It's time for coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now, here's Nick Coffee. That's right. Hour number two Coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. And we're gonna get our second hour started by bringing in a guest. He is David Hale, who covers college football covers the ACC for ESPN. David, how we doing, brother? Having a good summer? My man, Uh yes, I'm trying not to. This is like you know, I used to see
kickoff of course next week. This is like going into your last weekend before school starts again when you were a kid, like you got to you gotta maximize it. It's also kind of slightly depressing. Oh yeah, I mean
i'd say the the vibes around the ACC as a whole. I don't know if i'd say depressing top to bottom, but I'm sure that's I'm sure some are because that just it just nobody seems to be happy and it's understandab So before we get into the specifics of the a SEC situation, and I'm sure next week we'll still leave Charlotte with a lot of people asking questions that we
don't have the answer to. But as somebody who's done this as long as you have, give me, you know, talking season, you know, the biggest complaint and something that you actually maybe really like that nobody would expect. Right, So obviously the big twelve, the secs there's is ongoing. Now you've got the ACC next week. But you've done this a long time. Give me your big like, what what is the biggest annoyance for you when it comes to these events where you know, people just yap and it
seems like everybody's going through the motions. You occasionally get some good stuff, but you know, I'm sure there's one thing that you just are a dreading next week. Yeah, I'll give you a very good example basically from SEC stuff that's going I wasn't even add SEC, but I can. I'm aware of it. So two things. One, it annoys me that like the
same dumb questions get answer asked again and again and again. It's a whole bunch of time invested in getting And so I will give you a good example of this, which is that Mike Elko today was at SEC Media Days and spent half the day doing god knows what, And then, like mid afternoon, was finally asked about the fact that he will face Notre Dame early this season and Riley Leonard, his former quarterback at Duke, is Notre Dame's quarterback
and what is that going to be like? And his answer began with, I can't believe it's taken this long for somebody to ask me about it, Like, stop asking dumb questions. Let's ask thoughtful, smart questions that we get something good out of. And then the flip side of that, which is the best part about this part of the year, is that every now
and again something dumb turns into something really fun. And so, for an example, Greg Sankeie goes on the radio the other day and basically says, Georgia was the best team last year but got left out of the playoff and you didn't hear the SEC complaining and hanking hanging up fake banners and YadA, YadA, YadA. Oh, and it's just so perfectly college football, angry, stupid, dumb, needling. Oh, it's all the best of how
immature this lovely, lovely sport is. And I can't wait to ask Florida State about it this week when we get to Charlotte for ACC media Days, and I hope Mike Norvell, who was probably literally a breath away from taking the Alabama job, will just go all scorched earth on Greg Sanche. This
is what I'm hoping for. Well, that leads me to where I was going next, which I'm glad you did when it comes to Florida State and Sankie, of course is the SEC commissioner, Like do you think that the report that came out earlier this week and it was a good breakdown from Red McMurphy for the Action Network getting quotes from folks that you know from the report are clearly connected more so than a lot of us. Like does Florida State one out of the SEC because or the ACC? I'm sorry, because they
feel as if they could get in any league they want. Do you think that maybe they got served some humble pie like to me, realignment stuff, it's the biggest Like who really knows what's actually going on? I mean, I think oftentimes people forget that, you know, there are presidents and chancellors and board members of these universities that actually have more of a say so than
anybody else, not just the AD or the football coach. But do you feel like Florida State might have been shocked to hear that earlier this week and could it lead to them maybe? You know, I mean, I doubt they're going to back off the lawsuit now, But what do you think? What did you make of that? And how do you think they took that
news? Here's what I'll say, And I am in no position to counter any reporting that Brett McMurphy has done, and he's an excellent reporter, so I have no doubt that the folks he has talked to have said that. The folks I have talked to around the Big Ten have perhaps less energetically said like, yeah, we're not looking to expand pick now. And I think
that is one hundred percent accurate. Sure, but the notion that Florida State does not have a seat at the big boy table in one of those leagues is I think patently absurd in the big picture, Like, yes, right now, it is not going to happen. The Big Ten is just starting a new TV deal, We're still figuring out what the future of the playoff is. They've just added four new teams that have yet to play a game in that league yet. Florida State does not know what their media right situation
is. There's too many unknowns for anyone in either of the SEC or the Big Ten to say like, yeah, we want FSU like it just doesn't work that way. And so I think you're hearing what is basically the company line right now and what is all sort of this very back room sort of I don't know, de facto negotiation that nobody's really at a table negotiating. They're sort of negotiating through their quotes. Here's what I will say, and
I truly believe about Florida State, and this applies to Clemson. Two is that people are asking the wrong question because at the end of the day, Clemson and Florida State will have a home wherever they want one. The question is not can they get into the Big Ten or the SEC. The question is how much money will they be getting from those leagues. So we just saw Oregon and Washington effectively say yes, we'll take forty cents on the dollar to join the Big Ten to get an invite. We just saw cal SMU
and Stanford say we'll take nothing just to be invited into the ACC. The question is what is appropriate for Florida State and Clemson. What do they need to get to make a move worthwhile? And what are those two leagues willing to pony up. If Florida State's willing to go in on the same sort of deal that Oregon just took or Washington just took, the Big Ten would
be stupid not to jump at it. But then you have to ask the question, why would Florida State pay all this money to get out of the ACC to go to the Big Ten to basically be making the same revenue that they're making now in the ACC with a harder path of the playoff. Florida State and Clemson want more than that. So to me, this is all a negotiation to some extent over what the eventual payouts might be if this happens.
We're negotiating in courts on one side to see what it's gonna cost to leave, and we're negotiating in the press on the other side to see what it's gonna cost what it's gonna cost the Big Ten of the SEC to get those teams to come. That's a very well set and I think the expansion talk from the Big the Big twelve is out there because they clearly could use more value. They I mean, I think they're doing a pretty good job
bre at your market keeping their name out there. I think they're not afraid to to you know, they're the first ones I believe that put it out there that hey, we'll sell sponsorship to the name of our league if it brings more money to our members. But the SEC and the Big ten, they're not just going to expand just to do it, because they don't really need to. And I think there was a comment earlier this earlier today from Sank that I feel like is pretty obvious and not many people think about it,
and maybe he should say it more often when asked about expansion. We're not going to just start sharing more pieces of the pie for no reason. That that's not it. You know, it would be, it would be a gift, and that's one of the expansion doesn't happen just to do it. There's got to be some kind of a reason. And maybe sometimes that reason is far down the line. Like I think when you add and I want to get your thoughts on this, when it comes to the addition of
Stanford cal and SMU again. You know, those guys came in and they just wanted to find a landing spot and get away from their league, and
you know PAC twelve is dying. But also so that if you were, if you were able to, if you were ever going to lose a stand Ford or not a stay for but a Clemson or an FSU because they were able to find their way out, Like there's that there's that arrangement with ESPN that the league has to stay as it is at fifteen members, and if it falls below that, ESPN can step in and kind of say, look, we can reassess the situation, and you may not even make the money
you're making now that you're complaining about exactly right, So there's usually some other thing. To my knowledge, the best of my knowledge from the sources that I've talked to, the SEC, the ACC, the Big ten all have the similar sort of language within their media rights contracts that suggest that if they were to expand that there would be a pro rada increase in what the TV
networks have to pay out. But there is so you're not really necessarily losing a ton of money if you do if you add, and there's some caveats to that, so I don't want to say it's all equal, but you'd be you wouldn't necessarily be losing money, but you're you're you're changing the calculus both in the short term and the long term, and you're impacting the TV partner that you have that you want to maintain a good relationship with. So
you're not expanding unless there's a reason to. Now, the ACC, as you very eloquently put it, had a reason to. It was an insurance policy, and it was an insurance policy they were basically getting for free. Yep. So you do it rest on the other On the other does the SEC need this? I think there's a good question about what the value of Florida State and Clemson when you have teams in those markets already in your league is. On the other hand, Florida stateon Clemson make a lot of sense
for the Big Ten. If you're trying to go toe to toe with the SEC and invade their footprint, that makes a lot of sense for the Big Ten. Now you flip that back again and say, well, if the SEC's goal is to hold off the Big Ten, well, it makes sense for the SEC to want those two teams to keep them away from the Big
Ten. There's politics behind a lot of this, but again you're matching the politics or the need or the value that they provide with what it's going to cost you, and you're doing a long term and a short term calculus. And again, I think at the end of the day, those two teams in particular provided value to either of those leagues. It's just what is that value? How much is it worth. David Hale, ESPN is our guest
joining us here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Let's say, if I mean, can you lay out what potentially could be the best case scenario for the league overall? Meaning obviously the lawsuit drop because Florida State and Clemson find a way out. I mean, that's that's that's that's viewed as what was likely going to be the death blow. I mean, I guess if you don't have a league to jump to, they'll just all band together, but it'll be nothing compared to what it you know, what it used to be.
So is there a scenario you could see that down the line in a few years, there's not as much infighting, there's not multiple lawsuits going on, and you know, the league maybe isn't making the same money that the SEC in the Big Ten is, but at least they are united, and there's not belief that eventually this thing's just gonna blow up. Uh. I have a hard time seeing an endpoint that is that the big blunt. I'm with
you, man, I totally agree. I think you can. You can suggest a storyline that says, for the next three to four years, you can maintain the status quo via court cases and appeals, and nobody's going to be particularly happy, but we're maintaining and moving forward. You know, the vast majority of folks that I talk to, the power administrators within college sports, both inside the ACC and beyond, are almost, i mean almost sort of resigned to the idea that we're going to get to a power to at
some point, or a super league or super leagues at some point. A question is when do we get there? And what's the you know, how much turmoil is there between now and then? You know, I think that's what a lot of folks are preparing for. That's each step that we take in terms of just you look at the you know, often ruling through the latest court stuff, where we're going to be revenue sharing and stuff like that. I mean, all of this sort of brings us back to a greater
diver between haves and have nots. And I just don't see a path unless there's something that you know has not even occurred to any of us that allows the ACC to keep pace financially with those two big boys. And at some point, if you're the ACC, I mean this is the bottom line is that for the longest time, conferences existed because the sum was greater than the
individual parts. But right now as it stands, I think Florida, Stayton, Clemson, and maybe others including North Carolina, Miami or Virginia could make an argument that their individual part is greater than the slice they're getting from the
sum of the whole pie, and that's why they want out. And again, I just I struggle to figure out what the math is the calculus is that changes that dynamic at this point, What do you think the rest of the league, as far as those that are in leadership roles athletic directors, presidents, and I guess we could even throw coaches in there. How do you believe that they feel about Jim Phillips as far as how he's doing in
that role. Yeah, my sense is that the majority of the frustration comes is either directed at John Swofford for decisions that got us here before Jim phillips time, or at university presidents who have really stuck their head in the sand for way too long. And I think there is some reasonable criticism of Jim Phillips, but I think a lot of the stuff that people criticized Phillips for
is either a just sort of his personality. And you mentioned bretty Ormark earlier and how he's handled things at the Big Twelve, and without question, he has won the PR battle. I don't think the Big Twelve is in any way in a better position than the ACC is currently, but he's won the
PR battle hands down. But the other side of it is is Jim Phillips is working for a lot of university presidents and chancellors who view this through a much much different prism than I think a lot of us who are very college football focused to. And so you've got schools, I think in places that are just you know, happy to be getting the check that they're getting for
as long as they can get it. I think you have others who are just in flat out denial or or ignorant towards just where things are with college sports right now. And then you have a handful and that certainly includes Florida StatET and Clemson that have seen the writing on the wall for a while, have been, you know, banging the drums saying, come on, people, we've got to do something, and something has not happened. And that's
where they're real frustration is. It's not Jim Phillips, it's just, you know, the lot that they're in through a lot of I think lack of vision that has existed around this league for a long time. Man, you could not have said it better about those because I think you are spot on with those three tiers. You have those upset feeling like, okay, as you mentioned, you know, we we we're bringing more than what we're than what we're getting as far as we clearly feel as if we're entitled to more
because we do bring value, and there's others weighing us down. I think there's that middle that understands that, hey, if there is a you know, if the league gets poached, we're not going to be probably in the top six. So they're kind of like, well, hey, things are okay, and we're cool with it. You know, we're all stuck together that grant of right steels ironclad. And then you have the others, like you know, the Boston colleges, who are like, hey, we're not
going to say a word. We're just gonna ride this storm out and hope that we don't end up, you know, not a part of a league like this. I hadn't looked at it that way, but I think there's three there's three layers there as far as how each member is kind of handling this situation. But Dave, you've been very gracious with your tom. I
have one more question before we let you go. We'll actually talk some football here, your predicted order of finish here, as far as who you think the three the top three teams in the ACC are this year, I'm very ill prepared for this, and I don't know that it even comes from my lack of preparation, though I have been working very hard to enjoy my summer. But this is the most wide open I can remember the top of the league. Because I think you can make look the obvious default answers are Clemson
in Florida state one to two in some order. But I think you look at Louisville, you look at NC State, you look at Virginia Tech, you look at North Carolina, certainly you look at Miami at this point, and you say, all of them have a very reasonable case to suggest we are a genuine competitor for the top of the league. And that's not even considering that there might be some you know, maybe have Virginia makes a big leap, or maybe Syracuse has a you know, they've done well in the
portal. There's teams that could could never count Claws in right, right exactly. I mean Wake Forest was not nearly as bad as their record looked last year. They just lacked a quarterback. So you know, I don't know. I will say this, and I say it very with a lot of trepidation. I think Miami is the most talented on paper team in the ACC. This will not be the first time I have said that. If they followed through by winning the ACC, that will be the first time that that
happened. So I don't think if you go by sheer talent, it's it's somewhere in Miami, Florida's State, Clemson, but I love the coaching at Louisville. I think NC State is really knocking on the door with as much particularly offensive skill position talent as they have had under Dave Dorin. And if you look at the way Virginia Tech ended their season and how much they bring back, they should be in that conversation too. I think it has a
chance to be a very fun year in the league. I also will be maybe a little bit surprised if there's a twelve to OHO eleven and one team at the end of the season, because I just I think there's a lot of good at the top, but maybe not an elite, elite team. David, you are the man again. I really appreciate you making Tom Forrest keep up the great work and we will talk down the line. My man, much appreciated. I'm going all right, take care. That's David Hale
again does a great job. That's a really, really good informative conversation. He he knows his stuff, and I feel like he is as connected as anybody when it comes to the ACC specifically. And I mean I actually want to react to a little bit of what he said as far as kind of guessing which schools are in those three tiers, because you know, I think
Lowell is in that middle. I'm not going to say that Josh Hurd and those guys are in denial because I think they know what's going on, but they're really there's nothing to do about it, right, But like, I mean, you know, they realize they're not one of those schools that can
claim, hey, we're worth way more than what we're getting. They're pretty can I would, you know, I suppose, And then you have the others like the Florida State's Clemsons, and then you know the Boston College the Wakes, who probably realized, hey, let's just stay quiet, all right, we got to run. And also, don't forget, we're going to play some Pat Kelsey sound that I've been mentioning throughout the show today, So
we'll get to that in a lot more. The rest of the way right here on Sports Talk seven ninety is this is this I'm gonna guess confidently, but my confidence is dropping by the second. Is this Dave Matthews Band Bingo. Okay, I feel like that was a no brainer, but I've been so wrong when I guess some of the music that you play that I just felt like, well, there's no way you knew that quickly. But this is their biggest hit by far. They're pretty there I mean they're a headliner
for Bourbon and Beyond this year. Yeah, who did they add Sting? Did I see that they did? Sting replaced Neil Young, who I believed out? Yeah, someone in his band got sick. I mean, like that, no offense to Neil Young, but like that's an upgrade, is I feel like it is? I mean Sting's a huge name, so yeah, good stuff. Dave Matthew's band. I mean, are they still touring? Oh yeah, they tore along putting a new music out. Yeah, because they had a I don't know, I don't know if they have a
name, like the Jimmy Buffett Crew had the parrot Heads. But like I know, people that have been to like twenty different Dave Matthews, it must be quite the experience because and you know they're they're I wouldn't. I don't know. I don't know if I'm the person that could claim their legendary because you know, I don't. But they've been popular for a long long time.
And when you can maintain your popularity without really putting out new music or new hits, that speaks to you know, the impact you had whenever you made you know, you became a big deal. I mean, they've been around a long time. Have you ever seen the videos of the like when like Dave Matthews himself is like, I'm just sweating. Yeah, it's just like a fool stage, you know, like people who've never it went viral a few years ago on TikTok. The younger crowd would see it and like,
man, what is he on? And then like the majority of the people in the comments were like, oh, you kids have no clue, Like that's just what he does, Like, that's that's his energy when he's putting on a show. Which it works because again they they they they could go on tours I feel like forever and continue to get great crowds and whatnot.
So shout out to Dave Matthews band. All right, So the conversation we just had with David Hale of ESPN, I thought he put it perfectly as far as the current members of the ACC and how they view the situation, because here's the facts. All of them are helpless, and some of them felt so helpless they decided to file lawsuits. That's what happened with Florida
State and Clemson. So if you're just you know, worrying about what you can control and not getting caught up in the rumors of expansion to the Big twelve, which is nonsense. And the obvious lawsuits don't really pertain to you
because you know it's out of your control. And I don't want to say it's not your business, because I do think as a league you would want everybody to, you know, work together, and you don't have to love everybody, right, there's rivalries within the league, but like the filing lawsuits against the league from Clemson and Florida State has just made this I mean, first of all, it made it clear that you know, they weren't gonna just act like they're not bothered. They feel as if they are being held
back by the league. But they also signed an agreement and it appears to be pretty ironclad. And again I've yet to hear anyone share any kind of insight as to it. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but you would think that if there was some some loophole, some you know, situation to where Florida State and Clemson really felt. I mean, they're just doing it, I think, wasting money and wasting time. But again, maybe they think if they fight long enough, eventually the ac C will Sarah, you guys
can leave. We're tired of fighting with you. I mean, I don't know who, but either way, top to bottom, it's there's really nothing any athletic director or even like a president can can do at this point other than what Florida State and Clemson are doing. And you don't want to do that because, to be honest with you, Florida State, I feel like their brand has taken a big hit in the last few days with what has
been said about them. And you know, David Hell mentioned that he he can't, you know, vouch for what was said to Bret McMurphy and what he reported in his story, but he also, you know, mentioned that he knows brettanc murphy is a great reporter. And actually, I believe what David Hill said of it. He says that the folks he's talked to, they weren't as adamant about like, huh, why the hell did anybody went
Florida State? And I'm putting words in his mouth. That's not exactly what he said, but he claimed he's like, yeah, we just we're not like we're not doing that right now, like we don't, you know, because again nobody's going to expand just to expand, and the SEC has no reason to expand at this point. Now, maybe in a few years they don't end up getting the value they thought they were getting with Texas and Oklahoma, and they feel as if they want to make a bigger splash. I
mean, maybe at that point they reevaluate it. But here's Greg Sanki earlier today, he was on one of the live shows that was taking place at the SEC Media Days. I think it's called uh Next Round the Next Round live stream, And I'm going to try to find the point within the clip to where he just because he was asked about Florida State, he was asked about Clemson, and he kind of, you know, said the same thing he said earlier this week, which is that, you know, it's not
his concern. You know, he's not going to comment on the legal side of it, but this is something that probably should be said more than it is, and that is, why would you want to start just giving out more pieces of your pie in giving everybody else less? Like it just doesn't make sense to do that. Our presidents have said very clearly we're not going to be entangled in legal issues around any consideration of expansion. So it's not
a conversation. Yeah, and we're not going to take our pie and slice it into more pieces that they have to grow the pie, and it's I have to be aware. So the question that led into this analysis is are
you like paying attention? So I have to pay attention. But I think we have this group of sixteen is an incredibly strong, well positioned group of sixteen universities and athletic programs and contiguous states, and there's not this need And in fact, what's happened over the last three years I think has explained why he did what we did. We've not been reacting, They've not been in
a position of trying to figure something out. In short order, we were able to make a decision, and there were other calls before Oklahoma and Texas reached out a decision that was right, that fits that that can continue to elevate all sixteen now from where we've been, and we've been in a pretty great spot. So I'm with David in regards to if in fact things blow
up. It's not a situation where nobody would want Florida stating Clemson, but it's you know, without with that you know, without any there's no exit
strategy currently from those two schools with other than other than the lawsuit. So you know, until that day happens, and you know, when you're desperate and you're Florida stating Clemson because I think if you paid a bunch of money to get out of the SE, to get out of the ACC, one of these schools would probably take you, but you wouldn't have leverage you need them, right, they don't need you, You would need them. And I think the lawsuits really did expose some real airing. It's not just with
the ACC. Meaning I think it's clear and it's true Florida State and Clemson have more value than anybody else in that this league when it comes to football. They know that, so it is true that they are, you know, the big dogs of this league. But to sue really showed arrogance. And I don't know, I mean, part of me says it's all just you know, what you'd expect other commissioners to say. But Sankee had said it earlier this week, took a pretty pretty direct shot at Florida State in
Clemson because of the fact that they're suing their conference. You know that I mean, I think there are others around the SEC and the Big Ten that now view these schools, especially Florida State, is not being a good They wouldn't be. They would be a disruptive member because anybody that would sue their own conference just it's I mean, that's unheard of, that doesn't happen.
And I guess you could make the case that they have a right to feel justified in doing it because they don't want to be making the same amount of money as Boston College, Right, but Vandy's making the same money as Alabama. Like, it's not it's not like you're you're not alone there, Like it's you're not the only school in a league that shares equal revenue with members that that really aren't worthy of a crumb of that pie. But that's just
how this works. And everybody working together collectively understanding that has has you know, that's a big part of I think how conferences kind of, you know, survive. All right, let's let's switch gears here, let's go to let's let's let's play some Pat Kelsey sound. Because he talked a couple of nights ago at the season ticket holders event, it was the selectest seat event, and I think Luke Hancock was the MC and I'm sure he did a
great job setting coach Kelsey up and whatnot. So we don't I don't have the full I mean I wasn't there and I haven't heard the full, you know, the full thing as far as him and his other coaches talking to
to the fans. But I did love this roughly two minute clip here of Pat Kelsey just doing what he's been tasked to do at this time, not only put together a good team that can get this thing turned around, but getting people excited about Louisville basketball and doing everything he can to make sure that when they open up the doors at the Young Center this season that there's life there, There's a lot, there's a good turnout, and you know,
you're reminded as a fan, oh yeah, this is pretty special. I miss this, and as a player, you're going to think, Okay, this is why Louisville was always believed to be one of the top programs in the country because they have this kind of support. What is the identity of the team this year. Well, I think the first thing that jumps out is our experience, right is we have an older veteran team, a bunch of veteran guys that know how to win at the highest level of college basketball.
So I think for me as a head coach in my first year, to have that type of team that is experienced, that is sammy veterans is great. Coach Carr talked about it. You know, we look for certain types of players. Obviously you have to have the talent ability and the length and the height and the ability to shoot, but the intangibles of how tough, how competitive basketball IQ? Do you make people around you better? And are you adaptable? Like these guys were carefully selected to fit what we're about.
And you know we're gonna be good. You mark that down right now. We're gonna be good. Get your butt out here, twenty two thousand strong. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your relatives, get out here. And I know this is coming in a little bit, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for the passion that you have for Louisville basketball. And some of you are out there and I know I'm supposed to do this at the end, and maybe we're getting close to the end.
Some of you are saying hopefully, but that's your show. Some of you may be on the fence of am I going to renew? AM? I got gonna renew. We need you. It's gonna be an unbelievably fun year. It's gonna be a team that you're gonna be a proud of, and uh, we're gonna do something really really show together. If you have
got your tickets, turn to the person next to you. They have it, not tell them, And when you go home tonight, tell people in the neighborhood as well that, like Coach Carr said, Louisville Basketball's back. Great to answer coach. So there's some other clips from the other assistant coaches that I may get to at some point, but a lot to unpack. But I think it'd be a huge shock if this is not a really fun
year. And fun is going to be different than what fun was for us ten years ago, right, because fun is something we've really, really, really missed. I mean it's not an exaggeration to say that the last few years were torture, miserable. I mean just completely something you never thought you'd experience as a lois basketball fan. So the bar for fun is so low.
And I don't say that to say louisll is going to be a five hundred team and everybody's just going to be excited because they don't suck anymore. And Kenny Payne's gone. I think they're gonna be good. Now, how good, I'm not sure, but he has capable personnel. He's proven to be a good coach, and this won't be a year where you really know, Okay, can Pat Kelsey take the success that he had at Charleston and really have that level of success here. You find that out in years to
come. But I just think the floor for this team is substantially higher than anything that's happened the last few years for Louisville basketball. And that could mean, you know, doubling the win total from year one, which would have been eight, which as they did last year. I mean, you never know until you see these guys in action, but I think the personnel is clearly as he said there. I mean, these are guys that have won, that have had success, that know what it takes to be winners,
that are not coming from a losing culture in any way. They've been a part of programs that have won, some of them at a really high level. Now some of these guys weren't winning you know, tournament game that took them all the way to the final four. But you know, there's something to be said about a guy that played three years at James Madison or you know, let's say, I'm trying to think of another example of a guy, oh Trail Ray at Long Beach State, Like you know that they've always
been good in their league. I mean, again, that's not the acc and there's not a bunch of deep tournament appearances. But I think coming from a winning culture as a transfer, now you gotta have talent, right. You can't just be a guy who was a part of a team and you didn't have a big role, but you know they were successful. I mean, you might be a good locker room guy, but you got to be able to actually bring something to the table, and all these guys do.
So I think this team is going to be good. I think fans are going to be over the moon about anything positive. And in times it may feel weird because you'll think, like, hey, why does it feel so good to beat you know, Popcorn State by fifty we that's the expectation. Well, it's because of what we went through recently, and I think nobody. I mean, I hope there's not a whole lot of bringing up the last three years once this season gets started. But let's not act like it's
not something that impacted how we're viewing things going forward. So I'm so excited for Louisville basketball. And I know I've said that many times and it gets repetitive, but the last few years were miserable, and louisvill basketball has been
something that for so long has just given us joy. I mean, there's been some things along the way, some shenanigans, but to be honest, when there was some scandal and whatnot, at least we were winning, right, Like whenever the palace stuff happened, like that was terrible, right, But louis was in a good shape as a program as far as wins and losses. And I know that, you know, you got to worry about, you know, scandal and that kind of stuff, but like we've been
lifeless as a program. I feel like in the last few years and Pat Kelsey has already injected life into the fan base, and I think the results are going to be clearly good enough to where you'll feel as if, Okay, this was the right move and none of us will know for sure if
it is or not until you get a few years in. But this and I wanted to compare it to Scott Saderfield's first year because Louisville was so bad in Bobby's last year and Sack came in and you went from being quite literally the worst Power five team in the country to where you were competitive for a half with Notre Dame and you were beating ACC teams and you've become Bowl eligible.
You knocked off a ranked team on the road in year one, and it wasn't anything you'd never done before, but the bar was set low. You'd gone through a pretty lifeless last previous two years, and then you were ahead of schedule. So I kind of feel like there are some similarities there.
However, I think Pat Kelsey's team this year has a chance to be better than that first year team that sad had, just because I think they've got good players and good pieces, and you know, when I think of the identity of this team as far as personnel, they're going to be versatile, They're going to have depth, they've got experience, and they've got a
lot of guys who can shoot the ball. I'd say ninety five percent of the guys that are going to play major minutes for this team are guys that if they're getting a good look off of some kind of action or getting open
in transition, they got the green light to fire away. And now they're gonna have games where they don't shoot it well, and there'll be guys that, you know, maybe don't bring that same shooting efficiency from their previous school, but there's enough of them out there that I think it'd be a real
shocker if his team's not a good shooting team. So I talked to one of my buddies, who is is an assistant coach here in the area, and he went with his boss, the head coach, to watch practice because Pack Kelsey opened it up to everybody earlier this week, all the all the local high school coaches, which I think is a great gesture, and you know, I was, you know, he wanted to tell me he was really impressive with what he saw, and I was trying to get some you
know, some infos, some some some details, some specifics about it, because you know, I'd love to be a fly on the wall watching this group practice and scrimmage and whatnot. And he kind of left me not underwhelmed. But you know, I'm thinking, like who look really good and maybe who was kind of concerning? And you know, he didn't really have a great answer. And I think it's because you don't have like an All American
on this team, at least I don't think you do. Maybe we find out one of these guys is an All American, but you have a lot of guys who were kind of the same, and that's you know, I think at some point you got to question, Hey, if you're playing a team that does have some NBA caliber guys and some All Americans, you know, is that going to be enough on your end to you know, to beat them with your balance? And who knows, We'll we'll find out when
we get there. But like, you're going to have two guys that you kind of feel are the same, and that's not a bad thing, right, Like, I mean, I think that means you've got depth. That means it could be you know, let's say Chucky Hepburn's having an off night, foul trouble. Well, let Krain Johnson run the show and and you know he may have a huge game, Like you're gonna have that kind of
balance, which is good. But he did say that if if there's a starting lineup he would he would guess that it would be Terrence Edwards, Junior, Chucky, Hepburn, Noah Waterman, and case In Pryor, and he didn't give me a fifth and he acted like it could be a bunch of different guys. He did say that can I Russ the freshman, the only freshman on this team, you know clearly is younger than a lot of these
guys. But he mentioned that you can tell he's a top thirty caliber player, has a lot of upside, versatile, and you know, he said it looked as if he's a sponge with these older guys, which is great. I mean that's why when we talked about bringing in a freshman, any of them obviously would have been would have been great if they could get jade
and quaintance. But you know, I think this would be perfect for a freshman to come in and be, you know, the only one and everybody you're working with every day are you know, four years older than you, five years older than you some of them, so you can learn a lot from them and really soak that up. So yeah, I can't wait for a basketball season to get here, looking forward to it. All right,
quick break, we'll come back on the other side. Something else we got to get to at some point, some SEC coaches at Dallas that the media days have given a number a range as far as what they believe the schools are going to be paying the actual football players alone, and in no surprise, the vast majority of that twenty two million is going to be going to football. Still go this right here, It's coffee and company. Feel abou Thorton's on Sports Talk seven ninety