Steve Rivera, He's got his Eye on the ball on Tucson sports station Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
And welcome back to line the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve, you'r wand and I hope you have some breaking news.
This his Eye on the ball breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Happy Wednesday, everyone out there, yours truly, mister Goody two shoes, Mihitolindo, all the nicknames on a Wednesday, I'll probably come up with a different another one at some point.
There are times to.
Charm into some breaking news for Arizona football. A little bit of a kind of a slaps to the nuts, slaps the face, but kind of a payback for between Arizona Washington. Arizonas signed former Washington offensive line sine Peter Longi.
Teorg Troy kind of talked about that.
So after all the Arizona d commits going to Washington or transfer portal pickups, Arizona kind of give them the taste of their own medicine by signing Peter Longi.
To some softball they got.
They got their first game in the Andrea Classic against Michigan State five o'clock and then again at seven today tomorrow tomorrow.
Okay, yeah, I try to get Kendrad to come on the show on Friday, but he has obligations.
He told me obligations.
Didn't realize that was the first end of the season.
Yeah, so yeah, they got the Conrea Classic all weekend long, Michigan State tomorrow to a doubleheader at five and seven.
They got the Washington House.
He's at five on Friday, and then Western Michigan at seven o'clock on Friday. I'll be at the Alabama game on Saturday five o'clock and then Sunday they finished off with another game against Washington.
Eleven thirty is going on now right before the Super Bowl. Before the super Bowl game on Saturday is a late game.
Another game.
Yeah.
Men's basketball just came off the win at BYU, like we've talked about. They host Texas Tech this Saturday. Was scheduled for eight o'clock. I saw a tweet that said it got pushed back to thirty late tip off when she loved Steve. Yeah, I need my beauty. Sleep man, who's sleep?
Yeah? I need my beauty all right, I need to get beautiful. Well, this is sleep. He helps me get beautiful. I'm a long way away. I do radio.
You need had a little bit of hibernation, right, yeah, and then so it's women's basketball. They got a game tonight at Colorado seven o'clock, YESPN plus.
Okay, see what happens that.
I won't be back for any analysis until next week, but we'll see. They also got a game Saturday. Who covered the game yet from early on, very early on. I haven't seen him in a while. But then they also have a game this Saturday, very very event filled for Arizona Athletics. On Saturday, they play Arizona State Saturday two o'clock here, So what's a double header? Another one the triple header, triple header if you want to count softball between a lot of activity, A lot of activity
going on for or Arizona Athletics. Today they had the Arizona Football twenty twenty five signing class press conference, which heard a little bit of.
That with Brett Brennan.
Fifty three new players during this recruiting cycle, twenty three from high school, five community college, twenty five fourth year college transfers overall, twenty on the offense and twenty five on the defense.
I think I wouldn't know the number, but I'm going to estimate if you have at least sixty percent of those kids who are capable of playing, that that's a good recruiting class because you're gonna hit and miss on most of a lot of them, right, you can hit on a lot of them. You're gonna miss on a lot of field. So maybe sixty percent are doable or usable or whatever.
You had twelve offensive linemen when when they're trying to figure out that situation from last year, you got six wide receivers trying to replace probably lottery pick Tetaro McMillan, five new running backs, and two ten ends. Yeah, so a lot of tools for new offensive corners, said those to work with. To the NBA a little bit of a surprise trade last night, Bucks traded way Chris Middleton to the Wizard for Kyle Kuzma.
I saw that good shooter. Good shooter in Middleton helped him win their title a few years ago.
Against the Phoenix Suns. I truly thought it was a shock. I thought he was gonna end his career as a as a bug. Maybe he still will. I thought it was going to be a start to start. I think he would start to finish with them.
Uh, but.
Not not a bad return in Cayl Kuzma. He's a little bit of a younger player. Yeah, he's able to stay healthy for the most part, which I think was the biggest biggest concern between the Bucks and Chris Middleton. And you also had recently today about an hour ago, the Kings have acquired Jonas Valentiunas from the Wizards.
Uh.
And then it's about.
As they traded away uh City Cisco that they just got in between the Jonte Murray, not Dante Murray, the Aaron Fox trade with the Spurs.
So a little bit of movement. What's more than likely not going to be moved. Thing is Kevin Durant. There was a little bit of they're not gonna move him swirling or going around with his name is in the Warriors, right, and he just says, he said, there's no interest in the Warriors return.
We'll see what happens.
But if if you have your star players saying he wants to stay, why not keep him?
Yeah, but that is it's a business man, it's a business that is very true. We thought Luca was a lifetime averick. Yeah, So we'll see what happens. I think Kitty will be moved. And that team is not very good. It's not championship worthy. You know, for whatever reason, you get all these good players together and it still doesn't work.
It's Kentucky is the problem. Durant.
I don't know. I don't know. It's uh, I don't know. I couldn't say yes, couldn't say no. That's I guess what. That's what I don't know in it. It kind of give you hypothetical year.
If they do trade away Durant, did they go after Jimmy Butther?
Uh yeah, yeah, yeah, But is he the solution to this? Probably not. No, I wouldn't think so. I think one perpetulant guys for another.
You'd have to go if you trade away Kevin Durant, go get Jimmy Butler, But then more than likely trade away beal.
Well, that's what the big deal is, and they trade him to someone who want him with a no trade class what he will don't want to go to and then to have that trouble when you're making millions and millions and millions of dollars.
Yeah, we'll see, we'll see what happens with the Phoenix Sons, Kevin Durant and all their players but return. Last night in the NBA, Joel Embiid posted a triple double in his winning return.
I think he had a game winner as well, he said.
He talked about his situation after the game, saying his knee has been his biggest frustration. The room will throw his entire career, and that he hopes he's put it behind him.
Okay, and see you'll take the day after tomorrow. Yeah, load management, right, load management? Uh, and then you got some good games tonight.
The The Aaron Fox will be making his San Antonio Spurs' debut tonight against the Hawk there.
I think.
I believe they're on a six game road trip, so it'll be a while before the fans the San Aatunia get to see him. And then you have the Suns going up and playing the Thunder, the top the top team Thunder seven thirty ESPN. Durrant was ruled out, so I think there was a lot of that added to the speculation.
Right right, so that Tail is going to come back again. He had been originally slated to come back. Now it's the Duke Clemson game from his cancer diagnosis. And then something else happened recently, so he's coming back though. Good for him, Good for him.
The NFL Player Association as Santa, kind of talked about the eighteenth eighteen game schedule that they were kind of throwing out there. They don't don't want any part of it. They wanted to keep it at seventeen. Okay, but I think it's smart at the I believe it makes for better football in the postseason. Sure, the Rams are going to host the first ever NFL game in Melbourne, Australia come twenty twenty six, another international game.
What do you think about those games? Well, okay, if you like them, I don't know. I'm either. I don't like waking up that early to watch it. Oh, yes, yeah, you do that. I wouldn't say sleeps. Beauty sleep topic topic of Wednesday, beauty sleep. I can't have just good hair days that I need to face that goes with it. Please call in for tips on beauty sleep for Steve Makeup makeup Blindness.
Ron Rivera said he's returning to Cal Football to help their program. It's gonna be their GM.
Their gm M.
What do you what do you think about that? It's a job it probably pays. Well, you're back in the game, you probably won't be a head coach in the NFL anymore.
No, what about the college level, No, how.
Old is he's probably got about sixty five ish, probably sixty five No, yep, okay, what's the boy?
Yeah?
And then of course Super Bowl Sunday coming up the Chiefs and the Eagles.
I'm excited for this game.
I meant, like the last game it was going to be good.
Is against closer and closer. I'm getting a little bit more excited. I might I might actually watch it. I've said numerous times, I want to comment to win and wipe out the earth before this game fits.
I don't want you a team to win. I felt that way about somebody else.
But uh, I'm getting excited, how about you?
No, not really, that's another game to me. You know, I was looking at some Evan Mayakawa stuff. Arizona is now eighteenth in the overall power rakings of his very smart guy obviously very uh into it in terms of the teams. So if they're in eighteen, that's like a five seed. But one of the first five seeds they dropped, didn't they they were fourteen? Well, that might be a different standing for ken Palm or something like that. But the Maricwa hasn't been eighteen. Is Arizona a five team?
Uh?
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. If they're a fourteen, may can be a four or five they're playing. I still believe, and I said this on the air with the other place in Phoenix. Who had they played outside of Baylor here? Right, they beat Baylor. Baylor's not as good as we thought. They just gotta beat last night Texas Tech should be a return. I think they're going to kill Texas Tech here?
You think so?
Yeah? And then when we play or what we see, uh, these guys play, uh the Houston's, Iowa States on the road, the Kansas on the road. That's when you kind of gauge how good this team is. But I agree with Donnie in the call from previous I didn't think that they were pretty good. I think they're they're good now with a lot a lot of improvement still.
To come at a lot of a lot lot to play.
Yeah, left right, and I and I still say, and I've said this on the show a number of times. Those who follow me or at least listen to me regularly that as Caleb goes, the team will go eventually, but you definitely definitely need them in March.
Definitely.
You can't have Yes, you can't have six for sixteen in March.
No, that's the number. I mean, do you like those numbers?
No?
They want with six for sixteen. Okay, but what if go six for sixteen again against the in the second round or the third round or the tournament. You're thinking, oh no, here.
We go again.
Yeah, but I also think that that's a credit to the defensive side to the basketball team.
Right now.
They're they're playing, they're playing much better. Really well, yeah, no, he didn't feat those playing defense, b Yu. You said it was contested. Some of those shots, some of them weren't They just missed.
Yeah, they had towards the end of the game, especially when they were trying to come back.
But they had a lot of good looks and they just weren't falling.
Well, that was Arizona. That was the Arizona game against Texas. Heck, where they were down, they were just throwing up stuff just to try to get even. And that's that was by you last name. Yeah, okay, anything else some good games today Texas, Arkansas, Arkansas at Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois plays and can Boswell. I guess the Michigan, Michigan coach, the Indiana coach, what's his name, what's in whids in just ripped his team. They're not very tough, no dub uh.
They're not in good borows part of that group. So we'll see. We're getting down to the degree we're gonna call this. Let's take the call. Hello, you're on the air, nine on the wall. Who's this? It's team money, Team money. What you got?
Yeah, I like to let your sidekick know that I'm with him as far as rooting for the comment to come and destroy the.
Earth before the Chiefs in Philadelphia.
You know, it's been weird like this whole NFL postseason to me has been like like the World Cup when you're forced to root for for idiots and total jerks. You know that you normally wouldn't couldn't stand, and all of a sudden.
The one's left.
So, I mean, Nick Siriani is the NFL's most punishable face, but I'm gonna have to root for him in order for the you know, the catchup and Mustard franchise not to destroy the tradition of the whole league too money.
Did you have money on any team before the playoff started?
No, No, I'm a I'm a Niner fan, but you know, we just to take the year off.
That's accurate that you were the cat. You can watch it? Who can watch it?
Who franchise?
Yeah?
I might, I might.
You know see what happens.
Yeah, you're a sports fan. I know you're gonna spend some time with the beer and in the hand.
What I really wanted to talk about wash No, no beer? Uh speaking of no beer b YU. Yeah, yeah, those guys are just chucking up stuff. Man, I love it. People don't realize math wins. Math always wins. I don't know why people don't realize this anymore. Like I don't care if you play basketball, maths always.
Wins the three versus the two.
Well, no, I mean, as far as a law of averages, it's always going to average itself out. And you're shooting from further away and you're tired, and you play for b YU and then you think you're gonna just chuck up a bunch of threes and you know it's it's hilarious. Last night was amazing.
Yeah, No, did you think that that was the best game of the year for the Cats? Which one was? Which was?
I think the a SU win was the best just because it was a SU and the way it ended as far as like like like a technical like a technical performance.
Yeah, I don't know.
I mean, you could make the case that the win at West Virginia, you know, was the best win of the year as far as the will put together game and going on the road and doing what they have to do.
But like you said, they.
Are they live and die with Caleb Love, and I wish somebody else could step up and be there for him, like a Bibbian Simon or Simon and Dickerson type thing.
But uh, I don't.
I don't think it's there.
kJ Lewis is always on the cuff, but I think he's about a year away.
Right to many, you sounded like maybe you've been thirties, thirty forties, so you saw that. I saw at the beginning of the year that these three kJ, Bradley and Love could have been the Biby, Simon and Dickerson three. Someome No, they've fallen short.
Well, you know what we didn't know, you know, this time in ninety seven. We didn't, you know, never with the fifth fifth place of the Pac ten and they should have lost in the first round again, So yeah, I mean, hey, that's that. That that weird memory always kind of gives me hope.
Yeah, you and everybody else. Thanks Team money Man appreciate it. All right, good call, Hey, we gotta go. We're gonna get ahold of Jonathan Perlman on the other side talking about FC twoson and what they're up to. There's a lot of stuff going on locally, not just with the team, but with the pros.
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This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. We want to take part in the show call out Steve now went five to two oh four one six seventy four Ford.
Hey, welcome back to Eye on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. I'm Steve your one, and we're waiting for John and actually he's just sticks, so he'll be calling us. Call us anytime now five two o four one, six, seventy four forty we'll have John on talking about what's going on at the old Kino Complex. I think we're using a lot of different things going on right now.
But I believe there's a possibly a softball softball thing going on.
Well, let's see if he said what he says?
Okay, yeah, okay, John is issue? It was today, Jonathan, how are you? How are you fine? Thank you? You guys are going to be busy here. I saw some stuff on the old internet. You have teams coming in, you're trying to accommodate and all that. What's going on?
Yeah, we just got a bunch of teams doing preseason here again. You know, we've got the USL defending champions, we've got the Eastern Conference champions, the Western Conference champions. We've got some games going out, we've got some open training sessions, and you know, we're just excited that the Portland Thorns we're here. They just left again. We're just trying to bring teams in and great soccer here and
giving people opportunity to watch them train. Fortunately, the Super Bowl is on a date, you know where a lot of the teams want to play games in the morning, so it's really not perfect for us in terms of games for attendance, and we're really excited about the teams coming the opportunity for people to come watch them train and see, you know, all the great soccer that's here in this time of the year.
How long will they be here.
They're gonna be here for the next two weeks. In Mexico played Louisville today in the closed door game. It's a great match. They're gonna be here training, hanging out and get a bunch of teams all over the city, you know, going out and joining to something. The weather this week is phenomenal. Next week also very good and just an exciting time obviously for sports here. Obviously I watched the game last night. The basketball game was fantastic.
So yeah, you know, it's really great having them here.
You couldn't have picked a better time, or somebody above it couldn't have for your weather because you know, it's eighty six. Should be a little cooler in the coming a week a week or so, so perfect and where are they from?
So Louisville City's from obviously Louisville, Colorado Springs. The Switchbacks won the USL Championship, obviously from Colorado. New Mexico United the Western Conference champions. We also have Detroit City from Detroit. Obviously.
These are some of the top teams, top drawing teams in all of the USL, before best teams, really just great, great sides, and they're all here preparing, playing each other and making sure they're ready again to go for make a run at their respective conferences and the USL coupan. We also got some former SC Tucson players, you know, on a number of these teams, some former Tans rising players, and some former Arizona you know, great's like Danny Cruz
is coaching Louisville City. He played for me as a youngster. He played me MLS as well, so really sort of the whole full gamut. Stan Glio played today for Louisville City at top player out of Phoenix. You know, he's really had a great USL career, and just just a lot of guys getting thick, getting ready, some exciting young players as well. You know, uh, you know, Louisville just sold a player that had loaned for US, Elijah Winder, to the LA Galaxy for a record fee for a
domestic transfer from the USL to the MLS. It's again a lot like we saw when we're in spring training here when we saw the Chapille teams playing. You know, we're we saw the guys before they were famous, you know, moving up to the diamondback. So it's real great opportunity to see young talent and see some young young coaches. In New Mexico lost their coach to FC Dallas because he had such a great year' quill the guy I
coached against in the USL League one. So again, you know, you get to see them, you know, before they're they're super famous. You get to see them as they develop. And it's really an exciting time to observe some great soccer here in Tucson.
You so this has continued for a number of years. Is it the same? It's not the same as before, right when you had some of the big MLS people here, but you've continued to bring teams in. Are you in charge of this or who is?
Yeah?
I am.
We've been doing this since obviously twenty twelve, and obviously, you know, for us, you know, that was an incredible time. You know, Tucson was really first to the table and understanding this business. But you know, the challenge again is something that we're working really hard on competing here with the MLS is obviously Delance Hutto owns the La Galaxy, you know, he owns you know, the Pole fields and Coachella.
So MLS now a lot of teams go to Coachella, so us figuring out where we can time teams coming in here, but at the field availability. We obviously some major events here like the Port Bowl Shootout during the time where we would we would now really be targeting teams to come here. So we are some things to shift. We had a bunch of MLS teams interested, but you know, we really have done a number of things to make ourselves more competitive, and obviously with the Gem Show here,
you know, it's challenging with the hotels. I mean, the Gem Show is amazing event, so important to Tucson for its tourism, but you know, hotel availability, hotel pricing, this is obviously the high time, the highest season for you know, really tourism here in Tucson, Arizona, and so we're trying to figure out how we can best fit the team's needs into that period of time and with the varying leagues, obviously we're bringing in some of the thorns or you know at the top of the table of NWS all
the highest you know of you know, women's soccer in the world. You know, where we have a number of national team players on the women's sides that are coming in here, and to figure out how to get those teams here and to get games and timing where are our fans here can see them, their fans can come and joy the beautiful weather we're you know, obviously for us that's big. I mean, we've had you know, pro teams here. This is the first year we haven't at
MLS teams come here. It's certainly something we're looking to rectify next year. But it's not because of the performance of two songs. Just there's just a lot of people with a lot of competition, you know, with MESSI on the coast and new teams popping up in San Diego, which is all great for the for the global game and overall here, but it makes us have to, you know, really, you know, invest it's not easy to feel like you talk about competing, you know, with all the things that
are going on in college sports here. You know, Nil, you've got to throw a lot of dollars to compete with phil Anshoots and the LA Galaxy in those relationships. So we're gonna figure out where our niches. We love the game, we'd love all our relationships. So we have great ones in the MLS, in the NWSL, in the USL Super League. And so the timing of that, you know, puts me onto the planes to go see some of the people I've seen, to see how it can make
sure that we're you know, putting ourselves in. Pema County has done an incredible job and visit use on and you know, reinvesting in the facility to improve it because everybody's notching up a level and we're doing the same here. So we're working that out. We have a great group coming here. We're incredibly excited that the Thorns were thrilled
with the experience they had here. All our feedback has been massive and of course the weather doesn't hurt Steve, but really most importantly for us, we need to make sure that we're we're delivering you know, great stocker here during this time of year and taking care of those clients and taking care of our fans and sc two, so our fans in Tucson and fans that come here in winter and come see Collar Guard and see all.
We've got the world baseball class coming here and we were just part of a larger you know, sports infrastructure. And obviously it's even better, you know, when the Cats are playing well on the men's side as well. So it's just it's a great time for sports here and we're we're tinuing to work hard and obviously for us, we're preparing for our season in May and see if we can duplicate another Western Conference championship and hopefully in a national championship.
Yeah. So you said that you're realistic about Sunday's attendance because of given in the Super Bowl, So can they go see them otherwise other times other days?
Yeah, So that's why we're focused on the open training session on Saturday, and that's really where we think are it's the best situation for people to enjoy seeing these teams and getting an idea of watching them train, watching that piece of the puzzle, you know, for us to close games, they can if you're a fan from the of the cities or NFT to some fan, you can reach out to us, you know and see about any access. You know, we have limited access availability to close games,
but there's certainly some opportunities if that fits. But and so through the teams, if you have a contact through those teams, you can reach out through their their channels. But for us, obviously, you know, the usual you know mlscated matches we have, We're we're not producing this year, but our plan is to return to that in twenty twenty six and making sure that you know, we have the kind of matchups that are really you know, fitting the uh the demand for here in Tucson.
So you talked a little about to about you guys, When does that start again?
Uh?
You know, what can we expect this year?
Single DeMaio, We can expect a team again that's gonna buy for a division championship and for a you know, a national championship. Obviously, getting the final four was the first we've ever gone. We fell a little bit short, but again, the team isn't rebuilding, it's reloading. That's what we do. Here and obviously for us, we feel very shortly on both the men to women's side. You know, we our schedules are we're gonna start leaking them out.
We got incredibly great dates. You know, almost all of our games are on weekends, so easier for people to go to. We really knocked it out of the park in terms of the scheduling and and some great new partners and some great new twists to the events you know that we're going to have. So we can't wait to announce all those those opportunities and those team nights to see you see your team and support local charities and all the things we do all summer. So starting
on the Synca Mile that opens our men's season. The women open at the end of May, and we're incredibly excited for a robust summer. It's a great summer here. We've got the Cold World Cup, which is the first time it's happening at the level what's happening here in the US. So it's again another great summer of soccer and Tucson and across the United States. So we're incredibly excited.
Year before World Cup, I mean, what can you say, And obviously we're working very hard to try to host the team here in Tucson, Arizona to train before that World Cup.
So yeah, you're just part of the landscape, not just but you're part of the landscape athletically. You got golf coming up here in a few weeks, so three weeks, maybe the rodeo, you guys, the UA stuff. That's just a number of things that people can do and go enjoy.
Yeah, and don't forget don't forget the road bars and sugar golls coming up again. We love our local teams, we love partnering with them, and you know, I'm just always going to be an advocate for Tucson and everything Tuson's trying to do to improve, you know, sports in the community here and on the youth side and the professional side. So I enjoy my role on both sides here. We enjoy developing not just players here but also the sports executives, which we've done at a great clip in
u of A does the same. So you know, I'm really just excited for all the teams that are going now and let's let's all throw our support by them. We'd love to see everyone out on Saturday enjoying the beautiful weather, watching the team's train and work out, and obviously we've got an incredible super Bowl coming up, and I think we all have a great appetite for the way, you know, both both our teams are competing, the men's and the womens, and the on the hoops side. Uh
you know, I know you you must be excited. What to run. We're on with the men's team since the half court shot, which I was able to enjoy in person. So really just a just a great time.
Yeah, no, perfect soul. People want to enjoy Saturday. Where do they go in time?
Yeah? Just all you need to do is check the times out at FC twosun dot com or on our Instagram or on our Twitter. It's all there, and uh.
You're welcome to come.
It's free for all ages. You can come. You can enjoy, uh you know, you yourself. You can bring in whatever you'd like to uh to drink or to eat, you know, and just watch the teams. Get a couple of watergraphs, you know, see some high level soccer and uh, you know, really you know, for those kids, those young people and those coaches, one see what everyone's doing the most innovative stuff.
And also for kids to dream where you want to get to and see the levels of players that have come even as former FC two some players, and see where they are now. So really great time. We hope to see everybody else Saturday.
Thank you, Jonathan, appreciate it, Take care, Thank you so much. To talk to you soon. Yeah, thank you. Jonathan Perlman, the owner of FC Tucson, doing a good job locally with soccer. Obviously, let's take a break, come back for our final segment. Maybe take some calls here on the other side. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take
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Streaming live on the iHeartRadio app. This is I on the Ball with Steve Raverra on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to any of the Ball hero Fox Sports sporteen fifty Oder. Steve, You're one and I think we're gonna call already. Who's this? Hey, Realdy Rick Rick? What's up?
Well, a couple of things. You know, I'm back in December?
Okay? Well down?
Oh we did yeah?
Accidental Always go to have old friends he's not who operate the phone?
Rick?
Yeah, we'll see, we see if he comes back. Yeah, ris My buddy, uh so, uh cool. We'll talk more about basketball here. They're they're playing well. They're probably gonna move up in the polls. We'll see what I'll make my early prediction, which I was wrong last night, but I think that they'll handle Texas technical problem. They were in the game for the first thirty five minutes and then all of a sudden the final five, they just kind of went to crap, Rick, are you back?
Oh?
There goes again.
Oh okay, we's just gotta give them a better phone. Rick, are you there?
Yeah? This dam this car phone is not working right anyway. I don't know where I left here, but what I was saying is they were moving like in half speed on offense, just setting the ball around. And then I also I also said that they're on defense, they have to get much uh more physical. They have to get into the guys real and they have in the last several weeks. I think Tommy Lloyd has made the message very loud and clear, and I think when you get good defense and you're.
Moving forward, And I.
Said they would also learn from their mistakes, and I think they've done that, particularly the Texas Tech game, and I think that if they keep moving forward and they keep playing physical, they're going to be a very tough out in the tournament. This is a very talented team.
I don't disagree with that, but there's still a lot of games to be played with very good teams up ahead, So we'll see how good they're going to be when the when the competition, you know, gets steep.
Well, the you know, the growth cycle they have increased week to week, and I think now it is part of the habit of the way they play instead of just a one off and I think you've seen seen that in the let particularly January and into February, and I think you're going to see more of that and again. And every one of these kids can shoot. And I think Gayle Love, you know what, he was going to
keep hearing six for sixteen whatever it was. But at the end of the day, people will realize this team is they're no joke and they're going to be very hard out and I think there's talent as anybody in the country. And I've been watching a lot of college.
Okay, I'm going to hold you to that. I'm going to hold you to that.
Yeah, the only the only Florida is tough, Auburn and Duke. I think you're going to see those three in the final four, depending on where they're seated.
So you're going going shock yummy, all right, but okay later interesting Florida, Florida, Auburn, and who I think he said, Duke? Duke? Okay, yeah, Duke usually flails at some point. Florida. Who knows how good they've been playing? Pretty well. Auburn, of course, is probably the betest team. Kentucky has kind of flailed a little lately. I think they lost last night.
I think so too.
Yeah, Arizona, Okay, maybe Gonzaga has kind of flailed too.
I haven't heard a lot about them, no, because.
They haven't played well recently, which is kind of strange. Kansas hasn't played well. Who's the best team in the Big Twelve?
Well, I was you said Arizona's gonna handle Texas Tech. I don't think that'll be the case. I think Texas Tech really is the best team in the Big twelve.
Really why.
I think they're very similar to the Houston team Arizona ran into in Tommy's first year where they're just they're very athletic, they're very tough.
Houston's the same team as they ran into three years ago.
Yeah, but well, I don't think so. I don't think Houston is the same. I think they're still a great team. They're they're different.
They're not the best team of the conference.
I don't think so. Wow, I don't think so.
But they're if if you if you want to post it this way, it's it's Texas Tech and Houston one A one B.
Okay, Okay, I'm not I'm.
Not trying to say Houston is a bad team or they're they're missing something. I just think Texas Tech is better. Okay, you're entitled, you're entitled. You're gonna come back.
Well, I need you as my guy here, so you're not gonna fire you. No, no. I someone said last like that they're a final four team. Okay, I didn't see that in the first meeting. But you know what do I know? I think Houston is still very good. Kansas is something to wrow up with Kansas because they haven't played well at all.
Be Iowa State. But you knows who I was staying? Who knows who I was stating.
That i State, Rightyona kind of hurt them. So we'll see. The league is just kind of good, but it's not, you know, it's kind of you can't tell, you can't tell.
And I think I think the next two weeks you're gonna see those teams start to separate themselves, such as Arizona.
Even then, because Arizona has to play so well Texas Tech, they've gotta go to Baylor. I think Baylor's gonna rough them up over there. They got to go on the road to Iowa State and then the Kansas so they're on the back end. It's all on the back end.
Yeah, you're gonna learn a lot about this team over the next two weeks, and for the better or the worse.
Right, I'm really excited about that Houston game.
I think that'll be another We talked about the Iowa State game being the kind of test to see where this team's at, especially after you know you're gonna play Texas Tech on Saturday, then you're gonna go to Kansas State, which isn't guaranteed. Right, they're not that they're not a great team this year, but there is still Last night, Yeah, it's still the Big twelve. So then you have Houston right after that, and I think it'll it'll show where
this team is at at that point. You're coming off to games and uh, we'll see, we'll see what happens.
Is.
It's gonna be interesting. It's gonna be fun to watch. Yeah. Oh, last night, the issue lost to Kansasity. I think it was the guy the kid missed two. Yeah, and Tommy Tommy. Bobby at the end says, I don't know. I'm trying to get to the kids and I'm not getting to them. I don't know what's going on.
And you can kind.
Of sense that this is it for him, that this is it. He's kind of.
If you were to ask me after the Arizona game, I probably would have said, no, it's it's it was a back and forth game and they just didn't go their way. But which one last night or you after after Arizona's game, Uh, when you know, I went to that one. I went to Bobby's press conference after. I just thought most just got the better of them, and it showed. But then you see a game like last night and they just did something. They just can't pull
it out. They can't win these close games, and you know, they're one of the first four teams out probably dropping by the minute.
You saw that, because they are one of the first teams out in the bracketology, and and.
They're dropping by the minute with these close losses. Yeah, but if they can go and beat maybe.
In I wes A or Kansas, who knows it's over, what's over? They once it starts happening, it spirals into this and you start kind of looking pointy fingers, YadA YadA. There'll be a lot of work for them to get
on the right side of it. Yeah, especially when the coach is saying that, Yeah, you know, when you can't when you can't get to the kids, and that's your one job, you say it publicly, Yeah, publicly that that's where it's It's it's similar to them, I have a vote in the All Conference players and you know who's not going to get my vote? And right, it's kind of like petty stuff. I mean, Sean did this when the team went to Bahamas with a very good team,
some thought maybe the best team ever. At you they got beat three straight games, came back and he later said, you know, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I can't get to these kids. He walked it back and they played better. Uh, they played better, but they blew. I lost to Buffalo that first round game, and it was very obviously he couldn't get to these kids. Kids were just here to play and get the hell out
of town. And that was probably the start of his end. Yeah, the beginning of the end, because I believe that was what twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen I want to say. I want to say it was the twenty eighteen nineteen season, and you get another recruiting class come in and maybe kind.
Of saved by the bell with the COVID situation. Yeah, you never really got to see where that team was, but you know, they weren't.
They weren't heading in the right direction.
No, it's funny you say that because everyone thought that they'd be in the play in the tournament then, because if you remember, and I'm sure you do, because you were just maybe a senior in high school whatever, that they lost to Washington here, to Washington here, and Washington was one of the worst teams in the conference. Yea, and then they beat them in Vegas and they were gonna get ready for the second rate and then didn't play it, and they were thinking, oh, they're back back.
Just because you beat Washington after beating them or losing to them the week before, it doesn't mean you're back.
Yeah, that was I think that Washington game was my second game ever in michallon.
It was horrible.
Yeah, I sat front row and I figured out why because it was you don't want to go and yeah you never saw Sean Miller again.
Yeah yeah, or in it with a full Becale center. Right, But anybody want to call, We got maybe a couple of minutes. We can take a call. Five to zero, four one, six, seventy four forty. What were your impressions of last night's game? Maybe even if you want to tag football and the recruiting class that they have coming in. Everybody's hopeful. I think obviously this is the time to be hopeful. Spring game, oh, spring practice hopeful. Well, we'll
see what happens with that. I don't know if you saw this, but Nebraska this is more than likely going to cancel theirs. Yeah, so we'll see what happens. Don't be looking at my players, yeah, I don't want to show them off. Don't look at my maybe that could be the side of the future. Given the circumstances of what going on and the Ohio States and the and they pack it up Nebraska packed it up Ohio states
to Alabama's and the Texas. We just say, now, we don't do this, but you those guys, okay, you want our guys, pay them, we'll go get yeah, pay them because they're getting paid here. Yeah, a lot of a lot of money being thrown around. I said that Arizona's a fifth seed, right yes, right now, I think that should be up. What's what's their ceiling? What's their ceiling?
Ceilings A three? But they don't have to make a nice run, like a really nice run, because their damage has already been done earlier.
In the year. But three are they three? I think their ceiling is a four?
I think they're I think there are five right now. There are five right now. And if they can knock off some teams that they people don't think they could, it could be a three and then maybe win a game or two in the in the Big twelve because they do they have the pieces. I mean, v starts playing well, he's a good big man. Get everybody walk is playing out his mind.
If if they're going to stay a five or four seed, or even maybe go up to a three, they can't have an ugly loss. Though, they can't have a surprising loss. It has to be the teams like Houston. The team's like at Baylor. Yeah, where you lose by five or last second shot.
Yeah, Tommy's teens don't get really beat badly.
It's very rare. So it takes.
It takes a team's best performance usually, and that's what we saw against Texa.
Attack right, especially in the last five minutes or whatever minutes it was. But they're finding their way. I mean, I think that the guys are finding their roles better more defined. V Star's playing well a lot, is playing out of his mind. The only one that's kind of not doing or pulling his way is the kid who got hurt Townsend. I text you, I asked you this at the beginning here. I called somebody and they said, he's fine, he's fine, he's back, he's fine. Yeah, that's
a lot of fans are calling for him to play less. Yeah, and put Bryanton there.
Put Brian or Orlan Lewis.
Brian's not a secret weapon anymore. But he's he's he's a guy that he's continuing to surprise. Yes, he's kind of like the straw that stirs, but he's kind of like a nice addition to the drink, you know, because he's not the only things that he's flatting in his foulas these guys too too handsy.
Yeah, yeah, and that's probably something that the scouts are looking at.
Uh and probably Tommy. Tommy talks about the time.
He's just kind of too he's still young and not knowing what's right and what's wrong regard when you with regard to that.
He he also has some of those plays where it's it's the I guess antsiness of being the freshman trying to make those highlight plays. You saw a couple of passes over the last two games where you're just slow it down, you know, just bringing up the court.
You don't have to hit the home run every time.
You still when you're watching games, are you still kind of nervous when you see Henry take the three he did last night and he hit it. No, you know you're fine with it. I get nobody was UCLA. I get nervous when he goes straight to it, straight to the basket.
No, no, no, straight into the shot. Okay, you know he gets at the top of the key and he's looking straight for it. Usually you're able to tell when he should be shooting it, and he's gotten a lot better at knowing when to. But when he calls his own number, I I get nervous, and you know, you don't. You don't know if he's going to rattle off three or four of those, and like he did against U. C.
L A.
And to this point he hasn't, which is credit to him. That's maturity. Right, We'll see what happens. Maybe you don't be picking your spots. Everybody has to do that. Okay, with time, you got about a minute.
Last thing I'm gonna say on this team is, uh, something I've noticed that's kind of been under the radar, and some people will agree disagree.
I think k J.
Lewis is a great distributor of the ball and execution executioner of the offense, especially in that I would stay overtime. Those two big threes from k Love only came off of kJ Lewis passing.
Yes, well, he's a very good defender. They need aim defended, they need him to score a little bit more. He's not a great shooter, he'll have to work on that this next year, but but perfect for whatever's gonna needs defensively and athletically because he gets the basket games.
He's a little bit of that glue guy where, yeah, most of the time you can ask him to do something, he'll he'll get it done right.
Okay, thanks one, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow. Talk more about one last thing. Super Bowl prediction. Oh, because you're not here.
I won't be here for the rest of the week. Philly, Philly by three, Philly by a touchdown.
Here we go.