It's @SpenNelson on MWC leading USU, Runnin' Utes/BYU in Big 12 + more local CBB

is a he is a good ball coach. And let's give Tim Durry some props because he had a lot of good pieces. And then Craig brought Nemi in and and he did a great job of coaching those guys. Ryan Otam, you see what he's doing at VCU. But before then, you know he's a good basketball coach. Daddy sprinkle Man, good basketball coach. Very different than the previous two,

but a good coach. And I got to tell you, I don't know how much interaction you've been able to have with Jared Calhoun, but man, he's a good coach. I really like him. He's a Bobby Huggins. He's from the Bobby Huggins Tree, and I mean, he speaks truth, he's tough, but he has a good relationship with the kids, and I think he's a really good coach. And so honestly, I think coaching does deserve a lot of credit. That the narrative is, man, you can plug anyone in, but

these guys are our good basketball coaches. So administration's done a good job. And then the pieces that have stuck around. Now, Danny's amazing thing was no one stuck around and he was able to do it. I guess Mace was here, so that's not completely true Mason and Fish, but from the other ones, I mean it's huge that Jared got Ian and Mason and Fish and Carson templan to stick around and those guys are playing well. And then inter brought in some great transfers. So Utah State does have

a great tradition, a lot of winning. I mean going back to Stu, but Larry and Rod and those guys. But these guys are good coaches and you got to give them credit for what they're doing.

but other coaches too. We'll get there in a moment, but I want to follow up about Jared Calhoun, who I don't know outside of just listening. I love listening to coaches postgame because the ones that don't want to get pithy and sarcastic actually do teach you. And you know, I think he has been impressive. He seems a little bit more mentally balanced than his mentor, Bob Huggins, a great coach, but you never knew if you didn't know what Huckey Bear was gonna do night in and night out.

Jared doesn't strike me as that type of guy. But as you've been able to get to know him both on and off the floor, what makes him who he is as a coach and a person and schematically how does he like basketball to be played?

which I really appreciated. And then from the standpoint, I think that carries over to the players when I see him interact with the player, with the players, same thing, zero ego. Just really straight of who he is and comfortable with that. And I think in a world of a lot of facade and things that aren't real because of social media and that kind of stuff, I think people can appreciate someone that, hey, this is who I am, and I'm comfortable with who I am, and so the

players see that and I think they respect it. From the way he coaches schematically, you know, the big thing at the beginning of the season was the matchup zone. It's a very unique matchup zone that he runs, and he's got a couple different zones and kind of hybrid

versions of it. But the thought was, Okay, not a lot of teams are going to be able to be prepared for this because it's a one off compared to the other twenty nine games they're playing this season, and so we're going to be able to kind of throw teams off with that. Early on, they were I think conference team. At least the guys that I've seen are more more comfortable. UNLV was very comfortable with their matchup zone.

And one thing that I love is that he's not so stubborn that he won't adapt and he has gone demand at different points in times, which I don't think that's his default of where he wants to go. But this team is actually a good man to man defense team. Now they're only playing at a few minutes a game at times, but yet they are able to switch that up and that has given them some flexibility to throw other teams out of rhythm and not get used to

just playing against his zone offensively. And every coach in the country says this, we want to run, run, run, run run, but literally that he does. I mean you, UNLV plays a slow pace. Every time that rebound is coming, Calhoun is swinging his arms and telling the guards to push it, push it, push it, which opens up easy opportunities for buckets in the paint, layups, dugs. This team actually has a lot more athleticism than you would think, and they've taken advantage of that. So it's fast paced

and then I would say, just quick hitters. It's get out and transition and if you got to play in the half court, then it's going to be motioned. But a ton of quick hitting sets to get ian and I think there's a little bit of a pro mentality from there that I like, Like he is specifically targeting guys that he wants to get the ball in certain positions and then let them make a play. And Ian Martinez has done a good job throughout the season he struggled against UNLV Mason has done a good job and

teams are adapting to that. But get the ball in the guy's hands, which is a very pro mentality, and then hey, do what you do. And I think the players have really liked the freedom and flexibility to play that way as well.

So he's really struggled. But Ian man Ian Martinez takes and makes really tough shots. Mason Falslip has shot it better. Drake Allen struggled a little early on but has really got a swag. And then the guy who's been the most consistent shooter is their sixth man, Dexter Ocono transfer from Oregon State. That's been I mean, he's been huge for him and really consistent providing a boost off the bench. But he shot it at a really high level. So

your analysis is exactly right, Spence. They shoot, they don't hunt it crazily, but they got the guys to be able to shoot it if it's open, and they move the ball so well that it's open often enough that they're putting up a good number of threes.

bunch of different rotations. Gabe Matts in their leading scorer. Mean, teams just sell out on him and he has no space at all. So you look at the numbers, it's thirty one percent from three. It's like, what gives. It's like, well, everybody's gapping them and blitzing them off screens, ball screens, and he's got to find a way to be smarter with his decisions. He's been better as of late. They were finished, they were picked to finish last in the

Big Twelve. They're four and five right now. They had a nice win here at home over Brigham Young. They're going to be on the road to Oklahoma State. The Houston game didn't even it was not even.

But his guys are gonna play hard, and they're gonna be well coached, and they're just not going to finish last in the league. I laugh at that, just because a well coached team and if they play hard for you, and I know his guys aren't gonna quit, they're not going to finish last. However, it is it's a matter of and you know this, in the Big Twelve or in any of the power conferences, it's pros. It's how can you get one NBA guy on your team? Can

you get two? If you can get one, you're going to finish in the top half of the league for sure. If you can get two NBA guys on your team are pros, legitimate pros, then you're going to compete for a conference championship in the Big Twelve. But if you

don't have two pros on your team, you're not. And you look at Houston, you look at Kansas, you look at Iowa State that it just plays out that way and then a really good supporting cast, and you know, you talk about gage mats, and you're right, guys are selling out, Teams are selling out and taking away. That thirty one percent is the threes he's taking. I mean, ninety percent of them are really hard threes to be taking.

He'll get some open looks occasionally, but they're very different looks than some of the other dudes on the team are taking. I think the BYU win at home was huge in terms of excitement and you know, I'm not saving your job, that's not the right way to say it, but just reinforcing, hey, I'm the guy to do this. I can be here and I can be successful here.

And then they have some good wins against you know, the middle and the bottom half of the Big twelve, and that's where I think Craig has to continue to win those games, and I think that he will. And they ultimately where they finished. They finished like ninth in the in the twelve which has sixteen teams, right, and so they're finishing middle top, top of the bottom type of thing, just because they don't have the guys and it's a whole different world now to go get the

guys right. I mean, everyone's talking about what's going down in Utah County. BIU is paying this amount of money for their team. It's professional sports now, and I think the other challenge for Craig is just allocating the right money to the right guys who can produce. And that's a challenge in and of itself. And so guys that are getting paid money on Utah's team, they're not producing, So what happens to them? And how do you take care of the guys that are producing next year to

keep them around. It's a huge challenge. But I think he's a good ball coach. Time will tell. I don't have a strong opinion if he's going to be able to turn the ship around, because there's a lot at Utah that's got to be turned around in just momentum and excitement from where it was when you and I were around, you know, playing and growing up. It's just a very different environment up there right now.

coach next year. So I do think he is going to get one more year. But let me follow up with something you kind of alluded to, because look, the bottom line is, in the modern day and age of college athletics, whether it's football or basketball or even other sports, you have to have your collective in order to be able to attract talent and be able to pay the

players that you need to get here. So you have the horses, and from my vantage points, Betzer, almost every single night, almost every single night in this conference, Craig is going to have a coach on the other side that's we has more talents.

able to go get them. Is it less than, you know, the number that you hear from the valley or from Utah County? Yes? Is it more than the number that you hear up in Logan yes? Type of things. So it's the collective matters. What your paying dudes matters. And that's a whole nother conversation. But you're right, you have to go get it. And I may have said this to you before, but it's interesting. I had this kind

of epiphany moment where in Europe. It's funny I played with a bunch of differ guys in Europe and the same is true now. Is I still stay decently connected to it? There are not a ton of dudes. There are some, but there are not a ton of dudes that played at the blue Bloods that are playing in Europe. A few. I mean I played with John Shire and

the Deuhan was over there for a little bit. I mean there there are a few, but what it kind of opened my eyes to the elite teams in college basketball are one of two things, and most of it is the latter. Either really old and really experienced, or they've got a couple pros on their team surrounded by good college basketball players but not great college players that are going to go play professional and the impact of having I mean, you look at what Craig did at

Utah State. Great coach, but he had two pros, right he had he had Nimi and he had Sam Marrow. Of course he's going to win a conference championship in the Mountain West and and San Diego State, by the way, had one NBA dude and then a couple of year and pros on their team, so they were really stacked as well. But in the Big twelve, that's what it comes down to is how many pros do you have? How many NBA level guys do you have on their team?

Because I guess if we're going to play on words, all of them are pros now because they're getting played, they're getting paid to play basketball, so they're not amateurs anymore. So I'll articulate it better and say how many NBA level dudes do you have on your team? And right now they don't have any right, that's just the fact of the matter, and a decent number the Big twelve does have an NBA guy or they've got some European pros.

And there's probably a couple of European pros. He had Brandon Carlson the last couple of years, which was a pro And so can you go get those dudes, because you're right right now, you just don't have We talked about intellectual horsepower, he doesn't have the basketball horsepower to go and finish in the top three or top five of the conference.

You can tell why pro scouts love Yegor. I mean, he's really long, he's really big, he's got a good feel, he can see over the defense, and he's averaging six assists a game. Three point shot hasn't been great for him, but you can see why scouts love Yegor and over the past few games they've started to figure some things out. Mostly it's a make or miss team in a lot of ways, but three straight wins after that loss to Utah,

they've won four or five. I think Ken Palm has them of like thirty eight in the net and thinks they're going to be an NCAA tournament team. But I mean, talk about a coach that does have horses. But when you have the talent on paper Spencer, you got to prove you can coach, right, So what are your thoughts on what BYU has done this year and what do you think they can do.

they've got to address it even more. You know, when they went to Providence early in the season and just got just beat up, and I don't mean from a score standpoint, just physically just outmanned. And you've seen that occur. But that's gonna happen when you've got a bunch of freshmen, I mean, and you're playing those dudes, and they're going

to have to get tougher. They're going to have to get more physical, and especially when you get into the second half of conference and you get to the conference tournament than the NCAA tournament, Toughness, I mean, toughness always wins out. And so that's been kind of the question mark is how tough that team is, and early on I would say not very tough. I think they're getting tougher. I think kind of the the bigger picture for BYU,

and it's going to be fascinating. You know, are they going to continue down the one and done NBA almost like John Calipari program strategy, and just continue to try to go after those dudes, or are they going to spread that money around a little bit more and hit the transfer port of more and instead of paying the dude whatever three million, four million, five million, I who knows exactly spread out amongst two or three dudes that have played at other Division one schools and pay them

seven fifty to a million. But they've proven that they can do it already, and I think that's going to be really interesting to see how they play out, not just for this year, but I'm talking about from a program level. Are they really going to go all in on the one and done model or are they going to try to fine tune it? And a lot will depend on the success this year and next year. If they don't have success, and when I when you're paying that kind of money for a team, I mean you're

winning games in the NCAA tournament. In my mind, I mean that's if people are putting seven figures into guys. That's the expectation. And if they do that, they probably

continue to go down the one and done model. If they don't, then it'll be interesting to see if they pivot and try to spread it more with maybe less sexy, less flashy names, but guys that have you know, go get three or four dudes that have averaged thirteen or fourteen a game at other D one schools and showed that they can do it, and then you go that, Okay, let's get old model and let's compete that way, so it'll be interesting. Very talented, great coaching staff, a lot of money behind it.

I don't know the kid at all personally, only have seen him from a basketball perspective, and yeah, extremely talented for his size, his athleticism, his skill set is shooting ability. I mean, so we talked about pros making the difference. He's a pro that can make the difference and he will be, I mean more than likely next year, the most talented dude to step on the floor. Every time

b what you steps on the court. It doesn't necessarily mean he's the best player, but for sure the most talented guy on the court in this in terms of the ceiling and what he's capable of doing. So huge get for them, and then it'll be a matter of I mean you know this, you were around the NBA. When you have that kind of talent, coaching matters for sure, but managing egos, managing personalities, managing the locker room become

equally as important. And so whether it's the pat Riley or a Phil Jackson, I mean, Kevin Youngung and fortunately he's from the pros and so he understands and has been around, the managing of those egos and those and those personalities is just as important to keep the culture and the chemistry of a team together, and that'll be really important when you start getting that kind of talent in the house.