This is I on the Ball with Steve Rovera on Fox Sports fourteenth fifth Day, powered by Nova Insurance Services Insure your most prized possessionets.
Been good enough to doon everybody. Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rovera. In with me today is Dave silver dotje one. How are you haven't seen you in ages?
I know it's been a months. It has been a month now, it's been a couple of weeks. But feels good to be back. Your hair is getting rare. Oh, yes, not from you got a job search pretty soon?
Yeah, that doesn't help either. No, it doesn't have it at all. Well, welcome here. Ready Friday, we're gonna have some picks. Did you Jay send you something? Yeah, I'll reach out to okay, because I haven't even made mine either. Picks from Jay at the end of the show. We have a pretty good show going on today. A lot of basketball talk. I don't know if you want to talk a little about you a football after some coaching changes yesterday, Dave, Yeah.
I mean I think we kind of anticipated some things would happen after the season ended and Brad Brenda made some moves on the staff. I guess Dino Babers will be not not with a team, but Duenna Quina will still be on the on the staff in some shape, and who knows exactly what. I guess we'll have to wait and see how that the DBS.
Yeah, it's to me it was a little much ado about nothing because we kind of already guessed that big babies were not gonna be around.
Yeah, you know, and it's really I don't know with the other schools, but I was listening to some other folks talking today. I mean, it's kind of what happens after after they get the guys signed. Sure, then they start making these coaching moves like this. Sure some will be you know, much more drastic. Well I'll actually actually
get rid of the head coach. But in this case, you know, again, these these recruits have been recruited by a couple of these coaches which probably been close to them and you know, kind of telling the stories about the U of A and hey, you're I'm gonna be your coach, and they disappear. So we'll see if any of these players in those positions also make a change.
Sure, and because that's the case, only maybe maybe because that's the case Bee Babers were the only guy doing it, because one coach is not going to affect a bunch of people, right, uh, you know, offensive minded people. Yes, but I don't know how much he was involved in the offense after he had kind of relinquished the job earlier.
Yeah, they made that change with the was is it Matt Adkins? I guess is the other assistant count He kind of took over there. So yeah, you I don't even know if, if if Dino was even involved in recruiting, So we'd have to be asked some.
Questions given what you know now, Is any of that the scapegoat for the season, the fact that there were there were changes and they all involved the offense. But I do have another thing, because I said this in the show and people who listened regularly, I would have
asked him. And I didn't have a chance to do it on Facebook or not on Facebook, but on Zoom yesterday when I was on the press commerce because he talked about looking in the mirror, maybe making some changes, you know, blah blah blah maybe And I said, well, did they include himself? Because I think his and what do I hell do I know. I don't get paid to be a coach.
Uh.
His approach to coaching is not conducive to today's kids. Well, you know, we'll see.
I mean, we've give we've got a twelve game you know, slate of games to look at at this point.
So who knows it? And my sample size is not good enough for your days? I don't know.
You know, I'm willing to give him more than a Yeah, me too, everybody, everybody kind of you know, you jumped the gun that fast.
Me too, Dave. But the thing about it, some people like me or I don't really care if he stays with goods. Uh. I told you so, we saw this, We saw this, so we'll see. Well, Gaudi has been very good this week in terms of media access, and he's more vibrant or or you know for jovial or whatever the word is, which hadn't been him in the past.
Well, you know, the pressure is off as far as preparing for a team, preparing for a game. Now it's no losses, there's nothing, nothing's gonna happen until September next year.
Yeah, no losses are coming to any spring football.
You know, there's gonna be a lot of things happening with the transfer portal and other players coming and going here in the next yeah, a couple of months, and then next thing, you know, it'd be spring football public and you know, in March or April, and we can sort of see who's some of the Maybe some of the freshmen have already come to enroll with the u of A in that second semester of classes, so there could be some you know, some young talent already on campus.
Right and there's a couple of people leaving. I'll leave that for you. On your breaking news, did you guys have something on your on your website on talking about some guy criticizing the UA football program and the recruits or something like that. I saw on Twitter and I think it used you guys as a source, but I could be wrong. I'm looking at it now and I thought maybe maybe not. I don't believe, so maybe the recruiting class evaluation. What did you wrote something yesterday?
I wrote a summary of what he had said on Wednesday at the National Signing Day. Okay, okay, I saw something that said uh Arizona would like to recruit a new coach.
I just I tossed to a side. Yeah, you stuff like that all the time.
Yeah, losing that quarterback recruit did you just talk about that, yes, because it had not happened.
Robert McDaniel who went to u u c l A from the from the U of A. So that I think dropped Arizona and the recruiting rankings a bit. They were in the mid forties forties, yes, and now they're like sixty ish.
Yeah, so we'll see that he's a three star. Yeah, but but good enough for Arizona to chase them and then someone to take him away.
Yeah, and there's that there's another quarterback in the class. You know, some of those decisions too, you're just not always sure what the players are looking at. Hey there's another quarterback, maybe he's better than me, I'll never.
Have a chance.
Or there's some quarterbacks you know on the roster now that he doesn't think he'll ever get a chance to beat out.
So yeah, and no one's still here. So I'm sure that's going to a scare way of prospect.
And everybody, all the all the good quarterbacks there's a price tag on every one of them in college football now, So who knows if Noah's going to be here in a month or a week, right, somebody, how would you how would.
You feel you did this on the other side, you know, the academic excited and the academic a lettle bit of that if you had to do that nil chasing and and you know, you know, Jim, Jim, Bob, you got to give I hope you give you know, thirty five thousand to five hundred thousand dollars in we got a quarterback, we really want to get him. How difficult would you think he would be for you? I think it the more I was thinking about it lately, is that? Okay?
So maybe maybe if it's an experienced quarterback, somebody who we know is good. But when they start dishing out money to recruits that no one's ever seen play besides high school, that's that's where it gets a little bit like, hmmm, I must really have a lot of money to give if I can give, you know, fifty thousand dollars for some freshman quarterback who.
Knows and who may not be here very long too exactly, So who's the guy who's the quarterback that went to Florida State lately? Or yeah, that one and he wasn't very good, right, he got a ton of money and then he got hurt. Right buyer's remorse.
Dave, there was a kid I don't know if you read and I should get the more details because I kind of heard the anecdote about a kid from Mississippi who originally committed to Mississippi State, then he changed his mind to Mississippi and he took you had the news conference and he opens up his jacket and he's wearing a Mississippi shirt and everything like that, and he signed with Mississippi State.
Oh yeah, just two ago. Yeah, this was Did he have the wrong jacket?
I don't know, but he just he like did the double the double flip, the double reverse afternoon, Well, you know, and I don't know if you know, if the nil came into play like all of a sudden, maybe somebody in Mississippi State, some some boosters.
Again we're talking about an eighteen year old or no. Yeah, I wouldn't do I wouldn't I wouldn't do any of that. They came to me, can we get till we rely on you for X amount of money? I don't think so. Sorry, we turn on the investment too. I just don't know what's Yeah, we turn and is it all it's gotta be all emotional from the guy who's giving the money, sure, because what are you getting out of it? Not a damn thing nothing.
But you know, I mean, those were the stories that are floating around, and that's over the past week where the guy he did like a double flip.
I'm not that with a couple hours. I'm not to google that that scenario. Yeah you did you saw a two one? Yeah, I saw something about it. Yeah, that's new.
Well, I mean what I forget the kid rushing from from South Point last year?
I remember he was all E said, going to Arizona and winds up going to Oregon. Yeah, do your play. I mean I probably not.
I don't.
Yeah, I'm sure he Richard, Yeah, took the year to grow, get bigger, get stronger.
And there was him and the other kid who went to Oregon. No, Washington, which is the one that went to somewhere the quarterback, No, there was two, weren't there two? This year?
The player at Morana High School went to Washington. You know, I'm assuming Jed I'm assuming Jeed Fish had some kind of contact with him while he was here.
But yeah, he was a great player. At Morana.
He was the best player in one of the top players in the state, and he signed with the Huskies.
Okay, so let me tell you real quick about the show before we run out of time. We already gone nine minutes. We're gonna have Rhino Ryan Hanson coming on the first hour, were at three seventeen talking about UA basketball, his thoughts on what's going on. Judge Tommy Lloyd had a press conmerence today. It was pretty good. You know, Tommy Lloyd press conference are always pretty good. He's kind of truthful or candid and how he presents things and
simple kind of you know kind of things. And then at the other hour for fifteen four seventeen, we're gonna have Evan Mai Kawa, one of our guys that we saw or found a year or two ago with his analytics and the programs, and we'll ask him. And I didn't see this at the beginning of the year where he had Arizona at the beginning with all the analytics. Now they've fallen to twenty third overall, at least they're in the top twenty five for him. And I know that a lot of coaches go to his rankings and
his evaluations of players and situations, so widely used. A very smart young man out of Texas. So we'll up to date him on or update our listeners on who he is, because we've had a number of times. He one of my favorite guys. Talked to him at the Final four.
So Gonzaga number one, Yeah, Tennessee to Duke three, So yeah, I kind of usual suspects.
Losses. Yeah, losses didn't matter in his thing because Gonzaga lost in the Bahamas, right, right, Duke's lost a couple or three. You know, there's a lot of Auburn just lost Kentucky, so you know it's it's good, but you're gonna see the in basketball, you're always going to see the usual substance suspects. Right. I don't know how far
Creton went up, but they pulled off in the top ten. No, but no, but it's gonna be tough for Arizona to kind of get rebuild that love because it's lost some and it's not gonna get any easier in their schedule except for tomorrow, Except for tomorrow. Yeah, everything's gonna be okay after twelve twenty tomorrow, everyone's gonna be happy. Yeah, for you. You know, hey went to dance the other day, you want. I danced with about twenty women. I had a great time. I played at UCLA a week later.
Nobody wanted to dance with me. That's the truth. Yeah, the truth.
Everything Everything goes away after twelve o'clock tomorrow and then we'll see you all again next week.
We revisited a week later. It gets better teams because you're not going to see South Utah in the tournament. No, no, I don't know if you see Ucla. But the styles for Arizona have given them trouble, tough, physical, slow them down teams.
And yeah, which they're going to see in the Big twelve. Probably every game something a little bit different than we saw in the Pac twelve.
Right, there's some teams that want to move, like Houston and Kansas, but you still got to be tougher, tougher.
Yeah, and again, as Arizona found out all through their years in the Pac twelve, Pac ten, you know, they were the team that everybody look forward to having come to town. There's always a big game, and you know that's going to sort of probably carry over and there's no questions time where hey, Arizona's coming into Iowa State. You know, we've never seen them here, kind of thing. That's going to be a big game wherever they go. Still, even if there are five hundred.
What did the Spider say to the fly? Come on in, baby, run in. Everything's gonna be good. Okay, did I say the water's warm? Come on in? Yeah, jump in, jump in, because they're gonna love it. In Kansas and Houston, in Iowa State, which is still a very good team, Baylor, all these teams, Yeah, looking forward to it. Anything else. I know, you can have a lot of breaking news, right, there's a lot of stuff going on. Yeah, some good stuff. Volleyball,
A volleyball women. Did you go to the game last night? Women's I didn't cover. I know what it was. What happened? You want to you? We'll talk about it. Yeah, I'll ask my questions when it's time.
They had They had the pretty good lead too, and lost it in the last moments of the game again missing a bunch of free throws.
I guess I don't know. Well, well that one tell us what happened. Then we'll ask.
They lost to Nau and Grand Canyon. They still being too against the state teams. So pretty interesting.
Pretty interesting, Yeah, because they I think, I'm pretty sure memory serves me correctly. They kind of got worked up in Flagstaff Againstacks.
Yeah, they were ahead.
Arizona was ahead like by fifteen, I want to say, in the second quarter, and then the Nau went on a ridiculous run and I scored him like thirty to ten, you know, and then it was over.
It was weird. Okay, let's go. Let's go started through thirteen, So we'll go take a few minutes on the commercials and then can bring back Rhinal three seventeen.
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Streamy live on the Iheartsradio Wire.
This is Eye on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports Sport fifty.
Hey, welcome back to WYD the Ball hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Arba and today with me is Dave Silver and we have one at the controls now. We have Ryan Hanson from the ve A Radio broadcast on twelve nineties Rhino.
How are you doing great?
Thanks for having me on. Steve good here. Good to hear the days with you as well.
We need somebody who's a voice of reason on this show. Dave is the guy to you, right, Hey, Rhino, what hes going on with the basketball program? Speaking of reasoning?
Yeah, speak speaking of a different territory, right, I mean, what a what an interesting.
Start to the season.
I can tell you a couple of things that I've seen. One the individual performances. Right, when you look at individuals, they're not playing up the snuff. I mean, let's just start there. Facts are these. Caleb Love is not performing at even the same or remotely close to how he performed last season, which was all conference player type status. He k fifth year. We should expect more from him.
It's not a knock on him, but to be shooting twenty seven percent from the three point line and thirty seven percent overall, that's below where he should be at.
Let's start there.
There's other players that aren't playing up to their caliber or what we would have expected to see in the jumps of the other two perimeter players, Jaden Bradley and kJ lewis getting their first opportunities. I'll give Jaden a lot of credit. He is living up to his hype in regards to scoring. But guys that there are some there's an issue and one major issue is is he facilitating is he leading this team as a point guard should.
And I don't have this stat Steve, you would have to dig into the archives, but if this season ended today, it might be the lowest assist average per game of an Arizona point guard in the last years.
Wow, yeah, you know what. I actually I did see the statistic and.
There right now there are one hundred and twenty second in Division One with fifteen a game, which is like three and a half less than last year.
So you're right, you know, and the team, you.
Know, we're we're losing, you know, we lost sharing the basketball as a team from last year. They've still to jail. That's kind of my second point, Dave, but I'll sticking on that first point. You know, you look at what Jaden's giving you. Incredible defense, scoring, I don't want to say at will, but definitely a significant upgrade in the
scoring from an average standpoint. His ability to get to the rim, not shooting it great from the three point line, but he's been at least judicious with his shot selection. But he has to create better opportunities for teammates.
You just can't have a point guard in Tommy Lloyd's.
System average what two and a half assists per game?
That's just not enough.
Well, I like your evaluations so far. I'm sure you have two more, but I totally agree with the individual performances. I'm sure the opponents had something to do with that over the last couple of days. Right now, how do you like these two or give you the obvious one, the obvious one that people are talking about defending the three point line, right, they just look horrible at doing that.
But I think the one that people aren't talking about, and they didn't talk about it today in the press conference, it would have been my question, the difficulty in making transition baskets. They don't. Teams are not letting them do that. And you know, and I know, we've been around a long time, thirty some years, and what did Loot live on nineteen to two runs? Twenty four to four runs? This team doesn't have that in them, or it hasn't had it so far.
Yeah, let's look at Tommy's first three and a half season exactly even been a half yet, But in his seasons right they percentages from the field are extremely high.
Why because he gets fast break baskets. I mean this is a coach who predicates his offense on transition opportunities at the rim or open threes inanition, And so is it a defensive issue our other teams scouting Arizona better this year than they have the last three years or I think that could be some of it, Yes, for sure, But I also you have to question is the personnel living up to what we have historically seen? Do we
have guys running the floor is hard? Do we have guys that can finish at the rim as well in transition? I'll just today is kind of a truth conversation. We miss umar Balo running to the rim.
We do.
There's a fact that he grew he was a magnet. He either drew the basketball on a fast break or he drew attention or both in some cases. And so his ability to run to the rim and bury his opponent his guy guarding him in front of the rim gave Arizona high percentage looks, created foul trouble for the defense, or it allowed for open jumpers or open transition up ortunities for teammates. We are not seeing that out of Arizona's bigs right now.
Tobyo Waka has.
Done an amazing job on the glass. He's just not the same finisher.
At the rim.
He's not running to the rim and commanding the basketball.
Mo Crevis. Let's give the guy a little break, right.
He's back healthy, but he missed significant time in the offseason getting better. So I will revisit this maybe in January, to see is Mo running to the rim better and commanding the basketball at the front of the rim, and that all of that's trickle down, Steve right, It affects your assist numbers, it effects your percentages at the rim, it affects your fast break baskets.
That is a big challenge for Arizona right now.
You know, as far as Caleb goes is there is there like an assistant coach or somebody that he can go to. Maybe maybe not Tommy, maybe go to some assistant and maybe I don't know, get a pep.
Talk or a little shooting drills. How does that work?
You know within the staff to have a player who's so good and it's probably you know, we all think it's mostly a mental situation at this point.
How does he get better?
I'm going to do think it's a mental thing.
Let's start there, Dave, we have a large enough sample size of Caleb Love in his four years in college, two at Arizona, one at Arizona, three at Carolina, now his second year here, going into his fifth campaign to be able to say it his percentages are below his averages. He's not a guy who's been a high efficiency player in his career. However, last year he was the most efficient he had been.
In his entire career.
So for him to go backwards to me is not he just forgot how to play, and that's not the case. I do think a lot of it's mental. He's a mentally tough kid who's going to have to do what you're suggesting is rely on the support that's around him. So guys like Steve Robinson who have known him for years, and guys like Murph who's going to work him out. Ram Bakhamist is the personnel kind of work out genius for the coaching staff. I'm sure he's in the in
the gym with Caleb, just working through things. We saw a little bit more more of what we expected from Caleb and the Bahamas. I think those three games we at least saw a little He's got to play with an edge he's got to play with a little bit of a swagger. His percentages weren't perfect, but I think he was nine for twenty in the last game. That's pretty good efficiency three for seven. Not ideal from the
three point line. You'd like to see him closer to forty to fifty percent, but better than what his season percentages are going. So I think if I were to kind of put the crystal ball out there, I think Caleb is starting to return to form. I think he's starting to have more of the season that what in what we're expecting.
So today they had of prescons with Tommy, you know, usually got the Tommy stuff that he always says. But had I been there, there's things that would ask what about the transition and the difficulty teams are doing to make that happened one and two, and I thought maybe he would think he'd give me that face and say, you know, why are you asking me this, Steve? But let me ask you this, Steve, this question right as
Caleb goes Sodo's Arizona. We did it. We saw it last year and looked so far not so good.
Maybe in the sample size we've seen right now, maybe I would agree with that but I think Arizona's got other weapons that just need.
To play better.
Jayden Bradley is one that we spoke about. I think Trey Townsend started to figure out, Okay, I need to play like I have been playing at Oakland. That's another guy when I'm saying players that have not lived up to what we expected.
I think Trey.
Turned the corner and started to realize what his skill set can allow him to do. I think he took a back seat intentionally. I think that was a personal choice to start the season of I'm going to figure out how I fold into this team. I think he can be an outstanding weapon for Arizona. I think that kJ Lewis can play better. So I don't think it's
just Caleb the eye. The eye is and the focus is big on him because of the preseason All American height, because of what we saw last year, Like we mentioned player of the Year caliber, I don't think it's it's like the Derek Williams year where it was either Derek or no or we lost. I don't I would disagree with you. I don't think this team is how goes Caleb, how goes Arizona?
Right now?
It is because the other guys aren't carrying their weight, would be or or maybe just not reaching the potential that we all see in them is a better way to phrase it.
Well, then you're then you're assuming that that's some to one of your points earlier. You're assuming that these players all fit it are all good. I mean what if? What if?
What I think?
Assumption?
Well, yeah, right, seven games through seven games? How would you rate them? Not good?
Yeah? I would.
I would rate them as dysfunctional probably right, They're not cohesive? Uh and and you wonder last year, years past. I try not to compare a year to year, but in the modern era, right of lots of new faces and experiences coming every year, you know, there were a couple of new faces, and those guys seem to gel quicker to the team, especially Keyshot. I think he jeled a very beautifully well to this team. I think we're still
and I say we. I think Tommy has got to figure out how to maximize all of the talents that are out there. Are they good enough individually? I think Steve you ask a good question. Is Toby Alwaka a Big twelve All Conference player right now?
No?
Does he have the physical tools and abilities to become an all conference level player. I think that answer is yes, but he's not playing there yet. He's he's been dubbed and I think appropriately so as a rebounder, effort, energy defender. That's what his role was at Tennessee. Arizona's asking him and wanting him to be more than that.
He has to grow into that.
That wasn't going to be a light switch situation where he was all of a sudden going to become Michael Wright in the low block and just finish everything. He's got to learn, He's got to develop. He has to grow. Same for Mo Crevius. Moe was not going to step right in, and I mentioned the loss of umar Bollo and all the positives.
There were some.
Challenges to umar Bollo defensively the free throw line, right.
We saw that.
Moe's got to develop into that. I'm going to command the basketball. I'm going to get double teams. Now I know how to play out of the double teams.
And be productive. But Steve, I.
Think you're you've asked a very good question, Well, before is the talent level of this team where you want it to be?
Well?
You you responded perfectly and before Dave, you go into questions. So you asked that question of a waka, you can ask those of all the players. Are they at the level of Big twelve necessity or how they need to play? And will they If not, how can they get their Because I think your evaluation to my questions spot on, Dave. If they're not up to the snuff, this is gonna be a long year in the Big twelve could be rough.
And you know a lot of programs are going through this too because of the whole transfers and il I mean, rosters are flipping all over the place. If you look at some of the normal teams that are in the top twenty five, there's a bunch of them, are you know, around the five hundred mark here early in the season, Because I think teams are just you know, there's not teams yet. They're still putting together the best combinations, and I think the U of A maybe just falls right
into that trap right now. So maybe, you know, let's let's as Ryan has been saying, let's maybe look at this in about a month and see how things are.
They're starting to gel.
Yeah, and Dave, it might take a little longer than that because if you look at the rest of the games in the calendar year of twenty twenty four, how much more are we going to learn about Arizona and tomorrow's game. Probably not much more unless it's a close game. If it's a contested game, then then we're going to learn. Wow, we still do have a ways to go. If it's a if it's a you know, a one possession game at the under four media time out in the second half,
that that could raise some questions. But uh, Dave, I appreciate that you're sensing, and I do want to articulate this. I do believe Tommy has the ability to develop these guys this year. When I say Toby's not there today, I'm not saying that it's well, we're gonna well, we might as well mail in the season.
He's going to have to develop guys differently.
He does not have ready made guys that he's just putting into the right positions and we're tweaking. Let's also look at this, Okay, so it was a one possession game against Oklahoma and we lost an overtime to West Virginia. A couple of bounces go a little bit differently. We didn't play great, don't get me wrong, but the bounce, the ball bounces a little bit differently, and you win one of those, Let's say you win the West Virginia game, We're probably not as down in the dumps on where
this team is at. So I want to give Tommy an opportunity. And here's my prime example exhibit A. You and I, You, all three of us could probably argue that at the end of the Duke game, all of us looked at each other and said, is Anthony Delarso going to play a minute in the Big twelve? Because he was yanked after ninety seconds of deer in headlights right, he did not look like he could even play on the floor against.
Duke, which, by the way, there's a lot of guys that.
Are like, we're talking elite level talent. But what I learned in the Bahamas that was a positive was Anthony Delorso is a mature kid. He stepped into a tough, tough tournament for some guys, and he produced. I do believe he has the ability to play in high level games. I think he now is learning how to do that within the Arison the system. That was a bright spot, and that was just one what five days removed from a game where it looked like, oh, my goodness, can
can he play in these high level games? I do believe he can. And Arizona's system has to be tweaked and they've got to work it out to figure out what Anthony brings you into strength, find out his weaknesses, and try to minimize those.
Guess what that is. That's called coaching.
That's what every coach does every year. Maximize strengths, minimize weaknesses of individuals and teams.
That's what Tommy's got to.
Do and have faith that he can get it done. But you guys have said it, and you're not wrong. If the schedule does not have a lot of breaks, there's not a lot of opportunity for the get right game.
You know, we're gonna be okay because we've got you.
Know, fill in the blank team at home that we've beaten at home twenty five out of the last twenty six times in the Pac ten slash Pac twelve era, Right, there was a lot of those teams that you could call the get right game. Not a lot of get right games in the Big twelve this season. And that's probably where you're saying Wow, that that could be the challenge is not just that Tommy can't get us there,
that these guys can't develop. It's just, wow, the schedule sets up for a lot different, more difficult competition.
It's funny we had to go. I could play, I can pay, I could talk to you forever about all this stuff, just to kind of evaluate and then figure out what's going on. But guess who's on the clock. Tommy Lloyd. He's got to figure it out o the.
Clock and that's the job, right, he would have nothing. Yeah, he wants it right, that's what he wants to If it was easy, any of us could do it.
And he said that, he said that today three of us can't. Yeah, no, no, he said that today he's built for this. You know. The funny thing, I got a test and I said this on the air yesterday. He says, oh, okay, and I don't take a little while to find it. But he says, Tommy's never been in the situation. You know, it's been all roses and fun the last three years. Now we'll see how he gets out of it because he hadn't been in this situation.
Yeah, and I don't know if it was Rosie.
I mean you and I and Dave can sit here and say, wow, Tommy hadn't lost back to back games in his coaching creators on it. He's lost more games, uh you know this season than he did in the entirety of the season of his first year.
Right, you can. You can throw out all.
Those stats, but if you're Tommy and you're an elite level college basketball coach, he'll tell you this. Yeah, the wins and losses are there, but what's going on in between the during practice and how we're developing. He's had some challenges. He may have they may have come out publicly as w's but there's been challenges that.
He's worked through.
So I I do believe he's built for it and we're gonna find out.
Yeah, well, right know. I was always We've got to come on more often because I love the stuff that you've provided us.
It's great talking to you boys.
Dave. Try to keep Steve on the straight and Maryland.
I'm trying. It's fun, but it's hard, you know. By the way, we gotta go, guys, we gotta go. Thanks right, appreciate you. Here's no way you're going to keep you on the straight.
And there with Dave and Ryan, I go away his mom taught my kids in kindergarten.
Oh really, so we got all yeah, way away with that. Yeah, tusons like that though, you know, yeah, all these relationships. Then one, let's go. Let's go. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back at the Ludelsen era.
In my new book, Lessons from Loot. It was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches and friends to give insight to the coach and the man who led them, competed against them, and inspired them. Twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's beloved coach. Lessons from lut is an insight to how he built the program into a national powerhouse. Want one Email me at Steve dot RIVERA ninety five at gmail dot com. Hi, this is formal.
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Steve Rivera, He's got his eye on the ball. On Tucson's sports station, Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to trying the ball here a Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, you're Dave Silver, You're one. If we'll take some calls, we can take some calls, right, yeah, five two zero four one, six seventy four forty. That's takes some calls. We have about thirteen fourteen minutes. Now's a perfect time, Howard. If you want to call back. You couldn't get on yesterday. Sorry about that. Anybody else who tried yesterday, please do. We've got a lot of
calls yesterday. What do people want to talk about? Football or basket? They both both. They want to talk. We had my favor on and people talked to him. We had Tom Dennehy. People loved he's a he's a goofy, funny guy, right, very smart guy. Yes, and he was. He was exactly that yesterday. Uh made the uh Pema call Pema County Hall of Fame? Did he No? So I made I made that? Did you the running out of people a long time ago?
Oh? Really?
I think they felt sorry for me? No, I mean, come on, it was just there's yeah, but that's worthy. You've been around a long time and a lot of stuff. We got a call yeah, okay, great, Hey you're on the air and line the ball. Who's this Brian? Brian? Brian you know's not here.
I know that he's still on vacation from my job.
Is Baker's hour's job? Yeah, I guess so, yeah, I know, I know.
What a call about on the u of a sports I don't know. It's football is over. Probably can't talk about it until after we find.
Out who we get in the nil in the portal and who we lose, because.
We know we're going to lose a lot. We're gonna pick up a bunch of guys, so, you know, but at least he has time from the beginning.
Of the portal to find.
People this time, you know, last time. You know, it's huge because by the time he was hired, you.
Know, there was guys like me and.
You Steve, who are left you know?
Yeah, right right, So you're talking about.
Yeah, that's not real promising either, you know it just you watch them and in fact, they don't play with the purpose, you know, like watching the Duke game, they look I don't know if they were just tired. I don't know how they could be tired, you know, they were they played very slow, or Duke is very very fast. Whether to I don't know which one it is, but but we just seen not to play as it meshes a team yet, and hopefully in the next couple of
weeks we decide to do that. Otherwise it's going to be a very long season.
Yeah, I think you know. I can't tell you how they're going to right this ship because just what it's gonna get tomugher than what they just saw. So how they gonna do that? How are they gonna do that? At the players they have.
Because every game is going to be tough. It's not like you're gonna have one game and then you're gonna play a crappy Pac twelve score. It's like all the teams in the Big twelve are gonna be tough.
What if?
What if the last thirty years was all an illusion because it wasn't a Pack twelve?
Well, right, you know what I mean?
Schedule?
Yeah, yeah, I'm still not real. I mean, I understand moving to Pac twelve. They didn't. I mean, the Big twelve didn't really have a choice in the whole matter. I mean, they could have tried to stay in the pack, but that wouldn't have worked. But I just don't like the way the Big twelve promotes itself. There is no promotion on this in this conference, you know. I mean, as pathetic as the Pac twelve Network was, at least
we got this see. But some of the players, and you know, I have I don't have any idea about the players in the Big twelve football.
We're all gonna have to learn. I mean, we're all kind of in the same boats. I don't know anything about you know, Kansas State or some of these.
Funny you bring that up because I didn't notice that, Brian, But you're you're right, because I when you watch TV, and well, I'm at the games mostly, but when you watch TV, what do you know about the conferences? They're not out valuehooting themselves or pueling their chests.
No, no, they're not. And you know, the worst part of it is, Okay, the football season basically is over except for a few teams will still be playing. Well. Next year, we're going to have every team is going
to have like fifty new roster. So we'll be going through the same thing next year, right, you know, And it's not like we have, you know, like the Big twelve, the PAC twelve Network would have shows about the teams and whatever, and or have that PAC twelve at midnight whatever, you know, uh, showing highlights of the basketball games and talking about players and the football teams. You know, we just don't have that to know these players, even though with the NIL and I think that, Yeah, I.
Think you're right.
I think from a media standpoint, you know, being one of the four big conferences, we're the only one that does not have their own TV networks, got.
That Big ten everybody, you guys who are in the media get to see more of it than this of the average viewer, you know, so you know a lot more about the different players than we do.
It's funny, but it's funny. Buy and you bring that up because uh, and I was just going to say, be careful what you wish for, because everybody in the PAC twelve. Oh, I hate the PAC twelve network. I hate this and I hate that we jump to another person, another you know, the hot the hot girl, and we're saying, you don't cook. What the hell you don't cook? There's always something wrong with.
The next thing. Well, the big thing was the access. It wasn't It wasn't so much the quality of what we saw. It was just them not being available for for everybody to see. You're living Tucson, if you have you know, god forbid, you don't have direct TV, or if you do have direct TV, you can't see it, so right, it was always very that was very frustrating, and there are fans all over the country who had the same problem. Didn't matter where you were, there are places just couldn't see it.
You know. It's kind of sad that I might know more about the SEC players or the Big ten players and I do about my own conference.
Yeah, so we'll see Brian. Thanks, thanks, good that you know that. Jason, I'm not here so you can call it any time.
Oh well, you know, I don't want to disturb his vacation time.
Yeah, don't get we'll see. We'll be at the casino if you have a chance to get out there in three two weeks.
Two weeks, two weeks, okay, if I'm in town, I'll give you I'll be out there.
Great, great, see you last time, right right, thank you? Anybody else know we got on the call? Okay, great? Perfect, Hello, you're on the air and eye of the ball. Who's this, Hey, what's going on?
Steve? You do.
What's the word man? The voice of reason?
All right? Brother, uh, I guess the guy not this guy that was just talking a sick and a goal?
But was it Ryanos.
I'm gonna tell you what it is is this team chemistry is not what it is supposed to be. You got three guys who would probably be like off guards because even though they say Bradley's a point you can't be a point guard and you're only averaging to assist the game.
My man.
A point guard is a guy that sets the table so everybody can eat, and that's not happening. And the other thing is what I noticed about Jaydon, Caleb and kJ Lewis at first, although kJ has kind of put the brakes on it a little bit, is all of those guys were trying to take play hero ball. If you notice the shots that they were taking, they were taking shot when they drove to the basket a high
degree difficulty. Yeah, if you Michael Jordan, you can hang up in there and make those kind of moves and stuff like that there, but those guys don't have that skill level.
Yet.
Another thing about it is poor Monk krisis Uh. Every time he brings the ball down. Uh, the smaller guy slapped them, slapped the ball.
Out of his hands.
Uh except for the Larso I haven't seen a consistent outside.
Shooter, three point shooter on this team yet. Well, you mentioned four or five things right there. Tells you why they're struggling.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then poor Toby o'walka.
I heard Rhino saying that.
They want more out of him to become a He wasn't a store at Tennessee. He was a just a defensive player and a rebounder. And if you expect the guy to transition into that, that's not gonna happen. So right now, what I could see is poor Timmy Lloyd. Uh yeah, he probably got the players that he could get, but the chemistry is screwed up.
Big tie.
Right. So what Ryan said too about bollow, how he just.
Took up so much space in the middle, and maybe he didn't make every basket, but he was he was a force. He changed He changed Arizona offense. If you got the ball into him, you know, if he got it out quickly, usually somebody was wide open because they're all collapsing on him.
And they just don't have that right now with any of their big guys.
Right.
Well, you know, I think I talked to you Steve, within the last month or so when they were losing games like to do and uh, as I told you, I quoted Clint east Wood and Ronald Reagan. These areason the fans.
They ain't seen nothing yet. Well, as long as you say make my day, I'm okay with that.
He Well, I'm just telling you like this here, brother, Uh they were crowd and getting all twisted about them losing and stuff like that, then they're gonna lose them no game.
Oh yeah, no question.
Basically, when you look at Iwall Stay, you look at Houston, you look at Kansas State as Unfortunately, I do know about the players and the people in this conference because I follow college basketball.
There's four or five.
Teams in this conference that's gonna beat Arizona regularly until uh we upgrade in some areas.
Yeah, okay, appreciate the calls, always call any time.
Yeah, but you know I'll still cheer for him and watching on TV.
Look, take make sure you take your headache pills and all that stuff. You'll have one.
You are no.
I know what's coming.
I know what's happening A lot I mean, I'm not I'm not gonna need no private or fifth don't be rolled, so I'm.
Gonna be all right, perfect, perfect, Well, thanks for calling me. I appreciate you. Thanks, you will you will well.
This is interesting to see how people cope with this if it if it goes south, how are they coping now? I mean, I have a hard enough time, and I don't really you know, I got nothing going. I'm just you know, I'll turn the sound off most of the time or be somewhat superstitious. But it'll be interesting to see if there's a fan trend on how are you dealing with all this?
It's not good. It's not going the right way. We got a last call before we go. Hello, you're on the air and eye on the ball?
Was there somebody on his show defending the Pack twelve network? Yea fact and the result of it? And then the last caller, we know what a point guard is. We're Arizona fans, you know what I mean? And then I don't know if he's gonna take his pills and smoking?
Oh, he like you?
If anything? If anything, we's off Jay, and you know it, who's Jay? I think we say we're not a part of the Blue Bulloods. And it is what it is.
We're soft, hey, and you know I'm a Sean Miller guy. At least we were tough before we softer. We're dairy queen and it's yeah, it is what it is. They're pretty like Dave Silver.
Than you.
Fighting for Joe, fighting for the hair.
Jel I wonder almost hair, Joel Cake gun nine hat. My friend has a pug and you know we named the pug what pug Foster.
He was on k gun for a few years. That's why. That's why he said that. All right, man, you know who that was?
Right?
Like that Mike, I'm gonna try to have him as a as a co host. God help me. Let me come in with him. Got to help me because it's gonna be crazy. If you want to come in, it'll be like yeah, yeah, back and forth with a bunch of crap. Are we ready to go? How do we not screen that call? Are joking? Of course? Do we screen the call? No? We kind of see takes. Yeah, we just as love as it will cus. Thanks that Mike for the call. You know you'll be in here soon,
irritating people. Don't worry about that. We're ready to go, Kenna, we can okay, No, we got time. This is my problem when I'm on your spot that I don't know to go exactly because then I go, then I come back too early. But I play it anyway. Is it okay to come back early? I have no idea. It just does it because sometimes we do come back early. Yesterday I came back two minutes early. I'm thinking, I hope everybody's hearing me. Yeah, I have no idea. I try to get it as close. How do you know
is there a number? There's a number, you said, uh, for for sure? The the next time okay.
Uh.
The audience is learning radio one on one, so this is the next one up, uh huh. And that's how much time. Okay it's gonna take for all right, all right, we're going, We'll be back. I can news on the other side.