4.25: Draft Day - Hour 3

we make it work. And you know, there was a moment right when the show started two hours ago that I was thinking, you know what, I don't know what we're gonna be able to do, but look, we believe in the power positivity. And here we are, and we've got about fifty minutes left with you before we get out of here, so let's make the most of the

time that we have. It's coffee and company. As you likely know, we are fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety and obviously the NFL Draft has been a big part of the conversation today. That'll continue to be the case. But I do want to get back into some basketball stuff coming up here shortly, just because as James Scott has decided to move on. I guess we'll know. I don't know. Maybe there's no deadline from here, there's no way to know, Like, all right, let's wait

till this date and then we'll find out. Is he's still considering Louisville, his Louisville still pursuing him, And just given what I know about James, I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if there's anything public. I think maybe if he has an agent, he probably does, maybe the agent will be able to, you know, put out there to one of the college basketball reporters. As far as what's going on in his recruitment, I think that's already happened to an extent. We know NC State and even Texas

Tech I think is getting involved. So I still at this point in bringing him up as if like there's maybe a chance that he decides to come back. But maybe I'm completely wrong in that. I mean, I don't think we know for certain what led to him deciding to want to hit the portal. I mean, I talked a lot about it yesterday. We don't necessarily need to

reset it. But you know, James is one of those guys with his relationship with Pat Kelsey and just seemingly him being a guy that is content in whatever you need him to do on your team. I just I never would have expected him to transfer, but you know, he's a reminder that anybody can transfer it any time. So therefore, or if players do it, we shouldn't be surprised. So we've had a couple of people ask kind of

the same question of the last couple of days. Do I believe it's more so based off of money or role? And again, I don't know. You know, nothing would really shock me with James other than him being a guy that's like, you know, letting his ego get in the way, and he's bothered that Casin's coming back and might take a big chunk of minutes from him, or maybe he's hurt Sonny for who's gonna be a big factor. Like to me, he's just never really seemed to be someone

that is worried about those kind of things. And look, it's human nature to want to be wanted and want to have a big role. And you know, nobody, I don't care if you're the most selfless teammate in the world. You don't want to sit the bench, You want to play right like, but you know, in props to those that can embrace whatever role comes their way, and James has always been somebody that I thought, you know, was

one of those guys, and it's rare to find. And I think, after talking about it at length yesterday, maybe I was just wrong. Maybe he is somebody that that that you know, does want to be more of a focal point. But I also think he you know, what makes me still hesitate to think that that's the case with James is that one of the strengths about him is that he's, like everybody keeps telling me, and I'm not disagreeing that he's one dimensional. He's just a dunker

and all that is, you know, all that is true. However, you know, there's something to be said about a guy that is content with just knowing that this is what I do and this is what I'm gonna stick with. You want to work on your game, you want to develop. But at times where James Scott looked like a walking turnover or you know, a real concern when he had the ball on offense, you got to keep in mind he was never really supposed to be in those situations.

And it wasn't even because like he was trying to take over and go one on one. It's because when you're out there playing thirty plus minutes a game and you're that you know, you're that that much of a non threat offensively unless you're dunking the ball. You know you're gonna find yourself at spots where, okay, shot clock's running low, like you've got to do something, And that's where he looked like he didn't belong at times. So again, I don't know what it is that led to him leaving.

Maybe it's money, maybe it's role, maybe it's both. Maybe it's wanting to be close to home. But you know, Louisville's going to have to figure out something to look if they didn't add any anybody else, I mean I'd be surprised, but I also wouldn't act like, Okay, we need to really readjust what expectations are. I mean, Jamescott'll

be missed. But again, the production is not something that you're going to have a tough time making up for because just simply by bringing in Sonny, a healthy Ali Khalifa, a healthy case in prior, that alone is going to give you way more production than what you're losing with James Scott leaving and if others can kind of collectively work together to give you, you know, what he gave you as far as being a really good screen or a guy that can convert above the rim. You know, I

don't know if that's Sonny. I think Cason is a guy who's clearly athletic, but he's not. He's not James Scott as far as just the length and athleticism overall. So we'll see what they end up doing as far as filling out the roster. But yeah, there's still some good players out there, and I want to make sure I didn't get to it yesterday, so I promise you will do it before we're not out of time. Today there are better players of it in the portal than what I thought.

not this year, but certainly over time. There are certain players who have who've held out and you know, been viewed as some of the best players in the portal, and they just assume, Okay, look, somebody's going to give me what I want, because I mean, I'm that good and they have such a desperate need for what I do. But you know, like PJ. Haggert is at his name of the kid from Memphis, like he wants four million dollars.

Here we are a week into him being in the portal, I don't I've not heard of any team that's willing to come close to that. I mean, not that I would know, but like you would. All the reporting on him is that a lot of schools are just backing off because they don't they can't justify the spend, and they also don't like the idea of letting a guy know, hey, if you come here, yes you will be our point guard regardless of what happens. Like that's just not that's

just who would do that? Right? Also? Are j Luise? I mean, he was an All American caliber player for Rick Potino at Saint John's. He was one of the first players I saw that hit the portal. And of course he's a big name that everybody would want. But I haven't, you know, And just because I haven't heard much about his recruitment doesn't mean that he's you know,

that he's he's having a tough time finding suitors. But like, I think some of these guys that are holding out this late in the game, I think it's because they have yet to get the money they want and they're holding out hope that somebody offers. But you know, if you don't get the money that you want, you're gonna have to lower your ask or you won't play. Like

that's just that's just what it comes down to. And there was a guy last year that did it, but he wasn't as big of a name, but Aj Store was actually the Chucky he burned back court made at Wisconsin, and he he was I mean, he was better than Chucky as far as statistics, as far as production. In fact, Chucky had a pretty good sophomore season, kind of a breakout year. And then next year Aj Store transferred in from I believe Saint John's and he kind of, you know,

he became the lead guard for them. He transferred to he transferred and wanted to go to Kansas and he you know, I don't know if it was his representation or who it was, but he was pretty clear he wanted north of a million dollars and you know, kind of played out bad for him because he didn't get I mean, he didn't get what he wanted or close to it, and he ended up going to Kansas for way less than what he intended. And then you know he also had like a very underwhelming year where he

was like their eighth ninth man. So you know, there could be what I'm trying to get to is there could be a scenario where you've got guys that are holding out for more money and you know you haven't even pursued him because you knew one you couldn't afford him to even if you could, you wouldn't spend what they want to be paid. Well, then they change, you know, their agency's going to tell them, look, we got to reset, we got to reset the market. It's not what we

thought it was. And that could put you in position to maybe, you know, get involved with the player that you felt like wasn't realistic. So you really never know how it's all going to play out, which makes it exciting. But also you know, for Louisville, I think two days ago when we got the news about Casein, I was of the opinion, all right, anybody else you get as an added bonus, I like the roster as it is, I feel pretty good about it, and I still do

feel good about it. But James Scott is somebody that, you know, let's be honest, as much as you don't as much as some people don't think that he's going to be a real loss and that you think that Wolves will be able to make up without him, and you may be right, I don't. I don't believe anybody who was of the opinion of, yeah, who cares if

he leaves? I mean maybe now you think that, but I don't think there was anybody on the team as far as returning players that played last year that like we were thinking, yeah, they're not good enough to play here. I would imagine they're going to transfer, and that's best for everybody. I mean, look both, here's the reality the Portal has shown us already. No matter who you are,

you're replaceable. Like clearly you're gonna look like if you're in the mid may Oh, let me back up, if you're in the mid majors, it's a different story because, like you know, you have guys that realize after a couple of years at the MAC or in the Sun Belt that they're better than their league, and you know, the likelihood of you being able to get a guy in the portal that can replace what you lose. I mean, that's as that coach we played the sound a couple

weeks ago, who's at Norfolk State. I mean, they're not even really mid major, but as coach said it best, they are absolutely the new Jucos because they have recruit players to come in and you know, they have to sell them. Come here for a year and we'll let you have the keys to the to the car and you can show what you can do and move on to the higher level. I mean, that's got to be your new pitch to get these players, because that's just kind of how things are. That's how things operate now.

But overall, I mean, there have been examples of teams that lost some like for example, Chucky Heburn and AJ Store left Wisconsin last year and it looked like Greg Guard was done, like how can he recover? And Wisconsin they weren't elite, but they had I mean, they had a really good regular season and it wasn't as if they were, you know, one of the top teams in the country. But I'm pretty sure with all the players they lost and you know who they added, nobody thought

highly of them. I think they were picked to be one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, and they were one of the better teams in the Big Ten for a good stretch of the season. Now, they ended up getting that kid from Tanji from Colorado State, and that's another example. I don't think they had or anybody had a clue that that guy was going to be as good as he was. He was an All

American caliber player for them. So, you know, I get the overreaction one way or the other about landing players who you think they're going to put you in a position to win a national championship. And I get the reaction of losing a player that you never thought would leave and you didn't want to lose. But man, I think there's been enough evidence that'll tell you this stuff will all work itself out, you know what I mean. Like it's you know, there's really not many in college

basketball at the high level. If you're a good program with resources, yeah you may take a net loss, but like it ain't the end of the world, Like you'll if you are the program that you know has the resources, meaning money, you've got a coach who's had some level of success. You should be able to, you know, to get by, and you know you don't want to just get by, you want to win at a high level. But you can. I mean, look at Carolina. I mean, I know they're coming off a bad season. Like Carolina's

losing five star McDonald's Americans players that are good. I mean, I think that means anybody can lose players. So anyways, it's Coffee and Company. Where feel about? Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven and let's get back into the NFL draft here, because as I'm looking here on the television,

they're showing Jackson Dart highlights. It'll miss. And I mean, I won't claim to be a quarterback guru, right, I won't claim to be able to know who's going to be who's gonna be great, who's you know, who's going

to be a bust? But he right now. And it's not like I have a loyalty to Daniel Jeremiah, But the first NFL mock draft that popped up for me here was from NFL dot com and that's where Daniel Jeremira works for the NFL Network, and his mock draft as of earlier today, he has let's just go quarterbacks real quick. He has cam Ward number one. I think it's pretty clear that cam Ward is going to be

the first player taken in this draft. And then after that, I'll just give you the top five Travis Hunter to the Browns, number two, Abdual Carter the edge from Penn State going number three to the Giants, and then the Patriots taken the offensive tackle Will Campbell from LSU, And the fifth pick is now Ashton gen Z, which I mean, I talked about it yesterday, him being somebody that I was just surprised to see being projected to go so

early because I think he's terrible. But I just think like using a top five, top first round pick on a running back to me just kind of seems like you're you're behind the times. But then again, I mean, they're on a rookie deal. If you if you mean, it may be the best time to take them if they're that good, right, because and this is just this is sad to say, but it's the reality. Given the way running backs have have kind of played out in the NFL in the last decade or maybe in a

little bit a little bit longer than that. The likelihood of a running back being worthy of a of a of a max deal off the rookie contract. It's just not it's just not realistic, you know what I mean. Like, so, yeah, you'll pay him on his rookie deal, but that even if he's great for you for a couple of years, maybe three years. You know, there's history that says that the majority of the guys who didn't get the big contract that are drafted early, it's not a good investment.

So you know, you could maximize the running back in his prime years and just know that we probably won't be needing to give him a max contract to where we've invested an insane amount of mine. I mean again, maybe you do it and it works out, because there are some examples. I mean Sakwon Barkley, I mean, I don't even know did he get a second deal with the Giants. I kind of feel like he did, but I could be wrong. Like I felt like he came

out of college a long time ago. Either way, they chose not to pay him though, and that's why he ended up in New York, right or in Philly? Right?

he's not worthy. But I just think the running back position, while I think that it's somebody that you know, put it this way, if you were drafting somebody in the top five, which according to this that's what would happen. If that's who the Jags take more often than not, the best case scenario is that it's somebody that is going to be your franchise player for as long as possible. I think maybe the strategy here would be he might be, but that's look, even if he's great, running backs just

don't last as long in the NFL anymore. So you know, maybe the Raiders who might take him, or maybe the Jags they're taking him, thinking hey, this guy's special. For the next few years, he won't be a long term piece, because that's just you know, running backs aren't that anymore. I mean, again, Derrick Henry, somebody's already mentioning him on the text line. But you know, Derrick Henry's one of one, right, I mean, who would you compare Derrick Henry to as

a running back? I mean, guy's built like a mack truck. So you know, the elite of the elite. You still see those guys play longer than most, but the vast majority of the running backs that enter the NFL out of college, I mean, they just don't have the same It's almost like it's a totally different type of job than every other position in the NFL. And you know,

I hate that for these guys. But I also I also understand, like, if you are in charge of an NFL franchise, you got to make you know, you got to make funinancial decisions that puts your franchise in the best situation for the future, and giving guaranteed money over many years to running backs has been proven to be

more often than not a waste of money. So anyways, back to the mock draft year, the next quarterback to be taken, according to Daniel Jeremiah here at the NFL network is in fact the guy we just mentioned who is Jackson Dart. So the the let's see they have him going, well, okay, here we go. So the Giants have the eighteenth pick. But this is what I don't know in this mock draft, and you would know more than me, Austin here in like he said, projected trade

with the Seahawks. He's predicting that that trade happens right, like, there's not already a trade in place, right okay, because that's what gets what gets confusing for me because I'll never forget it. This is the one that just comes to mind. But it wasn't new. But when Donovan Mitchell got drafted, everybody knew that he was going to the Utah Jazz, but he had to wear the hat that was the Minnesota Timberwolves because it was their pick and

it was being traded. I'm like, if you already know the trade is in place, like for years you've known that pick now belongs to this team, Like, why would you do that? Anyways, long story short, he's projecting that the Seahawks trade up at the eighteenth pick to get Jackson Dart, which maybe that happens but I'll bring that up because this is this would be an all time NFL story. I mean, again, there's not a whole lot

of drama to it. But if you are a Giants fan and you have just been wondering, you know you've been you've been sleepless in recent days, wondering you know who your franchise is gonna draft because you wanted to get turned around and your franchise has been a joke. And then you know you might have gotten tipped off by what's going to happen because the gm his teenage son accidentally posted well I don't know about accident, but he leaked it the night before the draft. But the

Giants were drafting this young man, Jackson Dart. So if, in fact, if the Giants draft him, regardless of if they're trading him or they just want him, I mean, in the end, it there's really no net loss, right, it's just a bad look that it got leaked that way. But also I mean it just it's another sign again overall Jackson Dark may be great, like maybe he's the guy who saves the Giants, but it's also so New

York Giants, meaning that they don't make good decisions. They're not well run despite being, you know, the team in the biggest market in America. Like that, everybody found out who they're picking the night before, when usually this stuff is like top secret super stuff. The Giants don't have the number one pick, They've got the seventeenth pick, and if everybody finds out about it from the teenage kid

posting on Instagram like that would be hilarious. Again, there's not really much more to it than that, and again it may still all work out, but like that was a very New York Giants type of story in my opinion. So all right, the rest of the way here, looking at the projections, you've got shid or Sanders. Have you seen where he's projected to go, because this is the second mock draft I've seen in the last ten minutes

that has him going in this spot. Do you have any clue which spot I'm talking about?

like they've usually made it work. Now again, they're getting a little stale with Mike Tomlin, But like, can you see Mike Tomlin dealing with the diva that is shit or Sanders?

wins and you got to compete. Now. With that said, Mike Tomlin could also on the other end, Austin be the perfect guy to kind of make him grow up, maybe, since that's what I'm thinking, Yeah, yeah, I think we were kind of thinking the same thing at the same time, like maybe this is the guy that is not his father, but he respects him as a hard nose coach that he would buy in for, because I feel like there's certain coaches that unfortunately his daddy's dion and his dad's

a phenomenal player himself. His dad's coached him a lot of his life. Like I'm just trying to think of a lame duck, like wimp coach, Like I could just see shit or walking all over a lot of those guys, right, Yeah,

not Mike Tomlin. So yeah, looking at the rest of the the rest of the first round here, I mean there's obviously some names that are In fact, Kentucky's got a player that's expected to be the first round, which is I mean, I remember this name, but I didn't realize he generated so much love from the NFL during the draft process. Maxwell Harriston, the cornerback of Kentucky. He's going to be there, oh is he?

for him. And it's really not something it's not something that like, you know, it's not something that we can say, wow, everybody was wrong, because still I mean, at the end of the season, I don't think anybody thought he was for sure to get drafted. Now I think he is for sure to get drafted. And despite all this love and this buzz, I don't think you heard a whole lot about well, hey he's going to be taken super early,

you know what I mean. It was more so just like, hey, this guy's in the mix too, And I think overall most have said he's probably third or fourth, and as we get to draft day, which we're here, I mean, it seems as if those three are going to be the first taken and then he'll probably be the next

in line. But when that could be, who knows, right, Like, could be a team in the second round that once a quarterback, could be a team in the third round, could be a team late first, that just says, look, this is the twenty ninth or thirtieth pick, whatever it is, and you know, we don't need a quarterback right now. But we think this guy's really good. We know if he goes to the second and third round we won't get him. We'll take him, We'll let him sit back

and you know, kind of go from there. I mean, I'm looking at and I can't There's not many yet. I looked at this the other day. There's not many teams in the later rounds that would be in that position, right because maybe although maybe the Lions, right, I mean, how much longer do you think, you know, Jared Goff's got it him? I mean, obviously he's resurrected his career in a way that a lot of people didn't expect.

But I mean, I can't see him He's been the league ten years, hadn't he I can't see him being around that much longer despite having you know, a real kind of you know, I mean, I thought he would just be a placeholder for them for a little while and did not see him being kind of the guy that helped them get get you know, relevant for the first time. Seemingly in my life.

offensive line is like your biggest one. You want to you want to do everything you can to protect JJ McCarthy.

billboards in those markets. They're not the ones that, like you see everywhere, it's usually you know, the quarterback, the running back, or the scope position players, or maybe like a cocky defensive back who's got a lot of personality. Right. But you know, there's been many picks that were taking really early of those guys up front that a lot of people just kind of don't think about. But I bet you could ask gms. Wouldn't shock me if you asked gms that did it a long time, that had

some good picks and some bad picks. I bet they would tell you that some of the some of the best investments they made were getting those guys because again, they don't get as much pub But as you said, the Eagles, I mean that's quite literally what what did it for them this year? Yeah? Like they they clearly are pretty good in other areas too, But you know they're upfront. They're just physical to push you around, and you know that's still that's I think that'll always matter

in football if we're being honest. So all right, quick break, We'll come back for a couple of quick segments before we wrap this thing up. Let's uh, let's let's finish strong here. It's Coffee and Company. We're fueled by Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

There have been instances where guys get drafted and then they realize that like they never had any conversation with any team, and I'm always curious how that ends up happening to where somebody will take you. And yet you felt like, Okay, I don't have to worry about them taking me because they never they never showed in me, they didn't have any I mean, clearly they're aware of you. I'm sure that's their job to know who's out there.

But you know, if you're going to do a one on one interview or I guess really your agent is the one who will tell you which teams are showing the most interests as far as wanting to further I guess, you know, interview you other than just watching your film

and seeing you at the combines. So my guess is that when that does happen, it's more so because if they did have a big boy, or maybe they had a position that they really really wanted that they just they literally did not get any of the guys that they thought would be there. So and then also Ashton Jilotti, I mean I keep seeing you know that he's generating you know, good reviews as far as just you know, people acknowledging that he's a freak athlete, good size, was

very very productive in college. But also you know, he was double teamed a lot. I mean, his production, it really his whole career was good, I mean really good. But you know, as a senior there'd be games where he just wasn't super active, and some of that might have been on him. But if you go back and look at the film, which I'm sure the NFL does,

I mean, they realized that he had developed. I mean put it this way, getting him back was a huge thing for Louisville and you didn't really get a lot of, you know, games where he just dominated as a senior to where it felt like it, but teams had to double team like he had done enough in his career where he probably wasn't even supposed to be a senior. He was probably supposed to be in the NFL, but obviously nil as a factor, and he wanted to come

back and you know, improve a little bit more. And you know, by the time he was a senior, even if his numbers weren't super stellar in the first few games or whatever it was, every team knows we got to account for this guy because he's you know, he's pretty special. So you know, I don't I don't. I don't know exactly where he's he's expected to go, but certainly he'll be taken in this draft. I think right now Louisville has three guys that you know for sure

are going to be taken. As far as where it's it's up in the air now. One guy that I don't know is Jacorey Brooks. I mean I haven't, I mean I kind of forgot about him. And I don't mean because you know he's forgetable player. He was special. I mean you could tell when he was making plays this year connecting with Tyler Shuck that oh yeah, there's a there's a it makes sense that that guy was catching touchdown passes for Bryce Young at Alabama when Nick

Saban was coaching them. But you know he uh, he only played it for a year, So it's you know, it's still something that's just you know, even Shuck, like I mean, clearly I feel like Shuck's our guy and him being getting drafted will certainly bode well for Louisville's representation in the NFL and all that. I mean, there's no guarantee of what it does for you, but it can't do anything but help you when you're putting guys

in the NFL. So but you know, when they're only here for a year, it's just it's a little bit. You know, it's just different. You know, it's not something we're used to. I mean, I feel like Bob six years ago, because there was no portal and just because you know, things were so different. More often than not, if you're getting drafted, I mean, one you couldn't. You couldn't go after just one year, right, Like you had to play at least two years before you'd be eligible

to get drafted, which is still the case. But guys going pro and they are they only had been at their school one year, like even that's was that used to be a real rarity, and now you know, it's kind of become it's kind of become the norm. But you know, Jacory Brooks one of those guys that I mean, right situation, right offense, I mean, I could see him having a pretty lengthy NFL career, all right. So I don't even know if this is worth really getting into,

but it was a big talking point yesterday. And I think it was right around twenty four hours ago, almost to the to the to the minute, that we had somebody bring this up on the show, and that was that Travis Perry. Yeah, with somebody who listens who's from Eddieville, Lion County that happens to be a Louisville fan, which I would imagine, sir, you were probably outnumbered. I would imagine that you're You're probably not alone, but I would

say you are very much an enemy territory in Eddieville. Kentucky, where I would imagine the majority of their natives or Kentucky fans. But he mentioned being a Louisville fan and asked if I thought maybe Pat Kelsey and his staff would would get involved, And you know, I guessed that they wouldn't because you know, they already have guards in the portal, and I don't really know what they could sell.

I mean, Travis Perry, he would have a better time competing in the ACC than he would the SEC in basketball. But if he was to decide to come to Louisville and they pursued him, I mean, he would be walking into a situation that is rather similar to the one that he left, meaning you know, he's behind some guys. I mean, I still think he's a good player that will have a good career. In fact, here's what I could see happening. I could see Perry going to a

place like WKU and then jumping back up. That's what I could see happening, just because that's now becoming a trend. But anyways, Louisville is one of the schools that reached out of court to Joe Tipton of on three Sports so Ole, miss Arkansas, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Iowa, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU WKU in South Carolina. So clip that's a huge list of schools and too early to know which way

he's leaning. But the reports that Ole miss is really coming strong after him, as well as Maryland, which of

course they just hired Bus Williams. So you know, again, I don't think he'll ever end up playing for Louisville, But I was thinking earlier today when I saw that report that he if you consider you know, I don't know people were listening at the time yesterday when I mentioned this, But to me, his biggest issue this past year was that he was put in a position to where he had to kind of be their backup point guard.

And he's really not a point guard. Like I just don't think he could probably manage being the point guard for you. But if you're gonna get the most out of what he can do, you need to put him off the ball and when to shoot. And he played point this year because of injuries that they had, and he struggled at times, not only you know, initiating offense and creating for himself and others, but he struggled defensively, but he did get some open looks and he just

didn't knock him down. And I know, Oh, I'm not the only one that has said this. He's one of the best shooters I've ever seen in high school. Like he is. I mean, he's a flat out shooter. He's one of those guys. At any shot he misses, you feel like his go way in because he's that He's just got a beautiful shot and you know he can he can, he can shoot it. But I guess if you only watch him Kentucky this year, you wouldn't know that. So hear me out like I don't I'm not I'm

not saying this is going to happen. But like he if he does get his shot to fall, he could be Rain Smith because Ran Smith. Think about it, like Rain Smith is somebody that is not super athletic, big enough but not big, quick enough but not quick. And Rain was elite because of really two things. One elite shooter, but also like he knew where he's where he had vulnerabilities,

he stayed away from that. Like Rain was a good player, Like I'm defensive at times because instead of just saying Rain was a good player, people just say Rain was a shooter. Well, it's both. Like, if you're a really really good shooter and you know you average fourteen and a half fifteen points a game, you're a good player. Like you know, like it doesn't have to be well, you know, he's not that good. He can just shoot it. Well, let's not check. That's a big part of being good

and scoring points. So you know, again, probably not even worth bringing up. But like Rain was not a point because that's just not what he does. But you would think, Okay, if you're going to play at a high level in college basketball, you know, they can't put you at two because you know you're not You're not quick enough to take somebody off the bounce. But if you you know, like Rain, one of the things he was so gifted at that you know, obviously making shots, but he could

move without the ball. He could float to the perfect spot at the perfect time. You know, he could probably take off, you know, in the half court somewhere and three passes will be made, but he knows where to be when that fourth pass is coming to him for a shot. Like it's a beautiful thing to see. Obviously him just making shots is awesome, but like there's things he could that he was doing with as far as moving, understanding spacing that like that's really what because there's a

lot of guys that can fly out shoot it. But being able to find a way to get open regardless of what's going on, knowing how to manipulate screens, knowing that you've got screen action coming, and you know that the defense is prepared for it because they scouted you. So now what are you gonna do. You're gonna slip it, You're gonna fade. I'm talking ball now, I'm about to pass out here. But like he was, he was. I mean,

I'm joking obviously, but he was. He was good in a lot of ways that a lot of people probably didn't realize. So maybe that could be Maybe that could be Travis Perry somewhere. All right, let's see, let's gohea and get to our final break because if not, we'll run out of time. Let's do that, We'll come back on the other side, wrap this thing up. Talk a little more. NFL Draft is we're now just two hours

and fourteen minutes away from this thing getting started. And only say that because I'm watching ESPN and they've got this clock countdown going on. I don't know if that's like until they officially start their coverage of the event or that's when the first pick is, but either way, it's getting close. So exciting stuff, no doubt stick around. It's Coffee and Company. Feel about Thorton right here on Sports Talk seven.

can be my path to the NFL. So during the break there, I saw that Miami their for their Twitter account, they posted a video of cam Ward probably today looks like he's at the draft, you know, just to thank you to the Hurricane Nation, Hurricane family, like, you know, Miami fans, and you know, that's that's that's a pretty typical thing that you would expect. But it kind of hit me that Miami having a quarterback taken number one in the draft is kind of wild, and he was

only there one year. But when you talk about the you, when is the you going to be back? Are they finally back? I mean they've had some bad years, some bad teams, but they've also had some really really good talent at times. But quarterback play has always kind of stunk. Like I can't think of the last quarterback that they had that we felt like was pretty good. I mean, there was the guy who was there. Gosh, I remember he came here when Louisville was playing during the COVID season.

He had a pretty good game and he was a fine quarterback by garn King. Yes, yeah, and he was good, but I mean it wasn't to the situation that like he was you know, he was good, but it wasn't like he was elite, and he certainly didn't translate to

the NFL. So anyways, I just went through and looked, and you know, Miami, in my lifetime, I'm thirty six years old, be thirty seven in July, They've only had one quarterback taken in the first round in my lifetime, and that was back in nineteen eighty nine, a year before I was born. I think it was. And I don't even know who this guy was. Doesn't mean he wasn't good. Maybe he was. And I'm just an idiot and don't remember the NFL in the early nineties, but

this was the guy's name was Steve Walsh. He was taken as the number. He was taken in the first round as a quarterback, and then from then on. I mean, they've had some other quarterbacks taken, but this will be the first quarterback in the first round since nineteen eighty nine and they have nothing to show for it. I mean, they weren't bad this past year, but like Miami has been in decent spot, in a decent spot as a

program at times with talent resources. I mean, they've been the team that everybody has been kind of not desperate to be good, but like they've got just some kind of flare about them that like, you know, they're the you like they their brand was so strong when they were good that even today it's still something even if you didn't experience that, you know it, right, And yet their quarterback play has just been subparts held them back. It's not the only thing, but many program I mean,

when you think about it. There are programs that haven't accomplished anything close to what Miami's done in the last twenty five years, but they've had some good quarterbacks. Miami hasn't. Well, now they have cam Ward who's going to go number one overall, who would have won the Heisman probably had it not been for Travis Hunter being the best two way player we've had in college football, like ever, And what do they have to show for it? Nothing? I mean,

are they cursed? Like if they just beat Syracuse and fran Brown at the end of the year, they're safely in the tournament or in the play and they probably wouldn't have gone deep. But last I checked, the playoff is kind of going to be viewed as like the it's like the final full equivalent of college football, Like it's still something you can say, we made the freaking playoff.

So I mean, it's got to be a punch in the gut to Canes fans because the likelihood of you having a quarterback this good, even if you get good ones consistently, which you don't like, it's rare. He's that good. And you know you weren't bad, you were successful, but it was right there for you to get to the playoff, and you just couldn't get past Syracuse, and you know,

the rest is history. We all know. Like I mean, so I don't know, I'm not picking on them, but like, I don't know, it just seemed like, I mean, I've always anytime Wolves played Miami, we've talked about how like it is wild because for as much as Miami has flair and you know, they have some real good history tradition, the quarterback play has kind of always been, you know, not good, but the lot will be desired, absolutely. And the last quarterback that they had, you know, that was

even drafted was was it Brad Kaya? Maybe?