probably going to be taken within the top four rounds.
But sure enough, when you're out there looking for quarterbacks to come and play for you from the portal, I mean, they're going to know that this guy was not looked at as an NFL quarterback before he got to Louisville, Shuck was used differently in ways he would never be
used in the NFL by whoever. His coach was at Oregon many many years ago, and during his time at Texas Tech, well, Jeff Brom asked him to do NFL type things as a quarterback, and he showed some things with his arm, and he was able to stay healthy
because they weren't running him at all. So I just think Louisville really with and it's not just these two coaches, but obviously the coach of your football program, when the coach of your men's basketball program, I mean, those are the coaches that are going to get a lot more
attention than anybody else. Just think right now. Who knows, maybe I'm way wrong and down the line, these guys don't work out, but I feel like you've got good coaches in Jeff Brahm and Pat Kelsey, but I feel like their personality sort of the way they are wired. It couldn't be better timing given how things have changed
so much. And you gotta be relatable, you gotta guy's gotta want to play for you, And I feel like both of those guys have have that element that you know is very it's it's always been important, but I feel like it's more so important than it used to be.
You could be the larger than life personality as a coach with a bunch of championship rings and Final Four appearances, that kind of stuff, and that, by the way, if you still have that, there's value there, right Like Rick Patino, He's not gonna mean, I think he's made some changes as far as how he's coaching, but like Rick can still be the guy who you know, screams at people and demands more out of than they even knew they had within because he's Rick Patino. But there aren't many
like that, and you can't just become that. So look with Jeff, I think whenever Louisville played Notre Dame, I remember, I don't know, I know I've talked about this before, but this stood out to me during the broadcast, and it really stood out to me that nobody else seemed to really pick up on it. But during the pregame
leading up to the game against Notre Dame. Obviously the TV announcers talk a lot with the staff and they get embedded with the programs leading up to the game just so they're better prepared to talk about the team and the coach and that kind of stuff. And Jason Garrett, who was doing color work this year for NBC and Peacock because of the Notre Dame broadcast, I mean, he
basically said that Brahm told him he loves this. He loves getting quarterbacks that are veterans that have maybe a year maybe two that he can bring in and they've played enough to where they're not they're not way behind, but obviously he can really in a short amount of time get them, get them up the speed, and if they've got the talent, then you know you can have a very successful offense. And I think Miller Moss is
going to be exactly that. So I say all this to say I won't be shocked if moving forward like this is an annual thing, and it already has been every year he's been here, that he goes out and finds the veteran quarterback from the portal. They make sure the anile situation is where it needs to be, and
that's how he's going to do it. And look, I'm sure other programs are going to do the same thing, but I think with Jeff so far, I really feel like he's been able to show that the way things are currently operating within college football, especially at the quarterback position, he could thrive maybe better than most. All right, quick break, We've got the five o'clock.
Hour coming your way.
Hopefully it's not snowing yet, because I'm sure traffic's going to be a nightmare. But stay safe, everybody. It's coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's n Sports Talk seven ninety