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. Hour number two.
Here on a Tuesday afternoon Coffee and Company, Philbeth Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety take us with you wherever you go.
Listen live on the Aheart Radio app.
Also listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com. If you were thinking that the lack of I mean the games themselves. We didn't really get that many games in the in the first and second round. There were some games that I feel like we're really entertaining, really close, But regardless, people still watched in a major way, because this is the most watched first and second round of
the NAA Tournament in thirty two years. I mean, the average viewership I think I saw was nine point four million, which is just crazy to think about, but also not that crazy. I think the biggest difference in college basketball that I don't think is as noticeable is not necessarily just the guys that are, because it's really obvious to notice that a team has a new starting five every year,
and most of them come from the portal. Right, I mean, that's that's that's something that's very noticeable if you follow along. But I think what has been low key a big factor in the.
Product being better.
And you know, guys, well I'm trying to I think overall, dudes just deciding they want to play college basketball a lot longer than they used to.
That to me, has given us.
The biggest to me, that's the biggest factor in what things are so different now. Again, what's leading to that is the money, right, because now they can stay in school and make money. So maybe, I mean, I guess the money's a bigger The money's the reason they're doing it. But that is why you have, I think, a better product.
And you have veteran teams, guys that are twenty three, twenty four even at times playing college basketball, and I just think we're slowly but surely getting over the You know this, dude, we shouldn't be letting guys stick around that long. Because here's something we talked about a little bit yesterday. Even if you don't get a fifth year because of COVID, and you don't have a red shirt to burn, if you stay in four years, if you
stay as a four year college player. You know, you could be twenty two or you could be twenty four. I mean, some guys don't enter college until they're I mean if you go to prep school for a year, or if you just you know, we're held back a year growing up, like it's it. I mean, I think a lot of a lot of freshmen that start playing like that enter the college experience right out of high school.
I would say.
More of them are older than eighteen than eighteen. Maybe I'm way off there, but I just think that's, you know, with prep school and that kind of stuff. I mean, that's and a lot of kids are held back on purpose just because they want to, you know, be a
little bit more competitive in sports growing up. So you know, I think we've all known that there's been a lot of changes going on, but man, it just it seems like with this with this Sweet sixteen in place, they're no real big upset in the first weekend, looking at every starting lineup in the Sweet sixteen and to see where all those players that are starting in the Sweet sixteen where they started their career as to where they are now, it is just it is it's on full
display that this is really a different world than than what we're used to I real quick. Some things to hit on that we haven't discussed just yet.
The UFL Football Proday.
Is going on right now, and obviously there's a lot of former Cardinals that are showcasing what they can do in hopes of getting some attention from the NFL personnel that is on hand. But obviously Tyler Shuck what he's been able to do since his career at Louisville ended by generating all this buzz, maybe being the third quarterback taken in this draft, that's led to more attention for Louisville Pro Days than I feel like we've had in
quite some times. So haven't heard a whole lot as far as feedback or as far as updates is you know how things went. But the couple updates I did see for those they're covering, and it's that, you know, Shuck continues to look the part, which is not a surprise. I think we knew all along. Hey, this guy's pretty damn good. In fact, early on in the year, when the losses started to pile up, it felt like.
Man, are we going to do this?
Is this going to be one of those years where we really had a great quarterback that we only got for one season, but we didn't have anything to show for it. And maybe some will say that that was the case. I still believe going eight and four and finishing and nine and four when it's all said and done because of the bowl game. You know, for me, that's that. I know they could have been better, but I don't view it as man what could have been.
I mean, maybe if Tyler Shuck ends up being a really good NFL pro, will say that down the line, but I'll worry about that when we get there. Sticking with football, not something you see very often in late March, but there's an acc opening as Stanford has fired their head football coach, Troy Taylor. I mean, I gotta be honest with you. I don't even think I knew that was their head coach. If you'd ask me to tell
you who Stanford's head coach was, I really don't. I mean, I think I would have probably just told you I don't know, and then I would think, Okay, I should know because Louisville just played them in a bowl game.
But yeah, he was there.
Wait a second, let's see, he's no way Okay, never mind, I'm sorry, my mistake. Louisville lost to Stanford this year. They did not play Stanford in a bowl game.
I'm an idiot. Apologies. Who did Louisville play in their bowl game? Washington?
Yeah, Washington, I'm getting packed former pack twelve schools mixed up?
Yeah, Stanford Beach. There was something that stood out about it what you're trying to say about Louisville and.
Stanford this past football season, and it was it was, you know, my brain wasn't letting me realize what it was, and it was that Louisville lost to this awful team in a game that again not to dwell on the twenty twenty for a football season and what could have been because I just mentioned, like, I still think you can can say that you maintained some real positivity, maintain momentum,
I should say with Brahm after two years. But also, I mean, that was a game that, as far as everything that happened, for it to end the way that it did with you losing in the way that you did was just awful. It was quite literally like a script that had to be followed precisely. Execution had to be perfect for you to lose that game with them getting that moment with the field goal to beat you.
I'm not, in no way am I insinuating they were trying to lose, But I'm just telling you visually, you could could have You could have convinced me that they were trying to because it was insane.
Dude, no one was there at that stadium.
I mean that along with the fact that I mean just the the timing and the type of penalties you got, the type of mistakes you made late, it was like you were trying to do whatever was possible. Because I'm sure I'm not correct in saying this, but it felt like quite literally everything the only thing that could that you could do to put Stanford in a situation there with that makeable field goal with that amount of time left, was what would happened? I mean, I mean it was.
It was a nightmare, and that coach is now fired. So general manager Andrew Luck made the decision. So that of course got a lot of attention when Andrew Luck was hired to be the GM and you know, kind of help Stanford, his alma mater, get back on track. But I never thought about it from that aspect. I mean, I think when I think of a GM of a
college basketball or college football program. I think of a younger guy who works for the coach that's really there to just crunch the numbers and manage you know, boosters and you know, really honestly handling nil and being the guy who and honestly, if there are coaches that are that are all about getting a GM, I think a lot of the active coaches those that are again are trying to maybe they already have one, or maybe they're
pushing for their athletic director to create that position. They're doing it because they don't want to deal with agents because a lot of these guys aren't represented by actual agents.
They're represented by you know hustlers that you know, dm them on Instagram or Twitter and tell them, hey, you should you should let me represent you because like they're I mean, that's the biggest gripe that I think a lot of coaches have, and it's and it's a legit one that they don't want to be talking to some some twenty four year old kid that's fresh out of college with his sports sports administration degree that's out here acting like he's, you know, this elite level agent like
Jerry maguire.
I mean, that's the right movie, isn't it?
And that was okay, just make it sure second guessing myself now with that goof about about Stanford. But anyways, Stanford's got an opening, and as far as who they hire, no clue. All right, So the portal opened up yesterday, and there's an endless amount of names that have already entered it, and we'll talk about some of the names that I feel like you should should be aware of
because of their potential connections or actually not potential. I mean, there are some guys out there with real connections to Louisville. And let me be clear, I'm not talking about guys that used to play here. I hit on this at the end of the show yesterday. I don't understand when you see somebody who was at Louisville who left to transfer elsewhere that is now transferring again. I don't know why.
With some there's this instincts of there's the instinct of like, all right, we got to reevaluate do we want them back? I would say ninety nine point nine percent of the time if somebody is transferring away from a program after they've already left Louisville once they're not in any way
thinking about coming back to Louisville. And it's just turned into Louisville having like some little and again I'm probably talking to a very small group rather than the majority, but like it's just turned into us crapping on dudes who used to play here for like no reason. It just seems it seems kind of much. But one thing you guys have heard me talk about with everything changing in college sports is that, you know, coaches, they should
just deal with it, right. I mean, they make enough money to where they need, you know, them having to make some adjustments to the job. It's not the end of the world. And again they're usually the high some of the highest paid guys in their state, to be honest with you, So I think both things can be true. As unpopular as that is. To look at things, they are a bunch of complainers and whiners and doing that
doesn't help anything at all. But also at times they make valid points to where like it is a big difference and it is hard. It is hard to do it, especially if you are somebody that's been doing it twenty five years and now out of nowhere there's a big change to it, Like it is difficult, but again both things can be true, right, it's difficult, but wanting and complaining about it is gonna do no good and it just honestly is. There's I don't see a scenario where
that would ever help you. But with all that said, the portal opening up while the NAA tournament is going on is really really stupid. That's really really dumb. The portals should officially open, I think like the Monday at the next Monday following the national championship game. And I know the portal being opened during bowl season is a
real distraction for college coaches. That's an issue, but I understand that that's because you know, you have semesters switch like it's it's more so the calendar for student athletes that that makes that makes it that way, right, Like, if you're going to be transferring between semesters, you you don't have a whole lot of time. Therefore they have to give you some some type.
Of a window.
And there's really no window possible where everybody's you know, got down time. The real downtime is coaches who you know, didn't who didn't do enough to even go to a bowl game. That's why you're seeing coaches decline Bowl games programs to cline Bowl games because there's nothing really for them to gain by playing in it, and they'd be better off getting out of the situation they're in, meaning not Bowl eligible, by putting all their attention on going
and rebuilding a roster and getting better. So I don't understand why the portal opens the Monday after the first weekend of the tournament. But it just it's it's it makes no sense. And tom is, oh, he he didn't, he didn't, he didn't want to.
Well, well, my team's done has been incredible and I'm not ready to move on. So jud I've followed what you said. You know, I'm gonna worry today. But the guys I got in this program that have done an incredible job this year, and that's it. And if that costs me later, so be it. But Tomzo isn't cheating the people that he has that have been loyal to him for this chaos that is going on out there.
I don't know why you had to be so aggressive about it. I mean maybe that's just is Oh, he wrot He's wired pretty tight, right, But.
I mean.
He did at least lay out like the real pitch that should be made to the NCAA. Why this is because again, if coaches are complaining about it because having to do more, I mean, again, this is a legitimate complain.
This just makes no sense at all.
But if a coach is having to take away from an experience that, you know, is something that all these guys are probably going to remember for the rest of their lives. Maybe not everybody, because right, if you're a sweet sixteen team, like every year, that's one thing. But honestly, again,
think about this. I mean, if you're a Sweet sixteen team every year, your roster's not the same every year, right, So, like, there may be guys that the Sweet sixteen is a big deal to them because prior to being you know, where they are, the sweet sixteen is pretty routine. They were at a place that if you didn't win your conference tournament, you weren't you had no shot of making it.
I mean, you got guys starting in the sweet sixteen who started their career at places like Decane, Moorhead State, North Texas, Saint Peter's, Iona, Washington State, Belmont. I mean, there's logos here out of Delaware Drexel, Dayton, Kennesau State, Ohio, North Dakota State, Campbell. So you know that that again, we didn't need to hear tom Izzo to know that
it's really stupid. But if you wanted to do it and make it about the student athlete, which they're not really anymore, they're paid pros, that I mean, that is such a distraction whenever you should be so focused on again, what's right in front of you? Chance to go to an Elite eight and maybe then punch a ticket to
the final four. All right, it's Coffee and Company and weird Field about Thort's here on Sports Talk seven ninety This text came in a little bit earlier, and if you guys want to text ten, you can five O two six five. I almost did it, almost did it, almost said the old number five O two four to three eight ninety seventy three is the leen N Federal Credit Union text line. We had a text from one of our regular listeners, Kirk, who asks when the light bulb turned on for me in becoming a die hard
Cards fan. Unfortunately, it's a sad moment that I feel like I had the realization that this that you know, I'm a diehard now, and I'm not even sure I knew what a die hard was then or if that was even like a how people described somebody that's really really into a team and they let it impack their emotions more than it should. But when Louisville lost in the Elite eight to North Carolina, when Dwan Wheat had the bum ankle, it was that Anton Jamison Vince Carter team.
That was in nineteen ninety seven.
I was nine years old, and in fact I was I think I was eight going on nine, and that sucked. And I remember, for the first time ever being like genuinely heartbroken about a team losing and a season being over. That was my first team that I really really just you know, fell for. I remember teams prior to that, but I think I was young and naive to the
point where them winning and losing. I loved him so much that like I didn't I didn't really care, if that makes sense, the young naive kid and me was like, well they could lose by fifty I still love them and they're my team. Go cards, you know what I mean. Or whatever we were saying back then, I'm sure we were saying now. Yeah, Well no, he's yes, Yes, to.
Your point, he a bit more cynical.
Well, he's I feel like he's well advanced compared to me, because I mean, I mean, I don't remember if I knew what anything was it for, but he was this worked out perfect because this team this year was the first one for him that like he did follow along
he screen during games. But I do like he knows that they're that they lost in the season's over, but he's not sad because it's there's still a young innocence about him that like winning and losing doesn't doesn't doesn't define what he thinks of him, you know what I mean.
Like he's not dealing with that.
He's not dealing with you know, rival fans, a daycare, you know what I mean. Like he's just he's just in his own world, loving it, loving his cards. So
he's got it made right now. Wouldn't be nice to not have this show Virginia transfer possible, I mean, I mean, and that's one of the things that you know, he's starting to not like he doesn't he's at least had some awareness that all these guys that he loved this year, like most of them are gone and that I think he didn't understand that, and he still doesn't, you know, as far as big picture, but I did have to you know, we're gonna have to there's gonna be all
kinds of new players next year, and in a way he was kind of excited about it. But you know, he's like, wait a second, So like that's it for rain Smith, Like what about Chucky. I'm like, well, they're gonna play elsewhere and aren't they playing for us? And I'm like, you know, so he didn't really get it, at least not you know, big picture.
That's a good thing.
So for me to answer the question, Kirk, it was it was then it was whenever Louisville lost in that game, because that was the first time I was you know, I was sad in a way that it was over. And uh, from then on, like I was a lunatic as far as it, you know, diehard.
Lunatic, whatever you want to however you want to describe it.
But like last week leading up to Thursday, and we could go today like when we were two, we were forty eight hours out from the game, Like there's no scenario what that does to me can be good for my health? My life expectancy. But it's also what makes it kind of special. What makes us crazy is also what you know we tell ourselves makes it makes it a special thing. All right, let's get to a break. We'll come back on the other side. Kevin Willard in
a very unique spot. I want you guys to hear something he said on a radio in you today that is just very unusual for a coach that's just a couple of days away from playing Florida, the number one seed in their region. We'll get to that and a lot more. It's coffee and Company, Feel abouth Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Now back to Coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
All Right, five out, two five, seven, one, seventy nine hundred. If you want to give us a call, text line, that's always an option five vote, two four three eight ninety seventy three. It's the LNN Federal Credit Union tex Line. We'll get back to some texts coming up here shortly. But a lot of a lot of names entering the portal today since the show started. Donovan Dent that is
New Mexico's best player. There's a good chance that at his position, maybe overall, even when we get months down the road here, that this may be the best overall player in the portal. Because we're talking about a guy who was the Mountain West Player of the year, which, of course that alone is is impressive, but his numbers twenty point six points per game and six point four assists per game while shooting forty one percent from three, and he was top fifteen I think it was in
the country and both scoring an assist. I mean, the guy's really special. So to me, he's the guy that at least as of right now, will probably be able to pick wherever he wants to go to school, given that they have, you know, the money. I mean, to me, he's a guy that you'd have a hard time imagining a program, you know, not wanting him if he wanted
to come there. But what you really never know is who's in contact, right, like who has who's been tampering And I hate even using the word tampering because I mean it is, but it sounds like I'm, you know, being a real stickler and wanting people to be held accountable for breaking the rules, And yeah, you should be held accountable if you break the rules. But like it's one of those things that quite literally everybody's doing it, and if you're not doing it, you're gonna get left behind.
Like you really can't blame it, buddy, if you're not doing what you have to do behind the scenes in order to you know, compete, rather that be and look if you actually and if you if you are a coach that is directly reaching out to a player who has yet to enter the portal and get released, and like you're putting receipts on there, then you're just an idiot. But you don't have to do it that way, right,
Like you can talk to people who know. And that's why these guys, anybody that enters the portal with a no contact somehow they were tampered with. I would imagine it's probably done the smart way, where everybody knows that there were conversations going on behind the scenes, but you didn't, you know, directly put yourself out there to get in trouble. So he didn't put a he did not put a no contact U in there. He did say that he
was open to a return to New Mexico. But you got to keep in mind, like he's so good that New Mexico is probably gonna have a really really tough time, really tough time competing as far as you know in IL and.
Look, money matters.
So he started his career in New Mexico and really last year when they became the best, I mean, they got to the tournament a year ago and he had a good season, averaging fourteen a game. But now this year he broke out. He's one of the best players in the country. Now another name that just enter the portal that had a no contact which again probably just confirms that they know where they're going. That's why you put that there is don't contact me. I don't need
anybody to reach out. I know where I'm going. That's Elliott Caddoh who just played for Carolina this past year. Was probably I mean, he was a top think he was a top fifteen point guard or to top fifteen recruit, and that you know, that's that those guys that you know come in with the five star billing and the McDonald's All American label. You still want them, but they just you know, you can't live solely off of that anymore.
And I think everybody knows that. But he's somebody that when I see no contact, like, I wonder if he's just decided, Yeah, I picked Carolina when I came out of Link Academy as a five star recruit, the number twelve player overall, but I picked Carolina over Texas Tech, and now I want to go to Texas Tech. Like I mean, that's not to say that Texas Tech is the school, but it's probably.
Something like that.
Or again, maybe he put it out there through his people, his agent, that he was going to be leaving, and the agent did his thing to let certain people know that, Like it could happen as easy as this. All these guys have representation now, so if the representation, agent, agency, whatever, they know that somebody's going to be looking to leave.
I mean, those agents can then reach out to the high school coach or the AAU coach of this player, and that coach probably still has a relationship with the coaches who recruited said player before they ended up at their first school, and that again, I guess technically you can say that's tampering, but I feel like if you're not doing things like that, networking in that way, you're
going to get left behind. Trying to see if there's any other big names, and there are some names that I think it's worth following if you're a Louisville fan, one of them being a former Charleston player who I really never knew, and I did have somebody reach out to me yesterday to tell me that this young man and Tay and te Borozovic, I think Brazovic is is how you say his last name, first name. I'm probably
not saying it correctly. But you know, of all the guys that were going to potentially transfer and follow Pat Kelsey from Charleston to Louisville, you had Rain Smith obviously, and James Scott, who we knew right away, and then later Kobe Rodgers ended up following along. And the best player though for Pat, was was uh Brazovic.
Brazovic? Am I saying it right? B r z O V I C? How would you pronounce? That's? That's what I think, or maybe the be silent. I don't know.
He's a good The Internet is a powerful tool. So I'm gonna go to let's see, I'm gonna go this is from how to Pronounce dot Com. It's gonna tell us how to pronounce this guy's name, because I have a feeling that he's probably gonna be a name we should, we should, we should keep an eye on.
Brasovic, Brasovich, Brasovich. All right.
So anyways, he was the he was the player of the year last year meeting when Kelsey was finishing up at Charleston in that conference, the Colonial Athletic Association. So he averaged eighteen and eight along with three assists this past season, and he's one of those guys that will need to be granted another year of eligibility.
And this is what I'd like.
This is put out there by Joe Tipton of On three Sports. He reports he's entering the portal and then goes on to say the sixth and senior average. He mentions his stats, but he says we'll need to be granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA. Played D two as a freshman and spent the last three years
at Charleston. We'll go through the NBA draft process. So this is something this is somebody that really is gambling, right, So like I would imagine Louisville will have a chance to, you know, to get this guy if they want him, although I don't know, maybe you know, maybe it comes down to a money thing, and maybe Louisville just wouldn't want Like maybe Pat Kelsey loves this guy but realizes, Okay, when it comes to the money we have to utilize,
I think we could probably get a better play. I mean, I'm just saying those that just assume it's a foregone conclusion that this guy follows Kelsey to Louisville, I mean, if so great, because I think he was the absolute type of big that you just didn't have on this roster, and you did go and tried to get Now I was told by somebody yesterday that he did.
Pat Kelsey did.
Want him to follow him to Louisville, and he chose not to because he did love it at Charleston and he loved knowing that he was going to be getting thirty plus minutes a game, like he was the man. He was the Raining Conference player of the year, and he really enjoyed that. In money wasn't as much of a factor because I believe when you're not, like if if you're here on a visa student visa, you're not, you can't make anil. There's ways to get around it.
But like rain Smith couldn't get an il the way his teammates could because he's from Australia.
Same.
So again, when you when the money's not a big selling point and you already know you've got big man on campus role as far as getting thirty plus minutes a game and your player of the league, player of the year in your league, I mean, when the money's not not not available elsewhere, like it makes sense to stay. So Chris Mack was able to convince him to stick around, So he may want to follow Pat to Louisville. Now
Pat Kelsey may want to make him a priority. But now we just have to wait and see if he's going to be granted another year of eligibility. And I don't know what would make him eligible. The only thing I could think of was that he played Division two. But that's not the same thing as the Diego Pavia ruling that led to all JUCOL players whose eligibility ended this year getting an extra year because of the lawsuit
that he won. Because I'm pretty sure the argument was and it sounds like you can argue anything against the NCAA and they lose, But the argument there was that you can't tell me that I've exhausted all of my eligibility when yes, I've played four years of college football, but only two of them were under the n C double A umbrella under your you know, you know, your your your institutions. The n j C Double A is a completely different thing JUCO. Therefore, you you should not
be able to count those against me. So he out of lawsuit, with that being the argument in E one, which again that's why guys like Javon Hadley in case in Pryor their their eligibility was expected to be over this year, but because one of those years was at least one of those years was JUCO, they now get an added year. He played D two, which is an
NC Double A school. Therefore, I don't know, I don't you know, I don't know how you would make I mean again, JUCO is different because it's a different it's a different organization, right, it's a different entity, whereas D two is still in C double A. Now, what I don't know is when you transferred up from and again maybe this they wouldn't even matter. I was gonna say, when you transfer up from D two to D one, prior to the portal being a thing, did you have
to sit out. I don't think you did. But again, that's a name that people are going to be talking about for Louisville. Makes total sense. But again I want people to remember he has to get a year of eligibility that I don't know where that's gonna come from.
So I didn't even realize this, to be honest with you, whenever I'm whenever, I was talking about players in the portal that are just, you know, hit entering the portal and hoping that they can get a because this guy's out of eligibility, Like as of now, he does not qualify for the same situation that other guys that win JUCO. He's just entering the portal and gonna see if he
can somehow try to squeeze out another year. And I hope that he can, but if so, it'll probably just be another sign of how close we are to the nc DOUAA fully being one thousand percent useless and serving no purpose at all, because like this, this is like somebody who played D two, Like if this kid was granted eligibility because they're saying what he did at the
D two level doesn't count. I mean, you could have dudes who just finished a four year career, All American caliber career at the D two levels, saying at twenty two, I'm going D one now and I got four years left. I mean that just I mean, I guess we are in a world now where nothing should surprise me. I just think that's that's a little a little far fetched,
all right, real quick. I mentioned the pro day going on over there at u of L for all the former level football players hoping to make the jump to the NFL. And obviously, Tyler Shuck has been not only the most talked about guy from the Louisville side, but he's been one of the most talked about quarterbacks in this draft because he's just emerged as this guy that with every opportunity to show what he can do, he seems to get more and more buzz and more praise,
and that's been awesome to see. But Ashton Jilotti for years now has been viewed as the guy that has the you know, the guy for UFL that has the most the best chances of being.
A really early draft pick.
Right Like, Louisville had a great run of having guys taken early in the draft, and then they had a stretch where they didn't have anybody taken in the draft for a while, or at least not anybody taken high. And now Jelatti, I don't I don't really know where he is as far as draft stock as of right now. But Ian Rappaport of the NFL Network just put this out about twenty minutes ago, says Lowell.
Edge rusher Ashton Jalatti.
A name that is already generating buzz as we get closer to the NFL Draft. Ran a blazing four six three forty yard dash today at his pro day in front of NFL representatives, and there were representatives from all thirty two clubs. So Ashton somebody that I'm not forgetting about. But his senior year, I don't think there was anything that would make you believe that his draft stock.
Was going to fall.
It just turned out to where he had been so good in college for so long that routinely, I mean, it was a rare situation if he wasn't being double and triple teamed. So still a lot of talent there, and I wouldn't be shocked at all if he has a long and successful NFL career. All right, let's get to our last break here, in the four o'clock hour.
What I want to get to coming up here on the other side, we will let you hear Kevin Willard, who I don't I'm not doing this for like entertainment purposes, but to hear him sort of talk about what most coaches don't talk about publicly at all. He's doing it. And it's right before he's getting ready to play a one seed when he currently has no boss because Ady just left. It's just a really unusual situation here that I'm fascinated with. So stick around. We got a lot
more to get to. It's coffee and company, and we are fuel abou Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven.
Ninety Now back to coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
I have not followed much of the women's in CAA tournament really at all. I did see the Louisville TCU game the other night, obviously not a good one for Jeff Walls and his squad as they fall short, losing in the round of thirty two, which I believe this is just the Is this the second time or maybe the first, No, this is the first time Walls has gone back to back seasons without making the Sweet sixteen, which you know clearly.
That's not a good trend.
But anyone, and I mean, I mean, anybody claiming that like Louisville needs to like look in a different direction. I mean, I don't when I see people claiming that here and there on social media, I don't knowhether they're trolling or not, because I mean, Walls quite literally.
Created this program.
I mean, no disrespect to those that came before him and whatnot, but there's not a program on Floyd Street that has had a bigger rise based off one person who's still currently there than Jeff Walls and the louis
Women's Club. So I mean, yeah, I mean it's not ideal, But I think Jeff Walls is like every coach dealing with the new world, and I think he knows that his best way to succeed is to still get hungry young players that have a lot of talent, and you may you may end up losing them, but I think if he can keep the majority of the young, really talented freshmen and bring in some good pieces in the portal like he has in recent years, that to me, is the best formula for him.
And uh, I mean, I think if they.
Get a lot of these girls back from this team, and I know some of them, obviously you won't because they're gonna graduate. I don't I don't think that we need to worry about the future of global women's basketball just yet. But losing to Hailey vanlith that certainly sucked. Which it was wild to see ESPN bill that as the Haley Vanlyth revenge game. Revenge for what four years of her being a complete superstar, four years where three of them included Elite eights, one of them was a
final four. I mean, anybody, I mean, anybody building that is anything. As far as any animosity, I mean, it's it's a it's a force. I don't know if u l feels, you know, nothing but love and hugs and kisses to her, But I don't think there's any I mean, I think it was just a separation and both sides went their own way, and you know, that was it. I guess she did kind of take I mean, honestly, if anybody was away about it, it would be her.
If you remember, there was the scenario where they could have met last year in the tournament at LSU when she was there and she made some kind of a snarky comment.
She was very much I felt like her time.
At LSU was a disaster for her because one she she did kind of stand out as not being able to compete at the same level as the rest of that starting group, and I just think she was uncomfortable. I mean, I don't think she I mean, I think she was really trying hard to fit in with with that and it and it didn't work. She had a really good year at TCU, and you know, she had
a great college career and she has it. I mean, I'm not sure what in the world she could think negatively about her time here, and I don't and I honestly don't think that she does. It's just weird that ESPN tried to bill it that way, But I guess it's just to try to generate more interest, because as expected, without the two superstars, two polarizing figures like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, you just you don't have the same interest in the game, and that was to be expected.
But did you see these numbers?
Austin the first round of the women's tournament, drew three hundred and sixty seven thousand viewers, down twenty two percent from last year. If I'm honest, I would have expected it to be more down than at it than it was. Yeah, me too, just because it was so much I mean it was interesting last year. I mean it just was it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing where they had to build up with two very high profile superstars in that sport, and it generated more interest
than they're typically going to get. So down twenty two percent, but it is still a second most watched since twenty thirteen.
So there you go.
All right, We'll let you guys hear the sound from Kevin Willard in the second and the five o'clock hour because I've let myself round out of time. But real quick, speaking of women's basketball, just an awful, awful situation with Juju Watkins last night as she goes down suffering a torn acl and I mean she's the new I mean, she's the biggest star in the sport, right. I know, Paige Bucker's came back and she's great, and she's clearly a marketed superstar as well, But Juji Watkins, I feel like,
I mean she's in LA. She kind of already had some built in fame and hype when she got to USC and she's I mean, she's in all kinds of commercials.
I mean, she's she's a superstar. And she has a torn ACL will obviously miss the rest of this tournament, and she's likely gonna, because of the timing of this injury, she's likely going to miss the entire year next year, which is a real bummer, not only for her, but it's also a real bummer for women's basketball because, let's be honest, the nil world changed the women's game one thousand percent. Where they weren't leaving early for the WNBA
often right because you know they wouldn't be made. I mean, they're not running to go play in that league. And I mean I know maybe you did have girls leave early. I just didn't pay attention to it. But now, like if you were, if you were in the top tier women's college basketball players, you are you're making good money. So obviously she'll still I mean, she's gonna be just fine. But she was one of those that I think could really bring a level of, you know, fame and attention
to the sport that you just don't often see. So I'm sure there'll still be other stars and whatnot. I don't want to act like it's the death of college basketball, but you know, you need superstars, especially a league that's continuously trying to grow. You need players of that caliber to be healthy and play. And it's gonna be a
while before she can play, which again, you know, really sucks. Yeah, it looks like she's gonna have Yeah, it was a right knee and you could tell as soon as she went down that it was serious and uh yeah, just a real real bummer. All right, we got to five o'clock hour coming your way and a lot more to get into, so stick with us. I can't believe how fast the first couple hours went by, but we'll finish strong and let you guys be a part of it. Phone lines are open five h two five to seven
one seventy nine hundred. You can text in on the LNN Federal Credit Union text line five oh two four three eight ninety seventy three. Get it locked right here on Sports Fox seven ninety