Salisbury, old By Salisbury Houston.
Okay, let's do this.
Sewn Salisbury to USC trouphs longtime friend Shawn Salisbury, Dan MATTHEWSUS, this is the Sewan Salisbury Show.
But Uh and Duke taking on each other in the Final four on Saturday. And a man who knows a lot about playing and winning in these games, his former Blue Devil guard at Thomas Hill, he joins us.
Now, yeah, he sure does, and we're grateful.
Now, if I go through his resume, it's going to take a while, right, he's saying, just twenty twenty three director of basketball operations and head coach at Saint Andrews Episcopal in Austin, and they proceed to go win, you know, two league championships. He's been a three final fours at Duke, two national championships. He was drafted in the second round, played what eight years in the league. Everything he do
does just the trophies keep piling up. And we got him today, and I'm sure he's hoping here in Houston, and sand I told you that that Duke team puts another one on the board. But we'll try to we'll try to combat that with this Houston Cougars. Thoma's great to have you on, my friend, and we sure appreciate your time today.
How you doing, Oh great, man, appreciate having me. Man, good to be at the show.
Okay, let me go back to those times before we hit this current Duke team. Do you remember the feeling of going into the final four, how you felt about your club, going in your school, and your team's preparation going into the final For the nerves of.
It, absolutely, absolutely, you know. I was fortunate to do it three times, so there were three different kind of vibes each year. But the year going into our second run, when it is a second time, we were super confident, like we were number one in the country and knew we were the best team in college backasketball, and it was just a matter of you know, just staying focused,
not letting the distractions get you. You know, we're a veteran team, and just handling your business, you know, just taking care of what you know you need to take care of, play the right place, play together, and finish. You know, finish. That was a big thing for us that.
Year, aside from great talent, which is you know, you got to have to go win these things and you got to be hot. Was there one common thread, like one trait that made your team. You mentioned confidence on one of the teams, But of the three years you went and the two years you wanted, what was the one trait that all three teams had?
Unselfishness? I think, you know, we had, you know, twelve thirteen guys that were the best players coming from their state. So you know, everyone had an ego. Everyone knew they were really good, and it was just a matter of understanding that individually we're not going to accomplish anything great or what you know, what we're trying to do as far as winning championships, and you know, we you know, the theme was just be unselfish and play together and
let your talent show. You know. I think one of the things about at least my time at Duke, which was great, was you know, no one on our team was jealous or you know, envious of other guys. We were happy for guys. So, you know, it's just a unique time for our group for sure.
Thomas Hill He's been two national championship teams, three Final four teams at Duke, also as director of basketball and head coach of Saint Andrews Episcopal in Austin.
He knows what winning's all about.
Was the second round pick in the NBA as well as being an All Conference player. Looking back to those teams, and it seems like it's every year at Thomas. I'm sure I'm not telling you that you don't know, but you guys were a villain a lot, right, the guys who were in Heckey you got you villain a lot? Do you have to embrace a villain role in order for it to work for you?
You know what I'm saying.
You don't want to discount it was it kind of you guys against the world world. Even though Duke is a blue blood program, it felt like even then when we're watching it back then, that it was it's and it always seems to even now that man Duke was easy to dislike because they were good, but they knew how to get under your skin. Did you guys embrace the role?
We loved it. I think that that's one of the traits that made us really good, is that we loved going on the road, getting booed, people not liking us, and the whole nine. You know, we loved it. You know, my my little personal takes was. I think my sophomore year, we took a team picture and it was a cowboy thing, and I distinctly remember wanting to go get the black hat. I wanted black hat and be that guy. So yeah,
I think our team embraced it, you know. I mean, you know the story of Christian Ladner and you know his take on things and it it was all of us, you know, even though we kind of looked like the clean cut, preppy guys or whatever that is. There were dogs. There were dogs in that locker room. So you know, we loved it.
Pretty hard.
Pretty hard to win titles without having dogs on your team, isn't it, Thomas? And you know, from high school to college the pro you got to have him or you end up getting left behind. So so let's go to this year now. First off, will you be in the building in San Antonio or your TV guy watching on TV?
I will be there, you know, and Duke make the final four? Life is great. I'll be there.
Okay, So they're coming down in to talk. Oh, Duke's coming to town University of Houston. You know, obviously we know who they are. Let me start with Cooper Flag. You've played with some great ones, young ones and veterans. You guys at that point in time, guys were staying in school most of the time, until you know, there
are four years or so we're up. We're just from your visual and watching him and maybe talking to people at the program break him down for us and where he ranks in just your visual of free freshmen that have played there, let alone veterans.
Yeah, no, I think as a freshman. I was telling someone this the other day. He is by far the best freshman to ever play a dude.
And that's Carol included, right, any of them.
Oh, absolutely, So there was a situation. You know, I didn't catch a lot of games this year, but I caught the first Carolina game and just watching it, it was like a ten minute stretch where the kid makes the right basketball play every time like that. You don't see that, you don't and you know he's seventeen, eighteen years old, and you know you can see that he is different. You know, if you have a basketball, you can just the way he moves, how he thinks the game.
You know, in my opinion, he's the best freshman to ever play a dude. So you know that that's uh, you know, and I've been around a lot of great ones. I've seen a lot of great We've all seen them. So you know that's my take on You know, he's special for sure.
You've played on special teams and got rings to show for it. You've coached, obviously and still do special teams high school kids. So let me ask you. You're I'm come to you, and I say, draw me up a game plan how to attack the University of Houston. Because we know without saying that this team thrives on contesting every shot, physically getting on the floor, all the dirty work. And they got some guys that can knock down shots.
So how do we if you're I'm your assistant, you're my coach, design me a game plan to attack this unbelievable and relentless defense of the Cougars.
Yeah, I think the attack is on both ends. So offensively, I think sharing the ball, you know, although they don't move without the ball the way I would like, you know, moving without the ball, making the defense move, not take bad shots, you know, always take bad shot and try to get in the paint and use your side. You know, I think I think we're a little bigger than them in most of the positions, so you know, using our
size to our advantage. But I think you know, taking good shot, sharing the ball and absolutely crashing the glass, like make them foul us, you.
Know, yeahoul trouble. Foul trouble could be a problem for Houston. And this if that happens right with their bigs.
Right right, you know, put pressure on their bigs and on the defensive end, keep them in front, you know, be ready to help. And you got to rebound, you know, you got to rebound play without fulling, you know, you know.
And that's my take without knowing that the real specifics of each group, Like I really don't watch them that that closely, but you know, just fundamentally, those are the things that I think once you get to that level, that stage, you know, if you're doing those things, you have a great chance.
Thomas Hill, former Duke guards, been on two national championship three Final four teams at Duke. Former NBA player second round pick, also coaches and as director of basketball at St. Andrews Episcopal School in Austin, and we'll be in San Antonio watching his Duke team play. Obviously, the calling card for Houston is that they you know, They've got some really good shooters, but they play defense and they get on both ends of the glasses you were talking about.
So so my thing is, if I said.
To you, knowing that they can test every shot, this game's in the sixties, who's it favor.
You know?
Do you do you think duke can play in a mutter? You know, in one of those games it's ugly if you're missing shots getting on one of those ugly games. I'm sure they can. But that's where Houston lives. So I said, if it's in the upper seventies, give me the Duke's going to be They're tough. But if this game's in where Houston usually lives, in the upper fifties, sixties defensively, does it favor the Houston Cougars in that one?
A low scoring game more in Houston's favor?
Sure? Sure, now they you know Houston is a great defensive team. You know, I definitely watched watch over the year. They get after defensively, I think to the eight their pressure is to attack them right, don't settle jump you know, if you if you get in a situation and then it's a low scoring game, if you're a duke, you know, you got to really think about attacking them, putting pressure on them, making them value to kind of you know,
you're getting easy shots, you're getting to the line. How you're scoring, uh, you know, you know, kind of stay in that in that you know, low scoring, you know range as far as you know, just just being in the game, you know, and not not necessarily sell them for Jena Dotts.
So yeah, passive aggressive wouldn't worry. So you want to attack aggressive with aggressive and not let them set the temple of the game. I know on offense they like to play in the half court meaning Houston, but the defensive, you know you're going to get pressure, but you want to take it to them right now instead of play into their hands and slow it down.
Yeah, I want to. I would want to get into the event, get like they get big than foul trow you just get them in thout trou because they are aggressive defensively. You know, I think an issue we could have is if we hit a few shots, we get comfortable with that, we want to continue to do that. So, you know, I think adjustments are going to be huge. You know who makes the upper adjustments when things aren't going the way you plan. We'll definitely have a say in the game.
Thomas, When did when did we become guard centric that good guard play wins national titles? I mean, I know it's nice to have a guy six nine guy like Flag or back in the day when Al Sendor was playing or Bill Walt the UCLA. But when did we transfer to where it's perimeter? I don't know if it's just a three point shot, but why now when we look at college basketball and you're a guard, why do we Why is it so guard centric now where the big man's kind of secondary.
Yeah, it's the influence of the European philosophy. But then you know, there was probably a stretch in the early two thousands that you know, you may not have had a lot of quality big so you know you've got to, you know, play with the best players. And it turns into you know, all of a sudden, if the Steph Curry Clay Thompson are having kind of success they're having at the highest level, everyone's trying to you know, so
you know, I don't necessarily buy into it. I think, you know, you could have all the guards to threes all you want, they still got a guard and you can get them in foul trouble if that's all they want to do is shoot three. So you know, I you know it's part of every I think it's good for some people. I don't think it's for all people but all teams. But it is what it is.
Thomas.
I'll let you go on this before I get a prediction from me, and who you think. I know Duke's going to be played on Monday night as opposed to Saturday. In unique perspective, you played at a time when the transfer you only transferred when you were hurt and got beat out, or you know, back in the nineties when people just didn't do it, you stayed around. Now you're coaching in part of basketball for the high school kid,
So find me common ground. If you were in charge of the NIL transfer portal, does it need fixed and how would you fix it?
Well, I think the the system or the ability to leave situations for the pair is good. To be honest with you, and I'm a coach. I think the coaches have to do a better job of evaluating who they're bringing into their programs. So you have a lot of coaches that want the quick things because the jobs on the line or whatever that is, and they're not really doing the due diligence on these kids they're bringing in. So when they get there and the kid, you know,
he already has this track record of leaving places. You know, now he gets to a situation where he thinks it be better but it's not, then he decides to leave. Well, the coach, you've got to understand that. That's part of it. Like, can't cry about that. You know, that's what you're branding. So I think it's a two way street with it that the coaches have to do a better job of evaluate and just understand that. I'm telling the kids that
don't stay anywhere. So whatever the characteristic come with that, you got to understand that's what it is. Then on the pot side, I think it's great because you know, you can get in a situation. You know, I'm a coach now and was a coaches don't tell the truth there's all the time, right, So they get somewhere and
you know the coach didn't. It was like so you know, but you know, I'm not a you know, as a high school coach, and it's happened on my level where you know, kids just they're not mentally toughenough to handle adversity, and that that's a bigger issue.
That's a Now, we don't let them fail anymore, right, Thomas, we we we don't let these kids fail and fight their way through it. We want to save them from everything.
Right, right, And that's that's a whole nother queue. But you know, in the terms of college back, I think it's great. You know, it's evolving system, so you know, we're just in the early stages of it. Eventually it will clean up, you know, eventually, But I think it starts with the of coaches and the adults in the situation of making better decisions with certain kids.
Yeah, it's a great point.
Transfers three times, there may be a good chance you're going to get a fourth transfer, So be alert for the guy you go after and recruit and then bitch about if you see him leave your program. All right, give me give me a prediction on Saturday, and then who you I'm assuming you're taking your Duke Blue Devils.
Who you playing Monday? Who you playing on Monday?
If you win this game, so give me a score for this one, and who you like to play on Monday.
I'm saying Duke, we'd beat Houston by ten on Saturday and on Monday, it really doesn't matter. We win by ten.
So you're double double digit wins on both and it won't matter who you play on Monday because basically you're saying this, you get through this one. Monday's a stone cold lock. That's how you feel.
Well, it's not a lot to earn it, but actually think where you know, once we get to the championship game with this group, you know we're for talented and other and I think John does a great job of keeping them focused that you know, you know we'll finish and and and people really understand coach my coach. It's still behind the scenes.
Oh you know, yeah he is.
His imprint is still there and and really valid, isn't it?
Coach k exactly.
This is his time and I know he's going to share things that others don't have, so it will motivate our guy.
That's awesome, Thomas.
I can't thank you enough for spending time with us and good luck, enjoy the visit to San Antonio. I think we're in for one hell of a Final four and I can't wait to see it. And thanks for sharing some of the experiences in your good insight man.
Appreciate you, Appreciate you.
Thanks Sean, thank you.
That's great. Thomas Hill, what a career he's had. Everywhere he's been. He wins