It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick coffee.
All right.
I've got about four hours roughly left of radio to do and then I'm out of here for a week for a vacation. And yes, I have had a lot of time off this summer, and that's because I get a lot of time off, thankfully due to this great company that I work for.
And I'm looking forward to my vacation.
But there is a little bit of sadness knowing that I won't be around as we see the rivalry matchup between lat Familia and the Ville, and the timing here is great because you have two new eras at each program, right, and Louisville obviously needs a reset because you know, cal Perry, say what you want about him, was he was good. Definitely not as good towards the end as he was when he first got there. But one thing he was
good at very consistently was beating Louisville. You know, he had I think a total of three losses ever to Louisville in his time at Kentucky. I think he lost in twenty thirteen when Louisville won the title. He lost in twenty sixteen, seventeen ricks last year, and he lost to Chris Mack in the COVID year. Well the year they played, you know, in front of three thousand people, So.
That was that was awful.
Who knows, maybe Mark Pope ends up being as successful against Louisville.
I hope not.
And you know, I think here's what I do know, no clue who has the best record in ten years if they're both still at those schools. But one thing I do know is that the days of seeing rosters for Kentucky that you knew, like we got a Final four caliber team at Louisville, we could beat anybody. But man, if they play their best basketball, they're beating anybody, including us, because like, those are the rosters he used to put together. So you can still be really good without doing that.
In fact, the way Caliberry builds rosters, as we've seen, at least for him, was not as effective in recent years. Although you know, I gotta be honest with you, I think a lot of people, a lot of coaches.
I should say, that had the roster that he had a year ago.
With Reed Shepard, Rob Billingham, Antonio Reeves. I feel like it was one of the more underappreciated players in the country, like Trey Mitchell, and I feel like that a lot of coaches would would have had similar success, maybe a little more success, but they probably wouldn't have lost to
you know, UNCG and Oakland. So yeah, the match up is set for Monday, and I'm hoping that the villa can keep this thing rolling along because you know, it'd be great for these guys to keep this fun ride going, not only for fans like us, but for themselves and a chance to share a million dollars. So last night's game best, It was the best case scenario, right, because there's no way that they were really carrying a lot of confidence after their first two games as to I mean, they barely got by.
They were fortunate.
In fact, the crowd I think was a huge factor, and you know, helping them come from behind against Bellerman midway through the game and then of course obviously lifting them up and giving them life to survive against sideline cancer. And then last night, you know, crowd was into it obviously, but they played well. They played their best game of the three and you need that as you get set to take on a really good Low Familia team that has,
you know, a lot of talent. I mean, had Louisville won in the same fashion last night that they did in the first two games, I probably would be looking at this matchup a little bit differently. But you know, they didn't. They played good basketball. They were better defensively, they were getting stops more consistently, and they were running sets on offense, which you know, there seemed to be more organization than.
What we'd seen previously.
Not what you'd see, you know, from like a Rick Patino coach team or anything like that, but you know, definitely a step in the right direction. As you know, their competition is only going to get tougher. And I talked quite a bit about this early on in the show, in a little bit in the four o'clock hour, about how I always struggle each time I kind of try to put together something to convey why this has just been such a fun ride as a fan is because it's kind of again, I don't want to use the
word weird. I don't want to use the word awkward because I still don't feel like that that fits. However, like I think it all comes down to having so much fun enjoying this, but it being something that you know, for years, you never even knew possible, right, Like, who would have ever thought you'd have this? This situation present itself on both sides, to be honest with from the
Louisville fan perspective. In the Kentucky side of it, I mean, you never thought you'd be at Freedom Hall getting rowdy watching you know, Peyton Siva car through the lane and drop off a beautiful dish for Montres Harrel for a dunk. You never thought you'd see that in the year twenty twenty four at Freedom Hall of all places, in front of thousands of fans, and you know, David Paget's doing
the broadcast, I mean Jeff Bram sitting court side. Like imagine telling somebody ten years ago that last night would have been something that would happen. Like, first of all, the TBT didn't even exist. Then nobody would know and you would think like that, there's no way they would do that. Like wait a second, A bunch of former players who like played in the NBA in won national championships here, it's gonna be on Fox what Like, you wouldn't think that it was real and maybe that's actually
why I had the dream I had last night. John, I'm kind of talking it through. So I started the show by mentioning how last night was awesome, but it felt like it was ten years because I had one of those dreams where it wasn't anything like interesting or bizarre, it was just, you know, every now and then, I'll have a dream. And I'm sure other others can relate to where you feel like when you woke up you'd been gone for ten years, like you know, like damn, I was out of it.
Man, what year is it? Oh?
Wait, I'm married and this is my wife. I forgot about her. I've got two kids. Like every now and then you have dreams like that, And maybe I had that dream last night because everything that's come with this event, everything that's come with being a fan, like the fan experience for me throughout these last five six days is something that you know, you never even knew was possible,
and it's been very fun and enjoyable. But I think what also has I think you know, fans really just you know, their enthusiasm, their energy for this, their love for this. It's it's ramped up even more because you can tell that these players are going through the exact same thing. You know, it's different for them. They're out there playing, they're the ones that everybody's cheering for. They're the ones truly feeling nostalgia, you know, in the action.
But I think the feelings are the same in regards to like I never thought this would be possible, Like this is amazing. Let's keep this going. And I talked earlier about how you know, one of the players on this team that I talked to, not last night, but but between the between the second and their game, you know, he still plays professionally, doesn't make a ton of money, but obviously that's still his career. He's going to do
that as long as he can. And you know, he had to deal with the fact that he could probably get a six figure contract in Europe somewhere, and you know, that would be great, they'd be phenomenal. Maybe getting paid two hundred and fifty thousand a year to play the game. Right, that's that's for about five months work and Uncle Sam doesn't get a cut because you've made that money in another country, right, So, like that's a beneficial That's a
beautiful situation for any professional basketball player. I mean, obviously you want to you want to be in the NBA, but like that's not realistic for most. So there was kind of a sadness, in an emptiness knowing that, like, even if I can do this for ten twelve years, I'm never going to be playing in front of Louisville fans again. I'm never going to hear the energy that you get from a fan base that is this passion
about their program. You know, when you play at Louisville and you play Kentucky, you can't go to dinner without somebody you know, noticing you and and most for the most part, probably telling you how much they love you
and that they're a fan. And you know, go cards, go Cads, beat Louisville, beat Kentucky, and you know you can you can try to live in the moment while you're here and know that it's special, but it's almost impossible not to take certain things for granted when you know they're great, because you know, hey, I'm gonna saw it.
Almost at times can can really kind of dampen the way you enjoy it because instead of just living in the moment, you're thinking about, damn it, I gotta be living in the moment.
I don't want to.
I don't want to not take this in because man, this is special and I know one day it's going to be gone. I think, you know this what's happening now at Freedom Hall and whatnot, and it rup for the UK guys like it's not the same thing, but it's pretty damn close, and it's something that they probably thought was gone forever and now here they are and it's it's just cool, man, it really is. I I love it for these players to be able to experience
that again, and I love it for the fans. I'm a I mean, I'm I'm one of the many fans that has enjoyed this and hope they have it every single year.
I really do.
All Right, Coffee and Company Hour number three, the five o'clock hour on a Thursday afternoon. I appreciate you guys hanging out with us. Don't forget you could take us with you wherever you go. Listen live on the out radio app Listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com. We also talked a little football today because you know, I think Jeff brom feels pretty damn good about his team, which that's probably the like the the lamest you know, uh take, I could give you because every coach says
that during talking season, media days and all that. But I do get the sense that that Jeff Brom you know, he feels as if he has personnel that could that could accomplish a lot this year. Right. I don't think there's any team on this schedule that they that they
believe is going to be mean. Know, I'm sure every coach feels that way to an extent, but you know, they really like their debth upfront on both sides, which is something that they you know, last year they had a good offensive line, but they had no depth, or at least not a lot of depth, and they had
guys that were good but played hurt all year. And now they've got options, right, They've got guys who've come in from you know, other schools where they played four or five years on both sides of the ball up front and not to mention on you know, the defensive side. They got a guy up front named National Gelati who's
the first team All American. So you know, when you throw out names of players that you know have accomplished quite a bit, but they did it elsewhere there's always going to be a level of hesitation to you know, just just to expect that you're going to get the same results when they when they played at different school. And sometimes it's because yeah, they were playing in the MAC,
now they're playing in the SEC. But sometimes it does translate, right, And sometimes you know, there's guys who go from a power five to another power five and they end up, you know, bringing less production or bringing more. Like you really never know.
But and I do like that.
Jeff continues to say this anytime he talks about his team. You know, you really don't know until you actually see guys out there on the field and you see what they can do in a real game, like in an actual game situation. So I'm sure they've evaluated some of these guys in the portal and they love what they bring to the table. They've really been impressed with spring ball and workouts that kind of stuff. But they know, hey, we'll see when the lights come on if it's really
gonna work. But there's also guys that they probably feel like, you know what, I'm not really sure about this guy. Like I'll put it this way, I think last year Jeff Brown was really really concerned about certain certain positions on defense. And if you remember when healthy, especially early on in this year, in the year Louisville's defense was I mean, that was the strength of the team. So like not to say that, Jeff thought, oh man, these
guys stink. But you just don't know. So you know, there's way more unknown than ever in college football now because so many teams will heavily on the transfer portal. Louisville is once again relying heavily on the transfer portal, and I don't see that ever changing because again, if you want to win now, that's your best chance to do it right.
Don't choose to be young and.
Say, okay, well we'll cut our teeth with a bunch of guys that are going to get their first significant reps this year and hopes to be better next year. No, you want to win now, and you need to win now if you're a place like Louisville in a power for conference. So you know, I when I start throwing out names that I you know, feel like I'm justified in being very confident. In Colin Lacey, a receiver, had thirteen hundred yards last year at South Alabama. Everybody wanted
him he came to Louisville Jacorey Brooks. I mean, that's a guy who for Alabama. I mean, let me look up ja Corey Brooks's numbers. I mean, you go back to not last year he was hurt some and maybe that was the biggest factor. Maybe it was something else. Maybe he had somebody jump ahead of him, and that happens sometimes, you know, when it comes to you know, playing in Alabama, you can easily get you know, but go back to twenty twenty two. I mean, he led
Alabama in receptions, Jacorey Brooks did. He had eight touchdowns, six hundred and seventy four yards, you know, So if he can do that at Alabama, I have a pretty good feeling he's gonna be able to do that and more at Louisville. So I feel as if these transfers who are transferring in, even if they've come from a lower level, Like again, those are two receivers that again you don't know, but one guy comes from Bama pretty accomplished in the SEC for you know, one of the
best programs historically. And then you've got Lacey, who is statistically better than anybody. He had more receiving it. Nobody's returning to college football this year with more receiving yards than Colin Lacey. But he did it at South Alabama, So you know, people are gonna question, can it translate? I've seen and not everybody's the same. But you know, last year Louisville's best receiver, I mean he came from
Georgia Southern, right, Jamari Thrash came from Georgia Southern. I mean, heck the year before that, I mean I forgot about this guy.
Last guy.
You know, that's kind of a forgotten team for a kind of a forgotten team, meaning Satterfield's last season, they were once again just very vanilla. But Tyler Hudson, I mean he was the best receiver. He transferred from Central Arkansas, which was an FCS school, So you know, I'm sure you can find plenty of examples of dudes who transferred in with similar resume and it didn't hit.
So you never know.
But the closer we get to the season, I feel more and more confident in the personnel because the only position I think you could honestly say that there's no doubt they will take a step back is running back. And I choose to believe that it's more so because of how good Isaac Garrindo and Juar Jordan were. I choose to look at it that way, more so than thinking, well, you know, the guys they have now aren't any good.
I mean, I think they've got some capable ballcarriers. And to be honest with you, if j Brom's able to air it out like he wants with Tyler Schuck, you're not gonna need anybody to be what Juwar Jordan and Isaac Grindo were last year. You gotta have a healthy balance, right, you got to. You gotta be balanced on offense. There's no doubt about that, and I think they have the
personnel to do that. But again, if you've got you know, Schuck airing it out to Colin Lacey and Chris Bell takes a big step forward this year, then you know your running game is not gonna be as big of a necessity. Are you getting fired her for football or not? John Ready Signette's Ready.
Sign I don't know if you You probably didn't listen to anything he said today, and I wouldn't blame you.
I did not, but he he he's I know you.
Say you say this about Rick Patino a lot, and I used it today on Twitter to talk about Signetti as well. But he holds court behind the microphone. He knows how to get the attention of anybody in the audience. Even if they don't give a rat's ass about Indiana food, they're gonna know they heard Kurt Signet exactly. He's a walking quote machine. And I don't think he said anything
too out of line. He just kind of laid out his own expectations for the Hoosier and he's getting people fired up, especially you know, those among the Indiana fan base like myself.
Yeah, So one thing I love about the Signette hired Indiana is that he's not in any way and you really can't do this anymore because if you, I mean, look, if you're in the big ten in Indiana maybe exception because they've never really had like a ton of football support, at least that I know of, But like you've got resources that you know, a lot of schools don't have
that aren't in the power force. So the days of and you also have the portal, so therefore the days of just like you know, it's going to take us a long time, Like you could do that but like you're a loser if you do that, like Saderfield did that, Like he still acted as if he was dealing with I mean, he benefited from Bobby's leftovers and then when those guys left, Sat fell apart for the most part. And the only quarterback he ever coached at Louisville was
a Bobby Patrino quarterback. As far as you know, that was his starter. So you know, with Signetti, I feel like a lot of coaches that would take the Indiana job, especially in the pre and il pre portal world, would would would set the bar so low and would act as if like it's gonna take time, we need you. They probably do some loser stuff that like Kenny Payne did.
But Signetti when he's not out here saying they're going to win the Big Ten, although he did say something along those lines about, you know, beating Purdue's ass and Michigan suck. Yeah, like you know, but like that has to give the Indiana fan base life in a way that like they haven't had before Gideia and coached the game.
Who knows how good he's gonna be, But I just feel like the kind of confidence he has in himself like, that's just different than anything I can remember of any Indiana football coach, because, to be honest with you, the vast majority of Indiana football coaches are not memorable. You forget about them because most of them came in and they sucked and they got fired. Like that's on no offense to Indiana, that's just the truth.
He almost makes it seem like, like you, he's created the expectation that they're going to in year one. Now what that actually looks like, I don't know. But the one thing that makes me nervous though, is that it's almost become like a guarantee with him the way that he talks that if it doesn't work out in year one, like I think Indiana has to at the bare minimum get to bowl eligibility. I still think that might be a disappointment in Signetty's eyes.
But you can't talk like this and not have results. So I'm totally with you.
And that's why I think when we talked about a couple weeks ago, maybe I'm overestimating this guy, but like I feel like him getting to a bowl game, or at least winning five games, that's not going to be difficult for him to do because you know, and maybe I'm way wrong, like maybe he doesn't have a lot of you know, good players to work like I don't know much about the personnel on Indiana's side of it, but like the bar is so low for Indiana, and yet you're right, he's talking it up to where fans
are expecting some wins. But like, you know, I'd be shocked if if they're not. You know, would they win three last year.
Yeah, I'd be shocked.
If they're not at minimum two wins better than a year ago, which again is not something Indiana fans are going to start celebrating.
But you know, I mean that this is gonna sound nuts, but there are there are a significant amount of people who I respect what they say on the Indiana side of things, that think that the bare minimum, like that he there's no reason he shouldn't win.
At least six this year. I mean again, like it's and.
I'm the kind and this is just for me being a fan, and we'll shut up by Indiana football and move on. But I think I think seven. I don't think that that they don't have to get seven for it to be successful from the administration's point of view, But me, being a fan, I think if you're going to talk all this game, you need to get to seven wins. They have a schedule that is manageable in that regard, especially in the early going.
Yeah, but I don't, you know, and I don't follow what he says specifically nearly as closely as you do. But like, I don't feel like what he's doing is saying that like we're gonna go beat everybody and we
have we have eyes on that. I just look, I think more than anything, he's carrying himself in a way that is different than any Indian a football coach has to where I think some fans and I'm not saying you like you don't really know, like does this mean he thinks we're gonna like take over or is he you know, because it's just different. It's not something you typically get from Indiana. But look, no doubt about it.
If you can.
I mean, after hearing UCLA's coach yesterday, you got to feel.
Better about that game. It's night and day and then that's week three.
Yeah, So like here's what's crazy, Like they could realistically start the season four and oh and again they should be three and one and honestly, like FIU, Western Illinois and Charlotte, those are dubs. And if you do end up beating UCLA, who should be terrible this year, to be honest with you, especially for you know, Big ten standards, and then you know, at that point you got to
steal two more to get to a bowl game. And I don't like Purdue's gonna be terrible this year, And at that point, I think it comes down to, you know, is Northwestern was that a flash in the pan last year with their interim coach or you know, are they actually going to be pretty pretty good?
So look they.
This makes me kind of sad because it reminds me a little bit of the same era because Indiana football, like, let's be honest, they're they're in a different stratosphere as far as expected success in football than Louisville is. So all I wanted Saderfield to do was win eight regular season games one time, and it really isn't that hard to do at Louisville, and he never could do it. So you know, saying six and six like again, that would be a big upgrade, Like six and six would
make Indiana fans ecstatic. I think after one year right, However, like it's not that difficult to do, Like I you know, I think they I think they'll win six, that's my guess. In fact, let's do this on the other side. We'll get into some basketball stuff because there's a good rankings list that I want to break down as far as the updated list from field to sixty eight, as far as the current top ten college basketball coaches. But what I want to do on the other side, and again,
I'm a louisvill fan. You're an Indiana fan. We're not Kentucky fans. You're not a Louisvill fan. I'm not an Indiana fan, So like who knows, But I'm going to throw out what I believe each fan base here locally needs to see win total wise, to feel like they didn't have a bad year, like they didn't have a step back. Interesting, we'll do that on the other side
right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. So I feel like for Louisville, and I've talked about this before and real quick for you just now joining us with the Louisville football season coming up in Kentucky and Indiana as well, I'm just gonna get I mean, I feel like I've got a good you know, not that I can check the pulse of the Indiana football fan base, but I do have a Hoosier right here with me that can
and he's a Hoosier himself. So you know, I think if Indiana wins six games, there's no scenarioverybody's upset, right.
Yeah, the overall fan base. I think six is the bare minimum to please everyone.
I think four would be looked at as Okay, I'm a little underwhelming because I thought this guy was going to make an immediate impact. More so than that, I think five would be. It really depends on which fan you talk to. You think that's fair.
Yeah, But at the same time, and again, I know you haven't looked at Indiana's scheduled deeply the way that I have. But they have a very favorable schedule. They have eight home games. There's no reason they shouldn't find a way to six.
Yeah, but they play good teams, man. I mean, here's the thing, High State Michigan in Washington. I mean, I know Washington is going through a rebrand, but like they are a team they just played for a national championship, Michigan State.
Are they gonna suck they're they're kind of like Indiana.
They have a brand new guy with Jonathan Smith, came from Oregon State, and there's a lot of unknowns with him.
So I'm gonna give you a hot take here. Okay, I think Nebraska is gonna be good with Matt Rule this year.
I think they'll be good too.
I don't think they'll be contending for the conference championship, but I think they may.
Be top three or four.
Yeah, and then teams that I have no clue if they're any good, Northwestern and Maryland.
Like, now, that's you talked about Indiana being four and oh those are their next two opponents right after that, and that could be again kind of wild card matchups for you.
So on the Kentucky side, I mean, look, let's be real here, they have one of the toughest schedules in the country. I mean, their non conference is not super challenging, but let's be honest, Like, they can mock Louisville all they want. It's been a dub for him for many, many years. But Louisville in the non com Put it this way, Kentucky's non conference schedule is Louisville, Murray State, Southern and Ohio And I looked at it earlier. Athlon
Sports ranked Kentucky. There's eighteen teams in the SEC. Now is that right with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma six I'm wrong, No, I think you actually might be right.
See Big Ten's got eighteen.
Either way, Kentucky's strengthen to schedule for non conference alone was ranked sixth. So you know, Louisville being there does does absolutely give them a bump because if you go look at a lot of the other SEC teams, their non conference don't doesn't feature a team that played in a Power five championship last year. And again, who knows, maybe by the time you get there, Louisville falling apart. I don't know, But you know they have a tough schedule.
They have South Carolina, who is probably the worst team on their schedule outside of Andy, but South Carolina beat the hell out of them last year. Georgia's Georgia, Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin that's in Oxford. That should mean oh Miss should be a playoff team this year. I really believe that Florida. You know, Florida's down and this is this is actually this could be the first time they have three straight losing seasons and I think like
se seventy five years. So this is in Gainesville, never an easy place to play, but you know, Kentucky has beaten them, you know, rather consistently in recent years, it seems like, so you know that, I feel like that's a game Kentucky fans feel like they should go win. But then again, you know they are still well aware of a twenty five year streak. I think it was that they didn't beat them. And then they've got Auburn.
Auburn to me, is the ultimate like coin flip game for them, Like I have no clue what to expect.
In that one.
Tennessee they should lose, Like, let's be real, Tennessee's good Tennessee under Josh Josh Hypel. You know, they weren't as good last year as they were two years ago when they really exploded on the scene as a legitimate, you know, bona fide, top tier program. But you play them in Knoxville and I don't see a scenario where they're going to take like a big step backs, Like you can win that, but you're not going to be expected to.
And then you've got Texas, who played in the playoff last year, who you know is believed to be one of the real contenders. In fact, I think a lot of expectation is that it's gonna be Texas and Georgia playing for the ACC championship. So I'm sorry for the SEC championship. So then you you have Louisville, which again you're gonna have them at home, and you know, you've you've gotten a great street.
Going right now.
But that's that's a tougher game than a lot of the SEC teams have as their you know, non conference game that's against a not FCS team or not a G five team. So I think if they go seven and five, realistically speaking, that would be viewed, as you know, from their fans, like if they're going to be fair, they probably would say, yeah, that's that's that's about right.
But how long can they go seven to five in the regular season and still feel like they're they're they're they're gaining ground, like they're they're they're you know, establishing momentum. So I think the Tucky fans are kind of not of it, not in an identity crisis, but like I think they can appreciate what Stoops has done and appreciate the position that they're in, but also want to expect more.
But then again, know that expecting to be an eight and four team in the regular season that wins more than four games in the SEC is a lot to ask for given and the overall identity of Kentucky's program for generations. And they play in a really good league, let's be honest with they play. I mean, they play in the toughest league in the country.
So I don't know.
I feel like if they go six and six, they'll view that as a step back for Stoops, if they go seven and five, they'll It'll probably depend upon who you talk to, right Like, some fans will say, well, look what do you expect? Look who they play, And there'll be some that say, look, I'm tired of seven and five, like go in more like you've got resources now.
And then on Louisville side, I think if if Louisville.
Is seven and five, I think everybody all around will feel underwhelmed and feel as if they should have been better.
Now.
There's always circumstances that you know arise that you don't know about, right like, maybe they lose somebody very important to injury and that changes things, right, you never know. But I think given their schedule, I think if they were to go anything lower than seven than eight and four, I think fans would feel not as if they're panicking and thinking that Brahms a problem and we got, you know, we got to worry about the future. But I just think it. I think, as I've said, eight and four
should be the floor. Ten and two's the ceiling, and I think nine to three is most realistic. So for fans to feel like, you know, they they're in a good spot, I'd say eight and four. But then again, I think there'll be people that if they go eight and four will be disappointed because again there's expectations now
with Jeff and like it or not. Blame it on the week schedule, you know, blame it on winning close games that maybe you should have lost, but you won ten games, and when that happens, people probably aren't going to expect you to do that every year. But you know, you go from ten to seven in year two when your roster is better by all accounts, I mean, I
think fans will be underwhelmed. Are speaking of Kentucky so FootballScoop dot com They got behind the Paywall John Oh for Darryl Byrd's article about Mark Stoops and look man like these. I mean, context matters as far as you know, hearing how somebody says something. It's not just what they say, it's also how they say it. So we don't have that. I think that was just a one on one that
only Darryl Bird captured audio of. Although Darrel Bird's old school, like, I wouldn't put it past him that he didn't take anything digital to the SEC media days. He had a pen and a pad and he's just he's just writing down what Mark Stoops is saying. Hopefully he doesn't do that because that would be you know, that'd be maybe
a typewriter, Yeah, maybe his typewriter with him. So, I mean, I thought maybe that one quote that we did have would be, you know, the one quote of many that made it sound like he was complaining, and that maybe it was just a quote that he used to really get people interested in his story to where they.
Would buy it.
But there's quotes that are now featured in this write up from Football Scoop that are kind of summarizing it that make it quite clear he's bitching. That's what he's doing so, it says Mark Stoops says Mark Steps is a veteran head coach among SEC coaches by a large margin, starting his tenure with the Wildcats back in twenty thirteen.
Despite doing an admirable job rebuilding the program to respectability, winning ten games twice and leading UK to eighth straight bowl games, Stoops recently made it clear during a one on one interview with ON three that the recent landscape of college football with nil and the transfer portal is weighing heavily on the fifty seven year old. So hey, maybe this is actually I'm sorry, let me back up. This is actually an article from Adam Luckett, who works
for ON three KSR. So I guess two people kind of wrote about his quotes and I don't know, maybe this was an exclusive from Adams. Again, credit to Adam Luckett. This was not behind a paywall, and he got I guess a similar story but more he has more of that at least we can read. Maybe Dearrebird had more behind his paywall. Nonetheless, I do want to give credit Adam Luckett for this article because that's what they're referencing here. But anyways, here's some quotes I have one hundred free
agents every six months. The veteran head coach shared with on three quote, you don't think there's more pressure of raising money to keep them and to pay them what they deserve and to help them. And I've done this for two three years completely alone. I get no help none more. I feel very isolated, very alone. I'll be honest with you, I don't know how long I can take dealing with that, dealing with what I've dealt with myself personally, I can only do so much. I've never
felt this kind of stress and pressure. I can't coach the way I want to coach because all I do is raise money or try to raise money.
You go through all the frustration.
And even panic. How do I raise the money? I feel very isolated on how to do it. But if I don't raise it, it doesn't get done. I mean, that's him complaining about having to do his job.
Now.
I think there's an element to it where he's claiming that he needs more resources to do it. I guess because he's claiming he does it all himself, like how to raise money?
Like does he is?
That?
A shot at Barnhardt is that you know him trying to get a position added to his staff that can be out there raising money. I mean, I mean, I don't want to let my feelings towards you know, Kentucky as far as them being the rival get in the way here. But like that's just a coach bitching about having to deal with the new landscape of college sports, is it not. I mean, I think it's pretty direct what what he what he thinks and feels about the current situation.
So I mean coaches really be bitching now they do, and.
You know, I mean honest with you, I feel like he has I mean, I don't know, maybe he just doesn't have the energy and the fire that he once did, because like he has momentum. I mean again they're not they're not world beaters, but I mean, you have been able to raise enough money to keep a lot of your guys around, and I think he's looking at it as like, damn, that's that was really difficult. How sustainable is this? Which I think is a normal reaction for
a lot of people. But also you're getting it done. I mean Kentucky did well in the poor both with guys they added and with guys that they brought back, meaning that they were able to raise enough in all money to keep them there. Like Dean Walker is one of the best NFL prospects in the country. I mean, I'm sure a lot of schools would were willing to pay a lot of money for him, and he stayed,
so I assume he got paid. So I don't know, just to meet the energy from Stoops as you're about to, you know, enter, I guess what is your twelfth season is, I don't know, Like it can't make Kentucky fans feel great about the upcoming season that, you know, instead of really you know, talking up goals and you know, and
maybe he is doing that. I've not listened to a whole lot of what Stoops have said, but like, I don't know, the coaches complaining about the new world and money that that's not that's not uncommon as coach, as John said, coaches be bitching. But he's throwing in, He's throwing in in a direction that is like, I don't.
Know how much longer I can do this. This sucks. I get no.
Help, Like and that's just you know, maybe if it's the truth, it's the truth, and I can respect anybody for being honest, but like that can't be what you want to hear as a fan. Actually, if you are giving a lot of money, right, if you're donating to the collective and he's acting like it's still not enough and it's never ending like that, that's that can't be what you want to hear. All right, quick break, we'll come back on the other side. Keep the party rolling
along until you get back. Because we only have one segment left here. Stick around on Sports Talk seven ninety So the Field of sixty eight put together an updated list of the top ten current college basketball coaches, and we'll save that for tomorrow because we don't have a who lot of time to get into it. And I don't think there's any big surprises on that list. But I will say if this list came out and John Calipari was still the Kentucky coach, Kentucky fans would be
losing their mind. They would be because calip Perry's not on it. And I don't know, I've always felt like he's a flawed coach because everybody is nobody's perfect, and that you know, his short cut, his shortfall, despite all the talent and expectations always being super high, and yet you know, he hasn't made a deep run in the tournament in quite some time. Like even despite all that, I still feel like I would be a homer as
a Louisville fan to not include him in the top ten. However, you know, I think the way his seasons have ended, specifically in the last really the way things have gone the last four years, you know, it's justifiable to leave him out. Now he has a title and some of these guys that are ranked ahead of him don't. But you know, if you only based it off titles and nothing else, you know, Kevin Ollie would be looking pretty good right now, right, I mean, who else is random
that won a title? I mean, Ali's the ultimate, like how the hell that happen? But you know, either way, we both in this state, Louisville and Kentucky fans are starting new eras that I think both fans are really excited about. I think Kentucky fans are going to have more of an adjustment just because they've been good. They just fell short in the tournament the last few years. Louisville, I mean, winning games has not been a norm in
recent years. Therefore, like bars Low, for us to get excited for Kentucky not as much now maybe the way they play and it being a former guy that played there that won a title, like that's gonna be there's gonna be some some emotion involved in that that really makes it fun in a way that it wasn't with with with cal And honestly, I think both teams, but Kentucky, you know they Kentucky had good teams but didn't play
a fun style. Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey for that matter, are going to play a fun style for both fan.
Bases to enjoy. But I just I don't know.
I feel like it's gonna be I'm gonna be ready to see not only I'm gonna be ready for it to happen because you know, I'm a Louisville fan and their the rival, but to see how they react to like a loss to a team that they feel like they shouldn't have lost to. That's gonna be appointment viewing. Is it not like to just see how.
They react classic and get hammered by whoever they play this year?
That could be a problem, it's.
Duke, I think, so, you know, in a way, you know, it's fun that both are in this position because it is again, Rivalry renewed, which is wild because you know, there's a rivalry matchup on Monday Night at Freedom Hall. But you know, it's just something none of us would have ever envisioned happening many years ago. But it's here and it's gonna be fun. So all right, we're out of time, you guys, enjoy the rest of your Thursday. We're back at it tomorrow, my last show before I'm
out of here for vacation. It kind it's gonna kind of feel like the lat day of school, which is always a lot of fun. So hope, hopefully you'll join us tomorrow at three o'clock right here on Sports Talk seven ninety