Tuesday, May 6, Hour 1

Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is old time partner Jay Gonzaza. I'm glad to get you out a bit or you were available to no Tuesday's I was bit early.

No, I I've been.

Yeah, I'm in Tuesday's my busy day. You got lucky that I came in today.

You still like chrish crap I get in a stereo today. We welcome back to the show. I'm glad you found it.

Yeah, you know, I I you know what, I just point my card in this direction, right and it just shows up.

No.

Cool, good you're here. Maybe we get some calls an interesting show today. We're gonna have some college football stuff and we're gonna have some UA softball stuff. Uh, you know, they're doing pretty well softball.

Yeah, you know, we'll see, uh you know, it's the first big twelve tournament for them, so yeah, we'll see how that how that goes, And they did they did very well.

Yeah.

Yeah, they had a good season. In a second rate, they've had a good season.

I think if the two seed, yeah, you know, they're they're you know they're playing. They're playing for the opportunity or the chance to host a super regional, right they're getting in the tournament, they're probably gonna host, uh, you know, a regional they got, they got, you know, they got to put some put some more numbers together to have

Right, and there's a chance they played well enough to get that opportunity. So so we'll see what happens and then that the first three three fifteen first guest time will backus from CBS. He had something on Twitter or yesterday the day before h talking about the the all time worst hires in the last ten years. And guess who was on that list. You know, guess who's on that list? Shocker, you guys, So you know who's on that.

He was none of those. He was like nine or eight. I can't remember that.

I'm interested to know who was ahead of that.

Oh, there's been a few people you don't even recognize, but there have been a few. I'm sure you know them because if you're that, you're here that we know who you are.

Yeah.

Yeah, So we'll get to that and just see how he thought, uh Brent did last year, because maybe it's a one off, maybe it's not. We'll see, you know what comes of it. Yeah, I had We had coach gonzals on yesterday. I was he was fantastic. And I didn't know this until I saw it. Went to the spring game. You were there the Spring Showcase whatever it's called, and he was with the Daggi and all these guys,

So that's it.

We'll have we'll have Will back to the three fifteen, and then we're gonna come early with.

Our next guest, Danny Martin.

Danny Martinez, he's the director of operations for on Softball. So you know, we're just kind of talked to him about what the season has been like. Right again, another team going through you know first, you know, first Big twelve season, you know, is it does it have a different field than than the Pac twelve those kinds of things.

Well, that's the one thing that question and he's been around a while with this program, right right, he doesn't compare it to others.

He's been the pa announcwer for since he was a child, I think, but we're good, they can hear us.

Yeah, but.

Now he's the director of operations.

You know, he's been in the psychic department since he was in college and he's like forty five years old now, not just kidding, he's thirty.

He's mid thirties.

Well, he's seen enough.

So I I was gonna say, you know, can you compare this team of this program now to some of the earlier programs and when not to compare it to Andrea? But you know, is it seeing that progress?

And then how are things different now?

Right?

Again?

You know we're in the world of nil and it's nil for softball too. You know, you got a different coach for the first time in many years, while Caitlin Low has been the coach of this on her fourth year now, but but you know it's her program. What's that been like?

Uh?

And how's it been different?

Remember we were joking when way back when we had Can Dre on the show and he was sharing an office with Danny for a while at Michael before Danny was uh the softball guy. So you know, he's been around the program as long as anybody that's with the program. So we'll get a sense of what this year has been like over there.

Sure, just what three years ago, Jay, they were already saying she's not the girl, yeah, or she's not the woman. You don't what I'm saying that when you're in it's like the Tommy stuff. It's like the Tommy stuff. Relax, don't start me on our fan. Don't start me on the fans.

We want to get a call. Don't get on our fans.

I know what it is, what it is, Yeah, but I like to know what this season was like for them and how different was it?

Right?

You know, how how you know going to a going to a big twelve venue versus what you know was like going up the coast and playing at U C.

L A And and uh, you know in Oregon.

And all those schools that you know had teams and and and how different is it?

You know, is it a different brand of softball?

So so Senor Kobe get us out at about three twelve ish, so because we're going to go back to back and all the commercials whatever, we'll get out of three twelve. Him at about three fifteen, three sixteen, go to about three thirty and then get Danny, you know, get three forty, just so as way have a flow.

All right, okay, no cool? Did you watch the games last night?

I saw, yes. I mean I like just the end of the games. Great games, you know. I saw Aaron Gordon's you know, three pointer. I saw most of the some of the other games. I was watching the Dodger game. I'm you know, just tell you the Dodgers aren't in my house every day. So but I you know, I was stunned at hat at the fact that that that h nicks both games, really both under both games, but particularly at Denver in that game, because they had no business winning that game.

They were down big. They hung on, they hung on, and then I caught you.

I was, I had a kind of at the corner of my eye, right and then to wait a minute, they have a chance to win this game.

And then they did.

And then Aaron Gordon, who couldn't hit a three pointer here to save his life, couldn't hit a three point, couldn't hit a free throw.

Now he's sitting forty You.

Know, it's funny because the the Arizona Aaron Gordon was still on my brain when they throw him the ball on that past and I said, he's not gonna shoot from there?

Is he?

Yeah?

And he made it fantastic. I know he's he's you know, he's become a good three point shooter. You know, he's gone the chaining fry route right, and and and re uh reinvented his game.

And and the guy, the guy's a menace.

You know, he's a menace defensively and now he's got a good offensive game.

I mean, he's he's a player, yeah, no question. Uh the OSCO. I was gonna ask you this, Okay, he's doing what he's doing. What do you remember about him here? Because he was a one and done dude. Yeah, I remember that he couldn't make a free throw. Okay, that's the first thing, shouldn't shoot, right, He was just strickling,

Right now he's become the guy people thought he could be.

Remember this is ten years removed, right, ten years have been gone a while. So you have him, h you had Stanley Johnson, right. The guys that you know, the the the the guys who left after a year Bayless him, There's been a few obviously, but what do you really know? What do you know of them outside of what you just said, even personally, Yeah, personally, what you.

Do is you look at these guys physically and what can they do physically? And it was a thing of okay, if he can run and jump and and and play like that, we can get him an offensive game. Now you know who's the uh that that a few years back? He was a great defensive player, got into the league. Rondie Hollis Jefferson. Right, he never got an offensive game, No, he did, right, But Aaron Gordon did, Channing Fry did you know? And and and somehow these these NBA people

They needed, just like uh, it's like uh not it was the Threesome, not Manion.

The guy who went to Denver Nagy, same kind of potential.

He's been there now for three four years now, doesn't play a whole lot, but there's still playing him and he's still.

On the run.

They still think he might have something.

But the minute somebody else comes along that looks like him but can do a little better than.

Him than he's done in the NBA. And that's the business of the business. He had Bruce on yesterday and when he talked about Dayling Terry, how much have you heard about Daalan Terry? But he's still there. He's still there. He's still there grinding or whatever. Yeah, not playing a whole like a lot, but he's still check.

Yeah.

So you know, I don't know, it's a it's a it's it's a I mean, look, it's a it's a crap shoot.

Well, with all these guys.

Now you have Carter Bright, right, same type of thing. I think he's much better than Gordon right now at the same time, same place freshman year coming out, because he can shoot, he's got some nice IQ basketball, He's got a good size, but Aaron's He's not the physical guy that Aaron Gordon was.

Now. He does he play great defense?

Yeah, he played really good defense and and he had to do a lot of that this year, but not not in not.

With the physicalness that that skiball guy. Right.

You know, Shoot, I'm going to play out on the wing and cover guys out there, and he'll be able to shoot and handle the ball in those Give me some ads and.

You're thinking of him coming back. We gotta go, Yeah, we gotta go. Oh, we gotta hit the throat. Just give me twenty percent.

Ever say I'd say, I'd say it's like right around fifty to fifty for Brent.

Yeah, really come back. Okay, we're gonna talk more about that.

It's okay, She's gonna depend on what he finds out about himself.

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This is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app just search Iye on the Ball.

Hey, welcome back to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve Rivera, and today with me is jagins Aus. Now on the phone, we have Will Becks from CBS Sports. How you doing, Will doing great?

Thanks for having me on.

Yes, sir, where are you based out of Tennessee?

Yeah, Knoxville, Knoxville.

Okay, close cool, close to the ball cool, okay, cool cool?

Give you your football country, football country. I am yes, sir, good, yeah, good for you.

And that's what you do for CBS with copy yesterday or this morning. And I'm glad you're on the show. Is that you had a list of your top number I can't read about fifteen top fifteen worst hires in the last decade, correct, And you had a guy that we became familiar with a while back, and not too many people who think of him fondly.

Yeah, Kevin someone, He's he definitely deserved his spot on the list, you know. I think I think the reason that I put him kind of in that lower range is just because, you know, he came and went. He didn't leave the program with any major recruiting violations or anything crazy like that, no scandals.

Really, he just didn't work out, you know.

And I know obviously he's at the program back a couple of years. Jedfish came in and steadily rebuilt it, you know.

And so, like I said, a big reason.

That he's kind of not highre is just because came and went didn't work out, that happened sometimes.

Well, this is Jay, I'm going to tell you I'm a little flattered by this because it was as a fan, it's kind of cool that Arizona ranked to the point, for you would think that a bad hire was worthy of being ranked with like LSU and Arkansas and Nebraska and some of these other schools that Arizona is well thought of enough for if they get made a bad hire, it made news. So that's a kind of a twisted way of looking at it, but that's how I'm looking at it. Well, yeah, and you know, I.

Mean someone's higher was fresh off of the Rich Rodriguez years. And Rich Rodriguez obviously had some good success there, you know, went to quite a few bowl games, had a ten win season, finished ranked one year, you know, and so it was it was a higher that came off of a pretty solid period of football for Arizona. It's not like Kevin someone inherited a complete disaster, right. So yeah, I mean I think the program was on a steady trajectory, you know, Afterguez, and then it really.

Plummeted under someone. And so that's kind of what pushed it there.

And and Like I said, it was kind of miraculous that Jeed Fish was able to come in and do what he did, you know, over the course of just a few years. So that was that was a great fine for Arizona to to bring things back up.

So given your explanation, it makes sense that Herm was ahead of them at number nine. I think because of the scandals.

Yeah, yeah, I mean you look at you look at the record that Herm Edwards left, and you know, when you factor in the wins that he had to Va Kate, it's it's not too bad, right, you know, he had a couple of eight win seasons, you know, and obviously, again it's one of those things where it just kind of steadily decline. Not only did it steadily decline in Arizona State got worse throughout his tenure.

But yeah, he left him with a huge in Cuba investigation.

And you know that caused players like Jade and Daniels and Johnny Wilson to leave. Obviously, Jadan Daniels went on to win a Heisman Trophy at LSU and Johnny Wilson emerged into a high draft pick at Florida State, And so yeah, I mean that's the kind of that's the kind.

Of hire that really really tanks the program.

But again, Arizona State hit a grand slam by hiring Kenny Dillinghams, so it's not necessarily all bad. But yeah, I mean leaving leaving insteadly investigation and not even really being that great while you're there is a pretty bad combination.

So looking at your list, you know, because I mentioned Arkansas, who you know, the Chad Morris, you had the number one, but number two was a good coach at you.

Know, Less Miles.

I mean he was at LSU, highly successful, you know, eventually got the acts over there and then decided to come back in Kansas thinking of him and then thinking of what Kevin Sumlan did here. You know, you'd think that programs would be a little leary of hiring a guy who's kind of been there, done that, and now let's go get him and see if he's got anything left right, And that's kind of what happened Less Miles over Kansas, wasn't it.

Yeah.

I mean he hadn't been coaching for I think three years when Kansas picked him up, and you know, it's one thing to go from you know, someone just kind.

Of petered out at Texas A and M.

But at least he had been coaching recently when Arizona hired him, right, and so you had that kind of base of you know, it's not a terrible hire.

He was okay at Texas A and M.

Maybe he can do better at a place like Arizona that you know, plays in a more open conference like the Pac twelve at the time. But yeah, I always question when a college program goes and hires a guy that's been retired for a few years.

Just because, as we've seen over the past few.

Years, college football changes so quickly and so rapidly, especially you know, in the era when Les Miles was hired, I mean that was right before nil and transfer portal and everything came to be that I think it's really hard for a coach that's not been involved in college football recently to jump right back in, especially when you're taking charge of a program, and especially when you're taking charge of a program like Kansas, which until recently, with

Yeah, I was just going to bring him up.

Never been a college coach, and I understand college football is trending somewhat towards the NFL model, but it's just such a different animal that I'm really hesitant about any coach that has been retired for a while or hasn't ever experienced college football coming in and having a successful tenure.

Well, don't I don't see it working out?

Well, yeah, that's what I was going to say.

I mean, and then you got all the other stuff, all the distractions of his twelve year old girlfriend and all that stuff. It's you know, I mean, the odds are just stacked against him. Don't you feel like people are just waiting for him to fail, to kind of get him off his high horse or something like that.

Yeah, I mean, I you know, obviously, I.

Yeah, No, I mean I think I think there's definitely a lot of people that, you know, there's there was a lot of NFL fatigue with the Patriots with how successful they were, and a lot of times when people are successful like that, there's a lot of people that want to see them fall off, just to you know, get that.

Shot in Frouda and enjoy that.

But yeah, I mean, I think I think North Carolina right now, to be quite Frank is a mess. Like I it's a pr nightmare with everything going on with his girl and Jordan Hudson, Like this is just not what they needed this offseason, you know, I mean, and the North Carolina is coming off a situation where Mac Brown one of those coaches that just didn't work out. You know, there's nothing, there's nothing behind the scenes going on, no worry behind the scenes, and so North Carolina kind of created.

Its own mess by hiring Bill Belichick.

Right you could have gone with an up and coming young college guy, I like John Summerle at Tulane, a guy who I think is probably gonna be a Power conference coach in the next couple of years.

You could have gotten ahead and tried to get him or a young coordinator that you're really excited about, somebody that can come in and revamp the program after it's stagnated under Mac Brown, and it would have been a nice, quiet off season. You wouldn't have had to worry about any of that off field drama. Instead, you go and take a big swing at Bill Belichick. Obviously, it's hard to question him as a football coach given that he won seven Super Bowls. But then you have all this

Now his assystems are NFL guys.

It's just I think it's an interesting experiment, and I do not see it working out in North Carolina State.

I was going to say, so in two years, you're going to have to update your your list with this. What gave you the what gave you the idea to do this this? And are you going to come out with maybe the best tires?

Yeah, I mean we've been thinking about best tires, and honestly, it's just it's the off season, you know, especially after spring practice and then transfer portal close to kind of have to create your own fun, you know, to keep it just going.

And so yeah, I mean we always just.

Kind of generate ideas like that throughout the off season. And I mean this one hit big just because it's something that people tend to be interested in. You know, there's a lot of there's a lot of hate watching and hate reading football, right, so people people enjoy.

Those kinds of things.

And I mean it's it's from a from a non partial perspective.

It's kind of fun to look back and be like, yeah, he's terrible. Well remember well.

Let me let me let me tell you when I told Jay that this is one of the conversations we're going to have and that's why you were on up there, I said, I said to him, what do you think something.

That had one, two, and three?

Because every every guy you have on the list, I'm sure if this show was an Arkansas, this show was X place they would think that their guy was the worst guy.

Oh yeah, yeah.

I mean I've gotten tons of like fan interaction where like this coach is too low, and this coach is too low, and this coach is too low, and it's always someone that coached at their school, you know, because they're fans, they're super involved in it.

And like I I had Jeremy prewd on there. I went to I was at.

Tennessee during the Jeremy prud era and my first real beat was covering Tennessee with Jeremy prew as coach. So I got a real personal look at how dysfunctional.

That whole thing was. And you know that might have swayed my ranking a little bit why I put him so high.

And so yeah, it's it's interesting to kind of hear everybody's perspective and people point that out.

Well, let's flip this over because it's gonna be kind of a weird question if all the coaches had the same resources.

So because you know, if you say, well, who's the best coach in college.

Football, per were going to say Kirby Smart, right, you know, right, whatever, But let's say every coach had the same resources. Who do you think is the best coach out there right now or among the best coaches? Who are some of the guys that are You say, that guy's a great coach, and he would be better than let's say, Kirby Smart if he had Kirby Smart's.

Who would your son? Who would you want your son.

To play for?

Who would I want my son to play for? You know?

I mean, I'm a big fan of Kenny Dillingham. You know, I think he's obviously young, super energetic. I love that from a head coach in this era of college football, and just the work that he did so quick to.

Turn Arizona State around.

I mean, that place was a disaster when he got there, and you know, they come back in the year two, they're winning the Big Twelve and making the College Football Playoff, and I think that they're built to sustain that success, right.

I'm also a big fan of Kalen Debor. I know he now has Georgia type resources at Alabama. I know his first year was I guess.

Disappointing from an Alabama perspective, but I mean he's a coach who has never had fewer than nine wins in a full twelve game season at every level. I mean, he started at two Falls and President State Washington. He's just a winner, and so I have the firm belief that he's going to write the ship there and I definitely think that he belongs up in that conversation.

Kurt Signetti.

Another guy who you know, he won it James Madison in the SCS. When James Madison came up in the FBS, he won, immediately went to Indiana, immediately turned into a college football playoff team. He's another guy that I look at and think that, you know, if he had I already regard him as probably a top fifteen, probably even a.

Top ten coach if he had Georgia Tech resources.

Then you're talking about a guy that I think definitely pushed for national championships.

What are those guys? What are those guys have in common? Do you think.

Player development?

I think they're all really strong at getting the most out of their players, because I mean, you look at a place like Arizona State. You know, obviously, I know it's a very prominent university and it has good resources, but it's not, you know, comparable to college blue bloods. Same thing at Indiana, you know, and Indiana is more of a basketball school. Like you're at Indiana, you're legitimately

So so you mentioned dillanhem Our three listeners just hung up on us because they're the issue and not you. Event well, I mean the last question, what are your thoughts on Arizona's guy Brent bt Brennan.

Brent Brennan, Yeah, I mean I think it's I think.

It's interesting, you know because I wasn't terribly impressed by the hire first because you look at what he did at San Jose State and it doesn't jump off the page, but he also did improve San Jose State most every year that he was there. And when he came to San Jose State that was not a big football school, Like it wasn't like he was going to like a Boise State or like an UNLB. You know, that level

Been a little better.

But yeah, I'm willing to give him a little bit of time and see if he can work some of that same program building magic. I mean, it was the same thing with Jed Fish, right, came in a disaster the first year, second year was better, still didn't make a Bowl, but you improved by four wins, and then third year you come out and win ten games. And so I think I think Arizona can be patient with him and let him try to develop his program with it.

Well, he's always making well that you're speaking nicely to Jay a long time, then who's going to have to listen to you? Hey, Well, thank thanks a bunch for joining us. We'll probably get ahold of you right before seas it starts. Yeah, that's great, great, thank you. Will appreciate CBS Sports that he can pick up his stuff on Twitter in otherwise, Yeah, yeah, I agree with it.

A lot of these.

I've lady been through his Twitter. Good follow, he's a good follow. He's CBS Sports college football guy. You know, one of those guys who just works too damn hard. Probably right, he's always he's always working, checking stuff out, putting stuff out on social media, writing stories.

And I think at his assessment accurately was really good.

I mean, you look at his list.

Maybe you look at his list and you can re order him or whatever, but you look at that list and go, Okay, these were all the bad coaches over the last ten years, and you know they jumped out. You know, when I saw less Mons, say wait minute, let's monse No, he was he was really bad at Kansas.

Yeah.

I didn't want to go from he's sixty he was sixty five. Yeah, I didn't realize he was.

At all again, you know, and getting back to the Bill Belichick thing, I'm I'm if I'm a North Carolina football fan, I'm losing my mind right now. I lost my mind when they brought him in and then all the stuff that's come with its instant I'd just be going, what the hell?

Yeah are we doing? It's like the herm stuff. Yeah, it's like the herm stuff. You know, what are you talking about it?

And you know, does he does he even know the rules well enough to well not be breaking rule?

He could he could have like the c He'll be the CEO and have other guys worry about that stuff and you know and other stuff. Okay, let's take a break when and get hold of Danny Martinez talk about softball. Steve Rivera here to talk about Dorato Rock and Materials. I needed a lot of gravel for my driveway, so I called Eric at Dorato Rock. He found out the amount and color I needed and boom, it was taken care of and at a great price. How do I know radio commercials work? I heard one of his on

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Steve Rivera, he's got his eye on the ball on Tucson sports station Fox Sports sporteen fifty.

Hey, welcome back to my on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. You're Jakinsaw's now on the phone, we have Danny Martinez, the director of operations for u A Softball. Danny, how you doing. I'm doing great. How are you guys? We're doing fine. Thanks for joining us. Pretty successful season so far, right.

Yeah, yeah, it was a great regular season, you know, first year in the Big twelve, a lot of new places, opponents and but yeah it was. It was a good year. And now now it's go time. Now it's here comes the postseason.

So well, so let me ask you about that because you talk about your new places and other and Steve and I were talking before the show. Is the is I don't know how you would phrase it. Is the vibe or the feel or the atmosphere or just the you know around Big TV Softball.

Is it different similar to PAC twelve? What compare the two.

You know, to be honest, there are a lot of similarities with the actual when we're talking about just the softball programs and the softball atmospheres, I would say there there is a lot of similarities because you've got your big you know, when you go to Arizona, when you go to Oklahoma State, when you go to Texas Tech.

So I should have I should know this. But but I'm gonna ask you. What were they pick to finish in the Big twelve at the beginning of the year.

Second?

Oh so so they landed.

Exactly, I really they thought there would be Yeah, okay.

So actually you know what, it might have been third. It might I might have that wrong, It might be third. I think Oklahoma State was picked first, and then Texas Tech was either I don't remember who was second between US and Texas Tech.

So now you mention you're heading into the playoffs. You got the big, big twelve tournaments starting going this weekend.

Do you yeah?

And you've been doing this, You've been part of this program in terms of the announcer and whatnot for a long period of time. Is there a change in you know, the bounce and the step, the excitement, the anticipation. You know, you're getting into the playoffs. This grind of a regular season is over and kind of this is what they've been looking for all year.

How different is the feel of the team right now?

Absolutely, it almost feels like a new beginning, because when you're wearing down toward the end of the regular season, I mean those last few weeks and really feel like a grind. You've just been doing this for so long. But now it's completely a renewed sense of you know, this is everything, that this is the time when it when it gets fun. Not to say it's not fun the rest of the season, but this is what you play for. So yes, there is definitely a pep in everyone's step.

So along those lines with Jay, I wanted to ask you. You've been around it for a long time, obviously, how does this team compare to the teams you've seen in the past, And sorry to say, but you put out to compare them to Kenjurans teams that you were kind of right.

Yeah, absolutely, I mean I think this I feel very confident in saying this team is just as good, just as capable as any of those teams. I think this team is very well rounded in all three aspects offense, defense, and pitching, something that it is hard to achieve to get all three where you want them to be. Usually, you know you'll have one or two that even might be elite, but you're lacking in one. This, I really feel is a complete team, which is encouraging as you're going into the postseason.

Well, and we all know that pitching is really where it's all.

You know, where it starts.

You either have it or you don't, and if you do, you got a shot, and if you don't, you don't you know you've had a pitch like Devin Nets has been a workhorse and stuff like that. You know, how do you how does Caylen Low manage all that right? How does she make sure that you know, Devon's ready to go fresh enough all that stuff after such a long season.

What are the kinds of things that happen.

Well, the good thing is is that this team has eight pitchers, which is completely unheard of in college softball. We have seven with at least one win, which is hard to look up, but I believe has to be the most in the country. I mean, it has to be the most in the country this year, and I think you'd have to go a long way back to find another team that had seven pitchers that recorded a win.

And she's a special talent because she can do it all and we've seen it. Yeah, offensively pitching, you know that way. Can you compare it to other people players that have come.

Through that nothing that I have witnessed. I was just thinking about that recently. I mean, there's so my first year was twenty eleven. This Devin is the first that has come through since I have been here. I mean, she is one of the best two way players that I can remember in college softball that you know. I hope that she gets the kind of recognition that she deserves because she is having a really, really unbelievable season.

You know, looking at the schedule I've seen there really haven't been any extended low points, right, you know, you lost a couple of games, you lost two out of three to Texas Tech, but they're damn good was at their place? Yeah, but there haven't been any real lulls in the season. Is that you know, is that a result of what what you were talking about the team being well round? I guess that answers the question, But I mean, you know, how is that? How have you they been able to do that?

Yeah, I think that's a really good point. And yeah, I do think that that is the reason, which is why I feel good about this team going into the postseason when you have to you know, whether it's the Big twelve tournament where you have to win three games and three days against three different opponents, or it's a regional when you could have to play as many as

Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you to walk the plank right now. It tells it. How have you seen Caitlin Lowe developed years?

Right?

You were there?

Yeah, you know, just as her fourth year, she's she's obviously had to grow as a coach. But how what are some of the key things that she's been able to do that you see that are very evident when you see how she's coaching now.

Well, I think The biggest thing to me is that culture building piece, that making sure that when you're in when you're in college sports, and especially in softball, when you're playing fifty six games during the regular season, you're just always with you know, your teammates, the support staff, you're it's just one big family. And during the course of a season it can, you know, sometimes turn sour

I think.

Also just building an elite staff around her that has now been together for two years, minus Amber Freeman, who's this is her first year and she is a rock star of a hitting coach. But you know Caitlin Lowe and Lauren Lappin, who were both on the USA softball team on an Olympic medal together, you know, those two are kind of the dynamic duo that really really knows the game of softball and can teach it in an elite way.

Yeah, No, people don't talk about the other stuff, right. They talk about what's on the field and how well you do, yeah, but they don't talk about the periphery with thing that goes everyone getting along in the chemistry and the white moves and decisions.

And you've seen it.

You've seen it for fifteen years now probably, and we've seen it forever doing what we do and you say, ah, this is not gonna work.

Well, this is the year it's working.

Yeah. You know, I think you look around the country and not just in softball but everywhere in college athletics, and you look at the transfer portal and you can kind of get an idea of what goes on in the program by that transfer portal. And last year we lost one to the transfer portal, what we but we brought in three, so you know, we were plus in that area. So you know, I think that's a good

Right, all right, all right, Well, just one last thing.

I was asked a pokey about the one nothing lost to San Diego State by you know who?

Right, yeah, yeah, I saw your daughter there and then she delivers a one zero win. Yes, san Diego State is a good team. That Sandigo State is a They're a very good mid major team. And that's the type of team that absolutely you know that's they come and bite people in the in the postseason. They went to UCLA and they won that regional a couple of years ago. So that is a really really good program.

So give us those schedule real quick this weekend.

Yep So tomorrow or so tomorrow, the Big Golf Tournament starts at five o'clock tomorrow. UCF will play Utah and then we will play the winner of that on Thursday. Our first game will be Thursday at five o'clock Central, three o'clock Tucson time, and then if we win that, we will move on to the semi finals on Friday at five thirty Central three thirty Twcson time, and then the championship game is a morning game on Saturday, nine am Twocson time on ESPN.

So, okay, single elimination, single, single elimination, that is correct, Okay, Well, good luck, good luck I think your hopes are pretty high. You sound like, you know, you're pretty optimistic.

Yeah, yeah, feeling good for playing good softball right now. So just got to keep that going.

Good.

Hey, Danny, thanks a whole bunch, man. We appreciate you jumping on and go off to your team dinner. Sounds like all right, good, all right, thanks Abuch.

You appreciate it. All right, took care. We still have some time.

We got about five minutes, six minutes, right, if you guys want to call, please do five two, oho four one, six, seventy four to forty.

You know, I'm looking at their schedule.

They kept reeling off, you know, stretch, you know, strings of wins.

They lost two in a row.

Twice, they lost They lost a two out of three to Texas Tech after beating them in the first and then they lost the end of a series at BYU and then the first game against Oklahoma State.

But they won both of those series. Forty forty three and ten. You do ten games, and that's not a whole lot of games.

That's not a whole lot of games to lose in a fifty plus game schedule. So there's a reason for that. As he said, you know, there wasn't There weren't any ups and downs. You know, yeah, you lost a couple of games, but every you know, you don't you're not gonna win all your games generally when you're playing softball.

Say, we talk about this a lot, at least when you were with me for a while. The chemistry. People don't talk about that. And and I don't want to be sexist, but we usually specials. You got to keep you got to keep that even keel kind of thing. And men's too. I mean football basketball, if no one likes each other, it's and there's only one ball basketball, it's very tough.

Uh.

And and I don't you know, like I see, softball is different.

But but that's a big thing that that that a head coach, particularly at this level, has to do because there's a lot one there's a lot more at stake. These these players are high level, you know, elite softball players here. For they have high expectations of their coaches as much as the coaches have high expectations of them. They expect to be treated well, they expect to be able to get along with their teammates. And if a coach cannot help create that, and it and it gets out of control.

They can kill a team.

You can have all the talent in the world and you can suck if you guys aren't out there on the field.

And we've seen it see each other, Yeah, we've seen it. We probably haven't in the thirty seven years I've been here and the number of that you've you've covered, we probably haven't written or said that enough right when things because you kind of say, maybe it'll get fixed, maybe you'll get a fixed. Well, someone's last year, right, someone's last year. Yeah, I mean, how many times could you said this gave this team, gave up, gave up on the con You could have said that plenty of.

Time, and a lot of times you don't hear about that till after the fact. Right after fact, you hear, well, that team really wasn't all that together. And we learned that a little bit about last year's team, last year's basketball team, not not the team that just finished, but the year before, and maybe things weren't kind of you know, with some guys, and in a little bit this year too, you know, and by that I mean think about the guys that left and nobody said, oh damn right.

You know, people have said, people said, Okay, let's move on.

Just move on, get some other people. Yeah, And I think that's what tom and that's what Tommy dush. You know, he's not a freak out on what's who's coming, who's going. That's why I think if Brian leaves, he's already got some guy.

He's got somebody and ready. Every good coach he's always had that, and right, good coaches have that. Do you see he's he's the tenth highest paid men's college basketball coach.

You know, he's making somebody five two. Yeah, somebody put that out uh on Twitter today.

You got to get to the d date now to get to that, man, he's got to those what's given those that are given lots expectations.

Again, it'll be interesting to see.

Is this team coming up going to be better than this last team, which was pretty good, you know, I mean they were pretty good in a really tough conference.

Yeah, you know.

Yeah, the guy who saved him a few times, a guy named Love. Yeah, what he going to get drafted?

Well, he didn't even get invited to the combine. You know, I guess I don't know how you don't at least invite him to the combine. Unlet's say again what the NBA scouts see versus what we see. Different things.

Yeah, we'll see what happens to him, because I think he's gonna he's gonna be fine.

He'll get you fine here, he'll get a chance somewhere, he'll get a tryout, he'll get a chance with an NBA team. You know, could hang around the g lea for a while, or he may end up doing you know, going the the Kyle Fogg Joseph Blair out right, go go overseas, make some money, do well and uh and you know you just got to you gotta love living in Italy and Turkey, and.

Hey, Israel's that opportunity. You know, my day's over. But let me go back to the question I asked you before the break. I asked you the chances percentage wise O Bryant coming back, and you said fifty to fifty. I want thought you'd say twenty percent because that's my number.

Well again, I mean I saw I saw a mock draft that had him as high as eight, but I've seen more of them that have had him in the low twenty.

Later in the twenty.

Right, you know, if he's in the low twenties. Yeah, he's a first round pick, but how much better can he a lot of room for improvement if he can definitively know. Oh and I don't know how you do this right because you never know what happens when a draft actually pretends. But if you can definitively know that he's gonna get drafted in the top ten, he can't come back if he came. If he's let's say he's twenty two, I'd say, come back, and you know.

He's not gonna get jump change. He's gonna get paid right.

If he's I think if he's fifteen or below, not a lot back, not a lottery pick. Come back, have another great year, make enough money to be able to go get a pizza and have a car, you know, and house in the house and some girlfriends and all the other stuff.

Don't make me, I know, come you know, come back and give it another year. And he's and the money will come.

And he's a good kid, so you know that he'll make the right decision.

Yeah, you know, obviously, you know, as we saw during the season, the bits and pieces we saw of him personally, you know, he's tight with his family, with his parents and stuff like that. He's he's a guy you know believe, you know, has a lot of you know, religious faith that he talks about and stuff like that. You know, he seems a well grounded kid. And you think, Okay, I'm gonna go get my three million a year now as a instead of waiting for my twenty million a year.

Yeah, I don't.

I don't agree because I because to me, he's going to get drafted early in the first round sometimes.

So yeah, I mean, yeah, we we just don't know.

Yeah, so we'll see. Uh again, we disagree.

I like it.

That's why I'm here, Steve, That's why you bring me in.

You disagree makes me feel good about my Yes, tonight Golden State plays Minnesota, and who's the other game?

You know the kid.

I'll tell you what, man, I don't want to be playing Golden State.

I mean, dang, yeah, because I get it through the seventh seed and you know, they're not supposed to be where they are.

But Minnesota's only I think guys, Yeah, they're playing fairly well. Jimmy Butler, Jimmy Buckets. We'll see what happens. Yeah, and uh, you know, staff being staff.

Steph is staff and he'll always be staff. And so there. I don't think they're good enough to win at all. No, but there they are entertaining and fun. I'm rooting for him because they're fun to want.

No, I'm not.

I don't have any money. I'm for him. What I'm rooting for, you know, I haven't.

I haven't made a bet since that, since that baseball player died after after I put him in my grid.

It's scary.

I gotta go, We gotta Gokay, Kobe, give us some sign, let's go come back and breaking news