Breaking down all the exes and ohs. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports Sport Team fifty. O.
Hey, welcome back to my the ball here on Fox Sports Portuin Cookie, I'm Steve Rivera and with me to day. Is what your name?
Andy Brown with eight team Security of Big Sponsors and Services. Yes, we're a proud sponsor of the Steve Rivera show. Yes, very fifty, very consistent.
Thank you. I'm gonna put in for your second job here. You're gonna play when you retire in two years. I'm still here. I've been begging for a second guy. You gotta just be funny. If I gotta, I'll do some tapes for you. Okay, I'll get your demo, give you a rehearsals. You can give you a sponsor spot.
But then don't. Then then guess what happens. But I gotta sell my own advertising. Yeah advertising, glad lose both split it. Yeah, that's that'll work. Okay, I'll help it, all right, I'll help it. You come on. You got ray with breaking news.
This is Eye on the Ball Breaking News on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
All right, so kind of staying on track with the softball from the first hour. Two of the freshman signees that are coming in were named PGF All Americans or were named to the PGF All American roster. So, you know, glimmer, I hope at the light end at the end of the tunnel, even though there's a.
You know what she she made Jenny mentioned something that was very interesting to me because everyone I hate I hate Facebook in terms of people throwing stuff out there almost as a bad word, throwing stuff out there without really knowing. And yesterday I saw one and I won't see what what was said, but maybe they should hire this person and without really knowing the story or the background, and Jenny brought something up. Okay, there's ten people, and
Juan has probably brought him out a lot. You were here, Maybe maybe there's some that they didn't want back absolutely, you know what I'm saying, because you had to clear house to bring people in and maybe refresh the roster. That's never taught. Well they left there was disgruntled or whatever. Well maybe maybe that's on the other end, you know, Okay, maybe it's wasn't good for the You put up a fight to let him go, and exactly exactly it's like
how much of a fight doesn't put up exactly. I'll say this, and I say this every now and again. When Coach K had his guys that left thereon had one Jeter with the guy with his Jeter whatever his name is. We had his uniform tucked in their right. So he left right the chancer and he came here one of the big guys went to issue and I'm thinking, if he was that good, you don't think for a second that Coach K is gonna fight his asked to keep him, keep him there right.
No, no, no, they'd let him go. They let him go because you're not good, no, or you don't make the team better. There's a certain exactly you're you're constantly putting in pieces right into a program, and sometimes pieces don't fit. Yeh story ever, look, Coach Olsen said, and we're stealing raised time here, But coach Coach Olsen explained the kid that they didn't recruit. They did recruit, but they didn't sign because all the guys told him they weren't He wasn't an u A.
Guy, wasn't you.
I've heard that story and that was Gary Payton, the glove Like we're gonna pass on Gary Payton because in a couple of years we got this kid named David Salimara coming and we think he's more of an u A guy.
Yeah, and there you go. There are some other guys too, because they took some vote. Sure, guys, absolutely, yeah, right, sorry about that, man.
I just try to bring up some interesting topics for you guys talk about anyways. Tomorrow Super Regional starts at you n C. Nine am. I know it's killing good.
Nine am.
Guys awake, then nine am will have to be I'll be ready to go. I know some of the guys we had the.
Michael Live on yesterday and Brian Peterson, I guess he was leaving at three forty five in the morning to get to the plane and the plane wasn't ready or something happened. They missed her connections and that's the worst. The worst is actually that and then the luggage not showing up. You know that happened to me this weekend. Could you just get yesterday? Yeah? Did you have?
I I had something at my house, so I didn't take all of them home, thankfully.
So people want to know what's raised segment. Let's guess what's in raised luggage. We don't know because it's not it keep moving to the MLB.
Diamondbacks just came back, well not just like a couple of hours ago. Rallied and had a seven run ninth to beat the Braves. Pretty interesting. I think there's so fourth in the well, I don't think. I know there's so fourth in the division. A Rocky's got to sweep. Watch out NHL. Another big game that happened last night. Uh Edmonton one four to three and O T.
Did you know that Edmondon has a hockey teams team? Did you know that?
I did, because you know how I know this When you're a kid, you have one of those little hockey things. It was a little with the sticks and you kind of I remember that that's anything. I had that and then it was like this is not fun because they couldn't go into the corner and get the damn thing. And you know what I'm talking about. It was a little it's like electric.
Yeah yeah, the guys that were moving and things. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I had one of those two that sounds like it was a really cool concept.
Video games.
Before everybody had a video machine in their house, we had these board games.
That was like before the Rock and soccer.
About that about the at that time. Yeah, soccer, that's true, Yeah you armstrong? Yeah what else? NFL?
Uh Yeah, we're getting into it. Another big one tonight is the Pacers and the Thunder. Obviously it's a nine points I think, yeah, nine and a half. Yeah, are favored. It starts at five thirty, so I will be recently now breaking some traffic laws getting back home to day.
No, you don't have to watch the last you know, watch.
Just the last fourth quarter, fourth quarter. You get home by the fourth. Well, you gotta check the score at halftime.
It's fair just because see if it's worth tuning into, you know.
Because if they're up thirty, Yeah, but yeah, I throw up twenty. Yes, you still got a chance. Oh yeah, twenty is not even close anymore. As are coming back from twenty five to twenty seven now, Yeah, but thirty seems to be the point. You're down thirty, people are giving up.
Yeah, I mean it makes sense and ChIL dinner take a night off.
Also Game two of the College Softball World Series or a college World Series, the Women's the.
Women's World Series.
That's I'm taking Texas five Yeah, well they had the bases loaded in the first and yeah, I didn't.
I didn't see what happened after that. I didn't. Yeah, they manufactured some runs that that call was critical. I still like, h.
Do you know if it's the same umpire crew, they just oh, I don't know, they stay would assume they do, and I'm assuming they don't. It's just like in the MLBAM where they just kind of rotate positions.
Maybe I don't know, but it was and every other it's like upon for the review. It's like the NFL Upon it's like five hour game upon for the review.
Five more commercials to watch. Yeah, I couldn't believe that is an obstruction. What Yeah, it's all good. It's like you get in front of me.
I ain't going through you, baby, I'm going around you, making go around.
I actually have a question, what it like, do you think Kaylin Lowe should get like a bit like some slack cut for her just because, like you know, the regional didn't go the way that people wanted it to. But I mean you think about the season overall, and it's like you make the big toy.
I talked about this yesterday. They had a fantastic year forty and thirteen. If that's it, Yes, and everybody, here's the problem. Here's the problem. The people talking a lot of crap don't either go to the games or pay attention that greatly. It's like it's like people, you know this, andy, people, people have questions, but they really don't know. They really don't. This is kind of curious. They don't. They don't. You know, how's this guy's doing, how's his health? Eddie? Do you
And I said, do you really want to know? What are you trying to use the information for? You know what I'm saying? They don't. They're just My teaching is that the gossip, we're just muscles. They're just kind of like they can. You don't need to know, so don't ask. They just want some noise today. Yesterday's was that thing for me on Facebook, capt thinking you're throwing out names and you don't know the story. If you don't know the story, guess what, don't say anything muddy in the waters.
Yeah, exactly, because whatever you read on the internet is truth, right the gospel or creates more problems because yeah, those comments, those are the experts.
Yeah, all right, getting back to the NBA. Patino absolutely not interested in coaching the Knicks again.
Dick won win. That was crazy, wasn't it? Fire that guy? I mean, I don't like that dude, but what he did for the Knicks was insane for twenty five years. Yeah.
Oh a lot of people were coming out saying that was just the dumbest move ever. Yeah, a lot of New Yorkers.
Yeah, ahead, it's like, how impatient can you be? You know?
It's like you just you just reached something that you haven't reached in so long. It's like, why are you going to fire him now?
Yeah?
You know.
Yeah, but they're saying that Brunson's dad is kind of like.
The Yeah, the main game, we don't know, we're not there, we're not in that locker room.
Good point. And you were listening to me, I list you're not in the locker room. You don't know? Yeah, you're You're exactly right. It's why we go into the locker room, nesking, Hey, what's up with it? Last?
It's on the gild Arena show. We don't know what's going on in that locker round?
You do? You love that? See that's another one of those I covered Gilbert here. I didn't listen to him when he was here. I'm sure doesn't when he's I think they're hilarious. I do.
I listened to him and uh Channing Fry, those guys. I like Channing and Richard a smart dad. I mean they come up with a great I don't know about Gilbert, Gilbert, it's it's entertainment.
Yes, it is, just like this show he was entertaining here, him and Batman and Robin and Jason and these guys. We never lacked for stories. So who was gonna coach New York? Then? Who knows? But Malone? Did you sayim alone?
Uh?
That's like people have been throwing his name out there and the it's a recycled business. Yeah, yeah it is.
I mean he took a team to the championship, so I'm sure you know that's probably a favorable look.
About the Uh then Phoenix get a new coach, Yeah, some assistant from Kid right?
Yeah, so maybe Booting hasn't he'll go to New York. Yeah, no, Yeah, I think he's I would hear he's a check of a coach. But I guess he couldn't pull this off here because he had some new ties. You were you were you there when he was coaching at the US and camps? Yeah, I remember him because he's from southern Arizona and he went to San Antonio. I remember him there because I went and worked to camp there at
San Antonio one summer and he was there. All right, just keep keeping it, keeping the ball rolling.
Aaron Rodgers says he's gonna fly into Pittsburgh tomorrow, and in that contract, I saw that.
Good luck Pittsburgh, Good luck Bill. Are you a Pittsburgh guy who?
No, I am not a Pittsburgh guy. I support the local Cardinals. Oh do you? But I have I have a lot of friends that are Pittsburgh fans. Yeah, good luck with that. He's just a toxic He's just a drama show at this point. But I don't want to throw rumors out there on Facebook. Well I'll tell you what. If Cleveland had a spot open, he'd probably be there.
Oh yea with all the other twenty five quarterbacks. Yes, that would throw really open just open tryouts, open, Mike, open tryouts in Cleveland. That would be hilarious. I mean, I don't know. I think it's getting to a point too. It's like, do you guys, do you want this guy mentoring you know what I mean, it's kind of he would do that. Yeah.
Well, I guess Flaco is kind of that way with his guys in that quarterback room. He's just kind of like, don't don't look at me for any help.
Yeah, yeah, it's my job. I've been here a long time, right, Yeah, I mean, I don't know. He did good in that little Cleveland run a couple of years ago. Wow, he's a super Bowl champion, isn't he. Fortunately, Black Origin.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson got sidelined with the shoulder injury.
Someone breathed on him, yeah, something like that, he was hurt, Well he was, he got He's the one that took himself out of the game. Did he tapped out? You don't tap out.
The quarterback man. That's that's kind of what you signed up for. Yes, Oh okay, I guess. Circling back to this, I guess the Knicks, uh well, Tom Thibodau getting fired was it was going in that direction for months.
I don't know. I don't know who's who wrote that.
Someone said that, Yeah it was Julius dumb Ball for okay.
Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me because you know how it is. Well you you don't because there were.
Like here, But if you have a player or two or three or four, it doesn't like to coach. Well, I had coaches. I was on teams that before that, coaches like that. So yeah, for sure, that's why I left where I left a couple of times. Yeah, it's uh when you start to think you're smarter than the coach, right, it's not.
Don't you think that's more of a case now now that hey I'm getting some scratch, I get some money, you know, I'm just as smart as you. Yeah. Yeah, money doesn't make you smart. No, no, no, we'll stop with there. Yeah, that's it for me. Okay, those big newss. Okay, four twelve. How much time we have in the break? It's a five minute one. I mean, let's go to let's go to break. We'll get ahold of peat and then talk more about stuff, sports stuff. Are you ready?
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Streamy Live on the iHeartRadio w APP. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to I I'm the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera in today with me is Andy Brown. Now on the phone. We have the cornerstone, Pete Williams. Pete, how are you?
I'm doing just fine, fellas.
How was that knee holding up?
You know, like I always say, it's still attached to the body. So that's a good thing. But now the thing is, the bones have been straight and the bones are solid.
You know.
I still just have the issues the nerves, so that's just something I just got to live with pretty much. But but the bones are solid, They're intact. There's no issues there.
Yeah. So, and he was telling me a story. I don't I knew this was possible or likely. Uh, but he was telling me a story, and I said, hey, just call Pete. Uh because Tommy, I know you're your guys with Tommy, you know you're you're not bad, but it's not bad. And he was telling me. He was telling me, you know, because Tommy wants the connection you guys with his guys to talk about the history. Tell me your your love in telling them what it all means, because you do that almost every year.
Well again, I'm not here to to take shots to Sean Miller, you know, because when the job opened up, my choice is for the Arizona job, going back to Don Miller, with Don Miller and Jamie Dixon one A, one B. If we get either one of them, I was gonna be happy. So I was happy with the choice. I think Sean did it, did a great job as far as the players he getting in. I know he gets a lot of flack for not getting to the Final four. I don't give no flack for that because
his basketball things happened. I thought he was a great coach. I'm not happy with the stain that was from a program, you know, under his leadership. But at the same time, he never really embraced alumni. Some folks say he didn't really embrace Tucson. I can't really speak on that, but he never really embraced the alumni and former players or whatever.
So you know, there was not that vine.
When Tommy came in. It was just a complete reversal, maybe because they saw Arizona as the standard as far as building, you know, Gonzaga in the same makeup as Arizona's respectful coach show and everything. And Tommy caught me work when I was you know when the day the day of this press conference, he called me at work and I was hung up on it because I was somebody's else. I think I can't watch, and I almost hung up on him, but I took the call, and
I'm glad I did. We had a great conversation, and that same day he had he had his former press conference in McHale where he got a little emotional. He got emotional with us when we did the zoom call, and basically he was saying, how important you know the history and the former players are. And he said, you know, if you guys are ever in Tucson and you guys don't come to the office, you know, I'm gonna be
pissed off. And I think he meant that with every fiber of his heart, you know, so that that meant a lot to us. And he's he's more than proven that those were just words. You know, he's just he's great.
So I told Coach Holston. You know, I don't tell a lot of people that I told Coach Holston because when the program went under that little stand of whatever meant, I had a hard time, you know, getting it from neighbors, uh, co workers and this and that, you know, pay you obey and all these other little catchy praises that came
up with. And I remember telling Coach Houlston, you know, for the first time in thirty some years, I'm actually, you know, kind of shamed to be a part of the program, you know, based on what was going on. But when Tommy took the job, it was a complete three sixty for me, you know, and you know, you guys probably.
Heart me say this again.
It felt good to feel good about Arizona basketball again. And that's what Tommy Lloyd has brought.
And your message to the guys when you when talk talk to them in the locker room.
We got the players, Yeah, well, you know, all we can do is just kind of you know, give give them the history of what it was like, the struggles, the struggles that in the beginning, what it was like, and then the prosperity the program has had over the years and how proud we are of it. And they would truly understand once they get out of school a few years and you know, provided that, you know, the
tradition of winning continues everything. I mean, it's uh, it's still just with a lot of pride, especially I think from our initial group, because you know, you know, when when Sean Miller came in, the program is down. That's a little different. When coach also came in, the program is rock bottom. So I think when people compare well so and so on the first few years they they did that well. When when when pasch Muller took over, Arizona was still a brand. They were still a brand.
We were nothing when we came in with Coach O and we helped get that thing, started to build it up. So there's a difference. That's why the pride me and so many other players, particularly in my era, the pride we have in Arizona's nights because you know, we put in that grunt work and the seat it's the same. I won't say excellent, you know some good.
That's the same.
Success this program has had over the years just is truly amazing.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think what I was telling Steve about was when you addressed the team and you're basically, hey, the reason why you guys are sitting in these nice chairs and this nice locker room is because the guys that came before you, right, the guys that did work before, and you're looking them up here, and it was you and all those guys up the front. But you didn't
tell them, hey, play for us. You said play for the guys after you, like, you need to keep building it and play for the guys ten years from now. And I think that, I mean, that left me with a great impression of your leadership and what you mean.
And if they do that, that means the program is going to continue to prosper. That's what it's all.
About, correct. Yeah? Yeah, you how often you touch to tell me? I haven't.
I haven't talked to at all this this offseason, but normally during the season. You know, I hit him up a few times of years, and you know, coach Lord, he always he always comes back with a snatched the little phrases things I can't repeat on the radio. But man, man, I'm just I'm just blessed. I feel blessed we have this guy running our program, and hopefully we'll have him for the next ten, fifteen, twenty years. How much longer he even wants to coach, because I'd love to do.
You know, we are stacked going into this year, right absolutely. Oh my gosh, Yeah, how did you feel? I had you on a couple of times during the season. A lot of it was it was down and then up, and then down and up. At the end, I think everybody had a feel good because of how they played in the tournament and the week or so before that too.
Well, even still early in the season when we were going taking our lumps or whatever. I actually way back then and we're going to the tournament. You know, there's no not my mind, it's going to turn around. Sometimes it takes teams a little longer, but see what it is off so as people would see these names on paper and they get so caught up with I can't
tell you how many years every y have so frustrated. Oh, we have so much talent there right now, We have so much talent, we have so much death and this is what. Guess what, you know, how many other teams in the country they have that same talent and depth and stuff like that. So it's not just isolated to just us. Everybody has just a matter of who's coming together,
who's ever sustained it, particularly at the right time. So I felt we would be at minimum sweet sixteen team, which we did, and after that anything could possibly happen, you know. Unfortunately it didn't. But I came away from the season feeling feeling really good, particularly how we started and the way we finished.
No question. In fact, Pete, I say that all the time. Every one says, all we're gonna have players, are gonna have players? I said, you are. But I've been covering this team for thirty some years, and guess what, I've never not said that one, And like this year they have as Andy says, they're stacked, okay, yeah, but still being stacked. They're ranked eighteenth going in right now, Yeah, chemistry, it means that means seventeen other teams have the same abilities.
So it all shuts out. How does the team play together? Right? You only got one ball?
Yeah? You know, you know, and I hate the wedding, but hey, since it, let's do it anyway. What if you know, you probably know where I'm going if Carter had it came back.
Oh, Henry and Henry, hen that one hurt.
Well, they both hurt. But to me, Henry came out of left field because that's the last thing I was expecting there, you know, because you know, Tommy could say that he felt that, uh, that Big Mo was maybe the better place. That still remains to me saying, but I love Henry's game. He too, thought he had opportunities and get better.
Me too developed he developed over that last couples. Yeah, oh my gosh, that was fun to watch.
Oh yeah, would you let me ask you real quick because you were you were mostly I think you can correct me if I'm wrong, and I'm sure you will. More near the basket blah blah blah. Could you have transitioned more on the outside like today?
Well, isn't it always been a swing man the whole time I'd ever played and everything? But when I got to Arizona, you know, we we had two big pressman kids who you know, couldn't play, So I was forced to play center by default. I had no choice. But to play, and I tried to take on a center mindset. You know, this is what I'm gonna do. I was able to handle the ball, and I was actually guard high school and junior college screen and got to handle
the ball. Well, that's thrown off the window. And that's like one of the things I tell young kids, even my son when he was in high school. Sometimes you're going to be asked play out a position, but you do what she has to do for the betterment of the team, which I felt I did. Nobody really knows how I Caey handled the ball. You know. Now I wasn't a great paramecuter by any means, but my game
was totally different. I was a swingman. Then I got to Arizona and you got me playing center at six seven, one hundred and ninety pounds.
Are you kidding me?
But hey, somehow I poured it off.
Yeah. Yeah, Well today's game is there's really no center unless you're you know of one or two guys seven six, yeah, even those.
You know, the game just evolved, you know, with all the training, the skilled training and this and that. You know, we didn't do nothing that Johnt And like I said, I give it up like Steve Kerr and brought bront Horse and Cradick your gunning. Those guys man were practice over him, joke as still out there shooting around this and that. Hey when practice when first of all I busted my button practice Steve day. But when it was over, I was gone, Yeah.
And don't get started on any of the nutrition or any of that stuff back They know that stuff back then.
You you're supposed to drink and eat and.
And as finnicky as I was, I wouldn't put it on the weight because I didn't really eat. People shoving butter and stuff and everybody knows only.
Right, right, that's funny, that's funny. I don't know if I've ever asked you, maybe I have, just how you look back on your time here because you you were you to me here at the cornerstone without you and a couple of other guys just this place with me.
Yeah, Steve bursting with pry only from this standpoint, uh where it was when we came in and not really knowing my place. My first disappointment was getting there and seeing I couldn't get number twenty four because David Haskin already had that twenty four was my jucode number, and so not being able to get that that was my first big disappointment. And then you know Plan Center and you know, hearing just hearing names like Kenny Fields and
Stuart Gray. Guys you know I've seen in the high school's seen on TV because I was a juc on my first two years, and you know, knowing how big and strong they were, and already some of those self conscious by myself because again I'm only sixteenty and one ninety and how would I be able to play? But you know, under Coach Holsten, there was no excuses, and so it took a while for me to buy into that. But once I bought in, I understood that. I mean, I
can't make excuses. I may be smaller, maybe a little lighter in the way, but I still got to go out to perform. Coach Olsa is not gonna feel sorry for me, and I was opponents, They damn sure ain't gonna feel sorry for me. So I'm bursting with pride, not only what we were able to accomplish, but again what they were able to sustain over all these years.
So I don't think I'll ask you this one too, because you know in my book, I didn't ask you this. Maybe I should have. I know the relationship you and Lute had, which was a fantastic one like many of the other guys, But when when did you see him first kind of say, Pete, I really love you, you know, like when you said and you're thinking, damn, do you have some emotions?
Oh, here's the thing.
Uh.
Bobby also would tell me all the time. She would she would always, she would tell me all the time, and her words were always, you know you're a favorite, don't you You know that you can't believe, you know, hyperberctly. I like to think it wasn't you know, But she would tell me that all the time. But then, you know, things change once you get out and you see that
person more as a coaching conversation. When he would just call out of the blue, when I would see his name, you know in my phone, how excited I would get. And then even it worked because you know, when I was in probation, we're not supposed to be on our
phone and stuff like that. But sometimes he would call and I would saying I would differ into the laundry rum or something like that, just to have my little private MoMA would coach, oh, you know, coach and the worker can't tup very blah blah blah blah, and just the And then when I would come out, you know, because a lot of times with improbation, your tenths all the time. But then when I come out after speaking with Coach O, my whole persona was changed. I'm I'm
being missed the nice guy. That's not why, because I just talked to coach.
You right, and hit that impact on you. Yes, And it was.
It wasn't until after because I was a walk and I didn't get the warm fuzzies, you know from coach until way after. And it was me taking my daughter to one of his camps, and he sat my daughter down and said, you know what, your your dad was a great kid, and you played hard, and if you play hard like your dad did, you'll be a good player too.
And I just went what And.
And speaking of that mentioning kids, how how he knows everybody's kids name, you know. And I remember we had one one one function one of those areas on the room and I get together and there was a party in his house. This is when he was married to the lady Christina or whatever, and you know, I just kind of just sit back and even brought you know, I was able to bring one of my one of my friends with him, a unk with my family. But what I really blew me away is how Coach Holsten
went around. He spent time with everybody from from Shane the top of any of the even the matters, whoever was. Coach Alsen made a point to spend time with everybody. I watched all this, you know transport. It was just it was a beautiful.
Thing to see he did. He made you feel he made you feel good. Yeah, it made me not on the practice court, but afterward that's different.
You know, before he walked on, when he's out there messing with he's got that mess around and stuff with the assistant coaches, particularly coach Burns Song, we goofing around. But when Coach Alsten walked through that door, man, man, it was different. It was it was different.
Clocking in time you cried the clock in and he had the schedule right on this on this little white paper. Oh yeah, yeah, I got to memorize those things. That's where I sat everybody. Hey Brown, what's for conditioning to that? I go you're not gonna like it.
Yeah, I was.
Gonna ask you. I did him.
But I so you're junior, your senior, Uh maybe at the same time Steve shows up and what do you think of Steve when you first gets here?
Well, no, my junior year, Steve came in, but Steve was late because school had already started. So Steve may it came late that first week. And so we were at the used to play pick up games at the Tusson Community Center at that time, so I mean sometimes Becail bistically they were at the Tucson Tucson Athletic Club whatever they called it. We're playing pickup games and we knew he was coming. You know, he's just like some of the late late recruit coach shows saw this summer.
And so he comes walking in, you know, a little little shorts T shirt or whatever, baseball cap, and you know there was a stop in action, but you know, we all kind of just went over and introduced ourself and a loose ball just kind of rolled over in the corner and he just kind of nonchalantly and he's basically sending like right out of bound. Nonsalantly just picked it up, fired him the jumper, nothing but net.
Well that's where it started.
That's where it started. Yeah, did because because if we did he play fait, did was Steve a favorite purposely or.
You know, well none nessill because see didn't start. You know, Michael Tait and Brock our point guard, where our guards, and they're both natural point guards. So Steve came out off the bench the whole year. But I think, you know, obviously not only Coach O and the rest of the city, even though it's maybe a lessers than with bracing, even where whatever happened would happened to his dad or whatever.
So he came off the bench. But going into the following year, you know when we assigned Creg McMillan, So now with coach did he and Michael Tate and brought Broncoors compete for the point and then Steve and Priig millan be compete for the two. And my respect for Steve grew even more because you know, Craig six six Craig had all the side McDonald's all American or whatever, but that didn't deter Steve one bit. You know, Brock
beat out Mike Fair and square for the point. Steve beat out Craig Farans Square for the two and that was into that.
Yeah, yeah, imagine how good you guys would have been if Tate had stayed.
Well, not only how good we would have been, because if Michael Tate had to stayed, he would have had a minimum ten to twelve year NBA career because he had everything you want in the point guard. He made presh wan Au packed in team his freshman year. They had the billboard of him bringing him down on Seedway Boulevard bringing out a basketball advertising whatever the radio station was that in Arizona basketball and Mike was pushing the ball down the court. So Mike was the future of
Arizona basketball. But his father's and I love mister Takes, you know, we grew up together on Compton. Mike Michael's Fabably Wan't ruined that because Mike didn't really want to leave, you know, but you know, he listened to his pop and he left, went to Clemson. Had had a good career. Asked that one year with CBA Player of the Year when they went to the CBA. But if he would have stayed with coach Cholson, no question. Mike plays in the NBA ten to twelve years yeah.
Yeah, And that's when we say I say all the time because you guys tell me this, had you been patient a year or so, they would have they would have loved it, you know, because everybody wanted to transfer. Everybody came here wanted the transfer. But those who stuck it out here he didn't. He didn't.
He didn't want to. He didn't want to. Tought the principal from his post, and he had to, you know. So that was unfortunately every because then you look at the injuries that we had when Brocklin down, and you know, Mike would have been solid because again and he was off press and Pact Canna's freshman year, you know, and he was the first player coach. Everybody keeps saying it with me, No, Michael Tate the first person coach time.
Yeah, okay, I got to rewrite my books now.
Yeah, yeah, excuse miss, I got a few days.
We fact no longer the corner sound. You just lost your title. Thanks mine, Thanks as always, Pete, appreciate.
You all right, I hope to see you this summer. Man.
You got Pete man, be careful. That's that's good stuff. Hey, shaped everything. I think that's all accurate. Just take a break. If you're an Arizona Man'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,
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Streaming live on the Ihearts Radio WAB. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Andy Brown and Tom goes fast and we're having fun. It does two hours goes fast when you have a good show.
You thank you for having talk about sports. We could do this all day long.
Could I might find a new sponsor, a new go hosting two years when you say, you know what, I don't need this stuff and a guys like you nice support me if you guys want to support me, just kind of. Hey, Vince, I'm convincing. Tell the people, tell them, tell them. Come on, this is a very small room. We need a bigger room. We need TV, we need cameras. We got we got all that, We got all that, just going to see how they works. You go, yeah, depending, yeah,
you got Ray here working in the system. So hey, anybody want to call him. That's a good show. I didn't know a few things about the Pete stuff, and I know a lot of the stuff from that era.
I tell you, I've learned more from Pete just being around in the last couple of years at your camp, at the loud Wholsom fancy camp. And the guy is genuine. He is a family man. And what he says he's gonna do, he.
Does he does right. Right, My thing is okay, So the camp has you know, thirty five to sixty seven year old guys, right, and he's a heck of a coach. Yeah, and you know he's why. He's demanding. He's demanding man. And he hates to lose.
Oh, he hates to lose to the young whipper snappers. Who was it? Oh?
This year my team won? Who is your coach? You and who? And who?
Felicity one with me Fee and uh Reggie. I drafted the team and they coached it. Okay, smart, you're GM. She the GM. Yeah, he hates I have a good eye for talent value wa for seventy year old men.
He didn't drip it off his foot. He's good. That's what I looked for it. I was like, you need a guard to win this tournament?
You do?
And I went out and got two good ones. That's what you need exactly.
What's like everybody else get out the way guards win championships. So my claim to fame at Ludolson camp one year was I coach Julie Coach's grandson granddaughter.
Okay, back in, back in his back and back at his camp. Yeah, okay, look you're on the air nine of the ball. Who's this?
He is?
Vic?
What's word?
So I had a little, uh contradictory, contradictory uh statement from you, and I wanted to see and he's there and he's a big.
Booster and stuff.
How you how you felt?
So you were saying about the softball and you were saying, on one hand, you say, this is Tucson, where's this money coming from? And nobody has the money here, right, But on the other hand, you were saying, oh, softball, Uh, these people can't complain because they don't put the money into it or whatever. And like me, I'm a working stiff, and I'm you know, but I go to every sporting event in this town. Yeah, I see Javier and eighteen more than Andy does. I go to every high school game.
I go to every single probably football game. I miss a few here and there. I go to girls basketball, girls softball. But I'm a kind of guy that I can't donate. I just don't have it.
No, that's my point. And well, is that what you're trying to tell me? What do you what do you have an issue with you?
You're you are trying to say, well, these people better put up or shut up.
Well, the thing is, if you're going to complain, Vic, how do you think you're going to solve the problem. I mean, I think the people complaining and helping the gym click or X, big big name is going.
To help them. I'm hoping se Rivera.
Hey, dude, I like my electricity and my mortgage needs to be paid. That's where my money is going. You know what I'm saying, These guys can't do it for football, basketball, baseball. But Andy, not that you're that guy, but you know those people, I mean, how pockets, how big of the pockets?
Vic? You have?
You have season tickets. No, I don't do not do you go? Do you spend money to go to the game? Oh?
I go to it.
You know that I go to every get, every football. The only thing I don't really go to every game.
Is is men's basketball.
But I go to all the.
Girls and I go to all foughtball.
So you do your part. You do your part in a little way, right.
I wish I could donate it. I'd give the million dollars to Caitlan and a second for an arm.
Well, my whole point is, if you're going to complain and sell these things, I think you should maybe add a little to the kittie. You know, it's like a curse jar. You're gonna hate it. Put ten bucks into the curse jar.
I mean I put in a jar, like I said that I could afford and whenever. I have my own opinions, but I kind of keep them to myself because I know how hard Cameland though worse and obviously to be called. I hate for anybody to be calling for my job, that's for sure.
And I think, Vic, you're You're not the guy that Steve's talking about. You're the educated guy that has a as an educated complaint. And that's the people we appreciate. It's the people that make comments that have no idea what's going on, that don't come to games.
Right.
You come to every game. You have an educated opinion because you're there, you.
See it, and it does get expended. I mean even the high school games, and I go to a fun of them. It's five, seven, twelve dollars for every single game, and it adds up for an o geezer like me.
Yeah, well, you're in the Steve rivera role. The same text brokeets. We gotta go. You gotta get another color you guys j great, Thank you gotta call Hello. You're on the Aaron nine in the ball I hope you're still here.
Hey, favorite John, how you doing?
Hey John? Could you hear your voice? Hey?
Good talks. So a couple of quick things. As far as you're at baseball goes. You know, the restue the winning games. It's very simple. It's pretty repetitive with every sports. It's not the fundamentals. And if we keep playing good defense and we keep doing strikes, we've got a chance. You know, if you do no matter what, we got a chance. We can go try to tell in North Carolina.
But who is better at the fundamentals. If you have walked lead off walks to start ings and softball and baseball in college, that kills you.
And so if we can keep.
You know, make them earn their way on and we just keep playing fundamental baseball, I think we got a great chance to compete and a chance to go to the World Series again.
Yeah. I haven't followed them as closely as I should have. Probably I didn't go to any games. Uh, you know, but chips come on at the right time. Obviously, last a few weeks after being kind of stunned by Utah and some of the other ones, you've been to the games by good pitching right.
Now, some hitting, some good idea. What those last few games were crushing it? Yeah, I mean that's fun to watch.
Well, when you have your best player off of the majority of the season and you're still able to win games, that means that you do a lot of other things. Well, you know, a lot of teams can't sustain losing your best your number one player, your first round draft pick,
and still having a chance in the super regionals. Now, I do have a quick kind of nil question perspective question so you're seeing the impact that Kennedy as a pitcher has for taxes, tech, if the world season, the World Series right now, and you know, in softball it's like, if you can get one shutdown pitcher, if we have her on our squad, we've been playing for a championship right now too.
No question, no question, I agree, you know.
So, So my question to you, I guess is where is the value? You know, what is a return on investment? What? Because the eyeballs that are on Texas a softball program right now, to me are worth whatever she was, whatever the cost was for her forever, for whatever. The star pitcher that's entering the portal this year, who thinks, you know, how does a process like that. I'm just kind of curious, your guys.
I could be wrong. I could be totally wrong. And I'm gonna try to get her on the show at some point soon. Jenny Finch, she was the face of the softball world back in the day, right she was that million dollar picture back in the day, without being paid a million dollars. I mean you, I just want to solid firsthand without having to pay this woman on a million bucks.
I'm different, different ballgame that then, but now it's people are getting paid, so you can't discredit that. The way that the money comes back to the school is how you recruit not just players, but people coming to your institution. So back when I went to grad school back in the nineties, I did a paper about that. It was a ball about how does your athletic department benefit your school as a whole? And you see a multi level
return on winning a national championship. It's just it was in the writing it was you got you got more people come to your sending. You got more people wanted to come there. Your rights to sell merchandise goes up, right, your brand is boosted. So now you have now your shirts are thirty five instead of twenty five.
And John, look at Texas tex She's coming back another year. She's got another year of eligibility.
And to me, she like when I saw the shoes in the portal last year, I'm like, if there was any way to get her and spend what a cost. That's in no disrespect to the pitchers we had. We had solid pitching, but solid pitching is not next level pitching. And I think the common denominator with all of our championship teams is we have a dominant pitcher as our number one, and they really did. Back then they threw all the innings. We didn't have a second pitcher that
they came. Man, I mean, Jenny fins through all the innings and you circle back to the pictures before. I'm just kind of curious how that, you know, like Kennedy woked to me, seems like, especially with what you just said, sir, seemed like it would be worth the money because, yeah, the chances to be on to playing against Texas in the World Series, you know, it's just and and then she ends up throwing a pitch down in the middle of that hate go figure on the test for walk.
But here's the second part of that is, now I paid a million dollars for them. Now the next school is like, well, I'm gonna pay one point five yeah, right, and then the next things I'm gonna pay two. So this free agency stuff with then il's got a stop and it's gonna stop.
It's hard for me to believe though you paid a million dollar picture with that, and then you paid shortstop fifty thousand first Pasion, what about me?
Yeah, well, Josh right, it's it's it's worth she was worth a million dollars. Yeah, easily worth two million, probably for Texas Tech.
Who didn't know. If you didn't know about Texas Tech, you know about Texas Tech now.
Yeah, and she just drove up the price for a picture. Right, you hit it on the hedge. It's not gonna stop. It's good.
To pay the next elite ish or that's a hard thing to factor on all those ends. I mean, look at Pisa and how much money he made this year. Yeah, away for him, wanting to pay him a dime to getting whatever in North Carolina offered him, and he was worth it. He played it without him last year. We're a five hundred team without Visa and his performance like dream.
It's funny because what got paid about that same money and you're thinking ballow you start, got a nice pitch. Yeah, Hey, hey John, thanks a bunch. Good to hear from you. Good questions, appreciate, thanks for listening. Has always. I think we're almost done right, Yeah, we got a minute, got a minute, Okay, thanks for coming on. And hey, give me some red and blue gum next time. The red gum, I'll bring you some. I don't know if they make that gum anymore. What was it like?
Yeah, I got I don't know him and his popcorn. No, it us some Minty probably won. It's like a yeah, big Red or something, I remember what it was. Go look back to you. And then Ronald brought him his popcorn. You know, give me.
Yeah. I never got into popcorn stuff. It was all gum and water.
Get into the game. He apologize to you one time. Yeah, that was all I didn't get you in the game. That was the first game of the tournament. We got blew out Team Ye Maryland I think it was, and he wanted to win so bad he forgot. I was on the bakatly a year before we lost. I'm playing this game to the last second. He was the only guy I didn't play. Apologized sorry, any, Sorry, hey coach.
We won. Yeah, we gotta go. Thank you Any for showing up. Thank you Ray, thank you for showing up. Thanks me for showing up. Thanks