Full Show: Jay Bilas discusses NCAA Basketball Tournament. CNN says Democrats are polling poorly. Final take on Lebron confrontation.

What's up, everybody? Stephen A Smith here.

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What's up everybody?

Oh, I'm so excited because March is here, the madness of March, and say, I'm so excited. Welcome to this latest edition to the step and A Smith Show, coming at you as I love to do it at the very least three times a week over the digital airways and YouTube, and.

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Usually have an open a monologue. I usually do, but damn that, damn that now. Part of the reason is because let's talking about college basketball, and I'll be damned if I know it. I've seen only but so many games. I might have watched ten to fifteen games this year. Okay, I can't watch everybody, all right, I can't, So I don't know.

Everything. I'm guessing a lot. When we filling out the brackets.

I got my brackets, y'all got your brackets.

I got my brackets. I got my brackets. Okay, I got my practice fill out. But damn it, I don't know everything.

Okay, I'm guessing most of the time, and I ain't gonna do that of my listeners and my viewers. Instead, I'm gonna bring on somebody who knows. They ain't guessing, they know, and they gonna help me out. They're gonna help me figure out who I should be going.

With with these brackets.

As this NC Double A Tournament approaches, he is a college basketball analyst extraordinarire for the last several decades. He is not just elite, he's a damn institution, the best in the business, without question. He's also my colleague and buddy that works with me at ESPN. The man, the myth himself, the one and only Jay Billis is in the house.

What's going on big time? Are you doing?

Man?

How's everything?

I'm doing all right, steven A, how are you?

I'm doing great, man. It's good to see you. It's good to see you.

I gotta ask you this before I even get into these brackets.

Can you talk about what this season has been like for you.

I'm just looking at the level of competition in this NCAA tournament, fourteen teams coming from the SEC for Crown Light.

I used to be about football. Now it's about basketball.

Saint John's being resurrected, Rick Bettino back in the mix of whatever. How enjoyable has this college basketball.

Season been for you?

It's been great.

But you know, I tend to think every season is great because there's always a great story or great stories, but this one has been different in that I think you you alluded to it, like you know, the Southeastern Conference is the best basketball conference top to bottom relative to the field that I've ever seen. And it doesn't mean that there weren't better teams or that you know,

Jay.

We've seen great college programs with at these I remember, you know, growing up watching Hoyer Paranoia with Ewing and Michael Jackson and Reggie Williams and the Crew. I remember Saint John's with Walter Berry, Chris Mullen.

Mark Jackson was coming up with Willie Glass.

Was a point was a guard there to you saw all of this stuff. Of course, Georgia Tech lead the Weapon three LSU with Shaq Stanley Roberts and Chris Jackson before he became a moved up duor Raoul. You're looking at UNLV with Augman and Greg Anthony and Larry Johnson and all of these guys. When you see the teams in the SEC, is there anybody any of them as a powerhouse that remind you?

And let me not forget Duke? How could I forget Duke?

With Bobby Hurley, Christ Layton and the crew, is there anybody in the SEC that you look at as being on that level?

Maybe as an individual team? You know, I think Florida like Florida's legit and with their side and athleticism, their guards.

I mean, one of the things I think is really interesting.

You know, you went back to the eighties and talked about Georgetown. You know, if you compare the guards of Florida to Georgetown's guards, these guys are bigger, stronger guards. Back then, they weren't this athletic, and you know, they were great players. But the game's totally different now and and now it's even more fisical.

Like back then.

And see if you agree with this, Steven if back then we didn't have plagrant fouls, so when you filed somebody, you put him into the woods, start to fight. But generally the game's more physical now than it was back then. Get through screens and all that stuff. I mean, it's way harder h physically.

But the big.

Difference is the players now generally are younger, the best players because the uh they're going to go to the NBA, there's too much money.

You know.

If Patrick Ewing didn't go to the NBA.

Early, Uh, there were a variety of reasons, but one of the reasons is there.

Wasn't enough money to pull him out.

I mean, it be almost irresponsible if he were playing today for him to stay in school for four years.

Let's get into these brackets right here, because I'm looking at them. I want to start off with the South Region, where number one overall seed Auburn and Michigan State are the top two seeds. Any issue with that at all. Auburn has struggled. I mean they faded, losing three of their last four heading into the tournament for crying out loud, But yet they were a number one seed coming out of the South.

How are you feeling about that, Jake?

I think they it was perfectly appropriate that they remained as the number one overall seed even though they lost three out of four because.

It's a function of who they lost through and how.

When they lost at Texas A and M two days after they won the SEC championship at rep Arena at Kentucky, and my sense is they had a little bit of a hangover, both figuratively and perhaps literally, and then they got clipped at home by Alabama, who's really good. They got beaten overtime in like a ninety five ninety four game on a last second shot, and then they lost in the They lost in the tournament. You know, they're they're the real thing. I don't I don't have any

Who's the toughest competition in the South Region in the estimation.

Well, they're gonna have to get down toward toward Michigan State. You know, I would have said Iowa State, but Iowa State's injured. You know, they got one of their top players, Keishon Gilbert, is is out for the season. He's been out the last few games, but we thought he was going to come back. They're still dangerous and there's still a team that could reach the second weekend and maybe

They got a core of four guards that can really shoot it.

You know.

They they the four of them combined for forty percent from three and they they combined for eighty eight percent from the foul line. And there they're athletic, they're they're really good. And then they've got Jenni Broome, who's the you know, along with Cooper flag Duke is national players a year.

Sleeper in the South region. If you had to classify one, who would it.

Be, I would have said Iowa State, probably Texas A and M would be that.

Uh.

They've got a really difficult game against Yale and they're you know, I think everybody kind of enjoys the upset talk.

There's the media darling right now.

For upsets as UC San Diego because they're out of the Big West, it's their first year and eligible for the tournament. They've been in Division one for five years now, and they're really really good. But you know, I'd be surprised if they got past Michigan. But they're capable, they're best player and I can't wait to hear Charles Barklay try to say this name.

A Nila and Niewa hate Jones And there's no way he doesn't say a wan una or to Wea, Like, there's no way he gets that right.

But they've also got another guy named Hayden Gray who's really really talented and the best, one of the best defenders in the country.

Leads the nation and steals. They can win.

But but you tell me if this is wrong, like when the media talks about a team being an upset pick, this is our upset pick. Michigan's gonna hear that, and uh and there you know you see San Diego is not gonna sneak up on Michigan.

Now, let's get to the West Region. The top two seeds are Florida and Saint John's. Florida is just a monster. They got there too deep at every position. I saw them trounce Alabama, uh over the weekend, and what have you? I believe in Florida I think they're gonna win. I think they may win the National Championship. I got them going to go up against Duke. But I don't they They're not the story to me in the West Region.

It's Saint John's.

I cannot believe the job that Rick Patino has done with the Saint John's Red Storm.

They haven't been relevant for year, they haven't.

Been in n CAA twenty miss in twenty nineteen, Uh, they won the Big East Championship. I'm just I am shocked at what he has done in relatively quick fashion and Queens New York.

How did Rick Patino pull this off?

J billis you know Steve and I hear what you're saying. I'm not surprised by this. The thing I'm shocked and surprised at is he got the shot in the first place. And you know, five years ago, if you had said to me that Rick Patino is gonna get the Saint John's job, I would have said, come on, man, there's no way. You know, he was radioactive for a period of time, but time heels and so and winning cleanses.

He's one of the greatest touches of all time.

And he's one of the truly great teachers of the game that I've ever seen work. And so the fact that he got really good players in there doesn't surprise me.

Uh, And it doesn't surprise me that.

They're playing a brand of defense that rivals what he did at Louisville.

Like these guys are hard to score on.

Uh, they don't shoot it great, but so what like they shoot it well enough, and they are they got a vibe about them. And they got three players at

Uh, they're they're legit.

If they weren't in the same bracket as Florida, I'd put I'd put them in the final four.

Did the nation's top rated defense. Four losses came by combined seven points. They haven't lost the game this year by more than three points. That's Rick Patino's team at Saint John's.

And when we.

Talk about a team that struggles to shoot teams who have had success in the NC Tournament, meaning winning a national championship of going to a Final four, two of those teams who have shot this poorly and have made it to the and have made it to the Final four are Rick Betino teams in Louisville.

I mean, I mean, you can't make this stuff up. It's unbelievable. Jay billis stay right there, I got bills to pay. I'll be right back with you. First to word from our prospects before we get right back to Jay billis.

All right, folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up. You know I love this time, but y oh, my lord, is my favorite time of year. College basketball is about to heat up. March has arrived and with all his action about to jump off to Steven A. Smith Show wants to make sure you take advantage of it all. That's why we partnered with Prize Picks, the best place to win cash while watching sports.

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Prospects, Hey, hey, run your game today.

I'll give you my picks for the Wednesday, March nineteenth matchup between the Xavier Musketeers and the Texas Longhorns. Joining Me to Do It, by the Way Special Edition Joining Me to Do It is a top Prospects partner and founder.

Of the sports content company Booket Sports. He's known as the fade God, or, as I've called them, the guy everyone goes against. He's been there before.

Please welcome to one and only trent I Tea known to the world as book it with Trent. What's going on big time? Are you doing trend? How's everything going? Man?

I'm great, March madness is here. Couldn't be happier. Man. I'm so excited to sweat out some lineups on prize picks and I can't wait to hear what you've got for me as well.

Let's get right to it.

First up, Arthur Kaluma of Texas have more or less than nineteen and a half points plus rebounds plus assist. Now I'm going with more, Trent. I'm going with more Texas. They can put up some points. And you talk about points, rebounds and assists.

Damn it.

If you're playing and you can't get that's gonna combined combined.

Into three categories.

I don't know what to say the about you, especially during an NCAA tournament.

That's where I'm at with it, Trent, what about you?

I think that this game is going to be really fast paced. I like the pick here with the more than for Arthur. I think that the Xavier is going to have to stop the other players like Trey Johnson if they want to have a chance in this game. We've got a high total in this one at one point fifty, so there's definitely gonna be a lot of points. And I see Arthur having a big game.

Yo, So let me ask you this question.

Man.

Let's get this out of the way first. I mean, what's up, bro, I mean, you know, you sound as enthusiastic as I expected you to sound.

Well you, I was expecting you to say, Steven, there, you're absolutely right, and did go into your soliloquy as a post to anything. I mean, I just didn't feel in love right there, Trent. I just you, let's try this next one.

Of them, go ahead, you know what. To be honest with you, I was sweating the prize picks lineup with the Texas team the other day and they were shooting tour dates. I forget who they were playing, but it went to double Texas A and M double overtime. I needed Trade Johnson points. It took them to double OT to get me seventeen, and it was so frustrating, but he finally got there. But yeah, this Texas team I'm

Okay, But and I agree with you. They were a bit better when BOMs was coaching. They got to step up their game. They gotta be a little bit there, a little bit above five hundreds. They got to be better than that. So I got you, and that I feel where you coming from. Next up, will Trey Johnson of Texas have more or less than twenty six and a half points plus rebounds plus assist I'm going with more on this as well for the same damn reasons.

What about you, Trent?

You know what I'm gonna have to go against you here, stephen A. Because Trade Johnson was putting up tour dates. I've never seen someone go so cold on the floor. I think he was six of twenty or something like that. Took double overtime for him to get his points. For me, I think that if Xavier is gonna want to win this game, they're gonna need to slow down Tray Johnson, which is gonna allow guys like Arthur Kaluma and Shdrick

I feel you on that.

I've just agreeing with it because I just don't think Xavier is gonna be able to contain them.

I really really don't.

I think in a game like this, I think it's gonna be a bit up Temple, They're gonna try to slow it down. I don't think they're gonna be successful, and that's why I feel the way.

That I do about it. But you could be right. We'll find out.

Let's go to Xavier's, let's go to Zach Fremantle have more or less the twenty six and a half points plus rebounds plus assists in this particular instance, I'm going with less because of the things you pointed out about Xavier and how they're not gonna have that level of offensive activity, which is why I don't think he's gonna be able to pull us off in this game.

But that's just my thinking.

What about you, I'm gonna have to disagree again, only because this game is gonna be very fast paced, and if Xavier is gonna have any sort of chance to be Texas in this one, it's gonna have to come from Zach Fremantle. I've taken him a couple of times throughout this season. He's respected my coin. If there's anybody on Xavier to have themselves a game against this pretty weak Texas defense that gives up a lot of points,

You've disagreed with me on this on two occasions. I don't know about you right now. I don't know about you last one. Finally, with Xavier's Ryan Conwell have will he have more or less than twenty three and a half points plus rebounds plus assist I'm going with more on this one too. One of them got to do more. I'm picking him instead. Conwell I'm going with more on this.

What about you?

You know what, I'm glad you didn't just take two more thens and two less nds on the same team. So I think you got to switch it up here, you know. And if you think that Freemantle gets strapped up by that Texas defense, someone's gonna have to put the ball in the basket and dish it around and grab some rebounds. So Conwell I like to pick. Uh, you know, honestly, I'm going a little square. I think all four of those squares you just said probably go more than to be honest with you, with such a

Listen, so so do I.

So just to recap, I'm going with more on Caluma, more on Trey Johnson, less on Fremantle, and more on Conwell. That's where I'm at with it, so everybody knows where I stand. Trip before I let you get on out of here. Selection Sunday had quite a few upsets. What were you most surprised about?

I was shocked that you Unsea made the tournament having one quad well going one and twelve. How the heck did they squeak in one in twelve?

Good be cut cut the damn dude on the selection committee.

Bubba is his name?

Bubba?

Okay, Bubba cutting half letting director for North Carolina talking about recusing himself.

Who the hell gonna believe that?

You?

So you accuse yourself in the meetings. But y'all ain't go out to lunch. Y'all ain't going out to dinner. Y'all ain't gonnaut to the breakfast. You never had a conversation that it's North Carolina into the NCAA tournament.

Nobody's believing that, Trent, I know, I'm not.

Hell no, No, that's some fishy, fishy activity, you and c and the committee. I don't know how the heck they squeaked in there. I think there was definitely other teams more deserving. But having one quad win or quad one win out of thirteen is ridiculous. Come on, one.

Yes, it ain't who you play, is who you beat. And I got news to you. One of the things my favorite this is in the side. My favorite rivalry in sports is duke North Carolina basketball. When there's a rivalry as opposed to a beat down. And even though the games have been relatively competitive, I'm just of the mindset if you're Hubert Davis, somehow, some way, it can't. This ain't Mike Krzyzewski, This ain't coach k you going up against me. There's one thing to be out recruited

Wouldn't it be so march madness to see you and see going a little run after all this slander they're getting forgetting in the tournament. That's true, that's true.

That's a good point. That's good that they just don't have it though.

They don't have to eyes, they don't have a size and they and Trent they can't stop you. You shoot teams to shoot three for three against them. They can't stop nobody. They can't stop anybody anyway. Who do you have as a first round upset?

First round upsets? You know, there's there's I'm a guy who loves taking the square stuff. I'm always taking the one in two seeds to win the first round. And it never hits, It never hits. Uh, so I would not be shocked if we see a Saint John's go out and lose to Omaha. That would be ridiculous. All you gonna go there, always.

All the teams to pick, you gonna pick Saint John's.

Were Rick Betino taking six different teams in Nancy DOAA tournament. With those athletes, with those rough riders, we have full court press. He gonna throw at you, particularly in the second half.

That's the dude, You're gonna pick the fall out in the first round.

Saint John's. Every year we do the same thing. We leading up to the tournament. Everything sounds impossible, like nothing's crazy's gonna happen, and then we get to the games and you're sitting there in Saint John's is down eight with three minutes to go, and it's like, Okay, what the heck is going on? So you really just got to remember, nobody knows shit.

That's true.

You're probably right, probably right, nobody knows. It's all a guess a game. Hey, no doubt about it. But that's what makes it great. That's what makes the NCAA trying to make great. Last question, what games are you looking forward to see the most?

I'm looking forward to that Kansas Arkansas game. You got two coaches and Bill Self and Cal Perry squaring off to march madness legends, you know, arguably could be a bit washed, but this Kansas team has just been an absolute mess all year in Arkansas. They're a scrappy team as well, So it's gonna be really interesting to see how Bill Self gets his team prepared for this game. But just having two legendary coaches head to head in the first round is gonna be cinema. So I'm really

I got about three games I want to throw at you, right yeah. I'm thinking about a second round game Florida versus Maryland. I think they'll meet in the second round. I think that could be very interesting. Even though Florida is the team I'm looking at it. I'm like, they look like monsters against Alabama over the weekend. I'm thinking about Houston Houston gonz is Houston Gonzaga because they'll end up facing one another, and I mean, that's the one

At the end of the day, you know, the two finalists are always teams that you're expected to be there. Walter Clayton and Florida are are a menace right now. Walter Clayton's been cashing me on prize picks for like three weeks straight. That dude is hooper. He is a hooper. So shout out him for making me some money the past two weeks. But yeah, I love Houston. I've been taking them all year, but when it comes to the tournament, I feel like they always fold.

I could get a ratic.

They get erratic, they get erratic, they make mistakes, and the things that they do during the regular season, they don't show up. I just don't get it. So that's where I'm at with it. Look, man, I appreciate you book it with Trent. Trent Atias right here with stephen A.

Smith on the stephen A.

Smith Show special edition of our Prospect segment. Appreciate you, my brother, look forward to talking to you again as this tournament progresses.

Absolutely, stephen A Best of blocked to you on your prize picks and let's have a great march.

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Welcome back to Steven A. Smith.

Stoll's still here with the one of the great great college basketball analysts in this nation's history, to one of only J billis my colleague at ESPN.

Let's get to the East region. Jay, We've got.

Number one seeded Duke with Alabama as a number two seed.

Your thoughts about that region.

I think it's a great draft for Duke.

Alabama if they were fully healthy, I think would be a favorite to beat Duke here, and they may still be able to do it. But one of their best players, Grant Nelson, has been injured and he's been banged up, unable to practice at times. I was there recently for their game against Florida and he couldn't even practice the day before the game, and he had a knee injury in their game against Florida in the SEC Tournament. Didn't play in the second half, and they got run out

And uh, you know, it's.

Amazing how some people were talking about, oh, do they need to shut him down and shut him down for the draft, And I'm like, Jesus, a sprained ankle. He wasn't like, he wasn't like caught in a stampede, and you know that the cattle stampede. He's going to be fine. So I think it was smart to you know, he won't one hundred percent for the a SEC tournament. They didn't need him to win. That was fine, But but they're not gonna. I can't imagine them holding him out

I'm glad you brought that up. Correct me if you think I'm wrong, I'm up. I've never thought about shutting him down. Absolutely. Now you go through this season trung within a national championship. This is Duke we're talking about here, Okay, I mean, you got to play if you can play. I don't believe, however, he should play in the one sixteen game on Friday. Now, you're duke, you just won the ACC championship, you won the semi finals. In a

No, But it would be based upon the doctor saying, hey, listen, you know he needs more time. He could injure it again or make it worse or something like that. You know, look, we've all played on sprained ankles, I mean, and some are worse than others. But if there's no structural damage, it's not that big of a deal. And today these guys get treatment like nobody's business.

So a week should be plenty.

But if he's capable of playing, if it were a second round game, he plays, so play because I do think the continuity of having him back, because you can lose a second round game, a second round games against an eight or nine, and they'd play either Mississippi State or Baylor, and Mississippi State is very good, and i'd want I'd want some reps with everybody back to their normal roles before you go into a game like that.

Before I move on to the Midwest, Jay, I never had an opportunity to ask you about this kid, Cooper Flag. I've seen about five or six of his games. The brother's legit. He can really really play, no doubt about leading them in points, rebounds, assists, steals, rebound I mean, it's ridiculous, but.

Again, his skill set.

It's not like it's Lebron James with somebody like that coming your way.

But he's so skilled, he's so special.

Put into perspective watching college and covering college basketball all of these years, the way that you have when you look at a Cooper Flag give the world an idea of what we're going to see on the next level. Because he's likely going to be the number one overall picking the upcoming NBA draft, I.

Think Cooper Flag is going to be a combination of Andre Kirolenko and Franz Wagner, except he's bigger and I think he's going to be stronger. He's the best, most complete, most competitive freshman all those put together that Duke has ever had. And he's got all the measurables. He got the size, the length, the athleticism, an unbelievable skill level. But what really sets him apart and puts him on the top tier of players I've ever watched in college

Like I knew he was going to be good.

I knew he was going to be the best freshman and all that, and I thought he'd be an All American. I didn't think he'd do this, and he keeps getting better, and the fact that he's barely eighteen years old, he kind of boggles your mind. Like I think Grant Hill is the best player Duke's ever had, and I think he proved that when he went on the NBA's first seven years of the NBA were like Sandy Kopak's level. But I nobody, nobody has done what he's done as a freshman.

It's not the all around stuff. The numbers, it's not close.

I'd be remissing, neglecting to give credit to this guy too.

Your coach John Shryer. I mean this, he's this man.

Succeeded coach K and I'm looking at him right now and he's been very impressive A and B so much so that it's it's dwarfed, you know, it's it's it's I don't want to, I don't want to use that word, but North Carolina is not on Duke's level.

It appears at this particular moment in.

Time, and you never expect that to happen, especially when Hubert Davis had him in the final four playing for national championship a couple of years ago. But that's what I'm seeing from this guy right now. Your thoughts on the head coach for the Duke Blue Devils.

I I agree John is built for this.

Uh He's He's another guy that talk about a competitor. He was a great player. He's probably the most underrated star that Duke has ever had. You know, he scored over two thousand points, his first team All America and ACC Player the Year, all that stuff, and he would have had an NBA career if he didn't have that eye injury when he's playing for the Miami Heat. But uh, he John is very thoughtful. He thinks everything through before he does it, and he seeks out council and then

I don't I don't know that guys are going to go as long as they used to.

Like it amazed me the coach k got seventy five or seventy six, and Jim Laernego was seventy seven and Beheim was seventy four.

Roy Williams, that amazed me. But I could see he's the type of coach.

That could go to the NBA in a heartbeat because of his demeanor, Like he's he holds everybody accountable and does all this stuff that coaches like to talk about about coaching hard, but he's never demeaning. He always hits the right note, and the message to a player, even when he gets on them, is positive, and I think players respond to that in a better way than they

But his demeanor is unbelievable. He's the real thing.

Not just talking to one of the best college basketball analysts in America, but somebody who also played a duke. He would know what thing or two about the duke program. I'm talking about the one and only J billis right here with Steven A. Finally, let's get to the Midwest region. Jay Houston and Tennessee are the top two seats. Did they get that right? Number one and number two? Do you see anybody knocking off one? You know one, if not both of them en route to a Final Four appearance.

This is a difference.

Houston team steven a than we saw the last few years. They're the same in their ability to defend rebound. Like I've been saying this ever since Calvin Sampson got to Houston. They lead the nation every year playing hard. That's just their default position. They don't know anything else, and they wear teams down that way. But this year they score at a higher level, so they shoot about forty percent for free as a team. Jay Cror and Emmanuel Sharp

I think they would have beaten NC State. I think they would have been in the Final four.

But this year, like I think, I think they would beat Tennessee. Tennessee's better than they've been too. Like Rick Barnes has run into some He's a great coach, It's ridiculous how good he is. Yes he is, but he's run into some circumstances like this year with the Southeastern Conference, he gets to the final and they got to play Florida, and Florida is a different cut of cat now, and then last year they're there.

Last year they had.

Dalton connect Now with the Lakers, as you know, and he was like the ro Hobbs of college basketball, giving.

Them scoring they hadn't had. And they run into Zach Edian Purdue in the Elite eight.

You know, kind of the only team that I thought out of the Elite eight teams that they couldn't beat.

And otherwise they were Final four team last year.

So their draw I think is a little bit better this year because I think they can beat Houston, but it's gonna be a whale of game if it gets to one versus two.

Before I let you get on out of here, Jay, I'd be remissing, neglecting to bring this up new story all over the place right now, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey has taken the social media and national news networks to voice his displeasure with the NC DOUBLEA after West Virginia's men's basketball team was left out of the NC DOUBLEA tournament.

He's threatening lawsuits for crowd out loud.

Meanwhile, there's a whole bunch of people lamenting North Carolina getting into the tournament, obviously, and they will one and twelve versus squad one teams or Q one teams. Your thoughts about that whole storyline North Carolina and West Virginia governor threatened and lawsuits because West Virginia was left out of the NC DOUBLEA tournament. Nobody will break it down better than you j give it to us. Shift thoughts.

First of all, Steven A. Ten years ago or so, I probably would have lost my mind over this whole thing. But I've learned over the years that the tournament selection committee hardly ever does anything at the end of the line that I.

Agree with completely.

So do I agree that North Carolina should have made the field relative to a couple of the teams that got left out?

No, I mean I would have taken one of the other teams that we're talking about here.

You know, I thought Texas should have been in, but I thought North Carolina was going to be on the outside looking in. But was it this egregious thing that adults who were in positions of power should be threatening lawsuits over. I mean, you tell me if this resonates with you, but because I know you'll remember it better than I do. But in nineteen eighty five, during the NBA Lottery, back then, they used to reach in and

After they won the.

Lottery, the story publicly, you know, the narrative was it was a fix that the NBA had kept the envelope of the Knicks in a freezer and it was colder, so they knew that's the one they needed to pick.

And I remember David Stern.

Being asked about at one time and he very you know, you know, you knew Stern better than I did, and Stern could be a handful, but he was.

Very thoughtful man. And he said, he said he said, that didn't happen.

I'll explain to you what happened, blah blah blah, and he went through it. And then he said, and by the way, if we had done something like that, it would be a federal crime. Do you think we would risk a federal crime for that? And I'm kind of thinking the same thing here with the governor of West Virginia acting like somebody took a piece of candy from him when he was six years old over a selection over like you know, these teams. You know, if you

I'm not down with that. That's just that's not adult behaving them.

I view.

Totally totally agree with you. It's petty. It's nonsense.

Now, I don't agree with their decision of putting North Carolina in just like you do. But in the end, when I remember it on a women's side, you've got the coach a UFC Gottlieb, who's obviously doing a great job complaining that they'd a fourth number one seed. Well, if you had beat UCLA in the conference championship game like you did in the regular season instead of losing in them come conference championship time, that might not have happened.

I ain't get that, Jay, I get that well.

But but I'm I'm good with the complaining part because that's you know, sort of that's what you and I do in a way that comes with it complain away, Like we we should complain about it. We should discuss is this is the right thing or do we need a better criteria to use or all that's all good stuff. We should do that and we can be as loud as we want to. You know, when government officials are getting involved in this, So who's going to want this job next time? You know, who's going to sign up

It's just it's so silly. I just don't understand it. Uh.

You know, the adults in the room got to stand up and say hey, stop it like behave yourself.

I noticed from personal experience, you've always been the adult in the room, even when you don't think you've been.

You've always been the adult in the room. You've helped me grow over the years. I love you, man. I appreciate you so much.

Man, thing you and I'm definitely gonna catch you during the NCAA tournament. My last question Florida and Duke is for me. With Florida winning the national championship, who you got?

I got the same thing.

I've got Florida winning it, which is probably the death knell for the Gators' chances.

Same here, That's exactly what I'm thinking. Everybody I know is picking Florida. I guess that means they're gonna lose. J billis love you, man. Thank you so much for your time, man. I really appreciate it.

Love you too, brother. Thanks for having me all right.

The one and only J billis right here with Steve and Asheet. That's how I know college basketball. I listened to Jay billis the hell I do?

He said? What did he say?

I think I'm gonna go with what he said. That's how I do it. That's how I do it. Coming up on The Steven A. Smith Show, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony way In on Lebron James approaching me at the Lakers game. They ain't the only ones, but they're the latest ones. But first, what's going on with the Democratic Party. A new CNN poll shows favorability for the Democrats has dropped to an all time love. I wonder where y'all heard that before. I'll get into it next

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Welcoing back to Steven A.

Spisshow want to get into politics and the headlines I've seen this week and from Washington about the Democratic Party. There's a new CNN poll that shows the party's favorability among Americans has dropped to a record low. The poll was conducted for CNN via web and telephone on THESRS Opinion Panel. That's a nationally representative panel of US adults ages eighteen or older, recruited using probability based sampling techniques. To be clear, they are an independent research company, not

The survey was.

Taken days before ten Democratic senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted with Republicans to advance a GOP authored spending bill to avert a government shutdown. The survey also revealed that Democratic aligned adults say fifty two to forty eight percent that the leadership of the Democratic Party is currently taking the party in the wrong direction. There's another shift from eight years ago, when views on the same

Okay again.

The poll was conducted for CNN by an independent research company. The surveys were obtained on March sixth through the ninth, before the spending bill occurred. First of all, that's the problem with producers and editors. That's too damn long, too much information. Okay, yes, they say I gotta read that to you or whatever, but damn it, I hope you didn't fall asleep on that because that's.

Not the subject. That's not the point. Here's the point.

The strategy's not gonna work. Are you listening to me, Michael, you're listening to me, Sherry. It's not gonna work because it's still not touching on what's.

Really, really, really the issue. All of that stuff that I just read. I know what y'all saying.

It's mumbo jumble, it's facts, it's accurate, it's.

Something you needed to hear. But you really don't give a shit.

What you really care about is what you're gonna do to reclaim the White House, what you're gonna.

Do to reclaim seats in the House and the Senate.

I got a story to tell the Democratic Party.

Are you ready for this?

Rather than telling us what we should vote against. Maybe you should present us with options of what to vote for.

Just a thought. I mean, my god, it you okay Michael with me suggesting that? Are you okay with me? Sherry suggesting that Rashwan Galen and.

All of a bunch of leftists that's under my umbrella trying to act like they're independence when they're full of it.

I'm talking about my whole damn staff. I can say it with love and affection because.

I don't mind. I'm a centrist. I think my man Rashaan is a centrist. The rest of these damn people working for me. I mean, what left wing party are you associated with? I mean, you gotta believe this stuff. You gotta listen to it to hear it. I'm gonna say it again. Rather than come to them, to come to folks with what to vote against, how about telling us.

What we should vote for?

Because you see, I'm no fan of Chuck Schumer. I'm a fan of Chuck Schumer, but he wasn't wrong here. Didn't you know that when a government shut down takes place, whatever party supports the government shut down is who gets blamed. It don't even matter how right you are, you could have very salient points. You don't like Trump and now cutting USA PROGRAMDI programs. You don't like what they're suggesting. You don't approve of his position with the war in Ukraine.

You're wondering, where was all of this talk about in inflation in the economy? What if you're really really done to address it. You got a thirty seven trillion dollar budget.

Which he contributed to, By the way, because he spent a lot of money when he was president number forty five. It wasn't like it was that the Democrats spending.

It was him too. And you're talking about holding them accountable for all of that. Fair. Fair.

You're talking about him and the immigration policy, and you're talking about targeting criminals.

But we're talking about.

A ten year old that I just finished asking bought us our Tom Homan about the other day, that was being deported back to Mexico even though she's US citizen.

Blah blah blah blah blah. All of these things you want to point to. I'm not even saying you might not be right.

What I'm saying is if you're the Democrats, it ain't gonna work for you. You know why, because you're done messed up and your objective should be recapturing a trust that you're once had from folks on the left. In order to do that, you're gonna have to be aligned and unified and started preaching about what's important to the American people instead of what you'll think the American.

People should find important. See the difference.

Will you try that again, Michael, want to try that against Sherry. I'm just saying, you gotta be about preaching about what's important to the American people and what they care about instead of telling them.

What they should care about. You know why you can't.

Make that argument anymore because you had your chance. You had President Biden up in that office. You knew he wasn't the same. You knew there was shrinkage that kicked in mentally. You knew that people were talking about him being incapacitated.

This before the debate on June twenty seventh.

You knew it.

You knew it, and it got you on camera.

Chant for four more years for a dude that was approaching eighty two years of age. That would have been in office and thought he was eighty six, assumed he got there. You didn't even think he was gonna make it, And God bless him, I hope he does. But what you did was say, let's just get him through the election because the rest of us is running the government anyway. The trust of the American people were compromised. I'm a black man. You know how many times I get tied of this.

Not being mentioned.

How racism and things pertinent to a community that makes up thirteen and a half percent of.

Our population was shoved to the wayside.

And it wasn't even for the LGBTQ plus community as a whole. You were focusing on transgender rights more so than you were focusing on black people. You took him for granted. The Hispanics with the borders, do you know that I know more Hispanic folks that wanted closed borders more than one in open borders.

Leat Tinos in this country.

Let Tina's in this country had a problem with illegal immigrants more than some of the American citizens because they said they have to stand in the line. Who the hell are they not to have to stand in line? But you ignored that too. The economy stupid. Remember what James Carville said in nineteen ninety two when Clinton was running for the presidency.

It's the economy stupid. Remember that. Well, we preaching about that now. We weren't even acting like inflation was an issue until they've slapped us all in the face.

Oh, there's no border crisis, not at all. Remember Vice President Kamala Harris.

On the view.

Here's there anything.

About President Biden's administration that you would do differently? I really can't think of anything, really, ladies and gentlemen. That's why she can't run for president in twenty twenty eight. She has no chance. She has to run for the governor.

Sea to California. She can't run for the presidency.

Say oh, this announcement that's coming this summer, please not wasting your time.

You can announce it now. It's got to be the governor's position.

Or nothing, because you can't run for the presidency of the United States if you Kamala Harris. Because they're going to reair that interview and it just shows that there was a collective deceit being pushed forward to the American public.

And after all of.

That backdrop and after the embarrassment of the Democratic Party with Trump's speech to both Houses of Congress the other day, where people holding signs and they're making videos with twenty two people echoing the same verbiage clearly toned down, and they got the nerve to be dancing, some of them with their non dancing air selves on video, trying to appeal to folks. No, they were beyond their lane and trying to do that.

After all of that.

You're gonna let the government shut down? You would have played right into Donald Trump's hands. Even with Elon Musk scaring the living daylights out of more than half the American population with what the hell he gonna do next? What cuts is he going to suggest that Trump is going to okay? How many programs are gonna be slashed, how many bodies are gonna fall, how many federal workers are gonna be.

Without a job. Even with all of that, the.

Democrats still don't have the cachet and the leverage to shut down the government. If Schuman deserves credit for nothing, and I'll be damned if I want to give him credit for much, we gotta give him credit for that.

He knew better.

You can't shut down the government him and none other colleagues. But if I have votes to path a budget to fund the government through September.

Thirtyeth it had to happen because you're a House divided.

The GOP stood together and they pushed forth a budget and it was going to go through. And if the Democrats hadn't supported it and the government happened to shut it down, jobs would have been lost, wages would have been lost, programs would have been slashed, and the Democrats and their lack of togetherness would have been the blame. Why Because the GOP is aligned under Trump. There's nobody aligned with the Democrats because you don't have leadership.

Minority House Leader.

Hakim Jeffries evidently is not aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, AOC Alexandria A Cassio Cortez representative out of New York.

What is she talking about? Schuman needs to be replaced.

You got representative Algree won't even let anybody, won't even let Trump speak, and he has to get booted out during the speech and ultimately censured. I like Jasmine Crockett, I'm looking forward to having on this show.

I appreciate the fervor and the fight in AOC. She's welcomed on this show, but the Democrats are not together. You have no cachet.

And to be furious at Schumer is not paying attention to what's going on. If we're being honest, if we're being honest, you're not paying attention to what's going on. This is an article that was written Michael Sherry.

This is for y'all. This is for y'all. I'm just looking at all of this right now.

This is a story in the Washington Post dated February second. Democrats are in trouble and a provocative analysis offers ideas to repair the party.

And in the.

Article, it's talking about the polling and how unpopular they are. This more than a month ago, aren't you. There's more than a month ago. And I'm trying to find a graph here, and it says if Democrats are serious about addressing their problems, they face a period of vigorous debate and self reflection akin to what they experienced after losing three consecutive presidential elections.

In the nineteen eighties, member both Reagan two terms and then hw Bush as a star. Two veterans of that.

Period, William Galston and Elaine Comark have offered an assessment of the state of the party, to be published Sunday by the centrist.

Group Third Way.

An advanced copy was made available to The Washington Post at the time. I want to read these couple of graphs, especially to my left wing guy Michael here.

Okay, and Sherry, you'll be lord here. Let me read this to y'all. Just help y'all out for.

Those Democrats who think a rapid response to war Room, a massive get out the vote efforts will restore the party to its previous highs. The authors provide a bracing and provocative analysis quote. This renewal involves more than communications, organization and mobilization. They write, it will require a party to ask itself hard questions about the reasons for its

Especially men.

So you don't have working class voters the way you used to, and you don't have men the way that you used to in white, Hispanics and blacks. You have no party. You're just a bunch of individual parts claiming to be Democrats. You're not a party. You're fragmented, you're weak, and the only way you can get yourself together is to be strong. That's one thing. But take it from me.

I'm a novice at this, and even I know this.

You have to reclaim being for the working class. When I say reclaim the working class does it doesn't mean money, It doesn't mean bathrooms.

Shared by both genders. It doesn't mean that stuff.

It doesn't mean pronouncing the right the proper nouns and pronouns doesn't mean that stuff.

Working class. Back to James Carville, it's the economy, stupid. It's about dollars and cents, it's about money in people's pocket, it's about the cost to live in. Everything starts there. What the Democrats need to do is refocus.

On proclaiming yourself as the better party for the economy. Make sure that your policies are better when it comes to employing folks and putting money in the pockets of the American citizens better than them.

You pull that off.

Without all of that other stuff on the fringes, and you get back to being sent to left.

You can reclaim one of the Houses of Congress in the midterms.

You'd have a chance in twenty twenty eight. But if you keep being at the mercy of the extreme left, which Chuck Schumann in this case refused to do with the whole bill, oh spending bill of budget making sure that the government didn't shut down. If you ignore that and go far left, it's not an election or another election you're gonna lose. You're gonna lose the country. The Democratic Party will cease to exist by the year twenty

Get your shit together, Get it together coming up.

Dwayne Wade and come Elo Anthony share their thoughts on Lebron James and yours. Truly, I didn't want to visit this subject again, but they did so why not.

But obviously that's not before I'll have my nephew on the on the show. He's in the house. He's not feeling loved, he said, what happened to nephew tism?

He forgot that he was on just the other day. Selective amnesia is what I call him. But he'll be here too, so don't touch that doll.

More to steven A Smith show in a minute. What's up, everybody? Steven A Smith here.

Recently we made news because the great Bill O'Reilly announced a tour that's coming nearest to you in the very very near future. Get your tickets now for this. It's called Three Americans Live March thirtieth at Live Nation's Flag Star at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island.

Don't miss the very first show.

Myself, Chris Croomo, and yes, that man Bill O'Reilly take our different ideas, a different backgrounds, our different beliefs across the country to demonstrate that respectful, meaningful and even fun conversation. Those are the things that make America as great as it should be. The show will be spirited, unscripted, and all three of us will let it fly as we discuss the topics everyone is thinking about these days. There'll

Welcome back to the Steven A. Smith Show.

Right here over to digit It was YouTube and of course iHeart radio. Listen, ladies and gentlemen. You love him. You like having them on the show. I don't know why. I guess you like seeing him get on his uncle's last damn nerves.

My nephew Josh is in the house.

I mean, you know, I thought he was coming on to talk about the n C Double A Tournament.

The next thing you know, I see this brother. He's sitting in my seat at my desk. Is that cheese, dudes? Is the depretator chips? Is that what you're doing?

Yeah?

I was snacking. He was taking forever with your with your take. It's Saint Patrick's Day?

Where you're green at?

Why I got that? Why do I look irish?

Oh?

I got to expose us again?

Where's your hood?

Hood?

Where's your green at? Just because you got Irish swag? That's black?

But still I'm still celebrating on holiday. Do you know?

Do you know where your grandmother's from?

I'm away of.

Josh, right, you know the world is not She's iron.

Josh, Josh, did you just that really is grandma? Grandmammy is from Saint Thomas. But your grandma is from Saint Thomas. But her her mother was from is Irish? Okay, but that's neither here. There My point to you, Josh is did you just pop a bottle?

I did, because I really I really celebrate these type of holidays, not so much Valentine's Day, but Saint Patrick's Day is one of my favorites.

But what are we talking about today?

We were supposed to be talking about the n C double ave the commercial break. You said that wasn't on your mind.

That's that's not what's on my mind. And don't hush me over there. Stephen A is not here. This is my desk today anyway.

Yeah, I wanted to.

I wanted to talk about a few of my my laws because the women were getting at me, like you're not holding guys accountable and stuff like that.

So I'm like, you know what what women and what were they getting on you about?

What were you talking about.

In the comments?

You know, I scaped them to see where I can get better, and they were saying, I don't really hold men accountable. So I came today to come with a few laws that will have us you know.

That'll weather some feathers on our side of the things. You interested?

Do you care whether I'm interested or not? I don't. I don't think you do.

I really don't. Let me get started, and remember what I said.

If you're gonna interrupt me, make sure it counts all right, ladies, I.

Know we come off as know it all sometimes.

You know, sometimes you'll just want to be heard and we're trying to come with a solution. The problem we want to be heard is we don't really want to hear it. So anyway, while in a relationship, depending on the dynamic, under regular circumstances, a man must take his woman on one date per month.

You agree with that, I think that's still being cheap.

Think that, unless you're unemployed, you could do more than one a month.

Wait, why you mentioned it cheap. I ain't say he.

Had to pay because I think it's that he just.

Got to go with her. What I ain't saying he got to pay it, he just gotta go.

Stop. Stop stop.

You said a man has to take his woman out on the date at least once a month.

Did you not say that? Say the word take?

Yeah, you gotta drive, you know what I mean? I do not say you don't have to.

Hey, so women say all they want is for us to communicate. So if there's a case where she feels like you're not communicating, she can find you. How do you feel about that?

I need you to repeat that because these don't sound like laws.

I'm trying to figure out what's the law. What's the law?

The law is to communicate, honestly, So when she asks you, do I look fat in his dress?

You're supposed to communicate.

What what? According to your law? What is the answer to that question supposed to be?

I mean, they don't really ask you that unless they're already busting out the seams.

So we done.

We're done with the making you feel good. If you fat going to the gym, that's sick.

And if you need.

That, that's some ignorant nonsense. First of all, everybody to each his own. You got some dudes that's happy with a woman that's one hundred pounds. You got some some dudes like like Uncle Pooley. That that I mean, you got to be a minimum to fifty. And then you got people like me who just likes voluptuousness. You understand what I'm saying. I don't mind thickness at all. Now, that's not different, that's not the same as fat, But there are there's somebody for everybody.

Don't be disrespect I'm and they don't have that. They don't ask do I look fat in this? Unless they don't want to look fat in that? And guess what, nine times out of ten they be looking fat in at.

Last little You.

Know what, I can't even front that that that that that is accurate. You didn't have to say it. Yeah, yeah, but don't you care that? Does the kora matter to you? The sensibility matters to you? I mean, don't you care?

Honesty?

First?

Last?

Really, so you're the most honest dude of the world. You're a paragon of honesty.

Huh, I try. It's about intent for me. Lastly, for the men.

If I'm on the train and there's a bunch of available seats and you sit on the one next to me, you're getting a fine same ballpark, different city. If I'm peeing at a stall and you decide to pee at the stall next to me and there's other available stalls, I'm stall on you, and then you're going to jail.

How you feel about that?

So if you're sitting on a train, somebody's not allowed to sit right next.

To you if there's other seats available, No, And I might just sneeze just to spress some germs, because why you're so close to me?

So so so what if she's what if she's fine and you like what you're looking at, she wants to come sitting right next to you?

These are these? These are for men. She can sit right next to me.

Lord for men? Oh you're talking about laws for men specifically for men?

Yes, Oh my god, so you missed the whole.

I just don't know what you lost.

For men.

You know, I'm not going front. I don't want some dude like if I'm sitting by myself. You a dude, what you come sit right up next to me?

I get that? And you would you to act like that if you just get up and moves, if.

Be happening and you still got me on the train and so you already know. But anyway, I've been working on this animation.

It's because you don't know how to drive.

That's what animation you do.

Let me tell your car I've you've been working on.

I've been working on an animation where pretty much I take the best cuts from your voice interviews and stuff like that, and uh make fun out of it. I'm gonna start putting it on my YouTube as well and your Instagram later on today put it.

You don't put nothing on your page first without my approval about me.

I'll sue you. You don't do that. You put it on my page first. You're trying to build your fight.

You're trying to ride this gravy train to build your own subscribers.

But you're supposed to be building mind first.

I got that's what you supposed to doing it.

I got an animator.

And by the way, guess what my argument is to support that up? You ready, we rich?

We rich?

If you got a page I got, Paige, you got the animation? It come on my page? We rich, right, we right? What's our contract? Right, Hobby?

So how is it that you just doing something but you.

Ain't put it on my page?

I mean, who the hell are you to take content and put it on your page?

I have to get permission from the animator.

His name is Flash, and here he said he ain't get paid yet, so I sent them an arm.

That's your problem. I didn't hire him. And there's only one Flash, and that's Dwayne Wade.

Dwayne Wade, begone, begone, you champion, the Hall.

Of Famer, one of the greatest off guards in the history of basketball.

That dude, suddenly you don't know who he is, just.

Like I'm Josh Smith and the other Josh Smith is obsolete. Flash, there's a new Flashit animated, y'all, don't hear about him?

Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this? I'm ready? Guess how you just heard your Guess how you just heard yourself.

I just got a text last week saying, Yo, I love your nephew on your show.

Guess who that was?

Who was it?

D Wade? And you just dissed them? You just turned them against you. Bounce, Get the hell out of here.

That's right, you just you're messed up your turn d way to get you. He ain't gonna follow you. He ain't trying to follow you. Get your own damn page, and stop eating up all my cheese dudies.

Get out of here.

Look y'all, let me transition to a serious topic, because I want to put an end once and for all to this discussion about yours truly and Lebron James.

The light of what.

Happened last week, the way any way to came Melo Anthony, both of whom know Lebron's very well, weighed in on the situation between me and Lebron when Lebron rolled up on me court side last week of the Lakers game. They weighed in on the situation on Mello's podcast seven PM in Brooklyn. Check out what the fellas had to say. Please check it.

Look at this.

It's dual size once again. You know, I think you understand both sides, if you're that person who wants to understand both sides. I told him, as a father, I'm walking up on you, right, I get it because I'm like that too, Like I'm at you, of course, but also you know what I told him, I said, And I thing, we've never seen Lebron do that, like even we've never seen like Lebron don't even go back at players that found him too hard on the court. We've never seen him be like he's always been just even

They got the membo though, Steve coming to that, he comes to the game tonight.

Because he knew because he saw him and if he saw him at one up, you know what I mean.

It just it was burning them.

But you know I told him, I said, you know, Steven, I think the one thing is and first of all, I take it that that's a sign of respect that Lebron did that to you. You know what I mean, I know he understands that, and that's what him I saying.

And that's the thing.

Your your microphone is the loudest, your platform is the biggest.

And also you're a black man.

Yeah, and I said, you know what I mean, So you got to understand, you know where he's coming from with that if he even approached you, because yes, the Skip Bayless of the world and all these guys have said things about him his entire career, and he's been above it.

There is a fine line of I am a father, but you can't separate the fact that he is your teammate as well, you know what I'm saying, and he's in this league to be critique critique. I just think this has been a build up. We're talking twenty two years like this ain't got nothing to do with Bronnie. It's just the fact that Bronnie is a part of the conversation now. And he also got to protect his See you get what I'm saying, y'all. You gotta protect the kingdom no matter how old it is. He's Bronnie,

Over the years of just build up, y'all. This ain't no love relationship that we talked. This ain't noship that we talking about.

Then have a friendship, right, So this is this is.

It is what it is in the sense, right, just just Stephen doing what he's supposed to do the years, Bronni doing Bron doing what he doing over the years, and this is what happens. Some shit might get mister strued. I might not like what you say.

I might not with you. I ain't gonna deal with you.

But the fact that I think the energy is because we're dealing with two Juggernauts in their respective feels, right, Bron being who he is, Stephen a being who he is. A lot of people don't know that history between those two. The only thing people know is what Steven. They may say, what he may not say. Bron has never spoken on

I'm gonna drop the mic or all of this right now, once and for all. We're gonna put this shit to bed. I want to think d Wayne Wade and Carmel Anthony for saying what they said. Some of the details were missed, like, for example, he didn't see me, you know, warm up, because I didn't get there until a few minutes into the first quarter. But when you sit in courtside, they kind of know who's gonna be there, and I'm quite sure he was alerted I.

Was gonna be there. But that's neither here nor there.

D Wade told one thousand percent truth when he said what he texts me and has said to me.

Because we do have a relationship. I love that brother.

That's my dog, and I feel the same way about Carmelo Anthony.

We all go back years and I love them both.

So I really appreciated the conversation that they had, and I appreciate the perspective that they both provided because for the most part, it was pretty spot on. A couple of things that need to be noted. Like Mello said, it's been stewing for you years. See what I've gotten pissed about with this particular subject is that too many people are not touching on the truth Mellow and d Wade did. Me and Lebron don't have a relationship. Lebron don't mess with me, and I don't mess with him.

I respect the hell out of him.

He's number two on the list all time, and I didn't always feel this way about him. There are times I didn't like how he treated black media. I'm not talking about myself because I'm on a certain level, and I watched how others got treated and I didn't like that. But it didn't take away from his unquestionable greatness, his deified status that he has earned as one of the top two or three greatest players in the history of basketball, and I never deviate from that.

Always been conne to his family.

I think his wife is the first lady of the NBA class personified. I think his mom is an absolutely wonderful woman. I don't have to talk to Randy much. That's a good brother. Rich Paul and me are pretty damn cool. Riches good people, So I'm cool with mav as well and various other people, But me and Lebron we don't roll like that Hei and BA. He ain't had much use for me, and I damn sure don't

But it doesn't stop me from being fair. It's not gonna stop me from doing my job.

My issue, which is why I appreciate it where Mello went, because Melo put it where the goats can get it. We don't have that kind of relationship, So what the hell you use your son for. I'm shitting on your son. That's not true, Bronnie James. That is not true to the James family and all your close confidence and loved ones.

That is not true. I have video.

Documentation with me refusing to cover Brownie, never watching him out of.

Respect for the family.

Because if stephen A rolls into a gym or an arena and I see him, everyone's gonna ask for my critique of him. And I have been on the record publicly stating that's not fair to that kid because his father is one of the greatest ever and they're gonna judge him harshly, and I didn't want to be a part of it. I can look into the camera and look at Bronnie James and say, factually, that is not correct.

I have not been shitting on that kid at all.

That is factually incorrect. Now, d Wade says, when you were talking about him, but you really no, I really wasn't. The reason I say that is because, as Rich Paul pointed out what he said, I could have contextualized it better. It's not foreign to me that a second round pick will come into the NBA and it's not ready yet, and they'll just work hard, going to G league, come back and forth and they'll get better, just like Kenyan Martin told me his son did when I was on

Of these dudes in the league.

Right now, you want me draft my son. It ain't even about the money at this point. I want to play in the league with my son for the year. You did that. That was lebron James. That was not stephen A.

Smith. I did not do that. So when he came up to me, claiming, you shitting.

On my son, you shitting on myself, I didn't know what he was talking about, because I'm the.

One person who didn't.

I told January twenty ninth, and even then I don't believe I did it. I pointed out how his start was very, very bad, but his performance in the G League was good. Let him go there and get himself better, because you, as the dad, put him in this microscopic spotlight and you're going.

To subject them their stuff.

That's going to be too much, That's all I was saying. So we got the Draymond greenstut out there with his damn.

Podcast for some reason suddenly forgetting my character and who I am, and he's talking about y'all. It was weaker stephen A to say that if.

Lebron was weak, or to bring it up as a father and oh, by the way, where I'm from, we put hands on you. You sure you should be saying that, dreamond you sure? I mean you sure that's the words you want to use. We should be putting hands with somebody. Has that not worked against you? Jordan Poole Nurkic, Rudy Gobi. I mean, I'm just asking. I'm just asking, is that the smartest thing for you to say, particularly when you want to be in this business when it's all over?

Is that the smartest thing for you to say? But you go ahead, bro, God bless you.

I understand where you're rolling now and how you're rolling.

It's cool.

I got nothing bad to say about Draymond. I still got love for Draymond. My point in all of this is I would never call out somebody as a father for stuff that's going on in the privacy of your life and your home. But I covered the NBA and what I was talking about when it came to fatherhood was what we were seeing on an NBA basketball court.

That's my job. That's my job.

I'm supposed to ignore that while he's wearing a Lakers uniform, while he's getting money that most people wouldn't get that he deserves.

Because of Lebron, because Lebron is underpaid.

I'm supposed to ignore all of this while you're in the purple and gold, while you're win an NBA uniform, while you're receiving an NBA check. When I covered the NBA. That's where I disagreed with Dwayne Wade when he said I'm coming at you. I'm like, ah, because of Dwayne Wade that I know would have picked up when I was talking about d Wade, not his son. Lebron tried to say I was talking about his son when he knew good and damn well, I was talking about him.

We sit here today, it's a week later, and I'm not going to talk about this anymore. But let me say this to y'all. It's a week later.

I'm not backing up from a word I said.

I was right.

I was doing my job, and in the process of doing my job, I wasn't doing my job when I didn't talk about.

Him all of those years. I cover basketball. I don't just cover the NBA.

I am a sports broadcaster, which means that it was perfectly within my right to go to Sierra Canyon and cover him, to go to USC and cover him, to go to the G League if I wanted to and cover him, because I cover sports. To get on me otherwise is to get on me for doing my job. So that's where a dream on is wrong.

Me talking about father.

Why did I mention father because you said, my son is better to some.

Of the dudes in the league right now before he got here, and.

You said you want me draft my son at this point, it ain't about the money. I just want to play with him for a year. That's what you said, Which is why a whole bunch of people who ain't Stephen A. Smith, who don't have my microphone, who don't have my platform, was talking about him behind his back and talking about Lebron and what he was doing as a father who happens to be the greatest attraction in the game today.

Nothing gets edited out. Nothing. Let me go. He's so right, he's so righteous. Let's do it his.

Show, not mine. Don't come on first saying I ain't helping his ratings. Don't come on this YouTube shorts pocket. Nah, I ain't helping this numbers. I come on your show. We know her to help numbers. At the very least, we know I could do that. Nobody was hiding crickets. Never heard from them since. And I know that ain't there for because I know Mavill put me on the heartbeat, Rich Paul and the rest of the crew.

All of them in a heartbeat.

I'd show up by my damn self, or I show up with my own boys, and we could all bring facts to the table. But I was never taken up on that offer. You see, I don't run and hide. If I'm wrong, I'll say i'm wrong. If I'm right, I'm right. I was never shitting on Brownie James. I wouldn't do that to the James family. I was talking about one person and one person only. We may never speak in life again. I'm fine with it. I get

I ain't Shay in the shop.

It ain't goat status this way. My goat is Michael Jordan. Thirty five thousand points, eclipse in Kareem Abdujabal with over thirty eight thousand, ultimately forty thousand, now fifty thousand, another All Star appearance, another fifty point game. Whatever, ain't my goat? I watched the game. I'm a student of the game. I know a goat when I see one, and he is a goat of this generation. But all time, it's Michael Jordan.

That's who the hell it is. That's the goat you see. Kobe came into the game with a heart.

Lebron developed one.

First several years.

It wasn't like that because he was scared to get through the free throw line. He was never scared of an opponent. I would never disrespect greatness of Lebron James like that. He was scared to get to the free throw line. That's where the fallaway jumpers came from. That was where the hesitancy to get to go to the hole came from. Anything that could finally lend himself towards going to the free throw line, he wasn't trying to do.

But there's this thing about heart that you got to pay attention to.

You see, when you lack a speck of it at any point, particularly back.

In the day, there would be impediments and roadblocks to prevent you.

From getting it. Why do I call Michael Jordan the goat over Lebron James because at his very best, compared to Lebron at his very best, I'm going mj all day every day.

But here's the biggest thing.

It was Scottie Pippen, with the Migraine and others associated with Lebron, with Michael Jordan, that prevented him from climbing that ladder over the Detroit Pistons until a third or fourth or fifth try. Whenever it was, it wasn't because of mj And I'm telling you here right now, as God as my witness, Lebron as great and phenomenal as

That's my proclamation.

I said it before and I'll say it again. That's why Michael Jordan is my goat. It's just a basketball opinion me. It's clearly a lot more to Lebron James choking in the finals against the Dallas Mavericks in twenty eleven. Fine us getting in an argument about something in black media, and fine. The only consistent blemish I've placed against Lebron James is that he is not the greatest of all time. That's the frustration that's been brewing up more so than

To show that.

It really does hurt him not to be the goat Oh well, that's it for this edition to the Stephen A.

Smith Show.

You feel how you want to feel. I feel how I want to feel. I am going to do my damn job. That's the way it is.

Y'all. Have a nice day. Until next time, Peace of love.