This his Eye on the Ball with Steve Ravera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty powered by Nova Insurance Services.
Showing everybody Welcome to Eye on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. Look who's here? I had to find him through the streets somewhere, Blake Eager. Good to see you. Good singing too.
It does make me it sounds weird that you had to find me in the streets somewhere.
Well, okay, it sounds weird, but okay, sorry, sorry.
Can we talk about something really quick though? Well, so, driving over here, do you think Tucson has, per capita, the most car washes and smoke shows in the country?
Yeah, yeah, without question, without ques wild to me though, I go to one every day. How is it sustainable? Who know? It was like the beds the bedplace, didn't you used to have? Yeah, where you get mattresses on every single corner. But I think that was more of a laundering stands situation because they're not as many.
Right, who's buying who's buying that many beds? I mean, let's be odd, when's the last time you bought a new bed? Oh god, I'm a dude, I would ask the kids in the room, but I'm sure it's probably two months ago.
Really you did, or your mommy and daddy. They don't sleep in the same bed, Dave. So sure I was just told Tom flip it over right, Like I never I don't.
I think I had a couch my junior at college exactly. But yeah, I think we've bought one bed in the last Why the observations, I know, I just it struck me as like there's a couple of different reasons, right, Like I'm going through this point in a career where I'm trying to open up doors to new businesses and give people the right people at the table so we can create jobs and retain talent. Like want here where we don't become an export city where we just continually
allow our talent and companies to leave. We want to maintain those to a degree and keep our keep ourselves worth as a city, right because we don't want to become somebody that we're not. We want to maintain too some we want quality jobs for the people here, sure, yeah, keep.
Them from going astray somewhere else.
Sorry, I thought it'd be fun talking say. I counted fifteen car washes and thirty five on.
Your way here. I thought you were gonna say that's you're gonna say old people driving around older adults. Oh, hell, I fit that category. What are you talking about? Yeah, I'm offending myself. I do that. I do that a lot.
I'm trying to finish sitting at text, said, I just I.
Can't, so I put my phone. Okay, hey, and we got Ray here working the system here, you know, we're at the system. Bray, Yeah, okay, we got Juan here. Of course, today's Wednesday, right, Today's Wednesday about for twenty seven hours. We'll see duke in Arizona. By the way, I'm not gonna have a show tomorrow because well, no one wants to come in. They want to watch the
game and get ready for the game. You probably couldn't come in tomorrow anyway, right, No, it's something day for baseball, Oh is it?
Oh?
Yeah, you spend I spend the day with my dad. I've been doing that since I was twelve years old.
Oh oh with opening Day. No, good for you, Good for you. That's a good story. That's a good story. Yeah yeah cool h. So we're no no show tomorrow. We're not gonna preview the game. We'll do it today. I'm gonna have Matt muileblock here in about ten fifteen minutes. I want He was on last week and I wanted to talk to him really about the mystique of Duke. There's some mistake about Arizona two because and and everyone here says there's a rivalry. I'm sure Duke give a crap.
I don't know. I'll ask, Yeah, I know. I think it's a good question. So he and I have talked about it before, so I wanted to bring him talk about that, and obviously tomorrow's game, and then at the four seventeen hour, we're gonna talk to Brian Peabody about his great run. Unbelievable and men the men and women's team fantastic. Yeah, second and third place. Nothing to sneeze at, right, not at all. Nothing to sneeze that. So we'll talk to him about hoops and all that. We talked to
Ben Hallan yesterday. I guess he and Biden are pretty close, so he mentioned those guys yesterday. So here we go, big game, right, you're watching the game one, We're all watching the game. Yeah, the.
Blue moon type of moment for me, I get to watch as a fan. I don't have to cover it. I don't have to do anything. Brian's not doing that either, is he? Is he covering Bran? I guess I'm sure he will over on X and across certain platforms, but I don't.
I don't.
Are you gonna cheer? Oh yeah, no, no, it's gonna be. I've gotten stuck into a superstition. I've won the same outfit, I mean, the same food for the first two games, for two.
Games of the tournament.
Okay, okay, I'm not gonna say what it is like as a former former ballplayer, like I ate superstit Like, oh, you can't even say what you do.
I won't tell.
We were watching the game with a group of people on Friday night and Sarah Horvath, the director of PEMA County, was like, what are your superstitions? And my wife I was like, you don't say those things, like there's superstitions for a reason, like I would if I put my socks on wrong, I would go back and reshower and start.
The whole process. And how does that work for you?
I mean, I'm not playing big league baseball anymore, so I mean it worked for a little while.
Yeah, yeah, But you know there's a point. It's like people who do the show do these types of shows, and oh, I'm gonna make predictions. They make predictions and they hit thirty percent. What's the point of listening to people who make predictions? They hit thirty percent? So how many times did your little superstition thing work? I did pretty well?
Yeah, I mean, and it was I think it created a routine in a sense where I mean it was a little just more comfortable, like tomorrow, like want saying like I'm gonna be at my parents house. I'm gonna be at my parents' house to watch opening the baseball Right now, the question is I think we're owing three this season. My wife and I watching you ay play away games at their house. And so now the question is do we stare there ye or do we go back home where we're like ninety percent?
Well, you've already discussed what your superstition is. Now that's not a superstition, that's just an honest question. I'm asking you guys. Well, you that's a routine you have. It's a routine you can So you can talk about routines, but not about superstient, not what the superstitions are.
You can say, you're like he's saying he's wearing the same thing and he's eating the same food.
He can't tell you what the food is. Yeah.
Oh, there's a limit to where you go with gets. You can't say talk about details. Yeah, it's like game planning. How do you not know this? You can talk about you can talk about the general stuff that goes into the game plan, right, but when it comes down to that final detail, help.
Me help me out righty are you one of them? Oh yeah, oh yeah, every sport, every sport.
Watch now you're at twenty five percent right now, So who's gonna listen to you? Because you by your by your logic? Right yeah, but that's not about stupid stuff. Well it's not stupid you here. Don't think I'm saying, is hey, welcome tell you the ball. I am the host. That was essentially you're telling us to stay in our lane, wasn't it all I'm going to say all I'm going to say the superstition?
Has it one hundred since the tournament started?
To it?
Also?
I would want to change that? No? Yeah, good no, don't tell me. Good luck with you and I thought you were wearing the same stuff since you were a little kid. Now do you tournament this tournament? Just this tournament? You pretty wait, since you were ten a little more. But now, okay, so we'll take some calls up here today five two, four, one, six, seventy four forty big game. We'll see what happens. Nine and a half point, dog,
I think still yeah, yeah, I believe so. And that's the same one, uh again from so the number one question that I've been getting last two days, what would you do? I would take the points. I'm not gonna say they're gonna win, but I take the points.
I would do the same. Yep, yeah, I mean nine and a half. That's a it's a lot of points. They got beat here by fourteen. They didn't play very well. No, it's definitely not the same team. Yeah, we didn't have our identity there. That was I think we're completely different.
No, No, I know, and and and you know this, and one knows this because you guys grew up watching them. And I'm gonna write this tonight. Every time you tell them you can't, they do or come close to doing. And you're you're a ballplayer. I mean you're not good enough to beat the Mets, or you know you're not good enough to and then some magic happens. Yeah.
I would try not to beat the Mets because they were my there who paid my bills. But other teams you're as lawyer. I mean, it was the same mentality growing up. It was an a few mentality. I can say a few, right, I just can't see I don't need just can't say the real can I say the real stuff? No, you kind of I want my Steve n I am former host. I've taken this thing down.
There's there's more psychology to these things, right, Yeah, you find something to say that you know, Blake, you can't do this, and you find a way they can.
Yeah, listen, I mean if you guys watched Duke play yep, I mean yeah, right now, looking at every team in the term and they're probably the best term team in the do you think so?
I mean do you think so? I think so? See. I I like Florida from the get go, and I think that would helped them. Just recently, is they got it scare? Yeah, it's always good. Good to get that scare out, not that it's going to prevent you from getting it again. But at least you know that you got to bring it.
Yeah.
I maybe it's just my internal hatred towards Florida that doesn't allow me to see that. But you're you're absolate. They're a great team and Houston. I really like Houston. Houston finds a way to win no matter what.
Houston is different than any other team out there because it could, it could streep all you, it could beat you up and make every point count. Yeah, you know, and that's just their way of playing basketball. Absolutely. Yeah, So we'll see. I think to Arizona's a bang if they have one tomorrow. Is they play a little of that now? And Duke isn't used to that.
Well, you talk about the nephew mentality, You're you're gonna tell them that they can't They're going to Yeah, they're gonna try their but they're gonna give you the best game they can. And I've been talking to this, I've been talking about this to a lot of people. When's the last time a team beat Arizona twice? Maybe outside of Houston. Let me tell you, I take to Houston. That's another part of that story. I'd have to go back and I had to go get a media guy.
But it doesn't happen very often because not only in a season, but as a program. When's the last time he saw Arizona lows, especially in Tommy's time?
Yeah, what's the why? I was just gonna ask, what's Tommy's record on revenge? It's fantastic. I think Houston was one of the ones that only got him.
Yeah. Yeah, Uh, they just adjust better. And I don't know when I cover the team every day, I don't do it every day now. It's like I used to. But you tell Richard Jefferson, you tell Gilbertinez, you tell these dudes, these dudes are better than you. What, Yeah, you're you're if you kidding me? Yeah, you know. And that's how they beat Kansas and all that back in the day. Uh. And part of my story is Dickerson, Michael Dickerson, you know, kind of oblivious to a lot
of things. You guys are seven point dogs, how do you feel? Well, we're underdogs, so you don't know, you don't know what, you don't know? Yeah, and you just play. Yeah, So I think that's too Arizona's advantage for sure. Yeah, I won't see style of play and who's gonna who's gonna stop Flag?
I mean it's not just Flag. I mean they've got three They've got they've got three top fifteen picks.
Have another conversation I was having over the last couple of days, just looking back at that twenty eleven matchup. They let Kyrie Irving and I think the plumb lead brother. They let them do their thing, but shut everyone else down. I think that works. Their advantage is that's something similar that's gonna happen tomorrow where they let Flag and uh maybe one of the shooting guards have a game they usually do, but shut everything else down.
Yeah, easier said than done.
They trailed for a while in that game to the carry Irving game first, yeah yeah, and then they just went off. Yeah that second half complete domination.
Yeah. So so we'll see what happens. It's a great matchup, you know, it's the biggest matchup in a long time point wise for them being an underdog. We'll see. And they were relaxed today, not that you can just look at it in the in the zoom call, but.
You yeah, but you want to see that. Yeah, they're playing with house money at this.
Sure, sure, but you know, you look relaxed today, But what makes you look not relaxed when you're talking talking to people? Oh? They look good on the court, really, who knows? Who knows what's going on inside?
I tighten my butchets pretty pretty aggressively.
Is that one of their superstitions? You don't have to tell me that. What you asked what would look when I'm stressed? That's what that look like when I'm stressed. Could you leave the rule? Okay, let's take a break and then come back with night me Welcome.
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Streaming live on the Ihearts radio while this is I on the Ball with Steve Ravera.
Welcome back to Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Vera in with me. It is Blake Eager. Now on the phone. We have former U of a Wildcat, Matt Mulebach. Matt Howrey.
Right, Steve, how are you?
I'm playing? Okay here? We can here, Okay, I'm not sure hear me. We can hear you? Okay, you can't hear no, go ahead.
Either, I'm here, ready to go.
Steve unplugged his headphones. That's why you can't hear anything for.
You here. I can hear him there, but not here. So how you doing that?
I'm fantastic, I'm I'm excited about tomorrow's game. I can't. In fact, I was thinking you couldn't love it was already Wednesday, so let's let's go.
Yeah, so let me we talk about this all the time. That about about Duke. Do you think because you played them back in the late eighties, right, and you guys were to kind of consider yourself the Duke of the West, right, do you think that they do you or maybe not or maybe not? Do you think that they care as much as about Arizona that then you guys care about Duke.
Well, I'll tell you I think they really respected us. You know, we played Duke four years in a row and my freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year, and we beat him three out of four. So I think when you whenever you beat someone, there's a lot of respect that goes with that. And it wasn't just a one off, you know, lucky win. Like I said, we beat them three out of four, fair and square, and the only time they beat us was actually a camera and they beat us by two, so they had to fight for it.
And so I think they really respect us. I don't think I don't. I think it is you know, they understand at least I know, the players did. I don't know what the fans think, but the players did in their program did And I'll tell you a great story. I don't know if I ever told you this, Steve, that after the first Olympics that coach K coached and maybe even the second one, I sent him an email and I just said, hey, you know, when we lost in two thousand, whatever it was for or whatever, I got
this the bronze. You know, like all American basketball fans, I was disappointed that we lost. And what coach K did to really revive that Olympic team in those two Olympics, I think they beat Spain maybe in both of them. I just felt like a ton of pride for the US I was and I thought what he did was
really great. And I just decided that email and I said, hey, you know, this is Matt Meilbach, and I said, you know, we played you in the in the late eighties and early nineties, and and you know, just I really respected our rivalry. And da da da me back about two days later, and he sent me a really nice email and said, hey, Matt, you know I loved playing against
you guys. You know. He gave me a couple of really nice compliments about me, and you know, and what I did and just said it was a great rivalry. I loved your coach. I loved Luke, you know, we had just b had so much respect for him, and so that to me meant a lot. And I'll tell
you one more quick story. In fact, just the other day, I was listening to the game and I think it was Duke's second game and Grant Hill, who was a freshman on the team that we beat in ninety one and McHale in double overtime, Grant Hill was actually he was talking about how how the UNLV team that year had not had not lost, so they hadn't played a
lot of close games. And he made the point to say, you know, we played a lot of close games, and it kind of got us battle tested for the finals and for the final game, and that's why we beat him, he thought. And you know, and I guarantee you in his mind he remembers losing, you know, on Arizona, and I've heard i'd actually heard Bobby Hurley not hurt him and he's told me directly to my face like that was a big, big thing for them.
So just real quick before Blake asked the question, are you sure the coach Kate didn't confuse you with Steve Kerr?
He might have, he might That's okay, Hey, well here I was gonna say, he only played against Kerr the one time, right, and so I was lucky to be part of all four of them.
But you're right, you know you know. I love you, man, I love you.
Go ahead, I thought, Hey, I'll admit, I'll admit I wasn't probably at the top of the scouting report, but I.
Was in the scouting report. Yeah, yeah, you were. I know you were. Hey, man, it's Blake. Thanks for thanks for coming on first and fore most. But it's an honor, man, Thank you so much.
He never lost him, just dude, never lost him ever. Yeah. I don't know how you pulled that up. So how would you rate this game on scale of games? Obviously the big game now, but you know they've played them a number of times two thousand and one in the big championship game, they've played them here a few times since.
Well, I mean, I think the championship game is number one by far, the finals of the NCAA, Right, I don't think you're gonna have a game bigger than that. So I mean, to me, though, this is equal or you know, above, or equal to any other game that Arizona's played them And partly just because when you get to the Sweet sixteen, now you're you're you're within a couple a couple of good you know, you're within two good forty minutes of being in a final four. And
that's your legendary status if you do that. And I think the other thing that stands out to me right now is I've heard a lot of pundits this year over the years say, well, I think you know so from week to week, you know so and so is the best team, or Houston's the best team, or now Florida was the best team after that two weeks ago. And I've maintained since the day I saw Duke and
Michale are the best team in the country. And I'm sure they've had some weeks where they didn't look like the best team, But to me, overall, nobody has had nobody, to me, has looked as impressed as duked in. And I say that because you know, of course Cooper Flag we going and on about him. They have the other freshman, Canipple but I think what really sets them apart and what's like underrated about them is the rim protection. And
you know, the freshman, I think it's mulatch. Maybe I'm not sure I pronounce that right, but him, the other
four man their backup. They have, like I'm talking about elite, elite rim protection, and I just think that that is the piece of the puzzle that's going to be hard to solve for Arizona, and not that they can't, because they can, you know, and I do think back to Grand Hills comments know, they haven't been in a lot of close games in the ACC and I'm pretty sure, if I'm not mistaken, Arizona is the highest ranked King Pomp team they played all year.
I didn't know that. Yeah, I do like the matchup because you know, Duke is good, like you say, probably maybe the best team in the country right now. But Arizona has this special They're tougher than they used to be. You know, they're they're yeah, they're they're athletic and l spots you know what I'm saying, or most spots and do it doesn't or isn't. I agree?
I agree. I agree that there's there's a piece of Arizona. That's there's pieces that are better than other teams they've had, not the most talented, not the most NBA guys. But I'll say another piece that I really like. I like the fact that dude beat Arizona. And yes, because I think there's a there's an instinct not to bring up a horrible memory, but I will the nineteen eighty nine Vegas team that beat us. You know, we had beaten them in McHale, and what people fail to remember is
that they really beat them by seven or eight. It wasn't like we beat them by thirty. And But but what happens in a game like that is you go into it and I think there's a natural sort of positioning of like, okay, what do we change, Like, okay, we don't change a ton We beat them, Like we're going to similar game plan, similar game. Let's just go do the same thing we did. But for the team that lost, you can go back and and you know, very carefully, surgically look at every play and say, how
do we fix that? How do we fix this? And you kind of come up with almost a new strategy for the team for offense, defense, for every player. So you can you can change a million little things. And I like that, you know, coming into a game like this because you know, hey, we're going to they don't realize how much better Arizona's gotten. I'm sure they've gotten better, but Arizona's gotten a lot better. And and I think there's going to be some things they see on film
that they can fix. That said, you know, there's still an incredible team, but we saw in what was eleven that you know that's that doesn't carry the day.
Yeah, I mean we were talking about it earlier, Steve. I think a couple of weeks ago that this team finds a way they make in game adjustments I think as good as any college basketball team in the last you know, fifteen to twenty games. Matt does this, Does this U of a team remind you of another U of a team we were trying to talk about that.
I can't.
There's not another U of a team that comes to my mind.
There's not.
No. I keep I keep saying, I'm probably being redundant, But as I said, I think for thirty five years Arizona, and I say this as a compliment, they've been you know, trotting out a Ferrari every year, and you know, this team's much more of a Ford f one fifty. And you know the Ferrari teams that Arizona's put out have been you know, multi five six seven pros on teams, and you know, they just run like crazy, and I think they Arizona's always had good defensive team. Sean Miller
had great defensive teams. But I think that, of course the Big twelve helped. Being battle tested, playing so many teams and not playing well. Really like this is Steve. We've been all of us been around, and Steve's been around.
He knows this more than anyone. Lout was the master, and for whatever reason, I don't even know how he did it, but you know, he had teams in November that were ready to win a national title and we're the best teams in the country in November fifteenth, and this team wasn't very good in November and December, and so I think they had to struggle to get better and learn who they were and figure out an identity.
And that's been that's been kind of a really positive thing for them that I don't remember teams going through that.
No, not to this degree. I mean, I think the toughness too, is a different characteristic for you. And I don't mean this in a bad sense by any means, and it has to be you know, they had to do it from a Big twelve standpoint, but the toughness characteristic of this team because they're not a great three
point shooting team, but they they don't seem to. You know, they have moments, they have moments where they lose it a little bit, but it feels like they're able to compose themselves throughout the game in different manners and it's it's just been ines. It's been impressive watching the evolution of the UVA basketball team this year.
Yeah, totally agree. You know, I finding ways to win in different ways and now all of a sudden, they're actually offensively at least knock on wood. They've played really well the last three weeks four weeks. But they do find different ways to win their identity and I say this too. Some just look at the personnel, right. I think Caleb Love is super tough and he's been through.
Like Caleb Love at the beginning of this year was being destroyed by people, Oh yeah, you know, the social media and by even like a lot of you know, a lot of announcers were getting on him and you know, sort of the sort of experts and stuff, and you know, he's weathered that storm. You know. I think I think a walk is the most physical player in Arizona history.
Yeah, I mean you talk about a big body guy that's not afraid to get in there and get deep. I think the evolution of his offensive game has been incredible. I mean just yeah, he's been a great rebounder, right, but I mean finding ways to score and getting punched in the faceball doing it as a it's been impressive. So, Matt, a couple of what are your what are your two let's say, two key teak takeaways for the UFA basketball team for tomorrow.
Well, if you remember in twenty eleven, obviously I was there doing the radio.
With Brian Jefferies.
You know, Derek Williams won the game in the first half. Now, so I think the two keys of that game were Derek Williams kept him in the game when things were not going well, and when Duke was Duke was clearly better than Arizona that year, and and better their talent was off the charts. And but Derek Williams, because he was the guy he was and just the leader of that team, and you know, kept him together most of
the time. His twenty five or whatever it was in the first half was the key to not getting blown out. They were on the version of getting blown out five different times, and he just kept holding them in. Because of that, I think Caleb Love as the guy who's there dominant. He's going to shoot the most most likely, right, That's what he does most of the time. He's got to have a good game. You just it's going to be difficult to win without your best player, the guy
who shoots the most not playing well. But then I think what happened in that second half and in eleven was it was the team got confidence, and it was a collective effort where everybody, you know, I'm trying to think of.
You know, Momo Jones and just all the all.
The guys, Jamelle and Jamel ja Or had a great second half and guys almost kind of played better than they were And it was because the belief. All of a sudden, they caught fire with their belief and their confidence. And I heard the stories of Sean Miller saying that week, you know who's going to be the aggressor, you know, do they take it to us or do we take it to them? And I think the confidence that they have to really really believe they could win that game.
And you guys were around. I mean, you look at the ninety seventeen that beat Kansas. I thought, Luke, you know, for for all the things he's done good or not as good, like him saying all week that who's the underdog? I thought it was laughable. Then he kept saying that laughable, but he believed it. And I give him credit because that was the reason they won that game, because lut believed in his heart and he had so much confidence that that team could beat them. He was not backing down.
And I think that's the kind of you got to have. That believe It can't be fake. And I've been on plenty of teams, you know that, even great teams, where sometimes you'll have a game and it's almost like a little bit of a fake fake I call it fake juice, you know, and they're going to be juiced up, they're gonna be ready, But you got to have that underlying belief.
Yeah, no question. We talked about this before you came on, and I've covered this a long time obviously with the games. And I've said this because of guys like you, and I'm not trying to blow smoke with you because you're on the show. Are asked people and they've told me who's the who's the most fierce? Uh hate to lose dude out there? It was this dude from Kansas who went to California and he may look like a little paper boy guy, he's a pain in the ass's because
he hates to lose. And let me tell you something, that's what Mays makes Arizona. Steve Kurt looks like a little paper boy, but he hates to lose. Sean a little paper bowl. Another guy who hates. So you guys are comprised of those dudes right who.
You have.
You can't beat Duke Steve, You can't beat Duke Sean. You can't be Dukee. Guess what happens. He pisses you off and you prove.
That you can't right now. It's it's it is it is that that that competitive drive that believe you know, not backing down from from a team that maybe you know nationally is perceived better and and uh and really believe in it, not not the bs, you know, talking and it's you know, really not there. But yeah, I mean I was. I was. I competed and that was one thing I didn't care about was I would compete against anybody and I would stand up to him. I was always better than them. But I think this team,
like you said, this team has that. I think they have that that drive and that that competitive belief behind them, and it's gonna take that for sure, like if they if they had any doubts. And I'll tell you this, I said this this week to two people what Tommy Lloyd did in the under sixteen time out when they were down one, nineteen to four, seventeen or nineteen to four. He didn't panic. And I've been in huddles in the tournament where we panicked a bind and it's easy to do.
It's really easy to panic. It's it's really hard to not panic because the stakes are so high. And I thought, credit to Tommy and credit to the team for not panicking when they got down. It's a long game, just possession by possession get back into it. I was shocked that they were actually in the lead at half time. I would not even have ever bet that. So the fact that they have that kind of interior you know, or you know internal you know, sort of belief and confidence is pretty key.
Let me ask you a quick question, Hobby, send me a note to ask you talk about Sean Elliott making that shot over Danny Fairy in nineteen eighty nine. Was that a planned player? Did Sean just take over that shot for that shot?
He just took over? Yeah, he just we were bizarre thing for us as we were smacking him in the first half. I can't believe they ever even came back and took the lead. It was kind of we were we felt like we were controlling the game and just blowing them out. So they had a good team. Obviously we had a Final fourteen that year. But Sean just I just remember he just he sometimes we would give it to him to bring it up, and he just brought it up and decided to shoot it. It was.
It was that simple. And you know, Fairy guarding him was not a good matchup. I think they had most of the time Bricky or someone else guarding on and Faery. Farry is a great player, but he couldn't guard Sean, and so it was the perfect shot because Ferry was so worried about him driving on him, and I just I think I was in the corner at the time thinking probably like with Kerr against the Jazz when when Jordan took his last shot, like, I'm not going to
shoot it. I'm just going to watch this and have a good time watching it because I know it's not coming to me. He's shooting this one.
Yeah. Let me ask you. We had Cory on Monday, Corey Williams and he's now, you know, obviously with you guys ESPN and doing doing all these games. I asked him if he ever ran into Jalen Rose and talked about that ninety four, ninety three ninety four game with Kalid doing what he did. Do you are you still? Are you friends with any of the former Duke guys?
Yeah? Yeah, I became really good friends with Quinn Snyder. Quinn's now the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. And it's funny, Steve, I'll tell you a funny a quick funny story with Steve Curse sent me some funny text. We were kind of like talking about the game and he said something in a funny way about Duke and he's like, oh wait a second, A lot of those guys are my friends, you know, like we and I don't know if you know what we're going to this story.
Steve was we lost, you know, in the eighty eight final four, you know, Oklahoma will do lost to Kansas, and so we were all out at a bar afterward with Ferry and and Quinn Snyder and some of their guys like having a couple of drinks and we kind
of became buddies with those guys for something. It was just an odd, odd connection, not odd because we played them, but it just became this kind of cool connection where Steve was really good buddies and I think he played with Ferry for a while at Cleveland and maybe even in San Antonio. You know, we had those we had four games of great games in a row with them, and we all became kind of buddies to my buddy.
In fact, the other que Bruce Frasier, became really tight with with Quinn Snider and we were just all kind of buddies for whatever reason. And we know they kind of at that in that time period, they had deep best program on the East coast and we had the best program on the west. So to go full circle to your original question. I think they really did respect us and knew how good we were, and you know, and and Kay knew how good Loot was and vice versa.
And then of course you know dick by Tal calling it the Duchies and Loot made fun of that. That just made it even more, uh, you know, than created more of.
A rivalry, right, yeah, no question. And you guys are cut from the same mold, you know, the competitive dudes who you know, who took pride in the game and and and you know they day for Duke and you guys pray Arizona back in the day.
I think so, I think you're right. In fact, well, Jay Billison always says, you know, tells the story of Loot recruiting him at Iowa and going going into his family room and his mom of course loved Lout and thought he was handsome and and he said, I can't believe Lout actually got me to visit Iowa. And that's a that's another great connection. You know, Jay Billis has been really close to Steve. Jay Billiss has been great
to me about about you know, announcing. I talked to him a lot about announcing and you know, things about I remember When I first did the studio, I talked to Billis. He gave me a lot of great tips and so we've just had this, Like I said, it's almost been this really unique you wouldn't think it would be, but this really unique, cool connection between the two programs. Now, I will say I love all the Richard Jefferson you know Shade dude, like Richard's Richard's differently, I mean that
was a different period. Of course, you know they lost in the finals. So I get it. And only Richard can can do what he does because it's it's hilarious and I love it. But yes, it's good stuff.
Well, thanks Matt. Are you guys going to be in a thread tomorrow night the text threat?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, we got well I've got like two or three of them, and yeah, we'll have some good tech threads going. It'll be fun. I got othic on one of them, and you know we had some othic was there for three of those matches and Joe and Kerr and Elliott and it's good stuff. So we will be uh, we'll be enjoying it.
Well, good luck, man, Thank you, thanks a bunch as always. Yeah, thanks, guys, have a doing Matt Melbuck. We went over, but that was great stuff, right fun. We'll take the break and come back and maybe take a call or too. If you're an Arizona men's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back at the Ludelsen era. In my new book, Lessons from Loot.
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This is I on the ball on Fox Sports fourteenth fifty. Want to take part in the show Call up Steve now went by two oh four one seventy four Ford, Hey.
Welcome back to about here on Fox Sports fourteen Cookie. I'm Steve rivera Blake Eager from Southern Aer's on the sports, tourism and film authority. One we got one, We got Ray in a full house and he got full houses right. Anybody want to call? Please do five two ozero four one six seventy four forty. I always love talking to that good stories. If you're having Matt on just to talk about stories, like just to share stories. He's a
wealth of stories. No, but because he's told me a lot of these stories and in the book, you know, we I've done enough books. All these stories are old to me, but their funny creeks to how he tells them. Yeah, so back in the day, Well, you're gonna give me grief because you did pay for a book and I
haven't got it, but called hard cash. Yeah, I was gonna tell the story, and I want him to tell it, but I'll tell it back when when you're a player, right, and you've had coaches throughout your career, right, So he gets on he's a he's a freshman, and he's at Michale and and he's with the buddy on the Michael floor and Luke walks by and he's with somebody, and Matt goes, hey, lude you know, thinking that you know, he's my coach, and he's going to respond, and Luke
looks back, is what the hell you look at? What do you ask? I'm your coach. Don't don't talk to me at any other time until you know, blah blah blah. And because Matt's kind of like a young naive dude, thinking my coach, he's gonna say hi. But you don't have relationships like that when you're a player coach. After you're gone, it's all good funning games. Yeah, but not until you not until you leave. Yeah. You set that standard there, right, You have to well, and that's what
makes some of the good coaches. You're not their friend, but you're also not to you know what I'm saying. You have to have that line of well, you can't cross.
It's more of a family bond than it is a friend bond, right, Like you would do anything for your player, but I don't want to go get drinks with him and hang out with him and talk about you know, his personal life. I have no interest, right right. I want the best for him and I want the best for his career. Were some of your better coaches like that?
Yeah?
Absolutely, yeah, because you you It was a strange structure.
You're you're are.
My head coaches would always keep that, but your pitching coach would be a little bit different.
Totally get him, but they're because they're not the head.
Coach exactly, and they've got to build a deeper bond there, no.
Question, And that's why I've always said, uh, I've always said, I firmly believe this. There are some exceptions, exceptions when the head coach goes and they in the elevated assistant coach into the position. It doesn't work. Yeah, it doesn't work. You can't put the substitute teacher in front of the class to expect the same result. I'll tell you. I'll tell you a quick story.
My college coach at Metro State and Denver, we did not see eye to eye. This is my junior year. I went in as a preseason All American and have you been there? Here was there? Yeah, he recruited me, right, great, and he's phenomenal man like love him to death now, right, but he I didn't take my I didn't take that year very seriously. Yeah, from my health standpoint, I thought I was thought I was hot stuff and the lats of days of coal and just not attentive. And he
called me out on it. And then we were doing a bunt drill one time and he was having me throw live and I threw out his head and I thought I was going to get kicked off the team. And we had a strong discussion after that, and he pulled me in the office and we set some standards.
I did throw what is it? I was a hot shot.
I was just coming off like anyway, it was stupid, right, we're young kids, like, and I was nineteen at that point, I think. But anyway, we pulled. He pulled me in the office. We had a long discussion, an honest, open discussion. From there after that it was a it was a truly strong bond, right.
Right, Maybe it takes something like that, but what the hell are you think? Yeah, I mean there's another one.
Gary Carter was my coach in HYA with Port Saint Lucie, right, so a Hall of Fame coach. My first half, I was pitching through an injury, so I was only thrown like eighty six to eighty eight maybe, and then after I would be done with my games. I couldn't like move my arm for two days, right, So I was working through and then finally it was just to the point where I was like, I can't do this. So I took a six week rehab stant and they came back and was completely dominant that second half, And he
pulled me in the office. He goes, you know, everybody was telling me about you and how good you were, and he's like, I just thought you sucked. You were awful that first half. But he was such a good guy. That everybody wanted to be around him, but he made sure that he took his moments with his players to be specific on what was expectations.
And then that's what the good coach does. Yeah, good coaches do that, so we'll see. I thought the coach Kathy was a pretty interesting thing. I had never heard that one about the letter. I'm joking about Grigs. People think that some people think he's like Steve Kurry, aren't you no?
Or the bond that they built with other Duke players and how long it's lasted. But you're right, they're cut from the same clot They are the same type of athlete. And at that point, it was similar programs, right, I mean, Duke's obviously got a little longer history, but similar programs and similar, similar expectations.
And I was talking to you guys about this too. They don't do Does do you think Duke thinks about Arizona as much as Arizona thinks about Duke? And they kind of everyone has kind of an obsession with Duke. I don't know what they think. I know that it was a big game because I went there last year to watch to be part of that Duke experience. I was impressed, but not all that impressed because it's a small box. I mean, you could feel imagine mckail with
ten thousand people. Yeah, wouldn't it be crazy? Wouldn't it be crazy? It would be They're the craziest place I've been, or maybe Oregon, Oregon hold that court or Stanford where they be the court bounced, you know, and it was just bonkers crazy, and Duke was Okay, it's okay. I had to take to it. Yeah, they had to do it. Okay, what do you think? What do you guys think? We'll talk more about it, but about tomorrow's game. Oh, they're gonna win. That's a lead of question right there. Do
you think? Who do you want to ask? The one or the fan? Who give me? Give me your reasons for both? Because you're a fan and then you're a professional professionally, I think Duke is that good of a team.
And Arizona has struggled all season and to this point they haven't really fixed it. They haven't really shown against against against good teams. But it seems like they've found their groove. It seems like even though they've made a lot of mistakes these first two games, they've overcome it.
Uh And I don't know, but they haven't pay they haven't faced duke exact duke teams exactly. I think where the hesitation comes in.
Yeah, but I think I think the Oregon Oregon game prepares him pretty well for this from a lenked standpoint and talent standpoint.
Okay, so hold that up. Yeah, we got a call coming in. Hello, you're on the aeronine on the ball? Who's this? Hey, Steve? This is done? Done? What do you got? What you got the winner? Who's winning it? Well? Here here's what I think. I think.
I'm I'm really I'm really hoping for for it to be a good game. Actually I hope, I hope for Arizona have a good game. But I think this is going to give us, like the answers to the test
that it was playing in the Big Twelve. Yeah, I think that this is going to They're playing against a good team, a team that's probably better than them, but the wars that they had in the league, which Houston and and you know, being close and saying well, if this possession, that possession, if we get those possessions tomorrow, I think that Arizona can win. But you know, I want I want them to I want it to be I don't want it to be like like well, certainly
don't want to blow out. And you know, if it was one of those things that could have been, well, hopefully they make it happen and it is.
But like I said.
Earlier in the week, I think Arizona's playing with house money now and what happens happens as long as they play well. Yeah, we saw that in the We saw that in the league where they played well and lost games, which is kind of hard to get used to.
No, No, you're you're right, because well, there's a point where you're as good as you're going to be and you just run up against the team that's even better. Yeah.
Yeah, And I think I think maybe the there is a there is going to be some familiarity, but you know, the playing in the league games and playing Houston in such a close proximity of time between those two games that you know that's to play them again would be you know, probably be a bad experience. But having all this time between the first game with Duke and this game, and you know, learning the lessons that they've learned, I think that they stand a good chance to win this game.
It's not insurmountable by any means. I don't think.
Yeah, yeah, that's why I would take the points.
I think that they have a decent shot, you know, they just they just they got to play a really good game and uh and we'll see how it goes.
Yeah. Right, we have to take a break here. Done. Thanks for the call, all right, take care of thanks, don uh go? Can we go?