This is I on the Ball with Steve ra Ba on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio while just search Eye on the Ball.
Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In today with me is Mike Quake, Quinn, Mike Quinn, Maddick, Mike Manic, Madic Monday Mike, Yes, he's right today and now we have one with breaking news.
This is I on the Ball Breaking News on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Happy Monday to everyone out there. You're truly mister Griddy. Two shoes, Mihito Lindo, if you want to give me one my you got your. It was a Goldilocks Goldie. My favorite segment right here. One I'll try to deliver. Don't screw it up. Starting with some Arizona athletics. The men's tennis team, after losing to Central Florida, got back on the right track.
Over the weekend. They had a win against Utah State l MU.
I'm not sure what that stands for, but then number twenty five Pepperdine on Sunday Maryland Marrimount.
It'll get you outside of two Saturday. Are they are they ranked? Are they ranked?
Pepperdine, They're like the top ten, number ten, number ten tennis they be number twenty five, Pepperdine four zero, it's a tennis school. Then eight and one. Yeah to the softball team. They had the Kendrea Classic over the weekend. They lost on Friday to Washington.
They lost on Friday to Washington. They lost from two to six.
They ended up beating Western Michigan about two hours later, fourteen to six. Saturday, they run ruled Alabama number eleven, Labama nine to one, and then they got revenge on Sunday yesterday, beating Washington for zero.
Yeah, do you have you don't have tickets? See, we talked about that, and it's like they had they had two tickets season tickets available next to each other, you know, the only one. There's only one two seats next to each other. Really you looked in and I looked into it. Yeah, it's like going. They did like maybe five individual seats. That place is packed. Oh yeah, because I was gonna say, I'll go, I'll go for a year, go in, go go you get yeah, go yeah go in ninety ten. Yeah,
I know, I know how you go in. No, it's like there's you just can't keep good seats. It's like the night you and I lost two thousand dollars playing Roulette. You know, I lost it with Buck and you lost a thousand nights or night exactly exactly. I hope my wife's out less the No, it's it's it's impossible. I mean, it's like one of the hottest tickets in town is trying to you'd exaggerate, I'm exaggerated. Yeah. I think they were like there were just like five years Ken Dan
was the coach. Now this year, this year, trying to get I looked in the season two really, I looked in the season tickets. Ryan Haystings, who's my guy? Oh yeah, in the in the A club okay club that makes sense. Yeah, And he sent me a thing it's like, okay, there is one opportunity for two seats together. And uh, you know, way down the first eighty books per season like one hundred bucks. This season it was like three undred bucks. I oh, really, yeah, you get fifty to fifty. How's that?
But it's like, hey, you know what I mean. There it's a hot ticket. Yeah, it really is hot. I didn't watch. I did watch the Arizona Meet the meet the team in baseball. Okay, I say go ahead, you want to take your thunder.
Softball plays again starting Thursday in the Beardown Fiesta. They got South Alabama on Thursday.
That's there they're hosting again. Yes, ma'am can dread Classic Beardown you know hot Dogs, and then the son or In Dog Classic Friday.
Friday they got the cal State Fuller ten and South Alabama showdowns and then Ohio State or in Ohio State Ohio on Saturday, finishing up with cal State fullar ten again on Sunday.
Okay, softball season started back. Baseball is going to start too, has started? I think, yeah, Well, they had their squad Texas here a few in a few.
The women's team, after a tough road trip to the Mountain Schools, beat rival Arizona State six fifty nine and McHale Center. I was getting ready for softball fifteen to ten, now six and six in conference.
Still looking at are Yeah, but if they're up and down big time. So they ask you, so you were at softball, which softball game did you cover? Alabama? So I'm sure they're optimistic about that game. How did how they look? How they look They looked real fast. Offensively, they run the bases really well. Defensively, they get they got a strong outfield where they can cover a lot of ground.
Quick pitching looked pretty good. So I mean that's the key to be successful. Yeah, only I've also only seen one game they didn't.
Uh well, they certainly hit the ball. Yeah, they hit it. She's she I don't know if she's up against it, but this is her fourth year. They got it better.
I think I think there's a lot of expectations to come with true because of camera. But of course I think I don't know. There's a that's true, that is very true. Not a lot of patience. I forget the X factor there, but uh I know, yeah, number eleven Alabama. You you shut him out through I think almost three four and a half innings and then only get one run on the night. And that's obviously because they're they're Arizona's offense caught fire.
Yeah, and uh.
So we'll see it should be it should be interesting season for them.
Is a consultant. He's still kind of in the office. You ask, you know what you're saying, Well, I am, I'm saying that he is, but I don't know that the coach softball coach, and I don't have her name, but she was picked by care Yeah. So it's like, does Careas say you're done? No, no, no, no, no no no, not up to him. Yeah, I know it's not up to him. But my point is, I bet he has some influencer. Oh sure, of course they're gonna ask him. Of course, of course. Yeah, I think that
I think that helps her. Yeah.
So after the road went at BYU and the home win against Texas Tech, oh tobay O Waka was named the Big Twelve Conference Newcomer of the Week.
Yeah.
Uh, pretty good performances back to back. Yeah, no, he was fantastic. He's fantastic.
And then they didn't play without Townsend and and who knows if that's a good thing or a bad thing. So I think till the death at some point's gonna hurt. It's gotta play a part. Maybe I'm wrong, but okay, so Newcomer of the week, Well, next week it's gonna be like, you know, what is best right handed player? Yeah? I know, it's like newcomer. It's like, okay, everyone on the Arizona squad is a newcomer. Okay, the it's like I'm gonna sure, how I guess it used to be
freshman now you know, I'm sure they do. It's like on six player of exactly be third guy down on the bench. I got going for Steve best to wear their jersey, best looking jersey, exactly looking hot there. I will say, you know, you talk about the you know the impact of six playing six or seven deep, I'll tell you that they used to go right. So it's it was one of those things where it's like fine to do that. Let's talk about next year, you've got
you play six seven deep. Previously it's like going, okay, your other guys they're coming back next year because where you're gonna go, yeah, okay, you're just going to develop and eventually you'll be part of the six seven deep. Now there's coaches going a little bit deeper, trying to give these guys a little playing time so they don't hit the transfer portal. But we talk about this long time, like you have kids. I have kids, but they're gotten mine or old enough. How do you make them happy?
How do you keep them happy? You got to you got to keep them happier, they're going to leave, and then if they leave, then you got okay. Then we're not developing it. It's like going. So it's like, hey, I'm going six seven deep, I'm out of here. I gotta go, gotta go, and then I'm not party. I'm eight. I'm not part of your plans. But yeah, exactly, I'm number eight. Guess what I could be? Number four? Yeah? Well, I know you saw it. I mean ones and Philip
is in New Mexico. I really don't know how well he's doing with the kid that went to Saint Mary's. I think it is Ascus whatever his name is.
St.
Mary's or Santa Clara, one of those.
I know the ball he's gone, he's gone.
He went to a bunch of.
He went to Santa Clara, right, yeah, yeah, there's a couple of the one he's playing really well in California.
I think it's Santa Clara. Maybe Saint Mary's one of those. So, you know, but how do you keep these guys? These kids are good. I mean they came here for a reason because they're good. There's some deficiency's on defense or whatever, but then they leave and then they shine. No Doug they're good. That's why they came in. There's just no room, right, And that's the thing about it. It's like, you're not gonna okay it was it used to be less. You're not gonna play this year. We're gonna go with a
seven man rotation. You're number eight, But I'm telling you something right now. Next year you're gonna be number three and you're playing the full time. That's that's like going, I'm out of here. That's how Luke got it. You know. Then they left on loot too. But you know you're playing against a top five. That's a pretty damn good top five. Guess what you're getting better by doing this? Right in a year or so. It's like you ever have a Volkswagen? Do you ever travel on a Volkswagen?
Like lot? How big was your trunk? You can only fit so much into that trunk? You only have five, six, seven people? You can kind of play? Yeah, I mean you try, but you can. Yeah. Yeah, that's the thing about I mean, you can't play everybody. But then you got to think about it. It's like, what are we gonna do now? You know, we really want to play you, but you gotta make sure you'll be your next year. We'll coach you. You know you said that, you promise me this. No, okay, sorry.
No, so obviously Arizona beat Texas tack on Saturday eighty two seventy three, some good breaking news. Well maybe no, no, so Dick by Tel returned.
Oh yeah, two sons. Not too keen on, mister, but who knows. He might be.
He might be a good luck chron for Clemson because they ended up upsetting number two Duke. Yeah, flag falls down, he did that. He did one of the early early game I think against Kentucky.
Yeah yeah.
Another top top team went down, number one Auburn at home.
It's number six Florida, who's number one? Now? Did you stay? They said that they should stay even though they're pretty damn good. Yeah yeah, I mean that's saying. But I mean you're gonna lose games. You're gonna lose games. Yeah, sure, Florida. You don't team that. I don't know. Florida's very Florida. All these teams, there's there's no definitive top five or six es. And Arizona like or he said, Erizone's probably the hottest team in the country right.
Now, right, Yeah, they're not one Alabama to college game. They will be there in Tuscaloosa this weekend. Florida moved up to number three. They're kind of I think, tied with Duke for a number that third spot. Tennessee following up five, and of course Arizona moved up to thirteen from twenty, right right behind Texas Tech at number twelve.
And no fault on Texas Tech. They played a fantastic game. It did your team on the road here, they were shooting like crazy. I mean some un believed that kicked him in there.
So one commentary there came back. Another one called his final game to be Brown at ninety one.
That I didn't really he was ninety one. Neither did I. But I was working at ninety one, believe work at whatever? What's that? Just a long career for yeah, you think? So? Why did I didn't read the stories and all that? Because I just didn't. Why did he quit? Now? When did he just wait till the end of the year. I don't know. It doesn't it doesn't, you know what I'm saying. It's like ESPN's dilemma with uh, of course of courso, I mean, at some point you got to say, yeah, yeah,
you're you're done here son. The I don't know, I don't know. It's kind of tough there. I don't know why he would leave. I mean in the middle of maybe maybe I don't know. Maybe, I don't know why would he leave now? I don't know that.
To the NBA, be honest, I think will be missing a couple of weeks with a left calf injury.
He'll be ruled out through the All Star break. What about the big trade injury? Yeah, so I was gonna get to that.
Because Jannie is missing the All Star Game, Trey Young has been added as his injury replacement.
Uh.
He's been pretty vocal about not getting the initial nod, but he'll he's settling for the oh now you want me, Yeah, settling for the for the injury.
Lucas another another heartbroken multi multi millionaire.
God, I feel bad for him. I don't cry for Argentina. I'll tell you what so Uh to that trade big trade from about to week two weeks ago, about ten days ago, Luca Dachas is prepared to make his Lakers debut against the Jazz tonight.
Okay, what about the other side, About the.
Other side, Uh, Anthony Davis is on multiple weeks with the.
You knew what you're getting into to say, it's like, didn't see that coming at all, not not one thing that I did. You see the quotes from the Dallas Mavericks owner about Luca He's fat, he doesn't try hard, he's over. What the hell the dude the leading scorer last year And we don't accept those things in Dallas at the Mavericks, No wonder, Dallas sucks basketball. Football's like it's great. Well, you know, Mark Cuban's not making any decisions.
That dude would never have walked out that door. Yeah that that Uh, that GM would have been the.
First that they've upgraded their security at the business office.
Lived there, I covered some games. It was it's crazy out there. The uh. But Anthony Davis, man, it is so unfortunate that they can't stay stay healthy. And he had a good game, a very good game. Yeah, twenty six points in the third quarters. Load management, baby.
Uh.
So to the NFL before we get to this, before we get to the big game. Uh.
Some slight news, uh, but maybe not surprising. Aaron Rodgers don't likely to return to the Jets.
And it's gonna happened to him to work for ABC. What he's gonna do. He's gonna play again, obviously, someone start his own healthcare line.
You know.
He's he's like one of those psychadelic people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's gonna go off into the you know, sit on a hill and smoke peyote. He uh yeah, he's he's a bit different. Play again. I'm sure you think so.
Yeah, he's got he's got one more go out on his terms.
You won't let Okay, but who's going to start him? Because he's not coming in and battle Jacksonville, jackson some Eveland. Yeah, something already be.
If you're Cleveland, why not bring in a lengthy veteran to to.
Teach your because he's the lever you draft. He refuses to teach. That's maybe he's maybe maybe he doesn't have that choice anymore. Well maybe, but that's not him. But he comes in as a prima donna. Of course, exactly exactly. We need to we need to pop up, We need a pop up to second Steve you're in.
And of course Super Bowl Sunday yesterday, the Eagles dominated yesterday.
That was just a sad That was a sad game, you think, so, I'm just you're watching for entertainment value. There was no entertainment. Anybody who sits there and says like going, hey, we don't need an offensive line. We got we just got all that, we need all the tools there. This is like, hey, you're an idiot, because I'll tell you what. That's all it was. It was there. The Philadelphia Eagles defensive line should have been m v PS for that. I was wondering if they would do that.
So what entertaining about it for you? Was it entertaining to you?
Well?
I think maybe just because I'm a Broncos fan to see the Chiefs get well, yeah, I.
Mean, I mean your team, the team you wanted one, okay, but doesn't make it. It's not even the.
Multiple times last week I wanted the comment to come and hit the earth before that game.
Well, what's that? What's the German?
German?
Yeah, shading freud? You know, yeah, my neighbor has a new car. I help here, Yeah, right, exactly.
You know.
It's one of those things like we used to root for the Patriots to lose, you know, because they want so many times and that's and that's fine. I mean, it's okay to be like going, hey, you know, they've done it enough. There's a lot to be said for that. The you know, it's like there's people today. This is the dumbest thing. It's like Ken mahomes bounce back and proven himself, prove himself? What the hell? I mean, you gotta be kidding. That is the dumbest thing I've ever
heard of. It was on ESPN. It's an article on ESPN. These knuckleheads, I mean, come on, prove himself. Yeah yeah, I'm sorry, he's only been there like what five of the last six years. I was a phrase from from Loot, Not that I quote little all the time, but he how many big games you have to prove to win the big Game? Yeah right, It's like, come on, yeah, look, mahomesomes for sixty Yeah. Sorry, last things I got.
Eagles will be celebrating, obviously their Super Bowl parade a set for Valentine's Day, so.
Some brotherly love on the brotherly Day or whatever.
Uh.
And the Chiefs and the Ravens are co favorite to win the Super Bowl next year. I don't know if you saw this, but there was a protester during the halftime show. He won't be facing charges for his display of whatever you want to know the life time.
Yeah, that chief will be facing any penalties for their display of exactly not being competitive. We gotta go.
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Steve Rivera, He's got his eye on the ball on Tucson Sports station Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to my I on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In today with me is Mike Quinn, got a plan at the keyboard, and now we have Michael from the Arizona Daily Star. Michael, how you doing pretty good?
How are you guys, ask.
You a question. We've been talking a lot about this last hour. What impressed you the most on Saturday night?
I would say that it's a carryover of what's impressed me for several weeks about this team, and that is that they just seem to have a different kind of a different DNA than previous Tommy Wood teams, uh in that they're physically and maybe also mentally tougher than any squad.
That he's had.
I have a column that went up today saying that they're his toughest and greddiest team.
Yeah, and kind of get into all the reasons why that is.
But yeah, they you know, they they face this challenge entering the Big twelve. They had to become that or I think they would have been successful, and they've met the challenge.
In a big way.
Yeah, Yeah, no question, I think I think that's a good number one that you said. In fact, I've been covering the team for a long time, obviously, and I don't remember even before the season started. I couldn't maybe point out but maybe one or two physically tough teams that I covered since ninety one, and this is one of them. And I even asked the question about to me, it's the peskiest that he's had. He kind of debated that a little, but I would I would say that's true.
Yeah, I like that term that you used because that's how I would definitely describe the way that Jayden Bradley plays defense the way that Caleb Love plays defense. kJ Lewis is probably on another level beyond pesky. He's he's a force onto himself, and Carter Bryant is a very good defender also, hands just all over the place.
All the time, but follow but he's not using him to Yeah.
Sometimes yeah, sometimes he's a little bit out of control.
Henry Bassar has been a major difference maker on both ends of the court, you know, not just with his scoring, his dunking, his shooting, but his rebounding, his ability to challenge.
Shots, affect shots.
That's been a huge, huge factor for his mobility too, is another thing, like he's not just a statue in there on either end of the court. And then Tobya Waka, you know, he's just it'd be immovable object down there, the guy that you need to have to pull down a rebound kind of whenever you need it.
So I think.
I listed all top of their top six guys. I mentioned in the column that they all kind of have an impact on the defensive end in one way or another, whether that steals, blocks, rebounds, whatever the case. And yeah, you know, hopefully this will mean that they can last longer in the NCAA tournament.
That's that's that's the obvious question.
That the one thing that Tommy Wood hasn't done since he's been here.
Maybe maybe this team has this stuff.
We'll see.
Well, we have the beat writer from the Kansas State team here last hour, so I asked him, Okay, Kansas State is going six to seven deep. Now Arizona's going seven deep. Maybe if Talenton doesn't come back for a while, can can Tommy sustain this level given that the depth is going to be very slight and then we're what maybe two months away from the tournament or I'm sorry.
I don't like.
I don't like. Yeah, yeah, I don't like the seven man rotation.
They've they've flirted with that in the past, they've been in that situation. I don't think it's ideal. I know that a lot of people are down on Trey Townsend, and I think he can definitely can play better I think he might need to kind of, you know, take this time away to reassess what his role should be on this team. I don't, you know, it's been a difficult transition for him from kind of being the man
at Oakland to just being a role player here. But there's a kind of a domino effect of not having him, you know, you just you're down one guy and it's just more minutes for everybody else, and then you're kind of one injury away from having sixty six guys. So I would love to see him sprinkle in a little bit of Emmanuel Stefan, a little bit of Conrad Martinez, even if it's just five or six minutes in the game,
that makes a difference. You don't want Caleb Love and Jayden Bradley to have to play thirty nine.
Minutes every game, which is what they played in this last game.
Yeah, So what what changed in our you know, in in what we've done and I and probably defensively is the best way, Well what change that got us going on this stuff? I mean it can just be like twelve.
Yeah, that's a great question, Like is it just a mentality that's changed?
Is it a you know, sort of.
A prolonged coaching emphasis or is it just that they the guys that they have, that they're those types of players, you know, they're kind of they got some junkyard dogs, you know, like kJ Lewis and Carter Bryant and Henry Vassar. Their their tone setters, you know, just the way that they attack people. And kJ of course had a pretty big role on last year's team, but not as not as important of a role as he has now. And Carter Bryant wasn't here, Henry Vasar wasn't.
Part of the mix.
I think those guys have really changed the nature of this team in a big way. And you see someone like Caleb Love kind of the contagious nature of it. Caleb Love is playing that way now whereas maybe he wouldn't have before because you kind of see everybody else doing it, you know, it like becomes It's this mentality that that kind of takes over and permeates everything.
So one of the things the reason why I asked what really impressed you? I thought you might go the way I went. Uh, And that's Henry v how he played, you know, he looked like he was on his last leg and then he found another leg. But it's like, here's this dude, could I buy you a sandwich? Because you look thin? And then he comes up, he comes up Like I even asked that question, is how does the seven footer looking like him become a beast? And he was a beast he was.
And he's listed at two hundred and thirty five pounds. They have these, you know, if you go on there on their roster page and if someone's been there for a few years, you can click on this button called historical right, so he's listed at two hundred pounds as a freshman, two twenty five as a sophomore two thirty five currently as a red shirt sophomore. But you know, compared to Tobya Waca, like he does look skinny, right, Yeah, I think he's you know, probably stronger than he looks.
And he just like he just plays.
Like you would not expect a European whose name people might mispronounce as Henri to play, you know, like he is a menace out there. He had that kind of like this ball is mine kind of mentality. It was one there was one coming our way, Steve where he just ripped the rebound away from his teammates, you know, and like you're almost worried that he's going to swing an elbow into one of his teamates faces, Like he wanted that ball really badly, and.
That's what you love to see. And the threshold that he kind.
Of crossed in this game was playing more minutes, because we've seen him play really really hard for four or five minutes at a stretch and not you know, not being able to sustain that, but he kind of had to because of the shortened you know, the shortened rotation.
That they had.
Yeah, yeah, no, no question. And you talked about you talked about four guys. I don't know if I paid enough attention to uh they don't have talentsend and they don't. They're not getting much or haven't been getting much from uh Delorso, which, of course you need him every now and again to sprinkle a three pointer or two. But they're playing with kind of four dudes that are playing out of their mind.
Yeah, I mean, Deloso is an interesting one. He has his moments, yeah, and then he does. But there are certain games, Yeah, in certain games where he you know, he doesn't really he he's different from the other guys.
He's kind of just a specialist to me, you know, like he's I mean, he's a pretty decent playmaker.
He sometimes will surprise you with some of the stuff he's able to do in the lane or around the hole, but really he's out there for floor spacing and to make open threes if they present themselves. And this is not a great three point shooting team, as we know, and you know he is I think probably the worst defender out of the eight. Yeah, who play the most, but you need shooting and they don't have a ton
of shooting. So I bet I bet you there will be a game, whether it's down the strets and the regular season, or maybe you know, in the Big twelve tournament or the NCAA tournament where he had the big game and everyone is seeing his praises and and the big game is a bunch of three pointers.
Well he knocks down. I wouldn't bet you on that. I wouldn't bet you on that, because I do agree with you, in the next few games you all have that game. The thing about it is, I think you need more of that from him, more than just one game or two. But you know what, I'm not sure I owe you a beer or you owe me a beer. On the lead from Bruce on Saturday, I.
Think we both thought he was going to use the fire alarm as his lead and he did not know.
I don't know if we should just go hang out together and wallow in our misery or.
Right, maybe he should buy us about that.
Well, this was proved that Bruce is not predictable, which, of course the shocks the hell out of me.
So there was a couple of not predictable.
There's a couple of times that you know, you know, early in the game, I mean, Love was not on fire to say the least. I mean there are sequence there where he had but three or four shots that he missed, and some of them weren't weren't that good, weren't that close. Do you think that he is not letting the game come to him? And I don't know if I like that term, but he seems to be pressing, especially early in games. Do you sense that ors? What does he need to do to turn around his offense?
Uh?
He's streaky.
He just I think we have to accept that this is how he is. He's a streaky offensive player, he's a volume shooter. He's gonna have some amazing games, and he's going to have some games where the ball is just not dropping. To me, the difference with him is you can he influence the game in other ways if the shot isn't dropping. I mean, I feel like, especially down the stretch of last season, if he had a game like this, Arizona would not have won.
And now they can.
Uh.
And he had six assist in that game, and people were keeping a lot of praise on him for the job he did defensively and he got to the line they're you know, they're leading, uh the most free throws attempted I made on the team. So, you know, like we're just talking about with del Loriso. I don't know if Delorso has other elements to his game besides the outside shooting.
I think Caleb does, and.
The more he kind of emphasizes those, the more impactful he can be, regardless of whether his shock goes in.
Now, if he gets on a hot streak at the right.
Time, that could be the catalyst that you know, sends Arizona, you know, deep into March.
So so we got to call less hour by one of our regular callers, and I'll throw this at you, and I know what my answer. My answer was easy to him. Uh so it's a Twitter poll question created by him just on the radio. What's more impactful the the Laura, the Fafida replaces Laura or Henry replaces Crevas?
Oh well, I guess you could say that it sort of remains to be seen how the rest of the season plays out, right, because we have the proof of what Fafita was able to do in twenty twenty three, like, you know, leading them to a ten and three season victory in a bowl game, all of that stuff, things that don't happen in for Arizona football very often. But I love the comps A great call. I you know, I don't think we all We also didn't have as much of a read on Crevis as we did to Laura.
Like Laura played off full season plus for Arizona, Creavias was never really like in a prominent role here and was just about to have that, so we don't really know how that would have turned out. He definitely doesn't seem like the same type of player as Henry though right more of a traditional like low post center.
Don't think he's as mobile defensively.
I think it's been one of those Wally Hit type situations for them. But yeah, great question, and I think we'll have a better answer in a month or two.
So let me ask you. Okay, so two months ago that would get us where to maybe late December, early January or you know, mid mid you know, six seven weeks ago, what did you think if Arizona gets this far it would be a good thing in the tournament in the n C Double short What it matters now now as you look at it, what's the what's the difference? How further will they go?
Like, Yeah, I feel like when they were four and five and kind of around five hundred that we were talking about whether they would make the.
Tournament at all, and now I think anything.
Short of the Sweet sixteen would probably be deemed a pretty big disappointment. You know, expectations change, they go up and down. They can change within a season, and they most definitely have.
I was one of.
Those people who wasn't panicking, felt like they would figure it out to some degree.
But I also thought that it.
Was, you know, maybe the least talented team that Tommy Wood had, but they have a different talent the one we talked about at the top of the interview. They have this toughness factor that maybe some other some other of these teams didn't have.
No, Yeah, I think you're exactly right, because it's not as talented as he said the last three years, but they did find something within themselves to be who they are now. Uh, and it is you. You're exactly You're exactly right.
I I keep I keep I was gonna say, I keep expecting them to lose, like have a trap game, a letdown game, or something. It might very well be tomorrow night against Kansas State. I mean it's logical. But I thought the same thing about b YU and.
They beat them.
So that's that's the mental toughness aspect that this team also seems to have.
That you need when times get tough. Pason.
With that said, uh, uh and your potential trap game, and I totally believe in that thing. What's gonna happen tomorrow?
Yeah, I mean I could see them losing. It wouldn't It wouldn't shock me. But I don't think if they do lose.
That it'll be because they.
Got out rebounded or were bad defensively and give up a bunch of wide open layups. You know, it might just be that they're their offense is off you know, uh defense. What I love about kind of a defense first team is that that should be a constant, like there's no excuse, no reason that you shouldn't be able to to play good, hard defense and rebound well all the time because that's mostly efforts, right whereas you know,
sometimes the shot is just not going to fall. That the nature of basketball, you know, hit or miss league as they say about the NBA, And so I like that aspect of the team. If they do lose, I don't think it'll be because their defense faltered or the rebounding faltered. Eye, but I could see them losing, like they're not going to go nineteen and one in the
Big twelve in their first year. But then again, I keep saying that and they keep winning, so we kind of keep moving that bar a little bit higher and higher of you know, what their final record is going to be when the twenty games are up.
Well, thanks, thanks for the non committal answer, Specialty dismissing the just not trap game or or or thinking that they're going to have a trap game and then them not because of what you're saying about the mental aspect of it. Does that help us when our trap game is a fifteen verses of two.
Oh man, that's a great question.
Yeah, I don't see river at me. It's because that's why I don't come back every month.
There should Yeah, there should never be a trap game.
In the table, right, you should be completely locked in.
There should be no such thing. You should be taking every game seriously.
And I say that this team has no excuses for not taking an opponent seriously considering how many times they've been upset. They you know, as a two or three seed versus a fourteen or fifteen or whatever.
So you're right, they should be very much prepared for anything.
And like I said, I think defense and rebounding can be constant that can help you to win games when the ball is not going through the hoop in the way that it usually does.
I'll leave you with this, Michael, So since nineteen eighty five, I think you just created a logjam a few crashes by saying that, because that's how it's been the tournament. You know, they're playing against lower seeds and they get beat and for unexplainable reasons, yes.
They have. It's happened. I mean, you know, it's happened.
Too often, right, You don't want to be the butt of that joke, right, So that's what that's what is maybe maybe different about this team. It's still speculation at this point, but it's something to kind of hang your hat on that, you know, maybe this maybe this time, it will be a little different when it comes tomorrow. So of course you have to have luck, you got to have health, you have all those things. But I like what I've seen so far.
Okay, and with that, we'll leave you with the halftime show of they're not like us. Yeah, they're not like us. They're not like us. I like, thanks, Michael, we'll talk to you again. Thanks, I thank that. Yeah. Sure, maybe this team is different than the book. Maybe, But the thing is the maybe is maybe not Yeah right, yeah, I mean you never know, and you won't know, you know, you don't know until you know. We got to go. We're way over, come back and then make it. Take
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Streaming live on the iHeartRadio app. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rovera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to ying the ball here a Fox Sports fourteen fifty obvious Rivera. You're Mike quick, Mike U one here. We got about seven minutes. We went long, We went quickly with the Michael good stuff, very good stuff. People don't talk about the mental part of the game, and that's going to come to fruition here pre soon. When you're playing twenty to twenty plus twenty minutes or twenty twenty plus minutes, you know, and thirty plus minutes a game, you gotta be you gotta be tough, be
mentally tough in there and physically tough. Right yeah, An he calls me, Okay, you got a good chance. You can call us five two, four, one, six, seventy four forty. You've gotten a few calls already. Yeah, good show today, Good show today, Thank you, Mike. Thanks Monday. Your manic Monday turned into magic Monday, Magic Monday. Yeah, magic Mike. Yeah, it's a good thing. It's this isn't a video call. Yeah,
So you know, I was gonna say something. I heard that Texas coach was yapping a little bit at Caleb, you know, all in his ear. When did you hear this?
I saw a little bit of it. It's very little. I didn't I don't know what they said. I just I know they were when you were changing.
What you saw. Yes, yes, I heard the official kind of called in. We got a call. Okay, oh you're on the air and one on the ball. Who's this is?
Brian?
How's it going?
After watching that game, I think we should probably be talking about giving Tommy Lloyd a lot more credit than we've been giving him.
Yes, do you know, Brian? Oh?
Okay, the people, a lot of the people who.
Call yeah yeah, no, well a lot of people who were on the internet ragging him in December and January.
Yes, oh, now they love him.
Yeah, you know you know how they love him. They don't say anything.
Yes, all right, right, but you know also too, you know, I mean after the big injury, you know, and to basically revamp your whole team, he's done an amazing job. Oh yeah, yeah, you know. And my my biggest critician about the game the other night was, you know, I thought they played great games. kJ Lewis. I mean, he's terrific athlete. Can't take that away from him, but boy,
does he make some terrible decisions offensively? Well, you know what, this guy should this guy should never be able to pass the ball.
Well, you know, something that we failed as a journalist to ask was what's up with that hand? Because because we saw videos of him being niced blah blah blah, and then it looked like the hen was affecting him. Right, he couldn't get to the basket, he couldn't pass the ball, to your point, Brian, and then all of a sudden he was hitting jumpers and doing these.
Things right, you know. And and it's not just this last game. There's been a lot of games where you know, it's just like he just didn't think when he passes the ball. I mean there was a pass toward kind of toward the end of the game that he basically handed the ball to the guy and the guy went in for a layup. But you know, but he plays great defense, and you can't you can't can't criticize his commitment to play. The guy gives you one hundred percent
all the time. He's busting his butt out there.
Yeah, there's no doubt about that, Brian. I got to ask you the do you think that's a function of the fact that he Tommy Lloyd wants him to go fast, because he definitely Tommy Lloyd definitely says, I mean you can tell him this, go go go fast, fast fast. So that's how he starts as a difference, which is a change from what we had before, where was stop stop stop, let's not have fun. Right.
But one thing to I know about Taylor Love, and you know he did not shoot well the other night. We know that, but boy, I tell you one thing he made up for it on his defense. One thing that's one thing he's done this year has quite an improvement is his defense, you know, and he's taking upon himself to take their number one player and basically trying to shut him down. It's done, and it's done a very good job most most of the time this year.
Yeah, you're only your criticism was mentioned. My only criticism. I'm into. The whole game was up two and a half, two minutes whatever, it was, up by eight ish. They get the rebound, rebound, the second rebound and Caleb Love takes as open three with about five seconds out into the You know, you get that.
But that's one thing they done. If you watch the U C. L a game they did the same thing. You know, Baso, I went down the court and tried a three three pointer with like twenty eight seconds left to go on the shot clock and wait a minute, Yeah yeah, let's you know, let's use the clock to wordvantage. That's you know, that's one of that's like having an extra player out there.
Right. Well, they survived that, you know, in a good way. It was just some little things. And that's not a credits critique, but it's not a big one.
Big but you know, but those little things come back and bite you, right.
You know, guess what you might be calling me in mid March saying, Steve, remember that time we talked and yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Going back to your comment about Lloyd being a coach his you got to believe that when at four and five he did an assessment of what this team needed, and I think that he sat down and said, Okay, these are the things that they needed, and one of them was kill love playing tenacious T. And I think that that you know, as you point out, that has been a big difference, right you know, their you.
Know, their their defense has gotten much better, and you know this is and also trying to adjust from the Pac Twelve to the Big twelve, and the type of basketball played in the in the Pac twelve compared to the Big twelve is night and day. And it took
him a while to figure this out. I think, you know, they you know, one thing, scheduling these teams that we did early in the season, even though we lost a lot of those games, for most of them, we basically made us a better team because we understood, we understood we got to play some really physical basketball, no question.
And that's why you played these games. Lout believes in that. Sean not so much because he didn't play many games like that. But at least you find out who you who you are, what you need and here we are, all right.
And it's you know, I mean, if anybody would have said back on December tenth that you know, we would be in type for first place in the Big twelve, they probably thought you were crazy.
Yeah. Yeah, Well they do that with me anyway. So what the hell there you go? Thank thank you man, thanks By. That's probably give us. So we got one more call. We got about a minute, and he give us some quick quick thoughts. We got only got about a minute.
Biden shut up and drinking in sure talking about you'll never ante Hey, dude, dude talking about kJ kJ was hurt and anything. But I like the way we're attacking the basket.
You know what I'm saying.
Like it's like Brian attacks the toilet because of his prop day.
Let that old man talk like that shipped me out.
And anyway, as far as far as the super Bowl goals, Pat Patrick Maholds gave up the gold discussion. He had his Lebron James versus the he heat moment and and Brady is the dude you gave me a minute.
I gave you a minute bare down.
I like the way we played that basketball baby.
Thank you, Miguel, appreciate it. Perfect timing. Soone's to get to who we can't. So thanks everybody for listening today. A good show. We'll hear from you guys tomorrow. Thanks