Thursday, January 9, Hour 2

Streamy Live on the iHeart Radio WAP. This is I on the Ball with Steam Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.

Hey, welcome back to going on the Ball here on Fox fourteen and with me, Studo, Jiggins Alt and got our guy Great Frants are here from the start, and yeah, yeah you were here. I'd love to be here. I mean I have another chat next month right for the super Bowl.

Yeah, sometime before, right before the super Bowl, were gonna try and be here, uh and kick that around with you.

This has been a great deal for us. Yeah, I mean it's fine. I love coming out here.

The weird thing is Steve there and my wife, if she's listening, she'll be happy to hear this. Every time we've come out here, I've had something I've had to do after the show, and I haven't been able to stay. Haven't rolled the dice, haven't played a hand of black jack. And today I got to go home right after the show as well.

And yeah, I can verify that. I can.

We had dinner that one time. Yeah we didn't.

Well, you stayed and played some punker, but I had to leave right after that, so you know, which is a good thing. I mean we're getting paid to be here, right, and I haven't thrown any of that money back at the place.

That's good for you. Good for you just walking through this place. I've only been here twice. Really, it's just like Las Vegas. Yeah, it is, it is, it is. It's got that feels comfortable. Yeah, and it's a great looking place. So we talked a little about football, or a lot about fotball. Let's talk a little about basketball. Uh, and you and you were talking about just how they much they look better, blah blah blah. Uh And and I.

Think they have the perfect coach. And I'm not going to try to just anybody's butt or whatever. But he got him through that tough time. And I think mostly because of his personality. I don't know if you agree with me or not, but he doesn't panic and he lets them get through it. I'm not sure that's a good thing the bad thing, but he's they got through it.

Do you remember a PAC twelve coach had Tommy's demeanor on the sideline? Good question, how much time we have?

Yeah, but he was Yeah, the ones that were like that didn't stick around for very long, right, he was you know, come on, you didn't, didn't didn't Walt Hazzard have that?

God, you know what. I don't know.

But and back then it was more of you gotta beat loot, so you had to be serious, you know. You know, Montgomery was the serious guy. Bibby was that guy. No, No, a couple Rob Evans and su No. But he's not at all like Tommy. But he was a laid back guy.

Yeah, yeah, I just remember him.

Him and Rosboro kind of he got on rosborow for a handshake or something, and I didn't like him after that.

Well, yeah, he allegedly said, look at me when I kicked your ass, right the quote the weird remember that after they beat as you beat him up there and they were shaking hands and he told Rosboro that.

And then next year, in the year after it was gonna turn the favorite big time. Yeah, but I don't know, you know, because I don't I don't remember anybody who I thought was, you know, really serious like that. There really isn't anybody like that that you think of now, well, the Pac twelve, No, But Tommy is. You know, Tomy's a different cat though, he's just a different His demeanor is.

It's almost it's almost like he doesn't.

He doesn't.

He doesn't look like anything bothers him. You know, we're talking about Brent Brennan, right, who's kind of.

Saying, you know, same but different, Same but different.

You don't feel you feel Tommy's way more engaged than maybe Brennan is. But you watch Tommy in the game, and yeah, there's time he sees a call and he'll yell at a guy or whatever, but you don't feel like he's losing it to the point of not paying attention to what's going on.

And here's the thing my difference. And I don't know why I would do this, but I would go with for a drink with Tommy. With Brent, I don't know. I'd have to buy the beer. Does he drink beer?

Well?

See, you know what I'm saying. It's it's a different vibe if you had a beer with them. Don't you think the first time I went to lunch with Tommy, he had two PEPs blue rubins for lunch for lunch. I thought he was better than that. You better he's a regular guy. Yeah, well, no, Rolling Rock. He's from that area right up there right.

Isn't Rolling Rock a big deal in Oregon in Washington up in the Northwest. I know it comes from Pittsburgh, but I just remember a couple of our road trips we would go.

We would go looking for Rolling Rock nineteen eighty seven, nineteen eighty.

Seven Olympia Brewery there then.

Yeah, you know Olympia was a big deal. No, we're talking about beer. But the vibe of Tommy's just different. And I've said this to him and to many people. He's he was the perfect guy to come in to replace Sean because of Sewn's situation. It's his demeanor. Yeah, you know, and that's why he's been successful.

Well, I think I think his his way of doing things resonates right now with with the bath with today's basketball player. Here's one things Like we're talking about McK cronin right, who just lit up his players, you know last night, two nights ago, I mean, just crapped all over them.

And he's done that before, and he's done before.

We've seen him say things to his players, you know when when we're on the sideline at the at the Pac twelve tournament and you think what you said, Who wants to come and play for a guy like that? And nowadays you know, and today's player, I think is a little more in a position of power. I guess you would say to say, well, then I don't have to be here for that, because I can play next year somewhere. I don't have to sit out somewhere if I decide I don't want to play for a guy like that.

Yeah, and they get a whole year travel around their conference looking at these other coaches.

Right man, I'd like to or talking to other players.

You can't tell me players don't sit around going, boy, I'd like to play for him? Yeah.

Sure, And that's what they're doing, because that's what they're doing. They're actually physically doing it. But his whole roster changed after lest year. Right, guess what if anybody's roster is going to change the year to year, it's gonna be it. You get there, Hey, you didn't promise me this.

That guy's such a quack. One game at Michael about two years ago, when he was in his fit after the game, someone asked him about the ross or something and he goes, uh u, c l A doesn't take transfers.

Oh he said that, Yeah, well, I remember last year was last year was justin it was it was the guy who spit He talked about the crowd, and it was the guy who spit et.

Yeah, and he said I would expect that from you or something. He didn't know who he was, and he once told me I was there once when a guy said, how come you wear a suit? Everybody else where it's just you know, casual clothes. Now he goes, because John Woulden would wear a suit. Oh yeah, you are so John Wooden.

That's what I wanted to see it, but I didn't have I know John Wooden, and you know John Wooden.

We'll see I think perfect.

The thing is, uh, you'll see him again next year, We'll see him again in the year before after. I think, is it three years, street years or whatever.

So there's that.

But I think, though to your question of seeing people in the Pac twelve, I don't remember seeing anybody like Tommy, but there's a few guys in the Big twelve that are like him. You know, come on, Kelvin, although he's older, it's kind of like you know it was.

He seemed like a laid back kind of guy. I mean, he wanted to kick your ass.

But he wasn't Yeah, you know, he wasn't ready to fight you in the middle of the game.

Would he get into it with you? Oh sure, yeah, sure, yeah, And there's a few I think there's a few in there, kind of more casual.

You know, Bill self doesn't do no, he doesn't show anger.

No. Right, No, that was another guy we wanted to say, just that his stature is higher.

Yeah. Yeah, he knows he's gonna be good, no matter. Yeah, this bad moment will pass, right exactly like last night.

Yeah, they had the issue, had him by like eight ten at halftime, and then they got their butt kicked in the second half, Like you said, twelve points in the second half.

Yeah, that was And.

You're thinking Arizona State might be good, might be give Arizona a tough game up in Tempe, and then that happened.

Well there's the guy with the demeanor everybody likes, right, Bobby Hurley.

Yeah right, Well why didn't do carry him? The most famous player ever in Duke.

And because of that, I think that's you know, they don't want they don't want that guy on their sideline, right, And.

You saw what happened with the in Netflix. One thing, right that it's happened, and it didn't happen and they're state. So let me ask you because what I know. And and Troy came on the scene maybe two three months ago and started talking about kids not being paid from being promised, that not being paid. Now we're we're actually seeing that.

Duke or just every anywhere anywhere.

That surprised you.

I never gave it much thought, but the first time it happened, it was that quarterback at the UNLV And then I thought, well, if they don't have it in riding, this is going to happen more and more.

And it's happening well, Florida State.

They're suing that.

They're suing Leonard Hamilton, four guys, four guys for they didn't get paid quarter of a million dollars.

And then James, when you know how much money guys like kle Glove is making for Florida State. Guys are making two fifty each Florida State basketball.

Yeah they haven't called you yet. Yeah, no, I knew you graduated at some point.

Yeah, No, I have some eligibility left I do.

Well, I'm talking about digging your pockets to.

Take my pocket. They know I don't have that, like they got they got my Uh. I think it's a hundred bucks per per season football tea.

That's they're big.

Yet they get two hundred bucks from us, and yeah and uh and then said, I get a little luggage tag every year and this year got I got this little coin of the commemorating the first year in the in the in the good for you saved, well save.

I got that on my dad.

So you guys, I don't greg. You go to games every now and again. Jay's there because he has to be at work. I'm there because I have to be. But these start times are not going to be very favorable. And will they have a will McHale be a home court advantage when it's eight thirty nine o'clock game next Tuesday?

Yeah, it's for the next few games, late games eight o'clock Saturday, I think for Baylor on Tuesday.

And what about Monday night with Irish State, it's going to be a late late game nine o'clock and that's when they need them.

Yeah, students, it doesn't matter to the students. Yeah, students will be there.

Yeah, but you know, come on, draw our age now.

You know.

It's funny though, because I worked the women's game last night against Baylor. It was a great Well, it was a terrible game and then it was a great game. Arizona just looked out of place. They look they don't belong on this court with this team. They go into the fourth and then they cut it down to like twelve going into the fourth quarter, and I thought, okay,

How did they get that?

They their defense, their defense that they I mean, I don't know how many how many uh layups at you know, Baylor went into the lane. What was working all day? And then all of a sudden it wasn't. And then they just ran some stuff inside and it's like they figured something out during the break between the third and

Yeah, okay, So Greg, let me ask you a serious question because you also did something. And I've been talking to people. Uh, she's at a crossroads, a good and bad.

Uh.

People, you know this is her place, but.

I don't know if it is anyway. I know exactly because she's going to get two percent of the revenue sharing money, which which shocked me. Shocked me, and I can tell you she is beyond angry. Yeah, and I this is how naive I am with that. I thought everyone's getting equal shares. No, but no, it's not even close.

When the football is going to get like she's twelve thirteen, I thought a million dollars, but it's.

Like sixty five percent.

Yeah, in basketball about sixteen percent, and then baseball softball wins basketball about two percent.

It makes no sense to me, but that's what That's how it's going to be across the board.

Though. You know some on internet Texas Tech Athletic director when public and broke down, and that's exactly the cut that Arizona's going to have, like that football pays the bills to.

So what do you what do you think because I'm hearing stuff too.

Do you think she's still on the open market attractive to the elite jobs?

Well, yes, yes, to what degree? I don't know.

Well where's where is she going to go? Though?

That's going to get her more money than that. There's one point two five million, Yeah, you know, where's she going to go?

Yeah?

Well, I don't know what they pay at the w n b A, but I'm sure that there's an eye there too.

It's because they're they're going to have a bad season.

Yeah, they're not gonna because in the end, they lost last night, right and and uh, you know, I was getting to the point that watching the the you know, a big twelve team like Baylor come in and it's different. It's different than watching Washington State or Oregon State or something like that. Like this is a team that's won national championships and a horse running at Paradise and now all of a sudden, there at Santa Aniita, right and

You know?

And and I'm gonna say, you know, Arizona's talent is middle of the road.

It really is.

Now their gutsy, they play hard, they look like they wear carded. There's a couple of players that maybe look like they need some work or some motivation, but there's a talent gap. There's a there was a talent gap last night between Baylor and Arizona. And the fact that Arizona got that game into overtime, to me was stunning based on what I saw the first three.

Remember Jay, when we had her on last and we were in the studio right when we looked at each other when she talked about nil and one hundred and fifty thousand, how can she compete with the the l s us of two million?

And we're like, looking, this doesn't sound it doesn't sound good.

It doesn't sound good. Look at her players were transferred out. Yeah, Matty Connor is the best shooter in college basketball at TCU.

If they had her just one one shooter, yeah, but she wasn't a great shooter here, which I don't understand. She had streaks, streaks, that's right. She wasn't a consistent She's not at consistent.

She's alone. There's other people who have.

But remember they brought that Oregon, the girl from Shavin.

Yeah, and she we saw her play here for Oregon and just light up Arizona. And then when they got her, I like, Okay, that's the shooter they've been looking for.

And she was average And the same one with the a SU girl, the transfer.

Yes, yeah, yeah, she would have streaks, but she wasn't at all.

Conference Yeah, no, it's it's weird, but you know, getting too the question of a DA Yeah, I mean, and look, it's gonna it's gonna be like that in a lot of places. Is that you know when you see where women's basketball is on the totem pole, you know there's gonna be a lot of coaches and saying what, I'm gonna go find something else, whether it's a w NBA or something like that, or go be an assistant at a place that's got a lot of money.

Well, here we're talking about the prodigal daughter, right who's come back, has raised a level to a degree that we never thought possible. And now I'm saying I don't know if I can do this in any Yeah, because the fans are still coming. There was there were sixty five hundred there last night. Yeah, you know, they were getting you know, I worked some of their games when she first got here.

Five hundred eight hundred. You know, there's still six thousand people coming to the game. So they're coming. The question is is the money coming in to support what they're doing.

Tough situation.

Yeah, all right, we got to take a break. We're here at sold Sports Sports Book if you want to join us. We're gonna be here for about another forty minutes. Our friend Vick is hanging out with us over here. We've got Greg Hanson who's here for the rest of the hour, and we're gonna talk to Aaron Torres, national sports talk guy from Fox Sports. We're going to get him on the phone right after this, so stick around.

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Streaming live on the iHeartRadio. This is High on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen.

You're welcome back to go on the ball here on Fox.

Sports sporteen fifty.

I'm Steve Rivera, you're Jagans also got great handser with a waiting for our guy, mister Aaron Torres from Fox Sports to talk about whatever, but the interesting stuff. There's a lot of stuff going on in UV obviously the new a D she's kind of first year now almost officially a year, she's almost quite a year. Uh so there's a lot of stuff the softball going on. I'm sure there's stuff there. Baseball starts here pretty soon.

Uh twelfth, I saw somewhere, right, I got players, Yeah, Mason White, guys.

It's odd.

Yeah, yeah, I mean I'm you know that that graphic came up and I just kind of glanced at it and my somehow the A immediately caught my eye, right, and I thought.

Their twelfth there ranked twelve.

You know, that's that's like national championship territories, right, because.

They have pitching. They must have pitching, and they've got a superstar pitching coach. That guy they run in last year, Yeah, he does all that.

I mean, their pitching last year was phenomenal, right, I there was some I mean I loved Candyatti last year. I just watching him pitch was fun to watch, you know, and he wasn't even their number one guy. Yeah, Walter, Yeah, they.

Got Summer Hill, Mason White, Andrew Cane, a kid from Ironwood Ridge.

I mean, it should be fun and go out to the juice box man.

So tell me again the percentages of if adig gets too, who's baseball is getting two?

Yeah, depends on the revenue you bring in. Is your percentage in baseball? And Whens basketball are about a push? Oh?

Is that what they're doing? Okay, I get it now, I get it. Kind of makes sense, Yeah, which means it's not a whole lot.

Did they even think about track and field or saw or anything like that. Probably not. You don't bring anything. Wow. Yeah, crazy.

It's it's changing everything, and you just wonder what's the future of those those other sports, right, you know it can't you know, can they survive, can they make it? Or does it just become Okay, every school's got a football team and that's all you got, boy.

The male non revenue sports. I think in the next five years you're in real danger. Swimming, men's swimming, tennis, men's track, tennisnis.

Especially some of some of the uh you know, facility uh dependent sport you know, like a swimming you know, to have a swimming facility, right, what it costs to run that, what it costs to have a golf course, right to be at Tucson Country Club for you know, for Arizona, can.

You imagine what it costs for a track team that traveled to Baylor for a meet. Yeah, there's a whole lot of them.

Well, imagine if you're not all the gear and all this, this is at Arizona where you're kind of middling group or whatever. What if you're at New Mexico, Colorado Stateium, no kidding you your toast pretty much? How are you going to compete with even the Arizonas when Arizona can't compete with the Texas.

And they're not going to cut any women's sports. So, yeah, the men's volume sports like track, and I mean, i'd say or don't have a very rosy future.

How many how many athletes are there in a track team? Men's and women's.

Gotta be forty on each, yeah, splitting like.

I mean, that's almost like a football team. Yeah, right, that you got a.

Track program, I think it only has twelve scholarships to spread among those forty today.

Yeah, but they're gonna have to get to get some of the revenue, right.

Yeah, that's tough, that's tough. They have twenty one sports, twenty three sports depends on if you count indoor track and field for one or two.

Yeah, man, let's me ask you don't question because I ask the coach, is this question? I know the answer they'd say all the time. Are you you're in the towilet of your career? You're still doing it out of love? Are you glad you're not dealing with it now, even though there's a lot to write about it? Yeah, you know what I'm saying, because it's it's changed so much.

Well, you know what it's like when you're doing it, it's part of your routine and it's just what you do. Then when you stop doing that routine, it's like, I'm glad I'm not doing that. What the hell was I doing?

Well, you know, we've talked about that as writers, and we were, you know, in a time when people read newspapers and be that's where your stuff was. Right, you didn't have to be on social media two o'clock in the morning because some kid on the East Coast got up in the morning and announced where he's going to school.

I had to get video of it.

Right, and and all of that, you know, and you see what you see what guys like Justin Spears, Michael lev some of those guys, you know, the pros have to do you know to cover sports, and like I wouldn't want to do that, no way, you.

Know, on maybe what did you think maybe an average of three nights a month you had breaking stuff? Yeah, when we were all in newspapers.

Yeah, it's every day's and it's just several times a day now on stuff. When you you know, when you see that you know, this this wide receiver and that coach and this linebacker whatever, all in the same day decided on something that affects Arizona and you got to you got to do something with that.

And I'm like, didn't know.

Well, the good thing is like today you have the news, you have stuff to write about. You just never boring, but it's the time of it's the what's next to what's coming?

What's you know? And doing it now? Yeah?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're okay. Now we're getting now we're you know.

The good thing.

They're breaking their own stuff, so you're not calling Can you tell me first? Can you tell me first? Can you do that they're breaking it and you're using their stuff to report?

There is that there's that because I mean, I know you know and you know it, you know, you know, I worried when you when I recovering football, I worry that you're gonna have something that I didn't have. But I don't know if you're worried about that on the you know, going the other way. But you know that was when I when I was you know, covering the police beat. Yeah, you know, something big happened there and

You know?

My the one that sticks in my mind about how the hell did you not get this?

Was when when Dick went to the eyebone against U C.

L A.

And they ran for like eight.

Hundred yards And.

It came after a bye week and they and and Dick get talked about how they you know, they just changed their their formation in the backfield. I literally got called in on Monday. I got called into the managing editor's office and said, how did you miss this? Remember Steve Emery and I think was the sports editor or I don't know if it's Stever Chuck or whatever. But I got called into the mana gener's office says, how did you miss this? I said, I was a practice

No, we talked about it. Now. When we go to the spring not spring, but we go to the fall practice and we see what we see, it says, what are we trying to see? We don't know what we're trying to see. You know, we're just seeing the people are held, they're healthier, whatever, blah blah blah.

You see who's playing, who's the first team quarterback, who's the second dam quarterback?

Whatever. Yeah, that was the only reason you had to spend those two to three hours every.

Every day, man, going to football practice.

What do you think these kids or the people today are covering this?

Well?

Wish we can go to practice. You don't know.

You don't If you had to go every day, you would hate life. Yes, famous last words from Jack Richard. When I started working here, Jack said, I met him the first time. He said, what beat you do? And I said football, And he goes, sorry, what are you talking about. You have to go to every practice, don't you. I said, yeah. He said, that's why I quit basketball.

Don't you next to the prison.

And it was the next thing that well, yeah, it was.

You had the prison, the Motel six, in the in the kmart, and and Tom Donaldson took a picture of that, took you know, from the other side of the field, took a picture of me sitting in my lawn chair and threatened to send it to.

Our editor.

But then and then all of a sudden, people realized that's a good idea.

You know.

And then we all had chairs and.

You couldn't beat the camaraderie. Well, that was a good times, the good times because we could go play pool. Or that's funny.

I was golfing with my my son and uh, he takes he takes his little music speaker and he plays music. But the guy we're playing with also had his own music and friends in low places. That that country song. I explained the story to my my son. I said, that was a Dawson's bar and grill uh staple. Butch Henry would play that every time we went over there to shoot pool. I said, Adam, we would shoot pool with Dwayne and Quina and and and and and uh Mark Lunsford and and Pat Hill and all those guys.

And I don't know.

If it's hard for you to fathom what that was like, not only the camaraderie between the writers who were competing but still friends, friends and then the you know, the coaches and stuff playing poker. Remember at Tech at the Texas Techi we went and got a bunch of beer, filled up the bathtub with beer, and the coaches came over and played poker in that room and that game the next day and they got their asses kicked. But that wasn't why they got their But we played poker

I remember about going into a bar and York City with Jim Rosborough the night before a game in the preseason. N I t every time Arizona's in a preseason n I would you go at that same bar? It would be Rasim Donaldson late eighties in the early nineties. It was just you can't beat those times. Those that's what was the fun. That was what was fun about being a sports writer and why it was work. But it wasn't because you were having so much fun.

And once you were done, you were done, once you wrote your stuff and you sall meet you down there or whatever. You know, you know, if you're not Bruce, you're not doing it.

Let me ask you.

Let me here's another dichotomy, guys, Greg specific to you. They need to sell tickets, right, they need to sell tickets, But how do you sell tickets to to to to fans who don't know who the players are because we're not allowed to tell those It's not that we're not allowed to tell the stories.

They don't let us.

We're not able to tell their stories. How do you go with that? Back in the day, they knew the players because we told their stories. Now that's not the case. I remember going to of all players by some DeLay's apartment. He was the most.

In antic. He was a tough guy. Yeah, to get to know he let me go to his apartment, Yeah, and talk to me for an hour and a half. If you tried that now, they wouldn't even do You.

Remember walking walking into their locker room after they lost in Long Beach in nineteen nineteen ninety to Alabama. Yes, and the door opens and he's sitting there on a slumped in a folding chair and you said, I'm not going over there. And I was the one who had to go over there and talked it.

And then I heard Judd Busher just ripping me.

Look at that guy, and that was part of the reason. Well, that was why Luke got mad, And that's why Luke got mad at me over that whole story. Didn't talk to me for years after that. But you know again, you know, you talk about Bison dalely. You know, I went to I just wanted to spend the day at Steve Kerr's apartment before the eighty eight season.

I picked him up at practice.

I picked him up up, We threw his he had he had ridden his bike to to practice. He lived over there in that those apartments that had been in elementary school on Park and uh Park and Speedway just north of Speedway on Park that converted an elementary school into some apartments and that's where he was living with Bruce Fraser. We threw his bike in the trunk of

And people knew who they were. And to my point, for this with with Loot, he let them grow up, let them say what they wanted to say with you know, with what the reason Now you know, Greg comes in Burn and Sean and it's limited very watch what you say, YadA YadA. It's almost us against them and it should never be, never come to that, but it has.

Arizona beat Utah Utah and like two thousand five fifteen when Utah was the top twenty five team in basketball. Yeah, and it was on deadline game and I was waiting in the tunnel a way back there, yeah, and Solomon Hill walks out and he saw me. He said, you want to talk to me? Yeah, So I went over started talking to him and that sid they had at the time, Oh Corey. Yes, Corey was over and physically pulled me away, pulled you away, wouldn't let me talk to me.

I would have fist fought right there. We would have thrown me, but that's the extreme. We would have thrown hands.

Yeah, completely harmless something Yeah yeah, yeah, And that was just the way it is and still kind of is it makes no sense? Yeah, no it is.

I mean, you know, again going back to the you know those days, you know when I went and interviewed Anthony Cook that year, he's his senior year. Right, so I was doing his senior year story, went to went to he was sharing a dorm room with Shawn Elliott, well, not really shared, it was a Sean had his room. The bathroom was in between. And then Anthony sweet sweet right, the sweet they were sweet me and you know that was where Anthony cooked told me his dad had committed suicide.

And we got that personal.

You know, you don't get that anymore unless you're the dude on ESPN that does those stories for Game Day, right when those those very sad stories that they do. You don't get those stories anymore, you know, because because Greg you as a columnist, and Justin Spears and Mike lev and Brian Peterson and those other guys, you guys all get the same thing. Yeah it saw well you write it yea or we you know, we would record that the press the press conferences and just play it.

And that's what was in those guys of stories, the exact same words.

Yeah.

Yeah, there needs to be a change. If they're going to sell some tickets, they need to figure that out. Yeah, I think yeah. All right, all right, we're here at Soul Sports Sportsbook. We got about another well we'll be here for twenty five minutes. We've got a little little break. We've got Greg Hanson who's joined us here for the whole hour. We've been kicking around a lot of stories,

Anyways, sol Sports Sports Book. We'll be here for another off till the top of the hour. So if you want to come by, if you're in the book and want to come and hang out with us, we're here, so we'll be right back.

If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years.

Now.

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Breaking down all the xs and os. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Box Sports sporteen fifty eight.

We welcome back.

You're taking on a.

Big game here in about forty five minutes right start.

Yeah, we haven't talked about that enough Here at SOHL Sports Sports Book, Uh, you can come here and watch and or bet on the Notre Dame Penn State game. Notre Dame minus one and a half. Who are you taking, Steve, Penn State? Really, PennState? Are you taking that in our pool? I don't know, speaking of you know, I'm I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this speaking of I need, we need to help people. I know I haven't been posting the our our, our, our game.

Go ahead because I'm still winning.

But I have.

I have almost run Steve down. I was I was what six points behind you a few weeks ago. I'm half a point behind you with fifty six and a half to fifty six with this weekend and next weekend left to go.

I choked a big one this weekend. Yeah, you guys are fifty six Yeah no, no, no, that's the number.

No that that's our points, fifty six points sixties like in the money.

Yes, yeah, yes, yeah, you're there is I got sixty two someone, so you're about eighty.

Ish forty forty so yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good. Yeah.

I was up there and then I I was never stinking, but he was. He was killing it for a while, and I was. I fell way behind him. But I've run him down, you.

Run me down.

So I got to figure out what you're picking in the school the same.

Well, I already told you one. Yeah, I don't. I don't know. I don't know which one is it.

I'm not going to tell you now if you forgot already telling you not the spread six six they came out of it, came out of six. There's there's eight games. There's the two college games and then the six so wildcard games over the weekend.

With this one tonight. So just because I'll have to go with the pros.

Well I might, I might, you know, when we wrap up here, I still might throw my picks in for counting today's game.

So I.

Do you love the Do you love the playoff? I do? I love the college football player.

Yeah, it's entertaining. It's they're gonna have to go to sixteen. You're gonna say that it's entertaining, You're not, like, well.

I didn't. I didn't like the issue being involved. Well, okay, I know, but take take your but.

The tournament itself, it's yeah, Now again, I agree with what everybody else is saying that they can't give automatic or can't give you know, top seeds just because you're a conference champion, you should be able to get in, you know, an automatic bid for for winning your league championship. But you know, the A s U and both Boise State seeds they were seated too high.

I agree with that.

I'm here now that they're not going to change that for the next one. That they're not going to change it until you know, they're gonna let this run a couple of years. Before they do that, They're gonna wait and see what happens next year. But I've been fascinated

Yeah, no, it's it's been fun. I think they're going to the sixteen games that'd been more fair to everybody.

Won't do that next year, No, no, no, no, ultimately they will well again when you think and of course, the reason a couple of the you know, all four top seeds lost, but the reason two of them wanted is because they shouldn't have been.

Top seeds, right, yeah, of course, of course. Yeah, No, it's been it's been cool. Tonight's this weekends should be pretty good as well. Let's go back to basketball. So about a week ago Arizona and maybe to your point, Jay, uh no, one, a few people had to be in the tournament. They were out of the tournament. Now they're back in. We'll see how high they go, how well they play. But I'm thinking they're not a four seeds right now. They're not a four seed if things go well, I mean they could be.

A five to six. You think they're back in the mix though, Yeah, I mean Campom has them fifteen.

Though, yeah, fourteen, I think When then I saw something and I'm looking up. I'm looking up to see where they are on on DraftKings in terms of, you know, winning the league. But I saw the thing that had them as the fourth place team. It was for you know, fourth highest best odds to win the league at this And I put that yesterday on Facebook.

Did you okay? That's why follow you.

Very rarely haven't finished reading your book, but I follow you, jab follows. You know, my grandson loves your book. He comes to the house every day that he comes to the house. It's sitting there on the table next to my desk, and he rips it open. He throws the cover in the you know, on the ground, and then he just leaves it there, all the stuff inside. Yeah, yeah, this is boring.

There's no pictures in this. So they're gonna be okay. What okay means I don't know because I said this a month or so ago. They have flaws. Those flaws are still there, I think, But are they? Well, Townson's not going to help you. Waka is probably not gonna help you. Although what would they have if they didn't have those two.

But those guys have been they've they they have filled the role that they that they needed to Toby a Waka just needs to be physical and side. You know, when they bring Henry Vassart in, they've got a little bit more of a scoring threat with him. Uh, Trey Townsend has to realize. I know, he made like eight three pointers in that first exhibition game, but that's not

I still believe that they hit a stretch here where they beat teams that she should have beaten.

That's just how I feel.

Big DraftKings has Arizona as the third favorite to win. It's at one thousand. Okay, so they got they got Houston at one twenty. I alway stayed at one fifty five. Then you get to Arizona one thousand. I head of Kansas to be at twelve eleven. There's an eleven hundred. Is Kansas Texas tack at fourteen? Baylor two thousands?

So great?

Just to say this again, you agree with me in the last few games.

Yeah, Cincinnati is not a top twenty five team. Yeah. West Virginia's dust player didn't play. But I think maybe you guys disagree with this. I think Henry Visa has got a heck of the future. Oh heck, I thought that two years ago.

Wow, he's better than Grant Jarrett was a stretch four, stretch five. He can actually play. Maybe his shots are a little questionable from the three, but.

He can hit the three. Oh I watch him in practice.

Yeah, he's going to be a heck of a player.

Can you put the ball on the ground and move with it. Yeah.

Yeah, he's got to get his feet under him a little bit more. But he's had again another thing that you see that a little better every game.

And let's let's not say this or let's go with here. Prebos kind of bogged it down. Yes, yes, it's not bogged out anymore.

Yeah.

Yeah, they were trying to because he's a really good player. And then so they were trying to force that one. Maybe because of the injury, Uh, maybe because he didn't practice much in the in the off season. But you're right, he was clogging things up in terms of the rotation and stuff because Tommy felt like we got to get him in there because we need him. But now that he's gone, it's cleared a lot of things up. Sure, and the motion is different, Yes, it's very it's very

Then he's gonna get physical and throw it up there. But Tobyo Waka is not.

He can't do what Crevis does, and as long as he doesn't try to do what Creevus does, then he's useful.

I think Visar will have a few clunkers at the worst possible time. Yeah, but I also think he'll continue to grow and if he comes back next year, I think he could be an all conference player.

Oh yeah, no question in a tough conference. Right, what about this this guy dyl also? So you need him you need him. Like the other night, he had ten points, right, that's given. That's points to that's gravy because he's not gonna give you ten points every night.

But he's got to.

He's got to hit a couple of clutch threes every game. If it's two, maybe three, that's what he's for.

He's he's got to he's got to stretch the defense out to him.

And it's to the point where if he's gonna shoot, he's you know, they got to know that they can't let him shoot if he makes it, you know, a couple of shots a game. I just got to just make his first one, and now the defense has to pay attention to him.

Well here, here's what you gotta have.

That from him, you have a walk to get you know, maybe six seven points with about seven rebounds. And then Townsend kind of helped with that. So I you, those three dudes who you don't expect much from give you something. This team could be okay, if that makes any sense. I think they brought.

Townsend in on on the premise, we're gonna let you develop into a three point shooters, see what the scouts think about you. And after a few months they went No, that's.

Yeah, because he has stopped shooting him Now he'll throw one up hit, but but he's not doing he's.

Not he's not looking for that shot. Right.

If he gets it and he's wide open, he'll take it, which is good. And if he makes a few, then then that's great. But he's not shooting it all the time like she was earlier in the season, which leads me to this question. Guys Arizona will go as far as as that that three guard tandem takes them. Those guys have to continue to play together, continue to respect each other's roles, and not get selfish.

That's I think that's what has to happen.

And then all those other things del orso and and and vas are in towns, all those things fall into place. If those three guys are doing what they can do and should do. That's how I see it. Yeah, that's my expert opinion.

What it's worth. Thank you very much.

That's what your group probably says to No, but I agree, it's it's the three three. It's the three guys, I mean, the three of me goes. If they don't play well together, they're not going to go work far. Yeah, and then Caleb is so hot and cold that I don't know but there. But you know, the guy that they need all the time is Jayden. He's he's the he's the the wholeus of the group.

But when Caleb had thirty something, thirty one, thirty three the other night, did you think he had that many points?

So?

I didn't either, because you know, on my screen, you know, when I'm when I'm doing the stats, it doesn't give me any stats like that. If I want to see stats, I've got to open up the stat broadcast. And late in the game, I you know, I looked up at the board, you know, in the scoreboard in the in the arena, and I said that he had he was in his thirties.

So I'm like, when the hell did that happen? I had no idea. It didn't look like thirty points to me. This team looks so much different when he's doing that, though.

I mean, he they wrote him last.

Year, and until he didn't right, until he couldn't well, until that the load got too heavy, and it you.

Know, I guess what hold on to your ask?

Of course, of course you go based on somebody's history.

Yeah, yeah, where do you think I'll happen to Caleb Love after beyond.

He'll he'll he'll, yeah, he'll sign as a free agent, you know, with the NBA. He'll get his shot in the G League or whatever, and then he'll wind up overseas. He's not the same kind of player, but in terms of his level, he's He's who We've had him on the show. He's been overseas forever.

I don't know the guard. No, no, the you have a guard? Why can I think his name is Johnson?

Oh god, he's a level of player, but that he can go overseas, probably do really, really well.

But he's just not quite good enough, isn't it.

Here's to you guys, that he's this good that we see a back player of the Year blah blah blah, and he's not even the fourth best player on the team.

That's how good you for the NBA.

Yeah, that's how good you've got to be to be in the NBA. That's what it's saying. You know, Tiger Campbell didn't make it in the NBA.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's just one of those.

And I hated that guy. I thought he was the most effective player in the league.

He was, he was as good as I hated him, as much as I hated Darren Collison.

Remember Darren Collson. That guy would come in here and kill Arizona.

And he was that kind of a guy because you looked at him and said, you can't be that good because you're five foot four and one hundred and twenty pounds, and yet you're that good.

That's why everyone said the same thing about McConnell all these years.

See, McConnell had had the body and the work ethic. And by the body, I mean he was big enough, strong enough, physical enough, tall enough, and then the work ethic to do whatever it takes for his Tiger Campbell. The guys that size aren't in the NBA unless they're extraordinarily talented, which he was very talented, but not extraordinarily talented.

Okay, we gotta go, we do gotta go. Well, we got a minute. Okay, No, thanks great for joining us. Thanks thanks coming out here.

Yeah, it's fun. I still got to buy your beer, So if you want to stick around, I'll buy your beer. I want to buy you a beer. I don't to buy your beer.

We'll have fun.

He's got to go do some other stuff. He's got to work, to do I do? You got to let me buy you a beer? All right, it's fun that Soul sports. We're going to be back here before the super Bowl that Thursday before the super Bowl. To go through that week with these guys, it's been a lot of fun to be here. Yeah, and we'll be back. Thanks, all right, thanks for being here.