This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Want to take part in the show? Call up Steve now went five to two oh four, one, six seventy four.
D Hey, welcome back to Eye on the Ball, you know, Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Vera. You're Dave Silberg. Now with US is one with breaking news.
This is I on the Ball, breaking news on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Happy Wednesday to everyone out there.
You're truly mister goody two shoes, mihitolindo, whatever you want to call me nowadays the starting off some era breaking news with some Arizona athletics. Of course, the game last night for men's basketball against number twenty one West Virginia pretty soundly took care of them in a seventy five to fifty six win.
It's funny because last night's game and I listened to the post game with Tommy to do my story.
Uh, he did it right away.
Typically they'd take at ten to fifty because they needed a catch to the bus to get to Pittsburgh to get the home on a flight because they couldn't fly out of Morgantown.
And they said they got home at three am still like that. Yeah, that was the way it was gonna look kind of tough. Yeah, and you know they were also on charters, right.
Right, Well, it wasn't as tough as back in the day. We'd go can when I travel with the team, you know, we'd go like Pullman, we'd go back to the hotel and Spokane, we wake up in the morning at six in the morning, cats apply and it was.
Miserable it was. Now they have charters, it's luxury.
So yeah, good successful weekend for him, that's for sure.
Yeah. They're now three and oh big twelve.
Play next game this Saturday against the UCF Nights eight o'clock.
Be there or be not there.
Two women's basketball you got number or not number, but the Baylor Bears six o'clock right after the show at home.
Yeah, we'll see how good they are.
There's still kind of light on the bench, right Yeah, playing seven six whatever it is.
But they got a couple of wins, right, didn't They pick up some victories so to one. Yeah, they're two and one.
They got a road win at BYU, lost to Utah at home on New Year's Eve, and then beat UCF right before the men beats Cincinnati.
Yeah, I kind of have her on the show just to get it updated. How she's doing, how she's feeling.
Yeah, i'd be right. Yeah.
Arizona basketball recruits coming in, not basketball football recruits coming in. Former Chattanooga wide receiver Javin Wattley Devin Whatley, I'm not sure is committed to the Wildcats now. This the fifth wide receiver taken and the twenty first overall transfer pickup for the Wildcats, along with ex Oregon State offensive lineman Flavio Gonzalez, Twoshon native.
From Yueblo High School. Big dude graduated in a twenty eighteen. Twenty eighteen.
Yep, that's how old is he? That's a good twenty five. Yeah, so who five years twenty nineteen, twenty six years ago. Man, I guess if I were to and I said this, I said this. You know, if I could stay in college all the rest of my life, I would have be like Rodney danger Pill.
What was that movie? Yeah, I forget the day a little bit. He's back to school or something like that.
Six foot five, two ninety three started ten games for the Beavers last season and overall nineteen games.
What would you think he's made his way around the country, though he's been at Peblo. He went to Southwestern Community College over in San Diego, Butler Community College I think is in Kansas, and then he showed up at Oregon State.
So he's been playing since would you say twenty.
Seventeen, Yeah, twenty twenty, I think twenty nineteen season he first started in college.
Okay, did you see go ahead?
This is due to the new NCAA rule where people the JC people are game than one extra year.
Yeah, it makes sense. Did you see that the quarterback from a issue what's his name?
Levit?
Yeah, it is going back obviously the issue and has estimated nil is take a guess three million the good guess because you know the answer, probably three million dollars. Really, when I saw that, when he said three million dollar quarterback returns to the issue, I'm thinking they're paying him three million dollars.
And that's his that's his projection, I think it is.
Yeah, come on, come on, really, and I'm sure what would you think that Noah Is and some of these guys. I don't even know anybody else on the damn team because it's all there.
I have no idea.
Yeah.
Sporting News three million dollars.
That's his that's his projection, right or whatever. They're not They couldn't be paying him three million dollars. Well, you have you heard about the men's basketball. Tell me they were supposed to have a Netflix docuseries. Oh yeah, issue, Yeah, that was supposed to help pay some of the nil and help some of the players, but obviously fell through. So now that's they're kind of questioning like, all right, so where is it going to come from? Where are
these bigger CRU's going to get their money from? Well, you saw that Florida State coach has been sued by three or four players because they didn't get paid two hundred and fifty thousand, and it came out they were ready to boycott some of the games last year when they weren't getting paid.
Uh, that's the world where kind of where they are for sure?
I mean I remember what was the utep not utep UNLV's quarterback who didn't get paid, you know, leaves or.
Wherever he went, and he had a pretty good season after enf too. They don't let the door hit you in the h were supposed to make a million dollars and nope.
No, Yeah, when we did the story.
No.
We I was with Moderno and that More and uh and Troy and they were talking about this and I'm thinking, no, that's not happening.
They're not promising, And.
Yeah, it's happening because now we're seeing about it, and I'm thinking, God, you're promising these kids' money and then not coming through.
Wow.
And then you see the Leonard Hamilton story. Yeah, I don't blame some of the guys coming and.
Going this is this is where you need contracts. Yeah, they need to start with it soon eventually.
That's pretty funny.
I mean even I'm looking at this the website sports Skita, which is kind of a fun one to look at for recruiting and things like that business. But the story from on three sports New Arizona State, excuse me, New Arizona State quarterback Sam Levitt has signed a new deal signed a new deal with the Sun Devils for the twenty twenty five season at three million dollars.
So he signed this million signs like you know, he's an il, he's a he's a he'll be a junior on he he he's going to be a senior. I believe he'll be a sophomore. It was a Richard freshman year Michigan State. Right, yeah, holy crap. Three million for one season of decent quarterback play. College football is such a joke, that's according to certain fans.
Yeah, that that's a thread.
Yeah, they'll be going into a sophomore year. What's the world coming to? Where are they getting this money?
I don't know if I want to find out people, they've got a lot of ritual they have money.
They do so does Arizona.
Yeah.
I think even in a better well maybe not a grander skill, but but uh, there's a lot of you know.
That you know, because you know that you chase these people.
Well you look at what a su did, even just getting that hockey team formed I don't know, five six years ago, is because of a donor who was willing to build an arena, he says, the father of some hockey player from I don't know, Wisconsin or something like that.
Oh yeah, let's build an arena. How much money do you have a lot of? Do you have a lot of? I? Okay, so there, Dave, given your your history of your work before you retired, you probably have the database of all the dudes with money. Sure, I didn't know and you may have said this to me or on the show that the New York Jets owner a Grant. I didn't even know that until you guys mentioned. I'm thinking what
and I don't does he get money? I can't disclose that, Okay, okay, okay, So that doesn't answer my question.
No, I don't you know if you if if he's going to give a lot of money, we would know about it.
It would make the news. Okay, okay.
Well, and then you have the X guys, the ex players who and historically don't give money back, you know, the the ex players, you know, the Steve kurrz do, the the golfer of Furick has given AA and there's been a few. Richard Jefferson obviously help with the gym, but probably not enough. Right, And that's just not here, that's historically everywhere. Yeah, you know, they come, they go to school, play, get out and make a lot of money in hell of the school.
Yeah.
Nowadays though, most donors want their money to go to something. They don't want to just give it to a quarterback for three million. I mean that's probably some company that they're working with and said, okay, right, you know three million dollars is nothing. If they can give three million dollars, I could probably give thirty million dollars.
That's true.
You're probably looking at a little smoothie shop. Hey, I'll give you three million if you go on TV and say this smoothie is the best.
Come here, yea, yeah, okay, okay. Let's say who knows what's in his deal? Quote unquote right, well this this say that, Well, do you go by sprite because lebron sells you sprite?
Well? Sometimes sometimes do you?
Back when I was young, Shaquille O'Neal is like the Midas touch everything.
Sure, he's got that icy hot, got everything. Icy hot, icy hots work. They're miracles.
I need icy. But you know what I'm saying, I mean you don't do it because of that. No, not for a college quarterback you have for three million dollars, What exactly is are we talking about here?
I don't know.
Some smoothie place. Come on Mill Avenue, there's here's the smoothie.
By continuing breaking news with some Arizona basketball recruiting now, co ap Pete took on Tucson High last night at Tucson High big crowd when he was introduced they are a bunch of u of eight chants kind of trying to sway him. He had twenty two points, sixteen rebounds, even with four fouls, with three twenty two and the third he finished the game.
Uh, then they won sixty four forty eight.
It was Did you see some of the footage. Yeah, he was like a monster among little boys.
Yeah, he was big. He was huge, huge. Yeah.
Well you know his dad is right, Todd Pete, the former tight end. Oh okay, yeah, yeah, no, it makes sense. Yeah, he was big and he's thick, built like a tight end. Yeah.
Yeah, he'll be ready to go wherever heat.
He looks like a like a Townsend or a or a waka, you know that kind of built.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He's the youngest of seven children of Todd Pete played for the Cardinals Raiders as uk.
It makes sense. So he's coming from a family to some college basketball.
You had Florida upsetting the number one and at the time undefeated Tennessee Volunteers seventy three to forty three.
That may have been the easiest picture of the year for me to this point.
Yeah.
He also had Kentucky losing to Georgia at Georgia on the road kind of kind of surprising there. Arizona b WESTERNI, of course, but Michigan went to Los Angeles and well routed.
The one thing or I've learned a few in this job, Dave in the in the journalism job, that that that emotions play a lot in games. Emotions if you're not ready to play, you know, get beat. But coaching matters. And if if you can see and I wanted the next time I have friends on this, can you tell who the good coaches are or not? And I'm not going to ask for names, but you know, you you know who's who's good and who's not right. And that guy who's now coaching at at Michigan, he was at
Florida International. I think it was like, uh, you know, played Arizona right, You could tell the dude can coach because what he did at Florida doesn't. Isn't it an accident?
Uh? And he's got this team at Michigan playing very very well.
I think that's what we thought about Tommy too when he got here. You know, he comes from Gonzaga where he's under Mark Few, one of the best coaches, and he showed up and he was ready to go.
He was, you know, well, Dave, according to the internet that we watch, he had you know, he has.
All Sean's playing. He's got asha. That's why he's a good coach. Shut up. Yeah, you see that, right, I see it, I see it. Yeah. I haven't heard anything since the last two weeks, since the guys won one hundred games and.
Right, so yeah, and he was the perfect guy after Sean, you know, to kind of get this thing going again.
It's the NBA Magic Star. Paolo Banchero is returning after he's torn oblique. He's been out since October thirtieth.
Really him, and so he's going to get Williams since back too. I think he's coming.
Basically played a couple of nights ago, but they're gonna rest him tonight.
Real course, load management.
He's making like fifty million dollars a year or something to sit on the bench is quite nice, man. And then you have a big time game through the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two top teams in the NBA.
Yeah, I'm just looking for sponsors at a very cheap rate, guys, anybody wants to.
And then you got an il deal you need to sign.
Yeah, and I can't spend it, and I can spell, and I can't say it either.
And then we're into a subject that's kind of sports meets the real world. With the wildfires in lah best to everyone out there, but Kawhi Leonard, just who just came back from injury, is taking some time to take care of his family, get them evacuated safely. And you even had coaches like Steve Curry, J. J. Redick their family members have been evacuated from their homes.
Uh.
The even reaching into the NHL. The Kings in Calgary game has been postponed due to the fires. Yeah, and they're even looking at the possibility of either relocating or postponing the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings game on next Monday.
Last night that the Lakers coach what's his name, Reddick talked about his his family, right, and then then we talked about this day Steve kurse family, he's from that area.
Yeah, I mean, well, my son lives in Marina del Rey and works in Burbank.
And they said, don't come in today.
You're not going to drive from Rena because it's a mess and it's gonna be mess.
He said it looked like the apocalypse. Oh really, this guy is orange and brown or whatever. And did they know how it started? I don't know.
Have we heard this yet? I mean it just the wind is what it has done most of the damage. I think how it started, I don't know. Okay, got a little bit of time left. I'm gonna try to run through this. The Cowboys denied the Bear's permission to interview Mike McCarthy. I'm sure that'll work out for them. No to go after Pete Carroll. They denied him. They denied that he can talk to them. Yeah, what did you say the night?
Oh? The night?
Okay, she's okay to college football? Uh?
Marett Rodriguez, former Arizona quarterback, was named the quarterback coach for West Virginia.
Yeah, he'll be under richrod. It's not who do we talk about yesterday or today? Didn't oh Dick fight tel? Haven't you already said that he was cats free? Now that's like, okay, when hadn't that already happened?
Officially they have announced okay today, she's another young one. He can't be much older than six ish six?
Is and Roquel, his daughter is kind of in the social she handles all the social media stuff.
The the Raiders just fire their head coachter looking at candidates.
Bill Belichick might be one of them.
Might I would doubt it that Tom Brady said he's willing to do whatever it takes to get Bill out there.
I thought this was maybe before all this happened, because now he's kind of settled in it. Didn't they just hire or trying to get some more obviously portal people too.
They got some somewhere recently, and we talked about earlier. The college football playoffs starting tomorrow, Notre Dame Penn State. Penn State's expecting to have their top probably the top player on the team, Abdul Carter.
What's the spread there? Penn State one? Okay?
As well as Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love. He's good to go, so we'll probably see some of the better players for both teams Tomorrow five thirty the Capitol One Orange Bowl, part of the semi final matchups for the college fotball playoffs. Of course, Friday you have Ohio State going against Texas and then get your Cotton Bowl, and I believe that's all I got.
You guys talked him.
I'm sure about how you know it all played out with these seeds and when we have five, six, seven, eight left seeded teams and all the top teams are out.
Yeah, so you have so much for that because the champions of each conference. Yeah, okay, you gotta go come back. We got to brother Willis.
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Down all the uses and os. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Box Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to everybody to im the ball here on Fox Sports Fortune fifty. I'm Steve Rivera in today with me Dave Silver. Now on the phone we have Blair Willis, formerly of the U A Sad office player Hawaii.
I'm doing good, Steve.
Happy New Year and it's great to be on with you.
Yeah, great to have you.
You're kind of like the I want to say guru, but you're like an expert with all this internet stuff on X because you come up with these great stats that not too many people have. Last night you had one about the pace, which I love pace and you and you we know I've covered the team forever that the pace is always kind of the kryptonite for Arizona, but they've really done well in the last few games with it.
Yeah, yeah, you're right, Steve.
I mean it's kind of that bugaboo that you know, I think we as Arizona fans, whether you're back to the Loud Alton years or even through the Sean Millier years, Arizona has always been a really good transition team and likes to get up and down the court and score a lot of points and play a pretty freestyle of basketball, certainly under under.
Coach Lloyd these last few years.
But that bugaboo has been when you get into those tight games in conference tournament time or certainly NCAA tournament time, and and uh, possessions get more precious and teams value the basketball a little bit more and you see typically
see fewer possessions. And those have been some of those games over the years, including recent years that have kind of come back to bite the Wildcats, And so you kind of keep an eye on that a little bit, and it'll be something I think I'll keep an eye on through the Big Twelve being a lot of different league than with the Pac ten and Pac twelve has been for so many years, is kind of what the style of play looks like and being in more tougher games,
tougher environments, tougher situations kind of how the team handles it. And it's been nice to see because this group wasn't handling things very well early in the year when games got tight, and you know, hear these last few games, they've done a pretty good job and being able to pull some things out.
Yeah, one of the I'll give you the quote over at least a tweet. In the Tommy Lloyd era, there have been only one other There's been only one other instance where the Cats played three straight games with the Pace in the sixties. That was in the final three games of the twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three season that ended with the loss of princetonent. We kind
of mentioned that, right, But they've survived. They've survived this, which which is a good thing because they're able to at least have shown they can get through the pace.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
I mean it's even go back a year earlier when or maybe two years earlier. I'm losing track of my
years a little bit. But coach Lloyd's first team, you know, got to the Sweet sixteen against Houston, and obviously Houston with Calvin Sampson's one of the best defensive teams in the country year and year out, and I mean that just that was a really good Arizona team that hadn't been challenged much throughout the year, and all of a sudden it ran up against the you know, one of the best defensive teams in the country, like I said, and I think that was only around sixty sixty one
possessions in that game, and it was just a meat grinder, and Arizona wasn't I don't want to say they weren't built for it, they just weren't ready for it because they hadn't faced it throughout the season. That that that year, that twenty twenty two season came so easy to the Wildcats.
And that's just kind of something as we've been looking forward to this Big twelve transition, I've just been interested to see of having a little bit more difficult road, being challenged, more consistent, facing great coaches, great players, great environments.
Kind of how this team would adapt and and you know, uniquely, this team actually faced the adversity in an on conference schedule, you know, ran into some of these speed bumps, and you know, we're only three games into a twenty game Big Twelve slate, but you know, so far, so good for the Wildcats. Turn in the corner and maybe finding
some ways to win games a little bit differently. If these last few games are any indication, because they've been you know, a little bit lower, slower pace, fewer possessions, and there'll just be something to keep an eye on as we keep moving forward.
How long you think it's going to take for the teams that switch conferences to get used to, uh, you know, a different pace, different style of play, like like an ASU, like Arizona like you know, the other's the Colorado and Utah's is is it gonna you think it's going to take a while for everyone to get used to it.
Yeah, Dave, Yeah, I'm not really sure.
I think I think the sports are a little bit different. I expected, like the same football, you know, not not to change topics, but back in well I thought there would be a little bit of an adjustment period for teams facing a different style. But then you look at Arizona State, you know, comes in and wins the Big Twelve, and you know football for instance, basketball, I mean you played a thirty some game regular season anyways, and you face so many different types of teams over the year.
I'm not sure about the style of play or necessarily the league. I just think for teams like Arizona when you're I think Morgantown was a great example yesterday. Tough weather, cold, snow on the ground, and there was still a really nice crowd there. They weren't sold out, It wasn't as rockus as it would have been if they didn't have
all that snow on the ground. But Arizona's been used to those trips up in the Pacific Northwest, going to Pullman, Washington, Corvallis, maybe even the Salt Lake City here in the last ten years. If you get that inclement weather and there's snow on the ground and the fans can't come from across the state to get to the games, there might have been one or two thousand people in the arena in Pullman or the arena in Corvallis. You know, West Virginia still had a great crowd there. And that's what
you're going to get in the Big twelve. You know, across the across the league is you're just gonna have these environments on the road that are a big game atmosphere night in and night out. The quality of the team is certainly going to be stepped up as well, so I don't know, you know what type of adjustment that takes. I think when like you're in Arizona that's played you know, played Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma, Ucla. I mean, you you played a lot of really good teams out
of league. You're kind of ready for the different styles of of of play, the you know, good quality competition. But just getting used to that travel and getting used to these environments is what I'm kind of interested to see how teams adapt. And I'm excited from what I saw from the Wildcats over these last you know, three or four days going to Cincinnati and West Virginia, of handling the travel, handling those environments and also playing good basketball at the same time.
No, it's good to see what they're doing.
Right.
If you're a big fan, and I know Tucson has has them in their hearts, of course, let me give you another one, so let me temper that enthusiasm from you. Of course, on charted territory for Arizona basketball and Tommy Lloyd, the Cats are making only thirty percent of their three point field goals this season. That ranks two hundred and eighty eighth nationally and is on track for the lowest three point field percentage since nineteen ninety seven.
Yeah, that one, Steve.
I think I came up with that one about all three or four weeks ago after that UCLA loss. And it's really been a poor three point shooting team, which I think is probably a little bit surprising. I think, you know, the coaching staff probably expected to see some some shooting improvement out of you know, kJ Lewis and and Trey Townsend, even maybe stepping up is more of a stretch forward than he had been in his previous
role at his previous school. Caleb Love not shooting it quite as well as he did last year, you know. So we just it hasn't been a good shooting team, and that's one of those things that's usually you only need a few games usually to have that sample size that's going to kind of prove out over the course of the season. But you know, I think with with Mo crebus out, I think Arizona is are going to
adapt its offensive style. Shots are coming from different places on the court, guards are getting into the paint more. You know. Last night was a great example watching him against West Virginia. I mean there was really good ball movement, a lot of back cuts, and then that's leaving players
open on the perimeter for these wide open shots. And and ultimately, you give you know, Division one basketball players in this day and age enough wide open looks from the three point line, they're going to start to knock them down.
So I say that.
Because in the last few games, Arizona has started to shoot the three a little bit better as a team. I mean, Delorso is a really talented shooter, but you're starting to see at Carter Bryant find his stroke a little bit. He's got a really good looking stroke for a six foot eight kid that you know is a true freshman.
And he's a player.
If he or Trey Townsen can start to shoot the three a little bit better from that four spot, I mean, Arizona's going to be a really tough team to defend, you know, throughout the league. But you know, historically, you know, back to your point, Steve, I mean, it's not a good shooting team from behind the art. They don't necessarily have to to be an elite three point shooting team. They've got the talent, they've got the guards that can
get into the things a little bit better. You know, this season then maybe the way last year's team was constructed, So they're finding different ways to score and create their easy, easy baskets, and hopefully along the way they start to shoot a little bit better, because right now in three Big Twelve games, they're right around thirty four percent, which
is a respectable number. And if they can just improve upon them that a little bit, I mean, it's gonna be a fun team to watch as the season goes.
I had wanted to get you on.
I've tried all disclosure on for a few for a few weeks now, in part because you were the sad when Richwrott was here and you got close with him and see him in the family in Rett Rod. You saw the news today right with rtt Rod, I thought that had been a done deal a while back with him being the quarterback coach.
Now, yeah, absolutely, no, that's I was really excited. You know, for a couple of years, I probably joked with some people that, you know, if things didn't work out it was Virginia with with Neil Brown, and I would know, obviously never wish anything ill upon anybody, but I thought, man, you know, if Neil Brown at you know, gets let go there at West Virginia. Would West Virginia actually, you know, have the gumption to go back and bring Rich back
because he'd done a you know, Kent. Rich kind of reinvented his career a little bit after leave, you know, after he got dismissed here and and win him was an offensive coordinator for a year or two and then decided to you know, take a transition job there at Jacksonville State, a program that was moving up into FBS and and did a great job there, and and he just had to respect the work he was doing there. So was somebody couldn't give him a chance and would
it be a place like West Virginia. And so it just tickled me kind of to to see that come together a couple of weeks ago. And and there's just a lot of really good people in Coach Rodriguez's coaching network that you know, we're a part of the staffs here and people I got to know. And you know, Rich has got a great family with his wife, his daughter, Raquel, who's the U of A grad. Retz obviously was a football player here at the u of A. And I'm
just happy for them. And you know, shoot, one of these days you know, Rod Rodriguez might be one of those names you see out there for a coaching job when it becomes available. So maybe here in Tucson we should keep his name in mind.
It seems like yesterday he was just a Catalina Foothills playing for Jeff Scurring.
And and and Rich would always say that my son knows my offense better than I do because he's around it all the time.
Yeah, he was always on the side, and he was always right there next to him. Seems like when he wasn't even going to get in the game, he was the coach on the sideline with his dad there. So and he hears so many stories about, you know, young players whose fathers were the coach and you know, move on the next generation.
Yeah, I remember being out practice. I mean you'd see, you know, RHT would come over. He probably had his his high school day, his high school workouts, maybe a practice, and then he'd be out to practice deal with us, and he'd be right there next to his dad on the sideline or even put a headset on every once in a while, and you just kind.
Of looked at him.
You know, Rett's not a physically imposing kid. You know, he was never a five star type recruit, but man, he sure knew the game. And then once he was a wildcat, once he was in college here, I mean, he just had a I think the neat thing about him is his dad as a fiery head coach, to be a little bit polarizing. I think there were probably some players in the locker room that, uh, you know,
felt real comfortable with Rich's coaching style. And then there was those other players that were a little bit on edge and kind of on on ice skates around coach Rodriguez. And so then you get the coach's son that comes in and and you know who's he going to be? Is you know, is he is he going to be on his dad's side all the time or is he going to be on our side? And I'll tell you, I don't know that. I don't know a teammate that didn't like Rhets And there wasn't a teammate rep didn't
get along with. I mean, he was just really well received in that locker room. I think he gained the respect of his teammates and obviously a smart kid.
I'll say he's a tough football player too.
He wasn't afraid to get out there and take hits and put himself on the line for his teammates. He's just a real quality young man.
Smart too. Yeah, yeah, no, no question.
Well if you remember, and you know this better than me, Blair, that he played a few games or a few at least a couple of games, and he did really well because he was the cerebral quarterback and now you needed him to do his job.
And I think he did really well.
Yeah, no, absolutely he did.
You know, he was a he was always going to know the playbook, you know, And and I think in some way it's kind of like a you know, to our current roster at Arizona football. I mean kind of like a no if a Fida, just one of those guys that you know, knows the playbook. He's going to put in all the time, he needs to to study it. He's gonna be there with his teammates, he'll take extra reps. I mean that's just two Rett was and much like much like his dad, coach Rodriguez, I mean, rehet is
it was a competitor too. He wasn't just some nice, you know, smart kid, I mean, he was a he was a competitor. So when he got his game reps, he was ready to go, and and I think again that's where the you know, his teammates truly respected him. And I think that's what will make him a great coach too. I mean he's got that. You know, he's got that playing background. Didn't play a ton obviously here at Arizona. Got to play a little bit more after he moved on. But you know, I think I think
he's just gonna be a great coach. I mean, if he, if he wants to be. You know, it's it's a different a different world now than it was even five years ago, you know, for these young coaches. But I mean, certainly Rerec can get along with players, and he can teach the game. And uh, you know, his dad's got a pretty good track record himself for having winning programs.
Yep, does he know? Ni l does he is?
He does?
He know what he's getting himself involved with here. You think he's a business guy.
Well he's gonna learn it real quick. I mean, obviously, you take that step up from a conference USA up to you know, Big twelve and everything you got to face at this power four level. I mean it's really power too, I guess we could probably call it, but we keep the acc in the in the big twelve in it for a power four right now. So uh no, you got to learn it quickly. And uh, I think everybody's kind of waiting to, you know, just see where
this thing goes in another year or two. Maybe it's a little bit more into control than it is right now, and maybe there's some guardrails around it that make it a little bit easier for everybody to interpret. But we'll see where that goes.
I think you described Rich pretty well in terms of being polarizing and stuff. You were with him for a long time him. Uh and and when he took the job, you were one of the first tw tweets that you know, you're excited for him, like you said earlier, Uh, just a bit. I think he's probably misunderstood too.
Yeah, I think I think he's he's very misunderstood, and I mean, you know, look, part of that's probably ant doing. I mean, he he's a fiery, you know individual you know, doesn't take losing very well, and so a lot of times, I mean, people you know are going to see a coach you know in their best moments and their worst moments, and So whether you hang on to the really good moments that you see on TV or or see on
YouTube or wherever you see stuff on social media. Now you hang on to the good ones or the bad ones and and and those kind of live out there forever. But I'll tell you what, working for him, I mean, I really enjoyed it. He was so good to me. He's so fair. He valued what we did in our line of work, which I think is you know, and shoot, I haven't I haven't been in athletics communications for five years now. But back then, he really valued the work that we did, knew that we had a job to do,
appreciated the input. He really took care of his staff, and he and his wife Rita were just it was like it was like a family, you know, honestly in that building with him and everybody was was helpful, supportive of each other. And that started with Rich That was the expectation that he said. And so you know, I remember it was a really hard, confusing time when when he got dismissed. You know, right after We've been to a bowl game and shoot, we were gonna have Khalil
Tate coming back as a Heisman candidate. Perhaps and we had three freshman All American on defense. I mean, I think everybody that was a part of the program at that point was really excited about what the next year was going to bring, and then you know, all of a sudden, we're making a pretty quick change and didn't really know what that meant for a lot of people.
But I, you know, I just I just say that because you know who it affects is the people, not necessarily the head coach himself, but the people around him, and the families of the assistant coaches, the support staff, and obviously coaches immediate family, his wife and the two
kids that were both students here at the time. And so I really enjoyed my time with him, and I've followed his career ever since he's moved on from Arizona, and I really could not be happier for him to get one more chance back at West Virginia because it's
the one thing. He never told me this directly, or I never heard it directly from him, but he always got a sense that he did regret a little bit leaving West Virginia the way he left West Virginia back there in two thousand and seven, and did he didn't get a fair shake at Michigan. You know, he got cut there before he was going to get that thing turned around the next year, and you know, maybe in
some ways it kind of happened to Arizona too. He had a nice little run those first two to three years, and we got to the Fiesta Bowl with Scoopy and on New Solomon and then kind of had to rebuild it. And it felt like that thing was on the way back up there in twenty seventeen again, but it just wasn't meant to be. So I guess, long story short for coach, I hope it works out for him having his career come full circle back there in Morgantown.
And I can't wait to that first game against West Virginia when it happens.
I think it's up there, Arizona WESTGA. It's gonna be awesome.
Yeah, well you could expand a lot of points on both sides.
Yeah, thanks Blair, appreciate you.
Yeah, thanks Steve anytime.
Good hearing from you, seven Dave as well, and talk to you soon.
Great, Thanks Pater Willis. Yeah, thanks a much.
Going back to memory lane stuff, we're a little over, so let's go and come back.
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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 I on the Ball.
Hey, welcome back Tooining the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera in today with me. Dave Silver got one in the final ten minutes.
Don't forget.
We're going to meet at Del Soul tomorrow three to five. Jay and I hope to have a guest or two in house. We'll see what happens with that. Should be fun making our picks for the final time. I screwed up last week. I tell you, I told you ahead about a.
Week you didn't tell me. He cut I'm ahead by half a point now, So what are you guys doing? NFL games too. Yeah, those were so unpredictable.
Last week, just and that's what it got me because no one played, no one cared, and I kind of went with the normal and just got crushed. So he caught. He's caught me. But I have a half a lead.
We can do it. We can do it.
I know.
I hope he doesn't so that he By the way, let me let me know what was going on. So tomorrow, del soul, if you guys can make it or give us it. I don't think we can take calls tomorrow, So we'll see what happens. Anybody you want to call now five two, zero, four, one, six seventy, have any stories for us? This basketball team, women's basketball game? All that will take your call? Oh what is ready for you?
Sir?
Get those phones ringing this? Yeah, we've had a few good calls lately. Anything else, Dave.
I mean again, we've kind of talked about kind of a fun weekend ahead. I think with you know, you have played some basketball mixed in with all the all the football, it's gonna be a good good time to be sitting around if the weather is going to be cold like this and Tucson would be a good time to just kind of hang out and watch some good postseason football NFL College.
I had have a question for both of you. I've heard a lot and a lot of predictions and analysis that how State's gonna run the doors on Texas.
Do you believe that I like them? What's the spread? Maybe three and a half? That one's like six. I want to say, I'm probably gonna go with Ohio State, not because of what they did last week against their opponents, obviously Oregon, but yeah, and they're probably the coach was just going to be fined right a month ago or everybody every time, and now he's on the verge of winning the national title and their favorites.
Or even money. Yeah, they looked good. Yeah.
I don't know to what degree one, but I would I would say yes, you know, I don't know if running meaning big didn't.
Have to be play Penn State, I don't think so. I don't think so. Then in the league, right, I don't know. I don't know. I would. It's smart money to me.
Is a lot of people saying they're gonna blow blow Texas out. I don't think so.
Okay, I like Texas six and a half. That should have won that game.
They should have. It wasn't targeting. It was a target, It wasn't targeting.
Yeah, it was probably one of the first times in my life I was actually rooting for the Sun Devils. But I just I'd like to see those underdog teams. Oh, they shouldn't be number four, Like why are they in the playoffs? They're not that good and they go out and have a game like that and they just prove themselves open. It opens doors up for other teams in the future. But I do like Texas. I do like
them to be Ohio State overall. I do like their defense, and you the wild card is you just don't know what you're gonna get from Texas's offense if you're right, if they're firing on on silver on all cylinders, or if they're a no show.
Yeah, I think the Notre Dame Penn State game is gonna be fun too.
Yeah, it should be. Notre Dame is on a major role.
And you don't know how good they are. I mean, I don't know, talk about weird scheduling too. You know, they're in the ACC, they're playing like sixty.
Seven games there and they're all, you know, their usual non conference games. They just rolled though through this season after an early loss.
Yeah, do you know, can you look up something real quick ESPN if the top twenty, the sixty four, the bracketology things up or not. I'm not sure because as of three or four five days ago, Arizona was not in the tournament. I'm sure that's changed because they're now number fourteen in the in the NET. It was updated yesterday before the game, probably, Yeah, before the.
Game, Arizona was one of the last four in and there would be the eleven seed going up against Texas.
Let me try to find them. That'd be tough. That'd be a tough game. It'd be a tough one. Yeah. So I still think that there'll be a four or five. So in the circumstance, they'd be an eleven.
If they won, they would go and face Pittsburgh in the West.
Yeah, they're number fourteen now in the and then NET. Even though they didn't beat the teams they the bigger teams, they got some respect from them. So in Kentucky's fifteen, Texas A and m is seventeen, and those teams are ranked pretty high. So there still a lot of respect in the computers, not so much by the people.
Yeah, I think it works out better for them when they when they're doubted, they play their best.
So they've got games. The Western region has got Denver.
Yeah. And what's the other.
One is yeah, okay, I'm hoping Denver. Yeah, Denver be good Denver because I can get to Denver. Uh yeah, yeah, no questions to your point one. And I don't know where you get that information, but you're spot on in terms of uh, if Arizona's the underdog in any situation, I'd go with the Arizona all the time. When their favorite they absolutely stink.
I mean, look at Tommy's first year. Historically that's so that's been Tommy's first year.
They weren't supposed to be that as good as they were, and they go and win the little Invitational in Vegas and now Arizona's a top ten team.
They just played better when they're doubted.
And it's been the case since I started covering them in the nineties or late eighties.
It was just crazy and you saw it. They were good.
They were pretty good front runners though. I mean they had some pretty great seasons overall, right, I mean the seventeen ones.
In the back and stuff. Yeah, but then they would get be losing. You know, they lose Tennes How do you.
Explain ninety seven they were pretty much underdogs the whole way except for maybe the second round. Well, the first round and the second round underdogs Kansas Providence they were probably a three point favorite. Yeah, and then the rest of the way they were underdogs right against against North Carolina and Kentucky. Remember they almost lost the first game, yeah, yeah, yea, yeah, that's when the tweed That's when they won the title.
Yeah, because they had to get through that.
First game the Torres the first game, right, and then then ninety eight they were they were a jerguonid as a favorite, and then they get crushed by Utah in the lea day. I mean maybe in two thousand and one was maybe the exception because they played Duke in the finals, but they lost the title. Did you were in Minnesota, weren't you? I was there so and we saw them play Michigan. They lost, They lost the game in the semi They lost the National championship in the semi finals.
Did they when Gilbert got hurt?
Good?
Good point, yes, But when I think it was who did Maryland play Duke or Michigan State played Duke. It's Maryland, I think, and they had Duke double digits because if Maryland beats Duke, Duke is out and Arizona plays. So it had that game gone a different way, Arizona wins the national title. You know, even though Gilbert got hurt, Luke was hurt too. Nemember here to snuffbout today. Yeah, so two dudes out. Gilbert specifically couldn't really play that hard.
And then a couple of calls in the game with Joe with Jason Williams and Jason Gardner Jason Gardner. Yeah, yeah, So it's just kind of like serendipity. Yeah. I think that's a thing across all athletics. Though for Arizona, you know, when they're underdogs, they're going to perform better.
Yeah, hey, look at football.
That's that's my next book called me An Underdog an Undercat.
And sometimes, I mean those are the more memorable games too when they are you know, when they probably one of the biggest wins ever in school history is when they would played Washington in the ninety two season football. Yeah, they were number one in the nations that come in and Arizona killed them. Well, you know those are those are the games you remember.
And Anthony would know this because he covered the team. But then a week later they pay Oregon State and gebet and lose. Yeah as a favorite, right, yeah, because it's always like pound your chest, pound your chest. Oh these guys are kicking my ass. Yeah, I don't know, because it happens.
It happens all the time.
You wonder we in the media talk more about it than the players themselves, if they're like, oh no, okay, we just beat had the greatest win in you know, our lives. Now we got to go play on the road or Oregon State or whatever.
Well when we had like let down, the heath praise and the tamershments and all those guys that come insus. It happens all the time. I don't know why, but it happens. And like I said earlier in the show with you Dave, two things have learned. Coaching matters and emotion matters. If you're not up for a game, after a big game or thinking ahead behind blah blah blah, you're gonna get your ass kicked. And it happens here all the time.
Looking ahead is a problem that you've a fans have always had. Yeah, I mean always. You're sitting there as smart as you know.
Late February. Oh, let's see where are we going to be around? Where are we going to? What seat are we going to be in?
You know? And then we mess up somewhere in the uh, well it's in some tournament. Here's the ultimate ultimate of that. In nineteen eighty eight, what kind of shirts were they promoting at U A ghost boatos you remember those shits? I wish I had the one because dose, because they were already celebrating number two, the number one team in the country coming back, blah blah blah, and they looked okay until they didn't. God, I wish I had one of those two I remember seeing and I think we
did a story about him. Whoever was printing them up with Campbell AND's peedle. Yeah, yeah in the corner. Great shirts, except that it didn't work. Yep, Okay, we gotta go. Thanks everybody for Wednesday Day. Thanks you as usual. Maybe you see you guys tomorrow at Del Soul.
Thanks